Infinite 01 - Infinite Sacrifice

bread under his arm. I kiss him, and he’s gone.

Chapter 8
    It’s months before we hear from anyone again. Nereus stops by one evening and with a big smile. “You will be happy to know Arcen graduated agoge today.”
    Ophira lets out a little scream, hugs me, and I sicken at the thought I should be so relieved my son didn’t run back home.
    Nereus continues, “They wasted no time in sending them out as reinforcements to Leander’s army.”
    Thinking of Leander seeing Arcen in action makes me wring my hands. Regardless, we had a celebratory feast that night with wine, listened to Nereus’s stories, and enjoyed every word and peal of laughter. I start in labor on a summer day. I ask Ophira to help me outside and up to the cliff since I had my heart set on the baby being born up there among Demetrius’s wildflowers. This time we don’t worry if we shall call anyone because Leander is away and this baby won’t be examined since it’s a mothax. I labor more quickly this time, and when it’s time to push, I look out over the cliffs and hope this baby will be blessed. Ophira holds her up for me to see; she’s thick and strong. She has a full head of strawberry-blonde hair, pomegranate-red lips, and a peculiar mark above her right knee, but it only endears her to me more. I name her Kali and having her to take care of fills our days. She makes every day wonderful. She walks early and is running before her birthday comes around again. Theodon comes a few times to see her and is slow in giving her attention at first, but soon realizes she’s irresistible. Theodon visits one day, especially to spend time with her, and is here when we see a few carts and horses coming up our road.
    I scream inside.
    Leander, dressed in full armor, is on his way back. Legs hang off the back of his cart. I rush down the hill to them so fast it’s hard to stop. There is Arcen, lying upon his embossed shield, dead. I start crying; Ophira catches up and holds me.
    Leander gets off and nods to me. “Don’t waste your tears. He died a coward.”
    With that, he rolls Arcen over to show five broken arrows in his back.
    He was shot while running away.
    “Oh no, oh no, oh no.”
    This is great shame to a family. Leander and I will be disgraced and Kali might not even be able to marry now. There’s nothing so vile as a coward in Sparta; a leper’s more welcome at a ceremony. To be the mother of a coward is like death. Ophira pulls me up the hill and I can see Leander up ahead hesitating at Theodon.
    He shouts down to me, grabbing Theodon’s thick shoulder. “You see this! This is what a real son looks like! This is something a man like me should have! I would’ve been better off breeding with this helot!” He points despairingly toward Ophira.
    I can’t take it anymore and burst out, “No need for that! Theodon is yours! He’s both of ours! He was born Arcen’s twin! He came from my womb! I nursed him for a year!”
    Leander looks shocked at first and then amused. “Is this true, Ophira, or is she losing her mind?”
    Ophira lets go of me in anger, turns to me, and says, “Of course she’s losing her mind. What else will jealousy and a cowardly dead son do?”
    I look at Theodon, who seems so utterly confused. Ophira goes up to him and whispers something in his ear, rubs his shoulder, and takes him to his horse. I can’t believe Ophira took this from me. Leander walks up to Kali, who is tottering around sweetly, mindless of what’s occurring in front of her.
    He shouts, “And once this mothax turns ten, we’re sending her away!”
    His angry voice now scares her, and she comes running to me. I hold her tight as I cry in her hair and watch Arcen’s dead body lie still.
    ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
    Other than commands and nods, Ophira and I stop talking. Though she still works for me, it’s amazing how little we have to communicate. I understand why she had to deny my confession for both our sakes, but we still cannot repair the disconnect I caused. I find out through Nereus that Theodon has finally joined the Citizens’ Army. Nereus says he’s already winning great acclaim and respect. All Ophira and I have is Kali, and we enjoy her separately. She’s torn between us, but it becomes normal for her. Leander leaves for war again as soon as Arcen is buried: not in a hero’s grave, but a regular civilian’s grave, given his cowardice.
    A few months later, Nereus is found dead in his sleep by one of his