I breathed in deeply; the air was heavy which made it hard to breath.
“Teela?”
I could hear a familiar voice. I was laying on a hard surface, a table?
“Sarya…?”
I felt a pair of hands on wrap around my arm.
“Teela! You’re awake! Thank Goddess…”
I slowly opened my eyes to see Sarya looking down at me. As soon as I seen her, tears were forming in her eyes.
“Teela…”
She immediately hugged me. I tensed, expecting pain due to the injury I received but was surprised when I could only feel Sarya’s large breast pushing against me. I spotted Elora ran and hugged my arm; she was holding my arm so tight it surprised me that she could show such strength.
Zephy stood over me and sighed with relief.
“Good to see that you recovered without any troubles.”
“Uh… yeah. What happened?”
Sarya pulled back and sighed.
“Well… you won the Coliseum. When you beat the final contestant you collapsed from the wounds. They brought you here and had a healer help you.”
“I see…” I breathed a sigh of relief. I won, so at least that woman wouldn’t fall into the hands of some man. I looked around and noticed that I was in some sort of small room lying on a table.
Before I could ask them what’s next Sarya grabbed both my cheeks, she then pulled them in opposite directions.
“Owowow! What are- OW!”
She glared at me.
“You had me WORRIED about you! I nearly fainted when you collapsed”
She was pulling back her hands when I grabbed one of them and kissed the tip of her finger.
“I’m sorry Sarya, I know that I was being foolish but this was something I needed to do”
She sighed. “Well… just don’t do it again too soon…”
Zephy was crossing her arms under her breasts.
“Well… isn’t this a lovely scene?”
I blushed slightly and tried to change the topic.
“Uh… what happens now?”
A man, the organizer, came out of the doorway to answer my question.
“Well first of all the Princess. Princess Delphinia. Wishes to speak with you.”
Eh? The Princess? She wants to speak with me? Why? I asked him and he shrugged, stating that he didn’t know. I asked where and he said she was waiting for me at the top of the Coliseum. She was near the place where I had seen her sit during the contest.
“I see…” I sat up on the table. Looking down I noticed that my clothes were still a mess. I had bought these clothes yesterday so I pretty much just wasted my money. Zephy noticed and suddenly pulled out… that god-awful bar-maiden outfit.
“I figured that you could use some clothes so I went back to the inn and grabbed this.”
I grimaced at the outfit. Suddenly it hit me.
“Wait… how long have I been out?”
“About an hour.” Sarya answered.
“So… you going to wear-“”Yeah right.” I cut off Zephy. “I’d rather go without.”
Zephy arched a brow. “Without clothes? Now aren’t you daring?”
I rolled my eyes hard at her.
“So… she wants to meet me? I guess now that I should go.”
I jumped off the table and let the organizer lead me. I looked back and told the other two that I would be back as soon as possible.
…………….
I was led to a spiraling stairwell at the top we followed a hallway and came up on a door.
The man stood beside the door and said: “She’s in here.” Without another word he left me.
Breathing in deeply I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a tall figure with a spear, he pointed it was me but before he could finish the action a voice called out.
“Wait! I have been expecting her.”
The man relaxed, stepping back and to the side to reveal the Princess. When I was fighting in the Arena I could only see a few details of her, basically her hair and her dress. But now that I stood before her I could see the things I missed. First, she had a crown sit atop her black hair; the crown had a leaf design and spiraled around her head. Her dress was transparent at her stomach and legs. She was about my height and had skin that was a lighter sun-kissed tone like mine. She was quite beautiful but I suppose I could guess as much.
“Welcome. I am Princess Delphinia. I apologize for the introduction and summoning you here. I wish to speak with you.” She looked at the man with the spear, who I assumed was her personal bodyguard.
“You may leave; I wish to speak with her in private.”
The man clearly was hesitant but eventually walked out closing the door behind him.
I waited for her to talk but instead she sat on the bench looking out towards the city. She looked over her shoulder and said: “Please sit with me.”
I moved to take a seat next to her. She then raised her hands to remove her crown and set it on her lap. I frowned at her actions; she noted my confusion and answered with: “I wish to speak with you as a woman, not a Princess.”
I arched a brow at her. “Speak about what?” I asked.
She sighed before answering.
“Well… I would like to both encourage you and to ask for you to hear my story. If you would allow me.”
I was completely confused by her words, just what is she planning to say?
‘Encourage and hear her story?’ I stayed silent to let her continue.
“I will be quite frank with you; you are the first woman to win the Coliseum.”
I figured as much.
“Do you know what that means for the people who watch this?”
I had a faint idea; however I let her inform me.
“It means that people will now; hopefully, look at women with a new perspective”
“You know that’s not going to be immediate?” I told her.
She sighed.
“Yes… sadly so… but still…”
She breathed in deeply.
“But this will be a start however…”
I frowned.
“Why does this matter to you anyways? You’re a Princess, if you wish to change people’s perspective then you could do it with your position couldn’t you?”
She shook her head. “I wish… however, it’s not that simple…”
She sat back in her seat, with a troubling look.
“I can’t act outside the bounties my father, the king, has set. He has ensured that I am to follow what he has planned and what he wants me to do. He…. drives me… like a slave. This is common place I’m sure you know. So the thought that a woman can do something that only man have done for the last century? It has certainly sparked some interest in people now.”
She looked at me. “You know… just from winning this Coliseum you have been given a title: Teela the Tenacious.”
I blinked in surprise.
‘Teela the Tenacious? My title?’
She sighed.
“However, this isn’t all good. You seemed to have gained a bounty in Longris. The young Prince has hired whatever bounty hunters he could find. It seemed you have done something that enraged him”
I shook my head and sighed.
“That little shit was asking for it.”
She arched a brow at my harsh language and shrugged.
“Well, I can tell you that we are not interested in the pursuits of Longris. His bounty hunters are of no concern of ours. However I must ask… why did you take this risk? Entering the Coliseum?”
I sat back in my seat.
“Because I refuse to allow that Qwarnell to fall into the hands of someone who’ll abuse her. If I sat back and did nothing, when I have a chance to do something, then I would never be able to live with myself. I would like to think that everyone would be like that but I would probably be expecting too much. I know that it may seem foolish to expose myself when I am being hunted but I can’t keep hiding forever. I want to live this live without regrets. Live, not survive like many have. I remember hearing a saying from somewhere… the person said: It is better to live one day as a lion then a hundred years as a sheep.” (Benito Mussolini)
She blinked at my words, becoming silent as she took it all in.
Her gaze fell to the floor and she whispered: “I wish I had such resolve…”
I stood up and moved to the guard rails that stood before me and the edge; I turned around and sat on them with my arms crossed over my breasts.
“You say that like you could never have such resolve… it’s not an all or nothing thing. Wanting to do something that is considered hard isn’t something that is this great obstacle to be crossed in a day. Rome wasn’t built in a day”
She frowned. “Rome…?”
Oh yeah… uh.
“Uh… Longris or this city. I doubt they were built in a day.”
I sighed again.
“Do you really think that I believe that I can change this world or ensure that every woman will have her own rights? I doubt I would be able to achieve this in my life time. Instead I just take it one step at a time. We don’t need to save the world, just the people that come into our lives…”
Her gaze was at the floor once again. She wore a pained look, as if reliving a painful memory.
“…My Mother would say something similar…”
I moved over to her and sat beside her. Without a word I grabbed her head and rested it on my breasts.
“W-What... a-are you doing!?” She asked in a panic.
“Helping someone that walked into my life.”
I had her lay on the bench with her head on my lap. I remember Zephy doing something similar to this when I was troubled so I thought it a good opportunity to use it to help someone else that was troubled. I stroked her head and looked down over my breasts at her. She had a tint of red in her cheeks but didn’t protest and further. We stayed there for a few minutes and eventually she broke the silence.
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“My Mother would do something like this when I was a child… when I would cry or become lonely. She was always there to keep me company…”
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“When she passed away… it was worst day of my life… she meant everything to me.”
I caught the tear and wiped it away.
“I think that she would have been proud of you Delphinia.”
She curled up on the bench.
“When my father lost my mother he changed. He became more aggressive. He would always ensure that I was doing my studies and doing my best to become a proper lady. Now… he lies on his death bed. I’m supposed to take his place, but I don’t want to rule it like he has. I wish for a more equal city, where everyone can live equally. Men and women, Beast-kin and Elves. However, no one would believe that woman should have the right because they didn’t think they were capable.”
She turned to look up at me. I immediately knew were this was going.
“…until I won the Coliseum. Something that men have only won.”
She nodded. “I hoped that you would perhaps wish to continue what you are doing, achieving things that men have thought they could only do. I simply brought you here to tell you everything and to also encourage you in your travels.”
I looked out to the city.
“Well… I probably will do it without your encouragement. However it is nice to know that I have a Princess that will be encouraging me is quite nice. I hope that I don’t disappoint you or the people who would wish the same.”
She smiled. “I know it sounds like I’m using you but…”
I placed my finger on her lips and shook my head.
“If what you’re saying is true then it’s not really using me, it’s more of rooting for me. I appreciate this.”
She gave a small laugh. “Well I’m glad. Now…. I suppose you would like to see the Qwarnell?”
I paused. “Actually I would like to know how you came up on one; I’ve only heard a legend of them so I’m also curious about them”
She sat up and looked at me.
“Even I’m not too sure about them. I know that the kingdoms pooled their resources to create them. They were simply unfortunate people who became experiments for these soldiers. I’m not even sure as to why one of them still exist. They were made over five hundred years ago so it seems impossible for one of them to be still alive.”
‘Hmmm… so it could be possible that their longevity is a result of the experiments?’
“Why do you have a Qwarnell? Why is one of them being offered as a prize?”
Her gaze fell. “It was my father’s idea”
She looked back at the door for a minute before leaning closer to me.
“Can you keep a secret?”
I frowned. Secret? Why would she need to keep this a secret?
I nodded.
“The Qwarnell was my father’s personal ‘solution’ to any rouge mages. She was kept as a sort of hunter to any problem that may arise from a mage. Since mages are hard to fight without such advantages.”
She paused.
“The last mission she had was… questionable to say the least. She was tasked with finding a group of rouge mages in a small town. Unfortunately she was discovered before she could get the jump on them and in the confusion the entire town was destroyed. Even the people didn’t survive, we tried to ask her what happened but she refuses to answer. My father believes that if the Magic Founding Society finds out about the fact that we had a Qwarnell, especially one that has hunted down mages, they will retaliate against the kingdoms and we will have another war on our hands. He opted to execute her but I convinced him to allow her to be offered as a prize…”
He gaze fell to the floor again.
“I just didn’t want her to be killed for an accident that I feel wasn’t her fault. I just can’t believe that she was capable of something like that. I know that she doesn’t talk much, which was by my father’s account was the reason why she was so effective, so he wouldn’t have to worry about her telling anyone the secrets. I had… also told her that when she was taken by the person who would win, she would run away from him and live her live in peace…”
I took that juicy bit of information in; it was… quite the reveal. So she was an agent to assassinate anyone that the king didn’t like huh? It sounded like a recipe for disaster. I doubted that people would want to relive the horror of the war that brought a lot of death.
“She’s not a bad person.” The Princess assured. “She’s just misunderstood…”
I nodded. “I believe you, now I suppose that we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”
The Princess sighed and nodded.
…………..
We had returned to the room where I was laying, both Zephy and Sarya were surprised to see the Princess with me. She offered to lead us to the Qwarnell so we took her offer and followed her. We had followed her to some stairs that led underground. The hallway was lit up by torches. She led us to a door and opened it, we stepped inside and I immediately gasped as to what laid inside.
There was a woman chained against the wall. The woman also had a bag on her head. The Princess gasped as well and rushed to her side.
“Cinda! What happened!? Who did this to you!?” She pulled the bag off to reveal the woman to us. She looked to be in her early thirties and had short black hair. Perhaps the most pronounced thing was her eyes. They were… white. Completely white. It was like looking into a glass jar with smoke inside, swirling around. I could feel Elora hug my leg, hiding behind me.
The woman was quite for a moment before answering.
“The guard didn’t like watching me so he chained me and put the bag on my head.”
Her voice was completely dead. It was like a machine. I grimaced at what she told us. Seems like that guard was just a coward. Looking at the rest of her, she was about my height and body looked to be well taken care of. She had toned arms and a pronounced chest, about as big as mine. She also had a pale complexion. She wore leather pants with metal boots; she also had a piece of chainmail of her body. Her waist was thin and her legs seemed slender.
The Princess was finished unchaining her and she sighed before stepping away from the wall. Her gaze fell on me and she tilted her head.
“Is this the winner of the contest? I never thought women could participant….”
The Princess gave a small laugh.
“Well… times have changed.”
She looked back at Cinda.
“You remember what I told you when you were to be taken?”
Cinda nodded.
“Well you don’t have to worry about that any longer. She will take care of you.”
Cinda looked at me again; I suppose it was time to introduce myself. I approached her and held out my hand.
“Teela…” I said.
She looked at my hand as if it were foreign to her; the Princess noticed this and assured her that it was O.K so she slowly took my hand. After shaking it the Princess smiled and told me there was one more thing she needed to tell me.
“What?” I asked.
“Well… I’m sure that you would like to find some answers… I’m not supposed to tell you this but when the kingdoms made the Qwarnell they made them in a small town that has become a ruin now. If you really what to know more then I would suggest that you look there…”
I frowned. “Why tell me this now… or why not…” I glanced at Cinda. “….her?”
“Well…” The Princess trailed off so Cinda answered. “I’m not interested in finding out.”
I was aghast.
‘Why wouldn’t she want to know?’
“Oh yes…” the Princess caught my attention again. “There’s one last thing…”
……………
We had left the Coliseum, with an enormous amount of gold. A whopping one thousand pieces, as the reward for winning the contest. When I had left the arena, I was bombarded by a ton of fans who congratulated on my victory. As I would expect, they were surprised at my win. When I managed to push my way through and made it to the inn that we stayed at. We finally made it into our room and I breathed a sigh of relief as I lay on the bed.
“Well… that was quite… a lot…” Sarya sighed as she sat in the opposite bed.
I gave a small laugh. “Yes it was…”
I looked over to Cinda and sat up.
“Well, I suppose we should get you some thing’s to wear and something to eat.”
She didn’t even show a small bit of emotion at my offer, she just said:”If that’s what you wish…”
I frowned at her words. ‘Did she not want to, or did she not care?’ It was probably the latter.
There was still some time left in the day so we went out and bought her an outfit. It was a shirt that relived her stomach and some pants. I noticed some scars on her stomach, when I moved closer she immediately turned away saying that they were old scars. I felt like I should ask but I didn’t, because this was supposed to be something fun for her so I decided not to press it any further for now.
We had left the store and made our way back to the inn to have supper and went to bed. It was a tight squeeze on our bed with me Elora and Cinda but we managed. The next day came not too soon and we packed up and head on the road. I wanted to go to this town that was the site of these experiments. Cinda didn’t protest but she did say that she wasn’t interested in finding out.
When the Princess gave us directions to the town she also told us that we would no longer be under her protection from the bounty hunters so we would have to tread carefully.
As we made our way on the road I could help but feel like… we were being watched.