A Tale of Romans and Slaves | PJO/HOO

Chapter 15: Frank

Lord Hades was pissed.

He wanted to know what had happened last night, and wanted the people responsible for it brought to him. But we had no idea who did do it.

All we knew was that my fellow equite, Byrce, had heard shrieks coming from the pantry. When we went to check it out, we found food on the floor. Then Lady Bianca said she heard someone scream in pain from the courtyard.

The most logical explanation was that it was a slave stealing food, but all of the slave's cells were locked. Unless someone had managed to both unlock and lock their cage without a key, which I didn't even think was possible, then it was someone else. But who?

That was the question I was asking myself as I stood guard outside of Lady Bianca's room. She was inside with her handmaiden.

To be honest, being an equite was not as fun as I thought it would be. Most of my time was spent standing outside doors, which got incredibly boring very quickly.

The academy had portrayed being an equite as a never-ending battle against enemies for our lord, and that was how they trained us. But since coming to the manor, I hadn't touched my bow once.

A bell rang out, which meant it was lunch. Which was good, because I was starved. I couldn't even imagine how hungry the slaves were, and they didn't even get food.

After getting my lunch, which was chicken, I walked to the garden. It was my favorite place in the palace, and it reminded me of the farm I was raised in. I ate all of my meals here.

I watched the slaves get their water, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. All of the other equites treated them like they weren't people, and everyone expected me to do the same. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop myself from feeling sympathetic for them. I guess I was weak.

I bit into my chicken, letting the spices explode like little bombs of deliciousness on my tongue. One thing that I could not deny about the slaves in Lord Hade's kitchen was that they could make some amazing meals.

As I was eating, Hazel walked into the garden and sat down on a bench near an apple tree. I hadn't spoken to her since our collision, despite the fact that she always read her book here while I ate. But I never was very good at talking to people, especially girls.

I finished my chicken just as the bell rang, meaning it was time for my next shift. I would be guarding Lady Persephone with Bryce.

Lady Persephone spent most of the time doing a lady's duties, such as weaving. She also talked to Bianca a lot.

Lady Persephone was one of my favorite people to guard, because she did the most interesting things. Instead of having us equites guard the door of the room she was in, she had us watch her from inside it. While weaving wasn't the most exciting thing to watch, it beat staring at a wall. Also, she moved around a lot, which meant we had to follow her.

By dinner, I had probably walked around the entire manor twice.

Dinner was beef with soup, and I ate it in the gardens. Hazel was still there, and it looked like she hadn't moved since lunch.

"Have you had dinner?" I asked her.

She looked up, startled. After a few seconds, she answered. "I'm not really hungry."

"Are you sure?" I asked as I sat down next to her on the fountain. "It's good soup."

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." Her voice trailed off a bit. "I don't want to deal with her right now," She sighed.

I knew she was talking about Lady Persephone. Everyone knew that she hated her step-daughter with all of her heart.

"Here," I said as I gave her my beef. "Have this."

"Oh, no," She said. "You'll be hungry."

"I'll be fine," I smiled. "I don't like beef anyway."

She tilted her head at me, but took the food. "Thank you."

"No problem," I said as I took a sip of my soup. We ate in silence, listening to the conversations of the slaves in the courtyard.

"What are you reading?" I asked after she finished eating.

"'The Princess And The Slave,'" She said. "It's about a princess and a slave who fall in love, but they can't be together. It's really tragic, especially the ending."

There was something about the way she talked about it, as if she was reliving a memory.

"You've already read it?" I asked.

"Twenty-two times," She replied.

"Twenty-two times?" I asked, awed. "Really?"

"It's really good!" She laughed.

Just then, the bell signaling the end of dinner rang. Her smile melted off of her face.

"I suppose you have to go now?" She asked sadly.

"Yeah," I said. "I do. But I'll talk to you tomorrow, if you let me."

"Of course I'll let you," She said. "No one's talked to me besides my siblings in a very long time."

It was at that moment that I felt a horrible sadness for this girl.

"Bye Frank," She said.

"Bye Hazel," I said with a bow, which made her smile.

Then I walked off, even though I desperately wanted to stay.