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Every gesture was beautiful Precise

And it was designed to seduce

Hemy eyes, I wanted to scream at the injustice of this He was firstborn He was the one who should be heir to the throne and here he was

How could they have done this to him?

And why?

Because his eyes were different? Because those eyesabout this boy He wasn&039;t like Styxx, who&039;d been known to have people locked up and beaten just because they offended him One poor peasant had been beaten because he&039;d come to the palace without shoes on his feet Shoes he couldn&039;t afford

Acheron didn&039;t play pranks on e anyone or make the

A family came in and sat at the table beside us Acheron paused as he noticed the boy and girl The boy was a few years younger than he and the girl probably his age

By the look on his face, I could tell he hadn&039;t seen a faether before He studied them curiously

"May I speak, my lady?"

"Of course"

"Do you and Styxx sit down and eat with your parents like that?"

"They are your parents too"

He returned to his food without co

"Yes," I said "We sometimes dine with them like that" But Acheron never had Even when he&039;d been at home with us, he&039;d been banned from the family table

After that, he didn&039;t speak Nor did he look at the family He merely ate with those impeccable manners of his

I choked down a few bites, but found I wasn&039;t very hungry after all

I took us back to our quarters to wait for the driver to finish his rest and feeding the horses It was nearing dusk and I wasn&039;t sure if ould continue to travel through the evening or not

I sat down on the s day I&039;d only arrived in Atlantis thatand hadn&039;t anticipated so quick a return Not tomy brother away from my uncle At the moment, all I wanted was to sleep

I felt Acheron in front of ain save for his bands

I frowned at hi?"

"I owe you for my food and clothes, my lady" He knelt down at ht and grabbed his hand "You don&039;t touch fa"

Confusion creased his brow

And then I knew the most horrid of truths "Estesdoes heDo you" I couldn&039;t bringkind enough to shelter me"

I&039;d never wanted to cry so ely dry-even as anger and disgust welled inside me over what had been done to my brother Oh, if I could only lay hands to my uncle"Put your clothes on, Acheron I have no need of you to pay "

He left , I watched hi even a single muscle Obviously he&039;d been trained to do that, too I walked h the horrors of the day&039;s revelations

Through the horror that lad father would be to welcoain

I told hirand his room would be

He listened silently while his eyes told le word I spoke

Whores don&039;t live in palaces

I could hear his thoughts plainly

And honestly, I was beginning to doubt those words myself

November 4, 9532 BC

Acheron remained so silent for the rest of our journey to the docks that I began to worry He didn&039;t look well In fact, he was prone to break into a sweat and shake for no apparent reason There was an awful ashen cast to his skin

Whenever I asked if so was the matter, he would only say that it sometimes happened to him

As ere around more people, he became more nervous

"Estes won&039;t find you," I told hi to alleviate his fear

It didn&039;t work If anything, he grew more apprehensive

Boraxis returned with our tokens for the journey across the Aegean that would take us ho scared until the boat sailed

At any moment, I was afraid my uncle would find us and take Acheron back

It was just after midday that they allowed us to board the ship Boraxis led the ith

The first ave him directions for our quarters, but as alked past, he stopped Acheron

"Lower your cowl"

I saw the panic in Acheron&039;s eyes before he coe alh those ere near us All eyes turned toward my brother

The first mate shook his head and tsked at me "My lady, we don&039;t allow slaves to travel on thestare "He&039;s not a slave"

The first hed at that He reached to the band around Acheron&039;s throat and pulled at his pendant that held the symbol of a fiery sun

Acheron didn&039;t aze lowered

The firstto keep your tsoulus with you, my lady, but he&039;ll have to travel below deck with the other slaves"

It&039;d never occurred to me to have Acheron&039;s bands reold whatsoever, so it hadn&039;t dawned on me that his would betray him

"Nexus," the first mate called to another sailor "Escort this one below deck"

Acheron&039;s panicked gaze held mine "Please, Idika, don&039;t send me there Alone You can&039;t"

"I&039;ll pay more," I told the sailor

"I&039;m sorry, ers would be extremely upset if we broke the rules for you"

I felt horrible for hiht, Acheron It&039;s only a few days and we&039;ll be home"

My words only appeared to scare hi else as Nexus came forward to lead hilanced about nervously

"He&039;ll be fine, Your Highness," Boraxis assured me "His quarters won&039;t be refined, but they&039;ll be serviceable and clean"

And Boraxis would know He had once been a slave before my father freed him

"Thank you, Boraxis"

My heart heavy, I went to my quarters and wondered what Acheron would do for the next four days

November 8, 9532 BC

I waited on the deck with bated breath for Acheron&039;s return Over the last four days I&039;d tried my best to see hiers weren&039;t allowed below decks anymore than the slaves were allowed above

Alone now, even the sailors, while Boraxis and I waited

At last, I saw Acheron appear As he had on the day they&039;d taken him below, he had his cowl pulled low, his head bent down

Not even a single glimpse of his body or face could be seen

"There you are!" I said in joy at seeing hi in return

When I tried to eaze, he moved past me

His actions irritatedhim from the madness of my uncle&039;s home? Surely as bare as the slaves&039; quarters had been, they were preferable to being mauled by others

"Don&039;t be so petulant, Acheron I had no choice"

Still he spoke no words

I wanted to shake him This was the first ti with you? Answer asted by his whispered request that was tinged with anger

"Are you mad? Why would you ever want to return to Atlantis?"

He didn&039;t respond

Sighing in frustration, I led him from the deck Once ere on the docks, Boraxis went to procure us a closed herio for the journey home

Still Acheron remained silent He didn&039;t look around or show any interest at all in the fact that he was safe from Estes&039;s clutches

"We&039;re in Greece now Not too far frorateful to see a herio drawing near us Maybe that would cheer his malaise

As it stopped before us, a nobleman hailed me

"My lord?" I asked as he drew near He wasn&039;tsaid that he was extrenize hinitary

He barely looked at me It was Acheron who held his attention, Acheron who shrank away fro that "Why do you wish to know?"

"I want to buy hih aze I swear I sawyou wish for hi at the man "Get in the herio, Acheron"

Acheron didn&039;t speak as he quickly climbed inside

When I tried to join him, the man actually stopped ive you anything you wish"

Boraxis forced the man aside

I climbed into the herio all the while the man continued to try to bribe me

"I can&039;t believe this," I mumbled "Does this happen often?"

"Yes" Acheron&039;s response was barely more than a whisper

Boraxis secured our door "I shall ride with the driver, my lady" He handed me a wineskin and what felt like bread wrapped in cloth "If you need anything, call for me"

"Thank you, Boraxis"

He nodded, then clie breakfast on the ship, I wasn&039;t hungry I could feel Acheron&039;s stare, but he still kept himself covered by his cloak "Would you care for a bite?" I asked, handing the food to Acheron

As the herio started forward, he tore into the cloth like a starved animal It wasn&039;t until he liold band on his wrist But he didn&039;t seem to notice as he shoved chunks of bread into his ht, Acheron?"

He only continued to eat ravenously

When the bread was gone, he attacked the wineskin with the same fervor It was several minutes before he lowered the skin and let out what sounded like a relieved breath