Chapter 3

The City of Danghmar, as they called it, was more of a stronghold than a city. It's walls were higher than any Krista had ever seen with spikes on top pointing to the heavens; some still had skulls of various decomposition impaled on them. Birds circled overhead and every so often one would swoop down and tear a piece of flesh from one of the severed heads. 
She saw that the walls were a few metres thick as they passed through them and guards were posted on all entrances.

As they went through the gate it opened into a small open area before it parted into separate streets, each packed with various stalls and bustling with people. Crowds of children ran wild, pick pocketing those fortunate enough to have anything worth stealing.

But the people in the street paid very little notice to the new arrival of cattle rolling through its gates and deep into the heart of the city towards their arena. 

Tiberius, with his rough skin and blonde hair, was glaring at every person they passed as if everyone here had done him some physical harm in the past. Krista had not yet had the chance to fight Tiberius and part of her prayed she never would. Tiberius was the worst type of warrior because he had brawn and brains.  

Their cage, being pulled by horses, hit a rock as they turned a corner, tipping their carriage on to two wheels instead of four and throwing Krista across the tight space, right into Lazarus. Lazarus places his large hands on her shoulders and righted her, giving her a small squeeze before he let go.
Tiberius and others cursed their driver for his poor skills before they righted themselves once more, dusting off their bruises, but everything was forgotten when they saw what was up ahead.

So that was where the noise was coming from, Krista thought as her eyes fell upon the centre of the City of Danghmar. As they came to the end of the street Krista could see that it opened up into a wide open space rammed full of people. She could not see through to the other side because of how many people there were. 

Exotic breeds of animals were chained around the square as their owners bartered them for half a dozen slaves, materials of different bold colours caught Krista's eyes everywhere she went and the air smelt of hot spices.

"Lazarus, look!" Krista gripped the bars of her cage, pressing her face against the obstruction as she tried to take everything in. Traders from all over the world were there selling fabrics, spices, food and fish.

"Krista," Lazarus shook his head, pulling her back down and away from the strange people that littered the street, "Remember, we are not here to shop."

Krista looked at him with annoyance; he did not need to remind her why she was here. Krista doubted she would ever forget the reason. They traveled for a few more minutes, winding through crowds of people, numerous faces peering in at them and Krista knew they were sizing them up. One merchant asked their driver if they were bound for the arena which their captor confirmed and informed the merchant on how to make a bet here. Soon, over the clot of the horses and raised voices, Krista heard the familiar sound of steel upon steel. It rang out like the voice of an old friend.

"The arena of Danghmar," Tiberius gritted through his teeth as they passed though a smaller wooden gate into a simple clearing in the middle of town which had been marked out by rocks. There were two slaves currently engaged in a sword fight with just the line of rocks parting them and their audience. 

"This isn't an arena," Krista frowned at Tiberius, wondering what he was speaking of. Krista had grown up inside the walls of a real amphitheater; this looked like nothing more than a street brawl. 

"OUT, YOU PACK OF DOGS!" The doors at the back of their cage were thrown open by a soldier of Commander Niclaus's and hands reached in to haul them out. Waiting for her turn, Krista hopped down after Lazarus; their ankles bound together by thick iron that kept them filed into a single line.

"MARCH!" The soldier barked at them and they began their slow trudge along the wall away from the audience. The sun was warm against her skin and it gave her courage. It was the only thing that Niclaus could not take away from her.

Many a free man felt the constant heat of the sun and found it a pest but Krista found it anything but. She longed to lie in a field of flowers, face turned upward towards the sky, knowing she was not about to be cut open from naval to nose at the first opportunity. But Niclaus tried to take everything else from her; clothes were deemed a privilege for the rich and upstanding, not something to be sullied by slaves so they were provided with as little fabric as possible.

Bound by painted gold thread at the top of each shoulder, pale white fabric fell down either side of her body, covering her breasts before wrapping around her waist and falling loosely off her hips. Gold thread was intricately wrapped around her torso, holding the fabric and her breasts in place, but it did nothing to hide the obvious slit down her front.

The back was no better with the cloth exposing almost the entirety of her back before pooling at the base of her spine. As much flesh had to be visible as possible if the punters were to see the injuries without fabric blocking what they had paid to see. 

The frayed edges of the fabric brushed her mid-thigh. At first they had irritated her but as she had grown into her body she hated them due to the looks men gave her. Even the other women, dressed in similar barbaric outfits had pulled at Krista's clothes with a sneering jibe aimed at her person. Krista hadn't know why they chose to harass her; she was in the exact same position as they were. Maybe that was why Krista preferred the company of men. At least with them she knew where she stood.

"Get in there!"

Krista lifted her head at the sound of their guard's voice to see that they had arrived at their new accommodation. A long tunnel bound either end by thick metal gates with barred arches stretching down the left side, allowing in very little light as it looked upon a small square of sand. But what caught Krista by surprise was that theirs was not the only cell.

There were four long caged tunnels, each making up the side of a square, with five tigers chained up in the middle.

The creatures leashes was long enough for them to jump up against the bars of their cells and swipe their paws through the gaps. They prowled up and down the bar, their might jaws partly open as if waiting for any opportunity. 

That's why no one was sitting over that side, Krista thought, mesmerised by the pure beauty and power of the animals. Taking her seat beside Lazarus as their chains were unlocked from their ankles, Krista watched a tiger that was stretched up against the cell opposite them. His magnificent body was striped with glorious oranges and fierce blacks. 

Her gaze was torn from the tiger when she felt the guard's hand slide up her calf and across the sensitive skin of the inside of her thigh. 

"Hey!" Kicking out of reflex, Krista's boot connected with his shoulder and he crashed to the ground, silence reigning down as everyone watched what had just happened. Krista's eye's widened out of fear of what might be his retaliation.

"You little whore!" The guard stood, pulling his armor straight before he sent a measurable fist into her jaw, causing her head to knock to the side from the force of the blow and to stumble backwards into Lazarus's firm chest. 

Krista gritted her teeth against the dull pain that radiated in her cheek mirroring the anger in her chest.

The soldiers quickly finished unshackling the rest of them but the guard did not touch her again and they left, bolting the doors shut behind them.

"Let me see," Lazarus lifted his hand off of her arm to check her cheek when the tigers started to stalk their cage; short growls escaping its hungry lips when, suddenly, it spun on its paws and leapt at the bars. 

Krista looked across and saw Martha teasing the poor creature. Krista hoped the tiger tore her arm off. When it was evident that Martha wasn't going to stop, Krista got to her feet as the animal grew agitated, "Stop it." 

The tiger's jaw was open, his tongue dangling out, as he panted against the insane heat of the midday sun that beat down on him mercilessly. He would die of exhaustion if Martha did not stop soon and let the poor creature rest. All of them were caged animals, Krista tried to rationalize. 

Martha just scoffed at her before she turned back to the bars and continued to tease the poor creature making Krista angry. The other tigers were watching her with wide eager eyes.

"I said," Krista stormed over and yanked Martha up by the arm, "Stop it!"

Martha lifted her spare hand to land a punch into Krista's gut but Martha had barely been with them a month. She had yet to learn the rules of being a slave and Krista had been there her entire life.

Spinning her around, Krista pulled Martha's arm around her back, threatening to break it, and then where would she be in the arena? 

Placing her lips close to Martha's ear, Krista spoke in a threatening tone, "I told you to leave him alone." 

"Or what?" Martha snapped making a feeble attempt to escape as she jabbed her heel onto Krista's foot. It hurt slightly but Krista simply sunk her fingers into Martha's hair and slammed her face against the stone wall before letting her drop to the floor mere inches away from the tiger's bars. Krista smiled when the tiger Martha had been teasing threw himself against the bars and roared in her face, making her scramble away in fear.

The tiger then sat back on his haunches and looked up at Krista with a strange glisten in his eyes; a hairless white scar stretching from the corner of his right eye across his snout to the tip of his jaw. To everyone he would look terrifying but Krista just saw a kindred spirit; they had both been taken from their family, caged and abused. The tiger let out a small chuff in her direction before he slowly bowed his head and laid down on his front like a sphinx. 

Following his lead, she kneeled on the ground by the bars, resting her head against the stone wall as he laid guard to her. Krista stared into the tiger's wide amber eyes and wondered where he had come from and how he came to be here. Feeling as if she was being watched, Krista lifted her head away from the tiger and looked up to see a man watching her intently.

He was stood near the back of his own cell; his face was covered by shadow and from this distance all Krista could make out was a tall, strong figure with ragged long hair that fell to his shoulders.

He simply turned away from her and Krista went back to watching her tiger as Martha recovered in the corner, glaring at the both of them.

When she tried to make a move on Krista the tiger simply threw his two hundred pound body against the bars, his roar chilling everyone to the bone along with the fierce protectiveness in his eyes.

Krista could not help but smile at the brief moment of happiness amidst a life of turmoil.

And then somewhere in the distance, a gong sounded.