The Price of Freedom: Innocence Lost

A Glimpse Into Hell

You travel long into the night, the cart rattling beneath you, keeping you from getting any rest. In the dim light, you see Alexius make a few attempts to try to escape from his ropes before the slaver catches him doing it and starts smacking him around the head. It gets your brother wailing again, but he doesn't try to escape any more after that.

Just as the sun is rising, you arrive at a strange place. Fishermen pass you by, occasionally looking up at you before turning their heads down and getting back to work. They think you're normal slave boys. They don't realize that you're just two innocent children who were snatched away from your mother in the night. It's not until that thought crosses your mind that you realize all slave boys are innocent children who were snatched away from their mothers in the middle of the night. No one is going to help you. You were free yesterday. But you're not. It's as simple as that.

The Roman slaver approaches a merchant trader who seems to be buying slaves in mass bulk. Your slaver offers you for a price that the merchant refuses. He gradually lowers the price, trying to make a sale, all the while talking about how you and Alexius are so strong and intelligent, and claiming that you're both younger than you actually are, trying to convince the merchant you're tall for your age. In the end, the men both settle for a price that neither of them seem particularly happy with. You're handed over to one of the merchant's servants who replaces your ropes with shackles and leads you down to the docks.

You remember seeing the ships with your father when you were younger. You'd stare up in amazement at the big merchant vessels, with sails that towered up to the sky like great, floating clouds. You were fascinated with those ships when you were Alexius's age, but as you draw closer, you feel a disturbing knot in your stomach, like something is horribly, horribly wrong.

That's when you see them. Long lines of slaves chained together in a line. People of all countries and cultures, from educated Greeks like yourself, to exotic slaves all the way from Ethiopia, with dark black skin and only a piece of cloth tied between their legs to preserve their modesty. That's where you're headed. Your shackles are linked to the chain and you're herded up the gangway just like all the rest.

"I don't like this!" Alexius calls back to you as the line slowly moves forward. "Andreas, I don't want to go on the boat! If we go on the boat, how will we find Mama?" You don't have the heart to tell him that you won't find Mama. Once you're on that ship, you'll have lost all hope of ever seeing your mother again.

The slaves all move slowly together, one step at a time, and you have to move with them. With each step, you feel your old life drifting further and further away as the weight of the shackles starts digging into your wrists. That's when you realize it. The servant who chained you up made a mistake. These are adult's shackles. If you wriggle your hands and pull hard enough, you might be able to squeeze free! ... But not Alexius. You take a close look at his shackles and they're too small for him to get loose. You could try to escape, but your brother wouldn't be coming with you.

You try to forget about it. You probably wouldn't be able to break out of your chains anyway, and even if you could, one of the sailors would just catch you and bring you back. Besides, you can't just leave Alexius behind. You're all he has left in the world now. How would he survive without you?

You carry on walking with the other slaves and as you arrive on deck, the knot in your stomach grows tighter and tighter as you get closer to the stairs that lead to the hull. "Andreas, I'm scared." Alexius whispers to you over his shoulder.

"Me too." You're forced to admit. "But don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." You promise your brother, knowing in your heart that it's a promise you might not be able to keep.

"I know." Alexius whimpers quietly. He's still terrified, but your presence seems to reassure him a little.