The Society of the Ethereal Medallion

Fight

They stripped me down to my undergarments and led me into a bathing room.

It was almost as large as the Atlantic ocean, with a set of steps leading into its pale blue waters.

The water was cold as I dove beneath its surface; I longed to swim down, deeper and deeper, until I disappeared from all existence.

They scrubbed my skin until I was sure it would fall off.

I shivered uncontrollably as they wrung out my hair and dried my body.

They yanked at my hair, pulling and twisting into intricate designs on my head.

Elena powdered my skin with gold that had the fragrance of flowers.

I shook in fear at what was to come.

"Keep shivering, and I'll shoot you," she sneered, jabbing my head with a pin.

She didn't go through with it; she was a horrid pincher, however.

Somewhere in this place, Ares was preparing, getting himself ready.

I couldn't fight him; I've never killed anyone in my life. I wasn't going to start now.

As Elena draped fabric over my body, she pricked me with a pin. I knew she was enjoying this; she kept pricking me.

I inhaled sharply, hanging onto one of the columns as Ruth pulled the strings of my metal corset tighter. She slung gauntlets on my forearms, tying them tightly.

"The least you could do is be gentle," I murmured.

She glared at me and tightened them; I could feel the blood rushing to my hands, the veins bulging out. She moved down to my shins putting armor on my legs.

As we neared the end, Elena remarked, "You try anything, and I won't hesitate to kill you." She spun me quickly to face a mirror of gold.

What I wore could barely be called clothes. My chest was on display in a long v-neck that ended just above my stomach. I had steel armor above silky white fabric. A nude bodysuit underneath covered the necessary parts; it didn't give me the comfort I wanted. The see-through white material had two long slits for a full range of movement on my legs. It looked like nothing was underneath the gown—the fabric-covered my front and back.

Elena and Ruth had painted the skin on my legs and arms blood red. Long lines of red adorned my skin and blood-red stars shined on my feet. They strapped on my sandals, holding their handguns at me.

I worked out every possible solution in my head; there were two women for a reason. I wasn't getting out of this.

"Move it," Elena commanded, pushing me along with the end of her gun.

I could hear distant cheering.

How could that be?

We entered a grand coliseum, where thousands of people were in the stands, cheering for Ares and me. There was a roar that I could feel deep in my chest; there was a voluminous mixture of his name and mine being chanted.

"Oh my God."

"Don't get excited. They're holograms. Your parents and Leo did a little playing around before they left here the last time. That's how we got these nice weapons."

I yelped as Elena zapped me with electricity.

"Remember that one, chica?"

Lovely.

Leo was dressed normally; I could see Ares a couple of yards away. He was a small creature, also dressed in armor and painted from his head to his toes. He looked so different than the person I had encountered on our journey. His laughter was gone, his playfulness, his light; it was all gone. I fear it wouldn't return.