Victory or Death (Chaelisa)

iii

The following week, before she attended the games again, Roseanne was determined to do some digging on the irritating gladiator who had the audacity to treat her like a commoner. As it turned out, she was, indeed, from the North. Her capture was due to Aulus Caecina Alienus and his legion which had patrolled Germania Superior and its eastern frontier near the Rhine. Somehow, she had been captured and, later, Aulus Caecina had brought their prisoner to Rome in order to demonstrate his abilities as a general. Apparently, that was all anyone knew, and the true identity of the gladiator remained a mystery – much to Roseanne's annoyance.

"There's no way her luck can continue much longer," Hyeri remarked as, once again, it was Lisa's turn to take the stage.

"I don't know; her talent has seemed rather overwhelming." Roseanne hated to admit it, but it was true.

Lisa seemed to be a genius when it came to wielding a sword, and her innovativeness while fighting was exactly what the public came to see in a gladiator fight. It wasn't about killing your opponent, it was about outsmarting them as cleverly as possible, and Lisa certainly had that ability down to a 't'.

"Oh, there she is!" Hyeri exclaimed as the gate of the underground ramp opened and two gladiators emerged from the darkness.

Roseanne watched as Lisa walked confidently forward, obviously enjoying the enthusiastic bellowing of the crowds.

As the battle progressed, it became clear, once again, who the most talented party of the equation was. Roseanne loathed assenting to it, but no matter how obnoxious the gladiator might be as a person, as a swordswoman Lisa was the best there was, bar none. It was like watching a graceful dance, with the gladiator's every move purposeful and minutely precise.

"She's magnificent, isn't she?" A voice suddenly said from her left. Turning towards it, Roseanne came face to face with Yang.

"What?" She could have been slightly more eloquent in front of the most powerful member of the Roman nobility.

"Lisa. My star fighter, she's rather magnificent, isn't she?" Yang repeated, leaning forward, taking in the latest of Lisa's moves that ended up damaging her opponent's shield quite badly. "She might just be the best deal I've ever made."

"A deal?" Roseanne was immediately on her toes; nothing good ever came of deals with the snaky businessman. She herself ought to know that better than anyone.

"I bought her from Aulus Caecina for 10,000 sestertii." Roseanne's eyes widened at that – it was a humongous amount of money. "But, as it turns out, she's easily worth at least double of that." Yang's eyes gleamed with smugness.

"That is quite an investment," Roseanne replied politely, trying to extricate herself from the situation, but Yang pertinaciously held on to it.

"That it is." He turned fully to her. "You see, the thing about investments is that you need to be able to see their value ahead of time, to see their true potential before anyone else does. The investments I make now possibly won't benefit me until years from this moment."

"You certainly have the experience," Roseanne complimented politely, turning to look towards the arena again as the fight had just reached a critical point.

From the corner of her eye, Roseanne saw Yang looking at her then, his eyes piercing and not a little complacent. It was as if he knew something she didn't and took great pleasure in that knowledge.

"That I do. That I do indeed." As he turned forward again, Lisa delivered the final blow, injuring her opponent so that he couldn't get up again. A satisfied smile spread on Yang's lips. "Like I said, worth every ounce of silver." With that, he stood up, ready to leave, leaning heavily on his cane. "Would the Priestesses do me the honour of attending my humble party later this week? I'm sure you would enjoy it tremendously."