18 the little man unshackled Esselt, and the slave girl took Faelan’s sister to her side. As the slave dealer and the woman exchanged parting pleasantries, Faelan could hear his heart thudding with ever increasing speed. Esselt was the last of his kin. He could not be parted from her. “Esselt! No, no! Please, take me with her!” he shouted with such urgency and despair that the merchants and their customers ceased all negotiations and stared. The woman, dismayed, tried to move away; Faelan grabbed at the toga of the slave dealer, nearly toppling him, and tried to push past him. The slave dealer, in a panic, threw Faelan to the ground. He stepped hard on Faelan’s leg to keep him from rising. “So very sorry, Domina! ” The slave dealer bowed deeply as he spoke to the woman. “Reassuring, isn’t it, that you bought the right child? The girl will give you no such trouble; I swear by Hercules!” The woman took Esselt by the shoulders and swiftly turned her away from Faelan, who still lay in the dirt. Looking back over her shoulder, her eyes filling with tears, Esselt gave her brother one last small smile. The two of them had always been close; they had played together until Faelan grew too old for games with his baby sister. The slave dealer waved and smiled at the woman until she was out of earshot. Then he turned on Faelan. “You stupid, stupid boy! Now I will have to sell you tomorrow, since everyone here today has seen this spectacle!” he kicked Faelan hard in the ribs. “You will learn to obey and keep silent! And never put your hands on a freeborn person ever again! I should kill you for this. But I’d rather have the money.” He jerked his head up and called to the little man. “Take him away; get him out
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