She trailed after them down a familiar yet new corridor into a grand room. It was a vastly different set-up compared to the rest of the property Raven encountered thus far. Instead, the medieval style she'd come to expect, it resembled a Celtic fighting arena.
The crowd of people gathered around the borders of the fighting pit. They led the newcomer into the dirt-floored pit by a stranger's hand on the small of her back. Raven turned around and saw an unfamiliar girl standing behind me.
"Don't die. Trust your instincts in there," the girl offered me a daring yet soft smile. She whispered into Raven's ear before pushing her roughly into the mouth of the pit. Raven scurried to her feet and glared at the mysterious girl. The dirty blonde haired girl winked at her.
To say Raven was frightened would be the understatement of a decade. Her heart was in her throat as she stepped into the mouth of the arena. Immediately she was introduced to a charming fist to the jaw. It sent her soaring towards the herd of people gathered around the outskirts of the arena, against the barrier. The fall knocked the air from her lungs and left her feebly gasping for a single breath. She tried to find her footing again.
She heard booming laughter from above and strained her neck to see Artemis peering down at her with an amused look on his face. She wanted nothing more than to remove his smug grin. She knew exactly how to do it. She allowed the anger she felt from his mocking to fuel her. She spent her life being the punch line in other people's jokes and was determined to end that today!
She turned around towards her unknown opponent and lunged towards them. She was rewarded with a swift knee to the stomach put her on her back. She ignored the pain and jumped to my feet only to be knocked down again. She felt pathetic for being so weak and unable to prove herself as someone worthy of respect. She searched for an ounce of strength to fight back and then it hit her ... Sage! She needed to fight in order to get back to her. She was the only person who ever respected her enough to see her as more than a delinquent.
I needed to fight to get back to her.
Her body moved as if it had a mind of its own. She straddled her giant opponent and pummelled the man repeatedly with her fists until he drowned in his own blood. She was too consumed with her anger to realise that she won the battle. She could not bring herself to stop the assault. Each strike collided with his face at such a pace it soon seemed like her hands were in sync with each other. Under the pool of blood, she imaged the face of every person who had ever disregarded, abused or neglected me. She was hurting them all at once and it felt good.
A pair of strong arms pulled her off the messy corpse and into a constricting embrace. The victor struggled at first but soon relaxed into the embrace. She felt a sense of security in the embrace; one I've never felt before. She turned in her arms and found Lucifer looking at her with a stoic expression on her face. The bloody newcomer momentarily forgot about the man she killed and admired her roommate. Lucifer clenched her jaw and dropped Raven onto the floor. Once Raven became aware of her surroundings, applause and cheers were poured over the room. She turned back towards Lucifer; only to find the doting crowd where she had previously stood.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A prodigy perhaps? I haven't seen a display like that since Lucy took to the stage," looking like the adoring father I always wanted, Artemis spoke with a proud smile on his face.
For a second the orphan's heart swelled with pride. It ended just as soon as it started. She killed a man! She was a monster!
The crowd parted and two women walked towards her. The first was Lucifer and the other was the asshole who pushed me into the arena.
Artemis walked in between the two goddesses. The girls were polar opposites of each other. Where the one wore dark attire, the other was dressed in bright colours. Their demeanour contrasted with each other as well. Lucifer held a stoic and cold stance whilst her counterpart portrayed herself with arrogance and a hint of dangerous playfulness. She admired both of their beauty respectively. She saw how Lucifer's rich brown locks cascaded down onto either side of her neck. She wore dark eyeliner which emphasised her purple eyes enough for me to notice them from where Raven was standing.
The other had a softer feel radiating from her. Her dirty blonde hair and her tight-fitted white pants suit offered a layer of sophistication to her already appealing persona. Her playful smirk made her seem more approachable than Lucifer but something about the girl's aura made her want to reconsider that assessment of her.
All in all, the pair were polar opposites that somehow complemented each other in an unfathomable way.
Artemis finally drew Raven from her thoughts when stepped towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It seems that you passed my little test. Usually, it lasts a little longer due to people having some nonsensical internal struggle with their morality. It's pathetic. We all know that self-preservation is priority number 1! Glad to see we don't have to worry about that with you," he smirked at me as he spoke.
"If I'm being honest, I don't get you. There's just something about you that intrigues yet perplexes me and that is quite a rarity for me. Exciting! So, I'm going to let you pick which team you want to join. The golden-haired angel on your left is Angelica; She is the leader of the Light. You already know our resident law enforcer, Luci. She is the leader of the Dark. I'll give you until the end of tomorrow to make your decision. Be warned, Raven. Your choice in the team will determine if you ever get to see that precious redhead again… so, pick wisely," he concluded his speech with a sadistic grin that looked almost childlike.
"I wasn't aware I had entered Star Wars. Tell me, if I pick the dark side, do I have to wear a cape and lug around a lightsabre?" Raven snarked.
"You're funny, new girl, but I think we can all agree that Luce is far too sexy to be compared to that burned-faced baby daddy." Angelica winked at me then smirked at Lucifer, who replied with an annoyed eye roll.
Artemis spoke again, "As I said before, you have until the end of today to pick aside. In the meantime, have fun these girls." He was gone before I could muster a snide comment in reply.
"Looks like you are fair game. After seeing what you can do, I definitely want you all for myself... on my team of course," she said while leering at Raven with a hungry look in her eye. "I guess it's our job to convince you to pick one of us. Luce, I think I'm going to show her exactly how persuasive I can be. What do you say, Luce? May the best woman win!"
She brushed past her slowly and seductively trailed a finger down Raven's bare arm, leaving a wake of scorched skin painted with goosebumps.
The orphan felt intimidated by Lucifer's menacing stare. The victor was hyper-aware of the fact that she was standing in an almost deserted arena with the two most gorgeous girls she had ever seen. They were both currently concocting a scheme to persuade me to join them. She sincerely hoped to survive their efforts of persuasion.