Her thoughts began to wander, drifting back to the past.
When she was young, her father had abandoned her and her mother, disappearing without a trace.
Her mother disliked her, so she learned to be sensible. She took the initiative to care for her mother, hoping to earn her acceptance and approval.
But no matter what she did, her mother's eyes were always filled with loathing. Hating how her eyes and brows resembled her father's, her mother had ruined her face with a pot of boiling water.
Afterward, her mother sold her to a slave trader. She was then locked in a pitch-black cage, just like the other slaves.
Everyone who saw her ghastly face was filled with revulsion and disgust, avoiding her like the plague.
She spent her days either huddled in a sunless dungeon, filled with fetid water and caked blood.
Or she was in the gladiatorial arena, fighting enemies to the death, trading her pain and spattering blood for the spectators' amusement.
