The Young Gladiatrix

Torchlight

It was late when Ash returned from training. She entered the barracks carrying Onyx's saddle, with Decimus right behind her carrying several cleaning items. It was unheard of for warriors to be allowed to have the horses tack in their rooms. But since Ash was seen now as a 'required warrior', she seemed to be getting special treatment. Especially from Decimus. His attitude had change massively towards her.

Decimus followed Ash to her room, and left just as quickly as he had entered after leaving the cleaning supplies with Ash. She followed him to the door of the barracks as a quiet exchange was given, before Decimus squeezed Ash's shoulder gently. He turned and left, before the door closed heavily, guarded from the outside.

Ash turned from the door, moving over to the corner where a single torch lit the small are. She sat on the ground, removing the leather greaves from her shins. Seeing the bruising and faint scratches. ~Onyx~ was her only thought as she grabbed a rag and scrubbed the dirt and blood off. The other warriors looked to her, no one but Flamma, Niero and Maximus moving over to her. They remained silent for a moment. Just looking at how she presented herself now. Her hair was short enough to be spiked. Her arms had gained muscle. Her legs had gained muscle. She looked different. They'd never got close enough to her to notice these changes. The scars, they'd seen. The wounds they'd defintely seen.
Niero looked to his sister. "Ash..." he started slowly, just waiting to see if she'd respond. Ash looked to her brother. "Niero" she said, keeping her words as simple as his. "Are you ok? Decimus is... Acting strange towards you lately" he commented, talking slowly. Not wanting to anger his sister. A harsh reaction didn't come though. Ash simply shrugged, "I changed my attitude, so he changed his. Obey the hand that feeds you, and you will be rewarded. Guess that would be a good way to put it" she smiled. A true smile. "Yes, but... Why change for him?" asked Maximus, watching Ash. He knew he had to tread carefully now. "Why change for him? Because now. Things can play in my favour. I act how they want me to act. Get close to them. Then I can start to liberate this place. Don't you see what I'm doing? Get them to think I'm obeying their every word. Then strike. It's easy really. But you gotta be willing to break for them. Decimus took me to the horses today. Onyx nearly crushed me, but that's okay. Now I have to clean his tack for my next training session. But again, that's okay. It's all part of the plan"

Maximus, Niero and Flamma shared a look. She had this all planned out. Is this what she'd been doing in her room all this time? Planning the liberation of the arena? This task was huge. Too huge for her to take on alone. "Let us help you" spat Flamma quickly. The words rushing from her mouth. Ash looked to her, silent for a moment. "You want to help? It's risky though. I don't want your time here to be longer than it already is"
Flamma grabbed Ash's hand gently. Squeezing slightly. "We want to help you"

Reluctantly, Ash gave a nod. "Okay"