Chapter 56

The next day Marcia sat by the gates and stared down the road which led into the village, her mind wandering.

Dawn had been approaching when Ahern had fallen asleep, exhausted from crying, and she slipped from the room, taking up her post at the entrance.

However, her thoughts were far from sleeping or from small villages in the south of Gaul, they were travelling across roads, to the ports before crossing the sea and entering the land of Britannica once again.

For the first time since she had left Britannica's marvelous shores, Marcia was longing for home.

She ached to sit around the fire and feel its warmth against her face without being wary that Roman soldiers may burst in on her. She yearned to feel her mother's fingers combing through her hair, untangling the knots which Marcia had accumulated by going swimming in the river, which of course was an activity which her parents had forbidden her to do.

She had followed her parents to Rome seeking adventure and guidance and, although she had found plenty along the way, it had also landed her here in a small village, exhausted and eager to return to a place that, despite growing up in, she could no longer call home.

The hut she had inhabited with her parents would never be the same again. Marcia would never be the same again.

Something rustled behind her.

Marcia withdrew her sword and turned but it was only Lazarus. He was unaffected by the sword in her hand and continued walking towards her.

"How long have you been here?"

Marcia shook her head, unable to answer him because she did not know, "I keep thinking that they're out there, waiting to attack."

Lazarus scanned the trees around them, "We watched Trajan and his army leave last morrow," He reminded her, "They'll be back in Rome by the end of the month."

"And what about us?" Marcia sighed.

Lazarus frowned.

"When shall we be back in Britannica?"

Lazarus did not have the answer for that. He feared it might be a while before they could find a ship to sail on, so instead he turned and looked back into the village towards the old stables. No horses resided there now after they were all taken by those fleeing the village, instead it had become the home of their dead relatives.

"Have you- Have you seen what they've done to the stables?"

Marcia nodded. She had passed it a few hours earlier and was amazed by what she saw. The villagers had set up a small shrine in their honour. Krista's body had laid here the longest and so more flowers and trinkets had gathered around her body than the others.

Word would soon spread that the Gladiatrix Krista and her companions were dead.

Their presence in the village has already seemed to ripple through the region as small crowds of people were now arriving to pay their respects to the Gladiators.

"How are Cassia and Zeph?" Marcia asked as she narrowed her eyes at a couple of older women.

The tallest one was crying whilst the other had her arm around her shoulders, supporting her as best she could with the flowers which resided in her other arm. More mourners, Marcia thought.

"Zeph does not really understand what is happening. He keeps calling for mama and papa," Lazarus gave a deep sigh and looked away from the stables to see the two women hurry pass them into the village, "Cassia . . ." Lazarus ran a hand over his face, "She blames me."

"No, I am sure she does not-"

"-She doesn't say it. But she does," Lazarus rubbed his eyes and looked around them, "Come back inside Marcia. Have some food. Leina, the tavern hostess, is cooking for everyone."

Marcia looked back out down the mud road and fell silent for a few moments as her eyes scanned the tree line. A part of her almost wanted a group of Romans to burst out from the forest just so that she would have something to do, someone to hurt as much as she was hurting.

But the trees remained still and the leaves rustled lightly in the soft wind, portraying only peace and tranquility.

She was forced to sheath her sword and follow Lazarus back towards the tavern where Ahern would be waiting for her with his bloodshot eyes and tear-stained clothes.

They paused as they passed the stables, their heads turning to look through the gap in the doorway as three young men left the building.

Marcia could see that the stable floor was no longer covered in straw and hay but rather an array of flowers in every colour she could imagine.

Decorative streamers had been fastened above their heads to the beams in the stable and small lamps in the corner emitted a warm glow around the bodies, which had been draped in the shawls of the women that had visited the memorial site.

As they watched the door to the stables begin to swing shut, shutting them out from the scene inside, a new image clouded their vision.

"You're Lazarus, aren't you?" The older man croaked in a rough voice, his arm shooting out to grab Lazarus's wrist, "And you- You're Marcia! Oh thank the Gods, you 're safe!" He turned to Marcia and repeated the torture of grabbing her hand in both of his and shaking it.

He smelt of human waste and salt, and looked no better from the general layer of oil and filth which covered his entire body which Marcia thought had now became a permanent stain on his skin.

As his lips spread into a strangely wide and welcoming grin, Marcia caught sight of the line of black and rotten teeth inside his mouth, and she tried not to gag from the smell as he began to speak.

"I knew your parents well," He was still holding her hand and Marcia could feel his palms beginning to grow uncomfortably warm pressed against her own, "I canno' believe they're gone!"

"Yes," Marcia forced herself not to breathe through her nostrils as she pulled her hand out from between his, "Well, you have my gratitude, but we need to get going."

Marcia and Lazarus had quickly grown aware that those who came to see their parents had also come to see them, the living descendants of the gladiators themselves.

Taking him as no more than an eager follower, Marcia began to leave when he said something that Marcia thought she would never hear again.

"Is Ahern 'ere with you Marcy?" The man smiled, those his black teeth marred the image.

Marcia frowned at the man, "Where did you hear that name?"

The man suddenly appeared older and the grey strands in his long hair seemed somehow more prominent as he spoke, "Your parents told me. I have known Frieda and Diomed a long time now. They traveled on my ship plenty of times."

Lazarus looked at her and saw that Marcia looked haunted by the man's use of the word 'Marcy'.

"What does it mean?" Lazarus asked.

"My- Uh, my father called me Marcy until I was ten." Marcia recalled, "I thought he had forgotten about it."

The man shook his head, "He did not forget. He told me many times of your adventures down in the river, though he forbade you to go. "

"Who are you?" Marcia frowned. How could he know all of this?

"Egbert's me name," He announced proudly, tapping his chest as if to say that this was he himself.

"Egbert?" Lazarus arched an eyebrow.

"Other's call me Bert, which youse twose," he motioned to the pair of them, "Are most welcome to do!"

"Why are you here?" Lazarus asked, as the door to the stables opened again and a few more crying people passed them.

"I make port not far from here," Bert told them, "I heard what happened and I rushed- please, you are going back to Britannica?"

Marcia nodded though she saw Lazarus drop his head a little. She knew that Greece was his home.

Bert nodded enthusiastically, "I must set sail in two days time but I would be honoured if you travelled on my ship."

"You are going to Britannica?" Marcia asked, barely daring to hope.

Bert nodded, "And it would make me happy to give your parents, and yours-" Bert looked to Lazarus, "One final trip."

Marcia now took Bert's hands without hesitation, thanking him. "I thought we would not get home for weeks."

Bert thanked her, "We shall have a good journey."

"The wind is on our side! I can feel it!" Bert shouted back to them as he wandered off towards the tavern.

Marcia watched him leave, her mood elated as she turned to Lazarus but she saw that he was not too happy.

"We cannot stay here," Marcia sighed, "You heard what the Emperor said, we are enemies of Rome now, we- We must think of Ahern, and Cassia and Zeph."

"I know," Lazarus turned his back and headed for the tavern, "It just feels like we are running away."

Marcia waited there for a moment and watched him leave, unsure of what to say. She felt like it was running too but not running away, more like she was running to somewhere better.

Somewhere where there were memories of her and her parents but for Lazarus, Cassia and Zeph, Britannica was a strange land to which they held no ties to.

The stable doors opened beside her and Marcia glimpsed the row of bodies lying face up in a bed of flowers.

She realised that Britannica was not only a place for her to return to, it was a place of freedom for her parents and family to rest for eternity in.

* * *

Egbert kept his promise and they travelled by ship the same week. Parting ways at the dock with Dareios was bitter sweet as the bodies were transported into the cargo hold with special care.

"I must return to my hospice, " Dareios had shook their hands, "If you are ever in the area again, pop by."

They thanked him profusely for his help and prayed that they would meet again.

Ahern kept close to Marcia's side for the rest of the journey, his hand clutching hers, as Lazarus carried Zeph in his arms and Cassia, while she remained close, refused to speak more than a few syllables at a time.

This continued on their journey until the afternoon that they were due to make port in Britain.

Marcia found her on the deck, her hair blowing in the blistery wind. Egbert had been right after all, the wind was on their side.

Cassia turned her head slightly and, spotting Marcia approaching, quickly turned back to examine something very minute in the distance.

Marcia leant on the railing beside her, "It is not his fault, Cassia."

Cassia's eyes narrowed on the invisible object in the distance but Marcia could see that tears were in danger of spilling down her cheeks at any moment. Marcia reached out and covered Cassia's hand with her own but Cassia snatched her arm away.

She sent Marcia a sharp look before she turned back to the ocean, as if shocked that she had broken her own rule of not acknowledging them.

"Cassia," Marcia made her voice as stern as she could without making it sound like she was angry.

The girl had just lost her parents and Marcia had no intention of deepening her pain, though she needed to understand what Marcia was saying.

"Cassia, it was not Lazarus's fault, you must know this. He would never do anything that would hurt your-" Marcia could see that she was not getting anywhere so she tried coming at it from a different angle, "Your parents would not appreciate seeing the way you are treating Lazarus. He is hurting just the same as you, and it is not right for you to blame him-"

"I do not blame him," Cassia's words broke forth from her lips whilst her body remained rigid, as if she had not permitted herself to speak but she saw that it was pointless trying to deny it and her shoulders dropped a little, "I do not blame him at all."

Marcia frowned, "Then why are you refusing to-"

"-Because if I speak to him then it . . . it is real. Mama and Papa are truly not coming back." Cassia rubbed her eyes, "It is stupid I know, but Lazarus would not allow me to see their bodies and I-"

"-It is not stupid," Marcia reached out and wrapped her arm around the young girl's shoulder.

Cassia turned and buried her head in Marcia's chest, clinging to her as her shoulder's shook slightly.

"I felt exactly the same as you did," Marcia told her, "But Lazarus is right, you do not need to see such a thing."

Cassia sniffed, "I know."

"But trust me," Marcia pulled back and crouched in front of Cassia, holding her hands tightly, "You shall see your mama and papa again one day, just the same as I will."

"We- we will?" Cassia blinked a tear out of her eye and Marcia wiped it away with the pad of her thumb.

"Yes, because they're not really gone," Marcia smiled softly, "They may no longer walk on this earth beside us but they have their own place, a place called Elysium and that is where we shall meet again."

Cassia gave a small nod before she wrapped her arms around Marcia's neck and hugged her close.

"Marcia?" Lazarus called, his boots clunking against the deck.

Cassia untangled herself from Marcia and rushed by her. When Marcia stood and looked behind her she saw that Cassia had run straight into Lazarus's arms and was apologising.

Lazarus looked at Marcia in shock but Marcia just smiled before she looked past him out towards the sea.

Evening had begun to descend quickly until the water beneath their ship was a dark midnight blue and the shore was almost indistinguishable from the water.

However, on this night there appeared to be hundreds of torches flickering in the distance awaiting the ship.

"What is that?" Marcia asked Lazarus as she stepped up beside him.

"That is what I came to tell you," Lazarus turned until they were all looking out towards the patient lights, "I think they are all waiting for us. Egbert told me that word has travelled of our arrival."

"Romans?" Marcia asked him with worry though even as she said it she knew she was wrong.

Lazarus shook his head softly, "I do not think so."