10, September, 1300BCE
Eleanor's Pov: I woke up to a beautiful day by the rooster's call--My eyes fluttered opened, as I stared at the wooden ceiling above me--Then I glanced out the tiny window next to my bedframe. there, outside was Dominic--The elderly men, already up. He seemed to be busy with the livestock--As I then watched him crouched down near a sheep--He grazed its fur and began to whisper something in its ears. I unknowingly started smile at the sheer wholesomeness--As I then got quickly. slipping on my sandals--I stepped outside--As soon as I did--the gentle breeze tickled my skin as my blonde locks began to flutter against it furiously. The man then gazed at me--his lips casting a warm smile, "good morning daughter" He greeted me.
I smiled softly--"Daughter" It was something that I thought I would never be called by ever again--After the Byzantines raid--And coming in here as a slave, that word wasn't in my dictionary.
My lips then parted--"Good morning to you too father" I said to him without a hesitation. He had been treating me as if I was his daughter after all. He smiled at me warmly--Then he continued to whisper. I went in closer as curiosity got the best of me--What are you whispering to the goat? I asked.
He gazed at me--You know, I'm a sheep herder, as well as a livestock keeper, he said to be eyes gesturing to vast land around us and at the livestock. He then continued: so, sometimes, when things seem frustrated, all we can do is be silent and do nothing and try to calm ourselves.
"I believe that my sheep's can understand what I'm saying to them" I nodded at him glancing at sheep--Looking at my judgmental face, he smiled, I get it, I mean, I'm an old guy living in a secluded place, no family--You would probably think that I had gone insane...ha, he let out a low breathy laugh, as he continued graze its fur.
My eyes widened at his sudden words--I then quickly held out my hands--N-No, no of course not, I said to him.
He didn't reply, he just kept the smile. I then began to advance in on him then I too crouched down beside him--He seemed to be whispering something, perhaps a lullaby?
His voice made it more harmonious--As I then found myself thinking back to my home, Ruthenia--At how once I laughed freely. How I was carried on the back by my mother and father--And how gentle my mother's voice was--When she sang me a lullaby.
I guess, lullabies are the same in every language no...?
Differentiated when it comes to words--Though at the core--It's all about expressing a mother's love to her children.
Dominic then paused--His warm gaze then met hers--Eleanor?
Hmm? she glanced at him. Dominic then smiled--Who is master Flaytus to you? he asked, watching her curiously.
Eleanor's gaze dropped--Then, the image of his brushing her face flashed through her mind--Her face flushed, as she struggled to find the words.
Dominic waited, then he let out a low laugh-grazing the sheep again. Eleanor shot him a look--Then he sighed--That was me and my wife years ago... her murmured, vice low yet warm.
Eleanor smiled softly--as she listened in--"A rare beauty, just like you" I met her on my duty--She was a medic--A fierce one. He gazed at the sky--Now seeing you and master Flaytus--Eleanor's gaze faltered, did Flatyus really think of her like this? who is he to her any was?
She glanced at the ground--desperate e to find something to console her self--No... if she hadn't meant something to him--Then--Why would he have looked at her like he was his everything to him? why did he save her? the way he held her hands when other's prying eyes gazed at her and the way his jaw ticked when he saw other men looking at her--As if only he was allowed to do that.
Eleanor sighed--her gaze returning to the sky--glancing up at it--her eyes filling with questions.
Her gaze then fell to the flimsy ring of her finger--Her hands clenched,
"It won't matter anyway, I'm married, I'm a claimed woman" her eyes then darted to the soil--Flaytus had been her savior--But really her destroyer.