The Centurion's Woman

Chapter 21

"WHY DO YOU need a slave of your own?" Verus leaned on the table to watch as Mikey checked over the injuries on Alex's latest purchase.

        "I do not," she replied, cutting up a few of the fruits she'd bought as a treat. "But I could not leave her there. Look at what he did to her face."

        The young woman was named Zhang Yehao, and was trying very hard not to stare while Alex and Verus discussed her enslavement. Her look often turned to Alex's collar, showing she was also expecting to be collared in fairly short order.

        "How will you afford her?" Verus pressed. Alex scooped the small pile of fruit to the middle of the table for them to all share and then sat down on the stool opposite Verus.

        "I don't know," she finally admitted. "Can you earn a wage?"

        Yehao blinked rapidly and started listing off cleaning, cooking, mending, and other useful things that would make her beneficial to keep. Verus frowned at the generic tasks, unimpressed at women's work after just watching her best the woman who'd been training him. In less than five minutes, Yehao was angered by his probing questions and insults into snapping at him with a detailed listing of her armorsmithing abilities in a vocabulary that could make Quintus uncomfortable.

        "That explains why he always hit you in the mouth." Verus sat back and popped an olive in his mouth. Yehao dropped her gaze to her lap, her chest heaving as she tried to rein in her anger after realizing that Verus had incited her on purpose. Alex, Mikey and Verus all stood when the crier passed and called the hour.

        "Come with me," Alex held out the second jian to her new slave. "We train when the men train."

        The young woman came to her feet slowly, painfully unsure of what had happened between herself and Verus and knocked further off balance when Alex remained friendly.

        "I don't understand," she stated, not reaching for the weapon.

        "I know," Alex smiled at her. "But you will learn quickly, I think."

                                                                ***

        Alex chuckled at the look on her new slave's face. First this afternoon had happened, and then at dinner Verus had prodded her into a yelling match that nearly came to blows before Ixillius had finished the argument by bursting out laughing. To help Yehao calm down, Alex had brought her outside for the final daily check on Max and the mare. Hades flapped from one horse to the other during the brushing, jealous cawing at each unseating until Alex gently stroked over his feathers with the brush.

        Yehao stared at the tame crow vying for affection, hopping from Alex's left to right shoulder and back again so he could receive the same attention she was giving the horses. The mare bumped Hades away to get at the bits of fruit that Alex was giving all of them as treats and he swooped close to the ground, making a wide arc inside the pen to land on one of the posts near Yehao. She held out an open hand to him and he hopped across the top of the railing, looking if she was holding food. Finding nothing, he cawed at her accusingly and flapped back to the horses for his portion of the treats.

        Her hands empty and the animals settled for the night, Alex climbed out through the fence and smiled at her slave. She found the quiet fighter a welcome relief from her usual, vocal companions.

        "Ennius will visit tonight, and he speaks as much as Verus," Alex warned Yehao, the woman's shoulders rounding low under the expectation of being goaded for the rest of the night – or rather the rest of her life – by both brothers.

        "He does not hate you," Alex said quietly, making Yehao look up in surprise. "Verus makes you argue because he is curious. You only speak your mind when you are angry."

        Yehao blinked rapidly, her thoughts visibly spinning with the shock that someone actually wanted to speak with her. Alex walked back into the tent, Yehao trailing behind, and got Verus to unfasten her armor. Alex and her brother exchanged the usual insults and then Alex went over to the wash stand. Before she was even behind the drape, Verus threw his first question at Yehao, immediately using one that had baited her into arguing earlier. Alex grinned as the younger woman tentatively and politely answered with her complete opinion; triggering a conversation that quickly spiraled into a philosophical discussion.

        Verus didn't bother being polite at the interruption of Ixillius and Ennius returning from the evening rounds, ignoring them in his attempt to keep Yehao talking with him. The younger woman bowed politely and, as was the custom of both her original and her newly adopted cultures, silently went about completing some mundane chores to ensure their guest was comfortable as Verus berated his brother for interrupting and ending the conversation.

        Much later, after Ennius had left, Alex set up her own pallet beside the table for Yehao and gave her the new blanket and cloak Verus had purchased for her. Yehao seemed thunderstruck at the kindness, having expected to simply be left on her own, and took the items almost fearfully.

        "You would be a poor investment for Alex if you become cold and sick tonight," Mikayla chuckled. Alex wished them both a good sleep, glancing back and smiling that Yehao chose to keep her jian on the pallet with her.

        "And where will you sleep?" Ixillius asked as Alex came into their room.

        "With Verus," Alex replied lightly.

        "You'll end up cold," he stated, setting aside his toga and kicking off the sandals that he wore in the evenings. "Verus is too small to make much heat."

        "I'm certain we will find ways to stay warm," she assured him, undoing the pins at her shoulders. He stripped to his little bindings and pulled her close.

        "And what way would that be?" he asked. The tunic she wore slipped off her shoulders as she released the last pin.

        "We will cuddle, massage, and he is very nice for –"

        Ixillius interrupted her with a kiss. "Too many words for this simple Legionnaire to understand," he stated. "You'll have to show me."