The Gladiator

'Too true,' Cato replied. 'Too bloody true. Anyway, here I go.'

He raised his hand in mock salute.' Those who are about to die salute you!'

Macro laughed as he turned away and made his way along the wall towards the gatehouse, where some of the auxiliaries were struggling to mount an old ballista that had been discovered in the acropolis's armoury.

Cato climbed down from the rampart and wearily made his way across to the administration building. Julia was in the office, head bent over a table of figures. She did not look up as Cato entered the room.

'What do you want?'

Cato swallowed nervously. 'I've come to say goodbye.'

'Is that all?' she replied quietly, still not looking up. 'Well, you've said it, so you can go now.'

Cato stood in the doorway, torn between leaving the fraught atmosphere, and never wanting to leave her presence ever again.

Then he saw a falling twinkle of light, caught by the sunshine pouring through the window and realised it was a tear. At once his heart was filled with the warm ache of compassion, and he swept across the room and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he tenderly kissed the back of her head.

'Julia, my love, don't cry.'

'I'm not crying,' she mumbled even as her slight frame trembled.

'I'm not.'

Cato gently drew her up from her seat and put his arms around her, holding her close to his chest as she buried her face in the folds of his cloak.

'It's not fair… We should never have ended up here. We should have been in Rome by now, planning our future. Not here, in these ruins.'

'We're here because we're here,' said Cato. 'There's nothing we can do to change that, Julia.'

'I know that. I'm not a fool.' She looked up, eyes red-rimmed and glassy. Her lip trembled as she continued. 'But why do you have to leave me?'

'Because I must. Your father has ordered it.'

'Why didn't he send Macro instead?'

'He thought I was best suited to carry out the task. He needs me to do it. He's depending on me, Julia. And so are you, Macro and everyone else here. If I succeed, there's a chance we may defeat the rebels and go to Rome as we planned. But if I don't go, we will have no chance.'

She stared at him and then nodded reluctantly.

'You must be brave.' Cato lifted her chin and kissed her. 'I will return.'

'Swear that you will be careful.'

'I will be careful, I swear by all the gods.'

They looked into each other's eyes and then kissed again, before Julia abruptly broke free of his arms and eased Cato back.' Then go, my darling. Now '

Cato almost felt a pain as she separated from him and nearly gave way to the impulse to hold her again. One last time. But he nodded slowly, and then turned towards the do or and strode steadily out of the room, along the corridor and down into the courtyard without once looking back. He did not trust himself to.

The shepherd paused as he reached a bend in the track and pointed towards the sea. As he drew level with the man, Cato reined in and looked down on the fishing village. To call it a port was a bit of an overstatement, Cato reflected as he scrutinised the scattered handful of dwellings that fringed a narrow curve of grey sand between two rocky headlands. The water was clear all the way out past the headlands that protected the bay. The wave that had destroyed the port at Matala had swept past Ciprana, causing much less damage. A few houses closest to the shore had been destroyed, but those built on the slope well above the sand had survived intact. Most of the fishing boats and the nets that had been drying on frames by the shore had not been sofortunate. They had been washed away and smashed against the rocks of the headland. Some of the least damaged boats had been salvaged and were being repaired on the beach. Only one was drawn up on the sand ready for use.

'Come on.' Cato waved to his escort and they continued in single file. A short distance further on, the track began to wind its way down the hill in a long series of zigzags. As the small party began its descent, a few of the villagers had emerged from their homes and were watching the approaching strangers cautiously. Cato saw one of them run towards the largest of the buildings, and a short time later a group of men emerged and made their way across to the place where the track entered the village and waited for the Romans.

Cato raised a hand in greeting as he approached the men. Behind him, the guide and Cato's escort looked round warily.

'Stop there!' one of the villagers called out in Greek as he stepped forward and pointed at Cato.' Who are you?'

'Tribune Quintus Licinius Cato, from Gortyna.'

'Really?' The villagers' leader was a broad-shouldered man with short, powerful legs and tightly curled grey hair. He cocked his head on one side and continued in a suspicious tone. 'What brings you here, Roman?'

'I am on imperial business. Urgent imperial business.'

'What business?'

Cato reined in a short distance from the man. 'I am carrying a message from the governor of the province to the Legate of Egypt. I need a boat to take me and my men to Alexandria.'

'Why would such an important official come here for a boat?'

'Because Ciprana is probably one of the only ports on the south coast that has not been completely destroyed by the wave, or the slaves. Have any of the rebels been here?'

The man shook his head. 'Very few people bother to cross the mountains to visit us. Why should the slaves be any different?'

He paused.' How do I know that you are not part of the rebellion?'

'Do I look like a slave?'

'No,' the villager admitted. 'But for all I know you could have murdered some Romans and taken their clothes, and are trying to escape from the island.'

'What?' Cato shook his head irritably. 'Nonsense. I am who I say I am, and we have come here to seek passage to Alexandria.'

'Sorry, Tribune. We can't help you. You'd best try somewhere else.'

'There isn't time to try somewhere else,' Cato said firmly and pointed towards the beach. 'I need that boat, and a crew at once. We will pay our fare, and leave you these horses.'

'Can't help you. We need that boat for our catch. It's the only seaworthy craft that we have left, the only means of feeding ourselves. You can't have it.'

'I can pay you enough to buy your village some new boats,' Cato responded.' N me your price.'

'We can't eat money, it is of no use to us now. That boat is all that stands between us and starvation. I'm sorry, Tribune. It's not for sale.'

Cato leaned forward in his saddle and stared intensely at the man as he continued. 'We need that boat, and we will have it, along with the best sailor in your village. As I said, you will be amply rewarded. If you are short of food here, then I suggest you take any valuables you have and set off for Gortyna. If you still want to protest, then you can make your case to the governor. Now, I have no further time to waste.' Cato slid from the saddle and reached into his saddle bag for a pouch of the silver coins that had been issued to him from the provincial treasury on Sempronius's orders. He tossed it to the villager, who fumbled the catch and nearly dropped the money.

'There's three hundred denarians in there,' Cato explained.

'More than enough for you to buy some new boats for the village.'

The villager hefted the bag for a moment and shook his head.

'I told you. We have no use for it.'

Cato strode up to him with a menacing expression and growled,

'I don't have time for debate. Find me a man to sail that boat at once.

If I don't get to Alexandria as soon as possible, then the slaves will take over the island. Do you want that?'

'We keep to ourselves,' the villager persisted. 'Why should they bother us?'