Chapter 14 

The sword was light in her hand as drums echoed through the arena.

Stepping out from under the canopy of the tunnel, Krista became instantly bathed in light as the sun beat down on her warm flesh.

The thriving crowds cheered her name as she was introduced. 

Krista lifted her gaze up towards the thousands of people that stared down at her from above. Their roars of encouragement were infectious, making her want to fight, making her want to win.

The thick layer of sand crunched beneath her boots as she made her way across the vast arena, big enough to hold double the population of Ludus Magnus within its walls.

Krista felt overwhelmed by it's size as she passed pools of blood that were being soaked up by the dry sand that hungered for the thick substance like a drunk hungered for wine.

She saw the body of a man being dragged away and wondered how he had met his end. 

But the thought was gone as quickly as it came as she knelt before the Emperor and his posse of slaves and senators.

The Commander lounged in a chaise just to the side of the senators, his eyes burning into her skin as she remained kneeled.

Another round of applause erupted and through the haze of thundering cheers, Krista heard the rattle of chains as the gate at the other end of the arena was opened to reveal her opponent, Agnes of Rhodemptra.

Stealing a glance over her shoulder, her helmet partially restricting her view, Krista saw a woman with flaming red hair bouncing against her back as she thrust her sword into the air with enthusiasm.

The crowds loved nothing more than a gladiator that they thought would give them a good show. 

Turning back to face the front as Agnes joined her on the ground, sticking her blade into the sand and kneeling before it.

Agnes was offering her sword to the Emperor but there was only one man who Krista would offer her sword for and that was the Commander, when she ran it through his heart.

The Emperor gave them his blessing, like he did with every match, before he sat back on his throne and picked up a bushel of grapes that had been resting in a bowl by his side.

Krista didn’t even glance at her opponent as she stood, the Empress smiling coyly down at her.

The cheering of the crowds had grown silent, only the heavy drums filling their ears, as Krista and Agnes returned to the centre of the arena and faced each other.

Agnes was dressed in chain mail with the majority of her body exposed. Shoulder guards, a helmet  and a circular shield resting upon her left arm was the only armour she had been provided.

She wore no boots and she was armed with a sword just like Krista.

Krista took a deep breath, her eyes closing, as the faceless crowds blurred into the background and the drums grew silent, until it was only her and Agnes.

Krista felt her heart slow to a calm beat and her muscles relax, until she could hear the sound of foot moving through soft sand.

The sword was warming up in her palm, the metal familiar to her, as Agnes made the first move.

Krista tilted her head to the side as she heard the soft whisper of Agnes’s blade slicing through the air.

Snapping her eyes open, Krista deflected the blow with her sword, the ringing of metal upon metal fading out as further strikes followed.

Stepping effortlessly in the sand, Krista swung her sword at the red-headed woman who slammed her shield against Krista’s body, pushing her back in the sand.

Taking it in her stride, Krista felt the feathers of her helmet brushing against her bare lower back, sending tingles up her spine.

Ducking a swipe at her neck, Krista sent the sharp edge of her sword into Agnes’s back as she stepped past her.

The crowd seemed to pulse in unison when Krista broke Agne's skin and earning the victory of being the first to draw blood.

But Agnes was easily angered.

A scream was torn from the wild woman's lips as she spun and swung her sword towards Krista.

Jumping backwards, her back arching away from the blade, Agnes raised her shield and bashed it against Krista’s face, knocking the helmet from her head.

Krista gasped in pain as a brief throb radiated across her cheek, her helmet crashing into the sand by her feet.

A second blow of Agne's shield had Krista flying to the side, the wind a pleasant surprise on her bare face.

Still on her feet, Krista recovered quickly as Agnes attempted to repeat the same manoeuvre a third time but Krista was ready for her.

Planting her boot against the centre of the shield, Krista let out a scream as she pushed forward.

Agnes crashed to the ground, sand displacing itself around her as her body as her head hit the hard ground.

Keeping her foot pressed against Agnes’s shield until it trapped her opponent’s arm against her body, Krista went for the kill.

Deflecting Agnes feeble blows with her sword, Krista was looking to end this quickly and return to Artorius.

As Krista placed the tip of her blade against Agne's throat, Krista felt the crowds rumble with discontent. They were torn between who they wanted to win, Agnes or Krista. 

Her concern for the crowd, had Krista pause momentarily.

It was long enough for Agnes to shift her arms beneath the sheild and plant her hands against the underside of the shield. Pushing upwards with all her might, Agnes was able to dislodge Krista from on top of her.

Compensating for the sudden change in balance, Krista performed a perfect backwards somersault, pushing off of the shield.

The crowd roared with excitement as Krista landed a few mere feet away from Agnes who was now standing, both her hand holding her sword raised above her head as she charged at Krista.

Krista’s heart began to race as sweat glistened over her entire body.

Flipping the sword around in her palm until the hilt was facing upwards rather than the blade, Krista braced herself for the impact.

When she was less than a foot away, Krista struck.

Reaching up and gripping Agnes’s wrist, Krista held her immobile whilst she hurtled the hilt of her sword into Agnes face, hearing her jaw crack beneath her attack.

Krista heard another bone snap as blood started to gush from her nose and the woman’s head was thrust backwards from the assault.

Keeping a firm hold of Agnes’s wrist, Krista sent a sharp knee into the woman’s side before Agnes managed to wrench her arms free and doubled over at the waist in pain.

Seeing that the end was near, Krista sunk her fingers into the woman's thick red hair and tilted her head back as Krista sent another sharp knee into the Agnes's already broken face.

Krista felt the Agnes's warm blood smear her thigh as she crashed into the sand, her sword flying out to the side as Krista kicked it away.

Standing over the woman’s body, a sense of life and death in her hands, Krista barely blinked as she brought her sword down to rest in the woman's flesh.

Just like Agnes had done with her blade before the Emperor, Krista pushed her blade through Agnes’s eye socket, through her skull and into the sand beneath.

Agnes's blood sprayed up into Krista’s face, soaking her body, as a stund silence fell over the stalls.

But the silence barely lasted longer than a second as the shock washed away and they thundered to their feet once again, screaming in pleasure. 

Blocking the crowds out of her mind, Krista stared down the length of her blade at Agnes.

Her only eye left was gazing up at Krista in fear. Krista rose to her feet and looked up into the stands.

The crowds were on their feet, the drums banging louder than ever as the winner was announced and a smile crept onto Krista’s lips as she realised that these people were cheering for her.

But the smile vanished when she laid her eyes upon the royal box.

The Emperor and Pompeia had stood to congratulate her, along with the Commander who was performing a slow clap as his eyes did a slow sweep of her body.

But she would not let him ruin this moment for her; her first victory in the arena.

Krista vowed that it would not be the last.

* * *

“You survived then.” Rheia observed with regret as Krista returned from the arena through the secret passageway.

“I see you did too.” Krista sighed as people returned with either blood covering their bodies or none at all.

Only half of them had seen a fight today.

The others had seen a massacre, either at the hands of a beast or at the hands of a bloodthirsty Emperor.

“You must have had a weak adversary.” Rheia hit low in her attacks, which Krista rather thought matched her personality.

“Yours must have been positively sleeping through your match then.” Krista gave Rheia a small smile as she hit back with her own clever quip.

“I look forward to meeting you on the sands,” Rheia hissed, her black hair matted with blood at the tips, “So we can finish our last battle.”

“I look forward to it.” Krista snapped as Rheia moved on ahead, their Ludus Magnus group significantly smaller than what it had been when they set out that morning.

Once Rheia was a safe distance away, Krista started to worry about Lazarus and Artorius.

She had not seen either since that morning and with so many dead she feared the worst, despite knowing that neither would accept death easily.

* * *

Artorius had been led from his cell beneath the arena and into the bedchamber of a wealthy patron.

Blood still caked his arms from the day’s battle as the shackles were removed from his wrists and the guards left.

Watching his escort leave, rubbing his wrists where the metal had rubbed against his flesh, Artorius turned back to the rose-scented room that was decorated in long silk drapes and Persian rugs.

A balcony overlooked the city of Rome as a light breeze blew through the room and unsettled the flames that lingered in the dishes above his head.

Artorius took a careful step forward, investigating the room further, when he spotted a large four poster bed in the middle of the room with steps leading up to its covers.

Silk cushions had been set aside to make a comfortable seating area as rose petals made a pathway along the marble floor.

Artorius lifted an eyebrow in confusion as he followed the petals through hanging drapes and down a set of steps.

“Good evening, Artorius,” A feminine voice purred and Artorius lifted his gaze to find the Empress, naked in the bath, “Champion of Athens.”

“Empress,” Artorius bowed to his new Roman ruler after they conquered Greece, but it still felt like betrayal.

“Stand, stand.” The blonde woman sighed.

So Artorius stood and gazed upon the beautiful woman’s face as she bathed, the water rippled just above her belly button leaving her moderate sized breasts free for all to see.

Her servants washed her down as a confident smirk played on her lips, her eyes alive with the joy of having herself bare to a male's gaze and yet knowing she held all the power.

“You called me here, my lady.” Artorius kept his eyes fixed on the wall behind her, praying he would soon be released.

“Called you?” Pompeia laughed. It was a small laugh but it was filled with arrogance, as she ordered her servants away and stepped from the bath, “You are a slave. I do not call slaves, slaves come to me.”

Artorius swallowed around the lump in his throat as she stepped closer, her wet naked body pressing against his.

“Apologies,” Artorius murmured as he realised he had overstepped the boundary.

“I brought you here,” Pompeia sighed as she stepped around him and pulled a robe over her wet body, tying the sash around her small waist, “to speak with you about someone we both care deeply about.”

Artorius followed as she patted the cushion on the floor beside her, requesting him to sit.

Doing as he was ordered, Artorius knelt beside her, as she offered him wine and food.

“I think you know who I wish to speak to you about,” Pompeia smiled as she drank from a golden chalice, her damp blonde hair brushing his forearm.

The hair on the back of his neck rose as he recalled their conversation in the baths in Ludus Magnus after she freed him from the dungeons, “Krista.”

“Precisely,” Pompeia replenished her cup, “Now, what do you say, we have a little chat?”

Artorius did not like the look of malice in this woman’s gaze and he feared what it meant for Krista.