The Centurion (closed for Henry47)

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Marcus looked around him.

“This will do for the night. Have the men set up camp.” He ordered his second in command.

As the men started to dig defenses Marc’s thought again about how glad he would be to leave this place. He was a southern man from Galicia, so Celtic by descent like the people he was now fighting. He turned his face into the light rain that blew down the valley and which seemed to be an almost permanent feature of this place.

Looking to the ridge he could see that the girl and the two men had gone. A scouting party perhaps? But the girl had seemed too small to be a warrior. Even from a distance however he had gained a sense that there was something about her, she had a presence. He smiled wryly, his old tutor Aurelius had used the same word about him many years ago. A presence.

He turned his back on the rain and watched his men working. They were digging banks of soil topped with sharpened stakes. In the middle of the make shift fort were some small shelters, no fires tonight, no need to attract unwanted attention. Most centurions brought a tent with them but not Marcus. He preferred to live as his men lived when on patrol. He would squeeze his 6ft5 frame under some cover and pull his cloak over his head. He was compared to all Romans a giant.

He cursed the weather again, checked the defenses and the sentries for the night. He had given his orders to be woken if the scouts reappeared but he doubted anything would happen before dawn.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Later that night, quite some time after the sun had already descended past the horizon, Briana and her troops silently crawled upon their bellies to carefully peer over the ridge down at the Roman camp in the valley bellow. Gone was the wool cloak she had worn wrapped around her small five foot four frame to block out the rain and mist when scouting the camp earlier that day. Now she was dressed in her warrior's garb, her body painted blue with markings and her long red curls braided back out of her face in preparation for the fighting that was soon to come.

She gazed down at the camp with keen green eyes. The Romans had wisely decided not to light any fires that night and it was difficult to make out where their camp was with only the stars and crescent moon for light, but she and her warriors knew these lands well and she remembered from her scouting trip exactly where she had watched them digging their trenches and preparing their camp for the night.

Soon enough her warriors would know where it was located as well.

She reached into her quiver and retrieved an arrow, the end of which had already been fastened with a piece of clothe coated in pitch. Giving a nod to the man beside her, he immediately came over and struck the flint stones he was carrying in preparation for this moment together, lighting the arrow. The instant it was lit she rose, knowing that she wouldn't have but a moment before the sentries spotted its light and raised the alarm.

In one swift, fluid movement she aimed the arrow at the center of the camp and fired it. No sooner had it landed than a surge of more arrows flew through the air and rained down on the camp, her warriors having used the light of her arrow to know where they should aim theirs. She let out a war cry and her troops answered in reply, the ominous sound echoing down into the valley as they all charged forward and descended upon the camp.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana did not remain at the top of the ridge looking on as her troops fought for her as some other commanders might have. No, she ran right along with them as they descended upon the Romans. Her fierceness in battle and commitment to her men where just part of how she had gained enough respect among her people to become the leader of their warriors. Another had been her gift of strategy.

She'd known as she'd gazed down upon the Roman troops earlier that day that the odds were stacked against her and her men. They were outnumbered. Not only this, but the Roman troops had more advanced armor and weapons than they did. Their best shot was to try and even the score by catching their enemy when they were unaware, and so she had planned the attack for that night. As she heard the buzz of arrows being fired through the air back at them she wondered if she had made the right call.

"SHIELDS!!" she shouted, those around her echoing the command.

Everyone raised their shields over their heads, but no one slowed their pace. If anything the answering attack from the Romans only spurred them on more and made them pick up speed as they let out another war cry. Those that were hit were left for the time being as the hoard of warriors surged upon the camp, the Celts coming down upon the rampart and the waiting ranks of soldiers like a mighty wave determined to break through them all.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana shouted commands to her warriors, urging them onward as they crashed against the Roman defenses and tried to break through the metal wall that the soldiers had formed with their shields. The Britons were relentless, throwing their weight into the barrier and trying to break through, searching for any possible weak spot or opening where they could get their swords and axes through to stab at the men hiding behind the shields, their own swords and spears darting out to stab at the Britons.

Try as they might though, their efforts made little impact. The Roman ranks were too tight, and even when they were able to bring down one of the soldiers another quickly took their place, their shield filling in the gap once more.

Briana released a growl of frustration as she realized they would need to fall back. Clearly her plan to try and catch the Roman troops by surprise by attacking at night had not worked. They were already outnumbered. She could not afford to loose more warriors by insisting that they continue to try and push forward now. She would have to come up with a new plan.

She shouted the command for her forces to retreat, but just as the command was echoed through the troops and they began to turn back towards the hillside, the thunder of hooves was heard rushing towards them.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana groaned as her head was pulled back and she began to come out of her blow induced sleep, her eyes slowly blinking open. At first their green depths were hazy as the room seemed to spin around her, but soon enough they cleared and focused on the face of the Roman commander with surprise as she recognized him. Immediately her hand moved to reach for her sword out of instinct, but of course it was no longer there.

Her gaze darted quickly around the room. They were no longer on the battlefield, and she could hear no sounds of war outside. The last she could remember was running with her troops back towards the hills, the sound of hooves coming at her from behind...

She had been taken captive.

Her eyes returning to his face, her eyes met his with a glare. She could feel the grip he had on her hair and did not try to pull away or attack for the time being, waiting instead to see what he would do.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana could not help but smile smugly at the look of surprise on the centurion's face in response to her speaking to him in his own language. Clearly he had been caught off guard, and rightfully so. She couldn't imagine that he would have encountered many Britons that could understand his tongue, let alone speak it themselves. Of course there was no way for this stranger to know that before she had risen to the rank of warlord among her people that she had been the daughter of a tradesman, accompanying her father on many a journey to foreign lands in her younger years and picking up more than one dialect along the way.

She tapped her empty cup impatiently.

"Maybe you should pour yourself another one as well," she suggested with a smirk, "Perhaps it will help you overcome the shock."

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana had to admit that she was surprised when, instead of becoming angry, the centurion grinned back at her in response to her statements. Her own smile faded a bit and she eyed him quizzically as she took the offered jug and refilled her cup. The way he watched her now without speaking made her uncomfortable, though she tried not to show it. She took another drink from her cup as she watched him, though more slowly than before. She did not want to risk consuming too much and losing her wits with him.

"What are your intentions in capturing me, Roman?" she demanded.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Most of the line the man gave her Briana had been expecting, but the fire flashed in her eyes again for a moment at his accusation that her actions had made her an enemy to her people. How dare he act all high and mighty, professing to know what her people wanted! He would see the truth for himself when they came for her.

She was about to tell him as much when she noticed his eyes roaming over her. Was that desire she saw within their depths? When he suddenly coughed and turned his attention to pouring himself another glass she thought for certain that it must have been.

She wasn't certain how to respond to the realization. Part of her was offended by the realization that this man, her enemy, was having such thoughts about her, the other part was wondering if she might be able to somehow use it to her advantage. She allowed her eyes to roam over him for a moment as well.

He was older than she, but admittedly attractive, and definitely very tall compared to any other man she'd ever seen. His height gave him a certain presence, but there was something else about him, something that she couldn't quite name. It was not difficult to see why he had risen to his current position as commander... not that it made any difference though.

"I pity the man foolish enough to purchase me. I do not think I would make a very good slave," she spoke in warning before adding, "Not that it matters though. My men will come for me."

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

His words struck deeper than she cared to admit, for she knew as he spoke them that they were very likely true. A trickle of fear ran down her spine for a moment as he fastened the shackles around her wrists and ankles and she wondered if a life of slavery may very well be her fate, but it was quickly replaced with anger and a steely resolve.

No! She would not allow it to happen! If her men would not come for her then she would just have to find some way to escape on her own.

When he turned her face and made her look up at him oh how she seethed inside for all he had said, for him putting her in the chains. His silence as he stared into her eyes unnerved her, angering her more as it brought back the fear that she didn't want to feel. Like a cornered animal she wanted to lash out at him, to beat at him with her bare hands, to scratch at those eyes that offended her so... but she knew to do so would be foolish. He would easily overpower her now. She had to bide her time.

Remaining still as he held her face in his hand, she forced herself to remain calm and did not allow herself to look away as she stared back at him.

"Do you like what you see, Centurion?" she asked mockingly, "Perhaps you wonder if I might help to warm your bed on this cold, rainy night."

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana could see the desire visible in his eyes again as he held her gaze, noticed the way he shuddered. It did not take a witch to read a man's mind when it came to such things. She bristled in response to his words of warning, her back stiffening as she looked up at him.

"My name in Briana," she told him as she shook her head away from his hand, attempting to free it from his grasp, "And I did not say that I wished it, only that you were thinking it."

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana could not help but feel a small bit of satisfaction at the Centurion's response to her words. She could tell that she'd wounded his pride, and for this she was glad. Her sense of victory was short lived however when he snuffed out his lamp and went to sleep for the night without so much as even tossing her a spare blanket as he left her sitting there in the dark.

Perhaps though this was her chance of escape!

After waiting until she was sure he was fast asleep, his breathing slow and steady, she gave her chains a bit of a tug to test their strength. She mentally swore as she discovered them to be rock solid. There was no way she was strong enough to break them, she was sure. Perhaps though she'd be able to find something within her reach in the room that she could pick the lock with...or use as a weapon against him when she woke up?

Her hand sliding out slowly so as not to rustle her chains too much, she ran it searchingly upon the table. Maybe there would be a writing instrument of some kind that she could try, or an eating utensil perhaps?

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana grew excited as her fingertips were just barely able to touch the edge of a bit of parchment, on top of which she could just make out in the moonlight a couple of items that were resting upon it. Slowly she curled her fingers towards her, slowly sliding the parchment and what was upon it inch by inch towards her as quietly as she could until finally they were in reach. She felt upon the page and pushed aside a pot of ink, smiling to herself as her hand wrapped around a small metal writing pen with a pointed tip.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana had just begun to make some progress with picking the locks at her wrists when suddenly she heard a shift in movement coming from the Centurion's bed, and then all at once he was upon her. He slammed into her so quickly and with such force that it knocked the wind from her lungs, making her cough a bit and then gasp in a breath. Immediately she tried to raise the pen to use as a weapon against him and stab the pointed end into an arm, an eye, any place that she could reach really, but already his hand was pinning hers down. His other keeping her face away from his so that she could not bite his.

Rage at her plan for having been ruined and fear over what he may try to do to her now mingled together and made her lash out wildly at him in desperation. Shouting a long stream of curses at him in her native tongue, she bucked and thrashed about beneath him as well as she was able, trying desperately to free an arm or leg to beat or kick at him with.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana screamed at the Centurion until her throat felt raw, she pushed and struggled against him with all her might even after he pressed down fully upon her and she heard herself let out an involuntary groan at his weight. Soon though she felt herself growing tired, her arms and legs no longer obeying her wishes to keep fighting and her breaths coming out as gasps and pants as his weight upon her chest made it difficult to breath deeply now. Finally she stopped, her body going still beneath him.

To tired to speak, the only sounds she heard at first were the sounds of her own breathing and heartbeat ringing loud in her ears, when suddenly she became aware of the sound of laughing as well. To her dismay she realized that his men must have heard her failed attempt at escape and struggle with the Centurion just now through the tent and no doubt were sharing a laugh at her expense. She grit her teeth in anger and cringed as she felt her cheeks, already flushed from her struggle, grow even more warm with embarrassment.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Bristling at the use of the word 'barbarian' and the jokes made at her expense, Briana attempted to shrug off the hands of the sentries as they stood her up. She was too tired though to put up much of a fight now, nor was she that foolish as to try. She was shackled, without a weapon, and outnumbered. She still held on to the hope that her men might try to retrieve her before it was too late, but to try to escape on her own now seemed useless.

Still, she did her best not to let her doubts show, keeping her head held high as she was lead away and provided with a cloak and a horse in preparation for their departure.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana had kept her chin lifted and her gaze fixed ahead of her as she'd been brought to ride beside the Centurion so that he could question her. Of course she refused to answer him. Why should she? Any information she gave him was obviously going to be used against her or her troops, and she obviously wasn't going to answer any questions about her family after he'd already told her that any family she had would be shipped to Rome with her to be sold as slaves.

She intentionally kept her attention on anything but him as he questioned her, her eyes looking out at the scenery around them. She looked out across the moors as they rode past, trying to enjoy the beauty of the wild grasses and purple heather along the rolling hills. After all, this might be her last chance to view them.

She sighed with annoyance as his jabbering persisted.

"Do you really enjoy the sound of your own voice so much, Centurion?"

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Her gaze turned away from the Centurion and still gazing out across the moors, Briana had not noticed him moving to ride closer to her until he was already placing something onto her shoulders. Flinching slightly in surprise, she turned her head towards him sharply to see what he was doing, thinking that he might be angry at her disrespectful comment to him before and that he planned to do something to reprimand her. Instead she felt the warmth of the bear skin surrounding her.

"For the rain."

Without another word he rode slightly ahead of her, and it was then that she noticed the storm coming towards them from the coast. Dumbfounded she watched him with confusion as he rode ahead of her. She did not see any other bearskins behind his saddle. Did he plan to let her use his while he suffered without one then? Why on earth would he do such a thing?

She did her best to push it from her mind and refocus on the scenery, but occasionally she found her glances wandering over to him now, her green eyes roaming over him with curiosity.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana had watched the Centurion as he suffered through the biting wind and rain of the storm, wondering still why he had chosen to sacrifice his own comfort for her sake by giving her the bearskin. Was it truly an act of benevolence on his part, or was there some kind of ulterior motive.

Even without the skin to keep her dry she would have been grateful for the rain, for it slowed the move of the soldiers considerably. Darkness beginning to descend as they neared the wooded valleys, she fought hard not to let any of her growing excitement show. If her troops where going to make any attempt to rescue her, the journey through the woods would be the most opportune place. Her hopes continued to grow as she watched the Centurion call a meeting with a couple of his men. They were too far away for her to hear their discussion, but silently she prayed that perhaps they would make plans to camp within the woods until the storm lifted.

"So? Are we to make camp here then?" she asked once he'd returned.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana highly doubted that the Corvettii tribe would do her great harm if they were to capture her. They were a neighboring tribe to the Brigantes, her own tribe, and their tribe was much smaller in both land and numbers than the Brigantes. They would be foolish to risk starting a war between their peoples by treating her poorly. She thought her odds much better with them than risking a lifetime of slavery in Rome.

Not only this, but the scarred man's announcement of the scouts finding Brigantian tracks added to her hopes that her troops were indeed on their way to rescue her! If only she had more time! She needed to try and find a way to delay their ride away from the forest...but how?

Trying not to give any of her thoughts away, she lowered her gaze as she simply nodded in response to the Centurion's words as she followed him to get something to eat.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana watched carefully as the Centurion, the one he had referred to as Felix, and the three scouts prepared to leave. They had been careful to discuss their plans a little aways from her again so that she could not hear, but it was obvious by their preparations and when they began to lighten the loads on the horses and don the leather armor that they were expecting to have to make a quick get away. Were they going to try and outrun the war parties if they tried to pursue them then?

Again she thought that her best shot at escape now would be to try and find a way to stall and slow down their little party as much as she could, but how? An idea coming to her, she quickly finished the bread and water that the Centurion had provided her with.

"I need to relieve myself before we go," she suddenly announced.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana frowned but did her best to hide her anger at the situation when the Gaul tethered her to a tree and crudely told her to just go piss in the bushes within the perimeter of the makeshift camp.

"Right here?" she asked with feigned propriety and shock, turning her gaze from the Gaul back over to the Centurion in hopes of gaining his sympathies, "Right in the middle of everyone?"

In actuality she did not need to take a piss, and even if she had she would not have cared about the lack of privacy. She had hoped however that they might allow her to walk away from the camp a bit so that she could use the opportunity to make a run for it. She had no doubt that they would catch her, but hopefully the time that it took them to do so would buy her a bit of time.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Seeing the arrow suddenly protruding from the giant's neck and then watching as the man dropped to his knees had surprised Briana at first, but she quickly recovered from her shock as she realized this was the opportunity she'd been waiting for. It could not be a coincidence that the first shot fired had been directly through the neck of the man currently acting as her guard. Her troops had come for her!

As all hell broke loose and the Romans hurried to defend the camp from attack, she quickly seized the opportunity to make her escape. Using an escape technique that she'd learned long ago specifically for this type of situation, she straightened her arms out in front of her from where she'd been holding them close to her chest before as the Gaul had tied the rope around her wrists, and then pressed her palms together. With the extra space this created she was able to wiggle first one hand free and then the other from the rope in a matter of seconds.

Free from her bindings, she ran as fast as she could in the direction that the arrow had come from, trusting that whoever had fired it would not fire at her as well.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana did not waste any time to look behind her and see if she was being pursued or not, she simply ran. She ran as fast as she could through the forest, dashing through the leaves of the ferns and leaping over or jumping around the fallen tree branches as she made her way uphill. Soon though she could hear the sound of quick and heavy footfalls coming after her from behind.

"Here!," she called out ahead of her, hoping that one of her men might loose another arrow at her pursuer to cover her escape, "Over here!"

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana let out a final wordless cry of outrage and despair as she felt herself being leapt upon and went crashing down into the ferns. They helped to break her fall a bit, but she still found the wind being knocked out of her some as her attacker's much larger and heavier body landed atop her and his hand covered her mouth. Fury rose up within her as she realized that she recognized the feel of this body.

The Centurion.

She was tired, both from lack of sleep and from her running, but her anger at him having caught her again fueled her on. With him having tackled her from behind, she had fallen upon her stomach and so could not hit and kick at him as she done before. She struggled and twisted beneath him, trying to get away, at the same time her teeth biting at any part of his hand that she might be able to get into her mouth and clamping down hard.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana could taste the metallic tinge of blood as her teeth managed to take hold of one of the Centurion's fingers, but even that was not enough to make him cry out and give away their location to whatever Britons may be nearby, nor did he release his hold around her mouth. She could already feel her body beginning to tire out as it struggled beneath his weight, tiring more quickly than it had the first time after all it had endured since then. At the same time she could hear the sounds of the battle around them, could hear the cries of the Britons being slain by the Roman troops.

Growing desperate, she began to cry out as loudly as she could, praying that someone might be close enough to hear despite the fact that his hand muffled the sound. She reached out into the ferns with her hand, searching for a branch or a rock that she might use to strike him with.

 

[BlondeAmbition4RP]

Briana froze for a moment in her struggles as well when she heard the voices. They were so close! Her hopes soared for a moment until the Centurion pushed his bleeding hand hard into her mouth and pressed his full weight into her, pushing her further into the ground. She tried to cry out, to struggle as best as she was able, but her body was already so tired, and with her chest pressed tight between his body and the earth and his hand shoved into her mouth as she lay with her face pressed down into the ferns and dirt, she found herself struggling to breathe let alone scream.

She tried to call out, to yell as hard as she could against his hand despite her shortness of breath, but then released her bite on his finger as she found herself beginning to cough and gasp, feeling light headed as if she might pass out.