Rome in Flames Read Free

with a great feast about to begin.
    Then I woke up to a strange house and a cold hearth – and the pain of knowing that I would never see my father again, except in dreams.

– chapter iii –
    Captured
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    All the next day, thick, grey clouds filled the sky. Without the sun to guide us, we couldn’t find our way through the forest – we might end up walking round in circles. So we stayed on in the empty village.
    The owners had taken their most valuable belongings, their sheep and cattle. A few hens had been left behind to peck and scratch around the village. We hunted for eggs, which had to be eaten raw, as it would be too risky to light the fire. We also found a big pot half full of cold stew, so we didn’t go hungry. But it was a long, silent, miserable day.
    The open wound on Conan’s hand was looking ugly. He kept brushing flies away from it. Mother would have put salve on it to help it heal, but Mother wasn’t here. I washed it and bound it up with rough strips of cloth cut from the edge of a blanket.
    I couldn’t forget the sight of all those women and children, butchered by the Romans. If only I knew what had happened to my family!
    â€˜Do you think they managed to get away?’ I asked.
    â€˜We just have to hope they did.’ But Conan didn’t sound hopeful.
    â€˜They might be nearly home by now.’ I tried to imagine them on the path to our village, Mother walking slowly because she was carrying Bronwen, and Enid walking even slower on tired little legs.
    â€˜Will you stop going on about them!’ Conan burst out angrily. ‘Just shut up. Talking won’t help them. If they’re dead, talking won’t bring them back.’
    â€˜But they may be all right. The gods may be on their side.’
    â€˜The gods! They were supposed to protect us – that’s what the druids said. But they didn’t. Our gods are powerless compared to the Roman ones.’
    â€˜Shh,’ I said. ‘Don’t talk like that. They’ll hear you.’
    â€˜I don’t care if they do. They can’t punish me, because they’re useless. Useless, do you hear?’ He cupped his hands and shouted across the valley towards the encircling woods: ‘Useless!’
    A faint, mocking echo came back, and I gasped. ‘See! They heard you!’
    Conan laughed. So did the echo.
    Feeling nervous, for it’s foolish to taunt the gods, I went back indoors. But there was no comfort to be found there. Night was falling. The hut without a fire in the hearth was like a dark cave, not a home. I felt a shiver run through me. What would we do if we reached our home village and found it as empty as this place?
    And how would we survive through the next winter? Hardly any crops had been planted that spring because the men were all away at the war. With no grain stored up, and no men left to go hunting, it would be a hungry winter.
    Everything had gone wrong. The future was dark and frightening. Maybe Conan was right – our gods were losing their power to help us. The Roman gods had invaded our land and conquered it, just as the Roman soldiers had conquered our people. But what could we do? You can’t fight against the gods.
    We went to bed as soon as it got dark. I lay still, listening to the sounds of the night – an owl hooting far away, a mouse rustling through the straw – and gradually drifted off to sleep. Suddenly I was awoken by another sound, and fear gripped me by the throat.
    Conan sat bolt upright. The same sound had wakened him too – the tramp of marching feet. The footsteps stopped, and a voice barked out an order in a foreign language.
    Romans! Roman soldiers, right outside the door!
    I looked around desperately. There was no place to hide, unless we burrowed into the straw. But no one came in. What was happening?
    Then we smelled smoke, and heard the crackle and hiss of burning thatch. The Romans were burning the village,