Slave Unbound Ch. 26

It was easy for Leita to evade their clumsy assault, half of her defense coming from just letting them get in each other's way. While she might not have Sasiniel's natural gracefulness or years of experience mastering Sie Faen Gael, Leita had learned more than enough of it to use the dance-like form to slip around their strikes and swings. While taking on a group of seasoned and trained opponents from the stable would have been difficult, she was more than capable of handling these three novices.

Yulni seemed the most surprised by his inability to connect, having only been here a couple days now and still unfamiliar with just who she was. The other two had been here more than a full week and were more aware of the talent that everyone ascribed to her. That didn't mean they fully understood it or weren't still arrogant that, especially outnumbering her three to one, they were a match for her.

She decided that Genmar would be the first to get a clue. When he made his next thrust, already ham-handed and made worse by his attempts to keep from running into Yulni, Leita pivoted away from the stab with her body, mindful to keep Yulni's own swing on the opposite side of the thrust from the direction she rolled.

As half-expected, Yulni's weapon clipped across Genmar's, throwing both of them off balance for a second. In that second, Leita put her heel into the back of Genmar's trailing knee, which happened to be on the side she'd rolled to. It folded instantly beneath him and his weight, already poorly centered beneath him, sent him staggering forward and to the side, his body dipping downwards. Her follow-up back-fist landing square into the rear of his skull, propelling him completely off his feet and nose first into the dirt.

Without missing a beat or wasting an ounce of motion, she ducked under the incoming swing of Vickler moving past him and pivoting to face his back before he could even register. Having seen what just happened to his teammate, Vickler wisely leapt forward to escape whatever punch or kick she might be about to unleash. In the gap he left, Yulni charged in.

Leita stepped to his right, hooked out a foot to catch his leading step, and sent him too crashing to the earth. As an added bonus, his attempt to keep his footing caused him to land right on top of Genmar. While the two of them struggled to get up, Leita advanced towards Vickler, who had already recovered and turned to make a fresh attack at her.

As he made a wide, horizontal slash at her, she ducked beneath the swing, and landed a punch to his right axilla. When he brought the swing back, the sudden numbness running down his arm from her hit made the attack even more sloppy, making it easy for her to, once again, duck under the oncoming weapon and land a punch, this time directly to his solarplexius. He gasped at the unexpectedly hard strike, unprepared, as most people were, by just how deceptively strong she was.

As he stumbled backwards, coughing and heaving, Leita returned her attention to the two climbing back to their feet behind her. Blood was running liberally from Genmar's nose, from where he'd landed on it. The pain of it had seemed to make him very wary and unsure, shying backwards from the small blonde girl who was making the three of them look like clowns. However, Yulni seemed to have gotten angry, his pride more bruised than his body, and was already moving to attack.

Leita side stepped his initial chop, ducked the follow-up slash, and then caught his wrist on the backswing, halting it instantly, and stepping beneath the arm. She slammed her elbow into his ribs twice before pulling the arm forward across her shoulders, planting her hip into his belly, and flipping him completely over her body to land on his back in the dirt. Still holding his arm, now twisted at a brutal angle, she dropped her heel into his shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from him as he released the practice sword from his suddenly numb hand.

Without missing a beat, she lifted her leg again from him and kicked straight backwards, hitting Genmar hard enough in the belly to send him crumpling over onto his knees. Vickler was a step behind his charge, sword raised in both hands to bring down a heavy chop. Leita released her grip on Yulni, stepped right into the oncoming rush, dropping her shoulder.

In the next moment, Vickler was flipping ass over ears through the air to land on top of Yulni, knocking the last bits of air and fight from the both of them. She paused to consider the trio, all three on the ground, groaning and clutching various parts of their bodies. They didn't appear eager to jump back up and continue. Considering that less than two minutes had passed since they'd started, it wasn't the most auspicious of starts for them.

"You have five minutes to catch your breath." Leita said calmly, as if she hadn't just thrashed the three men severely. "Then we'll try again."

She thought she heard Genmar sob.

While the three of them tried to recover, she stepped over to the water barrel, dipping the ladle in and taking a long draw. As she drank, she noticed more than a few other gladiators in the yard looking over at the pile of newbies with considerable amusement. To her surprise, one of them was Kalder, seeming pleased with the little show of force. Considering that her first day on the pitch, he'd nearly cracked her skull, just to prove a point, she figured she shouldn't be all that surprised he approved of her brutal teaching style.

"Guess my sandals are well filled." Myrinus seemed to appear out of nowhere beside her, plucking the ladle from her hand to get a drink himself.

She gave him a wan smile. "I suppose so. I take it that you've been told what your future holds."

The mariner gave a nod and a shrug. "To be honest, one House is the same as another. I fight there, as I have fought here. In neither will I likely see the ocean again."

"However, it is possible that the next time we meet, it will be as opponents in the arena." Leita pointed out, though the notion didn't seem to bother him much.

"I welcome it." He said with a chuckle. "I will face both a worthy gladiator and one who will fight with honor and mercy. Opponent is not the same as enemy. Too many forget that."

"Do you know what House you are being traded to?" She asked, feeling a little awkward, despite Myrinus' lack of real concern with his impending change. He had become a friend here, one of the few that felt truly like a friend, someone she'd gotten close to. A part of her wanted to say a proper goodbye, in much the same fashion as what had forged their bond to begin with. However, she didn't dare defy her Mistress' orders in that regard.

"House Warforger." He replied in a boastful tone. "Best House in the Grand Arena. My performance against my would-be assassin must'a caught Master Solivier's eye. But then, I was inspired to make it a spectacle."

From what she'd heard, it most certainly had been. The execution match had been against the guard who had stabbed him before the fight with House Bloodwalker's gladiator, Lamaran. While Leita was still unsure if it had been Cookie who had organized the attack, this guard was unquestioningly who had planted the shiv, having not bothered to conceal himself to the blue-lipped sailor he'd assumed wouldn't survive. Being a slave whom he'd nearly killed, a slave who had not, in fact, died, the guard should have only faced dismissal from his service as a guard and mostly punitive punishments. Sabrina, however, had worked her charm with the Prime Judiciary and had him sentenced with death via arena execution.

The Grand Arena had happily obliged, preferring to make an example of the man, so that the Houses felt that they could trust their gladiators to the Arena's guards. As for Myrinus, it afforded him a chance to get personal revenge for the attempt on his life. He'd not just executed the man, but literally cut him slowly to pieces as the crowds roared. Sabrina had described much of it that night to Leita, after she'd returned from the arena, while the two of them lay in bed together. Though Leita had not witnessed it personally, her Mistress's description of every move had been vivid enough to easily picture it.

Leita took the water ladle back from him, smiling at his bravado. "At least, it is all over and done with now. Both Cookie and her pawn are dead, Master Venge got his petty revenge, and, apparently, the Baroness thinks I'm already dead."

The last bit had proven rather humorous to Leita. Mistress had happened to run into the Baroness Wilholme at some social party and overheard her going on about how 'glorious' her ex-slave's death had been. Sabrina had chosen not to step in and correct the mistake. In fact, she'd practically tittered with mischievous glee when she'd told Leita about the encounter, once again while they were entangled in the sheets of her bed. She had also describing how she'd gone as far as to congratulate the capricious noblewoman on her 'victory'. A detail that still made Leita laugh.

"And you are now an Element." He added with a wink.

Leita shook her head. "No, Kalder was clear to point out that the whole 'Elements' idea is over and that I am definitely not in any other position of leadership in the stable. I'm just a nursemaid for the new gladiators, really."

Myrinus laughed. "What'd you think Kalder saw me as? Also, Kalder may not see you as a leader, but he don't control how others see you." He guided her gaze around to a number of different members of the stable who she was on good terms with. People who often now openly disagreed with Kalder's negative opinions regarding her.

"I'm pretty sure Kalder will kill me dead the day he thinks I have more control of the stable than he does." She chuckled, grimly.

"Well, he will try." Myrinus chuckled back.

Good as she had become in such a short time, Leita had no delusions that Kalder was vastly superior to her as a warrior. He didn't often go to the Arena anymore, but when he did it was usually for fights with prestigious opponents or high-profile execution matches against deadly killers. Colja was exceedingly better than her and he maintained that Kalder could almost effortlessly defeat him.

Leita gave a shrug. "While I appreciate the vote of confidence, I think I'd have to hide behind Mistress to keep him from doing so."

She noticed that, while he let it drop, there was an expression on the mariner's face that suggested that he knew something more than she did. Regardless of whether it was just friendly support or a serious belief in her personal talents, she had no intentions of trying to cross swords with the massive rock-man. She'd rather just focus on managing the miracle of someday earning his respect.

"Whoever it is that comes from Warforger to replace me, make sure you give them a hard time." His blue lips turned up in a broad grin. "Let em know that they have some big sandals to fill as the 'new Myrinus'." He gave a laugh.

Leita gave another shrug. "I'm pretty sure there is only one Myrinus. Irreplaceable."

He considered the statement a moment, then nodded his agreement. "Then let House Warforger be grateful to have the one and only, eh?" He gave her a clap on the shoulder. "I will miss you, little girl."

"As will I miss you, blue boy." Leita laughed, returning the gesture. "I'll look for you on the sands."

"Probably best you go back to tenderizing the raw meat." Myrinus responded, nodding towards the three men who had managed to get back to their feet, looking a bit humbler now.

There was a strained moment that passed between them, an understanding that, were they free, their goodbyes to one another might have been something much more intimate. Though both carried no illusions that any of their sexual activities had meant anything personal, it was not possible to have shared something so carnal together without there being some kind of connection formed. She'd enjoyed their little acts of defiance against Cookie, probably would have sought him out for cold comforts on her own, in private, had events not intervened, but their bodies were not their own to do with as they pleased. It was a fact they both knew well.

In the end, the two settled for a simple clasping of wrists before parting. Parting, unknown to Leita, for the last time in this life.

"Okay, you've had your chance to catch your breath." She said to the three novice gladiators as she returned to them. "Let's try again with seeing if any of you can hit me. Maybe this time try to put a little effort to your own defense, not just focusing only on your attacks."

Genmar raised a hesitant finger. "In that idea, ma'am, may we grab some training armor first, ma'am?" He asked, his tone a bit shaky. It was also far more respectful to her now. She noticed the two other newbies reflecting the same nervous hopes for being allowed a little padding in their own expressions.

Leita glanced over to the racks of leather pads, considering them a moment, before look back at the trio. "Earn it." She replied with a dark grin, as she lowering into a ready posture.