Eutopia (First version)

Chapter 17

Eirene could smell the Tiber already, dank and heavy on the cool dawn breeze. She often thought that if a scent had a colour then the smell of the river Tiber would be as yellow as the water itself, a sickly and unhealthy shade. Alexis startled her as he came to settle himself beside her beneath the leafy boughs of a myrtle tree where she had sat for a few moments to rest her feet.

‘You can go on, I just need a minute,’ Eirene insisted, rubbing the soles of both of her bare feet to relieve them of the debris from the road. Though she had never worn shoes her feet were soft from a mostly indoor life. She had never walked as far or for as long as she had walked that night.

‘We have walked for the past three hours without stopping,’ Alexis said, motioning to the glowing dawn that had crept around them and lightened the clear sky above. ‘I think a little break is a good idea.’ He watched as Eirene inspected the gaps between her toes, picking out small stones to flick them away with irritation. ‘We will get you some sandals in Ostia. I’m sorry I never thought to get you anything before we left.’

‘I’m not sure I could walk in sandals, Master.’

‘Alexis, please, Eirene. You do not have to address me so formally,’ he smiled, ignoring the dirt as he took the left one in his warm hands and rubbed the ache from the ball of Eirene’s foot. Eirene blushed deeply and stood up. ‘Are you hungry?’ he asked, looking up at her.  ‘Perhaps we should find something to eat. The river is close, I’m sure I could catch a fish or two.’ Alexis grinned as he stood up too.

‘I think we should keep going. Ostia must be near,’ Eirene said as she struck out to walk again. Though her feet were sore, the left one burned from his touch that had deepened the colour in her cheeks, she could still feel his skin soft against hers and she set off with a quick and determined pace.

‘What’s the hurry?’ Alexis called.

‘I don’t think we should slow down now, not when we’re so near. I can almost smell the sea,’ Eirene said, glancing over her shoulder as she made her way further down the wide path of compacted earth, worn hard and smooth by many travelling feet before theirs. The crisp dawn air was fresh, cooling against her face that felt hot from the unbroken pace they had kept since leaving Rome. From the cloudless look of the sky the day promised to be another bright and warm one, giving little hint of the autumn season that lurked only a few weeks away. She turned back as the deep rumble of Alexis’ laugh reached her, finding his towering frame silhouetted by the lush greenery around him. ‘What?’ she demanded with a petulant tone that was sharper than she intended it to be, her eagerness to reach the port and her aching feet fraying her usually smooth temperament.

‘Ostia will still be there, whether you starve or die of weariness, O arduous one.’  He remained stood beneath the bowing branches of the tree drenched temptingly in the cool shade with his feet planted firmly and his arms crossed. It was clear to Eirene that he was not planning to move any time soon.  Already she could feel the early rays of the sun piercing through the freshness of the morning and she did not really relish the thought of setting out into the relentless heat that was sure to follow the dawn. The verdant shade was definitely appealing, more so with him stood dappled with myrtle-shadow, wearing a half-teasing and half concerned smile.  But on the other hand… she closed the distance between them quickly and Alexis could see the slightly wild look in her eyes, her tone hushed as though afraid of being overheard by someone, so that he had to incline his head towards her.

‘A lion, Master!’

Alexis had the grace to look politely puzzled as he blinked at her. ‘What?’

‘A lion!’ her eyes darted from side to side, swiftly sweeping the low scraggly bushes and the sparse trees that surrounded the path they were following as though she expected to see one slink into view any moment. ‘You haven’t heard about the lion that roams the paths around here? A few escaped from the Amphitheatrum a long time ago, wild beasts captured and brought in from Africa for the Emperors lavish animal hunts and to offer fierce opponents to the gladiators when their fights grew a little dull. Most were hunted down, slaughtered in the streets but one escaped. My old Master used to hear reports of sightings along this road, travellers disappearing.’ Eirene gestured the length of the path they had been following, her arms sweeping to encompass the snaking way ahead. ‘It was his dream to develop some sort of trap for it, he was convinced he could tame it with enough love and keep it as a pet.’  Alexis’ laughter rolled easily from his throat again as his eyes twinkled kindly.