Slave To Rome

CHAPTER TEN - CAUGHT IN THE ACT

As we walked back to the village together, our hands entwined, I couldn’t help but smile. After I told her I loved her, it resulted in more emotional crying on Eve’s part, and her admitting to me that she loved me for years, and always regretting not saying anything before we parted ways.

“I killed her, you know,” Eve said to me quietly, and back in a slight monotone so she could detach herself from the violent memories.

My eyebrows knitted in confusement as we walked down the path, “Who?”

“That bitch of a slave girl who did that to you. I decapitated her personally,” she replied, making a point not to look at me, and speaking about it as if I asked what kind of weather she thought tomorrow would bring.

“I never doubted you would,” I said, looking at her.

She looked back at me, and then back down the stretch of empty path. There was a moment of silence before she asked, “How could you ever have feelings for Livia?” She asked the question as if it was something dirty that I should be ashamed of.

“You mean feelings for you?” I corrected.

“No, Livia,” she replied.

I stopped walking for a moment, forcing her to stop as well. I turned her by her hand to face me and said seriously, “Eve, just because you changed your name, it doesn’t make you a new or different person. You were Livia, and if you try to detach yourself from your past your going to lose yourself so quickly in this delusion you created that when it finally comes crashing down, there is no way you would be able to handle it.”

Eve didn’t say anything, which I took as a sign of understanding because I was sure if she had something to say in retort she would have said it. She tugged on my hand a little, and we began walking again.

“And to answer your question, I really don’t know. I’ve thought about it over these past two years, and I still have yet to find a logical reason that explains me falling for the woman that enslaved my tribe and kept me from my family for years. That brutalized and killed so many people.” Eve’s head noticeably dropped, ashamed, but I continued, “But something drew me towards you, I guess. I knew you weren’t who you pretended so hard to be, that you had the potential to be an amazing woman, you just needed some help to get there. Plus, for years you respected my decision not to lie with you, when you and I both know you could have taken me very easily.”

“I couldn’t just take you, Varia,” Eve replied. “I didn’t want to conquer you, I wanted to win you.”

“I can’t believe you had the patience to play the game for that long,” I said in a slightly haughty voice, kind of resenting her regarding me as something to be won.

“I didn’t play the game,” she replied before looking me in my eyes. “The game played me.”

We were right outside the village now, and as we walked in it I tried to think of a response to her reply. I didn’t get the chance however, because suddenly as if out of no where, Xena was standing in front of us. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was staring both of us down. We both jumped instinctively when we realized she was there, and I was struck dumb. I didn’t know what to do or say, I just felt like I got caught sneaking back into my lovers room by their parents. But this was so much worse, because if Xena drew attention to us, then me and Eve might end up spending eternity together... in the afterlife.

Xena’s eyes scanned us, right down to our entwined hands. We both let go of each other like we were burned, and Xena’s eyes went back up to look at both of our scared faces. She said quietly as she motioned to the hut her and Gabrielle were staying in, “Both of you, follow me.”

We didn’t move, it was like we had lost the ability. But Xena turned back to us after she had already started to walk away and demanded quietly, “Now!”

Our feet obeyed her words, and we hurried after her into her hut. As Xena closed the door behind her, Gabrielle woke up with a start. “Wha– What’s going on?” she asked, sitting up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Ask the mistress and the slave,” Xena said, motioning to the two of us.

We both stared at her in disbelief in already knowing the history we had with each other, but before we could reply Xena continued. “You two are being incredibly stupid. Seeing each other in the dead of night, thinking no one will see you and foolishly believing the whole village is asleep. Do you realize you both could be on trial for your lives in the morning if it was anyone but me who saw you?”

Eve tried to speak, but Xena kept on.

“Eve sweetie, I understand that you want to redeem yourself for the wrongs you’ve committed. I understand that, I do. And while I do think you should deal with the one you committed against the Amazon Nation, I don’t think now is the time, especially when you are in the arms of the Queens second in command. This could get messier than you can even imagine.”

“Mother,” Eve said, finally getting to interrupt. “How did you...?”

“How did I know that you two knew each other before this?” Xena finished for her daughter. “While Queen Marga, Gabrielle, and myself were speaking earlier today, she told me it had been very hard since the warlord Livia raided her village for slaves many years ago. She even told me how she captured you, Varia,” she said nodding to me, “And that you miraculously escaped years later. I was worried for a while that you might recognize Eve and turn her in, since she was such a horrible and cruel captor, and I figure that would be something you weren’t likely to forget.” She emphasized each word that I used to describe Livia to Marga with sarcasm. “But seeing how you two decided to make out like teenagers in heat near the river, I have to say I don’t find your escape so miraculous anymore.”

“Wait,” Gabrielle interjected, trying to follow the conversation while half awake. “Eve, you had sex slaves when you were in Rome?!”

“I was not a sex slave!” I said, slightly offended.

Eve collapsed onto a chair near by, and put her head in her hands, not wanting to deal with all of this. “Varia was my... personal slave for a couple of years,” she answered.

“And part of that job description requires basically eating your face?” Xena asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Not my face....” Eve mumbled under her breath, to while Gabrielle put the covers over her head after making a noise and said something about not wanting to know those kinds of details.

“Look,” Eve continued, trying to push back the embarrassment of this conversation. I was glad at least one of us could, I thought I was going to die right there on that spot. “I had many slaves in the palace, and yes most of them preformed... sexual favors.... for me. But Varia was my personal slave, and she did no such thing.”

“Seems a little backwards,” Xena replied.

“Maybe it was, I don’t know. My point is, when I finally lay with her, it wasn’t because I summoned or ordered her too... it was because... well....” Eve trailed off, losing her nerve. Talking about sex with her mother I guess was one thing she could handle, but feelings seemed to be a different story.

“Because I was in love with her,” I finished for Eve while trying to keep my shaking voice steady, finally speaking after all this time.

Xena and Gabrielle both looked at me, apparently surprised that I ended up falling for the murderous Livia. There was silence for a minute, then Xena asked, “You were, or you are?”

I looked at Eve, and then back at Xena, and with my voice steady and full of honesty I replied. “I’m still in love with your daughter, with Eve.”

“Varia is the only reason you were able to pull me back from where I was, Mother,” Eve said, making Xena’s eyes fall on her. “Without her, without someone feeling for me that way, without someone that I could feel that way for in my life, and without her keeping me from falling over the edge so many times, neither of us would be here right now, we both would have died in Eli’s temple that day. I could accept Eli’s love because I had already experienced love, though I would have never admitted it back then. You have no idea how empty I was before I met her.”

Xena was silent for a moment, and I held my breath, wondering what was going to happen.

“You two are going to have to play this off like your just starting to fall for each other, you do realize that, right?” Xena replied finally.

We both looked at each other, she expected us to go public?

Xena noticed our exchanged looks and continued, “You two can’t expect to sneak around this village and have no one notice. Questions will be asked. Tomorrow morning, Varia, you need to tell the closest person to you in this village that you’re getting interested in Eve. Eve, your going to have to innocently flirt with her where someone can see you. Within a week, you two will be able to show mild affection towards each other, and hopefully if this all goes over without any problems, you guys can convince them that this just happened. Otherwise, you both know what could happen.” We both nodded, and she continued, “Until then, don’t do anymore stupid things.”

“Yes Mother,” Eve replied, and I nodded my head in agreement. This was all far more complicated that I realized it would be, but I knew it was the only way we could do this and be able to get away with it.

“Now get off to bed you two, you have a lot of convincing to do tomorrow.”

TBC...