Guardian of Rome (#2 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Dianna entered the camp with renewed energy. Those deemed healthy had been ordered to leave the camp before they fell ill to the disease that had erupted within the camp. They had been gone for a few weeks when a messenger had informed them that the disease had been eradicated, signalling that they could return. 

Dianna was all too happy to comply but she was surprised to see how many others did so of their own volition. Dianna had to go back. But the others were not under any such obligations as she was; they were free and yet they chose to return to Krista even if it meant their deaths. Surely, Dianna thought, they had to know that they would die under Krista's rule. She had given them their freedom and now was, in turn, leading them to their deaths.

Dianna still held the dagger Frieda had given her, strapped to her thigh with a piece of fabric. Dianna had not spent a second without it.

The chatter among the people as they passed through the forest was expectant. Nobody knew what the camp would look like. They had all heard rumors of the dead bodies; they had seen the smoke rising in the distance as they burned the corpses at night. But Dianna's mother had always told her to ignore rumors. Rumors were vicious things, she had said. Vicious lies created by vicious people.

As she gazed around at the crowd of nearly a hundred people making their way back to the camp, Dianna's eyes fell upon Cato. His footsteps were faster, his strides longer as he navigated his way through the throng of people rushing to reach the camp.

His skin was a beautiful caramel colour and his eyes were the warmest brown, she had ever seen and Dianna knew exactly who they sparkled for. Dianna had seen Cato and Leonidas together and heard the stories. They were the first pair to surrender in the games. They had opened the storm gates to something else entirely. Dianna guessed it was only correct that they would find each other after and fall in love.

It was the only explanation Dianna could think of as she saw how eager he was to return to camp. He had ordered people to only take what they needed. They had left the fires burning in their hurry to leave. Dianna shared in his eagerness to return but her reason wasn't the same. Cato's reason was love whilst Dianna's was revenge; revenge for a loved one.

Dianna didn't realise it in those next few seconds but Cato had stopped walking. She had taken a few more steps before her eyes adjusted to the density of the forest bush and she too saw what Cato had seen minutes before they had. Romans.

Dianna's heart skipped a beat and her feet came skidding to a halt as she thought about Gaius and how he assured her that his men would kill her if they saw her, thinking she was just another blind follower of Krista's. But as she willed her heart to slow down and made her eyes focus through her fear, she looked closer and realised that these weren't Gaius's men.

They did not wear the scripted red roman tunic like other roman soldiers. These soldiers were dressed in black tunics with silver amour. Gazing at their chest plates Dianna saw that they were embossed with the Empress Pompeia's crest.

Dianna looked at Cato with unease as he judged his options. They had barely a handful of gladiators to fight with whilst these soldiers could number anywhere from a hundred upwards. They simply could not know how many lay beyond the forest.

Aunt, Dianna thought with disappointment, what have you done?

* * *

Rheia had heard Argus's plan and was struck with the thought that he was not just brawn afterall. He had brains. He knew he would never succeed if he attacked Krista straight on like Gaius Aurelius was attempting. Argus knew that it would only unify the people who stood behind Krista more if they saw the armies of Rome trying to crush their rebellion. So Argus tried a different tactic as he heard about the illness that had gripped their camp.

Rheia knew that Krista was sentimental; she would try to save as many people as she could. It hadn't taken them long to find their camp; Rheia knew that they would not wonder too far from the main camp and from there it was only a matter of time before they came across them. And she knew that Krista would only entrust their lives to one of her faithful generals.

Rheia had been hoping that it was Frieda, but as they advanced on the scattered group she found that it was Cato. A small fish compared to Krista's main three generals of Artorius, Leonidas and Frieda, but he would fit into their plan nicely. Cato did the sensible thing and ordered the people to run but he should have run with them as they charged out of the forest in a single line of formidable foe.

Rheia thought that she would feel something when she came face to face with the men and women she had shared the arena with but she felt nothing. She was sure that they felt a whole lot more as she sunk her blade through their flesh. Pressing her boot flat against a man's chest, she pushed him off her blade with the heel of her boot, and gazed around her as his body fell to the ground.

She was looking for her next target when she heard a girl's scream. It wasn't anything unusual on a battlefield, and it didn't cause the hair to rise on her arm, but as Rheia laid her eyes upon the girl she knew she couldn't let her be killed. Charging over to the man who was about to sink his blade into the blonde's neck, Rheia gripped him by his back plate and pulled him off.

"She's one of them!" The man shouted at Rheia in defence when he tried to attack her again. Sighing at his annoyance, Rheia kicked him in the back of his knee, causing his legs to buckle before grasping him by the shoulders and tossed him to the side before he regained his balance. He hit the ground like a bag of potatoes, rolling a few times before he scrambled onto his back to face her.

"Go find someone else," Rheia ordered him before she turned back to Dianna, sword raised, "She's mine."

"You- You're going to kill me?" Dianna panicked as her eyes were glued to Rheia's blade, stained with blood.

"Come with me," Rheia said after she waited a moment for the man to leave. She grasped Dianna by the elbow and dragged her deeper into the forest, away from the bloodbath behind them.

"Wh- Who are you!?" Dianna cried from beside her.

Rheia kept looking behind her, making sure they weren't followed when a sudden pain tore through her arm, her fingers instinctively releasing Dianna as a hiss of pain passed her lips. Shooting a look at her arm, Rheia found a gash almost five inches long running down the length of her arm.

Gazing at Dianna, Rheia suddenly noticed the blade in her hand. Dianna had not had that a minute ago.

Pulling her arm back, Rheia backhanded Dianna across the face so hard Dianna lost her footing and collapsed to the ground beneath her.

The Empress's niece cowered on the floor, her knees pulling tightly against her chest as she tried to protect herself from Rheia.

"I am not going to kill you," Rheia sighed as she stepped away from Dianna, "Though you were stupid to cut me."

"Th- Then why did you bring me here?" Dianna stuttered, gazing around her at the emptiness. She could heard the battle but they were too far to see it.

"You do not remember me," Rheia realised as her blue eyes looked upon Rheia with confusion, "I know you are the Empress's niece and I promised your aunt to keep you safe,"

Dianna swallowed.

"You have you own battle to fight," Rheia stepped back again about to return to her men, allowing Dianna to stand up.

"Th- Thank you?" Dianna whispered, her fingers clasping the dagger like it was a lifeline.

"A bit of advice, you may want to speed your plan up. People in Rome are growing weary and are beginning to doubt your intentions." Rheia said before she turned and ran back to her company.

"People?" Dianna panicked, "What people!?" She called after Rheia but she could no longer see her.

Dianna's chest was gripped with fear; did her Aunt think that Dianna had failed her? Did she think that Dianna had been turned by Krista? Suddenly captivated by the fear of what her aunt might do to her if she thought she was a sympathiser of Krista's, Dianna turned and ran back to camp. Her revenge suddenly became the only thing that could save her life.