by James Mace
“My Lady,” he said, “I hope you do not mind sharing some hospitality with us. We are weary and in need of provisions and rest.”
“Indeed I do bloody well mind!” Diana fumed. “You come into my estate, uninvited, and you immediately start taking what is not yours and making a mess of the place! And just who in Hades are you?”
“Ah, how careless of me, how could I forget my manners? My name is Heracles, I am the leader of this group of men; men seeking freedom from Rome.”
“Well you can seek freedom elsewhere! This is a Roman estate, and you are not welcome here!” Diana’s hand started to reach underneath the folds of her robe. Heracles saw this and immediately snapped his fingers. Two burley men grabbed Diana roughly from behind, each grabbing her wrists and pinning them to her back. Heracles stepped closer, still demeanor still cordial as ever.
“Please, we are weary of violence, and we mean you no harm. You will be placed in your quarters, there to wait until we leave. And you shall remain unarmed.” He reached where Diana had placed her hand and pulled out a legionary-style dagger in an ornate scabbard. He shook his head as he examined it.
“This is a fine weapon. It must be kept safe so that the young lady does not hurt herself.” With that he pointed towards the main house. The two gladiators holding Diana gruffly dragged her away. As they did so, she leaned over and bit one hard on the forearm. The man yelped in pain as blood seeped from where her teeth had penetrated flesh. As he screamed, he raised his hand back to smash her in the face. At that moment, Heracles raised a hand.
“Not a hand will be laid on the Lady,” he directed, very calmly. “Nor will she be used for sport. She is of no use to us if she is spoiled. Now take her away, and be more careful!”
“I will see you rot in hell!” Diana seethed, blood covering her teeth and lips. The two men dragged her up the stairs and into the master suite which she occupied in Proculus’ absence. One of the men kicked open the door and roughly threw her in. The man she had bitten smiled at her through his rotting teeth.
“I will use you for sport yet, my love,” he sneered. As the door was slammed shut and barred, Diana was suddenly fearful. She was denied access to her servants, her weapon was taken from her, and she was all alone. Proculus was forty miles away at best. Did he even know of her dilemma?
The door was slowly opened and a small, hooded figure walked in. Once the door was closed, it removed its hood revealing a young girl of perhaps sixteen.
“I was told to come and tend to you, my Lady,” the girl stated, coldly.
“I do not know you, child,” Diana replied. “I take it then you came with them.”
“I am anything but a child, my Lady,” the girl snapped. She then swallowed hard and lowered her eyes, her composure abandoning her. “Forgive me. It has been several weeks since I entered upon this nightmare, and all I want is to go home.” She pulled some small squares of cloth from underneath her cloak and walked over to the wash basin. She quickly soaked one of the cloths and started dabbing away clumsily at Diana’s bloodied lip. The elder Roman gently took the cloth from her as Kiana lowered her eyes once more.
“I can take care of cleaning myself, thank you,” Diana stated. “You are their prisoner then?” Kiana shook her head.
“No, I have become one of their accomplices; a vile creature as my sister called me. My name is Kiana; I am the youngest daughter of a Gallic nobleman. My father sent my sister and me to Lugdunum soon after the rebellion of Sacrovir and Florus came to an end. The boy I loved was among those killed by the Romans.” She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. Diana guided her to a chair and sat down on her bed, facing her.
“I am sorry for your loss,” she said earnestly. Kiana slowly shook her head.
“You don’t know all of it,” she replied. “I saw the man who killed my beloved. For after the battle, when families were allowed to come identify the bodies, this man walked over to me and Farquhar’s father.”
“Farquhar was your lover?” Diana asked. Kiana nodded before continuing.
“The man wore the ancestral sword of Farquhar’s family strapped to his hip. It was then that I knew he was my lover’s killer. At the time I did not hate him; or any of the Romans for that matter. I blamed Sacrovir and his poison of lies for my loss.
“But just last month I saw a sight that broke me inside. My sister and I had been sent by my father to Lugdunum as a means of escaping the horrors of what we had seen. And yet for me the nightmare was just beginning. I came to town one morning to go to market. I heard unholy screams coming from a smoldering building where there had been some fighting the night before between the town guards and some escaped slaves. Well it wasn’t the town guards at all that were involved; it was a group of legionaries.
“I came upon a captive who had been horribly tortured and then hastily crucified by being nailed to the side of the building. I was appalled by what I saw; I thought I had seen all the sufferings and death that I ever would in my lifetime. Lo and behold, but who should be the Roman soldier who nailed the poor man to the building? None other than my Farquhar’s slayer!” Her hands trembled as she clutched the inner folds of her cloak. Diana placed a comforting hand on hers.
“Are you sure it was him? After all, more than thirteen thousand legionaries took part in the battle of Augustodunum.” Kiana nodded quickly.
“Oh yes, there was no mistaking him. See the man who killed Farquhar was big; far larger than any legionary I had ever seen. Not tall, mind you, but thick.” Diana’s eye twitched as she started to get a visual of the man. It can’t be, she thought to herself.
“I swear, this monster had grown even larger since last I saw him,” Kiana observed as she shuddered. “Here was the man who had killed the one I loved, and now he had just tortured and brutally crucified a prisoner. Thankfully he did not recognize me, for I ran from him. It was then that Heracles found me. He was kind and understanding, and when I told him my tale, he offered me a chance at retribution. I would not have to take part in any of the unpleasant things, only provide them with information. My spirit broke and I went along with it. They were good at keeping me away from what they were really doing.”
“What was it they were doing?” Diana asked, fearing she already knew the answer. A tear came to Kiana’s eye as she stared at the ground.
“Unspeakable things,” she said quietly. “They had brought me along one night to act as a lookout for them. It was almost pitch black and I heard some noises that made me panic. I went to find the others when I saw them…”
“Who did you see?” Diana took Kiana’s hand in her own. This girl may have gotten herself involved with wicked men, but Diana sensed that she was not evil.
“Boys…two boys younger than I…brutally murdered and defiled. And what those bastards did to their mother…” She broke down sobbing, her hand covering her mouth as she fought in vain to control her guilt and despair. Diana placed her arms around her and laid Kiana’s head on her shoulder, rocking her gently as a mother would a distraught child.
Diana put an arm around her and let the girl cry. She had to create a female bond fast if she had any hope of gleaning information about her captors. She rocked Kiana and stroked her hair. Eventually her sobs subsided, but stayed snuggled against Diana’s shoulder who sighed inwardly. This was a start.
Heracles was at a loss as to what should be done with those troublesome women. Diana would serve as a valuable hostage, but for how long? And Kiana…well he had little use left for her. He snapped his fingers and the servant Proximo came forward, his head bowed.
“Wine, and something to eat,” Heracles demanded.
“Of course,” the slave replied as he turned away. Heracles then signaled for Radek.
“Why don’t you accompany our new friend here and make certain he doesn’t have any accidents in the kitchen.” Radek grinned knowingly.
“Of course, master.”
It was well after dark by the time the Second Century ceased marching for
the night. Having dug the required trench and set up the short palisade, the soldiers dined on cold rations, were assigned sentries and readied themselves to sleep on the ground for a few hours before they would rise and march the rest of the way to the estate they intended to save. None complained; indeed many were bitter at having to stop for the night. They were enraged that any signs of Sacrovir’s rebellion still lingered so long after it had been crushed. They wished to get to where the last of the enemy was holed up and finish him. Every man took it as a personal insult that these thugs would seek out to harm the estate and family of their Cohort Commander. Artorius lay stretching his legs out when Magnus came over to him.
“I just heard Camillus telling Macro that he thinks we made over thirty miles today.”
“Is that so?” Artorius mused. He could not help but be pleased with that. Twenty-five was the standard for a march, so it was good to know they had covered an extra five. That meant that they would only have to travel approximately ten to twelve miles the next day.
“We should reach the estate by midday,” Magnus continued. “Then we can try to execute this half-cocked plan of yours. I still cannot believe that Macro and Proculus bought off on it.” He shook his head at the thought. Artorius raised an eyebrow at him.
“What do you mean half-cocked?” he retorted. “I think it’s brilliant!”
“You would,” Magnus replied. “And you would also be the first to volunteer us for ‘assassin’ detail.” Artorius sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Look, if this about your fear of heights…”
“Angrivarii broke me of that,” Magnus interrupted, referring to the Germanic stronghold they had stormed years before. “No, it’s just the thought of the six of us having to sneak into a walled compound-where there will be over a hundred of the enemy-and our only hope of support is getting the main gate open, which I imagine will be well guarded.”
“Have a little faith, my friend! You put too much emphasis on these rebels and their sense of tactical security. Remember, these are not Roman soldiers we are pursuing. Besides, they don’t even know we are coming. They won’t expect to see any of our troops for at least another week I suspect. The thought of Proculus splitting his forces has not crossed their minds, trust me. They won’t have occupied the estate for more than a day by the time we get there. And let’s face it, in their position what would we do?”
“Raid the wine cellars and look for some local entertainment,” Magnus observed.
“Exactly,” Artorius gestured with his hands for emphasis. “I imagine that any sentries they do post will have their heads buried in the old wine vats as much as the rest. Quite frankly, I think overwhelming the rebels in and of itself will be easy. The only difficulty I can foresee is cutting them all down before they do something stupid. Proculus has a cousin whom he is very fond of overseeing things there. It would not bode well if anything were to happen to any of our Cohort Commander’s relatives.”
Near the perimeter of the camp Praxus stood with his arms folded as he listened to the story Legionary Praxus told him about Tierney’s sister and how he had sworn to bring her back.
“The girl is not evil,” Felix insisted as he stood rigid with his hands clasped behind his back. “Indeed I had not known of her dealings with the rebels until this morning.”
“All the same, it was foolish of you to make such an oath,” Praxus replied sternly. “Go and see Sergeant Artorius; he may have a few enlightening words for you.”
“Yes Sergeant,” Felix replied as he left to find the Decanus.
Artorius knew he would not sleep well that night, not as long as Lady Diana was in danger. He lay on his side, the faint glow of moonlight making the shadows of the nearby trees dance. He has a small stick in his hand, which he drew absently in the dirt with. Over the last month or so he had grown very fond of Diana, and he sensed feeling was mutual. Were she not in some way drawn to him she would have simply dismissed him each time he completed his errands. He knew she wanted to allow herself to open up to him, but something inside her would not allow it. Her emotional tirades aside she had always been very kind to him. He then thought about the promise he had made to her; it was neither bravado nor false heroics. He was honor-bound to protect her.
“Sergeant Artorius?” A voice disrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see Legionary Felix kneeling next to him.
“What is it?” Artorius asked. He was not irritated with the young soldier for disturbing him; in fact he welcomed the distraction.
“I have something I need to talk to you about,” Felix replied, wringing his hands nervously. “I mentioned it to Sergeant Praxus and he told me you would be the best man to speak to, since you seem to be in a similar predicament.”
“Explain,” Artorius ordered as he propped himself up on an elbow. Felix took a deep breath.
“You know about my relationship with Lady Tierney, the Gallic noble girl.”
“Of course,” the Decanus replied with a wave. “She’s very taken by you and you by her it would seem.”
“Yes,” Felix replied, his face turning red. “Well it is not about her specifically that vexes me, but rather an oath I made to her regarding her sister.”
“Her sister?”
“Yes,” Felix was clearly vexed by the situation he found himself in. “Kiana is a couple years younger than her and yet she has already seen unspeakable horrors…horrors brought on by us.”
“I know who she is. What do mean brought on by us?” Artorius was uncertain how this related to his dilemma with Lady Diana, but his gut told him they somehow were.
“You never recognized Kiana, but she knew you. You remember the young Gallic noble that you killed at Augustodunum, whose ancestral sword you now have?” Artorius nodded in reply. “The lad was named Farquhar…he was Kiana’s fiancé. It was she who was with the boy’s father when you confronted them after the battle.” Artorius closed his eyes trying to remember, and then it dawned on him. Of course! How could he have forgotten? Granted it had been twilight when he had come upon the girl and the lad’s father. He had paid her little mind, instead focusing his anger on the father who had failed his son by allowing him to fight in Sacrovir’s rebellion.
“I remember her now,” Artorius said at last. “I thought she was only scared of me because she had watched me crucify that slave who led us into the ambush.” Felix shook his head sadly.
“It gets worse. Kiana’s been taken in by the rebels.” This last remark caused the Decanus to bolt upright.
“What?” he tried to keep his voice down, but his anger was suddenly boiling over. “When did you find this out?”
“Just before we left,” Felix replied. “Tierney helped us fight the fire at the tannery. It was after this that she confessed to me that her sister had run off with the rebels. She begged me to try to save her; that Kiana was a good girl whose mind had been poisoned by that black-hearted bastard, Heracles. I swore to Tierney that I would bring her sister back to her safely.” He swallowed hard and lowered his head.
“You swore an oath,” Artorius confirmed.
“I did.”
“A foolish thing to have done; however, it is something you are now honor-bound to fulfill. Do you know why Sergeant Praxus said I am in a similar situation?”
“I do not,” Felix answered.
“You are not the only fool here. I swore a similar oath; I promised Diana that I would protect her knowing the dangers she would soon face.”
Diana cursed her stubbornness that had led to this predicament. She knew there would be little she could do to protect the estate against an armed mob, and yet she still persisted in her refusal to accompany Sergeant Artorius back to Lugdunum. He had tried to save her then, and by her own doing she was damned. She knew he would try to save her; alone if need be, and the guilt bore into her. All her life she had been left forgotten. Even Proculus and Vorena’s kindness towards her was borne out of pity more than anything else. Now she had no idea how to deal with someone who
genuinely cared for her. It was not pity that drove this soldier to her, for he did not know of her afflictions. And he would risk all by trying to save her. She walked over to the balcony and gazed out into the blackness of the night.
“My brave soldier,” she said quietly. “What have I done to you?” Though she would never express it openly, she grown fond of this young man who exuded more nobility than any patrician she had ever known. His idealism made him seem almost naïve at times, which was certainly quite the paradox when she thought about what he had already been through in his young life. He had seen mankind at its absolute worst, witnessing unspeakable horrors that would break all but the strongest of spirit. Yet he still believed, or at least he wanted to believe that there was some good left in the world. It was in her that he saw what was good and beautiful in life, and yet Diana felt that it was all a façade. There was nothing beautiful about a woman who was barren and of no use to anyone. What could he possibly see in her? She knew he was attracted to her physically, but there was more to it than that. After all, he could buy physical beauty at any of the local brothels.
She shook her head and sniffed quietly. Luckily Kiana was asleep and would not have to see her like this. Quickly she wiped a tear from her eye. It was strange these feelings she had for Sergeant Artorius. She did not see him as a potential spouse or even a lover; she just did not see him in that light, even though he was very attractive. She gave a short laugh and fought back another tear. It was then she realized that she may have lost her one chance at happiness. There was no chance of her ever finding a suitable husband, so why turn away the affections of a man who truly cared for her, even if he was but a mere soldier?
Had she left with Artorius the estate would have been taken anyway, but at least she would have been safe. Instead of allowing him to protect her, she very well could have brought about both their deaths; for she knew he would give his life to protect her.