Ruins

Prologue

744 B.C
"Mommy, where's Erzebet", I say to mother. "My sweet,beloved child, Erze," my mother says, breaking down into a sob. Mother never cries, it worried me what has happened to Erze. I haven't seen Erzebet in a few sunrises, it must be her finally with a husband. Before I say a word to mother to ask, some athletes walk into our home. My mother sees them and sobs more. Where is my father in all of this. Is this his and Erze's doing¿ I look at the men and one commands me over to him. "Excuse me sir what is happening to my family", I ask. None of them wanted to give me a reply. "Mama, whats going on," I turned, the men were taking everything. "Mama tell them to stop," I say just as a man grabs me by my arm roughly. I turned to mother and all I could see was her sobbing on the ground. I couldn't handle it. Something happened, I kept blacking out. Darkness. Then I saw again, I was running to mother. Darkness. I didn't even know one of the men grabbed me until I felt his hands in my hair dragging me away. Darkness. Mother was crying more and I saw she wanted to reach out to me. Darkness. I couldn't hear anything but the ringing in my ears. Darkness. My throat was hurting and I couldn't breathe, if I was screaming I couldn't even hear it. Darkness. I couldn't even feel the men beating me to be quiet. Then I saw her. Erzebet, my older sister. Now I could finally hear. I heard myself scream her name. She looked at me and then the men and backed away. When I saw what they did to her I was really ready to die. Die with her, the dagger that pierced through her stomachs made me want to drop dead right there. I saw with my eyes her soul leave to the underworld. I was thrown into a wooden cage, I didn't care for the splinters I got, I still tried to reach for them, anyone. Momma, Erze, Papa, I was even crying for Athena to have mercy on us, for Hades to help my sister in the underworld, Zeus to strike these men, anyone.
No one ever came. Not even the water nymphs from the river, or the centaur hidden in the forest. They threw Erzebet's body into the house, and set it on fire. I begged for them to have mercy on them. Now everything I ever had was gone.
We were a regular family, a daddy, a mommy, and two daughters. My big sister Erzebet who was 11 and me, Ises, who was 5. I was 5 when my only world burned before me. I don't even remember my dad. I sigh. I slightly turn my head to hide the fact that my tears are brewing in my eyes.
I looked at the handsome man above me, who made a signal for me to keep going. "What more do you want to hear. I mean it's pretty straightforward, I was sold as a slave to a rich man, the end", I say to him. His voice, a sin to listen to, stopped me. "There has to be more, tell me more, what about your mother and father",he spoke. I closed my eyes and let the blurry memories pass through my eyes.
Mother. Mama. She was a beautiful woman, selfless and so maternal and loving. I remember her name, one I wish I could forget. Dahlaia, if she weren't as beautiful as she was she could've been Aphrodite and I'd never know.  Mama was always pushing herself to satisfy her husband an family. That's how it is for women, we weren't even considered citizens, only the men. It was horrible, speaking of men, my father was one. Of course, HE wouldn't be my father if he wasnt a man. He was a terrible one, I always believed my mother was forced to marry him. He was a cruel man some days and a civil man the next. I only saw him as a pig as I grew older. Otherwise i loved my father nontheless. Papa was probably the reason my life is like this though. See he was a gambler, so I assume he got into debt with more powerful men. I remember my mother told me he was ostracized.
"Hold on wait he was what," the man questioned. "Ostracized,"I repeat, "you do know what it means right?" He looked at me with a blank stare, then dropped his head and shoulders, shaking his head 'no'. "Hey I know Greek but I still have trouble with it",he says.  I smile slightly and shake my head, "Ostracized is when there is a vote to kick out anyone who's name is written more than 600 times, supposedly my father was banned from Greece." He nodded his head.
I never really got to know papa, he was usually out gambling, this is where my sister enters the picture.
Though I personally think it was idiotic, she and my mother made a deal. Momma would give her extra servings of her cooking , as long as my sister kept papa out of trouble. Mother was a great cook so I see where she would have taken that offer in a heartbeat. Erzebet, my free styled older sister. Usually we'd say Erze for short.
She was just 11 when she was killed. I have no family that I know of , so they couldn't save me. Even then i had allready been deemed a slave and sold off.
I still always think back to the house. I never knew if mother survived the fire, or if  Erze suffered in death. I never knew if papa is actually still alive or if he has made a new family in Rome.
"But I'm from Rome, we speak Latin not Greek,"the man says to me as if I were some dunce. I looked at him and responded in the same tone," Well that would have been a problem if my father didn't know the language, but he does and he taught it to us." The man gawks at me,"This whole time I could have been talking to you in Latin but you tricked me." I laughed a bit at his reddened face.
"Now wait one numeral I never said I couldn't speak Latin, you came to me speaking your broken Greek instead of asking in your language", I say. I snap of our banter as soon as I hear the house servants call us for roll call. Before he speaks I interrupt him,"Look you can't be seen with me, you'll get me in trouble, a slave messing around with a noble Roman." I pushed him out of my shared quarters , if that's what it is to be called. He looked hesitant but nodded and gathered himself. "I don't know why you treat me like a noble Roman, I'm just a visitor who happens to be Roman,"he says. I shook my head."Nonetheless, you are a man and I am a woman, this is considered scandalous", I say. "Not only that", I continue, "but I am a slave, ill be whipped and sacrificed and you'll have to pay drachmae for a loss of working tools." I could care less of people's views of me, though. I'm just a slave girl after all. Though if she found out, my head really would be her offering to one of the gods.
He was long gone when I thought more of my past, the more recent year actually. It's been years since the day I was taken. I don't even know my age for sure, I just go by the math of the years. If I was 5 in 744, and it's 730, that makes 14 years.  19, how old I assume I am. Somewhere inbetween atleast 19 or 20. Nonetheless I return to my quarters. My name had already been called and i dont want to risk the whips.
It's barely October, almost the end of the year. I do wonder of it all. It takes me back to when I first met that man. That ridiculous Roman man. Just the thought of him makes me smile, he's the first man to treat me as if I'm more than just some useless slave, I'm a woman to him, an equal woman. I can just remember when he tried to speak to me all those months ago. Just last year actually in 731, in the harvest month of June. I keep thinking to that week in June. My last thought as I let sleep take me was what time he would visit me tomorrow.

Hope you enjoyed the prologue. This book was an idea I had since 2016 and it wasn't until 2017 that I put myself to make the cover and plot line better, but I had my doubts and I had a big move in 2017, so I left it alone until a while back. A good friend of mine was telling me how she wrote stories and read them too and I showed her the untouched drafts I've had which was literally only the description and confirmed she would read it if I wrote it. I had time so I wrote up the prologue and lemme tell you it is time consuming but I want to write this anyway, I'm not really taking requests other than messages random commenters to be secondary or extra characters for a chapter or two. Hopefully this book is as good as I hope to make it.
Until the next chapter, adios!

this was dedicated to my amazing friend Paige Peterson, things may not be going so well but i promise us your friends will be there by your side no matter what.