Corinthian Slave (Book 3)

Prologue

AN - I hope you have enjoyed Alexios and Charmion's story, now I think it is time you all knew a little more about Bion! Enjoy, Az x

Prologue

Bion looked out from where he and his brother huddled with the others in the stern of the ship. He was trying to look as brave and unaffected as he could. Like his father had often looked when he had done something to annoy the neighbour, just waiting for the pompous male to lose his wind rather than fighting back. But showing you were the superior on in the situation. Bion knew that he and Leon were the only two left of their family which they knew the fate of. He as the eldest had to be strong. He had never felt so alone, whilst surrounded by so many people, and with another life depending upon his own.

Tears stung at the back of his eyelids, but he would and show these cowards any weakness, they could and would use it against him. So he had to swallow down the lump which tried to form in his throat as he realised there was no hope left. The arduous journey, had nearly been completed, and both he and Leon would soon find themselves in a new role, in a new life, in the role of a slave. Whilst Bion could pray to any god who would listen, he had already worked out that there was hardly any chance of him and Leon staying together. His younger brother would be torn from him and both of them would be left alone in this harsh new world.

He had been the second eldest in his family, the eldest male, the one who would inherit. Not that there had been a lot to inherit. The simple house they all had lived in and a small piece of land to farm and a small boat to fish from. But it had been theirs. It had fed him and his siblings, it had been a good if simple life that he had his family had benefited from. He had known the love of family, had been part of the celebration when his youngest sister Charmion had joined their numbers. Helped to teach her and had seen her hauled into another ship alone, crying out for someone she knew to be there for her. All he could do was pray to the gods that whoever bought her would be kind. Though this experience was showing him that nothing in the world could ever be counted upon unless you did it yourself. Nothing and no one would help them now.

Even if he did manage to end up in a good home, his life had been irrevocably changed by the whims of a few. He was no longer the freeman he had been born. Everyone he had ever known was gone. His father dead, his body sliced by the intruders as he had tried to defend his family along with Akakios, his eldest sisters betrothed. Both had been good men and both had fallen to a sword they had never trained to counteract. They were simple farmers and fishermen, that was all Bion had learnt, but he swore to the gods now, that he would learn everything he could about fighting, learn everything he could about weapons, for he would one day seek his revenge for this. He would find his mother and sisters, he would find Leon if the gods will him and Leon to be separated. They may win this battle, but he swore right then that he would win the war. Gripping Leon's hand so tightly with that silent vow that Leon cried out in pain, causing one of their jailers to turn with a snarl whip raised, ready to let it fly at any he deemed fit to be chastised.

Putting both their heads down, they waited him out, until at last, with a grunt he turned once more to view the rest of the ship, leaving all those taken with the solid view of his back. The tears were painful now as he tried his hardest to keep them back. He had to keep strong, for Leon if not for himself. He had to fulfil his promise to their mother for as long as was humanly possible, for once Leon was taken from him, he could not look out for him. This was a comfort he could give both Leon and himself, as well as their mother...if in fact she still lived.

It was this final thought that had the tears finally racing down his cheeks. Was it not enough for him to be ripped from everything he knew, but his mind now came up with even worse scenarios for him to try and deal with.

The city which appeared before them was not known to him, he had not even recognised the name as it had been spoken about by the crew members. Not surprising in reality as the tiny Island on which he had grown up was of no consequence in the world, so small and with such a tiny village it had no name. They had had few visitors in his thirteen years in this world. Those that had come had shown utmost surprise at their existence. His father had promised him that within a few years they would start looking for a suitable wife for him, not that he had any interest in marrying yet, but there had been a few girls on the Island that had made him pause in a task for his father, before he had felt the smack on the back of his head. It had been a playful move more than any real discipline from his father, for he knew better than to take his mind off a task, especially when work needed to be completed. But it was now that he realised he missed the fact he father had done such things, for now his father would never do anything again. The pain of that knowledge would have sent him to his knees had he been allowed to stand. But forced to huddle in the back of the ship at least keep his captures from knowing that he was having a moment of weakness and it was his own thoughts causing it.

Closing his eyes, he remembered playing on the beach when his father had not needed him to attend to chores. He and the other boys on the Island had always gotten into mischief, so he and Leon had never allowed their sisters to join in, wanting them safe, yet at the same time not wanting them included purely for the fact they were girls. He remembered running on the white beaches and how Elpis would always find a way to put him in his place, but usually by beating him or any of his friends in races along the soft, pristine sand. He could remember the laughter clearly, the sand spraying as they raced, the clear sea sparkling like a jewel, and how it drenched them when they splashed each other. Scraping his knees as he fell on the rocks, coming home with a hole in his new tunic and the royal telling off he had received for it. But he would rather be there now, received his mother's displeasure with her harsh words and punishments than here in this moment. The eldest and most responsible. He did not want this responsibility, but she had made him promise and he could not let his mother down on the final task she could ever ask of him.

They had come in the night and destroyed everything they had found. Buildings had lit up the night sky with fiery reds and oranges as screams of terror pierced the land. Ultimately those who had tried to protect the people had been cut down. His father falling in front of the small house they had all called home together. Where he had been born along with his siblings, and where life as he had known it had changed forever.

Any who had survived this onslaught had been herded down to the beach, where his family had been torn from him, but initially they had not known that was to be their fate. There were six ships on the coast, the men were separated from the women and children first, by the time they had been chosen there were few men left. They were taken to the furthest boat, the cries of their women left behind them filling the beach, those cries he knew the moment he heard would forever be burned into his mind to recall at any moment he chose.

The men of the other ships then chose at will. There seemed no rhyme or reason to the process. The elderly and the young were all taken and separated. In one case a young mother was torn from her baby. Bion would never forget that night and those sounds, not as long as he lived. Of their family he and Leon were the first to be chosen. Leon had screamed, whilst Bion had tried to tug from the strong grip which attached itself to his arm. When this became fruitless he tried to reach back and grab his mother's hand, seeing the tears streaming down her face as he did so. But she had not been able to hold on. Thrown into a boat, they had had to wait for the rest of the terrified villagers to be chosen before they could move. That was when he had spied Charmion being pushed terrified onto the next boat over, he had struggled so hard to get to her, only to be backhanded down to his own ship's deck. His head had felt as if it had split apart and taught him that anything he did which was disliked would be immediately and painfully resolved in favour of his captors.

There were others already aboard, some in poorer conditions than others, yet along the journey more were added to their number with similar stories as their own. Now though, they had a common fate...that of the slave.