I must admit, I am madly in love with your highness. I fell in love with her grace and delicateness and her prowess in literature. No one else saw her for the visionary I admired her as, believing she belonged to the throne after her mother with an iron fist rule, the world might have indulged in such an eerie suspicion, but I loved her as she was, and that is how my love will reside till the end.
"Hey! What'd I tell ya 'bout writing!?" The Overseer yelled throughout the barracked slave building, he charged toward Shepard with nothing, but anger in his brown eyes. Everyone ducked their heads, cowering away from his path as he came to a screeching halt at the red headed slave. He snatched the tiny, leather, book from Shepards pale hands. "Slaves don't WRITE! They fight for money in the coliseum and pray to the gods they live to see another day!"
"Can I have my book back, please." Shepard said, her voice calm and commanding. Her eyes didn't even graze the man, he didn't deserve her respect. Her attention. She simply stared at the dirt floors with her feet planted firmly in her makeshift sandals made of braided rope and a stiff leather sole.
"What don't you get 'bout slaves not writing?" The man said, their voices, no matter how quiet they got, echoed through the hall of other chained slaves. He opened the book and swiped through to the most recent entry. His eyes skimmed the page and his grin grew wider with every word he read. "You have a thing for the princess, eh? You know what I heard about her?" He leaned closer to the ginger, in that moment he had caught her attention, her face filled with animosity since he looked through the book. He was lucky she was chained to the poor turian slave beside her, or she would have showed him just what the bloodthirsty crowd wanted to see. "Her soon to be," he threw his hands in the air, "Who owns all of this, he plows her every night. Legend says you can hear her screams of pleasure in the middle of the night as soon as the darkness over takes the sky."
A surge of rage coursed through her body violently, she didn't know if she was shaking because of that or because of the very vivid image she got of her ladyship being bended over and ravaged by her Drell betrothed. Shepard bowed her head again, there was no point in trying to get out of her restraints, it would just make her looked like all bark but no bite.
"Give me m-" before Shepard could even get the words out of her mouth the book was chucked at her head, it bounced off of her and fell to the ground with an undignified flop to the recently opened page.
"I hope you're havin' a shit day, because you're up, and you are gonna need all the endurance and rage you got to beat your opponent." The man laughed grimly before walking off.
Shepard looked up from the ground once he left, she let out a long sigh as she ran a hand through her tousled hair. What was she doing here? She wasn't a slave, a criminal maybe, but that was an understatement in itself.
"I thought your poetry was pretty good," garrus said, Shepard didn't respond, but he continued. "A little wimpy, but good." Shepard had been bond to this guy since she was captured and arrested, she liked him. He never talked, always minded his own business and most of all, never tried to rape her, basically this Guy was a ten out of ten slave mate.
Shepard picked up her book, she almost looked under it for the rest of her pride, but that was long gone. "Thanks…didn't think you talked to be honest, just thought you were the ugly, strong, silent type." She smirked as she brushed off her book.
Garrus's mandibles twitched, "You have a few scars yourself." He said referring to the long scar that came from Shepards hairline and descended through her red brow and probably the many little scraps that Shepard sported on her face in general, but those didn't even bother Shepard. The angry whelps on her body, from the multiple lashing she received , is what bothered her, and even those were starting to fade in her memory.
The red head snorted. "I wasn't talkin' 'bout the scars." She faced the turian and with her free- well, empty hand, offered it to him. "Shepard."
Garrus shook it, almost as if he was proud to. "I know, I'm garrus."
Shepard furrowed her brows, she wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but she decided against it. With one final shake she let go. She sat up straight, ready to face whatever was waiting for in the arena. She grabbed her metal helmet on the bench beside her. She had done this plenty of times, but it always felt like her first. She put the slightly heavy thing on her head and took a deep breath.
"Good luck out there Shepard." Garrus said laying a hand on her shoulder.
Only able to see her eyes and mouth, garrus watched her smile. "Worried about me are you?" Shepard said shrugging off the talon.
"Nope." Garrus replied making sure to sound more than nonchalant, "I just really don't want a new slave mate. There's a lot of weirdos out there, you know?"
"Shepard!" The man from before came back, this time holding a pair of keys. Once he reached Shepard, he bended down and unlocked her cuff links and shackles. "Remember don't die out there, I've spent too much money on you slaves to just let you die."
Shepard stood up, ignoring the overseer. Her bones popped and cracked as she stretched, rolling her neck around until all the cricks were gone.
"They're waiting on you slave." The man in a snarky tone.
"I'm no slave." Shepard stated as she walked toward the area door, making sure to check the guy in the shoulder before walking off. As she made her way down the hall to the huge, double doors, the other slaves watched her, they knew how brutal Shepard could be in fights, however, she never finished her opponent, she wasn't a murderer. She wasn't like the rest of them, and they knew it.
She gave the two guards a go to open the doors with a simple nod, even without the doors opened, Shepard could hear the cheers of the impatient crowd, when the entrance of the arena was in eyesight, the crowd got even louder. Step after step Shepard listened to the crowd roar, in front of her she saw the royal and mvp box, with the sun basically blinding her and cooking her alive, Shepard shaded her eyes to get a better look at the reason she fought every time they called her to the coliseum. There she was, Liara t'soni. The princess of Armali, she looked as beautiful as always, a pure white tunic with a flower crown on top of her head and decorated in the finest gold rings and necklaces that clung to her neck snugly, not that it matters what she wore, she could wear a wool sack and Shepard would still be absolutely smitten. Realizing she had been staring to long, an asari, who sat in the mvp box watched shepard with a shit eating grin on her face, Shepard knew her from somewhere, but she just couldn't put her finger on it, but she wasn't the only familiar face up there. Shepard realized not only was she playing in front of tens of thousands of people, she was playing in front of the entire monarchy, your highness benezia and your highness aethyta. Along with the senate, senator Sparatus, senator tevos and senator dalatrass, but worst of all, feron, liaras soon to be bondmate. He stood proud in the box beside Liara, looking down upon Shepard as though he already knew her fate was death.
Shepard jaw clenched, she spotted the weapons rack with her swords hung up, waiting for their master. Walking over there, she heard feron began to talk as the guards quieted down the crowd.
"Slave against a trained gladiator!" He began. The red head, now determined, grabbed her sword, making sure the blade wasn't dull, it shined in the sun now, but whoever stepped out next would be sure to dirty it. "Well…I guess we know where my bets lie!" The stadium rumbled with laughter, Shepard didn't care though, she did, however, glare up at the princess, her brows were furrowed with a nervous bite of the lip, Shepard noticed the Liara never really like watching all the blood splatter and guts pour of people, she usually turned away at the gory parts. She wasn't like her betrothed, she was sweet and caring. Delicate.
Shepard tipped her helmet to the princess, "Enjoy the show." She mouthed. That got Liara's attention, her blue eyes perked as she stood up much straighter and watched Shepard with curiosity, more than Shepard had ever seen her watch the show with before.
"Unleash the beast!" Feron yelled with the crowd, the gate rose from the ground, the sound of the chain raising it, drawing out the tension with every crank. Readying her sword, Shepard was prepared for anything that came out the darkness, today wouldn't be her last. She wouldn't die in front of her. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you colossus!"
A man, standing seven feet tall marched out of the dark, guards held onto the chains around his neck, he didn't look like a gladiator, but then again, Shepard didn't look like a slave. He had only a sword and shield, and no armor. The soldiers let the beast go, fleeing the arena as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Let the fight begin!" Feron shouted.
With the sound of all escaping starting when the doors closed. The red head calmly, grabbed a spear off the rack. The giant began to charge after her, she lined up the shot and chucked the spear at her opponent, easily, he deflected the projectile with his shield. Shepard began to trout to meet the monster half way. Colossus made the next move, swiftly reaching to his waist and throwing a blade at Shepards head. But Shepard was too fast, with a lift of her sword, she hit the object to the ground. They became almost a toenail apart when the giant swatted his sword, in a split second, Shepard slid under the swipe of the giant and sliced his left leg clean off.
The crowd cheered as blood squirted everywhere, some even on Shepards head, now she was glad she wore her helmet. With a huge shudder of the ground, the giant fell. Shepard stood beside the severed leg, she almost felt sorta bad for the guy, he had no chance. Whipping around on her heel Shepard walked over to colossus, he began to scoot away, out of fear.
"Finish him!" The crowd cheered in Union. But Shepard had other plans, to stop him from squirming, she stomped on the blood spewing leg, gaining a long bellow from the giant. She bended down with her sword and wiped it clean on his body. Once she decided the sword would get no cleaner, she left the quivering, colossus to his weeping.
The crowd booed as Shepard began to walk back to the exit, but before she could take another step, guards surrounded her. She gave them a deadly look.
"Are you sure you wish to suffer the same fate?" She asked them with a trace of humor in her voice.
"Halt slave! You did not give the crowd what they came here for…blood! Carnage!" Feron shouted, it was completely silent in the arena, besides the ear wrenching sound of the suffering giant. "So…as a default, to satisfy us, you must slay this prisoner. No mercy."
Shepards gaze never met ferons, she didn't want to and frankly, she didn't know how Liara could. One of the guards shoved a man toward Shepard. He looked at Shepard with such terror that his eyes went wide and his mouth hung open incredulously. He fell to the ground and began to cry uncontrollably.
Shepard rolled her eyes, she looked back at the mvp boxes. Seeing the princess almost jump out of her seat at what Shepards would do next. Over all the shouting of the crowd, it was hard for Shepard to think, especially with the helmet that made her head sweat even more. She took the bloody thing off and threw it to the ground right beside the prisoner making him leap.
With her free hand, Shepard grabbed the man by the collar, even with his kicking and screaming, she dragged him passed colossus and closer to the mvp boxes. She threw him to the ground in front of the v.i.p's.
The crowd became quiet. Shepard stood there, looking at all of her so called: "Leaders."
"Well…kill him, slave!" Feron yelled.
Shepard looked down at the pleading fragile man, then back at feron. "No." She threw her sword down. "I am no murder. I am no slave. I am Jane Shepard of Spain." Shepard bowed, "Princess, I hope you enjoyed the show." She gave a wink, before pivoting on her heel. The crowd was bewildered, no one has ever said no to the monarchy before, no one was brave enough or stupid enough. And did she just flirt with the Princess? In front of everyone. Liara sunk into her throne with a blush, even though it was unladylike and utterly childish.
"Bless you. Shepard." The man cried. "Shepard the savior! He repeated this to shepard's retreating back, even the crowd began to join in.
"I am your king! Get back here slave!" Feron growled, "Guards! Seize her!" In that very moment, Soldiers came rushing after Shepard, surrounding her in a circle. Again.
The red head held up her hands in surrender, "I have no king."