Chapter Fifteen #2
Since the Ludus Caledonia ran their gambling entertainment all year round, they weren’t worried about a light snowfall. The games went on, rain or shine. In fact, much of the snow was melting as soon as it hit the ground, which made for slippery conditions for the men in the arena.
The games began with an announcement and the roar of the crowd.
It was a bloodthirsty lot who thrived on the thrill of one man injuring another and the sport of an excellent conquest. The cheering was going on all around Lilia as she sat with Lady Currie and Amy in the very first row of the arena, off to the left side where men entered from the staging area.
That gave Lady Currie a firsthand look at all of the men coming into the arena and she had her pick. She didn’t cheer when they entered but watched with the intensity of a hunter spying prey.
She was also intensely jealous of the other women who had come for the exact same purpose. There was a sense of urgency about her, to get to the most handsome men first, so she made sure to sit right by the entrance to the arena so she could see them first.
The fights began.
The initial bout was a disappointment because neither man was handsome. As Lady Currie commented, they both looked like old goats. One was more advanced than the other and he ended up breaking the arm of his opponent. The fight was over quickly.
The second bout saw a man who was a potential prospect.
He was tall, sinewy, and blond, and she eyed him with great interest as he fought bravely against a man who was trying to take out his legs.
The blond man deftly avoided his opponent’s clumsy attempts and finally ended up putting the man in a chokehold and causing him to faint.
Once the opponent fell to the ground, the fight was over, but Lady Currie was still looking at the blond warrior.
“What’s his name?” she asked Lilia.
Lilia leaned into her. “I believe they called him Warenne, m’lady.”
“Warenne,” Lady Currie repeated slowly. “Very nice. We must remember him.”
Lilia nodded, making a mental note. Often, Lady Currie had four or five men she wanted to look over, so Lilia was responsible for helping her remember exactly whom she wanted to see.
As Lady Currie muttered something to Amy, several servants ran onto the arena floor and raked up the dirt, smoothing it over for the next bout.
Lilia was looking at the crowd and at a mother and two daughters who always came to the Ludus Caledonia to pick over the men just as Lady Currie did. They were always richly dressed, with lots of jewels, and they came with guards.
But they were also unattractive and heavily rouged.
At least Lady Currie was pretty. One of the daughters caught sight of Lilia looking at them and she stuck her tongue out belligerently.
Since Lilia wasn’t going to back down from a painted moppet, she stuck her tongue out at her, too.
They were engaging in the mutual exchange of silent insults when the next two combatants were brought out.
The roar of the crowd distracted Lilia. She turned with disinterest to the field only to see Brody emerge with another man.
Her heart immediately went into her throat.
My God, she thought. He’s fighting!
Brody had a wooden shield and a sword of shiny steel, and he moved out into the arena, his gaze moving out over the top of the lists.
Lilia was certain he was looking for her but she didn’t want to do anything that might catch his attention.
Somehow, she didn’t think it would go well for her if he acknowledged her, so she prayed he had sense enough to realize that.
She’d told him before that Lady Currie was jealous and she had no idea what her lady would think if she knew that Lilia knew one of the men on the arena floor.
More than knew him.
Loved him.
Aye, she could admit it. She wasn’t sure when she started loving him, but she knew she did. It seemed as if she always had. He was everything she never thought she would have and here he was, serving in a fight guild to make enough money to pay off her father’s debt.
He was doing it for her.
“Look at him, Lilia,” Lady Currie said, interrupting her thoughts. She was pointing at Brody. “I’ve not seen him here before. He must be new.”
Lilia’s heart sank. She sighed faintly, feeling the sickening certainty that her mistress had spied Brody. Of course the woman would have; he was tall and strong and handsome. Why wouldn’t she notice him?
It was Lilia’s greatest fear realized.
“He… he must be new, m’lady,” she said carefully. “I’ve not seen him here before, either.”
It was the truth. Lady Currie’s gaze followed Brody as he moved, a lascivious cast in her eyes.
“Oh, he’s quite tasty,” she said. “What is his name? Did they say?”
Lilia shook her head. She also wanted to wring Lady Currie’s neck. “Nay, m’lady,” she said, feeling the powerful strains of jealousy herself. “They’ve not announced him. Look at his opponent; he is very nice, too.”
Lady Currie looked to the man Lilia was indicating. He was short but very muscular, built spectacularly. In spite of the icy weather, he was wearing little more than breeches and boots, making his build all the more obvious.
“He is nice,” she agreed. “Both of them are. I want to know their names, Lilia. Listen closely.”
Before Lilia could respond, the big Saxon who usually announced the fights came forth, shouting above the buzz of the crowd and announcing men known as The Eagle and the Highland Protector.
The crowd roared.
As soon as the Saxon stepped away, the fight began.
The shorter, muscular man went on the attack right away and it was all Lilia could do not to cover her eyes. Swords were flying faster than she could imagine, the dull thud of metal against the shields as Brody and the man known as The Eagle went after one another with a vengeance.
It was brutal from the beginning.
Though Lilia wanted to look away, she couldn’t.
Morbid fascination had her watching every move Brody made.
She could see in an instant that his history as a warrior was true; he knew exactly what he was doing.
His moves were intuitive. He was fast, he was strong, and he was sure-footed, even in the mud that the light snow had created.
Once, he slid as he went on the attack and ended up on his knees, but it was enough to undercut his opponent, who took a shield to the jaw that sent him reeling. Lilia almost cheered but caught herself before she could expose her excitement.
But watching the fight, she’d never been prouder or more excited about anything.
Brody was truly a warrior to watch.
“Look at him, Lilia,” Lady Currie said, breaking into her thoughts. “The big warrior, I mean. Look at the way he moves. Such power.”
Lilia found herself struggling again. “Aye, m’lady.”
“I must know his name.”
“Shall I go and ask, m’lady?”
Lady Currie shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “I suppose the other warrior is very fine, too, but something about the taller one…”
She trailed off and Lilia dared to look at her. It was a mistake; the woman was virtually licking her lips with glee. Lilia looked away quickly before she said something she would regret.
The fight lasted longer than most fights did, even the professional bouts.
Brody and his opponent slashed away at each other for quite some time until his opponent lost his shield, or more correctly, threw his shield.
It flew up at Brody’s face and as he ducked to miss being hit, his opponent slashed him with his sword.
The blade cut along the left side of Brody’s torso, immediately drawing blood.
The crowd screamed with glee.
Brody didn’t let the blow go unanswered.
Using his shield, he managed to hit his opponent in the head, causing the man to falter.
As he went down, Brody came down on him, but his opponent managed to get his sword up, pointing it right at Brody’s throat.
Had Brody not stopped when he had, he would have impaled himself on the upturned blade.
Realizing he was in a precarious position, he had no choice but to drop his weapon and lift his hands.
The crowd roared.
Clearly surrendering, Brody backed off, but as he did, his opponent suddenly leapt to his feet and threw a knee into the side of Brody’s head. The blow sent him face-first into the mud.
The crowd erupted in a chorus, making sure their disgust with the illegal move was known.
At this point, men rushed the field, pulling Brody out of the mud so he wouldn’t suffocate as the big Saxon grabbed Brody’s opponent by the back of the neck and forcibly removed him from the arena.
Lilia watched in horror as Brody, half-conscious, was dragged from the arena.
Beside her, Lady Currie bolted to her feet.
“Hurry,” she said, pushing at Lilia. “Find an official and ask him about the one who was injured. And the blond from the first bout, too.”
Lilia was sick to her stomach, but she complied. With Lady Currie behind her, pushing her, they climbed the steps to the top of the arena and headed over to the iron fence that overlooked the staging ground.