Chapter 32

"Roman patrols have been spotted near the river," Leonidas informed them as they gathered around the fire after another day of anxious waiting but whilst Krista was there in body she was not there in thought. For as dusk settled Krista knew that it was time. Time to leave the safety of their camp and head back towards Rome.

Frieda and Krista had gathered everything they thought they would need for the long journey to the capital and now, as Krista sat looking into the fire, Frieda was waiting for her in the forest.

Soon Krista will leave and never set eyes upon her friends again because, surely, she goes to her death.

Rome was filled with soldiers and mercenaries, Krista could not hope to outlive the night.

However, as long as she took Pompeia with her to the grave then it was a price Krista would gladly pay.

For the sake of Lazarus, her family's good name and the hundreds of souls that followed her to freedom, Krista needed to succeed. 

"Our numbers are growing every day," Artorius was glad about this but Krista was filled only with the feeling of impending doom, "Soon we shall have to move."

The people that continued to join them were not free people, they were slaves and no doubt their masters would be missing them.

The more slaves that rebelled, the worse it became for everyone affiliated with Krista; it only increased the importance of her mission to Rome. 

"But in the meantime, I say we double the guards on duty," Artorius continued as the moon rose higher in the sky, telling her that she would soon have to leave, like a glass of sand she couldn't turn over.

"The gladiators we have are already stretched along the perimeter," Cato told them, his voice sounding earnest.

Krista laid her eyes upon the bronze skinned gladiator as he spoke. She had not been sure of his allegiances in the beginning but as she watched him with Leonidas she knew that he would never betray them.

"Then we draft in men from the camp," Artorius took control of the situation as Krista simply sat there, watching everyone closely, trying to remember their faces, "Teach them to fight and put them on the perimeter."

It was a good plan, Krista nodded her head slowly, but she would not be here to train them.

If they rode hard, she would be in Rome by nightfall tomorrow. Which meant this would be the last time she gazed upon Artorius's beautiful face.

Bathed in moonlight and making strategic calculations Artorius was more handsome than Krista had ever imagined and her heart twisted in pain at the thought of leaving him.

But this was something that she had to do and she prayed he would forgive her.

When the moon was high enough, Krista stood and looked down at her friends.

Krista had entered Rome once before with only Lazarus to call her kin, but now, as she left to enter the lion's den once more, she had more friends than she deserved in a lifetime. 

Lazarus may not be among them but he would have been proud of the progress she had made. 

"I shall stand guard," Krista told them ominously as she looked at each in turn, their eyes staring back at her with confusion at her sudden declaration.

Leaving Artorius until the end, Krista's jaw clenched as his ebony eyes looked up at her, oblivious to her plan and not knowing that this would be the last time they saw each other.

Her throat began to close and her chest grew heavy, forcing her to walk away without uttering a single word of goodbye.

Krista could not breathe efficently again until she was safely within the trees.

Leaning against a thick trunk, Krista dug her nails into the bark, the pain reminding her of what she had to do.

Taking a shaky breath, Krista opened her eyes and gazed into the darkness where Frieda waited for her.

Gripping the hilt of her sword, reminding Krista of who she truly was, she put everything behind her and pushed on.

Whilst she had this sword, she still held a small resemblance of power over her fate in this world. 

She could not think of those she had left behind, she could only think of what lay in front of her and that was vengeance.

"Finally!" Frieda exclaimed as she saw Krista approach, "I thought you weren't coming."

Not breaking stride, Krista said nothing as she caught the balled-up cloak Frieda threw at her.

 Walking towards her horse that stood tethered to a branch, Krista brushed the side of his neck before she swung the crimson red cloak Frieda had given her over her shoulders.

"Do we have everything?" Krista asked Frieda, who had already hoisted herself into the saddle, wisps of her blonde hair illuminating against the dark colour of their cloaks.

Frieda nodded her head sharply, "We must make haste if we are to reach Rome in time."

Krista felt the same urgency as she lifted her foot into the stirrup, about to heave herself into the saddle, when the air behind her shifted and she felt someone's eyes burning into her back.

Acting within a second, Krista slipped a small dagger from the side of her boot.

Holding it by the blade, Krista turned sharply and sent the dagger slicing through the air before it imbedded itself in the bark of a tree, inches from Leonidas's head.

Leonidas froze, his eyes flickering to look at the dagger that could have easily been sunk into the soft tissue of his eye if Krista had aimed true.

"What are you doing here, Leonidas?" Krista growled as Frieda slipped from her horse.

"I could ask you the same thing," Leonidas grumbled as he wrenched the dagger from the tree and strode towards them, not taking kindly to having a dagger thrown at his head.

"Where are you going with this Albion?" He jerked his head towards Frieda in arrogance.

"Go back to camp, Gaul." Frieda snapped back at him.

Leonidas growled but although Krista knew it was in good humour they did not have the time for it.

Leonidas's eyes widened when he realised their intention.

Glancing at Frieda in shock, Leonidas said it out loud, "You're going back."

"Leonidas, leave," Krista ordered him, answering his question as she lifted herself into the saddle, "And tell no one of what you saw."

"You cannot go back," Leonidas rushed, taking the reins of her horse so she could not leave, "Half of Rome is looking for you."

"Let me go," Krista gritted through her teeth, trying to remain calm, "I do not wish to harm you."

"Come back to camp," Leonidas tried to persuade her, "We can leave this life behind."

"This life will never leave me behind and I will be damned if I let Pompeia live." Krista snapped as she wrenched the reins from his grasp, apologising mentally to the horse.

"If you will not come back with me . . ." Leonidas strode past them and back into the trees, his figure being swallowed by the darkness.

Krista frowned.

Fearing he was returning to raise the alarm, Krista was about to gallop away when she heard him returning a few seconds later, sat atop his own steed.

". . . then I shall come with you," Leonidas told her stubbornly.

Krista frowned at where the horse had appeared from.

"Did you think I did not know what you were planning?" Leonidas gazed at Krista and Frieda in humour, "Frieda wasn't the only one able to intercept the same message from the scouting party."

Krista and Frieda shared a glance.

"We can always use the extra sword," Frieda gave a small shrug of her shoulder, earning herself a smile from Leonidas.

"Even if they are the hands of a Gaul," Frieda returned the smile as she swung herself up into the saddle of her horse.

"Leonidas," Krista lined her horse up besides his and spoke softly, "You have already done more than I could ask for. Think of Cato, go back to the camp."

Krista may have to leave Artorius but Leonidas did not have to leave Cato.  

"It's because of Cato that I am coming with you," Leonidas turned his horse towards the road, "Besides," he called back, "What would he think of me if I let two defenceless women head into Rome by themselves?"

"Defenceless!?" Frieda exclaimed, quickly galloping after him and Leonidas, with his quick wit, was smart to speed away from the woman following him.

Turning her horse back to face the right way, Krista bid farewell to her friends and vowed to do her best to bring Leonidas and Frieda back alive.

* * *

The main roads were too dangerous to travel on, forcing the three of them to careen through the forest and back roads, adding almost half a day to their journey.

Stopping only to tend to the horses, the sun rose and fell, and then rose again.

Little words passed between them as they pushed for Rome leaving Krista time to think. Time to think about their plan, think about why she was doing this and how far she had come.

She had never imagined that she would have friends let alone become friends with a Gaul and a Celtic from Britannia.

By the time their trio came within a few leagues of the capital, the main road was overcome with crowds of people filling into Rome to pay their respects.

Filled with rich noblemen and women and their slaves, Krista realised that they still had time to slip into the capital.

"Let's go," Krista tapped her horse and they were soon racing parallel with the road, hidden from view by the trees.

They had been riding for little over an hour beside the crowds when the sun began to fall into the horizon.

"We'll stop here," Krista brought her horse to a halt and slid from the saddle, her thighs protesting at the movement.

"We're still too far from Rome!" Leonidas complained as Frieda followed Krista and started to unbuckle the bags from the horses.

"If we go charging into Rome we'll surely be caught," Krista snapped at Leonidas as she dumped her first satchel on the ground and moved to the other.

"So what is the plan?" Leonidas jumped down beside them, "How do we get into Rome?"

Krista and Frieda shared a smile as they turned to Leonidas and said in unison, "We walk through the front gate."

"This is your plan?" Leonidas looked at the both of them as if they had come to lose their senses, "We'll be caught!"

"No," Krista shook her head as she untied the satchel and removed the garments for him to see, "We won't."

Laying the soldiers outfit out before her, Leonidas looked at Frieda as a deep sigh left his lips, "You took the soldier's uniforms?"

Frieda shrugged as she started to get dressed, "They weren't going to need them."

"And who would think to question a Roman soldier in Rome?" Krista grinned at Leonidas as she began to disrobe beside Frieda.

But as the two women dressed, Leonidas did the equations; there were two uniforms but three of them. 

Leonidas narrowed his eyes at the pair as a bad feeling settled in his gut. 

* 

"Why do I have to be the prisoner?" Leonidas grumbled, holding his jaw delicately after Krista sent a solid punch into the side of his face, hoping the wound would make their story believable.

"Wishing you had stayed at camp now, Gaul?" Frieda chuckled, her features brilliantly obscured by the helmet.

Leonidas barked at her in annoyance, "Let's get this over with," He grumbled as they tethered the horses and made their way down the slight slope and towards the main road.

Luckily for Krista and Frieda they were tall for their sex and their figures were fuller, helping to fill out the uniforms and hide the fact that they were indeed women.

Coming to a halt a few feet within the tree line the three of them watched the passing crowds, taking a deep breath before the plunge.

"Ready?" Krista asked as she stuffed wayward ends of her hair down into the back of her tunic before she took hold of Leonidas on the left and Frieda took the right; his tall figure towering above them.

With a nod of their heads, Frieda and Krista took on the behaviour of a Roman solider as they burst out onto the road, dragging Leonidas with them.

Krista's heart was racing with trepidation as they impersonated Roman soldiers but the only looks sent their way were from the slave masters who gazed upon Leonidas, their captured slave.

Keeping to the middle of the crowds, Krista and Frieda continued to drag Leonidas for nearly a mile before the walls of the capital started to come into view.

But before they reached the city another atrocity drew their gaze.

The last three miles of road were lined with crosses. And upon those crosses were people, nailed to the wood. 

Or more specifically, slaves with their legs broken.

Their trio came to a halt, the sea of people parting to walk past them, as they gazed up in anger and shock at the hundreds of crosses that stretched out into the distance.

"Pompeia," Krista growled under her breath when the sound of hammering reached her ears.

Rushing forward, still grasping hold of Leonidas, they watched as more crosses were erected.

Soon, Krista thought as she looked back the way they had come, the crosses would lead the entire way back to their camp.

Krista was gazing at the line of dying slaves when a man's screams entered her ears.

Looking to the side, Krista watched as an elderly man, with greying hair and cloudy eyes, was being tied to the cross with the nails ready to be hammered into his palms.

"No!" Krista walked forward, but Frieda held her back, her words being swallowed up by the crowd.

"We can't help him," Frieda pulled Krista back before she ruined their entire plan, "The only thing we can do for them now is carry on with our mission."

"I did this," Krista gritted her teeth, her eyes travelling over the hundreds of slaves that had rebelled under her name. Her stomach churned with unease. 

"No," Frieda shook her head, "Pompeia did this, remember that."

Krista was seething with rage as she heard the nails being hammered into his palms and feet, each hammer fall shaking her to the core.

She watched as his blood stained the wood just before the cross was erected beside the others. A line of slaves waiting to go to their deaths.

"We need to go," Leonidas hissed up at them from where he was knelt on the ground, soldiers turning to watch them.

"He's right," Frieda growled as she released Krista and grabbed Leonidas before the soldiers came over, "Krista, we have to go!"

With one last look upon the blind man's face, Krista turned with the others and headed into Rome as the man had his leg's broken.

His tortured screams haunted Krista as Frieda's words repeated in her mind; Pompeia did this, remember that.

Well, Krista thought as she grabbed Leonidas and they pushed on into Rome, she would never forget it.