It looked like something from the middle ages. All around me, a weak yellow-grey light was pushing its way into my bleary eyes and a crescendo of high...pitched bird song was building from outside. I guessed it was just after dawn by the stillness of everything. The air was cold as no fire had yet been lit. I wondered where the owner of the cabin had got to at such an early hour, but didn’t let that worry me too much as I tried to come to grips with myself. I felt weak and weary, but strange too,. "Could you have slept that night, if you'd been me? No fucking way. I wanted to call Katie, but I didn't know how to tell her what I knew and keep David out of it, so I decided to wait.I watched four old movies back-to-back, and I couldn't tell you what any of them was about. At 5:30 am I checked my mailbox for the sixth time and found a DVD in an envelope, unlabeled. I took it and ran back inside the house.I put the DVD into the player and sat back. Abruptly a room appeared: what looked like a. I sent Garius back to make sure the family were still safe, I told him to be strong and act like he was second-in-command. “Talk strong and confident, they’ll obey.” I wanted the family as bargaining chips, but I was also thinking along other lines.Getorix and I headed for the village; as we did, several armed and dangerous men appeared from some woods. Gladiators! They got benefits for fighting for the Roman elite, they would support them surely?“You! Are you Romans?” shouted a man with a. They shared the mundane things couples do that helps them feel like they are connected to each other. They laughed and teased each other in the intimate and familiar way that only a couple can do as they finished their meal.After finishing the main course she wanted to run off and take a shower. He still wouldn't let her go. He had picked up an apple pie from her favorite bakery in town. Her eyes widened in anticipation like a young child when she saw the box. In no time at all she was savoring.