Chapter 19

She had been travelling for nearly ten days. Stopping only for food and water Krista managed to sleep atop the saddle so when she awoke she found herself a few leagues further than when she fell asleep. Diomed was safely behind her with no chance of catching up but Krista still kept a watchful eye open as she travelled through the countryside.

Being alone Krista often found her mind wandering whilst her legs remained still in the stirrups. In her dreams she was back in her tent with Artorius's strong arms around her body. There was no disease and everything in the world was right. They weren't being hunted and they had no focus on revenge but it was at that precise moment when Krista knew it was a dream. Although she wished for it be reality, Krista could not waste her energy on impossible thoughts. She had a task to do.

When she came across a group of travellers Krista sent them towards the camp with the medicine in their possession, urging them of its importance and placing her trust in them which was not an easy thing for her to do, but it was necessary. Krista did not know them but they were not roman soldiers and right then that was enough. 

Commander Gaius Aurelius was on his way to surpassing his predecessor with the blood he had spilt and the sheer brutality he extended to his victims. The girl with Krista's name sliced into her abdomen was barely out of infancy; if there was anybody that had been innocent and did not deserve to die, it was her. And he slaughtered her.

Krista knew what she had to do the moment she saw the bodies. She had known for a long time but the massacre a fortnight ago brought the event forward. It was only inevitable. They were enemies. Opposites. Doomed to kill the other. Gaius had chosen his side and Krista had chosen hers.

Sooner or later their paths would cross and one would have to kill the other; it was the only possibility given their positions. But as dusk began to fall and Krista stood upon a cliff's edge, she realised that one of their deaths was going to be sooner rather than later. Because, right below her at the base of the cliff, rested Gaius Aurelius's camp.

* * *

Everything around Diomed appeared to be nothing but a blur as he raced towards the camp. The trees flew past him and the wind numbed his bald scalp until the only constant that remained was the moon above him, full and large with her light beaming down on the path ahead. Diomed prayed that he was not late.

He had been forced to steal a horse from a stable after Krista so cleverly dispatched of his own but since then her actions had become relaxed; he could see her tracks in the forest floor as clear as day. Her mind was no longer calm like it had been by the lake, taking the time to cover her path as she escaped, but instead leaving her tracks open for all to follow. He was beginning to realise what her discovery about him had meant. It had pushed her into recklessness as she raced to put leagues between them.

It was either that or Krista believed that there was no point in covering her tracks because she did not believe she was returning. As he came to that realisation his breathing grew rapid and he pushed his horse on faster. He apologised mentally to the beast that now seemed to give him wings as they flew down the path, kicking up a wind behind them as they blew past travellers, leaving them in a cloud of dust. 

But he could not stop to apologise. He needed to reach the camp before it was too late.

* * *

Gaius watched his men with troublesome thoughts. The men, pleased by their latest conquest under the command of Felix, were still revelling in their prowess as soldiers of Rome and Gaius could feel a smile tug at his lips as he could physically taste the morale in the camp rising with every passing moment.

But things that rose always had to fall back down and that was Gaius's troublesome thought. The men were excited now as they recanted tales of their valiant conquer over the slaves but soon they will be restless once more. Before the week was out they will be looking for another battle to get their blood boiling and Gaius had to find them that fight.

They may have stopped a few slaves from joining the rebellion but Krista still had hundreds more at her disposal. And what was more Krista still had her life, which was more important to Pompeia than a meagre battle with some poor farmers. If Gaius wished to retain the Empress's favour he needed a big victory which meant he needed to find Krista but nobody, not even the infamous 'Destroyer', could locate her. Krista seemed to be a ghost; she travelled like the wind, quietly and swiftly. 

Hearing enough of campfire stories that had already been repeated a dozen times, Gaius retired to his tent for the evening. The moon was fully settled in the night sky and Gaius had been awake since first light. He shall return to the search for the Gladiatrix in the morning but for now he was content to let Krista remain hidden, far from his reach.

* * *

Travelling by foot through the forest, Krista stepped up behind the guard on perimeter duty and snapped his neck. His back was to her as she approached. He never saw her coming, his eyes seeming fixed on something in the camp. Catching his limp body in her arms Krista dragged him back into the forest.

Returning to her horse, Krista laid the body down and turned to quieten the creature that grew restless of the sudden extra body. Calming her horse down until she was grazing on the branches once more, Krista returned to the body and began to strip him of his armour. Keeping her eyes open, Krista was too far away from the perimeter to be spotted by the other guards but she did not wish to be here too long.

Unstrapping her armour, Krista removed her corset and slipped out of her leather lappets.

Feeling the midnight wind bite at her exposed skin, Krista quickly replaced her warm clothes with those of the roman soldier that lay dead at her feet.

Tugging the thick red tunic into place, Krista strapped on the armour cuirass around her chest; a silver piece of layered metal that covered her shoulders and torso.

But it would only tighten so far over her expanding stomach that, at that precise moment, gave a slight nudge in annoyance.

Krista glared at her abdomen, willing the child inside of her to remain silent.

She was about to enter a camp full of Roman soldiers; she did not need his presence disrupting her further.

But the child did not listen and instead turned around inside of her, jutting her painfully in the back.

Sensing that the child was incapable of hearing her, Krista pushed on and tightened the belt around her hips, slipping her own sword into place.

Grabbing the helmet from the floor, Krista twirled her mass of dark hair high upon her head and slipped the silver helmet over her crown, securing her locks of hair in place.

Letting the helmet straps fall loosely around her face, Krista stashed her armour away before she gathered the man's shield and javelin and walked back towards the camp.

Gaius's tent was larger than all the rest, decorated with thick red fabric and flags of the Roman Empire flying at full mast.

Situated with its back to the cliff and forest surrounding it on three sides, Krista had to navigate a sea of Roman soldiers in order to reach the tent.

Standing on the outskirts of the camp, Krista realised that she was looking in the lion's den.

But the more she looked, the more Krista became confused.

These soldiers were no lions but lambs.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Roman soldiers loitering around many camp fires as they tried to get warm, the mountainous amounts of wine working its way through their system as their eyes began to droop shut from fatigue.

Krista's heart was pounding in her ears as she stepped forward, the only soldier in full armour as the others were in various stages of disrobing.

Keeping her head bowed, she was slowly realising that she was alone in this venture but it did not stop her.

Krista knew what she had to do and nothing could deter her from her path.

* * *

Gaius unfastened the sword from his waist and threw it on top of his bed as he turned in for the evening.

Choosing to remove his armour himself, he discharged the young servant and turned to gaze at his reflection in the large silver dish.

A tremulous sigh left his lips as gazed at his fearsome figure in the reflection; over six feet tall with his father's dark hair and his mother's oval face.

His jaw was cleanly shaven from that morning and his eyes, a startling blue, gazed back at him as if they belonged to someone else.

Gaius was slowly becoming someone he did not like; he had ordered the death of slaves to appease a woman who seemed intent on destroying Rome to gain her revenge.

Gaius had received his own reports from Rome, free from the Empress's touch, and they portrayed an empire in turmoil.

Pompeia was bankrupting the city to fund her campaign against Krista and still the Empress forced more and more young men to pick up the sword to answer Rome's call.

Gaius grew uncomfortable as rumours of rioting had started to spring forth. If his soldiers learnt of this then the morale they had so quickly created would diminish like water to a flame.

Gaius only knew one thing as he removed the last of his armour, dressed only in his knee-length tunic, and reached for his chalice.

Taking a sip of the wine, Gaius thought to himself that they needed to find Krista and put an end to this rebellion before all of Rome collapses to her selfish cause.

Movement on the silver dish caught Gaius's eye as he gazed at the reflection of his guards, carting a soldier into his tent uninvited.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gaius turned in outrage, gazing in wonder at the soldier trapped between his two guards, unaware of who was stood before him.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Gaius exclaimed as Krista raised her head, her arms caught in the grasp of the two guards.

The last time Krista had gazed into those seemingly untainted blue eyes, he had had his hand wrapped around Frieda's throat.

True, he had been the man attacking Marcus Threasius's villa but Krista had not actually seen him.

No, the last time she had seen him he had kept Krista from killing the Empress.

He had made all of this happen by denying Krista her justice.

"We caught this soldier around the back of your tent, my liege," A guardsman quickly responded, fearing his master's wrath.

Krista tilted her head as she heard him say 'my liege', a sarcastic smile coming to her lips as she heard the domestication in his voice.

However, her smile was quickly lost as Gaius took an interest in the news and stepped forward; he was barely three feet from her and yet . . . he didn't seem to recognise her.

Whether it was the uniform or her sudden change in shape, Krista did not know but Gaius looked straight at her but there was no reaction on his face.

He did not recognise her. All he saw was the face of another soldier.

"And what, may I ask, were you planning to achieve?" Gaius raised an eyebrow in humour as he took a sip of his wine, not seeing her as a threat.

In fact, he hardly saw her at all.

"To gain your audience," Krista spoke clearly; she wanted to be caught.

What better way of getting in than getting arrested?

"Pardon?" Gaius frowned, tilting his head in peculiarity at her words.

"And now that I have it . . ." Krista had enough of the pretence as she flew into action.

Slamming the heel of her boot down onto the guard's foot on her right, Krista wrenched her arm free from his grasp as he was bent over in surprise of her attack.

Curling her fingers into a fist, she hurled a sudden punch into the second guard's face, releasing her other arm, and cupping the back of his neck.

Holding him in place, Krista forced the guard's head down whilst she lifted her knee.

Connecting the joint with his head, Krista ignored the fleeting pain, as she knocked him unconscious.

Turning back to face the commander, Krista saw that the other guard was stumbling back to his senses.

Barely even giving the man a second glance, Krista kicked out behind her as she stepped towards Gaius, feeling the flat heel of her boot connect with the guards head.

The next thing she heard was the mans body thumping to the ground in a big heap as he too fell unconscious.

Krista quickly unsheathed her sword and pointed the tip at Gaius's throat.

"Who are you?" Gaius gazed at his incapacitated men with shock before he turned that samevgaze back on Krista and looked at her in wonder.

Krista lifted the helmet off her head, her locks of dark hair falling like a waterfall down her spine, her eyes never leaving Gaius's.

She did not need to say her name as she saw his physical reaction as his mind clicked and he joined the dots together.

"Krista," Gaius whispered in shock as he found the Gladiatrix he had been hunting down for months stood less than three feet away from him. In his own tent.

The reality seemed impossible but there she was; stood proudly before him dressed in a Roman soldier's uniform.

And as Gaius gazed into the eyes of his enemy he knew she was there to kill him.

* * *

Diomed fell from his horse.

The moon was still shining down on him, high in the sky, as he stumbled to his legs.

Days of riding had made his muscles cramp and his legs weak but he forced himself to stand, his fingers grasping at the trunk of the tree beside him, helping him stand.

Taking a deep breath Diomed walked forward, the horse remaining behind him, as he pushed through the undergrowth.

Shoving bushes and branches aside, Diomed was gaining strength in his legs as he picked up his pace.

Soon he was nearly running through the forest when he pushed a branch aside and stumbled onto the edge of a cliff.

Forcing himself to stop suddenly, his boots teetering on the edge, Diomed focused his energy on pushing his body backwards.

The wind up here was fierce, almost lifting him off his feet, but soon he was able to stumble backwards and away from the cliff's edge.

His blood was rushing behind his ears as he gazed hesitantly over the side; a sheer hundred foot drop awaited him if he gone an inch further.

Taking a moment to gather his wits, Diomed looked to the left of the cliff and he felt his blood run cold.

Because right there was the camp he had been racing to find, dozens of camp fires were burning in the distance, lighting the site up like a beacon.

Knowing where he had to go next, Diomed turned and ran back to his horse.