Quintus felt groggy. Incredibly groggy. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but the sun was shining bright and Quintus knew he had a long, stressful day ahead of him. He willed himself out of bed and threw on a fresh tunic. He put on some sandals and tried to flatten his hair out, trying not to look like someone who just woke up. [i]And failing at that.[/i] Quintus mentioned to himself. He smelt something cooking in the kitchens and the young Roman's stomach growled. He realized that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning before heading out with Brennus. 

Speaking of Brennus, the old slave came into the hallway leading into the kitchen and gave a slight bow before his master. "How is he?" asked Quintus, skipping the formalities. "No better then last night, but he still lives." replied Brennus. Relieved, Quintus followed Brennus to the kitchen. and they were both surprised to see Kala hard at work with Ametha. Brennus spoke first. 

"Gods, Ame. You're putting her to work right away?" Brennus and Ametha were the two oldest slaves at the estate, and they always teased one another. While the two of them were giving each other a hard time, Quintus went to Kala. He tried his best to hide the fact that he was nervous.

"Hey." he said. "How are you holding up? I hope Ametha wasn't too mean to you. I still remember when she broke a wooden spoon against my hand for stealing a meat pie."