The Gladiator's Prize

It has been five years since Eleanor cut off all her hair as an act of rebellion against her parents. And it's been four years since she's held a pair of scissors. She had begged, pleaded, and cried. Made promises of which she broke the next day and even threatened to run away, but it was no use. Eleanor Louis was going to get married off, and that was final.

All daughters of the family's head are when they come of age. It had been a tradition in the Louis family for a length of time Eleanor didn't care to remember.

The person that Eleanor would marry, would be chosen through a series of tests of strength. And although it was called the 'Coming of Age Trials', it had nothing to do with the participants coming of age. It was just a bunch of people, mostly men, competing against each other over the course of a day or two, and then whoever was left in the end would be the one to marry into the Louis family.

It was the most barbaric thing Eleanor had ever heard of. Anyone could compete, and she could end up with a total slob for a husband. The trials only measured strength. Brains or morals had nothing to do with it. The Coming of Age Trials made absolutely no sense, and yet it was one of the most anticipated events to Haespian natives.

"Keep your arms lifted, Miss Eleanor."

Rolling her eyes in irritation, Eleanor lifted her arms again, allowing her maid to properly secure the fabric of her dress. The full-body mirror in front of her, allowed her to see everything that the maids were doing. Three ladies worked on her currently, adjusting and tightening the dress to perfection.

The dress was white, had a straight across neckline, and whereas the fabric of the bodice was pleated, it was separated from the round skirt with a wide sash that was snug against her waist. The dress had poet sleeves and came to a stop just above her knees.

It was also tradition for the girls to wear white on the day of the trails. Eleanor saw it as her family waving her in front of the participants with the clear message of, 'Here is a bride in need of a groom'.

"Step into these Miss Eleanor." the maid to her left said as she laid out a pair of white flats in front of the small platform she was standing on.

Eleanor placed her hand on the maid's shoulder and stepped into the shoes, using her finger to smooth the back of the shoe around her heel.

"I can't believe they're still making me do this even after what I did when I was eighteen." she scoffed and walked away from the platform and towards the cart of finger foods placed next to the couch set in the center of the room. "If they actually think that I'll find a suitable spouse this way then they are dead wrong. They're also dead wrong if they think that I'm going to marry him."

"There is nothing you can do about it now Miss Eleanor." Brie, the maid that gave her shoes said.

"What if I-"

"There are numerous backups for this dress, Miss Eleanor, and guards stationed below the balcony in case of any falling maidens." Tasha, the one who was fixing the back of her dress commented.

With a huff, Eleanor sat on the couch adjacent to the cart with a biscuit in her hand. At the mention of the balcony, she looked to her right, out the open doors, past the edge, and to the open sky that stretched far across the lands and into the ocean.

The day had begun not so long ago, and since the Coming of Age Trials would begin at nine, Eleanor had to wake up with the sun in order to be ready for it.

"Your mother has taken every precaution to make sure that you will get to the arena safely," Tasha said. "At the lengths she's gone any other person would think we were transporting a criminal."

"Miss Eleanor can certainly be dangerous like one." Nat, the maid who fixed her sleeves, added.

When Eleanor was eighteen, she cut off all her hair to stop the trials from happening. There was no more than an inch of hair on her head at the time. Her mother was mortified, furious, and put Eleanor under house arrest for an entire year because of it. But Eleanor would not give up that easily, and so, for the year, she would give herself small haircuts every once in a while to make it seem like her hair was taking forever to grow.

Once her little scheme was found out, her mother had all the scissors in the house collected and discarded most of them. Her room was checked nearly every day to make sure that she didn't have access to anything sharp. And for the next four years, Eleanor had to live with the constant anxiety of not knowing when her trial was coming.

It was roughly a month ago when Eleanor's hair was finally at its usual waist length, that her parents told her about the Coming of Age Trial. And now, at the age of twenty-three, she was finally going to have to go through with it. Never had it not been done at the age of eighteen and Eleanor at least took small pride in knowing she delayed it for that long.

Eleanor absentmindedly, nibbled on the biscuit in her hand as she got lost in thought about the trials. Trying to think of some way to outsmart her mother.

"It's nearly time to go, Miss Eleanor, the carriage is already prepared for you," Tasha said.

All three maids stood next to the couch ready in case she needed something. In the past, her team of maids used to be bigger but it began to suffocate Eleanor with this group of people constantly on her heels all the time, so she shaved down the group. But it wasn't like Eleanor didn't need them, she would definitely die if she didn't have maids, but a group of seven maids was just a bit too much.

She twirled a black curl of hair between her fingers as she finished off the biscuit and was about to reach for another when the door to her bedroom burst open. She didn't even have to look back to know that it was her mother, with her team of seven maids.

"Oh good you're ready- ah- why are you eating over the dress like that? You know better Eleanor." Her mother stepped into her view with a familiar scowl on her face.

Kathrine Louis, the current head of the Louis family, who like Eleanor today, had once been married off to a man who won her hand through the Coming of Age Trials.

"The dress is fine mother," Eleanor sighed, "And even if it wasn't, there are backups, yes?"

Her mother's eyes sharpened. "Backups or not, that is not proper for a young lady. Today is the day that your husband will be chosen, Eleanor, and yet you still are getting crumbs all over your clothes like a child."

Eleanor opened her mouth to rebuke, and Kathrine, knowing very well that she was going to do that, spoke up. "Now come, my child, the carriage is ready, so we should be on our way. Your father is already down in the yard so we should not keep him waiting."

The grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the room told Eleanor that it was half-past eight. At the sight of the clock, a thought popped into Eleanor's mind that had soured her mood even more. If she had thought about it before, then she could have changed all the clocks in the house and set them an hour back so that they would have been late. It definitely would not stop the trials but it would damn feel good to get one last jab in.

"We can't be late now, Eleanor. According to the overseers at the arena, more than eight hundred people have signed up to participate. So today is sure to be an eventful one."