by V. M. Sang
The night passed and the miles rolled by. The wagons travelled through forests and villages, fields and towns. No one saw them, and if a few dogs woke and barked, they had passed before anyone reacted. When dawn broke, they had travelled thirty miles with a few quick stops.
They now found themselves in an expanse of forest and they drew the wagons off the road and into the cover of the trees. They led the animals in deeper and tetheredthem so t hey would not wander too far..
“No fire,” ordered Huw. “We're not far enough from Londinium yet to be safe.”
The four adults took turns looking after the boys. It was essential they were entertained and kept quiet, and so they devised a number of games. The adults who were not entertaining the children slept.
The first day on the road passed in this manner until evening, when they reloaded the wagons, hitched the horse and oxen, and set off again.
Before they left, Huw said, “Ailbert, we've been lucky so far. If we meet bandits, though, I want you to take your wagon and gallop away as fast as you can. Gwen and I'll take our chances, but I don't want those two little boys caught.”
Ailbert opened his mouth to speak, but Gwen interrupted. “Do as Huw says, Ailbert. Try to get away with the children.”
Ailbert nodded, watching the boys climbing into the wagon and lying on the blankets.
Maeve spoke to them and climbed up onto the driver's seat, followed by Ailbert. As he did so, Huw called behind, “After tonight, I think we can probably move by day. If we can find other wagons, we'll travel with them.”
Ailbert nodded and clucked to Eira, and the pair of wagons rolled out of the forest and onto the road. They quickly found themselves in the town of Durovigutum, where there was a crossroads.
Huw deemed it safe to enter the town as they were now quite a distance from Londinium. Too far for the news of an escaped slave to reach … yet. With luck, they might find others who wanted to travel north. They entered the town and found an inn. The animals they left in the inn’s stables and then went inside to rest. As previously, the children were not tired because they had slept most of the way, and so Ailbert volunteered to take them out and, at the same time, see if he could find out anything about people travelling north.
Ailbert and the children wandered around the town. The boys constantly remarked on how small it seemed compared to Londinium. Nor did it appear to have all the facilities that Londinium had. They saw the baths, but the boys made scathing remarks about how small they were in comparison to those they had known in Londinium. They saw no theatre either. The forum was tiny, as were the shops. And they were unimpressed with the basilica.
In the forum, Ailbert stopped at a shop and asked if people travelled north from here. The shopkeeper looked at this person dressed in plaid. He looked like a barbarian, but he did know his manners, as did the two boys with him. The man frowned. This young man and the boys had the manners of a Roman and spoke Latin like natives, but the man, at least, wore the clothes of a Briton.
Still, he had decent manners and the shopkeeper decided he would help out. He told the young Briton that he thought a group of traders and travellers would be leaving the town the following morning soon after sunrise, and suggested they arrived in good time to ask if they could travel with them. He watched as the three left the square and made their way back to the inn, wondering if he had done the right thing.
When Ailbert arrived at the inn, Maeve took over the job of looking after the children while Ailbert went to rest. Before he did so, though, he told her what the shopkeeper in the forum had told him, and she promised to tell Huw when he woke.
That afternoon, when they were all up and had eaten, they discussed Ailbert's news and decided in the long run it would be safer to travel with a group rather than alone. They passed the afternoon buying a few provisions to replenish those they had eaten.
Maeve bought the children new sandals as they only had old ones on, having grabbed those when they left in a hurry. “They'll need new clothes soon,” she said with a sigh. “They grow so quickly.”
“We'll see to that when we get to Pen Coed,” Gwen told her. “Once I have somewhere to put my loom, it won't take long to weave cloth and make them new garments.” She looked at the boys dressed as young Romans in tunics. “They'll need to look more like Britons once we get there.”
The boys looked at her and then at the clothes she and Huw wore. “Mater,” said the elder, “do we have to wear those clothes. They look itchy.”
“Yes,” Maeve replied with a patient smile. “You’ll need to look like a Briton.”
“But we're Romans,” the younger one said with a whimper.
“No. You were Romans, but now you're not. Now you're runaway slaves, so you must look like the natives.”
“I don't understand,” he whined. “Why did we have to leave Londinium and why did Pater no longer want us?”
Maeve knelt by the young lad. “I'm sorry. It's rather complicated, but I did something the Romans thought was wrong, and so they took away my Roman citizenship and made me a slave. This meant you became slaves too … because the children of slaves are automatically slaves.”
He rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Why did you do something wrong?”
“I didn't think I did. I still don't think it was wrong. You'll perhaps understand more as you grow up, but in the meantime, you need to wear the same dress as the other Britons.” She smiled at the boys before saying, “It's not as itchy as you think. I grew up wearing such clothes. Remember, I was born in the same village as your Aunt Gwen.”
The little boy looked confused, but said nothing more. Maeve hoped she had appeased his curiosity, for the time being at any rate. Now was not the time to be providing the details of her trial and slavery.
After a meal and good night ’s sleep, Huw and Ailbert drove their wagons into the forum where they saw a gathering of four other wagons and a half-dozen armed guards.
Huw guided his wagon towards them. “May we join forces with you? We understand you're travelling towards Eberacum and as that is our destination too, we wondered if you'd accept our company?”
One tall, slender man stepped forward and looked Huw up and down before replying. “If you'd be willing to pay part of the hire of these guards, you can travel with us. I hear there are bandits further north. They're calling them 'The Phantom Raiders' or some such. I haven't heard they've attacked any travellers yet, just Roman patrols, but it's only a matter of time before they start.”
Ailbert smiled inwardly as he heard this. They were not in any danger from the Phantom Raiders, nor would be, but it seemed his little band was spreading fear around the country. He listened closely to what the trader told Huw.
“There seem to be a lot of them. Several groups, I'd say. The attacks are all in different places, you see. Yes, it'd be wise for you to join us.”
Huw thanked him and went off with him to find out how much he needed to pay towards the guards. Once he had done that, and money was returned to the other travellers, they set off.
The man to whom they had spoken, Severus by name, led the way; Huw and Ailbert brought up the rear. The guards spread themselves down each side, riding with drawn swords, even through the town. They did not meet the Phantom Raiders, nor any other bandits. It looked as if the Romans had rid this area of them.
Maeve and her boys travelled with Ailbert as before. After a few hours, he looked at her and asked, “Why did you rescue us? You knew we weren't Britons.”
Maeve stared ahead, thinking. Then she said, “When I first met you, you were a little boy. A pet for Annwyl. You were a beautiful child, as was Avelina, and unusual with your almost white hair.”
He had never understood why the rescue group had chosen to help them. He turned to her, listening carefully.
“You were a pampered pet, and Avelina was more a friend to Claudia than a slave. Then you began to grow up. You lost your attraction for Annwyl. You were no longer a pretty little boy and she sent for you
less and less.”
Ailbert nodded. “I remember that time. I wondered if I'd done something wrong. I'd always been in her company when she had friends visiting, but then she began to see her friends without me.”
Maeve smiled. “The only thing you did wrong was to grow up. You were, and still are, a good-looking young man, but not cute anymore. That was why Annwyl stopped sending for you. Also, the novelty of having such a pretty, little slave had worn off. Annwyl needed something to impress her Roman friends, and you were no longer it.”
Maeve ran her fingers through her hair and looked away. “Did you know they were planning to sell you?” she murmured.
Ailbert took his eyes off the road. Eira took the chance to veer off the road towards the grass and bent her head to eat. Ailbert ignored her. “What did you say? I thought I heard you say they were planning to sell me.”
“Yes. They were going to send you to the next slave market.” Her voice remained quiet. “Fortunately, Marcus heard about it and suggested to Lucius that he teach you to write and figure so you could take over from him in his old age.”
Ailbert, noticing Eira had strayed, pulled her back to the road and clucked at her; she went into a brisk trot to catch up with the others.
They did not speak until they were safely behind Huw's wagon again, then Ailbert said, “I'm even more grateful to Marcus than I thought I might be. If I'd been sold, I'd have lost Awena.”
Maeve said nothing for a while, then Ailbert burst out with, “How could they treat someone like that?. I was a pet and a favourite. As soon as I was no longer suitable as a pet, they were going to sell me and separate me from my sister. I'd promised my mother I'd look after her. They knew that. I talked about it, but it meant nothing. I hate the Romans.”
He went on to list all the things that made him hate the Romans—from the crucifixion of his father to the planned sale of himself.
Maeve allowed him his rant, then placed a hand on his arm. “To answer your original question, I decided to rescue you because I liked you and thought you were being treated unfairly. Then, when they sent Avelina, Awena as you now call her, to that brothel, it was too much for me. I decided I'd make an exception and rescue you.”
“Thank you, Maeve. I never did really thank you, did I?”
“You have now, by rescuing me in your turn.”
Ailbert turned to the woman and smiled cheerfully. “Yes, I suppose I have.”
An inn appeared on the road and Severus decided to stop there for the night.
The next morning, after they set off again, Maeve resumed her conversation with Ailbert. “You said you hate Romans. All Romans aren't bad, you know.”
He looked at her and huffed. “I've not come across many good ones.”
“My husband was a good man.”
“And yet he let you be made a slave.” Ailbert turned to study her.
Maeve looked sad. “I married him because he wanted me, and I thought it would be a good way to get someone into Londinium to find out about Britons who were slaves. I didn't love him, but I came to respect him, and I liked him. He had no choice about me becoming a slave. I was tried and found guilty. I was guilty.”
“But his sons. They became slaves too. He did nothing about that. Didn't he love them?”
“He loved his sons, but again, he could do nothing, The children of slaves are slaves. I'm sure he's devastated now we're gone, but the law is the law.”
Ailbert huffed again, but Maeve continued. “You object to slavery, Ailbert, but we Britons have slaves too.”
“People taken in battle. That's different from children ripped from their mother's side. I was only little, but I'll never forget her screams as the soldiers dragged us away.”
“I became a Roman citizen when I married. Many of the Roman citizens are in fact not born and bred Romans.”
“It's the systems I object to, and the way they think they can march into someone's country and impose their way of life. It's not right. The people of Britannia are not free to live as they wish any more. The druids are persecuted, and the religion barely tolerated. They think that by saying anyone can become a Roman Citizen they are giving a great gift. I disagree. I don't want to be a Roman.”
“What do you want then? The Romans are here, like it or not.”
Ailbert’s eyes blazed. “I want to drive them out. I want them to think it's not worth their while staying here. I want to make their stay here so uncomfortable that they decide to go back to Rome.”
“What about those who've become Roman citizens but are Britons? What about those Britons who like, and perhaps prefer, Roman things like baths, sewers, paved roads, theatres—all those things the Romans brought here?”
“They don't need to keep their soldiers here. They're only here to keep the people down.”
“Look, Ailbert,' Maeve said patiently, “I understand you. I understand why you hate the Romans, but what I'm trying to tell you is that not all Romans are bad. There are some bad ones, yes, just as there are some bad Britons. But there are many good Romans who try to help others and live a good life. Think about that won't you before you go raiding again?”
Ailbert turned to her sharply. “What do you know about the raids?”
“Oh, Ailbert, anyone who feels as you do about the Romans is bound to try to do something. I guessed you had something to do with those Phantom Raiders long ago. They come from near Pen Coed and while you've been with us, there have been no reported raids. I made a wild guess. Seems my guess was right.”
They travelled for another three days, until they were almost at Eberacum. Huw called to Severus and told him this was the place where they would leave them to travel the short distance to Pen Coed. The two men shook hands and Huw and Ailbert turned their horses homeward. They drove into the village and handed the wagons to a boy to take care of the horses, then made their way to Huw and Dera's house.
Dera sat outside spinning some wool that had been sheared from the sheep when she saw them. She leaped up and rushed over. She did not know who to embrace first. Her excitement knew no bounds as she hugged first Huw, then his two sisters. The boys she nearly smothered, and then she turned to Ailbert and gave him a hug too.
“What's this? You've rescued Maeve and brought Gwen? How wonderful! Now we're all together again. How did you do it? No, come in and have something to eat first, and then tell me all about it.”
Dera bustled about getting food. She was convinced they must have starved on the journey, despite their protestations to the contrary. Once she had them eating, she sat down to hear about their adventures.
Ailbert decided to leave them to their storytelling and went to see Awena. He crept into her house to find her feeding the baby. She grinned when she saw him, but did not jump up as she once would have done. She would not disturb her child's feeding.
“Ailbert, I'm so pleased to see you.” She removed the baby from her breast and held him over her shoulder to burp. “Did you have a successful trip?”
“More than you could guess, Awena. Not only have we a wagon full of luxury goods, but we've also got Maeve, her children and Gwen.”
Awena gave a little squeal. “You rescued Maeve? How is she? Is she well? And Gwen! She came with you too? I can't wait to see her! She was so kind to us.”
Ailbert laughed at his sister's exuberance.
“As soon as I've finished feeding Bran, I'll go and see them both. What about Maeve's children?”
“They're here as well, and Gwen's loom, which took up a big part of my wagon.”
Awena frowned. “Your wagon?”
Ailbert told her how he had bought a wagon and a horse in order for Gwen to be able to accompany them north.
“I hope you've not spent too much money, Ailbert. One day you'll marry and need that money.”
Ailbert laughed again. “There's no one I want to marry, sister. I'm just happy to have a horse and wagon of my own. I'll be able to set up as a trader myself one day.”
Maeve lay
in bed that night with her mind racing. She had talked to Ailbert about how all Romans were not bad, and that some were actually good. She was unsure how her words had gone down with the young man though. She had felt his hatred for the Romans as a palpable thing and she knew how such hatred could affect a person. Negative emotions were always bad.
Even she had hated the Romans at first. Her marriage was one of convenience, although her husband had not known that. She married him, as she had told Ailbert, to ease the rescue of Britons from slavery.
Her marriage had brought her into close proximity to many Romans and she had quickly learned there were a lot of good ones. Oh, they could not get away from their upbringing, but within that framework, there were many good people.
As she lay thinking, she considered those Britons who had become Roman citizens. She would not have joined them if she had not been a part of the group that freed the slaves. Most of those that did become citizens, did so because it offered what they considered a better and safer life. Certainly many of the things the Romans brought with them improved life. That she could not deny.
Would what she told Ailbert have any effect? Would it make him think about how his hatred was eating away at his soul? If he did not stop these raids, he and his companions would be caught sooner or later, or killed. But youth is hot-headed, especially young males.
She turned over. At least I tried, she thought as she fell asleep.
The next morning Ailbert woke well rested. He and Huw agreed to sort through the goods they had bought before doing anything else. Ailbert had kept a record of everything and so it would not be too arduous a task.
On his way to meet Huw, Rees ran over to him. “I'm glad you're back, Ailbert. It's been too long since the last raid of the Phantoms. When can we do another? I've heard there is a group forming in Blaenafon, hoping to do the same sort of thing we're doing … driving the Romans out.”
