Warning: Ashura is not particularly nice in this chapter.

Ashura was not impressed to discover the absence of his favourite slave. This was a considerable understatement, but Ashura had never been one for dramatic displays. He preferred to inspire terror from something so simple as silence. The ability to reduce a lower being to a shivering mess of fear with just a cold smile was something Ashura prided himself on. It was an art that took years of perfecting, along with many examples of punishment. Ashura had overseen each one himself, always taking care to exhibit that same icy countenance. And now he was rewarded with the utmost obedience and respect of each and every one of his men, soldiers or otherwise. The mere thought of him gave them pause. And now, to discover this had been used against him, that a slave had dared to call down the threat of his, Ashura's, presence, in order to facilitate his escape, was disturbing. King Syphax would have to take care that this never happened again, and that his men knew exactly what he thought of people who used his name without permission.

In the first heat of his fury, he had had his Greek guests, Lord and Lady Phylamon, executed. Their heads were impaled on spikes at the entrance to the palace, a gruesome reminder to all inhabitants of the master's temper. The soldiers didn't seem bothered by them, but Ashura gained much amusement from watching how the maids shied away from the spectacle, averting their eyes from the dried blood that covered the spikes, caked finely combed but dirty hair and stained white, cultured skin. At first the eyes had stared forth, wide and terrified, but after a week the vultures had torn away the eyeballs and only the empty sockets were left, black holes in ruined faces.

Ashura spent the time waiting for the return of his riders by inventing different methods of torture. He planned to test them all on Fai, and watched the horsemen ride back through the gates with vicious glee. But his good mood turned to fury in a moment, when he discovered that his riders had been unable to find a single trace of the missing slave. For a minute Ashura's temper threatened to explode, and his men cowered in terror, but King Syphax was not going to lose control of himself over the loss of one slave. And when he forced himself to think rationally, the solution was obvious. Sending the riders to Tunes was idiocy - of course Fai would never have told the guard where he was going. Tunes had made sense, because Fai would be aiming for Germania, but Tunes wasn't the only port for crossing the Mesogeian Sea. Fai had the girl with him, too. He wouldn't have risked her safety. The most probable place he would have gone was Tenga. With the riders sent to Tunes, he would have plenty of time to cross into Hispania unhindered. And Fai most likely had no idea there was a war going on. He could be dead already, caught up in the fighting between the Senate and Seishiro Barca. There was no point in sending the riders there. Ashura had other things to think about.

For both the Senate and Seishiro were becoming more insistent. King Syphax and the Masaesyli had a treaty with the Senate, but Ashura was growing tired of their constant demands for troops and supplies. Seishiro Barca was also offering his hand in friendship, but choosing one meant fighting the other, and no doubt Seishiro would also want more physical tokens of the treaty. Seishiro was already allied with others in the area, most notably the Numidian Prince Massinissa, who had been a constant rival to Ashura for many years. Should the Senate prevail against Seishiro, it would be the perfect moment to be rid of the Numidian prince for good, but at the moment the tide was rolling the other way. Ashura would have to consider his options more thoroughly. A missing slave was not so important that it could not wait for a while.

Fai did not linger outside Kurogane's tent. It was harder to pull himself away than it should have been, especially after all of his experiences to date, but Fai hadn't gotten caught last time, and he didn't intend to be this time either. He collected his modest belongings from the now empty kitchen tent and checked that the coast was clear before emerging again. Fai stayed close to the tents, hidden by the shadows, as he made his way towards the outer ring of the camp. Night had fallen nearly an hour ago, and the sky was clouded over. Neither moonlight or starlight shone down to give him away as he waited barely thirty feet from the outer, and only, sentry ring, hidden behind a tree. The guard was relaxing by a fire, but as Fai expected he soon rose to return to camp, seeing his replacement walking towards him. They halted to exchange words somewhere between Fai and the camp, leaving him with a clear passage to freedom. He took it, taking care to keep out of the firelight. The leaves beneath his feet rustled little, but no twigs snapped, and the guards were too busy talking to pay him any mind. Why should they be wary? There had been no sign of enemy activity in the area. No one was suspecting anything.

Fai continued to walk quietly until he could no longer see the fires behind him. The area was lightly forested, and had the skies been clear the moonlight would have easily penetrated the treetops and shown Fai where he was going. As it was, he had to be very careful not to walk into any trees, and more than once he snagged his clothing on various bushes. There was no light, and no shadows - everything was simply black. Eventually he stumbled out of the trees onto what appeared to be a road. It was about twenty feet wide and seemed to be made of packed dirt. Fai debated whether to thank Laima* or Cela Mate* for this good fortune, and ended up thanking both. The firelights behind him had long since dwindled into nothingness, but Fai wanted to make sure there was plenty of distance between him and the army camp. He wouldn't put it past General Kurogane to come after him, just because it was his duty to see a runaway slave returned to his master. Fai looked back the way he'd come, wondering if anyone had noticed he'd gone, wondering what had happened to Tomoyo, wondering what Kurogane was doing, if he'd managed to translate that letter... He turned away. Now was not the time for looking back.

Fai started to run, up the road, away from Gadir and General Kurogane. At first it was a slow jog, but he gradually got faster and faster until he was sprinting along, his bag slapping against his back. He was breathing quickly, desperately sucking in enough air to supply his burning lungs. Fai hadn't run in a long, long time. Where was there to run, in Africa? It was so hard to run in sand. But then it was hard to run in snow as well. Eventually he just collapsed on the roadside, heaving and gasping. He lay there for several minutes, regaining enough strength to stand up. When he did manage to force himself to his feet, he almost fell again as his head spun wildly and his knees threatened to give out. Fai staggered off the road and into the brush beside it. The night air was mild and Fai's limbs were burning with the heat of so much exertion, and he curled up in the midst of the bushes and fell asleep.

He awoke to the chatter of concerned voices, the sun dancing over his face and tired eyes. When he tried to open them, he found the light so dazzling that he instictively curled up, hiding his face from the sun. The voices above him seemed to grow instantly in enthusiasm, and he felt a hand on his forehead which was swiftly withdrawn. The voices became more comprehensible, and he caught a little of what they were saying.

"...doesn't seem to have a fever..."

"Poor child, I wonder how long..."

"...this dreadful war..."

It was the last that reminded him of who he was, and what he was doing here. Fai forced himself to concentrate, and ignore the headache that was threatening to split his head in two. He was in the middle of Hispania, having just survived from one army and on the run from the other. He needed to get to Greece. The voices seemed to be female, which would indicate that, for the moment at least, Kurogane's army had not caught up to him. He was dressed in dirty servant's garb, had no money, only food. Now, what kind of story to spin?

Fai raised his head slowly and carefully opened his eyes. The world spun for a moment and then came back into focus to reveal the people kneeling beside him on the grass. They were three young women, obviously native Hispanics from their dark hair, sun-browned skin and traditional dresses. One of them, a girl in her twenties with soft brown eyes, leaned forward and spoke to him in a gentle voice.

"How do you feel?"

"A little the worse for wear." Fai told her with a wry smile.

"What happened?" Asked another girl quickly, dark eyes sparkling more with curiosity than concern.

"I.. was attacked." Fai told them, too used to lying to feel any guilt. "A man set on me yesterday evening - he took my money and swapped his clothes for mine."

"Oh, how terrible!" cried the first girl.

"Who was he?" asked the second.

"I don't know," Fai answered. "maybe a deserter from the army, or a runaway slave, based on his clothes." He gestured to the garments he was wearing.

The third girl surveyed him a little doubtfully. She had green eyes and a pointed chin, and the look on her face was skeptical.

"What are you doing here anyway? Are you a spy?"

The first girl exclaimed at her rudeness. "Adela! Why must you say such things?"

Adela scowled at her. "He's obviously not from around here, Cristi. Look at his skin." She turned back to Fai. "What would a foreigner be doing in Hispania, in the middle of a war, if not with an army? You don't look like a soldier to me, so are you a spy?"

Fai smiled charmingly at her. "It's a long story. But I assure you, I'm not a spy."

Just then they heard the sound of wagon wheels coming up the road towards them. One of the girls - Cristi, Fai remembered - got up and walked to the roadside.

"Hey, Nydia - it's Felix!"

The second girl, whose name Fai did not know but now assumed was Nydia, also got to her feet, blushing.

"Cristi, shhh! Keep your voice down - he'll hear you."

Adela stood up and offered her hand to Fai, who took it cautiously. She noticed this and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry if I was rude. My father always tells me I need to think before I speak."

Fai returned her smile reassuringly. "No offense taken, miss."

"Felix will give us a ride back into town. You can tell us your story on the way."

She went to join the other two by the roadside and Fai followed her. Coming towards them he saw two large horses pulling an open cart, driven by a handsome young man with dark hair. He called a greeting to them and reined in his horses as they drew level with the group standing by the road.

"Good morning, ladies." He flashed a wink at Nydia and she blushed, not responding with the other two as they chorused a good morning.

"Who's the stranger?"

"We found him in the bushes." said Cristi. "He's been attacked and robbed by a runaway slave."

Felix was instantly sympathetic. "Oh, that's too bad, my friend. Where were you headed, anyway?"

"If you'd drive us to town, Felix," interjected Adela, 'he could tell us on the way."

"Sounds good to me." said Felix. "Hop up in the cart then. There's plenty of room."

He extended his hand to Fai. "My name's Felix."

"And mine is Fai."

They shook hands and Fai jumped up into the cart where the girls were already settled amongst various wooden crates containing vegetables, eggs and other produce.

"So," said Adela, once they had completed introductions. "Tell."

Fai hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say, and then remembered Tomoyo.

"I come from Greece. I'm a court musician at Athens, and that's where I was heading back to."

"From Athens?" Nydia repeated. "That's a very long way away."

"You do look Greek." stated Adela, looking a little relieved. Fai wondered where she had imagined him originating.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Cristi.

"I came to meet my little sister." Fai said. He knew exactly how to hesitate at the right moment, the right facial expressions - everything that made a lie believable. "She married a philosopher about three years ago. He was always traveling everywhere, and she enjoyed seeing new places. But last year he decided to travel into Africa. I don't know the full story - I only know what she wrote to me - but I think he got into some trouble with the tribes there. They... well... suffice to say that he didn't make it out of Africa again. Fortunately my little sister did, and she asked me to meet her in Gadir and take her back home to Athens. The poor girl was very upset when I got there, and wanted to leave at once. I think she was afraid the tribes would come after her. But as we were leaving, Gadir was attacked - I'm sure you've heard all about the siege - and we got separated. I've been trying to find her ever since, but now that all my money's been stolen, I don't know how I'll ever find her and get home."

The three girls were evidently profoundly affected by his story. Adela and Nydia were staring wide eyed, and Cristi looked horrified.

"But that's awful!" she cried. "Your poor sister! She must be wandering around all by herself."

"I know." Fai agreed. "That's why I have to find her. You don't know of any one who might have seen her? She's about 20 years old, medium height and has long black hair. Her name is Tomoyo. She would be looking for me."

Cristi shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything of her. Maybe someone in the town has."

They fell silent for a while as the cart rolled and jolted its way through the countryside. The ground was flat and the horses did not have to work very hard, so they were traveling along at a reasonable pace. After a while Felix piped up from the driver's seat.

"You know, there are plenty of trading caravans heading into Gaul and even Italia. They often pass through here, and I'm sure you'd be able to get a ride with them very cheaply. Perhaps if you stayed in town for a little while... I'm sure that if you did some work for him, my father would be happy to give you the money for the trip in exchange."

"And in the meantime," added Nydia, "we'll help you look for your sister."

"Thank you." replied Fai gratefully, "That's very kind of you."

"Don't you worry about it." Cristi told him cheerfully. "We'll look after you."

The rest of the journey was spent in telling him about themselves, and the town they were heading to. Fai discovered that Felix worked for his father, who ran a small farm. Felix would transport the produce to nearby villages where he would sell it and buy anything that his father required. Cristi's father was a carpenter, and her mother an amateur milliner. All the townswomen came to her for their hats. Cristi herself would soon be married to a young man from a neighbouring town that belonged to another tribe. She had not met him yet, and was understandably nervous about the whole situation. Adela was also engaged; although Fai had not discovered to whom. She seemed to hold her fiance in high dislike, but Cristi was of the opinion that it was a love/hate relationship. Nydia was not betrothed, but her father, one of the town's elders, was 'looking at some promising young men in a nearby town'. Fai found this a little sad, given her and Felix' obvious attraction to each other.

About an hour passed in this fashion, and soon enough the horses pulled them over a slight rise in ground to see the town spread out in front of them. It wasn't as impressive as Gadir; there were no shining white walls and towers, but somehow it seemed much friendlier. It had evidently been a small village once, but the small market place was no longer large enough for the houses that sprawled outwards from it, and new stalls had popped up willy nilly throughout the town. It was a lively place, and people filled the streets. There were children playing games with wooden toys, housewives going about their daily shopping, merchants trading, selling and buying, and men with horses and wagons driving them this way and that. The town, Fai discovered, was the headquarters of one of Hispania's major tribes, and there was an army quartered nearby.

Felix drove his cart to the door of a large house on the north side of the town. He jumped down from the driver's seat and went to the horses' head as Fai and the girls clambered down from the cart. Another young man came out of the house, whom Felix casually introduced as his younger brother Miguel. Together they unhitched the horses and Miguel led them behind the house, presumably to a stable. Felix beckoned them towards the house.

"Never mind the goods now. I'll unload them later. Come and meet my father."

They went inside the large wooden house. It was new, Fai noticed, and the planks were a little roughly cut. There was no carpet, but the proportions of the rooms were generous and the roof was high. The doors were made of oakwood at least two hands thick, and the floor was stone. The hallway was lit by lanterns, and they passed into a large room provided with some light from two windows on the southern wall. The room was still dim even though there was another lantern in the corner. There was a long wooden table in the centre of the room, with benches on either side. An older man rose from one, tall and well built. His hair looked dark while he was in the shadows, but as he came into the light towards them Fai saw that grey hairs were beginning to take precedence. The man nodded in greeting.

"Hello Felix, girls. Who's this you have with you?"

The three girls immediately burst into an emotional and incoherent babble, each with her own embellished tale of Fai's misfortunes. He silenced them after a few minutes, declaring that he couldn't understand a word, and that Felix would better tell him what was going on. Felix took the opportunity to make introductions.

"Fai, this is my father, Bernardo Ortiz. Father, this is Fai. He's trying to make his way back to Greece with his sister, but they got separated and he was robbed of all his money. I thought you might have some work for him, so that he could buy passage with the trade caravans."

"I see." Bernardo looked Fai over appraisingly. "What is your trade in Greece, Fai?"

Fai smiled. "I'm a musician. I play the Kithara."

Bernardo laughed. "I'm afraid I don't have any work of that kind for you. How are you with horses?"

"I like horses." he replied. "Please, Mr Ortiz, I'm willing to do any work if it means getting my sister home."

"Well now," the older man said warmly. "I'm sure I can find something for you to do in the stables. There's a caravan that'll be here in just over a week, so hopefully you can find your sister again before then."

At that point in time, several miles north-east, Tomoyo was sitting on the edge of a wagon, swinging her bare feet happily as the vehicle trundled its way over bumps and pot holes down a country lane. The sun sparkled down on her and twisting breezes swirled in the dirt road, coating her toes with dry dust. Eventually the road came to a fork, and the wagon driver pulled his horses to a halt. Tomoyo slipped gracefully from her perch and came around to the front of the wagon. The driver gave her curt but careful instructions, jerking his thumb towards one path of the fork. She thanked him and offered him a coin from her pocket which he refused, wishing her good luck before heading off in the opposite direction. Tomoyo waved after him, and settled down on the grassy verge to wait, a cloth bundle beside her. Before long another wagon rolled into view, and she got to her feet. The wagon stopped beside her and the driver turned to speak to her, shading his eyes from the sun.

"Morning there, little miss."

"Good morning, sir."

"Would you be wanting a ride, then?"

"If that's no trouble, sir."

"Where are you headed?"

"Akra Leuka."

The wagon driver raised his eyebrows at her. "That's at least a week's travel - by cart at any rate. What call has a young lady like yourself to be wandering around the country alone? And in these times?"

Tomoyo smiled sweetly. "The times are the call, sir. I lost my mother during the siege at Gadir, and I'm hoping to find my father in Akra Leuka. He works there, you see."

"Ahh." The driver clucked his tongue in gruff sympathy. "I can't take you all the way, but I'll drop you half way to Kartuba, and there'll be someone along that road to take you the rest of the way."

"Thank you! You're very kind, sir."

Tomoyo climbed carefully onto the back of the cart, and it started off again, trundling over the bumpy dirt road. She set her belongings beside her, in front of the barrels that already occupied the wagon. She hoped that Fai was alright. She had all their money - and everything else they'd brought from the palace. But he'd always been good at surviving.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, Tomoyo leaned back against the barrels and closed her eyes. Images of smoke and burning buildings ran through her tired mind. She still found it difficult to believe that she'd actually escaped from that nightmare. It had been terrifying; even more so because for a moment, when the burning torch had smashed through the window and the people around her began to scream, she had been utterly alone. There was no Fai to come to her aid, no master to tell her what to do. But then Juana was beside her, and she'd guided Tomoyo upstairs. They ran down the hallway to the other side of the upper story, closely followed by the other people from downstairs. Tomoyo had seen one dart into one of the bedrooms and emerge carrying a bag of possessions, and had managed to do the same, unwilling to lose the only things she had left in the world. Juana led them to a small door at the far end of the corridor where the group waited anxiously as she opened it slowly and cautiously peered through. Then they were hurrying down a dark, narrow set of stairs, at the end of which was another small door. Again Madam Juana checked that the coast was clear before leading them out into an alleyway. From there they had ducked and run and crawled their way to the southern wall where they found the docks. The waterfront was deserted, and it was easy to take one of the wooden rowing boats and paddle far enough up the coast till they were clear of the fighting.

Now Tomoyo was headed towards Akra Leuka, cheerfully confident that she would meet up with Fai along the way. Juana had made her memorise the route she was to take - overland to Akra Leuka, then by ship to Barcino, then Nikaia, Corsica and finally the Mother City herself. Fai had told her stories of these places; how many trading boats went in and out of Nikaia every day, how the people of Corsica loved to eat cheese that smelled like camel dung which had been in the sun for days.

The cart drove past a little blond boy who was watching his goats in the meadow. He waved to her, and she waved back, smiling happily. Tomoyo thought he looked a little like Fai. She remembered what Juana had said when she'd asked what had happened to Fai.

"I don't know, honey. If he escaped the fighting, then he's probably trying to find you. The best idea is to carry on towards your home in Greece. The people of these parts are very friendly - if you stop one of the trade carts going your way they'll give you a ride."

And they had. Tomoyo had gotten several rides from friendly cart drivers, who were always happy to recommend her to their mothers or wives when she needed a place to spend the night. In exchange she had offered her needlework skills, which had been eagerly accepted. Every house seemed to have a pile of clothes that needed mending. In this fashion she had travelled almost halfway to her first destination, and Tomoyo was feeling optimistic. She didn't know what would happen when she arrived at her destination - she didn't even know what her final destination was - but Fai would take care of it. He always did. He would have a plan to find her, and when he did, he would have a plan for where they were going to go. Maybe they would be able to find her family.

Tomoyo looked up at the blue sky and smiled.

So this is freedom.

In Italia, the Senate convenes at dawn in the temple of Bellona. The news is at once encouraging and disturbing, and rumours float from one man to another. The new consul, Marcellus, rises to his feet to make his address.

"Senators, I have grave news. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that our forces at Locri Epizephyri have been destroyed, by none other than the scourge of our people, Seishiro Barca."

It is news to no one and yet they act surprised; as if they have not all heard it hours before from their own, private sources. They whisper to each other in harried voices.

It is all P-'s fault.

This should have been foreseen.

The man is inhuman.

This must be stopped!

Crispinus, the other consul, stands to face the agitated assembly. The doors to the sacred temple are closed; this is not a public gathering. There are no watching eyes here, no crowd to clamour at the information relayed. Soon enough they will have to calm the sea of rumours that swamp the Mother City, drowning everyone in an ocean of uncertainty. But it will be done. There will be no rebellion, no rioting, no dissent among the people. They have faith.

Crispinus starts to speak.

"I must also inform the Senate that a written report from our late consul's son in Hispania has been received. He tells us that his army has defeated the enemy, who were under the command of Hasdrubal Barca, at the Battle of Baecula."

Marcellus has seated himself again, and now he adds:

"This was not enough, however, to prevent Hasdrubal's march towards our country, with the intention of reinforcing his brother."

An old man speaks, his voice strong and dusted with contempt.

"If the boy cannot deal with his responsibility of protecting our country, perhaps he should be replaced by someone who can."

"Nonsense!" Now the speaker is a Gracchus in his Grecian toga. "Pursuing Hasdrubal would have been folly."

"The boy's got his father's head." Agrees another senator approvingly.

"And just look what happened to his father." Is the snappy retort.

"Now, now, Fathers." Crispinus says calmingly. "Surely no one here actually advocates removing Kurogane from his post. Replacing him now would be extremely difficult."

He waits for a reply, but there is none. The other Senators watch him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"The question now is, what are we to do about Hasdrubal?"

There is silence for a moment, and then a voice says:

"It will take him over a year to cross the Alps, since it will be impossible to travel in winter. Perhaps he will not make it."

"His brother has already made the crossing."

"This is true, and that self-same brother is now here on our soil, destroying our armies and capturing our cities. Surely he must be the bigger threat for now?"

"If Hasdrubal is able to unite his forces with Seishiro, we will not be able to drive them out."

"We will deal with Hasdrubal when and if he crosses the Rhone." Marcellus is not impressed by the threat, and does not hesitate to show it. "For now, it is Seishiro we must concentrate our forces on."

*Laima: The goddess of luck, both good and bad.

*Cela Mata: "Mother of the Roads", the goddess of travelers.

Thank you for reading :) Please review.