Chapter Ten
Aftermath
Xena woke up with a terrible pain in her lower abdomen - her bladder was past full and was demanding to be emptied. She opened her eyes and from the light, guessed it was well past dawn, probably half way to mid-day. She didn't want to move, but she knew if she didn't get up to relieve herself, she would piss in her bed. But when she moved, she felt pain in her side, aches from every muscle she had, and nausea. But fighting through the pain, she managed to get to her feet. Looking down at herself, she saw the bandaging over her wounds was soaked with blood. Sometime in the night she had moved wrong, or did something to cause the wounds to start bleeding again.
She was also still naked, but she didn't much care about that. Slowly she made it to the latrine area, but when she sat down to pee, her bowels suddenly loosened from the trauma of the previous day. And the evacuation was so fast and so hard, it caused her to double over in yet another pain. She sat there, panting, until the pain subsided enough that she was able to reach one of the rags used to wipe with and did so as best she could.
She then walked over to the bath tub, filled with relatively clean water, and removing the wraps that kept the bandages in place, she was barely able to get into the cold water to try to clean herself.
"I see you are up," a voice said. "I would have thought you would be in bed until tomorrow."
Xena looked up to see the physician standing there.
"Had to go," she replied. "Couldn't wait."
He nodded, then reached down to help her out of the tub and had her sit on one of the dining tables. He then started examining her wounds.
"You have a fever, but it doesn't seem to be too high," he told her. "And I see the cuts on your arms are scabbing over. Unfortunately there is infection beginning and I have to remove them."
"Do whatever you have to," Xena answered.
The physician scooped a small amount of a white cream out of a bowl and began to cover the scabs.
"Lard," he explained. "It will soften the scabs while I look to the wounds in your side."
He prodded the area around the punctures, both in front and back, then said, "There is some infection here, but the bleeding has kept it from being too bad."
First he used a ball of wool soaked with willow-bark infused water to clean around the wounds. From another bowl he scooped out a light brown cream.
"The honey and vinegar will help fight the infection," he said, then began to fill the lesions with the mixture using his fingers. He next took a needle with tan thread and began stitching the skin together.
"It is cat gut," he explained. "By the time your wounds have healed it will have dissolved."
He then re-bandaged the wounds and wrapped a cloth around her to hold them in place. After that, he scraped the scabs off her upper arms, cleaned the area around the cuts with willow-water then covered them with more of the honey and vinegar.
"Try to eat and to drink," he told her. "And you should rest. I will see to you tomorrow."
The physician gathered his potions and medicines and started to leave, then turned back to Xena.
"Oh, you should know - your feats of yesterday are the talk of the household. I hear it from the gladiators, the house slaves, even the few of Dominus' guests who have risen early. No one in many years has made the impression you did."
Xena, feeling some better, both in body and about the praise, made her way back to her room, stripped the bloody blanket she slept on from the bed and threw it into one corner. But the blood had soaked into the straw-filled mattress and she knew she wasn't about to sleep on that, so she dragged it into one of the unoccupied rooms and swapped with one of the cleaner ones and took it back to her bed.
Then lying down, she tried to sleep, but her mind began racing as her memories of the previous day came back to her - seeing Gabrielle on the balcony, the bloody combat in the arena, standing in the middle of the room on display for Dominus and his guests, the look of disappointment and anguish on Gabrielle's face, fucking both Barsis and Philox, and the regret for those actions, hoping Gabrielle would never find out.
The next thing Xena knew it was almost dark and she could hear the men eating the evening meal. She knew she had to eat something, so she got off the bed, wrapped her breasts and loins and walked into the dining area. At first there was silence, but someone began to clap, then others joined in as they all came to their feet. Her names were called out -- "Xena!" "Amazonia!"
Seeing she was still unsteady, Doctore went to her and helped to a table. Someone brought food and drink, while the others continued to praise her until she stood up and looked round at them. Then in a symbol of her victory, she raised her arms wide over her head, bringing a resounding uproar from everyone.
All right," Doctore said to them. "There will be time to celebrate her victory, but now she needs food and rest."
He sat down across from her as the men went back to their meals.
"I was wondering, now that I've proven myself, any chance Dominus would let me see Gabrielle, talk to her, visit with her, maybe - spend the night together?"
"I can only ask, but it will have to be when Dominus is in a generous mood. Today he will be suffering the effects of too much wine from yesterday. Perhaps in a day or two."
Xena nodded as she picked at her food, then she said, "Any chance I can get another blanket?" she asked. "Mine's kind of bloody."
"It won't be a problem. Any one of them will be willing to trade with you, just to have the blood of Amazonia in his possession."
Xena chuckled slightly, trying not to tear the stitches, shook her head, and began to eat.
.......
Gabrielle's day began as it had since her arrival, she and the others were up well before the dawn. Today food had to be prepared and ready to be served the instant any of Batiatus' guests arose and demanded breakfast. There still was cleaning to be done, a never ending task. And all during the day the talk was only of Xena and her victory in the arena. Those who hadn't seen it questioned those who did. And the ones who witnessed it were only too happy to tell what they saw, with the usual embellishments.
All except Gabrielle. Whenever she was questioned, she only said she didn't see that much and tried to change the subject, or made an excuse to leave. She was still in shock at Xena's appearance and at her actions. She knew Xena had a dark past, but could it have been any darker, any uglier, any more brutal than what she had seen the day before?
As much as she wanted them to be together, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Xena anytime soon. The distress of watching what she had become in so short a time was simply too devastating.
It was past mid-day when Batiatus and Lucretia made an appearance. He would have preferred to stay in bed, but he had guests, important guests, to attend to. And again, the wine flowed, not as copiously as the previous night, and today was accompanied with more food. The gathering was jovial, with talk only of Amazonia and her victory. But eventually it was time to leave. Those who had far to go had left earlier in the day, expressing their regrets of having to leave so soon, and their heart-felt good-byes, to Phaedra to be conveyed to Batiatus and Lucretia.
The last to go was Cicerius and his party. And while Lucretia made small talk with his wife and the others, Cicerius took Batiatus aside.
"I have an offer for you," he said.
"I am listening," Batiatus answered.
"I am willing to give you a thousand gold Aurelia for your Amazon warrior. A most generous offer."
Batiatus smiled indulgently, knowing he would never sell his gold mine. "I appreciate the offer, but she is not for sale."
"Batiatus, listen to me - this is no insult, but you are the Dominus of a small pond who has just acquired an enormous fish. One which is much too large for you to manage. But I am the one with a lake, with room and resources to deal with such a gladiator. What are you going to do with her now that she has defeated my two finest? Who will dare to compete against her? Your connections are limited, where mine are extensive. And even if you could find those who would put theirs against yours - look at your arena. It was barely large enough to support the few who came at your invitation. I, on the other hand, am just now finishing construction of an arena that will hold more than five hundred spectators."
"Good sir," Batiatus interrupted, but got no farther.
"You drive a hard bargain," Cicerius said smiling. "Two thousand."
Batiatus shook his head, trying to head off the sale he didn't want to make.
"Very well, four thousand Aurelia. And not a denaria more. But keep this in mind - Amazonia's skill could take her to the Coliseum in Rome. Do you really have the means needed to finance such a venture? Think about it, my friend, this offer will not last long. And now we must leave. I thank you for your hospitality and for providing such wonderful entertainment."
As Batiatus and Lucretia watched them go, she was aware that there was something not right with her husband that was more than a hangover. "Is there something that worries you?"
"Cicerius has made an offer for Xena. He will pay four thousand Aureus for her. He says we are too small to support such a warrior; that we have neither the resources to finance the games, nor the arena to needed to showcase her skills."
"Perhaps he is right," she replied. "It is a substantial amount, maybe worth considering. Have you decided?"
Batiatus shook his head as he walked away. "This is something I need to give serious thought to."