by Andromeda -
“For all we know,” another slave hissed, “he might have already. He is just good at hiding it.”
“Like all Romans are,” another slave said as he inhaled and then spat.
Aleron, who had been passing by and knew he was the object of the insults, heard the comment and glanced at the slaves who had spoken thus. It was not the first time he had heard such words, and unfortunately, he had become accustomed to it.
He knew the other slaves hated him, and he knew why: because he was of Roman blood. Unlike the others, who were bought and sold, he made himself a slave and gladiator to pay off his debts. He was so close too. With one last fight, it would have proved to be his last. He would have been a free man, able to leave with his wife and children. But the escape with Kaiser quickly changed those plans.
He had seen the conditions the slaves lived in. He was one of them and knew first-hand what they went through. Yet, they did not see him as one of their own, especially not now, with the threat of Rome looming ever so closely. To them, he was still an outsider who might turn them over to be executed for their disloyalty at any moment. And the thought of them thinking that really hurt him.
Several of them had threatened him. Several of them had threatened his wife. Several of them had threatened his children. The only person who kept them at bay as of now was Kaiser, and even then, that might not prove to be enough if they really set their mind on hurting he and his family.
With a sigh, he approached Kaiser, who was busy breaking down the tent he shared with Ayanna. His lover wasn’t anywhere to be seen, though Aleron guessed she was getting ready for her trip into town to find a map.
“Might I have words?” he asked his friend. “If you are not busy?”
“Of course, you may,” Kaiser said with a nod as he stopped. “Come, break your fast with me, and we shall talk.”
Kaiser reached into a bag and took out some bread, cheese and cold meat, which he offered half to Aleron, who accepted out of kindness, though he was not truthfully hungry.
“I must be plain with you,” Aleron said as he bit into the bread. “I sense that the other slaves are not welcome to my presence here.”
Kaiser frowned. “What have they said in hate this time?”
Aleron sighed. “I will not repeat them. But, I feel as if our time together…is coming to a close.”
Kaiser looked at him in shock. “What do you mean?”
“We are free now,” Aleron said. “And for that, you will have my eternal gratitude. But, this camp is no place for my children, for my wife. People hate us, and the tension grows by the hour. I ask you, as a friend, to let me take them and leave this place with your blessing. Albina always wanted a farm, and there is plenty of unclaimed land in their world, far from the reach of the empire. But, I will only leave…with your permission.”
Kaiser frowned. Truthfully, he wished to be a bit selfish and tell him no. Aleron, besides Artemus and Ayanna, was his only friend in camp, though with Aleron, he shared a special bond. Yet, he knew he could not be so, and with a heavy heart, he nodded sadly.
“I understand,” he said. “But, please do not leave yet. Ayanna is going into town, as you know, to get a map. Once we know exactly where we are, I will help you plot the safest course away from the empire.”
Aleron smiled and clapped his friend on the back. “Thank you, my friend. I will send word to you when we are settled and aid in your endeavors, whatever they may be.”
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Ayanna, dressed as a plain freedwoman, tried her best to blend in as she walked down the busy streets of this town. She did not know the name, yet from how many guards roamed around freely, this must be important. As she walked, she passed the merchant’s stalls and saw fountains of gold being exchanged.
That gold would help them all immensely, but she knew there was no possible way she could take it without being caught. Besides, that was imperial gold. How would a bunch of slaves look carrying it around? It was much too risky.
“I need to find out where the maps are kept,” she whispered to a veiled Damali to her side.
“I would suggest the army base,” Damali said, as she nodded to a building not far from where they stood.
“I’ll go and see what I can find,” Ayanna answered. “You try and see if you can find us either money, or more food and supplies.”
They were getting short on supplies. The gladiators got most of the food they could steal from the small, traveling caravans as they needed the energy to help their stamina as they were the protectors. Thus, it left minimal food for the rest of them.
Damali nodded and the women separated: Ayanna to the army base and Damali to see what she could find.
As she approached the base, Ayanna saw several soldiers going in and out of the building, but she had, as of yet, to figure out a way to get inside. The sound of giggling and cooing women made her turn around and see prostitutes, who normally lurked outside places such as this. An idea quickly formed in her head and she walked over to the women, standing with them.
Like Damali, she was veiled, and with her hazel eyes and a lock of auburn hair escaping from her headwrap, she did look quite alluring. Before long, a soldier approached her confidently. From the looks of his metals, he looked to be high on command.
“Hello,” he said with a smile as he cupped her chin to lift her eyes to his. “And what might your name be?”
“My name,” she said, though she kept her eyes lowered, “is whatever you want it to be, my lord.”
“Oh, we have a smart one here, do we?” the soldier asked, though it was clear he was enjoying the game. “I like that.”
“I am glad, my lord,” she said, then feigned tiredness. “But it is so hot out here, my lord. Perhaps we might go someplace…more cool?”
He grinned. “I know just the place. A place I am sure you will like, so very much.”
Taking her hand, he led her into the base, and then into what she assumed was his personal chambers. She was right. He was high in command, some sort of general maybe, as his chambers were quite luxurious.
“Take a moment to explore if you like,” he said kindly. “I will get us some wine.”
“Thank you, my lord,” she said with a false smile, yet the moment he was gone, she hurried to try and find a map.
It wasn’t hard to, as his desk was covered with them, but as to their location, she did not fully understand as she had to comb over them carefully. Finally, near the bottom of the stack, she found one that showed they were no more than one-hundred miles from the capital, which was not good. Them being so close to Rome made them easy targets. Quickly, she folded up the map, as well as two more, and stuffed them under her robes.
The man had plenty of gold and silver held within imperial purple sacks. Those would come in handy, but she knew them being in purple sacks wouldn’t help them. So, she found three plain leather sacks and poured the coins in, then placed them in her breast band.
She could hear the officer coming down the hall and knew she only had a limited amount of time before he returned. Thankfully, there was another door that she was able to slip out of, yet as she hurried to leave, soft chattering made her stop. Curious, she followed it and found herself in the aviary.
Aviaries were common in the army, as it gave them the ability to send messages over long distances. Instantly, an idea struck her again. All the birds were trained, almost from hatching, to return to one place: the Imperial Palace. She did not know why this was, but the way to communicate with Aurora quickly began to form in her head.
What was one bird, out of hundreds in the aviary? Aurora always loved birds, and if it held her seal and stamp, then no one would dare touch it, else face her wrath. The idea was pure gold, yet she felt another complication. How was she going to smuggle the hawk out of the base and then the city?
She did not have time to think about it, as the door opened behind her and a caretaker stepped inside. The man looked at her in surprise. His mouth moved
as if trying to form words, and then he turned around and opened his mouth as if to cry out the alarm. He never got the chance.
As soon as she had seen him, Ayanna had drawn her knife, and when he turned around, she threw it with all her might. It stabbed him right in the heart, and he coughed and sprayed blood in all directions. Rushing over to him, she yanked the knife out, which caused him to bleed out faster and then dragged his body back inside. Slumping it against a wall, she grabbed a cage and picked the most plain-looking bird she could find, got a glove, and put it inside. The bird was hooded, so it did not offer any resistance, yet she covered the cage with a plain sheet to be on the safe side. Then she made her escape.
It was easy to slip out the back of the base, though she could hear the soldiers inside yelling as she figured they had discovered the body already. Holding the cage, as if she owned it, she walked confidently through the crowds, heading for the exit. A hand on her shoulder made her jump, almost dropping the cage, but when she turned around, she saw Damali, who winked at her and nodded to the basket she had balanced on her head, and the sack she had over her shoulder.
Both women knew they had to hurry out of the city quickly, so they rushed past the gates as fast as they could where their horses were tied. Luckily, no one followed them, so they swung themselves up, kicked the sides of their horses and took off, galloping away with their treasures.
Chapter Four
“We do not know their location!” a general argued.
“Why should we send an army over a group of slaves?” another general yelled.
“I say we let them go,” another general said. “They are pampered slaves, used to life in the palace. The wilderness will take care of them for us.”
For hours, the emperor, his generals and several senators had been arguing non-stop for the last couple of weeks on how to deal with the escaped slaves. They heard and had gotten reports of strange attacks on small supply caravans, but did not have enough evidence to say whether it was the former slaves or not, as it could easily be blamed on bandits who normally roamed the lands.
Aurora, who was there along with Cornelius to support their father, was quickly becoming bored with the conversation. So, she stood up, excused herself and went to the gardens to think.
She was worried about Ayanna, though she knew she had to keep up appearances so she could tell her friend what was happening. But still, she had no idea how to communicate with her.
“My lady!” a voice said behind her, which made her turn around. “My lady!”
She turned around and saw one of their newer slaves, as they had to restock the palace, running over to her with a large falcon on his wrist. “Yes?” she asked.
The slave bowed his head and held out the falcon. “This…this bird has a message addressed to you.”
With an arched eyebrow, she approached him and took the glove, and the falcon, before walking to a bench to sit down. The falcon was truly beautiful, and it crooned when she stroked its breast feathers, which made her smile.
“Where did you come from?” she wondered softly aloud to it, as she looked at the note that was tied to its leg.
Unrolling it, she had to read it over twice before she could make sense of it, as it was a bit hard to understand the first time around.
Dearest Aurora,
My family is enjoying our time in the country, though we might head to the mountains.
We wish to proceed, but do not know the state Rome, though we do deeply miss our home.
My brother and I are arguing on whether to travel north or south, and it is becoming quite hard to convince him.
He does, however, seem to love playing with the toy soldiers your father has sent him and thinks himself fit to have a bigger set.
I told him he was foolish, of course, as the bigger set comes with real swords, but he does not believe me.
I cannot wait to hear from you again, as we have been so far apart from each other’s arms.
Also know that the small kid you have gifted me continues to thrive with his sire, the ram.
Until we meet again,
Anya
Aurora blinked at the letter, and then scratched her head to make sense of what she had just read. And then, it came to her almost instantly.
‘Anya’ was the way she used to say ‘Ayanna’s’ name when she was a little girl and was still learning how to pronounce it. Once she figured that out, everything made sense from then.
Ayanna and the other slaves must be nearby, in the country some place, and she knew they were the ones responsible for the attacks going on. Not only that, but her son, her son with Artemus, was alive and well. That made her heart soar beyond any height.
This falcon was a blessing in disguise, as once again, Ayanna’s wickedly sharp mind showed its high value. Aurora knew that besides her, no one would know of Ayanna’s old nickname, as only she said it when she was a child. She had to think of a code, for them to use, when they were transferring information to each other. And then maybe,j ust maybe, she could be of proper use.
Quickly, she got paper, ink, and a pen to send a response to Ayanna and her rebel gang. She couldn’t help but grin, as her father always said that she was a ‘child’, and a ‘woman’. Thus, her brain wasn’t of much use, just her body, but now she had a chance to prove herself. To show that she could and would be equal to any man.
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
The next morning, after she had sent out the falcon, Aurora wandered the halls of the palace. It was a cool day, so the windows were open, but as she walked through these once hallowed halls, she began to have flashes of the past.
She saw a younger version of herself running down the halls with a young Ayanna behind her. They were friends almost the moment she saw her in Kush and knew that there was a reason for her to be saved. Since they were little children, Ayanna had always protected her. Ayanna always worked to make sure she was the one who was safe. Now, it was her turn to do the same thing.
There were times, she remembered, when they were all young and innocent in the world. When Aurelian and Aurelia had come over with their parents, Aurelian began to pick on little Aurora. Aurora, who was small and frail, cried and whimpered as he pushed her down and began to laugh. And then Ayanna appeared. She pushed the young, proud Roman boy back, and fought him, physically, until he ran off crying to his mother. When the enraged woman came looking for Ayanna, Aurora wisely hid her friend until their guests had left.
From that day, Ayanna and Aurora swore an oath to always be there for each other, no matter what, and they had kept that promise.
The night Ayanna had taken her son was the most terrible night in Aurora’s life. She felt as if a piece of her had been torn from her body, from her soul, but she knew it was in the best interest of them both if they had taken him. But now that he was gone, another thing was gone as well: he was her shield.
With him there, her father could not dream of her being engaged to another, but now that he wasn’t, she was a prize to be given to any man who her father deemed fit. She would rather slit her wrists. Suicide was the noble way, the honorable way of an end, as it showed you had control over your own life and body. She did not wish to consider it, but if she were forced against her wishes into marriage, then she would not hesitate to do so.
But, she prayed to the gods it would not come to that. What she wanted, above all things, was to see her son again, and be in the arms of the most wonderful man in the world: Artemus.
Chapter Five
Kaiser looked at the maps before him, carefully trying to understand their worth. For the past couple of days, he had the maps and had been studying them to try and figure out their next move. They were still close to Rome, which was what he wanted, but he still did not have a plan on what to do.
As of late, their attacking of small caravans was like a fly buzzing in a horse’s ear. It was annoying but did not affect the whole animal. They needed to come up with something smarter, something better to do. But wh
at that was, he did not know yet.
Sounds of laughter made him look up, and he saw Ayanna playing tag with Artemus’ son, who giggled and ran from her. Artemus stood not far, chuckling softly as he watched them, almost like a father.
This annoyed Kaiser for some reason, and he did not know why, but it did. It looked so…natural, almost as if Artemus could be the father of the child with Ayanna as the mother. The thought of any man fathering a child with Ayanna made his fist clench. So, he left the maps and walked over to the small group.
“Look, little one,” Ayanna said as she stopped, panting softly. “It is Uncle Kaiser.”
Eryx grinned at Kaiser and toddled over. Still not of the age to talk, he made sounds instead, gurgling with drool dripping down his chin. Kaiser had to force himself from cringing, as he didn’t exactly find that cute. However, Ayanna did, and she smiled at the little boy, who reached up to Kaiser with chubby digits to ask to be picked up. Kaiser reluctantly obliged.
“So,” Artemus said as he walked over, “what is the plan?”
“There still is not one,” Kaiser confessed. “I have been looking at the maps, trying to find a weakness in their defenses somehow, but I cannot.”
Ayanna looked at him. “Please tell me that you are not still considering attacking Rome?”
“Of course I am,” he said. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Because we are an ant compared to Rome,” Ayanna suggested. “We should leave, while we have the chance.”
“And I have told you repeatedly that we are not doing that,” Kaiser said firmly. “We have to stay here and attack.”
Ayanna frowned. “Kaiser, will you let go of your pride for once and think of what might happen if we did. We would all be slaughtered!”
“I will not sit by and know that there are slaves in Rome, who are being abused by their masters,” Kaiser countered. “I will not sit back and allow Rome to keep its heel on the throat of innocent!”
“And you think I want that?” Ayanna asked. “But we cannot do this by ourselves! We are less than five dozen in number. Rome has thousands. Not only that, but how can slaves defeat the empire?”
