Demetrius did not respond to the order as she had expected, and his cordial smile did not change as he locked eyes with her. She seemed to shudder under the stare, as if she saw something there that only she could discern. The many years they had spent together, as childhood playmates, as teasing youths, and now as queen and captain, had given her the cognizance to realize when Demetrius was being genuinely amiable, and when he was extending courtesies merely out of propriety.
“His fate is not for you to decide, my lady.”
“My lady?” She replied in an annoyed tone. “You are addressing your queen, Demetrius!”
As Arsinoe suddenly comprehended the meaning of the inappropriate address, her expression faded from that of haughty importance to that of frail dependence. The virulence left her eyes as her would-be kingdom and all of her aspirations of greatness evaporated before them.
“Lieutenant,” Demetrius called to the officer, never taking his eyes from Arsinoe. “You will take my lady Arsinoe into custody. She is not to be harmed, and every reasonable convenience is to be afforded her. But you will no longer obey her orders regarding any other matter.”
“Yes, Captain,” the officer replied, and then moved to take command of the guards surrounding the former queen.
“Is that how it must be then, Demetrius, my old friend?” she asked in a hopeless tone.
“You have left me with little choice, my lady.”
“This crocodile is responsible!” She gestured to Ganymedes. “He advised me poorly from the start. I can change, Demetrius. I can be their queen. I can lead our people to greatness, just as we have dreamed all these years, as you and I dreamed as children.”
“I fervently believe that someday we will find such a leader.” It appeared to pain Demetrius to speak each word. “But you are not the one, Arsinoe. I am sorry.”
Her face went blank, and then she swayed and held her temples as if she might faint.
“I wish to retire to my chambers,” she said feebly, reaching to the officer for support. “I am not well.”
“By all means, my lady” Demetrius said, suddenly formal again. “But first, you must surrender that.”
She now looked at him with scornful eyes, as if she wished to summon every ancient curse of Egypt upon him and his descendants to the twelfth generation. In those eyes, every trace of their childhood affection was lost forever, but Demetrius’s defiant expression indicated that he was fully mindful of this consequence.
Reluctantly, after a long pause, she reached behind her neck and unfastened the chain that held the Eye of Horus. She then swept her arm back and violently threw the amulet at Demetrius, but he caught it just before it would have struck him in the face. The fuming Arsinoe then stormed out of the room, the royal guard keeping time with her every step, her confused handmaids and attendants following like a school of ducklings.
Ganymedes was also ushered out, but not quite as gently.
“I suppose this means I won’t be seeing any of the bounty the eunuch promised me.” Lucius said after the royal party had exited.
“I’m afraid not,” Demetrius replied.
“Now that that queen of yours is no longer queen, you won’t be needing that trinket.” Lucius smirked, pointing at the Eye of Horus in Demetrius’s hand. “Perhaps we could consider that payment in full?”
Demetrius chuckled at that. “I think my people would have me skinned alive were I to give this to a Roman. No, there are others who might wear it. Arsinoe was not worthy of it, but another ruler might be.”
“And I thought you had finally gotten some sense knocked into you. Looks like I was wrong. You’re still a hopeless idealist, Captain.”
“I shall always be that. We must accept who we are, and not try to be what we are not. I shall always be a servant of the Egyptian kings, just as you shall always be Centurion Lucius Domitius of the Tenth Legion.” Demetrius smiled at Lucius’s reaction. “You can deny it all you wish, Centurion, but you are a legionary at heart, not a mercenary. I saw the way you gazed at the palace when we entered the city the other day. There was genuine concern in your eyes, even yearning. Though you may not be willing to admit it to yourself, you can only find true contentment at the head of a century, with your old legion.”
Lucius scoffed at that, fully convinced otherwise in his own mind. At least, that is what he kept telling himself.
“I cannot give you gold, my friend,” Demetrius said apologetically. “But I believe this final commission I have for you will give you what you truly desire.”
Lucius sighed heavily, and then eyed the Egyptian skeptically. “Go on. I’m listening.”
XVI
The palace walls had been battered near the gate. Not desiring to destroy the royal quarters they hoped to soon occupy, the Alexandrian army had concentrated most of their attacks against the gatehouse. But every siege engine brought up for the task was either burned by Cleopatra’s agents outside the walls, or broken to pieces by a sortie of Roman legionaries. The gate house was scorched and shattered in many places. From time to time, helmets would appear above the battlements. Arrows would fly to try to topple them, and arrows would fly back – a never ending exchange between the besiegers and the besieged that had gone on for weeks with little gain.
The Romans seemed as strong as ever, having been reinforced by another legion that had arrived by sea along with an ample supply of provisions. There were rumors that the legionaries had dug their own wells inside the palace complex to use in place of the tainted palace cisterns. Certainly, nothing had changed in the spirit of their defense.
The Alexandrians, on the other hand, were losing hope. Desertion was high among the conscripts, and reports abounded of a great army moving south through Syria and Judea, headed toward the cataracts of the Nile – an army led by King Mithridates of Pergamos, an ally of Caesar’s. As hopeful as the outlook had been all those weeks before, the tables seemed to be turning ever so slowly in the Romans’ favor.
On this night, as the midnight hour struck, a horn sounded from the Alexandrian lines. It was answered by a similar horn from the palace battlements, and the sky cleared of missiles. The gates creaked open, and a double file of legionaries marched out. They were fully armed but not exhibiting the comportment of an attack. Similar files of spear-bearing royal guardsmen stretched from the Alexandrian lines until both contingents met. Together, they formed a long lane connecting the two opposing sides.
At the Roman end, a shrouded figure emerged from the gate, entered the lane, and began walking toward the Alexandrian side followed by a cluster of attendants. At the Alexandrian end, two similarly shrouded figures entered the lane and began walking toward the Roman side, also followed by attendants. Five puzzled-looking Roman soldiers wearing only tunics also entered the lane from the Alexandrian side and began to cross.
“It has all been arranged,” Demetrius said to Lucius as they both watched from the Alexandrian side.
“An exchange of prisoners?” Lucius asked quizzically.
“An exchange of royalty. We are giving Arsinoe and Ganymedes to Caesar in exchange for Prince Ptolemy.”
“Caesar agreed to that?”
Demetrius nodded. “I believe the great Caesar is keeping his options open. Perhaps he believes with Ptolemy at our head we will be easier to negotiate with.”
“Or easier to defeat.”
“We shall see.”
“And what about them?” Lucius pointed at the five Romans.
“They are prisoners. We are returning them to Caesar to show our good intentions.” Demetrius eyed Lucius before adding, “But in all truthfulness, they are being returned to settle the score between you and me, Centurion. Five legionaries to make up for the five I killed on the mole. I think that makes us even.”
Lucius smiled and nodded.
“And now, you must be going, too,” Demetrius said. “My message to Caesar stated that I would deliver six captured legionaries. You are the sixth.”
“Back to the
legions for me, eh?”
“But with a purpose. I said I had a commission for you. Here it is. Watch over Arsinoe for me. She will be a prisoner in her own palace. I have no doubts that Caesar will treat her well, but I would not be surprised if Cleopatra tried to have her killed. I cannot be there for her, so I am asking you to fulfil that role.”
Lucius sighed. “I will do what I can.”
Demetrius smiled, seemingly pleased by that answer. He then extended a hand. “If we ever find ourselves facing each other on the battlefield – after it’s all over and you Roman dogs are carrion for the birds – you have my word that I will not spit on your corpse.”
Lucius shook his hand and laughed. “Nor I on yours.”
With a nod of thanks, Centurion Lucius Domitius entered the lane between the lines, and began marching toward the gate and back to his life with the legions.
He had not been paid the bounty for all of his troubles, and that truly was a letdown, but Lucius was not disappointed. In fact, had Demetrius been able to see the surly grin forming on Lucius’s face as he marched down the lane of soldiers, the Alexandrian captain might have had second thoughts about letting him go. He might then have demanded a search of the Lucius’s garments and found the dozen red rubies sewn into the hem of his tunic.
Lucius patted the lumps contentedly, feeling the smooth surfaces underneath. His time in the shrine in the marsh had not been completely devoted to memorizing the map on the shield. He had spent a good hour prying the rubies from the ornate wall behind the altar, and then another hour concealing them within his garments. Let Demetrius and the others have their precious Eye of Horus. Lucius had come to the East for treasure, and now he had it. The rubies would set him up nicely back in Rome, or Spain, or wherever he decided to spend his retirement.
But there would be many more campaigns to endure, and many more battles to fight, before that ever came about.
Rome: Sword of the Legion (Sword of the Legion Series) Page 13