Volume 3: The First Crotone War Chapter 9: Giorgis's Happiness

Last year, when Thurii's army suffered a disastrous defeat in Lucania and other women wept for their fallen husbands, Andreia closed her doors and wept tears of joy at home: she had finally escaped her misery!

Who would have thought that days later, the Lucanians would storm into Amendolara, and all the townspeople would become captives—she was no exception. A Lucanian warrior, taken by her beauty, escorted her before Bacule to curry favor with the heir of their tribal chief.

Seeing this man with his tangled long hair, tall and sturdy, his appearance so different from a Greek's, Andreia trembled in fear and began to lament her misfortune. Yet to her surprise, the burly man before her did not assault her. Instead, he comforted her in Greek, telling her not to be afraid…

While most of Amendolara's people were locked up in the temple, Andreia and her son stayed in their own courtyard. Every day, Bacule personally brought them abundant food, showed her great concern, yet never touched her. Gradually, Andreia let down her guard and eventually fell in love with this Lucanian man. She felt that compared to her former husband, though Bacule looked fierce, he was steady, loving, and attentive… a hundred times better than her ex-husband! For the first time, the young woman experienced what love truly meant. Finally, one day, she took the initiative to invite Bacule into her room… From then on, whenever Bacule came home, she was inseparable from him. She happily thought: if her previous marriage was hell, then this was the Elysian Paradise within hell!

So when Bacule anxiously told her that the Lucanians had lost and that his tribe and the Hetu tribe planned to retreat into the hills, and asked if she was willing to go with him, she hesitated only briefly before agreeing.

The night before last, when the mercenaries stormed into Amendolara, Andreia took her child and followed Bacule and his people as they retreated to the temple of Zeus on the hilltop. Watching the Lucanians and the Amendolarans clash in front of the temple, she somehow felt little worry for her own countrymen, instead fixing her gaze on Bacule. In the end, she saw him struck down by the charging mercenaries…

Davos never expected to encounter such a melodramatic plot in this world. As a political figure, he was certainly not moved by Andreia's story and infatuation. Instead, it made him think of the issue of how to handle the Lucanian captives. At yesterday's meeting, he had deliberately not mentioned the Lucanian prisoners, fearing that the grief-stricken old citizens and widows would burn them to ashes with their rage. So he was waiting—waiting for the old citizens' hatred to fade with time, and for the widows to forget old grudges by forming new families.

"If you don't choose to marry a new citizen, then according to the newly enacted law, your land and property will be placed under the supervision of the city government until you remarry or until your son comes of age, at which point it will be returned to him. Do you understand?" Davos reminded her.

"I understand. I am willing to donate my husband's remaining property to the city, as long as… as long as you can guarantee Bacule's life and treat him well!" Andreia pleaded in a sorrowful tone.

"The captured Lucanians are merely imprisoned, not killed or mistreated. Of course, that depends first on whether the man you mentioned is not seriously injured," Davos explained seriously.

"He is not! He is not!… I saw he was only knocked unconscious. When you captured him, he was already awake!" Andreia said excitedly.

"Very well, I will go back and check whether there is a captive named Bacule. If there is, I will arrange for you to meet him," Davos said calmly.

"Really?!… My lord, that is wonderful! Thank you! Thank you so much!! You are as merciful as the goddess Hera!…" Andreia was so overjoyed that she fell to her knees before Davos, babbling incoherently.

At that moment, Davos' gaze was fixed on the soldiers in the square who had gained nothing, and his mind wandered: the Lucanian captives included not only warriors but also the elderly, women, and children. It seemed this tribe had originally intended to settle in Amendolara. With these old and young, he felt more confident about controlling the warriors of this tribe. Moreover, if the soldiers were to marry the single Lucanian women, the citizens of Amendolara would become relatives by marriage to the captured Lucanian tribe, bringing him one step closer to the hidden plan of "assimilating the defeated." Therefore, this matter needed to be set in motion immediately.

…

Georgios followed hesitantly behind this woman named Danise or Dania (he had been too nervous to catch it clearly) as she led him before the Registrar Raphias.

Having seen Georgios at the Senate meeting the previous night, Raphias deliberately slowed his speech to introduce Dania's household situation to Georgios and asked if he was willing to marry her.

Georgios looked a little shy, his expression awkward, not knowing how to reply.

Dania whispered beside him, "Say yes quickly."

So he nodded, and everything felt like a dream.

Georgios had not wanted to participate in this "matchmaking event" at all; he had been dragged here by his subordinates. From the start, he stood in a corner, unwilling to push into the crowd of women like the others. But just as he was idling and about to fall asleep, a woman appeared before him, took the initiative to tell him her name, introduced her family, and then bluntly said she had taken a liking to him and wanted him to be her husband.

Georgios was stunned. Looking at the woman's pleasant face, he had no idea what to do. Under her gentle entreaties, he nodded as if bewitched, and then the woman led him out of the square.

Dania, walking ahead, beamed with joy. As a thirty-year-old woman who had been married twice, she scorned those girls who were intoxicated by men's sweet talk. She believed that what truly brought happiness to a woman were honest and steady men. So in the square, when she saw Georgios standing awkwardly in the corner, she took a fancy to him.

Dania's home was halfway up the hillside, a relatively large courtyard.

Dania opened the door and saw Georgios standing outside, still hesitating whether to enter. She smiled, stepped forward, took his hand, and said with utmost seriousness, "Come in. From now on, this is your home, and you are the master here!"

Home? That word touched Georgios' lonely, self-conscious heart.

Following Dania through the gate, Georgios looked around curiously: the outer wall was built of neatly cut square stones, whitewashed with lime. After entering the gate, there was an open courtyard between the entrance and the vestibule, surrounded by a colonnaded portico forming a central hall. In the middle stood a pool that collected rainwater and led to an underground cistern for household use (Dania told him this later). Around the pool grew many kinds of plants; it was spring, and they were blooming with colorful flowers. In the center of the pool stood a white marble statue of a naked young woman, her body alluring, every detail exquisitely carved… Georgios' face flushed and his heart raced…

Dania took his hand, led him around the pool, and into the hall. She insisted that Georgios recline on a cushioned couch to rest, and asked with concern, "Are you hungry? I'll go cook first."

"I'll come too," Georgios tried to stand, but Dania pressed him down: "No need. This is women's work. Go bathe first and rest for a while." Then she called loudly upstairs: "Ibia! Ibia!"

With a crisp reply, a dark-skinned slave girl hurried downstairs.

"This is your new master!" Dania said with a hint of authority.

The girl walked humbly before Georgios, her eyes showing a trace of curiosity, and bowed respectfully: "Master!"

"Boil a bucket of hot water, then bathe the master and change him into new clothes!" Dania commanded.

Georgios lay in the large wooden tub full of hot water, his face flushed and heart pounding again.

Because Ibia wore only a thin linen tunic, as she scrubbed his body, her fit form pressed against the soaked fabric, half-hidden and half-revealed, making the young Georgios's throat go dry. So this is what it meant to be a citizen of a city-state?

Amid his nervousness, there was more delight.

Dinner was bread and olives, and Dania said apologetically, "The dinner is too simple. There's no help for it—Cornelius only allocated this much to me. He said it will be like this for a while."

Georgios recalled last night's meeting and comforted her: "Don't worry. Chief Davos… I mean, the lord has already sent people to Tarentum for aid. And fortunately, those Lucanians forced you to plant grain promptly, so it can be harvested in early autumn. Once the Senate has placed new citizens like me in the next few days, you can reclaim your own land."

"Really?!"

"At last night's Senate meeting, the magistrate and everyone discussed it and made that decision," Georgios said, showing off a little.

"That's wonderful!" Dania said happily. But what pleased her even more was that this young, unassuming Georgios had actually attended the city's Senate meeting. She had really found a treasure: "But you're wrong. It's not my land that will be reclaimed—it's your land!"

That night, Dania used every trick in the book to serve the still-virgin Georgios to heights of ecstasy…

Under the moonlit, starry sky, in many newly formed households within Amendolara, similarly passionate and romantic scenes unfolded.