by Lisa Adams
Collecting the food supplies from Master Justious went smoothly, but as they walked the streets toward the palace, Septimus felt a dark cloud forming over him. Though he was certain no one was following them, something didn’t seem right.
Once they arrived at the palace, Phaedra sashayed to the guard and began her story. “These food wares are to be delivered to the kitchen for the feast. Master Justious thanks the Emperor for his patronage.” Mowriyah was shaky with her light load of vegetables and Septimus prayed to the gods that she would be able to manage the bundle for a few minutes more.
The guard looked questioningly at Phaedra and then to him and Mowriyah. Phaedra smiled playfully at the guard, who returned the gesture. Septimus couldn’t help but notice the guard’s eyes follow Phaedra through the entrance. A small wave of relief fluttered through him, but then it left just as quickly. There was never really a doubt that they would make it into the palace, but getting out could prove to be trickier.
The trio navigated the halls of the palace with no trouble. Phaedra had claimed to have made deliveries of this type before and, like now, the residents often smiled, nodded, or waved in her direction. At least she hadn’t lied about this part.
They entered the kitchen and Phaedra waved him and Mowriyah to the right of the doorway to offload their wares on the counter. She followed behind them and whispered, “Stay here. I will tell your sister you are here but you cannot make a scene. Grab that small bag of flour there. You need to look as commonplace as possible.”
Mowriyah nodded and did as she was instructed. Septimus watched as Phaedra mingled around the kitchen, speaking with a few workers who looked to be friends. She shuffled her way through the people to the counter in the far right corner of the room. There Septimus noticed a girl with a fragile build and long, straight black hair that fell to the middle of her back.
He looked to Mowriyah, who was trembling as tears welled in her eyes. Septimus leaned in closer to her. “Be calm. This is dangerous for both of you. Tell her we will be back this evening and to be ready. Then leave. We need to get out of here fast.” She nodded again.
Phaedra signaled subtly to Mowriyah and she walked forward. He saw her posture straighten and he thought back to the wonderful performance she had given on the street the night before. She could do this. She knew what was at stake.
She made her way across the kitchen, holding the flour as she had been instructed. The girl, presumably Leihla, turned and faced her. Mowriyah handed her the flour, and there was the slightest contact of their hands. She whispered and it was done. Leihla turned back to the counter and Phaedra and Mowriyah walked back toward Septimus. Mowriyah held a look of concern in her eyes but nothing that would make anyone suspect anything.
The trio left the palace the same way they had entered and made their way back to Trivian’s house. He followed the two women in, closing the door behind him. Mowriyah hadn’t spoken since the palace. None of them had. He had to admit the calm silence between the two women was becoming unnerving. They sat side by side on the settee, almost statuesque, with Mowriyah between them.
“Mowriyah, are you okay?” She didn’t move. “Mowriyah?” She blinked, as if clearing a fog in front of her eyes. She faced him, then looked to Phaedra. Phaedra gave a weak smile and Septimus noticed the tears in her eyes. Mowriyah lunged and grabbed Phaedra in a hug. She released her emotion on Phaedra’s shoulder and the two shared a moment.
Feeling as if he was invading on a private scene, Septimus left the two women to console one another while he recalled how wonderful it felt to first see Trivian yesterday. But he is free. Leihla has been a slave, forced to do unspeakable acts…
***
Waking in the soft down bed was refreshing, but there was an emptiness inside her that Mowriyah couldn’t shake. Her thoughts wandered back to her sister. Having seen Leihla was a gift. But she had become nothing but a shadow of who she once was. There was a darkness in her gaze that pierced Mowriyah’s heart. Leihla’s soul had been broken. She had once been so exuberant and carefree. Her months spent as a prisoner to Hadrian and to Rome had taken Leihla to a dark place. Mowriyah only hoped that once they freed her, Leihla would be able to return to some form of her normal self.
Septimus, who had never been good at dealing with emotions, had stayed away from her. Phaedra had become her new ally. She couldn’t explain it, even to herself, but having Phaedra there to help her through this depressing moment had been comforting. There was a tenderness in a woman’s touch that couldn’t be matched in a man’s.
Trivian stuck his head into the room. “Mowriyah, it’s time. Are you ready?”
Definitely. She nodded. “What’s the plan?” She walked out into the kitchen and joined the others.
Phaedra grabbed her hand and held it. “Trivian, you, and I are headed to the palace. Septimus will be on the boat waiting for us, for a quick departure.”
“I checked the ship this afternoon. All the supplies have already been loaded for the journey home. The ship’s repairs are sturdy, and barring any major catastrophe, we should be able to make a clean escape.”
Something wasn’t right. Mowriyah had been feeling unsettled since the visit with Leihla that morning. She had been sure that it was only worry, but there was something else. There was a sensation of loss that seemed to hang in the air. She swallowed, trying to hide her mood from the others. “So, we are ready for the final act of our mission?”
Phaedra gave her hand a soft squeeze, then released it. She stood next to Trivian and the two embraced. “We can do this together.”
“Together.” He kissed her nose and held her close.
Mowriyah turned to Septimus. “I know I have been short with you, but I wish you were going with me.”
“I wish I were too. But someone needs to be ready at the ship for a quick getaway.” Septimus grabbed her and pulled her to him, wrapping his large arms around her. “Besides, Leihla will want to see you there and may not trust the others without you.”
Mowriyah leaned her head against his chest. “She was so distant. I hope she will be okay.”
“The sooner we get her out of here, the better she will be.” He bent and kissed her forehead and Mowriyah felt a surge of warmth radiating through her.
Interrupting their embrace, Trivian said, “If we are going to do this, it needs to be now. The guards will be changing their posts soon.”
“Right.” Septimus released her and Mowriyah felt a sudden chill. He grabbed her hand and the group left the house and walked into the darkness.
At the end of the road, Septimus pulled Mowriyah close once again. “Hurry back and be careful.” He ran his fingers through her hair and she felt her heart breaking as if it were the last time she would see him. He released her and started the walk to the pier.
Overcome with emotion, Mowriyah called out, “Septimus!”
Phaedra grabbed her arm. “Shh! People are looking for him, remember?”
She shrugged from Phaedra’s grip and ran towards him. “Wait!”
“What is it?”
She stopped a few feet away. “I…” Her voice cracked. I have to tell him. What if something goes wrong and this is the last time I will see him? He needs to know how much I truly love him, even if he rejects me again. Her voice caught in her throat once more. “I…”
“I know.” He walked to her and threaded her hair through his fingers. Lifting her mouth to his, he kissed her with a fire that made her knees quiver. “Mowriyah, I can’t imagine my life without you. When we get through this, when we get home…”
Her heart jumped with anticipation as she hung on his every word. “Yes?”
“When we get home, will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes!” She pounced on him and kissed him there in the empty open streets. “I love you, Septimus.”
“And I love you.”
“Mowriyah, we have to go!” Phaedra whispered loudly at her.
Septimus kissed her once more, then released her. “Go,
get your sister. Then we can all go home and be together.”
She was exhilarated by his proposal. Her future suddenly seemed much brighter. She would have her sisters, a husband, and a new niece or nephew soon. “I will see you soon.” She turned on her heel and ran to Trivian and Phaedra. The horrid mood that had plagued her since the morning was suddenly gone. “Let’s go.”
***
Septimus had finished preparing the ship, and now sat in the darkness for what felt like hours. There was no sign of Mowriyah or the others. Worry started to creep into his mind. What if something went wrong? What if they were captured? His head throbbed at the morose thoughts and he rubbed his temples in an attempt to relieve the pressure.
The pier had quieted considerably since he had first boarded the ship. Most workers had left a while ago, leaving Septimus alone and surrounded by silence. Visions of Mowriyah tied up and lashed haunted his mind and he tried to think of home and his soon-to-be-bride in a beautiful gown with his brothers surrounding him.
He forced himself to focus on his tasks once more and went over the checklist in his mind. He had already loosened the sails. It should only take a few moments to raise them to full mast. He had also taken in two of the three mooring lines. The ship was as ready as he could make it. As he paced the deck, clouds gathered overhead and dotted out the light from the moon. Pure darkness had set in, along with an eerie feeling that he had lost something.
Septimus scanned the horizon and couldn’t tell where the water stopped and the heavens began. There was only darkness. He set his eyes to the pier and the city that lay in front of him. Flickering lights from candles lit in a few windows danced like fireflies in the night sky, but there was no other light, no moon to help guide their path, only shadows—shadows that bounced off the buildings.
He squinted into the darkness, trying to peer through the black that engulfed him. His gaze focused on a group of shadows that were moving his way. It’s them! He jumped to the railing and lowered the rope ladder, then waited for their arrival. “Mowriyah!”
“Septimus,” she shouted. “Hurry!”
The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. There were a lot of shadows. “Run!”
He watched helplessly as she ran toward him with a band of guards close on her heels. Mowriyah reached the boat and grappled up the ladder, her sister close behind her. Running to the aft of the ship, he yanked the last mooring line and pulled it on board. Phaedra and Trivian had also made it aboard and were hauling up the last rope while Leihla pulled up the ladder, securing their escape.
Mowriyah dashed to the mast and scaled it quickly. Trivian and Septimus heaved on the sail line and raised it. The guards had reached the edge of the pier and were now grabbing at the railing just over their heads, trying to clamber aboard, or banging against the ship with their swords. Septimus drew a sword from the trunk, and ran to the railing, trying to stave off the intruders.
Small gusts of wind whirled around them, and the ship began to shift away from the dock. A guard flung himself to the boat, clutched his fist around one of the railing posts, and swung his sword madly with his free hand.
Septimus ran to him and swung out with his sword. A searing pain stretched from Septimus’s hand up his arm before he dropped the sword and fell to the floor. From the corner of his eye, he saw Leihla step forward and pick up his sword. She studied it, raised it in the air, and sliced through the wind with ease. She moved forward to the guard, who was still flailing with one arm. She raised it again and looked back at him only once. A loud whoosh rang in Septimus’s ears and it was done. The guard screamed in terrible agony as his body fell from the ship, his severed hand following him into the sea.
Some guards on the dock were running back down the street, while the others jumped in the water in pursuit. They swam hard, but weren’t able to keep up with the ship, which was now fully underway with the blessings of Neptune, who had filled their sails to the max.
Clutching his hand, Septimus paused for a moment and looked around at his crew. Trivian and Phaedra stood clutching one another beneath the mast. Leihla knelt crying only meters from him, and Mowriyah…
“Sail is at full mast and rudder is hard right, Captain!” she barked through the night air.
Mowriyah was in command and running his ship. “Very well, first mate. Head out to sea and follow the stars.”
“Captain, please take care of Leihla!”
He nodded. Trivian and Phaedra joined him by the railing, kneeling to better assess his injury.
Phaedra ripped a piece of her gown. “Let me see that.” She fussed with his hand. “We are going to have to clean this out before anything serious can be done. Do you have alcohol?”
“Below deck in the sleeping quarters.”
Trivian stood. “I’ll get it.”
Septimus glanced at Leihla, who sat a few feet from him and remained quiet. “Is she all right?”
“She will be,” Phaedra replied, dabbing lightly at his wound.
“What happened? What went wrong?”
“Getting back into the palace was easy enough. We arrived during their guard change. But we were too late to see when they had started. There are only a matter of minutes that the side gate is unmanned. We did not know how long we really had. We hurried and found Leihla in the slaves’ room. Hadrian had summoned her and the other slaves were helping her to prepare.” Phaedra retrieved a small scrap of paper from her robes and held it in her hand.
Septimus unfolded it and the soft light from the rising moon helped him see the fine powder folded in its creases. “What is this? A drug?”
“Yes. The alchemist made all the women slaves a drug that would help them with their time with Hadrian. They would be conscious and moving, but have little to no memory and no feeling of the experience at all. All the women seemed to have some. Leihla used her drug on the women helping her prepare. Then she waited for us.”
“But then what happened? How were you found out?”
“We hadn’t gotten there quick enough. Hadrian had sent guards to fetch Leihla because she had not yet come to him and as we were making our escape, the guards saw us. They started yelling through the palace, which alerted the other guards.”
“How did you escape?”
“Mowriyah.”
“Mowriyah?” Septimus looked to his soon-to-be-bride. She stood at the rudder stick with her head tossed back into the wind, her hair flying around her face, and the moonlight catching the wide smile that once again spread across her face.
Trivian returned and knelt beside him. He opened the bottle and then took a small swig. “Ready, brother?” Septimus grabbed the flask and pulled a large gulp into him. He nodded. Trivian took the bottle and poured it generously over the deep cut. The searing pain returned and Septimus gripped Trivian’s hand. “It looks like we may have to stitch this up a bit.”
He rolled his eyes. The thought of more pain was not exactly exciting to him. Phaedra took the rag she had torn from her dress and wrapped his wound tightly. “Hold it here with lots of pressure to calm the bleeding. I’ll go see what I can find for stitching.”
Trivian offered him another taste of the rough alcohol. “You’ve got an amazing woman there, Septimus. She saved us all. If Mowriyah hadn’t escaped before, we would have never been able to find our way out this time. She’s smart too. Mowriyah was leading us through the passageway when we were faced with a guard. She stopped in her tracks and cowered in front of him, ranting about attackers in the palace. The other women and I all followed her lead. The guard passed us by without another glance.”
“She does have a way with deception. She’s almost as good as Phaedra.”
Trivian turned serious. “I know you and Phaedra share a rough past. However, I hope she has proved herself to you. I love her, and plan to marry her. My wish is that my brother and my wife would be able to make amends.”
“Your wife?” Phaedra had returned, a surprised look on her face.
“We
ll, I had planned on waiting until we arrived at our new home in Caledonia. But, since you were standing right there… Phaedra? Would you—”
She fell on top of him, kissing his face, and squealing. “Yes! Of course!”
Septimus got up and left the couple rolling on the deck floor together. He walked over to Leihla, who had not moved since leaving Rome behind. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at him and her guarded eyes gripped him. “Are we going home now?” she inquired, her voice barely audible.
“Yes.”
“Will Abagail be there?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s not talk about the past. The future holds many wonderful things.”
He left her to think about her new possibilities in life and walked to Mowriyah. She was exquisite. The salty air blowing through her hair, and the power in her legs to stand undaunted by the swells of the ocean made his heart swell. He could no longer see himself with any other woman. She was his match: powerful, smart, exhilarated by life at sea. “Mowriyah?”
“Yes, Captain?” She kept her eyes steady on the horizon.
“I love you.”
She blinked and refocused her attention on him. “I know.”
“Let’s get home. We have a lot to do for a double wedding.”
“Double wedding?”
Septimus pointed to Phaedra and Trivian, who were still rolling around the deck. “Maybe I should tell them to go down below?”
Mowriyah’s eyes sparkled with the shimmer from the stars. “Maybe you could teach them how to handle the ship and we could go below?”
“I like the way you think.” Septimus laughed.
Mowriyah moved in closer to his ear and whispered a string of seductions that filled his mind with sensual thoughts.
Septimus’s eyes widened and he was instantly aroused. He turned his face toward her and grabbed her waist with his undamaged hand. Pulling himself to her, he held her tightly and allowed the gentle rocking of the ship to move their bodies in unison. He flicked his tongue against her top lip multiple times, then gave a coy smirk.