Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, i've been having some personal issues. This chapter is short, but don't worry! These first few chapters are kind of setting the stage for the plot. Once that unravels then the chapters will be a lot longer!
Days went past and Agron still was completely guarded when he and his brother were summoned to see Lucinda. That is, until it came to one afternoon when he was summoned alone. Agron furrowed his eyebrows when one of the guards informed him of this, surely he meant he and his brother, but Duro did not come. Curious, he followed the guard to Lucinda's chambers and they were left alone.
"Afternoon Agron." Lucinda greeted from her seat. "Please, sit down." she gestured to the chair in front of her. Agron did what he was told, facing Lucinda with an expressionless face. Lucinda pursed her lips at this, rethinking her earlier plan she made up in her mind. "You must be curious why I summoned you alone." she began. Agron shook his head, "Not particularly. No." he muttered. Lucinda sighed, used to his withdrawn attitude already. "I call upon a favor." she continued, ignoring his comment. Agron's facial features remained neutral, but his mind was running wild with all of the different things that she was going to ask him to do.
"Why do you not ask my brother? He is quite taken with you." he replied simply. Lucinda bit her bottom lip a bit before speaking again, "Duro…he does not know how to hold tongue. I am afraid he will reveal what it is I ask you to do." she explained. Her gaze traveled to the floor a bit, breaking away from his intense stare. Her hand found her way to one of her blonde curls and she messed with it absentmindedly. "Teach me how to fight." she said softly, cautiously looking back up at him through her long eyelashes.
It was then when Lucinda noticed his tense features soften a bit, taken back at her request. Agron didn't say anything for a moment, not knowing how to respond. A Roman woman wanted to learn to fight? It was something unheard of, to him at least. Finally he opened his mouth to speak, "Why do you request such a thing?" he asked. With a sigh, Lucinda began to explain herself. "Many months ago, before I arrived here, I was the subject of unwanted advances from men." she began, clearing her throat before continuing. "I did not have the ability to push them away. I tried to politely leave, but they did not let me go. They would…they would force me upon the wall a-and violate me." her voice shook as he recalled the memories that still haunted her dreams.
Agron looked at her intensely, not the same death stare he usually did, but something entirely different. He felt sympathy for the woman sitting in front of him and what happened to her. In that moment, he saw her in a different light. "I-It went on for many weeks. The same three men, taking turns like I was a common whore." she spat, her recollections turning into bitterness, a side Agron wasn't familiar with when it came to her. "There was nothing I could do. It was against my will. I tried to fight them off of me but they merely laughed at my attempt and held me tighter. I would not be here had Lucretia not found out what happened to me." she finished.
It was after Lucinda finished speaking, when Agron felt that he was wrong about his first opinion of her. She was not like the other Romans. She knew what it was like to be forced to do something against her will, much like how he became a slave, much against his will. He understood now why she treated the slaves and gladiators with kindness. Because she had felt helpless, just like many of the people at the ludus. It almost felt like an eternity before Agron spoke, "I will help you. You have my word." Lucinda smiled at him, eternally grateful at his answer. "Gratitude." she said with a sad smile.
It could be said that day was when everything changed between the both of them. Agron became more and more open with Lucinda each time they spoke with each other. They met in secret, Lucinda attaining training weapons from Mira who brought them to her at her request. They would great each other as friends, talking about nothing in particular as they trained together. Agron would occasionally call out an instruction if Lucinda wasn't doing something correctly. It was a system that worked and they stuck to if for a while.
One evening, after returning to his cell after training Lucinda for the day, Agron was confronted by Duro. "Why are you being summoned? It is almost everyday!" he exclaimed. He knew that something was happening and was upset that Agron wasn't telling him everything. Agron simply shrugged and didn't say anything on the subject. Duro's features hardened, feeling betrayed that his own brother would not tell him about his meetings with Lucinda. "Fine." he muttered, going to his bedroll in silence.