When in Rome... (for Kira_Wolf_Cub)

[Jinchu]

"And now we are entering the hall of Ancent Roman history!" announced the guide, leading the group of kids into the large rooml, the fourth hall of historical museum that they've visited today (and ten to come!). Of course, kids already started to loose interest and became rather noisy. The guide hoped that this hall will gain their attention again, it was rather impressive. There was a large painting of gladiators, christians ans lions in Coliseum on one of the walls, and there were even gladiators and legioners armor here (artifical, of course). Other exhibits weren't so impressive, just pitchers, brooches, coins and such, but...

And schoolkids were impressed - most of them stood silent in front of the painting... at least for a few seconds.

"The Ancent Rome was..." the guide started.

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

(Sorry for the long wait. I got a surprise test coming up and I've had to practice a lot to get ready for it.)

Laine Parker groaned as she followed her fellow students about the great halls. Most of her classmates, a group of 6th graders, had long ago ceased listening to the guide as well as their teachers during the field trip because they saw the day as a study free day. As far as they were concerned, they were one step closer to a long weekend. Not that Laine was better then any of them, she too was starting to grow bored of the many 'do not touch' displays that surrounded them as well as the guide's monotimous tone.

"Hey Two eyes, whatcha staring at?" Tommy, one of her classmates asked.

Laine groaned at the nick name thought she couldn't really argue it. LAine had been born with a rare condiction called heterochromia iridum, which basic meant she had been born with two different colored eyes, in her case a pale icy blue and a rich forest green. It wasn't something that was overly special or gave her powers or even affected her sight, though people tended to assume she was blind in the blue eye. It just added a slight shock factor when people met her for the first time. Add the brown chestnut curls of her hair and soft peach colored skin, Laine was pretty much an average looking girl all things set aside.

"Same old, same old," Laine rubbed her left eye in irritation. Ever since she had been six, she had taken to wearing a color contact during field trips to avoid unpleasent questions. Her school and classmates were use to her appearance but other on lookers had a nasty habit of starring, so she used a greed contact to conceal the blue eye. Problem was, it wasn't really for long time use and her eye was slowly starting to get dry and itching from long term wear. "I forgot my eye dropper at home."

"That sucks."

Laine nodded her had a she rubbed again and debated whether or not it was worth the sting in her eye if she walked into the bathroom and washed her eye with some tap water. It wasn't that it was a bad idea, but it still hurt once the eye was irritated. Still her eye was really itching...

Ignoring the lecturing guide, Laine broke away from the group trying to make her way towards the bathroom which was out of sight from the guide, her attention more on rubbing the damn contact out of her eye rather then where she was walking or what she was brushing up against.

[Jinchu]

And she walked right into a showcase. A loud jingle sounded, and the girl fell on the floor in the rain of glass fragments... Fortunately, none of them hurt Laine - but the big bronze brooch fell right on her green eye, so for a moment she saw only a bas-relief with some old man with wings, and her other eye, rubbed, with half-taken out contact, didn't see much either. So Laine could only feel that instead of cold marmoreal floor or glass there was a soft grass under her back, and then the brooch fell from her face, she saw a blue sky, not museum's ceiling.

Laine Parker was lying on her back in the grass, somethere in the country-side. Some town (though certainly not her home-town) could be seen - it looked kinda strange, but at such distance it was hard to say, why exectly. And not far from the girl lay the road - but without asphalt or any covering at all. Judging on the clatter of horse's hooves and creak of wheels, it wasn't used by cars... And, by the way, those noises were quickly approaching.

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

(I will admit right now. Everything I know about Rome is from the movies. So please, to anyone that reads this, don't trust me on my history skills)

Laine blinked confused as she re-awoke to find herself staring up at the early morning sun. Which was odd given she knew that the class had already eaten lunch before they had entered the Roman exhibit. What was more, how had she gotten outside?

Easing herself onto her feet, Laine rubbed the back of her head to feel the ever growing goose egg she had gotten from the fall. What had happened? She was just on her away to the bathroom when something made of glass broke.... but what?

She didn't get to think long about it though when voices from behind her caught her full attention.

*

The Phoenician slaver felt pretty proud of himself. It wasn't often that his stock was so well endowed but this year, his 'cop' had been many and great. Several of them were people of his own land, men whom were farmers or scholars that had fallen behind in their payments or women that could be used as maids of a house or other such Earthly pleasures. He had several African and Egyptian slaves as well to market, hunters and warriors whom had been captured but showed promise as Gladiators in the games. That or beast fodder which ever the Gods would choose for them. There was some children too, perfect for house holds that wished to raise their slaves after their own wishes rather then that of have to beat old habits out of them.

The man, Ocalus, was just speaking with his follow traders when he eased the horses to a haul. There, standing just a bit to the side of the road, stood a young maiden of perhaps 12 or 13 summers. But it wasn't the fact that there was a woman child standing there, far away from any village or town that they knew of, but it was also the way she was dressed.

The tunic wasn't like anything any of them had seen in Egypt or Athens or even Rome. In fact, the white summer dress as it would be known as in modern times, reminded Ocalus more of the odd tunics the Norse women wore. At least it reminded him of the stories he had heard of them.

The Norse, vikings, were a brutal breed of warriors that even to this day and age rebelled against becoming one with the Roman Empire and they had proven difficult to over power and capture. Not because they couldn't loose, they had lost some battles, but the women of the clans were warriors as well and would often slay the younglings and themselves should they loose.

It was the reason why Rome tended to hire the Norses, rather then capture them.

But this girl didn't appear to be a Norseman, at least not completely. As she heard then, the child turned to face then, a confused expression on her pretty face. Her skin was fair, marking her as clearly some noble's child as it wasn't sun skinned as a land workers was. And her hair was exotic, when compared to his stock. True she was a bit banged up, but with those lovely green eyes and foreign traits, he was pretty sure he could convince the nobles back in Rome that she was a Norse woman and fetch a hefty dinar for her.

*

Laine stared in confusion at the men whom had appeared behind her on the cobble road. She wasn't sure what confused her more, their clothing or the fact that they were traveling be wagoon and horse. And not just any wagon, but one with a cage in it filled with people. If she didn't know better, they looked like they were taken out of her history text books about slavers. But that was silly right?

The man leading the group suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed at her, speaking a language which she had never heard before. Not that she needed to understand what had been said as three of the man's friends advanced on her, one with rope in hand and the others their weapons.

"Wha-wait a minute! What do you think you're doing?!?" She tried to keep the distance between them but their pace was faster and steps longer then hers. Before she even had a chance to run, Laine felt them grab her roughly by the wrists and waist, lifting her off her feet. "Let go of me! Help! Somebody help! Help me-!"

Apparently one of them got quickly tired of her yelling, because the next thing Laine felt was someone slamming something hard into the back of her head, knocking her contact out just as the world faded into darkness.

The next time she would awaken, would be bound and leashed to a pole in the slave market, with Ocalus showing her off to a stranger and pattering on about how she was a Norsewoman that spoke Germaic, the foolish slaver never noticing once just what sort of exotic wonder he was displaying.