by Lynn, R.
She bent her knees and found firm hand holds as the horses pushed into the turn.
“Hijah!”
She leaned with them as they came up upon the red line. Jiao right behind, only inches away.
“Hijah!” she screamed.
Diana struggled to power through her exhaustion as they came up to the line. With her last ounce of strength the horse tried to dig in once more, but her legs could not hold and she collapsed under her weight and crumpled to the ground.
The momentum of her collapse caused the cart to tip and flip over her. As Sellah flew through the air. She tried desperately to catch a glimpse of her trusted horse.
***
When Sellah came to, she was confused as to where she was. The last thing she remembered was watching Diana’s collapse that knocked the other horses down. Now somehow, she was in a soft bed.
Slowly she opened her swollen eyes. The room was not too bright, so it did not take long for her to adjust her sight. Once her vision came clear, what she looked at frightened her more than watching Diana fall.
“Hello Sellah,” Barachius greeted. Her eyes widened, and she looked around, hoping it was a dream or that someone else was there to protect her. But she was alone. Alone with the enemy.
“I have gone to great lengths to get you here,” he continued. “But now that I have you, I will remind you what I previously have warned you about. I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know not to disrespect me again.”
Sweat dripped off his face and he stood over her. Desperate to be free of him, she struggled against her bed cover, but her body was still too weak to run. How could this be? Barachius was supposed to lose, she was supposed to have freed them.
“Do not fear, I will bring you pleasure before I bring you pain,” Barachius taunted as his meaty hand stroked hair off her face.
“Don’t touch me!” She desperately kicked at the blankets,
but his legs had them pinned down. “Silence!” he hissed as he slapped his filthy hand over her mouth and clamped down. “If you scream one more time, I will kill you!” He released his hand but left a finger over her lips in reminder of his threat.
“Then kill me, for life under your rule is not worth living!”
“G uards!” Thaddius yelled as he entered Sellah’s room.
“Barachius, I told you to never come near here. You will be severely punished for this!” His chest rose and fell at a rapid pace, and the arm that was free from a sling had its fist clenched and ready for action.
“It’s a pity you didn’t arrive later or I would have had time to decorate this room with red for you,” Barachius retorted as he backed away from Sellah.
Two large men burst into the room, and Thaddius directed them to Barachius. “Take him to the post and have him lashed,” he ordered. The muscle in Thaddius’ jaw prominently stood out and his eyes were hardened with anger.
The whole scene confused Sellah. If she had lost, then why would Barachius and the guards listen to Thaddius?
“Do not kill him, but come as close as possible,” Thaddius called after the guards. He turned back to Sellah and limped over to her side. She noticed his leg was in a splint. The skin on his arms was still healing, but his face seemed to be almost back to normal.
“It’s not that easy keeping him alive. Trust me, I have
debated killing him many times over.” Thaddius smiled as he tried to find a comfortable way to sit next to Sellah.
When he found a position in which he could relax, he took a moment to look at her face. It was obvious that she was confused, so he took a moment to further explain.
“The Emperor, Caligula, has sent request that he will visit my domus and discuss my wager with Barachius. I worry he will make me retract the terms, for his fear of losing the green team. But let’s not fret about that, I just got you back, and I don’t want to waste time talking about such trivial things. Sellah you saved me and my estate. How can I ever thank you?”
“I saved you?” she repeated, afraid that what she heard was not true.
“Yes, you and Diana had a horrible accident, but you will both survive. And somehow you managed to win the race!” he exclaimed.
“Diana is all right?” she whispered in relief.
“Yes, she will survive. But we do not think she will be able to race again. This past week has really taken a toll on her. She is not as young as she used to be.”
“I…I don’t understand. I thought I had failed you.”
“Don’t be stupid, Sellah. Even if you had lost, you would not have failed me. I was furious when I found out they let you race, but then I realized the sacrifice you were making for everyone, and I am thankful. You saved me.” His eyes were filled with an emotion she had had only seen him possess for brief moments in the past. It was this side of him that drew her in, enticed her.
“Here,” he said as he placed two sacks down next to her. “You won this, and I want you to have it.”
She studied his face for a moment and then struggled to prop herself up. What could possibly be in the bags? After a few moments of struggling, Thaddius wrapped his good arm around her and helped her get into a sitting position. The close proximity of his body to hers caused a fire to build within her and brought a blush to her cheeks.
Once he was certain that she was comfortable, he handed her the sacks. As soon as they touched her hand, she knew what they contained. It was the prize money from the race.
“This is a lot of money. What would a slave do with all this?”
At her mention of the word slave, Thaddius flinched and turned his gaze from her face.
“Buy your freedom,” Vettius suggested as he walked through the door.
Thaddius choked and turned to face Vettius.
“I can do that?” she asked as she looked over the life changing bags in her hands.
“Yes you can,” Vettius replied as he openly sent a look of defiance to Thaddius.
“Can you please give me some privacy?” she asked as she watched Thaddius closely.
“Of course, come Thaddius.” Vettius helped Thaddius to his feet and directed him from the room.
* They waited there for some time, while Thaddius limped back and forth before her door. Every now and then stopping to glare at Vettius.
“Why would you tell her something like that?” “It is the truth.”
He opened his mouth to argue with the man but was cut
off by Sellah calling them back.
“Vettius can you please gather everyone to come here?”
Sellah instructed as she regarded the anger rising in
Thaddius’s face.
“I will not give my permission for your freedom. You
don’t know what you ask of me, Sellah.” Thaddius’s eyes
pleaded with her not to leave, but his pride sealed his tongue
from speaking these words.
Sellah struggled to free her legs from her bed cover and
shuffled over to the side of the bed. She then used Thaddius
for support while she attempted to stand. Her legs were weak
at first, but she was soon able to manage on her own. “How long have I been sleeping?” she asked.
“A few days,” he replied. His eyes never left her face. If
she was going to leave him, he would spend every moment
absorbing her every expression.
Soon people began to crowd into the room. Accalia,
Simeon, Vettius, and several of the other attendants gathered
there to watch Sellah purchase her freedom.
“How much money am I worth?” she asked.
When Thaddius did not respond, she turned to Acestes, the
master of Thaddius’s slaves, for a response.
“If a slave wants to purchase his or her freedom, they must
pay the initial cost, plus room and board,” Acestes explained. “Will sixty denarii suffice?” she asked as she threw a
pouch of
coins at his feet.
He picked up the bag and quickly counted through the
coins. “Yes, I suppose that would.”
“And what if I would require a guard and horse to escort
me to my destination? Would another ten denarii be
sufficient?”
“Yes, ten would do,” he said as his eyes greedily took in
the other pouch in her hands.
Thaddius turned from the exchange, pained by the loss
that was being counted in coins before him. But how could he
deny her freedom when she had just ensured his? No matter
what, her freedom, her absence of him would not come by his
words. For he knew he could never speak words to have her
leave his side.
She counted the coins and tossed the ten denarii at Acestes
feet.
“Sellah, don’t do this, please don’t leave,” Simeon begged,
once he realized why he had been called.
“She has paid the fee. As slave master I hereby publicly
grant you freedom!” Acestes proclaimed loudly, so as to
drown out Simeon’s pleas.
“I don’t want it!” Sellah announced.
Upon hearing her words, Thaddius snapped his head
around. Did he just hear right, or was she just further playing
with his heart?
“Why don’t you want it?” he asked, his mouth barely able
to force out the words for fear of hearing her response. “I wish to pay for Accalia’s freedom,” Sellah declared to
the crowd.
When Accalia registered what Sellah had said, she
dropped the pitcher of wine in her arms. It fell to the ground,
splashing her and many people who stood near. They
muttered remarks at her, but she did not hear them. She was
concentrating only on the kind face of her deliverer, Sellah.
“Do you mean it?” Her body shook as she hesitantly
walked to Sellah’s side.
“Yes, I mean it. I have purchased your freedom, Accalia.
And here,” Sellah smiled as she shoved the remaining thirty
denarii into Accalia’s hands. “Go home to your son.” No words could form on Accalia’s tongue. Instead, tears
streamed down her face, and she rushed to Sellah, wrapping
her arms around her friend.
Simeon and Thaddius stood by and watched in sheer
confusion. Sellah was staying, she had sacrificed her chance
at freedom for another.
“I don’t understand,” Thaddius finally spoke out. Sellah turned to him. “What Nadria yelled forth, just
before her life was taken, stuck with me. We are all slaves.
And for a while I was beginning to think she was right. You
are slave to your title Thaddius, and I am a slave to my
circumstance. But it isn’t entirely true. There is one thing that
can set us free, that can give us a reason to hope. Accalia has
that, so how could I rob her of true freedom when, even if I
was released from the title of slave, I would stay slave?” Thaddius studied her, fascinated with how her mind
worked and analyzed the world around her.“What is it that
Accalia has that you do not have? What is it that makes her
free?”
“Her son.”
As she spoke the words, she pulled free from Accalia and
walked over to his side. With a new found boldness, she
rested her hand over his heart. His eyes followed her motion,
shocked that she touched him so. Upon her touch, his
heartbeat quickened.
The whole room stilled as everyone focused on her hand.
She did not need to turn around to feel the heat of their
judgments, especially Simeon.
“Her son?” Thaddius asked, barely able to form words
because of the distraction of her hand upon him. “Does being
a mother make you free?”
“No,” she replied, “but having someone to love does.”
Consummatum est
R.Lynn is a multi-genre author from Victoria, BC, Canada. She lives there with her hubby and their two four-legged children. She entered the literary scene with a bang and recently became one of the first authors to receive a publishing sponsorship.
R.Lynn began crafting her career as a storyteller to her parent’s friends at the ripe age of six, where she'd stand on the coffee table and demand an audience. Now she uses writing as her preferred vessel. (Though she does admit to missing the tabletops.)
When not writing you can find her reading, traveling, shopping for shoes, discovering new and unique local hangouts or shopping for shoes! A self-confessed diet-coke addict who attributes her late night writing benders to the caffeine overloads.
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For other books by R.Lynn go to www.AuthorRlynn.com