by L. M. Roth
“Is it true that the Emperor will continue the ban on the Alexandrians, Father?”
Decimus was clearly loathe to reply, whether it was because he was reluctant to alert Marcus to further persecution of the Alexandrians, or to spare his son pain Marcus was unclear. But Decimus took his time before replying. When at last he did so, Marcus could sense that he held back information and told less than he knew.
“I am not sure, my son,” he answered at last. “I am only the Minister of State and do not know all of the Emperor’s council.”
Antonius puckered his brow and gazed at Decimus as if he would attempt to read his mind.
“And yet, I must know; for if the Alexandrians are still forbidden to remain in Valerium, I can not go there with you and Mother.”
Decimus nodded his head slowly. He seemed absorbed in a train of thought of his own, and paused before answering his son.
“Well, we do not have to decide your plans tonight. Let us sleep on it and discuss it further tomorrow.”
The remark closed the evening and Marcus and Lucius bade them goodnight and left for home.
Two days later Decimus called on Marcus again. Marcus would have been amused by the visits of his old foe, had it not been for the subject matter of his visits. And there was still the matter of Logos to be discussed.
“Well, Decimus,” he said breezily as he greeted his guest, “what brings you to my door today? Or do I know already?”
Marcus raised one eyebrow and studied Decimus intently. Decimus looked uncomfortable but did not hesitate to answer.
“I think you know why I am here,” he said abruptly. “It is certainly not to make a friendly call. There is the matter of our children to be decided. I leave next week and we must decide what to do.”
He paused for a moment and avoided looking directly at Marcus, fixing his attention on the rolls of parchments in the library where Marcus had taken him to talk privately. Decimus suddenly swallowed and turned his gaze back to his host.
“I am not taking Antonius with me,” he said suddenly, the words spilling from him in a torrent he could not stop. “It will not be safe for him in Valerium. I have spoken to him, and he informed me that he has become an Alexandrian. I believe you are responsible for that in a large part. I will not thank you for it; it will only bring him pain and suffering in the long run.”
Decimus’ eyes hardened as he said this last, and gave Marcus the full vehemence of his animosity.
It is clear that he hates me no less than I hate him, Marcus thought.
And he reflected again on the irony of the cruel twist of fate that caused the son of his old enemy to first befriend his son and then marry his daughter, forcing the two men to be locked in one another’s company as cruelly as prisoners locked in a dungeon cell.
“I merely answered his questions about Alexandros, the decision was his alone to make,” Marcus replied coolly. “And he had already asked my son about the Alexandrians before he ever met me. And you are wrong; Antonius will be blessed far greater than you in the long run. For you, Decimus, have stolen what is sacred to Dominio and given it to a man of evil. And you will never know a moment of happiness or peace until you correct the wrong you have done.”
Decimus first flushed and then paled as Marcus addressed him. That he had succeeded in angering him was soon clear enough.
“Sacred? A sword?” Decimus snickered. “I fail to see how an inanimate object has any magical properties. I never believed it when my mother sacrificed to the gods, nor do I believe it when my son prattles on about a sword that does strange things. Nothing is sacred: we are on our own in this world. That is all there is to it.”
This statement was uttered with such a finality that Marcus knew he would be wasting his time to try to speak of Alexandros and His love for mankind. And in his heart, he did not know whether he could honestly share that message with the man who had caused him so much pain. He knew such a thought would not please Dominio, Who loved Decimus in spite of his sins and longed to embrace him as a son, but there it was.
“No matter what you believe, Decimus, the fact is that you stole that Sword from my son, in some manner that is still unknown to us, and gave it to someone who has no legitimate claim to it or valid use for it.”
Marcus now glared at Decimus with rising anger. He felt his face burning and his breath coming harder as he defied his rival. He felt his chest expanding and wondered that he did not explode with his pent up fury at all the wrongs this man had inflicted on him over the years. Decimus, surprisingly enough, did not retaliate or flinch at Marcus’ words.
“I only did what Iacomus demanded of me,” he answered.
Marcus was not sure that he had heard right.
“What he demanded of you? Did you not take the Sword on your own to spite me, knowing it was all I had left of my legacy, and give it to the man who betrayed the Alexandrians by bringing persecution on them? After all, you knew of the Sword from your son, who told you all about it!”
Decimus shook his head and gave Marcus a look that was utterly devoid of mockery or anger.
“No. Antonius told me nothing of the sword. Iacomus knew about the sword from the time he spent in Valerium. Do you not remember? He told me that you consulted it at meetings. And he wanted that sword. He said it was the most powerful weapon the Alexandrians had against the Empire and he wanted it out of their hands.”
Marcus gasped. A hideous thought so alarming came to his mind that he feared putting it into words. Yet he had to ask…
“You say that he wanted to take it from the Alexandrians because he considered it a weapon against the Empire? Do you mean that he planned to murder Emperor Urbanus and take his place? The Sword was taken weeks before the Emperor died; and once Iacomus had the Sword, Urbanus passed on and Iacomus was declared the new Emperor!”
Marcus watched as the mouth of Decimus fell open and the color drained from his face.
“No,” he mumbled, “no, that is not true! He just wanted to deprive the Alexandrians of power against the Empire. He said they pledged allegiance to a higher power and he did not want them to use the sword against Valerium.”
Decimus suddenly struggled for breath and he rose to his feet abruptly. Marcus rose to his feet in the same instant and he locked eyes with his adversary.
“He did not murder anyone!” Decimus shouted, and then realized what he had done.
“No,” he stated as he lowered his voice. “Iacomus did not kill anyone. And I took the sword only because it was the condition he demanded in return for making me his Minister of State when he succeeded Urbanus.”
“So he did murder Urbanus!” Marcus pounced on the words. “How else could Iacomus promise to make you Minister of State unless he planned to kill him and knew the end was near? Did you not think of that, Decimus? Do I need to paint a picture to make it clear to you?”
Decimus stared at Marcus with bewildered eyes. He appeared deprived of the power of speech. But he stubbornly clung to his own belief.
“I do not believe that! He is my wife’s cousin. Were it not for him, I should not have a wife at all. It was he who brought us together, who persuaded her parents to welcome me into the family as their son.”
His lips twisted bitterly as he remembered, a fact that Marcus observed in surprise. This time he did not interrupt with accusations, but waited for Decimus to go on.
“Yes, were it not for him I should not have a wife at all. Iacomus and I were boys together, grew up together, shared everything together. We laughed at the same jokes, and loved to play pranks on others. But he disgraced his family and was exiled from Lycenium when we were eighteen. I did not see him again for five years; after I was disgraced and driven from Lycenium.”
Decimus’ green eyes darkened until they glittered like black jet, and a shadow crossed his face. For a long moment he seemed unaware of Marcus completely as he revisited his past.
“My family went to Seneca for two years, and there I met Iacomus again. He was
thought to be dead, because that is what his family wished to believe. Yes, just kill him off and remove that embarrassment from the family completely. But he was not dead: he lived on.
“He introduced me to his cousin, Paulina. She was not of the class of young ladies that I was accustomed to. Her father was not an aristocrat, although her mother’s background was patrician. Her father was merely a grower of fruit, and he sold the lemons and oranges that grew in his orchards. He was wealthy, but no refinement there. Not from him, nor his daughter. Still, my family informed me that she was the best I could expect after…”
Here his words trailed off as he seemed jolted back into the present.
After what he did to Tullia and Felix that made him an outcast in Lycenium society, Marcus finished for him.
Decimus recovered from his momentary introspection and continued.
“Well, I have Antonius at any rate,” he said softly.
He broke off his reminiscences and turned his attention back to Marcus.
“And that brings us back to our problem. I am leaving for Valerium next week and Antonius must stay here for his own safety. We must decide what to do about his marriage.”
Marcus groaned. How cruel was fate to force such a hateful decision on him. Yet he could no longer avoid giving Decimus an answer.
“I have discussed it with Tullia,” he sighed, “and she also sees the sense of leaving the marriage intact. She fears the stain on Felicia’s reputation should she go through a divorce, as well as the difficulty of finding another husband for her as a result of the scandal. I will not lie: she would rather her daughter be married to anyone else, but she will not fight it, nor sue for a divorce.”
Decimus stared intently at Marcus, a twinge of pain appeared to stab him as he heard Marcus relate the words of Tullia. But he did not refer to them.
“And you?” he jeered, with an attempt at recovering his bravado. “You feel the same I suppose?”
Marcus snorted.
“Of course!” he retorted.
Then he relented.
“But I do like Antonius very much. Indeed, I would have nothing against him were he the son of any other man. And it is also clear that he loves my daughter: I will not press for a divorce.”
Decimus appeared strangely relieved, for some reason that Marcus could not fathom.
“I shall not press it either,” he said to Marcus’ surprise. “After seeing the two of them together, it would be cruel to separate them.”
He looked at Marcus almost shyly.
“I also like your daughter,” he admitted, as a slight smile lighted his face. “She is…sweet; and pure. Also a lady, and therefore no grounds for a divorce. She is a wife for my son to be proud of. And I would not deprive him of what I never had.”
The bitter look crossed his face again, and Marcus turned to him in surprise. He momentarily put aside his hatred for this man, and was curious enough to ask for enlightenment on his last statement.
“And what is that, Decimus? What is it that you would not deprive him of?”
Decimus stared at Marcus with every appearance of genuine surprise at his incomprehension, but answered him simply.
“The woman he loves.”
Chapter XIII
A Proposition
Decimus and Paulina departed five days later. It was decided that in their absence, Antonius would remain in their villa, but he would not be alone. Felicia moved in with him the day they left.
The two sets of parents published the news of the marriage through the usual agency: they paid the messengers who congregated in the city square to read the scroll announcing the marriage, and then placed the announcement in the Hall of Government Records where all marriages, births, and deaths were proclaimed publicly.
That this marriage was different in the fact that it was announced only after it had already taken place instead of the usual betrothal preceding it was not as much a surprise to the worthy matrons of Lycenium as was the parties involved. The daughter of Marcus Maximus and the son of Decimus Hadrianus! Gossip ran rampantly from one end of the city to the other. So shocking was it that no one could even take any malicious delight from it; for had not these two men been enemies for decades? What cruel joke of the gods brought their children together in matrimony?
For Tullia it was not a matter for gossip or innuendo. She knew the ladies of Lycenium were all agog, but for once she did not care what they said. She was so relieved at being rid of the presence of Decimus for a while, perhaps years! that she did not greatly care what was said behind her back.
And just as were the feelings of Marcus and Decimus, her feelings were mixed. She had to admit that if Antonius had been the son of any other man she would have had no objection against him, and would have rejoiced at seeing Felicia so happily settled. And she could not be angry with a daughter who had not an inkling of the pain and torment her new husband’s father had brought upon her own parents. If she were to ever find out…
Suddenly Tullia was determined that Felicia never find out. She must never know, she thought, anything that would turn her against the parents of her husband. For that was her family now, and not her birth family, and Tullia wished her to be happy, even if the price of her happiness was total ignorance of what she had married into.
Lucius alone was completely happy for the bridal couple. Antonius was his best friend, and he was proud and pleased to now call him brother. Felicia would make him happy, he knew, because she did not care about the usual trivialities that consumed the young ladies of Lycenium and with which Antonius had so little patience. Indeed, both his sister and brother-in-law were already making plans that might have caused some tricky complications for Valerium’s new Minister of State had he but known it…
Felicia sighed in utter contentment. She was so happy to have her future finally settled. She could both please her mother by having married a fine young man, and satisfy her own longing to serve Dominio.
It was Antonius who made the suggestion.
“Look, Felicia,” he said as they sat together on the stone bench in his mother’s herb garden one warm August evening, where they liked to sit and smell the herbs while absorbing the last rays of sunlight. “We have all of this space at our disposal. The villa has more rooms than I can count, and we are blessed with all of the gardens besides: there is the herb garden, the rose garden, the spring garden with the lilies and tulips, and the green garden with the trailing vines. We can not possibly use every inch of its space, and I hate to see it wasted in a mere display of wealth.”
Felicia gave him her full attention and waited eagerly for him to continue. Antonius’ own gaze was fastened on the vista before him and he had the appearance of a visionary looking at something that only he could see.
“And?” she nudged his elbow gently, and he laughed.
“Oh, I am sorry,” he exclaimed.
They both chuckled and suddenly placed their faces together as they looked into the eyes of the other. Felicia put her hand up to Antonius’ cheek and stroked it softly. He turned his face slightly to kiss her fingers. How wonderful it was to have their relationship openly known at last! How delightful to be free to proclaim their love and no longer hide it!
“You were saying?” Felicia teased her husband as he caught her finger in his mouth.
Antonius let her finger go and returned to his plans.
“I propose, dear wife, that we utilize some of this extra space. What do you say to asking your Aunt Kyrene to come to Lycenium for a season and teach the Alexandrians here as she does in Solone? She could stay with us, and bring any of her pupils that she wishes; it would be an adventure for them as well as a refreshment for her.
“What do you say, wife? Shall we do it?”
Felicia’s eyes could not have popped open any wider than they did at her husband’s suggestion.
“Oh, I should love it! And I long to see Aunt Kyrene again. I feel so awful at the way I treated her. I sent her a letter but that is not the sam
e as speaking in person.”
Felicia hung her head momentarily as she recalled the way she had abused the hospitality of her mentor by running away while under her protection. She hoped that Kyrene had truly forgiven her, and did not remember her young pupil with bitterness.
“Let us do it, Antonius. Let us write her at once. It would be a way to utilize this space and to give them a change of scene. But it would also give me an opportunity to continue my training under her mentorship.”
Antonius agreed and they retired to the library to send the invitation at once.
To their surprise, Kyrene answered almost immediately and agreed without reservation to their invitation to visit them. Marcus and Tullia had written to her of Felicia’s marriage to the son of their old enemy, and she was therefore not completely taken aback when the letter came from the young couple.
Yes, she had truly forgiven Felicia and longed to see her again. And to instruct her further in the gift that Domino had given her. For these were truly dark days that were coming on the world, if the news she heard coming out of Valerium were to be believed.
For it was said that the new Emperor, Iacomus by name, put himself on a level of being divine himself. What blasphemy was this?
And what judgment would come upon Valerium with such a man on the throne?
Chapter XIV
Tidings Too Terrible To Tell
Justus Lucius studied the message he held in his hand. It had come from the Palace, from a Palace Guard who had delivered it secretly on behalf of one who claimed an acquaintance with him, and was a friend of Marcus Maximus.
Justus was puzzled why a Palace Guard would risk his life to deliver a message for a prisoner. He knew them and their kind too well: brutal, self-serving, ambitious men who would do anything to advance themselves in the royal favor. Why would any of them stick their neck out for a prisoner?
