Descendants of Rome (#3 in Gladiator Series)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

By early afternoon, they had reached the stronghold at Alesia. Not named lightly, the stronghold had been fortified to defend an army but years of neglect had wasted away at it. Wood splintered under the lightest touch, metal rusted away and what had once been a sight to behold now only invoked pity and the feeling of inevitable doom. Its only advantage being its position atop a hill and the three ramparts which surrounded it. These earthworks of banks and ditches posed a threat to any Roman attacker but they were doing little to defend the Gauls as they left the safety of the hill and ran into open battle.

Leonidas's horse paced restlessly beside Krista's as he too saw what she did; a massacre. The Romans, in their full military armour, outnumbered the poorly equipped Gauls by nearly five to one.

"They'll be slaughtered!" Leonidas gasped as they saw the way the Romans were cutting through the Gauls like wheat.

Krista beheld the piles of bodies already lining the earth and she knew the Gauls could not withstand much more before they were defeated. Turning her head to the right, away from the stronghold, Krista saw Octavia's camp in the distance and the flag of the Roman Empire flapping in the high wind as if it could taste victory in the air. As she saw this symbol of slavery and injustice anger flared in her heart and Krista needed to wait no more before she drew her sword and charged into the battle. She immediately heard the others follow her, her heart becoming elated at their loyalty, as their horses covered immense distance and within seconds their horses had led them into the thick of the battle where their swords once more tasted Roman flesh.

"Get behind me!" Krista heard Frieda yell at the exhausted Gauls as she quickly dispatched a Roman's head from his shoulders from atop her horse.

"Back up the hill!" Krista ordered the men as she felt her body jerk in the saddle when her horse stepped over a dead body on the ground, "Retreat!" She yelled. Gripping her sword tightly Krista kept a firm hold of the reins as she felt a hand grip her lower leg. Twisting in the saddle, Krista reached across her body with her sword and drove the tip of her blade down into a Roman's shoulder. His hand slipped from her leg as he fell beneath her horse screaming. The beast cut through the Roman infantry lines with ease.

Looking across the way, Krista spotted Artorius a few metres away from her. He seemed to be almost herding the Gaul's like cattle, ordering them back up the hill and towards the fort before he returned for more.

In a brief moment, Krista turned and looked towards the Roman camp where three figures stood in the distance, looking at them. Krista spotted Octavia and her eyes hardened in response.

Octavia had not been expecting cavalry.

Krista's attention was quickly diverted when she heard the cry of a young boy, her heart racing with fear as she thought of her own son.

Drawn towards the sound, nearly twenty metres away, Krista pushed her horse into a gallop as she tried to reach them in time.

As she drew closer, Krista could see a young boy, barely five and ten, on his back and surrounded by four Romans.

His arms were stretched out in defeat, his voice pleading with them to show mercy but the Roman's did not flinch as they began to let their swords descend towards his shivering body.

Krista's entire body felt as if it became engulfed with flames.

Twirling her sword in her palm, Krista's heart raged with anger and a fierce determination to keep him safe.

Krista watched as the soldiers turned when they heard her approach, their eyes widening when they saw her.

Sword stretched out to the side, Krista pulled back on the reins, forcing the horse to rear up on its hind legs.