Chapter 6

Krista looked up to see a handful of sand being thrown into her face.

She could feel the small grains stinging her eyes, the small training room turning blurry as water flowed down her cheeks.

Wiping away the salty water with the back of her hand, Krista stumbled to her feet and back into position as she heard the swish of a wooden sword narrowly miss her left ear.

At least inside Krista didn't have to worry about the sun blinding her as she dived forward into the sand, ducking under another blow from her opponent.

"Good!" A voice barked from somewhere in the background but Krista wasn't paying close attention as she rose up onto one knee and flew her sword up into the air behind her head to stop another blow from striking her in the back.

Pushing her opponent's blade away she took the few moments reprieve to jump to her feet and spin around to face her adversary.

Her vision was becoming clearer, allowing her once again to see the scar ridden face of her opponent, Leonidas.

The appearance of so many scars, both healed and new, made everyone pause in their step as they mentally considered the amount of violence this man had been through.

He was missing half of his right eyebrow and if one were to look closely they could see the slight indent in his lower lip as the skin was stretched downwards, and yet they still held a permanent smirk to them.

Despite this, Krista had learnt that he was something of a commodity to the women, and the men, in the Ludus Magnus gladiator school.

And Krista was starting to learn why.

For nearly the entirety of their time training together, Krista had been on the defensive.

A small group of trainers and judges had appeared in the narrow doorway, watching Krista carefully.

Knowing that this match was important, Krista felt it was time to reverse the tables and make Leonidas the one on the defensive.

After blocking various strikes to her body, Leonidas was driving her backwards into a corner but Krista had a different plan.

Hitting off one final blow from Leonidas, Krista spun to face the wall and ran through the thick layer of sand beneath her feet.

Kicking sand up behind her into Leonidas, Krista planted her right foot onto the small ledge that ran around the room, and pushed herself into the air.

Using her momentum in her favour, Krista pressed her left foot flat against the wall.

Her body was now parallel with the floor as it appeared as if she was running along the wall.

But she had barely taken two steps before she twisted in the air and dove over the top of Leonidas's head, her flat wooden sword hitting his back.

The sound of wood against flesh rang out across the room as she made one final flip in mid-air, before landing firmly back on her feet facing Leonidas, who now harboured a large red welt across his back.

If it had been a real sword, Krista would have feared for his survival.

Krista allowed herself a small smile as Leonidas stayed staring at the wall for a moment before he turned and sensed his defeat.

Krista levelled her sword at his neck.

* * *

Krista held her jaw delicately in her palm.

Leaning against the stone pillar, Krista looked out across the green where no less than half a dozen pairs of gladiators were training with wooden weapons.

She tried to block out the memory of how Leonidas had turned from the corner and, like a controlled animal, fought back, delivering swift blows to her body but she could not.

She had defended as best she could but every once in a while a strike would get past her lines.

She tried not to think about it but it occupied her thoughts.

She had been given time for food with the rest of her section of Gladiatrixes but after finding the food was too rich for her stomach she had taken a plain bowl of bread and soup and left.

Turning away from the fighting, Krista took her first chance of free time to explore her new home for the foreseeable future.

Shouts, grunts and cries filled the background until Krista barely recognized it anymore.

Taking a chunk out of her bread, wincing when her jaw ached from the movement, Krista lifted her head and gazed up at the statues of the Gods which had been placed into alcoves in the wall.

After passing Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, there came Mars and Apollo.

But it was in front of the beautiful statue of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, that Krista stopped.

The daughter of Jupiter who had been born with shield and spear; Krista had quickly adopted her as her favourite of the Roman Gods.

But it did not mean that Krista never prayed to Vesta, the Goddess of Home, or to Saturn, the God of Time, to undo what had been done.

But neither answered her prayers. At least with Minerva, she could pretend that her winning in the arena had been due to some higher plan rather than needless fighting and death.

"I prefer Ares." A chill ran up Krista's spine as she heard the man's voice.

She had never heard Artorius of Athens speak but she knew it would be him and a look over her shoulder only confirmed it.

Krista immediately turned back to the statue, hoping he would leave but it seemed none of the Gods were answering her prayers today.

"Your kind call her Minerva." He nodded at the statue.

Krista bristled at the words 'your kind'.

"But we call her Athena," Artorius stepped forward and gazed adoringly up at the woman, entrancing Krista at the pureness in his voice.

It was as if he had laid eyes upon the woman himself and would not let anyone call her anything but her given name.

"I prefer Mars." Krista turned to leave.

"We Greeks call him Ares-" Artorius turned with her until they were facing each other but as soon as his eyes gazed upon her face he froze, his lips parting at the open wounds.

Krista withheld the urge to look away; she could not show any fear and yet something inside of her did not wish Artorius to see her this way.

Weak and wounded; it's not who Krista was.

"Who did you have?" Artorius asked, quickly losing his shock at seeing the bruise across her cheek, the dried blood on her lips and her swollen eye socket.

"Leonidas." Krista felt it was pointless to deny it.

Artorius nodded his head, his black hair pinned back at the top until only a few lengths sculpted his face, "I have fought Leonidas before."

Krista looked at him quizzically.

"You were lucky to get away with only that. Pray you do not meet him in the arena." Artorius gave a fleeting glance up to Minerva before settling his ebony eyes back on her brown ones, her skin feeling as it was on fire under his gaze.

"He should pray he does not meet me in the arena." Krista arched an eyebrow as she stepped forward, her soup growing cold in her palm.

"I have heard good things about you," Artorius blocked her path, forcing her to look him in the eyes and Krista realised their faces were mere inches from each other's.

Krista wondered where he had heard such things. He didn't know she existed before Danghmar.

The name of the city itself reminding Krista of the way he had methodologically tortured his opponent for the pleasure and adoration of the crowd.

It made her heart race.

"I look forward to meeting you on the sands." Artorius murmured as an arrogant smirk spread back onto his lips.

"Then here," Krista thrust her bowl of soup into his hands, "You're going to need all the strength you can get."

Taking a purposeful bite out of her bread before she placed that too into his palm, Krista gave him a small smile as she turned and headed back up the arcade.

Krista didn't dare look over her shoulder the entire length of the corridor in fear he would be watching her.

But as she slipped under a doorway and turned down the new corridor, she immediately pressed her back against the wall the moment she was out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, she peered around the corner and back down the arcade towards Minerva's statue.

He had left the soup bowl and Artorius was gone.

* * *

Artorius didn't know what it was about Krista that made him keep returning to her side.

Not that she knew he was there most of the time.

He had enough women, slaves and nobility alike, falling at his feet. As the Champion of Athens he could have any woman he chose and yet he wanted Krista.

Maybe it was the way her dark hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders and across her breasts or the way her eyes were deep and filled with knowledge she feared someone would discover.

Or maybe it was the way she walked with a purpose.

Artorius had noticed how most women walked slowly with small steps but Krista's strides were long and, although he had yet to see her fight in the arena, he knew she would be a perfect fighter.

Some would call her an Amazon. Other's a Goddess.

Artorius didn't know which yet but as she thrust her soup bowl into his rough palms making a quip remark about needing his strength he knew immediately that she was unlike any of the others.

She wasn't interested in flirtation and she could take an equal fight as was evident from the knocking she had taken under Leonidas.

Watching her tall lithe form slip down the corridor, he was holding his breath as he waited for her to look over her shoulder.

They all looked over their shoulder when they walked away from him. It was an unconscious sign that they were intrigued by him.

But the further Krista walked away the more Artorius was fighting for breath; she wasn't looking back.

Placing the bowl on the side of the statue, the soup was cold anyway, he slipped into an archway ten feet away and waited.

Pressing his body back against the marble, his metal pauldron scratching the wall, he peered back down the corridor in time to see her slip inside a doorway.

Artorius frowned; why hadn't she looked back?

But then he saw it. As he remained standing there for a few moments, he saw her long dark hair falling in ringlets in the air as she tilted her head back around the doorway and stared straight at the statue where he had once stood.

She was barely there for a few seconds but it didn't decrease the severity of the moment.

Artorius felt his lips pull back into a wide grin.

"Krista." Artorius whispered, realising that he liked the sound of her name on his tongue.