Trojan Slave (Book 1)

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Mayhem. That was all it was. People trying to make order out of chaos.

It had been one of the bloodiest battles so far. Theod had never seen so many men lying lifeless before him. Behind him. At the end of his sword. At the tip of a spear. They would stay in his dreams, haunt him in moments when he was alone with his thoughts. It had been a short battle, but the death that surrounded them showed just why it had been called to a short end.

Trying to heave a barely alive Solon back to camp, he left a flowing trail of red behind them both. He felt the agony in his side. He was thankful for the fact that he seemed to be one of the least injured. He had spied Androc in the distance trying to go through the fallen, seeing if there was anyone he could try and save. From what he had seen, it was only those that had gone on to their final journey left. He had not seen many fallen making any movement. This battle was going to take its toll on morale and he could not let himself think about how many would not be returning to the camp this night.

As he stumbled into camp, the first thing he noticed was how Elpis' usually composed being was flustered and she did not stop moving. It seemed the mayhem that had been upon the field had transferred here afterwards. Where the men had been left with an eerie calm among the dead on the field, the living were still in the throes of chaos. The system he was used to at these points did not seem to be in place. Perplexed, he placed Solon against a post nearby. Holding his side, he made his way towards the woman, who for the last three months had become the most important in his life.

Three months of Theod pretending she was still his slave, while she pretended to be his wife. Androc kept shaking his head and just telling him to be truthful. He still was not ready to let her go. And the longer he kept up the subterfuge, the harder he knew it would be to admit what he felt.

Finally reaching her, he managed to snag her arm as she went to fly past him. She turned on him, and he could tell from the way she reacted that he would have been in for her wrath had he been anyone else. Her eyes widened as they swept him and found the blood seeping from the wound in his side. "Theod, we need to get that seen too."

She tried to pull him along, but he held her still, waiting till she was focused upon him once more. "Elpis, what is wrong? How can I help?"

She gave a dramatic sigh and waved her free hand around.

"Some of the men from other camps have started coming here. Only the males that usually heal them have come to 'help'." He took the last word to mean that she was not finding them helpful at all.

"Do I need to show them how deadly I can be with a blade?" She knew exactly how serious he was with the comment. But what surprised him the most was the hesitation before she shook her head. "Did I tempt you with that thought?" She blushed a little before looking around at the mess that surrounded their tiny pool of serenity. He had even managed to block the pain, well a little at least.

"No. Yes. I do not know. The men that have turned up have heard about what I have done for the men here. Only their healers do not like to be told what to do by a woman. I have been referred to as the freed slave. And just a warrior's wife. They believe they have all the knowledge. And the way I have sorted the injured before has been made into a mockery of how I usually work." She sighed, took a deep breath, and moved back a little from him. "We need to get you healed if you are going to be defending my honour." This time he allowed her to pull him to one side.

He looked around as she led him. He saw some males he did not recognise trying to see to the men at random. There was no reason to the way they were working. He knew there would be more injured in camp than usual due to the ferocity of the fighting. It had meant even more pressure had been put onto the camp when others had turned up for help. Sitting only as he was pushed down, he looked up to find Elpis walking off to find the items to help him. About to reach out after her, he knew she would not rest before she had tried her hardest to heal him, over any of the other men.