Servius’s mind buzzed with contemplation as he awoke the
next morning. He had not had the
best night’s sleep, as Adelia had filled his consciousness with ideas he had
never dreamed of before. The
thought of deserting his kind masters for his own freedom had never crossed
Servius, yet Adelia’s beauty and indomitable spirit had spurred a fire inside
his heart. The idea of freedom;
freedom shared with Adelia, saturated his soul with a longing quite foreign to
the slave. As he arose from his
sleeping quarters and dawned his tunic, Servius walked outside to meet his
master family who had just arisen.
It was an E day, signaling a market day for the Lucceius family’s
section of Rome. Although
most of his master family made the trip to the Forum Boarium for supplies
during this day, he felt compelled to leave earlier, as he knew Adelia visited
the market in the morning. After
consulting his family, telling them that he could pick out some of the freshest
foods if he left promptly, Servius made his way down the Palatine hill.
The Forum Boarium was
not as busy as what Servius usually witnessed on market days, as he arrived
earlier than normal. After
collecting fresh bread, fish, and fruit, he spotted Adelia, looking radiant as
ever. She was mulling over fresh
vegetables, carefully selecting olives, one by one. Making his way over to her, Servius cleared his throat
slightly, gaining the attention of the beauty. A quick glance was all he received, however, puzzling
him. As Servius stood their
momentarily, wondering what had taken place between then and the glorious night
that they had just experienced, he quickly understood. Portia, the recently appointed wife of
Brutus the Younger, appeared from behind an adjacent fruit stand. Approaching Adelia, she informed her of
a fish stand that she must visit at once.
Turning around with attempted nonchalance, Servius gingerly walked away,
knowing he had almost ruined everything.
With a bountiful collection of sustenance for his family, Servius made
his way back home.
Servius completed a
comparatively light load of chores that was assigned to him, as was typical in
the Lucceius family on market days.
His main endeavor was to help prepare the dinner, served in the late
afternoon. After the Lucceius
family gave thanks to the gods, wine was poured and fish, dried fruit, and
vegetables were served. Watching
his masters lounging on their dining sofas, enjoying the fresh dishes that him
and his fellow slaves carefully prepared, Servius longed to join them just
once. Without realizing,
Servius found himself picturing him and Adelia on their own sofa, feeding each
other grapes. Snapping out of his
daze, Servius realized that his mind had begun to follow his heart. As he collected scraps from the floor
following the feast, the call for freedom beckoned from within him. He knew he could not fight it much
longer.
