“Let us put behind us what occurred earlier. I should not have asked such a thing of you.” “I know the reason for you asking,” he said, looking away to stare at the two youths who were still practicing on the field. “You have questioned this life since we first met—defying orders when it was to issue harm upon another, refusing to look down on slaves, and consistently expressing whimsical ideals about life away from the city. I had hoped you’d accepted our ways these past years, that you’d found the same passion for our home as I do deep in my bones, but you’ve held firm in your beliefs.”
