Illi waited until she could hear Mennad’s snores before slowly sitting up, trying not to make any noise. She got quietly to her feet, pushed her frizzy black hair out of her face, and glanced over at the sleeping figures of the other slaves that shared the small room with her, and took a deep breath before making her way carefully to the door and out into the dry summer air. She made her way down the road, keeping her head down. Her bare feet helped her walk almost silently. As long as she looked like she was doing what she was supposed to be, Illi wasn’t worried about attracting too much attention.
It didn’t take her long to reach the small house. She looked around to make sure that nobody was in sight and then walked up to the front door of the house, slowly opening it. The dim torchlight filling the small one room house showed the form of a man, and Illi let out an involuntary gasp of surprise, stepping back away from the door.
The man spun around, dropping the knife he held in his hand. He was tall, with dirty blond hair, and vicious looking blue eyes, wearing an off-white toga with a purple border.Illi froze, staring at him, her brown eyes wide with fear. “M-master Felix- what are you-” Illi caught herself, breaking off mid-sentence.
“What are *you* doing here?” Felix asked angrily, picking up his knife. “You have no place here, you are supposed to be with the other slaves at all times.”
“I’m sorry I…” Illi looked down, fighting to find a reasonable excuse. “I…”
Felix looked closely at her, grabbing the torch and holding it towards her to get a better look. “You’re the slave girl that used to live here, aren’t you?”
Illi looked up at him and then slowly nodded her head. “Y-yes I am,” she said quietly.
Felix looked at her for another long moment, and then put the torch on the wall again. “Come inside here.”
Illi hesitated, looking apprehensively at the knife in his hand. Felix sighed and set down the knife. “I said to get in here. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Illi slowly stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, not looking at him.
Felix picked something up off of the cluttered table in the house, and showed it to her. “Do you know what this is?”
Illi looked up at him and then at the object in his hand. It was a thin rectangular tablet with carvings in it. She bit her lip and then shook her head, looking down again. Felix sighed and set the tablet down, sitting in a chair.
“Your parents work in the fields don’t they,” he said after a long moment, running his fingers over the tablet.
“My… my father does… and my brother,” she said, looking up at him and swallowing.
“When is the last time you saw them?” he asked, still not looking at her.
Illi blinked. “Um… I don’t… it’s been a very long time.”
“How would you like to see them again?” Felix asked, looking over at her, tablet in hand.
Illi looked at him, confused. “M-master Felix?”
“Tell me what this is, and you can see them whenever you want,” he said, holding up the tablet.
Illi’s eyes widened and she stared at him for a long moment. “Are you… do you really… mean that?” she asked, heart thumping.
He nodded, moving the tablet towards her. “What is it?”
“It… it’s a curse tablet,” Illi said quietly, looking down again.
“How does it work?” Felix asked.
“I… I don’t know what they say… I can’t read.”
Felix sighed and put down the tablet. “Go home.”
Illi swallowed, looking up at him unsurely. “…my family?”
“It’s too late tonight, I’ll get them tomorrow,” he said dismissively.
Illi nodded again and turned around to leave the house. “Thank you, Master Felix.”
Felix didn’t respond. Illi left, closing the door behind her. When she was outside she grinned to herself, tearing up slightly. I’m going to see my family! Then she took a deep breath, composed herself, and set off back towards her masters’ house.
The next morning, Illi woke up earlier than usual in her excitement to see her parents. She crept out of the room she and the other slaves slept in, and went into the house to start cooking breakfast. It wasn’t long before another slave, Thiyya, joined her. When they had finished putting breakfast out, Illi ate a quick meal of bread, and then headed towards the docks.
“Stop- wait!” Illi turned around, not sure if the man had been speaking to her. She looked up in surprise when she saw Felix.
“Master Felix?” Illi watched as he walked over to her, trying not to grin. He’s going to take me to see my father!
“You aren’t working at the docks today, I need you to help me with something. Follow me,” he said, walking away.
Illi bit her lip, hurrying after him. “Can I… can I see my father?”
“Not yet,” he said simply.
“I… I did what you asked me to though,” she pointed out, trying to hide a frown.
“I just need you to do one more thing, and then I’ll take you to them.”
Illi didn’t say anything, walking quickly after him to keep up.
“…where are we going?” she asked after a minute.
“Stop asking questions,” Felix barked.
Illi swallowed and looked down, following Felix silently. She quickly realized that they were headed to her old mistress’s house again, and picked up the pace slightly, wondering what he wanted her to do. When they reached the house, Illi hesitated outside of the doorway before walking inside. She opened her mouth to speak, and then thought better of it.
Felix went over to the table and picked up a tablet again. “I’ve been here all night, reading this. I think I finally figured out how these things work. You don’t know what they say, correct?” He looked at her.
“I… yes. I don’t know what they say.”
“Do you know how to make them work?”
“It isn’t your place to question me,” Felix said. “Answer my question.”
Illi stared down at the floor. “…yes.”
“How do they work?” he asked.
“I… I don’t know how to explain it…” Illi lied, not looking up at him.
Felix sighed and looked down at the tablet again. “If I gave you a tablet… would you be able to make it work?”
“I… I guess so…” Illi said hesitantly.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to give you a tablet, and you are going to go do… whatever you have to do to make it work. And then, I’ll take you to your father.”
“But… but I already did what you told me to… how… how do I know you are really going to let me see my family?”
Felix turned around and handed her the tablet. “It’s up to you. Make the tablet work, and see your father, or don’t make the tablet work, and don’t see him.”
Illi took the tablet and looked down at it. She bit her lip, running her fingers over the carvings in the thin lead tablet. Then she slowly nodded. “Yes… I will do it.”
“Good. If the curse works, I will take you to your parents. Now leave. And remember not to let anyone see it.”
When Illi snuck out in the middle of the night for the second night in the row, she was feeling slightly more confident. She held the tablet close to her chest, and walked out into the dry night air. Illi hurried around to the back of the house and down the street. As Illi walked, she let out a small sigh and began to calm down, feeling more relaxed now that she was doing what she was used to.
When Illi reached the burial grounds she paused and looked around, knowing that she needed to be extremely careful. Illi knew that disrupting a grave was punishable by death, much less also being caught with a curse tablet. She would have to be careful.
Illi went over to a tomb and crouched down, setting the tablet down in the grass. She opened the tomb and looked inside of it. She reached into the tomb and pulled out an old urn, careful not to drop it as she brought it out of the grave and onto the ground. Then she pulled off the lid.
Careful not to inhale, Illi slowly placed the tablet inside the urn and closed it. Then she put the urn back into the tomb, and closed the lid, standing up and brushing her hands off. Illi straightened up and looked up at the sky, a small smile on her face. All she had to do was wait a few days, and she would finally be able to see her family again. She looked down at the tomb again, wondering what the curse was about. She was sure that somebody as rich as Felix must have many enemies, but she had no idea who they were, or what he wanted to do to them.
Illi turned around and began walking back to the house, wanting to get some sleep before she had to wake up in the morning.
Julia froze when she saw her husband. She opened her mouth to speak but then noticed that he was talking to a small girl. The girl had dark brown skin and long hair, frizzy in the heat of the day. She was skinny, with lean arms and long, strong legs, and she wore a plain, white, ratty old tunic that was too small for her. The girl’s bare feet were covered in dust. Julia recognized her as one of their kitchen slaves.
Julia sidestepped around a corner, putting one hand protectively over her large, pregnant stomach, and watched them quietly, wishing she could hear what they were saying. The girl seemed to be telling Felix something, and he was nodding, with a small contented smile on his face. Julia narrowed her green eyes, watching as Felix spoke to the girl. He seemed to be giving her an order, and the slave girl seemed to be upset by it. Then Felix turned and walked away, and, after a moment, the slave girl walked towards Julia, looking unhappy.
Julia composed herself and stepped out from around the corner, head held high, brown hair cascading down her back, and walked over to the girl, trying not to let her stomach make her steps awkward. The girl stopped dead and stared up at Julia with wide eyes, looking terrified.
“You, girl, what’s your name?” Julia snapped, looking down at the girl.
For a moment, the girl seemed to forget how to speak, she just looked up at Julia, mouth open. Then she opened her mouth and stammered, “I-Illi-”
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be in the kitchens.”
“I- I… m-master Felix- he- I-” Illi’s hands were shaking.
Julia rolled her eyes and grabbed Illi’s arm. “Calm down, girl. Let’s go.” She began dragging Illi down the street back towards the house. Illi stumbled after her, kicking up dust as her feet scuffed across the ground.
Julia pulled Illi into the house, but instead of taking her to the kitchens, brought her into a small, scantily furnished room, dark except for a few flickering candles on a table, that was near the back of the house.
“Sit down,” she said, releasing Illi’s arm. Illi went timidly over to a hard wooden chair in the corner and sat down, looking at the ground. Julia stood, facing Illi, and looked at her with a strange grimace that was her attempt at a kind smile. “Don’t be afraid, Illi, you aren’t in trouble,” she said in a falsely sweet voice. Illi looked up at her, confused. “I just want to know what my… dear... husband… wanted,” Julia continued, walking over to Illi and crouching down next to her with some difficulty. “Can you tell me?”
Illi shook her head, closing her eyes, mouth shut tightly.
For a second, Julia’s face flashed with anger, but then she composed herself. She stood up and walked away from Illi. “Have you ever had a pair of sandals?”
Illi was taken off guard. “M-mistress?”
“Sandals,” Julia repeated, turning around. “Have you ever had any?”
Illi blinked. “Um- no… I… I haven’t… mistress.”
Julia gave Illi the strange smile again. “How would you like your very own pair?”
Illi looked up at her, not sure what to say. “I…” She stared at Julia.
“Tell me what Felix wanted you to do, and i’ll get you a nice pair of sandals.”
Illi hesitated, trying to decide if she should just lie about what he had told her to do. “He… he asked me to um… bury… something for him… and I was just… telling him that I was finished.”
Julia raised her eyebrows. “Bury what?”
Illi faltered. “Um- an… an old box,” she lied, hoping Julia would believe her.
The tall woman looked at her suspiciously for a moment, eyes narrowed, and then turned around again. “Did you look inside of it?”
“N-no- I didn’t,” Illi said, feeling relieved that Julia had believed her.
Julia stood for a moment, trying to figure out what her husband might have buried, nearly forgetting about Illi. “... go back to the kitchens. Your sandals will be by your bed tomorrow evening.”
Illi got up and hurried out of the room, heart still thumping wildly in her chest. She went into the kitchens where an older girl, Demetria, was chopping onions.
“Where on earth have you been?” Demetria asked, sounding flustered.
“I- I was- doing something for… mistress Julia,” Illi said, looking away. “I’m sorry.”
Demetria’s expression softened. “Go get washed up, and then cut up those carrots,” she said, pointing. Illi nodded, leaving the kitchen to wash her hands.
That night, Julia lay on her back in bed, waiting for Felix to fall asleep. Her mind was whirling as she tried to figure out what Felix had gotten Illi to bury. When Felix finally began to snore, Julia waited a few minutes longer, and then quietly got out of bed and got dressed, pulling on the large tunic with a sigh and looking down at her stomach. She had been pregnant before, but it seemed worse every time. When Julia was dressed she walked to the front door and out of the house, barely making any sound.
Julia hurried down the street, head held high, not looking at the few people who walked past her. When she reached Marcus’s house, she went up to the back door and knocked lightly. He opened it immediately, grinning at her, and she stepped into the house and kissed him on the lips with no hesitation.
Marcus wrapped his arms around her, careful not to press against her too much, and she kicked the door shut as they moved further into the house, still kissing. Finally they broke apart, faces only inches apart, smiling at eachother.
“I missed you all day,” Marcus murmured, making Julia grin.
“I missed you too,” Julia said, letting go of him. “Felix is driving me crazy.”
Marcus gave her a sympathetic smile and then pulled her against him so that her back was pressed against his chest. He laid on hand on her stomach. “You know, you could always come live here instead.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “How? You know I can’t just leave him.”
“But if he was gone, would you move in with me?”
“Gone?” Julia raised her eyebrows. “Marcus don’t be ridiculous.”
Julia turned her head to kiss him again. “I do. But that doesn’t mean I want Felix to be ‘gone’.”
Marcus let go of her. “I thought you would say that,” he said with a small sigh. “I just… hoped you would prove me wrong.”
“Marcus, just put it out of your mind. We’re together right now, I don’t want to talk about Felix or… wish we could be together always.”
Marcus nodded, stroking her long hair with one hand. “Wine?”
Julia nodded, smiling at him, and Marcus walked away into another room. Julia sat down with a small sigh and put her hand to her stomach. She hoped he didn’t bring up the subject of her moving in with him again. She looked down at her swollen stomach and smiled slightly. Maybe I should move in with him. I don’t want Felix raising his child.
A loud crash jolted Julia out of her thoughts. “Marcus?” she called, standing up. “Did you drop the wine again?” She rolled her eyes as she went into the other room. Then she let out a gasp.
Marcus was sprawled across the floor.Wine from the shattered bottle puddled around him, and large glass shards were scattered around his hand. His off-white toga was turning red in the puddle of wine. Julia rushed to his side and knelt down, shaking him. “Marcus? Are you okay?”
She got no response. She pressed her fingers to his wrist, checking for a pulse, and found none. Her eyes widened, and she stared down at Marcus for a long moment. After the way she had screamed, she knew people would wonder what was going on, and had no doubt someone would show up any minute. Julia straightened up with a small groan, made sure she had no wine on her long tunic, and walked as quickly as she could out of the house.
Julia’s head was spinning as she walked quickly away from Marcus’s house. He couldn’t be dead. She must have imagined it. It couldn’t have actually happened. But deep down, Julia couldn’t fool herself. Marcus was gone. She didn’t know how, but he was dead.
At first Illi didn’t understand what was happening. A man showed up early in the morning, and demanded to speak to Felix. One of the older slaves took the man back to Felix’s room, and Illi watched, curious. Not long after, the man emerged again, Felix with him. She heard them speaking quietly as they left the house.
“...nobody know’s how he died,” the stranger was saying, “what a terrible loss. Your brother was a good man.”
“He was more than just a good man,” Felix replied. Illi thought he didn’t sound very sincere, but she assumed he was just in shock.
When Felix returned, however, he seemed to be, not sad, but in a very good mood. Illi was confused. She didn’t understand how Felix could be anything but devastated after the death of his brother. Illi hear the other slaves muttering to each other as she cut vegetables in preparation for dinner, and found out why he was so happy. It turned out that Felix had inherited a considerable amount of money from his brother, in addition to the lands and slaves that he owned. Had his brother’s death had actually been a good thing for Felix? Suddenly a horrible thought struck Illi. What if he actually wanted him to die? What if that’s what the curse tablet did? Illi almost cut off her finger by accident when she realized.
As soon as she was dismissed from the kitchens for the night, Illi set off to find Felix. She knew that she could get in trouble for walking around the house when she was supposed to be asleep, but she just had to ask him what exactly the tablet had done. Before she had even had a chance to look for him, however, Felix found her, putting one hand on her shoulder from behind.
Illi jumped in surprise and spun around, relaxing when she saw Felix.
“Follow me,” he said quietly, before Illi had even opened her mouth to speak. Illi would have protested, but she knew that would only get her in trouble. Felix turned and walked away, and Illi followed him, feeling slightly nervous.
“Don’t talk,” Felix whispered harshly, cutting her off. “We don’t want to be heard.”
Illi followed Felix, biting her lip, but staying silent. Is he going to kill me too? The thought came into her mind unwanted.
When they reached her former mistress’s house, Illi felt slightly relieved. Finally, Felix spoke.
“I want you to take care of another tablet for me,” Felix said, going into the small house without looking at her.
Illi swallowed. “I- I don’t-”
“Don’t you want to see your father again?” he snapped.
“But- you said I could after the other one-”
“Well, now I want you to do this one,” he roughly handed the tablet to her, making her stumble back slightly.
Illi considered simply leaving for a moment, but then mustered her courage. “What- what did that last one do?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“But- if…” Illi took a deep breath. “Did it… kill your brother?”
Felix froze. “What are you talking about?” he snapped, rounding on her. “I thought you couldn’t read!”
Illi stared at him with wide eyes. “I c-can’t-”
“Then what makes you think that it killed my brother?”
“W-well I just- you got all that money so I- I thought m-maybe you k-killed him to get it-” Illi stammered, stepping back.
Felix’s angry expression changed to a disturbing smile, made all the more eerie by the dim torchlight of the room. “You think I killed him for money? No, you foolish girl, that’s not why I killed him-” Felix broke off, looking furious with himself.
Illi stared at him, speechless. Felix glared at her as if it was her fault that he had said too much, and pointed firmly at the door. “Go deal with that tablet. Now.”
Illi didn’t dare disobey him again. She scurried out of the room, holding the tablet against her chest, heart thumping.
When Illi had gotten a good distance away from the house, she slowed to a walk and looked down at the tablet in her hands. What am I going to do? she wondered, stopping in the middle of the road. If I bury it, will someone else die? What is he trying to do? She had almost decided to hide the tablet instead of burying it when another thought came to mind. What will he do to me if I don’t do it? Will he kill me? Will I ever see my family again? Illi took a few steps down the road in the direction of her master’s house. I’ll think about it tonight and deal with it tomorrow.
Illi had only taken a few steps down the hallway of the main house when she heard a muffled grunt of pain. She froze, listening carefully. There was silence for a long moment, and then another stifled groan. Illi crept towards the doorway the sound was coming from, the entrance to Julia’s room. After a moments hesitation, she slowly stepped into the room. Her eyes went wide when she saw the scene inside.
Julia was standing, hunched over slightly, holding her swollen stomach with one arm. Her face was screwed up with pain, and she had a hand to her mouth to quiet the sounds she was making. After a moment, Julia’s face relaxed, and she straightened slightly, panting.
Illi stared at Julia, frozen. She quickly recognized what was going on, and felt sick. Memories of her mother doing the same thing flashed in Illi’s mind. She recalled her mother, crying out, face red. Her mother gripping her father’s hand tightly while another woman shouted at her to push. Her mother bleeding onto the bed and screaming. Her mother collapsing onto the bed, panting, while her brother’s cries rang out for the first time. Her mother bleeding more. Bleeding too much. Her father’s panicked shouts at the other woman. Illi remembered being pulled out of the room by a third woman, who was holding her brother. That was the last time she had seen her mother alive.
Julia cried out again and Illi looked back up at her, eyes still wide. She felt panic rise up inside her, and tried to back out of the room. She tripped backwards, falling to the ground with a loud crash as the tablet flew out of her hands. Julia looked up at her, both hands protectively covering her stomach. Her face contorted with a mix of anger, fear, and pain, and she stepped towards Illi angrily before letting out a gasp of pain and leaning weakly against the wall.
“Help me- to the bed-” Julia muttered, not looking at Illi.
“Are you deaf?” Julia snapped. “Help me to the bed, slave. That’s- what you’re for.”
Illi moved slowly forward towards Julia, eyes wide with fear.
“Hurry up,” Julia barked, hunching with pain again.
When Illi reached Julia she hesitated, not sure what to do. Julia grabbed onto her shoulder, and Illi let out a small yelp of surprise, nearly falling over as Julia leaned against her. Illi moved towards the bed, struggling to hold Julia up. When she reached the bed Julia collapsed onto it, and moved to the middle, lying down and letting out another groan of pain. Illi stood there, mute, staring at Julia. Is she dying too?
Julia clenched the sheets of the bed in her fists, eyes squeezed shut again. Should I say something? Illi wondered.
“Um- c-can I… help?” Illi asked timidly. At first, Julia appeared not to hear her, then her face slackened again and she leaned back, panting.
“Stack- up the pillows,” Julia ordered her.
Illi began gathering up the pillows next to Julia, confused.
“Behind me you idiot!” Julia snapped, practically yelling.
Illi quickly moved the pillows behind Julia, dropping some of them to the floor. She quickly bent down to pick them up and put them behind Julia as well. Julia leaned against the pillows, still breathing heavily. Before Illi could speak again Julia let out a loud groan of pain, closing her eyes again.
“You- should push…” Illi squeaked, imitating what she had heard said to her mother.
“I am pushing!” Julia panted furiously. “I’ve- done this five times-” Julia broke off, letting out a louder cry of pain. “Get- water-”
Glad for a reason to leave, Illi turned and all but ran out of the room. She broke into a run when she was in the hallway, going to the kitchen and getting out a cup. She dipped it into the pot of water that had been set out in preparation for the next morning, and then ran back to Julia, trying not to spill too much of it. She was so distracted as she sprinted down the hallway that she didn’t even notice Felix until she ran into him from behind. The cup of water crashed to the floor, shattering. Felix spun around.
“What the- what are you doing here?” Felix yelled, stepping away from the puddle of water. His eyes ran over her, clearly checking to see if she had the tablet. His voice dropped. “Is it gone?”
Before Illi could speak Julia let out a loud cry of pain and Felix looked over his shoulder, hesitating for only a moment before walking quickly into the room.
“Julia?” Illi heard him say loudly. His angry voice of only a few moments before became soothing.
“Felix-” She heard Julia grunt.
“It’s okay, i’m here.” Felix’s voice was unusually gently. Julia groaned loudly one more time, and then the night was filled with the cries of a baby. Unable to ignore her curiosity, Illi went into the room again, stepping carefully over the broken cup. She saw the tablet on the ground just inside the room and picked it up, about to stuff it into her tunic. Then she looked up and felt her heart drop as her eyes met with Julia’s.
“What is that?” Julia asked in a dangerous voice. Felix turned around. In his arms was a small baby, bloody, but no longer crying. A few bright red hairs stood out on his head, the same vivid shade as Felix’s hair. When he saw Illi holding the tablet, fury swept over his features.
“N-nothing-” Illi squeaked, trying to stuff the tablet into her tunic.
“Come here,” Julia snapped. Illi wanted nothing more than to run out of the room, but she moved forward. Before she reached Julia, Felix turned back towards his wife.
“It’s nothing important, just something she found in the old witch’s house. I told her to dispose of it, but obviously…” he glanced over his shoulder at Illi, eyes flashing, “she hasn’t.”
Illi looked down at the floor, gripping the tablet with her small hands.
Julia looked suspiciously at Felix, and then back at Illi. “I want to see it.”
“Give it to me, slave!” Julia barked, cutting Felix off.
Not daring to disobey, Illi stepped up to the bed and, hands shaking, handed the tablet to Julia. Then she stepped back and moved to flee from the room.
“Don’t move,” Felix growled, making Illi freeze in her tracks. The baby started crying again, and Felix turned his attention to it. Julia read over the tablet once, twice, face dark. Then she looked up at Felix.
“What is this?” Julia asked in a quiet voice that made Illi shiver.
Felix hesitated, and then spoke, looking at Julia. “I- there were… many of them in the witch’s house… I just thought…” he looked down again. “I thought that…”
“You thought that you could use magic to make me love you?” Julia asked harshly.
Felix flinched, and then nodded.
“Did you ever consider,” Julia began angrily. “That if you had just loved me in the first place, I might be able to love you again? Without witchcraft.”
“I do love you,” Felix protested, looking down again.
“Well you have a funny way of showing it,” Julia spat. “Give me my son.”
Felix carefully handed her the boy, who was still crying. He looked reluctant to let go of him. For a long while there was silence as Julia looked down at her son, smiling slightly. Felix stood quietly by the bed, watching her. Illi considered trying to sneak away again. Then Felix spoke.
“His hair. It’s red, just like mine,” Felix said softly.
“It is,” Julia agreed, not looking at him.
“Marcus-” Felix swallowed, “Marcus didn’t have red hair.”
“He didn’t,” Julia agreed again. She looked up at him, staring into his eyes. “He’s yours. I thought… I thought he wouldn’t be…” She sniffed, and Illi stared in shock as Julia began to cry.
Felix looked almost as surprised as Illi. He hesitated and then put a hand on Julia’s shoulder. Julia flinched away, but then relaxed.
“I’m- i’m sorry,” Julia said quietly. Felix looked even more surprised. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
“I never- never meant for it to- I just- Marcus- he gave me- a-attention. You were- you never- and then… then the baby- I thought- if it was Marcus’s I- I would have to-” she broke off, looking up at Felix. “I thought you didn’t love me,” she said, wiping her eyes with one hand.
“I do love you,” Felix whispered. “I thought you loved Marcus.”
Julia hesitated, and glanced down at the baby in her lap. “I… I thought I did too… but… maybe… maybe I was wrong…”
Illi took a step away from the bed, and then another one. When neither Felix nor Julia stopped her, she left the room, and went quietly out the back door to the slaves’ living quarters.
The next morning, after Illi made breakfast, Felix came up to her. He looked happier than Illi had ever seen him. “Come with me,” he said, leading the way towards the front door. Illi followed him, feeling both nervous and curious. “I’m taking you to see your father,” Felix said once they were outside. “Well, actually, i’m buying him. They will work for Julia and me now.”
Illi’s eyes widened and her heart leapt.
“My- my father! But… but I didn’t bury the tablet.”
“Bury?” Felix looked at her and then shook his head. “Nevermind. Yes, you didn’t… bury it. That’s exactly the point. If you had… if the curse…” he shivered. “Because you didn’t, things between Julia and I… they just might work out.”
Illi stared at him uncomprehendingly, not sure how she had helped. She didn’t say anything, however. She was finally going to see her parents. She was going to live with her parents. They weren’t going to be stuck in the fields anymore.
“My… my brother?” she asked, looking up at Felix.
“Him too,” Felix said. Illi could have hugged him.
They walked for a long while until they reached a large house on a hill, overlooking a vast field full of workers. Standing in front of the house were a tall, sharp looking man, a shorter, stronger man with dark skin, and a small boy, clinging to the shorter man’s leg. Illi broke into a run and sprinted to her father, jumping into his arms, tears flowing down her face. She felt his arms wrap around her, and buried her head against his shoulder. She never wanted to leave his arms again.
