Kyle smiled. “At least you’re more or less decently dressed in your tunic and sandals.” He looked down at himself and grinned. “And I am fine for a slave.”
Clavius looked at Kyle’s torn trousers, jagged above the knee, and his sandals. He smiled despite the pain.
“Ok, let’s go? Do you think you can walk?” He pulled Clavius up, the centurion swaying, and he clutched his waist. “Lean on me. That’s better. Let’s go. They might have spotted the fire...”
They started walking then, each step torture, following the river upwards.
Marius woke to the sound of knocking. He had not washed and was still in his armor, on the floor, on top of the pile of rubble he had created. He got up, swaying, anger invading him, a slow, steady burn. “Come in...”
Julius stepped in and froze, looking into Marius’ eyes, those blue eyes burning with a demonic flame. Marius smirked, seeing his face. “I made a mess. Have it cleaned up.”
“Yes, Commander... khm… We are about to dispatch the letters to the families of the deceased... any messages from you?”
Reality hit Marius hard, but he swallowed, his pain quickly engulfed by his wrath. “Yes... come with me.”
He went straight to the meeting room and wrote to Tertullia, the bold letters flowing in black ink, his eyes burning with a new light. It chilled Julius, and he waited, silent. “Here... have it dispatched with the rest…”
“Yes, Commander.”
“I’ll clean myself up and then we meet in half an hour here. Gather the officers.”
Julius saluted and left.
Marius blue eyes filled with wrath and grief.You’ll see... I’ll make the world burn for you...
Kyle stopped in the afternoon, unable to carry him further, feeling Clavius lose that small strength he still had left. The shores had become more unfriendly. Soon, they’d have to leave them and walk deeper into the woods.
“Let’s camp here...” Clavius moaned, lying down, his eyes shut. “I need to have a look at your wound, but first, let me gather some herbs and food. I’ll be back...”
Clavius watched him disappear in the undergrowth, and his heart clenched.What if he left him? After all, he could just escape now... get his freedom back. Britannia wasn’t very far, maybe a couple of weeks of travel... He could just go...Unable to stay awake any longer, he went into a deep sleep.
When he woke, it was getting dark, and the fire was burning next to him, the air chillier, the smell of roast meat in the air.
Kyle was crouching next to the fire, watching the rabbit in the flames, his eyes drifting to the stirring man. “We can eat soon...”
He had come back...Relief flooded Clavius and shame... He looked at Kyle, his wound a throbbing torture under the bandage. “Thank you...”, it was a mere whisper, but Kyle had heard it, relieved that he talked.
He smiled. “I’m most happy you can talk, dominus. Now, let me have a look at that wound. I found something which might help...” He crawled next to him and gently removed the bandage, putting it in the fire. Kyle then washed the wound out carefully, Clavius’ face blanched, gritting his teeth against the pain. “So, now, I’ll put some honey and clay into it... I found some close...” Clavius watched the bee stings on his body, and Kyle shrugged. “Yeah, they were not happy that I stole their honey...” He laughed and smeared the wild honey into the wound. “This is how we cured our many cuts and scratches when we were kids... after having gotten our asses whooped by our mothers...”
Kyle quieted, painful memories choking his throat... Mother...she was so gone in time, her face a blur... He shook his head, concentrating on the wound, and Clavius watched the lingering pain on his face.
He then smeared clay onto the wound, making sure to wait a bit until it dried on the surface. He tore his trousers further, the hem higher than mid-thigh, and he chuckled. “I hope we can find some civilization soon or I’ll be forced to walk around naked.”
Clavius laughed softly at the image, and Kyle bandaged his head. The pain was slightly less, and he sighed. “Much better...”
“Good! Now to food. Can you chew?”
He pulled a mischievous smiled at him and Clavius felt all warm inside. “Yes, I think so...”
“We’ll see...”
Kyle pulled the soft meat off the bones and made Clavius sit up, handing him the food. He chewed slowly, and Kyle sighed.Maybe he would live after all...
They ate in silence, watching the sunset, the river bathed in blood.
“Bring me the girl.” Marius’ voice was soft in the semi-dark room, but a shiver ran down Julius’ spine.
He didn’t dare disobey though and went to get the chief’s daughter from the camp prostitutes’ quarters. “The commander wants to see you.”
