Much to my surprise, the day I spent with my masters' family was filled with normalcy and peace. I was not ordered or commanded, on the contrary I was given the choice to help, which was more than I was given ever since my capture at the war's conclusion. The elderly couple have been very considerate and very welcoming, despite my being a foreign slave, a Greek slave. I had thought that all Roman citizens treated us as nothing but property, if we were ever seen as anything of worth at all.

I had spent the majority of my day helping my master's grandmother with household chores, while my master worked alongside his grandfather. During the day he would not speak, nor would he even look at me. It was as if he had forgotten that I existed, much to my delight. He has been kind to me, more than I would like to admit, however, it is clear he does not care for me. I am his burden nothing more, and he is my chain, a reminder of what I had lost. The less time I have to spend with him the better my fleeting years would be.

The day passed in an instant as I saw the sun begin to dim to a soft orange, as it began to set. My heart sank as I took every bit of the scenery in. In that brief moment, I felt I was at peace, for the first time in what had been days. For a moment, I had forgotten where I was, the ordeals I had gone through, all that was left was me, the cool breeze of the coming night air, and the soft rays of the setting sun, tranquility around me. "My dear, come inside for dinner, you must be hungry." the grandmother called from inside the hut. As I heard her call, I was taken back to my reality, slightly irritated but joyful that I was able to experience a small amount of peace, if only for a moment.

–

The evening air became tense, as silence constantly filled the atmosphere of the table. The grandfather sat quietly for the majority of the time looking worryingly out of the window opening. The grandmother worked quietly as she prepared the dinner. My master was as determined to avoid my gaze as he begun when we had arrived. A part of me wondered what could have happened to cause this, while the other could not care less what he was thinking.

"My dear, can you help my grandson place the cutlery and plates, please?" she said smiling, which would be one of the few times tonight that she had looked at me with any sign of an expression. While I had not spoken a word to her, to my surprise, she was more than willing to speak to me.

I walked towards the counter to see it full of ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, and freshly cut meat. Next to the ingredients was a dim metal jug that smelled of wine, and beside were four sets of cutlery and plates. As I reached to grab the plates, I saw my master's hands reach for it as well, and by doing so, met my hands. He had grabbed me a fair few times since I became his slave, however, it was only at that moment that I noticed how gentle and smooth it seemed, something I would not expect from the hands of a soldier.

While we were in close proximity, he still found a way to avoid my gaze completely. I had thought that it was only from afar, I had not put any thought to his actions as it was far from me, and I'd rather he not give me any attention. In all honesty, I would rather that he just left me well enough alone to give me a chance to escape. However, at this point he only seemed reluctant, in denial that I even exist. Is this due to guilt? What good would that do him? What's done is done, he took everything from me, him and his countrymen. Avoiding my gaze, pretending I do not exist will not change anything.

The forming thoughts mind only succeeded in infuriating me, so much so that it must have leaked out into my actions as I noticed my grip on the counter tightening. "My dear, is everything alright?" the grandmother asked worryingly. Once again, she had brought me out of my thoughts and I noticed her worried eyes on me as I stood still clenching the wood of the counter so intensely that my nails had made marks. I turned and saw my master and his grandfather with concerned looks as well, although only the grandmother seemed to be the only one to admit her worry as the other two had turned away as I saw them.

I simply nodded at grandmother, communicating that I was fine. Dinner became more tense after my small demonstration of rage. As we had finished the very modest dinner, the grandmother was the first to rise from her seat to gather the dishes in order to clean them. The next would be the grandfather, appearing more serious.

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"Come along, my dear, I will show you to your room." he said stoically but also kindly. He then turned to my master and said "Help your grandmother with the cleaning, my boy." my master nodded, still somehow refusing to acknowledge my existence.

The grandfather and I walked up one flight of stairs, which is already a surprise to me as I thought I would be sleeping in a separate hut, or with whatever animals they had, it seemed odd for a citizen to give room to a slave, even that of a low-class citizen. We walked across a dimly lit corridor only lit by one candlelight on the wall while the only other source of light had been the lamp that the grandfather had been holding high. I noticed three doors, all of which must have been bedrooms. He showed me towards the middle door, which looked untouched for ages as the door had become dark and the handle rusted and full of dust.

"Forgive the dirt, my dear, this room had not been open for a long time." he said kindly. He cleaned most of the dust off the handle and opened the door to the room. Despite the dust and a few spiderwebs, the room looked in very good condition for an untouched old room. I walked around the room, surprised to see that it was, and it was evident that it was untouched from the furniture as well. The bed was big, able to fit two people, and neatly prepared. Fairly decent, despite the old cloth and fairly crooked post. The table had seemed used before, as there were circle marks left on the table and what seemed to be black spots all across the wood.

On the bed, I noticed an oddly shaped piece of wood. Before I could grab it, the grandfather began to speak. "This was Pamphilus' room," he said. "Your masters' room." It was a curious and admittedly odd thing to say.

"He insisted that we offer you his room. He must have thought that you would be more comfortable here." The room itself is not what concerned me, rather who owned it. "Rest well, my girl." he said as he left the room and back down the stairs. I turned my attention back to the piece of wood on the bed and took it.

It was a small wooden sword. It was crudely made, with many jagged edges, it must have been a child's toy. On one of the sides it had an engraving, although I could not read it. "Acta, non verbal" a voice said suddenly. Startled, I turned around and instinctively put the sword behind my back. I saw my master standing by the doorway, looking at me with a soft expression on his face.

"You were trying to read what was on the sword were you not?" he asked. What prompted him to look at me all of a sudden, let alone speak to me. I thought he had been trying to avoid me.

"You must be wondering why I am talking to you now? You must think that I need you to do something, do you not?" What did he mean by that? How could he know what I was thinking?

A sudden dread flowed into me as I realized what he had meant. My heart raced in an instant as a thought came as to why he brought me to his room. He was going to force himself on me. At that moment, for the first time, I could not move, I could not speak. All I could do was wait in my place and let him have his way. Had I the strength, I would have screamed, fought, whether it meant my death, but I felt weak, weaker than I had ever been, fear filling every muscle and bone.

I breathed heavily, closed my eyes and turned around as I waited for him to do what he desired. I felt a tear streaming down my cheek. And in a moment, all my fear had vanished, as I felt something warm, touch my shoulder and turn me. I kept my eyes closed but my tense body relaxed as I felt the same warmth brush across my face, wiping the tear away. I began to breathe normally again, and regained a bit of control over my body.

When I opened my eyes, he was standing in front of me. Not a hint of lust or desire in his eyes. His brown eyes seemed to shine, similar to that of garnet. He had not said a word but his actions and, even more odd, his eyes spoke louder than mere words ever could. He kept his hand on my cheek, and without realizing, I rest my cheek on his hand in relief.

"From this day forth, you are mine." he said gently. He did not seem to be starting something, nor did he seem to be commanding. I could not understand, but what he said, how I felt as the words left his mouth. It all seemed to me, like it was a promise. A promise for what?

I could not tell for how long we stood there, within inches of each other. My head resting on his hand and both of us gazing into each other's eyes. He then lowered his hand and I regained control of my actions. "Rest, it is the only real source of comfort I can offer you, I am sorry." he turned and walked towards the doorway.

I summoned all my strength and thoughts to speak what little I could in their tongue. "Th-thank.... Y-you." I stuttered to say. He stopped at the doorway and turned to give me one last look before walking out of the room. I might have seen a smile on his face. I did not know how, nor did I know why. That night I lay awake, warm and at peace, for the first time in a very long time.