Greeks and Romans: A Medieval Journey

Chapter 6 ~ A Secret Revealed

The next day, Kendra and her now-numerous prisoners set off once again on their journey to Sparta. The night before, Sethon wasted no time telling Aloah and Oscar Kendra's true identity and where they were going. Aloah didn't like Kendra quite as much after, but she still liked Kendra more than the rest of the prisoners did.
When they were on the road once again, around three days after saying goodbye to Albert and Rena, Kendra stopped to take an unusually early break. The prisoners began to feel a little uneasy, and finally Jason asked Kendra why she had stopped. She replied in a low voice, “I stopped because I think we might be being followed. To lose whoever is following us, I think it would be best if we, sorry to say this, trusted the prisoners and let them ride so we could go faster.”
“What?! How would that possibly help?! What would happen if the prisoners escaped and we got captured? No, what we need is a stealthy scout to send back the way we came, (staying out of sight, of course), and tell us if there is actually someone trailing us, and if so, who.”
“I could go along with that. Question is, who do you think we should send?”
“What about me? I could go, seeing as I am not a prisoner who will do anything to escape or a royal that is too important to lose.”
“That is not true! You are way too important to loose. I-I don't want to lose you. I-I love you.”
“What?! Y-you love me? B-but we have argued over nothing ever since we were little and... you're royal and I'm nobody and...” Jason trailed off, still in utter disbelief.
“I know it might be a little hard to believe at the moment, but don't you remember when we were teenagers and we used to laugh hysterically over the most ridiculous things and go on and on over nothing? We had so much fun.”
“If I remember correctly, you would slap me randomly a lot as well. It was always gentle, and you never really slapped hard. Although I guess we did laugh a lot over ridiculous things many times as well.”
“Anyway, I think your idea is a great one, Jason. Just do me a favor... be careful.”
“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.”
“I know, it's just... you know.”
“I do now, Kendra,” Jason replied.
“Yes, you do. Now, I think you should get going, as we won't have much more time to spare. Where shall we meet when you're done scouting?”
“What about at that dead tree a mile or so before the city of Corinth? We could meet up there before heading into the city. Hey, and what will we do about the prisoners when we’re in the city? Will they come with us as our slaves, or will we leave them tied up at the base of a tree with one of us guarding them?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, I think that would work, seeing as we both know the location of the dead tree. But as for the problem with the prisoners, I think we should just say that they are our prisoners, nothing more, nothing less. The city of Corinth will just have to accept that, as I am a royal. They may not know me now, but I think they know my mother. If my mother says I’m her daughter, they’ll just have to go along with it, unless they want to feel the wrath of my uncle.”
“Okay, that seems like a good idea. Should I go break the news to the prisoners before I go then, or will you?”
“I will, as it’s not like they’re going to be able to hate me any more than they already do.”
“True,” replied Jason with a sigh. “I guess I’ll be going now, then. See ya, Kendra.” With that, Jason ran off into the woods to see who was trailing them.
Kendra stared longingly in the direction Jason had just ran in. After a few minutes, she went to the tree where the prisoners were tethered for the night. Most of them looked the other way when she approached. “I have some good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first, because they both have to be heard?” Kendra asked.
“Why don’t you give us the bad news first, as you are the maker of bad news. I bet the good news isn’t even that good, just something you made up make us like you again. As if that’s going to happen!” Sethon said sarcastically.
“I guess I will then,” Kendra said just as sarcastically. “In a few days we will reach the first of two Greek cities that we have to pass through in order to reach our destination, Sparta. You may have heard of the city of Corinth, and that is where we are going to be staying for a few days. I will convince their leaders to give my mother and I permission to keep you in a private keep, instead of with the rest of the prisoners in their city. That is the bad news. The good news is that I’m royal, so convincing them won’t be much of a problem. Oh, and the other good news is that we might be able to find a few of your long-lost friends or relatives that were captured by the Greeks years ago.”
“You would do that for us?”
“Yes, I would. Even though it’s not like you would do anything for me if the chance arose. Most likely, you would just escape. Well, either that or let your colleagues in the Roman army kill me.”
“That is not true,” said Aloah. “Well, we might just escape, but we won’t let anyone kill you. At least, I won’t. You seem like a halfway-decent person, besides your random desire to keep us prisoner.”
“Thank you, that means a lot to me. Now, I will let you and your companions actually be able to sleep in a tent tonight, if you behave. There will be someone, either my mother or myself, guarding you at all times. If you so much as sneak out to relieve yourself without telling me, I will never let you do this again. Understood?”
“Yes, Mistress.” Sethon said sarcastically. “I understand perfectly. You are trying to test us, to see who are harboring an urge to escape. Well, it’s not going to work, as I won’t go along with it.”
“Suit yourself. You can stay out in the cold for all I care. Now, other than Sethon, is there anyone that wants to stay out in the cold tonight?”
“No,” said Aloah, “I think you will keep your word, even if Sethon doesn’t.”
“I will join my sister,” said Oscar. “Even though I don’t trust you, I trust my sister. I just want to keep her safe, as she has done for me all these years.”
“Thank you brother.”
“Your welcome, Aloah. I mean it.”
“Well,” said Kendra, “who’s going to do this and who’s going to sit out in the cold all night?”
“I will,” said Galloran. “You may not be my favorite person in the world, but it sure beats staying out in the cold all night.”
“Very well. Heru? What do you think?”
“I think I will join Galloran. He is one of my most respected soldiers, and I agree with him.”
“Good. Octavius, what do you want to do?”
“I will stay here with Sethon. He will need someone to accompany him over night. Plus, I think you don’t like me very much, so as not to endanger my commander, I will stay here.”
“I like you just fine. The only thing is that you remind me of the general that came when my father was taken away. He even looked like you. Wait... are you the same man?”
“Yes, I was the man that delivered your father to my commander. Only then, I didn’t know what great a man your father really was.”
“How come you didn’t even care to tell me the truth?!” Kendra roared with anger. “Or were you afraid to act like a real man and confess to what you did?!”
“I wanted it to be a nice surprise. I wanted to be able to tell you that I may have been the man that delivered your father to the slave trader, but that I was also the inside man that helped him escape. There, I said it. My own death wish. Kill me now, as the Roman army will certainly do once I return home. Just do me the favor.”
“I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Thank you for helping my father. Although, if I find out from my father, if I ever see him again, that you are lying to me right now, I will find you. I will find you and I will kill you. As slowly and as painfully as possible. You will find, that if you did lie to me just now, that I don’t kid about things like this. I will keep my word, no matter what it takes. Understand?”
“Y-yes. I understand perfectly. Oh, and I know who is trailing you.”
“Are you going to tell me what you know any time soon, or am I going to have to do something I don’t want to do?”
“N-no need for that, I’ll tell you what I know. The man trailing you is your father. He left several clues: a broken sword lying on the side of the road with rust along the sides of it —the very same one if I am not mistaken that he used to escape; an x on a tree—a common symbol that means father; as well as some others.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Good, because if I find that you are lying about this...” Kendra trailed off to make her point clear.
“I-I swear,” Octavius stammered. “Even if I lied to you, why would I? Think about it for a minute. I have everything to lose and not much to gain. What is the most I could possibly gain from telling you this? My freedom? Yeah, right. As if you would let me go free for telling you that your father is still alive and I helped him escape.”
“I might, you never know,” replied Kendra mysteriously. “That is, if I don’t find out you are lying, for you will not have to worry about your future if you are.”
“Right,” he mumbled under his breath. “By the way, isn't your friend Jason going to see your 'follower?' When he comes back and tells you either that your follower is playing hard to get, or that your father is the one tailing you, then you'll know that what I say is true. Until then, please leave me and Sethon to our misery out in the cold. We will see you in the morning, Mistress. Good night.”
“I’ll be sure to come to you as soon as Jason returns. Then we’ll find out if what you say is true.” Kendra then untied all of the prisoners except Sethon and Octavius and ‘directed’ them to their tent. Of course, it was completely secure and altered especially for the prisoners.