I hear them chanting.
I can feel the cool breeze that is signaling the dusk of Mistral's summer and the dawn of it's beautiful autumn months.
The sheer volume beats within my chest, I can barely hear my own heart in this lonesome cell. From the side I see the shadows of the guards that are coming my way, I know that they've been sent to unleash me into the Arena. I flex my hands and look off to the side where my leather armor, shield, and sword are located.
With ease, I pull the armor over me and strap the familiar weight to my right side. As the guards begin fumbling for the key to the cell's gate, I unsheathe the gladius and test it's power.
I remember the first time I held a sword, unlike my gracefulness in my youth (I used to trip over my own two feet as a child), when I held the sword for a first time – it was like breathing. Mystified by the cold beauty, I remember looking at my own reflection when I drew a sword for the first time. Such hope, such joy, such unknowing of the world and the dark terrors that lay beneath. I was much younger, a child at the time, and I remember smiling a whole lot more.
Now the image I see in this worn gladius is murky at best, but my eyes no longer have that spark of youth they once held. I am no longer a child.
The reflection looking back at me is dark and lifeless.
I am a Gladiator.
"Step forward, Reaper. It's time." The guards leave the gate open and disappear back to their spot in the stands; they know that I know the way. I'm not like some of the other slaves that are brought here for the first time and attempt to flee for their lives when the gate opens. I'm not like the other slaves who tremble in fear. I'm not like the other slaves who simply die here in the sands.
I live.
Or rather, I survive.
I like the walk up to the sands; I'm alone in my thoughts.
Deeply I breathe in the Mistrali air, sometimes it smells sweet from the flowers in the spring, musky in the summer, but in the autumn it is my favorite smell. It is clear, it is calming to me, and I can catch bits and pieces of the autumn air as I inhale once more.
I feel their voices wash over me, the light at the end of the tunnel burns brightly and the voices beckon me forward.
Reaper… Reaper… Reaper…
"Ruby."
The sweet voice cuts through my thoughts, it's enough to make me halt in my tracks. For Oum's sake… I crave that voice. I crave her. The one person who has made me feel like a real human being, feel what I think it means to be truly cared for. My jaw clenches, it's been nearly two weeks since Roman… since Roman robbed me for the final time. I push the horrid memory away; I reach back to that sweet summer day with her.
With Weiss Schnee.
I breathe deep for a final time and open my eyes, it's time to put on a show. The Arena erupts impossibly louder than before as I step foot out on the warm sands. I draw my sword and wave it towards the audience, my namesake growing until they're all chanting it as one. I make my way to the center of the Arena and face the marble stands that holds the Mistrali nobles and elite alike.
I see her, those beautiful diamond blue eyes. She's sitting next to Lady Nikos and Commander Arc. I curse lightly in my head, if only I was famous like the Shield of Vale… I wouldn't be subjected to this cruel fate.
My stomach churns and I tighten my grip on my sword. I resist the strong urge to toss my shield like a discus at the monster before me. His evil green eyes and that putrid orange hair, I hate that smug grin on his face.
But I keep a straight face, I'm in no position to retaliate against him. Not yet… There's too much at stake with the others, I refuse to put them in that type of position ever again. I'm not Roman, I will not sacrifice others for my own benefit.
My opponent enters from the opposite side of the Arena, I heard words that this gladiator had temporarily taken on the mantle of Champion of the Arena since I took my break and Bolin was freed. Torchwick mentioned that this man was nicknamed Adonis – and for good reason. Blond hair, blue eyes, a solid tan, and a chest that rivaled Sun's own physique.
I listen to the whores in the stand as they scream his name.
Torchwick also mentioned that he came home from the war and that ever since he has been craving more battles. He is the son of a noble and had taken to volunteering in the Arena for the glory.
The money.
And the women, women love a good gladiator.
I look into the stands and see her staring at him. Is that what you like? Her gaze automatically snaps back to me and she looks down, a bright red blush on her cheeks as she realizes I've caught her staring. I resist the urge to send a knowing smile since we're in such a public venue and I don't want Torchwick to know that I favor her.
Another person in the marble stands catches my attention, Lady Cinder Fall. She smirks my way and sends a wink – for some reason she's always been obsessed with me. I think it started when my own fame as the Reaper began to spread.
But all I am to her is a toy.
Roman and the father of my opponent introduce us.
"I present to you my son, Theo Batiatus! Hero of the Vytal Conflict! To which some of you know as the Adonis of the Arena!" The noble man gestured grandly to my opponent, Adonis smiled brightly at his father – he clearly loves him. My jaw clenches, perhaps I should spare his life today – surely Torchwick would spare the son of a fellow noble to keep appearances. If memory serves well, House of Batiatus has some political influence over the city.
The crowds cheer as is customary for any hometown war hero.
Roman smiles to noble next to him as he gestures towards me, "I present to all of you here the pride and joy of House of Torchwick – the greatest name in the history of Mistral to produce the finest and most ferocious gladiators." Of course, need to keep the trademark going, "The Reaper!"
My name is chanted, much louder I might add, through out the Arena. I see the Adonis of the Arena's smile falter – I don't think he realizes what exactly he has gotten himself into.
Don't worry, I promise to be merciful.
"My dear friend, allow me to give you the honor of starting the match for your dear son." Roman motioned loudly to the noble who happily complied.
"Begin!"
The audience thundered once more as we took a battle stance against each other.
He wastes no time as he moves quickly across the sands. I have to compliment him on his speed because he is much faster than he appears.
Maybe a junior gladiator would have been taken off guard, but not me – because I'm faster.
I side step at the last second and land the butt of my gladius handle on the center of his back. He trips forward, but manages to recover himself by rolling across the dirt and immediately faces towards me in his best defensive stance.
I smirk at the familiar swordplay that I haven't seen in a long time. He fights like a true soldier of Mistral.
The arena erupts in laughter at the expense of the noble before me. I do have to admit that it did look pretty ridiculous with the way he fell.
"It's gonna take more than cheap tricks to get me Reaper." The Adonis spat as he realized that I made a fool of him.
Silently, I raise my shield and clutch on to my sword in my left hand. I can see my opponent's thought process as he tries to register the best way to break through. I understand what he's going through, fighting against me is like fighting backwards… at least that's how Bolin explained it. It's harder for right-handed fighters to get a good read on left-handed fighters, and left-handed fighters are a pretty rare commodity.
I'm pretty much used to it by now.
He goes for an overhead slash at my left side, he thinks that I'm much too small and feeble to move my shield in time to block his blow.
Mistake one, I twist my torso to the left and swing my shield over to catch his sword, with a quick thrust I aim for his exposed abdomen. Now it's his turn to see how fast he can swing his shield over his body.
He was successful, kind of; a light surface wound covered his side as I managed to nick him a bit.
I smirk to myself as he breaks away from me.
But I don't let him.
I lead the charge at him with my shield raised and I pump my legs for all the momentum they can propel me with. Like a mad bull, I ram into him and he staggers backwards, his arms flailing to keep his balance because he knows how deadly it is to be on your back in the arena.
Once more, I don't give him time to regain his balance; I begin to strike at him with my sword. I hear a heavy object being dropped on to the ground and realize that it was his sword. Adonis gave up his sword in order to quickly bring his shield up to avoid my oncoming strikes.
Mistake two, I chuckle to myself, he's not used to my speed – no one is.
My sword nicks him everywhere that he isn't able to cover with his shield, the top of his thigh, the edge of his shoulder, and even some more cuts began to decorate his sides.
His going to be sliced to ribbons soon if he doesn't retaliate.
Which he does, extremely poorly if I might add. Adonis is easily twice my size and I think as a last ditch effort he tries to tackle me to the ground. What he doesn't take into account is where the tip of my sword is once he tries to take me down.
His hands are at my throat, but I twist my sword hand slightly and he lets go. I can feel his life running through the palm of my sword hand as he wheezes. Adonis has his eyes open in disbelief.
Mistake three, my gladius is buried into his stomach and is protruding out of his back.
He rolls off of me on to his side, I take pity on him and remove the sword as swiftly as I can.
"Th-Theo!" The noble man called out, but the crowd was in an uproar over the upset – Theo the Adonis and War Hero brought to his knees by a slave like me.
It's as Roman says from time to time, everyone loves a good under dog story. Speaking of the devil, I look to him to see what judgment he will pass.
"Have mercy on my boy… please." I hear Theo's father plead to Roman, his green eyes scrunch up before looking at the nobleman sympathetically.
"I shall do it as a favor to you then, my friend. " I scowl inwardly as his venomous voice spouts out the word friend, I doubt he even has an inkling as to what a friend is.
Roman passes good judgment upon Theo, though there were some hecklers from the crowd waiting for a blood bath.
Guards come swarming into the Arena as they quickly attend to Theo and his wounds. I can hear them shouting for the senior medic to come through and immediately address his wounds. The guard's shouts are quickly drowned out by the crowd, they begin to jeer at the fallen noble and how lackluster his performance was in comparison to mine.
"Adonis? Pffft! Theo the Lame is what you are now!" A random man hollered, the people surrounding him immediately take to the new nickname.
"Make them stop!" I vaguely hear Theo's father in the marble stands, his face panicked as his son is not only gravely injured but the crowd had turned on him.
Roman's face was sympathetic; there not much he could do to calm the crowd. Not that he would have done it in the first place.
The arena is much too worked up at the scene in front of them and I trod off the sands and back into the slave holding area as soon as the gate was raised for me. My heart is ringing in my ears and my sword hand is buzzing. I stop by a water basin to wash off a bit.
Before my bloodied hands even have a chance to break the water's surface, I catch sight of myself – I look completely different than I did before the match.
My eyes seem to have some spark of life in them, something I haven't noticed during the match. I look down at my hands and realize they are still shaking, but not in fear.
I'm excited.
I smile a bit to myself; I haven't felt this way in a long while. I take one more look at the reflection before me.
Oh Oum, this place has twisted me into something else.
Weiss bit the inside of her cheek as the chants of 'Theo the Lame" echoed off the stone coliseum. She looked down at young noble man still laying on the sands, he had been still for a while now and a stretcher had been rushed to him. The guards and medics made quick work to carry him off.
Theo's father wailed in agony before rushing out of the stands himself.
She was sympathetic to the father, Representative Batiatus, who had just went through the ordeal of watching his son practically being killed in front of him, but at the same time he should know better about the monsters that lurked in the Arena.
The Reaper being one of them, but something about todays match irked Weiss.
Before she would describe Ruby as a cold ruthless fighter, something like a machine that simply killed. But today those silver eyes were blazing with something.
Something that was not excitement, it was not fear - it was something menacing.
Today Ruby looked like something akin to the Grimm.
"Ruby!" Her voice was all but swallowed by the raging fires that surrounded her. "Someone, please I need help!" Tiny hands frantically pulled at the panicked adults who scurried away from her.
They were trying to get as far away from the blazes as possible.
"Please! My sister is in there!" Lilac eyes were brimmed with tears, the smoke was becoming thick and the air was harder to breathe.
"R-Ru-" She began to hack violently, her chest hurt.
She couldn't breathe.
Her hands began clawing at the ground beneath, but all she could see was the black smoke. Her eyes stung and it became impossible to see.
'I… Someone…. Ruby…. Help.'
The last thing she saw before she passed out was her home collapsing.
And Ruby was still inside.
"YANG!"
The blond awoke with a start; tears were running down her face and she finally noticed her uncle standing over her with both of his hands on her shoulder.
"It's just a dream, kid." Qrow smiled gently at his niece, he noticed the look of confusion on her face as her eyes darted about the room. "We're in Menagerie right now, remember? We got in last night."
"Y-Yeah…." Yang took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes awake, she saw the sun outside was high above, "What time is it?"
"Close to midday right now, we were pretty exhausted after that boat trip across the water." Qrow yawned as he got up to stretch his back out, "I'm still pretty sore from all that sitting we did."
"You're just getting old, probably should lay off the liquor soon." Yang smirked as she jumped up, they were going to go see the Faunus' leader today about their Grimm problem.
She took in the sight of Menagerie, it was a practical paradise with its temperate weather and luscious jungle trees. A sweet breeze blew in from the sea and Yang inhaled the fresh air.
Not like the heavy soot she had just dreamed about.
She listened as Qrow's footsteps left the room, no doubt to go use the bathroom and freshen up a bit.
Yang hated it when she would dream about that day – the Great Patch Fire that burned down half the village before it was finally under control. They were alone at the time since Taiyang, her father, abandoned the two. They were on their own for about a month before the fire happened.
'If I ever find you Taiyang, I swear to Oum I'm going to punch you so hard you would wish you were dead.' The huntress seethed, their father abandoned the two almost a year after their mother died. Qrow thinks that the death of Summer was too much for Taiyang to bear and he simply shut down.
No one has heard word of him since.
Qrow was in Vale when the fire happened, he heard word that it was Patch that had almost been burnt down and he came running back to the island as fast as he could.
But it was too late. Yang was recovered after she passed out on the ground and carried to safety, but Ruby was nowhere to be found. A relief station was set up near Patch, which was how Qrow was able to locate his niece. Yang showed Qrow the home they still lived in after Tai left, but all that was left was burnt to ash. They had to assume the worse since Ruby was trapped in there and the house had collapsed before she could escape.
With a heavy heart, Qrow left Patch with Yang and made the choice to hunt down Yang's mother to see if she would be willing to take Yang in. The short answer to that turned out to be no after two years of searching. In turn, Yang grew to despise both of her parents for abandoning her and took to Qrow instead.
Yang knew it killed Qrow on the inside, because despite the fact that he had nothing to do with their situation, Qrow blamed himself. He blamed himself for not checking in on them sooner. He blamed himself for not being their Tai when Summer passed. He blamed himself for not being able to save Ruby.
So it became an unspoken rule that the two would not talk much about the fire, or Tai, or even Ruby.
The pain was seemingly unfathomable.
'I really miss you, Rubes. I hope you're taking good care of her, Oum.' She smiled softly at the sky above her as she recalled some of their better times together. The way Ruby lit up when Summer had a fresh batch of cookies come out, how Yang would take the time to cut the stems of the strawberries for her younger sister, and how the two would spend time playing out in the woods of Patch.
Briefly, Yang toyed with the image of her and Ruby as if they were still together right here and right now. As if she, Qrow, and Ruby were getting ready to go on this Grimm hunts together. She could see those silver eyes beaming with joy, she would look over the view of Menagerie. How excited her hyper active sister would have been to travel to all of these exotic countries.
A tear rolled down Yang's face, but she didn't bother to wipe it away as she smiled to herself at the mental image of her and Ruby together.
"I have to do this."
"It's not a good-"
"I don't care!" Jaune Arc bellowed as he looked down at the documents before him, he was going back to Vale soon, but he would be back as he was in charge of the prisoner exchange.
Pyrrha sighed, it was a tough week for the Valesian commander – Jaune was in charge of tracking down the prisoners who haven't been verified as released yet. It was easy at first since it seemed to be a case of slave masters refusing to let go of the POWs. Each time a prisoner was freed there was a whole process they were supposed to go through and in the end they would be handed their identification papers from the Office of Official Records. But as they got down the list of names it was then that they ran into those who had perished as slaves.
They were over worked, or too injured upon capture, or died due to slave master's negligence, or killed off inside the Arena.
Jaune was there through every step of the way as he dutifully carried out his job of trying to return all of his soldiers back home. The pile of documents before them were unclaimed identification papers, one pile was the unclaimed documents that Jaune had been tirelessly working through day in and day out.
And the other stack represented those that were confirmed dead.
"I want to do it. I want to fight the Reaper." His jaw was clenched as he looked over the paper at the top of the stack of confirmed dead prisoners. "He was my best friend from childhood." Tears threatened to spill from his tightly clenched eyes.
Captain Cardin Winchester, leader of Commander's Arc personal company and was well known through out the Army for his swordplay.
"You should have left when I told you to." Blue eyes looked over the name once more as he thought back on the fond memories he had of his child hood friend. Cardin refused to retreat with the main army and instead stayed behind with Jaune to help cover everyone's retreat. Eventually they were surrounded and captured by General Ironwood and the two carted off to be sold as slaves in Mistral.
Together the Schnee's bought them and it was together that they fought side by side in the Arena for the first few matches.
Jaune thought back to that hot summer day, he remembered Cardin's body being carted off down the halls as the walls shook and the crowds roared with his murderer's name.
Reaper, being hailed as a damned hero.
Pyrrha sighed, "Let me speak with Roman, for your sake I won't ask for a public match in the Coliseum."
"It has to be-"
"Jaune." Her voice was stern, "Your country lost the war and my countrymen still view Vale in an unfavorable light. If we let you, Commander Jaune Arc – the Shield of Vale, step into the Arena with the Reaper, your fate is most certainly for the worse. See what happened today with Theo!" A firm hand was placed on his shoulder, "You are destined for greater things and I will not let you throw your life away in that Arena. I don't think your friend would have wanted that either."
"You think I can't-"
"No, Jaune, I don't think you can. Not the way you are now." Her words were straight forward and to the point, "I understand your feelings though, really. I think a match against the Reaper would suffice. We all have our ways to grieve, I just don't want you to become another reason to do so." Emerald eyes bore pleadingly into the raging orbs that belonged to the Valesian Commander.
He tightened his hands into fists and punched the table, a small crack could be seen forming in the old wood. With a heavy sigh he straightened his composure once more. "Fine." He looked down at the list of names; there was about a dozen more they had to look through before they were done.
"I'll take care of the rest, just go back to my family's compound and get some sleep." Pyrrha ushered.
"Thanks… Pyr." His tone sounded half defeated as he simply left the back office of the Official Records building.
The Mistrali Commander frowned, as she understood what her friend was going through, but she also knew how important it was to keep a level head. She took another look at the list that Councilman Oobleck had given them; most of the names were crossed off as either freed or confirmed dead. They were getting ready to compile a new list of prisoners whose fate was still undetermined.
But it was getting difficult as they were starting to get to the names of the first people who were taken prisoner in the war. It was chaotic at first when Vale first landed on the Mistral's shores. Hordes of prisoners were brought in and quickly they were being auctioned off as slaves. At first there were discrepancies in the way that a Valesian soldier's documents were being handled, but Councilman Oobleck was quick to come in and correct the system. However, there were still some inconsistencies in the list of names and the available identification papers.
Pyrrha went on to create a list of those prisoners who were recorded in Oobleck's system but did not have any identification papers in the Official Records building. There were a few listed that would be extremely hard to track down due to how their names and date of capture were recorded for example 'Corporal J. Stone. 3rd Month of the 171st Year', 'Jeremy P.', 'Private O 171st Year.', and even 'Scout R.R.'
She sighed, whoever these people were had drawn the short stick of the batch, but she will still work hard to get these people home to their families. Pyrrha looked over the name 'Scout R.R.'; there wasn't even a date of capture listed for them to reference in Oobleck's other records (such as logbooks collected from slavers in the market).
"I promise, I'll do my best to get you all home." Pyrrha stated firmly as she looked over the list she had just written out for the final time.
With a deep breath she stood from the desk and went to lock up the room. The Office of Official Records was guarded around the clock and you needed special access to even get into to the compound. Usually it was given to the councilmen and their designated representatives. All this security was to ensure that Mistral's records were kept accurate as they held documentation and other precious certificates of one's lineage, proof of inheritances, deeds, and so on.
Pyrrha waved to the guards as she left the compound and went on to her last stop of the day.
The Torchwick Villa.
Sun was sleeping peacefully; his tail was bandage free for the first time in two months since Junior had snapped it in half.
Nadir was out in the courtyard helping some of the other gladiators who had matches coming up soon.
And then there was Bolin's room. Empty. She smiled to herself at the sight, at least there was one thing Roman was good on.
The gladiator sat silently in her room, the wood carvings she had worked on were no longer present since Junior had taken the liberty of confiscating anything he deemed to have any connection to Vale. Which was basically all the woodcarvings Ruby had made.
"C'mon Red, you have been requested for an interesting event today!"
Ruby visibly jumped from where she sat and her face paled at the appearance of her Master in the passageway to her room.
"What's wrong? Not feeling too well?" A shit-eating grin was plastered on his lips as he motioned for her to stand. Neo stood off to the side with Ruby's armor that she wore in the Arena. "Get dressed in your fighting garb and come out to the courtyard." Roman instructed as he left the room.
Neo left behind her armor and Ruby got to it as she began pulling on the leather boots and strapping them up. Her metal vambraces came on and she pulled them taut as she began to bend over and reach for her chest piece.
"I got you." Sun appeared as he had awoken from his slumber as soon as he heard Roman walk in. Ruby nodded as she let her friend help strap her into the chest piece. "Is that tight enough?"
"Perfect." Ruby grunted as she moved her arms around to get really comfortable in.
"Well, this is a first." Sun commented, "I wonder what's going on."
"Not sure, but I don't have a good feeling about it." The smaller gladiator sighed as she began to step out of the slave compound and into the courtyard.
On the first floor patio sat Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc along with Roman and a few house slaves attending them.
Immediately Ruby noticed the Commander dressed in his armor and his signature shield on his back.
"Six months ago you killed a friend of mine and was touted like a hero in that damned Arena. Today, I want a match with you on behalf of that man you killed – Cardin Winchester." Jaune was quick to the punch as he cut off Roman before he had a chance to speak. Her master sent a look to Pyrrha, who merely shrugged in response. "I knew Cardin since we were children back in Vale, we may have had a rough start but he proved to be one of my greatest friends."
Commander Arc was quick to stand center of the courtyard with his shield raised and his sword poised. Ruby looked around for something, anything to defend herself with.
"To your left, Red." Roman instructed as Ruby spotted a prospect running from the weapon storage with her sword and shield in hand. Quickly, she grabbed the two items and dropped into a practiced stance. The other prospects and slaves had stopped what they were doing and immediately made space for the two as the light autumn air immediately turned cold.
It was quiet.
With a lunge, Jaune charged forward and his blade flashed underneath the sun and clouds of sand and dirt were being kicked up beneath both of the fighter's feet. He moved like a cat despite the bulky shield he carried, and it appeared he had the strength of a lion as the Reaper broke away with a light cut on her forearm.
But Jaune didn't give his opponent time to get resettled as the famous shield of Vale was hoisted up. The emblem of Vale shone brightly for a brief moment and Ruby was immediately brought back to her memories as a Scout. The enormous shield collided with the small gladiator's body and Ruby was sent back a good bit, but still managed to remain on her feet.
Her shield arm ached from the attack and her side throbbed, as it was apparent there would be a bruise there later. Across from her she saw the raging eyes of the Commander.
Then it finally clicked in her mind as she remembered who Cardin Winchester was, he was hailed in the Army for his brilliant swordplay and known famously to be a part of the Commander Arc's personal guard. He was a formidable opponent and was honorable in defeat, which Ruby awarded with a quick death.
'You're here for revenge? Against me… of all people.' The Reaper smiled to herself at the thought, something the Commander hastily noticed.
"Why are you smiling? Do you think this is all fun and games? I told you that this is on behalf of my friend and you think it's a joke?!" Jaune riled as his rage fueled into something deeper.
It wasn't Ruby's intent to do so, but she could tell that Arc was not in a listening mood.
Jaune charged forward again, but this time the Reaper met him half way through. The harsh sound of metal colliding against each other echoed throughout the courtyard. With each parry and stroke of her sword Ruby could feel the world slipping away and eventually all she could focus in on was her loud heartbeat and the opponent before her.
The world began to slip away from her and for once she felt something she thought she would never feel again. The rush of the battle before this brilliant opponent and the sheer irony of the situation made her adrenaline pump even wilder than before. A small smirk made it's way to her face.
Her movements became sharper, her steps quicker than before, and her strength was like that of a viper as she lashed out viciously. And it just made sense all at once as the two broke away from the engagement and began circling each other like tigers.
She could find some escape in these battles with her life on the line. She could escape from her imprisonment and predicament if she simply threw everything she had into the fight.
Ruby began to notice that her euphoria was wearing off as suddenly as it came as she began to take note of her surroundings and the people watching her. The wounds she had sustained in the bout were starting to take notice as she felt her own blood running down a wound she received on her side. Wanting another taste of relief from it all, she dashed forward once more.
Sun and Nadir exchanged a look as they noticed a change in Ruby's fighting style, before Ruby would fight violently for show as he style was more precise and speed based. Now she was beginning to fight like a caged animal that craved for more.
Jaune raised his shield once more in an attempt to charge at his opponent, but the Reaper knew exactly how to counter it as she deftly flipped over the Commander. Her sword was expertly poised for Jaune's shield arm and she felt the tip being dragged from his wrist to his elbow. As soon as she landed behind him, she swung her sword around and left a deep gash on her opponent's back.
In a true Reaper fashion, the finishing blow was already on it's way without Ruby having to think as her eyes locked on to the exposed neck of the Shield of Vale.
But a flash of red filled her view and defiant emerald eyes stared her down.
"Enough! You've won!" Commander Nikos bellowed.
The Reaper kept the tense sword lock for a few seconds more before becoming compliant and stepping back.
"Red, drop your weapons now and step to the side." Roman commanded.
Like a well-trained dog, Ruby complied as she dropped the items and took a couple steps back. She assumed the position of respect for extra measure as she kept her hands folded in front for her master to see and her head tilted downwards. She took note of the wounds that she received during the fight as both arms sported a few slashes, but the one that she would have to attend to soon would be the wound on her side, which was starting to stain through her armor. But she knew better as Roman had yet dismissed her completely.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sun walk off briskly to the underground passage that connected the slave compound to the Villa. She knew that he was going to get Octavia ready to treat her wounds as soon as she was dismissed.
"Get Miltiades." Roman barked off next and a slave immediately took off to where the medic was.
"Is it deep?" Jaune was hunched over on his knees in pain as his back stung. Pyrrha remained silent, as she looked the wound over, "Just give it to me straight."
"It's pretty bad." Pyrrha commented, "She has a good swing." She observed how easily the gladiator cut through Jaune's armor. "How's your arm?"
"It's shallow, thankfully, but I need help taking off my shield." Jaune winced as the blood flowed from the wound on his left forearm.
"He's going to need stitches." Miltiades did a quick once over of the Commander, "Go get a stretcher, he can't walk with his back like that."
Roman observed the scene before him as he approached Pyrrha, "Sorry if it's not in good taste, but I wish to discuss that wager we had." He flashed a quick smile, "It's just to keep good business."
Pyrrha looked over her friend who was clearly in pain before turning her attention to the slave master, "Of course, allow me to talk with my Father first about the date, but it will happen."
"Y-you… you bet on the match?" Jaune let out in disbelief.
"She betted on you." Roman smiled down at the blond, "If you won I would have let bygones be bygones and let you go after fighting my most prized gladiator in a private match. But since I won I get to host the biggest match Mistral has seen thus far – Commander Pyrrha Nikos the Champion of Mistral versus Reaper the Champion of the Arena."
"What?" His voice squeaked.
"It's okay, Jaune. I'm not concerned about that now." Pyrrha smiled softly, "Everything's going to be okay, let's just focus on you first."
Ruby watched on as she looked over the Mistrali Commander, she had a feeling that Pyrrha was going to be unlike any other match before.
"Do you have anything else to say to Red?" Roman questioned the two as he looked over his slave, he saw the wound she sported but didn't deem it important enough to interrupt Commander Arc's treatment.
"No." Jaune's face was strained as the slaves help lay him on the cot to be carried away to the infirmary.
"Go lick your wounds Red." Roman commanded, the slave nodded and Nadir was quick to Ruby's side to escort her to where Sun and Octavia would be waiting.
The fire burned around her, the building moaned under it's own weight as it threatened to bow with it's weakening support. The smoke was thick and her eyes watered, her own voice hoarse from screaming for help.
But no help did come.
A wall collapsed and Ruby could see the opening to the outside. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her as her lungs screamed for air. She collapsed on the grass outside as she had barely escaped, before she could look for her sister a stranger scooped her up and began running away.
"Go to the river! It's safer there!" She heard the man scream.
"Y-Yang…." Ruby muttered as her voice remained hoarse, "Need… Yang." She began to struggle, but her world was incoherent and dizzying. She felt something wet on her head, her hand touched it and she realized it was from her. She was bleeding.
The world faded out and soon Ruby passed out.
Ruby woke up in a sweat at the memory, she hated it whenever she would dream of the fire. She was five at the time and she couldn't make much of the situation at the time due to her age. Then there was the fact that she couldn't remember too much from before the fire too, that was due to her head injury.
All that she could remember was a blond girl with lilac eyes and a beaming smile who was her sister. Everything else was just a blank.
There was no moon outside that night and all she could see around her was darkness, all she could hear was the quiet breathing of Sun and Nadir who were across the hall.
She closed her eyes and sat back as she thought of another memory of her time at the orphanage. She was about 7 when she was finally able to understand and comprehend what happened during that time.
"I think someone thought you were dead and tossed you into the sea with the rest of the dead bodies they did a sea burial for from Patch." An older Ruby sat with lady in charge of the orphanage, "When we first found you, you were incoherent and you had a gash at the back of your head. It was by Oum himself that you even survived that long at sea and was fished up by those fishermen. They took you here and you were incoherent for almost a month, we had a doctor come in and examine your head and try to treat you. But the damage was done, as you can tell since you can't recall the name of your mother or father."
Ruby sat quietly as she took in the information, something that set her apart from the other children was that she was quick witted. "So I remember asking about Yang…"
A sullen look was on the Madame Weatherly's face, "We asked around at the other orphanages for that young girl with blond hair and lilac eyes, the other orphanages hadn't seen her. There was one man who did say he saw a child who fit the description at the relief station they set up, but I haven't found any other leads than that. I even sent my son over to Patch to see if he could find anything." The Madame put a comforting hand on Ruby.
"Thank you, Madame."
"Yang…" She whispered the name for the first time in ages.
She used to dream that Yang was somewhere out there just waiting for her, that one day, after her time in the Army, she would go out and look for her sister. Now… now it just seemed pointless, Yang probably died in that fire too and that man who said he thinks he saw her was just being nice to Ruby.
Through the darkness she reached for the fire dust crystal that would light up the room once you touched it. She simply sat and stared at the crystal as she shifted through her thoughts and what has become of her life now.
She was cornered here, unless she wanted to wish an ill fate on the only people who have genuinely cared for her for the past few years.
'I would never do that, I'm not Roman.' Ruby sternly thought as she was mesmerized by the crystal's glow, 'So this is it…'
Ruby Rose decided on something right then and there, she would continue on for her friends.
'And hopefully, for something more too…' She couldn't exactly figure out why she suddenly wished to be wrapped up in the scent of fresh mint.
A/N:
So I've been busy for a bit, I will say I am back stateside but I've had my plate full with a lot of things since I've been back. Gladiator isn't dead, it's just a long term project if you will. I will say that we are starting to get somewhat close to what I have planned to be the half-way (or probably third-way) mark of the story.
Once again, thank you everyone who had reviewed or messaged me about the story. I really do appreciate everyone's words, I can't properly explain how much of a pick-me-up it was to read those reviews or messages while I was deployed (because it kinda sucked...).
Chapter 8! My short-term goal is to have 8 done in a month (busy schedule now) but I will say that once things settle down I am very ambitious about having a whole month of weekly updates (we'll see how well things pan out first).
I hope you all enjoyed this much anticipated chapter of Gladiator and maybe I'll see some of you guys again in the next one.
Also, I'm looking to commission someone to do a cover art page for Gladiator. If you would like to recommend someone, then please PM me. I figured I'll start here before I start venturing out.
Cheers,
DevilRed