The Greek Princess

Chapter XLVI

Chapter XLVI

Lycus

I woke up slowly, not wanting to leave the comfort and placidity of sleep. I heard some voices talking, but ignored them. Unable to return to sleep, I woke up more and tried to listen to what the voices were saying.

"--I--I guess, I didn't know that slaves were treated that way. I never really asked about it back at the palace or anything," Ariadne said.
Slaves? They were talking about slaves?

"Well, dearie, it is an unpleasant subject for young ladies of rank such as yourself to discuss or dwell upon," came Vania's reply.

I was facing away from them so I opened my eyes to see the hearth a mere few inches from my face. I stretched and scooted back from it a bit, sitting up and raking a hand through my unruly dark hair.

Both of them stopped talking as I got up.

"Ah, Lycus, finally awake," Vania said. "Sleep well?"

I shrugged and turned to face them, "I guess."
I glanced over at Ariadne, who was looking at me. There was something in her expression that I couldn't quite place. Was it pity?

"Well, there's breakfast to be had, and you both could probably use it," Vania said, indicating some bread lying on the small table.

I briefly wondered what happened to the bread we'd stolen from the baker last night, but I probably dropped it along the way in my sheer exhaustion.

I joined them at the table and ate, still feeling hungry.

"So, what are your plans now?" Vania asked. "Didn't you mention something about finding Ariadne's mother last night?"

Everything about last night was foggy, but I thought I could recall something about our plans. I nodded. "If we're able to evade any slave catchers," I replied.

Vania nodded. "About that," she started.

"Of course," I cut in. "We'll leave immediately." I started to stand up.

"Good heavens, Lycus, I'm not so inhospitable as all that. I was just going to mention a few ways and alleys and people who you could use and trust to avoid any confrontations," She said.

"Oh," I sat back down, my face slightly flushed. "You don't have to do that."

Vania waved a hand in the air, "Even if I am accused harboring escapees, it's not like I have a long time left anyways."

I grinned; her hair had only just begun to turn gray and her face wasn't that wrinkled at all, "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," she stated. "Now, a few streets down from here there's a little hovel, and it doesn't look like much, but if you go in, you'll meet a woman named Lydia. She can give you a few pointers. If she's not there, Alexander and Octavia live further away," Vania continued giving us instructions and I was amazed that she knew all these people and all these roads and alleys. It almost made me wonder if she'd helped others before.

And there's the third update! I hope you all enjoyed! Have a wonderful and blessed holiday!

Lycus - GadSul