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Obi-Wan and Flyn walked into the main house later that night. Zirta, Jancy and Krana came out of the dining room to greet them. Jancy and Krana ran over to Obi-Wan, worry on their faces. "What happened?"
Flyn had an ironic look on her face. "The crowd happened." She noticed the question in Zirta's eyes. "Obi-Wan left the arena floor without a scratch. In going through the crowd from the arena to the transport, he got about a hundred! I've never seen a crowd that frenzied before."
A smile grew on Zirta's face. "It's just as I thought."
Obi-Wan slowly turned his head towards Zirta. Hate filled his eyes. He hated her for turning him into something he never wanted to be.
It took all of Zirta's will not to take a step back in fear. "Jancy, Krana, take him upstairs and see to his wounds." She watched his retreating form. A bit of anger began to form at the thought of all those grasping hands clawing at him. Obi-Wan was HER property! What made those women think that they could touch him? The sound of Flyn clearing her throat made her turn around. "Was it a profitable evening, then?"
"Very." Flyn handed her a wad of cash. "You would not believe the offers I got from women who wanted to buy him!"
Zirta broke into a huge grin at that. "Yeah right, like I'd ever sell him!"
"I also got some pretty hefty offers from women who wanted to spend just an hour or two with him."
Zirta's smile immediately fell off. "What did you tell them?"
"I told them no way! I don't want him being subject to that! I mean, not that that's my decision to make, but he deserves better, Boss."
Zirta's possessiveness was warring with her greed. "How much is hefty?"
"Just…hefty. Boss, you said you wanted his focus to be on the Games. That he doesn't need distractions, remember? With Obi-Wan's skill as a gladiator, you're going to be richer than you ever thought possible."
Thoughts raced through Zirta's head. Obi-Wan might make her just as much money by being a lover rather than a fighter. He obviously had great appeal either way. Charging women by the hour for Obi-Wan's company would also be a less obvious way to make money than having him be a gladiatorial star. But even as she thought about it, she knew she wouldn't go that route. She didn't want a bunch of other women having their hands all over HER property. And if she didn't even want her own employees touching him, she certainly didn't want strangers doing it! "You're right, Flyn, I will stick to my original plan."
Flyn breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll be back to pick him up after breakfast." She turned to go, but turned back when Zirta stopped her.
"How did Obi-Wan do in the arena?"
"Extremely well. There were nine other gladiators. He took out five of them." Flyn left and headed to her apartment.
Zirta smiled. "Impressive."
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Obi-Wan had showered and now stood in his room as Krana and Jancy tended his many scratches. One disinfected and the other followed behind with bacta gel. Jancy was fuming. "I can't believe those women did this to you!"
Krana sputtered, "They're…they're animals!"
Obi-Wan just remained silent and let them finish. He was not really in the mood for conversation.
Krana stepped back. "Okay, we're done, Obi-Wan. Those scratches should be pretty well healed by morning."
Jancy gazed at Obi-Wan sadly. "Are you alright?"
Obi-Wan laughed bitterly. "Oh, yes, I'm alright! It's the five men I killed tonight who aren't alright!" He went over to the window and leaned against the frame. "Five men."
Tears gathered in Krana's eyes. "You had no choice! It's either five or one hundred!"
Jancy moved closer to Obi-Wan. "Zirta meant what she said. She has you stuck! Please, don't let her destroy your spirit! Don't let her win!"
Obi-Wan turned and looked at them with sad eyes. But his mouth turned up in a slight smile. "When you put it that way…I certainly don't want her to win ANYTHING."
Jancy smiled. "Good!"
Krana wiped at her eyes. "Oh, wait!" She quickly left the room and came back a moment later. "Here, take this." She handed Obi-Wan a pill. "It will help you sleep." She put up a hand to stop his protest. "The last thing you need is to stay up all night tossing and turning. Unfortunately, you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."
Jancy implored him with her eyes. "Please take it, Obi-Wan."
"Oh, alright." He walked into the fresher and got a cup of water. He quickly came back out. "Done. Are you happy?"
Both women grinned at him. "Yes!" They moved to either side of his bed as he got in. They tucked him in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Obi-Wan."
"Goodnight."
As Jancy and Krana walked away from his room, Krana paused. "You know, I really care about him!" She had an incredulous look on her face.
Jancy shook her head. "Yeah, me too. Who would've thought it, huh?"
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Obi-Wan, Zirta, Krana and Jancy sat at the dining table eating breakfast. Obi-Wan was pushing his uneaten food around his plate with his fork. Jancy and Krana watched him with concern. Zirta watched him with irritation. "Eat, Obi-Wan."
He looked up with a hard expression. "I'm not hungry."
Zirta put her hands down flat on the table, trying to keep her temper. "You will need some nourishment for your activities today. Now, eat!"
Anger flashed in Obi-Wan's eyes. "What are you going to do, force-feed me?"
Jancy and Krana watched the exchange with shocked expressions on their faces.
Zirta stood up and leaned over the table. "You will not talk to me that way, Slave!"
Obi-Wan also stood up, defiance oozing out of every pore. "I just did, ZIRTA!"
Zirta curled her hands into fists. "I was going to cut you some slack today and just have you fight in two Games. But now, because of your insolence, you will fight in FOUR!"
"FOUR?" Krana spoke out in horror. "But…"
Zirta silenced her with a look. She turned her glare back to Obi-Wan, who returned it in equal measure. Obi-Wan leaned across the table. "That's fine by me, ZIRTA." With that, he turned and went upstairs to his room.
Jancy stood up from the table. "Um, excuse us, Boss." Krana quickly got up and they went upstairs. They entered Obi-Wan's room to find him standing at the window.
Obi-Wan's hands gripped each side of the window frame. He was working to get his temper under control. He knew that it was stupid to antagonize Zirta, but everything about her made him want to rebel.
A soft touch on his arm made him turn. It was Krana. "Obi-Wan, why did you do that?"
Obi-Wan looked out the window and shrugged. "I don't know. She just seems to bring that out in me."
Jancy stepped forward. "But four Games, Obi-Wan! Maybe if you apologize she'll…"
Obi-Wan quickly turned around. "Never!" He sat down on the widow sill. "I'll never apologize to that woman."
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Flyn entered the main house and found Zirta sitting at the dining table. "Is Obi-Wan ready?"
Zirta laughed bitterly. "Oh, yeah, he's ready!" She turned cold eyes up to Flyn. "But there's been a change in plans. He will be fighting in four Games instead of two."
Flyn's jaw dropped. "FOUR? But why?"
"Because of his blasted defiance!" Zirta crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.
"But four, Boss? I mean, you do want him to live, don't you?"
"Of course I want him to live!" Zirta stood up. "He can handle it! There will be enough of a break in between each Game."
"As you say, Boss." Flyn didn't like it, but she wouldn't cross the boss.
"And Flyn…keep the crowds away from him. I don't want them touching him."
Flyn gave her a questioning look before heading upstairs to get Obi-Wan.
Zirta plopped herself back down in her chair. Part of her was genuinely angry and frustrated by Obi-Wan's defiance, but another part of her respected it and even enjoyed it. She'd never before had a man stand up to her like that. Oh, but he had a strong will! She found that very enticing.
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Flyn and an exhausted Obi-Wan arrived back at the compound late that night. It had been a long, hard day for Obi-Wan. Thankfully, one of the four Games had been hand-to-hand combat. So, at least he hadn't been required to kill in that one. He had won that Game handily. His size and strength easily beat out the smaller, weaker competition.
The last of the Games was rough. He was quite fatigued by that time and had lost some of his focus. Because of that, his shoulder had been slashed pretty badly with a machete. He had other cuts and bruises, but his shoulder was the worst.
That was the worst, physically, anyway. Obi-Wan could feel himself starting to grow cold. He could feel his emotions starting to retreat deep inside. The reality of having killed twelve men that day was almost too much to bear. But he was beginning to learn how to shut himself off and just do what he had to do. What choice was there?
As Obi-Wan and Flyn walked into the house, they were again greeted by Jancy, Krana and Zirta. Immediately, Krana and Jancy were inspecting the bloody bandage on his shoulder. Obi-Wan kept his eyes forward. He didn't want to even look at Zirta.
Zirta went over to Flyn. "How did the Games go?"
"They went well, Boss. Obi-Wan has become an overnight sensation! The crowds were standing room only. It seemed that everyone in the place was cheering for him."
Zirta smiled. "Very good. Did you still get the same kind of offers as last night?"
"Yes, only much more so. Frankly, I couldn't believe the sums of money being offered!"
Zirta looked over at Obi-Wan. "Indeed." She walked over to him and looked at his shoulder. "That needs to be taken care of soon."
Jancy took Obi-Wan's uninjured arm. "We'll do that right now."
"Wait." Zirta went in front of Obi-Wan, who still avoided her gaze. "I will take care of him tonight."
Krana and Jancy looked downcast. "Okay, Boss." They dejectedly went upstairs to their rooms.
"Goodnight, Flyn." Zirta took Obi-Wan's uninjured arm and led him upstairs. "Why don't you get in the shower and I'll go get the med kit."
Obi-Wan went into his room without a word. He grabbed a clean pair of leggings and went into his fresher. He felt completely numb. Is this how I'm going to be from now on – some unfeeling robot? He peeled the bandage off his shoulder, took off his leggings and got into the shower. As he let the warm water flow over him, he wished that it could wash away his guilt for the deaths of seventeen innocent men.
When Obi-Wan emerged from the fresher, Zirta was waiting for him. Blood from the gash on his shoulder was already beginning to run down his arm again. Zirta looked at his shoulder. "That's quite a wound."
Obi-Wan just shrugged. Zirta sighed and went over to the bed. "Come and sit down. It will be easier for me to work on your shoulder." Obi-Wan complied. Zirta wiped the blood off his arm with a clean cloth and then held it against the wound. She handed Obi-Wan a tube of bacta gel. "Open this, please."
Obi-Wan did as she asked. As she squeezed bacta gel into his wound, he started to wonder about her ministrations. Why was she was taking care of him herself? Why the big change from this morning to now? It didn't make sense. But he also didn't want to ask her about it. He really didn't want to talk to her at all. He hoped that she would just bind his wound and then leave.
Zirta spoke up beside him. "I'm going to use the skin glue. This will probably hurt because I've got to hold the wound tightly together." At his nod, she set to work. She applied the glue and pressed the wound together. A sharp intake of breath was the only sign he gave of his pain.
Obi-Wan's eyes began to water as she continued to hold the gash closed. Force have mercy, this hurts! Finally, she let up the pressure a bit. When she was sure the wound would stay closed she removed her hands. Obi-Wan let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Zirta applied more bacta gel over the now-closed wound and covered it with a clean bandage. She then packed the supplies back into the med kit. "You're going to have to give that arm a rest for a couple days. Definitely no heavy lifting." She gazed a moment at his profile. "You CAN talk, you know!" She let out a frustrated sigh when he still said nothing. "Did you lose your tongue in the arena or something?"
Obi-Wan turned to look at her. "Okay, you want me to talk, then why are you taking care of me yourself?"
"Because you're MY property and I wanted to handle this myself."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and got off the bed. "I should have known that's what you'd say." He went over to the window, keeping his back to her. "That's all any man is to you, isn't he? Property. No better than a chair or a desk."
Zirta came up behind Obi-Wan. She ran her hands slowly down his back. "You ARE my property, but I certainly don't think of you as a chair." She felt him stiffen as she moved her hands around to his front and tracked down from his chest to his stomach. She turned him around to face her. His face was set in stone. She traced a fingernail down the cleft in his chin. "I now consider you worthy of being my consort, Obi-Wan. You will be mine in EVERY way. And no other woman will be allowed to touch you, I promise you that!"
Obi-Wan had to fight down his revulsion. He hated this woman and loathed her touch. Now he'd have to endure intimacy with her? His learning how to shut off his emotions would certainly come in handy here! Obi-Wan's mind raced as Zirta untied the drawstrings on his leggings and used them to pull him over to the bed. "You just said that I should give this arm a rest." He was grasping at straws and he knew it.
Zirta smirked as she pushed Obi-Wan down on the bed. "Don't worry, I'll do all the work."
