“Hello, can you hear me? Are you hungry? Can you understand the words coming out of my mouth? Hey, don’t just look at me all slack jawed, answer the damn question!” Mera was the faster of the two to get her head on straight but conversing with the boy was starting to frustrate her. To be fair only a minute or two since the initial reaction had passed, yet Mera was not known for her patience, the girl expected results right away and for others to respond quickly and efficiently.

An understandable expectation when dealing with someone like the Scholar who did not mince words and oozed an aura of efficiency, but not exactly something to expect of everyone. Especially not a slave soldier who just woke up after a two-day long coma, one who had never dealt directly with the opposite sex before and was still somewhat unaware of just where he was and how much his world had changed from before. Having spent the entirety of his existence within the arena fighting constantly, the boy was not much more than a bird within a cage, the cage was neither gilded, nor was the bird a fanciful peacock, but he was nonetheless oblivious to many things.

The first of these lessons would be interactions with the female before him, an absolutely monumental task for a boy in the midst of his growth into adulthood without a hint of understanding other than the ramblings of the older slaves, warriors who may not have been the best influences. At the moment he was still at a loss for words, the girl who was of a similar age appeared as if she was a figment of the imagination. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, but no more than any other noblewoman who took care of her appearance.

No, her beauty was one part of a whole. That combined with the way the sunlight illuminated her long amber locks and emerald eyes painted a mesmerizing image. A confident demeanor and the reverence shown by those in the surroundings magnified the aura of leadership and beauty which seemed to just flow from her presence. Even the irritated squint and exasperated snarl which she emitted at this moment only appeared to strike the boy harder, resulting in his petrification and mindless trance.

“Great… Another mindless meathead who can’t seem to keep his head on straight. Oh well, time to get to work then.” Mera grumbled under her breath as the boy seemed completely unaware that she had been speaking to him. It was true she had been a bit surprised earlier, and witnessing his uncovered form had elicited some feelings, she was not one to allow her animalistic urges to get the better of her. Even now the champion’s prying eyes gave her a feeling of triumph, but also irritation and some disgust, a normal occurrence as most men seemed wholly incapable of constraining those same urges.

Tired of continuing the pointless stalemate Mera rolled up her sleeves and approached the unresponsive and slack jawed patient. Seconds later she stood before him as the boy tried to stammer out some kind of unintelligible response, with his eyes still unable to constrain themselves; Mera for her part had enough. The trance was unceremoniously broken as the girl landed a vicious slap across the champion’s left cheek, her gloved hand landing with an audible thwack, startling the surrounding caretakers. His bronze skin a dull shade of red where the gloved hand had impacted, soon enough the rest followed with the boy turning a slight tinge of pink from ear to ear.

His reaction was natural a result of just now coming to terms with his earlier sequence of actions, in the arena the boy survived due to a natural ability to analyze his surroundings and process the situation quickly. Those same skills were most likely now coming into effect, thoughts returning to the stupid doe eyed reaction he had, the incomprehensible mumbling, and the obvious leering glare. Any one of which would make the girl’s reaction completely warranted, at least that was the case among Temrenosian women in general.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a woman, be glad that it is and that I can guess as much… If that wasn’t the case, you’d be getting more than just a single slap. I’ll let you off with a warning this time, one because I got a treat of my own, and two it was cathartic… a bit of stress relief is always enjoyable.” The girl removed her gloves and held out her hand, “Name’s Mera by the way, might be a little confusing just saying hey you all the time. Most of the people here are from Temrenos, I doubt you’ve heard much about it, and once the Scholar returns, I’m sure he’ll fill you in on the details. This is the medical wagon, I’m a medic, the rest of the people here are trainees and we’re in charge of caring for any patients, so far it’s just been you and the old man over there.”

The second the boy heard Mera talk about the old man he instinctively turned his head to the other end of the wagon, just as he had hoped, lying upon a set of furs was none other than his teacher. Completely ignoring the Mera and the others the boy stumbled over to the comatose man, tears of joy streaming down his face. Even if the man had yet to waken from his long slumber the two had finally fulfilled their dreams, they were free, no longer caged within the squalid confines of their cells beneath the arena. The two were finally outside the walls of the only prison he had ever known… a realization that soon created a knot within his stomach… followed by fear of the unknown as well as a burning desire to see with his own eyes what lay beyond the only world he ever knew.

“Madam, where are we? And am I free to see what lies outside this wagon? I am likely to have more questions, but for now I wish to see what the world looks like outside the stone and metal of my cage. Would that be acceptable?” Although one may have thought from his appearance that the boy would be a crass and uncouth brute, he was in fact the complete opposite. It was true he had learned a few approaches towards the opposite sex that were more likely to get him incapacitated by the girl standing before him. However, luckily enough the discipline and teaching instilled within him by Vishnamitra allowed him to somewhat control himself, more so than others might have.

Almost immediately Mera’s face softened significantly as it became obvious to all the efforts the boy was attempting to make, even now he kept his eyes on the exit of the wagon, burning at the prospect of witnessing a new world while at the same time inhibiting a repeat of their initial meeting. “You know you aren’t much older than me, so no need for the polite language… just feels wrong. Use my name, I gave it to you for a reason after all. Anyway, follow me.”

Mera made for the exit of the wagon, after wrapping him in a linen to cover up his lower half she grabbed his hand and led him into the sun baked plateau. “The view from up here is pretty nice, but there isn’t much else. It’s not as if we stopped here and made camp because it offers the greatest amenities around.” Mera climbed up onto the bonnet of the wagon, it was probably strong enough to hold the weight of the two, and it offered a commanding view of the area, the mountain pass, the hills, and both the river and forests below. Once they were situated the girl uncoupled their hands, much to the disappointment of her guest.

“If it isn’t much and clearly not your original destination, then why have you stopped here? It’s obvious to me that the people are all hard at work, from here I can even see the children working to fetch firewood and crafting arrows. There is more than that, but I think that is more than enough to take a guess as to why that might be.” Similar to the approach towards the plateau where they were currently encamped, men, women, children, and even the elderly could be seen hard at work. All pulled their weight, no matter how small the contribution, whether that be hoisting a massive log up the steep incline, polishing armor, or just collecting twigs to fuel the campfires. Defensive positions were being established, traps set, and everything within the camp was moving toward one inevitable conclusion.

“Well, like you said it’s obvious enough… but you chose a great time to wake up. The Lord’s scouts caught wind of an approaching army, something we already expected. Our leader, my teacher, and the Lord of Myrmien get along about as well as oil and water. Needless to say, he sent a pursuit force, a contingent of mercenaries and levies. From the information the Scholar’s messenger delivered yesterday, perhaps a little over two hundred strong, two tagmats. Plus, a squadron of cavalry around ten- or twenty-units total.” Mera released a muffled sigh, her sight glancing over the many people hard at work, “We have too many people and baggage, the force is mainly light infantry so they would have caught up to us before we reached our destination. Leaving any of these people and the goods behind is unacceptable, we will make our stand here… we can fight, and we can win, the Scholar has never let us down… no matter the odds.”

“Wait! How many men do you have? How many can fight?” Everywhere the young champion observed, only those he perceived as weak, or incapable of combat filled his vision. If it had been a small troupe of bandits then being on guard could deter such a band, but against an organized force they stood little chance with the pitiful numbers currently seen. The women and children had yet to make their escape, all present the numbers within the camp barely amounted to seventy individuals, and that was counting the children! There were not nearly enough fighting age men, not to hold the hill against a force five times their size.

However, unlike what he had expected, Mera appeared fairly matter of fact about the whole situation, as if it was no cause for alarm. “Men, we have around thirteen… Soldiers, maybe twenty, not including the squad of ten the Lord has accompanying him on his raids. As for people who can fight… since all citizens of Temrenos are trained, at least at a basic level with the bow and spear for self-defense… I’d say we have enough spears and arrows, so a total fighting strength of around forty.” With each addition of ten Mera raised another figure, calculating and keeping track of the rough estimate of their present forces.

“Wait! Are you saying that your Lord expects the women to fight? I am sorry… but that sounds ridiculous, women do not fight. I doubt you would be able to draw a bow, let alone hold a shield wall against a charging foe… Your Lord probably expects to use you all as a distraction so that he might-” The boy had not been allowed to finish his thought, his inadvertent insult caught in his throat, the left side of his face stinging from the vicious backhand. Sounds of flesh hitting flesh drew the attention of those nearby, who upon witnessing the little witch immediately turned in the opposite direction and returned to their tasks.

A pair of emerald eyes seemed to be boring into the champion’s soul, the girl towering over him with a vicious scowl, completely altering her previously ethereal beauty. Like a stag caught in the path of a predator, the boy was visibly shocked and confused, having no idea of what he had said to cause such a visceral reaction. It was not just the girl opposite him alone, those within earshot who may have also caught wind of his words were also glancing in his direction, and an aura of seething anger falling upon him. Yet, he had no concept of what he had said that was incorrect, it was as if he had committed some form of horrible transgression, such as murdering a relative. All of which he said was supposedly common knowledge, a basic common understanding of society as all the older gladiators in the arena always put it.

“Who do you think you are? Our Lord saved you, he paid a lord’s ransom for your half-dead teacher… So, how dare you sully his name, judge him without even knowing a single thing about him! He is the savior of everyone here… He saved us, trained us, and allowed us to elevate ourselves beyond what others believe to be our station in life!”

The girl barely managed to tamp down and control her raging fury, her voice dropping from a throaty yell to a cool viciousness, “As a woman am I to be subservient all my life, to be no different from a bird trapped within cage, my only purpose to birth children until I die. I am not a bird in a cage, I will not be constrained, none of the women here will, that is what the Scholar taught us… Our Lord is an honorable man, at this moment he rides with the best of us, to fight behind enemy lines and buy us the time we need to build our defenses. We do not question his plans as they have never failed us before, but it wouldn’t matter as anyone here would be willing to give their lives if needed.”

Mera made her way over to the edge of the cloth roof, her focus away from the boy, as if shunning his existence. “It would seem to me that it was a mistake to save you. I guess there’s nothing special about you, just an empty-headed fool, utterly worthless.” With that final statement Mera hopped off the edge to the ground below, her anger still palpable in the air. The men and women within the camp giving her a wide berth, especially the men.

“Haha! You messed up there boy. Little Mera is a prickly one, never was one for authority, or remaining in place… few have any control over that monster. Even still, you will have to work very hard to get back into her good graces, even more so for her to take notice. You were doing so well… but you just had to go and say what you said.” The large bald man could not help but shake his head in disappointment. He was laying nearby upon a pair of furs, lazily sipping a flask of wine, the most striking thing about him was his size and the scar running along the side of his face. “Name’s Timeaus boyyo, and for the moment I have some sage advice for you… so why don’t you hop on down, got some wine if you’re interested.”