Eleutheria

XXIX

XXIX

It surprised no one that Loxias won his match the following day. Though Hypatia did hold out a faint hope that Xenia might be able to defeat Medus, it wasn't actually a disappointment when Galen brought her the news that it wasn't so.

The day after Loxias's match, there was to be a city wide festival. It was a celebration for both contestants for making it this far in the competition and was held in Hypatia and Loxias's honor. Their slaves, however, were not invited. They could come if the master wished, but it was tradition for them not to be there. Hypatia would have brought along Erasmos regardless just to annoy those who were so held by tradition.

Erasmos, however, couldn't get out of bed.

After having fallen in the arena, he had been carried by Pammon and Galen back to the villa where he was laid down in Hypatia's bed. He was quickly overtaken by a fever that had him sweating and shaking and beyond comprehension. The wound on his back, Anaxos explained, had become infected and Erasmos needed rest.

She would have stayed if she could. In a choice between a festival that she didn't want to attend and Erasmos, it wasn't a choice at all. Healthy or sick, he was better company than Loxias, whom she would have to spend the rest of the night beside. The games were a friendly competition between the free people and there was meant to be no bitterness between competitors. To serve that end, Hypatia and Loxias would both be sat together with Paopeus, forced to be friendly and smile to the people that came to wish them both luck.

So she had to go; she was forced into it by her uncle and the people themselves. Her ladies dressed her in her finest garments with only the most precious of gems. Hypatia had been dressed by someone else her entire life, but that was the first time that she ever felt like a doll. Being paraded around for the amusement of others was not something she would enjoy and she had a scowl on her face the entire time. It didn't help that Erasmos was in the room with her, mumbling through his fever dreams as Nikia and Kyros took turns watching over him.

“He'll be fine,” Nikia promised her, cleaning the area around the wound. It was a much brighter red than Hypatia remembered. They weren't covering it as they usually did, claiming that the fresh air was better to help it heal. “Go and enjoy the festival, and let me and Kyros work.”

“There will be no enjoyment at the festival for me,” Hypatia grumbled as Chara carefully arranged a jeweled hair piece on her head. It was overly extravagant and she wished for the comb that Theodora had given her instead.

“That's no way to talk.”

Hypatia looked up to her doorway to see Charmides stepping inside. His presence at her villa had become such a stable thing recently that no one was surprised to see him there. People around the city and in the court were all muttering to themselves about the foreign prince's intentions for her. Even Harmocydes was beginning to wonder about him.

“Are you here to keep Erasmos company?” Hypatia asked.

Charmides looked to his brother, his face calm before turning back to her. “As fun as it would be to listen to the mad ravings of a man beyond reason, I'm afraid I'm not. In fact, I'm here as your official escort for tonight's festival.” He gave a low bow to her for effect before looking up and smiling at her charmingly.

She raised an eyebrow. “You are?”

“Don't sound so surprised,” he laughed, standing up and walking over to her. He reached out and began adjusting the shoulder of her elegant peplos. “Keeping you company shall be a thrill, I'm sure. Besides, without me you'd have to deal exclusively with young Lord Loxias tonight. As your being courted by an Eleutherian prince, I can't have another man trying to lay claim over you.”