Slave Girl Pt. 02 Ch. 09-15

I clear my throat and say proudly. "I love you too Rosa."

"On the road again." She smiles.

"Seems to be our destiny."

"I can walk." She offers.

"Nah. Hop on." I say. "I already made a spot for you."

She ducks under the shaft and feels back along it to the cart bed where she finds the space tucked amongst our belongings right at the front. I hold the cart steady as she climbs on board. I glance over my shoulder to make sure all was well then heave my weight forward and get the whole rattling ensemble moving. It was a hell of a lot heavier going out than it had been coming in, and the bumpy incline and snagging branches along the narrow path didn't help any, but through sheer brute strength I power us up onto the main road and take the left toward Grumentum. With a proper road beneath my feet we are soon making good time back along the river valley.

"I wish I had my flute." Rosa says. I look back to see her bouncing and swaying with the bumps and swerves of the road.

"We'll get you a new one." I say. "You could sing."

"Would you like that Master?"

"Yeah. I would."

She clears her throat and takes a deep breath...and begins to sing. In a voice more clear and pure as any of the morning songbirds my slave sings for me. It is different than any song she had played or sung before it. The language was Greek but the melody must have come from far off Egypt or perhaps even further into the great African continent. It was simple yet so profound and haunting! The words were a later addition but beneath them I could sense the deep roots of the song stretching back through the centuries beyond the written word to a time when such songs were sung around campfires open to the starry heavens above. I could feel it right down to my soul. At once joyous yet melancholy it flows with a rhythm so foreign and so mysterious that these Roman ears had no context with which to compare it. Adding to this was the fact that her deep demonic throat, her ability to naturally growl, and her long tongue allowed Rosa to hit warbles and notes that were simply impossible for a human mouth to replicate. It was like hearing song again for the first time ever. Her voice drops as low as it could go as she holds the final bass note to a long fading finale.

I stop the cart and turn to look at her. "Wow!" I exclaim. "You could do THAT all this time? You've been holding out on me."

"We used to sing that one with Papa." She says her blank eyes gazing into the past. "He used to sing the low notes. I almost forgot about it. Danae reminded me of it. She's reminding me of a lot things actually. From before Alexandria."

"Wow!" I say again. "That was...WOW!"

She giggles. "It's a song about cows believe it or not."

"No!"

"Uh huh." She nods. "It's about these old paintings they sometimes find in caves and cliff sides. They show cattle and a race of giant men traveling the open plains. Nobody knows who put them there or why. Men? Jinn? Gods perhaps? Nobody knows. It's a song lamenting the loss of old freedoms and celebrating the dawn of new ones. It's a love song of a sort, but about cows." She blinks. "Did you like it?"

"Like it? I never knew anything to do with cows could be so beautiful." I turn and start the cart going once more. "Wow." I mutter once more.

She sings a few more songs along the way, these ones familiar to me and with an upbeat mood that was easy to march along to. The steady beat of my steps and rhythmic creaks of the wagon provide a base for Rosa's soaring melodious tones. Our spirits high we make good time, happily greeting all of our new neighbors and fellow travelers along the way. The heavy cart was a difficult burden but my heart was as light as a feather as we make our way to the city.

To be continued...