They half dragged me, half carried me, but between the three of us, we were able to get me into the attached bathing room. It wasn’t nearly as large as the ceremonial one I had been bathed in at the start of the Calling, but it had a wide, deep tub. I ignored the chains and metal loops screwed into the walls. I really didn’t need to think about Maalik adding water torture to his repertoire.
I wanted a shower, but the pain in my feet refused to let me stand for long. I left bloody footprints on the tile of the bathing room with each step. After the second time I started to collapse under the stream of the shower, the eunuchs had had enough.
“Tub,” Jozel ordered. I was lightheaded from pain and blood loss, and I couldn’t argue. Kyris ran the water, the temperature just barely above room temp. Jozel stood at the door, their face screwed into a permanent scowl.
With gentle hands, Kyris washed my wounds with a soft rag and soap, their strong arms strangely tender. I noticed almost distantly the slight silver that showed in their eyebrows and the lines at the corner of their eyes. Kyris was a good deal older than I had originally thought.
The water quickly became dark with blood and other things, so they drained the tub and refilled it, this time with water hot enough to begin to relax the ache in my muscles. The soap burned and stung my cuts, but the warmth of the water was comforting.
Kyris left the room for a moment, returning with a tray in his hands.
I had just emerged from under the water after rinsing my hair a second time when they got seated. Maalik had ripped pieces of my scalp away, and I saw bloody black and white strands floating in the water.
Kyris sat the tray on the side of the bathing pool. The tray contained a jug of water and a cup, a silver comb, a few vials of liquid, and a metal box.
After deeming me sufficiently clean, the eunuchs let the water drain, then helped me to take a seat next to the tub. With swift, efficient hands they used the liquid in the vials to cover the worst of my injuries. Some of them stung with astringent, others blessedly numbed the worst of the pain as Kyris opened the metal box to display a suture kit. They removed needle and thread from the packaging and began stitching up some of the larger cuts that still oozed blood.
“You’re good at that,” I whispered hoarsely as they tended to my injuries.
“I used to be a medic,” Kyris whispered, eyes flicking to glance at Jozel who seemed to be ignoring us. “Before.”
That explained why he had been made a eunuch, and not just executed. Medics were in high demand. A House like this one would need a knowledgeable medic to make sure their victims survived. When they finished stitching, Kyris opened a plastic bottle that had been hidden inside the metal box and took out two small pills.
“This will help with the pain,” they said, whispering furtively, gesturing to the one on the left. “And this with the swelling.”
I started to shake my head. I never wanted to have my will stolen from me again as it had been by that drugged wine.
“Please, Kataramenos,” Kyris said as Jozel shifted by the door, too far away to hear what the older eunuch was saying. “It is not the same as the wine. It will leave your will intact but will also dull the pain. Please. Let me help.”
Since just sitting was about the limit of my endurance currently, and even that was fucking painful, I finally nodded.Again, what choice did I have? I could see Jozel was just itching to Suppress me again.
As I thought about it, I was surprised that an Elusian had been made a eunuch. That was usually a punishment reserved for humans like Kyris. I wondered what kind of crime they had committed to receive such a harsh punishment. No way I was asking, though. I took the proffered pills from Kyris and downed them with water from the jug.
After straightening the room and disposing of the bloodied cloths and bandages they both again helped me stand, wrapping me in thick towels. Before returning to the room, I insisted on brushing my teeth. I wanted that bastard’s taint completely removed from my body. By the time they helped me back to the bed, I could barely put one foot in front of the other, but at least the throbbing pain was receding. Kyris had been true to their word. I hated being this weak, this vulnerable, but at least I had my own will.
They had just gotten me seated on the bed when a knock on the door made Kyris and I stiffen. Jozel opened the door, then moved out to the corridor to respond to a question from a young man in page’s livery.
“Why?” I asked suddenly, gripping Kyris’ hand as they moved to comb through the tangled mess of my hair. “Why have you been so kind?”
Kyris eyed me sadly.
“You didn’t choose this,” they said waving at my body then at their own. “Any more than I did. I will not add to your misery, Mageia.”
“I’m not Mageia yet,” I responded automatically. “I’m a Hoplite.”
A small, sad smile tugged at the corner of their lips.
“That is the Elusian Legion’s designation for you. They take everything from you, even your name, just like they try tostrip me of my identity by calling me ‘they’. You are a Son of Hecate. You were born Mageia. You will be Mageia all your days, regardless of what anyone else says,” they responded, resuming their work on my hair. “Just as I am more than the genitals they took away from me. I was born an Illyrian male. I had a wife and I have a son who I hope is still alive. Someday, I hope to return to him and be the father he deserved.”
I looked at him in shock as his words sunk in. Alexandrian custom was to refer to all eunuchs as “they”. I hadn’t really considered how important that pronoun could be to someone who had lost everything else they held dear and had no control over their lives.
“Would you- Would you prefer that I refer to you as ‘he’?” I asked hesitantly.
The smile that spread across his face was stunning.
“Please,” he responded, then continued working the comb through the snarls of my hair.
“So, you’re Illyrian? Mitera was Illyrian.”
