THE NEXT MORNING, Ixillius slipped out from the covers and Alex barely stirred. He was tired from the previous day's activities, but he grinned smugly that she was exhausted. She smiled in her sleep when he kissed her.
"I love you, husband," she sighed, her accent gone again.
"Tell me about our child," he whispered, before he could stop the words.
"Which one?" she replied, leaving him stumped.
"How many will we make?" he asked once his thoughts started again. She only snored in response, the moment gone. He washed and dressed ahead of even Verus, pushing down the thoughts of children. Mikayla emerged from the room she still shared with Verus as Ixillius was pulling on his armor. She smiled a silent greeting and did his fastenings for him and then he left quietly for the morning orders.
Verus soon traded places with Mikayla at the wash stand, muttering his typical amount of grumbling as she and Victoria went out to collect breakfast for all of them. Alex pried herself awake as Verus taunted her for sleeping so late, glaring at him as she joined him at the wash stand and then – as with any other time that she had no good come back – stuck out her tongue at him. He chuckled and went back to dressing for the day as she starting washing.
Alex left her hair down as she dressed and ate, discussing her ideas for the morning training with Victoria between mouthfuls, uninterrupted today because Verus had been called to speak with Ennius prior to the Legate leaving for the city. Verus returned with Quintus, engaged in conversation about the march to Illyria. Mikey quickly confirmed that Quintus could spend the morning with Verus – giving her half the day to herself – and ran through a few quick symptoms that meant she needed to be called immediately. Then, once Quintus and Verus left, she yawned and smirked and announced she was going back to bed.
Alex threw a few insults at Mikey about being lazy, mostly from sheer jealously, and the surgeon just waved over her shoulder as she sauntered back to her room. Alex braided and rolled up her hair as she and Victoria walked over to their usual place by the horse pens. They were the first to get to the civilian's training place, but five minutes later, right on time, Portia arrived. Alex was about to start the routine as she'd discussed with Victoria, then realized she'd left her jian back at the tent. After a quick conversation, the trio agreed that Alex would train with Portia for hand-to-hand maneuvers while Victoria went back to get Alex's sword.
Victoria jogged through the camp, enjoying the easy pace of the morning so far. She didn't bother to announce her return, not wanting to wake the Lady Healer, so simply strode through the tent to Alexandria's room and collected the jian. Her surprise at seeing the Lady Healer sitting at the table shocked her into a startled gasp. Mikayla felt the blush creep up onto her cheeks as she realized too late that Victoria had seen what was on the table.
"You must not tell Alexandria," Mikey whispered. "I'm not supposed to have this here."
She quickly finished assembling the pieces on the table and tucked everything away into a case that clicked shut. Victoria shifted uncomfortably, unsure why the Lady Healer wasn't supposed to have a...? Her eyes darted to the entrance but her feet stayed firmly rooted. She was horribly aware that in saying nothing – even though she didn't know what she had seen – she was lying by omission. To lie to someone who was being so kind...
"Please," the Lady Healer pleaded. "You must tell no-one."
"I will not lie," Victoria finally whispered in reply.
"We will not lie to Alex if she asks," the Lady Healer attempted to smile. "We will simply be certain that she has no reason to ask." Mikey tried to will the young woman into staying silent, but could see that wasn't working. She needed to say something that would carry enough weight in Victoria's mind that she wouldn't tell anyone, and quickly.
"This is a weapon," Mikey stated truthfully, resting her hands on the case. "From where Alexandria and I are from this is a common weapon we both know how to use, but I was not supposed to bring this with me when I came here."
Victoria frowned. Her family had been making weapons for generations, and that had not looked like anything...
"This weapon can kill a man without touching him," the Lady Healer whispered, her gaze level.
Victoria felt a shiver run the length of her spine. There were no weapons in her large knowledge of such things which could kill men without touching them. At least not in reality, in her grandfather's stories there were many things of spirits and magic and...
"Please?" the Lady Healer interrupted Victoria's thoughts with the single plea. Victoria unconsciously inched closer to the entrance, further away from the odd case. Mikayla watched the younger woman swallow hard, and then nod.
"Thank you," Mikey felt like she could finally breathe when Victoria darted outside.
Mikey waited until she was sure Victoria was gone, and then muttered expletives from each language she knew in a string that would have made Verus proud. She sighed in relief that Victoria, and not Verus, had come in while she was cleaning her handgun. Mikey quickly cleared off the table and tucked the small case back into the lining of her larger medical bag, her usual hiding place when traveling. She chuckled to herself that she'd somehow managed to get away with having the gun here, and hadn't been caught out by Alex yet. Then she actually did lie down as she'd said she was going to; best to be truthful about getting some more sleep.
***
Victoria slowed on her way back toward the horse pens, where Alexandria was waiting for her. She wasn't prepared to lie to her new owner. She was treated better now than she had been by her own family, as an equal among the women she lived with. Celsus Calix had given her clothing and caligae, and then bought another tunic for her at the Market, above giving her a proud new name and insisting that she sit beside him while taking lunch with his family.
This weapon can kill a man without touching him...
The words left her shuddering all over again. There was no weapon for mortals that could kill a man without touching him. She cut off that thought before the words established in her mind. The rumors said many things about the Lady Avilia, but Victoria had beaten her fairly, and after rehashing every detail of their first sparring, and discussing the match at length with Celsus Calix, she knew that in the same fight she would win again. Victoria was a mortal, and mortals did not best the gods...
Her grandfather's stories flared in her mind and she quickly pushed away from the remembrance that some mortals did.
Coincidences and rumors circled her mind, mixing with her own lifetime of experiences, and her steps slowed even more. She held in her hands the last two swords her grandfather had completed, traded along with her own existence, through a wager set on a chance encounter in a side street of the Verona Market two days after they'd arrived in the crossroads city. Her own servitude for another sixty years, and that of her children and her grandchildren, would not match the value of the jian lost in the wager, and would not repay the return of honor to her family for generations to come. Victoria turned off the path through the camp and knelt for a moment, hidden in the privacy between a few empty tents, and silently asked her ancestors for guidance.
"Speak quickly," a man said from inside one of the tents.
"You're certain this is a good place to talk?" a second man questioned.
"We wouldn't be here if not," the first voice scoffed.
"I received word that Avilius is on his way here personally." Both voices were quiet for a few moments.
"That's a certainty?" the first voice asked, and must've gotten a positive response because he continued, "Have you informed the Prefect?"
"Not yet, he's still playing nice with the Legate and working in the city."
"I'll inform the Tribunes. Send your nephew to tell our uncles. Aquilus will want to know as soon as possible."
"I already sent him to Naevius," the second voice confirmed.
"This time next year we'll own half of Verona," the first voice chuckled.
"Not to mention the lands in Germania and Illyria."
"And Spain, and the mansion in Rome," the voice chuckled again.
"Once we get rid of Aquilus," the second voice muttered.
"That's easier done than said." Victoria could actually hear the smirk.
"Did you find his bastard yet?" the first voice asked.
"I suspect four men he could be, and none would cause any more trouble than their sire. We could eliminate all of them without hurting the Legion... in some cases removing them would improve the Legion."
"No," the first voice contradicted. "We only want to get rid of his bastard. Any more than that is too obvious. We'll keep playing nice and following our orders."
They departed as suddenly and quietly as they had arrived. Victoria peered around the tents, memorizing what she could see of their features and clothing as they walked away. She repeated the entire conversation in her mind to commit the words to memory before she allowed herself to breath normally again. She didn't understand completely what she'd just heard, but she knew one of the men often arrived at the horse pens either to watch or speak to Portia, and Alexandria and Celsus Calix spoke together often that Portia was the ward of the Auxiliary Legate who was a relation to Aquilus Naevius – who was somehow a threat to Alexandria and her father, who was now rumored to be coming here.
Victoria didn't know these politics yet, but she understood survival better than most people ever wanted to. She cleared her mind of all disturbing thoughts and centered her energy on the blade in her hand. She would be keeping many secrets today, but would not be lying down to sleep still keeping them tonight. Her decision made and her mind clear, she stood and jogged back toward the horse pens.
***
Alex listened as she tended her animals for the night. She already knew through rumor or fact most of what Victoria was whispering, but the younger woman was troubled with the information so Alex let her clear her mind. When Victoria grew quiet Alex glanced over and saw her staring at the side of Verus's tent, the look on her face growing sicker by the second.
"I saw today, the Lady Healer carries a weapon," Victoria whispered, closing her eyes and swallowing hard.
"In this shape?" Alex asked, mimicking the shape she knew well with one of her hands and then trying not to grin at Victoria's shocked expression that confirmed exactly what she'd apparently seen, most likely when coming back unexpectedly from training this morning. "She always carries the weapon when she travels."
"She said you didn't know," Victoria breathed, accusingly. Alex finally chuckled. Mikey was many things, but sneaky wasn't one of them. They'd been friends since Alex had joined the survivalist company, though, and Mikayla liked to think she could be secretive so Alex let her continue to believe that.
"The weapon's box makes a bulge in the side of the bag," she admitted. "Mikayla says nothing to me, so I say nothing to her."
"She said you would be angry," Victoria admitted. Alex shrugged and shook her head in the negative; she didn't get any vertigo from the handgun so had assumed any repercussions were harmless. Victoria sagged against the railing, relieved. Alex pressed the mare out of the way and leaned her elbows on the railing from the other side of the fence so that their shoulders touched.
"Your thoughts were so heavy to carry today?" Alex asked with genuine concern.
"Why do you treat me like this?" Victoria asked, obvious confusion entrenched in her features as she suddenly changed the subject.
"What do you mean?"
"The clothing, the food, the jian, the training, the trust," Victoria listed, still whispering. "I live here like a daughter, treated by your brother as a sister, but I was traded for as a slave. I am a slave," she paused. "Why was I given a name?"
"I am also a slave," Alex reminded her, pointing at the collar, and Victoria scoffed.
"You are no slave," she stated. "This debt cannot be bought because there is no method of earning a wage, yet all my needs are exceeded and many wants are provided without cost being mentioned."
"Is this a debt you wish to be free of?" Alex asked once Victoria's gaze lifted so they were looking in each other's eyes again.
"I ..." Victoria's voice trailed off.
Alex watched the emotions battle on her property's face. Having gone through similar struggles when life changed unexpectedly, to say the least, she understood well the struggle Victoria was going through. That didn't make anything easier for Victoria to go through, though, so Alex just waited in silence.
"I do not understand what my place is," the younger woman finally said. Alex took a moment to collect the right words.
"You are the granddaughter who brought back honor to a whole family through sacrificing herself into slavery."
"So what is my place here?" Victoria asked, tears starting to streak down her cheeks.
"Your place is with me," Alex replied. "Right now, this place is your place. Do you wish to be free of this debt?" Alex asked her again and Victoria just shook her head 'no', still crying. "Good." Alex smiled at her and bumped their shoulders together. "I do not want you to go away. You are the only one in our tent that does not talk so much. I would miss your quiet if you went away." Victoria laughed through her tears as Alex climbed out through the fence.
"Verus will mock me for crying," the younger woman sniffled, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands.
"Yes," Alex agreed, hooking her arm through Victoria's as they walked to Verus's tent. "And I made you cry so he will be angry with me."
"He is never angry with you," Victoria smiled at her owner... her friend.
"Who is never angry with you?" Verus asked Alex as the flap closed behind them, and then his gaze sharpened as he noted Victoria. "And why are you crying?"
"You are never angry with me," Alex replied to the first question, making Verus scoff out a laugh. "And she is crying because I am very cruel to her."
"That I believe." He pushed himself to his feet and wrapped an arm protectively around Victoria's shoulders when Alex basically handed her to him. "My sister is horrible," he announced. "So you must tell me exactly what she did so that I may be ... not angry with her."
"You are already angry with me," Alex pointed out as she walked around the drape to the wash stand.
"That's not his angry tone," Ixillius called from outside the tent, having just completed his rounds of the camp.
"With him, angry is louder," Ennius added.
"I'm attempting to have a private conversation," Verus yelled back. "Your comments are unwelcome."
"That's closer to angry," Ennius chuckled, and Alex could hear Mikayla giggle – she'd joined the rounds tonight on Ennius's request – as Ixillius and Quintus laughed.
Alex peeped around the edge of the drape and caught a glimpse of Victoria. Humble gratitude and absolute disbelief mixed perfectly in her expression as Verus quietly asked her to tell him why she'd been brought to tears. Later, once everyone settled for the night, Alex made up her mind that she wanted to leave Victoria with Verus until – if – he was able to fight again. That eased her worries about him, and was going be much easier now that they looked like they would both agree to the arrangement.