The Fire of Ares Read Free Page A

shame.
Where is the honour in courage
, he thought,
if it comes with humiliation?
He did not want to talk about it.
    The medicine store was attached to the front of the physician’s house, some distance from the centre of the village. As they neared the door, Timeon tried a final time to break the silence.
    â€˜And the other men, they respected you. Not many of them would have stood up to the overseer like that.’
    Lysander rounded on his friend.
    â€˜Don’t be so foolish, Timeon. The other men don’t respect me. They laughed and jeered through it all. Because I don’t deserve respect. I … and you … we are slaves, Timeon. We own nothing. Not even our own bodies. We are worthless. Don’t you understand?’
    Timeon looked up at him, but then let his eyes drop. Lysander’s blood quickly cooled. They were outside the medicine shop.
    â€˜I’m tired of being called a Helot, a slave. I’m a Messenian, Timeon. So are you. The land over the mountains once belonged to us, and our people livedin peace. They were brave when they had to be, but otherwise they grew their crops and reared their livestock, and they were happy. Now we’re forced to work the land of a Spartan prince. Do you never wonder what it would be like to be free, as our ancestors were, before the Spartans invaded our land?’
    Timeon met his gaze once again, and gave a brief smile, before speaking slowly and deliberately.
    â€˜Of course I do, but I don’t dwell on it. I was born a Helot, Lysander, just like you. Hope is a dangerous thing.’
    Lysander leant forward and put his hand on Timeon’s shoulder. He spoke his next words more quietly.
    â€˜I’m not the only one who dares to hope, my friend. You know of the Resistance as well as I. All the men are talking about it. They meet at night. I have heard them near our house. It’s said they are waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. We don’t have to accept this fate, Timeon. Every year the Ephors declare their war on us. But one day we will throw off our chains. I only hope I can play my part.’
    â€˜Just don’t end up like Cato,’ Timeon said. Then he seemed to think for a moment, before continuing. ‘And what makes you think the Spartan lot is any better? Spartan boys are beaten often. And even if some die in this
training
, they think it makes the rest stronger by example. It’s madness to want to be like that!’ As usual, Timeon knew how to reason with him. Lysander brought his hand up to Timeon’s shoulder and gave afriendly squeeze.
    â€˜I’m sorry, my friend, today has tested me more than usual. Come, let’s go in.’
    The interior of the physician’s shop was gloomy, lit only by the fire that blazed at the far side of the room. Several cooking pots hung at different heights over the bank of flames, and the air was filled with woody smells. Sacks of powders and dried plants sat along the back wall, and the shopkeeper stood over the counter, pounding a concoction with a pestle and mortar. He eyed the two boys over his hooked nose.
    â€˜And what can I do for two Helots?’ he asked, showing the sparkle of silver in his two top teeth. The owner was another free-dweller. Spartans were forbidden to take on any trades. Their lives were dedicated to war, and war alone. It was the free-dwellers and Helots who ran the markets and kept society functioning.
    â€˜I need some more medicine for my mother,’ replied Lysander. ‘The last batch doesn’t seem to have helped – she’s still sick.’
    â€˜She still lives, though,’ smirked the shopkeeper. ‘I would say the medicine has worked well indeed.’ He chuckled at his own joke, and Lysander clenched his jaw. The physician noticed the look on his face.
    â€˜We’ll try something else, then.’ Reaching into an earthenware jug, he measured out a small pile of dark leaves. ‘This is