And now? Now it seemed different, as if her struggle for survival, and the feelings she had for Metellus were compelling her to fight for what she wanted. Freedom. Freedom to be the person she really was. And being shipwrecked on this island had finally given her what she had wanted. Here, she was her own person. Able to think, and do, what she pleased, as if she were a bird that had been released from its gilded cage.
But could one kiss really mean anything? It had for her, of that there was no doubt. But as for Metellus, she knew he’d regretted it – it was why he’d kept his distance ever since.
Sighing, she shook her fanciful musings away and concentrated on the present.
As she watched Metellus approach the door to the fort, she couldn’t help but wonder who would choose to live on such an island and why. The three days they’d spent travelling had revealed nothing spectacular about the island at all. Just endless sand, trees, and now rocks.
Her thoughts were cut short when she saw Metellus stop abruptly as he approached the gate. It was obvious he had been ordered to stop by whoever had spoken out of the small spy-hole which had been opened in the wooden door. She tilted her head, trying to make out the words being exchanged between Metellus, and the unseen person behind the door.
She realised she was too far away to hear anything, but then she saw Metellus nod, before he turned his head and looked towards some hills located to the rear of the fort. Livia looked over to the hills as well, squinting against the bright sunlight reflecting off the rocks, trying to make out what he was looking at. But she couldn’t see anything, only the vast expanse of barren rock.
For several more minutes she watched as Metellus communicated with the unseen person, nodding every now and again, until he eventually turned and walked back towards her, his face grim. Livia’s stomach dropped when she saw the dark expression on his face. It didn’t bode well for them, if the look on his face was anything to go by, and she had to quell the anxiety which assailed her when he approached her once more. “Will they give us shelter in the fort?”
“No-”
“But why?” She exclaimed interrupting him, her voice rising with hysteria, unable to grasp the fact they might die here, right in front of them. She felt tears well up in her eyes at the injustice of it all, “We are no threat to them.”
Metellus sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, the deep lines of fatigue etched on his face making him appear older. “Aye, you are right. We are not a threat. But they are.”
Livia frowned in confusion, but before she could ask what he meant, Metellus continued, his voice calm, collected, “It is a leper colony, Livia. They have set up the colony as a way of trying to live a normal life amongst themselves, and away from a society which shuns them as unclean. One of the lepers is the son of a rich Greek merchant, and he has paid for this colony to be built.”
Livia gasped, her eyes snapping back to the fort, as a feeling of compassion came over her. “There are many inside?” She whispered, after a long silence had fallen between them.
Metellus nodded. “Yes, a virtual community. All ages apparently.” Like hers, his voice was soft, as he answered her question, as if he too, couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.
“Oh those poor people – to be trapped here for all eternity.”
After a few moments of silence she once again turned back to face Metellus. He was staring down at her with a brooding expression in his eyes, and she froze, unable to look away. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his head lower towards her and her belly clenched with a sudden longing. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel the coolness of his lips against hers once more. And, as if he could read her mind, she saw his grey eyes blaze into life like molten metal as they burned into hers. The air around them felt charged, like it did before a lightning storm and Livia knew he wanted her. Desired her as much as she desired him.
But he also hated her, she knew that the instant he stopped moving closer to her, a hairsbreadth from touching her lips. She watched as he fought the internal battle he waged with himself, and she had to fight the urge to lift her hand and pull him closer so he had no choice but to kiss her.
But she didn’t. Because she knew that she, and her family were his enemy, and that was enough to stop him in his tracts. And when she saw the blaze of desire leave his eyes she knew she had lost him. His head jerked back as if she’d slapped him, before he broke eye contact with her and bent down and retrieve one of the sacks holding their supplies.
“They have been kind to us, though,” he said, his voice firm, in control once more as he looked back to the leper colony avoiding eye contact with her. “We are promised shelter, food and water. There is a cave in the hills behind the fort. It is for the crew of the ship that comes with their supplies. It is kept well stocked in case the ship cannot set sail for some reason. There is a well nearby, and the elder of the colony will provide us with some food. We are to come back later this evening for our supplies.”
Livia took in all he was saying, but her brain registered the most important fact, and she asked, her voice full of hope, “A ship? When will it arrive? Will we be able to leave on it?”
“Umm. You are very astute Livia Drusus,” Metellus said, a small smile pulling at his lips. “There will indeed be a ship arriving, in about three weeks’ time, or even earlier by all accounts. All we need to do is tolerate each other until then, and with luck on our side we will be rescued soon. The leader of the colony will speak to the captain when the ship arrives, telling him we are shipwreck survivors. We need to stay away from the colony so the captain will have no cause to refuse us safe passage.”
Three weeks! How on earth was she going to survive being in such close proximity to Metellus for three whole weeks? He, she noticed with a twist of her full mouth, was preparing a fire in a stone fire pit outside the cave entrance without a care in the world, and didn’t seem too bothered by the fact they were going to be in each other’s company for such a long time.
She, on the other hand, was a mass of seething emotions. She couldn’t seem to forget his kiss, the touch of his fingers on her skin, or the way he seemed to look at her as if he could reach inside her very being and touch her innermost emotions. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she didn’t seem to be able to control herself when it came to touching, or wanting him either.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Could she control her desire for him, until the ship arrived? She hoped so, for her own sanity, and she offered a silent prayer to Cupid, the god of desire, that she would be able to. Now was not the time to remember his kisses. She needed to be strong, to focus on their survival, and what the future might bring for her, now she wasn’t going to Alexandria. So with a renewed sense of determination, she turned away from Metellus and entered the small cave, to start unpacking their supplies.
As she entered the cave, she gave a small gasp of relief. Metellus was right. The cave had been furnished with all the basics needed for a short stay. There were several wooden cots for sleeping, complete with straw mattresses. With the cloaks they had used for blankets, Livia was sure the sleeping arrangements would be more than adequate, and a lot better than what they had been putting up with in recent days. There was even a small table and some chairs, as well as several pots for cooking. The well, Livia had noticed earlier, was only a short walk away, and she had to control her eagerness to wash away the accumulated grime of the past seven days.
She looked down at the dirty silk of her tattered gown, and smiled ruefully. Her friend, Portia, would faint at the sight of it she was sure, not to mention the state of her hair and broken nails! Portia had never, as far as Livia knew, ever set foot out of her villa without every curl on her head perfectly coiffured, and every gown clean and wrinkle free. She had often admonished Livia on her carefree attitude to her toilet, but Livia was unconcerned about spending hours getting ready to go to the baths, or the Forum, just so they could impress the men they passed on the way.