Gladiators of Rome:Short Stories

III

III

When they awoke the next morning the fog had cleared almost completely letting them see more than a few feet in front of them and as they approached the edge, which last night they had thought was a sheer cliff drop, was no more than a steep slope. As Frieda examined it further she found a path, though it was more like a line of mud which had been made by the people that had gone before them, cut into the hillside. Diomed let her take the lead and by midday they had reached the bottom where they found themselves in an open forest with sunlight beaming through the branches. It was a stark contrast to the weather they had endured the previous day.

The open space and light air made Frieda feel as if she could finally breathe again. She hadn't realised until then but the dense forest air had been cloyingly suffocating, and the grass that now brushed her ankles as she walked through, compared to the thorns and branches she had yesterday, felt like she was walking in the Elysian Fields.
Traipsing across the open plain, absentmindedly navigating her way around the small amount of trees that were dotted here and there, Frieda could have easily found herself enjoying a quiet moment . . . if only Diomed would stop talking.
As his voice reached her ears once again Frieda breathed out through her nostrils as she just about resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He had not stopped talking since they had awoken that morning and Frieda was close to hitting him over the head and cutting out his tongue.

"-Come on," Diomed hurried to catch up behind her, his voice slightly breathless, "Just tell me what you really think, I can handle it."

After a moment Frieda realised that Diomed had gone silent and she began to thank the gods when it suddenly dawned on her that the reason he was so quiet was because he was waiting for a response. Turning to look at him in surprise Frieda stared at him blankly for a moment. She had not been listening to anything he had been saying. "What?" She raised her eyebrows, not caring enough to mask the fact that she hadn't been listening to him.

Diomed stopped walking and stared at her but his facial expressions showed bored annoyance more than surprise. He pointed an accusing finger at her mockingly, "You weren't listening again. I swear I would get more conversation from a brick wall."

"Why don't you try it, it would certainly suit me." Frieda rolled her eyes and carried on walking, seeing the end of the trees and an open field beyond it.
Diomed secretly smiled to himself from behind her. He knew it annoyed Frieda when he didn't stop talking and that's why he did it. He enjoyed seeing how far he could push her before she would explode in frustration and it also had the added bonus of passing the time of day. It could get awfully boring just walking in silence sometimes.

"Well, in the absence of a brick wall I guess I should just rely on the closest thing to it which would be y-" Diomed teased.

"-You found a mirror?" Frieda asked in shock as they drew level with the tree line and she paused to look at him with an eyebrow arched.

"Ha. Ha." Diomed shook his head before he turned and looked out at the deserted field, scanning it for any dangers. When neither of them saw anything they both took a step forward to continue on when Frieda's arm suddenly shot out across his chest, holding him back.

Diomed sighed down at her arm, "Why must you always hit me? Why can't you just tell me to stop?" He threw his arms in the air.

Frieda lowered her arm and looked at him from the corner of her eyes as she said "Stop" before looking back out at the field.

"It's no use now," Diomed replied sarcastically, "What is it anyway? Did you happen to hear a bird in a tree twenty leagues away or something?" But when he looked down at her and saw her blue eyes darting back and forth across the field, her head tilted to the side a little, as if she was trying to hear something, Diomed knew that she wasn't playing about. He was reminded of a blood hound when he watched her like this. Her brow furrowed a little as she continued to watch and listen.