Chapter 42

The pair commanded attention and power as they stood and inspected them all, their eyes filled with hatred.

They were the symbol of strength; a son and daughter of Mars.

Covered with the blood of their enemies, Krista and Artorius were formidable.

Krista’s long dark locks fell over her shoulders, her sword resting by her side as a small pool of blood gathered on the floor.

Dressed in the colours and amour of the Roman Empire their aim was to kill each of them and yet everybody in the room was perplexed by the magnitude of the feat they had just achieved.

Placed inside the arena to be executed, the defeated Gladiatrix and her general should surely be dead.

And yet here they stood after escaping the Colosseum, a possibility the architects promised should not have been possible.

Senator Germanus found himself intrigued enough to ask but as he parted his lips to speak, Pompeia stepped around Gaius in shock, her eyes wide with fear, and stepped towards Krista.

Krista turned her head and gazed upon Pompeia with disgust but, still, she said nothing.

Germanus assumed Pompeia would ask the question that was occupying everybody’s thoughts but instead she chose a different path.

“Arrest them!” Pompeia flung her arm in Krista’s direction, her voice screaming at Gaius; at anyone.

Germanus looked across at Gaius and gave a small shake of his head.

Gaius remained where he was.

Pompeia’s eyes flickered over the commander with shock but she did not get to ponder his lack of action before everybody’s attention was drawn back to Krista.

After nearly ten minutes of silence, the Gladiatrix took her first step into the room.

Her eyes trained only on Pompeia, Artorius stepped alongside his leader, protecting her.

Once they cleared the steps and entered the room, Krista was less than six feet from Pompeia but neither spoke.

Germanus and the other senators watched on in perplexion at the way Krista and Pompeia watched each other; as if there was an entire topic of conversation they had missed.

German could feel his brows furrowing slightly in confusion when Gaius intervened.

“No further,” Gaius instructed Krista, placing his sword across the front of Pompeia in an imaginary barricade.

Krista did not break her eyes from Pompeia but she stayed where she was, the air growing warm and heavy with the scent of blood and sweat.

“It is not possible,” Pompeia muttered under the intense glare of Krista, her blond head shaking in denial.

Krista remained utterly silent, as if a conversation with an Empress was too low for her to muster the right amount of energy.

Artorius stood by her side, his eyes now trained in Gaius but neither made a move towards the other.

The scene felt civilised and yet the swords, blood and emotion in the room was contrary to that fact.

“You were defeated! I beat you!” Pompeia’s voice stared to rise in anger, “We beat you!”

Krista tilted her head slightly but the Gladiatrix was not interested in speaking of strategies.

“You wanted to beat us,” Artorius offered the answers when Krista seemed unable, or unwilling, to, “And therefore it was easy for us to fool you.”

“Fool us?” Gaius now entered the conversation, his own skill as Commander thrown into question.

“You wanted to capture us so badly that even when it was staring you directly in the face, you chose to ignore it.” Artorius growled, disgusted by their actions.

Gaius looked into the distance as he raked through his memories of the battle; surrounding the camp, storming the lines, capturing Krista, men dying . . .

“Men,” Gaius muttered under his breath.

“What?” Pompeia snapped.

“Their men.” Gaius lifted his head and stared at Artorius and Krista with clarity.

“Their men are dead!” Pompeia reminded him angrily.

“No, they’re not,” Gaius shook his head as he watched Artorius for confirmation, “At least, not all of them. When we attacked their camp in the forest there could not have been any more than two, or three, hundred slaves there.”

Pompeia frowned, seemingly unable to grasp what he was speaking of.

“There should have been at least five hundred,” Gaius remembered the report he had received, “With women and children. But there were none.”

The corner of Artorius’s lips tilted upwards in a small smile, “There are two words you may know, Commander; divide and conquer.”

“Where are the women and children?” Pompeia blinked, uncharacteristically showing compassion.

“Safe,” Artorius sneered, looking at the Empress in contempt, “Somewhere they shall live free from the Empire for the rest of their lives.”

“What of Dianna?” Pompeia murmured, her eyes searching Krista’s for something.

Krista frowned; did Pompeia care for her niece?

“Dead.” Krista spoke for the first time, startling Pompeia, “Your niece was killed in the battle, protecting me.”

Niece!? Germanus gazed at Pompeia with shock. “Titus’s had a daughter!”

“A bastard child, nothing more,” Pompeia remarked, throwing the senator’s laws aside, as a smile entered her lips, “Alas, a bastard child that is no more.”

Krista narrowed her eyes at Pompeia and saw that, instead of compassion, her eyes were alight with victory.

With Dianna dead, Pompeia was the last heir; Titus’s daughter could not rival her for power.

Krista felt her anger increase tenfold at Pompeia’s words; Dianna had aided in allowing Krista’s son to escape, she would not let that be forgotten.

“That ‘bastard child’ as you call her, should never have been brought into this war,” Krista growled, “She was too good.”

“You started this war,” Pompeia shifted uncomfortably, “Her death can be laid at your feet.”

Krista could not control her anger any longer.

“Her death may very well be laid at my feet,” Krista took a step forward, pressing into the cold steel of Gaius’s sword, as her eyes locked with Pompeia’s “But you started this war when you murdered your brother and emperor, Titus.”

As Krista said the words she could feel Pompeia’s breath quicken with panic as silence rained down upon them.

The senators were silent as they decided whether to believe Krista or not but Krista did not remove her eyes from Pompeia.

“Pompeia?” Senator Otho murmured beside Germanus as they watched the Empress’s composure begin to crack.

“S-She’s lying!” Pompeia told them, “Arrest her!” Pompeia grew angry when no one was doing as she told them.

Germanus, with anger rising in his veins, took a few steps towards the Empress, “You started a war, placed this empire in turmoil and saw many mothers’ sons killed for your own actions?”

“She’s lying! She killed Titus!” Pompeia started to shout as her lies began to unfold, “She is trying to incriminate me for killing that gladiator before I allowed her to escape into the arena!” Pompeia gave no heed to her words.

“You told us Krista had escaped the cells; you said nothing of yourself being present when she jumped into the arena.” Germanus narrowed his eyes, perfectly remembering how Krista had jumped into the arena.

It had immediately aroused his suspicions since she should have been in the cells below the sands rather than in the stands above.

“How much are you not telling us?” Senator Otho stepped up beside Germanus, his voice cracking slightly from the pressure but soon the other senators grouped around him.

Pompeia’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish as she tried to keep hold of her Empire.

Krista could see Pompeia’s skin growing warm and her eyes bulging with panic as her world began to collapse around her.

“Pompeia,” Germanus called her name until she finally turned and looked upon him.

Krista saw how he stood just far enough away from Krista to see what she would do as he addressed his Empress.

“Pompeia, you once informed me that it was the divine right of the emperor to declare war,” Germanus soaked up the image of those cerulean blue eyes and felt anger rise inside of him.

Pompeia had been manipulating them all from the beginning; they had hunted and killed innocent parties for her own lust of power.

“Whilst this is true, I must declare to you a divine right of the senate, that has been held secret until now,” Germanus straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath whilst Pompeia watched in confusion.

Krista too was confused as to what he was doing, her fingers itching with anticipation as they clasped her sword, when she saw Gaius move out of the corner of her eye.

A few seconds passed and still Germanus said nothing before he opened his eyes and stared straight at Pompeia.

A second later, a large hand clasped Pompeia by the shoulder and spun her around.

Before her body could come to a halt, Gaius had driven his sword up through her abdomen and out the other side of her back.

Krista stumbled back in shock as Pompeia remained conscious, blood spilling over her lips and down her chin as she gazed down at where Gaius’s sword sliced through her flesh.

Blood began to stain her dress as her fingers reached forward and curled around Gaius’s armour.

But Pompeia was too weak to do anything except to lean against Gaius, her body moving further down the sword until her head rested against his shoulder.

And then, as if it was the easiest thing in the world, Pompeia, Empress of Rome, had been killed.

* * *

Krista stood over Pompeia’s body with controlled anger.

Sword still clasped in her hand, Pompeia had been laid on the ground and a rug fetched for her privacy but Krista had threatened anyone who dared approach.

Lazarus had no privacy in his death and neither shall Pompeia.

Krista had had the luxury of delivering the death blow stolen from her fingertips, she would not allow this to be stolen from her too.

As Krista gazed down at Pompeia’s body she was glad to see that she did not rest peacefully; her abdomen was sliced through with blood pooling around her. Her eyes were open and stared up with fear and pain.

Krista tried to imagine that Pompeia felt more pain than Lazarus had when he died but she knew it was impossible.

Krista had thought of nothing else for endless nights than how to deliver the most pain and yet she got away with a sword to the stomach.

It did not seem fair somehow but now, as she lay at Krista’s feet, Krista was overwhelmed with a strange feeling.

Pompeia was dead.

Everything she had been working towards for the last year had been accomplished.

Krista suddenly felt lost when she felt Artorius brush her side.

Turning her head slowly, Krista looked up at his calm expression and felt everything painful start to subside.

They shared a look when Gaius and Germanus approached them.

Unsure of how to feel, Krista reacted cautiously.

“Peace,” Germanus held up his hands when he saw her reaction, the pair of them stopping on the other side of Pompeia’s body, “Gaius has informed me of everything.”

Everything? Did he tell Germanus about her son? Krista glanced at Gaius but he gave nothing away.

“I have sent the order for our armies to return home,” Germanus clasped his hands in front of his body, giving the image of a peaceful negotiator when he had just ordered the execution of his Empress, “You and your men are free to go.”

Krista and Artorius looked at each other in earnest when they heard it, “Free?”

“Free” Germanus confirmed, “My men are drawing up some parchment to declare you all free citizens of the Roman Empire.”

Krista swallowed around the lump in her throat and a smile threatened to display itself as joy crept into her heart.

She never thought she would hear those words.

“Gratitude,” Artorius breathed easy, “But why did you . . .” Artorius looked down at Pompeia, lying between them.

“The senate’s charge is the empire herself. And we shall do everything in our power to protect her. We are the Guardians of Rome.”

Krista and Artorius remained silent as they allowed his sentence to sink in before Germanus offered them a smile and returned to his duties leaving them alone with Gaius.

Krista gazed up at the commander she almost killed a few months back and found herself extremely glad that she had not.

“The Senate are already stripping Pompeia’s name from the tapestries and her statues will be destroyed. Soon it will be as if she never existed.”

“Gaius,” Krista spoke softly, not wishing to speak of Pompeia and yet, unsure of how to proceed. She did not thank people that often.

“I just wanted to say-”

“-Do not strain yourself,” Gaius held up a hand, “I have killed many people but I endeavour to keep the death of children off my conscience.”

Krista nodded her head slowly, silently thanking him for allowing her son to escape.

“I do not know how to repay you,” Artorius was not so easily persuaded.

“I understand that it is by your actions that Argus and his ilk are dead,” Gaius murmured, "That is gratitude enough."

“A customer of the establishment found their bodies this morning,” Gaius explained.

“And yet you did not raise the alarm?” Krista frowned as panic gripped her heart.

Gaius could have easily destroyed their entire plan and yet he chose not to.

In answer, Gaius gave them a small smile that spoke of many hidden reasons, “A guard shall escort you out when you are ready.”

Krista watched the young man, to whom she owed a lot, follow Senator Germanus from the room.

“What now?” Artorius muttered.

“Now,” Krista turned to look at her future, “We find our son.”