Gil

In a way, it was very like the day where they had so serendipitously met. The throngs of people moved this way and that, like waves on a restless sea. Phaedo and Lexus were jostled and pushed, but this time, they kept tight hold of each other’s hands, and so were not separated. Pheado glanced back over his shoulder with a grin and nodded, agreeing in a loud, happy voice, ”It’s madness!” Saturnalia was an even bigger celebration than the Vinalia Urbana. The whole of Rome, it seemed, had ventured out into the evening dark, to take parts in the celebration. The two young men made their way along the alleys, to the forum, and there indeed was a mighty ocean of humanity, all pressed in together to see what was to be seen. Phaedo had to really slip and squeeze his way forward. But still he kept a hold of Lexus and towed him along, until they came to the front edge of one segment of the crowd.Before them was simply a cleared space, no real stage for the performance that was going on. It was a play, of sorts, where the actors, in pantomime costumes, re-enacted the theme of the festival, wherein master turned slave and vice versa. Of course, it was an easily detected, extremely ribald satire of the late emperor Caludius, easily distinguished by his halting gait and speech. He was a god, now, and as such, it might have been imprudent for the players to make mock of him thus. But it was Saturnalia, and rules relaxed during this time. So the players did their piece boldly, and the audience roared with laughter. Phaedo thought his own sides would split, and as the piece drew to a close, he pulled one small coin from his purse and handed it to the player who held out a bowl for such tokens of appreciation. The man did not look impressed at such a small token, but Phaedo was already turned to speak to Lexus.”I’m starved! Let’s see what they have to eat.” He felt very nice and well dressed in his new tunica and he’d be careful not to get it sullied. Thinking of the gift prompted him to ask, ”Is your mother coming out tonight?” If she wasn’t, he thought he might be able to afford to buy some small sweet cake for her, that Lexus could take home, as small thanks for the tunic. But of course, they could see to that later. They had hours to go before either of them would think of turning for home.Lexus Naevius Gineverus

The little dolphin was a modest gift. But Lexus seemed pleased with it, and this made Phaedo’s smile even brighter. He was glad the other boy was so pleasant and had good manners. Phaedo was a slave, and certainly didn’t expect the same from every person he encountered. Actually, most people made him quite aware that he was low man on the ladder in this world they lived in, and treated him accordingly. But Lexus seemed never to take that into account, in their interactions. He never lorded it over Phaedo or made him feel any lesser of a human being. And for that Phaedo loved him – not the love of romantic partners, but more like…a brother, or a friend. That was surely true. They were good friends, and, like Lexus, Phaedo looked upon the younger lad as his best friend, along with Helios, who was almost like an older brother. They were something like the two brothers he’d not had ever since he’d been ripped away from his family – although Phaedo didn’t really think of it in those terms.”You must thank your mother for me, when you get home, alright? And then I will thank her myself when next I see her,” he assured. He didn’t go to Lexus’ home very often but occasionally he would accompany the boy, or go to meet him, there. Then Phaedo nodded and said with excitement, ”There will be revels at the forum. Let’s go there, to start. I know they’ll be putting on some of those rude plays.” He grinned. Phaedo may have had a great passion for good theater. But like all Romans, he also loved satire and the lewd performances that made fun of current events and popular, or unpopular, public figures, as well as comedic parodies of traditional works and stories.”And I even have a few coins for food!” he exclaimed. ”A gift from a customer. He said it was for me, because I was skilled, and he was appreciative.” The prostitute said it without embarrassment or any thought that Lexus would have any negative thoughts about him, or the money. He was who he was, not by choice, and there was nothing to be done about it. Lexus had been around the Venus many, many times now and he saw what that life was like. It was simply a part of the fabric of society, brothels and whores, both supported by men’s needs to satisfy their sexual desires. It was just a fact of life. That the little dolphin figurine had been procured using the same source of funds went without saying. Beyond the newly gifted tunic, anything Phaedo had, came from the hands of the men he had sex with, or the madam of the brothel, as simple upkeep of one of her business assets.”Come,” he said, reaching for Lexus’ hand and dragging him out into the night. Lexus Naevius Gineverus

Phaedo's eyes widened in delight, and some surprise. Although honestly, he had sort of expected some little gift, some gesture of the season, from his young friend – for Lexus was that kind of person – the type to be thoughtful and generous. Just as Phaedo had managed somehow to find the means of a small token of their growing friendship, he had half-suspected that Lexus would as well. But taking the parcel from the other boy, he looked more surprised, as he’d been expecting, if anything, something… smaller. His eyes went from the packet to Lexus and then back to the packet, and then he began to remove the plain cloth that bound whatever was inside, saying, ”You brought me a gift? You are so…”He’d been meaning to say thoughtful, but he paused so long that he lost the word entirely. With the outer wrapping gone, tucked safe under his arm, he let the repurposed tunica unfold and fall out to its full length, holding it up in front of him to gaze at it. His lips parted, in true surprise, and his face suffused with a blush of pleasure. He forced his eyes from the handsome garment, and looked at Lexus with unabashed happiness.”It’s beautiful! Truly beautiful! Did your mother make this? Oh…Lexus…thank you!”He reached to give his friend another warm hug and clutched the tunica to his chest. It really was a nice one. The boy’s mother had some skill, certainly. It might have been expected that Phaedo had worn much grander things, as the body slave of a rich senator. But for the most part, he had either been dressed simply or gone about wholly naked, as his master, or mistress, preferred. And besides, the clothes he’d had before had been really as much the property of his master as he had been himself. He’d not really owned anything himself, being a lowly slave. But this…this gift was different. It was his, given out of friendship. That made it incredibly precious.”I will wear it, today!” he exclaimed, and without pause, he handed the new tunica to Lexus, so that he could pull the one he was wearing over his head straightway. He folded it carefully, bent to set it on his straw stuffed pallet, and then reclaimed the new one. That he pulled on, looking down to admire its bright color. ”How do I look?” he asked, grinning ear to ear.Once they’d exclaimed over the newly remade garment, and Phaedo had repeated his thanks, including a directive to Lexus that he must thank his mother as well, he bent once more to retrieve his own simple gift for his friend. It wasn’t wrapped. But he handed the little figurine to Lexus with a smile. “And here is my gift to you. This will bring you good luck!” he said, with all sincerity. It was a small dolphin, crude in its execution perhaps, but clearly identifiable as such. As in many cultures, the dolphin, being a whimsical creature that had some special affinity for humans, was seen by the Romans as a sign of good luck.Lexus Naevius Gineverus

Time in the brothel had passed, and so had the seasons changed, from spring to summer and from summer to fall. Now the days were drawing to their shortest, and already the festival of winter was upon them. Saturnalia – Phaedo could recall with perfect clarity how it had been celebrated in years past. They weren’t particularly fond memories. His physician had not been uproarious about it and had focused more on the theological aspects of the god Saturn. Phaedo’s immediately past master, and mistress, though, had of course used the occasion to satisfy carnal desires with him. In fact, this was how it had all started – his master finding the pleasure to be had by being treated like a slave, assuming that role as no good Roman citizen should, and then deciding it should continue past that first winter when things had gone that far between them. It had led, in a circuitous way, to Phaedo being sold, and winding up a prostitute. So, in that respect, the festival season had not brought him good fortune.But that seemed long ago now and nothing to be done about it. The past could never be undone, so there was little use in mooning over it. Besides, his life was not so very much worse at the Venus than it had been at his former home. It was less luxurious. He had multiple men to service instead of just the one – and his wife. Phaedo did well and truly miss his Greek master. But at least the mistress of the Venus had allowed him some scrolls to borrow and refresh his memory with, and occasionally he would recite for the customers, in the downstairs common areas where the whores entertained them before they made a selection and were lead off for sexual pleasures.He was never too sure how many of the men (and it was mostly men who came to the brothel – he’d not once yet been given to a female client) really listened to his recitations, or enjoyed them, or appreciated them. Still, he enjoyed the chance to recite anyway. And it gave him the opportunity to better instruct his young pupil, Lexus. Not that the boy was allowed in the brothel to mingle with the customers, or sit with them in that part of the building, while the prostitutes did their typically lewd and bawdy enticements and teasing. No, that would have been totally inappropriate, and Lexus’ mother would never have allowed such!Phaedo reserved his teachings to slower parts of the day, when his mistress would allow a few hours of leisure, and the customers weren’t as rowdy as they often could be later in the evening and nighttime. Lexus was proving to be a smart student, and Phaedo was enjoying teaching him immensely. It gave him the nostalgic feelings of when his Greek physician tutored him, as a young boy. And it brought to life, for him, all those amazing works of literature that he so loved, as they read them, discussed them, and sometimes did recitations out loud. It was fun. It was a good distraction from being just a whore. And he really enjoyed Lexus’ company. A real friendship had sprung up between the two, and whenever days intervened where one or the other of them was too busy to come together, Phaedo truly missed his companionship. It was cliché to say it, but Phaedo really looked upon Lexus as a bright ray of sunshine in his otherwise hum drum and dull existence.But today would not be such a day of missing his friend, for they’d already made arrangements to meet. This would be a day of fun and frolic, of festival and foolishness, and for once, Phaedo was really looking forwards to it! He’d somehow scrounged up a few coins, and a day or so before purchased a small gift for his friend. It was simple – just a wax figurine, of the type many people gave on this day. When the knock came on the wall beside the opening to his room, which was covered only by a curtain, Phaedo looked up from where he lay on his pallet – the only furnishing in the room, beside an unlit oil lamp. With a grin, he rose and moved to the opening, pulling the curtain aside and reaching to greet Lexus with a warm smile and a friendly hug.”Salve! And blessings upon you, and your mother!” he said happily, his face alight with pleasure. ”Are you ready to have some fun?” he asked, his smile becoming a huge grin. Lexus Naevius Gineverus

The person who actually greeted them was a woman. This wasn’t at all surprising, for when Hyacinthus looked discretely around, the elderly man who was the only other non-servant in the room looked as infirm as his own master. Perhaps the woman was his wife? She introduced herself, but the Roman customs did not dictate that a woman must change her name to that of her husband. She could have just as easily been his daughter, or even some other female relative, or a fiancée. Well, it was none of his business. He moved with practiced skill to help his master settle, while the female slave who had accompanied them did the same for their mistress. Hyacinthus moved to take up a position behind his master, in order to stand ready to serve him throughout the meal, when the woman, Oriana, put an unexpected question to his master.Hyacinthus’s eyebrows lifted. He looked at the back of his master’s head, but did not speak. Neither did his master actually, for he seemed to be having an attack of gas or reflux. His mistress replied instead, shooing the boy off, her eyes sharpening like an eagle on the hunt as she looked across the table at the other old wreck of a man, a syrupy smile on her rouged lips. Perhaps she was glad to see the other, much younger woman leaving. Or perhaps she felt like her own husband would pay more attention to the business at hand if the distraction of the handsome slave was gone for a bit.Hyacinthus acknowledged his mistress’ command with a nod of his head, and then he raised his eyes to look at the woman for a moment. ”I do know where the boundary is drawn, mistress,” he said politely. ”If that is your desire, I would be pleased to show you.”The woman seemed content with this and they moved off. Normally Hyacinthus would not presume to walk in front of such a lady. But as he was showing her the boundary, he felt it would be ridiculous to walk behind her. Once out of the villa, he took up a position by her shoulder, a couple of feet to her side. ”It’s this way mistress,” he said, pointing. Oriana Laecania

*note: at this point in time, Phaedo was called HyacinthusThey hadn’t far to travel. In fact, it was hardly a hop, skip and a jump to reach the home that stood on the land adjacent to his master’s. His dominus and domina lived for the most part in Rome, enjoying the city’s vibrancy, even if the old man was now old enough that the pleasures of his youth were almost all but gone. His age and infirmity provided more reasons to not make the trek out into the countryside, to this place, site of one of his many estates. Indeed, it might prove to be the last, should his health continue to decline. But he was a pig headed man and once he had this idea, he could not be dissuaded. Hyacinthus wasn’t completely clear what all the fuss was about. He knew it had something to do with a boundary dispute with the neighbor – this Aulus Ordovian Laencanius, whose home they were even now approaching. No, it wasn’t a long journey at all, but you might have thought they were heading to the cold reaches of far Germanica.The mistress had fussed and hovered, as the other slaves had prepared a litter. That in itself was already a sign that the old man was fast approaching his dotage. A real Roman male walked, or rode a horse. But the litter was replete with cushions and wraps, even a dish of candied plums, regardless that the trip would only take a half hour or so, and that walking at a snail’s pace so as not to jostle the old geezer. The curtains were down, to protect from drafts, and Hyacinthus was free to look about as they crawled along. The countryside was pleasant, although unfamiliar. As his master preferred the young slave to be always ay hand, he too rarely left the city. The air smelled so much cleaner, and the greens of the gently rolling countryside were soft on the eyes. He smiled to himself as he strolled along.In due course, they reached the villa of the Laencanii and there was a second round of fluttering and bustling as his master was helped to extricate him from the litter. He was a short, obese man, quite run to seed, with a florid complexion. The broken blood vessels that traced over his red nose like spider webs gave testament to his love of wine and beer. He was sober, at this point, though, and ready to go toe to toe with his neighbor, or so he fancied. In reality, he was all bark and had the bite of a toothless old hound. He and his wife, and Hyacinthus and the slave who would wait on the domina were ushered inside and shown to the dining room. The rest of their retinue would wait outside, and the young male slave could not be blamed for envying those of his comrades who would be at relative ease and leisure for a few hours.He walked behind his master, by a few paces, eyes down but still able to take in their surroundings. The house slave announced them, formally, and moved aside and Hyacinthus let his eyes peep up to see who else had been called to partake in this dinner that was both social and business in nature. Oriana Laecania