AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are your wrists hurting?” he asked. He seen the marks the shackles had left.
“Not as much as my arse,” she replied.
He laughed. “Well, that is not due to my hand.” He clucked his tongue and the horse lumbered forward for a few paces before picking up her hooves.
Felix led on his steed, as he always did, and with a wave of his arm, they were off. A few small children ran along the road next to them, shouting goodbye to Bethan, who answered each one with a farewell of her own.
“They’ll miss you,” Rufus said. “Have you been here long?”
“A few passes of the moon. I won’t miss the fort.”
The road zig-zagged down the ridge toward the main road that ran parallel to the wall. From east to west, the Roman Wall formed a barrier that kept out the barbarians in the north, and stopped them joining forces with the tribes to the south. They were going to head west before tracking south to fertile land and Felix’s villa.
“Where are we going?” she asked, her voice nearly lost in the wind. However, the heat of his body was winning; she’d stopped shivering.
“To Luguvalium. Felix needs more slaves.” The villa was likely to be neglected; an abandoned farm whose tenants had been evicted after they failed to pay their taxes. Felix had to acquire labourers and servants.
“Slaves? Wasn’t he a slave himself?” She had to shout a little to be heard. In front of them, Felix’s head jerked and he slowed his horse to draw it alongside Rufus.
“I was captured as a boy somewhere over there,” Felix waved his arm to the distant hills to their left. “Brought to Londinium where I was sold to a slaver. My youth was spent in gladiator training schools until my first fight. I won and it led to others, none to the death.”
“I thought all fights were to the death?” She’d heard such tales of gore and violence in the arena.
“Gladiators cost money,” Felix explained. “Money to train, to feed them. To slaughter everyone would leave the arena empty. Only the big events encourage fights to the death. It wasn’t until I reached Rome that I killed a fellow gladiator, a slave like myself, but one sentenced to die for murder.”
“I see.” She twisted her head. “What of you? Where were you captured?”
“I wasn’t.” Rufus had hated the quiet life of his village and yearned for excitement. Gaul had been conquered by the Romans long before his birth and since then, wars were fought in distant lands. Instead of fighting Romans, he’d heard how gladiators were treated as great warriors and given prizes and accolades.
“You’re a criminal?” She had plenty of curiosity.
“No. I volunteered.” His weeping mother had pleaded with him to stay. However, the lure of the coliseum was too great and he’d proven himself in training to be an able fighter.
“Volunteered,” she exclaimed. “So you were never a slave?”
“No. When Felix won his freedom, he asked for me to join him. I came because if it wasn’t for Felix, I would have died in the arena. Felix is an excellent trainer.”
The hot-blooded Rufus had quickly learnt that survival meant using his head as much as his strength. Felix had taught him well and now he was happy to escort his friend home and help him settle on his land.
“Am I not your slave then?” she asked Rufus.
“No. Felix owns you.”
She slumped a little. He smiled at Felix. “She is all yours, my friend.”
“I know.” Felix kicked his horse and he shot forward to take the lead again. “And soon my patience will be rewarded.”
Now she stiffened. “What does he mean?”
“Behave yourself and you’ll find out. He has plans for you. But don’t be afraid. Felix knows the life of a slave is hard. He won’t be a cruel master, not like Atticus.”
She relaxed again, snuggling back into his body. “And you? What plans do you have?”
He gripped the reins tighter. He had needs, strong ones, but he’d no intention of forcing them upon her. “I’m tasked with assisting my friend in whatever way he wishes, including delivering you to Felix’s house safe and sound, slave,” he murmured. “So make sure you stay close to me.”
“I will,” she said.
Chapter Six
