Truth and Sparta (10 page)

He pulled back
from the kiss, but not away from her. She could hear his heavy
breathing and feel the tension in his body. She didn’t understand
why he was stopping. There was a part of her that didn’t want him
to stop or to slow down and it wasn’t just that she wanted to reach
the end of this night as quickly as possible; there was something
very heady about knowing she had asserted her will over his.

He was playing
with the neckline of her tunic, brushing his fingers lightly along
her skin underneath, it made her skin prickle along her chest and
shoulders.

“
Your skin is so soft,” he said not much louder than a whisper.
The back of his knuckle continued down the front of her tunic, down
over the sensitive skin of her breast to the nipple. Chara felt the
sensation trail all the way down into her belly. She hadn’t
anticipated that her body would respond to his touch when she came
here tonight, but it did. She wasn’t sure whether she should feel
ashamed about that. There was something very exciting about it, on
an abstract level. And, the more this was kept on a physical level,
the less likely they were to engage in conversation and it was
easier if she didn’t have to watch what she said.

He was
watching her neck; she could feel his eyes on her skin like a
caress. It looked like he was preparing to say something. Chara
didn’t want more conversation. She leant in tentatively and kissed
him. He stilled for a moment then moved suddenly to draw her even
closer. She was straddling him now and it seemed the atmosphere in
the room had changed, intensified. The gentleness was gone,
replaced by something more adamant, more pressing. His eyes
searched out hers and she was staggered by the need she saw there.
She hadn’t meant to do that, to unleash whatever it was she had by
kissing him.

He moved out
of the seat, carrying her without any effort. She could feel all of
him how, every hard plane of his broad body. He placed her down on
the bed and descended his body on hers. His breathing was heavy and
so close to her ear it made it seemed like the only sounds in the
world was their breathing. His mouth came down on hers. There was
no gentleness now, it was urgent and demanding. There was a part of
her that seemed to rejoice at this new resolve.

His hands were
on her thighs, stroking up the exposed skin around her hips. She
felt the hardness of him against her most sensitive part—the part
that seemed to tense with the friction, pulse at the touch. She was
slightly shocked to realize she wanted this. She decided that she
would think about what kind of person that made her later. For
right now, it was intensely exciting, sensations drove her to seek
out more friction.

She wanted
more. His mouth was teasing her skin and it seemed to set her
nerves on fire wherever he touched. Her tunic was bunched up over
her stomach and his fingertips were teasing the skin near her
belly—the touch making her muscles contract. She had never wanted
anyone like this, hadn’t even realized it was entirely possible,
but she let it claim her—not sure she could do anything else with
it.

His mouth
returned to hers and she welcomed his tongue. It teased her,
stroking herself, coaxing hers to meet his. She felt overwhelmed
for a second, like things were out of control, but the sensations
called her back, tempting her. He moved, readjusted and she could
feel that he was about to enter her. She felt both curiosity and
fear, because this was unchartered territory as far as she was
concerned. Tension in her escalated as he pushed into her, the
sensations flared indescribable and she felt like she needed to
move. Her body stretched to accommodate him and she acknowledged
the feeling of fullness it brought. Somehow her body felt open to
him in a way it hadn’t before.

He moved back
and pushed into her again, the sensations only became stronger and
she felt again like things were out of her control—not that she
could stop this. Her body was well beyond her command, instead it
was in tune with the sensations building deep inside her. She
wasn’t sure she could take any more, but he didn’t stop, just
stroked the fire higher. The sights and sounds jumbled together and
she couldn’t keep them straight anymore, the sensations were
crowding everything else out. He pushed into her hard, groaning
deeply as he stayed deep inside her. Then something happened, a
culmination of some kind, it stole everything from her, held her
captive as strong waves of sensation flowed through her, flowing
around the point where they joined.

Chara didn’t
know what to think when it passed. She had just been privy to
something she’d been unaware of, yet she knew deep in her gut that
it had been there all along.

He pulled out
of her and rolled onto his back, breathing heavily and
uncontrollably. Her body felt languid, but her mind was a bundle of
confusion. She knew instinctively that it was supposed to happen,
but it confronted her all the same. She didn’t know what to think
or what it meant.

She sat up on
the side of the bed trying to get a hold of the emotions and
thoughts that were chasing around her head. She felt like she
needed to get control back, needed to get a hold of herself. She
turned to look back at the man who was still recovering from the
act they had just completed. His arm came down from where it had
been resting across his eyes and he looked at her. He looked
relaxed and almost a little bit sleepy.

“
When I receive my estate, I want you to live there. You will
have a comfortable life there,” he said. The pieces of his intent
came into place. He wanted her to be with him for longer than this,
which was why he was telling her about the estate that was being
given to him—she’d been too distracted to notice at the time. She
looked him over with new eyes. He wanted something much more from
her than a night of copulation, or maybe he just wanted this over
and over. He stroked her arm with the rough palm of his
hand.

“
I will send for you when it’s time,” he said with a
smile.

She was never
going to see him again. He was leaving in the morning and she
wouldn’t be here when he got back; she would be in Attica, starting
her new life with her daughter.

He pulled her
down into the bed and she rolled into his warm solid body. In some
manner, her deception was taking a darker turn in her mind, but it
couldn’t be helped. Whatever hopes he had for her would just have
to be quashed. The allure he offered, she could not afford to dally
with.

Chara returned
home. She didn’t know if it was safe to leave yet. She wanted to
go, but she couldn’t do it too soon. Nicias had just left and she
didn’t want her absence to be noticed as corresponding with his. He
had gone south, some campaign around Cythera, and Chara had no idea
how long he would be gone. If no one else, he would know if she was
gone. She had to have everything sorted by the time he got
back.

“
Seen your lover lately?” Doros asked when he got home one
afternoon. Chara ignored the comment.

“
We have to talk Doros.”

“
About what!” he said aggressively.

“
About mother, about my baby.”

“
The Spartan spawn.”

“
We’re going to live in Attica and you have to come with us.
It’s the only way. They will only accept us if you
come.”

“
Why would I want to go to Attica?”

“
Because we need you to—and why wouldn’t you? They have land,
they need people.”

“
So I can replace the Spartans with the Athenians? No thanks.
This is our land and it was our long before they came. I am not
leaving—they should be leaving.”

“
Be sensible Doros, they are not leaving. In Attica you would
be free—bound to no one.”

“
We’ll drive them out,” Doros continued, not listening to
her.

“
They aren’t going to let you. They have nowhere to go—you
won’t be able to just drive them out. We need you to come with us.
We need to start a new life.”

“
I am not running away like a coward.”

“
This isn’t about being a coward; it’s about doing the best for
your family.”

Doros snorted
and walked away from her.

“
You can’t turn your back on us,” she called after him. She’d
hoped he’d be more co-operative, but he was too caught up in his
own anger to think about others. She would have to keep trying; she
needed him to come with her. She had broached the subject with him
if nothing else. Underneath his anger, he didn’t want his family
hurt, she was sure. He would have to think on it for a while and
let it sink in.

Chara left for
Athens two weeks after Nicias had left. It was a risk being absent,
but she had agreed with her father that she would go and try to
sort things before returning for a while. If her absence was
noticed, they would say she had gone to market with some of the
others in the village to help sell produce. It would be a stretch
and the story might be doubted until she returned. It would also
bring suspicions that she was harboring her baby somewhere. She had
to act quickly, so they could be gone for good. She’d asked her
father to speak to Doros in her absence.

Chara got a
ride on a cart heading up to Megara, the town that tended to trade
some of the Helot’s rare excess harvest for implements or
furniture. Finding carts going there wasn’t difficult, but it was a
slow and tedious ride, which Chara filled by worrying. She worried
that the trip had been too arduous for her baby, or her mother. She
worried that they’d met with misfortune or that they’d been turned
away by Panos’ cousin.

It took
several days to reach Megara. They passed through the gates of the
fortified township without much difficulty. The guards looked them
over, inspected their goods and let them pass. It wasn’t unusual to
see farmers with their goods entering the city. Megara was the
largest town Chara had ever seen and she knew Athens would be even
bigger. Thousands of people must be living there. Houses seemed to
be stack on top of one another, built of stone and wood. The
wealthier villas were white with plaster and decorated with all
sorts of pictures. The roads were narrow and the houses almost
seemed to loom on top of them.

There were
soldiers everywhere—not Spartans, but Megaran soldiers. Chara
noticed that there appeared to be a general feeling of anticipation
and fear in the city—the signs of militarisation were everywhere.
There were also signs of poverty as well, including beggars asking
for coin or food. Chara had neither to give as she only had enough
for her journey. She felt awful turning away from them, but the
people around her ignored their presence completely. Chara knew if
things went badly for her, she could end up that way; although more
likely, she would just be killed—it might be a preferable outcome.
Knowing that her mother and baby could be faring that way urged her
to seek a way to Athens as soon as possible.

There were no
carts going from Megara to Athens. There were ships going to other
ports open to trading with Athens, but she didn’t have the means to
fund it. The only option was to walk northwards. The guards at the
northern gate eyed her suspiciously, but she hardly looked like a
spy so they didn’t interfere as she passed.

The long and
desolate walk gave her no respite to her fear or worry. She came
across few people as there was little activity of any kind between
the warring states, but after days of walking the farms appeared a
little closer together and activity increased. She secured a ride
on the back of a cart and she was assured that she would see Athens
by night fall. The farmer who offered her a ride couldn’t help with
finding Panos’ cousin’s residence, but it shouldn’t prove
impossible he had reassured her.

It proved more
difficult that she’d hoped, the city was unbelievably large and
Panos only knew the general area of where his cousin lived. Chara
had to ask around without much luck until she found someone who
knew of the household. She caught a glimpse of the Parthenon
between buildings as she walked and the sight made her hesitate; it
was by far the most beautiful building she had ever seen, as well
as being the largest. Its white marble seemed to glow in the
sunlight—a building worthy of the gods, as well as a tribute to the
victory over the Persians. Even though she had never been told any
details of what it looked like, she still knew exactly what it was
when she laid eyes on it.

The streets of
Athens were narrow and there were people wherever she turned. There
were stores and markets, and slaves going about their business. She
watched as the Athenian men existing in a seemingly slower
state—they walked slower, they sat in groups, played games and
discussed the affairs of the city. She could hear snippets for
conversation as she passed; they talked of the war and of their
leadership.

These people
hated the Spartans and everything they stood for. They were the
polar opposite in ideology—both believing the future of Greece
depended on their victory. And all else suffered as they struggled
for control.

Chara
eventually reached Panos’ counsin’s house after a surly man pointed
the building out. Chara’s heart started beating in her chest; her
baby was near or else she would receive very distressing news. A
young man answered the door, obviously a slave.

“
I am Chara and I am looking for my mother.”

“
The helot woman?” he said looking her over.

“
Yes.” Chara felt her spirits lift at the news that there was a
Helot woman there.