In the Arms of a King (My Warrior Lover) (2 page)

Hand in hand, the two lovers climbed towards the top of a rocky outcrop that allowed them to survey the whole area. As they neared the top, Sabina became short of breath, struggling to make the steep climb. Blaine lifted her off her feet and carried her to the top of the crag. He placed her on her feet and they both looked out at the vista beyond.

Sabina thought how beautiful and peaceful everything looked. The ocean crashing on the beach, the green and fertile valleys, the raw and naked moors and heathlands. Yet things were far from peaceful. Underneath the veil of tranquility, a war was brewing, and Sabina knew that she was destined to be a part of it.

Blaine stood at the very peak of the crag, his red hair blowing in the mountain breeze. He pointed out the Roman fort in the distance. Sabina could see soldiers moving on the ramparts, townsfolk going about their business in the huddle of rag-taggle buildings that passed for a town below it. If her father knew where she was – and who she was with – the scene would not be so ordinary. Squadrons of soldiers would even now be striking out to capture them. But it seemed she had not been missed…not yet, at least.

Blaine pointed at the fort and then at her. She knew what he was indicating. He meant that she belonged there, with them – not here, with him. She shook her head defiantly. Then Blaine pointed to the moors and heathland beyond, the direction where he was headed. Sabina nodded her head vigorously. That was what she wanted, to go with him – to wherever his destination may be.

She stepped closer to Blaine, wrapping her arms around his waist. She looked into his eyes, standing on tip toe so that her eyes were almost level with his.

‘Oh, Blaine,’ she said. ‘I know you can’t understand a word I am saying, but I want you to see that I only want to be with you. It feels so right, so good…so natural. I…I think I love you.’

Blaine put his hands around her waist and kissed her gently on the lips.

‘I love you, too, Sabina,’ he said. He spoke in fluent Latin, with only a hint of an accent.

2: The King of The Scots

Sabina jumped backwards, as startled as if a legionnaire had poked her in the backside with his sword. She blinked in amazement, looking at Blaine as if he was a creature from another planet.

‘You understood me!’ she gasped. ‘You speak Latin?’

Blaine gave her an apologetic smile and replied in Latin as fluent as that of any patrician. ‘Yes, actually I do. And I apologize for deceiving you, but I had very good reasons. If you let me explain, you will understand.’

Sabina was still reeling. It didn’t make any sense. This man was a Pict, a foreigner. How could a man from the savage world of the North possibly have learned to speak Latin? And it was no pidgin Latin that he spoke. There was no heavy accent, no stumbling words and awkward phrasing. He spoke like a cultured Roman. How was this possible?

‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘You look like a Scot, but you speak like a Roman. Who are you?’

Blaine took her hands in his and calmed her down. ‘Please sit down with me and let me explain. It’s a story worth telling. I’m only sorry I couldn’t tell you before.’

Blaine took off his coat and laid it on the grass. Sabina sat down and he sat beside her.

‘Is your name really Blaine?’ she demanded. Nothing seemed certain anymore. She had no idea what was real and what was not.

‘Yes, it is. I am a Scot from an ancient Pictish clan, and very proud of my heritage. My family have been in this glen for generations – hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of years. We belong here. This is our homeland and our heritage.’

‘Then how did you come to speak like a son of Rome?’

‘My native tongue is Scottish, of course. But remember, the Romans have been in Britain for over a hundred years. They have been forging into this part of Scotland for over thirty years – my whole life and more. When I was a child, my people made a treaty with the Romans to avoid a bloody and useless war. We agreed to a peace in which we could trade and prosper together.’

‘My father always says the treaty is more powerful than the sword.’

‘Then he is a wise man. That is the Roman way – to expand the Empire through negotiation, not through battle. And my people were tired of fighting. We have been defending our land against invaders for many, many years. An equitable peace seemed like the best solution for everyone.’

‘OK, but how do you fit into this?’

‘I was the child of an influential family in the clan. At the age of seven, I was sent to your fort to be educated, together with my brother and some others. It was in the interest of both parties to have people who understood the languages and the cultures of both peoples. We were raised almost as Roman children. We learned to speak Latin; we studied Homer and the classics.’

‘You were raised there…in my fort?’

‘Yes, it was my fort long before it was your fort. I know every inch of that place, although it has been considerably extended and fortified since then. I would even have been sent to Rome to study, if it wasn’t for the tax decree.’

‘Tax decree? I don’t understand. What happened?’

‘Rome got a new Emperor. And to impress his people, he put on one of the most lavish gladiatorial spectacles ever held – one hundred days of entertainment to show his power and his status. Except that he couldn’t afford it, so he taxed his Empire to find the money. Our people were asked to pay heavy taxes for an extravagance we neither wanted nor needed. The Scots revolted…and that was the end of my integration with Rome. I was taken back to my people, and then sent away to a distant island for safety. I was still a child, remember. Everyone knew a battle was inevitable.’

‘Your people fought the Romans?’

‘Yes, but they were no match for the might of the Roman army. The rebellion was crushed and most of my people fled for the hills. My father was killed in the battle, and I will never forgive the Romans for that. Ever since then, I have dreamed of coming back to reclaim my homeland…and finally I am here.’

Sabina was still trying to sort this out in her mind. Now a lot of things made sense, but there were still some questions that needed to be answered.

‘But…why did you pretend that you could not communicate with me? We even made love, and you did not speak a word of Latin.’

Blaine put his arm around her. ‘I wanted to, that’s for sure. But I didn’t know if I could trust you. I didn’t want word getting back to the Romans about my presence here. If they heard of a Latin-speaking Scot, they would soon work out who I was.’

‘But why? Who are you?’

Blaine hesitated. ‘I am a man with good reason to have grievances with the Romans. I have scores to settle, and I don’t want to put them on alert.’

‘And now you have chosen to trust me, even though I am one of the hated Romans?’

Blaine kissed her on the cheek. ‘You are not one of them, Sabina. You are not tainted with the blood of battle. You are as innocent as anyone. You have already shown where your loyalty is. And now that you have committed yourself to me, I intend to put my trust in you.’

***

When Sabina didn’t show up for breakfast, her mother wasn’t overly concerned. Her daughter was turning into a contrary young woman who was often difficult just for the sake of it. But then she herself had been no better at that age. She could recall her mother shouting at her regularly.

‘Portia, I don’t know what’s got into young people nowadays. You are so unco-operative. I’m sure I never gave my parents as much trouble as you do. You don’t seem to care about anyone except yourself and those awful boys who hang around the Forum…’

And now she, Portia, was saying exactly the same things to her own daughter. She wondered if it would be like this for future generations. Maybe two thousand years from now, teenagers would still be arguing with their parents. No, surely not. People will be far more sensible by then. They would laugh if they knew how much trouble the Romans had with their kids. The only time Sabina seemed to talk to her was when she wanted to borrow money.

Portia wasn’t particularly worried until Severus, the servant responsible for tutoring Sabina, asked to see her. He wanted to know if there was a reason why Sabina had failed to show up for her morning lessons, and whether he should expect her in the afternoon. That shook Portia a little, and she excused the domestic staff from their duties – sending them to search for Sabina instead.

When lunchtime came around and there was still no sign of Sabina, she started to panic and went in search of her husband. Lucius was busy supervising the construction of new fortifications, and wasn’t best pleased at being disturbed. But when he heard that his daughter was missing, he called his soldiers to order and started issuing instructions. Within a few minutes, formal search parties were being sent out to cover the ground in a wide circle around the fort.

Lucius Maximus stood and watched them leave with a heavy heart. He hoped to the Gods that Sabina would turn up and alive and well. The silly girl had probably gone off on a long walk with her friends, and would turn up laughing and apologizing. But with all those unruly savages out there, there was no telling what might happen. If she hadn’t been found by sundown, then things would be looking serious. He hoped against hope that she would return safely, whether of her own accord or under the direction of his soldiers.

Lucius had spent his entire career serving the army in various parts of the Empire. He had done his duty for the Emperor in places as far flung as Egypt, Greece and France. He had baked in the desert, frozen in snowy wastelands and survived endless battles. With over twenty years of service under his belt, he knew he could look forward to one final soft posting back near home, and then a plot of land to retire to. He had been looking forward to that retirement for many years. But it would all be ruined if Sabina was not there to be part of it.

Ever since she was born, Sabina had been the light of his life, eclipsing even his wife in his affections. He regretted having to spend so much time away from home, and all the days he had missed from her childhood. He had always expected to be able to make up for that in his retirement, and he was chilled to think his dreams could be destroyed.

Lucius cursed himself for not ensuring that she was kept safely under supervision. One thing he knew. If something happened to his one and only daughter, the population of this cursed land would pay for it in spades.

***

Blaine led Sabina down the mountain and through the heavily wooded valley below. Sabina was enchanted by the forest. It was all so different to the forests back in Rome – so much thicker, greener and more luxuriant. She could hear the calls of strange birds in the trees, so gentle and musical. She breathed heavily and took in the scents of the forest – so rich, heavy in scent and so intoxicating. This truly was a strange world that Blaine came from, and she was excited to explore it further.

They walked for some time. Sabina didn’t know how long exactly. She wasn’t used to telling the time directly from the sun, and without the modern convenience of a sun dial she lost all sense of time. But she knew she was tired…exhausted, in fact. Every so often, Blaine would pick her up and carry her some of the way, allowing her to catch her breath and rest her weary feet. She was grateful of the break, but she knew she was putting Blaine under further pressure. And he had enough to worry about already.

‘Let me walk,’ she said. ‘I can manage.’

‘You’re not as used to this terrain as I am.’

‘You can say that again. How much further?’

‘Not long now. If we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, we will be there before you know it.’

Sabina struggled to do just that, but it was hard going. They stopped for a while by a stream and rested. Sabina took her sandals off and soaked her feet in the cool, refreshing water. But when she looked at her feet, she could see blisters coming up. Before long, walking would be agony. They rested for maybe half an hour, and then it was time to move on again. The woodland thickened and the trail was barely discernible. This was a place you would only come to if you knew exactly where you were going. Sabina dreaded to think what would happen if she became separated from Blaine. She would just wander lost in the forest until she died of starvation, or was killed by some strange mountain monster. She had heard the myths and legends about the strange beasts that lurked in the woods, and she had no desire to meet one of them. Blaine, however, seemed unperturbed by the dangers, and he strode onwards through the undergrowth, only pausing to ensure that Sabina was following behind him.

The forest grew deeper and darker, and the going got tougher with each step. Sabina was struggling to keep up. But just when she thought she couldn’t make it any further, they burst out into a clearing. Sabina blinked her eyes as they came out into the sunshine. This was a large natural clearing that was as big as a gladiatorial arena. Just a few steps back in the woods, it had been invisible. She looked around in amazement. The clearing was grassy, with a stream running along one edge – probably the same stream that she had bathed her feet in earlier. All around the clearing, towering trees guarded the area like sentinels on duty. And right in the center of the clearing there was a village.

Blaine turned to Sabina. ‘Welcome to Camlan,’ he said. ‘The ancient home of my people and the spiritual center of our world.’

Sabina looked around in amazement. She could hardly believe that such a large settlement could be hidden deep in the forest like this. It seemed unreal. There was a mixture of wooden roundhouses, timber-framed cabins and large tents made from skins and leather. And all around were people – Scottish people. The majority of them were men.

Fighting men.

One of the men nearest to them looked up as they approached. When he saw Blaine, a big smile broke out across his face. He shouted something in Scottish and other men started turning to look. And then to Sabina’s astonishment, they started to cheer and applaud.  She pulled herself closer to Blaine’s side.