“Yes, thank you, Master,” Saul replied, keeping his gaze down, afraid to meet Flavius’ eyes.
They stood in silence. The sour taste in Flavius’ mouth thickened.
It was true that Flavius had put Saul in that situation. Had he accepted marrying Claudia without any conditions, his father wouldn’t have needed to take measures to protect his own slave from her. Yet, he was his own son, and he should have taken more care to protect him, rather than a slave.
He turned his face to Saul, and for a second, an uncontrollable rage sprang up from a hidden part of his soul, blinding him. Taken by surprise. He clenched his fist and punched Saul’s face, making him fall to the ground.
Saul looked up at him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. His hand touched his nose.
“Get out of my sight. I can’t stand to see you anymore,” Flavius yelled and started to cry, feeling childish and guilty.
Saul stood, but instead of going away, he placed a hesitant hand on Flavius’ shoulder. “Master, what’s wrong?”
“I am an idiot…I hit you, and you haven’t done anything to deserve it. I feel betrayed. My father found a way to save you from Claudia, but he refused to find a way to save me from that marriage. You are nothing but a slave. I am his son, and he is protecting you rather than me…” Flavius cried.
“How can you feel threatened by a woman who will become your wife? Will she be entitled to beat you to death, sell you away, or humiliate you for the rest of your life, as she would do with me? How can you feel miserable if you are the Master and not a slave?” Saul felt annoyed by Flavius' weeping like a baby about a stupid wedding.
Flavius looked at Saul. In the first light of day, he saw his slave’s nose bleeding and his eyes…those black eyes. They raged with Orcus’ anger.
Flavius backed up, almost scared of that fire. He no longer recognized a child in those eyes; a godly creature lived there, blazing for revenge.
“Saul…” Flavius mumbled.
“What, Master?” Saul hissed between his teeth.
“You are scaring me.”
“Are you afraid of a slave you own? Are you afraid of confronting your cowardice, discovering that you are nothing more than a little child with no clue about the world outside his castle? Are you afraid to realize that you are still a child who continues to cry, hoping for someone to come to his rescue? What scares you, Master? Is it only me or is it everything else? You are almost a man. Next year, you will be considered an adult, and look at yourself; still crying for help from your father, beating up a slave to make yourself feel good. I hope it does.” Saul stood. “I understood that you considered me a friend. No, Master. I will just be your slave. Now you can beat me up again for my insolence—because I dared to talk back to you because I offended your pride. Go on.” He opened his arms, breathing heavily.
Flavius looked at him. Yes, a part of him wanted to beat Saul, but he had spoken the truth. It was as if Saul had propped a mirror in front of him, a mirror that exposed his soul. He was behaving like a child, and the god that spoke through Saul’s mouth, was right. He was not ready to be a man or to become a Master. He fell to his knees. “Please, Saul, leave me alone,” he cried.
Saul walked away toward the slaves’ quarters. Even though the sun was already high over the horizon, the previous twenty-four hours had drained all the energy from him, leaving him as an empty shell.
He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 10.
Three hours later, Saul awoke. He tried to stand up, but sudden dizziness made his head feeling light.
He shook his head, wiping his face with his hands, and tried again to stand up, walking to the main room. Everything was in place, no signs that there had been a party last night. For a moment, he thought he had been dreaming. The dried blood on his tunic and the pain he felt on his nose reminded him that it wasn’t a dream.
Nevertheless, the worst was over; his life would go back to the regular routine.
“Saul,” a voice called. He turned his head and saw Marcus Tiberius.
“Master,” he muttered weakly.
“I am going to the Thermae. Join me.”
He followed him, with no strength left to even think.
When Marcus Tiberius faced him at the front door, he asked, “What happened? Is that blood on your tunic?”
Saul looked down at himself. “An accident…”
“Can you change into something clean and wash your face?” Marcus Tiberius ordered with an annoyed expression darkening his features.
“Yes, Master.” He ran to clean up and rushed back out of breath. “Here I am, Master. Sorry I made you wait for me.”
“Don’t you worry. You must be dead tired.”
Saul nodded, grateful that his Master wasn’t angry.
They walked in silence until Marcus Tiberius suddenly asked, “Tell me, what do you think of Claudia?”
Saul back stiffened at that unexpected question. “She will be my Mistress, and I’m going to serve her as loyally as I serve you, Master.”
Marcus Tiberius smiled, amused at his clumsy diplomacy. “I know you will be loyal to her, but that was not my question. Do you understand what I am asking?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Marcus Tiberius groaned. “Do you like Claudia? Do you think you can serve her with the same serenity you do Flaminia? Do you think you will be able to feel the same affection for her?”
Saul could not figure out a diplomatic way of saying he was afraid of her.
Flaminia was a kind person, and her orders mostly sounded like requests. She never treated her slaves as inferior creatures, differently Saul feared it would have been the situation with Claudia.
“No, Master, I could never have the same feelings for Claudia as I do for Mistress Flaminia. I have no right to question whether my Master is someone I like or not. I have only one duty: obey my master’s orders, and that is what I am going to do.” He inhaled deeply and released his breath in a rush. “Master, I fear her more than I fear God.”
Marcus Tiberius took time pondering Saul’s words. “I saw what happened yesterday and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like her to hit you the way she did, but I am afraid this will continue to happen. For this reason, I added a clause to the marriage contract that offered you as a wedding gift to my son. It stated that if I need you during my trips, I have the right to use your services.
“Moreover, if I understand that your life in that household is threatened, I will take you back to serve me full time. I sincerely hope that this second option will never happen. Even if you are just something I own, I don’t like useless violence.”
“I-I think I understand what you mean, Master,” he replied, not quite sure about it.
“Saul, I don’t like giving you away, but a promise is a promise, and I…” Marcus Tiberius tried to justify himself.
“Master, you don’t need to explain; you did what you thought was better for your son. I… I’m nothing. Master Flavius has been terribly upset. He thinks you care more about me than him because you found a way to protect me from Mistress Claudia.” Saul looked down. “Maybe you should have a serious talk with him; he needs you. He is growing up, but becoming a man takes more than age, and now he needs to become one. He is almost fifteen. In two years, he will serve in the army. Time is running fast.”
Marcus Tiberius hadn’t understood the situation with Flavius and felt grateful to Saul for his insight. Again, he realized how valuable he was as a slave. In one year, he had grown from that scared little thing he bought from the market to the wise boy standing in front of him, giving precious advice. He wished his son could have grown up like that as well. Maybe he needed to make more of an effort to mentor Flavius.