Lucis looked up at the 'painting' that was displayed at the centermost of the room he was in. Consisting of a large piece of canvas placed into a golden square, the main purpose was to show the beauty of what the artist was seeing. He had seen things similar to this only in Egypt, though it was part of their 'language' of a time long past. The picture showed three ponies, one sitting and the other two on its lap. These ponies were different from the ones he had seen during their trip. They have inherited both traits of pegasus and unicorn, which lead him to believe that they might be the 'alicorns' Tempest was talking about. He could tell that they must have been some sort of divine beings, though only a few remain. The pony sitting in the chair looked very young, but her eyes showed that she was far older than he was. Her coat was that of white snow with a blonde mane. Her golden yellow eyes stared into his own, as if the painting was alive and telling him to look upon her as any normal person. The two children (or are they foals to the ponies) were sitting on her lap. The first one had a snowy white coat like its mother. Her magna eyes shown with curiosity. Her mane and tail looked like the colors of the rainbow and almost looked like it was wavy. She was wearing a little sun-yellow dress with a large crown on top of her head, which covered up half of her left eye as she kept on smiling. The second child had a dark navy blue coat opposite to the other two. Her blue eyes looked excited to see him. Her mane and tail glittered with stars on them, almost like the entire heavens were inside that long wavy mane.

If he was not mistaken, the two children sitting on the knees of that mare were no doubt the Alicorn Sisters that Tempest and Steel Heart talked about during their first meeting with him. He didn't know about the image of the adult alicorn. Steel Heart had said that was at one point their mother known as Queen Galactica. She had mysteriously disappeared some thousands of years after the founding of Equestria. Some had said that she died while fighting another god known as 'Discord'.

The room he was in must have been suited for royalty at one point, yet had fallen to decay after years of neglection. The velvet sheets, which had once probably been silk from a foreign land, had been torn apart by moths and probably other critters that came scurrying around from time to time. The wooden bed was twice the size of normal ones, perhaps even bigger than the emperor's chambers. The wooden beams that held the roof of the bed looked fresh, but he could tell that it had been abandoned like the rest of the objects. He admired how the wood had stood the test of time even after all these years. He suspected that it must have something to do with this 'magic' that the unicorns have. There was also a small bookcase next to a desk that had seen better days. Filled with rot and a few broken pieces, it was amazing how it didn't break after all this time. The small bookcase right next to the desk had few books on it, and they started to show its age if the smell was anything to go by.

He shook his head as he stared at the painting. "I always wonder how such powerful beings, even those considered gods of all things, are brought low by barbarians?" He said. "You beings that can move the sun and moon being nothing more than whores. Perhaps even gods can make foolish decisions." He let out a cruel laugh. "If that is so, then Romulus and Roma, the ones that founded Rome, had foolishly stumbled upon the Palatine Hill and listened to the gods 'by accident'." He then looked at the tall, slender alicorn holding the two foals. "I wonder what you will think of this country now?" He muttered under his breath as he took one last look at the 'painting'. While he would admire the artistic value that this 'painting' has, he had more important matters to attend to. He walked away from the object reached toward the door that goes to the hallway.

After the battle in the Everfree Forest, the legion recuperated its losses and made a headcount on how many soldiers they lost. Thankfully, there were no casualties in the first battle with the caribou. However, several of the soldiers were injured by those mages that three fireballs. While the damage to their skin was not life-threating, they were out of action for a while until they could get better medical supplies. Tempest and Steel Heart pointed out that they have unicorns in town that can heal those

He mentally laughed at how ridiculous that sounds. Either his soldiers were lucky the first time, or the caribou were a bunch of unorganized brutes that know nothing next to warfare. How the ponies lost to these beasts is beyond him. They hunted down the survivors and took them as prisoners. Out of the five hundred that battled the Romans, about 80 were captured in the aftermath. Tempest, as promised, told him as to where the resistance was hiding and how to get there. Thankfully, it was out of the Everfree Forest and into a place known as 'Our Town'. It didn't appear in any maps of Equestria, allowing its leaders to operate without the caribou knowing where they are. He asked if this town would house his legions should he accompany them. They said no, but two unicorns by the name of Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lunamoon have invented some kind of shielding that turns the town and its surroundings invisible to only a few. The problem was that it only covered the town's limits, but it didn't bother Lucius that much. Tempest explained that they could try to adjust the spell so it can expand beyond the limits to cover his legion. He agreed to the idea and set his legion to march north to where this town was at, with Tempest and Steel Heart and Color Scheme acting as guides. They were sent to the front of the legion to not only guide them out of the forest but to talk to the leaders of the resistance and convince them that his legion were no threat.

Around the same time, just as the legion had finished packing, Oriana appeared beyond the treeline and made his way towards his camp. She was covered in blood from her chest, legs, and mouth, making it look like she had emerged from a literal blood bath. At first, he was worried that she might have serious injuries, but his fears were quickly dispelled when she walked normally. He was concerned when he saw an unhealthy amount of blood on her mouth but waved it off as an engagement gone wrong on her part.

The legion marched for what seemed like hours, and the sun was just setting over the mountains. Tempest commented that the Everfree Forest is much more dangerous at night and that they suggest they seek shelter immediately. Luckily, there is an old castle several miles from their position that would suffice as a shelter for the night. He agreed and followed the two mares to the castle. After some time, the reached what remains of this castle they spoke of. The place has obviously fallen into disrepair, mostly remaining in ruins save for a large tower that seemed in somewhat perfect shape. Moss grew in several areas around the outer exterior of the castle. Indeed, it looked more like a pile of rocks than actual ruins. Steel Heart explained that this once was a mighty castle that belonged to the Royal Sisters, the supposed "goddesses" that ruled this nation. After banishing an evil spirit called Nightmare Moon, in which Princess Luna transformed into an evil mare bend on creating an eternal night, Celestia abandoned the castle and relocated to a new city called Canterlot. Since then, it had mostly been abandoned.

A small bridge connected the ground he was standing on to the castle. Right beneath them was a wide chasm with fog near the bottom, giving it an eerie atmosphere in this depressing forest. The bridge itself looked like it could break at any moment with its rotting wood and loose ropes around other ropes. He had questioned Tempest if this was a safe place to rest for the night, she shrugged and said that it was better than nothing.

After she said that, a butterfly landed in the middle of the bridge. Once it landed, the bridge began to creak before collapsing down to the bottomless chasm below. The butterfly frantically flew away.

'"It's better than nothing" my ass.' He grimly thought as he looked on at the now collapsed bridge. He looked towards Tempest again and she shrugged. He ordered several engineers to chop down the nearby trees and assemble them into a bridge. Color Scheme, Tempest and Steel Heart helped them with the construction as well. After several hours, just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the horizon, the engineers finished constructing a wide bright for his legion to go on. While it wasn't big enough for a single legion to go through, it was strong enough to withstand pressure from several cohorts crossing. Color Scheme did most fo the work, using rudimentary mathematics similar to Greek or Roman math. His father was once a carpenter by the name of Wood Cutter. Although Color Scheme wasn't interested in carpentering like his father, he still remembers the lessons his father had taught him. This proved useful to the legion as the constructed the bridge wide enough for a single cohort to go through. He then ordered several companies to go through to the other side, five thousand in total. The rest of the three thousand legionnaires would stay near the forest and set up a perimeter around the chasm and the castle in case the caribou come back and look for them. It was unlikely considering how they eliminated and captured the remaining caribou after the battle, but one can never be too careful. If they did find the legion, they were ordered to burn the bridge and hold off the invaders while they make a quick getaway. It's shameful to run away from the enemy as the Darius family is headstrong when it came to military traditions. Circumstances change, even in a hostile and unknown land.

After about two-thirds of the legion made it across, they were soon ordered to make camp and prepare to move at first light. Lucius, Oriana, Validus, Tempest, Color Scheme and Steel Heart decided to look around the ruins as a precaution. Anything could have occupied the castle while it was abandoned. This threat ranged from bandits to wild animals to caribou "hunters", ones that specialize in hunting down escaping sex slaves and returning them to their masters. These hunters usually hunt in the Everfree Forest for them considering how big said forest is. They would occasionally camp out at the Everfree castle from time to time.

The hallway he was walking down was long, and grand at one point. Red-colored drapes that once decorated the halls had either lost their color or torn down by either the weather or animals that once lived in this castle. Stacked on the right side of the hallway were suits of armor that were held upright by a stand on the inside. The armors looked so ancient he was surprised they were still standing even after being abandoned. Though calling it armor was a bit of an understatement. These armors covered the person from head to toe in what looks like iron to the point the person looks more like a statue than anything else. One of the displays showed a strange helmet that resembles a bird's beak holding in its left metal hand a cross between a pike and a large axe. Another one held a large sword with its blade looking much like a serpent. The armors themselves had some rust on them along with some weapons they were wielding. They had seen better days, that much was clear. The doors that lead to some of the other rooms had rotted away at one point, leaving him easy access to see inside.

He kept checking each room to make sure no one was here. Apart from some furniture being ruined beyond repair, nothing has been disturbed so far. As far as he was concerned, they were all in the clear.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword he didn't know he had gripped in his hands. The last thing he needed was to deal with any bandits or scouts for the caribou. Satisfied with the emptiness of the castle and the lack of any enemy contact, he retreated back to the foyer where they promised they would meet up after they throughly check out the castle.

The foyer was considered the entrance to the castle. A large wooden door stood open so the wind can blow through. A large red carpet spammed all the way from the entrance to up at the feet of the stairs where it is climbing. Two giant banners with many smaller banners stood to the side of the column where he was coming down. One showed the sun in a yellow background while another shows a crescent moon in a dark blue background. Two mannequins with armor stood to the side of the stairs. In the center of the room, Tempest, Steel Heart, and Validus were conversing with each other. Validus was just finishing a story told to them. ".....and then the centurian said, "And from that day forward anytime a bunch animals come together in one place its called a zoo!" After finishing his rant, I asked if a farm counts as a place where animals gather. He beat me up senseless then ordered to deliver water to a nearby village with nothing but my cock hanging out." He gave a hearty laugh. "Good thing that bastard died in Germania. Rumor has it that his own men killed him. That would've been a fucking hilarious sight to see."

"That is a very.......interesting story," Tempest said before looking at Lucius approaching the bottom of the stairs. "Anything?"

"Nothing. It looks like this castle hasn't be disturbed for a long time." He concluded. "We can thank the gods for the luck so far."

Tempest nodded. "That's good. The last thing we need is Hunters looking for us after your little skirmish."

"You think we'll be safe here?" Validus questioned. "The caribou would want blood after the arse-kicking we gave them."

"The caribou are stupid, but they are not stupid as to send an army into the Everfree itself." Steel Heart said. "And they can't burn us out as well. That would undoubtedly piss off the animals of the Everfree and create an environmental disaster. Best they can do is try to surround the whole of the forest if possible."

"You think they will do that?" Lucius asked this question. It would be a waste of resources and manpower just to surround the forest. It would be idiotic, even to the caribou themselves.

She shrugged. "Maybe." She said. "Like I said, they got the entire male population on their side thanks to that damnable magic object in the Crystal Empire." Lucius didn't know what she was talking about when she mentioned a magic object in the "Crystal Empire", but he could hazard a guess that it wasn't good for the ponies. "It could take them three days to surround the forest at best."

"Then we leave at first light," Lucius said as he pointed to Validus. "Relay the message to the other centurians and commanders. Once morning hits, we pack up what we can and leave." Validus nodded and went off to inform the company commanders. "Steel Heart," He directed his gaze onto her. "You have wings, yes?" She nodded in response. "I need you to keep watch on one of the clouds. If there were any survivors that had gone back to that nearby village, then we need to know if they sent another army inside the forest."

Steel Heart puffed up her cheeks and glared at the legate. "Hold on, who died and made you a leader?" She said in an angry tone. "As far as I'm conce-"

"As far as I'M concerned, I am the Legate of this legion." He cut her off with a growl. "I didn't earn the title just by suck up to some senators. I earn mine through blood and sweat." He marched over to Steel Heart and aggressively pointed a finger at her chest." This is my legion, and whatever I say is final. If you think you can command me just because you are in charge of this little expedition, then I would live in a mud hut in the middle of fucking nowhere than be here with you." He gave her a glare so nasty that, if one can look closely, one would have seen her soul literally pop out of her body in fright. "Now, I gave you an order. You will follow that order as if it was a message from your gods or mine. Understand?" He slowly wrapped his left hand over the hilt of his sheathed gladius. "Or are we going to have a problem with that?" He didn't care if she was some high ranking member in their feeble resistance. This is his legion, his family of soldiers who have been through thick and thin in every part of the Roman world. Damn be if anyone says otherwise, whether they be caribou or pony.

The brave bravado that once appeared on Steel Heart's face had vanished completely and replaced with one of fear. She opened her mouth several times trying to come up with a retort. Instead, she turned her head around and headed out the large double doors, her stomping distributing the silent sound that once reigned in this room.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he moved his hand away from his gladius. "That went better than I expected," Tempest commented from behind him. He turned around to see her leaning her shoulders against a column. "I almost thought she would attack you for a second. Steel Heart never likes anyone taking command of her."

"Including you?" He questioned.

"She may act tough and think she's a hotshot, but she always lacks experience on the battlefield. As far as I'm concerned, I'm in command of this little scouting party. Not her." She sighed as she adjusted off the pillar and made her way to the stairs. "She doesn't trust me a lot, and I can understand why. Equestria was almost conquered because of me. Why Zecora or Starlight Glimmer gave her a commanding role I'll never know." She sat down at one of the steps. "She'll probably take the credit for finding you."

"At the very least, she should at least listen to her soldiers on advice when given an order," He said as he made his way over to her. "War is not won by one commander alone, but by the soldiers he commands. Ignore them, and you have already lost. If she can't accept a command, then she should be demoted and flayed alive."

"I guess your right. Except for the flaying alive part." Tempest said. "When she was asked to put together an expedition, both commanders appointed me as part of her team, saying I have the experience and such. I think its mainly for both of them to watch over me." She sighed as she put on of her left hands on her left cheek. "I can understand why. I nearly put Equestria in danger because of me."

"Interesting." He said. He had a suspicion from the start that Tempest Shadow wasn't a resident of Equestria, given the brief history lesson he had received. Then again, such peace-loving people can turn to arms when they are threatened, but Tempest was different from the rest. "I did forget to ask; what were you doing before meeting me?" He assumed that Tempest was on a mission before coming across his forces. His existence hadn't been known until today. He highly doubts that this resistance knew about the legion being here.

Then again, he had woken up in the middle of a gods-damned forest for who knows how long.

"We were supposed to scout out Ponyville as part of Glimmer's plan to liberate Equestria." She answered. "You may not know this, but Equestria was once protected by artifacts called the Elements of Harmony wielded by six mares."

"Artifacts, you say?" He asked. He wasn't surprised that something like this existed given his brief encounter with magic during the battle. "Are they that poweful

She nodded. "They are. They have protected Equestria for years against darker forces. They are powered by the elements of friendship. Laugher, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, and Magic are all wielded by six mares that represent those values."

"So are they powerful warriors who wielded these weapons?"

"........."

"........"

"Oh, you are serious?" She asked. "They aren't really warriors per se, but they do support each other when the going gets tough." A sad smile appeared on her face. "I learned that when the Storm King invaded."

"I assume this Storm King learned the hard way?"

"Yeah." She said. "Before I joined Equestria, I was under the command of the Storm King." A sad look in her eyes tells him that it wasn't a good experience she would want to repeat. "He was a ruthless king that kills anything and takes what he wants while making slaves out of everyone he's conquered. He promised that if I help him out," She pointed to her broken horn. "that he would repair my horn."

"Horns are important to a unicorn, I take it?" Lucius assumed. While his knowledge of Equestrian society is limited to the three ponies he met, he quickly assumed, for the most part, that horns were important to a unicorn's standing. Tempest also explained how unicorn horns were used to cast magic as well. For one to lose a horn would be devastating.

"I..........lost my horn a long time ago, and it devastated me for years." She explained in a sad tone in her voice. "You're basically a freak in everyone's eyes if you don't have a horn as a unicorn. I can't remember the last time I wasn't beat up because I was different. The Storm King came to me one day and said that he will restore my horn to what it once was. In return, I have to serve him. It was like that for" She paused as she lifted her fingers and counted them. "Goddess, I can remember. Years I guess."

"My condolences then." He said as he put his right hand over his heart and bowed. "I cannot imagine what sort of life you had lead." He can share his sympathy with her. While the Darius family had lead a more extravagant lifestyle, it didn't discourage them from interacting with the plebian population. His father once said that a soldier's upbringing can be of great importance to a legion. For example, one of his men grew up on a poor farm just south of the ruins of Carthage. He had to steal from other townsfolk, even passing merchants, so he can get his daily bread. After joining the 15th, he is considered to be the best scout in the army, able to tell the difference between a rock and a tree from a hundred miles away. He can sneak behind enemies without them noticing and take them by surprise.

"I don't need your sympathy." She said with a glare aimed directly at him. "I know what I have done and I accept that." She softened her glare. "Sorry I snapped like that. Anyway, the Storm King one day decided to invade Equestria during its celebration of Princess Twilight's coordination. We caught them by surprise and managed to capture the city within an hour, along with the three Princesses who were there. Unfortunately, I pushed the Elements, including Twilight, off of a waterfall instead of capturing them. The survived, but king was very displeased and wanted me to find her as soon as possible."

He nodded. "I can understand why. Capturing all four leaders is the best way to break any resistance movement." It wasn't uncommon for Rome to hold a leader of a tribe or rival empire hostage. There were a few times during his campaign where he threatened the barbarians by put a sword next to their chieftain's throat. While the last couple of times proved successful in acquiring supplies and "tribute", the last one didn't work out so well. Instead of just surrendering, they charged and attacked them. They had put down the would-be warriors at the cost of four legionnaires. He can still remember that chieftain's face after he had slit his throat. It was calm and collective like he had accepted his fate a long time ago.

"More or less. He wanted all four princesses for some sort of ritual that involved the Staff of Sacanas." She pointed out. "This magical artifact can absorb the magic off of any magical being and empower its user."

Once again, he wasn't surprised that such a weapon exists in this place. "Why not just this 'staff' on the already captured princesses then hunt down Twilight after?" If there was a weapon that can suck "magic" out of someone, surely the Storm King could have used it to absorb their powers before go after Twilight.

She shook her head. "The ritual precisely stated that he needed the four princesses together in one place." She answered. "I went around the entirety of the world to try and find her. In the end, I managed to capture her. During her imprisonment, she convinced me that just because I don't have a horn doesn't mean I'm different than anyone else. At first, I didn't believe her, but the more she argued, the more I think about my situation." Her eyes betrayed a bit of sadness. "All my life I wanted people to accept me. When someone said they can make it happen, I jumped in with no clear thoughts about it. I thought he would help me, but then I found out that he was using me." Her hands gripped the stone step, almost like she was commanding it to break. "Twilight said that it doesn't matter if I have a horn or not, or that I am different from everyone else. All that mattered was what I wanted in life. In the end, I helped Twilight defeat the Storm King and redeemed myself. I accepted who I am lived with that notion. However," She touched the broken tip of her horn. "there were times where I wished there was another way to become someone I'm not." She then had a fire in her eyes that indicated that she wasn't going to give up so easily. "That was the reason I was accepted into this mission. I wanted to save Twilight if possible. I owe her my life."

"You consider her a friend?" She nodded. "At least you are fighting for something you believe in." He soon moved and sat down next to her. "I'm going to be honest with you: I didn't want this life." He answered. Tempest looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "Don't be surprised about that. Yes, I wanted to be a soldier like my grandfather and his father before him, but I wanted an easy life. I wanted to see the Empire and travel all around. After my tenure is up, I would pick up a hobby that I like and live like a plebian. A normal life. At least, that is what my original dream is. Until Britannia happened."

Tempest cocked her head, which was considered cute in Lucius's eyes. "What's a 'Britannia?' I never heard of such a place before."

"It is an island north of Gaul." Lucius explained. "Well, calling it an island would be an understatement. It was another world in my eye. In ages past, Caesar, one of the greatest Roman leaders of our time, leads a campaign against the tribes in ages past. Ever since then we have been painstakingly claiming the island from the savages. We had succeeded, but only for a moment. Queen Boudica, the queen of the Iceni people, had led a rebellion against our rule. She had slaughtered many of our citizens and enslaved more. The recent governor failed to stop this uprising and fled like a coward." He looked at the open door and the colored sky beyond it. Usually, he didn't consider looking up the night sky due to how busy he was. Plus there was nothing to look at most of the time. For some reason, the night was more beautiful than he could imagine. It was as if someone had painted the sky like an artist working on a mural dedicated to the gods themselves. "As a result, we were sent in to stop this uprising.

I was a young soldier back then. A fresh recruit that didn't want to be in the army. My father insisted that I join the said legion, Legio IX Hispania, on its way to quell the uprising. "It's an easy job," my commander said "just a bunch of shit savages armed with sticks and rock. It will be over in a jiffy." That was what I kept telling myself over and over whenever I get scared.

How wrong I was that day.

We meet outside the city of Camulodunum. We were heavily outnumbered. They numbered in the hundreds of thousands while ours only numbered in the thousands. It was a massacre. We were slaughtered to the last man. I only escaped by stealing a horse from one of the Iceni tribesmen. I was not the only one. Quintus, my commander, and some cavalry escaped to a nearby fort and held there until reinforcements could relieve us.

I still remember the battle like it was yesterday. I stood in the formation, at the front while Boudica charged at us. She slaughtered so many of us that I didn't think her as human. I was scared shitless for my life. I watched as my nearby friend was cut down to meatless chunks by her men. Another one had his skull split open by an ax wielded by an Icenic warrior. Both my friends' scream and the enemies' blood thirty cries are still fresh in my mind after all these years." He shook his head as more bad memories kept coming up, his vision suddenly becoming hazy as if he was in the water. Was he crying? "And I ran like a coward without looking back. I could have helped them, but they came upon us so fast we didn't have enough time to rally our forces. I didn't stand my ground as they slaughtered us." He wasn't proud of what he did. After the battle and the defeat of the rebellion later, there were times where he wanted to kill himself. He wiped his eyes and looked at Tempest. "Sometimes I wish I died back there. The gods wouldn't forgive me for being a coward back then. Perhaps me becoming Legate was punishment enough."

She looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "That is......horrible." She finally whispered. She looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "I'm very sorry for what happened to your friends. It must be dramatizing to lose them."

"It was at first." He said. "However, I learned to move on after we crushed the rebellion. There were times where I wanted to go back and undo the mistake, even at the cost of my life." He sighed. "Unfortunately, we cannot predict the will of the gods or their minds, but what's done is done. I have moved past it." His eyes soon gazed at the broken horn. "And you should do the same as well."

She was silent as she pondered his words. He could tell that her mind was in a conflicting state, where she can either accept who she is or chase down a dream that will never come. She bit her lip as she looked back at him. "How?" She asked. "How can I just accept how I am? What if I want to be someone different?"

"......." He looked at her with concentration. He hasn't been in Equestrian society long, but he can pick up even the simplest of desires one has. The ponies were no different from any creature on Terra. She was chasing a dream, and he would give her reality. "There is a saying in my family: "Sic Faciam Meae". In your language, it means "I shall make my own way." He pointed to her horn. "For years you have spent your own life trying to fix what can not be fixed. In return, you have become a slave to your own desires.

Although you are free from your king, you still can not break the chains that are in your mind. You want perfection, but that is impossible. You must embrace your faults and strive to overcome them. I have lost my friends a long time ago and I still mourn for them, but not to the fact that it consumes my life. The same goes for my soldiers. I have lost many under my command, but I do not mourn. The only thing you can do is fight for yourself and define your expectations.

Perhaps it was the will of the gods that your horn would be lost, but they are testing you. If you fail, then you will fall into a hole no one will climb. But if you succeed, if you accept what makes you different from everyone else and use that difference to your advantage, then the world is yours." He finished his sentence as he gazed into Tempest's eyes. "So, what is it going to be?"

Tempest had a surprised look on her face once his speech was finished, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times. It was amusing, to say the least. He didn't say his speech just to make her feel better. He still cared for her, but as a soldier in need of training. The last thing he needed was someone hesitant in mind during a battle. Yet at the same time, he respected her. She had defied a king in order to achieve what she wanted. "Did you avenge your friends in the end?"

"I did. In fact, I was the one that slew Bociuda. However, that is a story for another time." He said. "But what about you? Are you going to move away from your past, or still be chained like a slave?"

She nodded. "I........I......." She was struggling to form coherent words. She then sighed. "You are right." She said. "I have been chasing a dream that may never come true, and it nearly cost me everything. I need to face reality and get back on my feet." She smiled. "Thanks for the peep talk. Never expected something like this to happen."

"Don't mention it." Lucius said. "I need you to be sound of mind before our next battle with the caribou." He got up and craned his back. "I hope this talk we had was......educational to you." He turned around and started to walk. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my men and rest up. It will be a busy day tomorrow." He had felt tired ever since coming here. After he checks the conditions of his men, he will go straight to his bed. Especially the ones that were wounded during the fight. They have enough medical supplies to ease the pain, so he shouldn't be worried about it for a while. He will need all the energy for tomorrow's journey. His limbs felt like wet towels after a day at the baths and his legs are like a tree getting ready to falling down.

"Wait." She shouted after him. He turned around to see her walk beside him. "What did you want to be besides a soldier?" She asked. "You said you wanted to pick up a hobby after you are out of the army. So what did you want to do?"

He raised an eyebrow upon hearing that question. "You won't believe me even if I told you." He answered.

"Try me." She folded her hands over her metallic breastplate.

He smirked as he answered. "I wanted to be a baker."

"......." She stood there trying to process the information before barking out a laugh. "A baker?!? Really?!?!" She had to hold her stomach as she continued laughing.

Lucius frowned upon hearing her laugher. He wanted to say that it was not as strange as she would think, but he couldn't help but chuckle alongside her. Hearing it from himself, he would say it was a bit silly. "I never expected you to be a baker of all things." She commented after she stopped laughing.

He shrugged. "Sometimes we can't have all we want." They both laughed as they went out of the castle and into the camp. It felt good, this feeling he had. It was something he had not felt in a long time. Not only had he managed to convince Tempest that wishing for a horn is useless, but he had managed to open up himself in some way. Sure, it was to teach Tempest a lesson, but for some reason, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was also teaching himself in some way.

He still misses his friends, but for the sake of the Legion, he must carry on. For their sake and those after them.

Felix felt like his head was about to explode at any moment. This was in and of itself crazy considering he could take at least several tankards of wine before falling into a drunken state. He couldn't feel his body at the moment, but he did feel like he was sleeping on something hard and cold.

"By Bacchus, kill me the fuck now." He moaned as he tried to open his eyes. "Try" being a subjective word. Every time his eyes open, they were greeted with visions of darkness that he couldn't see for miles. To top it off, his head was pounding like crazy. It almost felt like several Nicean horses tap-danced all over his head.

After several tries, he opened his eyes again. This time his vision adjusted a little as he was able to see the world once again. While it was still dark outside, he could see little flames dancing in his vision, allowing him to see where he was at.

He was lying on a hard cement floor with his left cheek touching said floor. He could see iron bars that were at the entrance to his room. There was a torch on the other side of the bars that lit up a hallway. There were two other rooms similar to his with iron bars. He groaned as he supported himself up, his head still pounding like a war drum. Looking around, he could see a small hay bed in the corner along with a bucket filled with something he didn't want to guess.

"Am I in a fucking prison?" He nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. He struggled to move for a moment and nearly fell over a couple of times, but he still made it to the iron bars. He tried to remember what had happened. He landed in some alleyway, he was in a city similar to Rome. There were some strange animal-like creatures there that walked on two was some sort of festival going on........

"Finally awake, I see." A voice said behind him. He turned around to see the same horse-like creature he encountered before. At least, it looked like one. Its skin has a dark glossy coat that seemed hard, much like that of bugs. he encountered in various places within the Roman Empire. Her yellow eyes had slits like a serpent staring back at him. Its hair was long that went past her slim shoulders with the color of red. A tail like that of a horse came out of its behind with the same color red as its hair. Two ears protrude off the sides of its head. There were fangs exposed at the top of her teeth. It was also naked save for a red collar around its neck. Her slender frame was only supported by two D-sized breasts. Even though Felix stared at the big globes of flesh, he had the impression that she didn't mind at him looking at her. "When they first dragged you in here, I thought you were dead. Looks like I was wrong."

"Who dragged me in here?" Felix asked as he stared away from the breasts. "Where in Hade's fucking balls am I?"

"You're in the funhouse, where there are sweets and treats and the caribou read stories at half-past nine." The lady said in a sarcastic tone. "Where the fuck do you think you are?!?! You're in prison. The royal guards dragged your shaved ass in this cell with me." He had to cringe at every swear, and he thought he was the one that was good at swearing.

"Prison?!?!" He nearly screamed at the top of his lungs at the mention of being in prison. "For what?!?!" He wasn't surprised to say the least. He has forgotten how many times he had been thrown into a cell for public intoxication and picking fights with random legionnaires.

She shrugged. "Public intoxication, disrupting the peace, picking random fights with strangers. Oh, and punching the king in the face."

"......"

"....."

"......What?" He gave her a questioning look.

"What are you, deaf?" She said. "You. Punched. The. King. In. The. FACE!"

"I did?" He searched his head for anything that is related to what she said. His head still hurt even as he was thinking. He did remember sitting down and drinking something. That's about it for the most part. "How did that happen?"

She shrugged. "Tarturas if I know. I only heard whispers from the guards." She answered. "There was some sort of brawl going on between you and some royal guards, then the king arrived and you beat the hell out of him. By the way, congratulations on punching that bitch in the face." She smirked. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"Thank the god of wine for that," Felix stated as he backed up against the wall and slide down to a sitting position. He had given up on trying to break down the bars even as his head kept getting pounded by the migraine. "So what happens now? Are they going to kill me?" That wouldn't be good at all. There was so much to do, so much to see. He would never tell his one true love in Iberia how he loved her. 'I will never get the chance to tell Marianus how much I love her. Or was it Greitius? Claudius? Fuck if I know. '

"They won't kill you." The bug thing explained. "What they will do is use one of there spells to turn you into a female and then mercilessly fuck you silly until you crave more."

"....."

"Then again," She put her one index finger to her chin. "I heard the king is really pissed that someone like you had managed to be the living shit out of him. If anything, he might just kill you outright."

Felix's jaws dropped upon the mention of the possibility of death. It was a big turn from what he was at moments ago. He went from being in a strange city filled with strange people to being in a cell with a bug horse thing that might rip his throat out at any moment. What's worse: the supposed king of this city will kill him or transform him into a woman and rape him silly until death.

"........fuck my life."

"It might be that way soon."

Author's Note

I'm putting all of my stories on hold for a while so I can focus more on my college courses. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.