"Oh. Whoops." Iulia popped up from inside a bush that was less than five meters away from the party that had just returned. She tucked the sling-stones back into the pouch on her belt. Raising an eyebrow at the sheer number of people. One had left and three had come back. "I guess it's just as well that I was in the process of making a second sleeping mat." She reached her hands up to help Aeliana down from the horse. "Aeli, I missed you." she said, trying not to betray any emotions.
Her sister wasn't so diplomatic. The instant her feet touched the ground she flung herself at Iulia, giving her sister a bear hug. "Oh my gods, Iulia, I'm so sorry. I was so vile to you because I thought that you were ungrateful to our father and disrespectful to our empire. I thought he'd do no wrong. Well..." Her smile trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. "I was wrong. And I'm sorry. And I know I was horrible to you and you'll probably never forgive me. But..."
"You're an idiot, because I already have forgiven you. What did Father have done to you?" Iulia asked, from a purely clinical standpoint, as she hugged her sister back.
"He disowned me as a citizen, had me flogged, and sold me as a slave to Aemilia's family." She answered so matter-of-factly that Iulia had to take a step back. "The wounds are healed, if that's what you're looking for." Aeliana gave her sister a wry smile.
"And what about you, Alexius?" Iulia asked the darker man. "Do you need any medical attentions?"