by Hearst, Amy
“Oh, yes?” said Abedi, suspicion twisting his insides. “And how did the lanista learn of her plans?”
“I told him,” replied Hebides. “He rewarded me with gold, and the funny thing is, the foolish girl rewarded me as well.” He held up the amulet.
“It is beautiful,” said Abedi, touching it again for luck. “Perhaps it will bring you good fortune.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Hebides.
“Oh, I don’t know,” replied Abedi. “They say you reap the reward you sow.” It took all his effort to keep his anger from showing on his face. He wanted to strangle Hebides.
“Well I have sown nothing but good fortune so far. I thought she had stolen this trinket from the mistress, but nothing’s amiss. I planned to sell it at the market. Perhaps I will keep it for luck in the arena, as you suggest.”
“I hope you receive the luck that is coming to you. When is the whipping to take place?”
“Tomorrow morning. The entire ludus will watch. The lanista announced it just a few minutes ago.”
Abedi had seen the master talking to a group of gladiators. He had since left the practice field. Hebides got up and walked away, then picked up a wooden sword and engaged in a mock match with a younger gladiator.
Abedi didn’t know how he could help Nardine. His injury hobbled him to the point where he could not help her escape, and the ludus would be filled with guards watching for any potential escapees tonight. He would be forced to watch Nardine endure pain before the entire ludus —and he would be helpless to stop it.
He must find a way to comfort her.
*****
Nardine stirred listlessly when she heard a knock on her cell door. Claudia entered, carrying a plate of food. She set it down on the table by Nardine’s bed, and then stared down at Nardine, who still lay on her pallet.
“It isn’t much, I know,” said Claudia. “Just bread and soup. But perhaps it will give you strength to endure what you must go through tomorrow.”
Nardine sat up. “I will try to eat it, Claudia. What I need most right now is a friend.”
“I am your friend, Nardine. But I cannot stay long. I am expected back in the kitchen, and Cornelia will be informed if they think I’ve been socializing with you. I wished you would have listened to me. I wish you would have just run away without telling anyone, and then you might be free.”
“I tried, but Cornelia discovered me in the courtyard. The whipping is something I simply must endure.”
“You know I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” Nardine thought of the baby and almost told Claudia about it, but stopped. She’d learned her lesson with Hebides.
“I must go,” said Claudia. “But I will be back in the morning. I will bring you something to eat.”
“Thank you,” said Nardine. She stirred the soup and took a sip. It tasted vile. Cornelia, or the lanista, must have given the cook instruction to only feed her the worst food, in the most minimal amount.
She stood up and walked over to her box, and began searching through it. She found the vial Mila gave her and carried it back to the table. Perhaps she should take the mixture now. How could she bring a baby into the world, where it would have to cope with so much pain and loneliness? She could mix the concoction with the remaining soup. If she took it now, she would bleed in the morning, and that might prevent the whipping. What kind of a life would her baby have now, growing up in a ludus? Or worse, being sold as a slave and growing up with no mother or father. Then she remembered her vow from earlier in the day. That the baby would be born, and that she would find a way to freedom. She picked up the vial, opened her window and leaned out and dumped the liquid onto the ground outside. Now the baby would have to live. She lay back down on the pallet, putting her head down. She wished she had never given Abedi’s charm to Hebides. She could use some good luck now.
*****
Nardine awoke when her cell door squeaked. The light from a full moon streamed through the window in her room. She sat up, alarmed. Someone entered her room. She could not imagine who it might be.
A strong hand slipped across her mouth just as she started to scream. “It is me, Abedi,” he whispered. “I have come to give you strength for tomorrow.”
“How did you get in here?” asked Nardine. “I thought you were locked in your cells at night?”
“I have done what the lanista does not suspect,” said Abedi. “I have made friends with my jailer. “He owes me a favor, and I have never left my cell before. They know I will not leave the ludus in my condition,” he said, pointing to his leg.
Nardine nodded. “I am glad you came, Abedi. I suppose you have heard what is to happen to me tomorrow. I am sorry about your amulet. I had hoped so much that Hebides would keep his word. He promised he would not tell the master of my escape plans when I gave him the charm.”
“How well I know; he told me himself what he had done. He is proud of it. The master rewarded him with gold. And he boasted of the goddess, waving it around in front of my nose, as if I were unfamiliar with it.”
“Why have you come, Abedi? You know we cannot escape. You risked a great deal by coming here.”
“I came here to comfort you. You will need it. I have been whipped, and you need to have mental strength.” He turned, and Nardine saw his scars in the moonlight. She cringed and began to cry.
“How will I be able to stand it, Abedi? I am only a woman. I have no strength.”
“You will stand it, because you will have my love. You must hold onto it, like I once held on to the amulet. The goddess will bring you luck. I have prayed to her for you.”
Abedi placed his arm around Nardine and she settled into it. “I feel so safe here with you, Abedi. I wish you could slay the lanista and his wife both. I cannot believe what they will do to me in the morning.”
“If I could slay them both, I would. But the guards would kill me immediately. And I plan on living, Nardine, as should you.”
He placed his hand on her waist. Nardine turned toward him suddenly and threw her arms around his neck. He sat down on the bed, bringing Nardine with him.
As he kissed her, Nardine felt her insides slipping away. She hungered for this man. He wanted to protect her, to strengthen her, and it worked. Nardine removed her tunic and lay down on the pallet. Abedi remained seated, as he patted her body and breasts.
“You are glowing in the light of the moon. So beautiful,” he said.
Nardine looked down. Her nude body, illuminated brightly in the moonlight, did appear to glow.
“I could look at you all night under this brightness, so lush and plentiful,” he said as he rubbed his hand across her abdomen. “Your body reminds me of…”
He stood up quickly and pulled away from her.
“What is the matter, Abedi?” His sudden movement broke the spell for Nardine. Why had he stopped?
“You are with child!” Abedi shouted.
“Abedi! Speak more softly. Yes, you are right. How could you tell?”
“I can tell by looking at you. I was going to say you reminded me of a mother. But I can tell by the look of your breasts and that line running down your belly that you are pregnant. I had a wife who was pregnant when I was captured, so I know the signs. Why did you not tell me?”
“Why should I tell you?” asked Nardine. “Tell you that I am pregnant by another man? Will that draw me to you? And I’ve already got myself in trouble by talking too much. I thought it better to keep silent.”
For a few moments neither of them spoke.
“You are right,” said Abedi. “I am shocked that you are pregnant by another man. But I knew you were in love with a gladiator now dead. I just never expected you to be bearing his baby. How did you expect to escape while pregnant?”
“I am not showing yet. At least not much. And I thought I could run away and find a place to have my baby before they would know about it. I thought I could find a gladiator who would accompany me
.”
“Well, it can’t be me, at least not now. And you must do something soon. You will be in no shape to do it after the whipping tomorrow. And the baby might not survive it. We must get you out tonight. First we have something else to do. It won’t take long.”
Abedi smiled at her and took her hand. He sat down next to her on the bed, all the while staring at her with his huge brown eyes. He played with her hair for a few moments, and then smiled as he embraced her. Nardine could feel her arousal in every part of her body. Abedi’s ability to do that always amazed her.
He gently lay on top of her, and then kissed her a few times and deeply at that. She felt the stars again, exploding in her head and throughout her body. An invisible force drew her to Abedi, something she had never experienced before. She responded to him immediately, and she didn’t want his kisses. She just wanted him inside her.
She grasped the back of his shoulders.
“Now, Abedi, now!”
He complied immediately, plunging into her again and again, and she soared into a wave of satisfaction. Abedi climaxed a moment later.
Their quick and powerful coupling took Nardine’s breath away. She lay on her back for a few moments, cherishing the peace she knew would soon be gone. But Abedi managed to pierce her despair and bring her hope. Perhaps she could manage to get away.
Chapter Nine
Abedi followed Nardine silently into the kitchens. She showed him where the knives were stored. He chose a large one from the box, one designed for cutting meat. He would need it. Carrying their shoes, they slipped out of the kitchens and down the hallway, toward the entrance facing the courtyard. Abedi pushed the heavy door open, and they stepped outside.
“Remember, make your way to the Via Appia and asked for Joseph at the second trading post from the city gates. He sells jewelry similar to the amulet. He is dark-skinned, like me. He has a wife and will help you. Just tell him Abedi sent you. We used to row together on the galley, and Joseph managed to buy his freedom several years ago. I have not seen him since that time, but I know he is living and trading in Rome.”
“I will find him,” Nardine said, looking around. She wanted to be sure Cornelia did not lurk in the corner of the courtyard.
Abedi leaned down and kissed Nardine long and deeply. Once again, Nardine felt her insides start to melt away. She wondered if she would ever see Abedi again. But he had promised to meet up with her, as soon as his leg healed. They moved out toward the walls of the outer ludus, Nardine staying well behind Abedi. Now would come the test.
*****
Abedi motioned for Nardine to remain quiet and they slipped out of the courtyard. He decided to utilize the side entrance to the ludus, where only one guard walked. Abedi, who limped along, needed to plan his moves with care.
Holding the knife by his side, he crept down the outer hallway and hid in the doorway. When the guard strolled by, Abedi jumped out of the doorway and tackled him. He kept on hand over the guard’s mouth and used the other to slit his throat. He hated to kill unnecessarily, but he could think of no other way to help Nardine escape.
He rolled the guard’s body into the doorway and went back to the courtyard to retrieve Nardine, who trembled in the darkness.
“It is done. Now you must hurry, before the guard changes. He will soon be discovered.”
He led Nardine out of the courtyard. When they reached the entrance he tried to shield her from seeing the fallen guard. “Don’t look. Just go. Know that I am always with you, my love. He squeezed her hand once gently before she let go and began to run.
Nardine still held her shoes in one hand and her dagger in the other. She might need them both. Abedi knew his friend Joseph would keep her safe, if she could get to his stall. He turned to return to the ludus as soon as Nardine disappeared from view. He did not want to be found here.
*****
When he got back to his cell, the jailer waited for him. The large blonde man stood in the hallway, looking anxious.
“Where were you? You said you would only be gone for an hour. It is nearly daylight!”
“It doesn’t matter where I went. But you should know —a man is dead.”
“Who?”
“The guard at the eastern gate. He was a slight man, with brown hair.”
“I know him,” said the jailer. “Brutus. He was a worthless guard. But they will soon be saying that of me if you are not locked up. I will keep your secret, Abedi.”
Abedi had allowed the guard to use his cell for sexual trysts when prostitutes came to visit the gladiators. The lanista did not allow the guards to patronize the prostitutes. However the jailer had a particular liking for an African woman, so he used Abedi’s cell as cover. Abedi knew his favor to the jailer would pay off some day, and it had.
“I am safe in my cell,” said Abedi, as he slipped inside. The jailer turned the key and walked off. Abedi could only hope that Nardine would be just as safe tonight.
*****
That morning, Claudia carried another tray of food to Nardine’s room. Cornelia followed her, intending to prepare Nardine for the ordeal to follow. Claudia pushed the cell door open, setting the tray down on a table by the bed. Cornelia went to rouse Nardine, hunched under a cover, and found only a blanket rolled up beneath the sheets.
“She is gone,” Cornelia screamed. “This is connected to the guard’s death. I don’t know how. I don’t think Nardine would have had the strength to overcome him and stab him. Someone helped her.”
“Perhaps she took advantage of the guard’s death, escaping on her own,” said Claudia.
“What do you know of this, Claudia?” asked Cornelia, immediately suspicious. You must tell me, or you will be the one beaten this morning.” She grabbed Claudia by the shoulders and shook her. “Who killed that guard? Where is Nardine?”
“I don’t know where she is, and I don’t know who killed the guard. All I know is that Nardine—”
“What about Nardine?” asked Cornelia, shaking her again.
“Nardine is pregnant.”
“To whom is she pregnant?”
“I don’t know,” said Claudia. “It might have been Gaius. It might have been someone else.”
“How do you know this?”
“I overheard her telling Mila, the herb seller, out by the well. They didn’t see me. I was in the barn, milking the goats, when I heard them speaking.”
“The herbalist. Hmm,” said Cornelia. “She might have been trying to get rid of the baby. On the other hand, it could have been the reason she ran away, not to mention the whipping. Now, some of her actions make sense.”
“I don’t think she got rid of the baby, mistress. I think we would have known, if that were the case. At least she would have been sick, and she hasn’t been.”
“Pregnant or not,” said Cornelia, “she is still my property. She must be found. We must also find whoever killed that guard. I must tell the master.”
Claudia watched as Cornelia strode out of the room. She hadn’t wanted to reveal Nardine’s secret, but she had no choice if she wanted to avoid a whipping herself. She hoped Nardine was far away from the ludus, and safe, along with her unborn child.”
*****
“I don’t understand it,” Antonius said to his wife. “No one was missing from the ludus except this girl. She couldn’t possibly have killed Brutus. And if she were pregnant, as you say, that might make it even more difficult for her.”
An aggravated Antonius shared lunch with his wife. He seldom lost men within his employ, and when he did it cost much coin to replace them.
“Perhaps she had help from the outside.”
“I doubt it,” said Antonius. How would Nardine know about the guard schedules, when she couldn’t leave her cell at night? And who could she have communicated with? She would have had to time it precisely in order to safely escape. They only had minutes to spare before Brutus’ replacement arrived. “It’s too bad we didn’t discover her missing until this morning. We might hav
e gotten some answers sooner.”
“I know you want answers, my dear,” said Cornelia. “Unfortunately, I have none to give. Not yet. But I suggest you question Hebides. He was the last to sleep with Nardine. Perhaps it was all a plot, and he helped her escape despite the fact that he reported her. Perhaps he wanted to draw suspicion away from himself. I don’t know why he would risk such a thing, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”
“Question him I shall,” said Antonius, standing up and starting toward the door. “Hebides might know something about this, and if he is guilty of this, he will suffer. I believe one of the gladiators did this. I don’t know how he accomplished it. But I’m sure he did.”
*****
Abedi ate his nighttime meal by himself in the gladiator barracks. As he finished his meal, Hebides sat in front of him at the trestle table and shoved his plate of food down noisily on its surface.
“What is the matter, Hebides? I am not used to seeing you behave as though you were in the arena here.”
“I am angry because I have been accused. That damned jailer told the master he’d seen me lurking with Nardine in the practice yard. It must have been that one time she confronted me there. Now the master thinks I killed the guard last night and helped her escape.”
Abedi smiled to himself, appreciating the fact that the jailer had deflected attention away from him. “Well, did you?”
Hebides grabbed Abedi’s wrist and pinned it to the table. “Of course I did not. I couldn’t stand that bitch. I don’t know why the master would think I would help her get away when I told him of her plans. Perhaps he thinks it was part of a plot to protect myself. But I am more inclined to think it was you, my friend.”
“Me? Abedi pulled his arm away. “I didn’t even know the girl.”
“I know you were sweet on her. You asked me about her several times.”
“That is true. Though I barely had the chance to speak with her.”
“You knew she was planning to escape.”
“That I did. Do you really think I would be foolish enough to help her escape? And do you really think I am in any shape to kill a guard? I can barely walk.”