Trojan Slave (Book 1)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Life did not stop when one warrior fell. Time did not stop when pain took over. Elpis found herself moving without thought. She had gone into a catatonic state as Androc's body was taken away by his men. They were going to prepare his body for the pyre. Yet she could not move to help. It was when more of the injured were brought from the field of battle that she started moving. No conscious thought went into it. It was a reaction to act, to try and save another life, in the place of one already lost.

So many had gone. So many had come before her with wounds she could not repair. With pain, loss, and death a constant with the fighting, she had seen so many die. If this was the way of kings, she wanted nothing to do with them. The males who left for the final journey were known by others, either loved or hated. They had had a place in the world. They had influenced others, for good or ill. But never had any of the other deaths affected her as this did.

It took her back to that tiny unnamed island, surrounded by those she had known all her young life. The death and horror had shocked her to the core. It had left wounds deep inside, wounds that had festered during her time as a slave. But they had started to heal and scab over since Theod had found her.

With Androc's death, the scabs had been ripped away. The wounds were raw and the pain becoming all-consuming. She wanted to crawl into a tiny ball and hide from the world. She wanted to let nothing touch her.

If nothing touched her, then nothing could hurt her further.

To bring an innocent child into such a cruel world seemed barbaric at that moment. Yet it was the only point of light she had. It was the reason she carried on moving, the reason she made herself continue with her routine. In the process she had healed many, whether they survived or not only time would tell. If they did, they would only go out to fight another day. Another day in which to be cut down.

It seemed such a waste. A waste of life. A waste of good men, which would otherwise have gone on to live differently. It was that thought that brought her slightly back to herself. Yes, it was a waste of good men. But she could not say that if they had not died in such a way and time, that they would have lived much longer elsewhere. Or that their lives would not have been filled with pain and misery. Here at least, the warriors in the camp came together. They shared laughs and drink, shared the pain and the load placed upon them. They had created their own life. And who was she to question such?

Androc had died in the action of doing as he had always done. Fighting. He may not have believed in the cause the warriors were supposedly here for, but he had his own reasons, as did Theod. And yet she had a small thought that maybe he had always know he would die in battle. There was a look in his eye that morning as he had looked upon her and Theod. She had not known what it meant at the time, but she wondered now. Theod had said he wanted what they had. And she knew he had wanted it. But had he known he would never have it?

A solitary tear, released without knowledge, slid down her face slowly. It was such a small action, yet it held the promise of a future that was never to be lived. Of a life cut short before a dream could be fulfilled.

The gods had been vicious against one of the most honourable men she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He had died from the wound in his back. He never had a chance to say his goodbye. He had been knocked out either by the perpetrator or when he had fallen. No one would know now. But the whispers that had seeped into her fogged mind, which had floated around her without touching and bringing her back to life, were now processed. It was entirely possible it was someone from this side of the line. A surge of pure rage rolled forward.

She wanted vengeance for him, but she knew she could do nothing to help in this, which meant she and Theod would most probably be separated until it was complete. She understood this and knew it was the right thing, yet her heart broke a little at the possibility of saying farewell to Theod, and of him never returning to her. She knew that he could watch her sail away and never see his child grow.