by V. M. Sang
“Dera said Flavius must not be moved,” To his surprise, Sylvia agreed and so, outvoted, Octavia reluctantly agreed, with murmurs about smoky, hot places.
The following morning, Octavia bid farewell to Flavius. She still muttered about how he would be better off in Roman hands, but she entered the carruca along with Sylvia and they set off back to Eberacum, with Ailbert accompanying them to ensure their safety.
Ailbert had to stay the night again because, by the time they arrived in Eberacum, the sun was low in the sky. He ate with the family. It was strange as he was not used to eating while reclining on a couch. He had seen this many times while a slave boy in Londinium, though, and he persevered.
After the meal and before bedtime, Sylvia and Ailbert found time to talk. They rediscovered the pleasure in each other's company, and Sylvia became bold enough to say she felt glad Ailbert would come to visit, even if only to provide updates on her father's condition and to give archery lessons to her brothers.
Bedtime came all too soon for Ailbert's liking. The next morning he would be leaving early and he felt disappointed he could not spend longer in Sylvia's company.
On arriving back at Pen Coed, Ailbert went straight to see Flavius. “Your wife wanted me to spend my time galloping backwards and forwards to Eberacum with news of your progress,” Ailbert informed him.
“I hope you told her you have work to do here,” Flavius replied. “You can't spend all your time on our business. You have your own to consider.”
“Yes, I did. She was none too pleased, either. I think she considers me one step above the slaves, and I should do her bidding just like them.”
“Don't blame her, Ailbert. She's had little to do with people other than Romans. I'm afraid she thinks of all others as barbarians.”
“Yet you don't, Flavius.”
“I've been with the army for many years. In the army, there are men from all over the empire. I've learned people are the same the world over, and those we call 'barbarians' have their own civilisations.”
“I'll try not to judge her … but perhaps this meeting of our culture with hers will help enlighten her.” Ailbert went out to help complete the building of the house for Gwen, Maeve and her boys, and did not speak to Flavius again that day.
A few days later, Ailbert sat in the house he shared with Awena and Rhodri. As he chatted to Flavius about how their cultures differed, and in what respects they were similar, Dera came in to change his bandages.
“Go over there,” she ordered Ailbert. “Give me room to see.”
Ailbert complied and sat by the fire, although it was a warm day. He waited while Dera finished, but she called him over. “Look at that, Ailbert. I'm not happy with the look of that wound.”
Sure enough, as Ailbert peered at Flavius's leg, he saw the edges of the wound were inflamed and there was pus oozing out.
“There's some infection there,” Dera said, frowning. “I could do with wild garlic leaves and roots, but I've run out. There’s a jar of honey in the store in my house. Would you get it for me please?”
Ailbert worried as he ran from his sister's house to Dera's. Infection was the worst thing now the haemorrhaging had stopped. If the infection could not be stopped, the best thing Flavius could hope for was amputation of the leg. In spite of himself, Ailbert had come to like the Roman, telling himself that Flavius was not like other Romans.
When he returned with the honey, Dera smeared it onto Flavius’ leg wound before binding it again. She called Ailbert as she started to leave. “He feels as if his temperature is up. That's not a good sign. Watch him carefully and if he seems to get worse, or becomes delirious, call me immediately.”
That night, when he went to bed, Ailbert worried about Flavius. He liked the man, in spite of his being a Roman, and a soldier at that. He was kind and thoughtful. Then he remembered his talks with Maeve on the way from Londinium. In spite of her treatment, she did not hate Romans. His confusion grew as he thought of Sylvia. He liked her … perhaps even more than liked. Her mother, however, was more like what he had always thought of Romans—thinking everyone not a Roman was inferior and could be treated however the Romans wished. It took him a long while to get to sleep that night and, for the first time since his capture all those years ago, he forgot to chant his litany of hate.
The next morning, Dera stopped by again. She examined Flavius, feeling his forehead for fever, then looking at the wound again.
Ailbert thought that perhaps the inflammation appeared a little less red, but Dera clucked and spread on more honey before re-binding it. She took the old bandages away to be washed as she had each time she changed them.
The world went on, though, and Ailbert did Huw's accounts as normal, and went to see if the silversmith had finished making the jewellery with the amber they had brought back from Londinium and the jet from Eberacum.
The merchants in Eberacum had told him the black stone could be found on the coast not too far away. Ailbert determined to find the place and gather some himself. That would save the cost of buying it from the merchants in Eberacum.
The silversmith needed a bit more time. Just a few more hours, he told Ailbert, and so the young man fed Eira and gave Tân a titbit. Gareth appeared and the chestnut horse pulled back his ears at his approach.
“You should buy that horse.” Gareth laughed as the horse snapped at him. “You're the only one he responds to.”
Ailbert patted the stallion and turned to his friend. “I'd love to, but I can't afford him. At least, not yet.”
“He's no use to anyone else. He'll only work for you.”
“Did you want me for something?” Ailbert asked, climbing from the fence where he had been sitting while watching the animals.
“It's Rees,” Gareth said somberly. “He's saying all sorts of things about you. He says you've gone soft, bringing that Roman soldier here to look after. Worse things, too. He's implied you're a traitor. He's not actually said anything in so many words, but I think it's only a matter of time.”
Ailbert ran tense fingers through his ash-blonde hair. “You don't think that, do you, Gareth?”
“No, and nor do any of the other Raiders. It's the youngsters who listen to him. I keep telling them you owe this man a debt and that you're repaying it by tending him as he tended you last winter.”
“I'll speak to Rees.”
“He's going on about another raid, you know. I think he might try to take the youngsters on one.”
Ailbert swung away from Gareth and began to march back to the village, fists clenched. Gareth ran to catch him up.
“He can't take those kids,” Ailbert declared angrily. “Look at how long it took us to get good enough to raid! They aren't trained. They'll get killed.”
Gareth grabbed Ailbert's arm and swung him round. “It's no good going to talk to him in anger, Ailbert. That'll only put his back up. Calm down and then talk to him reasonably. I agree with you that he mustn't take the kids. He already got one man killed with his poor planning.”
Ailbert took Gareth's advice and did not go to seek out Rees immediately. He did Huw's books for him and then visited the village silversmith to pick up the jewellery he had now finished. Ailbert also bought more pieces from him, in the typical complex Celtic designs. He took them back to Huw. It was not until he had finished these tasks that he went to search for Rees, who was working on the finishing touches to the house that the villagers were building for Maeve and Gwen.
He stopped when he saw Ailbert approaching. “So, you've managed to tear yourself away from your pet Roman have you?”
Ailbert did not rise to the taunt, but said in a quiet voice, “I hear you've been saying I've lost my nerve, Rees.”
Rees stiffened. “Well, haven't you? You seem to be consorting with the Romans these days, and you've not suggested a raid for a while now.”
“A few days, Rees; it's only been a few days since the last one. You know we can't raid frequently or on a regular basis, or we'll end up bei
ng wiped out. The Romans will know what to expect and where.”
“So why do you have that soldier in your home?”
“He's not just any soldier, and you know it. You know how I was helped last winter when I broke my leg. It was this very soldier who helped me.” He raised his voice, anger getting the better of him. “For goodness sake, if it weren't for him, I'd probably be a cripple now and there would be no raids at all. I owe him.”
Rees scowled, but said nothing.
Ailbert continued. “It has also come to my ears you're talking to the young lads.”
“So what? They'd be going to war with other tribes in the old days. They're old enough to fight.”
“And get killed?”
“Look, Ailbert, you aren't one of us. You came here from Londinium, and not so long ago at that. I don't know what you did that made you need to leave, but you're still an outsider here.” Rees scowled again and continued. “They're eager to fight … more eager than you, it seems. Some are wondering if you're a spy for the Romans.”
Ailbert grabbed Rees by his jerkin and pulled him forward. “I suppose you've been feeding those lies to them, haven't you? You never liked me, especially when my ideas proved better than yours.”
He pushed Rees and the man fell to the floor. Ailbert turned to walk away, but then turned back. “I've never lost a man, Rees, unlike you.”
Rees lay sprawled in the dust. Others had been watching, including Rhodri, who came over and walked with Ailbert.
“I shouldn't have done that, Rhodri,” Ailbert said, not turning to look at his friend.
“He had it coming. If you hadn't done it, then I'd have hit him, not just pushed him down.”
“How much damage has he done with the youngsters?” Ailbert asked anxiously.
“I don't know. They haven't said anything to me, but then they wouldn't, knowing we're family. Ask Gareth. He can probably find out more.”
Ailbert sat on a log outside the house door and Rhodri sat beside him just as Awena came out. She had wool with her and was about to begin weaving on the loom Rhodri had built for her. She was becoming quite proficient at the task, especially now Gwen had arrived to give her advice.
She sat at the loom and began to weave. As she did so, she asked, “Why are you two here?”
The pair looked at each other and an understanding passed between them.
“The house is about ready for Maeve and Gwen to move in,” Rhodri told her, “so we decided there were enough people there to finish it and came home.”
Awena knew when her husband lied, but she just gave him a long, searching look before saying, “Well in that case, go and see if Bran‘s alright. You can look after him until his next feed. And stir the pot over the fire while you're in there.”
23
“I think you should go and see Octavia,” Dera said the next day, “and tell her the wound has become infected. I don't think it's too bad, but she should know … just in case it gets worse.”
Huw had planned to go to the market that day, but Ailbert rode to Eberacum and arrived just after noon, the journey being quicker on horseback than with a wagon pulled by oxen.
Octavia frowned when Ailbert told her the news. “I knew we should have brought him back with us. This would never have happened if we'd insisted.”
“The wound is a little less inflamed since Dera used honey on it. Honey seems to help to kill the infection.”
“I suppose you barbarians have learned something of treating wounds,” Octavia grudgingly admitted. “After all, you were always at war with one another before we came to civilise you.”
She really believes we were uncivilised before they came, and his hands clenched into fists by his side.
Sylvia appeared in the atrium and her mother told her the news Ailbert had brought. The pair had no time for talk, as Ailbert had to return to Huw in the marketplace.
Not long afterwards, while he showed a customer a pewter tankard, Ailbert spotted Sylvia strolling across the square towards him.
“Can you spare some time?” she asked. “I'd like to talk to you about Pater.”
Ailbert looked at Huw, who nodded, and he walked away with Sylvia.
“Let's go out of the city,” the girl said. “I'm tired of the noise and dust. A walk in the woods would be pleasant.”
The pair made their way to the forest just outside the city walls.
“Your father has an infection in the wound,” Ailbert said once they arrived in the wooded area. “I told your Mater because I promised to keep her updated. I don't think it's going to be a problem. Dera has been treating it with honey.”
Sylvia laughed, surprising Ailbert. “I know all that, Mater told me.”
“Then why …?”
“I wanted your company. It's been ages since I saw you and I like talking to you.”
“Your Mater knows you're with me?”
She laughed again. “Mater thinks you're a barbarian, even if you are fairly civilised for one.”
“And you?”
“You're asking a lot of questions today, Ailbert. No, I don't think you're a barbarian. Your people have a culture, a religion, and make wonderful metalwork. Those are things of civilisation. It's just a different civilisation from ours.”
The pair walked and talked for what seemed a short time, but when they returned to the city they realised they had been away much longer than they thought.
“Mater will be so angry,” Sylvia said worriedly. “I’d told her I'd be back soon.” She saw consternation on Ailbert's face. “Don't worry, I'll think of a good reason why I was so long. Goodbye.”
She turned to leave, but Ailbert caught her arm and turned her towards him. “Before you go … I know this is probably not a suitable question, but can we do this again? Soon?”
Sylvia laughed her tinkling laugh. “I thought you'd never ask. Tomorrow, at the same time? You'll still be here, won't you?”
From that day onwards, every time Huw came to Eberacum, Ailbert met Sylvia to walk and talk.
Ailbert saw Sylvia in the domus whenever he came to provide a report on Flavius' progress and give the boys their archery lessons, but they had little opportunity of engaging in much talk.
Flavius stayed in Pen Coed for several weeks, until Dera decided he could be moved back to Eberacum without any danger. Octavia came with the carruca, and helped Flavius into it. The man could now walk a short distance with a stick.
Flavius thanked Ailbert and Dera for their help.
“Without what you did for me, I would be a cripple at the very least,” he told Dera. “And Ailbert, if you hadn't come along and brought me back here, then I would probably have been dead. I cannot thank you enough.”
Ailbert gazed steadfastly at the Roman soldier, now his friend. “Flavius, you took me in and tended me last winter. To do the same for you was the least I could do. No thanks are necessary.”
Ailbert thought long and hard about his relationship to the family after Flavius departed. He liked them all. Octavia had thawed towards him somewhat and Laurentius was now as friendly as Quintus.
He finally admitted his love for Sylvia. He thought about her and decided he would have to tell her how he felt.
After his decision, Ailbert felt better. At least about Sylvia, but it did not help his relationship with the Phantom Raiders. He learned during his time with Flavius and his family that the Romans were no different from the Britons. It was as Sylvia had said. Both were civilised; it was just that their civilisations were different. He could no longer go on killing Roman soldiers.
He sat in the house he shared with Awena and Rhodri, his head in his hands.
“What's wrong?” his sister asked him.
He looked up and saw the worry in her eyes as she stirred the pot over the fire. “I don't think I can go on killing Romans, that's all.”
“That's a big change of heart.” Awena stopped stirring and turned her gaze on her brother. “Your whole life has been dedicated to ridding Britann
ia of the Romans. Your whole life you've hated them.”
“Let's just say I've learned that hating is not the way.”
“It's Sylvia, isn't it? Flavius's daughter. I like Flavius, but I didn't like Octavia much.”
“It's what I've learned from them as much as what I feel for Sylvia. Flavius, Sylvia and Quintus take people as they are and don't judge them by their background. There are Romans who are bigoted, just as there are Britons who are bigoted.”
Awena put the spoon down and went to pick up Bran, who had begun to whimper. She sat next to Ailbert and put the baby to her breast. The little boy quieted immediately.
“I know what you mean,” she said. “I don't like Rees at all. He's worse than you were. Rhodri tells me he's planning on taking the youngsters on a raid.”
Ailbert jumped up, angry. “Even after I told him he wasn't to? I'll go and sort him out once and for all!”
He strode from the house towards the one occupied by Rees and the young woman he had recently handfasted. He did not wait to be invited in, but burst through the door.
Rees's woman screamed, then recognising Ailbert, said, “What do you want?”
Ailbert's eyes blazed. “Where's Rees?”
“I don't know.” The woman scowled. “And if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You threw him down into the dirt in your temper.”
Ailbert could see he would get nothing out of the girl so he turned on his heel and strode out of the house. He asked all over the village, but no one seemed to have seen Rees nor know where he had gone. At least not until he asked one of the old men sitting outside a house near the gate.
“Saw the young whippersnapper going off in that direction.” he pointed to the east. “Had a bunch of lads with him. Suppose they've gone hunting.”