Chapter 15: Defiance

Lexa could hardly sleep, so the first glimpse of light she caught she got up. She quietly made her way out of the tent, so as not to wake the girls, and went for a walk around the camp. With it being just after dawn there was very little activity, so Lexa was able to relax slightly. As she strolled around the camp she noticed Rolik escorting the girl taken the night before back to the tent. She followed them back, keeping a good distance between Rolik and herself. When she entered the tent she noticed that most of the girls were still sleeping, and that Kaali was one of the few who had recently gotten up. Kaali went over to the girl the moment she sat down, seeing this Lexa went over to see if there was anything she could do. As Lexa sat down with them she saw the fear in the young girls face, and didn't know what to say.

Kaali introduced Lexa to the girl, "This is Thia, she hasn't been here very long. Last night was the first time…"

"I get it, I know what happened." Lexa turned to Thia. "Just hang in there, you're not going to be staying here much longer."

"What do you mean," asked Thia.

"I can't explain, just trust me." Lexa was interrupted as Rolik came back into the tent.

"Mareena! Why were you not here a moment ago?" Rolik walked over and leered at her.

Lexa looked the Wraith in the eye, "I went for a walk. Don't worry, I didn't leave until it was light out."

"Watch your tongue!" Rolik grabbed her arm, and Lexa still didn't back down. "Come with me, Malaas wants you at the Sparring Ring."

Rolik drug Lexa across the camp and out to the Sparring Ring. The sun had only been in the sky for less than an hour, and the Wraith were already beating up on the village men. As they approached the Ring, Lexa counted one Wraith taking on three men. Rolik pushed her down to the ground near the Ring, "You'll tend to the villagers when they come out of the Ring." He then turned and walked away.

Lexa huffed as she stood up and brushed herself off. She looked around at the villagers waiting to be pummeled and wanted to do something, but knew she couldn't. She bit her lip and tried to find something else to focus on. She was soon able to relax a bit as she caught sight of Marc on the other side of the Ring. They locked eyes for a moment, not being able to do more, and went back to their duties. Over the next few hours Lexa's guilt hit her harder and harder as she tended to villager after villager. The guilt was not just over how beat up they were, but the fact that she had the power to heal and couldn't use it. It wasn't that she hadn't tried, she had. One man came out of the Ring with a broken leg and she tried to heal it before the Wraith found out, but she couldn't. She didn't understand. She had healed Lorne's knee, and she had complete control of her powers, but she couldn't help the beaten men that fell before her.

While the Wraith enjoyed beating on the men, they were beginning to tire of their fun and ordered the human guards to participate. The fights were now one-on-one, and Lorne being the newest guard was forced to go first. "It's time for you to prove yourself," Rolik sneered as he pushed Marc into the Ring. When she saw this Lexa immediately pulled her attention to the Sparring Ring. Lorne and the villager circled some before he finally dove in at him. Marc used some of the techniques Ronan had taught them during the week, along with his military training. The fight looked good, which was what Lorne was going for, but Rolik could tell that he was holding back. He stepped in between the two men and turned to Lorne. "Would you like to become one of them, or return to your post," Rolik was not going to stand for this. Lorne took a deep breath and stood up straight, indicating he would take the latter of the two choices. "That is what I thought." Rolik handed him a double-bladed dagger, "Now, continue." He stepped back out of the Ring.

Lorne looked from the dagger, to the man in front and him, and then off to Lexa. She could see his anguish and knew she had to do something. She marched over to Rolik and stood up to him. "You don't expect him to kill that man do you?" All eyes were on her.

"You really need to learn your place!" Rolik back-handed Lexa in the face and sent her to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Marc take a step toward her, and she shook her head. Lexa took her time getting up, trying to think up some way to end this, but she couldn't, so she left it up to Rolik. "I've never been good at following orders, but what can I do to put a stop to this?"

Rolik very much wanted to hit her again, but he had another plan, "Take your brother's place. I do not expect you to kill the villager, but I do want him beaten." He handed Lexa a staff and tossed one over the villager in the Ring.

Lexa nodded and made her way into the Ring as Marc exited. They walked closely past one another and threw each other a passionate gaze. Lexa stepped in front of the villager and began twirling the staff. Now it was Lorne's turn, he was the one on the outside, but he had a feeling Lexa could handle it, seeing as she spent a year on the Amateur Kick-Boxing circuit. Marc's guess was right, and Lexa was doing a fair job of knocking the villager around. Every time she'd get close to him she'd tell him how to take the next hit and the Wraith were falling for it, that is until the fight was over and Rolik decided he had to check on the villager's injuries. He found no injuries to the man and to spite Lexa he quickly twisted his arm and broke it. Rolik walked Lexa back to the girl's tent and let her know what was in store for her, "That man was only the beginning, and you've lost your place as a servant. You're one of them now, and I believe Malaas will have his way with you."