The Young Gladiatrix

Stand Up and Fight

Decimus had led Ash towards the preparation room. This room was the last 'safe' place she had before stepping out onto the sand of the arena. She still didn't know who or what she was fighting, or how many things she would be fighting. She'd heard of men fighting more than 10 opponents. She'd heard of men fighting against animals, against mounted soldiers. She'd heard a lot about the fights in the arena, and it hadn't made her any less afraid.

As Ash was strapped into the armour that Decimus had ordered, he addressed her with a cold gaze, and an emotionless voice. "You will fight to the death against your opponent. You WILL be the one to kill said opponent. And if you get taken down, you stand up and fight. Regardless of injuries. Do as I say, Assassina. For what else do you have here? Nothing. Your brother never even spoke of you until this day. What does that say about him? He doesn't care Ash. He never has cared, and probablu never will care" He was merely trying to wind Ash up to get her hyped for the fight. He knew Ash to be the kind that got hyped up by words.

Ash's armour consisted of a metal chest plate, decorated with a red crest on the stomach, along with metal wrist guards that wrapped around her forearms and part of her hand. The parts that stretched to her hand had small spikes protruding from them to make for a good weapon during close combat. Upon her legs she wore nothing but black shorts, and metal bindings around her shins. Though she was allowed to remove armour in the arena if she had to, it would be wise of her to keep all of the armour on. "Assassina... Do not let me down out there. Let me down and lose this fight, and you will have me to deal with the second you step foot back in here. Do not say I didn't warn you of these consequences" growled Decimus, stepping closer to Ash so that he was mere inches from her face. He used intimidation techniques a lot with her, and it was all working. Ash was breaking under him, and soon she'd be so far under his command that it would be near to impossible to break her out of it.

Decimus had a thing for breaking down warriors, then building them back up just how he liked them. In Ash's case, he was breaking down a girl that was trained by the Borgia, then the Assassins, then the arena. He had 3 styles of training to break her away from before she could even be considered as a good warrior in his eyes. This fight was just his way of seeing how she fought. He'd break her down afterwards, and build her back up into the warrior that he wanted. He'd break her mentally and physically. Physically, he'd push her right until her body couldn't take any more. Mentally, he'd break her down with lies and make it falsely known to her that her friends were dead. And she'd believe it all. She'd believe it all because it would be all she had.

With a cruel smirk and a slight growl, Ash was shoved into the arena. The gate slamming shut after her as she was left on the sand. The crowd cheering and chanting, hungry for blood as the first warrior, Ash, had came into sight. The announcer read off Ash's name, then proceeded to announce the name of her opponents...

"Assassina versus 3 cavalrymen and 3 infantry soldiers. This fight is scheduled under the order of Decimus. Assassina belongs to Decimus and must obey the orders given to her prior to this battle. I ask you, the beloved fans of this sport, that you do not throw anything at our warriors during this fight. Your co-operation will be greatly rewarded in the coming fights" called the announcer, gazing down at Ash as he spoke. The fear in her eyes was as clear as day.

As the rain became heavier, and the thunder became louder, Ash's opponents lined up opposite her. Their smirks hidden behind the masks they wore. Their armour looked stronger, their weapons sharper. The horses of the cavalrymen looked like the devil himself had spawned them. They wore black armour, red plating shielding their eyes. The cavalrymen aboard the horses wore armour to match, whilst the infantry soldiers wore various pieces of armor on their heads, chest and legs.
The soldiers shifted their weight towards Ash in a small move of intimidation,  the sand shifting under their feet as they gave an almight battle cry. A crack of thunder and lighting matching the battle cry given by the soldiers, before they charged towards Ash.

Frozen in fear, Ash awaited the impact from the soldiers charging towards her. She knew they wouldn't use their swords straight away. They never did. They went by Decimus' orders too, and he'd probably told them to beat her around with their fists before using their swords.
As the impact struck, Ash was slammed into the sand, a soldier pinning her to the ground with his knees as he punched her in the mouth, earning a slight cry and a growl in response. Thinking of the consequences if she didn't fight back, Ash kicked the soldier off of her. Kicking him in the groin, before she drew her knife from her belt. This was the only weapon she had.

The only weapon.
But it would have to do.