140AD - The Rise to Empress || [GxG] ||

Chapter 2

Translations:
Jomp emo op! Frag emo op! = Attack them all! Kill them all!
Oyo tof gon ai Haiplana!  = Your land for my Queen!

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It was early morning and the sun would perhaps rise in the coming hour or two. Regularly, Lexa wouldn't be awake at this time but she wakes up due to loud footsteps outside Costia's home. Their pace was hurried and harsh which was odd for so early. No one in the city was up at this time normally and if they were, it was much quieter and not so fast-paced. Lexa just had the expensive silk sheet draped over her body since the heat didn't dissipate at night, even with the moon out it was humid.

She propped her right arm under her head as she looked down, noticing Costia laid with her head on her bare chest, still sleeping peacefully. A small smile crept onto Lexa's lips as peace washed over her entire body, she simply couldn't wait to wake up like this every day once they move to the city. She softly soothed her fingertips over Costia's black hair that always seemed just perfect without any sort of effort, down her spine and back up again.

Suddenly a woman's screams filled the quiet night outside and instinctively Lexa shot up, pushing Costia off of her in the process. More screams erupted and in the distance, she heard a man yell "Fire! Fire!". Costia then too sat up, still groggy with sleep. "Hmm, what's going on?" Hard stomps past Costia's home again and Lexa quickly pressed her hand over Costia's mouth. "Shhh." Lexa strained her hearing, trying to figure out what was going on exactly. Instinctively she recognized the sharp sound far away: Steel connecting with steel.

"Stay here and barricade the door, don't open it to anyone but me, I'll be back." Lexa orders as she gets out of bed, putting on her undergarments and loosely doing her bindings in a hurry. She finds her linen tunic and quickly puts that on as well as she moves to the front door, creaking it open just enough to see what was going on outside, trying hard not to draw attention. What she sees frightens her to her very core; several nearby houses were on fire and she could hear more screams echo through the night, screams coming not only from women but from children and men as well.

Lexa moved to the table where she had taken off her armour the previous night. Something was wrong and she had a terrible feeling in her gut. She slipped her feet into the reinforced leather sandals that were attached to her silver greaves that covered her full-frontal leg up until her knee and quickly tied the leather at the back, fastening them around her legs. Next, she fitted her tassets along with her weapons belt. Costia had emerged from the room as well, she too now clothed in a simple white dress. "Here, let me help you." She picked up Lexa's leather armour and shimmied it over her lover's head, fastening the leather straps on the side while Lexa wrapped linen around her arms to avoid the chaffing from her bracers.

When the bracers were on she clenched her fists, flexing her forearms to make sure they were tight enough. The leather creaked over hard muscles. Satisfied, she looked to Costia who returned a glance of concern. "What's going on, Lexa?" Lexa shook her head, just as clueless as her lover was. "I don't know but I have a bad feeling. Barricade the door when I'm outside, I'll come back as soon as I know it's safe." Lexa cupped Costia's cheeks and kissed her for several seconds as if it would be the last time. When Lexa pulls away, Costia quietly uttered a "Be safe." Just loud enough for her lover to hear her.

When Lexa steps outside, it felt significantly colder as she sheathed both of her swords on either side of her. Cautiously she walked toward the more crowded part of the city where her parents lived since Costia lived on the outskirts of the small city where the farmers lived. As she approached the more populated area, the screams of agony and clattering of swords grew louder. Lexa fell into a running pace as her heart started to beat even faster, just about hammering in her chest, threatening to jump out. Her heart was on the verge of creating a permanent mark on her chest, something resembling a tattoo.