A Whisper of Hope

Author's Note.

Please give me any constructive feedback you might have, as I would love to improve as a writer! Also, if you enjoy my works, give me a follow. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter One

Arrival of Despair

"Domina?"

"Hmm..."

"Domina Asteria? Are you awake?"

"Hmm?"

"Domina, your father arrives today."

Her eyes widened, as she jumped up from her bed. "Is that today? What time is it? Oh, what is wrong with me," she yelled out with a crispy voice, as she smacked her own forehead.

"Yes, and dawn is passing. If you get up now, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sunrise, Domina."

Asteria gazed at Icarus.

"Not a bad sight to wake up to. He may not be the tallest, but his face sure is eyewatering. Curly black hair in perfect contrast with his large glittering blue eyes, and a chin as carefully chiseled, as the numerous statues of shining white marble scattered across the villa. His body, whilst cut and lean, covered in scars however, hiding an unspoken past of pain and suffering," she thought.

"Thank you, Icarus," Asteria said with a sweet smile from ear to ear. "You may go now."

"What about your clothes, Domina?"

Asteria removed the blanket covering her body. "I think I'm more than capable of dressing myself," she replied, as she got up from her bed and began stretching her legs. "Don't you think?"

Icarus covered his eyes. "Yes Domina. I will go prepare a meal for you," he said, as he turned around facing the door.

Asteria grinned, "There's no need for that, Icarus. I'm a perfectly capable cook too."

"Yes Domina," Icarus said in silence, as he left her bedroom.

Asteria glanced out from her window, towards the rising sun lightening up the sea. Each wave headed towards the nearby shore, carrying glitters of light, as the dark grey sea grew to a lighter blue. The surrounding plains of grass covered hills and scattered lone trees, had not yet seen the first light of dawn, but before long, the surrounding area would be among the first regions of the Greek empire, to venture into the new day.

Asteria often watched as the dawn introduced itself, but she never grew tired of its forthcoming beauty. She took a deep breath, inhaling all the fresh air she could, and dressed herself in confidence, wearing only a light white gown. She walked out to the kitchen and began cooking.

"Icarus!" she yelled.

Icarus entered the kitchen, "Yes Domina?"

"Once my father leaves tonight, I want to hear your story."

"My story, Domina?"

"Yes. I want you to tell me how you got those scars."

Icarus sighed, "It's not a pleasant story, Domina."

"No story involving such scars, would ever be pleasant," she replied, whilst skinning a chicken freshly bought just the day before. "We haven't known one another for very long, but I would love to hear your story."

Icarus sighed even louder, "I don't know... I have never had the chance to tell anyone about it. I don't even know if I could, without shedding a tear."

Asteria smiled, "My mother used to tell me not to hold onto tears. She would tell me stories of how there's a cup in my mind, and every time I would keep myself from shedding a tear, the tear would instead make its way into the cup. As the cup filled up with tears, the sadder I would become, and once the cup was full, the tears would begin spilling everywhere, and I would succumb to sorrow."

Asteria finished skinning the chicken, "Don't ever hold back your tears. Crying is healthy, it keeps our minds clear of dark clouds. And so does talking to someone about the sorrow you've stored up inside."

She exhaled, closed her eyes and smiled, "Thank you for your wisdom, mother."

Icarus scratched his neck, "I don't think you're supposed to have a cup in your head, Domina."

Asteria turned her head, facing Icarus with a daring glare. "It was metaphorical! Ugh! Why are men so small minded," she said, as she continued muttering her frustrated remarks, whilst cutting the chicken.

"I apologize, Domina," Icarus said with his head tilted towards the floor. "I think I know what you mean. Don't hoard the bad, for it will consume you."

Asteria paused her cooking and turned around, "Precisely!"

"I will think about it, Domina, if that's okay."

Asteria smiled, "Of course."

---

A loud pounding emerged from the very rear of the otherwise silent villa. Asteria jumped, nearly dropping the food she had been so attentively cooking onto the floor.

"Icarus!" she yelled.

Icarus entered the kitchen once again, "Yes Domina?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm certain that knocking is from my father," she said with an increasing heartrate.

"You want me to go open the door for him, Domina?" Icarus asked calmly.

"No, I will do that," she said with a pounding heart. "I want you to go and get your collar and put it on. My father is very strict regarding the traditional customs."

Icarus left the kitchen with haste, and did as he was told.

Asteria took a deep breath, and calmed herself. She hadn't seen her father in two years, and the stored-up excitement for his return was finally overflowing. As she left the kitchen, she noticed Icarus standing beside the dining table. She whistled, and pointed over to the corner of the dining room. Icarus quickly relocated himself, to where her finger was pointing. A feeling of frustration possessed her.

"Ugh, your collar is too loose," she said, as she swiftly made her way over to Icarus, and tightened the large metal collar surrounding his neck.

"Sorry Domi--"

She quickly cut him off, "You know how to behave. Don't say a word and don't move."

Icarus smiled, "I know, Domina."

Asteria ruffled his hair, and quickly made her way towards the progressively louder knocking on the door. She opened the door with haste, and all she could see was her father standing in front of her. She sprinted at him and jumped into his warm embrace.

"Ahhh have I missed my little girl! Have you grown taller while I have been gone?"

Asteria smiled, "Ugh no, I stopped growing long ago. I'm 25, in case you have forgotten!"

Her father laughed with enthusiasm. "I know, I know... By the grace of Zeus, have I missed you," he said with a warm smile.

Asteria embraced her father with force, "I have missed you too, father." She let her father get some air from the embracing welcome, and noticed a battalion of Greek soldiers sitting behind him, half of them with their eyes closed, the other half drooling onto their heavy round shields and iron swords, all with damaged edges.

"You should have told me we would have such large company, father," she said nervously. "I haven't quite cooked enough for all of you, but I can put something together in no time."

The battalion of Greek soldiers all jumped up, as if they had awoken from a deep slumber. Their large eyes transfixed on Asteria, and their noses sniffing the faint smell of cooked chicken.

Asteria's father laughed, "No need my love. They will wait here, while you and I feast."

The soldier's eyes all dropped to the ground in symphony, apart from one who quickly took a step forward. "Commander Marcus, we have had nothing to eat all day, please," he said in clear desperation.

Asteria's father turned around, inspected his battalion and sighed. "Alright, you will have our leftovers. I will hear no more from you, understood?" he commanded, in a tone that even surprised Asteria.

"Understood! Thank you, commander," the soldier said in desperation, and crumbled to his knees.

"Father... They are starving, let me cook them some food, it won't take long," Asteria proposed with an aching heart.

Marcus chuckled as the two of them entered her villa, "Nonsense my dear, they are trained soldiers. Don't worry about them, that's my job."

"I must admit, I was a little surprised to see you opening your door by yourself. Don't you have slaves for such chores?" Marcus asked. "Where are the slaves uncle Nico gave you?"

Asteria sighed, "I sold them. Do you think he will mind?"

"Ha! Don't you worry about uncle Nico... So, you have no slaves? Rather odd for a noble Greek lady, don't you think?"

"I do have a slave. I bought him from Claudia a few weeks ago," she admitted in shame.

Marcus laughed, "Claudia? What a grateful one your slave must be, he wouldn't have lasted more than a month in her possession! May I see him?"

"Of course, father," Asteria responded, as she nervously guided Marcus to the dining room to inspect Icarus.

Marcus grinded his teeth, "That's no ordinary slave, dear. That's a killer."

Asteria was shocked, "How so? How can you tell?"

"Don't you see all those scars? Such scars don't come from whips nor sticks... Such scars come from swords, spears and arrows," Marcus said. "Does he have a name?"

"Yes, his name is Icarus," she said.

"Icarus, turn around," Marcus commanded.

Icarus looked at Asteria, who quickly nodded her head and gave him permission. She was shocked to see Icarus waiting for her permission, despite her intimidating father's direct orders.

Icarus turned around, and Marcus chuckled. "Now those are scars delivered from the very tip of iron whips. Look at that... His back is a painting of fine art that would make even Zeuxis cry out in jealously!" he said in awe.

Asteria did not find quite as much joy from the sight of all those scars. Instead, she felt a great sadness consuming her.

"Father, why don't you take a seat. I will bring out the food," she said. "Icarus, come with me."

She held Icarus' hand, and guided him into the kitchen. "I'm so sorry about that... Ugh, I'm so ashamed. My father doesn't have much empathy for slaves," she confessed.

Icarus smiled, "I have never met a person who does... Apart from you, Domina."

Asteria's eyes lit up, as she smiled in return. "Thank you, Icarus. Now please be so kind and go fetch some bread and water. Share it with the starving soldiers, and then quickly make your way back," she said. "Oh, and don't let my father know about it."

Icarus did as he was told, whilst Asteria and her father caught up with one another, as they enjoyed a fine meal overlooking the light blue sea of the south eastern Greek shores.

"So, anything exciting happened?" Asteria asked.

Marcus sighed, "Exciting? No, not really... There's been reports of Northern tribes invading villages at the northern borders. We fought some ourselves. It seems like an organized attack."

"Thracians?" she asked with an alarmed expression.

"No... We have dealt with the Thracians long enough to counter them with relative ease. These tribes are new," he replied, whilst pricking the chicken with his fork.

"Who are they?"

"Northerners... From so far up north, their only option is to go south."

Asteria clenched her jaw, "Tribes from the snow-lands?"

Marcus nodded. "We call it Scandia in the military. The most northern of north. Tough bastards... Bigger than most of our men, and as brutal as warriors can get. They fight like possessed creatures from Tartarus," Marcus replied, with eyes so cold and stiff, Asteria could nearly see the terror her father had witnessed in their reflection.

"Did you win? Is that why you have returned?" she asked with shivering enthusiasm.

Marcus chuckled, "For now. We caught some of the bastards though. Sold them as slaves to some wealthy families involved with the fighting pits near Athens. They offered a generous price for them. One look at the beasts, and they emptied their pockets of all the drachma they had on them."

Asteria was puzzled, "But that means they are as good as dead... Why? Couldn't we have learned more from them?"

"You haven't seen them, Asteria. There is no communicating with these beasts. They fight until their dying breath, and there's no middle ground. Better to have them die in the fighting pits, whilst enriching the Greeks they sought to conquer," he said with a hint of arrogance.

Asteria found no joy in violence. A smile emerged on her lips however, as she noticed Icarus sneaking in from the front of the house, sending her a wink of success, accompanied by a smile of his own.

"Well, at least you made it home, father."

Marcus laughed, "And I am forever grateful! Anyways, enough about me... How have you been, Calli?"

Asteria's cheeks turned to a warm red, "Calli? I haven't been called that since--"

Marcus cut her off, "I know... I hope you don't mind." He took a deep breath, followed by a loud exhale, "Your mother loved you more than anyone and anything in this world. She would have been so proud of you."

Tears emerged from Asteria's eyes. "We have never spoken of her... Not a word since she died. Why now?" she asked.

"A long time has passed where we haven't had the chance to exchange words at all. I see you are a grown lady now. You even have your own villa, and I was told by one of Kassandra's messengers, that you are studying medicine... Following in your mothers' footsteps. I see so much of her in you," Marcus said.

Asteria crossed her arms, "Kassandra? Ugh, I should have never told her..."

Marcus chuckled, "You, just like your mother, know I'm no admirer of medicine, but I will never keep you from pursuing your dreams."

Asteria smiled. "I have seen medicine do such wonders. Remember when mother healed that poor family? They had travelled all the way from Mytilene, visiting at least ten temples on their journey, always met with prayer, but only mothers medicine proved wonders," she said with pride.

"I have never been a believer in such practices. I told your mother, just as I'm telling you now, that the Gods, Asclepius in particular, answered your mothers hard work and effort with a divine miracle... But who am I to judge such affairs, I am but an old static man, in an ever-changing world," he replied with a smile. "If only Athena would have permitted me such wisdom before your mother died, perhaps I could have been more supportive of her passion in medicine. I can't turn back time, but I can be supportive of my daughter instead," he said, as his smile faded away.

Asteria was both shocked and delighted with her father's words. "Mother would have been proud of you too, father," she replied, locking her teary gaze onto her father's eyes, as his smile slowly reappeared.

"Well, I must get going... I can't have my troops starving to death, on the day of our return," Marcus said, nearly deafened by the squeaky cry of the chair he had sat on, as he got on his feet. "The food was delicious, thank you."

Asteria had nearly forgotten about the bread and water, that she told Icarus to share with the battalion out front. She sent her father a nervous a smile, whilst leading him to the front door. On her way out of the dining room, she glanced over at Icarus, who looked just as nervous.

As they opened the front door, Asteria was overwhelmed with delight, as she was met with large smiles of gratitude from the Greek soldiers, who didn't mention a word about the bread and water to Marcus. She gave her father a warm hug, and waved as he and his troops vanished into the horizon.

---

Later that same evening, Asteria and Icarus sat down in the courtyard, located in the very middle of the villa, below the skyglow of the atrium. Asteria was busy lighting the surrounding tallow candles, whilst Icarus was sitting in silence.

"Is it true that you are a killer? My father seemed quite convinced," she asked.

Icarus hesitated to give an answer. "That's an unfair question, Domina," he said silently.

"It's a very straightforward question... Are you a killer? Yes or no," she commanded.

Icarus sighed, "Yes, I have killed people."

Her eyes sank to the floor.

"For as long as I can remember, I have dreamt of becoming a healer... Not your typical healer, who simply prays to the Gods for a miracle. No, I want to heal people with the power of medicine. I wouldn't hesitate turning my eyes away from the Gods, if I knew doing so would give me a chance to help someone in need... Just like my mother," she said.

She raised her eyes from the ground, and glared straight into Icarus' eyes, "Tell me you had no choice in your actions. Tell me you killed because you had to, not because you wanted to."

Icarus sat in silence, still as a rock. Asteria could see the pain in his eyes as they teared up.

"Talk to me... Please help me understand," she begged.

"I'm not from Greece... I'm from a tribe up north," he said.

"You are Thracian?"

Icarus sighed, "No... Further north."

Asteria swallowed her saliva, as she grew more anxious.

"You are a Northman? My father said they were large beasts. You are neither large nor beastly," she said.

"We are not all giants. I wasn't even the smallest from my village," he said in an offended tone. "My village was raided by Greek scouts when I was a child. They stabbed my father in his heart, as he was trying to defend our home. They killed nearly everyone, apart from my mother and I, and a few others. They spent all nights of the following week raping my mother, as we were taken to Greece. They beat me purple whilst forcing me to look. Then a week later, they sold us to a family in Athens. My mother could hardly walk, yet they still forced her inside the fighting pits whilst still in chains. She was only given a dagger to defend herself, whilst up against a fighter with a long steel sword and heavy armor. He split her in half, by demand of the hosts and crowd, and I could do nothing but look," he said as he burst out in tears.

Asteria was in shock. She didn't say a word.

"I couldn't understand why my mother was dead. Why did she have to die? Why was everyone cheering and clapping, as my mother's blood drenched the sand of the arena? Did the death of my mother, really bring joy to all these people? Those were the questions I asked myself for the next week, whilst chained up in my cell. My owners thought I was too young and small to win anything in the fighting pits, so eventually they just threw me in there during a battle of two great fighters. I sat as far away from them as I could, while they fought. My eyes were fixed onto the very same spot my mother had died just a week earlier, and that's when I finally accepted that everything, I once knew had been taken from me, for the sake of wealth and entertainment... My mind was clouded by anger, with nothing but the intention to kill. The moment one of the fighters killed the other, I stormed in, took the sword of the fallen fighter, and stabbed the one cheering to the crowd in the neck. I won and was accepted into the house of the family that owned me, as a fighter of the pits and I was trained to kill, so they could make money off of me, and so I did, for years," he said with his teary eyes glued to the ground.

Asteria sighed, "So your scars are from fighting in the pits, and I assume the scars on your back are from training."

Icarus nodded his head, "I never wanted to kill anyone, and I have never killed anyone outside the arena. After many years of fighting in the arena, a wealthy woman offered a fortune to buy me, and so the family that had been exploiting me for years, let me go in an instant."

"Claudia..." Asteria said silently.

"Yes, and not long after she bought me and brought me to this part of the Greek empire, you came and bought me for an even greater sum of drachma, the very same day you first laid your eyes on me. You changed my life, and showed me that there's good in this world. You haven't treated me poorly once, and for that you will always have my gratitude and admiration," he said smiling with teary eyes.

Asteria sighed, "I'm sorry for what happened to your village and family... And I'm sorry for what you had to go through. I have never given much thought to the wellbeing of slaves, because I have never really had to, but I promise you, nothing like that will ever happen to you, while you are in my possession."