Awakening

Chapter Five

Ianto stood on high ground beyond the perimeter of the city of Londinium – village really. It was a thriving trade center it seemed, yet it was still terribly primitive. He was Welsh, of course, so his ancient British history wasn't the best, but he estimated it to be sometime in the early first century. Long enough after the initial Roman invasions but still likely before – and here that kernel of anxiety in Ianto's heart increased just a bit more – before it was razed by Boadacia and her Iceni warriors when it was rebuilt to look more like what he recalled from text books.

A soft warm wind blew at his back and rustled in tall grasses as he gazed over the rather bucolic scene. There were wooden boats in the river, the Taminus, some at at the docks while others waited. Wooden carts rolled along the water front and up and down the streets though most traffic was on foot. Buildings, largely of wood with thatched roofs. He had been here nearly three months, three very interesting months, and it still seemed like a surreal dream.

That first day they had entered the city of Londinium and the younger man had been sent off with the cart while Ianto's escort took him to on of the larger structures in the city. A wealthy man's house it seemed to be. Several buildings situated around a stone paved courtyard. All of them were wooden except the largest which was built of mud brick, thatched roof, with a higher stone veranda along the front. A couple of people, one a man the other a young woman, both wearing plain simply tunics like the younger man had been, hurried out of sight after startled glances. On the veranda an older woman in a nice dress sort of thing sat at a loom, two women – slaves? – dressed plainly sat nearby spinning yarn. Or he was pretty sure that was what they were doing. As he and the older man approached the two slave women continued what they were doing but the other woman glanced up, gave them a surprised look, and rose to her feet.

She spoke to the older man in respectful tones but eyed Ianto with sharp, assessing eyes. When the man with him spoke the woman's eyes widened and she glanced at the sky before glancing back to Ianto. That caused the man to bark something at her that made her drop her gaze. The two slave woman gasped sharply and were on their knees in a second. The man snapped at them and gestured toward one of the wooden buildings to the side of the courtyard, and then to another on the other side. The two women leapt to their feet and scurried away while the man and woman spoke in rapid tones.

From there he was whisked in through main house, which appeared to be two stone floored, sparsely furnished rooms, and out the back along another veranda that ran at a right angle from the back of the house along the front of another building. Several doors opened off the veranda. Other out buildings were scattered along the edges of a rear courtyard. The woman lead him to a door at the end of the longer building. She pushed open a door made of wooden slats and bowed, indicating that he should go in.

Stone floor, brick walls, thatch roof, about ten to twelve feet long and maybe six feet wide. No windows. There was a small table in one corner and a pallet on the floor. No chairs. He was quite a bit larger than these people and had to duck to get through their doors. Inside he turned to look at the woman. She spoke to him again then, still with that sharp expression, she clasped her hands together and bowed and backed away leaving him alone. Uncertain what else to do he had sat down carefully on that pallet with his back against the wall and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"Oh, God, Jack," he whispered to himself for the second time in about an hour, "What have you done?!"

Luckily they hadn't left him alone long. Half an hour maybe. Then a obviously terrified young slave girl had come and lead him to another building that turned out to be a bath house or sauna of sorts. Water heated over a fire at one end of the building. The young woman showed him pots of scented oil and produced an odd shaped and indicated he should remove his clothes. Hadn't that been an interesting experience. Any other time and it might have been rather ideal, but at that moment... Well he had thought he wasn't interested. Until her hands were everywhere and yes, he had responded. He got more interested when she very obviously offered further services. That only lasted until he realized how terrified she was and how young she must be. His interest had waned fast and he had backed away with an apologetic smile. The girl had given him a wide eyed look, gathered up his clothes and fled, leaving him to wonder what in hell he was supposed to do.