Eirene could smell the Tiber already, dank and heavy on the cool dawn breeze. She often thought that if a scent had a colour then the smell of the river Tiber would be as yellow as the water itself, a sickly and unhealthy shade. Alexis startled her as he came to settle himself beside her beneath the leafy boughs of a myrtle tree where she had sat for a few moments to rest her feet.

'You can go on, I just need a minute,' Eirene insisted, rubbing the soles of both of her bare feet to relieve them of the debris from the road. Though she had never worn shoes her feet were soft from a mostly indoor life. She had never walked as far or for as long as she had walked that night.

'We have walked for the past three hours without stopping,' Alexis said, motioning to the glowing dawn that had crept around them and lightened the clear sky above. 'I think a little break is a good idea.' He watched as Eirene inspected the gaps between her toes, picking out small stones to flick them away with irritation. 'We will get you some sandals in Ostia. I'm sorry I never thought to get you anything before we left.'

'I'm not sure I could walk in sandals, Master.'

'Alexis, please, Eirene. You do not have to address me so formally,' he smiled, ignoring the dirt as he took the left one in his warm hands and rubbed the ache from the ball of Eirene's foot. Eirene blushed deeply and stood up. 'Are you hungry?' he asked, looking up at her. 'Perhaps we should find something to eat. The river is close, I'm sure I could catch a fish or two.' Alexis grinned as he stood up too.

'I think we should keep going. Ostia must be near,' Eirene said as she struck out to walk again. Though her feet were sore, the left one burned from his touch that had deepened the colour in her cheeks, she could still feel his skin soft against hers and she set off with a quick and determined pace.

'What's the hurry?' Alexis called.

'I don't think we should slow down now, not when we're so near. I can almost smell the sea,' Eirene said, glancing over her shoulder as she made her way further down the wide path of compacted earth, worn hard and smooth by many travelling feet before theirs. The crisp dawn air was fresh, cooling against her face that felt hot from the unbroken pace they had kept since leaving Rome. From the cloudless look of the sky the day promised to be another bright and warm one, giving little hint of the autumn season that lurked only a few weeks away. She turned back as the deep rumble of Alexis' laugh reached her, finding his towering frame silhouetted by the lush greenery around him. 'What?' she demanded with a petulant tone that was sharper than she intended it to be, her eagerness to reach the port and her aching feet fraying her usually smooth temperament.

'Ostia will still be there, whether you starve or die of weariness, O arduous one.' He remained stood beneath the bowing branches of the tree drenched temptingly in the cool shade with his feet planted firmly and his arms crossed. It was clear to Eirene that he was not planning to move any time soon. Already she could feel the early rays of the sun piercing through the freshness of the morning and she did not really relish the thought of setting out into the relentless heat that was sure to follow the dawn. The verdant shade was definitely appealing, more so with him stood dappled with myrtle-shadow, wearing a half-teasing and half concerned smile. But on the other hand… she closed the distance between them quickly and Alexis could see the slightly wild look in her eyes, her tone hushed as though afraid of being overheard by someone, so that he had to incline his head towards her.

'A lion, Master!'

Alexis had the grace to look politely puzzled as he blinked at her. 'What?'

'A lion!' her eyes darted from side to side, swiftly sweeping the low scraggly bushes and the sparse trees that surrounded the path they were following as though she expected to see one slink into view any moment. 'You haven't heard about the lion that roams the paths around here? A few escaped from the Amphitheatrum a long time ago, wild beasts captured and brought in from Africa for the Emperors lavish animal hunts and to offer fierce opponents to the gladiators when their fights grew a little dull. Most were hunted down, slaughtered in the streets but one escaped. My old Master used to hear reports of sightings along this road, travellers disappearing.' Eirene gestured the length of the path they had been following, her arms sweeping to encompass the snaking way ahead. 'It was his dream to develop some sort of trap for it, he was convinced he could tame it with enough love and keep it as a pet.' Alexis' laughter rolled easily from his throat again as his eyes twinkled kindly.

'Like he tamed you, Eirene?' His fingertips brushed the hair from her cheek curling it carefully over one of her ears as he smiled.

'I was never 'tamed', Master. I was born into slavery.'

'The scholar, Horace, he was your father?' Alexis seemed surprised, his eyebrows arching high. 'I have learnt less of Rome than I believed in the time that I've been here…' He looked wonderingly at Eirene who in turn looked wonderingly at him, taken aback by his amazement at her revelation.

'That is a surprise for you?'

'It's a shock, actually, Eirene.' Alexis shook his head a little. 'I thought I knew everything there was to know about slavery in Rome but I never knew that. I can't say that I understand the concept of owning another person, let alone enslaving your own flesh and blood. All people are made equal and therefore deserve mutual respect.' It was Eirene's turn to look stunned and she too shook her head in disbelief.

'Your presence at the market and my purchase was a figment of my imagination then, Master?' she enquired with an innocent tilt of her head, though the emphasis on her last word was teasing. Alexis ran a hand through his short, dark hair and let a frown wrinkle his brow as he thought for a moment.

'Not at all. But my reasons for your… purchase,' Alexis grimaced at the word, 'were different. Adverse to the usual and laborious reasons I would think.' His frown was reflected on Eirene's face as she thought of all the household chores that she had split with Phoibe and Aisha.

'So what were your reasons?' she asked. Alexis sat with his back leaning against the trunk of the myrtle tree and reached up to tug gently on Eirene's hand causing her to sit down beside him. Such close proximity to him made the tiny hairs on her skin stand on end and a delicious shiver ran down her spine.

'To guide you.'

'Guide me?' Eirene looked confused.

'There is something I need to tell you that you might find very difficult to understand.'

'I find most things you say to me difficult to understand actually.'

Alexis gave her half a smile.

'This might be particularly difficult though, Eirene, because our beliefs are not the same.' He ploughed on, noticing the confusion that was already clouding the girls face. 'You believe there are many gods each responsible for an area of your life that need appeasing in some way or other or else they will wreak havoc in their displeasure.' Eirene smiled at the simplified summing up of her religion.

'Sort of, yes.'

'Well our beliefs follow a similar thread in that I know that everything has an energy; every tree that shelters us and provides fruit, each leaf that whispers with the breeze, every tiny insect, bird and person. All things pulse with life and all life is created by a much larger energy force, a being so powerful that most humans find it hard to comprehend. This power is all encompassing; it is mother, father, god and goddess all in one deity. Your separate gods all combined. Your people are not wrong in their beliefs but they are not totally right either.' Alexis paused for a moment, contemplating Eirene's passive expression as she listened to him. What Alexis was telling her wasn't completely new to her as she had heard something similar from old Phoibe who had resided with the Master and Mistress for quite a while and had begun to spout their beliefs occasionally. 'Have you heard of Christianity, Eirene?' he asked her.

'Yes, I have,' she nodded slowly, remembering the name for the new religion that had been bandied about in the City whilst she had been out and about at night, searching for Germanus. 'It's the belief that there is one God, the almighty Father.'

'Well, I suppose that is it to an extent and Christianity is the one religion that almost, but not completely, has the right idea so far. It is easier to refer to God as a Father because that is the way most people who believe it perceive this element of huge power to be portrayed. In a way, it's easier for your people to get their minds around it, being a very visual lot. You like images to worship.'

'I suppose we do…' Eirene's brows were knitted together in concentration as she tried to make sense of his words. Her fingers absently trailed over the cool grass around her as she moved her arms back and forth in little arcs, letting the tiny blades caress her palms. It was soothing, the rhythmical caress of the grass on her skin as something about what Alexis had said struck her as a bit odd. 'You say 'your people' like you aren't included.'

'I'm not,' Alexis gave her a little smile though his eyes took on a wary, watching light as they did not move from her face. 'I'm a guardian. I told you that.'

'You said you purchased me, as a slave, to guide me. What did you mean by that?' her hands came to rest in her lap, her legs tucked neatly beneath her as she knelt beside Alexis though her eyes remained cast down at the grass, following a thin trail of ants that trickled in a steady stream along a path that only they could see as they marched on importantly. 'You said you have feelings for me.' Her cheeks filled instantly with colour, hot and pink, and her tone was almost accusatory as neither of them had mentioned what had passed between them in the atrium that night. Though Eirene often thought about it, the memory of his strong hands on her face, his warm and solid body hard against her own were burned forever into her memory. One of those large hands reached out now to curl over both of Eirene's as they lay inanimate upon her knees, Alexis used his other hand to gently tip her head up so that he could see her blue eyes.

'Yes, I said those things. And yes, I meant them, with every fibre in my being. You see...' Alexis' eyes tightened at the corners as though he was fighting some internal fight. 'I'm not like you Eirene, which was the entire point of this conversation. It wasn't really to lecture you on my beliefs but that part was necessary to help you understand what I am. I am not from Rome, despite my flawless pronunciation of your language,' he managed a ghost of a smile that was teasing as Eirene blushed again, his words echoing something she had once shouted angrily at him. His eyes were the perfect indigo hue of a summer sky at midnight she noticed, and the gentle strength in his hands as they lay lightly upon her skin made her heart ache for more physical contact with him. She had to concentrate very hard to listen to the meaning in his words. 'I was sent to Earth, more specifically to Rome, to guide you along the path that has been chosen for you. '

'Sent from where?' she asked with wide eyes, wondering whether she had heard him correctly and feeling rather stupid.

'From a place called Hiera which is the home of the one that Christians call God, the Father of all things, if it must have a name. There are many of us Guardians – though we have more recently been referred to as angels. We are assigned humans to help on their journeys if there is a particularly difficult stretch of path ahead of them, to guide them along so that their souls can learn all they need to learn before they can transcend. Our aid can be anything from the lightest touch, a gentle nudge or a word of encouragement when it is most needed, to a lifelong companionship. I have helped many people along their road to the ultimate transcendence, Eirene, but I have never, ever, in all of my existence felt about anyone the way I feel about you. You have captured my heart completely, if indeed we have hearts, for I am immortal.' Alexis took Eirene's face with both hands now, his gaze intense and sincere as she scanned his eyes desperately with her own for any sign of madness, totally overwhelmed by all that he was trying to tell her. 'It is the truth, Eirene, I swear it.'

A strangely muffled creaking started to invade the silence that settled upon them, quiet at first and then louder as a ripping noise could be heard that stopped just as abruptly as it had begun. It took Eirene a good long minute to register the fact that the growing sunlight that had spread around them as they sat talking beneath the tree had been cut off and no longer warmed the bare patches of her skin. Instead she could feel something soft, downy and very light as it brushed against her arms. It couldn't have been Alexis' fingertips as they were still cupping her face.

'Oh!' Eirene muttered in surprise as a flash of brilliant white caught her eye and made her turn her head. A huge wall of feathers barred her vision of the surrounding trees and brush that scattered either side of the worn path that led on from where they sat beneath the myrtle tree. Each feather was clearly defined in the sunlight despite the starkness of colour; they gleamed purely with some inner radiance that made her eyes ache and squint. She reached out a hand to touch the feathers with some apprehension as she looked up at Alexis, her fingers hovering an inch away. He was watching her expression intently, trying to gage her reaction. Alexis gave her a barely perceptible nod, his usually gentle mouth pressed into a tense line. Eirene looked back at the huge span of wings and let her hand brush against the white feathers. She smiled in delight, finding them warmer than she had imagined them to be and more slippery than honeyed figs as they slipped beneath her touch.

'Oh,' she murmured again, her fingertips skimming the slick surface of the large feathers that cocooned them both. Eirene raised herself up further as her hand boldly explored the length and breadth of the wing, first kneeling up and then standing as she followed the thick curve up higher, sloping down again to where smaller and fluffier feathers met the skin of Alexis' back which was visible through the ripped fabric of his clothes. As he had expanded his wings they had torn the cotton to escape which must have been the cause of the strange sound Eirene had heard moments before. Alexis remained still as she explored each wing in turn, his features relaxed and somewhat calmer since Eirene had not recoiled in fear or horror at the sight. Kneeling on the floor he was at least a head shorter than Eirene as she stood, but his wings came up higher than the girl, even when she stood on her tiptoes. 'Wings,' she said, 'You can fly?'

'Yes,' he said, softly.

'But… but… where do you keep them when you aren't using them? How come I've never seen them before?' She took a step back to admire the delicate curves of the tips as they rose from his muscular frame and dipped back towards him again, the sunlight flitting through the leaves of the tree to play different shades of white over the dense feathers that gleamed like the cleanest of linens. He flexed and the wings spread out, higher and wider than before, like a bird preparing to take flight.

'I can conceal them at will, though it takes a great deal of energy to do so.' Eirene nodded, unable to take her eyes from him, for he was the single most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She thought of Alexis' striking sister.

'The Mistress, Liviana, is she a guardian too? Does she have wings?'

'Yes. She was sent to guide Phoibe and Aisha, to see them from the auction block to a safe and loving household, though the luxuries of our life distracted her from her duties and I had to step in. I suppose part of it was my own fault, for pandering to the narcissism she developed. But I had my distractions too.' He smiled at Eirene, the splayed wings settling back to lie against his spine, trailing down so that white feathers mingled with the grass like so many daisies. Eirene sat back down, awe and wonder still etched in her face as she sat opposite him. 'And Liviana is not her true name… She is called Petra where we are from, just as my true name is Jinn. We are both of the house of Quil-Ya, the highest order of Watchers and Guardians. It was thought we would blend in a little more easily with names from your people.' Eirene cast a mental image of the two god-like beings, one dark and one golden blonde, side by side with their beauty radiating like the rays of the sun and she doubted very much that their names had helped them to walk unnoticed amidst the city-folk of Rome, who were as like an ugly creeping caterpillar to a colourful butterfly. The thought was almost laughable.

'And just which path is it you are to lead me down, Master Jinn?' she asked, using his true name without much thought, testing out the unfamiliar sound. She imagined she caught a tightness around his eyes again, his lips pressed together for the smallest of moments before he answered her with a sad fierceness that she found strange.

'I cannot tell and I will not lie to you, Eirene, so please do not ask me again.' His hands found her face once more, holding it gently before his lips brushed warmly against hers, softer than the touch of a feather.

'Then my life is in your hands, Master,' she replied against his lips, her mouth warm and eager for his as she returned the kiss, feeling reckless in the companionship of the secret he had shared with her. Eirene felt his arms encircling her waist and they pulled her closer, cradling her slight frame against the solidness of his chest. His lips found her chin, her neck that still bore his collar and her ear as he whispered as low as the gentle breeze that slipped around them and rustled the leaves of the myrtle tree, ruffling the feathers of his wings that still lay exposed, 'And I shall cherish it for always, Eirene, as I shall you.'