Something a little different

[Atrice]

Her replies were short and simple and yet, he seemed to want conversation. When she said she had no husband or any children, when she was captured, he drifted off into his own past. She had just been young and if she had not been captured and ended up here, she probably would have gained a husband. Children, she didn't know. She never even fell pregnant in Rome, and it wasn't because men did not take advantage of her, when she was a gladiatrix. Apparently Spurius had a betrothed once, but then he became a cripple and her father had refused him. She looked at him, "I'm sorry he did that. A good physique isn't everything." She pointed out. It meant a lot, but not everything. And as long as he could produce children, surely it would not be an issue? But apparently it was. 

Spurius went on about how he neve wished to be a soldier, but he had to, for the sake of his coin and his family, it sounded like. He sounded bitter when he mentioned how the Patricians benefitted from people like him, "They benefit from a lot of things." Everything, more or less. They held all the coin and all the power. And people like Cynane and even Spurius, it seemed, had to work for them. Then they were interrupted, as a guard appeared with two clay bowls with a stew. It smelled nice. 

She picked up her bowl too and tasted it. It was nice. Much more rich in flavour than what the slaves at the palace got... "Thank you." She said and continued eating.

@Sarah

[Sarah]

I'm sorry he did that. A good physique isn't everything.

"No, but it means a lot to some." He said gruffly, a little surprised at her sympathy. He was so used to trading in Britannic slaves who barely spoke any Latin and just went where you pointed, that he didn't think he'd ever really had a conversation with one. But clearly Cynane had been here for some time and adapted, though never forgiven. He couldn't blame her for that, he hadn't either.

The Patricians did benefit from much; that was how society was arranged. But he couldn't really complain of that himself; apart from the injury he'd done well.

Food arrived, and they each picked up their bowls and ate, and he nodded quietly as she thanked him. Food fixed a lot of things, especially good food. People always felt better with a full stomach, including himself. "You're welcome." He said at length. "Thank you for your assistance."

It didn't take him long to clean out his bowl, and he set it aside. "I guess over time I've learned to use and appreciate what I do have. You're right, freedom is something, and for all that I lost I still have mine. Perhaps you'll win yours in time." He said in a gentler tone. In the meantime there were far worse places to be a slave than the palace.

@Atrice

[Atrice]

She knew a good physique meant a lot to some. Her thoughts briefly wandered to Eppitacos, who'd lost an arm and therefore no longer was of any use as a gladiator. So he'd been sold away from the ludus, into a new life. Eppitacos, who had once led armies into battle, now lowered to a slave who wasn't good enough because someone else maimed him. Maybe she did harbor a little bit of sympathy for him too, after all. 

The food came and they began eating. Politely she thanked him and he thanked her for her assistance. She offered him a smile and said nothing more, while they both ate. He finished first and then began musing about appreciating what he had. And he had his freedom at least. He hoped she might win hers.

"Maybe. If my mistress will let me go. I'm not so sure." She said. And she too was fond of Claudia and leaving her behind wasn't an idea she liked either. But if she was free and able to leave, she might not stay... "But yes, perhaps I will win it. I still hope." Although that hope was fading with each year that passed as a slave. She wasn't young anymore. And the hope Longinus gave her, when she was first enslaved, was definitely not so strong anymore. 

@Sarah

[Sarah]

I'm not so sure.

Spurius didn't smile, but the tone of thought was there. Many captured slaves expressed the desire for freedom, to return to their previous lives. But he suspected that a number of them at least came to appreciate the comfort and stability of their new lives, assuming that they had good owners. Or maybe he was reading too much into her words. Maybe she simply didn't think she would ever be freed, and that was certainly a reasonable suspicion. Slaves were useful and people rarely did free them. But it happened.

I still hope.

Don't we all, he thought. And that was all that kept some going. Others it was stubborness; he didn't know what he hoped for any more. But despite the irritating beginning and the tone of the conversation, this had been an interesting interlude.

"I won't keep you from your mistress or your duties any longer, but it's been interesting talking to you." He admitted, giving Cynane a thoughtful look. "You've changed my view on yourself and some of your countrymen." And after several years, that was something in itself. She'd given him things to think about.

@Atrice

[Atrice]

Cynane was very much aware that she might never be able to return to the life she had, before she was captured. She'd almost been a slave for as long as she had been free. Britannia had changed since she left, she knew that from Charis and from others she met. It wasn't the same as before. She might still attempt to return home, but if that was not possible, then she'd at least leave Rome. If she was ever freed. Spurius didn't reply to her comment about the freedom. Then of course, he was unable to help her, just like anyone else. She might as well be a slave until she died. Who knew? But she hoped not.

She continued to eat and Spurius broke the silence again, by saying he wouldn't keep her from her duties any longer. But he thought her interesting and said she'd even managed to change his view on herself and her countrymen. She supposed he expected her to thank him for that? For the fact that he had managed to change his view on her people, rather than him thanking her for helping him doing that. 

"I'm glad to hear it." She said and stood, "I suppose I should return to my mistress; I've been gone long enough. Thank you for the meal. Domine." Cynane gave him a small smile, then bowed her head respectfully, as a slave should, and waited a moment more to see if he had more to add. If not, she would be on her way home to the palace. Thinking about this odd encounter. It was interesting that she'd managed to change his views on herself and her kin. Not all Romans were bad. They just needed a little push in the right direction, sometimes. And that was something she'd think about.

@Sarah

[Sarah]

It would take time to think about what he had learned from Cynane, and for that to percolate through his various ideas and prejudices, but where previously her kind had been viewed as a mass of unwashed barbarianity, she was an individual, with her own wants, hopes and fears. Which meant logically the others must be too. And the man who'd stabbed him in the leg had only done what he would have done in the same circumstance. Which was a difficult pill to swallow, but perhaps a necessary one. Anger was easy, but it limited one's ability to move on. 

She thanked him for the meal and agreed she should return to her mistress, and he nodded his head and gestured that she was free to leave whenever she was ready. He watched her leave, this amazonian slave from the far end of the Empire, and thought about what she'd told him.

@Atrice

(OOC: Fin.)

Edited April 8, 2022 by Sarah