War Dreams

Part 1: Little Girl Lost

Chapter 3

Their company was moving at a snail's pace. It had been several hours since they had started traveling and Aeres had yet to wake. After a short time, Dagonet had suggested that Aeres ride in the wagon with him, Guinevere and Lucan - the other two who had been imprisoned in the dungeons with her.

Tristan had been reluctant to let Aeres from his sight, especially with the Roman woman, Fulcinia, someone who had owned Aeres - helping Dagonet tend to injuries. But it was Guinevere who cradled Aeres' head in her lap and hissed at Fulcinia any time she drew near. That, at least, reassured Tristan. He did not trust the Woad woman, but her protectiveness over Aeres could not be faked.

In the wagon with Dagonet, Aeres was likely in the best care she had had access to since she was a child. For a while, Tristan had to ride ahead scouting, but now he rode beside the wagon his new charge lay in. He eyed the Woad suspiciously, just as she watched him, her splinted fingers tentatively combing through Aeres' dark curls.

"Dagonet," Tristan called. He caught the large Knight's attention as he knelt at the Sarmatian girl's side, packing a poultice to her backside; from nearly head to toe. "How does the girl fare?" the scout questioned.

Dagonet returned his attention to his patient as he worked, after a quick glance. "She is well, Tristan. She sleeps fitfully; and it is probably for the best. We all know the pain of a flogging." The gentle giant answered carefully. Tristan's jaw tensed. He glanced to Aeres, whose dark hair covered most of her face, before directing his gaze to the road in front of him.


It was the gentle stroking of Aeres' cheek that gradually towed her from the land of the unconscious. Her eyelids fluttered- but they felt so heavy that she could not help but keep them closed- focusing on the low voices around her. Aeres' head lay in a soft lap, and she could feel soft linen on her skin. It was a revelation to realize that she was relatively pain-free, though her backside felt weighted down and wet. She could only hope that she wasn't bleeding.

"What crime could this child have committed to deserve the beating she received?" a low, masculine voice questioned softly. Aeres' hazy, sleep-ridden mind slowly comprehended that she was the topic of conversation.

The slender fingers on the girl's cheek stilled for a moment before continuing their affections. "She told me that she spilt wine on her master." A woman's voice responded, Guinevere, Aeres identified. There was a noise, a noise of disgust that came from the man.

"Alecto, the young master, has asked me to return her to him," the man remarked hesitantly.

Aeres' blood ran cold, a latent thrum of panic traveling through her veins.

"Arthur," Guinevere huffed. "You cannot be serious! Aeres has told me such stories of him, and his father…to return her to them would mean her death, sooner than later,"

"I do not wish to return Aeres to Alecto. I loathe slavery, but like it or not…Alecto owns her. And I am not sure I can refuse him," Arthur, whoever that was, responded.

Aeres' eyes shot open, and she turned towards his voice hastily, shocking both Arthur and Guinevere. "Aeres!" Guinevere chided, trying to pull the girl back into a safer position.

But Aeres would not relent, igniting a burning pain in her backside, she reached for Arthur, trying to grasp him in any way she could. "Please Dominus, please! I don't want to go back to them! I want to be free!" She pleaded, tears springing to her eyes.

The man before her, presumably Arthur, was big-boned and dark-haired with sensitive green eyes; gave her his hand to hold onto. "Tell me of your life with them, Aeres," he requested gently. She could see his eyes soften at her panic, and she only hoped she could sway him.

"I was slave to Dominus' parents first, since I was a child. When they died, I was brought here. After a few days in the Dominus' household, Domina gave me to the young Dominus." Aeres began uncertainly.

Glancing back to Guinevere, the girl's fear became apparent. "Tell Arthur everything you've told me, Aeres. He is a good man, he won't let them harm you again," the Woad instructed her, receiving a glare from the Roman. He did not want to promise the poor girl anything, for if he did, it would be much worse if he could not succeed.

Aeres swallowed thickly, looking back to Arthur. "Dominus Cato and his wife Iulia were elderly when they purchased me. They spoiled me, raising me like their own child. They both died when I was around twelve winters old. Then men came. They beat me and bound me like a criminal and forced me onto a ship where we sailed here.

"It was a terrible voyage. Not that I have ever been on another. It was on that voyage that a man took me for the first time," Aeres' voice cracked at the end, seeing a flash of pity cross Arthur's otherwise expressionless face. "There were many such times on that voyage. They were bad men, they beat and hurt me if I didn't do as they said. I found out once I got here that those bad men had been promised extra coin if they broke me in for Dominus Marius' household. You see, Dominus knew his parents had a light hand, so he knew that their slaves would have to be retrained," she continued.

Arthur's shoulders lowered and tensed, gripping the girl's hand a little tighter. "You were, are, just a child," he said in a low voice.

Aeres averted her eyes from Arthur at his words, finding Guinevere's encouraging gaze once again. "When I first arrived in Dominus' household, I worked in the kitchens and wherever I was needed. I was scared and tried to avoid the notice of men in the household, but it didn't work. They took me whenever they pleased, didn't care if I was beaten for not completing my task. It got better when the Domina gave me to the young Dominus' service," she recounted.

"He would keep me busy all day. If I wasn't doing work for him, we'd play games. I'd be away from the men all day long. But once night came…I had to go back to the sleeping quarters and they'd take me again and again, one after another." Arthur raised a hand to cover his mouth.

Aeres raised her free hand to rake through her hair. "When we got older, the young Dominus took a fancy to me too, and he didn't like the thought of the other men touching me. So he had me sleep on a pallet in his chambers, or in his bed if he liked." She gave a hoarse, bitter laugh. "Like all other men, the young Dominus took what he wanted." Aeres paused, thinking carefully. "He was kinder. He didn't beat. But he wasn't gentle, neither," she continued, waving her free hand as she spoke.

"I got big with child once." Aeres remarked, making Arthur's eyes shoot to meet hers. "Just after the young Dominus took me into his bed. They couldn't be sure who fathered my baby and the Dominus didn't want any bastards anyway. He had me beaten until I lost the child. Since then the cook has given me tea to keep men's seed from growing in me."

Arthur's horrified look only grew until Aeres had to look away. "I don't know what else to tell you. Just please don't make me go back, I wanna- I wanna stay with Guinevere," the girl begged with a pitiful expression. The Roman merely stood, leaving the wagon and its occupants without a word.

Aeres turned to look at Guinevere with a fearful expression. The Woad merely wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close again. "You will be free. Stay free," the woman whispered to her. "By his power or mine," she promised.


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