All's fair in love and war [M]

[Sara]

She didn't expect it to be him, nor did she expect the softness or concern in his voice. She blinked...with the one eye that could open and tried to angle her head so she could see him better. He looked about how she felt and she felt a wave of concern and guilt wash over her. 

"Sore." she choked in a hoarse, bemused voice and tried to smile for him but it came out more like a mangled grimace. "You're hurt..." She said with a frown and reached out a hand to his bad arm. She should never have got him involved. She should never have been out in the first place, she should have listened to him. "Everything hurts...and do we have water?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

Edited January 7, 2022 by Sara

[Chevi]

"I'll be fine" he assured her. He was hurt, but it was nothing he had not felt before. For her... it was worse, and also harder, being attacked like that.

"Yes, we have water." he shifted, reaching with his good arm under her shoulders to help her sit up a little. "Easy. I'll help." He managed to prop her up, leaning against his side, and then got the cup of water from the side table, holding it to her lips. "Small sips."

@Sara

[Sara]

She would have balked at the familiarity he was showing had she not been in so much desperate need for water. She did not, however, do as instructed and tried to gulp it down - leading to her spluttering as it hit her parched mouth. She tried again and this time, did manage a few small sips until she made a mewl of pain, urging him to let her back down. Her ribs were protesting at the movement. 

"I'm so sorry," She blinked with her good eye, swallowing down the water, "I...should not have gone out. I won't go out again." Because you let them go and they will try again. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She didn't listen, in true Ovinia fashion. Lucius propped her up while she sputtered and tried again, getting some water in before he laid her back down as carefully as possible. Broken ribs were bad, he knew that from experience.

"I'm so sorry. I...should not have gone out. I won't go out again." 

"None of this was your fault" he said gently, setting the cup down. He smoothed her hair out of her face, avoiding to touch the bruises. "I am sorry I didn't get there sooner."

@Sara

[Sara]

He felt bad, she could see it in the tender way he brushed the hair out of her face and in his voice. She swallowed. She'd never seen him look so...vulnerable before, besides perhaps a flash of it when he had found her at her old domus. She sighed and shook her head as much as she was able to and reached for his hand, tugging on it, squeezing his palm with her fingers. 

"No." She managed but every word felt like climbing a mountain, "They were going to do it whether you were there or not. Decimus I..." Tears filled her eyes and she shuddered. She had loved him, once. Wanted to marry him. "You can't let them go Lucius, they will try again." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No. They were going to do it whether you were there or not. Decimus I..." 

They were after her. They somehow managed to find the girl in the middle of the city, and decided to take revenge on her for something her father had done. They wanted to hurt her, specifically, and did not care at all that their revenge made no sense.

"You can't let them go Lucius, they will try again." 

"I won't let them." he shook his head "They were your father's clients, right? Tell me who they are, and I will send the men out to find them."

[Sara]

"Decimus was," She swallowed, fingers still gripping his hand. It was comforting. "He and I...I was young and he told me he loved me," she shook her head, "He asked me to...s-spy on some of my fathers clients for him and then we could marry and I asked my father and..." she swallowed, the effort of speaking exhausting her, "His relationship with my father never recovered...he backed him, to the hilt during the war he must have...lost everything. He was so rich..." She knew the feeling. 

"I didn't know the men he was with." she offered and glanced at him, trying to summon some strength and authority, "Has a medicus seen you?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She held on to his hand as she told her story. That man... Lucius still saw him, sneering and kicking. She had wanted to marry him once. He would have taken her down with him too. Somehow, his betrayal long past made the attack feel even more revolting. He held Ovinia's hand.

"Has a medicus seen you?" 

"He has. My injuries are not as bad as yours. I'll be fine" he repeated himself. "We'll give Decimus' name to the vigiles, they will find him, and his men. I'll make sure." His thumb smoothed over the back of her hand. "You have broken ribs, and some bad bruises. You will have to stay in bed for a while."

@Sara

[Sara]

She did not believe him. She had been beaten halfway to the afterlife by three men, it did not make sense that one-handed he should be fine. She tried her best to give him an assessing look, but that was a failure. "His full name is Decimus Statius." she said on exhale, trying to focus through the pain. She had, previous to the war, little faith in the vigiles to do anything and certainly not catch a man like Decimus. Now though, her opinion might have changed a touch. 

"I can watch you do your exercises from here," She tried to joke and her hand sank into his touch, "I...am not going out again." She gave a wavering smile. The attack had frightened her, scared her half to death but it felt almost a relief now it was done. She had been waiting for the day for her past to catch up with her and it had and she was still standing. Just. "I need to thank Marius as well," She said quickly and tried to push herself up.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She gave him the full name. Lucius knew he would not stop until they found him. If that man could find Ovinia, the vigiles could find him. Lucius had trained them well. She still looked scared though, and broken.

"I can watch you do your exercises from here. I...am not going out again."

"You don't have to." It was sad, remembering how triumphant she had been about being allowed to go out.

"I need to thank Marius as well," 

She tried to sit up, so Lucius put a hand on her shoulder. "Marius is asleep. It's late night. You should rest too. I just told you you need to stay in bed." 

[Sara]

"Since when do I listen to you." She offered and tried to give him an eyeroll but...that didn't really work with one eye open and functioning, and not swollen shut. She gave him a weak smile though and nodded. "Tomorrow. I'll thank him tomorrow." She had nothing to give him or Lucius by way of a gift, but hopefully her words would be enough. She blinked. She hadn't even said thank you to him. 

"Thank you." She blurted out with force, now the thought had come to her. "I mean it..." She swallowed and reached again for his hand that was on her shoulder, "Thank you." She gave him a look which could have said a hundred million different things. She, herself, wasn't sure what it meant but she finally withdrew her hand and gave him a half smile. "Do you not need sleep yourself?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Since when do I listen to you. Tomorrow. I'll thank him tomorrow."

She settled back into the bed. That would have to do, for now. Lucius smiled a little at her attempt at a smile "I'll tell him to stop by."

She reached for his hand again. It wasn't much, but at least he could let her now he was by her side.

"Thank you. I mean it... Thank you... Do you not need sleep yourself?" 

"I probably do" he chuckled. "But I wanted to make sure you were alright. I was... scared, that they... that you wouldn't be." he finished awkwardly. It was not something easily put into words.

[Sara]

Ovinia's lips parted a little in surprise, a curious expression on her face. He was scared? For her? She blinked, but...understood. She'd been scared for him too, when he'd intervened. Petrified, really, in a way that she hadn't been about herself. She gave him an awkward attempt at a smile. 

"I'll be fine." She commented, with no knowledge of whether she actually would be...she was confident in the abilities of Lucius' medicus though - he'd patched her wrist up just fine. "And look at it this way," She gave him a half-smile again, "You get to be my nurse now." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius smiled at her words. If she thought she would be fine, that was half the battle. Maybe the entire battle, even, given Ovinia's sheer stubbornness. "Does that mean you will listen to me, for once?"

He waited until she fell asleep again. She looked pale, bloodied and bruised, but she would pull through. And he would not let this happen to her again. He watched her sleep, following her breathing, until his own eyes started to close to. Only then did he make his way back to his own bed, only a few steps away, before falling into a deep sleep.

@Sara

[Sara]

The medicus might have been insistent that Ovinia had to stay in bed for a full week and a half to let her ribs heal, but Ovinia was equally insistent that she could rest perfectly well in the gardens. It was spring and it was beautiful, and there was a perfectly comfortable couch...or there would be once she was finished stubbornly dragging the cushions out of her room onto the bench with little gasps of pain and winces. 

"You were to stay in bed." Marius huffed as she slowly, very slowly, clutched onto two - dragging them outside, a scroll set under her arm. "I will be in a bed." Marius threw up his hands, exasperated. "You are injured." Ovinia shot him a glare, but it had no heat, "Then help me." Marius returned her look with one of his own; "I'm not party to this." She rolled her eyes and pushed past him with a wince, cushions dragging on the floor until she finally made it to the bench - already arrayed in a heap of soft pillows. She dumped the last two in the mound and then slowly, very slowly, eased herself down with a gasp of pain.

It had been a week and she was going mad in her little, dark box room. She needed the fresh air and relaxation which she couldn't get at the foot of Lucius' bed. Besides - she was getting better - her eye had opened again, even if her face was now a patchwork of reds and greens from bruises and her side was  healing better, she was sure. One trip out into the garden was hardly going to irreparably damage her. Hearing Marius scoff again in the distance, she grinned smugly to herself and reclined herself back, unwinding one of the scrolls she stole from Lucius' room to read.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

It had been a week, and wounds were healing slowly. Lucius and Ovinia were both still sporting dark bruises, but the worst danger had passed; the medicus said they would both make full recovery. Except for Lucius' arm, of course, but that was no news; he was wearing it in a sling again, since the fight where he had thrown his shoulder at his opponents.

He still spent a lot of time watching over Ovinia. The servants helped with the nursing tasks (she would not have let him carry or support her, even if he could with one arm), but he still checked on her regularly, sitting by her bed, bringing in food and drinks. She hated lying still, he knew that. He would bring in news for her about his men searching for the attackers, or read to her when he had the time.

Today, however, getting home from a visit to the barracks, he did not find her in her room.

"Ovinia?" What had happened? He hurried back out of his room, looking around, and almost ran into Marius.

"She's in the gardens, domine."

"What?"

Marius shrugged. Lucius sighed, rolling his eyes, and headed to the gardens. Ovinia was, indeed, there, in a nest built from pillows, reading, as if she was the mistress of the house, and not a slave. Still, she was out in the sunshine, pale and bruised, but comfortable. Lucius sighed, shaking his head with an amused smile.

"Tell me someone carried you out here."

@Sara

[Sara]

"No," She said and flicked her eyes up from the scroll, a small smile on her lips, "They refused. If they were slaves I'd have recommended that you whip them for their insolence." 

She gave him a smug little smile and went back to her reading for a few long moments before she sighed and glared up at him again. "I was going out of my mind in there." She jabbed a finger to her own room. It wasn't just nightmares anymore, but lying still and alone in the dark of the room brought on memories of lying in the dirt  that she desperately didn't want to think about.

She gave him a once over. "How are you feeling, domine?"

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"They refused. If they were slaves I'd have recommended that you whip them for their insolence." 

She had dragged the pillows out here and walked out alone. Lucius rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the edge of the nest. "You do realize you are being the most insolent of all of them, right?" Not that he was going to whip her, or anyone. She knew that.

"I was going out of my mind in there." 

Lucius gave her a look. She had made such a fuss about that room, and so far she had not been very enthusiastic about it.

"How are you feeling, domine?"

"I am feeling fine" he was not back to normal, but that was to be expected. He arched an eyebrow at her. "Is that one of my books?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"Insolent but injured, so it's really more amusing than annoying, I'm sure." She retorted but didn't look at him - trying to concentrate on the words on the page rather than him sitting down on her little nest. 

"Mhm." She made a sound which let him know she didn't believe him for a second, not unlike the look he'd given her a moment prior. "Have you been doing your exercises?" She couldn't very well help him at the moment but that hadn't prevented her from nagging him - calling out from her little room whenever she could that he should be stretching. Whether he listened to her, she didn't know. 

"It is." She gave him a triumphant little smile, "I'm not much of a reader normally, but it's better than sewing or just laying in bed. It's not very good." She rolled her eyes, "It's about some tribe in Gaul. I think." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Insolent but injured, so it's really more amusing than annoying, I'm sure." 

"Eh..." Lucius chuckled, making an ambivalent gesture. She was amusing, when she was not a complete pain in the ass. Sometimes.

"Mhm. Have you been doing your exercises?" 

"Oh no, you do not get to ask that right now." he noted, poking at the pillows surrounding her. If she could disregard the medicus' orders, so could he. Also... she was apparently reading one his books.

"It is. I'm not much of a reader normally, but it's better than sewing or just laying in bed. It's not very good. It's about some tribe in Gaul. I think." 

"You really must be bored." Lucius sighed, and then unceremoniously pulled a pillow from under her feet, lying down in the grass next to the bench. "I am sorry my library is not up to your standards. What would you rather read?"

@Sara

[Sara]

She let out a yelp of protest as he removed the pillow, although not in pain, more annoyance. From this angle though, she could peer down at him. It was amusing. He seemed lighter - more unburdened. In an odd sort of way - so did she. 

"A romance perhaps, it might help. I think Marius likes me," She heard the expected scoff and noise of protestation that let them know he was eavesdropping and she laughed - enough that her ribs started to ache and burn. She winced, trying to stifle her amusement, clutching her side. "O-or, something on music, if you have anything? I remember a book from when I was a girl, it was about composition and the Greek musicians." She'd read it and re-read it so many times that the paper was torn and dirtied by the time her father had finally tossed it in the rubbish heap. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"A romance perhaps, it might help. I think Marius likes me," 

Lucius scoffed with laughter, and the sound was echoed by Marius who had no doubt overheard the comment, and thought it was ridiculous. Ovinia laughed. It was a strange sound, and Lucius realized she had not done that for... quite a while. He noted the wince, though. Her ribs still had to hurt a lot.

"O-or, something on music, if you have anything? I remember a book from when I was a girl, it was about composition and the Greek musicians."

"Why would you want to read about music?" He blinked, peering up at her. "Isn't that something  people would rather... do?"

[Sara]

"I don't play any instruments," She rejoined, "And unless you do, I think my options are limited to reading about those that do." She peered down at him. She didn't realise that this was the first time, really, she'd told him anything about her own interests.

"Do you?' She asked, placing a palm underneath her jaw as she stared down at him, hair falling over her shoulder and nearly tickling his face, "Enjoy music? Or do you prefer more masculine arts? Hunting and wrestling and..." She wrinkled her nose, "Things." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No, I don't play instruments." He admitted. Those were usually reserved for plebeians, and maybe highly educated women. He chuckled at her list of 'manly arts'. 

"I don't hunt. Or wrestle. I mean I did, it was part of our training to learn to fight bare handed, but it's not exactly a pastime." He smirked. "I enjoy the gardens, when I have the time. I haven't visited my family's villa in ages, but I miss it." Hr glanced up at her. "How about you and the... feminine arts?"

Well, that came out wrong.

[Sara]

"Gardens?" Her interest perked up at that. It was rapidly diminished by the the villa though and she wrinkled  her nose as she stared down at him. "A country boy, of course. Don't you find it dull out there?" She pondered him. He seemed alive in the city - she couldn't imagine him in vineyards or fields of an estate. "Then again, if you went you could take me with you. Nobody needs to know I'm a slave in the country." She grinned. When was the last time she felt this...light? She should feel morose, she thought to herself, after Decimus, with the pain but...she didn't. She was led in a garden with a man who humoured her, the sun warming her skin and a scroll in her lap. It felt...normal. 

"Feminine arts?" Her brow quirked and she tried to keep herself from laughing. She was led on her uninjured side, but any great movements seemed to aggravate the pain in her wounded ribs. "And what do you suppose those would be? Or do you know nothing of women?" Judging by the fact he hadn't had a woman in the house since she' arrived, and that he didn't appear to use his servants for such a thing, he didn't know a thing. Which was fine, because neither did she. 

"I used to like music a lot, and seeing my friends and parties. I hated weaving." Which is...all she really had to do here. 

 

TAG: @Chevi