by David Adkins
“I have fought twice but only as a member of Corelia’s Spartan army. Corelia is the Queen of Sparta, you know.”
“What did that entail, Aria?”
“The first time we were pitted against a barbarian army. It was twelve women against twelve women but was hardly a contest because the barbarians were so undisciplined. Kotys was the only one in the barbarian army that put up much resistance, and that was when she was wounded and Solanus thought her dead. The second time I was once again in the Spartan army and we had to hunt down men and women from that religious cult – Christians they are called. Domitian does not like them or their beliefs. I went after a man who fell to his knees when I approached and started praying to his god. I kicked him over and he looked up at me with fear in his eyes but he didn’t fight back and I plunged my sword into him. I did not like that. I would have preferred him to fight.” She uttered the last words with distaste.
I looked at her sadly. “That is terrible.”
“That is how it is in the arena, Hylas. You have to be strong and ruthless if you want to survive.”
“When you return to Italy you do not have to go back to the arena,” I suggested.
“It is my life and I have to go back to Corelia,” she replied.
“I do not like to think of you in the arena.” Quite suddenly the boisterous crowd went silent as the games announcer began his introductions.
“Welcome once again to the Grand Theatre at Ephesus, the capital of the province of Asia. Welcome also to our benevolent governor Civica Cerealis.” Civica was on his feet waving to the crowd. “We have three great contests today. The first, a gladiatrix contest, and that is followed by two gladiatorial battles. They will all be to the death if that is so deemed by our esteemed governor. The first will feature the famous and magnificent gladiatrix who calls our great city of Ephesus her home. She is unbeaten after numerous contests. She is originally from Upper Egypt. She is the Queen of the Nile. She is the champion of all Asia. She is the brown goddess. She is Amina.”
The crowd erupted into tumultuous applause and cheering that resonated all around the theatre. “Quite a build up,” I said to Aria.
“Her challenger today is from the barbarian land far to the north. She is from Germania, that land of ice and snow on the fringe of our great Empire. She has all the ferocity of her race. She is a great gladiatrix in her own right. She is Hlothilda.”
The two women then entered the arena side by side, bare breasted, and each armed only with a short sword and small round shield. “It all seems more civilized here than in the Colosseo,” observed Aria.
“Really? I have never been before so I was not sure what to expect.” I was looking at the antagonists with some amazement. They were both big women, considerably bigger than Aria or Corelia. If anything Hlothilda was the larger of the two and certainly the more bulky. She was over six feet tall with a powerful frame and I imagined very strong. Amina was probably about six feet tall with a less bulky frame, but the muscles on her thighs and arms seemed to glisten in the afternoon sunlight. Being slimmer, though hardly slim, it seemed certain to me that she would be the faster of the two and with those muscles I felt sure that she could more than match the German in strength.
“This should be fascinating,” Aria said tensely.
The noise erupted and then slowly began to fade as the two opponents strode to the middle of the arena, faced each other a few paces apart, and nodded acknowledgement of their enemy. The contest was about to begin.
The huge German launched the first attack which Amina easily evaded. The champion of Asia moved across the sand with surprising agility and Hlothilda flailed at empty air. Amina began to circle her larger opponent poised to strike with both sword and shield.
“Amina is carrying the shield to use it as a strike weapon rather than just as a defensive one,” Aria observed.
Hlothilda decided to close the distance between them and struck heavily with her sword, knowing that Amina would counter but hoping to unbalance her by the sheer force of the blow. The sound echoed around the stadium but Amina held firm. As the blades disengaged Amina was quick to attack. Her sword moved with blinding speed and although Hlothilda managed to partially parry the attack, Amina’s blade glanced across her shoulder and opened up a gash.
The muscles in Amina’s thighs tensed as she moved away fluidly and then observed her handiwork. The blood trickled down Hlothilda’s arm but to her credit the German was not dismayed or deterred. Hlothilda gritted her teeth and moved forward like a member of the Roman infantry, shield up and sword forward. This time Amina ducked low beneath the level of the attack, swaying to the German’s left and slicing upwards with her blade and cutting a thin line up the German’s chest. The crowd was now in uproar, yelling their approval at Amina’s skill, and the German was leaking blood.
“This is more one-sided than I expected,” observed Aria.
The furious German lashed out again at her tormentor but Amina had danced away from the fray. Hlothilda was bleeding but the wounds did not look serious. Now it was Amina’s turn to attack but the enormously strong German blocked the blow and the sound of iron against iron once again rang out around the stadium. Amina backed off knowing that there was still work to be done. It was Hlothilda’s turn to attack and once again the swords locked together, but this time Amina did not disengage. She was testing the strength of her opponent and trying to force her back. Hlothilda would not yield any ground and they must have been locked in this trial of strength for minutes, both refusing to give way. The German would not yield so suddenly Amina relaxed her strength, causing Hlothilda to stumble. Amina once again danced away and this time as she did so she cut off the German’s left ear.
Hlothilda staggered back looking down at her ear on the sand of the arena floor. The side of her face and her neck and breasts were covered in blood. Many of the crowd had now jumped to their feet as they sensed the kill might be imminent. I think that Amina also sensed victory and her sword spat out causing further damage to the distressed German, opening a cut to her belly, and Hlothilda cried out in pain. The German did manage to avoid the next intended blow which, if it had landed, would, I am sure, have proved fatal. Amina had perhaps strayed too close to her wounded quarry and Hlothilda with her greater weight pushed out with her shield, making Amina stumble. The German sensed that now she had a chance and lashed out with her sword but, despite her stumble, Amina recovered astonishingly quickly, rolling away from the blow with breathtaking speed and then adroitly regaining her feet. Hlothilda tried to maintain the advantage by attacking swiftly but once more Amina blocked the blow and metal screeched against metal. Again swords were locked in a trial of strength and the antagonists stood almost face to face. Blood was flowing freely from Hlothilda’s wounds and the muscles of both women tensed as each tried to force the other backwards. The German’s face turned red with effort as she tried to force her brown-skinned opponent to give way. This time Amina did not intend to concede ground.
I looked at Aria and saw the tension in her face. I realized that we were both caught up in the battle and trial of strength that was being played out before our eyes. The crowds in the vast arena were now making a tumultuous din as they cheered on the Queen of the Nile to even greater efforts. The women remained locked together and now Amina’s chest was stained with Hlothilda’s blood. I could see the strain on the weakened German’s face as Amina remained relatively composed.
“The German is giving way,” I heard myself commenting to Aria. She nodded, intent on the deadly contest that was now unfolding.
Gradually, almost imperceptibly at first, Amina forced her opponent backwards. Hlothilda’s face turned scarlet as she fought with all her might to stop the rout. In desperation the German tried to headbutt Amina but, though only a heavy glancing blow, it was enough to make both women falter and lose their grips on their swords. The weapons both fell to the sand but Amina was first to react, driving her shield into the German’s face.
“I told you that she was going to use it as a weapon,” Aria said.
Hlothilda staggered and fell to her knees. Her face was now a bloody mess. Amina once again smashed her shield into the German’s face and a beaten Hlothilda keeled over. The German lay senseless, face down on the arena sand, and Amina kneeled beside her, lifted her face, and looked into her unseeing eyes. In triumph she picked up the huge German and, muscles tensing, she lifted her above her head to the disbelieving gasps of an enraptured and doting crowd. For a moment she held her there to the cheers of the exuberant audience and then tossed her across the arena like a large rag doll. The body of the huge German hit the arena floor with a sickening thud and it was obvious that the vanquished Hlothilda was barely conscious. Amina picked up her sword and strode towards the stricken German. She stood with both feet on her defeated opponent’s chest and looked towards the governor of Asia, Civica Cerealis. The governor stood up, paused for a moment and looked about him. He raised an arm with a clenched fist to head height. Then slowly his thumb sank downwards and sealed Hlothilda’s fate. Amina plunged her sword into the body of her defeated opponent.
The champion of Asia did a lap of honour around the stadium while stewards dragged the corpse from the arena. She was waving to the crowd who were responding by noisily chanting her name and throwing flowers into the arena. She was still undefeated and still the toast of Ephesus and Asia. The German had fought bravely but she had been neither fast enough nor strong enough.
“Why did Cerealis not let her live? She had fought well,” I muttered.
“The crowd wanted her life,” answered Aria, who looked shocked by what she had observed.
“I have seen enough,” I said, standing up to leave. I had in truth been caught up in the contest but the cruel and brutal ending had not been necessary.
“Do you not want to see the other contests?” asked Aria.
“No, I am going back to the inn to ponder over what I have seen. You can watch the other contests if you wish.”
“I will stay and watch them, Hylas. It is all a good education for a gladiatrix.”
“As you wish. I will see you back at the inn,” I said, and walked out of the Grand Theatre of Ephesus.
*
I returned straight to the inn and immediately went up the stairs to my room. I sat down on my only chair and looked out of my small window without really seeing. I was stunned by the performance of Amina in the arena. I had expected her to be a strong and very accomplished gladiatrix but she was quite something else. She had massive strength and incredible speed. I pictured her in my mind’s eye lifting the huge German over her head and throwing her across the arena. I shuddered slightly because she seemed hardly human and yet I was going to have to confront her. I started to think about how I would do that.
I had only been in the room a short time when there was a tap at the door. “Enter,” I invited.
Aria walked into the room and, making herself at home, she collapsed wearily on my bed.
“I thought you were staying for the other contests,” I remarked.
“I thought you might be lonely or even vomiting over your room again. You seemed quite shaken when you left the theatre. I know you have a weak stomach.”
“I do not have a weak stomach, Aria, but I was startled by just how formidable Amina is. She looked invincible to me.”
“I must admit, Hylas, that I was also shaken and I couldn’t concentrate on the next event so I left.”
“I will never allow you or Corelia to enter the arena with her,” I said in a determined voice.
“I knew you cared. I must admit that I have no wish to fight her unless there is no other way,” she said.
“It would be pointless – you would not stand a chance. She is twice your size.”
“You exaggerate, Hylas, but it is true that I would have little chance though there is always an element of luck whenever you fight.”
“You would need a lot more than an element of luck. You would need a miracle,” I observed.
“Thanks for your confidence,” she said, laughing. “But having seen her fight I am happy to go along with your alternative plan.”
“I have just been thinking about that. I will tell you what I plan to do.”
“You are not the only one stressed by what we have seen, Hylas. I am in great need of one of your foot massages to relax me while I listen to your plan.”
I hesitated, wishing to concentrate on my plan rather than her feet.
“Come on, Hylas, I have not had a rub since the Laodike. My feet are feeling neglected. She removed her sandals and looked at me expectantly. Come on, brother, you know you love it.”
I shrugged and went over to the bed and I started to massage her feet; then I began to outline my proposal in detail. “It is as I said before. Tomorrow I will go to the gladiatorial school and ask to see Amina and the owner of the school. I assume that he will be in charge of things. I will tell them that I have been sent by Paulinus, the Praetorian Prefect, on behalf of the Emperor Domitian. I will show them my Praetorian badge as proof that I am who I say I am. I will outline the Emperor’s plan to bring Amina to Rome to fight in the Colosseo against Corelia, the champion of the west. I will describe the Emperor’s excitement at the prospect of such a contest and how he is determined to bring it about next spring. It will be, he believes, the greatest gladiatrix battle ever fought at the Colosseo, the champion of the west against the champion of the east. I will say that I seek their agreement to the contest, though as it is the Emperor’s will they really have no choice.”
“It all sounds good, but how will you kill Amina? You are slacking. Keep rubbing, Hylas.”
“I will use my charm. I told you.”
She giggled. “We are lost.”
“I will invite her to eat with me that evening or to walk the city with me the next day and, hopefully, whichever it is, we will be alone. I will lure her by saying I will tell her about Corelia.”
“That could work if your charm does not. A gladiatrix always wants to know about her future opponents. Then when we have her alone we will murder her.”
“I will do it,” I said firmly.
“No, you may falter and anyway we will have more chance of success if we both do it.”
“I will not falter. There is no way that you or Corelia will have to fight her in the arena.”
“We will do the deed together,” she responded resolutely. “I will certainly do everything it takes to prevent Corelia having to face her in the Colosseo. The German was good and better than any of Corelia’s recent opponents and yet Amina swept her aside. She is hardly human.”
“Very well. I agree. We will go to the gladiatorial school tomorrow and you will wait outside for me. I will try to persuade her to meet me later as I have described but if she wants to go for a walk after discussions then we must be ready to do it then. Whichever, I will take her to a secluded spot where we can do the deed. Preferably I will invite her to eat and then we can do it after the meal under cover of darkness. How does that sound?” I asked, concluding the massage and patting her leg to let her know I had finished.
“It sounds feasible but we would have to be quick and deadly and not give her a chance to fight back,” she replied.
“I will strike the first blow with my dagger and then you jump into the fray. She will go down under the weight of strikes. Before that she must not see you. Do you understand? She must never know that you are my accomplice. If we cannot go ahead for some reason or if she suspects me and anything happens to me then you must still be in reserve. If I fail then Corelia still has a chance while you live. You would then have to implement your own plan.”
“We will not fail,” she assured me.
Chapter 8
The next morning we stood outside the gladiatorial school in drizzling rain and under a dark and cloudy sky. We were both armed with daggers and we had finalized our plan, though I hoped that it would not have to be implemented in broad daylight. It
would be far better done in the evening when darkness would provide a cover for our intended assassination of Amina. Aria then left me and went to sit down on the grassy bank, sheltering beneath the thick branches of a filbert tree. I rapped on the large wooden door and waited.
After several seconds the door slowly opened and I was confronted by two burly gladiators. “What do you want?” one of them asked impatiently. I think I had interrupted a game of dice.
“I am here to see the owner of this establishment and also the gladiatrix, Amina. I am a messenger from the Emperor Domitian on a matter of important business.”
They looked at each other and then one shrugged and said, “Is that so? Then I suppose I had better go and fetch Stephanio.” He rushed off to find his overseer.
The other guard ushered me inside to wait and closed the doors behind me. I waited a few minutes and the first guard returned with a lanky, thin individual who on closer inspection looked wiry and strong. “I am Stephanio and I own and run the school. I hear you wish to speak with me and with the gladiatrix, Amina, and that you bear a message from the Emperor. Is that so?”
“It is,” I replied, showing him my Praetorian badge. “I am Hylas, a Praetorian working for the Praetorian Prefect, Paulinus. He has sent me here bearing a message from the Emperor. Domitian wishes me to begin discussions with you with a view to Amina travelling to Rome to face Corelia, the champion of the west, in a great contest in the Colosseo next spring.”
He looked at me, clearly curious. “Do you have a written message?”
“No, Paulinus thought it better that we negotiate by word of mouth. I am authorized to do so.”
“I see. I will not ask you to come inside because I think such discussions are better had in more convivial surroundings. Amina is resting at the moment – she had a tiring contest in the arena yesterday.”
“I saw the contest,” I replied.
“Did you also see that tavern down the hill from here as you approach the Grand Theatre? I will meet you there at sunset this evening.”