Authors Note: Hey, this is just a short chapter that I had to add in for future chapters. If you want to email me about this story, my address is jacklavigne13@hotmail .com
Thank you.
To Tame A Wild Heart
Chapter Twenty
It had been two days since I boarded the ship that would bring me back to Greece. Two days since I had spoken to anyone, unless it was to give out orders. When I wasn't on deck, I was in my small cabin, attempting not to think of the slave that was tied up in a room so close to me, yet so far away. I wanted to make plans, to think of strategies for when we docked in Corinth, but I kept wondering how the slave was. I wondered how she was feeling and what she was thinking about. I wondered if she ever thought about me, as I was constantly thinking about her. Did she regret what she had done, or did she only regret that she had been caught? Did she ever even love me at all? Even a little bit? I was losing my mind over her, exactly like Antony had planned for me to do.
I had seen Alexandria enter the slave's room several times over the past few days. I hadn't asked her about it and had assumed that she went to help the slave relieve herself. I wondered if they talked at all, though I can't imagine Alexandria starting a conversation with the blonde. Alexandria didn't take betrayal lightly, being the loyal woman that she is and while Gabrielle hadn't personally betrayed her, she had betrayed me and Alexandria would find that even worse. No, I couldn't see them having a civil conversation.
I currently stood on deck, leaning against the railing and looking down into the black water beneath me. It reflected the night sky and I could see millions of stars twinkling back at me, along with the almost full moon that was shining light down upon the ship. The wind was strong and I could feel my hair whip annoyingly around my head, but I was grateful because it meant that we would be moving faster. While the trip from Greece to Egypt isn't usually very long, the past two days have dragged. It would still be another five or so days until we would see land and I was impatient.
I heard footsteps cross the deck behind me and I could tell by the light steps that it was Alexandria. She could usually walk so lightly that she wouldn't make a sound, but she did so purposely when approaching me. It was never a smart idea to startle the Conqueror, no matter how mellow she may look at the time.
"My lord," she said softly as she leant against the railing besides me. I could see her in my peripheral vision, her midnight blue eyes matching the colour of the sky and her dark red hair sparkling in the moonlight.
"Alexandria," I acknowledged her with a small nod.
We stood there in silence for several minutes, just gazing into the black depths of the ocean and taking comfort from each other’s presence. I waited for her to speak, knowing that she would first and she didn't disappoint me.
"So, what's the plan?"
I shrugged, unsure of what to say. I wanted to give her a detailed strategy for when we docked in Corinth, but I had been unable to think of anything other than the slave. She really had ruined me, I thought to myself miserably.
"Okay," Alexandria started, turning to look at me. "I guess we don't know what the damage will be until we get there, right? So it's hard to know exactly what we'll do. From what the slave has told me though, I know that Antony will arrive before us."
"You've talked to Gabrielle?" I asked in surprise, glancing at my second in command. I was desperate for details about the slave, though I hoped it wasn't obvious. By the look on Alexandria's face, I knew that it was.
"Of course," the red headed replied. "I didn't exactly want to talk to her, but we need to know what we're going to be facing. I decided to ask myself, because if I put you in there with her, I'm afraid that we wouldn't get any answers before you cut off her head."
She was teasing me and I couldn't help but smile. We both knew the truth; that I wouldn't harm the slave, but she didn't want to make me feel bad for still wanting the slave despite her betrayal.
"Did she tell you anything else?" I asked my second, hoping that the slave had said something about me.
Alexandria smiled at me sympathetically, resting her hand on my shoulder before she spoke. "I asked her many things, but I got few answers in return. She's a stubborn one."
Once again, I couldn't help but smile. "What did you learn from her then?"
"That Rome has been ready for battle since we arrived in Egypt and that they would have left once they received Gabrielle's last message. The slave thinks that Antony will have no less than five thousand men with him, since he doesn't want to take any chances even with you gone. He knows how many men you have under your command, but he hopes that taking Corinth by surprise will ensure his victory. I sent a message to Palaemon before we set sail and hopefully the message will get to him in time. We have more than enough men to crush Antony, but there will be heavy casualties."
I nodded at Alexandria's words, once again grateful that she was smart enough to send a message to Greece before we left. I hadn't even thought about it, so distracted by the slave and my heartache. I pushed my thoughts of the blonde haired woman away and looked at Alexandria seriously.
"What do you think we should do when we dock?" It wasn't like me to ask questions when it came to war, but my head wasn't clear enough to make any good decisions right now. Confusion flashed in Alexandria's eyes for barely a moment before she visibly straightened her small smile understanding as she met my gaze.
"Like I said, it will be hard for us to know what to do before we get there. The battle may be over before we even arrive but if it's still going; our best chance is to go straight for Antony. On the other hand, if it's over and Antony has succeeded in his mission, we should go for a more subtle approach. Greece will be swarming with Romans and for all we know; there are traitors in the palace. Once we dock, we should take out everyone in our path so that no one sets off the alarm, and take the secret tunnels that go underneath the castle and find Antony that way."
Once again, I nodded at Alexandria's words. We couldn't make any real plans without knowing the whole situation and that frustrated me. If only I had known about this a few days earlier, we would have been able to get back to Greece before Antony and surprised them. But I was confident that we would be able to take the Romans, even if Antony did manage to take control of my Empire. It wouldn't last long once I stepped foot on Greek soil.
"So, what do you want to do after all this is over?" Alexandria asked me. I gave her a confused look, unsure of what she was talking about so she quickly continued. "I mean, once we retake control over Greece, what do you want then? Are we going after Rome?"
I felt warmth bloom in my chest knowing that Alexandria was as confident as I was. I paused for several moments to think about her question, something I hadn't even considered in the past few days. Surprisingly, I didn't actually feel like going to war with Rome, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice.
"We'll have to wait and see what the damage is," I said softly, receiving a nod in return from Alexandria. She seemed to understand my reasoning and once again, we turned back to look up at the night sky and my thoughts returned to the blonde slave that I was dying to talk to.
To be continued in Chapter Twenty-One.