“I’ve begun to be afraid as well. We are all worried. I don’t understand why Claudia didn’t talk about Flavius with his family. I think they have the right to know what is going on. Perhaps they can search for him. Instead, she is keeping everything to herself,” Nara said as he started to undress Saul.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to stress them. I would try all by myself before going to his father and mother, telling them that something happened to Master Flavius.”.
Nara didn’t reply as he started to wash Saul’s body, careful to massage him at the same time. Saul closed his eyes and let the pleasant sensations cast all the evil thoughts from his head. He needed to think clearly and to rest after the stress of the past week. He desired nothing more than coming back to the regular routine. What he wanted the most was to wake up one morning to realize that he hadn’t been given away, and that he still served in Marcus Tiberius’ house.
Nara watched Saul as he almost fell asleep under his soothing massage. He knew it was all he needed and felt sorry that, even though he was supposed to take care of him every day, he could not always accomplish the task. Claudia kept him busy with duties that didn’t even belong to him.
It was as if she was purposely keeping him from taking care of Saul. He shook his head as he knew perfectly well that thinking about it wouldn’t help. She was his mistress and her orders, no matter if they were in contrast with the ones of her husband, were to be obeyed, particularly if Flavius were away. Moreover, the mistress enjoyed punishing the slaves, so he thought it better not to provoke her wrath.
“Nara, do you think Flavius is still…I mean, do you think he is fine?”
“I don’t know. Since he hasn’t sent any of the slaves to let us know that he is fine, and just needed to stay longer, it seems ominous,” he replied honestly. “Maybe he did send one of the slaves, and something happened to him,” he said, standing up and getting out of the pool.
Nara looked at him, puzzled, as he offered him the towel to dry his body. “Would this make you feel better?”
“No, it wouldn’t,” he replied, lowering his head.
“Do you hold Flavius so dear?” he asked, placing the towel away.
“I do, but I am also afraid that, without him, Claudia will get rid of me, the most painful way, the better. I guess she believes she would give a valuable lesson, not just to me, but to her husband and to all the slaves. She doesn’t need much more to terrify us all; she is doing a superb job at that, even without me,” Saul admitted.
Nara smiled, trying to hide his bitterness, for he was telling the truth, and the threat from Claudia was real.
“Well, if she truly wanted to harm you, she had all the opportunities during his absence; maybe you are losing your grip a little bit,” Nara tried to reassure him.
After one hour of grooming Saul, Nara looked at him, satisfied. “Now, you really look stunning. We’d better keep you inside if we don’t want the gods to get jealous.” Nara chuckled.
“I don’t think it could get worse than it is now, so let them be jealous as much as they want,” Saul replied as he dressed.
Flavius woke up early in the morning. His guards were already awake, and one was preparing to leave.
“When are you thinking to let me go?”
“None of your business,” Caius grunted. The other gave him a quick glance but remained silent.
When he was ready, he looked at his mate. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning. I am just glad to be far from that annoying pest. If we didn’t need to treat him well, I would have shut his mouth my way.”
“But we can’t, so get out of here. I will take care of him,” Caius said.
Flavius wanted to yell all the rage in his soul, but he was afraid. He had never felt himself to be in so much danger, so helpless, and so vulnerable. The unpredictability of the future felt unbearable. Did his family, his father and mother, know about him? Was Claudia getting the ransom money? Guilt overwhelmed him for leaving her alone to deal with this. He wondered whether he had really tried to live in harmony with her. Perhaps Saul is right, and I have neglected her.
He felt like a failure, but he didn’t like her, and probably never would.
Time crawled, and he wasn’t sure they intended to free him. Alone with the guard, he asked, “What is going on? Please, why you are still keeping me here? It has been already ten days since you are keeping me prisoner. I have to know what your intentions are, please.”
“I would keep my mouth shut if I were you. It won’t help asking the same questions continuously, as you won’t get any answers. The only thing you need to know is that you won’t be our guest much longer; at least, that is my hope. If you get on my nerves, I might prefer to kill you and forget about the money. The satisfaction would be greater,” Caius replied, handing him food.
Flavius silently ate. He thought the guard was serious when he spoke of killing him, and he couldn’t defend himself. However, he couldn’t be quiet.
During the entire day, the house felt strangely silent. Claudia remained in her room most of the time and asked to not be disturbed unless there was a plausible reason. With the time passing by, she became more and more restless, pacing her room. She didn’t want her slaves to see her like that. Nobody was supposed to see her that agitated.
Even if she could have masked her frustration with her husband still missing, she preferred to keep herself far from everyone.
She knew that if her intentions became obvious from her behavior, it could mean the end of everything, and she would have to suffer the consequences.
If the truth had emerged, Flavius would be the major threat to her. Yet, to finally reach peace of mind, there weren’t other options opened in front of her.
Saul took a break from his duties and went to enjoy the sunny weather in the garden. He lay down and looked at the sky. He loved the intense blue of the midday sky turning darker at sunset. It reminded him of Jerusalem when he was still free and used to lie under the shade of the trees.
His eyes could lose themselves on the horizon when the silver-green color of olive trees and the light brown of the dried earth melted together in a dusty cloud under the shining sun.
In the far fields, dust rose from the herds of goats roaming the pasture, led by the shepherds. Then there was the sky, that deep-blue sky of his homeland and the fragrances drifting to him on the light breeze blowing from the east. He could spend hours like that if it weren't for school.
He smiled and thought about Flavius, hoping he would be back the next day. Every day, he had the same hope, but every time his hopes were destined to meet disappointment. Flavius seemed to have vanished without leaving a trace. Saul wondered if Claudia had any news about him and refused to talk about it with anyone. She never talked about Flavius with any of her slaves. It was like he had never existed.
The night arrived. In the kitchen, all the slaves kept an unnatural silence.
“Why is everyone so silent?” Saul asked as he finished his meal.
“I guess we are confused because Claudia dismissed all of us today. She hasn’t even left her room. I think she felt ill but, if so, why didn’t she order Julius to take care of her?” Nara asked.
“She is probably worried about her husband, and I am too,” another slave said. “Saul, you are quiet too.”
“Yes, I am worried about Master Flavius, and I feel even worse thinking that I should have been with him on this trip. Perhaps things would have gone differently.”
“You really can’t say. If something happened to our Master, we have to think that the slaves who were traveling with him are already dead,” said Julius.