Disclaimer & Notices
Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimers and notices.
Started: July 14, 2009
AN1: I want to send out a 'thank you' to Pesterfield for catching a goof. I had written in horse stirrups when that piece of tack was somewhat invented but certainly not universal, especially to the Romans. There were some cultures using the stirrup or a mounting loop but not what we're use to seeing these days. I suppose years of writing Xena mounting her warhorse via stirrups into her modern saddle stuck to me. But thank you again, Pesterfield for the nice catch... I promise to make a nice sassy reference to it in a later chapter for you. ;)
AN2: I wrapped up this chapter a lot faster than I planned to do. It's a little shorter but great chapter. ;) And a fair warning that the next chapter may not come quite this fast. Please enjoy!
Lost in the Past
by Red Hope
Chapter 9
Stagira Magni tugged her chlamys closer to her body as she approached the stone bench in the middle of her courtyard. She noted that Cameron allowed her to sit first so she did then waited until Cameron was beside her.
"The meal was excellent," the terminator commented.
The mistress bowed her head in appreciation. "I will tell the cook." She now crossed her legs then lifted her view to the nightsky. For a moment, she felt good just sitting here, full stomach, cool night, and beside somebody she now considered a friend. At those feelings, a small smile grew on Stagira's lips.
The gladiatrix regarded the mistress and noted, "You are happy."
Stagira softly hummed and turned her smile to the terminator. "I am… in this moment." She crossed her arms in her lap. "But I'm afraid reality requires some discussion." She indeed lost her enjoyment and her features darkened much like the sky. She bit her lower lip and bowed her head as she put her thoughts together.
"Where do we go from here?" the mistress murmured. She raised her head.
Cameron studied questioning eyes and carefully considered an answer.
"There are two more munera left before you leave with Pompey," Stagira reminded. She hesitated but asked, "Do you wish to go with Pompey?"
In the past, Cameron merely followed her owner because it was a simple purpose. But now, she was redefining her purpose, and it was focused around Stagira Magni. "No."
Stagira let out a low breath then murmured, "I have to think of some way to take you from Pompey."
"You cannot buy me," Cameron stated. "He will not sell."
Stagira licked her dry lips and nodded once. "You are a valuable commodity as a gladiator." She shifted some on the bench. "However, there may be another route to go."
The terminator gave a small tilt of her head. "What route?"
The mistress grinned, devilishly. "You have your prowess in the amphitheatre. I have mine in Roman society." She became rather pleased with her own idea. "I'll tell you tomorrow if it works as I hope."
Cameron accepted the mistress's reply, for now. "And what of Scipio? He is a threat."
Stagira fell quiet and tried guessing what her suitor may do, but she just didn't know him well enough. "I'm not sure yet." She frowned deeply and shook her head. After a sigh, she brushed some of her midnight locks away from her face. "We may have to wait until he makes the first move."
"I do not like to wait," the terminator contended.
"I'm not much for waiting either," the mistress agreed. "However, I rather not provoke him if he decides to merely forget me." She lightly swung her free foot in the air. "If he acts, it will be in the next day or two."
"He is a Senator," the terminator recalled. She knew by his appearance last night that he was a politician. "He does not have the status that a Senator once had in the Empire."
"No, and Dominus Noster does not favor the Senate." Stagira slightly narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps it will work in our favor."
Cameron processed what the mistress had said about the emperor and Senate. She too knew that the emperor loathed the Senate and there was much controversy between them. It was one of the main reasons that the emperor hosted the famous munera this moon; he liked to agitate the Senate.
"We will wait for Scipio," Stagira decided aloud. "But I will work on removing you from Pompey." She was developing strong plans the more she considered her route. "He is most likely not well respected by how he treats his gladiators."
The terminator dipped her head in agreement. She knew her owner was greedy and purely selfish as a human. She, like her gladiator comrades, never saw their monetary prizes that they won in the amphitheatres because it all went to Pompey's purse. They were blessed to be alive, fed, and clothed.
Stagira grew quiet, but she decided not to think anymore about Scipio or Pompey. She only had so many candlemarks with Cameron each night. She wanted to spend it with Cameron. She took in the fragrant, sweet smell in the courtyard coming from the bay laurel. It helped sooth away her worries for now.
"What was it like where you came from?" the mistress asked. She tried imagining it, but it was beyond her grasp.
Cameron heavily thought about the place she came from; a place she didn't miss. "It was chaos."
"War?" Stagira whispered.
The terminator now looked down at the beautiful human. "It was not war." She saw the unspoken question in Stagira's features. "It was a hunt… an extermination. For the humans, it was survival." She had a hard expression. "War implies that peace is plausible between the groups, but that is not possible."
Stagira felt a chill crawl down her spine, and she pushed it away. "Do you miss it there?" She suspected the answer.
"No." Cameron lifted her stare from the freewoman. "I was soldier of chaos there." She now studied her own hands and concluded. "Here I am a warrior." She paused but added, "Here I am free from the chaos."
Stagira understood the difference for Cameron. She knew the difference between a soldier and warrior. Anybody was capable of being a soldier, who took orders and owned very little honor. But a warrior was free to fight if they chose, to refrain, and had to honor every action they performed in life.
"You would not go back even if you could," Stagira softly realized. She sadly smiled but then another thought occurred to her. "But what of your mission?"
"I am required to have a mission… to function correctly. That is what it means to be terminator," Cameron explained to the human. "I cannot be without a mission."
"Is your mission to still kill this leader?" Stagira tempted.
"Yes." The terminator felt the powerful mission still draw on her. She calmed it though and focused on Stagira. "But my logic knows I will not complete this mission."
"You hang onto the mission because it's all you have… all that leaves you as a terminator," the mistress concluded.
Cameron clenched her hands. "Yes."
Stagira respected the terminator's path but also felt for her. She reached over and covered Cameron's closest fist with her smaller hand. "And maybe you can change your mission." Her tone was hopeful and her eyes silvery bright thanks to the moon.
Cameron stared at Stagira's open features and felt the promising wave flow into her too. She sensed a calm fill her body that was new. "If I can survive three anni without my god then I can change my mission." She opened her hands then turned her left hand up. She took in the warmth radiating from Stagira's hand. "Yes, it is possible."
Stagira suddenly smiled at Cameron's words. She now laced her fingers threw Cameron's and squeezed tightly. "I know." She took in how Cameron's usual stoic exterior seemed to soften greatly.
"Thank you, Stagira," the terminator murmured.
Stagira brought her freehand up to Cameron's cheek. "For?"
"I have not spoken in over three anni," Cameron explained, "and I am grateful my first words have given me my first friend."
Stagira felt her heart drop at the confession. She blinked back a sting behind her eyes. "And I'm grateful to be yours." She revealed another smile, and she didn't expect when Cameron leaned down for a gentle kiss.
After the kiss, Cameron found the same tingle had returned on her lips but a burn developed in her lower stomach. She could feel it creep lower, and she wasn't naïve to its meaning. She also detected Stagira's heavy pulse.
Stagira peered up with hooded eyes after the kiss. She ran her thumb across the terminator's knuckle then slowly stood up. "Come with me?" she insisted in a deep tone.
Cameron briefly regarded the beautiful human, who managed to bring life into her automated world. She could not refuse the invite and rose to her taller stature. She noticed how Stagira never separated their hands on the slow walk back to the house.
Britanicus had been out in the courtyard off and on. He was about to go back inside when he spotted his mistress guiding the powerful gladiatrix to the main entrance to and from the courtyard. He paused beside the side door and observed the pair. He knew what tonight would be and after a sigh, he decided he best keep the other slaves in order. There was no telling what they would gossip about while well-known noises would come from the master bedchamber.
Stagira continued taking the terminator to her bedchambers. She wrapped through the torchlit halls and noted a couple of slaves only gave her sideway glances. She knew that Britanicus would see that she and Cameron were not disturbed for the night.
Cameron followed the mistress into the master bedchambers, and she made sure to shut the door behind herself. She breathed in the instant olive aroma that floated through the room and mixed with the bay laurel that drifted in from the open window.
Stagira decided the handful of candles in the room were enough lighting and the moon's silver rays streamed through the window on the courtyard side. She faced Cameron and shifted into Cameron's space.
The terminator had her head slightly bowed and her eyes held Stagira's. Never had Cameron been attracted to a human, but since the first day she found Stagira alluring. It was something new that Cameron had spent the past days understanding until it made sense here and now.
Stagira slipped her hands out from her chlamys and gently held the terminator's hips. "Do you feel what's between us too?"
"Yes," Cameron murmured. She started lifting her hands but briefly faltered before she found her strength again. She gently began undoing the tie of Stagira's chlamys.
Stagira slightly tilted her head and closed her eyes. "I have only been with one in my life," she softly confessed. "But because I had to be." She surrendered herself to the exciting burn from each light brush of Cameron's fingers at her neck.
Cameron released the untied leather strings. She brought her lips closer still to Stagira's own. "You will be my first, Stagira."
Stagira had a wonderfully wild heartbeat. Her chlamys now slid off her shoulders and pooled around her feet. She reached up and threaded her fingers through Cameron's silky tresses. "And you will be my last," she swore. Finally her lips met Cameron's in a heated kiss.
Cameron instantly moaned for the first time. She matched the intensity in Stagira's kiss. She was naturally drawn closer and snaked her arms around Stagira's curvy form.
Quickly the terminator and human were carried away to the waiting bed. They were nearly frenzy in their first love affair as they were driven by raw passion. Yet through the night they grew slower only so they could learn one another's body, listen to each other's response, and feel every emotion linked to a moan, touch, or gasp.
Finally, Stagira became spent just a few candlemarks before dawn, and she was tangled in the white sheets. She quickly drifted into a sweet dreamscape while her new lover was twined around her. Indeed the Fates had smiled down on them, for tonight.
By dawn, Cameron opened her eyes because Stagira's warm lips were against her neck and moving upwards. She didn't need to speak once Stagira's kiss told her. She could tell that sleep had renewed her human lover.
Stagira rolled on top of her lover and continued the heated kiss. She ran her hands along the solid body under her. There wasn't enough time for her to memorize how amazing Cameron felt against her.
Cameron decided she was in control this morning. She easily lifted them up from the bed into a sitting position; her arms around her lover's waist and Stagira's legs wrapping around her. By another kiss, Cameron had slid her right hand down Stagira's thigh.
Just beyond the bedchamber's doors, there were two female slaves, who were young and rather nosy too. They both had their ears carefully pressed against the double wood doors of the bedchambers. One of them nearly giggled, but she covered her mouth just in time. The pair exchanged sly smiles just as the moans grew louder, and they were sure it was their mistress. But shortly, they lifted their heads away from the doors because the moans had turned into loud enough cries for them to hear in the hallway. Then suddenly somebody cleared their throat from behind the slaves. So the pair spun around and had caught kids' expressions for doing wrong.
Britanicus had a warning glare firing at the younger slaves. He had his arms tightly crossed that it caused wrinkles in his tunic.
The girls said nothing and flashed apologetic looks. They darted off in silence because they didn't want to be caught any further, especially by their owner.
Britanicus sighed once he dispersed the young slaves. He was about to walk away, but faltered at the distinct, repeated cries coming from the bedchambers. He glanced back over his shoulder at the bedchamber door once he realized it was his mistress. Never had he heard such vocals from his mistress when it was she and his former master. For a brief instant, he considered taking up the slave girls' earlier position against the doors but thought better of it.
Britanicus hurried away despite the cries followed him for a few paces. He blew out a puff of air once he was far enough away to be greeted by daily noises like the morning birds. However, it was short lived due to a ruckus coming from the home's main entrance. He recognized Arcadia's voice, but he wasn't exactly sure about the second voice. Britanicus started through the halls at a fast pace then started jogging thanks to Arcadia's feverish babble. He rounded the next corner, half expecting the male voice to be Pompey. But he was terribly wrong and the shock showed on his aged face.
"My mistress is sleeping," Arcadia feverishly pleaded, her hands up, and she walked backwards.
"Out of my way, slave," Publius Cornelius Scipio snapped. "I will wake her." He came up short though once he saw Britanicus coming from the hall to the master bedchambers.
Britanicus shoved down his shock and even slight fear for Scipio. "She does not wish to be disturbed until she awakens." He took Arcadia's side. He prayed the Senator didn't hear his frantic heart or noticed the color draining from his face.
"I do not care." Publius Scipio stepped around the slaves and started down the hall that Britanicus had come from. He knew the way to the bedchambers after receiving a tour not long ago.
"You must not," Arcadia demanded. She chased after the Senator. "She will beat us if we allow you in there." She hoped the freeman had some compassion despite it was a lie.
"So be it," the Senator bitterly decided. His gate was wide and fast. He would not be stopped from his mission.
Arcadia knew what would happen if Scipio made it even near the bedchambers. She followed the Senator but wasn't sure what else to do to stop him. She glanced back at Britanicus for help.
"You cannot see her," Britanicus hotly ordered. He loathed the Senator and that fueled his temper for the disturbance.
"Leave me," Scipio hotly ordered the slaves. He rounded the last hall that went to the bedchambers.
"No," Britanicus hissed, and he grabbed the Senator by the shoulder.
Scipio reacted on pure instinct and spun around then slammed a solid fist into Britanicus's face.
Britanicus took the surprise punch badly and toppled to the floor.
"Britanicus," Arcadia cried and rushed down to him. She attempted to touch him, but Britanicus held her hand away from his bleeding face.
The Senator hotly glared at the slaves on the floor but said nothing else. He turned on his heels then quickly marched down to the bedchambers.
Arcadia gazed back down at the receding Senator. "Gods… no," she breathed in fear.
Publius Scipio slowed once he was a few paces from the sealed bedchambers. Slowly his dark face started turning into shock and his heavy breathes mixed with the low cries coming from the bedchambers.
Britanicus wiped the blood from his hand to his tunic. He started getting up and pushed off the floor despite blood continued oozing from his nose and lips.
Arcadia helped the older slave get to his feet.
"Stop him," Britanicus barely managed. He pushed Arcadia down the hall.
Arcadia looked down at the Senator, who was moving again to the bedchambers. She hesitated and glanced at Britanicus, but when she switched her attention to the Senator, she knew she was too late.
Scipio was full of rage as he slammed the right door open. His fury was briefly replaced by utter shock when he saw Stagira was in a wild affair with the gladiatrix. He stared at the upright lovers riding their maddening passions.
Cameron had been aware of a newcomer before his entrance. But she could not halt her lover's final climax. She ignored Scipio until her lover's last cry fulfilled them both.
Stagira fell into Cameron's body for support as the last wave washed over her. She breathed hard and clung tightly to her lover. But as her sky-bound mind came back to the present, only then did she sense somebody else in the bedchambers with them. Stagira lifted her head and looked over her left shoulder only to find her suitor in the entranceway.
Scipio's face started growing red with each heartbeat. He curled his hands into fists as everything began soaking into his mind.
Stagira gripped her lover tighter, but in fear. Briefly, her eyes flickered to her slaves, who raced into the bedchambers behind Publius Scipio. She didn't have time to consider Britanicus's bloody face. All that she felt last night and this morning was wrenched away from her body, and the fear overwhelmed her instantly.
Cameron held Stagira closely to her body. But she turned her stoic features to the Scipio. "You have selected the most inopportune time, Senator."
Publius Scipio was staring coldly at Stagira Magni, but the gladiatrix's new found voice made him blink. He lost some of his ire as his attention was drawn to the gladiatrix. He wasn't sure what shocked him more; the barbarian's perfect Latin, her profound first sentence, or her sexual manipulation over Stagira Magni.
Scipio clenched his teeth and started, "You beast-"
"No," Stagira cut off. She withdrew from her fearful cling to Cameron. "No you don't, Scipio." She only glanced once at Cameron before she pulled away and came out of bed with quick grab of her robe on the nearby chair.
"Magni, what has she done to you?" Scipio angrily demanded. "It is a spell." His anger switched to the gladiatrix, who remained in the bed.
Stagira clutched the robe close to her body. "It is I that has her under the spell." She took a few steps closer but stopped near the bed's foot. "And you have entered my home uninvited and unannounced."
The Senator slotted his eyes at the wealthy woman. "You are not the master of this house."
"I am without a husband therefore I am the master," Stagira fired back.
"These lands are not in your name," Scipio hissed. He then lifted his angry feature to the gladiatrix. "You are misguided and not only allowed that beast into your home but your bedchambers."
"Then I too am a beast," Stagira fought.
Scipio's upper lip twitched, and he swore, "But I will save you before it's too late, Magni." He took a step closer towards her then reached out for her but the gladiatrix's movements stopped him short.
Cameron had quickly come out of the bed and took a stance behind her lover. She placed a hand on Stagira's shoulder but kept her eyes on Scipio. There was a clear warning in her face meant only for Scipio.
The Senator back stepped twice but hadn't lost his temper. His eyes were sharply bright from fire. "I will not be made a fool… not by a woman and a slave." He took another step back but said his next words to Stagira. "I promise you that I will return with the vigiles to have her removed." He suddenly turned and stormed out of the room.
The terminator quickly started around her lover, but a fast hand snared her right wrist.
"Cameron," Stagira demanded and tried stopping the terminator. She went slightly stiff at seeing the murderous intent on her lover's suddenly changed expression. She wondered briefly if Cameron had that look earlier, behind her back, and if that had chased off Scipio.
"He is a threat," Cameron merely explained.
"Gods," Stagira breathed once it all hit her. She felt little control over the rapidly down-spiraling events. She darted in front of her lover and continued ignoring her slaves. "You cannot touch him." She clung tightly to her lover's wrist. She could tell she hadn't quite reached Cameron. "Please, Cameron. If you kill him then gods only know what will happen."
The gladiatrix lowered her eerily calm yet lifeless features to her lover. "He is a threat to you. He must be terminated."
"Then all of Rome will become a threat to you… and me." Stagira pressed her freehand into Cameron's bare stomach in hopes the contact would stir something. "What then? Will you kill Rome?"
"If I must," the terminator replied. She took a side step but Stagira shifted with her.
"And I cannot let you," Stagira fought. She sensed some of Cameron's determination was lowering but not much of it. "I cannot let you keep being Skynet's terminator."
Cameron went still and lowered her attention to the beautiful human. Stagira's words cut through her metal.
"You want to keep me safe?" Stagira challenged. "Then do it by keeping yourself here… beside me." She slid her hand up Cameron's forearm. "I need you at my side and not off killing a threat that we can work around."
The terminator breathed deeply now and allowed her focus to shift at Stagira's logic. "How?" she barely managed in a strangled tone.
"Just give me some time," Stagira tried. "I have some ideas, but I need your patience and help."
The gladiatrix carefully studied the human, who was rather sure of herself. She worked her taut jaw as she considered the options.
"Otherwise, you can have it your way," Stagira wrote off. She bowed her head some and now toyed with her curly tresses.
Cameron gently touched the human's cheek and murmured, "That's acceptable." She listened to Stagira's low sigh.
"Thank you." The mistress looked up and explained, "Pompey will be here shortly… before Scipio. You're safest with him right now. You can't be touched by the vigiles then."
"And what of you?" Cameron didn't like being separated from Stagira.
"I'll be okay." Stagira now looked back at her silent slaves. "Britanicus will care for me."
The terminator glanced at the slave in question and knew it was true. Cameron finally gave a nod but lowered her head and whispered for only Stagira's ear. "I will destroy Rome if you are harmed."
Stagira sadly sighed, hooked the back of Cameron's neck, and leaned her forehead against Cameron's chest. "You can destroy Rome but not the people." She weakly smiled now because of Cameron's amused huff. Yet her smile faded away as she started hoping she could manage her little plan. It all hinged on how her resources reacted, but she would act now before her hands were tied by Scipio.
Cameron sensed her lover's distress so she slipped her arms around Stagira. She lowered her head closer to Stagira. She hoped her decision to agree with her lover was the best choice. Otherwise, she would quickly compensate for her mistake.
Arcadia gingerly grasped Britanicus's arm and led him away from the bedroom. She wanted to check his face and leave the mistress alone. She and Britanicus quietly left the bedchambers. Like Britanicus, she was heavily plagued by what had happened this morning.
Back in the bedchambers, the lovers continued holding each other for awhile. They knew soon they'd have to prepare for Titus Pompey's arrival. Then Stagira was certain that Scipio would return with the vigiles, and she would be ready for him and his demands but only after Cameron was safely away from his grasp.
To be continued.