Author's note: (There is a scene here that might suggest that Hera has some latten feelings for out Protagonist, and I am here to tell you that is not the case. To some it might suggest pedophile behavior and I am telling you, is not and it would happen at all)
In the villa of Asterios and Hera.
The room was open and featured a king-size bed with drapes for privacy.
There is a little wooden headboard with a mirror attached a true work of art across the room near the door. The morning wind blew in since the pair had not blocked the window to the room, and the air made them shiver slightly. Asterios gently opened his eyes.
He looked to his left and saw his lovely wife laying on his arm, her eyes open and looking directly at Asterios. Hera smiled and murmured softly:
"Morning sweetie"
Asterios kissed her forehead and said:
"Morning my love"
Hera shivered a little on the bed as she got close and personal with Asterios' body, asking:
"So, honey, will I get up and prepare breakfast for your slave, bodyguard, and daughter? "Or will you be a sweetheart and make some for all of us?"
Asterios chuckled and asked with a flirtatious tone:
"If I were to complete this work, some think it is intended for a woman. What are you, my lovely wife, going to gift me?"
Hera grinned and teasingly played with Asterios' lips.
"A woman's job is to please her man in every desirable way, so…"
Hera shifted her hand, grasped Asterios' crouch area, and then grabbed his hair with the other hand. She then carefully took him by the hair as if she wanted his ear, bit down on it seductively, and whispered:
"I might continue this play after you feed your miserable wife, daughter, and slaves breakfast. Because Mom is hungry and angry"
That final sentence put Asterios in a hypnotic trance, and he stood up from the bed and went to the headboard, a smile on his face and in the mirror's reflection, and grabbed a cloth before leaving.
Hera smiled, took a breath, and wondered:
"I can't remember if I married him for his looks or his ease in falling for my chasms."
Before she could fully relax and feel the wind blowing into her room, Asterios shouted:
"Oh Hera"
"What?" Hera yelled in response.
"You might want to see this"
Hera stood up, wrapped a blanket about her showing features, and strolled out the bedroom. She got to the front yard, where she had heard her husband, and she instantly started screaming:
"What's so hard about creating a fruit salad, butter bread, and baked sausage? Simply chop fruits into typical bite-sized pieces and...
Hera was perplexed as to why Asterios, Flora, and Quinn were staring at the sky; she noticed what had caused Asterios, Quinn, and Flora to nearly drop her blanket that was covering her body.
On the wall that surrounded their villa, facing the wall with the door-shaped opening leading to the farm. On top of the structure was a boy with ashen complexion standing horizontally atop the wall, his hand acting as a support like his legs when walking straight.
He was upside down, making a bizarre gesture with his pointing finger and middle finger, while stretching his legs straight to the side. He closed his eyes and took regulated and controlled inhalations and exhalations of air through his mouth and occasionally his nose.
Hera approached Asterios without looking away from the slave boy's unusual routine and asked in a whisper:
"What is going on?"
Asterios took a time to respond:
"I'm in the same boat as you, honey. I just spotted Quinn and Flora marveling at whatever he was doing, so I called for you and joined them."
Hera planned to question Quinn because she suspected he had awoken first. Nonetheless, she could hear:
"Good morning, Mr. Quinn, Master and his family. Did you enjoy your breakfast?"
It was Glove or Monare, whichever name they preferred to call him. Monare opened his eyes and performed a series of movements to recover from his unusual position; he then plunged from the high wall as if taking a leap of faith. He landed without worry, using a small roll to minimize the impact of the jump; he picked himself up and patted himself down to remove the dust from his clothes, hands, and body.
He then gave a courteous bow and added:
"I have said my good mornings to you all with a smile on my face and delectable breakfast of buttered bread, fruit salad and cooked eggs I got from the chickens this morning"
He looked up, perplexed as to why they had not responded at all. He asked:
"Did something serious occur, I ask as I see my lady is without clothes on her body?" He pointed to Hera, who discovered she was outside with only a blanket covering her body. She dashed away before Quinn and Flora could turn to see her.
Was she blushing a little? Monare wondered and shrugged as he went about his regular tasks. He saw off Quinn, Flora, and Asterios, leaving their expressions difficult to judge.
Monare paused for a moment, wondering why they were so surprised.
'Have they never seen somebody exercise before? Are the Arthesian lazy? That would explain the fat slave merchant, should I kill him when we meet. On the other hand, as a captive, I might let him let down his guard. I know he's not given up on me.
Monare chuckled to himself as he touched his body's cuts and scars with his palm, then walked to the fields with a smile.
Hera was dressed in a simple tunic with a dingy brown color. The outfit appeared to be that of a woman who would be doing housework for the day; she took a tired breath and sat on the table near a dish of peeled and sliced fruits with various utensils nearby.
Asterios interrupted the silence at the table and asked Quinn:
"Quinn what was that outside?"
Quinn responded:
"It would seem that it was a form of exercise sir"
"Seriously what kind exercise was that, Quinn?"
"Quinn shakes his head and responds:
"I don't have a clue as to what that was?"
Flora giggled and added:
"He looked silly out there and it seemed fun, can I try it daddy?"
Hera continued to eat as she listened to the three members of the household discussing what the slave was doing; just now, she was attempting to calm down because she wanted to get that image out of her head.
When she saw the slave, she recalled her husband's days as a struggling and smiling farm owner. The man was enigmatic and weird, which drew her into frantically falling in love with him; now, seeing that slave reminded her of the question she had asked:
Why did I fall for him?
When Quinn was finished, he left to tend the farm and guard the land for his employer. When he arrived at the hill overlooking the farm from the villa's back door, he noticed the hens being fed and moving into their cages to an empty area near the horses that was parched and desolate.
Monare transported them there and let them roam freely, leaving a bowl of food and water in the cage. Quinn made his way to him and said:
"Good morning Monare/Glove which ever you prefer?"
Monare grinned and bows:
"Morning Mr. Quinn, any is okay"
Quinn added:
"You know you can call me Quinn from now on"
Monare shook his head and replied:
"No, it would be rude in my culture to address someone older than me by their name. Even if they gave you permission, we always want to show respect for our elders."
Quinn then inquired with a raised eyebrow:
"What age do you think I am?"
Monare said as he walked towards the kraal with Quinn:
"I read somewhere that asking a question is impolite to women, so since you are a man, I will be blunt with my response. I suppose you might be between 27 and 34 years old."
Quinn chuckled and stated:
"24 actually"
"Wow so young, how long have you served the master and the family?"
"Since I was twenty, he rescued me from an awful experience and I pledged my loyalty to him out of debt to pay"
"Did you pay after four years?"
Quinn chuckled again, adding:
"Is this a trick question?"
"Yes, I see the obvious response to the question I posed. "Mr. Quinn, may I ask you something?"
"Sure, and it better not be obvious"
Monare grinned and chuckled slightly:
"No, it is not obvious Mr. Quinn" Monare took a big breath and pointed to the forests he had visited last night.
"What lies there?"
Quinn looked where the finger was pointing and added:
"A fairy tale meant to scare off children from going there alone"
Monare asked:
"Meaning?"
Quinn looked him with a raised eyebrow, and he hopped over the kraal fence and added:
"In that forest lies an old tale of the Druid of Alshewooder"