"What do you mean you can't release him?!?!"
I flinched at Opia's screeching. I was sitting in a round room somewhere underneath The Sands. After Opia had confessed her love- though "declared" or "forced" would be better words for it- Ventos had spared me my life, and Opia had tried to walk out of the arena with me. Obviously, the guards stopped her, and after a lot of yelling and posturing, we ended up in this room. Opia, Ventos, and the short man that I had seen with her in the store (whose name I now knew was Gregory) and I were all sitting in front of a desk that was occupied by my least favorite man on Roma.
"I mean we can't release him," Asserted Raul, smiling broadly at Opia, "And nor do we want to. He has committed horrible crimes, and he would be a danger to both you and the community if we let you simply walk away with him."
"But I said that I want him!" Opia gasped, apparently unable to believe that he could have any sort of reason that could supersede that. I couldn't help but be disgusted with her. As much as I wanted to leave here, the level of arrogant privilege radiating off of this girl was revolting. I had never met anyone who deserved so little respect.
Raul saw the face I was pulling and winked at me, smiling like we were still friends. If it weren't for the kaicor manacles that had been put back on me and the guards stationed inside and outside the room, I would've smashed his head in right then. As it was, I had to settle for imagining all the ways I could kick his ass if we were in an enclosed room with no way of getting out. I think it helped a little.
Raul rubbed his chin, "Well, there is something that you could do besides take him away with you."
Opia perked up at that, "Really??? What is it?!? I'll do anything if it means getting closer to my honey." She rushed over to me, flinging her arms around my neck and pulling me uncomfortably close to her. Her earlier demeanor completely flipped from nearly hysterical to bubbly, and I was a bit caught off guard, so it took me a second to start trying to subtly get her off of me.
Raul continued to smile, but I thought I saw the edge of his mouth twitch slightly, "Well, you could sponsor him," Raul began to explain, "A citizen can, with the permission of The Sands Arena Council, sponsor any fighter of the arena, even criminals. You can provide them with weapons, armor, and other equipment as you see fit by paying a suitable fee to the arena itself. A sponsor can, of course, make requests of the fighter they sponsor, under threat of the removal of their sponsorship."
Opia's eyes widened, "You mean I could ask him on dates???"
Raul exhaled slightly through his nose, "He can't leave the arena, but you could certainly come here to meet with him whenever you wanted. You could even bring food or entertainment."
Opia seemed to consider this for a moment, then clapped her hands together.
"Alright!" She exclaimed, "That's what I'll do then!" She turned to me, putting her hands on my thighs and leaning in so that I was forced to draw my face back, "Don't worry sweetie, I'll make sure we get to spend lots of time together. I'll talk to my daddy about getting you out of here too."
She started leaning even farther forward, and just in time I turned my face so she kissed my cheek instead of my mouth. She looked a little put-out at my unwillingness to make out with a girl I didn't know from Pelliena, but surprisingly she didn't make a big fuss about it. She got back off of me and faced Raul again.
"So what do I need to do to sponsor my pumpkin?" She said girlishly.
"Well," Raul said, keeping a straight face while I nearly wretched behind Opia, "You would need to get with the treasurer, located in the finance building on 22nd street, where you would pay the initial installment of-"
"You know what," Opia interrupted, "How about you tell all of that to Greg. Greg," She looked at the short man, "Make sure to take care of it, understood?"
Greg, for his part, looked like he would rather advocate for common rights to the church of Markus than listen to this girl's selfish whims, but regardless, he got up and bowed.
"As you wish, my lady," He said resignedly.
Satisfied that things were going her way once again, Opia turned back to Raul, "I'll be coming back later today for our first date, so make sure everything is ready, won't you?"
Raul rose from his chair and bowed slightly, "I will ensure the necessary preparations are made. Of course, I will move him to a different room so his cellmate won't be in the way-"
"Cellmate?!" Opia gasped, turning to me, "What does he mean cellmate?! You're living with someone?! Are you cheating on me already?! Is it a woman?! What's her name?!"
Flustered, I answered instinctually, "I, uh, call her Almond, but I don't really know-"
"ALMOND?!?" Shrieked Opia, starting to turn an angry red, "What kind of name is 'Almond'? She sounds like some common slut!!!"
Without waiting for an answer, she whipped back around to Raul, slamming her small hands on his desk with surprising force, "I demand to be taken to his room! Show me where it is! Right. Now!"
For once, even Raul looked annoyed, but after a moment of silence he smiled and gestured to one of the guards near the desk, "Take Fentryl with you and show Lady Opia to Donny's cell."
The guard nodded and led us out of the room. I gestured to another guard to take the rear, and we began walking back to my cell. As we made our way there, I thought that maybe this situation wouldn't be so bad. She might be more spoiled than month-old milk, but if I had a sponsor and could get some armor and decent weapons, it would make a huge difference in the arena. I could put up with her for a few hours a day until she eventually got bored with me, as I was sure she would eventually. We eventually made it back to my cell while I was contemplating whether I should use armor from now on or just stick to my usual style.
The guard up front stopped in front of my cell. "This is it, my lady," he said to Opia, "Would you like us to open it up?"
"Of course I want you to open it, you dolt," Huffed Opia, tapping her expensive silk shoe on the dusty stone floor, "Do you think I came into this horrid building so I could stare at a closed door?!?"
I stood back quietly and Opia ranted to the guard to hurry up with the keys. I didn't know what she was doing here, but I guessed Almond was probably going to be kicked out and I would get to live alone, which suited me just fine. I wouldn't mind having one less thing to worry about at night.
The guards got the door open, and Opia practically stormed past them into the room. "Where is she?!?" She snapped, "Where is that little man-stealing bitch?!?"
Ventos and the guard who had lead her there followed her into the cell. I stood back. There was no point going in there with them. Things would get cramped anyway, so I just stood outside with the other guards, watching.
It looked like Opia had walked in on Almond as she had been going to the bathroom in the hole in the corner, and Almond had just barely gotten her bottoms up in time for Opia to grab her by the hair and pull her up almost to her feet with surprising ease.
"So," Opia sneered, "This is the skank that's been trying to take my man from me?" She scoffed loftily, "She's nothing but a little brat."
She forcefully threw Almond to the other end of the cell, where her fall was broken by the pile of straw that made my bed. Despite the presence of the straw I still heard a snap, and when she started to get up she made a face and looked at her ankle, which was already turning black and blue. She settled for sitting down on the straw and giving Opia a dirty look.
"Who do you think you're looking at?!?" Opia raged, "You think you ever had a chance against me?!? You little brat!"
She stormed across the room and kicked Almond directly in the stomach. Almond coughed, and even in the dim lighting of the cell, I saw blood splatter from her mouth onto the sandy floor.
"What?!?" Opia was seething now, putting her heel on Almond's shoulder and grinding hard against it, "Nothing to say now? You don't want to give me any more dirty looks, you filthy fucking whore-??"
Ventos grabbed her shoulder, "My lady. Perhaps it is best that we-"
"SHUT UP VENTOS!" Opia screamed, now in a full-on frenzy that would put even Gorthanxel, the god of rage, to shame. She pushed off Ventos's hand and turned back to Almond, rearing back her hand to slap her.
As I watched this, I wondered at first why she was so worked up. She didn't even know me.
SLAP!
It's really too bad that no one can do anything. Even Ventos was just pushed off.
SLAP!
Look at her. Hasn't she had enough? Is she even conscious?
SLAP!
Is she even alive?
SLAP!
Well, it has nothing to do with me…
"Stay away from my Donny!" Her hand curled into a fist, and she threw one more Strength-enhanced punch.
But it never connected. Using the kaicor bands on my wrists, I dove in front of Opia and positioned myself so that she would hit the bands. The moment her skin touched the kaicor, all of the power left her fist, which harmlessly bounced off of my arm. But Opia's expression went from fury to surprise even faster than that.
"Donny?" Opia squeaked, "What are you-?"
"Don't call me that," I said grimly. The guards, surprised at my speed since I couldn't use Sights, were already moving to grab me. Stepping to the side, I forced them to either force Opia out of the way, or stay on the other side of her. Ventos, for his part, had already drawn his sword and leveled it against my throat. I hoped that wasn't a position I would get used to.
"What do you mean?" Opia said, beginning to tear up, "Why would you help that little brat? Don't you love me anymore? You wouldn't really choose her over me, would you?"
Despite the sword at my throat, I looked back over my shoulder at the bloody, broken heap on the ground. I could see her back rising and falling just slightly, and I wondered if anyone besides Raul had looked, much less cared, to see if I was alive back then…
I locked my eyes on Opia's. "I don't like the idea of being sponsored by someone who would beat a child like that. So how about you take your sponsorship and shove it up your ass," I looked at Ventos, "Feel free to do the same with your sword."
Ventos's mouth twitched a little, but he didn't move his sword. Opia, on the other hand, had a much more pronounced reaction. She gaped her mouth at me for a few moments, making no more sound than a fish gasping out of water. Before too long her shock turned to indignation, then to fury.
"How- How dare you!" She seethed, "I wanted to give you anything- everything you wanted! You were going to be famous! You were going to belong to me!"
She pointed at Ventos with a murderous look in her eye, "Ventos! Kill him!!!"
As Ventos drew his sword back to plunge into my heart, I steeled myself for the inevitable. Even if I could avoid the sword, I couldn't use Sights, and I was severely outnumbered. I briefly considered why I had decided to go so far for this. Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore...
"I think not."
Opia whipped around to see who would dare contradict her orders, only to come face to face with Raul Menda, who had moved through the guards to stand behind Opia. He was wearing a smile as usual, but there was a draw to his brow that let me know that he was planning something already. If only I had noticed that sort of thing before.
"And why not?!" Opia demanded, "He had the nerve-"
"I think you are the one with 'nerve,' my lady," Raul said somewhat flatly, "Donavan Rex is a prisoner of The Sands Arena, and he must serve his sentence as was intended. No citizen, regardless of influence, may kill a prisoner without the permission of the Council."
"But I can't simply let him get away with this insult!" Opia pouted like a toddler.
"I understand, my lady," Raul said more respectfully, his smile widening, "But I still cannot allow you to directly punish him. However, there is another way for you to receive justice upon your honor."
I scowled at Raul. He was doing it again, manipulating the people around him to his advantage. To make matters worse he had saved my life- again. If you don't know already, it's an incredibly frustrating experience to be saved by the person you despise most in the world. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position to tell him to screw off.
Opia looked at Raul, no longer furious, "And that way is…?"
"A duel!" Raul declared, spreading his hands in a very dramatic way considering we were standing in a tiny, dark, dirty cell, "You may challenge any willing participant to a duel, setting conditions that must be followed given the victory of a party. Of course," He smiled at me, "Since Donny here is a prisoner of The Sands, only a representative of The Sands may accept duels and create conditions on his behalf. I would, of course, be happy to take up such a task," He bowed to Opia.
Opia considered this for a moment, "And I can have Ventos be his opponent if I wish?"
Raul nodded, "Of course, my lady."
Opia considered it for a second more, then smiled at Raul, "Think that will do quite nicely. And when Ventos wins," She turned back to me, glaring with a toxic smile, "I want Donny to be given to me."
I don't think I need to tell you what I thought of that.
"That would be difficult," Raul immediately responded, as though he had expected this, "To give up a prisoner, especially one with such a high combat capability as Donavan, would hurt The Arena. To ensure the reward matches the risk, I would need to counter with two conditions," He held up a finger, "First, If Donny wins then you must pay a fee to the arena, which we can determine the exact value of later."
"That would be fine of course," Opia said dismissively, "I will speak with my father and get the appropriate funds."
"And second," Continued Raul, putting up a second finger, "You will be banned from challenging Donavan again," He put up a hand preemptively to stop Opia's protest, "You have many resources, and I would like to avoid clogging up our schedule with too many personal duels."
Opia pouted a little but eventually gave in, "Fine. Ventos won't lose anyway," She turned to the door and began walking out, "I would like to set the date as soon as possible if you don't mind," She said to Raul.
Ventos immediately began walking out after her, taking the point of his sword away from my throat. Once they moved, the guards that had been trying to get to me started to move around Raul to grab me.
"Leave him," Raul ordered, "He's already in his cell after all," He glanced at Almond, a flash of disgust appearing on his face for a moment, "I suppose I should send someone for her."
With that, he turned to leave. I stared after him. Once again, there were so many things that I wanted to ask him, and once again, I couldn't hold myself back.
"Why?" I blurted out, causing him to stop and look at me, one eyebrow raised.
"Why what?" He responded, actually looking somewhat confused.
I turned a light shade of red, partly out of embarrassment, and partly out of anger. The flow of questions came out in waves, and I couldn't have stopped it even if I wanted to, "Why did you save me back then? Why did you teach me to fight? Why did stop her? Why did you do all of this?" I thrust out my manacled hands towards him.
Raul's confused expression turned into a smile, then a chuckle. After a moment of restrained mirth, he looked up at me, and smiled widely;
"I just thought it would be fun."