Trojan Slave (Book 1)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The night was ablaze. The army of invaders stood in a silent vigil to the hundreds of pyres lit along the beach. Even the night sky was in mourning, with no moon and hardly any stars to light the way. The mass cremation from the pyres was the main source of light. But it was the smell that made Elpis' eyes tear though, not the heat from the closest pyre or from the overwhelming emotion caused by the overwhelming loss of life.

The scent of burning flesh permeated the air. This was the final goodbye for warriors who had spent most of their lives at war. They had died the way they lived. Hard, fast, and with sword in hand. She had seen some of the injuries they had suffered and knew most had not died outright. They had probably lingered for hours as the fighting moved on. Leaving them in injured agony. It was highly likely some of these men could have been spared their fate.

But who cared for the poor warrior when a King's orders were to be followed. A few extra casualties in their game meant nothing to them so long as their numbers were still large enough to win. They either did not truly see or did not care what these losses did to the average man within their ranks. Those who had lost friends and brothers. The wives and children that would never see their men again.

Even looking at some of the bodies before they had been placed on the pyres, she knew it was not wives and children waiting for them, but their mothers, who may have sent them off to war for the first time. Waiting to hear of the victory their sons had sought by leaving home. Those women were the uncounted casualties of war, the ones that nobody thought about. Most would only know their men had died with the fact they never returned.

Androcles stood stoically by her side. The nearest pyre held the men he had lost. He had placed the coins on their eyelids himself. Showing exactly how much he cared for his crew. That was when she had realised that even with the hierarchy they followed, they were a family.

Theodulus had left her with instructions to stay by Androcles, she was not to leave his sight. He had had to go with Alexios to another pyre further down the coast. Androc, they both knew, would protect her from unwelcome eyes. With his men also surrounding her, she was safe. At least for tonight. Especially after the appreciation she had seen after she had fed the warriors in Androc's employ.

The men stood vigil until the dying embers were all that remained of their fallen comrades. The heat still radiating from the darker areas of sand visible in the dying light. She could not make out the features on the faces around her. All she saw were moving shadows in the night. Like the ghosts of the dead mingled with those of the living as a final farewell between them all. The embers slowly faded into nothing in front on them and the sombre mournful mood began to morph in the breeze.

With the passing of the dead into their journey to the afterlife, the celebration of the living could begin. And she knew that it was now that the most dangerous hours for her would begin. Like the hours she had spent in hiding in the Temple. The men would drink and gorge on food and wine, as if there was no tomorrow. For there were those who may not have many tomorrows left to see. As the bloodlust from the battle still had a few among their number in its grasp, the wine would hit them and it would exacerbate the situation. They would call for games; those games could and would get brutal. Any woman found would be torn apart. She only hoped she could trust Androc and his men would keep their heads about them while she was among their number.

When the men around began to speak once more, Androcles took hold of Elpis' hand. He could not allow her to be found by the animals the men would turn into tonight. He practically dragged her back to their area of camp. He could already hear the merry making start with a vengeance. The majority of men here did not know she existed, but there were few women here and word would spread quickly of another. Especially one who looked as Elpis did. A few of the ships had brought their own women with them. Not their wives, obviously. These women who would never be seen with the men's wives. But most were not aging well with life on the sea. So he had to make sure she was safely away before anyone else found her.