Happiness
Chapter 4
Occasionally, Damon would see Leila from a distance. She too was now forced to do a much heavier work � pushing carts filled with smaller stones. Neither of them had time or strength to even say hello to each other. Until one night, a few months later�
Damon�s sleep was interrupted by a persistent shoving in his side. He opened his eyes, glaring angrily at the unwelcome intruder.
�What do you want?�
�To escape,� Leila whispered, looking intensely at him.
�What?� he blinked sleepily.
�I want you to help me escape,� she repeated slowly without taking her eyes off him.
�What??!!! Are you crazy?!� all of his sleepiness evaporated as if by magic, and he pushed the girl aside, trying to sit up. �Do you realize what you are saying?� he said, irritated by the idea.
She frowned, �Yes. But I have a plan��
�You have a plan?� Damon barely stopped himself from shouting. �What��
�Please,� she pleaded, �you have to help me. I cannot stay here.�
�Really?!� Damon did not even try to hide his bitter sarcasm. �Do you know what they do here to runaway slaves?�
�We do not have to get caught,� she began to sound irritated herself. �You helped me once, I��
�That was a very foolish thing of me to do,� Damon cut her off. �Look where it got me.�
Leila pursed her lips, and the same look of defiance that Damon saw a while back, appeared on her face. �I did not think you would be such a coward,� she threw at him and got up to leave.
Her words sounded like a slap in his face. Damon frowned and reached out to get a hold of her hand. �Leila, wait!�
She looked at him in anticipation, and he said, mentally cursing himself, �Tell me your plan.�
Her face brightened, and she sat back down next to him and began whispering agitatedly in his ear. �Tomorrow is the feast of Saturnalia, right?�
Damon nodded, �I am not that well educated in Roman traditions, but I believe you are right.�
�And on that day,� Leila continued, �the guards are bound to get drunk. They will not even notice our escape until the next morning.�
�You are forgetting one thing,� Damon said with biting sarcasm, �the slaves will be shackled for that day and kept in the dungeon.�
A lopsided grin crossed her features, �I will have the key.�
Damon was completely taken aback by this last statement. �How, may I ask?�
�I have a friend, who will get it for me,� she answered slyly, a mysterious smile dancing on her lips. �He also informed me about the Saturnalia.�
�A friend, eh?�
She nodded, watching him expectantly.
�So what do you need me for? Can not this friend help you escape?�
�Do not you also wish to get out of this place?� she returned in the like manner. �Besides, he can only take me as far as the river, and I need someone to help me get home.�
�Home?�
�To Persia.�
�Persia??!!! You do not expect me to�� he cut himself short, noticing a sudden change in her face � a change that did not promise anything good.
�I only need you to help me get as far as Persepolis,� she said coldly. �Then you can go your way � I can find mine.� Her voice softened slightly, as she added, �You have interfered on my behalf at your expense. I will never forget that. All I ask is another favor of you.�
�Why me?� he asked quietly, already knowing the answer.
�Because you are the only one I can really trust.�
She looked him straight in the eyes expectantly, and he shook his head and whispered, �I know I will probably regret this, but,� he gave a short laugh, �what do I have to lose �except my life, eh?�
***
Saturnalia was at that time probably the biggest and most frivolous and licentious holiday in Rome. The celebration honoring the god of agriculture lasted for a whole week, but it was the first day, December 17, that was truly the day of December madness. The roles of slaves and masters were forgotten for that one special day (some of the more trustworthy slaves were even allowed to go into the city itself without an escort � the guards would bring them back later at the end of the day), and revelry and lasciviousness reigned even in the outskirts of the great city. Wine flowed like a river, adding more fire to the already unrestricted sexual orgies.
By the time the sun descended from its daily throne, ceding it for the night to the Queen of Darkness, there was hardly a sober soul left in all of Rome. Even the slaves who worked on the new temple were dead drunk, as some of the guards kindly distributed a few dozen bottles of liquor among them in view of the holiday. Damon too found it hard to resist the temptation of trying out a free bottle of �aqua vitae� � after all, this was one of the very few luxuries allowed to the slaves. He did, however, remember about Leila�s plan and managed to restrain himself to just a few drinks. And now he sat shackled and a bit lightheaded from the wine among the snoring drunks in the dungeon, listening attentively to the sounds coming from the outside.
A barely distinguishable clinking noise coming from the direction of the door attracted his attention. Damon listened with baited breath, as the door squeaked pitifully and opened, letting in a breath of cool nightly air. The darkness of the dungeon was suddenly pierced by the flickering light of the torch that one of the newcomers carried in his hand. The flame danced on the walls, throwing dark sinister shadows all around, as the couple moved along the corridor of the snoring bodies. Damon waited patiently until Leila came down on her knees in front of him and began meddling with his chains.
�Who is your friend?� he whispered apprehensively, studying Leila�s companion � a boy who looked to be about the same age as her but seemed to be much better provided for than any slave that Damon had seen.
�His name is Marcus,� Leila whispered back without taking her eyes off the shackles. �He is the son of one of the guards.�
Damon�s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, when he heard the lock on his chain click open, and Leila raised her head, looking triumphantly up at him, �There!�
The question froze on Damon�s lips � there was no time for it right now. They had to run and keep on running until they were safely on board a ship � any ship as far as Damon was concerned � that would take them as far away from this place as possible. Whatever the cost, they could not afford to get caught, for that meant instant death in the least (he shuddered to even think about the worst case scenario). All the questions could, hopefully, be answered later. With that in mind, Damon quickly rose to his feet, taking a few seconds to stretch his numb joints, and followed Leila and Marcus to the exit.
The wave of cool (almost cold) fresh air that flooded in on him as soon as he stepped outside had completely dissipated his lightheadedness, clearing his mind and sharpening his senses to the highest point. He was as alert as when he was back in Syracuse when he had to watch his every step to avoid and trick the guards who had frequently been on his tail, so to speak, for his thieving and swindling escapades. Slaving in Rome for three years under such inhumane conditions dulled those senses in him. But now, as he inhaled this air of freedom, they came back to him as sharp as ever. He felt a kind of exhilaration at that notion and almost had to pinch himself to keep from jumping up into the air and screaming at the top of his lungs. The only thing that betrayed his inner exultation was a slight smile that twisted his lips, a smile of a beast that has been let out of his cage.
�Follow me,� Marcus motioned to them. Damon took the torch out of the boy�s hand and put it out.
�Why did you do that for?� the boy looked at him in astonishment.
�The moon is bright enough to light us the way,� Damon explained calmly. �Besides, the torch would make our position all too obvious for every sentry.�
�A reasonable precaution,� Leila nodded.
Marcus shifted his gaze from one to another, then simply shrugged his shoulders, �Come.� And they followed.