Two years ago, the Year of Nero, the City-State of Syracuse, under the reign of Lord Amiran.

In Syracus’s training field, Arete was having a duel with Chlorus. He attacked her with multiple thrusts of his spear. But Arete was small and agile. She easily dodged all attacks, at the same time, she ran close to him and kicked his jaw, a critical point.

He used force, trying to capture her and lock her down. For he knew that he was stronger than her. Arete was locked on the ground, she rolled out from him to escape and hit his shin using the wooden shield and with all her might, she hit his knee, and pointed her staff on his solar plexus…

“Enough with the training, let’s continue tomorrow,” said the trainer.

“Gee, she’s fierce today, especially on Chlorus. Every strike is aiming at the critical points,” said Arctus to Petraeus who were both watching at the side.

“YOU’RE WEAK! CHLORUS!” Arete shouted. But there was a blush on her face.

“And I don’t want to marry a weakling!” Arete then ran away.

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Chlorus’s body was covered with bruises. Using a scraper, he cleaned himself up in the public bathhouse. Amiran entered the bathhouse with a bottle of herbal oil. He sat beside Chlorus and placed the bottle of oil next to him.

“Here you go, young man; this is some high-quality medicated oil…”

Chlorus was stunned, he stood up immediately and bowed to Amiran. “Thank you, my Lord!”

“Sit down, young man.” Amiran said.

“Yes, my Lord!”

Chlorus was extremely nervous, he just confessed his feelings for Arete a few days ago. That was the reason why he was beaten up badly by her during the training. And now her father approached him, something bad might happen to him...

“Arete, my girl, she’s just 15, although she had come to an age suitable to be married, in her mind, she only cares about her training and study.” Amiran said.

Chlorus blushed. “… a man like me, I don’t know who my parents are, since young, I was sold to Syracuse as a slave. How could I long for her? I’m not worthy of her.”

He kept his head down, looking at the floor, afraid of looking at Amiran. He thought that Amiran must have known about his proposal and came to lecture him about his wishful thoughts on Arete.

“No… you are worthy of being who you are.” Amiran replied and Chlorus was surprised hearing Amiran’s answer.

“You just need to wait for the right time, and the right opportunity.”

“Give her some time, and give yourself some time too.”

“Your feelings might just be an infatuation. Because there are no other girls in the military. And you are not the only one I know who has a crush on her.”

“But you’re the only one who has the guts to confess to her.” Amiran added with a big smile.

“Have you considered heading to Rome?” he continued.

“There will be thousands of beautiful women you may choose as your wives.”

“But if you’re still unable to find one there, or you still have Arete in your heart, and she’s still single and available, and by then she might be mature enough to understand love…”

“You may always try to confess to her again,” said Amiran.

Chlorus was rubbing the medicated oil to his bruises. The moment when Arete called him weak appeared in his mind. Amiran recognized his expression, he seemed a little lost.

“Chlorus, look at my bruises!” Amiran showed Chlorus a bruise on his leg.

Chlorus said nervously, “My Lord, please allow me to apply this oil for you!”

Amiran laughed “Arete hits me hard too. But I know my weakness is not that I’m unable to win. It’s because I love her so much, I never use any technique that harms her!”

Chlorus blushed, he realized that Amiran knew exactly what was in his mind.

“Chlorus, I want you to know this. I sent you to Rome. It is not because of Arete.” Amiran turned serious. He then took out an amulet with a symbol of winged serpent. He then placed it on Chlorus's hand.

“Rome, it is full of condescending people. Especially in the imperial court and everyone in the political arena.”

“Remember this, Chlorus. You no longer a slave from Syracuse, but a noble man from the lost city of Cilicia. Do not try too hard, do not be too ambitious. And most importantly, trust no one in Rome! ”

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Chlorus grabbed his amulet tight. He finally went back to his villa after having that conversation with Sporus and the Three Elders. He needs to prepare his next journey heading to Eretria. Although Nero instructed him to find and capture Arete, he was unable to reject Sporus’s request.

A servant rushed to him and said “General, senator Gaius arrived and requested to speak with you.”

“Gaius?” Chlorus never expected his arrival. Although he knew Gaius was Seneca’s student, who might also be another undercover for Amiran. They never had any chance to have private conversations due to their different position in the palace.

Chlorus gave a gesture of approval to his servant. He then led Gaius into Chlorus’s villa.

“I must thank you! General Chlorus, for speaking up for me this morning in the assembly.”

“Please, senator, you are very welcome!”

“General, I must let you know this important information about the empress.”

“What is it all about?”

“About the Teleios of Eretria.” Gaius replied.

“The Three Elders, they had been looking for the Teleios for the past 5 years to no avail. Although all three of them strongly believe in her existence, but not the empress.” He continued.

“Then why is she ordering me to find someone whom she does not believe to exist?”

“She is trying to eliminate any potential threat to her position!” Gaius answered.

“My informant told me that she ordered some assassins to hunt down Lady Arete. And she diverted your path, and asked you to search for a Teleios who might not exist.”

“But the Three Elders believed that she existed…”

“They are old, and they are the three who keep pushing Nero to produce an heir. I’m afraid…” Gaius paused… not sure whether he should continue his sentence.

“Afraid of what?” Chlorus asked.

“I’m afraid she plans to eliminate the Three and place the blame on you. I’m sorry, General, it is just my wild guess.”

“I will be alert, senator. Thank you for the info.”

“General, before I go, I have to remind you, do not trust anyone. Including me.”

Day 3 at the riverside near the abandoned village of Kataratos. The number of sick villagers reduced significantly with proper hygiene control. Their main concern moved to food sources as they might not be able to fully rely on fishes, birds and foraged fruits.

“We need to start clearing some land and farming for grains!” Arete suggested. A piece of large white cloth drawn with the map of the surrounding area laid on the table. She had been leading the village chiefs and guiding Hepasthos on managing the villagers as usual.

“Chief Hepasthos, we heard that Pryne was previously a farmer. Maybe we should ask her to teach us some farming techniques.” one of the chief suggested.

“Yes, of course, she was a farmer indeed. But let's give her some time to recover from the bear attack.” Hepasthos replied.

Arete was conscious about Pryne. She should have paid her a visit and asked her for some information about the Teleios of Eretria. But she was too busy with the matters in the village. After their meeting, Arete went to the kitchen tent where the food for the villagers was prepared. Thinking of getting something for Pryne.

Agave was tasked to work at the cooking tent. She did not keep quiet though, while her hands were stirring the pot, she kept gossiping and chit chatting with the older ladies who were also working at the tent.

“Agave, I need something nice and warm. Pack it in a carrier.”

“No having here? Where are you going, cuzie?”

“It’s not for me, I’m visiting the forager.”

“Oh, if it’s for Pryney, Mate normally does the delivery.”

“Ohhh, Gaby! Gaby! You notice that too?” the other old ladies called Agave.

“That two-words grumpy face? She became talkative recently!”

“Ya, ya, everytime she came to collect the dinner for the toad, she asked a lot of questions.”

Two-words grumpy face, are they talking about Matea?

Matea started a campfire near the tent. They had been camping far away from the villagers’ camp for several days. Pryne took the food into the tent, while Matea sat outside next to it. The light from the campfire illuminated the surrounding, where Pryne was able to see through from the inside. Since there was no light source inside, Matea won’t be able to see her.

A large lone jackal appeared from the bushes, hissing and popping its teeth, but Matea just stared at it. After staying with Pryne for several days, she realized the reason she stayed away from the villagers was simply to avoid feral animals from attacking them.

“Is that a wolf?”

“No, a puppy.” sensing some strange scent, the jackal backed off in fear and ran away.

“I have good eyesight, I know it is a large animal!” she rebuked, and Matea felt a little embarrassed for being caught telling lies.

“How's your wounds?” Pryne asked.

“I’m alright…” She paused a while, but realizing she should not tell another lie, she continued.

“Those bitten by the wolves were mostly healed, the claw wound on the shoulder nearly formed some gangrene. I’ve tried applying some herbs, so it should be fine. Now it looks like the skin of a toad…”

“Drink this…” Pryne handed her a cup of tea out of the tent from the gap.

“It will help…”

“It smells like… the white flower soup for the sick villagers.”Matea slowly sipped the tea.

“It is, I’m not sure if it works on wounds or not, but it should still help you get better.”

“I thought you’re a quiet person… but you have been gossiping with the villagers, haven't you?” Pryne continued.

“No, I… I’m just listening. I’m sorry… about the toad.” After emptying the cup, she started to remove the bandages that wrapped on her arms.

“This part looks like dried tree bark.” and she pointed at her arms full of scars.

“I’m sure the tea I made won't heal scars.” Pryne replied.

“No… I mean, I'm same as you. I won’t run away if you show me your face.”

“You really listened too much to the gossip!” said Pryne with a slightly annoyed tone. It made Matea nervous when she realized she might have offended her.

“Hey, put out the campfire. I’ll show you something.” she then ordered.

Matea poured a bucket of sand to put out the campfire. The surroundings suddenly covered in darkness, only the stars in the sky visibly shining. It was a new phase, where the moon formed a thin curved line on the sky. The phase pulled the river water to high tide, but no light reflected by the moon. It was in complete darkness.

Pryne walked out from the tent, and she grabbed Matea’s hand, sitting next to her on the grass floor, and the night cricket playing their songs. The swarm of fireflies appeared, they flash synchronously. The tiny glimmer of lights flew like they were carried in unfelt currents. At that moment, they were like floating in the dark twinkling sky…

“The fireflies, they are beautiful…”

“But their beauty may not last long. The beetle flashes their light for only a few weeks each summer. After they mate and lay their eggs, they die.” said Pryne.

“Love, if it has nothing but beauty to keep it alive, it will be short-lived.” she added.

Matea realized that she should not be curious about how Pryne looks and what the other villagers said about her. Probably she should not worry about the appearance of her own skin either. The next thing in her mind was that her head turned dizzy and she fell on the ground.

The tea…

To be continued…