“You… you can’t do this!” Raissa screamed out.

Her voice rang out just as there was a lull in the crowd. One could call it luck because something about the way she shouted seemed to strike a chord with the audience. There started to be muttering amongst the audience, who were confused and slightly angry.

“What is this bitch on about?”

“She’s a slave, right? Like she has a right to talk that way.”

Realizing she had the crowd’s attention, she stepped forward. “I’m not a slave! They captured me unjustly!”

This caused the crowd to start mumbling even more.

“Not a slave?”

“What the hell…”

A slow clapping sound resonating from the box up top silenced the crowds as Lord Reign emerged once again. “You’ll have to excuse my little Raissa here. As the Lord of this city, I personally verify that she is a slave. She escaped some years ago, but I recently caught her reentering the city.”

“That’s a lie! I was freed by a noble all that time ago! I was returning to the city under the order of the prince!”

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“Unfortunately, my dear, the local slave branch seems to have no paperwork confirming your supposed freedom. Now, you even speak of knowing the prince personally? Can you all see how easily lies roll off this slave’s tongue? Let’s hope she’s better at fighting for her body than she is at talking!”

This led to a couple of chuckles, but many people still found it highly suspect. Lord Reign frowned and then nodded to a fat man sitting in the stages. He nodded and stood up.

“I’m the Slave Pavilion’s local keeper. I can verify the veracity of Lord Reign’s words. If any paperwork ever existed suggesting this slave has been freed, it must have been lost.” When Lord Reign gave him a sharp look he stiffened. “And… the pavilion would never make such a mistake, so, of course, this slave was never freed.”

“There you have it.” Lord Reign snorted. “Unless anyone here wishes to challenge my word and the word of the Slavers?”

Although a few people were still unconvinced, they were smart enough to not say anything. Getting in bad with the slavers was a quick way to end up in a situation just like Raissa’s, especially out here, so far from the core pavilion. Most were criminals who, by all accounts, should be arrested just for existing, and the rest had more important things to worry about than a former slave caught up in some kind of political scandal.

Satisfied with the silence, the lord nodded and returned back into his box. As for Raissa, she looked through the crowds in disbelief. Those with a conscience wouldn’t meet her eyes which had filled up with tears as she realized that no one was going to help her.

That was when she realized that the man standing on the opposite side of the arena started to move forward. He had a helmet on, hiding his face, but his lower body was only covered by a loincloth. He seemed to be covered with oil, giving him a shiny appearance. He also had a club in his hand. Meanwhile, Raissa had nothing but the clothing on her back, and soon, she might even lose that!