Peter had taken Neal to a local inn and ordered them something to eat. Neal was clearly hungry and looked eager when the food arrived.
Peter had noticed some men looking at them. They were probably ill at ease with a master treating his slave as an equal. Involuntarily Peter´s eyes moved to his neck where he had drawn the tattoo. But it was still visible and in good shape, so Peter didn´t worry. The men would see it and he would make his claim if necessary.
Peter started eating and wished Neal a good meal. While Neal was eating, Peter studied him. He was getting tanned; his pale skin was slowly getting an olive shine to it. It made his blue eyes stand out even more. He looked gorgeous, his hair was growing and he looked healthy. But it was also apparent something was bothering Neal, but he tried to keep it from Peter. He would tell Peter that he was fine, but Peter knew better, there was a certain tension in Neal, and he needed to find out what it was.
Neal noticed that Peter was staring at him.
“I always taught Romans ate lying down.” Neal snickered.
“They do, but only on formal dinners, at home, they like to enjoy eating in the garden, if the weather permits. But I´m not Roman. Where I come from, we eat sitting at a table.”
“When are you going back to your home country?”
Neal was afraid of the answer. He had no clue as to what Peter would do with him. And he dreaded to take care of himself as he had never needed to take care of himself. There had always been slaves and servants to tend to his needs. Neal had done nothing but create art. Sure, Peter had taught him to take care of things such as washing his clothes or to prepare basic foods. But still, how would he earn money?
“If I can find us passage, we will be leaving.”
Neal heart eased, apparently Peter wasn´t planning on leaving him here alone. He felt a weight being lifted of his chest.
* * *
They were still sailing along the coast when Peter left Neal alone on deck. He wanted to talk to the captain. He had an uneasy feeling that he couldn’t explain. He hadn´t told Neal as he didn´t want to upset him.
He had just arrived below deck and asked the captain if he could see the maps, when there was commotion on top. And without warning he could hear Neal´s cry for help.
“PETER! HELP!”
Peter sprinted up the stairs just in time to see Neal being pulled overboard by a man. Peter remembered from their day in the baths that Neal couldn´t swim. Peter released his belt with his weapons and jumped overboard. As they were still close to the coast, the water was not deep. Peter looked around, his eyes stinging from the salt water, but quickly located Neal.
He swam towards Neal and approached him from behind as he was kicking to get back to the surface. When he grabbed him from behind, Neal started struggling in earnest, probably thinking it was his attacker.
Peter swam as fast as he could, back to the surface. Once they were back up, he turned Neal so they were facing each other.
“Neal, it is me, Peter. You´re OK. I´ve got you.”
Neal coughed and spat out water before he roughly asked.
“Peter?”
“Yes, It´s OK. We wait here, I will keep you floating, just stay still. The boat will pick us up, see, it has lowered his sails and is already turning.”
“It will not be able to pick us up.” Neal wheezed.
“Calm down, you´re safe. I have you.”
Neal stayed still.
“I really need to teach you how to swim.”
Neal didn´t say anything, by the look in his eyes, he was never going to come near water again, Peter realized.
Once the boat had turned and picked them up, both men were bundled in warm blankets. The captain told Peter that the man responsible had last been seen swimming towards the shore.
“Did anyone see what he looked like?” Peter asked the crew.
“It was the man who was with me on the scaffolding.” Neal whispered.
“Keller!”
“Is that his name?”
“Yes, that is his name, he is the one responsible for the murder attempt on the Pharaoh.”
“Well, there is nothing that we can do right now. The only thing we can do, is hope that he won´t follow us up north.”
“Tell me Peter, why did you save me?”
“I knew you couldn´t swim.”
“No, I mean in Egypt. You could have easily let me die and you would not be a fugitive on the run.”
Peter didn´t answer immediately.
“Well?”
“It was just not right. You had nothing to do with the crime and were sentenced to death for it. That didn´t seem fair.”
“Well, fair has nothing to do with it, but, I just don´t get it. You are a Roman delegate and I am just a slave.”
Peter took Neal´s hand.
“You are not just a slave, you understand. You were born a free man. You are a free man. Do you understand?”
Neal just stared in Peter´s eyes.
“If you say so.” He muttered under his breath.
“I say so. You are so much more Neal, you are a very talented artist for one. But we will figure it out later. Come let´s rest, it has been a stressful day.”
* * *
After a non-eventful but successful crossing of the Mediterranean, they arrived in Narbonensis and made their way up to Germania on horseback. They had been on the road for weeks now. Neal was almost completely recovered and was strong enough to ride the bigger, sturdier horses they had bought when they arrived on the main land. And as Peter had though, Neal was highly intelligent, picking up whatever Peter wanted to teach him. Neal had a gift for languages and soon was speaking Latin and the Germanic dialect of Peter´s hometown.
“Naeia, what does it mean?” Peter wondered while they were resting in an inn.
“It means One who dazzles.” Neal explained.
“What a fitting name.”
Peter could see Neal blush.
“No, you really are gorgeous, you remind me of the Greek statues I encountered while visiting Greece.”
“You traveled a lot, tell me about the place where we are going.”
“Well, we will travel up north to where I live. It is a small village near Langobardi. We live on a large farm and raise cattle. But I must warn you. It gets cold there in winter. By the time we arrive, winter will be there.”
“What is winter?”
“You will see, in this part of the world, we have four different seasons. One is cold, one is warm; the other two are the transitions to them.”
“I would love to see where you live.”
“I guess you do, but rest now, you are still not completely healed and I want you to build up your strength, you will need it for the last part of our journey. It will become colder soon.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Neal, how many times have I told you, I´m not your Master here, in the other countries it was a necessary cover, but here, nobody knows what the tattoo represents. And soon you will need to wear warmer clothing and you will be covered up almost completely.”
“But you are my master.”
Peter could see that Neal was still very insecure about his status. But he would get used to it. Peter would make sure of that.
“Go on, rest.”
“Yes, Peter.”
* * *
Once they arrived in the Germanic speaking parts, Peter was more at ease. He was now back on familiar territory and spoke the language. He had been backtracking their progress but hadn´t see any sign of Keller.
But since autumn was already advanced, it was getting colder and wetter. Neal was truly miserable. He wasn´t used to the cold and dampness and he was constantly cold. Peter had bought himself and Neal a wool tunic that reached up to their knees. Underneath Neal wore a linen tunic, it had been expensive, but Neal was so cold, Peter feared he would never be able to warm up again. The under tunic kept him both warm and it made wearing the wool tunic more comfortable against his skin, as he had never worn wool before, he had never worn full body concealing clothing and complained that it itched. Peter had bought some trousers but for Neal they had built-in socks. Even with a wool cloak, Peter could still see that Neal was not comfortable. With his thin frame, they had to be careful that he didn´t get sick.
Peter hadn´t redrawn the tattoo anymore. Here, Neal could become whoever he wanted to be. He didn´t need to pretend. But Peter realized that it was a sort of protection for Neal. He didn´t know better so for now it was better that they would pretend to be master and servant.
The more north they came, the colder it became and they reached a point where Neal was constantly shivering. Peter had bandaged Neal´s lower legs with wool leg wrappings; it protected his legs but also gave warmth. He had also bought a fur cap with ear flaps. He himself, being used to the climate only wore a leather cap, as it provided protection from branches an leaves they encountered in the rides through the woods. He had never made his body tender by wearing too much clothing, as nobody in his clan did. They were warriors, before anything else, Peter never forgot that, even when he was send to serve the Roman army by his father. When he was younger, he had seen it as a punishment, now that he had aged; he understood that it had been a learning experience. The Romans had better weapons, better knowledge of how to fight wars, and now, Peter had that knowledge to.
They entered a village and they stopped at the local inn.
“Welcome travelers.”
“Can we stay the night, me and my servant? We will need our horses being taken care for and would appreciate if you could provide us with a bath.”
“Of course sir.” The Inn keeper called his son and he brought the horses to the stable.
“Come Neal, let´s get you to the fire and warmed up.”
The Inn keeper brought some beer, bread and sausages.
“Can we get a bath?” Peter inquired.
“Of course sir, it wil take some time to warm the water, but we can arrange it.”
“Make it so.”
Peter pushed the plate with food towards Neal.
“Eat Neal, you are still not on your fighting weight. You need to eat.”
“Yes Master.”
They enjoyed a pleasant meal, Peter told Neal about his life in the Roman army and his life prior to it. By the time they were ready, the wife of the inn keeper came to tell them the bath was ready.
When they entered the room where the bath was located, it turned out to be a large copper tub; it was large enough for the both of them.
“You go first Neal, I will bath when you are done.”
“No Master, we can bath together. The water will be warmer.” Neal looked sincerely at Peter.
“Are you sure you don´t mind sharing the bath with me?”
“No, absolutely not, it will be my pleasure to bath you.”
Peter looked up to see if Neal was being honest but as far as he could tell, he was. The look in Neal´s eyes was grateful, respectful.
So they undressed and Peter took Neal´s hand and led him into the tub. The water was hot, it bit too much to Peter´s liking, but Neal seemed to soak up all the warmth, and color returned to his face. Neal picked up the cloth and kneeled behind Peter´s back. He started rubbing Peter´s back and then bent down to wash Peter´s chest.
When he was done, Neal sat down and asked Peter to lie down so he could wash his hair. Peter did as he was told. It was a bit uncomfortable as he had to bend his legs, but once Neal started washing his hair, he closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of Neal´s fingers on his scalp, his strong fingers massaging. He could feel his arousal growing and felt a flush creeping into his cheeks. But then he felt Neal getting hard as well. Neal must have noticed because he placed a chaste kiss on Peter´s lips.
“No, Neal.”
“I´m sorry Master, I…” Neal pushed Peter up and wanted to leave the tub, but Peter held on to him and guided him back down.
“No, that is not what I meant, you didn´t do anything wrong, but…”
“But you are married.” Neal finished the sentence.
“Yes, I… I ´m attracted to you, I was from the moment I saw you sitting at the pharaoh´s feet, but I can´t, I don´t want to take advantage of you.”
“Of course not Master. Your happiness is my happiness.” Neal said a bit unsure.
Peter could feel the strings in his heart being pulled. This must be so hard for Neal. Being wrongfully accused of trying to kill your Master. Being punished for it to a point where you were nearly died and then sort of being kidnapped to a different country that was so different than what you knew.
He sat opposite to Neal in the tub and gently washed Neal who was still staring at the water.
“I will take care of you Neal. I promise.”
“Thank you Master.”
When the water started cooling, they left the tub and went up to their room. A fire was burning and the room was warm and cozy. Neal´s face paled a bit when he saw the blanket on the floor. Apparently servants slept on the floor.
“Neal, you are not sleeping on the floor.” Peter reassured him quickly and gently pushed him towards the bed.
Peter got into the bed and pulled Neal with him. He placed Neal on his side with his back towards him and spooned Neal. Neal felt tense, but once Peter held him firmly, Peter could feel the tension slowly draining from Neal.
With the beer and the warmth from the bath, it didn´t take long for Neal to fall asleep. Once his breathing evened out, Peter let himself being pulled down into sleep as well.
* * *
The next morning Peter woke to an empty bed. Neal must have gotten up early. Peter quickly pulled on his clothes. He sort of recoiled from his own clothes, they smelled. They really needed a clean set, but it wasn´t far anymore to home, so Peter wanted to push on. They would have breakfast and then get back on the road again.
Peter walked down to the tavern, but Neal wasn´t there.
“Have you seen my servant?”
“Yes, I think he went to tend to the horses, I saw him go outside.”
Peter walked out and heard commotion near the stables and sprinted towards them. He heard Neal talking very fast in Egyptian.
“What the hell is happening in here?”
Neal was being held against the wall of the stables by two men. He was clearly in trouble. The two men were a lot bigger and bulkier than he was.
“Mind your own business, just keep walking.” One of the men growled.
“I can´t do that. If you have a quarrel with my servant, I am responsible and will take care of it. So if you would be so kind to let him go.”
The man grabbed Neal had pulled him towards him, so he could use Neal as a shield. He held his dagger against Neal´s throat.
“Go away! We have no problem with you, we just want him, pretty little thing as he is. Keller never told us he was this good looking.”
Neal´s eyes widened at the words. By now he understood most of the Germanic language.
“Like I said, I can´t let you have him. I am responsible for him. I strongly urge you to let him go.”
The atmosphere got more hostile and Neal swallowed heavily when the dagger was pressed harder against his throat.
“Peter? What do they want?” He asked in Greek. He gambled that the men didn´t speak Greek. Peter had explained that some people would be able to speak Latin, but Greek would be less common.
“Speak Germanic.” The man growled in Neal´s ear.
“He doesn´t know how to, he is a servant, he is not educated. What do you want?”
“We just want him, go on your way and everybody will be happy.”
The second man creeped up on Peter, but he was aware of the guy and Peter was fairly confident he could take him. The man suddenly attacked but Peter was prepared and engaged him. The man was smaller than Peter, but heavier built. Peter ducted under the first hit with the dagger and hit him square in the face. The man holding Neal grabbed Neal tighter in surprise. Neal let out a strangled gasp as the man pinched his throat just a tad closer.
“Get him Dirk.”
Dirk turned back towards Peter, wiping his mouth. He had lost his dagger when he was hit in the face and he tried to locate it without losing track of Peter.
Peter needed to end this quickly. He didn´t want Neal to get hurt.
“Let him go, you won´t get away with this and I can´t let you have him. This is something between Keller and me.”
The man made his second attack and again, Peter was able to deflect the energy against his opponent. This time the hit stunned the man and he didn´t get up immediately. Peter grabbed him and pulled him up.
“Do you want your men to die, Keller? If your men hurt Neal, you will be next.”
“Are you threatening me?” the nasal voice of Keller came from the shadows of the stables.
“No, I´m making a promise.”
The man glanced unsure up to Peter and his escape route.
“Tell your man to let him go and I will allow you to leave unarmed.” Peter promised.
Quick as lightning the man let go of Neal, who dropped to the ground, and sprinted out of the barn, leaving his accomplish with Peter.
Peter waited for Keller to appear, which didn´t take long.
“So, I must admit you are quite the tracker, who knew you had such a talent?” Peter sneered.
Keller didn´t say anything but immediately brought down his sword. Peter had expected it and defended himself.
“Get out of the stables, Neal, go back to the Inn.”
Neal scrambled to his feet but didn´t want to leave Peter alone with Keller. But it was also clear to Neal that Keller was younger and fitter than Peter, although he was the better swordsman.
Keller and Peter were engaged in battle and didn´t pay attention to Neal, who had found a piece of wood. When Keller was looking away from him, he hit him in the back, distracting him. That gave an opening in his defense, Peter took it and plunged his sword in Keller`s chest. Peter knew that this time, his strike was fatal when he saw the surprise in his eyes when he slowly dropped to the ground.
Peter stood next to Neal panting.
“Are you OK?”
“Sure.” Neal coughed a bit.
“Come back inside, so I can check you out.”
The son of the Inn keeper had seen the commotion and informed the local lawspeaker. He demanded to know who they were, what their business was in his town and what had happened. Peter explained to him who he was and what had happened. When the lawspeaker heard who Peter was, he told him to go back inside and enjoy his breakfast. He would take care of the ambusher and the body.
Neal glanced questionably at Peter.
“What just happened?”
“What do you mean?” Peter faked innocence, but he knew Neal would never let it go. He sighed before saying “My father is the chieftain of our clan.”
“What is a chieftain?
“It is like a leader, they used to be selected and appointed by the clan, but now it is hereditary.”
“Wow. You really are someone important.”
“Not until my father dies and I hope that that day will be far away.”
* * *
When they had left the last tavern, Peter stuffed hay into Neal´s boots to keep his feet warm. Once they were home, he would ask El to needle knit him some wool socks, as socks were expensive to buy, so they would have to do with hay.
After the incident, Peter had insisted they travel as quickly as they could to his hometown. But it was also clear that they couldn´t camp outside. Neal´s body just didn´t seem to be able to adapt to the cold and dampness, and Peter didn´t want Neal to get sick. So they stayed with friendly farmers or small inns. Now that they were getting closer to home, Peter told Neal he wanted to push on until they were home. He promised Neal a warm bath and bed and all the food he could eat to fatten him up and make him be able to withstand the cold.
Once they could see the farm, they were greeted by several big dogs that were happily barking and running next to Peter´s horse. When they arrived at the house, a servant was already waiting to take their horses.
"Master Peter, welcome back.” He man said, he was elderly. Neal felt at ease, it said something about Peter, most owners sold their servants when they were getting older. Apparently Peter didn´t. The farmhouse itself was not big, not compared to some of the estates and the palace Neal was used to, but it was a large farm compared to the other families that lived in the area that Neal had seen when they traveled. It was certainly more than Peter and El needed.
The moment Peter got of his horse, a female voice called out.
“Peter? PETER!”
A woman with long brown hair and blue eyes that matched Neal´s came running outside. She ran straight into Peter´s arms, who picked her up and twirled her around. Neal recognized her from the statue he made. She did really resembled the statue.
“Oh, hon, I missed you so.”
They kissed and Neal looked away discretely. He started petting the dogs that walked circles around their masters and Neal, they wanted to join all the commotion. El let go of Peter and studied him from a bit further. “You look good. And you brought a guest. Mozzie told me all about him.”
“Yes, this is Neal, we met in Egypt. Where is Mozzie by the way?”
“Welcome Neal.” El said in Greek, looking appreciatively of Neal.
At that moment, Mozzie appeared in the door of the farm, his hands still white with flour. He had been helping out in the kitchen by the looks of it.
“NEAL!”
Mozzie grabbed Neal in a bear hug.
“You are alive!”
Neal could see the tears in Mozzie´s eyes.
“Yes, Peter took good care of me. He nursed me back to health and helped me escape. Oh Mozzie, it is so good to see you.”
Peter and El let go of each other and started walking back indoors.
“Come in, it is warmer. Let me get you refreshments. You both must be exhausted.” Elizabeth said to both men.
The fire was burning and it was warm and homey inside. And it smelled divine. Both Neal and Peter´s stomach growled, making El laugh.
“That bad, hé? Did Peter feed you at all, you look skinny Neal.”
They first freshened up a bit while the staff prepared the table. Peter sat down on a stool at the head of the table, before taking the cup of beer and toasting with Neal and Mozzie. “Welcome in my home. It has been quiet the journey”.
Neal enjoyed the food that was served, even though it was a bit strange to him, the last couple of weeks their food existed mostly of milk, cheese and meat, things they ate in moderation in Egypt. There were almost no vegetables and fruits here, especially now that winter was upon them. Mozzie explained that he had tried to get foods they were used to, but he hadn´t found any yet.
* * *
Later that night, Elizabeth prepared a bath for Peter. The tub stood in a small room next to the kitchen, so it held the warmth of the kitchen. Peter could hear Neal and Mozzie talking in Egyptian to each other in the kitchen. It was good to see Neal´s face brighten up, now that he was reunited with Mozzie. Peter had explained to Neal, early in their journey that Mozzie would be at his home, but it was of course a leap of faith for Neal. He couldn´t know if Peter was telling him the truth or not…Even peter didn´t know if Mozzie had been able to reach El and get her up North, but he obviously had. He had to give the little priest credit.
Once Peter was in the tub, El joined him and Peter couldn´t help himself, but he hadn´t seen El in years and now here she was in his arms. He started kissing her and pulled her against him.
“Oh El, I missed you so much.”
El giggled, she pulled Peter up and quickly dried him off and pulled him through the other door to their bedroom. Once Peter was lying on the bed, El mounted him and it didn´t take long for Peter to come.
“I´m sorry hon, I will make it up to you. It has been too long.” He said a bit embarrassed.
“Oh hon, I know, you are back now, that is what is important.”
“Would you like it if Neal joined us?” El asked.
Peter looked up in surprise.
“Neal?”
“Mozzie told me he was a slave of the Pharaoh and his wife. And that he wasn´t only kept because he is a talented artist. I didn´t know what to expect, but now that I have seen him… Peter, he is gorgeous. Mozzie also explained that Neal always had a bed companion in Egypt. That he never slept alone, he must be lonely and cold.”
El snickered at the last word, remembering how miserable Neal had looked on the horse, even with all the warm clothing. It have been an adaption for herself, to come back home after spending so much time in Rome.
Now that El mentioned it, it all made sense to Peter. That is why Neal slept fitful when he had to sleep alone. If Peter didn´t join him in bed, he was restless and woke up a lot. He would always settle once Peter joined him.
“I know, it did take all my resolve not to cheat on you and to stay away from him.”
“Oh honey.” El giggled. “Let´s invite him to our bed tonight.”
That night, when everybody went to bed, Peter walked up to Neal´s bed. As he expected, Neal was still awake, shivering under the thick blankets. El even had a fur placed on top of him. Peter took his hand and led him out of his room. Neal was glancing around in nervous anticipation, but didn´t say anything. Once he was lead into the master bedroom, he stopped before the bed, eying El in it.
“It´s OK, Neal. Come and join us.” El held out her hand.
Peter gave him a soft push towards his wife and Neal shyly took El´s hand and climbed into their bed. Peter climbed in behind him.
Neal crawled into El´s arms and let himself be huddled. With Peter behind him. Neal started sobbing. All the tensions of the last couple of months were unleashed.
“Shh, it´s OK, Neal, you are safe, you are with us now. You are with family.”
Neal nodded trying to get his breathing under control.
He was safe. He had found a new home. It was cold and wet and the food was not what he had expected, but the company… the company made everything perfect. He truly was with family.
