“Calm yourself, General, the girl will tell us,” the elder said.
“Talk girl,” the General said.
“I asked and they gave me one.”
“You asked and they gave you one?” a man who had been quiet said with incredulity.
“Yes.”
“And why would the Athenians give you a ship?”
“Because they saw benefit in what I wanted to do.”
“Decimate our harvest,” the elder filled in.
“No, it wasn’t my aim; I just wanted to get my people away from here. The impact on your harvest was a mere consequence.”
“I doubt the Athenians would see it that way,” the elder said.
“No doubt,” she confirmed.
“And what was your aim?” he continued his questioning. Chara saw no reason to hide it.
“To get as many Helots away to a better life as I could.”
“And where is that?”
“Wherever would take them,” she said.
“Attica,” the man filled in.
She didn’t answer, but she could see it in his eyes that he knew. She had hoped to keep that fact secret, but the elder had drawn the conclusion.
“What have you told her?” the General asked Nicias sharply.
“Nothing,” Nicias replied.
“Then what did she want from you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were giving her all the information she needed while she spread her legs for you,” the man stated with anger. Nicias remained stoic, but Chara could see the recrimination and shame in his eyes.
Chara couldn’t help feeling sorry for Nicias. He’d unwittingly been caught in this and it would no doubt be devastating for him and his future. He might even be exiled and banned from Spartan territory for the rest of his life, sent out to make his own way in the world. She knew that he would never forgive her. She had tarnished his name, his honor and that of his family’s.
“What were you after?” the man said turning back to her, his sword pressing on the soft skin of her neck just by the juggler. He was a life-long soldier and when he struck, it would be fatal. He would know all the places to kill someone.
“He was just a cover—a distraction,” she said. She didn’t want to make things worse for him. If she could exonerate him, she would. It also happened to be the truth.
“Just like the whore you are,” the General said stepping closer. Chara refused to look at him as he stood close to her with the express purpose of intimidating her. He stepped back and raised his sword. He was going to kill her; she could see it in his eyes. His face contorted as he prepared the swing. She closed her eyes and held her breath.
“Don’t be rash,” the elderly man said, cutting off his intentions.
“She deserves to die,” the General responded.
“She does, but this must be considered,” the elder said. “The elders must be informed.”
“For what purpose?” the General challenged.
“Not everything is solved by the sword!” the elder roared back so even Chara was surprised at his forcefulness.
The General was not happy with the order, but he would obviously not act against this man. Whoever the man was, he had more power than the General. She suspected he was a member of the elders that he’d spoken of. She almost wished the General had his way—a swift end, while now another awaited her along with the uncertainty that went with it.
“Take her back,” the elder said dismissively and men grabbed her arms again. She could do nothing but just go with them.
Nicias stood at the back while the men conferred. There was clear tension between General Barrias and Elder Saricaristi. Nicias understood the Generals desire to strike; he understood the reaction to the deception and the underhanded attack on them, but he felt torn. As much as he hated her, he didn’t like seeing the fear that shook her entire body.
He just couldn’t understand why she’d done this. She’d been so welcoming, accepting him, reacting to his touch, but it had all been a deception. Surely she couldn’t have been stupid enough to think she could get away with it. Or maybe she had such a low opinion of them—of him—that she thought she would get away with her deception without them realizing.
He just couldn’t see how she could be so cold and callous and he hadn’t seen it. She’d had him completely fooled and she’d ruined his life as a consequence.
He knew she was being kept here in this very building. It was the elder’s doing that she was still alive. He’d thought at one point that he would see her death, but the elder had delayed it. There was no doubt that she would die—there was no way around that. He just didn’t know what kind of death the elder had in mind, obviously something more than the death the General offered. It made him nervous.
He knew she deserved to suffer, and it should give him joy to watch, but when it came down to it—when the sword was swinging—he’d felt panic. He couldn’t stop it, he knew that the damage to him was bad as it was; if he were to have any chance of staying a Spartan, he needed to want her death as much as the General. Her continued existence was nothing but a threat to him.
But he couldn’t understand, he’d developed feelings for her, but he didn’t know if it was something she had concocted through deception and deceit. But he still suffered for it, having feelings for this creature that turned out to be as real as mist.
He sought her out. There were so many things he needed to know, primarily if she had used him from the start or if her hatred had consumed her to the point of taking these actions. He needed to know.
“Why have you done this?” he said when he found her after the others had left. She was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head down. So tightly wrapped, she almost disappeared into the corner at her back. She looked up when he spoke. Her eyes were large and bottomless; he had to look away from her. He didn’t want to look at her, she didn’t look like the cold and traitorous creature she was. She looked like a lost girl, one he’d cared for.
She didn’t answer and he felt anger rise in him. “Why?” he demanded harshly. “Do you have any idea what you have done?”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you have any idea of the position you have put me in? Have put yourself in? I can’t protect you from this, even if I wanted to. I cared for you and you betrayed me. Not just betrayal, you’ve ruined me. What have I done for you to hate me so?”
Chara wondered if it was best to not say anything at all, to just let him rage at her.
“Do you understand that damage you have caused?” he challenged.
“Yes, but it was never about you—harming you was not my intention.”
“Not your intention,” he repeated. “You have attacked my state, you have hampered our abilities, attacked us at the very foundation of our society—the structure in which you live. You have made an enemy of Sparta. Why would you do this?”
“Because Sparta made themselves an enemy of my people long ago. You just see us as slaves, as your playthings, well, we’re not and I’ve acted in the best interest of my people. That is my duty, to act in the interest of my people.”
“At our expense.”
“Not something you would worry about if it was the other way around. Spartans murder us with impunity, use us and destroy our families. How can you be surprised?”
“Because I thought you cared about me. I understand that you may have had anger toward us, but you were deceitful, you lied to my face.”
“Your peers killed my brother.”
“So you seek to destroy a whole state in vengeance?”
“I don’t care about Sparta. I did this for my people—you have told us for centuries that we are not Spartans, so why are you surprised when we don’t think we are either? There is absolutely no reason for us to show any loyalty. What happens to your people as a consequence is inconsequential. Our lack of loyalty is bought and paid for in blood—my brother’s blood. My people know there is a better life
to be had—why would we stay when we can go—be free? You think that being under your heel, taking your beatings and your violence is a privilege. It’s not and we’ve found a way out, so we’re taking it. Why in the world should we stay?”
“I never beat you. In fact, we were doing something quite the opposite. Then again, I am not sure what you were doing—laughing at me? You are twisted with bitterness,” he accused.
“You take and give nothing, and then you expect us to be happy with the bargain?”
“I gave you all I had,” he said stepping closer to make his point. “I let you in my house, into my bed.”
“You stole me into your bed,” she hissed back. “You gave me no choice, or did you conveniently forget that?”
The anger in her surprised him. It didn’t correspond with his experiences. They’d been awkward at first, perhaps he’d been forceful at the start—all relationships started that way. But it had changed, it had morphed into something else—something he’d thought had meaning. It turns out he had been very mistaken.
“You deceived me,” he repeated. “I trusted you.”
She returned to her position in the corners and put her head down. He could see that she didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Her words stated clearly that he’d been a fool, and he could only concede the truth of it. He knew the Helots were deceitful, that they hated them—he’d been stupid to believe she would care for him. She had just played her part so well; he’d lost sight of the true nature of things.
“I didn’t intend to hurt you,” she finally said as he was about to leave. “But when it came down to it, it was you or it was them—and I chose them.”
“And you will suffer for it.”
“I know. It was an outcome I always knew would come.”
He looked at her for a moment. His heart told him to trust her honesty, but he knew better. She was manipulating him now like she’d always had. He wanted to shake her—there was still part of him that felt like he didn’t have the truth. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking as he remembered the sweetness of their time together, how her body responded to him, how she held him—and her laugh. It had felt so real, but it had all been fake. Even now there was something in him that wanted at least some little part of it had been true.
The whole future he’d planned had all fallen apart. In truth, he didn’t know if he had a future. If he was exiled, he would have to become a mercenary somewhere—never to truly have a home. It had been all he’d wanted and he’d sought it with her, and paid dearly for the terrible choice in partner he’d made.
He left, but he didn’t know where to go. He would feel the eyes of his compatriots judging him wherever he went. He wanted to be alone, to find some way of getting this mess sorted in his head, but he had nowhere to go. He couldn’t leave, it would equal to giving up his citizenship.
He found a quiet spot in the city where he sat and waited, for what he wasn’t sure. The fact that Chara was still alive robbed him of any peace. He didn’t know how long she had, but there were still unanswered questions in his mind—questions he would likely never have answered.
Chapter 27
There was nothing for Chara to do but to worry for her own fate. Chara was lost in her own thought when a head peaked around the corner. Chara could tell that the girl was a servant by her dress. She didn’t say anything but looked around like she was expecting someone to catch her. She walked in complete silence and left a small bottle and a piece of bread on the floor in front of Chara. She retreated as quickly as she’d come.
Chara grabbed the little bottle and gulped down the water inside. It was heavenly on her throat. She wished it’d occurred to her to thank the girl, but it had happened so fast. She chewed the bread as fast as she could, just in case someone would come along and notice that a person had given her provisions. She didn’t want to get the girl in trouble. She was left with the simple ceramic bottle. The space she was in had nothing but the walls and the floor. There was nowhere to hide the bottle. She decided to place the bottle in the corner of the only window to the outside. She had to reach as high as she could to place the bottle up on its ledge.
Then she returned to her heavy thoughts. She could hear the activity in the marketplace outside, vendors were calling for customers and people were talking. She would listen to them to distract herself. It was the opposite of the quiet and deserted Assembly building she was in. The prisoner bay had five iron rings attached to the wall for unfortunates awaiting to be taken in front of the Assembly. She knew it met on the full moon and she didn’t have any idea how long it would be until they met. She would try to seek out the moon through the window once it was dark—if she was still alive by then. The Spartans weren’t feeding her and there might be a chance that she died of thirst before she ever made it to an Assembly meeting. Maybe that was their intention, she didn’t know.
The day passed and the evening came, settling darkness throughout the building. The noise in the square died down; although there were still people crossing the square, their noises amplified by the large vacant space, echoing across the walls.
She heard a group of men coming and could see the light of a lamp coming into the passageway as they entered the building. She felt her breath hitch as they came to the alcove she was restrained to. Two of them came for her, roughly undoing her chains and taking her into the large Assembly hall again. Trays around the room were stacked with wood and lit, sending a mellow light around the center of the hall.
The men were standing around her again; there were more elders this time, seven of them. Nicias appeared from behind her to stand back behind the group of men. He was joined by his father, who eyed her with disdain. She got the impression that Nicias didn’t want to be here, but had been required to attend. The General was there as well, still eyeing her with intense hatred.
She didn’t get any indication of what their decision had been, and they were still preparing themselves for whatever forum this was.
“You are to reverse your actions,” the General stated.
“What do you mean reverse?” she said with confusion.
“Our harvest has suffered by your actions and you will inform the Helots that have left that they must return.”
Chara looked at the man with incredulity.
“You do this and you will live,” he added, but she could see that it gave him no pleasure to impart that bit of information.
“And you thought this would be something I would agree to?”
The General stepped to her and smacked her hard across the cheek making her lose her balance and fell to the floor.
“General,” one of the elders gently warned. “Let’s not knock her unconscious, I don’t want to be here all night.”
“No!” she said strongly, sitting up. “If you want to eat you better get in the fields yourself.”
The General moved for her again and she went to protect herself from the blow. “You defy me you little whore and I will go out and kill every Helot in the land.” He kneeled down to her, “I would love to,” he said quietly.
“Then you will starve,” Chara spat, staring up at him, refusing to back down from the intimidation. She knew they were spiteful enough to kill as a consequence for defiance, but that spite now hurt them as well. “Each person you kill, there will be less harvest next year. If you kill all of us, there will be no one to feed you. What do you expect me to do, go over to Attica and tell people they have to come back or you will start killing people? It is the reason they left in the first place, they are hardly going to come rushing back because you behave in exactly the same manner as what made them quit this land. And why in the world would I do that? My father is gone, my brother is dead—you have nothing but strangers to use against me, and none of them will outweigh the benefit to the people staying in Attica. Your violence will just add further incentive to anyone who hasn’t left.”
He hit her again, catching her in the ear and causing high pitched ringing inside her head. She st
ayed on the ground trying to figure out where the blood she could taste was coming from.
“You better find some way of convincing them then,” he said bitterly and stood back.
She shook her head.
“The girl is determined to die,” one of the elders said. “You’ll not convince her, Barrias.” The elders stepped away to confer amongst each other. Chara could feel the hatred emanating from the General. He wanted her dead and it might be in her best interest to provoke him. She stared at him defiantly. She could see that he was itching to bare his sword.
The same elder that had questioned her the day before returned, “Take her back,” he ordered the soldiers guarding her.
“Wait,” the General said with a malicious gleam in his eye. “As you are so willing to use Spartan men, the Spartan men will have their turn. Every man in Sparta will have his chance to use you. Chain her to the steps,” he ordered. “That way she will be accessible to anyone in Sparta who wants to exact revenge personally. Practically a state duty,” he said narrowing his eyes. “Unless of course you see fit to repair the damage you have caused.” He waited for her to respond and smiled when she refused to give any response at all.
Chara felt revolution rise in her throat, but as she had so little in her stomach there was nothing to come up. She looked around at the others and noted that they were going to let him have his revenge on her. Nicias wouldn’t look at her. Chara tried desperately to hold herself together as they led her away. They took her out to the stairs facing the square and chained her to one of the pillars.
She stood there with her head held high and refused to acknowledge any of them as they passed by, leaving the building. She watched them as they walked away without looking back. The air wasn’t any colder than inside the building, but she still trembled slightly. She was afraid, probably more so than she’d been when there were just threatening to kill her. This was far worse than just dying; maybe she would die in the process. The square was deserted so for now she was safe, but she knew that would change any minute.
Truth and Sparta Page 16
