Chapter 28 

Krista wasn't sure how long they were falling for but it felt like eternity as the dagger tore through the rich fabric barely slowing them down as their weight dragged them towards the ground. The wind blew up around them biting at their skin when the sound of shouting from above reached their ears and she looked up to see a group of guards leaning over the balcony armed with bows and arrows. Her lips parted to scream but before any words could escape a waterfall of arrows rained down on them. 
Her muscles tensed as she clung to Artorius, his arm around her waist squeezing her tighter against him as the arrows swooshed past them before clattering against the ground a few seconds later. Another wave of arrows fell around them, grazing past their bodies with mere inches to spare. 

Still falling, Krista risked a look down to see how much further they had to go and gasped when she saw the ground rushing up to meet them like a wall of death but as she turned to look back she spotted that the curtain they were using to slow their descent did not reach all the way to the floor. 

"Artorius!" Krista shouted as loud as she could over the wind to try and warn him but there was nothing either of them could do as they kept hurtling downwards, the dagger ripping through the fabric at an alarming rate and barely slowing them down. And finally, when they were still twenty feet from the ground, Krista's heart jolted upwards into her throat as she watched the dagger get caught on the thick golden weave that ran along the bottom of the curtain and threw them off.
Artorius's arm slipped from her waist and they were falling to the ground with nothing to stop them. Her stomach churned as the wind pulled at her body. She tried to think of the best way to land but they were falling too fast for her mind to catch up with her. Unable to look away from the ground that continued to rush up towards her she tried to extend her arms to catch herself like she would with any trip or fall but this wasn't just a small trip. Realising at the last moment that there was a high probability she would break one or both of her arms Krista used all of her strength to turn her body mid-air and land on her side. A few seconds later she closed her eyes as her body slammed into the ground. Her should and hip landed first taking the brunt of the impact whilst her head came next, thwacking itself against the cold hard cobbles and sending immense pain across her scalp. But that wasn't the end as her body continued to bounce along the ground, the bare stone cobbles tearing at her skin whilst she lost count of how many times she hit her head. 

Finally rolling to a halt on her stomach she let out a groan as she tasted blood in her mouth, every inch of her body aching from the fall. Running her tongue along her teeth she was amazed to find they were all still there. Wincing as she placed her hands against the cobbles she raised her head and looked up at the balcony. Pompeia and the soldiers were nothing more than a blur when the balcony seemed to duplicate into two and sway backwards and forwards. Realising she was seeing things she blinked her eyes rapidly to try and clear her vision and when she looked back again there was only one balcony but there were now arrows being pointed at her over the edge.
As another wave of arrows were released Krista instinctively turned onto her side and curled herself into a tight ball, crying out in pain as every inch of her body protested. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut she held her breath as she expected to be shot but a moment later she heard the arrows clatter against the cobbles all around her. Opening one eye and then the other she raised her head and saw that she was lying among a bed of arrows but not one of them had hit her. 

She had been lucky until then but she did not want to risk another attempt so she scrambled to her feet, wincing when a jolt of pain ran up her side, and looked around her. She was in a side street with a tall building behind her and the palace in front, there was nowhere to hide when she heard her name being called from the end of the street. Looking up she saw it was Artorius, his arm waving at her to hurry up. 

"Krista! Come on!" Artorius shouted. 

Relief flooded her chest when she saw that he was alive quickly followed by a flaring of hope when she saw what he was stood beside; a row of tethered horses. Gritting her teeth against the pain that flared in her ankle when she put weight on it Krista put it to the back of her mind and raced across the empty street towards him. 

"Hurry!" Artorius yelled as he untied the horses. Looking over her shoulder Krista saw guards appear from the palace gates behind them. 

Releasing the horses, Artorius held two stallions back before letting the others escape, hitting their hinds with a firm slap to send them galloping into the distance.

Krista pushed herself harder as she watched Artorius heave himself into the saddle, afraid of being left behind.

Hooking her uninjured foot into the stirrup, Krista hoisted herself up into the saddle.

"Go!" Artorius shouted, and before Krista had fully seated herself upon the stallion's back they were racing down the streets of Rome.

Krista tried her best to remember her riding lessons but her mind was bathed in adrenaline as they careened through alleyways and around blind corners.

"Head for the gate!" Artorius yelled from behind her as they charged away from the guards, who were quickly gathering cavalry behind them in pursuit.

Krista could not see them but they would soon be upon them.

Not arguing with Artorius, Krista turned her horse down an adjacent street and soon she saw the fortified gate looming in the distance. 

Her heart gave a sigh of relief when she saw that it had remained open. 

Krista was preparing herself for arrows when she noticed something that made her thank the Gods profusely. The soldiers on duty were asleep at their posts.

The torches, resting in their cradles on the wall, illuminated their sleeping faces.

Not wasting any time, Krista made herself smaller in the saddle as she urged her horse on faster and within a few seconds Krista, Gladiatrix of the Roman Empire, was leaving Rome.

* * *

Krista and Artorius pushed their horses hard for the next two days as they tried to put as much distance between them and Rome as possible.

No words were passed between them as they focused on their escape, but Krista was thankful for the silence as it allowed her to reflect on the previous day.

After a decade of waiting to kill the commander, she had finally succeeded.

The whole affair felt like a wishful dream.

Afterall, it felt like only yesterday when a sword was being thrust into her hand and she was ordered to fight and yet, at the same time, it felt like a whole world away.

Her body felt numb as the emotion was drained from her limbs, leaving only an empty vessel to reflect on her actions.

Everything she had done in the last decade, she had done to get that one step closer to kill Commander Niclaus. It had been her life's work, her one dream and one acheivement.

However, now that she had finally succeeded, Krista no longer knew what to do.

She had achieved her purpose in this world but she had survived it. In every scenario she ran through her mind when she confronted the Commander, Krista had died in every one.

After all, it was unheard of that a common Gladiatrix could beat the Commander of a Roman Legion.

Krista had accepted her fate long ago that she would die with the Commander. She would have avenged her family and then, could go to them in peace.

But, remarkably, she had survived the endeavour.

And now she was at loose ends with what she was supposed to be doing with herself, let alone what she should be feeling.

Triumph? Relief? Joy?

The only feelings Krista knew were anger and pain, but now she was faced with neither.

Slowing down to a walk, Krista lifted her head and gazed through the canopy of trees above them, letting the wind wash across her face and the last tendrils of sunlight warm her skin.

Krista had been expecting something different to this. She could not put words to what she had imagined but she knew that this was not it. 

Maybe she had been expecting a beam of light to show that her family had been avenged, or maybe a sudden gush of warm air engulfing her body, but nothing happened.

She had killed the commander and nothing happened.

She was free of Rome and she was free of her shackles, but it had come at the price of Myra being killed.

Memories of the slave girl darkened Krista's mood.

Would every move she make result in someone dying for her? Krista defied the Empress; Lazarus died. Krista attacked the Commander; Myra died.

Krista embarrassed the Empress and fled Rome.

Who would pay the price for that? Artorius?

She vowed that he would not feel the repurcussions of her actions. It was her burden to bear and the consequences were hers alone.

As Artorius turned off the beaten track and headed into the forest, Krista was jolted from her repreived as the last light of the second day began to fade.

"We'll camp here tonight," Artorius told her as he slid off the saddle.

"Camp?" Krista looked over her shoulder into the distance where, undoubtedly, an army of romans were heading directly for them, "We can't stop."

"We've been riding hard for two days now, we're both tired," Artorius's tone of voice told Krista that he was not in the mood to argue, "And you're injured. We're resting." 

Krista glanced over her shoulder one last time but, with a sigh, she slid from her horse.

Clenching her jaw when she felt her thighs protest at the movement and the sharp twinge in her ankle, Krista kept hold of her horse's reigns.

"There's a river nearby," Artorius took the reings from her hand, "I'll get some water and feed the horses, you get a fire going."

Krista looked around the forest with masked confusion. She could not hear a river nor see one, and yet Artorius seemed sure so she allowed him to leave.

She was not sure about the fire but she set about her task.

*  

Krista got lost in the fire that warmed her skin as she allowed Artorius to clean her wounds.

Krista did not feel up to it, too tired from riding to do anyting except lie down and sleep.

Howwever, Artorius would not leave her alone until he had cleaned every wound.

He said it was so she did not get an infection, but Krista had never gotten ill in her entire life. She had been beaten bloody but she had never fallen ill.

But somehow she sensed that it would ease Artorius's mind if he helped her, so she allowed him his wish while she simply sat there and stared into the fire.

The flames warmed her skin but there was a chill in her bones that it couldn't eradicate.

A chill that was born of apprehension as Krista remembered Pompeia's words; she would live the rest of her life a hunted animal.

Krista knew that she should have killed Pompeia when she had the chance. She had the Empress in her arms, she had the dagger, but-

Krista's brows pulled together in confusion as she recalled the events of that night.

As she did a thought suddenly occurred to her. After she had killed the Commander, Artorius had appeared out of nowhere and he seemed unfazed by the scene before him.

"You-" Krista turned her gaze from the fire and stared into Artorius's dark spheres, "-You were watching me,"

Artorius hung his head as he pulled his hands away from her, "Yes," he confessed.

Krista sat up straight, eager for his explanation.

Artorius sat back, his fingers pulling at the cloth he had been using to clean her wounds, "Myra came to me after she saw you in Ludus Magnus. I followed you to the Empress's bed chamber but I didn't know that Myra had followed me."  

"You watched me fight the commander." Krista frowned, trying to get it clear in her head, "And yet you did nothing when he almost killed me?"

Artorius looked towards her in panic, fearing that she was angered with him but Krista wasn't angry.

"I would have wished anything to run into that room and protect you. I don't think there will ever be a time when I don't want to protect you," Artorius voice was soft, his eyes eager for her to understand.

Krista could only look at him in wonder, unsure of how to act.

"But that was your fight," Artorius nodded, "and I trusted you."

A smile came to Krista's lips as she remembered the way Artorius had stormed into the baths, fighting to protect her from the Gaul,

She had hated him for that because she did not need protecting, but now he was finally accepting that she could protect herself.

That meant more than anything.

"Artorius, I-" Krista started, her mood growing elated, when Artorius interrupted her.

"-That was your fight," Artorius;s mood darkened, his words condemning, "But the guards in the arena? They weren't a part of your fight. They didn't do anything to you and yet you killed them."

"They were Roman," Krista growled, turning away in shame.

"You're roman!" Artorius shouted, "If there is anyone here with the right to kill Romans, that would be me. But those guards did nothing to you or your family."

"Not to me," Krista defended her actions, "But they would have done something to someone else's! Who knows what crimes they have committed!"

"So you're just going to go around killing roman guards for crimes they might have committed?" Artorius shook his head in disbelief.

Krista looked back at the fire as she remembered the way she had dispatched with those guards without a second's thought. They would have killed her if she had not killed them, Krista had to remind hersel of that.

"There's nothing I can do about it now," Krista swallowed, "But they chose their side and if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing."

"Krista," Artorius leaned forward and cupped her face in his hands, turning her back to look at him, "Don't go down this path, I beg of you."

Krista watched him carefully as she heard the strain in his voice, "Why are you so concerned about me?"

Artorius blinked, "Do you not know?"

His eyes were searching hers for something. His calloused hands grew tender on her cheeks, the pad of his thumb trailing along a cut that indented on her lower lip.

Krista trembled at the way her lips began to tingle where he had touched her, her eyes examining his strong features as the fire reflected in his ebony eyes and his skin seemed to shine.

Light stubble grew across his jaw and Krista had the sudden urge to run her fingers over it, as she remembered those nights in Ludus Magnus.

Lifting her hand, she grazed her palm over his cheek, her heart skipping a beat when she felt Artorius twitch.

His eyes seemed to close in ecstasy as he leant his head into her palm momentarily.

"I don't know what to do," Krista confessed her worst fear as her lips trembled, "I'm losing myself."

"I'll find you," Artorius's eyes blazed with passion, fierce and consuming.

Krista did not know where her breath ended and his began as Artorius rested his forehead against hers, "I'll find you, Krista." He whispered again, the words sinking into her skin like a benediction.

Pulling back, Krista wanted to kiss him.

She had not kissed him since Pompeia had happened and her stomach felt like it would be wrenched from her body if she did not kiss him that instant.

Krista would never admit it but she missed him. Krista had forgiven him a while ago for what he had done, she had just not forgiven herself.

Krista doubted she could ever forgive herself but Artorius could help her with that.

"I'll find you and I'll never let you go again," Artorius told her just before their lips touched and, for that moment, Krista could allow herself to be free.

Everything in her life up until this point had been up in the air, including herself, but as she gripped Artorius's shoulders, their lips dancing together, she felt herself becoming grounded once more.

And with Artorius by her side, Krista felt like she could do anything.