Raviolo

It seemed like wind and sand were trying to punish the romans for what they did to its population.

Their iron armors were burning under the sun and the sand scratched their equipments and skin.

On the other hand, the vanquished were used to that climate, it was quite endearing see them struggle, not enough to satisfy Eman's thirst for roman blood, but still, anything that was against them was appreciated.

Fortunately they didn't make them switch place in the queue, so Eman spent those three days learning as much Latin as she could.

The more Abrax taught her, the more she remembered fragments of what her father had told her about latin language.

They were now sat in the shade of a roman tent, trying to cool down and rest a bit, the sun was setting and the troups were resting for the night.

The soldiers would head into their tents while others, men, women and children were left outside to the harsh weather of the desert's night, if someone died, they left the corpse and just kept going.

They were not worthy of being called humans.

"and that's what accipite gratiam ab imperatore means"

Abrax's took her back to reality.

"so if I hear this I get grace and survive?"

"Yes"

Abrax had told her what happens in Rome to men.

Fight each other to death, like rats trapped killing each other to feed off one another to survive.

Diabolical.

Making men believe they could get greatness and freedom by killing their own brothers.

Divide them, cause if they're separated they're weaker.

She didn't know what a gladiator was before that moment nor she could've imagined it.

How cruel and inhuman could people be to enjoy seeing someone getting brutally killed?

The more she learned about the romans the more she didn't like them.

A population made of stupid, violent and vile individuals.

"Why do I need to survive if the next day I have to go back in that theater and kill someone again?"

Abrax looked at her surprised by her words, he took a few seconds for himself to think what he could answer.

"well, you can buy your own freedom"

"I never gave it to them"

He didn't know what to say anymore.

"those animals come and take what they want, they don't care about our freedom"

That was the only thing that came to his mind.

"calling them animals it's disrespectful to actual animals, an animal would never burn my family and city and steal my freedom".

The sun was now set and it had been for a little now, the air getting rapidly cold obliged them to get closer, trying to get as much heat from one another as possible.

All these men hugging each other in order to survive a day more to see if the next they'll have to risk their lives once again.

The night was quick to pass, the morning after arrived sooner than what she had hoped for.

When she was finally awake and standing up ready to start to walk again, she noticed a woman still on the ground, suddenly she realized, another woman died during the night.

How much death could she bear before killing herself, or better, killing every Roman she had in sight?

The soldiers freed the dead body from the chain and thrown her away as if she was garbage.

They started to walk following the direction they were led to when a voice broke the quietness of their marching.

"Oh! Quousque donec perveniamus?"

A soldier shouted.

Soon another ahead in the queue repeated the question and so on.

"what's going on?"

Asked Eman scared of what might that be.

"He asked when we arrive"

"to Rome?"

"Yes, at least I believe, but it's a long way from here to Rome, I think we'll have to cross the sea"

Eman had never been that distant from home and she had never imagined that it would've been under those circumstances, but here she was.

Not only she had to survive the desert, probably also the sea.

"Prope ad naves sumus!"

The answer in Latin was coming back from the people at the head of the queue.

"they said we're almost at the ships so I believe we'll have to cross the sea".

"May the gods protect us".

Almost an hour had passed since the question of the roman soldier, more or less had presumed Eman deciphering it from the position of the sun, the roman ships getting bigger and bigger as they approached them.

They kept walking until they were exactly in front of the ships, "biremes" they were called, or at least Abrax had told her so.

The romans pushed them against the ships in lines all facing the troups, for a moment Eman feared she had to fight again this time without weapons nor her armor.

The same man who had ordered to burn down the corpse of her people was standing in front of them near another soldier dressed up as the others.

"nunc te Romam conscendemus"

Said loud the commander.

"now we'll ship to Rome"

Translated the soldier on his side.

"Tuas res tollemus et plus tibi dabo vestes"

"we'll take your properties and clothes"

"et alias vestes dabimus vobis quas servabitis donec veniatis Rome et erit arbitrium quicumque emerit te"

"we'll give you new clothes and you'll keep them until you arrive at Rome, there your new owners will decide".

The nightmare was becoming reality.

Voices were heard from the soon to be slaves, all sort of conversation went on while Eman took her father's ring, her mother's necklace and her wedding ring and thought of a place to hide them.

"what are you doing?"

Said Abrax as he turned and found Eman gesturing under the male robe she had been wearing since she left her hometown.

"I'm hiding my most precious properties where they can't find them"

Abrax wasn't stupid, and understood what she was doing, in another situation he would've been embarrassed, and she would've never done something so audacious in front of a man that was not her husband, but those were times of survival, there was not space for shyness nor embarrassment.

She rapidly did what was needed, just in time to get pulled by the rope they were still chained to and led right in front of the entrance of the ship.

"if they say anything, don't speak, I'll translate, so they won't hear your voice"

She nodded to Abrax who handed her something she didn't see.

"put this is in your underwear" it was a few stripes of fabric wrapped together, she looked at him confused, trying to see the reason why.

"it's my daughter's eye of Rah, I wrapped it in fabric to keep it safe, they'll believe it to be your crotch, please keep it safe for me."

She didn't say a word, just held his and while a tear went down his face, with the other hand she did as she was told just in time for their turn.

First they made Abrax strip and then they asked her to do the same, she did so and hoped for the best to not be discovered.

She took off the robe and remained in her sandals, underwear and the fabric that was wrapped around her torso.

"quid est hoc?"

Said the Roman soldier who was with one arm holding her robe and with the other holding his gladio that he was using to point at her chest.

She looked at him blankly, not knowing what he was saying.

She comprehended now a bit, but not all of the words she heard.

"loquitur!"

Still she looked at him fearing that Abrax won't talk at all and leave her there.

"he doesn't speak the language"

Said Abrax in latin to the soldier while standing behind him.

The roman turned to him and spoke.

"why does he have fabric around his chest?"

"it's an old scar he has from a time he had leprosy, it's awful to look at and it hurts a bit, so he keeps it covered"

"that's disgusting! Is he really healed?"

"yes he is"

Eman didn't understand everything Abrax had said, but the soldier handed her the clothes, quite disgusted, but without harming her.

She wore her new robe, headed inside the ship, sat next to her friend and stayed silent, she didn't speak until they were all inside and the doors were closed.

"what did you tell him?"

She spoke the lowest she could, where she was now, not only she feared the romans, but also the other men who may have suspected she's not a man and may have bad intentions towards her.

"I told him that you cover and old leprosy scar"

"did he say something about it?"

"just that it's disgusting"

"good"

From that moment they didn't talk, they needed to rest and process the emotions they've experienced and all the things they had been through, that was, until late at night.

Eman felt something slimy on her thigh that woke her up from the sleepy state she was in, she looked over and saw the face of a man with his mouth wide open and tongue out on her thigh.

She instantly retracted her leg and the man started laughing and with two other that were at his side.

He tried to get closer to her but she kicked him in the chest, he fell backwards waking up the others in the ship.

He got up and kept laughing with his henchmen.

"Like we don't know what you are..."

Said the man rubbing his head after banging it against the wooden planks of the ship.

"What am I?"

She wouldn't normally instigate a fight, but this was a moment to assert her dominance and stop any belief of her being a man or not.

"cmoon...we all know your a woman, I even know what kind of women you are"

He stood, or at least he tried to in the tiny space they were ad moved towards her.

"have you ever see one? Cause they ain't look like me"

She said trying to kid him maintaining a stern expression.

"I have seen a lot of them and I know when I see one, aren't you Eman? Always wanted to get my hands on you"

He was a palm from her face when he tried to stroke her cheek, she threw his hand away.

"I don't know who you're talking about"

She kept her face still, as still as she could.

"I don't believe you and I think I'll get a taste of that"

He touched her shoulder and again she threw away his hand.

"don't touch me or I'll touch you, but you won't like it"

"Oh really?"

He had a disgusting grin on his face, his smugness made her want to vomit much more then the movement of the ship through the sea's waves.

He tried to touch her again and instantly she hit him on the nose with her forehead.

One headbutt on the nose.

Just one but firm and powerful.

He fell on the ground and his nose started to bleed.

He brought his hand to his nose and when he felt the red hot blood flowing, Eman could see the rage emerge on his face, he got up and went for her, so full of rage that the only thing she had to do was move to the side to send him straight with his head against the wall of the ship like a bull going for the red flag.

"this bitch"

He went for her again and this time she moved to the side again and hit him with her elbow, he fell on his knee and she took the opportunity to enlace her arm around his neck and choke him.

"you have anymore bullshit to say?"

Gasping for breath he murmured a weak "no"

"do you still believe I'm a woman" she choked him tighter

"no"

That no was just a gasp when she released his head on the ground with the rest of his body.

"that's what happens when someone bothers me".

She said that pointing to the man on the ground who was breathing heavily trying to sound as intimidating as she could and looking those men dead in the eyes.

She went back to her seat and saw Abrax eyeing her both intimidated and surprised by what happened, she looked at him ashamed for what she had done, but still she hoped he could understand.

What could she do?

"Mors tua vita mea" romans say, she will learn later on the meaning of this sentence, but she was starting to get it, in the world she's been thrown this is the law.

She closed her eyes to try gain some sleep, but as soon as her eyelids touched, tears started falling down her cheeks.

She stayed silent, not emitting a single noise, just tears falling making no difference in the moment if not for blowing off some tension.

"what am I becoming?"

She kept repeating this question to herself, it's possible that this was the moment she realized that to fight a monster you have to become one.

Aware of this new information, she cried her way to sleep.

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