Disclaimer:
This is a work of fan fiction. The characters in this story: Xena, Gabrielle, Eve or Livia
(and any mention to characters from the television show Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys)are the property of Renaissance Pictures and Universal MCA. This story is not
meant to infringe upon their rights or the rights of the actors who portray them. Also, no
part of the story entitled Growing up "Livia" is to be copied, whole or in part,
without the author's permission. It is not to be copied for public use or for profit by
any person or organization.
Growing Up
“Livia”
Written by: Caina Q. Fuller
Augustus Caesar emerged from his tent. The day was warming up nicely, even though they
were in the shadows of the mountains and the sun had yet to melt the dew covering the
grass. He’d stayed up late the night
before, studying the map of the landscape his scouts had made for him, so the fresh
morning air was just what he needed to open his eyes.
The forests were
surrounded by hills that were nothing short of treacherous to traverse. Getting artillery set up around the Amazon’s
land would be suicidal, so he decided to have every catapult he owned dismantled and
hauled piece by piece into he hills on pack mules. It would take a couple of days to get
everything situated, but once it was, he would be halfway ready to attack.
After the catapults
were in position, he would have his men split up, and under the cover of night, move in
closer to the forests. They would hide under
camouflage of grass mats. Once two of his legions had surrounded the hills, the remaining
two he’d brought with him would make a grand display of camping in the battlefield
just outside of their forests.
He would try
diplomacy first, and if they refused to give up Livia, or if they told him she and her men
were dead, he would obliterate them.
Augustus thought of
Xena, and how much she and Gabrielle had respected the Amazons. It was because of their
memory he’d respected the warrior women’s territory, but now that they had
overstepped their bounds and possibly killed someone he was falling in love
with…well, they would pay for it with their lives.
Augustus looked
around for the commander of his private guard, but could find him nowhere. “Where is Ledricles?”
A passing foot
soldier saluted his emperor. “I will get
him for you my lord.”
“Very good. Tell him to come to my tent.”
He hated having to
wait on his men to learn and implement his orders, but it was a necessary irritation in
the art of war. He had no way of knowing how
many Amazon warriors lived in the forest, so he would have to fight as if he were
hopelessly outnumbered. Only then, with that mindset, would he be able to plan wisely for
the battle ahead.
**********
“Are you sure
about this Brigid?”
It was the second
time Livia had asked her in only a couple of minutes, and Brigid had to fight to keep the
smile from her lips as well as her voice. Livia
was genuinely concerned for her safety. Though she was a long, long way from being
reformed, Brigid could see she’d made a lot of progress over the past couple of days
in breaking down some of the walls surrounding Livia’s heart.
“I’m sure
that I’m surprised Linara is ready so quickly. I
have to do this Livie. Not just for you, but for my reign as well. Even if I have to travel from town to town and
rebuild my tribe with new recruits, I will not have disloyal warriors in my camp.”
“That’s
the kind of talk I like to hear.”
“Funny,”
Brigid said, her voice reflecting the pain in her heart at what she was preparing to do.
“It’s the kind of talk I hate to hear.”
Livia’s smile
faded, and she strapped Brigid’s sword to her back.
“You could name me your champion and I could fight Linara for you. We both
know I can beat her.”
“That’s
just it Livie. I can’t. This is
something I have to do on my own. For the
sake of my honor.”
“Then for the
sake of mine, I’ll be there. I
won’t abandon you like I did when we were kids.”
“You
didn’t abandon me Livia. I was taken
from-“
“It’s
time!”
A warrior’s
voice Brigid didn’t readily recognize sounded from outside her door, and she took in
a deep breath. If she won, she’d have
the forest all to herself. If she lost,
she’d probably have to watch Livia be executed, unless they could fight through
enough of the Amazon’s to escape, and that was highly unlikely.
“Livie, if I
lose, I want you to fight your way free. Kill
as many of my women as you have to.”
“Even if it
means leaving you?”
“Even if.
You’re an Amazon citizen now Livie. I’m
your Queen, and I’m making this an order. A
good soldier always follows practical orders.”
“Not
always.”
“This time you
will. Give me your word of honor.”
Livia didn’t
want to even think of leaving Brigid behind, but she knew that she was selfish enough to
do so if the time should come. She nodded
and in a moment of weakness, she grabbed Brigid up in a final hug.
“Let’s do
this, huh?”
“I’m right
there with you Spider.”
**********
Guard duty was never
fun, especially on the perimeter. Today,
Gighi had been stuck with just those responsibilities. As she and her sisters sat in watch
for foes that would probably never come, she knew she was missing out on the fight of the
century, between Queen Hanai and Princess Linara.
Her biggest question
was why? Why was her queen so determined to
make the enemy one of their own? Livia of
Rome had tried to destroy them on their own turf, showing she was lacking in brains.
All Gighi knew was
that their tribe was divided and she wanted to go back to normal. She didn’t really care one way or another
whether or not Livia was a citizen, as long as she didn’t have to take orders from
her.
As Gighi
contemplated these things, her eyes wandered over the empty field leading up to their
forests, and what she saw astounded her.
Over twenty thousand
Roman soldiers were heading their way, and as they neared, she could hear the collective
sound of their marching feet. Her blood ran
cold in her veins. Even with all of her
sisters fighting on their home turf, they only had five thousand warriors since the
sisters from the other tribe had returned to their respective territories weeks ago.
Another Roman
soldier was approaching with three times that many. That meant one Amazon warrior for
every three Roman soldiers coming their way.
They were dead.
**********
Brigid emerged from
her tent to find that about four of the five thousand sisters remaining in the camp since
they’d defeated Livia’s legion had gathered in the main village to witness this
historical event. What was worse was almost all of them were against Brigid.
The sacred Challenge
Circle had been prepared, and Linara waited inside. This
wasn’t a battle to the death per se, but the winner would hold the power of life and
death in her hands. That wasn’t what
bothered Brigid however.
What bothered her
was that a woman who’d become her friend had turned on her. This battle just
shouldn’t be happening.
“Linara.”
“Hanai.”
“I told you, my
name is Brigid.”
“I will always
know you as Hanai. Are you sure you
won’t execute Livia, so we can avoid this mess?”
“Would you
execute your little sister if she went astray?”
“That’s
different,” Linara said, her eyes going to the fifteen year old girl in the crowd
that was as much a daughter to Linara as a sister. “She’s one of us.”
“So is Livia,
now that I’ve made her a citizen.”
Linara shook her
head in disappointment. “This
conversation is pointless. Let’s
fight.”
The two women faced
off, circling one another and looking for an opening in defenses. Linara started off with a volley of well-executed
jabs, but Brigid easily dodged them.
Livia watched the
crowd as their eyes were glued to the two combatants.
Deep in her heart, she knew Brigid would win.
When she did, Brigid would lose everything she had come to know and love.
All for her.
Linara threw another
punch, and Brigid caught her hand. When she had a firm grip, she jerked Linara’s arm
straight and rammed her other fist into Linara’s elbow, making the other woman scream
in pain. Linara retreated and cradled her
wounded arm to her side, and even though it was a victory for Brigid, Livia could see it
wounded her to her heart to hurt an old friend.
Brigid wasted no
time in following through. Now that she was on the attack, she gave her best war cry and
went after Linara. She threw several punches,
most of which Brigid’s opponent was able to block, but because of her wounded elbow,
some of Brigid’s punches made it through.
Linara forced
herself to work past her pain. She flipped
over Brigid’s head, landed behind her and kicked Brigid in the back, dangerously
close to her kidneys.
Brigid went down,
face first, and the crowd went wild. As she
hit the dirt, Brigid brought her right foot up and into Linara’s stomach, sending her
flying against the staffs the warrior’s were holding to mark the edge of the
Challenge Circle.
Brigid all but flew
back up onto her feet, and executed a perfect drop kick that Linara ducked. Another warrior, a spectator, took the full force
of the kick to her face, and went down for the count.
Linara came at
Brigid again. Now that she’d adjusted to
the pain in her elbow, she was stronger, and ready for action. She threw some impressive kicks, all of which
Brigid either dodged or blocked, except for the last one.
Livia watched in
near panic as Brigid fell back into the crowd, which then pushed her forward again and
straight into Linara’s waiting fist. Anger
burned in Livia she saw the so-called honorable Amazon’s cheat to help Linara win.
It began to look as
if Linara would indeed win the fight. She was
punching and kicking, and Brigid was taking it all. Livia could see her friend was nearly
punch drunk, and on the verge of losing. Well,
if the Amazon’s could cheat, so could she.
“Spider? Do you
remember Mom’s face? Do you remember
Odessa? It was because of her we lost each other. Odessa took our mother from us, and now
Linara’s trying to take me away from you. Don’t
let another Odessa separate us again.”
That was all Brigid
needed to hear. She came up off the dirt and turned on Linara with a ferocity that was
frightening and worthy of a Roman soldier. Linara
was good, but she was neither woman enough, nor warrior enough to come between family.
Brigid deliviered
kick after kick, punch after punch, mercilessly beating Linara down until she lay on the
ground with Brigid’s foot on her throat.
“Who,”
Brigid said, breathless from her efforts, “has won this fight today?”
It didn’t take
long to get a choked answer from Linara. “You
have…my Queen.”
Brigid took her foot
off Linara’s throat to let her breathe, and held out her hand to Livia, who entered
the circle to join her.
“Those of you
who cannot accept my sister as one of us, can pack up their things and get out. Now.”
“And what about
me?”
Brigid hauled Linara
to her feet. “Whether or not you stay is
up to you, but you are no longer Princess of this tribe.
I strip you of your right of caste.”
It took her a moment
to absorb the news, and when she did, Linara stepped away from Brigid with hate in her
eyes. “I’m leaving this camp for as
long as you are Queen. I will never call you sister again.”
Brigid watched as
the women dispersed, heading to their huts to pack up, but before she could return to her
own hut to patch up her wounds, three ram’s horns sounded in the silent forest air.
They were under
attack.
A warrior flipped
from the trees and came running into the camp. As
she neared, Brigid could see it was a perimeter guard, Gighi.
“Roman’s! Two legions are moving in on us!”
Every woman stopped
in her tracks and turned to Brigid. She was,
after all, still their Queen, and in times of battle Amazon’s swore to always stick
together. It looked like their exodus from
the First Tribe would have to wait.
“Alright women. It looks like we have an emergency on our hands. Gather your weapons and prepare our artillery. When that is done, move up. Linara, I want you to meet with the children that
are returning from the Northern tribe. Tell
them to go back.”
“But what
about-“
“Linara! Now is
not the time to oppose me. The tribe needs to be unified now more than ever. Do as I say.”
Linara stood up
stiffly and mounted a horse to carry out her orders, knowing Brigid was robbing her of her
chance to fight for her tribe. Yet another grudge for her to hold against Brigid. Brigid decided she would care later. Right now,
she had a tribe to defend.
**********
Livia rode through
the forest alongside her sister Brigid. It
felt strange, going out to battle against Rome.
She wondered, not for the first time, just how deeply her loyalty to Rome was.
“If you fight against them,
there’s no going back,” Brigid said. She
pulled her Queens’ mask up, exposing her beautifully freckled face. “You could be killed.”
“I know. I was defeated and captured. Now Caesar has sent men to retrieve me. I’ve
already been shamed. It will take me years to
recover from that.”
Brigid reached out
to Livia, taking her by the hand. “I
have to know. Where do your loyalties
lie?”
“I don’t
know that myself. Augustus Caesar sponsored
me. He’s the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had. And you’re my sister.”
“I’ll tell
you what. Don’t decide now. Let your heart chose for you, when the time comes.”
Livia nodded, but
didn’t like the idea of allowing her heart to choose anything for her. Her heart,
she’d learned, was a traitor. She
couldn’t trust it to lead her on the right path, only on the path that promised power
and wealth. It was the way Ares had taught her.
**********
Augustus Caesar
mounted his horse as Ledricles emerged from his tent.
“Caesar, the men are all in position. You just give the signal, and the battle
is on.”
Augustus nodded. Ledricles was a good soldier. He was intelligent,
capable and fierce. All good qualities in a
Roman leader, but he would think about the young man’s rank later. Right now it was time to meet the enemy, and
retrieve his prize from their hands: Livia.
**********
Livia waited back in
the trees as she noticed one brave soldier riding toward the forest. When he was close
enough, she recognized who it was.
“By the gods,
Brigid.”
“What?”
“That’s
Caesar himself.”
Livia couldn’t
believe it. Augustus Caesar had come all the
way from Rome to retrieve her, but why? Did
he do it out of love or for some other reason? And
would he be willing to spare the Amazon’s after he discovered they’d killed
almost every man in the entire Alpha legion?
“He has at
least two legions with him from what I can see,” Brigid said, looking over at her. Livia could hear the understandable fear in her
voice. Her tribe was in peril of being wiped
off the face of the earth.
“He controls
many more than that. Chances are Brigid,
these forests are surrounded and your warrior’s don’t even know it. Augustus Caesar is a smart, deadly opponent. He’ll plan his battles on two
assumptions.”
“What?”
Livia watched the
man who had become an enigma to her, ride her way. Was
he to be her father, her general or her husband? She
didn’t know exactly how Augustus viewed his relationship to her, and because of that
uncertainty, she didn’t know which way she would plead for the Amazon’s lives. Not because she cared about them, but because
Brigid cared about them, and she cared about Brigid.
“He will assume that he is
hopelessly outnumbered. That way he will
utilize his forces better. He will also assume your warriors are superior to his.
That’s why he’s not the average Roman, and that’s what makes him so
deadly.”
Brigid looked down
at the approaching warrior with a new respect. “Once
he knows we’ve killed his men, he will wipe us off the face of the god’s green
earth.”
“Not if I can
help it,” Livia said with determination.
Before Brigid could
object, Livia took off out of the forest and rode straight for Augustus. She just
didn’t know she was about to receive the surprise of her life in the form of her own
decisions.
The
End of Chapter Eight.