Lilybaeum

Chapter 2

The morning came quickly and the first rays of dawn crept over the hills of the city, lightly warming the Eastern walls of the white villas, slaves busily went about their morning tasks within the enclosure of the villa. Small birds darted in and out of the trees that greened the surroundings of the predominantly bleached buildings. Amellius rose from his bed and stretched as his back cracked, the warm sunlight spilled through his open window and onto the cool, intricate marble floor. Amellius strode over to the washroom where he rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes and sluiced clod water from the clay pipes, he gasped as the cool water hit him, a contrast to the warmth he had been experiencing only minutes before. He pulled on his red tunic and then wrapped his toga loosely around himself; he then strode out of the washroom and into the lavishly decorated dining area. The lavish couches were covered in the finest silk imported from Greece, the ornate golden braziers had been made by the finest craftsmen in Rome, but his favourite feature of all was the audacious purple silken curtains that lead out to the most spectacular view. The Sicilian morning was beautiful; the fruit trees heavy with their yield swung gently, the green topped cliffs stood out against the primarily blue background. The air was full with the tang of lemons as the town’s people below harvested the astoundingly flavescent fruit, pure bliss thought Amellius.

 On his dining table his breakfast was laid out for him, freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven, the crust unyielding that fractured with a resounding crack, huge oranges so tender that as soon as the waxy skin was peeled off the sweet juice started to leak from the segments. He also recognised the warm fuzz of the peach the sweet like fruit was by far his favourite and he cursed himself when he dribbled some of the nectar onto his fresh toga.

Amellius swore as he hurried into his bedchamber where he found his senatorial toga with the purple stripe, he quickly wrapped himself in it and headed to his study, a small pile of papers were waiting for him on his desk, the first was his official posting correspondence from the senate, giving him the power of the senate over the people of Sicily. One of the other papers was an execution warrant of a Carthaginian spy, who was to fight wild dogs for the crowds to watch, armed with only a short sword. Amellius signed the warrant and placed his seal on the document, the plebeians loved to watch the executions, Amellius could never work out why but he would have to go and watch it anyway as a customary thing and it would give him the opportunity to show his face to the people of Sicily. He signalled over his messenger who stood still in his pristine white tunic, a contrast to the red silk curtain that hung over the door to his study.

“Send this down to the council” the man jumped at the sudden order but then quickly took the papers and sprinted out of the villa and off down the cobbled road, his metal studded sandals clattering into the brilliant sun.

Amellius decided that a long walk before lunch would do him good before he became engrossed in the affairs of Sicily, he strapped on his military sandals, the cracked worn straps reminded him of his days in the army, he kept them as more of a memory and they were nearly past using, the leather comforting to his skin it's smoothness soft against his tough feet.

He stepped out into the magnificent sunlight and signalled his steward to come to him “where are the best walks around the villa?” he inquired gruffly

“I’ll have a man show you one if you like, sir” the scrawny man replied, he was obviously a Greek with the leather coloured skin and the oiled hair, he obviously enjoyed being a steward as it let him retain some of the pride lost in becoming a slave. It was a humiliating thing being forced into slavery and many warriors from Carthage would kill themselves instead of becoming a slave.

 “Very good, send him over at once”

 The man hurried off, not wanting to disappoint his master on his first task, his feet kicking up a little dust as he went, leaving shapes in the loose ground as he went. He returned quickly with a young boy, who was clearly a local from the necklace he was wearing. The boy smiled as he approached and bowed when he reached Amellius, the boy held out his hand and Amellius handed over a single bronze sestertius, the boy flexed his fingers and Amellius sighed as he removed another of the bronze coins from his pouch and handed it to the boy who grinned. The boy pocketed the coins gleefully; it would at least feed him well for the next few days.

 The youngster led Amellius along an old path that winded up through the undergrowth to the top of a hill; the foliage was a bright period green that awakened Amellius further as the intense colours intruded on his thoughts, several birds took to the skies as they passed, leaving several feathers floating gracefully down to the mossy ground in their wake. Light burst through the gaps in the canopy that lay above illuminating the forest floor, creating patchy shadows that allowed him to glimpse the surroundings without being blinded every time he looked up. The boy visibly wanted him to hurry as he kept hinting at the spectacular view at the top of the hill, but Amellius was perfectly happy walking at his current pace. But as they walked further they both heard a rustling in the bushes.

 A boar hurtled out of the vegetation and stopped when it saw the two people, Amellius pushed the boy behind him as the boar snorted and grunted. It abruptly hurled itself into a charge at them. In a quick motion Amellius drew his blood red garnet encrusted gladius that glinted in the patchy sunlight. The boy quailed in fear behind him, but Amellius held firm and lowered his gladius, the boar leapt and squealed as it did so, but it was cut short as the gladius took it straight in the throat knocking it to the ground. Blood poured out of the killing blow, the animals legs twitched for a second then the eyes faded. It lay still.

 The boy came out shaking but quickly retained himself in front of Amellius not wanting to appear weak, Amellius smiled at the boy’s pride.

“Take it home to your mother I’m sure she will be very happy with you” Amellius said to the boy.

 His face lit up and he quickly heaved the boar onto his shoulders and staggered off down the path with Amellius strolling behind him. The boy beamed and Amellius knew no doubt that the boy would boast to his friends that he had killed the boar; Amellius chuckled to himself as he dwelled on it. The boy obviously thought Amellius was laughing at his little strength and heaved it up higher and tried to walk as straight as he could with the heavy burden on his shoulders. The boar left a trail of blood behind the youngster and Amellius knew that in a few minutes the blood would be covered in flies and he quickened his pace, not wanting to get caught in the swarm that would follow.