The End of a Dynasty

by David Adkins

  The drinks arrived and the boy got a playful pat. “Medusa, come over here,” Tubero called to the training gladiators and gladiatrices.

  A very tall woman stopped her training and walked towards us. She was one of the tallest women I had ever seen and towered above us. I guessed she was about thirty and was slim and muscle bound and appeared formidable. “Where are your snakes?” I joked.

  Tubero answered for her. “The snakes are only brought out at contests and not for training. They are a gimmick that works and the crowds like it.”

  “I see,” I said.

  He looked up at Medusa who made him look even shorter. “Parthenian is here representing the Emperor. He is arranging with me for you to fight at the Jupiter games in the Colosseo in Rome. It will be a great contest for you and when you have won you will be even more famous.”

  Her face was expressionless. “Who will I fight?” she asked.

  “It will be the Roman gladiatrix, Geta,” he replied.

  “Probably,” I added.

  “I do not wish to fight Corelia,” she said.

  “It will not be Corelia,” I assured her.

  “Very well, I will continue training,” she replied and walked away.

  “Corelia is already a legend among the gladiatrices,” Tubero explained. “Any opponent for her would, I am sure, be reluctant unless they were aiming for glory. Medusa is not bright enough to think of glory but she is a good fighter and will not disappoint the Roman masses.”

  “Then Domitian will not be disappointed,” I said.

  We spent some time watching the training but our business was for now concluded and after a while he walked me to the gate. “We will speak again soon, Parthenian, I hope.”

  “Either I will be in touch with you or Petronius from the Roman school will.”

  “Shall I discuss money with Petronius?” he asked. “I know Petronius quite well.”

  “Yes do that and I am sure we will speak again soon.” It was nearly midday when I left the Capua gladiatorial school. I decided to book another night at the inn and spend the rest of the day looking around Capua. It was an attractive city offering many sights and many pleasures and I took advantage of both. I managed to raise myself early the next morning and I rode out of Capua and rejoined the Via Appia for the long journey back to Rome. I knew that when I returned a discussion with Stephanus was long overdue. Then there was Marcella and the way her flirtations had reeled me, in followed by her efforts to subdue me to her will. I knew what she was doing and for the sake of my pleasure had been happy to go along with it but could I continue to do so?

  Chapter 12

  Rome – Early Summer AD90

  The sun was setting as I reached the palace and a long day in the saddle had tired me, for it was not what I was used to. I nodded to the guard on duty and he barely acknowledged my greeting. I rode across the palace grounds heading for the stables and then noticed, to my surprise, a woman leaving the barracks. I stopped for a closer look and was amazed to see that it was an elderly woman dressed very plainly in clothes that were more suited for the Subura than the Imperial Palace. I left my horse at the stables but with my curiosity getting the better of me I decided to talk with the guard at the gate before entering the palace.

  He was alone which was unusual and I approached him cautiously, for I had never spoken to him before. “I am Parthenian, the Emperor’s chamberlain.”

  “I know who you are or I would not have allowed you entry,” he informed me.

  “And you are?” I inquired.

  “I am Otho,” he replied.

  “Like the former Emperor,” I smiled.

  He nodded but he did not return my smile.

  I continued. “I saw an elderly woman leave the palace a short time ago. Did she identify herself?”

  “I do not ask for identity when they are leaving.”

  “To have left then she must have arrived,” I pointed out.

  “I was not on duty when she arrived,” he stated.

  I got straight to the point. “Do you know who she was and what her business was?”

  “I do not,” he said simply.

  “Are you sure, for it seems to me to be a dangerous thing with regard to the Emperor’s safety to have an unidentified woman roaming around the palace and I noted that she did come from your barracks.”

  “The Emperor and the Empress are not in the palace at present,” he informed me.

  I was surprised at the absence of the Empress. “So you have no idea who the old woman was?” I tried again.

  “I cannot help you,” he confirmed again seeking, I thought, to end the conversation.

  I did not know whether he genuinely could not help or if he was being obstructive. “Thank you for your time, Otho.” My words were laced with a touch of sarcasm.

  He nodded once again but said no more. I turned away and set off for the palace as darkness was beginning to fall on the extensive gardens, casting them in fleeting shadows.

  The palace seemed strangely quiet and empty and so I decided to look for Drucilla and find out from her what was going on. She was not in her room or in the office and I was not sure where to look next when I bumped into Maximus in the corridor. “Where is Drucilla?” I asked.

  “She has gone to the coast with the Empress. The Empress wished to take some sea air and she instructed Drucilla to accompany her.”

  “Why did the Empress suddenly decide to go to the coast? She did not mention this to me before I left for Capua.” I was surprised by this development.

  He looked cagey. “I am not sure I should say.”

  “You will tell me because I need to know,” I said, feeling a little frustrated at the lack of answers since I had arrived back at the palace.

  “The Empress overheard Petronilla boasting and was very angry,” he said hesitantly.

  “Boasting about what?” I asked.

  “She was boasting that Casperius had told her mistress, Julia, that she would soon be the new Empress and the job would fall to him to dispose of the old one. Petronilla was openly boasting that she would soon be serving the new Empress.”

  “What a stupid girl Petronilla is,” I muttered as I realized just how outraged my aunt must have been. “Did the Empress feel that her life was in imminent danger?”

  “Drucilla said that she was merely very angry and was tempted to have it out with Casperius. Then she decided that might not be wise and decided on a few days by the sea to cool off with Drucilla to look after her and be her companion.”

  “Where has Domitian been while all this was going on?” I asked.

  “He has been attending prolonged meetings and discussions at the senate on a possible Danube campaign prior to a vote on the subject. In the evenings he has been staying at the home of Manius Glabrio close to the senate.”

  That seemed strange to me for the palace was close enough to the senate. “Thank you Maximus, is Stephanus in the palace at the moment?”

  “He is attending his mistress, Flavia Domitilla,” he answered.

  I wanted to speak with Stephanus about his nefarious excursions to the Subura but Domitilla was also implicated, for she had lied on behalf of Stephanus and her husband, a member of our royal family, was a Christian. I decided to seek an audience with Flavia Domitilla and perhaps speak to Stephanus at the same time.

  Domitilla’s chamber was in a corner of the suite of royal rooms that I had rarely visited. I knocked at her door and waited for a response. “Come in,” called a female voice.

  She was sitting at a table eating her evening meal. “I am sorry to disturb you,” I apologized.

  “I am pleased to see you, Parthenian, because I wanted a word with you. Please sit down.” She indicated a chair at the table. I sat down and she pushed a bowl of fruit in my direction. “Help yourself.”

  I took a plum. “I wanted to speak with you too.” I hesitated because I was not sure how to address her.

  “Flavia is fine,” she had noted my hesitation.


  I heard a noise behind me, for Stephanus had entered the room. He stopped suddenly and looked at me with surprise as I sat at his mistress’s table.

  “Join us, Stephanus. This is an overdue conversation that the three of us need to have. Now, Parthenian, tell us why you are here.”

  “I wanted to warn Stephanus and you, Flavia, that each time Stephanus leaves the palace he is followed by the Praetorian Guard and that they know his destination is the Subura. They must suspect him of some offence. You must both be very careful.”

  “And you know what that offence is or you think you do,” said Flavia. “Why have you been going to the Subura, Parthenian?”

  “Your husband is a Christian as I assume Stephanus is. Drucilla’s mother is a Christian and Drucilla has been going with her to these Christian gatherings in the Subura. I have been trying to keep them both from harm. I felt it very safe to divulge that piece of information to them.”

  She studied me and I looked more closely at her. She was certainly the least attractive of the three female members of the royal family but she had a serenity about her that was appealing and I had admired her for the way she had stood up to Casperius. “I will tell you the truth, Parthenian, for I feel I can trust you. My husband has been a Christian for about two years now, ever since he came back from Ephesus where he was introduced to the religion by the teacher, Timothy. I am not a Christian but Clemens wants me to meet Timothy before he returns to Ephesus. Timothy is in Rome at the moment as you probably know. Stephanus has been running messages for my husband and this has brought him into contact with Christians and very recently he too has converted.” She looked at Stephanus for confirmation.

  Stephanus moved uneasily in his chair. “I have seen the merit in their teachings and the way they love peace and brotherhood.”

  “Peace was not a priority when they encountered the Praetorian Guard in the Subura,” I reminded him.

  “You have to understand that they have been persecuted relentlessly by Domitian and some previous Emperors. There is a group among them that believe that it is time to fight back and it was felt that the guardsmen were invading their territory and had to be stopped from slaughtering vast numbers of people,” he explained.

  “I see that but you do realize that Casperius will not rest until he has avenged the death of his men. The loss of those men he believes reflects badly on him as Praetorian Prefect.”

  Stephanus nodded. “I disagreed with what happened but it was thought by some to be necessary.”

  Flavia intervened. “I have been honest with you, Parthenian, and now you need to tell me where you stand in all this and whether you will tell Casperius what you now know.”

  “My interest was purely to protect Drucilla and her mother. I am not a Christian and neither is Drucilla. I do not know enough about the cult to pass judgement on them. I must admit that having seen Stephanus leaving at dusk on a couple of occasions I was curious to know what he was up to. Now I know I consider it to be none of my business. I cannot stand Casperius and Tero and will say nothing to them. I will not inform the Emperor because, as I have said, it is none of my business.”

  Flavia smiled a rare smile. “It is fortunate for my husband, Stephanus and all the Christians at Timothy’s gathering that you followed Stephanus and intervened. For that I thank you, Parthenian, and I thank you further for saying nothing of this business. I live in fear of the truth about Clemen’s beliefs becoming known to the Emperor, who has an irrational hatred of Christians and would consider it a gross betrayal if he knew about my husband. Every day is an ordeal and in all this Stephanus has been of huge support too me.”

  “It is probably not necessary for me to say this, Flavia, but I must caution you both to be very careful. I do not know whether Casperius has any idea that Stephanus has embraced Christianity but even if he has not then he is aware that Stephanus is up to something. He will not rest until he has found out what that is. He is a dangerous man.” I stood up. “Stay safe.”

  “And you, Parthenian,” she replied.

  I left the chamber of Flavia Domitilla and returned to my room. It had been an extremely long day and I was very tired.

  *

  The next morning I got up early and went for my walk in the palace gardens. I wondered if Marcella had returned to the palace after her weeks of absence. I was not surprised when I saw her sitting at our usual meeting place, the seat by the row of colourful roses. I joined her and smiled warmly. “It is good to see you again, Marcella.” My enthusiasm was obvious.

  “Have you missed me?” she asked.

  “What do you think?”

  “You may have forgotten about your sorceress,” she grinned.

  “Never, where have you been?”

  “I have been away on business,” she replied secretively.

  “Ever the woman of mystery, Marcella,” I replied knowing that she would say no more.

  “You like it that way, Parthenian. In fact I hoped to catch you before I leave for the forum.”

  “What takes you to the forum?”

  “I am meeting Casperius who is on attendance on the Emperor,” she conceded.

  “At least you tell me that and I suppose your other business had something to do with the Praetorian Prefect, too.”

  “Do not look so glum, Parthenian, I will be returning to the palace later and if you wish I will come to your room tonight.”

  “Of course I wish,” I smiled.

  “Good, because I have missed you too,” she grinned. “Now I must be on my way.” She did not return to the barracks but headed straight for the gate. I watched as she glided across the gardens and I watched as she passed through the gate. I noticed that one of the guards on duty was Cyprian and so I decided to have words with him.

  I strolled over to the gate soon after Marcella had made her exit. “Can I speak with you?” I asked Cyprian.

  He nodded and walked towards some Cypress trees where we would not be seen. I followed him. “We are fortunate my fellow guard is Vinicius. He is an old friend who will say nothing.”

  “Do we need to hide?” I asked him.

  “It is better if Tero does not see us speaking. I do not think you realize, Parthenian, how much he detests you,” he answered.

  “I do not care for him either. I wanted to speak with you about the woman who just left the palace. Who is she?”

  He looked uneasy. “She is Marcella and she is a regular visitor. She works for Casperius in some capacity.”

  “When did she first arrive at the palace?” I asked.

  He thought for a moment. “It was soon after Casperius murdered Paulinus in that coup.”

  “Are you sure that she had never been to the palace previous to that?”

  “I do not believe so.” He seemed to search his memory.

  “I saw an old woman leave the palace last night. Do you know who she was?”

  He looked confused. “Marcella was here last night but there was no old woman.”

  I continued. “Hylas told me about a plot to murder a witness called Solanus by a woman named Glyca, here in the Imperial Palace. Do you know about that?”

  “I certainly do, for I was guarding Solanus at the time and she tried to poison me and two other guards to get at Solanus. One of our guards died and I was rescued by Hylas but the woman got away.”

  I came to the question that had bothered me ever since I had listened to Hylas’s story. “Could Glyca have been Marcella?”

  He was bemused. “No, they look very different.”

  “Could Glyca have been in disguise?” I pressed.

  “I do not think so. I do not know. No, that is not possible,” he was stuttering as he searched his memory once again.

  “She tried to poison you. That is interesting for she also tried to poison Hylas.”

  “Interesting is not the word I would use for it because it gives me nightmares still, for I was seconds away from a horrible death.” Distaste was written all over his face.
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  “Thank you, Cyprian, for what you have told me has actually been most interesting.” I could tell that my words had also interested him.

  “I must get back to the gate,” he said.

  I went back to the palace and as I walked along the corridor I saw two figures standing outside Petronilla’s door. I walked towards them and saw that it was Petronilla talking with Tero. “What are you two plotting?” I asked.

  “Go away, Parthenian,” Tero grunted.

  I ignored him. “Go and look after your mistress,” I said to Petronilla. She hesitated. “Now,” I reiterated firmly and she scurried away.

  I saw the anger on Tero’s face and gained some satisfaction from that. “You would do well to mind your own business, chamberlain,” he hissed.

  “That is the point, I am the chamberlain and therefore I am in charge of all the palace servants including Petronilla. I answer only to the Emperor and the Empress. Who gave you permission to enter the palace building?”

  “I do not need permission. Casperius is with the Emperor and I am in charge here and so I can go where I like.”

  “Not when the Emperor is not here. Your only business in the palace is to guard the Emperor so when he is not here you have no reason to enter the building without permission. In future you will ask my permission as I am his representative.” For one moment I thought I had gone too far for he looked like he might explode, but I was enjoying it.

  “You think you are much more important than you actually are. You are no more than a glorified servant yourself.” I had got to him.

  “I will speak with the Empress about having my words brought into effect,” I said.

  “The Empress....” he checked himself. “Your protection will not last for long and then I will be ready and most eager to take advantage of that,” he assured me and stormed off down the corridor.

  I had enjoyed the confrontation for I detested Tero as much as he detested me and I felt that I had won a minor victory. It was also good to have confirmed once again that I enjoyed protection, though I was still not sure who my benefactor was. I knew, however, that I had made a formidable enemy and that I would have to be careful. The palace was quiet for the rest of the day and none of the absentees returned and so I waited with great anticipation for the evening to arrive.