Vanquished

by S. E. Green

  We eat, bathe, sleep, and get up and do it all again the next day. I throw myself into the training, singularly distracted by one goal: to win money to purchase mine and Lena’s freedom.

  In the background Alexior repeats the same thing over and over, “Forget everything you were before. You study. You train. That is how you become a champion. And you accept the humility of surrender when required.”

  Camille shoots me a look as if to say, he’s talking about you.

  “I’ll never surrender,” I answer her unspoken thought.

  “The only voice I should hear,” Alexior snaps, “is mine.” He gives me a pointed look. “Grunting is what I should hear from you.”

  I grit my teeth. I know I shouldn’t, I know, but I can’t help myself from returning his pointed look and following it up with a loud grunt.

  Alexior stalks across the training courtyard until he’s right in front of me. “Perhaps a lesson in obedience is in order.”

  My stubborn temper flares even more. “Perhaps,” I agree.

  He switches his eyes to Camille. “For both of you.”

  All the warriors laugh, and Camille just glares at me. I’m sorry, I mouth, feeling horrible. I didn’t mean to get her in trouble too. I glance over to Gem, and she quickly looks away like she knows better than to get involved.

  Alexior nods to Ignatius and Sera who grab Camille and me and drag us across the training area over to a latched metal shed. I’ve seen this here every day. I assumed it was storage or something.

  Alexior opens the door and we get tossed inside the empty area. The door bangs closed, locks, and hot blackness engulfs us.

  “Remind me why I’m your friend?” Camille tensely whispers through the darkness.

  I wipe the sweat that’s already beading. “I’m sor—”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” she cuts me off. “Just don’t talk to me.”

  “Okay.” At least Gem didn’t get thrown in here, too.

  I rotate my sister’s bracelet around my wrist, running the pads of my fingers over the alternating softness of the leather and hardness of the silver. Everything I do, I do for her.

  “What is your deal?” Camille snaps, even though she just said she didn’t want to talk.

  “I have to win. It’s the only way I’ll get my sister back. We’ve been training hard. I’m ready. Getting into the fights is the only way to earn the money to buy her back.”

  “But how can you even trust that?”

  “What other choice do I have?” I need it to be true.

  “You’re not ready.”

  “How do you know?” I snap.

  Her sigh echoes around us. “Look at what Sera did to you.”

  “And look at what I did to her.”

  “She beat you to a pulp.”

  “But I won!” I angrily point out.

  “I didn’t say you didn’t,” Camille snipes. “But she is bigger and more powerful and if you went up against her or someone like her again, they would do the same thing to you.”

  Irritation swells through me, and I don’t respond to her point. Sera is enormous. Yes, I popped her eye, but she did beat me senseless.

  That thought circles my brain for the next several quiet, hot, tense moments until I finally ask Camille, “You really think I’m not ready?”

  “Yes,” she quietly responds.

  The truth of her answer niggles around inside of me, and I don’t want to admit she’s right. But I know she is.

  “You’re obsessing,” she says. “I can tell.”

  Despite the blackness, the intense heat, and the sweat now dropping off of me, I laugh a little. “Why don’t we talk about something else?” I suggest.

  “Okay. How long do you think they’ll keep us in here?”

  “Not that,” I jokingly whine. “Something that’ll keep our minds occupied.”

  “Ignatius,” Camille mumbles. “I heard he was set on fire in the fights. That’s how he got all those disgusting scars.”

  “Jesus,” I breathe. “How horrible.”

  “Suppose that’s why he’s called the ‘Fire of the Arena’.”

  I think about Ignatius outside training. I think about his enormous height with every muscle and feature mangled with scars. “Do you think that’s why he stays even though he’s free? Because he’s so disfigured?”

  “Maybe. But then what would someone like him do away from this place?” People would be scared of him.

  The thought of that saddens me. All things aside, he’s been okay with us newcomers. He’s far from a gentle giant, but he certainly hasn’t been cruel like Sera and some of the others.

  “How big do you think Saligia is?” Camille whispers.

  I think of when I arrived and all that I saw while traveling in the cart from the marketplace. “I have no clue.” It seems to go on for miles in all directions.

  Heavy silence falls between us, each lost to our own thoughts. I don’t know how much time passes, but I close my eyes and simply focus on Camille’s quiet raspy breaths.

  I must fall asleep, or maybe I pass out, because the next time I open my eyes I’m sprawled outside of the shed with my cheek pressed into the dirt. It’s dark out now and the air is warm and moist.

  Groggily, I push to a sitting position. Everything spins and I close my eyes. I give myself a second and when I feel steadier, I get to my feet.

  Up on the terrace I spy Domina drinking from a jeweled goblet and staring down at me. She raises an eyebrow when our eyes catch. She’s not wearing her usual colorful gown and instead has on a long, see-through, yellow one.

  Behind her stands a completely naked slave girl with gold body dust sparkling in the moonlight. It’s a different girl than the one I saw at the pool.

  Dominus steps out onto the terrace too. His chest is naked, and though the railing prohibits me from seeing below his waist, I assume he has nothing on.

  His wife turns to smile at him and then nods to the slave girl who sinks to her knees in front of him. With one last look at me, Domina turns and watches the slave girl give her husband a blow job.

  Staring up at the terrace, I swallow hard. I want to scream. I want to yank that girl away, but all I seem able to do is stand rooted in the dirt, staring up in disgust and horror.

  My sister… I close my eyes, but I see her on her knees and not that slave girl. Violently, I shake my head. I can barely think straight.

  When the slave girl is done, Domina turns and looks down at me, then swerves her attention over to Alexior, who, I just now realize, stands in the shadows. Has he been there the whole time?

  “Bring us Ignatius,” Domina tells Alexior.

  He nods and disappears into the men’s quarters. I frown at his back. Ignatius? What are they going to do with him?

  Several minutes later, Ignatius steps from the men’s quarters. Instead of his usual tunic, he wears a cloth that wraps around his lower body. It’s the first time I’ve seen his chest and it’s just as mangled as the rest of him is.

  He doesn’t even glance at me as he strolls past and straight into the tunnel that will lead him up to the villa. I want to chase after him. I want to tell him he’s free. That he doesn’t have to go.

  “Valoria,” Alexior quietly says and I jump. “You need food, a bath, and bed.” He nods to the terrace where Dominus and his wife and the slave girl have now gone back inside. “That’s none of your concern.”

  “What are they going to make Ignatius do?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. Whatever they want. Whatever pleases them. “Why is he here if he’s free?”

  “He doesn’t know anything else,” Alexior answers with a voice that seems deeper than usual. “He’s been on Saligia since he was ten. This is his life—pleasing others.”

  Everything going through my mind I’ve already said. I’ve already thought. This place is sick. It’s wrong. But I don’t put words to any of it, and in fact find myself more numb than anything.

  What does that say about m
e? I’ve only been here a couple of weeks and I’m already becoming desensitized to the depravity. What will I be like in a couple months? I don’t want to know.

  “Is Camille okay?” I ask.

  Alexior nods. “She’s already in bed.”

  For some reason, the question she whispered in the shed comes back to me, and I ask, “How big is Saligia?”

  He doesn’t answer and instead just stares down at me. “Do you need another lesson in obedience?”

  I clench my teeth. “No. I do not. Why is my question considered disobedient?”

  Alexior widens his legs and folds his arms across his chest, which only makes every muscle in his upper body bunch. Is he standing that way to be intimidating? “Why do you want to know? Is the reason a disobedient reason?”

  I mull that question around. If I were to somehow escape, I wouldn’t even know where to find my sister.

  Why do I want to know? Because I’m thinking of escaping, and, yes, that is a disobedient reason.

  Without answering his question I turn away. An unexpected shudder drives my feet and I move forward across the training area to the women’s quarters.

  When I get to the archway I glance back to see Alexior standing and staring up at the stars. He closes his eyes and mouths a few words as if in prayer.

  ~12~

  At breakfast the next morning, Alexior makes an announcement. “Dominus has put together a demonstration to officially introduce our recruits to the rest of Saligia’s society. This will be your opportunity to win the mark of Saligia and also money.”

  He holds up one finger. “Please remember surrender.”

  “Who’s the visiting ludus?” one of the warriors asks.

  “There isn’t one. You will be fighting each other.” He pulls out a piece of paper. “I have the pairings here. There will be six rounds, each round increasing in earnings. Camille and Valoria will fight in the first round—”

  I look over at Camille and we exchange an uneasy glance.

  Alexior continues listing the rounds, “Gem with Felicia. Then Sera and Ignatius will fight in the last round with a ten percent prize.”

  “Tonight in the villa there will be a gathering of Saligia’s elite where they will place their wager on each warrior and recruit. You are expected to be in attendance.” He tacks the paper on the wall and walks off.

  “I’m with Felicia,” Gem mutters. “I hope I don’t hurt her too badly.”

  Camille leans into me. “For some reason I never thought we’d actually be fighting each other.”

  “Me neither…” I can’t imagine beating up Camille. “Why don’t we flip a coin to see which one surrenders? Then we could put on a little fighting show, surrender, and neither of us gets harmed.”

  She nods. “But it’s too bad we’re not fighting in the last round. Ten percent?” Camille’s brows lift. “If Dominus bets a million, ten percent of that will give you a good chunk toward your sister.”

  The last round. I cut a glance over to Ignatius and then Sera. Camille’s right. If I can somehow figure out how to fight in the last round…

  “If you fight one of them, you will die,” Gem whispers in panic. “I hear Sera’s never lost in the arena.”

  “Yes, but she surrendered to me.”

  Camille shakes her head. “I’m not having that conversation with you again.”

  Dominus comes through the archway leading to the villa with a soldier on each side. He takes a moment to speak with Alexior and then heads toward the locked gate that we all came through weeks ago on the cart.

  “Be back in a second,” I tell Camille and approach him. “Dominus, may I have a moment?”

  He nods to the soldiers and waves me toward him.

  “Is there any word of my sister?” I ask.

  Dominus huffs a laugh. “And why would I have word of your sister? I told you to fight and win and then I’d find your sister. At this point whatever little money you’ve made me has gone to your upkeep.”

  He takes a step closer. “Do not ever approach me again. When I want to speak to you I will summon you.”

  Icy anger jolts through me, but I set my jaw and lock every one of my muscles so I don’t shake with the fury of it. I train my eyes on the ground and take a submissive step back. “Yes, Dominus.”

  After he leaves, I lift my head. I will fight in that last round, and I will win.

  ~13~

  That night we are instructed to bathe and oil our bodies. The men fighters are dressed just like Ignatius was when he visited the villa in white cloth that wraps their waists. We women are dressed in similar cloths but with an additional one across our breasts.

  Our wrists are shackled, and we are lined up women first according to size and then men after us. Being significantly shorter than every other fighter, I am, of course, right in front.

  No one speaks as we wait in the tunnel for our cue to enter. The gathering upstairs has been full on for a good hour now, and the laughter and voices and music echo through the tunnel around us.

  A soldier unlocks the gate, and everyone behind me moves, pressing me forward. Nerves twitch through me as I lead the way up the stairs. The other gate opens, and I step into the villa.

  The place doesn’t fall silent, but it does quiet. Alexior is already here waiting. He’s in his usual soft leather body armor and black baggy pants. A brilliant purple scarf wraps his neck and marks the only change in how I usually see him.

  “You are to stay in line at all times,” he instructs. “Do not leave formation unless one of the elite requests it.”

  He steps in front of me and begins leading us on a march through all the rooms in the villa. I take in the polished brass goblets and platters, the gleaming marble floors, the white walls with gold inlaid leaves, the colorful curtains blowing in the breeze… After weeks of living in bare-boned quarters, the luxury up here is even more evident now than when I first arrived.

  The place is packed with the richest, all dressed in their finest vibrant gowns. Most of the women wear their hair up in order to better display gaudy necklaces decorating their necks. Everyone’s drinking and eating and staring at us as we march through the rooms. Do these people live on Saligia full-time or do they come and go? I can’t imagine they could just disappear from society altogether.

  There are twenty of us trained fighters and by my rough estimate about a hundred of them. None of them look armed. I think we could probably take them if we really wanted to, even with our wrists shackled. Especially if the house slaves joined in. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Have others tried and failed?

  I’m sure the punishment is enough to scare everyone into obedience.

  My gaze trails over the soldiers next, armed and at attention, one for every five or so elite. The soldiers would definitely be the problem.

  We come to a stop in the room with the shallow pool where we’re told to line the perimeter. Women on one side and men on the other.

  The house slaves linger in every corner, dressed differently as well. Gone are their blue tunics to be replaced by gauzy white gowns. I glance over my shoulder at the young slave boy occupying the corner behind me.

  He can’t be more than fifteen.

  Through the near-transparent fabric his private area is on display for anyone who wants to look. I think of Ignatius. He’s been here in Saligia since he was ten. That was probably him once upon a time. The whole thing makes me sick.

  “Greetings!” Dominus sweeps into the room flanked by seemingly the most elite. “Welcome to my home. My wife and I are excited for the upcoming demonstration. Please,” he indicates us, “walk around. Feel. Touch. Place bets. Eat. And definitely get drunk!”

  If anyone feels me, touches me, they’re going down.

  The elite laugh and slowly begin spreading about the room. Dominus claps his hands and two slave girls emerge from the shadows. In their gowns, they slide into the shallow pool and begin seductively rolling and crawling through the water covered in rose petals.r />
  I know I should be observing my surroundings, but I find myself fixated on the two girls. The more this immorality settles in, the harder of a person I become, and the better chance I have at adapting and surviving and finding my sister.

  “This is the little one he paid fifty thousand for,” a man speaks from beside me.

  I turn away from the girls in the water and look up into deep set eyes framed by bushy black and gray brows. The woman standing beside him looks young enough to be his granddaughter.

  They both reach forward and touch my bare stomach and my muscles contract, which makes them laugh. It’s all I can do not to shove their creepy hands off of me.

  They continue on down the line and more elite follow, discussing us like we’re inanimate objects. Bareket glides right in front of me, sliding me a haughty look that I glower at.

  She stops in front of Gem. “You. Come with me.”

  Gem doesn’t immediately move and then with a deep breath she steps out of line and follows Bareket. I watch as she picks out a man warrior, and then with a small group of elite they disappear into a back room.

  My whole body tenses and I keep my eyes focused on the archway they all went through. I don’t bother asking myself what they want with Gem in that private room. I suspect I know. And I also know if they ever pull me from line, I will not go easily.

  Gem gave herself to this place for a lesser sentence. I think I’d rather spend ten years in jail than one here.

  “Not surprising, the elite aren’t happy with the list,” I overhear Dominus tell Alexior. “They want to see Sera and Valoria. Their fight from a couple of weeks ago is all anyone can talk about.”

  “Valoria isn’t ready,” Alexior answers. “If you put them together again, Sera will maim her, surrender or not, and then you’ll be out fifty thousand plus some.”

  Dominus nods. “I know.” He laughs. “But you should see the bets people are willing to place on Valoria. I’ll triple my money in one exhibition.”

  Triple the money. At ten percent that means I’ll have a lot going toward my sister. I glance down to where Sera stands, and a thought forms…