Growing Up “Livia”
Written by: Caina Q. Fuller
Augustus
Caesar emerged from his tent. The day
was warming up nicely, even though they were in the shadows of the mountains
and the sun had yet to melt the dew covering the grass. He’d stayed up late the night before,
studying the map of the landscape his scouts had made for him, so the fresh
morning air was just what he needed to open his eyes.
The forests
were surrounded by hills that were nothing short of treacherous to
traverse. Getting artillery set up
around the Amazon’s land would be suicidal, so he decided to have every
catapult he owned dismantled and hauled piece by piece into he hills on pack
mules. It would take a couple of days to get everything situated, but once it
was, he would be halfway ready to attack.
After the
catapults were in position, he would have his men split up, and under the cover
of night, move in closer to the forests.
They would hide under camouflage of grass mats. Once two of his legions
had surrounded the hills, the remaining two he’d brought with him would make a
grand display of camping in the battlefield just outside of their forests.
He would try
diplomacy first, and if they refused to give up Livia, or if they told him she
and her men were dead, he would obliterate them.
Augustus
thought of Xena, and how much she and Gabrielle had respected the Amazons. It
was because of their memory he’d respected the warrior women’s territory, but now
that they had overstepped their bounds and possibly killed someone he was
falling in love with…well, they would pay for it with their lives.
Augustus
looked around for the commander of his private guard, but could find him
nowhere. “Where is Ledricles?”
A passing foot
soldier saluted his emperor. “I will
get him for you my lord.”
“Very
good. Tell him to come to my tent.”
He hated
having to wait on his men to learn and implement his orders, but it was a
necessary irritation in the art of war. He had no way of knowing how many Amazon warriors lived in the
forest, so he would have to fight as if he were hopelessly outnumbered. Only
then, with that mindset, would he be able to plan wisely for the battle ahead.
**********
“Are you sure
about this Brigid?”
It was the
second time Livia had asked her in only a couple of minutes, and Brigid had to
fight to keep the smile from her lips as well as her voice. Livia was genuinely concerned for her
safety. Though she was a long, long way from being reformed, Brigid could see
she’d made a lot of progress over the past couple of days in breaking down some
of the walls surrounding Livia’s heart.
“I’m sure that
I’m surprised Linara is ready so quickly.
I have to do this Livie. Not just for you, but for my reign as
well. Even if I have to travel from
town to town and rebuild my tribe with new recruits, I will not have disloyal
warriors in my camp.”
“That’s the
kind of talk I like to hear.”
“Funny,” Brigid
said, her voice reflecting the pain in her heart at what she was preparing to
do. “It’s the kind of talk I hate to hear.”
Livia’s smile
faded, and she strapped Brigid’s sword to her back. “You could name me your champion and I could fight Linara for
you. We both know I can beat her.”
“That’s just
it Livie. I can’t. This is something I
have to do on my own. For the sake of
my honor.”
“Then for the
sake of mine, I’ll be there. I won’t
abandon you like I did when we were kids.”
“You didn’t
abandon me Livia. I was taken from-“
“It’s time!”
A warrior’s
voice Brigid didn’t readily recognize sounded from outside her door, and she
took in a deep breath. If she won,
she’d have the forest all to herself.
If she lost, she’d probably have to watch Livia be executed, unless they
could fight through enough of the Amazon’s to escape, and that was highly
unlikely.
“Livie, if I
lose, I want you to fight your way free.
Kill as many of my women as you have to.”
“Even if it
means leaving you?”
“Even if.
You’re an Amazon citizen now Livie. I’m
your Queen, and I’m making this an order.
A good soldier always follows practical orders.”
“Not always.”
“This time you
will. Give me your word of honor.”
Livia didn’t
want to even think of leaving Brigid behind, but she knew that she was selfish
enough to do so if the time should come.
She nodded and in a moment of weakness, she grabbed Brigid up in a final
hug.
“Let’s do
this, huh?”
“I’m right
there with you Spider.”
**********
Guard duty was
never fun, especially on the perimeter.
Today, Gighi had been stuck with just those responsibilities. As she and
her sisters sat in watch for foes that would probably never come, she knew she
was missing out on the fight of the century, between Queen Hanai and Princess
Linara.
Her biggest
question was why? Why was her queen so
determined to make the enemy one of their own?
Livia of Rome had tried to destroy them on their own turf, showing she
was lacking in brains.
All Gighi knew
was that their tribe was divided and she wanted to go back to normal. She didn’t really care one way or another
whether or not Livia was a citizen, as long as she didn’t have to take orders
from her.
As Gighi
contemplated these things, her eyes wandered over the empty field leading up to
their forests, and what she saw astounded her.
Over twenty
thousand Roman soldiers were heading their way, and as they neared, she could
hear the collective sound of their marching feet. Her blood ran cold in her veins.
Even with all of her sisters fighting on their home turf, they only had
five thousand warriors since the sisters from the other tribe had returned to
their respective territories weeks ago.
Another Roman
soldier was approaching with three times that many. That meant one Amazon
warrior for every three Roman soldiers coming their way.
They were
dead.
**********
Brigid emerged
from her tent to find that about four of the five thousand sisters remaining in
the camp since they’d defeated Livia’s legion had gathered in the main village
to witness this historical event. What was worse was almost all of them were
against Brigid.
The sacred
Challenge Circle had been prepared, and Linara waited inside. This wasn’t a battle to the death per se,
but the winner would hold the power of life and death in her hands. That wasn’t what bothered Brigid however.
What bothered
her was that a woman who’d become her friend had turned on her. This battle
just shouldn’t be happening.
“Linara.”
“Hanai.”
“I told you,
my name is Brigid.”
“I will always
know you as Hanai. Are you sure you
won’t execute Livia, so we can avoid this mess?”
“Would you
execute your little sister if she went astray?”
“That’s different,”
Linara said, her eyes going to the fifteen year old girl in the crowd that was
as much a daughter to Linara as a sister. “She’s one of us.”
“So is Livia,
now that I’ve made her a citizen.”
Linara shook
her head in disappointment. “This
conversation is pointless. Let’s
fight.”
The two women
faced off, circling one another and looking for an opening in defenses. Linara started off with a volley of
well-executed jabs, but Brigid easily dodged them.
Livia watched
the crowd as their eyes were glued to the two combatants. Deep in her heart, she knew Brigid would
win. When she did, Brigid would lose
everything she had come to know and love.
All for her.
Linara threw
another punch, and Brigid caught her hand. When she had a firm grip, she jerked
Linara’s arm straight and rammed her other fist into Linara’s elbow, making the
other woman scream in pain. Linara
retreated and cradled her wounded arm to her side, and even though it was a
victory for Brigid, Livia could see it wounded her to her heart to hurt an old
friend.
Brigid wasted
no time in following through. Now that she was on the attack, she gave her best
war cry and went after Linara. She
threw several punches, most of which Brigid’s opponent was able to block, but
because of her wounded elbow, some of Brigid’s punches made it through.
Linara forced
herself to work past her pain. She
flipped over Brigid’s head, landed behind her and kicked Brigid in the back,
dangerously close to her kidneys.
Brigid went down,
face first, and the crowd went wild. As
she hit the dirt, Brigid brought her right foot up and into Linara’s stomach,
sending her flying against the staffs the warrior’s were holding to mark the
edge of the Challenge Circle.
Brigid all but
flew back up onto her feet, and executed a perfect drop kick that Linara
ducked. Another warrior, a spectator,
took the full force of the kick to her face, and went down for the count.
Linara came at
Brigid again. Now that she’d adjusted
to the pain in her elbow, she was stronger, and ready for action. She threw some impressive kicks, all of
which Brigid either dodged or blocked, except for the last one.
Livia watched
in near panic as Brigid fell back into the crowd, which then pushed her forward
again and straight into Linara’s waiting fist.
Anger burned in Livia she saw the so-called honorable Amazon’s cheat to
help Linara win.
It began to
look as if Linara would indeed win the fight.
She was punching and kicking, and Brigid was taking it all. Livia could
see her friend was nearly punch drunk, and on the verge of losing. Well, if the Amazon’s could cheat, so could
she.
“Spider? Do
you remember Mom’s face? Do you
remember Odessa? It was because of her we lost each other. Odessa took our
mother from us, and now Linara’s trying to take me away from you. Don’t let another Odessa separate us again.”
That was all
Brigid needed to hear. She came up off the dirt and turned on Linara with a
ferocity that was frightening and worthy of a Roman soldier. Linara was good, but she was neither woman
enough, nor warrior enough to come between family.
Brigid
deliviered kick after kick, punch after punch, mercilessly beating Linara down
until she lay on the ground with Brigid’s foot on her throat.
“Who,” Brigid
said, breathless from her efforts, “has won this fight today?”
It didn’t take
long to get a choked answer from Linara.
“You have…my Queen.”
Brigid took
her foot off Linara’s throat to let her breathe, and held out her hand to
Livia, who entered the circle to join her.
“Those of you
who cannot accept my sister as one of us, can pack up their things and get
out. Now.”
“And what
about me?”
Brigid hauled
Linara to her feet. “Whether or not you
stay is up to you, but you are no longer Princess of this tribe. I strip you of your right of caste.”
It took her a
moment to absorb the news, and when she did, Linara stepped away from Brigid
with hate in her eyes. “I’m leaving
this camp for as long as you are Queen. I will never call you sister again.”
Brigid watched
as the women dispersed, heading to their huts to pack up, but before she could
return to her own hut to patch up her wounds, three ram’s horns sounded in the
silent forest air.
They were
under attack.
A warrior
flipped from the trees and came running into the camp. As she neared, Brigid could see it was a
perimeter guard, Gighi.
“Roman’s! Two legions are moving in on us!”
Every woman
stopped in her tracks and turned to Brigid.
She was, after all, still their Queen, and in times of battle Amazon’s
swore to always stick together. It
looked like their exodus from the First Tribe would have to wait.
“Alright
women. It looks like we have an
emergency on our hands. Gather your
weapons and prepare our artillery. When
that is done, move up. Linara, I want
you to meet with the children that are returning from the Northern tribe. Tell them to go back.”
“But what
about-“
“Linara! Now
is not the time to oppose me. The tribe needs to be unified now more than
ever. Do as I say.”
Linara stood
up stiffly and mounted a horse to carry out her orders, knowing Brigid was
robbing her of her chance to fight for her tribe. Yet another grudge for her to
hold against Brigid. Brigid decided she
would care later. Right now, she had a tribe to defend.
**********
Livia rode
through the forest alongside her sister Brigid. It felt strange, going out to battle against Rome. She wondered, not for the first time, just
how deeply her loyalty to Rome was.
“If you fight against them,
there’s no going back,” Brigid said.
She pulled her Queens’ mask up, exposing her beautifully freckled
face. “You could be killed.”
“I know. I was defeated and captured. Now Caesar has sent men to retrieve me. I’ve
already been shamed. It will take me
years to recover from that.”
Brigid reached
out to Livia, taking her by the hand.
“I have to know. Where do your
loyalties lie?”
“I don’t know
that myself. Augustus Caesar sponsored
me. He’s the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had. And you’re my sister.”
“I’ll tell you
what. Don’t decide now. Let your heart chose for you, when the time comes.”
Livia nodded,
but didn’t like the idea of allowing her heart to choose anything for her. Her
heart, she’d learned, was a traitor.
She couldn’t trust it to lead her on the right path, only on the path
that promised power and wealth. It was the way Ares had taught her.
**********
Augustus
Caesar mounted his horse as Ledricles emerged from his tent. “Caesar, the men are all in position. You
just give the signal, and the battle is on.”
Augustus
nodded. Ledricles was a good soldier.
He was intelligent, capable and fierce.
All good qualities in a Roman leader, but he would think about the young
man’s rank later. Right now it was time
to meet the enemy, and retrieve his prize from their hands: Livia.
**********
Livia waited
back in the trees as she noticed one brave soldier riding toward the forest.
When he was close enough, she recognized who it was.
“By the gods,
Brigid.”
“What?”
“That’s Caesar
himself.”
Livia couldn’t
believe it. Augustus Caesar had come
all the way from Rome to retrieve her, but why? Did he do it out of love or for some other reason? And would he be willing to spare the
Amazon’s after he discovered they’d killed almost every man in the entire Alpha
legion?
“He has at
least two legions with him from what I can see,” Brigid said, looking over at
her. Livia could hear the
understandable fear in her voice. Her
tribe was in peril of being wiped off the face of the earth.
“He controls
many more than that. Chances are
Brigid, these forests are surrounded and your warrior’s don’t even know
it. Augustus Caesar is a smart, deadly
opponent. He’ll plan his battles on two
assumptions.”
“What?”
Livia watched
the man who had become an enigma to her, ride her way. Was he to be her father, her general or her
husband? She didn’t know exactly how
Augustus viewed his relationship to her, and because of that uncertainty, she didn’t
know which way she would plead for the Amazon’s lives. Not because she cared about them, but
because Brigid cared about them, and she cared about Brigid.
“He will assume that he
is hopelessly outnumbered. That way he
will utilize his forces better. He will also assume your warriors are superior
to his. That’s why he’s not the average Roman, and that’s what makes him so
deadly.”
Brigid looked
down at the approaching warrior with a new respect. “Once he knows we’ve killed his men, he will wipe us off the face
of the god’s green earth.”
“Not if I can
help it,” Livia said with determination.
Before Brigid
could object, Livia took off out of the forest and rode straight for Augustus.
She just didn’t know she was about to receive the surprise of her life in the
form of her own decisions.
The End of Chapter Nine.