PART II
THE LONG JOURNEY
The days and nights were calmer once they emerged from the Apennine Mountains and entered Cisalpine Gaul. Though the area was a Roman province in name, it was peopled by the Veneti in the north-west, the Ligurians in Transpadana to the north-east, and the Etruscans and the Celts in central lands of Emilia. Cisalpine Gaul was an area with few actual Roman citizens and next to no true ties to Rome, and once the rebels arrived in the territory, for the first time since the final battle against Crassus; they were able to marginally relax.
Border region as it was, Cisalpine Gaul was still part of the empire, and the rebels knew that they were not yet in the clear. They continued to stay off the roads, remaining encamped in the mountains as they continued north towards the Alps, yet the minimal Roman presence in the region did allow for some benefits denied the rebels for many weeks.
For the first time since fleeing into the mountains they were able to send people into towns to fetch needed supplies, and desired ones, using some of the loot that they had taken from the Roman villas in the south.
Spices and grains were secured.
Clothes and medical supplies were bought.
An abundance of wine was procured.
For the first time since escaping into Apennine mountain range, they were living off of more than scraps.
"Do not give cause for me to come over there!" Belesa called out, glaring hard in Saxa's direction as Saxa reached up with her left arm to remove her pack from the horse.
It had been around six weeks since her arm had been broken, and it had mostly healed. Saxa felt that the arm was strong enough to be used again, but Laeta – who had become their informal medica – had expressed concern that the arm was not completely restored and recommended that Saxa continue to rest it as much as possible. Belesa had interpreted Laeta's words to mean Saxa was to keep her arm hanging loosely at her side, never using it for anything more strenuous than picking pretty flowers, and as a result for the last week Belesa had often been heard yelling at Saxa from meters away, telling her not to do something.
"I give cause if I want," Saxa muttered under her breath, removing her eyes from Belesa's glaring form and turning to look at her pack, which was still sitting upon the horse.
"Agron stands at your side," Belesa called out exasperated as Saxa's hand started to creep up again.
"And grass lay beneath your feet. Why mention?" Saxa called back to her petulantly.
Belesa made no verbal response to Saxa's words, but after Saxa finished speaking, Belesa's hand migrated to her hip, her head tilted slightly to the side, and her stare remained fixed on Saxa.
"Erlauben Sie mir," allow me, Agron offered, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two women as he gestured to the pack grandly, grinning at Saxa.
"Wipe fucking smile from face," Saxa muttered as she stepped aside to allow Agron to lift the pack down for her, her surliness only making Agron start to laugh, his wide shoulders shaking slightly as he did.
Saxa glared at Agron in response, but this only made him laugh harder, and with a frustrated growl, she finally reached out with her right arm and punched Agron's bicep, which brought an abrupt end to his laughter.
"Do not take fucking female drama out on our innocent self," Agron replied peevishly, narrowing his eyes at Saxa in displeasure, before a mischievous twinkle entered his eyes. "If quarrel were to turn physical, you would be at disadvantage for your woman is too far away to defend her delicate, wounded little bird," he continued, grinning again as he reached and rubbed Saxa's left arm with mocking gentleness.
"Bumsen Sie Ihre Mutter, Sie eiter-saugender Pisse-Sack!" Fuck your mother, you pus-sucking piss sack, Saxa spat out as she glowered up at Agron.
"I cannot believe you kiss that blessed creature with such a filthy fucking mouth, you vulgar little shit fuck!" Agron replied, smirking.
"Scheiße-Fick," shit fuck, Saxa repeated, her voice suspiciously calm as she arched a pale eyebrow at him, her face a portrait of measured curiosity.
"Scheiße-Fick," Agron confirmed.
In response to his words, Saxa's lips pulled up in a wide grin, and then she launched herself at him, throwing her whole weight into it as she drove her right shoulder into his mid-section, successfully managing to throw off Agron's center balance enough that her much smaller frame was able to topple him to the ground.
Impacting the ground knocked the sense out of him for a moment, but Agron soon recovered, and then the fight was on as he and Saxa began to wrestle in the dirt, cursing each other in German, laughing, and snapping their teeth at each other they fought.
"Agron!"
"Saxa!"
Their names were yelled simultaneously nearby and Agron and Saxa stilled their struggling, peering up in concert, their eyes widening as they looked up into the disapproving faces of their lovers.
"I fell," Saxa said.
"I was helping," Agron added.
"You not do good job," Saxa observed, turning to meet his eyes.
Agron's body tensed as their eyes met, and he started to shake a little, and within seconds the need was too intense to fight any longer and he started to laugh. Saxa joined him immediately, and their laughter feed off of each other, but they soon realized that Nasir and Belesa were not laughing with them, and they forced themselves to settle down.
"Look, arm is fine," Saxa said, rolling away from Agron to get to her feet when they had finally calmed down. "No pain," she continued looking at Belesa as she lifted her arm in the air and moved it in different directions to prove its continued flexibility. "Good?" Saxa asked, smiling hopefully.
"Um hmm," Belesa replied, smiling back at Saxa.
However, the expression only lasted for a few seconds before it was replaced by narrowed eyes and then Belesa turning and walking away.
Agron started to get up as Belesa stalked away, his lips parted to break words with Nasir, but when their eyes met, Nasir shook his head at Agron in disappointment and then turned and headed in the direction Belesa had walked off in.
Agron slumped back to the ground, disheartened.
"Look what you've fucking done," he accused a moment later, glaring at Saxa as he waved his hand in the direction their lovers had taken off in.
"It is unfavourable outcome," Saxa agreed, having no grounds to contest Agron's assessment that she had started the trouble that landed them in their current situation.
"Truth falls from lips like shit from ass," Agron observed unhappily. "Do you have suggestion towards resolving problem or only obvious words as to cause?"
"No dimples now, Sad Boy? Where'd laughter go?" Saxa asked, smirking, as Agron's look of displeasure deepened. "Fear you cock stand cold tonight? Absent mouth to keep it warm?"
At her words, Agron's pissy look intensified and he muttered, "We stand in equally unfavourable light. What makes you so fucking chipper?"
"Female drama," Saxa began smirking, "has female solution. I go find wild flowers," she continued, shrugging happily. "Wish you luck with man trouble," she finished with a smile, reaching out to slap Agron chummily on the arm before she bent down, picked up her pack, slung it over her right shoulder and began to walk away.
"Un-fucking-believable!" Agron muttered, tilting his head up towards the heavens in disbelief, as Saxa strolled away from him whistling. "Sackgesicht!" Bag face! He yelled at Saxa's back, wanting to get one last dig in before he turned his attention to his own situation, which wild flowers would not fix.
"Schweinehund!" Pig-dog! Saxa yelled out without turning around, lifting her hand up in the air to give Agron the finger.
Agron glared at her back for a moment, but then he shook his head, muttering "Fucking Germans," under his breath with affection as his lips curved up in a smile.
xxx
The nights and days were quieter once they finally made it over the Alps into Gallia and the territory of the Helvetti. After leaving the mountains, they headed north towards the Rhine, and there, near the waters edge, the band of survivors finally stopped in one place for longer than a night.
There, they were finally able to rest.
What was left of Spartacus's rebels had all been united in their desire to leave Roman territory, but the people who composed the group had been taken from many different lands, and it was known that once they were free of the shadow of Rome, the group would divide into many smaller groups as people cast out in the direction of their homelands.
However, for a few days at the edge of the Rhine, they set up a true camp for the first time in over two months. They hunted and gathered, replenishing supplies. They sat in cool shade and mended packs and clothes, seeing to needs that constant travel had left unattended. They waded in the waters of the Rhine when the sun was hottest in the afternoon, washing clothes and laughing as they splashed each other. And in the evenings, with plenty of game in the woods around their camp and fresh water nearby, they feasted and told stories, making the most of the last days they had all together.
When time came to pack up camp and begin their journeys home, around a hundred people were to remain with Agron and Saxa, continuing north up the Rhine towards Germania. The group was mostly composed of Numidians, Carthaginians, Galatians, Sardinians and others whose homelands were located too far south or too far east to reach without once again coming within Rome's reach – though there were some who had decided to stay with the Germans, like Laeta and Sibyl, because they had no lands to escape to, for Latium had been their home since birth.
"I have gift!" Saxa declared triumphantly as she entered the tent she shared with Belesa, holding up a tied cloth in her right hand for Belesa to see when the brunette lifted her eyes from the cloak she had been mending.
"What is it?" Belesa asked, her eyes twinkling with excitement, as her lips curved up.
"Make room," Saxa said, waving at Belesa's lap and the area around her where her cloak took up space. "I show," she continued with smile when Belesa quickly picked up the cloak and set it aside.
Once the path to Belesa was clear, Saxa lowered herself to the ground and then carefully arranged herself behind Belesa, leaving the brunette comfortably situated between her legs, Saxa's front pressed warmly against her back.
"Ready?" Saxa asked, holding the bundle in front of Belesa.
"You know it is so," Belesa breathed in response. "Stop teasing," she continued, reaching up to lightly pinch the tan flesh on the underside of Saxa's forearm.
"You are impatient," Saxa admonished playfully, nuzzling her face into Belesa's neck.
"Only when it comes to pleasure," Belesa murmured, a soft, content sound escaping from her as Saxa's lips brushed against her skin. "A trait shared among all presently occupying tent," she continued, and Saxa laughed because it was true.
"Then I keep you from pleasure no longer," Saxa whispered before displaying the contents of the bundle to Belesa's eyes.
"Cherries!" she gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of the rare fruit in Saxa's hand. "I have laid eyes upon exotic fare before, but never had opportunity to taste such wonders. Wealthy as he was, even Dominus could not often afford them."
"Taste wonders now," Saxa breathed out, pressing her lips against Belesa's cheek. "Feast on what you were denied. I bring more. All you want," she continued, picking one of the cherries up by its stem to present to Belesa.
"Have you had them before?" Belesa asked, taking the fruit from Saxa's hand and bringing it closer to her face, peering at it curiously. "What do they taste like?"
Belesa felt Saxa's body shift behind her as the blonde shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug.
"They taste as kirschen, as cherries," Saxa replied, somewhat at a loss as to how to describe the taste. "Tart and sweet," she continued, the words falling from her lips uncertainly, not sure that she was using the right words. Her Latin continued to improve as their journey wore on, but it was still a struggle for her sometimes. "They are good. Taste and learn answer to question."
"Okay," Belesa breathed out nervously, and then she lifted the cherry to her lips.
"Be careful of pit," Saxa warned as Belesa's lips parted. Belesa paused. "It not cause harm, just do not eat," Saxa said gently, realizing she'd made Belesa anxious. "Go on," she encouraged a moment later, nudging Belesa's hand up towards her mouth again. "Eat."
Belesa followed Saxa's instructions and brought the cherry up to her lips again, then slipped it inside, a moan escaping from her a moment later upon getting her first taste of the fruit.
"I know that sound," Saxa drawled playfully. "You like."
"I do," Belesa agreed easily, reaching for another cherry and bringing it to her lips, not hesitating in the slightest now that she had already sampled the fruit.
"I would taste too," Saxa murmured when Belesa reached for another cherry, so Belesa changed the course her hand was taking and held the fruit above her shoulder so that Saxa could take it in her mouth. "That is not my meaning," Saxa purred, lifting her hand to Belesa's chin so that she could gently turn the brunette's face towards her. "I take taste from other source."
Belesa's lips curved up in a smile as Saxa's meaning became clear to her, and she met Saxa's lips gratefully when the blonde leaned in and brought their mouths together.
They kissed for a long while, and when Saxa began to moan into her mouth, Belesa's hand moved to Saxa's thigh. Saxa arched into the contact, her head tilting back luxuriously as she reveled in Belesa's touch, but then she reached out and covered Belesa's hand with her own, arresting the very pleasant things Belesa's hand had been getting up to.
"Eat," Saxa breathed out, bringing the bundles of cherries in her other hand before Belesa again. "Though I often do not show, I can be patient," she continued sheepishly, and Belesa smiled at her then leaned in and kissed her cheek before reaching for another cherry.
"How did you even see to pick these so late at night?" Belesa asked, leaning back against Saxa again, snuggling into her embrace.
"I pick before, when light still in sky," Saxa replied as she shifted the bundle of cherries into Belesa's hands so that she could link her hands together on Belesa's stomach.
"You do not come from forest?" Belesa asked curiously, having assumed that gathering the fruits was what had kept Saxa from their tent for so long.
"No, from fix wheel on Little Thing's cart," Saxa said as she dipped her head down to rest on Belesa's shoulder, her body relaxing as the familiar warmth and feel of Belesa's body in her arms melted away the stresses and concerns of the day. "Bad wheel made cart shake, not good for baby to be bumped around."
Belesa placed her hand over Saxa's where they lay on her stomach, and stroked the back of Saxa's hand tenderly.
"You are a good woman," Belesa breathed out, her heart filling with warmth for her warrior.
It had been well known in the rebel camp during the campaign against Crassus that Saxa and Sibyl did not get along, and it was equally well known why. But when the band of survivors had headed north into the Apennine Mountains – all that were left numbering but a few hundred – whatever strife had existed between the two women was put aside, and Saxa had done her best to help Sibyl when she could.
The assistance Saxa gave Sibyl had started as a way for her to honor the memory of Gannicus, who could no longer care for his woman, but soon a tentative friendship had developed between them, and over the months they trekked across Rome it had bloomed into a true bond.
Saxa still referred to Sibyl by old moniker of 'Little Thing', but it was said teasingly now, with a twinkle in Saxa's eyes. During their daily marches when Belesa was occupied in talk with Nadeae and Antheia, Saxa would sometimes walk alongside the donkey-pulled cart she secured for Sibyl once she had learned the girl was with child, listening attentively as Sibyl told of her the gods and goddesses she prayed to or talking to Sibyl about how life had been in her tribe. When others made comment on her considerate behavior, Saxa always shrugged it off, often muttering, "For Gannicus," in response to explain why she looked out for the girl. But despite her refusal to admit it in words, her actions showed how much she had come to care.
"For Gannicus," Saxa mumbled in response to Belesa's statement, and Belesa smiled to herself before bringing another cherry to her lips. "I see you smile," Saxa grumbled peevishly, noting the amused look on Belesa's face even though the woman had tried to hide it.
"Good," Belesa replied, unperturbed by Saxa's grumpy tone. "I would always have you know the love and regard I hold for you in my heart, made known through loving smiles and tender gaze."
"I would win with daggers, yet again you disarm with words," Saxa sighed, unable to maintain her petulance in the face of such sweet sentiments falling from Belesa's lips.
"As you beguile me with all that you are," Belesa said, shifting in Saxa's arms so that she could see her face, a smile forming on her lips, as Saxa's mouth curved up in bright, sweet smile. "Tell me of more wonders that grow in the lands we travel to. What will you tantalize me with next?"
"Mais," Saxa said nostalgically, longing for the familiar foods of her homeland.
"What is mais?" Belesa asked, trying to pronounce the word as much like Saxa had said it as possible.
Saxa chuckled and shrugged. "Mais," she repeated. "I know no other word for it. Maybe when you see, you have Latin name," she continued. "It grows from ground on green stem, and is maybe this long," she went on, separating her hands to show Belesa the approximate length of a cob. "Green leaves cover outside, but inside is made of little yellow … little yellow I don't know how to say," Saxa breathed out, shaking her head, "little yellow food balls on pole," she finally settled on. "I not describe good, but you will like. It is sweet to taste"
"What else?" Belesa asked softly, having no idea what Saxa had actually just described – and a little wary of it based on the description – but resolved to trying it when they reached the lands they sought out, because Saxa was certain that she would like it.
Saxa paused for a moment, thinking, and then she said, "Kartoffel. It grows in ground, comes out dull brown, not nice to look at, but fills stomach. It is … solid food."
Belesa continued to ask Saxa about the foods from her homeland until the cherries Saxa had brought her were gone, and Saxa began to yawn with exhaustion – tired after what had been a particularly active day, even for someone used to constant travel.
Belesa bid her lay down, and as Saxa settled on their bed of furs, Belesa put out the torch that lit the tent and then returned to their bed, and Saxa's arms.
"I cannot wait to see the lands you describe and experience the things you speak of," Belesa whispered as Saxa's arm moved around her waist, pulling her close.
"I cannot wait to show," Saxa murmured sleepily, kissing the back of Belesa's shoulder. "You will like," she continued, repeating the words she had used often as she spoke to Belesa about things from her homeland. "It is good there," she continued, her words coming out even more heavily accented than usual as sleep began to claim her. "We live free," she finished, her lips grazing Belesa's skin one last time before her eyes slipped shut and her breathing slowed, sleep finally claiming her.
To be continued…