Welcome back readers! Sorry for such a long wait. I got really stuck on this chapter and had to sit on it. Then I went on vacation to Northern California to see my best friend. Up there my computer decided that it wanted to have a hard drive problem so now it's being shipped out to the company to have it replaced. I've backed up everything I've needed, hence the update. :) On with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fable or any of its characters. I do however own Jet, her family, and any named filler characters.
Chapter 12: Witchwood Arena
The grass under her feet squished lightly with each step growing closer and closer to an ever looming arena. Jet's heart sunk as her vision was engulfed with visions of blood and gore. What was she going to encounter? Insects? Beasts? Probably other people for sure. It made her think.
Was she willing to kill another person? Her heart sank at the thought of that. What had they done to her?
The doors loomed above and she double checked her mask. With a sigh Jet pushed through the doors and headed down the grassy walkway.
It was obvious nobody had been here in a while. The grass was up to her knees and the foliage outside the crumbling walls were reaching in, almost as if to grab someone. Jet quickened her pace. Something about it gave her the creeps.
Before she entered the arena, Jet noticed a small wooden stall, overrun with weeds and moss. Her pale green eyes examined the ancient thing for a few long minutes before turning back to the arena.
"I wonder what that was used for…" With that she pushed the last set of doors.
Ale, sweat, and blood overwhelmed her when she entered the main room. She had to focus on keeping whatever food she had left in her stomach. Looking around she took note that most of the fighters here were men. Mostly scrawny little things but some of the bandit thugs made her wary.
There were a few women. All huddled in a corner and they immediately took notice. A dark colored woman waved Jet over, her curly brown hair complimented well with her complexion. As Jet came closer she noticed the woman had nearly black eyes. Jet already like her, a woman that was strong not only physically but gave men a second guess.
"Well, looks like we have another woman here to try out the arena. What brings you here girl?" Jet shrugged at the woman.
"I'm not really here for anything…well not what you guys are after. I just want training." The women looked to one another stupefied. Those dark eyes found Jet again with a suspicious glare.
"You came here, completely vulnerable to fight in the Arena?" Jet remained quiet staring down her opponent. She began to circle around Jet, inspecting her being. Maybe she was trying to size her up, see if Jet would pose too much of a problem. Jet's hand went to her blade. The darker toned woman stopped in front of Jet with a smirk.
"Heh…I like you girl. You've got guts. I'm Aviela and these girls are my gang. We've been through all the bogs of Albion to the highest mountains. There aint nothing we can't kill." There were four other women next to Aviela. Two of them were colored, one being lightly colored and the other darker…but not near as dark as Aviela. The other two were white…almost blindingly white. All of them gave a confident smirk to Jet. A muffled chuckle came from Jet. Aviela looked at Jet.
"By the way, why do you wear that mask?" Jet looked around to make sure the coast was clear.
"To keep my identity a secret…There's someone that may be here that I don't want to know who I am…well more precisely where I am." The women looked at Jet. Aviela winked at Jet.
"Don't worry girl. You're safe with us." As much as Jet wanted to, she still did not feel safe. Something about them…maybe she was wrong…
'Don't get comfortable. This is a free for all…' Jet reprimanded herself. After looking around for a bit Jet noticed that nobody was moving much. There was no loud cheering outside either or even screams of utter terror for that matter. She turned to the women.
"When do we start fighting…?" Aviela turned her head from her ladies for a moment and looked Jet over, those dark eyes of hers cut through Jet like a block of butter. Jet knew that look too. "I only heard about this place through the grapevine. I didn't hear when it would start…" Aviela nodded and turned her head towards the battleground doors.
Honestly Jet really did not want to fight, especially after her run in earlier. Her body had already started aching, let alone her heart. She still could not get over the fact that every time…well most of her big battles, she utterly lost. None-the-less she tuned in to what Aviela was saying.
"We don't walk through those doors until tomorrow girl," she turned back to Jet with a calm expression. "There're rooms down the halls for us to use for the early birds. Though I'd suggest you'd stay with us. You're scrawny arms couldn't hold off some of those thugs if they came into our rooms for some fun." Jet shivered at the thought.
"Eugh…" The women laughed at her and Jet chuckled along with them. Jet sat down and watched the arena area. She noticed two small area's with dummys hanging down. A couple of the men were over there swinging their swords.
The style seemed familiar to her. She watched closer at the way the men swung their swords. After a few moments she realized that they did nothing different than what she was doing. Or rather she had done hardly anything different than any other normal fighter.
A thought occurred to her then. Maybe most people now are not trained by any master but rather just pick up a sword, hammer, or staff…maybe they all just fight because it flows through their blood. Was that why she felt so good to hold a blade in her hand? Jet would find out soon enough.
Soon enough Aviela leads her gang to the back of the lobby. A small hall split down the room and they followed it down. The rocks gave the place a homely feeling. Jet began to wonder how long this thing took to build. Aviela stopped and opened an old creaky wooden door to reveal a room with three beds. All of the women entered the room and Jet closed the door behind her.
When she turned around Aviela had already occupied a bed along with another. The other two of her group took the second bed. Jet relaxed on the last bed and Aviela smiled. Something about these ladies felt alright. Jet could ease up a bit and not worry about a Balverine busting through the door or a Bandit beating the living daylights out of her.
"You catch on quick girl. We were already in here earlier so we had things figured out. So, do you have any other things to ask before we crash for the night?" Jet nodded and gazed about the room. Simple but nice.
"Do you know anything about the fighting? Like…our opponents?" Aviela smiled at the black haired girl sitting across the room. Of course she would have a question like that.
"From what I've heard they start ya off easy. As you proceed through the rounds it gets harder and harder. Of course there's like a boss level so get ready." When Aviela grew quiet Jet thought about what other questions she could ask. She sat there for a few breaths until something came to mind.
"Like I've said before, I'm not in this for the money, but how does that work?" Aviela nodded and fiddled with the hilt of her blade. Jet noticed it and found it to be rather pretty. Blue cloth wound around the end and some trinket dangling off the end. It almost looked like a tooth; from what though?
"Ahh lemme see…Well every round has a certain amount of gold given to you. Just like how things go from easy to hard, money will start out small and get big. You could earn a lot…that is if you survive." Everyone laughed. When the laughing calmed down Jet was about to ask another question Aviela held up her hand. "I think I'll just tell ya what I know." Jet nodded and listened.
"There isn't much more to tell ya but it's still important. First off, after every round you may take a break. I'm not sure what happens to your gold though. You might get it or you might not," her shoulder shrugged in question. "The last thing I know…well…I really don't know this but I've been hearing a rumor." Avieal smirked when Jet cocked her head in curiosity. The dark woman began to fiddle with her fingers as she acted nonchalant about the information she had.
"Well?" Jet urged on with ferocious anticipation. Aviela laughed lightly at Jet's impatience.
"Okay okay antsy pants. I've been hearing about a secret round. It's so hush hush that I wonder if it will make you champ! I dunno. There's gotta be something really special about the round if it's so secret."
Jet nodded and the girls gossiped for another good hour before they decided it was time for bed. One of the pale girls blew out the candle and the room went dark save for a small window that let a bit of moonlight shine through. The black haired teenager sat still thinking, nervous about the upcoming day.
She shook her head and crawled under the sheets. Her pale green eyes flittered closed before falling into a restless sleep.