Time flew by and with each passing day Amaya looked more relaxed and healthy. She spent a lot of time with her mistress and before long Nila was treating her like her own daughter. She even gifted Amaya some beautiful robes, making her stand out from the other slaves. At times, it even made Amaya forget that she was a prisoner of Rome and in between felt like she used to. She could not imagine a better mistress than Nila and had learned to read her every wish from her eyes.
As every morning, Amaya entered her mistress' room at 8:00 sharp and opened the heavy curtains so that the room was filled with warm sunlight. "Good morning, mistress. Breakfast is served." Nila sat up sleepily. "Thanks Amaya. I've been thinking. As you may know, it's my birthday in a week and I think I'll celebrate it." Surprised, Amaya looked at her mistress. Since her husband's death, she hadn't thrown a party and avoided public events. "Now don't look so surprised. I don't want to invite so many guests. Nevertheless, I would like to celebrate and you must help me with the preparations." - "I would like that very much." Amaya thanked God that her mistress was feeling better and was happy for her. What followed was the most chaotic morning she had ever experienced. The news quickly spread throughout the house and all the staff were busy cleaning up. The villa was cleaned, the garden tended and the menu and decoration selected. Amaya helped where she could and ended up with a huge shopping list. She saddled one of the horses and immediately made her way to the market.
When we arrived at the market place it was already afternoon and the market was crowded. She tied up her horse and began going through the grocery list. She hardly made any progress because far too many people were in the square and also doing their shopping. The day is drawing to a close and Amaya was just looking for the last ingredients. The sun was just going down and the place was slowly emptying.
Luca thanked Klaudius and gave him the money. He had just placed a bet on one of the gladiators and was already looking forward to tomorrow's games. As he was walking across the market to pick up his horse, he suddenly noticed a woman who was buying some fruit. She looked familiar to him, but he didn't know where from. She had long dark hair and crystal blue eyes. Those eyes... he'd seen them before. Now she turned and noticed him. She held her breath and looked over at him with an anxious look. For Luca it felt like time stood still. she was beautiful Their eye contact was briefly broken when a carriage blocked his view. But when she disappeared, the woman was no longer there either. He looked around and went disappointed to his horse, when he couldn't find her. When he got there, he saw his aunt Nila's snow-white horse from afar. However, his aunt was not sitting on him, but the woman he had just seen on the market square. She galloped away with him and disappeared behind some houses. Luca looked after her and slowly it dawned on him. That couldn't be right? He had just recognized the slave he had brought to his aunt's house, since his sister didn't want her because she didn't think she was pretty. But after a few weeks the skinny, inconspicuous girl had turned into a beautiful woman who was much prettier than he had ever imagined the daughter of Festizius... However, his aunt was not sitting on him, but the woman he had just seen on the market square. She galloped away with him and disappeared behind some houses. Luca looked after her and slowly it dawned on him. That couldn't be right? He had just recognized the slave he had brought to his aunt's house, since his sister didn't want her because she didn't think she was pretty. But after a few weeks the skinny, inconspicuous girl had turned into a beautiful woman who was much prettier than he had ever imagined the daughter of Festizius... However, his aunt was not sitting on him, but the woman he had just seen on the market square. She galloped away with him and disappeared behind some houses. Luca looked after her and slowly it dawned on him. That couldn't be right? He had just recognized the slave girl he had brought to his aunt's house because his sister didn't want her because she didn't think she was pretty. But after a few weeks the skinny, inconspicuous girl had turned into a beautiful woman who was much prettier than he had ever imagined the daughter of Festizius... That couldn't be right? He had just recognized the slave he had brought to his aunt's house, since his sister didn't want her because she didn't think she was pretty. But after a few weeks the skinny, inconspicuous girl had turned into a beautiful woman who was much prettier than he had ever imagined the daughter of Festizius... That couldn't be right? He had just recognized the slave girl he had brought to his aunt's house because his sister didn't want her because she didn't think she was pretty. But after a few weeks the skinny, inconspicuous girl had turned into a beautiful woman who was much prettier than he had ever imagined the daughter of Festizius...