Free Truth and Sparta by Camille Oster

her
breast. It was a girl and she was beautiful. Her tiny little mouth
mewled slightly as she adjusted to her introduction to the world.
She had the smallest little fingers Chara had ever seen. Chara
named her Elphia, which meant hope, because that is what she
represented and that is what she gave. They would need the support
of the gods to help them through this endeavor and this little girl
in her arms what the purpose for all Chara did. This child had
given her a course in life and she now had someone to live for.
    Elphia fed and
then they both slept, exhaustion claiming them both after a very
difficult day. Chara slept dreamlessly, which might have been just
as well because worry was starting to infringe on every part of
her.
    Chara woke up
some time later. It was night time, but someone had left a lamp
burning for them. Elphia started to cry with hunger, sounding weak
as a little kitten. Chara fed her and she couldn’t stop staring at
the lovely little creature in her arms. She had blond hair that
felt like as fine as a bird’s feathers and large eyes. It was too
dark to see the color of her eyes, but it didn’t matter, Chara
loved them anyway. She could see resonance of Nicias’ brow on the
tiny girl, but she didn’t want thoughts of him to intrude on this
time, so she dismissed any more such thoughts.
    They would
have to part tomorrow. It felt like an impossible task, but one she
had to endure. Her worry for the child only grew; she worried that
her mother wouldn’t find enough to feed her along the way. Children
could survive on goats’ milk, but not all thrived. She hoped the
little girl was strong—she would need to be. She was to have a
tumultuous start to her life, but it could not be avoided.
    Chara fed the
girl through the night as the little girl would need as much
strength as Chara could give. The morning and their time to part
came all too quickly. Chara’s mother came into the small room that
Chara was nursing in.
    “ We must go soon,” she confirmed.
    “ I’m not sure I can part with her,” Chara said honestly,
knowing she didn’t have any choice.
    “ I know this is hard, but it must be done.” Chara nodded, she
knew it was true, but it just felt so incredibly wrong to part from
her child. “We must be gone before the Spartan comes,” her mother
continued. “I have told your father of our plan. He is not happy,
but he will not stand in the way—he knows he would live the rest of
his life without forgiveness if he does. We must hurry
now.”
    Chara’s body
protested as she moved to rise from the bed, she was sore and her
heart was aching, but she forced herself up and to get ready for
their departure. She prepared as much milk as she could into a
bladder.
    “ There will be women along the way who will help,” her mother
tried to assure her. Chara knew that women were often willing to
assist orphaned babies and Chara prayed to the gods that women were
in charitable moods along this journey. She suppressed every tear
in front of her mother, but her worry was great. Her mother tried
to comfort her and fear kept her wits together.
    “ It will be all right, you will see,” her mother said stroking
her back. “You will come when you can and you will be together
again in safety.” Chara absorbed the words of encouragement and
hoped she was right. At the moment, their plans seemed absolutely
crazy, but Chara’s mother stood by it even when Chara felt her
resolve crumble. “This must be done,” her mother reiterated and
Chara tried to bolster her own strength.
    Chara walked
with the baby and her mother until they reached one of the main
roads, where carts were traveling throughout the Spartan territory.
It took them an hour to get there and Chara’s body protested every
step. A cart stopped for them, agreeing to let them ride north.
Chara hugged them both tightly and then watched as the cart started
to carry them away. She couldn’t hold back the tears that had been
threatening all