Athessa, for her part, tries and fails to return the smile.

“I’ll believe it when I die of old age,” she says, carefully removing the large hoop from her ear. She fumbles with it for a moment, and holds it in her hands even after replacing it with a simpler cuff more in style with local fashion. In her hands is the closest thing to shackles she’s ever had to wear as Lucius’ slave. It represents her bondage and while it is easily removed, it doesn’t feel like she’ll ever be truly free of it.