Truth and Sparta by Camille Oster Read Free Book Online Page A

She’d had brief flashes
of it with her husband and she’d chased the elusive thing with
everything in her. Now, it sat there waiting to be acknowledged—so
very close, but she skirted around it—pretended that it wasn’t
there. It was almost going to overtake her when he was getting
close to his release. She felt it coming for her as she watched him
struggling with containing his release, his groan echoing around
the quiet walls. It was like a dream when she was being chased and
was just about caught when she woke up and it was over. She sighed
out relief intermixed slightly with frustration.
    She watched as
he recovered from the exertion, staying where she was—sitting on
his hips.
    “ We march for Pylos tomorrow.” He pulled her down into the bed
and rolled over to face her, supported by his elbow. He had said as
much last time, so it was not news to her. “There will likely be
battle.”
    Chara wondered
if he would perish in it. She had teased her mother with that fate
just a few days ago. Maybe her wishing men dead made it so.
Abstractly, it would be a shame. It was a shame when anyone died,
particularly someone so young and vital. She saw no purpose to
it—it was just a tragedy.
    “ Why do you care about recapturing Pylos? What is there that is
of such importance?”
    “ There is nothing there, but it is on the Peloponnese and the
Athenians don’t belong on the Peloponnese.”
    “ What will happen if they stay?”
    “ They could march on anywhere. They could come here, burn
everything. Kill everyone.”
    “ Like you have done in Attica? It would seem they are only
doing what you have done.”
    “ You seem keen to martyr yourself to the cause of fairness. It
is your family that will suffer. The Atticans run to Athens and
hide behind their walls.”
    “ But you will not protect us the same way.”
    “ We cannot afford to let our food supply be
attacked.”
    “ I can’t say I understand the point of any of it,” Chara
admitted.
    “ It is about the future of Greece. It is the right path. The
Gods are on our side, they sent the plagues on Athens to prove it.”
Chara couldn’t even pretend that she understood the politics behind
it—from what she saw no one could win. It wasn’t like Sparta could
ever control Athens or the other way around, so how was a true
victory ever possible?
    “ The only reason they could be at Pylos is to engage with you,
if you do not engage, there is no purpose for them,” she said
trying to understand why this long winded war was still continuing
with no end in sight.
    “ Doesn’t mean that a challenge can go un-answered. What message
would that send to our allies? It is only in unity that we will
defeat Athens.” It was unusual to hear a Spartan say they needed
anyone but themselves.
    He got out of
the bed—he’d had enough of the conversation. Chara felt no more
enlightened about the reasoning behind their action either, but
then she hadn’t really expected to. The faint light in the room
cast shadows on the walls, shadows of his very perfect form. It
shined off his golden hair as it curled around his neck. Chara
watched him as she walked around the room, then settled in one of
the chairs.
    “ Should I leave?” she asked. He didn’t immediately answer. She
started to rise out of bed when he said no.
    She wondered
if he was scared of the battle he was about to face—he would have
faced many over the last six years. But then it was his purpose, he
had been born and raised to be a soldier.
    He sat for a
while longer before extinguishing the lamp. It was black inside the
room when he did and she felt him return to the bed. His heat
filled the bed with comfort, but she didn’t sleep. When his breath
began to slow, she lifted the blanket up to get out, but his arm
came around her waist and pulled her back. His arm stayed around
her as he returned to sleep and after a while she could only do the
same, lulled by the warmth of his body.
     
    Chara’s life quickly