The Centurion's Woman

Chapter 16

        The bed of furs was next to be closely scrutinized. One of the soft deerskins was pulled out, and the edge matched exactly to one of the three thin scrapes across the floor tiles. At least three thin strips of the leather had been cut, unnoticeable unless it was something that was looked for. He gauged the lengths that were cut and realized they would easily tie his knife to any part of Alex she chose to hide it.

        There were no signs of a struggle. Then again, it wasn't like he would expect Alex could be capable of putting up much of a fight. Except she had last night. This morning had been a toll on her just to wake up, though, so he doubted she had much fight left. But then why was the door left open? Why was the bar moved? Why was the knife gone? Where was she?

        A messenger boy's rushed footsteps pounded in the hall, pulling up short just before the door to Ixillius's room. The boy was about eight or ten years of age, and he was working hard to calm his breathing enough to speak.

                                                                ***

        Alex had woken after a few more hours feeling much better for the extra sleep. The knife was still close to hand. She used it to cut some strips off one of the furs she used to sleep on and tied the knife to her thigh, making sure it was high enough not to be noticed under the long garment they'd given her yesterday, and low enough to be easy to grab through a slit she'd cut into the side seam. She used another strip for tying back her unruly hair in a tidy braid, weaving the leather into the last few inches before wrapping and securing it so it didn't slide out.

        She felt better prepared for the day, and turned to breakfast. The bun and cheese had gotten hard while she was sleeping, but the flavour was still good. She cleaned up the plate and stretched a bit to get her blood moving, hoping to take some of the stiffness out of her sore body, then practiced with the knife enough that she felt better able to quickly bring it to hand.

        She still felt on edge, but more confident for being well slept, well fed, and warmed up. As long as there were no more sword fights in her immediate future, she should start feeling better again by tomorrow. Brasus now looked at her suspiciously, so hopefully it would be a long while before she had to take a weapon to hand around him. She'd liked how casual he was with her, and this morning had missed it.

        Oddly, Ixillius seemed unchanged toward her. She took a few moments and really thought about him for the first time. It was strange that it had only been a few days since he'd come into her life, but was now the most important figure in it. She knew basically nothing about him, his family, or his life outside of this room, and he knew about the same amount about her. But here she was, letting her mind wander back over the events of the previous day and starting to think in terms of "mine" and "us" ... About her owner.

        Her thoughts were happily employed in what other heights sex with him could bring once her rib was healed when there was a quiet knock at the door. Alex froze where she sat, the never-sleeping part of her mind clearing everything that wasn't life or death out of her head.

        "Alex?" The familiar voice of Maria called quietly and the door rattled against the bar.

        So, Alex thought, she doesn't bother to wait for approval to enter. That was never a good sign in any time period. Alex chose to remain silent and looped her braided hair up and wrapped it into a tight bun that sat close to her scalp. Pins would have been nice for it, but quickly weaving the leather tie at the end of the braid close to her scalp worked just as well. Had anyone seen it, her grin would have been savage. This was how her momma had worn her hair for hunting.