A Tale of Romans and Slaves | PJO/HOO

Chapter 13: Leo

I had gotten used to the forge.

The heat, the sweat, the exhaustion... it was almost fun. I could see why my mother loved it so much.

I shook my head. Don't think about mom. Concentrate on sword.

I was working on a steel longsword. I had never liked swords, (too heavy, not fun), but making them was another matter. My favorite part was the sizzling sound the hot metal made when I thrust it into the water.

"Works over!" Hank screamed. I put my almost-finished sword down on the table, knowing it would be there tomorrow, and walked out the door.

Dinner was always the same thing: bread. How they expected us to haul heavy metal around all day with only bread to fuel us was beyond me. It was like they were asking me to do my night time activity.

Will was the castle messenger, which meant he had to run around the castle all day to deliver messages to people. Bobby was a scribe, which meant he wrote down everything that was said at Lord Hade's meetings with other lords.

I sat down with them and Butch at the end of the courtyard, and we ate our bread in silence. Talking required energy, and the only person who had any was Bobby. It was at these times that I was jealous of him.

Then the manor guards herded us to our cells, which all contained around five people each. They were way too small, if you asked me.

I didn't know any of my cellmates except for one, who was Will's brother, Michael.

I waited until all of my cellmates were asleep, then I drew my pieces of scrap metal out of my pocket, picked the lock, and silently stepped out into the hall.

After quickly looking at the cells next to mine to make sure none of their inhabitants were watching me, I ran over to the door out of the cell blocks and picked it. Then I ran out into the courtyard.

Now, your probably asking, Leo! How did you get so good at lock picking! Long story short, the castle bakers had tried to lock the pastries in a cupboard so I couldn't eat them, and I wanted too. And there's nothing I can't do when I put my mind to it.

Now it was time for the dangerous part.

I quietly crept into the manor. The pantry was down a floor, so it took me a couple seconds to get to it. Then I picked the lock and crept in.

The pantry was huge, and contained every food I could think off. But it was almost pitch black inside, and I could barely see the racks in front of me.

I grabbed a loaf of bread and a good chunk of beef. I spotted a pork chop which was the perfect size. I could easily bring this back to my cell and hide it, and then I'd have enough food to last me for at least a week.

But as I reached for it, my hand brushed over something that definitely wasn't a pork chop. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what it was, but then I did.

It was somebody else's hand.

I shrieked and jumped backward, and I heard them do the same. There was brief moment of silence, but then they took off. I saw their figure go out the door, illuminated by the light of the hallway.

Oh no, I thought. You aren't getting away that easily. No one makes Leo Valdez shriek like a girl and get away with it!

I gathered up my food in my arms and took after them, ignoring the pork chop.

They had a head-start, but I was faster than them. I narrowly avoided a group of guards, but they were headed towards the pantry, away from the direction I was going in.