Rome in Flames Read Free Page B

ships were moored. I’d never seen a boat that could hold more than two people, but these ships were huge. We were herded on board in groups of fifty.
    â€˜Where are they taking us?’ I asked, yet again.
    One of the sailors heard me and understood. ‘Rome,’ he said. ‘We’re bound for Rome.’

– chapter iv –
    The slave market
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    Three months later, after a long and difficult journey, we were in the slave market at Rome. The hot sun beat down on us as we stood in line, waiting to be sold.
    I couldn’t understand why it was still so warm. At home, it would be autumn by now; the trees would be changing colour, and there would be chill mists in the morning. Did Rome have summer all year round? I would have asked Conan, but it would only annoy him. He hated it when I asked questions he couldn’t answer – and I had plenty of those.
    What would happen to us? What sort of life would we have? Would we be split up? That was what I really dreaded – being separated from Conan. I prayed that the same person would buy both of us. But praying wasn’t much use, for the only gods I knew were far away. The gods of the forest had no place in this city built of stone.
    The market was busy. Crowds of people had come to see the latest batch of slaves. They looked us over as if we were animals for sale. They checked that we seemed healthy, discussing us in their swift, chattering language. One of them opened my mouth and looked at my teeth. I wanted to bite his hand – but that would only bring trouble.
    One at a time, each prisoner had to stand on a stone block so that everyone could see him. Then people in the crowd called out, bidding against each other. It seemed to take a long time, and I was getting hotter and hotter. I longed for a drink of water.
    Then, through a gap in the crowd, I saw something very strange – a face carved on a wall, with water gushing from its mouth. It was like a woodland spring, here in the middle of the city.
    â€˜Look at that,’ I exclaimed, pointing it out to Conan. ‘How does it work? Why does the water keep on flowing?’
    â€˜I don’t know and I don’t care,’ he said irritably. ‘You’re crazy, Bryn. Still asking questions at a time like this! Can’t you shut up for a minute?’
    But questions were part of my nature. I couldn’t stop myself staring at things – the towering buildings, the marvellous figures carved in stone, and the people. The people! There were hundreds of different faces – white, brown and black. Ordinary people were on foot; rich ones lay on beds carried by groups of slaves. Around the edges of the crowd, stallholders were selling food and drink. Children played under an archway, shaded from the sun.
    Looking at all this took my mind off what was about to happen. I really didn’t want to think about that.
    Conan nudged me. ‘It’s Andreas’s turn,’ he said.
    Andreas was made to stand on the block of stone. He gazed into the distance, as if he couldn’t hear the voices calling out from the crowd. The final bidder was a grim-faced man, who looked as if he would be a harsh master.
    I hoped Andreas would be all right. On the long journey to Rome, we had got to know him well. Although he didn’t belong to our tribe, he’d become a friend.
    * * *
    My mind wandered back over the events of the last three months. The sea voyage had seemed endless. Day after day, we sailed round the edge of the Roman Empire. And I began to understand just how huge that empire was.
    How could we ever get back home? Each day took us further and further away. My thoughts of home seemed to dwindle, just as the white cliffs had shrunk behind us, becoming a thin, distant line which finally vanished.
    We sailed around the coastline of Gaul and Iberia – or so the sailors told us. Now and then, the ship had to find harbour, to take on fresh water or to shelter