"Annabella, come here."
Annabeth tried to tear away her gaze from the running spectacle. The two gladiators were still circling each other since the fight had only started minutes ago but the crowd was already shouting and yelling furiously, encouraging the two to start ripping each other apart.
Annabeth had seen blood and men killing each other but in Athens, her actual home before the Roman soldiers deported her to Rome as slave, never have been fights to stay the blood thirst of the crowd. Amphitheaters disgusted her. Just like the Romans disgusted her.
"Annabella!"
She turned around and faced Agrippina who stood in the doorway, looking at the servant impatient. Annabeth balanced the bowl of fruits to her right before she moved to the emperor's mother and bowed. "What can I do for you, mea domina?"
As she came up from her bow, she was greeted with a hard slap across her right cheek.
"Watch out, girl, if I call for you, you ought to come immediately and not take your dear time," Agrippina spat.
Annabeth had the need to cover the stinging spot with her hand and duck out of Agrippina's reach but she knew it would make her mistress even madder. She directed her stormy-gray eyes to look straight into the ugly two slits of Agrippina.
"Excuse my ignorance, mea domina," Annabeth said.
Agrippina snorted. "I can't excuse that much ignorance."
Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek. Her mistress was a fool and all the servants knew it but she was a powerful and mighty fool. Rumors had spread everywhere about Agrippina killing the last emperor's son, so Nero would become the mightiest man of the world. The people of Rome also said she would interfere with the business of the state constantly and her own son was getting sick of it. But she sill had the power to throw Annabeth down in the arena.
The emperor's mother eyed the slave. "Well, if it wasn't for your good work, I would have let you killed a long time ago."
Annabeth nodded. "I appreciate that, mea domina."
"Of course you do, ceanum," Agrippina snapped. "You will go to the market now and buy new fabric for my rooms. I want new casings made of silk, preferably in purpure. Hurry, buy the silk at the stall I showed you and bring them to my Sewist. I want to sleep in new casings tonight."
With that she knocked Annabeth aside violently and strolled toward the cot of the emperor who was watching the whole scenario down in the arena with a rather bored expression. Nero never has been much into the whole 'until the death'-thing. He had always been a stranger to the Roman tradition.
She got up from the stone floor, placed the fruit back in its bowl and walked into the halls behind the tribune. Hastily, she wiped tears of pain away as she tried to touch her burning cheek. To her right opened a small room and she slipped in. It wasn't big and certainly not big enough to hold at least 25 tables and double as much slaves who were standing in front of them, creating desserts and special food for the emperor.
She dumped the fruit bowl on one table and turned to leave. It wasn't a big deal to walk through the mostly empty corridors of the emperor's section but to get as fast as possible to the store for Agrippina's silk, Annabeth had to walk through one of the citizen's entrances. And that meant she needed to cross the ranks of the plebs, where only men were seated and allowed. She had done this before and never got caught but it was always tight. To conceal herself in the crowds of cheering people, she took a coat called paenula: A long brown cotton robe with a hood, which was especially sewed for the female servants of the emperor.
Annabeth pulled it over her stola and looked carefully down herself if she really had covered all of her body. The paenula was longer than the usual ones and also a little wider. Annabeth shook the sleeves down her hands before she climbed through a small opening onto the men's tribune.
The coliseum resembled the society in Rome. Down in the first ranks sat the senators and on the highest ranks, you could find the few women who were allowed to enter the arena. Most men prevented it though.
Annabeth swallowed as she moved swiftly through the men who were standing on their feet, screaming for their favored gladiator and wagged their arms through the air. It smelled like sweat and wine and everywhere food and drinks covered the floor. Annabeth tried not to think of her coat absorbing all these things.
She almost reached the exit as suddenly one of the men jumped on the hem of her robe and the fabric was ripped away. She stood there for a moment just like the man who was still standing on the paenula.
She blinked just one time and the men had already opened his mouth screaming, "A woman!"
All of the men who were actually able to hear the shout, turned and looked at Annabeth. Hades broke loose a moment later. The men reached out for her, yelling in hatred and calling her names, Annabeth never has been called before. She could dodge most of the hands but suddenly a hand, firm and strong, closed around her wrist making her stop in mid-sprint. The man, who had caught her, was almost twice as big as Annabeth with a scarred face and steely blue eyes. His thin lips curled into a cruel smile.
Annabeth gulped.
He lifted his hand and touched her cheek with his fingertips. "Where are we going, beautiful?"
She knew what he would do. She knew what would happen. She tried to wiggle out of his grip but instead of letting go, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
His breath felt like acid on her skin. "Maybe we can take a break from the games?"
Tears shot into Annabeth's eyes, tears of pure frustration and she struggled harder but all her efforts seemed lost against the muscles of the man. She missed the years back in Athens when her father taught her how to hold a dagger and how to use it. He never taught her what to do in a situation where she was weaponless, he never taught her what to do when Roman soldiers came to their lot and cut his throat and he certainly never taught her what to do if Romans captured her and forced her to be a slave.
"Hey, let go of her, sentina. She's my wife."
Annabeth's head snapped around at the word 'wife' and she saw another man standing right behind her. He was wearing a toga, telling Annabeth that he was one of the nobler citizens. He was tall and muscular, his skin tanned and scarred like he had been in some very serious battles. His hair was a mop of raven black hair and his eyes gleamed in a dark green. They looked like the sea during a storm. Annabeth couldn't help but stare.
The man was handsome. Everything else would be a lie.
"Didn't you hear me? Let. Her. Go." He empathized each of his words and the man who was still crushing Annabeth with his arms, looked at him furiously. He let go of Annabeth but mumbled curses at the man with black hair.
"Come on. Let's go."
Again Annabeth was grabbed around the wrists but the hand of this man was soft and gentle. She barely felt where he touched her. With firm steps and without any eye contact, he led her out of the amphitheater and they just stopped in front of their exit.
He let go of her arm. "You are okay?"
Annabeth nodded and rubbed some sore spots at her waist. "Yeah I guess."
"Who are you?" He asked suddenly and Annabeth looked at him skeptically. She learned the hard way never to trust a Roman, but he didn't look Roman and his eyes had softened to a beautiful sparkling shade of sea green.
He chuckled. "Okay, then me first. I'm Perseus."
She sighed. "Annabeth."
He studied her and Annabeth felt uncomfortable by his eyes scanning all of her body. "Doesn't sound Roman and you surely don't look like it."
"I'm not Roman! They call me Annabella," Annabeth snapped. It surely wasn't a smart move but she hated it to be accused Roman. She hated the state and its whole populace.
"I'm Greek. And by Zeus I'm proud of it."
Perseus smiled and Annabeth feared he might make fun of her now but what he said next surprised her instead.
"Me too."
Her jaw hit the ground. She had never met a Greek in Rome before. Never has been so close to home for years. "You-You" She felt the urge to throw his arms around him to touch the skin which once touched Greek ground, Greek sand, Greek waters. But she held herself back.
"Where are you from?" To speak in Greek again without somebody punching her was a relief and the words felt like candies on her tongue.
He smiled too as he answered in perfect Greek, "Argos. It's been pretty messy as I left-"
"You left?" Annabeth asked blankly.
Perseus shrugged. "Like I said, the city was a mess. Barbarians-"
"-You mean Romans?" Annabeth interrupted but Perseus shook his head.
"No I mean a tribe I don't know. Anyway barbarians attacked the city and because of the poor security and the prohibition to defend ourselves, the barbarians had an easy game."
A light flickered in Perseus' eyes and Annabeth realized he didn't trust or like the Romans too much either.
An absurd picture gleamed in front of her eyes. Perseus and her running away, hiding from the military and heading back home, but at the same time Annabeth knew there was no home to return to.
"What about you?" He asked and again Annabeth loved the sound of the Greek words hanging in the air.
"Athens," she told him proudly. She loved Athens because it was her home and all the good memories she had were all somehow connected to the city. Sometimes when she was alone, she'd sit on her roost and would remember all the streets and allies, she had walked whenever her father took her with him. She tried to remember people, sounds and smells but after so many years, the memories started to fade.
Her heart ached with the desire to flee and return but she couldn't, she would never make it out of Rome before Agrippina had sent the bloodiest murderers after her.
"Hey." Perseus' voice was so soft and gentle (especially in Greek) that Annabeth longed for home even more. "You are sure you are alright?"
She didn't answer. Neither did she look at him. Her eyes burned and even though she hated it, tears rolled down her cheeks for the second time today. Annabeth was tough. She was raised to be tough but some days just knocked all the energy out of her body and she felt nothing else than the need to run away.
Suddenly two hands raised her chin. She looked in Perseus' eyes and for the first time in Rome, she found kindness and concern. He wiped the tears away with his thumb and Annabeth felt herself enjoying his touch a little too much.
It was ridiculous. They had met like twenty minutes ago and Annabeth could already say he was her best friend because nobody had ever shown kindness to her in her whole time as a slave. Not even the other slaves.
She pulled away. "I'm sorry. I need to go. My mistress gave me an order to buy her silk."
Perseus looked up the amphitheater. "I feel like I owe you. What about I buy you a snack? You look like you might want to eat something."
His eyes wandered back to her skinny body and again she felt uncomfortable when he was staring like that.
"Why would you owe me?" She asked confused. It was Perseus who had saved her from this creepy guy not the other way round.
"You gave me an excuse to leave this terrible place. Who would kill just for entertainment?" Perseus shook his head. "So what about food?"
Annabeth had to smile as they started walking. "Well as long as you pay."
His lips curled into a bright smile, making his eyes shine even more.
"Hey Annabeth?" He asked.
"Mmmh?"
"Call me Percy, will you?"
So I have uploaded this story already once but I kinda gave up on it. The last few days I re-discovered it and since then I have been adding non-stop. I still got four weeks of summer vacation and if I'm lucky (and stop procrastinating on Tumblr so much) we might get the story done this summer.
I try updating every day (or at least every second day)
~ Diana
(p.s. IS SOMEONE ELSE EXCITED ABOUT THE TWELVE DOCTOR? ONLY ONE AND HALF HOURS TO GO!)
Cover Art by juliajm15 on Tumblr
