‘The prince had raised the taxes considerably to pay for his household here, and they resented it. So he invited each lord to send his eldest son to a great feast here, in the Citadel, as a sign of his contrition towards them. And when they came he had them all put in chains.’
This was outrageous. I stood up. ‘And have these men have been returned to their fathers?’
Rsan looked down at the floor. ‘No, majesty, they are locked away in one of the store rooms next to the armoury.’
‘Go and get them, now!’
Gallia pointed at him. ‘Wait, where is the daughter of this Agraci king?’
Rsan held out his arms in a gesture of innocence. ‘In one of the kitchen store rooms, I believe.’
Gallia stood up. ‘Find her and bring her here too.’
‘Majesties,’ said Rsan, ‘these prisoners may be dangerous, and you have no guards. May I suggest…’
‘Enough!’ I shouted. ‘Go and fetch the prisoners.’
Rsan scuttled away. I told Nergal to go and fetch some of my horsemen just in case we encountered problems. He came back with a dozen men who stood around the hall with their bows beside them. First to arrive was the Agraci prisoner, who was a mere girl of eight or nine years. She had big brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. Her feet were bare and her clothes torn, and manacles were around her ankles. She shuffled slowly into our presence, shaking and obviously frightened. Gallia was enraged at her treatment. She walked over to the girl, knelt down in front of her and tenderly embraced her. ‘You are in no danger.’
Whether she understood or not, Gallia’s words were spoken in a soft tone which the girl would have noticed. Gallia looked at me while still holding her.
‘Get these chains off her.’
I told Nergal to go and get an armourer or blacksmith, and ordered that more food be brought from the kitchens. The girl looked as though she could do with fattening up. Gallia took her hand and then sat her down at the table while I waited for the other prisoners to arrive. They did so ten minutes later, a sullen group of young men, unshaven and also clapped in irons. Their eyes burned with resentment as they stood before me.
‘My name is Pacorus and I am the new king of Dura. You will all be released immediately and are free to go back to your families.’ Though they said nothing, I detected a palpable feeling of relief in the room. Some of them looked at each other and nodded.
One of them, about my age with a dark complexion, held up his manacled wrists. ‘What about these?’
‘What about these, majesty, I think is the correct term.’
He looked me with narrowed eyes, then relaxed. ‘Apologies, majesty.’
‘No apologies are necessary. The chains will be removed now, though I hope that you will all stay tonight as my guests.’
My offer was met by silence, but their mood improved when two anvils arrived and two burly blacksmiths with thick forearms broke their fetters, attending to the Agraci girl first. And the room slowly filled with chatter as they sat down at the table and helped themselves to the food that was ferried from the kitchens. Most of them cast glances at Gallia, who was feeding the girl small pieces of fruit and bread from a plate. The girl still said nothing.
‘Is she mute?’ I asked.
‘I doubt it,’ she hissed, ‘she’s probably terrified. I’m going to take her to our private apartments, give her a bath and get her into some clean clothes.’
‘What about me?’
‘What about you?’ she sniffed. ‘I’m sure you are capable of finding a place to sleep tonight.’ I kissed her on the cheek and she led the young girl from the hall.
Once the former captives had had their fill, Nergal escorted them to one of the barracks where they could sleep for the night. Afterwards he came back and we sat together at the table while the servants cleared away the mess. Praxima had disappeared with Gallia and the child, but not before she had threatened to ‘cut the balls off Prince Mithridates’ if she ever met him.
‘I apologise for Praxima, Pacorus.’
I passed him a cup of wine. ‘Why? I feel the same way, spoilt little brat. He has created a disastrous situation and now he has run back to his father. I should send Praxima to fetch him back and then she can carry out her threat.’
‘Not how you expected to begin your reign.’
I shrugged. ‘No matter, tomorrow is another day, and Domitus and the legion will be arriving.’
Nergal finished his wine and stood up. ‘You might be needing them. Goodnight, Pacorus.’
‘Goodnight, Nergal.’
Rsan approached wanting to make conversation, but I bade him goodnight and he left me alone with my thoughts. My limbs ached from the journey and I realised that I still had my armour on. I took off the cuirass and laid it on the table along with my sword and belt. Collecting them up I went to find a room to sleep in while my wife attended to the daughter of an Agraci king. It was a strange start to our new life.
The next day, having slept in one of the bedrooms in the palace’s private chambers, I rose early and took breakfast on a large terrace overlooking the Euphrates more than a hundred feet below. The palace was sited on the eastern edge of the Citadel atop the cliff that rose up sheer from the riverbank. There was a small, narrow island in the middle of the river, and on the far side the other bank was Hatran territory. At the foot of the cliffs was a small harbour, from where Mithridates had made his flight no doubt.
Gallia and our young guest joined me soon afterwards. My wife wore a simple white gown with sandals on her feet. Her hair, unplaited, shone in the morning light. Slaves fussed around us, serving us fruit, pastries and cool water. Gallia sat beside me with the child next to her. The little girl looked far healthier than last night, with her hair combed and her face washed. She too wore a simple white dress, though I noticed she still bore red marks around her ankles where the fetters had been.
‘You two look well.’
‘Yes,’ Gallia smiled at the child, ‘she is pretty, don’t you think?’
‘I suppose.’
The child nibbled at a peeled orange as Gallia stared out over the river. ‘Our bedroom also has a terrace with a similar view. Magnificent, isn’t it?’
I cut a slice of melon with a knife. ‘Hopefully tonight I can see for myself.’
‘It’s a very large room,’ said the girl.
‘So,’ I said, ‘you can speak.’
The girl smiled to reveal perfect white teeth. ‘Of course.’
Gallia put an arm round her shoulders. ‘What is your name?’
She finished the orange and picked up a wafer smeared with honey. ‘My name is Rasha.’
‘That’s a lovely name,’ replied Gallia.
‘It means young gazelle.’
‘My name is…’ I did not finish my sentence before she interrupted me.
‘You are Pacorus and your wife is called Gallia, and you rescued her from a fire-breathing dragon in a land on the other side of the world, and you got back home on a white stallion who has wings.’
Gallia laughed. ‘Who told you such things?’
Rasha finished eating her wafer and picked up a fig. ‘The slaves told me. They used to sneak me food even though I wasn’t allowed any. Was the dragon big?’
I nodded gravely. ‘Big and ferocious, and he had huge claws and breathed fire that singed my hair, and my battle with him lasted all day and all night, but I jumped on his back and killed him with my sword.’
Her eyes were alight with excitement. ‘And was Gallia chained to a rock?’
I faked sorrow. ‘She was, chained and helpless. But fortunately I came to her rescue.’
‘What a gift you have for fairy tales, Pacorus.’ Gallia observed with a raised eyebrow.
‘Did you ride your horse here?’ asked Rasha.
‘Yes, he’s in the stables. Would you like to see him?’ She nodded enthusiastically.
So after breakfast we walked through the palace to the stables, Gallia jabbing me sharply in the ribs on the way.
‘Helpless was I?’
Rasha helped to groom and feed Remus, though she was disappointed to discover he had no wings. I told her that he had taken them off as they were very heavy, and in any case he didn’t need them now he was home.