Samuel.

"Good. This is good." Omar circled the men in his training group. "You may put your nimchas away. I am very happy with how you are handling yourselves. There is talk that we will be needed in Algeria soon, but we will see.

Samuel wiped the blade of his sword, and then slid it into its sheath. Five months he had been with Omar. He was finally starting to feel like a free man, though he knew he was not.

"Samuel!"

He turned at the sound of Omar's voice. "It is time for more talk. Bathe, and then come to my quarters."

Samuel bowed and pulled his kaftan over his head. He headed to the Hammam. Every time he went there, he thought of Farah. Her touch had brought him back to life. That dream had lasted a week, now he saw her only in passing. He was a slave. Slaves did not have women. Farah had been given to him on General Dehbi's say so, and only until he had taken control of his demons, as Omar called them. He slid into the warm water and closed his eyes. Omar wanted him to talk more. To remember his past. A past that had been locked away for close to three years. It was hard to think about. To know that he had, had another life.

*

"Ah... come. Sit." Omar patted the floor rug, and then scooped more couscous into his mouth. "You have eaten?"

"Yes, thank you, Master Omar." Samuel sat and folded his legs.

"So..." Omar put his bowl down and wiped his mouth. "The last time we spoke you had told me about the death of your father, the duke, and having caught his murderers in the throes of passion." Omar poured a goblet of water and offered it to Samuel. He took it, so Omar poured another for himself. "We have spoken of the woman with flaming red hair and of your brother, the now duke. Last time we talked about your journey to Algiers. I ask you now, what plans would you have if you were a free man?"

Samuel creased his forehead and peered at Omar. "I am not a free man, master. Whatever plans I have conjured in my head, over the past years, will never come to fruition, so I see no point in speaking of them."

"If, Samuel. I said if. I want you to speak of these plans so they might ease your soul a little more, and because I am interested to know how you would spend your time in freedom." He took a mouthful of water, and then put his mug down. "You have come a long way, My Lord Samuel. Others have told me you do not sleep well. You call out names in your dreams. Some of these we have spoken of, others we have not." Omar paused and looked Samuel in the eye. "At times the devil within you shows himself. Like today. You nearly cut Driss' throat with your nimcha."

"Nearly." Samuel cocked his head and lifted the corner of his mouth. "But I did not."

"You showed good control." Omar drank again and grinned. "Please do not kill my soldiers, your comrades. Save your killing for your enemies."

"Yes, master." Samuel made to stand. Omar stopped him.

"We have not finished talking. Your plans, Samuel. If you were a free man. I want to know of Lios. You cry out this name when you sleep."

Samuel licked his lips, and then took a mouthful of water. "Lios was the captain of the ship that brought me to the Barbary Coast, and to the slave markets in Casbah. To Pasha Akbar and Khalil. Lios and George Somersby turned me into the man I am today. If I were a free man, I would kill them both, as I wished to kill Akbar and Khalil, if they had not killed each other."

Omar chuckled and popped a grape into his mouth. He offered the bowl to Samuel who shook his head. "Pasha Akbar was one of the most senseless men I have ever come across. It is good that he is dead. It is good that Khalil was the one to kill him. If it were you, Samuel, you too would be dead today. They would have executed you." He eyed Samuel and threw another grape into his mouth, and then said, "I have something to tell you, but you must promise to keep this to yourself."

When Samuel cocked his head, Omar laughed and tossed another grape into his mouth. "That was stupid of me. You hardly speak to another, and only to me when I pressure you. I know what I say will go no further." Omar patted Samuel on the back. "The French are on the verge of invading Algeria. There is pressure on Mawlay Abdul-Rahman to send troops to fight against France. It is said, slavery will be abolished soon. But..." Omar held up his finger, picked another grape off the bunch, and then said, "I have a plan to escape, and make my way to England. I would like you to come with me. There is a ship. Hades. It sails in two days. I have passage for the both of us, if you would like to leave this place. What do you say? When we get to England, you can resume your life. Carry out your plans to kill George Somersby."

Samuel dragged in a huge breath of air. It caught in the back of his throat and sent him into a coughing fit. Omar slapped him on the back and laughed. "I will take that as a yes."

"Hades?" Samuel whispered.

"Yes." Omar grinned and popped the grape he had been holding into his mouth.

"Lios is the captain of Hades."

Omar gasped; the berry got caught in his throat. His face turned red as he struggled to breathe. Samuel thumped him on the back. The grape shot across the room, and for the first time in three years Samuel Denyer, Earl of Irvine, laughed.

It looks like Samuel is going home.  Yay!!

I wonder if Banuff and Lios will still be on the Hades.

Do you think Samuel will kill them if they are, or do you think Omar will stop him?

Photo taken from Osmani Art