Agrippina sat as far back into the corner of the tent as she could manage. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around herself.

She didn’t want to make any sound that might draw attention to her, so she cried silently.

It was a horrible balancing act. She knew how dangerous it could be to create a disturbance, but she hurt.

She wanted her mother, but she didn’t know where she was. Agrippina was traveling with their owner, but she didn’t know where they had gone, or how to get back.

How many days had they been traveling? How far had they gone? Nothing had made any sense to her since they had taken her away from Mother.

When the trip had begun, Agrippina was amazed to see how many people traveled and camped with them. The further they went, the more that appeared. Knights in armor, men like she had sometimes seen working in the village, and women like her mother. But they were all strangers. The only ones she recognized were her owner and some of his close retainers.

She had never been so close to him before, the man who owned Agrippina and Mother. He was taller than most men she had seen, and much wider too. He was clean and dressed very nicely, with velvets, and jewels, and things.

Mother had told her before she left that she must obey her owner no matter what. But he had hurt her. Thinking about it made her feel awful, and she had to stifle a loud sob.

When he was angry, he hit her, and shouted. And when he was happy, he hit her, and laughed. The rest of the time no one seemed to notice her, and she did her best to stay hidden like that all the time.

She heard the knights talking sometimes. She learned that they were marching towards war, but she didn’t know where or what for.

Finally, they had stopped marching in a forest, with trees bigger and higher than Agrippina had ever seen before, or even imagined could be possible. But almost as soon as they stopped traveling, she was forbidden to leave the master’s tent.

It was not so claustrophobic there. In fact, it was larger than the home where she and Mother lived together. But she was always scared there.

Scared that she would be noticed by someone. And then they would take her and beat her, or cut her, or burn her...

If no one noticed her, then at least she would be left to herself. To sleep, or to make up games in her head.

Then her owner had left.

She wasn’t allowed to leave the tent, but she could hear that it was much quieter outside.

Her mother called her dumb sometimes, when she broke something, or misbehaved. But Agrippina thought that she was smart, at least by the standards which little girls are judged.

Her owner and his knights had gone to fight the war. She was torn between hoping that they would be away fighting for a long time, and leave her alone. Or hoping that they would win quickly, so that they would take her back home to Mother sooner.

She missed Mother.

As it turned out, they had been gone for days. It was the closest Agrippina had come to being happy since she was taken away from home. She played in the tent, and looked out through the flap at the tall trees. She imagined that she was a faerie princess in a magical kingdom, and then imagined all sorts of adventures for herself.

Then her owner had returned.

There had been no sound. He arrived at night, after she had gone to sleep. She woke to him pulling her off her cot.

He hit her.

She started to cry, so he hit her again, and she knew she had to be quiet.

Even though she tried as hard as she could to be quiet, he hit her again and again with a long leather strap.

When it was over, he went to bed at once and fell asleep. She crawled away.

She went into the corner where she shivered to keep herself warm.

All the next day, her owner had been in a dark mood, and the day after. He brooded for hours, then he would fly into a rage and torment her. When it was over, she would crawl away back into her corner.

She wanted to pray, but she didn’t know how. And anyway, the gods only listened to priests and great men like kings and nobles. Not to slaves or little girls.

They hadn’t fed her since her owner returned, and she was dreadfully hungry. She began to wish that she was dumb like her mother said. But she wasn’t dumb, and she began to realize that she would never see her mother again.

The thought elicited a terrible sob.

The moment it was out, she knew she had done something bad.

Her owner groaned from where he had collapsed face first on the table in his cups. He stood up and straightened his clothes, then he turned to face her.

“No, master! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

He held up his hand, and Agrippina hushed herself.

He didn’t hit her.

He walked to the flap of his tent, and called for his barber to be sent in. Then he walked back to his seat, but before sitting back down, he turned the chair so that he faced her.

He didn’t say anything. He just sat, and watched her.

Agrippina wanted to find some place to hide, but she couldn’t think of any place she could go. She just ducked her face behind her knees, and looked down at her feet.

The barber announced his presence with a polite cough at the door.

“Please, come in.” Her owner replied without pulling his eyes off her. “I must look my best for the Baron. He has an appraising eye for male aesthetics, so they say. I would hate for him to find me lacking.” His tone was controlled, but Agrippina had a horrible feeling that he was seething with rage just beneath the surface.

The barber put down his basin of warm water and other tools on the table. Agrippina gave him a single pleading glance, but he did not return it. He drew forth his razor, and began to run it along her owner’s cheek.

He went about his work quickly and efficiently. Within a few minutes he was finished. He put down the razor and picked up a pair of scissors, with which he began to trim her master’s hair. As the barber worked, her owner motioned for her to come closer.

Agrippina was frozen with indecision. She was terrified that he would hurt her, but if she did anything to make him angry, he would hurt her worse.

In the end, she stood up and ambled towards him without looking up from the ground.

Agrippina felt a hand under her chin. She flinched instinctively, but it wasn’t a strike. Her owner gently tilted her head upwards, until she looked him in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, master. If there’s anything I can do-”

He put a finger to her lips to quiet her. Then he picked her up, and placed her down on the table. He picked up the razor the barber had just used to shave his face.

He put the blade up to her face and Agrippina tried grab at his arm on instinct to pull it away.

“Don’t touch me!” he screamed at her, and she let go.

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Then he regained himself and continued again, in a more even tone. “If you try and pull my hand away again, I’ll hurt you even worse. Do you understand?”

“Please don’t hurt me, master. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I’m going to hurt you no matter what you do, but if you grab my hand again, I’ll hurt you worse than you can possibly imagine. Do you understand?”

“Yes, master.”

He moved the razor closer again. She had done something wrong, and now he was going to hurt her very badly. She closed her eyes as hard as she could and waited for the pain to start.

But the pain never arrived.

When she opened her eyes, her master had tossed the razor aside and was standing at attention. Another man had entered the tent, accompanied by armed knights.

She didn’t recognize the man, but he was tall, even taller than her owner, and not nearly so wide. He was athletic, and dressed in a velvet doublet with a long cape.

“Baron, a pleasure to see you again under more comfortable circumstances than our last encounter.” Her owner had undergone a complete transformation, from rage to absolute congeniality. “Would you care for some wine?”

The Baron looked around the tent in disgust. His eyes fell over Agrippina, who looked away to avoid meeting his gaze. “That won’t be necessary, Kefaliya.”

“I see. Well, please, sit down.” Agrippina’s owner sat down at the table, and motioned for his guest to do the same on the other side.

“I’d prefer to handle this matter as quickly as possible. Do you have the ransom?”

“Yes, of course.” Her owner gestured to his treasury chest, which Agrippina was never allowed to go near.

The Baron nodded, and one of the knights went over to the chest and opened it. Inside, it was filled with gold, silver, and more jewels than Agrippina had ever seen.

The knight began to pull items out one at a time to examine them.

“You think I would try to cheat you?” Her owner sounded enraged, which made Agrippina tremble, but the Baron remained totally unmoved.

The knight looked to his commander for instruction.

“Check all of it,” came the Baron's answer to the unspoken question.

Agrippina’s owner sank down in his chair, and laid his head face down on the table.

While his men checked the contents of the chest, the Baron began to walk around the tent absentmindedly checking its furnishings. “Once my men have confirmed that your ransom is satisfactory, you and your chosen retainers will be escorted by our troops to the borders of the Imperium, where you will be released. Those of your men who have not been provided ransoms, will be taken by whomever defeated them on the field, and shall be fed and housed until such time as their ransoms can be raised. Your horses, arms, and armor will not be returned to you. According to our laws, the Republic claims all captured war material wielded in battle against us.”

“Very well.”

The Baron stopped in front of Agrippina, who refused to look up from his boots. He kneeled down, and she felt him wrap something around her. She didn’t know what it was, because she had closed her eyes, to be sure that she wouldn’t cry in front of him.

“Our Most Serene Republic, also does not recognize the institution of slavery. Any human property you brought onto our soil are now free.”

“Those weren’t the conditions of my ransom!”

“You were taken prisoner in the attempt to launch an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation! You should consider yourself fortunate that you are being allowed to leave with your head!” Then, in a calmer voice directed toward his own men, he continued. “Go out and inform the slaves that they are free to go where they wish. They may accompany us if they like. If so, we shall see to it that they are fed and protected on the road. What's your name, child?”

“Even a defeated man deserves some respect,” her owner sputtered. “I refuse to be robbed this way!”

“Then stop me if you can, or be silent. Vae victus, Kefaliya. It’s alright, child. You’re safe now. What’s your name?”

“Your will is not the sole arbiter of law!” Her owner was still not yet satisfied. “Even your Republic has not yet totally abandoned the rules of civilization.”

“You’re welcome to file a lawsuit in the courts. It’ll be a few seasons before you get a hearing. But our judges are very impartial, you can be sure they’ll give you a fair ruling. Can you hear me, little one? Are you well? Do you need a doctor?”

“Well, that’s more like it. You’ll keep my property in good condition while it remains in your custody, I trust?”

“I won’t be keeping them at all. They’re free now, and can go where they like. Is there anything you want to take with you, child? I’m going to take you to see a physician.”

“Then if my lawsuit is resolved in my favor, how am I to regain my property?”

“That’s not my concern.”

“Vae victus.”

“Vae victus, Kefaliya. Come here, little one.”

Agrippina felt arms around her. At first, on instinct she tried to squirm away in terror.

“It’s okay, child. I promise I won’t hurt you.” Agrippina realized it was the tall Baron who had grabbed her.

Even her owner was frightened of him. He must be terribly fearsome indeed, and she froze fast.

“She’s like a wild animal, not worth your time my dear baron. She bites the hand that feeds her.” Agrippina heard her owner say.

“If so, it’s because you treat her as such.”

Agrippina felt herself being carried, but she didn’t know where. Then they passed beyond the tent flap, and she felt a slight breeze against her face emerging into the outdoors.

She opened her eyes. The camp was so much emptier than the last time she had seen it. She wondered where all the men had gone.

Then she realized that they must have all been killed by the Baron in the war. He truly was powerful and fearsome indeed.

He took her up to a big horse and put her on top of it, then he got up into the saddle behind her. They rode out of the camp and through the forest. There were more knights milling around out there. As they passed, the knights would salute them, and the Baron would hail them back. Another man rode behind them, and she supposed that was the Baron’s bodyguard. The fellow had the look of a barbarian, like a gladiator in the arena.

Mostly Agrippina looked up at the tall redwood trees. They were beautiful, and the way the dappled sunlight filtered down through the pines made the whole place almost sparkle with magic.

“They don’t have trees like this back in the Imperium where you grew up, do they?”

Agrippina suddenly realized that he was talking to her. She didn’t know what she should say back. It would have been easier if he had just ignored her. “No… I- I’m sorry.”

“What is it? You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

“Are you my new owner?”

“No one owns you anymore. You’re free now. Do you know what that means?”

Agrippina had no idea what that meant, but she felt like she ought to. So, she lied to avoid making him mad. “Yes, master.”

She had never messed up and made him made before, so it was like starting everything over. If she tried hard, then he wouldn’t hurt her, like her old owner did.

“You don’t need to call me ‘master’. My name is Cosimo.”

“I’m sorry, Cosimo.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. What’s your name?”

Her new owner took the ends of the cloak he had wrapped around her, and used it to wipe the tears and grime from her face.

“My name is Agrippina.”

“That’s a very pretty name, Agrippina. Back home I have a daughter a few years younger than you. Would you like to meet her?”

Agrippina tried to think of what answer he wanted her to give him, but she couldn’t. Every time she told someone something, it was wrong, and it made them angry. She tried really hard to figure out what he wanted, but she was sure that it was wrong. She didn’t say anything for a long time, but she was just as certain that she was making him mad that way. Finally, she started to cry.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s alright.” He held her against his chest. “Are you hungry? Tired? I’ll take you some place where you can eat and go to bed if you like.”

Agrippina didn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride. Eventually, they came to another encampment. Her new owner got off the horse first, then picked her up and carried her with him.

The Baron took her to an open area where dozens of men lay on cots, while acolytes rushed back and forth changing bandages, and doing… other things. She could smell the blood as they drew near.

“Father! Another casualty for you.” Her new owner called over a priest, who seemed to be supervising the field hospital.

The priest left the nurses to manage on their own and approached them. He gave Agrippina a precursory glance, then looked to her new owner. “You’d like me to examine her here?”

“Use the apothecary tent.” He took her inside a small tent nearby and set her down on a stool. There were shelves in the tent filled with all sorts of queer glass and metal objects, tinctures, and shelves of both fresh and dried herbs. “Will you be alright here on your own, Agrippina?”

She was much too exhausted to manage any coherent answer, and just looked up at him dumbly. The Baron appeared to understand, and put an arm back around her. He made no further move to leave.

The priest pulled off the cape and examined her cuts.

“You seem small for a knight,” he offered with a smile.

Finding her disinclined towards conversation, the priest attempted no more of his own. When he was finished, he left them in the tent.

A few minutes later a middle-aged female acolyte with another friendly smile arrived. She held a basin of water with a rag inside. The acolyte put them down beside her, then collected some ointment and a poultice from the shelves.

She told Agrippina to be strong as she washed the cuts with her rag. Agrippina had felt much worse, and she was determined to show her new owner that she wouldn’t let him down. Then nurse applied the ointment all over her, including on her lower lip, where her former master’s hand had split the skin.

Agrippina tasted it, and immediately twisted her face at how bitter it was. The acolyte chided her not to muss up the medicine, and Agrippina straightened up at once.

Once the ointment had been applied, she covered the long cuts with poultices. With her injuries tended to, her new owner picked her up again and carried her out.

One of his soldier’s came to report as they left. “We’ve taken inventory of the ransom, Ser.”

“Bring it to the camp mess, I’m going to bring this little one there to have something to eat.”

Agrippina nearly fell asleep in her new owner’s arms. He sat her on his knee in the mess hall and had a plate of eggs and sausages brought for her, while he read an inventory list brought to him by his soldiers.

She thought the food was the most delicious she had ever tasted, but she was so hungry she would have eaten anything.

“Would you like more to eat, Agrippina?” her new owner asked, once she had finished her plate.

Agrippina was still hungry, but she didn’t want her new owner to think she was a glutton. “No, that’s alright. I don’t need anymore.”

“Hm. Well, I think I shall have a plate myself. If you want any more, you’re welcome to it.”

Another plate was brought, but the Baron seemed more interested in his paperwork.

Agrippina knew she ought not to – no matter what her new owner had said – but she was so hungry that she took one sausage from his plate. He didn’t punish her or get angry, so she took another.

By the time she felt full, she had cleared most of his plate. And the Baron hadn’t even eaten anything yet!

She hugged his chest as tight as she could. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eat it all.”

“It’s alright Agrippina. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you.”

He held her until Agrippina finally passed into slumber.