Chapter 10

"I have been receiving positive reports on your training." The Commander spoke appreciatively as he walked in front of her, the torches lining the tunnel walls stretching out as far as Krista could see.

Krista remained silent as she walked behind the Commander, his red cape billowing out, barely brushing the sandy ground, as he walked.

Seven feet tall and eight feet wide, the tunnel stretched out in almost perfect lines with torches every three feet.

"We're directly beneath Ludus Magnus's training arena." The Commander paused as the lit torches suddenly came to an end, his head tilting back to gaze up at the ceiling, his helmet resting in his hands in front of him. 

Krista could barely imagine the fact that she had stood and fought on the ground a few feet directly above her head and yet still be unaware that such a secret passage existed beneath it.

"This tunnel goes right into the Arena," The Commander sighed with joy at the games that were coming ahead, "You won't have to see your opponent until you meet her on the sands."

Krista looked up as the Commander turned to face her but his words struck a chord inside her.

Did he think she was so emotional and weak that she would not kill if she happened to speak with her opponent beforehand?

Did he think her weak of mind because she was a woman?

But Krista did not voice these reservations as a strange sound suddenly echoed through the tunnel.

Krista looked towards the darkness but saw nothing, when the sound came again.

"Ahh," The Commander turned and followed her gaze, as a smile crept onto his lips, "The beasts have arrived."

Krista took in his words carefully as further strange noises followed with gigantic thuds and roars.

Krista's heart skipped a beat at the thought of being trapped in a tunnel with no light as something deadly headed straight for her from the darkness.

"Beasts?" Krista whispered, trying to hide her fear.

"Of course!" The Commander cheered as he spun and faced her, "You cannot have games without animals!"

Krista stared into the darkness where, inevitably, at the end she would soon walk out into the sunlight of the arena and imagined cages of beasts being led to their deaths. 

Krista wondered if her tiger from Danghmar had been unfortunate enough to find its way here.  

"Now," The commander turned his back on the sounds and motioned for her to turn back towards Ludus Magnus, "Let's take some refreshments and we can speak."

Krista started to worry about what he wanted to talk about as her fingers began to rub her bruised knuckles almost subconsciously, and within fifteen minutes they were in his room above Ludus Magnus.

Every room Romans occupied looked the same to Krista with their shared love of rich carpets, fur shawls and gold.

"The Senator tells me that you have been training well." Commander Niclaus called back to her as she waited just inside the door as other slaves came forth and started to disrobe the commander of his armour.

Krista itched to free him of the blade strapped to his hip, sink it into his flesh and watch his blood as it emptied out onto the floor.

"-Answer me, girl!" The Commander shouted at her when she did not reply fast enough.

"Apologies, Commander." Krista snapped her head down until she was staring at the floor, her jaw setting in preparation of being whipped.

But when no whip came, she hesitatingly lifted her head and gazed up through her eyelashes at the commander who was now stood naked before her.

Krista averted her gaze once again.

The Commander's taunting laughter filled her ears, "Ah, peasant girls." He reminded himself slowly, "I expected you to be used to nudity by now, seeing as your kind all walk around half-naked."

Because they could not afford silks and laces like you, Krista thought venomously, does not mean that they all walked around without a stitch of clothing to their bodies.

"Ah, very well," the Commander sighed with annoyance a minute later when she did not respond, "You may lift your gaze once more."

Krista hesitated for a second, afraid that he was playing with her, when she heard the whisp of silk being tied.

Lifting her head slowly, Krista saw that he had now adorned a robe the colour of blood.

"You may leave us." The commander ordered his servants away and Krista's body tensed at the thought of being left alone with this man who had stolen her childhood.

For a man his age, Krista could see that the majority of his life had been played out on the battlefield, from the broadness of his chest and his athletic physique.

His hair was thick and the colour of dark sand but Krista could see patches of grey starting to surface much to his displeasure.

"Now, tell me, child." Commander Niclaus stepped forward, a chalice of wine in his hand.

Krista tried not to grit her teeth against the patronising tone of his voice.

"Are you happy that I brought you here? Hmm?" The commander had stepped very close into her body until she could feel his warm breath down her neck and his fingers trailing along her arm.

A knot of disgust started to form in Krista's stomach as she recalled the Commander's words in the governor's house before they had left for Rome.

We shall have fun in Rome. You will see.

Fun. Krista shivered as she wondered what 'fun' meant to the commander.

"You're shivering." The commander purred in her ear as he placed the cup back down on his desk and faced her head on.

"It is nothing, my lord commander." Krista looked at the wall over his shoulder, she didn't trust herself to look in his eyes.

"You're cold." The Commander stepped closer still until Krista had to lift her head or else her nose would have been crushed by his shoulder.

Krista closed her eyes and forced her body to remain still as the Commander wrapped his arms around her body and started to peel the fabric from her body.

Everything inside of her wanted to kill him; he had murdered her family, had made her a slave and forced her to murder on command but she knew she could not kill him by herself.

And not here.

So keeping her body still, Krista tried to stay calm as he pulled the fabric from her shoulders and the grubby tunic fell into a heap at her feet, leaving her bare to his gaze.

"You didn't answer me," The Commander stepped back out of her embrace causing Krista to make her face plain once more, losing the anger that stabbed at her eyes, "Do you like where I have brought you?"

No.

"Yes, Lord Commander. Gratitude for your hospitality." Krista gritted through her teeth, trying to keep her body from shivering as the night air bit at her skin causing her nipples to harden against the cold.

Every scene of rape that she had witnessed since she was a child suddenly ran through her mind; the screaming, the thrashing, the blood.

Krista forced her feet to remain where they were as fear erupted inside of her. If she ran, Krista knew she would only welcome more pain.

"Look at your Lord Commander." Niclaus ordered her with anger and Krista had to muster as much courage as could to turn her gaze from the wall and towards his person.

Krista's breath hitched in her throat when she saw his engorged member poking out through the confinements of his robe that had been loosened at the waist.

"Gratitude?" The commander chuckled at her words, "I remember when you were just a child that I had saved from a burning village." The commander stepped forward once again.

Krista shivered as his robe brushed her thighs before his warm hands reached out and started to skim across her flat abdomen.

She started to look once again at the wall over his shoulder, as his hands skimmed over her stomach and upwards to the underside of her breasts, before cupping them completely.

The disgust that had been forming in Krista's stomach now turned into a complete knot and was pulling at her insides with pain.

"Mhmm," the commander groaned, his eyes closing briefly as his fingers kneaded her flesh like bread, "I do not want your gratitude. Do you not want to show your commander how much you're pleased for saving you?"

Krista's throat worked against her as her stomach started to churn but when she didn't respond fast enough, the commander gripped her hand and pulled her forward until their chests were pressed together.

Krista could feel the harsh brush of his chest hair grazing her palms, as the smell of sweat made her want to vomit.

Resisting his grip on her palm, the commander lost his patience and forced her fingers down his hard body. 

Wrapping her fingers around his pink and engorged member, the commander kept his eyes on her hers as he began to move her hand up and down his length.

As the commander began to moan in her ear, Krista turned her head away as she allowed him to move her arm, his member thick and throbbing in her palm.

"Yes, that's it." the Commander grunted in her ear as he reached out with his other hand and clasped it around her breast, pulling at her nipple painfully.

Her anger for him was now erupting inside of her chest, threatening to consume her. 

She was a gladiator; she had killed countless people and yet she was being forced to the most barbaric of acts and unable to do anything about it.

If she denied the commander, he would deny her the chance of winning her freedom.

Krista's hand tightened in anger but yet the commander took that for a sign of passion; a passion of lust rather than one of hate.

"You little slut." The commander growled as released her hand.

Krista had a fleetingly glimpse of hope that this was the end but she was painfully disappointed as she felt his callused hands grip her shoulders and push her back towards the desk.

Slamming her into the edge of his desk, the Commander grappled for control over her limbs, tilting her back over the table as he tried to push her legs open for him.

Krista had planned to let him have his way, she would kill him later and she was not the only slave to have been raped but as his hands began to grab her, Krista pushed him away.

Images of Myra on the mosaic floor, her body held down as the Gaul thrusted inside of her, began to flood her thoughts.

"No." Krista's fear began to control her thoughts, her survival instincts kicking in as she pushed Niclaus's hands away from her body, fighting him for control.

She lost all thought of what could happen if she denied the commander his pleasure and became intensely determined to fight him off, her legs trying to clamp themselves shut to protect herself.

"Commander! Commander Niclaus!"

Krista's breathing was growing pitched as the Commander had her arms pinned by her sides, his robe wide open as he stepped between her legs and was ready to penetrate her.

"Go away!" The commander shouted, veins protuding on his thick neck as he stepped closer, his hand reaching down to guide his member inside of her.

"Commander." The voice seemed closer and the Commander turned his head in rage.

Krista looked over his shoulder to see the Senator gazing upon them with barely a hint of surprise or disgust.

Krista assumed that he had raped a number of slaves himself and would hear no plea from her lips.

And Krista would never utter such a plea.

"Apologies for the disruption, Commander, but the emperor wishes your presence immediately." The Senator bowed his head in respect but he did not leave.

"This is not over." The commander growled down at Krista as he ducked his head close and crushed his thin lips bruisingly against hers before he released her.

"Leave us!" The commander dismissed her.

Unable to get enough air in her lungs, Krista collpased to the floor and bundled her clothes in her arms.

Rushing past the commander and senator, Krista hurried out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.

Krista kept her head bowed as she passed other servant's, unable to see them looking at her as if she was just another slave girl that had been used. 

She was a Gladiatrix.

She was above these sort of diminishing acts and yet here she was, rushing to put her clothes on as she hurried back to her rooms, trying to cover the fact that her pride had just been severely beaten.

Her loathing of the Commander had just increased tenfold that she would not mind being sentenced to death if she could strike him from this world.

Holding the fabric up to cover her breasts as she passed other gladiators, Krista stepped under an archway and hurried down the corridor when it felt like she collided with a stone wall.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Artorius chuckled in humour, unaware of what had happened, but Krista couldn't look at him.

"Let me pass." Krista tried to make her voice sound normal but her breathing was still ragged and something about her appearance piqued Artorius's concern.

"Krista?" Artorius whispered but when she didn't respond he became forceful, "Krista." He snapped as he pulled her arm back to reveal the condition of her clothes.

"Let me go!" Krista yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"Who did this?" Artorius growled and as Krista looked into his eyes, she saw pure fire raging in those molten depths.

It scared Krista that someone could care for her. 

"No one did anything!" Krista snapped as she stepped back, "A training session got a little heated." Krista lied, unable to have him look at her like she was weak.

Because Krista should have protected herself against him. Because she was a gladiator, and gladiators did not get raped.

"Krista." Artorius choked her name out but she would not listen.

Krista simply stepped around him and headed back to her room, praying to Jupiter that he wouldn't follow her.