Continued
Pompey had described the route that the procession would take from the docks. They would move through the Forum Boarium, away from the Capitol, south east past the Circus Maximus. From there they would turn north-east on the Via Triumphalis, until they reached the Via Sacra on which they would turn north-west and march straight up to the Capitol and the Temple making the final approach on the Clivus Capitolinus. It was a long circuitous route that was designed to allow as much of the population of Rome to get a look at their hero as possible.
They could see them coming now. The first cohort of the VIIth Legion marched proudly along the Via Sacra, standards borne prominently, discipline showing in their bearing and the rigid marching that kept them in perfect step with each other. Their armour gleamed in the sunlight making a dazzling display that had the tumultuous crowds happily cheering as they passed.
Ephiny listened as the cheers became louder as the Legion continued up the wide highway, behind them she could hear rolling 'boos', hisses and catcalls as the luckless Carthaginian captives followed along in the wake of the first two cohorts. Even from a distance, the Regent could see that the men were being pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables, as well as stones and other refuse of a far more unsavoury nature. She spared them a momentary thought of sympathy, but her eyes continued to search from the tall dark haired form that she was most interested in getting a look at.
So intent was she upon the approaching spectacle, that she almost failed to notice the leading members of the senate taking their place upon the steps of the Temple, dignified in their stately togas, along with the High Priest of Jupiter and members of the priesthood of other deities as well, resplendent in their ceremonial robes and masks. Pompey also moved forward to take up a more prominent position, leaving Ephiny and a number of other dignitaries, currently visiting Rome, in the background. A situation that suited the Regent comfortably. Especially as she could feel the tense anxiety radiating off of Hercules in waves.
Finally the superbly magnificent chariot, drawn by six splendid, matched, white steeds came into view. The cheering intensified into a solid wall of sound that rolled along the Via Sacra in a surge of crescendoing voices that was like nothing the Amazon had ever heard before.
As the procession made it's slow way towards them, she was able to pick out the figure that could only be Caesar on the chariot. He waved his hand to the people with graceful charm and occasionally threw handfuls of golden dinars into the delirious, screaming masses. Ephiny recognised a consummate showman. The throwing of his personal wealth to the people was a master touch that would endear him to them. The man was obviously a shrewdly calculating politician as well as a fine tactical general. Defeating him would not be easy.
- But Xena did it! - she reminded herself. The Warrior Princess had given Boadicea the strategy to defeat the Roman, and the people of Britannia had handed him a crushing defeat. - He is not invincible. He is not infallible. - she chanted to herself like a mantra, knowing that they were going to have to beard the lion in his den, and still find a way out of the city.
As if thought of Xena had suddenly conjured her, the Regent became aware of the dark haired figure that stumbled along in the wake of the chariot. She was still too far away to make any details, but she was certain about the identity of the heavily guarded woman, dressed in grey, who tried to hold her head proudly, despite the constant staggers that broke her usually graceful gait. She felt Hercules stiffen at her side as his pale blue eyes narrowed and focused on the woman he had rescued from the dark bonds of her past, giving her the chance at finding redemption for all of her horrifyingly evil misdeeds, while at the same time discovering a woman he could truly admire and love. Xena meant a great deal to him. They might never be able to share their lives, but they could share a deep, abiding and loving friendship.
As they drew closer and the faces gradually came into focus and took on definition, Ephiny could see that the march with the procession was beginning to take its toll on her strength. Although the Warrior Princess tried to present an attitude of haughty disinterest in her situation, and walk with her normal proud bearing, to anyone who knew her the evidence of strain and exhaustion could be read in her bearing .. a point emphasised when she suddenly stumbled and fell forward to be dragged a few paces by the chariot she was tethered to, before two of the guards hoisted her back to her feet.
The Regent held back a cry of angry indignation as she realised that the beautiful, sculptured, face of her friend was marred by heavy bruising. She could see the angry red welts that scored the woman's arms and recognised that the wounds were fresh.
More details became evident to the watching Amazon's and demi-god as the triumphal procession moved ever closer to Capitol and the Temple. They could see the heavy chains that bound her, the collar that matched the one around Gabrielle's throat and the thick chain that was secured to Caesar's chariot like a leash on a favourite pet. They were aware of the unusually armed, heavy, guard that surrounded her, and the way that those soldiers never allowed their eyes to flicker away from their charge for more than the odd moment. They identified the tall centurion, who marched just behind her and carried a wicked looking whip that had obviously seen use.
But worse was to come.
As the chariot was halted at the foot of the temple steps, Ephiny bit her lip as she saw the blood streaked back of the shirt that Xena wore. The Regent stepped hard on Hercules's foot as his body seemed about to sway into movement and a low growl started to emanate from his throat.
They watched in bitter silence as they saw the centurion step forward and unlock the leash from the chariot and wait for Caesar and the Admiral to dismount from their vehicle. Ephiny could see that Xena was swaying unsteadily and watched in concern as the warriors eyes drifted closed, only to see them spring open as the big centurion struck her in the ribs with the butt end of the whip.
Veranius waited on the steps as Caesar stepped down and held out his hand for Xena's leash. The centurion passed it over, and motioned for the ten man guard, that had surrounded the woman on the march through the streets, to follow as the conquering hero climbed the temple steps towards those waiting to receive him and Veranius.
It was obvious that the warrior was close to the end of her strength, yet she followed the harsh tug on her lead and did her best to not to trip or fall on the difficult steps. A clear trail of crimson was left upon the pristine marble stairway as Xena's bloody, unshod, feet passed over them.
When Caesar and Veranius reached the point where the senators and priests were waiting for them, they halted and waited to accept the laurels of victory from the High Priest of Jupiter. Xena seemed set to remain standing, even after the centurion snapped the order to, "Kneel!" at her. Her failure to comply led to two of the guard detail stepping forward and hitting her heavily behind the knees with their thick batons, forcing her into a supplicant's position, and keeping her there with strong hands pressed down on her shoulders, much to the delight of the crowd.
Ephiny could hear the big man beside her grinding his teeth as he fought to control his desire to go to his friend's aid. The Regent knew exactly how he felt. She owed Xena so much and she felt totally powerless to help the proud woman who was fighting valiantly against overwhelming odds and such brutal treatment.
When the laurels had been bestowed and a few quiet remarks had been exchanged with the men of the senate, as well as a few hard glares with Pompey, Caesar turned and raised his arms. As if by magic a silence fell over the massive crowds, slowly spreading back to parts distant from the temple steps.
Nebula had, as she had promised, discreetly followed the parade as it wound it's way along the city streets. Her height gave her an advantage when it came to observing how the Warrior Princess was faring on the march, and she was able to keep a fairly close eye on all that happened.
It was evident that Xena was struggling with the burden of her chains. Her bare feet staggered over a lot of the debris that had been used to pelt the Carthaginian prisoners and on more than one occasion she took a crashing fall, only avoiding being dragged along in the wake of the procession by the swift intervention of her guards who hauled her upright. It was obvious that her physical reserves, after her flogging, were very low and, as the progress continued, Nebula could see that the raven haired warrior was in grave difficulty. The march took three long candlemarks to complete and, as far as the pirate could tell, the slowness of the parade was the only reason that Xena hadn't fallen and been dragged by the chariot more often than the six or seven times she had. She also had one, rather backhanded, blessing. Because of the close proximity of Caesar and the tight cordon of guards, none of the crowd deemed it appropriate to throw anything at the woman.
When they had reached the temple steps, Nebula had drawn a lot of angry mutters and curses as she pushed her way through the densely packed crowds so she could see what was happening there. Her size, strength and even her looks got her past people where another person would have failed, so that when she came to a halt, she was only about ten rows back and had a good view of all that took place.
She saw the guards move in and force the warrior to kneel below Caesar and had been enveloped in the raucous cheering that had erupted from the populace as they watched the woman being humbled, as they saw it. From the many comments that Nebula heard around her, most of these people knew who the chained woman was and revelled in the fact that their hero held her captive once more. Her escape from Rome after she had attempted to 'assassinate' Caesar had been viewed poorly, especially when taken with the rumours that it was Crassus who had been executed in the arena, and not the barbarian Verchinex, whom the Warrior Princess was said to have rescued.
She watched intently as Caesar received his laurel crown and then spent some time talking to the members of the senate assembled to witness the event. Even from her quite distant position, Nebula could see the friction between him and Pompey. She darted a glance to the portico, where she could make out the unmistakable forms of the Amazons and Hercules, neither they nor he looked happy with the situation and it was taking a great concentration of focus to keep them from trying to help their friend.
The pirate captain marvelled when Caesar turned away from the Roman dignitaries and raised his arms demanding silence. All else was forgotten as silence swept through the massive throng, all desperate to hear their hero speak.
Caesar turned away from his non-verbal duel with Pompey, and allowed a smirk of satisfaction to slip across his features. He glanced down to where Xena was being restrained in position and felt a warm glow of satisfaction. - This is how things should be, Pompey put in his place and Xena cowed at my feet! What a perfect day this is. - Slowly raising his arms, he waited for the silence to sweep through the assembled multitudes before him. Within moments, the crowds were hushed and eagerly waiting for what he had to say. No one else upon the temple steps mattered to the people. They were here for Caesar, and they were eager for his words.
"People of Rome!" he began, "We are here today to celebrate a great victory at sea. The pirates of Carthage will no longer be able to harass our shipping about it's legal business!" He waited for the eruption of cheering to settle down before continuing, "For this great victory, we should give thanks to Admiral Veranius and his fleet, who performed great deeds for you, the people of Rome."
Another eruption of cheering gave him time to compose his thoughts before continuing his speech, "Recently," he continued when the people quieted once more, "I have been in Narbonensis and Gaul, where the perfidious barbarians sought to rise against us once again." Angry muttering rumbled through the masses. "Enemies of Rome sought to stir trouble there, but our gallant men were able to destroy the conspiracy when they captured one of the ring leaders, the notorious Warrior Princess, Xena!" He motioned to the woman kneeling before him.
Loud cheering once more rang around the Capitol along with growing screams and shouts of, "Crucify her!", "Death to the Warrior Witch!", "Kill the barbarian wench!", "Make her pay for Britannia!"
Caesar saw Xena begin to struggle against her guards, her anger at his blatant lies and the humiliations being forced upon her, stirring up a reaction even though she knew in her heart it was futile. Caesar nodded to Flaccus, passing him her leash and watched as the centurion and his men hauled their struggling prisoner over to the far side of the steps and proceeded to beat her into proper submission.
Holding up his arms once more, Caesar obtained the silence he needed to continue his speech, "With this woman in my power, I was able to secure a treaty with the Gauls that guarantee us peace for this year! By next year, we'll be ready to sweep through their miserable hovels and bring them fully under the jurisdiction of Rome. As for Xena ... death is too good for her. She will serve out the remainder of her life as a slave and be a living reminder to all those who would pit themselves against the might of Rome!"
More cheering echoed long and deep as Caesar took their approbation and basked in the glory of his power. When the cheering finally subsided, he wound up his speech with, "Victory! For the Glory of Rome!" Even more cheering echoed on the back of his words, causing him to smile.
Turning back to the dignitaries, he walked through them and into the Temple of Jupiter where a feast in his and Veranius's honour was to be staged. He threw a glance across to where Flaccus stood over the unmoving form of Xena and, with a twitch of his head, ordered her to be taken inside.
