The Gladiator's Goddess (The Gladiators' Gifts) (3 page)

Chapter Five

A new worry confronted Nardine. Her courses were late by two or three months. She had always been quite regular, so she knew she must be carrying Gaius’ child. Her dream had come true. But if she revealed her pregnancy to the mistress, her child would be taken from her and most likely sold.  She must hide her pregnancy for as long as possible. Perhaps she would have time to escape, and be able to keep her child.

While she
ate her breakfast during the early morning, Cornelia strode into the kitchens. The mistress awakened at all hours of the day and night. “Nardine, I have good news for you. The augurs say allowing you to sleep with a gladiator will bring the house good luck. They said it might even bring a baby! How do you like that?” Cornelia laughed. “If that happened, it would be good luck for the house, as you would be bearing another little slave for us!”

“That would be…interesting, mistress.  I am grateful to have won your trust. I look forward to finding another gladiator to warm my bed.” She hoped that gladiator would be Abedi.  But fortune had to favor her for that to happen.
She wanted to put her plan in motion before anyone suspected her pregnancy.  She still wasn’t certain Abedi would be the man who would set her free.

*****

As the weeks passed, Nardine became more and more tired. She knew the baby inside her grew and drained her, so she took special care in her kitchen duties and at the infirmary.  She double-checked all the vegetables she sliced and all the beds she made to assure everything looked perfect. She could not risk a very observant Cornelia finding out about her pregnancy

One day by the well, the woman who brought herbs to the kitchen approached her. Mila had been coming to the kitchen as long as Nardine could remember.  In addition to selling herbs and vegetables, she also served as a midwife. Nardine sat on the edge of the well, wiping her forehead and taking a moment’s rest.

“You should not tax yourself, Nardine,” said Mila. “It is not good for the baby.” 

Nardine looked up, alarmed. “How did you know? I have told no one.”

“The signs are all there. You are usually filled with energy. You are a hard worker, Nardine. I have never before seen you shirking your duty, even to sit quietly by a well. And I saw you by the stables the other morning, expelling your breakfast.”

Nardine had tried to be so careful, and yet Mila had seen her. What if someone else had?

“Oh Mila, you must keep my secret. If Cornelia finds out…”

“I know,” said Mila. “She will take your baby. Unfortunately, that is the babe’s future, whether you like it or not.  And Cornelia will find out. But not yet, and not from me.” She pulled a small ladle from her bundle and scooped some water from Nardine’s pail, handing it to her to drink. “Refresh yourself, and try not to worry.
Having a baby is always frightening the first time. “

“Mila, I want to go away from here. I want to raise my child on my own.”

“That is not wise. If you plan on escaping, you had best not plan on raising a child. Who would take care of it while you worked? And work you will to earn your way, that I promise you.” She pulled a small vial from her package.

“I will give you this. Drink all of it. In a few hours you will start bleeding and will bleed for three days, if the babe is not too far along. Then you will be rid of it.
Do it soon, so it will be sure to work.”

“I could not, Mila,” Nardine said. “I could never kill my child. I want this child.”

“Nevertheless, take it with you. You might change your mind.”

So Nardine took the bottle and concealed it in the pocket of her shift. “I must return to the kitchens, Mila. Once again, I ask you to tell no one about my pregnancy.”

“You can be assured I will not.”

As she returned to the kitchens, Nardine hung her head. The whole interlude with Mila depressed her. If Mila could tell
she carried a baby, Cornelia would discover it soon as well.  She would keep the bottle only for an emergency, although she could not imagine what that emergency might be.  Mila made her doubt the wisdom of having the baby which depressed her even more.  

*****

Abedi wanted to get back into the ring. His leg injury had not healed completely, but he began trading blows with the other gladiators in the practice yard as soon as he could. The other men pushed him to his limit, forcing him to his feet when he fell and slashing as hard as they could at him with wooden swords. 

After practice one day, he approached
the
doctore
, who trained the gladiators.

“I need to speak with you. I want to be back in the arena as soon as possible. I will be ready in time for the next match.”

“We will see,” the
doctore
said. “That leg is far from healed.”

“Other
men fight with injuries.”

“Yes, and most of them fight and die. That will not serve the house, nor, need I mention, you.”

“But you said yourself how strong I looked today.”

“You are indeed strong, Abedi. I was merely surprised that you appear to have recovered so quickly. That was an agonizing wound.”

“But again, as you said yourself, I have recovered!”

“All right, Abedi. I will put in a good word for you with the master.
Remember, you are not only putting the house at risk, you also put my reputation at risk as well as your own. If you lose and somehow survive, it will not go well for you.”

“That I know,” said Abedi.  He would fight in the next series of matches at the arena
. After that, he and Nardine would be together. 

*****

Abedi looked across the sands of the area at his opponent. A hulking brute from Gaul, about the same height as Abedi and just as big, walked toward him. Abedi would have to slaughter the gladiator, named Vax, in order to secure a night with Nardine. He wanted to prove himself to the other gladiators — that he could fight and had recovered from his injury. But mostly, he wanted to impress Nardine. He desired her to look forward to this night as much he did.

At the signal, he strode into the arena as the crowd roared.  A Thracian had just killed a savage gladiator from the far west,
the land of barbarians. The spectators thirsted for more blood, more excitement.

Unlike other gladiators, who usually carried at least two weapons, Vax held only one
— a large club he wielded high above his head. Abedi knew he could break bones with that club, or bash a man’s head in. Vax knew of his leg injury. Gladiators got that sort of news before the match, if not the crowd. Abedi had almost defeated the limp, however. No one in the audience seemed to notice it.

The match began with Abedi striking the first blow. He carried a spear, a weapon he had first learned to
use at home in Africa.  He also had a knife in a holster on his lower leg. He held his shield in his left hand. Abedi ran past Vax, striking out at him with the spear and drawing blood when it pierced his left arm. The crowd cheered. Abedi scurried backwards, trying to gain enough time to plan his next move. Vax didn’t hurry.  Abedi watched as Vax lifted his club and strode toward him. He raised it above Abedi’s head and swept down as Abedi jumped to the right, completely avoiding it. He jabbed the spear at Vax’s side when he landed but missed, then circled his opponent. Abedi could feel the sweat dripping down his forehead. Some of Vax’s blood had splashed on his face, so he swept it away.

Now, Vax
headed for him in earnest.  He stalked Abedi with the club poised in the air, ready to strike. Abedi turned around quickly and slashed at Vax but missed, just as Vax brought the club down on his shoulder.

The excruciating
pain almost felled him. He managed to right himself by skipping away from Vax, who simply laughed. Abedi shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the sharp echoes of pain radiating upward from his shoulder.  He had to snap out of his disoriented state to win the match.  He walked to the side of the arena, where the runners kept water. Abedi picked up a pail of it and doused his head. The crowd sounds were mixed. Some people jeered while others applauded him.  Afterward, Abedi took a deep breath, striding toward Vax; the brief respite gave him renewed energy. 

This time, he focused on Vax’s legs. Abedi
had learned a painful lesson through his own injury—if you couldn’t walk you couldn’t fight. He drew small amounts of blood that spurted out on the sand. Vax got angry and started swinging wildly. Abedi avoided the blows, but his energy wouldn’t hold out forever. He must injure Vax in a substantial way to even the score.

Abedi crept around Vax again, jabbing in and out with the spear as Vax twisted to meet each thrust with a swing of the club. Abedi could move
quicker so he had a slight advantage. But Vax caught him again with the club, this time on his left hand. He jumped backward to avoid any more blows.

An enraged Vax used
both hands to grab the club and swing from right to left, attempting to crush Abedi’s mid-section. Once again, he kept missing. As he twisted around as a result of the swing, Abedi plunged the spear into Vax’s side. He stumbled, and then fell over. Abedi moved in for the kill.

But he didn’t make it. Using both hands again, Vax swung the club viciously, this time connecting with
Abedi’s left leg, which he had injured earlier. Abedi, on the ground now and crippled by the blow, could not rise. Vax stumbled to his feet. Try as he might, Abedi could not get off the ground. He could hear the loud screams of the crowd, and could vaguely see a man at the end of the arena climbing from the stands into the ring. As Vax prepared to strike Abedi again, the magistrate rose and extended his arm. The audience would now decide the crippled gladiators’ fate. Loud cheers broke out all across the coliseum. The magistrate turned his thumb up, and Abedi would be allowed to live.

But he couldn’t walk, and he had lost the match. The
doctore
’s words haunted him—things would not go well for him if he lost the match and survived. Nardine would look down on him as a gladiator unable to achieve a victory. He could never help her escape with a crippled leg like this. He would be lucky to ever stand again.  As the runners came and began to lift him onto a stretcher, Abedi hung his head. It would be a long time before he had the chance to fight in the arena again, if ever. He hoped his career hadn’t ended. He wanted a chance to redeem himself – to all of Rome, but to Nardine, in particular.  

*****

Nardine watched as Abedi fell to the ground. Her stomach boiled as he took the hit, and a pang of pain exploded inside her. Abedi suffered not only in a physical way but also in an emotional one. He had boasted so much of bedding her that she almost felt pity for him – an emotion she knew he wouldn’t want her to experience. 

Cornelia watched her closely during Abedi’s match, and struck up a conversation in the immediate aftermath. “It seems you have a particular interest in this gladiator, Nardine. What is it? Are you interested in another man so soon after your lover’s death?
”

Nardine bristled. Gaius had been dead
for three months. She knew of widows who took a husband less than a week after their former spouse died. “I nursed him in the infirmary, mistress. He was excited to be going back to the arena. I had hoped he would win today.”

“So did the
lanista
. He lost coin on him today, but not so much as to break him. Antonius knew there was a chance he might lose. At least he wasn’t killed. Let us hope he hasn’t been permanently crippled.”

Nardine knew that would be the end of Abedi, at least as far as
she was concerned. Seriously injured gladiators retired quickly, sometimes to a quick, painful and lonely death. Abedi didn’t deserve that under any circumstances.  He would not be able to help her escape. He didn’t know of her plans, but somehow she believed he would keep her secret, and perhaps even help her, if he could.  But how? She would have to think on it. Perhaps she could involve another gladiator, and Abedi could cover for him. In truth, she regretted leaving him. She’d hoped to escape the
ludus
with Abedi at her side. 

Chapter Six

That night Cornelia decided to honor Nardine’s request to sleep with another gladiator. As Nardine walked to her chamber, Cornelia confronted her.

“Not so fast, Nardine. You said you wanted
to be matched with another gladiator. I have decided to give you to Hebides, who won his match today against two opponents.

Nardine remembered the match.
‘I know the man,” she said. “He is tall, with unruly dark hair.”

“That is the man. My slave will escort you to his cell. But first clean your hands and feet and arrange your hair.”’

As Nardine hurried to her chamber, she wondered about this new development and what it could mean for her escape plan. She had no idea whether Hebides would have any interest in running away. Nevertheless, he was getting older, and gladiators did not last forever in the arena. No rumors circulated about Hebides having a family or an estate. She believed he had been captured somewhere in the east, near the deserts, not far from Africa. That made her think of Abedi again, and she wished for a moment that she would bed him tonight. At least she would have some idea what to expect. And it would be a pleasant expectation too. This Hebides could be violent and cruel. But then all the gladiators could be violent, at least in the ring. Nardine experienced good luck so far in that she had avoided overly violent men, unlike her old friend Rue. None of the gladiators she had been with ever violated her in a way that caused her undue pain.