[IC] The gladiator and the princess

[Xion Demente]

Aiden had his eyes closed, trying to block out the pain his mind wanted him to be aware of. A few minutes passed before he felt himself falling. Hitting the ground with a low grunt he saw the woman that had helped him twice now. Getting to his feet slowly, every movement of his arm and back gave away a fresh wave of pain.

"I know a horse that's around here that isn't tended to or should I say watched over and your coming with me don't argue about it I am not letting you die just because you helped me escape." He started running taking to the back alleys making sure no one saw them.

"Plus I would think you would want to learn more about celts than what the Romans have put in there history books. Oh by the way I didn't give you my name Aiden Bane the meaning of my first name is fire." With that they got to the horse helping the her up onto the horse and then getting on himself even with one arm he was still the better horsemen with that they ran through the town on horse back.

[RomanAria]

Iulia had never been on a horse before. She shut her eyes, wringing her hands tightly together in her lap rather than panic like she wanted to.
Realizing the man had told her his name, she smiled. "I'm Iulia Claudia. I was named for the first and only dictator of Rome, Iulius Caesar. The one who conquered Gaul and turned Rome into an Empire. And my parents wonder why I'm as rebellious as I am." In response to his other question, she said, "I've been fascinated with Celtic history for a while. I never actually understood why we were at war with them, and apparently, neither did the war counselors I asked, because they flat-out ignored me and reported my line of questioning to my father." The horse jumped over something, a barrel laying in the street, and she gasped at the sensation of weightlessness and anchored her fingers gently in the horse's mane. Just for her own peace of mind.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden nodded some, making the horse turn seeing guards though he sighed in relief that they didn't have any horses with them. Though now that he was on a horse he wouldn't give up his freedom not for a long shot. Even with a broken arm that was useless controlling a horse he had better control than the roman soldiers that had years of training.

Jumping over a overturned wagon that was supposed to stop them, he made it out the city and onto the plains he didn't stop till he knew he was a good distance away from the town stopping the horse into a walk.

[RomanAria]

Iulia, having had her eyes tightly shut the whole ride lest she throw up, blinked in shock when they went out onto the open plains.
"Oh, dear. What... How..." Her eyes were huge and full of tears. "What from Jupiter to Pluto were you thinking, Iulia, allowing yourself to go with this madman?!" She spoke quietly to herself in Etruscan. Then she shook her head and smiled, albeit a bit forcedly, at Aiden. "Why did you bring me?" She asked quietly, switching back to Celtic. "I know nothing about surviving out here. I'll just be a burden on you." She took off her medicine satchel, which was miraculously still looped over her shoulder, and motioned to Aiden to turn around. She hissed at the sight of his bloody, torn back. What, had the guards used a whip with iron spikes on it?
Probably. It was a flogging demanded by the emperor, so probably they would have used the cruelest whip they'd had. In this case it looked like multiple tails, probably four or five, and iron-reinforced tips on each. Most likely no poison, but maybe some sort of healing inhibitor. They weren't that hard to make, and it was pretty simple to infuse them into iron. Just quench the metal in whatever the potion is, rather than in water, and the potion will be in essence "baked" in.
She took her handkerchief and a waterskin and lightly rinsed the dirt and blood off of Aiden's back. She took some of her ointments and applied them to his back, one to discourage infection and another to promote healing. "Sorry, sorry, I'm trying to be gentle." She murmured as she worked, knowing that both medicines stung pretty badly. "I'm sorry." She folded up some spare handkerchiefs to make a pad, and after a moments consideration, took off her palla and folded it and tied it around Aiden's torso to hold the handkerchief pads in place. Then she had to giggle, despite herself, for the man looked rather ridiculous with the brilliant silver-and-blue cloth tied in a bow around his torso. But it would work for the moment.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden raised a brow at her question, "because I kinda already know the punishment for helping a gladiator escape. Plus you won't be a burden once I teach you out here how to survive you won't be much of one don't worry about it to much." He obeyed when she told him to, hissing at the pain that coursed through his back, it hurt though he stayed still for her to work.

Once he heard the giggle, he knew he had to look ridiculous, but his broken arm he didn't move the cloth that had been holding it gone. He just didn't move it because he knew the pain that would go through it if he did.

[RomanAria]

"But you didn't owe me anything. I owed it to you, since my father killed so many of your fellows." She covered her mouth, embarrassed by her forwardness, and eagerly changed the subject. "Oh, dear. You can't keep holding your own arm up like that. Wait, I've got an idea..." She untied the ridiculous-looking bow, repositioned the cloth, and wrapped it so that it would serve as a sling for the man's broken arm as well as holding the bandages in place. There wasn't quite enough slack to tie a knot, however, so she did the next best thing.
Bowing her head before the man, for both of her hands were holding several pleats of cloth, and if she let go of any of them the rest would come undone too. "Take some of my hairpins out, please. I'm going to try to pin the cloth in place."

[Xion Demente]

Aiden obeyed, grabbing the pins from her hair with his good arm. Holding them out to her, "you don't owe me anything lulia it's just for now we'll be out here and survive before I go back there to get Alexius out of that colosseum." Sighing some, he looked around the plains finally spotting the horse herd he had recognized from his childhood.

[RomanAria]

Iulia giggled, having a slight dilemma... She picked up one of the pins in her teeth and stabbed it through the cotton of her palla, and then, praying to Minerva, let go with one hand so that she could fasten the pin.
Well, now she could put the others in with her hands. She quickly did. The result looked only slightly less ridiculous than the original thing, but now it should hold better.
Following the line of Aiden's gaze, she looked up at the horses. "Oh... More horses. Can I try and say hello to one?" She giggled, wincing at the awkwardness of her childish speech. She didn't mean really "say hello" but there wasn't much else she could think of.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden laughed some, he nodded. "That's another thing I need to teach you get you more fluent in Celtic language." He said with a shrug, getting off the horse walking over to the herd. He held his hand out in front of one of there noses, he waited the horse looked at him hesitant at first but then brushed his nose against Aiden's palm.

Aiden smiled to that, he still remembered everything, his parents had taught him of a wild horse it had to accept you before you even tried to ride it. Stroking his fingers through the horses mane, he kept his touch gentle showing him he meant no harm to him or anyone that was close to him. The horse let out a neigh, Aiden smiled to that.

[RomanAria]

Iulia memorized the way he was doing it, and reached her hand out to one of the smaller horses in the herd. She flinched as the horse looked at her inquisitively and almost jerked her hand away, but the horse butted its head up against her hand. And then snorted and promptly sprayed Iulia's arm and chest with snot.
"Eww." She mumbled, brushing some of it away. The horse walked up and pressed its' head into her chest; she stumbled back, alarmed, and the horse came closer again, looking at her inquisitively with rich chocolate eyes. Again the horse nose-butted her chest; again the force of the blow tipped her backwards, and she landed flat on her back, the horse standing over her, looking like it couldn't figure out why she was on her back. "Um...Aiden?! Help?"

[Xion Demente]

Seeing the problem, he walked over keeping his movements slow. He got in front of the horse, holding his palm out. "Easy girl she won't hurt you she's a friend she Wong hurt you come on come here." When the horse started taking tentative steps toward him, "that's it girl come here no one will hurt you or any of the others not while I'm back come on." When the horse was in front of him, he swallowed though he didn't show he was nervous.

The horse coming and brushing its muzzle against the palm of his hand, a smile came to his lips. As he put his fingers into her mane once she gave him permission. "Sometimes horses can be unpredictable, but with her you've got to be extra careful with she may be small but she has her kid to think about so you need to keep your movements steady and slow along with not tensing or she will sense something is wrong."

[RomanAria]

Iulia rose to her feet slowly, slowly reached out her hand, forcing her muscles to relax. The horse snuffled at her hand. "She's really pretty." She fished in her medicine satchel, grinning triumphantly when she came up with a small sugar crystal. "I always carry some of these. They help people calm down after they've been in accidents, and little kids will do ANYTHING, even hold still for an hour, if it means they'll get one." She fed it to the horse, giggling as the horse crunched on it and then snuffled her hand for more. "That's all for now, girl, because I only have a few of them left." With her other hand she lightly petted the horse's mane. "Her hair is so soft..." she whispered.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden smiled at the interactio n, "yah she is and the only reason that we Celts started the rebellion was because Romans were taking horses from the herd that we had followed since our ancestors. They didn't even be gentle with them they caught and dragged we didn't like the way they were treating them horses are not under us. None of them are, its just they didn't care that they hurt them."

He sighed, his hand on the horses side, "that's the other reason were good at bare back riding is because we gain there trust and then once we've built that into a solid block of trust we bare back ride horses have better movement without saddles." He looked to the rest of the herd, "though I'll have to return back to the city to get Alexius out of that arena once I'm in better condition and once you know how to fight and defend yourself."

[RomanAria]

Iulia winced at the thought of trying to learn to kill. She was a healer, not a killer. And then what he'd said about her people registered.
"I knew they were cruel, but I didn't realize they were so cruel to your people, and to these fine, magnificent animals." The pretty mare was snuffling at her hair (which was now falling out of its bun thanks to her losing her hairpins) and Aery giggled as the horse licked her. "I didn't know horses could lick." she murmured. "Of course, I'd never even seen a horse close-up, much less been on one, until just now."

[Xion Demente]

Aiden smiled to that, "if you want I don't need to teach you how to fiht. Its just better if you would be able to defend yourself when I'm not around in camp or something of the rather." Sighing some he shook his head as he kept his hand in the horses mane.

(I'm just gonna timeskip to where he goes back to the city)

It had been weeks his arm long since healed, and his back wearing the leathers he had gotten from the animals he hunted when they needed food. Lulia had improved these past few weeks to where she was more fluent in Celtic she was a fst learned when she wanted to be. The hunting had taken a little longer for her to learn and the self defense.

Aiden started settling up his horse, getting ready to mhead back toward the romasn city. His physical features had changed hisnhsir long he had stubble not instead of that somewhat of a heard back in the collesium he was going to get alexius out of there.

[RomanAria]

Iulia was helping him, readying provisions and things. "I'd rather like to go with you to find out what happened to my sister, but at the same time..." She giggled. "I'd be more of a burden. And anyway, as cruel as Aelia can be, I'd rather not bring her along, or someone's going to kill her just to shut her up. And she won't even try to learn Celtic." She also was looking forward to a break from the near-constant lessons, so that she could go scouting for more herbs and prepare more of her medicines, which she was running out of. Aiden had taught her enough navigation that she wouldn't get lost in the rolling plains. And she'd gotten good enough on horseback, not to mention built up enough trust with the little mare, that she'd be able to cover a lot of ground, or make a speedy getaway on the off-chance that she was discovered.

Aelia had taken to bringing food to the gladiators, spending hours down there chattering with them. In particular, the other gladiator from the night when Iulia had run away, the darker-skinned man, he'd caught her attentions. Even now she spent hours sitting down there, across from his cell, chattering with him or even just sitting in silence.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden nodded, "just make sure your careful out here even if I'm caught no one will recognize me though besides your father has probably forgotten my face already." He looked toward where the roman city was, "I'll see to it if I can get alexieus out of there just make sure you stay out of sight and follow the herd when they move. They usually move if someone else is near by."

With that he got on the horse, putting the horse into a gallop toward the roman city. He needed to figure out how to escape again, him and alexieus can probably find a way out of the cells and get out of town that would be the hardest part not to get caught.

[RomanAria]

Iulia nodded soberly, feeling a lump building in her throat. On impulse she stood on tiptoe and hugged Aiden around the neck. "Don't you even think about getting caught." She whispered. Then, averting her gaze lest he see the tears in her blue eyes, she stepped back a respectable distance. "When will I expect you back?" she asked, her voice rather hoarse.

[Xion Demente]

Aiden raised an eyebrow to that, putting his arms around lulia in response. He had grown closer to her the more he gotten to know her, he considered himself a big brother to her now. He pursed his lips, at the question once lulia had let go of him. "I don't know lulia I don't with Alexius and everything still don't know I don't even know if I'll run into your sister or not down there."

[RomanAria]

Iulia nodded, resisting the urge to beg him to stay. He needed to save his friend. It was a noble cause and she respected that. Still... It would be dangerous, and she hated the thought of seeing Aiden hurt.
Again on impulse she took her protection necklace, with silver charms, one each for Aesculapius, Minerva, Mercury, and Roma, and dropped it over Aiden's head. "Minerva grant you cunning, Mercury give you swiftness, Aesculapius heal you from harm. May all the gods and goddesses go with you, my friend. And may you return safely to me." She said it in Latin, so that Aiden couldn't yell at her for being a silly, emotional little girl, and then turned away and mounted her own horse lest she do something really idiotic like cry.