- Everyday is the same for Octavian; he translates boring fragments of texts.
- Mr. Sharpe doesn't speak to him, and instead he just gives Octavian an assignment and leaves.
- Greek and Latin become drudgery.
- If he fails or makes mistakes, Octavian gets whipped, and while the whippings aren't as bad as that first whipping he got under Lord Cheldthorpe, they're a lot more regular.
- This means his hands are always bloody, cut, and bandaged tightly—he needs the bandages because he's in charge of handling Mr. Sharpe's clothes and can't get them bloody.
- But Octavian's okay with his demotion from princeling to servant.
- He would have felt awkward to be growing up, playing the violin and reading, while other slaves toiled around him.
- It is weird, though, to do chores, like prep dinner, then run to eat dinner in the dining hall, with the scholars who didn't prep the food.