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“It’s foolish,” his father had said, even if he didn’t stop her.
And foolish indeed was, Allura was aware of it. She didn’t find any better way to go and try to defend her kingdom, her home, her people, from the Roman Empire’s wrath than go in the wolf’s den. The amount of her foolishness became painful clear as, standing on the main deck of the ship, she believed the cities they’re seeing was already Rome and not Ostia, the roman port.
In her small kingdom at the end of the Egypt, the only city so big is the capital.
He embarrassed herself in front of the roman general that was accompanied her and that wasn’t good. It gave the impression of weakness.
Allura’d prepared herself for her travel. She studied, she spoke with people that could give her advices about the romans. But nothing would be enough to prepare her to see the capital of the entire world, or at least of a big part of it.
Rome was overwhelming. There was no other way to describe it. Or to hide it. Allura couldn’t define it wonderful: sure it had some of the most incredible monuments she’d ever seen, but Rome was too big for her gaze to focused only to the shining things. Rome was also the filthy Suburra, and the area of the roman forum, where the architectures looked like people hated each other and every new year the tried to erase what the predecessor said.
But, no matter how she saw all the negative part of Rome – it was amazing without any doubt. If she ever imagined a capital for the entire world, it would be Rome.
They reserved for her and the only person of his escort, Coran, a villa on the Aventino hill, and offered her all the servants she needed. She knew she couldn’t trust any of them – some of them were slaves, and they were easily to buy for a promise of freedom she couldn’t offer. But they underestimate her, and that was important for her.
Playing the part of the little barbarian princess until she could find out something Emperor Zarkon would like more than conquer her land.
Coran accompanied her in small walk around the city. For the first week, Allura observed. She listened. At the end of the week, she didn’t manage to meet Zarkon yet, but she got a better grasp of the political intrigues on the city.
Zarkon had a son, named Lotor. They didn’t get along well. Mostly people on the roman forum believed Zarkon would nominate as his heir his most trusting general, Sendak. After all, he was the one that had defeated the resistance in Gallia, while Lotor only made some small campaign in German that’d brought Rome no more than debts.
After all, Zarkon’d trusted Sendak with the beautiful princess from Egypt, not Lotor.
Even if she hadn’t meet him, Allura had a better opinion of Lotor: he was loved by the common citizens, and in the most obscure part of the town. It looked he cared deeply about his people, something he shared with Allura.
Instead, she wasn’t found of Sendak. He was a violent man and she was under the impression he considered her a nuisance or a hostage, not a guest, even if he hadn’t actually done something to damage her. Except, maybe, avoiding her meeting Zarkon.
So Allura acted. She asked the secretary that was assigned to her for her principal need, a Greek liberto, to write down a message for Lotor. The message wasn’t important per se, even if she pleaded him to intercede to his father for her behalf; the important thing was for her servants to spy on her and informed Sendak about her move.
Sendak had to know that maybe, maybe, Lotor could gain some advantages introducing Allura to Zarkon, if she truly had something valuable to offer. Even if he doubted of her, he couldn’t risk Lotor having the change to discover something first. What Allura wanted was a change to be introduced to the most important people of Rome.
He listened and observed in the town enough. Now she needed to speak with senators and noblemen.
Her plan worked perfectly: the day after her letter to Lotor, she received an invitation. Sendak would held a dinner in his villa, for no particular occasion than showing the results of his trades.
Allura was welcomed to attend.
And she surely would attend.
She studied a little about the customs of roman banquets, she put on a roman dress and she arranged her hair as a true roman matron.
She still wasn’t ready to face what she waited for her.
She ate, as the food was the only bearable thing of the evening, she used the Greek language to speak with some women, since the men ignored her mostly, too focused on pleasing the owner of house.
But, most of the time, she hated.
She hated the difference between men and women, she hated all the sexual innuendos they spoke, sure she wouldn’t understand them, she hated the opulence Sendak was showing only because he could.
And, she found out, she hated the gladiatorial matches.
Apparently, they weren’t very common in private parties, because it was very expensive to hire the gladiators from the lanistae. But of course Sendak was wealthy enough to organize them for his own dinner.
Allura couldn’t understand how people could enjoy the show of a man killing another one. The war, she could. War could have a noble purpose. People could fight for their dearest. There, slaves fought for money they couldn’t use, and maybe for a momentary fame.
After the first match, and the first killing, she stood up. The eyes of everyone else where on the match, so nobody stopped her as she moved at the end of the room, very far from the small arena it’d been prepared in the dining room. She dared not to leave the room, because she couldn’t risk Sendak or everyone else to become suspicious of her.
But at least she could divert her gaze from the battle.
“Here.”
Allura startled as one of the guest approached her and lent her a cup.
“What is it?”
“A cup of wine.” He placed himself against the decorated wall, next to her.
“But it’s empty.”
He nodded. “So, if you feel to gag, you can do and pretend you’re drinking. Nobody will notice.” He blinked at her, with a wide friendly smile.
“Thanks.” Despite the situation, she was grateful.
“You’re welcomed. Especially because the next match will be pretty bloody. Sendak was able to hire the Champion.”
“I see.” Allura didn’t know what he was talking about, and she didn’t care. She wasn’t there for the show. “You’re Lotor, right?”
“In person.” He smiled again, and he didn’t look surprised to be recognize. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to answer to your kind letter, but Sendak beat me up organizing the dinner.”
“I guessed. Actually, I’m surprised you were invited at this dinner.”
Lotor leaned a little towards her. “Well, he didn’t. I just showed up and he couldn’t turn me out.”
She smiled. She liked him, she decided. She couldn’t trust him, and a nice smile and a nice gesture weren’t enough for her, but she felt he had her same way of thinking. Maybe, if he wasn’t a roman, they could have been friends.
He spoke again, but his words were covered by the scream of the other guests. Allura turned her gaze on the arena to see the object of their reactions. She looked at the man in armor standing there, with his white hair and the scar on his nose and his square jaws.
“Will he fight only with an arm?” she asked, in horror.
“Yes. Champion’s a beast.”
And a beast he looked, and as a beast he fought. His battle lasted few minutes, the time for him for pushing his opponent on the ground, jumping on him and trusting the sword on his opponent’s neck. It was a merciful kill, but a kill nevertheless.
The crown went wild. The exchanged chanting in the Champion’s honor, and drank more wine. Some of them throwing coins at him, someone else applauded. Champion just pulled off the sword, letting the blood spilled and covering the ground of the small arena.
As he lifted his head, his eyes met Allura’s. It was only for a brief second, but enough for her to understand.
The Champion looked like a beast, but he wasn’t one. He was a human being, trapped in a situation he didn’t ask for, fighting for survival. Just like her.
“There is a chance I can buy that gladiator?”
Words came out from her mouth before she realized her. She covered her mouth with the empty coup and she didn’t look at Lotor, even she could feel his gaze on her.
“Gladiators have their own way to enchant the roman matronae,” he commented. “I’m surprise they have the same effect on you.”
“We all have our weakness,” she replied. “Can you help me or not?”
“The Champion is the best gladiator of Rome,” Lotor said. “he had the record of victories, one that will be hard to beat. Convincing his lanistae to let him go will be hard.” He shot her a look. “But for you, princess, I’ll do it.”
Lotor kept his promise. Allura wasn’t able to find out how he did it, or how much money he’d spent, or exactly what he was trying to gain.
She only knew Coran called her, and announced a man was at the front door, with the Champion with him.
Even if she was unsettling by Lotor’s behavior, she got what she wanted.
“Please, lent him in the servant’s quartier, and order everyone else to leave,” she said Coran. “I want to speak with him alone.”
Coran looked worried, so she added, “you and me together.”
Reassured, Coran did as she ordered. She joined him when everything was ready, and they entered in the small cubicle the other servants prepared for the Champion.
The Champion sat on the bed, a chain kept his wrist tied together and connected to his neck. A small white tunic couldn’t cover the scar spreading all around his body. They made Allura gasped briefly.
He lifted his head just barely, exchanged a look with her and then lowered it again. He didn’t move, neither spoke.
“Free him,” Allura ordered, in Greek.
She guessed he didn’t understand the language, because he didn’t anticipate Coran’s move and he startled a little, before understanding and leaning his hand forward to make the release easier.
“Can you understand me?” Allura said, trying a language from the east. She didn’t want to reveal her knowledge of Latin yet.
He nodded. “I came from Jerusalem.”
She switched to Jewish. “How do you end here?”
He looked surprise by her words, and she wondered if it was for the question, or for the language. He rubbed his sore wrist. “I guided a revolt there, against a roman governor that used his authority to oppress people even against the law of Rome. It didn’t end well.”
She tightened her fist. The look at Sendak’s party… That was the reason she recognized it. She moved in front of him.
“I’m here to save my country,” she said. “I can’t trust anyone. Can I ask your help?”
For a long, long instant, they stared at each other. She sustained his look.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to, but please feel free to use me,” he said at last.
“Not use. Asking for assistance.” She smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Shiro.” It looked he wasn’t use to say it often.
“Well, Shiro, thank you.”
***
Allura didn’t want to be there. It was the last place in Rome she’d like to be.
But she has already spent two other weeks in Rome gaining nothing. Zarkon still made excuse for not meeting with her and even Lotor, despite his initial help, didn’t seem so interested in making the meeting happen. On Sendak, she couldn’t count.
There, at the Anfiteatro Flavio, Zarkon couldn’t help but attend. It was a game organized for him, after all, and despite being the Emperor, he still had people to satisfy. And voices said Zarkon liked the gladiatorial matches as he loved war.
When Sendak invited her, she accepted. She suspected he meant the invitation as a joke: since her request of having the Champion as a slave, gossips had roamed freely about her and her lust for gladiators.
They weren’t true, but Allura didn’t expect the romans to understand the bound between her and Shiro. Shiro had been her eyes and her ears, and her bodyguard, making sure no arm came for her. Shiro was a reassuring presence for her. Coran remembered her home, grounding her to her mission and remembering her the stakes. Shiro knew Rome and the romans better and he was the armed hand. He’d became the Champion without an arm. Allura felt he could do everything.
Nobody knew she’d freed him, and nobody should know.
They let her stayed on the nearest gallery, not the one destined to the women, but the one for senators. It was a clearly change of the habit and she noticed the strange looks, the envious looks, people shot her. Still, they accepted the decision: her status as a barbarian princess made her special and gave her privileges.
He wasn’t a roman matrona. Her customs were worse, luxurious. She liked gladiators.
They talked about her.
Good, so she could understand them and they wouldn’t never know how much information they’re giving to her.
Coran remained at home: it was safer having someone to monitoring the place, to avoid spies and killers. None of the trusted romans. Shiro, instead, was with her. She looked at him, worried that the place would bring bad memories in his mind.
“I’m fine,” he reassured her. He clearly wasn’t, by the way he clenched his jaws, still his eyes were firm.
Zarkon was in his private gallery, right in front of the platform of the arena. He was near, and with no excuses. Allura only needed a way to get there. Sendak sat on the right side of Zarkon and he smirked at her as he noticed her stare. Lotor was a little bit far, with the group of his loyal senators. He waved a greeting at her and Allura answered with a small smile.
The matches started in the morning. First, a group of gladiators against feral animals.
Allura felt bad seeing the men slaughtering the wild beasts. Some of them lived in her country too, some of them represented gods for her religious. She couldn’t stand the scream of joy every time blood was spilled.
“The meat will be distributed for free to the citizens. For most of them, it’s the only chance to eat it.”
“At least their deaths wouldn’t be in vain,” she said. She sounded tired. “We can’t say the same thing for the gladiators.”
A couple of men died against the beasts. It didn’t ruin the public’s enjoyment. They screamed even louder during the first gladiator matches. There were three fights before Sendak, who was the editor of the games, decided the show lasted enough for the morning. Allura blinked as the people around her stood up and leave the Anfiteatro.
Shiro brushed slightly her arm. “Noblemen and senators had their reserved spots, so they can have lunch in the restaurants nearby without worries,” he explained. “Instead, common people can’t, or they risk the spot they found this morning. It’s the reason why the lunch time between gladiator games is reserved to executions.”
“And?” she said, impatient.
“The Emperor must attend the executions, which means he can’t leave his spot.”
A victory smile erupted from her lips. She turned to observe the situation. In the arena, the first convict was tied up to a pole on the right side, near the emperor’s gallery. Lotor was leaving with his group, and she nodded at him as she agreed at his silent request to join him. Instead, she slipped on the lower gallery, Shiro behind her.
Servants brought Zarkon trays full of food, so he could eat sitting in his gallery. Sendak was there too, alongside with a couple of guards. It was unfortunate, because Sendak shared with Zarkon the passion for war, so he wouldn’t be incline to agree to any compromise that could avoid a battle. The opposite of Allura.
Still, she was the only chance she manages to get and she wouldn’t let Sendak scared her away.
The public of the arena wasn’t large as before, but twice louder. She tried not to look at the convict as a feral beast, a panther with a beautiful black mantel, got near to him. It was attracted by the smell of blood coming from the convict’s wounds. But when the public yelled, she couldn’t help but turned her head.
The panther had bit the convict’s hip and was now eating his guts. Allura swallowed and kept walking. She didn’t miss the look on Zarkon’s face as he watched the man being eating alive, the smirk on his lips and the light in his eyes. He could be calmer than the public, but he was enjoying the blood as much.
Once the arena’s servants arrived to dispose of the body, Zarkon turned his attention away. He froze, as he noticed Allura standing at the entrance of his private gallery, but he was fast to recover and reserved her a feral smile.
“Princess Allura.”
“Ave, Cesare,” she said, placing her hand near her heart. Then, in greek, “I’m afraid these are the only Latin word I know.”
“Barbarians,” Sendak chuckled. He shot a look at Shiro, as he dared him to speak or to translate his comment to Allura. Shiro remained still.
“This is not the best moment,” Zarkon said.
“This may be the only moment,” she replied. “I learned this from the games I see today. They really speak for the transience of life.”
Zarkon and Sendak exchanged some other not very kind words about her, but none of them ordered for her to leave, so Allura got near and sat down even before someone allowed her. One of the servants even offered her food. She refused.
“So.” Zarkon began. He swallowed a piece of meat. “What do you have to tell me?”
“I’m here for the behalf of my country, Altea,” she said. In her head, he prepared her discourse countless time. “It’s small and far from Rome. Our economy is flourish, thanks for the contact we have with countries that are even farer than Altea. Relationships we spent years to build. It would be a waste destroy them because of a war. Our customs are very different, but I’m sure we can surpass our difference and work together. Altea can keep its independence and Rome can gain all the advantages from our cultures and our abilities, as it did in the past with country like Pergamo.”
“It was a long time ago,” Zarkon said. “Now we prefer a more direct… approach to our allies.”
“I understand. Still, Altea is far. A war will cost more than you can gain with an alliance. And it’s so far it’ll be hard to control after. Instead-”
“Do you have beasts?” Sendak interrupted her. “Better than the one you saw today?”
“We have the same,” she answered, a little taken aback. “Some of them were actually considered gods for our religion and-”
“Shut up,” Zarkon ordered. “Let me see this.”
His head was turned to the arena, and Allura followed his gaze. Another convict was tied up to the same pole, hands behind his back. He looked young, with long black hair. He had a wound on his right shoulder and one on his right cheek. Allura noticed it as the boy lifted his head. He was near enough to see his blue eyes, not scared at all.
“Keith…” Shiro whispered at her side.
She didn’t know the meaning of that word, neither in Latin neither in Jewish. Once he turned to look at him, she understood it wasn’t a word. It was a name.
The name of the boy tied up that pole.
Before she had the time to reach, Shiro’s face become hard, anger spreading and filled every word. “Why?” he demanded. He ignored the guards’ stare at his lack of respect, and went on, “He is a roman citizen, not a slave. He was a gladiator by his own decision.”
For a long instant, both Zarkon and Sendak watched him. “You should have taught your slave better,” the latter commented, to Allura.
“Tell me,” Shiro said.
“Or what?” Sendak replied.
They both stared in each other, and Zarkon seemed to enjoy their fight. Allura remembered the stories about a senator that liked fought in the arena and, in that instant, she realized it had to be Sendak. He and Shiro had an history.
In a smooth gesture, Allura rubbed the point of her fingers on Shiro’s arm, feeling how tense his muscles were.
“Quiet,” Zarkon ordered. “Let me see the show.”
Shiro moved aside from Allura and gritted his teeth. The servants let a lioness in the arena, a graceful lioness with a bright red mantle. They saw her moving around careful, slowly getting nearer to the boy tied up to the pole.
“He attacked his Lanista,” Sendak said. Even if Shiro had now his back at him, it was said for his behalf. “Because he sold you away. Don’t become a gladiator if you can’t respect a contract.”
Shiro clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Allura bit his lip and, for a second, she feared he would attack Sendak. Instead, Shiro rushed forward, towards the arena. He had already a leg on the boards, when the guards grabbed him. They weren’t strong enough to drag him back, but they stopped him from jumping below.
“Shiro, please…” Allura whispered.
It was useless. She didn’t know what kind of relationship Shiro had with Keith, but she could understand the deepness of it. And, sort of, she threw herself in the den’s lion too. She couldn’t blame Shiro for wanting to do the same thing.
“Let me go!”
The lioness stood now in front of Keith; unlike the beast before, she was taking her time to reach her prey, until she stood and placed her forelegs on Keith’s shoulder. Keith froze on spot, the lioness’ head near to his neck.
“No!”
Shiro shrugged one of the guard and kicked aside the other.
“Wait!” Allura yelled. “Look!”
Shiro stopped, in time to see that the lioness wasn’t about to eat Keith. She sniffed him, she licked him, then she lied down at his feet, like a kitten. She didn’t look scary at all.
Allura’s ears stung of pain. For the silence, she realized. The yells from the public had been so loud, without any pause, she forgot how was the quiet. Now, the entire arena was silent, shocked by the scene in front of them.
“What the hell?” It was Sendak, and he sounded angry.
“Is… is your friend a lion tamer?” Allura asked.
Shiro didn’t answer. His eyes were still on Keith, a small, relieved smile on his face. Allura could say he was amazed by the scene in front of him.
“He tamed me,” he said at last, in a whisper that Allura wasn’t sure she heard for real.
Zarkon stood up. “Do something!” he yelled at the men below.
A second later, three lions were let free in the arena. Big mistake, Allura thought. Shiro was calmer now, and the smile turned into a smirk. He knew too that the lions couldn’t stand a change. Not if the lioness wanted to protect his cub.
The public screamed again, but she wasn’t sure which side they were. The lioness saw the lions and, at first, she remained firm, observing them. Once they started to get too near, she stood up and she growled at them, fangs bare. The lions moved around, trying to find an opening to attack her.
She came for them first. She jumped on the first one, threw him in the ground. His fangs pierced the lion’s neck. It struggled, but she didn’t let her grip loosened, until the lion stopped moving. The other two had remained still, surprised by her action, until one of them jumped on her.
They rolled one to another in the sand ground. The other lion was smarter, he decided to go for the prey directly. The lioness saw him: she escaped from her fight and run to hit it with her entire body. As she bit it in a leg, the other recovered and got too near.
This time, Shiro jumped. His help wasn’t needed, though: the lioness let one of the lion in the ground, his leg twisted so much it couldn’t stand up anymore, before returning and killed the last one. Then, she returned at Keith’s feet. She was hurt, but she acted stubbornly.
The arena was silent again.
“In my religion, the God of sun sent her daughter, a ferocious lioness, to punish mankind for their sins,” Allura stated. Her voice was low, but firm. “She brought destruction, until the chosen ones, the pure, tamed her and turned her in a cat.” Only then, she turned to Zarkon. “Maybe this is a sign.”
“MERCY. MERCY. MERCY.”
The public of Rome didn’t know the legends, but sure they agreed in having witness something unusual, something great, something that needed a reward.
The lioness growled at Shiro as he got near. Keith murmured something, Allura saw his lips moving, and Shiro could reach him and unbind the ropes that tied Keith at the pole. He kneeled down to caress the lioness. She let him rubbing his hands in the fur of her back.
Then, both Shiro and Keith moved until they were right below Zarkon’s gallery, the lioness walking behind them.
“Boy,” Zarkon said. He was displeased. “How did you tame her?”
“I went to Africa once, with the army,” Keith said. “I lost myself in the desert and I had to hide in a cave. There, I found a lioness. She was hurt, just like me. I took care of both our wounds and I fed her, until she got better and she could return to her pack. This is the same lioness.” There was a smile on Keith’s face as he tilted his head a little to look at her. “She returned the favor.”
The public was still screaming.
“MERCY. MERCY. MERCY.”
“You can go,” Zarkon stated. “You had been forgiven.”
Relief was clearly visible on Keith’s face and he immediately turned to Shiro. They hug there, in the arena, under the public’s applause, for so long and with a grip so tight they looked as they wouldn’t separate anymore.
Allura closed her eyes for a second, unable to look at them. She had been bold, assuming Shiro wouldn’t have someone else to care about.
When she opened them again, they’d left from the victory door, and Lotor was at her side. He nodded at her a little, and without a word she agreed to leave the Anfiteatro Flavio with him.
***
Allura didn’t expect to see Shiro again.
He was free and between them there was only a brief agreement he had no reason to respect. They were basically strangers, and she didn’t even blame him for it. He was with his friend (his lover?) and maybe he was happy. Allura couldn’t be angry at him for it.
Instead, the same evening, Shiro presented himself at Allura’s villa.
After Coran told her about his presence, she went to welcome him in person. He was waiting for the in the tablinium and he smiled as he saw her. For a long minute, they stared.
“I looked for you,” he said, at last. “At the entrance of the arena.”
“I left before the end of the games.”
“Understandable.”
“Why are you here?” she didn’t refrain to ask, because she was getting tired of mundane conversations.
He sounded surprised. “You asked for my help, and I promised you my assistance. It didn’t change.”
“Yet, you almost ruined everything today.” She wanted to forgive him. For Allura the girl, he didn’t do anything wrong. For Allura the princess, he was a problem.
“I know,” he admitted. “And I can’t promise it won’t happen again. Not if one of my friend is in danger.”
Allura sighed. “Who he is?”
“Keith?”
She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. It was a pretty clear question.
“He’s a friend.” Shiro’s smile was sweet, the sweetest she had ever seen. “He… saved my life more than once. He gave up his freedom so he can be with me in the arena.” He took a step forward. “I am a liability for him. When you bought me, I thought… I thought Keith can be free. Instead, he almost got him killed.”
“He wants to stay with you.” At any cost went unspoken, but both of them heard them in their head. “Is he here?”
Shiro nodded. He gestured a little towards the door, so Allura took two steps, opened it and entered in the impluvium. Keith sat there, next the water tank, rubbing the belly of the lioness.
“They let him keeping her?” Allura commented.
Shiro chuckled. “She didn’t let anyone else getting near.”
Keith had his chin lifted, his eyes fixed on Shiro. “What did she say?” he asked, in Latin.
“I haven’t asked yet,” Shiro replied. He switched his language to Jewish. “I think… We think we can still work for you. Me and Keith, I mean. If you’d like to.”
Allura didn’t expected that. “Is he okay with that? You said he’s a roman citizen.”
Shiro nodded. “Yes, but his family lost his status of nobleman after a revolt against Zarkon. They supported another emperor back then,” he explained. “He didn’t care so much about Rome.”
Again, the part that Keith only cared about Shiro went unexpressed. “Fine.”
“Really?”
“Sure. It’s not like I have much allies here. I need help and, well, you don’t meet every day a man that can fight and win with only one arm, and a man who manages to tame a lion.”
“That’s true.” Shiro smiled and walked to Keith. “We can stay. She said yes.”
The frown on Keith’s face didn’t disappeared entirely as he stood up. “Did you tell her?” His fingers rubbed Shiro’s tunic.
“I don’t think she cares.”
“She might.”
Allura stood there, watching the silent conversation between the two of them, as they sustained their look. He wondered what they were talking about.
“She doesn’t have to know,” Shiro said. “Her customs may be different, but romans-”
“Romans accept it only if it’s with a slave, or a young boy.”
“I was a slave.”
Keith glared at him. “And only if you don’t suck dick. And I like sucking yours a lot.”
Shiro paled. Then reddened.
Allura was sure his face matched her. She trumped on them and she placed herself between them. It felt safe that way.
“Listen,” she said. “As long as you help me, I don’t give a fuck who you fuck or how you fuck.”
“You… you speak Latin?” Now Keith’s face was red too.
“I studied it. Feel it could be useful here.”
She surely expected to listen to private conversation, but that one… That one was a little bit too much, even for her.
Shiro coughed. “I guess this means we’re fine.”
“We are,” Allura confirmed.
She still left the impluvium a little too fast, but definitely she didn’t want to stay and see them practicing what they had say. She doubted they would do in front of her, still she didn’t take the risk.
***
The invitation for a party at Zarkon’s villa arrived a week after the arena’s incident.
In the meantime, Allura kept his eyes and his ears opened, but she didn’t make any active moves. She was afraid Zarkon would still be upset and she wanted some time for him to calm down. Now, the party could be her last change to plead her case.
Sendak would be there, of course, but with a little bit of luck she could speak with Zarkon alone. Maybe Lotor would be there too, even if the relationship between him and his father was getting worse, or at least the romans said it in the forum.
She decided to not bring Shiro and Keith with her. They were worried, of course, but she felt they wouldn’t have been appreciated at the emperor’s party. Besides, they were her strength, but also a liability: people didn’t speak freely around them, since they knew the languages. Allura needed to caught lies at the party.
Coran would come with her, just to reassure them she wasn’t alone. Especially because Zarkon sent a palanquin only for her: a common gesture of courtesy for a foreign guest, but suspicious enough to make Keith and Shiro attentive. She would have preferred to walk by herself, but she couldn’t refuse Zarkon’s request.
It wasn’t sheer luck, then, that she noticed something was off. He remembered well the best way to go from her villa to Zarkon’s, and so did Coran. They shot a look at each other, because that definitely wasn’t the usual path.
She tilted her head to the nearest soldier. “I don’t recognize this part of the city.”
“It’s a shortcut for the emperor’s palace,” the soldier answered briefly.
“I see.”
Allura didn’t believe him. He hadn’t answer at her question about the name of the area, which meant she wasn’t supposed to know. She was supposed to follow them blindly.
“Is she suspicious?” another soldier asked at the one Allura’d spoken with.
“No. Don’t worry. But be prepared to grab her once we arrived.”
She couldn’t say if they wanted to kill her, or just took her for some personal reasons. She wasn’t going to wait and find out. She brushed her hand in Coran’s arm, and he nodded.
In a second, Allura took the metallic plate that was supposed to be a present for Zarkon and smashed used it to smashed the nearest soldier in the face. At the same time, Coran made one of the slaves that kept the palanquin, causing it to fell on one side. They jumped down just before the fall and started running.
“Catch them!” someone yelled before them.
They didn’t know the area, and it was hard to remember all the street they’d taken, because outside the main roads, the quartiers of Rome were very similar, so she didn’t have a clear idea how to shake off the soldiers. She bit her lips, angry, as he saw two figures that blocked their path.
They were trapped.
Then, Coran sighed of relief. “Princess, look!”
Even in the dark, the figure of the lioness was clear as she run towards them. She surpassed them and he jumped on the first soldier, his claws in his face. Her arrival startled the other soldiers.
“Shiro! Keith! How do you…?”
“We follow you,” Shiro explained. “We didn’t trust Zarkon.”
“You were right,” Allura said.
Keith didn’t spoke: a blade shined in his hand while he joined his lioness in the fight. Coran nodded at Shiro, who left Allura and entered in the battle. The two of them, alongside with the lioness, were no match for the soldier. Allura observed as they sliced a man after another, until no one else remained but the slaves, who made no move to attack them.
“No. Let them,” Shiro said, when Keith gestured to them with his bloody sword.
“Let’s go.” Allura was the first one to move, and the others followed. “We can’t return to the villa. They will wait for me there.”
“What do you think they want?” Keith asked.
“I’m not sure,” she replied.
“Probably, taken you hostage,” Coran guessed. “Killing you would be pointless, but using you as a bargain for our king…” His voice trailed off, as he realized the gravity of the situation.
“We need to return to Altea right now.” Allura hoped she sounded convincing, because inside her was a little scared. She had no place, no allies, no resource. And Altea was very, very far.
“How?” Shiro gave a voice to all her fears.
“I know a guy.” Keith interrupted a silent that was lasting too long. “He owns a ship. We can ask him a lift.”
“Will he help us? I mean…” Allura had some money with her, but not much. Most of them were still at the villa, and they couldn’t return there.
“He’s always happy to help a woman,” Keith replied. He looked sure of his idea.
“Going to Ostia would be dangerous,” Shiro murmured.
“He doesn’t live in Ostia, but in Brundisium.”
“Oh.” Shiro threw a look at Keith, and Allura was sure he would ask for more information later. “Well, it’s better for escaping, but by walk is pretty far.”
“Better start moving, then,” Allura commented.
They walked. For the next days, that’s the only thing they did. They barely spoke to each other, too focused on the street, on their steps, on their worries that Zarkon’s soldiers could find them. They sleep briefly, with one of them always on duty.
Eating was a problem, especially with the lioness with them. Sometimes they were grateful for the farmer’s hospitality, sometimes they hunted, sometimes they stole from the farmhouses. Keith had managed to grab a blanket to cover the lioness so she wasn’t so recognizable by far.
They reached the city of Brundisium at down. The port was already crowded with merchants and fishermen. Allura hid her face more inside his hood, while Keith looked around and then headed in a precise direction.
“Hey, Lance!”
The ship looked like a roman trireme, but smaller: only three oars by each side, and only a sailing. Despite being, by Keith’s word, a cargo ship, it still had the armament of a war ship. It could be good for them. Three people were on board, and all of them stopped their work to look at Keith.
“Man, Keith, it’s been a while! Where have you been?”
“I’ve been busy,” Keith answered, without any more explanation.
“Who are the people with you?”
Keith gestured with his hand for them to come closer. The three got off the ship and gathered with them. “These are Lance, Pidge and Hunk,” Keith introduced them. “We need a lift, and we need it now. Are you ready for a fast departure?”
“Hey, hey, you can’t just come here without an explanation and…” Lance’s voice trailed off once Allura revealed herself. “Woah. Ave, my lady. Are you Afrodite’s daughter, maybe?”
Keith rolled his eyes. Pidge frowned. “Is he the Champion?” she asked. “I heard of him from Matt.”
“His name is Shiro,” Keith affirmed, in a tone that made clear he wouldn’t accept any more reference to Shiro’s past as a gladiator.
“Is that a dog? Or a sheep?” Hunk was looking perplex at the lioness.
“Neither,” Keith replied. “Can I introduce to you Princess Allura and her advisor Coran? We really need that lift to reach their homeland.”
“Which is…?” Hunk started.
“At the end of the Egypt,” Allura answered. “I apologize for asking you this, but we have anyone else.”
“Well, I’m not going to leave a beautiful woman in danger,” Lance commented, with a wink. “We need to load supply because the ones we have aren’t enough for such a long trip and we can go.”
“Afraid we don’t have that time,” Shiro said. With his head, he pointed out a group of roman soldiers that were searching all the ships in the port. They couldn’t be sure they were looking for them, but they couldn’t take the risk.
“Lance! Bring the princess on board and prepare for departure!” Keith ordered. “We gain you some time.” His blade was in his hand, Shiro at his side, and the lioness freed herself from the blanket.
“This is definitely not a wolf!” Hunk exclaimed.
“Please, princess, come.” Lance grabbed gently her hand and lent her onboard.
Despite her first impression of Lance, Allura admitted he was competent when the situation required it. She and Coran tried to stay out of the way while the other three prepared the ship. Hunk collected the anchor, Lance prepared the oars and Pidge, proud of her automatic mechanism, took command the sailing.
Allura looked at the port: Keith and Shiro were holding against the soldier, but not for so long. “We need to help them!”
“Princess,” Pidge called. “Take the sailing. Coran, to the oars.”
Allura obeyed. She never managed a ship, but Pidge explained a second the mechanism and it was quite simple. Pidge’s special invention, apparently. While Allura took care of the sailing, Pidge joined Coran in the lower deck and they started to move the oars so the ship slides behind the port.
Hunk and Lance were on the stern. Lance had a bow in his hand, a peculiar weapon for a roman. Hunk passed him a piece of clothes soaked in oil, before throwing a sack full of black dust inside the port, in the middle of the roman soldiers.
“Keith! Shiro! Beast! Run!”
Lance put the clothes on his arrow and lightened it. He threw it as Keith, Shiro and the lioness tossed themselves in the water. The arrow hit the sack and everything exploded. Allura closed his eyes to protect them, as the ship rattled dangerously. Lance put down a couple of ropes so Keith and Shiro, who were swimming in their direction, could get on board.
“I don’t know how you did it,” Shiro said, looking at the fire that was starting at the port, “but I’m okay with it.”
“I can’t believe I just take a lion on board,” Hunk murmured. “How do you call it?”
“She. And she doesn’t have a name.”
“Why not? I suggest Red.”
“We’re not calling her Red.”
There wasn’t much time to discuss on mundane thing, but they kept bickering about it while they joined Coran and Pidge in the lower deck and took the remained oars to fastened the ship.
Allura kept the sailing. Her hands were trembling. They managed to left the roman empire, at least the ground of the roman empire. The travel towards Altea had just begun, and it would be even more dangerous, especially because they weren’t prepared for this.
She couldn’t believe three strangers, five if she considered Keith and Shiro too, went that far only to help her. She felt a sting in her eyes and realized that, despite everything, she was happy. She wasn’t alone in that dangerous situation and that was something.
Once the mainland disappeared at the horizon, Lance decided they could stop rowing and just moving with the sailing for a while. Pidge took her maps and started to calculate the correct direction to a safe port where they could take some supplies.
“I can’t believe we let here all alone, princess,” Lance said. “Please, let me.”
He took the command of the sailing and Allura smiled at him, grateful.
Her hand, not used to the hard work, had already some wounds. She wouldn’t complain, as she hadn’t about her sore feet during they travel from Rome to Brusindum. She accepted the water Coran gave her and then she rested against the boards.
In front of her, only a calm blue surface was visible.
“Zarkon will declare was to my country,” she said, at last, trying not to sound too tired. “I need to reach Altea as soon as possible to warn my father and prepare our defenses. And even so, I’m not sure we can win. But we have to try.” She lifted her head and looked around, at the face of everyone, lioness included. “I’m sorry I drag you in this mess, but… I need you. Right now, you’re the only one I can count of.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a little too late for regret that,” Hunk commented.
“And after your stunt at the port, I doubt we have another place to go but Altea,” Pidge added.
“There is no way I won’t help a woman in danger,” Lance stated.
Keith shrugged. “As long as I’m with Shiro, I’m fine.”
Shiro blushed a little, and tried no to look at him. Allura smiled at him, encouraging. She couldn’t tell much about the three new friend except they had some peculiar talents, but about Shiro and Keith, well, she knew more thing that she’s supposed to.
Shiro placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and that calmed him somehow. When he spoke, his voice was steady.
“We’re with you, princess. Together.”
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