“I know...”
Clavius quieted, watching him, not really knowing how to broach the subject. “So... yesterday... after we’d left...”
A shadow crossed Marius’ face. “I wasn’t very nice to him... but then, I realized what a jerk I was and... let’s just say we worked it out.”
Clavius sighed. “I’m mildly relieved. I owe my life to your boy. Whatever he did, he did it to save my ass. You should be worshipping him instead of being your usual angry self.”
“Yes... let’s not talk about this anymore...? I’m trying really hard to forget what happened.”
“Sure.... but rumor says you were not without fault either...”
Marius blanched slightly, knowing what he was referring to, his voice hard. “I wasn’t myself.”
“Frankly, I don’t think that’s an excuse.”
“She was a whore, no big deal...”
They looked up when Kyle entered, shutting up, but he knew them too well to know that something was up, their faces too composed, Marius too pale.
He laid out the breakfast. “Master Clavius, are you eating?”
Clavius rose, patting him on the back. “No, I’ve eaten with my wife.” He looked at Marius. “Tell him.”
Marius watched him leave, a flicker of anger in his eyes, spinning into a mild fear.
Kyle turned to him. “What should you tell me?”
Marius shifted, waving towards a chair. “Sit down...” Kyle watched his blue eyes fill with misery. “I did something whilst I thought you were gone forever, and I’m not proud of it, especially after the way I treated you yesterday...” Kyle waited and he continued, mildly resigned. “I wanted that barbarian girl to help us, you know, the one who’s been given away by her father, so... I asked Julius to bring her to my room and...”
He stopped, unsure how to word it, and Kyle spoke softly. “You raped her.”
Marius’ head whipped up. “What? No... I mean, I wouldn’t call it rape... she was a prostitute after all...” But he wasn’t sure anymore, squirming in his seat under his grey eyes. “In any case... I threatened her... that if she doesn’t cooperate with us, I’ll have the whole cohort go through her...” His own words made him sick and a vague nausea swept through his body, making him close his eyes.
Kyle watched him, pity, and anger coursing through him, revolted more by his threat than the fact that he’d forced her. “Would you have carried it through? Your threat?”
His heart beat fast and Marius looked at him, pained. “Probably... I was mad, completely crazy...”
Kyle pulled a slight face. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you deserve to know... and now, you can hate me all you want.”
Kyle hid a smile, listening to him using his own words. He poured a cup of posca and handed it to him, his face calm. “Nothing can be done about what you did, so you’ll just have to live with it. I could sulk and push you away, but I know who you are.” Marius’ face fell, but Kyle raised his hand. “And I love you, anyway... I guess that in our own ways, we’re both damaged... just differently.”
Marius’ heart raced. “You’re the best thing in my life.”
“And you in mine... just don’t forget this if things ever get rough.”
Fall settled in, a slow chill in the damp air, the rain wearing at them, the constant fog sitting on the landscape. Their negotiations with the ruling tribe went slowly, the rebel tribes gone again, or so it seemed.
One rainless day, they decided to go hunting. With winter near, they needed to stock up the supplies and Marius was quietly thrilled, the idle diplomatic meetings and sitting in the fort getting on his restless nerves. Clavius decided not to join them, his scar giving him grief, the weather throbbing in his cheekbone and head, so Marius set off with a couple of officers and soldiers, the hunting master, and Kyle on a cart which they hoped to fill with game.
They were progressing slowly on horseback, going deeper into the forest, but not too far from the fort, alert, but not worried. There hadn’t been any signs of the rebels so far, and the neighboring tribes had all signed a peace treaty. The hunt master spotted some deer tracks, and they quieted, slowly progressing, spotting the animal among the trees. Marius looked at Kyle and gestured to him to stay behind, so he stopped the cart and sat, watching them gallop away, chasing the beautiful animal which had shot off into the woods.
Kyle settled in for a long wait, hearing them shout, their voices dwindling. A slight unease settled in him, the forest quiet around him, too quiet, the pine leaves softly whistling in the fall breeze. He pulled his shirt tighter, and hugged himself, a slow chill creeping in him.
Kyle waited for what seemed like hours until the sun seemed high up into the sky and he fidgeted, nervous. Where were they? His eyes darted back to where they had come from, in the direction of the fort. Should he leave and get help?But maybe they just rode too far...One of the mules’ ears perked up, and his heart fluttered. Maybe they were riding back? He listened, and there was the distant sound of hooves, slowly approaching.
At last... relief flooded him as men became visible in the woods, but something was off.... the lead horse not being Marius’ black stallion... tall men clad in animal skin, their faces covered with beards. His blood froze, and Kyle jumped off the cart, running as best as he could into the woods, those hooves too close, hammering the ground. He was knocked off his feet and crashed into a tree; the world going black.
