Chapter 201 The Dawn of a Warrior I (1/2)

Ebony sucked in a breath as quietly as she could through her slightly parted lips. She'd spent the week in training with the subordinates of Madame, and had excelled at many things more than they did. It became obvious to many of the teachers that Ebony was not new to serving Masters. Still, she never let that defeat her newfound desire for freedom.

Over the week, she'd only met once with Aegin, but his confidence in being able to protect her, and by extent escaping at some point, had been clear to see. Aegin had not reserved himself to remaining a prisoner here on Herguard, so Ebony saw no reason to believe otherwise, even if she was somewhat skeptical.

Ebony had been brought up to the stands of the Warrior's Arena this morning. The Madame had thought it fitting that Ebony watch her fate play out before her. In a place that had a reputation like the Warrior's Arena, Ebony was anxious to watch. But this was Aegin, and when it came to a fight, the only one Ebony had ever seen him lose against was Rassa.

Her anxiety over what Aegin would have to face almost completely overwrote the fact that she was currently standing at the Madame's flank, a slave collar around her neck that was attached to a rope, the other end of which was grasped lazily in the Madame's hands. The Madame didn't trust Ebony, nobody could afford to trust anybody around here, but the Madame did trust that Ebony wasn't stupid enough to try and escape from where she was.

The Madame was right, but that only made Ebony more annoyed at the fact that she was standing beside such a woman.

”What do you think Madame?” asked the Slave Master from his seat beside her, ”Will the boy survive?”

The Madame sighed in obvious boredom, ”That entirely depends on what you've concocted to go up against him. Though it would be a shame to lose such marvelously trained goods”.

The Slave Master glanced at Ebony, aware that the Madame was not in the least concerned about Aegin.

”You've taken a liking to it?”

”Well, if it wasn't currently incapacitated I would have put it to work,” the Madame replied, ”I'd make a fortune with this one”.

”Well, the boy seemed confident I'd make a fortune off of him alone,” said the Slave Master, ”If he survives the next three days, perhaps we could even make it a competition of who could earn more?”

The Madame sighed, ”I couldn't think of a more boring way to pass my time”.

The Slave Master chuckled, turning to look back at the Arena floor where one of the four gates was opening.

Ebony held her breath as she watched Aegin step through it, armed with a spear and a belt with six throwing knives in it. He held no shield, something that the crowd whispered about being strange for a new warrior. He'd surely die without one. Ebony took another breath. No need to be anxious over this, he'd more than proved how deadly he could be without a shield.

The announcer, a portly man who stood in a box beside the VIP stand, looked to the Slave Master in question. The Slave Master just nodded.

”Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome our challenger, Warrior Aegin!”

The crowd gave a polite clap. They hadn't seen what he could do yet, but not bringing a shield was stupid.

”Warrior Aegin has Challenged the Slave Master himself in order to protect his one true love,” the Announcer said it mockingly, but there was a wave of interest through the crowd. Ebony didn't know how to feel about everything thinking she and Aegin were together. It had been a good rouse at first, but it hadn't actually occurred to her that she may need to keep it up.

”The Slave Master has answered with Three Trials,” the Announcer Continued, ”Should Warrior Aegin complete them, he shall win the freedom of his love”.

Ebony chocked back a scoff, clearing her throat. 'Freedom' clearly had a different meaning here. The Slave Master turned to look at her, and Ebony looked back for a moment before she turned to Aegin.

”The First of the Challenges...The Pentablade”.

The crowd seemed to shake with excitement as the gate opposite Aegin opened. Five warriors, each holding a sword variant of some kind, stepped forward together. Compared to Aegin on the opposing side of the Arena, the Pentablade certainly commanded a far larger aura and respect from the audience. There were cheers throughout the crowd.

Clearly, the Slave Master was not going to make the trials easy by any means.

Ebony bit back a protest. It was not her place to question, and chances were pretty much none that she could convince the Slave Master to be more fair. This was the Warrior's Arena. 'Fair' was unlikely to ever pass through the gates.

Ebony's eyes fell on Aegin, who stood still as he stared across the flat Arena. There was nowhere to run or hide here. Nothing to use to his advantage. The Announcer spoke again.

”This fight will be to the death. Let the Trial begin”.