All my life I had lived within the high walls of a large villa next to the arena that occupied the centre of the city. I had never been outside, even for a moment, though I often sat quietly to listen to the sounds of the bustle and clamour that went on unseen just a foot away. Sometimes the roar of voices in the arena would become deafening, punctuated by the clash of metal and screams. The other girls in the villa and I would talk for hours trying to make sense of it.
We had all been brought to the villa as small children, infants really, and were raised in a life of comfort and plenty. The food we ate was always fresh and the best quality, our clothes were simple and modest but well made with fine fabric, and we were washed and fed and dressed by women who were deaf and mute. When we were younger we would rush to quiz a new servant about the world outside, but they would always be unable to communicate with us and so we eventually ceased to notice when someone new arrived.
The one thing we did know from the girls that had gone before us was that on our 18th birthday we would get to leave the villa and never return. Looking back, I wish that for me that day had never come.
As the day had approached I had been excited and nervous about what I would encounter when I finally walked through the Forbidden Door, to the point that on my birthday eve I could hardly sleep. When I did drift off it seemed like only moments before I was being shaken awake again. The serving women were standing over me where I lay on my pallet, indicating I needed to get up so they could begin preparing me. I jumped up, stretching and yawning, eager to get started on my big day. I hug and kiss the other girls, saying my goodbyes, as I know I won't see them again.
After removing my sleeping shift, the women bathed me thoroughly, making sure every crevice was completely clean, before washing my hair. Once this was done they dried me, then rubbed a light oil into my hair which left it falling in glistening honey-coloured waves over my shoulders and down my back. My body was oiled in the same way until my soft olive skin glowed with health and vitality. The women stood back for a moment to admire their handiwork, and then one signalled to me to sit on a stool in the corner of the bath chamber.
I did as I was asked, and the oldest of the women knelt before me using her hands to push my knees apart. I didn't think twice about obeying her - she had cared for my body intimately since I was a child and I felt no shame being exposed to her in this way. She raised a hand and pushed on my shoulder so that I was leaning back against the wall and completely open to her. Another of the servants handed her a pot of another type of oil, this time thick and clinging, which she applied liberally to my pussy rubbing it in, over and over, massaging my clit until I began to feel a warmth in my groin and wetness seeping down through my inner passage. The woman who applied the oil gently wiped her finger between my pussy lips and when she drew it out she showed the other attendants the creamy fluid at its tip. A few made small grunts of approval and all nodded solemnly at this display.
Seemingly satisfied, they made me stand and slip a plain white linen shift over my head and then escorted me through the courtyard to the Forbidden Door. The oldest of my attendants lifted the iron ring attached to the door and rapped sharply three times, and as we stood waiting for the door to open I became aware of the noise, which seems like a low rumble of voices, coming from the arena nearby. I didn't have much time to consider it, for the door was swung wide and instead of the bright sunshine I was expecting, I was looking into a dimly lit corridor, almost a tunnel, with two soldiers standing at the entrance.