Chapter Twenty

Otis the Observant

-oOo-

It wasn't long before the sun passed outside the window and the sky began to darken. Damalis grew more and more restless, tossing and turning in bed and wincing every time she landed on her wounded arm. Adelpha had been in and out of the room to visit, but Penthea ended up banning her from entering the servant's quarters in order to allow Damalis some rest. However rest never came to her. Damalis was left with the terrible and painful memories of her sins, laid bare for her to contemplate and when she wasn't thinking of that, she was thinking about Astinos and Circe and their breakfast plans. She tried to push the invading images of Astinos holding the young woman's hand over a table of food and flowers. She could picture him looking lovingly into her eyes as she flicked her lusciously dark hair over her shoulder. It made her insides ache to think about it, but the invasive glances into this probably ridiculous conclusion weren't going to go away.

A sharp knock at the door brought Damalis back to reality with a sharp thud, she assumed it was either Penthea with her supper, or Adelpha sneaking a visit, but as her eyes slowly turned to the door she felt her heart leap when she realised it was Astinos standing there in a dark, one shoulder robe and a plate of food in his hand. Damalis blinked, wondering if she were just seeing him there because she had been thinking of him, but he smiled that beautiful smile and took a step forward.

"I brought you something to eat" he said. Damalis pushed herself up and rested her back against the wall, accepting the plate graciously as he handed it to her.

"Thank you" she said, her eyes flicking behind him for a moment, "Astinos" she smiled.

Astinos turned to take a seat on the empty bed beside her and it was then that Damalis noticed something different about the way Astinos looked at her. His smile was still there, but it didn't reach his eyes, he was looking at her in a calculative way, almost suspicious, as if he wasn't sure if he knew who she was. Damalis swallowed uncomfortably.

"How is your arm?" he asked, nodding to her wounded limb. Damalis tried to stretch it but winced as the skin stretched.

"It's healing, Penthea says it was quite a deep wound" she replied timidly, moving a piece of bread about her plate, she didn't feel very hungry.

"It was very brave, what you did last night, for my sister" he said, as though he hadn't expected her to defend Adelpha, to be willing to give her life for her.

"I told you once that she was like a sister, I wasn't just saying that" she replied, slightly insulted by the tone of his voice.

Astinos gave a little smile, "So it was because of my sister? No other reason than that?" he asked.

Damalis blinked and looked at the young soldier. She wanted to demand what he meant by that, was he suggesting she did not care for her ward, that she had only saved her life for some reward perhaps?

"I-I don't under-," she stammered, but Astinos waved her hand as if he hadn't expected her to answer it.

"Excuse my rudeness," he said, "I didn't mean that you expected something for saving her. I know, especially now, that you're affection for her is genuine" and then he smiled, but this time it reached his eyes as if he had just convinced himself of something, but Damalis was still wary. She couldn't help wondering what was it was that had put him in such a strange mood, but before she could think about it anymore, Astinos was on his feet.

"I have to go," he said, "And I'm sure you need some sleep" he added and was gone before Damalis could open her mouth.

Frustrated she dropped back down onto her bed, almost knocking the plate of food onto the floor. She couldn't explain his strange behaviour, or why it both frightened and angered her, but she knew that Astinos was keeping something from her, but what was it.

-oOo-

The next day, Damalis was up before anyone else. She had rested too long and now needed to be put to work, to stop her mind from thinking unpleasant thoughts. Astinos' perculiar behaviour had made her uncomfortable and she found herself looking out for him more often then usual.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only unusual thing occurring in the Captain's House. Since the attack, everyone had begun to treat Damalis differently and in different ways. The Captain and Enora, who had always behaved indifferently to her because she was a servant, now smiled and greeted her warmly. Gyles and Linus now acknowledged her existence with eye contact and a nod and even Hesper acted less resentful when she passed her in the corridor. Penthea was a little reluctant to allow Damalis to take Adelpha to school, but after reminding her that it was her job, and she was unlikely to be attacked on a street full of people, she allowed her to go.

It seemed that Adelpha had not quite recovered from the attack. Damalis noticed how her eyes moved from one alleyway to another and how she shrank away from large and peculiar looking men. It wasn't until Damalis found herself gripping Adelpha' arm, that she realised she wasn't feeling back to normal either.

During the walk to school, Adelpha had been only too happy to fill Damalis in on everything that had happened after the attack whilst Damalis had been forced to stay in bed. The body of the attacker had been taken into custody by the Captain's men, spreading the rumour that the man had actually been Theron's murderer about to commit another murder. In a sad way, this was good news to Damalis, everyone seemed to be ignoring the small detail that Astinos had been convinced it was a woman who had fought him, but because the attacker had been small for a man, it could have been possible that they were the same person. Damalis only hoped that the Captain, the King and those of importance would agree with the rumours.

Once Damalis had watched Adelpha enter the building, she made her way home, defensively crossing her arms over her chest and casting a wary eye over the people around her. She knew she was being too cautious and possibly a little ridiculous, but she couldn't help seeing the flash of madness in the eyes of the man in the alleyway, nor the bloody, corpse like face of Theron in her nightmare. It was like neither would allow her to rest in peace knowing she had possibly gotten away with murder on two accounts.

Damalis all but ran until she reached the house, not even stopping to buy an apple as she usually did in the mornings. Penthea saw her bolt into the house and gave her a sympathetic look before continuing with her cleaning.

The atmosphere in the house was far more relaxed then normal; it transpired that the Captain and his wife were invited to attend a dinner party that evening, hosted by the King and his wife, Queen Gorgo. Naturally, servants were not allowed to come, but the Captain still wanted the house clean and tidy for his return and he had arranged it so that Astinos would be allowed home in the evening to guard his sister and their home. It seemed that even with the rumours, the Captain still did not want to take any risks.

Damalis entered the kitchens and found that she was still the main topic of gossip when the group of young servant girls suddenly dispersed from their tight circle when she entered. Even as she prepared some bread for baking she could feel their eyes on her back which grew irritating to the point that she grabbed a pale of water and mumbled to Haidee that she was going to clean the outer walls of the house.

It was much quieter outside, only the nickering of the horses in the stable could be heard and the occasional sound of metal on hard ground as Otis cleaned out the stalls. The pleasant smell of jasmine floated down on her providing a stupor effect, allowing for just a few minutes, the terrible memories of her life dissipate into nothing.

"Damalis" someone said behind her in way of greeting. She looked over her shoulder and saw Otis standing behind her, leaning on his broom.

"Otis. How are you?" she asked politely before turning back to the wall. She had felt a little uncomfortable around him now, especially since he caught her rifling through the barn to find something to hold her knife to her leg.

"I'm okay, but how about you? I should imagine you're a little jumpy," he offered. Damalis felt something cold slip down into her stomach. What did he mean? Did he know?

"Sorry?" she replied in little more then a squeak.

"You know. The attack. I saw Miss Adelpha carry you in, you looked as pale as a ghost" he replied.

Damalis felt her muscle relax, but only a little, the way Otis watched her was not reassuring, he seemed to be gauging her reaction to what he was saying.

"Well it was quite frightening, Otis" she huffed impatiently.

"I imagine so, how many people can say they've killed someone in their lifetime, especially when it is a councilman…"

Damalis felt the cold grip of panic around her heart. She looked at Otis in horror; there was no doubt that she had heard him correctly. He smiled knowingly at her.

"What?" she spluttered.

"Really, Damalis" he rolled his eyes, "Did you think I wouldn't piece it together? You ask me to spy on him, I tell you how to find him and then all of a sudden I find out he's been murdered?"

Damalis didn't trust herself to speak, she was too busy trying to find ways to explain herself, but she couldn't think of anything, so she leaned over the little boy and tried to make herself look as big and threatening as possible, "Listen" she hissed, "No one will believe a word you say, there were no witnesses…" she finished jabbing a finger at him.

Otis smiled, amused and pushed Damalis' finger out of his face, "I didn't say I was going to tell anyone" he said. But Damalis wasn't convinced, she realised he wanted something, he was going to blackmail her and it made her both angry and petrified. She frantically looked around, but they were perfectly alone.

"What do you want?" she asked apprehensively.

Otis' shoulders seemed to droop and a sudden sadness crossed over his face, "You're like me in a lot of ways Damalis. I didn't have much of a past before I came here, my parents were servants at the household of one of the councilmen, I won't tell you who" he said, clearly wanting to keep that part of his tale a secret still, "But when they found out my mother was pregnant with me, he beat my father almost to death and sent my mother out onto the street" he closed his eyes as he relived his terrible past.

"My mother died giving birth to me and by some happy chance my father found me and took me back to his master, to beg for my life, but the Master took me away and sent me to a place where orphaned children were raised to be servants. I never saw my father again. When I was old enough to be sold on as a servant, Penthea and Gyles found me and brought me here, but I ran away to find out what had happened to my father. An old man who had served the councilman's house came to the door; he looked as though he had seen a ghost and he took me further away from the house. He knew instantly that I was my father's son, as we looked so alike, but he told me that after I had been given away, the Master had told my father he had been sent word I had died, my father, struck with the grief of losing his wife and son, had hanged himself. I was an orphan and by the doing of that hateful man" he finished, tears brimming his eyes and his little fists clenched until the skin around his knuckles were bone white. It was hard not to see Otis as a small, little boy at this point and it took some will for Damalis not to step forward and hug him.

Otis blinked then locked eyes with Damalis, " I returned here and accepted my life as a servant and I've been grateful to the Captain and their wife, but everyday I hoped to hear the news of the councilman's death, only when it came, it wasn't as final as I had hoped it would be. He died in his sleep, surrounded by his family. Neither my mother nor father had that. The only conselance is that he is forever burning in the pit of Tuataras" he finished. There was a few seconds silence before Damalis found her voice.

"I'm sorry" she quietly mumbled, "I understand what that feels like"

Otis looked up at her, his tears now gone from his eyes as he studied her, "So what is your story, why did you murder Councilman Theron?"

Damalis didn't pretend to sound shocked or disgusted with his accusation, they were beyond that. Otis had shared with her a big part of himself and it was only fair that he understood the reasoning behind her actions, so with a big breath she began at the beginning, from her home in Kalamata to the old soldier, to her silent invasion of the councilman Halls (which Otis had been most impressed with) right up until she returned home with blood on her hands. She admitted to him that she too, felt the death of Theron to be a disappointing climax to all her troubles, even after she had struck the final blow to end his life. From watching Otis' expression, she thought he would find some comfort in that. For striking the final blow had still not ended Damalis' torment.

"Do you have nightmares?" he asked suddenly, taking Damalis by surprise.

"Yes, almost every night, but now the man who attacked Aldepha and I is there too. I can never get away from what I did"

"Nor should you wish to" Otis said in disbelief, "You saved Miss Adelphas' life, surely that must weigh out the guilt"

"Of course it does. But I was convinced that I would never kill again after Theron, but now it seems I am finding myself in positions, which require me to choice whether someone might live and die. I don't want to be forced to kill again"

"And nor should you" Otis replied, playing with a sprig of jasmine that he had pluched from the wall. Damalis felt oddly weightless, as if admitting her crime out loud had emptied her heart of something that had been making her suffer for too long.

"Thank you, Otis" she said, honesty in her words, the little boy nodded his head casually as if he thought nothing of it.

"We might be servants, but we're people too. And what some have done to us, is not right. Sometimes I believe the Gods give us the power to do right to those who have done us wrong" he said wisely, "Good afternoon" he added before turning on his heels and disappeared back into the barn.

Damalis felt a small smile reach her lips as she continued to clean the walls, knowing that at least someone had forgiven her for her crime.

-oOo-

Katzey - No problemo, can't kill of the main character now can I?

CandiedChris - Hey, awesome review, glad to know I made your weekend that little bit better. It gives me a warm feeling!

A/N: Finally my two bitches of an assignment are done and dusted and awaiting the scrutiny of my tutors. Thanks for being patient with me while I polished it all off. Fingers crossed for a pass mark on both!!