The Battlefield

Meet and Greet

Miriam watched in awe as the cart thundered through the heart of Rome. The colosseum stood grandly and hefty gladiators strolled in and out of the monument.
Miriam had been inside the Colosseum before, with her parents. It wasn't a pretty sight, with all the blood and gory.
The structure moved out of her sight and soon after, she was in a dusty road. Lush green trees in either side of the road provided shade and the rocks and stones on the street made it a bumpy ride...like Miriam's life was.
As soon as she over came an obstacle another one was in it's place, yet she still managed to go through life to reach her destination.

As the sun sunk lower into the sky, a villa came into view right ahead of her on a hill top. Looking at it somehow triggered a growl to emit from her stomach.

Marco , the driver, chuckled when he heard the sound. "You should eat something Miss, I was told you'd have some snacks packed in your bag by Bella," he said.
Miriam opened the smallest trunk and found a loaf bread and some bruised grapes.
"Thank you, sir," Miriam said as she tore off a fair amount of bread. Miriam decided that she'd repay the man with some of her food for his kindness as he also hadn't eaten for a long time. She passed some bread to him, saying, "If you need more, please do not hesitate to ask."
Marco gave a soft smile, and muttered the words "God bless you," as he took the bread with his free hand.

None of his passengers had shown him this much kindness before, although he couldn't see this young woman's face properly due to the sash, he knew she must be beautiful inside and out.

As twilight befell the sky, the horses stopped in front of the villa. Marco helped Miriam lug the trunks off the cart and dragged them to the entrance of the house.

The double door of the villa burst open and a woman stepped through it, elegantly dressed.

"You must be Miriam," the woman said.
"Yes, I am, you must be Lady Alena," Miriam replied with a humble and deep bow.
This woman seemed like those important ones, who were used to richness, in these times, it was a miracle if a person from a higher class looked down on the lesser social casts with sympathy and care rather than arrogance. Miriam came form a middle class family.
The woman, however, seemed to have other means of greeting her. Lady Alena pulled Miriam into a bone crushing hug, "It's been so long since I've seen you," she muttered. Miriam hugged her tighter, tears welled up in her eyes. This lady reminded her of her mum.

"Come inside please, there's carbonara for dinner, come join us," Lady Alena said with a soft smile. Then she turned towards Marco, "Place your horse in the stables for the night. I'll ask my servant to bring you some dinner and blankets, feel free to spend the night in the servants quarters."

Lady Alena led Miriam into the villa. As soon as they entered, she could see the courtyard with a well to the side. She followed Lady Alena info one ledge rooms and saw a young girl and the Lady's husband engaging in hushed whispers and laughter.
They turned to her and greeted her once she came through the doors, asking her about her journey and her life back home.

Miriam really did feel like she belonged here, she felt happy for the first time in nine months.
"Little Mia, over here thought that you were a boy dressed in a woman's clothes when you came in, because your sash covered your face," Julius said with a twinkle in his eye. Mia was the youngest daughter, their oldest son was in the Colosseum practising to be a gladiator.

Miriam and Lady Alena laughed at that.
"Mi dispiace," said the young girl with embarrassment in her eyes.
"That's okay, bella," replied Miriam with awe. Mia was a four year old girl, and she was beautiful, her blonde hair braided to the side and her shining emerald green eyes, made even Miriam a little jealous.
"Lady Alena, Lord Julius, I really must take my leave now, thank you for the wonderful dinner," Miriam said, the day's fatigue settled on her eyelids making them droop.
"Of course Ria, I'll let a servant guide you to your room, and please call us Julius and Alena, the title is not for the ones who we consider our near and dear ones ." Alena said, Julius looked at Miriam with a reassuring smile at his wife's words while she smiled at her in sympathy.
No ninteen year old girl, or any girl, deserved to be chased through streets and towns to save her life.
"Thank you," Miriam replied as she got out of her seat, nodding at Julius, Alena and gave Mia a kiss before following the servant to her room.

As Miriam laid on her bed, she couldn't help but smile as she thought of her new but temporary life which made her feel all tingly inside. She had a feeling that this family would become a huge part of her life as time went by.

Mi dispiace- I'm Sorry
Bella- beautiful(f) and could also be a name/nickname