Fall of Empires

Chapter 15

Anna sat with her back against the cold stone wall of the strong room. Her knees were drawn up to her chin and she wrapped her arms tightly around them. Opposite her Antonina was whimpering in fear. Her young cousin was her only companion in the room, which was locked from the inside. There was no sound to be heard from outside, no clue as to the mayhem that was unfolding in the city above. The attack had come without warning. At first they had assumed that the city had fallen, that the Persians were putting it to the sack, but then had come the darker realisation. The armed men who were breaking into homes, beating and killing those who tried desperately to defend the young women of their households, called out to each other in Greek, not Persian. Their own people were doing this. 

It had begun in the Jewish quarter, where few men had survived Romanus’ violent re-taking of the city some months before. Once all the suitable young women had been rounded up from here, Romanus’ men had spilled out further into the city, looking for more victims. When he had realised what was occurring Eusebius had sent Anna and Antonina down to the strong room for their safety. Anna had begged her father to join them there but he had remained outside to oversee the defence of the house. They had no doubt that this time Romanus would come for them. They would not escape his venomous hatred a second time.
For a long time there was nothing to be heard. Perhaps the violence would pass them by? Perhaps it was over? Anna barely dared to hope. She moved to sit down next to Antonina, putting her arm around the frightened girl.

‘Try not to worry. We are safe here,’ she reassured her.

Antonina gave a sniff and buried her face in Anna’s shoulder. Anna thought about the last time that she had been in this room, with Theophanes. It seemed so long ago. It was almost a year already. She could still remember every moment of that night but when she tried to picture Theophanes’ face it was indistinct. How could that be after not even a year? She wondered where he was, if he too struggled to recall her face. The prospect that he may not even be alive was too terrible to contemplate.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a sudden crash from above. They were breaking into the house. She heard shouts and the clashing of steel. There was a strangled scream and then another crash.
For a time everything went silent again. The lamp flickered and the shadows on the wall took on an air of menace. Then she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs above. Antonina was shaking violently. Anna stroked the girl’s long dark hair to calm her but to no avail. The harsh, cruel voice of Romanus was suddenly loud outside the door.

‘Open this door, Eusebius. Your little whore of a daughter is coming with us.’ She heard the crack of a fist against what she assumed was her father’s face.

‘Where is the key?’ Another fist. She heard her father fall to the floor, followed by the thud of boots as they set upon him once more. She heard her father groaning in agony. Unable to bear it any longer she made for the door but Antonina clung around her knees.

‘No Anna, no please.’ Antonina’s tunic was soaked through. The poor girl had wet herself in terror. Torn between pity for Antonina and concern for her father Anna stood in the centre of the room with the key in her hand.

The beating seemed to have stopped now and there was no sound from her father. Had they killed him?

She heard footsteps bounding back up the stairs.

‘Open the door, you little bitch,’ came Romanus’ voice from outside. ‘Unless you would like me to put my sword in your father’s fat guts.’

She looked again at Antonina. Too terrified to speak, the girl shook her head, her wide green eyes pleading. Anna flung the key into the far corner of the room. It rang on the flagstones and she heard Romanus swear as he guessed at the sound. She tried to move one of the heavy strong-boxes filled with gold nomismata that were stacked along one wall of the room but it was too heavy for her to lift.

‘Antonina, help me to put this against the door.’ She grunted with the effort. Antonina tried to help but even between them they could not lift the box.

The footsteps were on the stairs once more.
‘This should do it,’ came a voice from outside. Anna screamed as an axe head suddenly appeared through the door with a loud crash. A flying splinter of wood struck her in the face. A frenzy of blows followed and the stout door shuddered on its hinges but it did not give way. She backed herself up against the rolls of silk along the back wall, where Antonina was already cowering. She put her arms around Antonina once more. She heard the rattle of the axe handle as it was flung on to the floor in frustration.

The door still held.

‘Come on, Romanus,’ said the other voice wearily. ‘This is too much like hard work. There are plenty of easier pickings in the city.’

‘No. I want this one. I want this little bitch, so Eusebius here learns his lesson.’ There was another thud as Romanus gave Eusebius a vicious kick. He gave a low moan. Anna felt a sliver of relief. Her father was alive at least.

Once more she heard footsteps retreating up the stairs. For a while there was no sound other than their racing breath and Antonina’s sobs.

‘They can’t get in here.’ Anna spoke softly to Antonina, wishing she believed her own words. ‘It’s going to be alright.’ Then the footsteps returned and she heard what sounded like heavy material being dropped onto the floor outside the door.

‘We’re going to smoke you out, bitch.’

Anna was seized with panic as smoke began creeping under the door. She could hear the crackle of flames outside. In desperation she seized a roll of silk, unrolled it a little and tried to push it up against the bottom of the door but still the smoke flowed around it. The room was filling quickly. Antonina was coughing and spluttering, her eyes filled with terror.

Anna tried to take a breath but the air was acrid. She held one hand over her nose and mouth and  wondered what she would have done had she been alone in the room. Would she have found the courage to let the smoke fill her lungs and take her away, rather than submit to whatever fate they had in mind for her? She did not know. She did know however that she could not bear to watch Antonina die. She would not let that happen. Crawling across the floor, trying to keep below the billowing grey smoke that filled the air, Anna groped for the key. Where was it? The smoke was filling the room now. She could not see. She scrabbled desperately on the floor and at last her fingers touched the cool metal. Feeling her way over to the door she groped for the lock and instead found one of the gashes in the wood made by the axe and flung the key through it. She heard it ring on the flagstones and there was a shout of triumph from outside the door.

She heard a damp hiss as the flames outside were doused and then the key rattled in the lock. Anna had fallen to her knees, her head spinning from the smoke in her lungs. Antonina lay slumped on the floor, she did not know if the girl still breathed. She had no strength to resist as rough hands laid hold of her, dragging her out into the corridor outside. She caught a glimpse of her father, still and unconscious, his face a mask of blood. She wanted to call out to him but could only cough and splutter as she was dragged up the stairs and through the ransacked house, passing the broken and bloody bodies of those who had been killed in its defence. Then they were out into the dark, riotous streets, where the night air was filled with screams and despair was all around.