Sara

"That was my father." She retorted, in traditional-petty Ovinia fashion. "Although it's probably for the best that he passed when he did. He would have run us both through with a gladius." With a sigh, some of her anger ebbed away and she raised a hand to stroke his jaw. "I'm being a bitch, I'm sorry." She managed a wan smile. "Maybe we should just run away. Illyricum is just across the sea from here, or Greece or...anywhere." She gave a smile, "We could just start again, and I could get a slave to get Tadia out and meet us..." TAG: @Chevi

She knew that; he was just trying to be decent and think of a way for this to actually work, but unfortunately for Lucius, Ovinia was frustrated at the realities that were now dawning. Before he'd arrived, she was miserable and lonely but at least she didn't really have to think of the future. Now he was here, the gulf between where they were and where they wanted to be was a mile wide. "Are they the assholes?" She queried with a mirthless laugh. "All things considered, Gaius has been generous." She shook her head, "He's not the one who had an affair behind her husbands back, got pregnant and abandoned her daughter, is he? Or the one that chose to have an affair with a married woman?" She was being unfair, but she was upset and she didn't know what else to do but lash out. TAG: @Chevi

He stood there, languidly leaning against the post as Lucius snapped back at him. He didn't take orders from the likes of him (he didn't much take orders from anybody), and he really couldn't be bothered to deal with a nobleman's sour moods. He just offered a smirk and a shrug. "Whatever you say, sir." He finally moved himself from his leaning position and snatched up his firestick, getting to work in breaking apart what looked to have once been a bed frame but was now a smouldering, scorched pile of sticks. "But just so you know, first off, I don't answer to you - so keep your mouth in check." He gave the other man a firm glance, "And second, don't bring your drama to work with you. Nobody needs a show when we're just trying to do our jobs." He leaned back and took in what Lucius was doing as he worked. TAG: @Chevi

"I..." it was a sensible plan. It would work, but it still felt like somebody was twisting her insides with a knife. "I've only ever wanted to be a mother." She swallowed, "And now I can't even be a mother to my own child? We raise them and...what? And say that they're the son or daughter of a whore but it's okay because their Tata loves them?" She shook her head, folding her arms across her chest petulantly. "We'll have to, I suppose." She was shooting daggers at the sky from where she lay, glaring and glowering and pouting like the nineteen year old Ovinia, not the thirty-five year old. "And Tadia." She swallowed, "Gaius wouldn't even show me what he agreed in the divorce, only that she'll live with Spurius most of the time." She shook her head, feeling nauseous but not from the pregnancy. This was worth it, right? TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia's eyes widened and she blinked. Gaius hadn't hit her but clearly he'd needed to vent his frustration on somebody. She unconsciously moved her fingers to his nose. He'd evidently seen a good medicus because it looked like it had set as straight as before. She swallowed and shrugged, although his kiss on her forehead was soothing. "If I were him, I'd let me have the child then send me off to marry an official from a province. He knows people in Hispania and Raetia. I'd send me off for a decent match, but far away - too far away to run away home, and if I were him, I'd leave the child with you - abdicate all responsibility from it." That's what she would do if she was in his shoes. "I hope he's not as smart as that." She chuckled and then sighed, sinking down on his lip until she was actually lead across him. "But I'm not staying here much longer alone. I'll get a horse and ride back to Rome nine months pregnant if I have to. You need to convince him to let you join me here, or he needs to find somewhere closer by for me to be. And he needs to figure out the marriage, and an excuse as to why I have a new child." She made a noise of decisiveness, there was no arguing with Ovinia when she got stubborn. TAG: @Chevi

She let herself be pulled down until she was sprawled on his lap, legs dangling over the armrest of the chair. She chuckled at his description, and couldn't help the frisson of excitement as his palm found her bump. It seemed he couldn't keep away. "I meant how did you find out about the child?" She would not have put it past Gaius to simply ignore Lucius in the hope he'd leave Ovinia alone. "But it's good to know you were out here scaring the elderly senators in their villas in search of me." She raised his hand from her belly to lay a soft kiss on his knuckles, before dropping it back down. "If I thought we'd get away with it, I'd suggest we just get married now - without his permission." She sighed and shook her head, "But he'll not brook it and he's just as likely to make us divorce as accept it. But I can't stay here alone much longer Lucius." she swallowed, "I'm going out of my mind..." TAG: @Chevi

A shiver ran the length of her spine at 'my wife, my child'. She'd never felt more in love or more enraptured by a man. This was what her naive, girlish dreams of love and lust had looked like. Not her first marriage with its boredom and loneliness. This was what she had been waiting for. "Only if we marry the old way, cum manus and I become your property rather than his." She rolled her eyes a little. "And we'll need his permission for that, which he's not going to give easily given..." She winced, "The adultery, love-child business." She sighed. It could have been worse, Gaius had the legal right to kill both her and Lucius or at the very least tell Spurius, and bring criminal charges which would have resulted in Lucius undoubtedly losing his position. He hadn't though - he'd merely sent her here, which she supposed was his way of being merciful. Swallowing, she finally pulled back from his chest and sighed. "Come sit with me in the gardens, and we can plan? And yes Ajax, you can write to your master to tell him all about this." She offered the slave who stood by with narrowed eyes a smug, self-satisfied smile and then tugged on Lucius' hands to pull him into the villa. "How did you find out?" She asked him as she walked. TAG: @Chevi

His grin spoke volumes and she felt herself relax. The knots worked their way out of her shoulders, her breathing slowed and the frown melted away from her forehead. She exhaled deeply and moved a hand to cup his face as he kissed her. It was slow and gentle and tender, and absent of the passion that coloured most of their interactions in their little rented room in Rome, but it was exactly what she needed. With her other hand still over his, she squeezed it and then finally drew back from the kiss. "It only gets more complicated from here." She groaned and then leant forward until her head was on his chest, and she mumbled into it; "I...think Gaius intends for the child to be left behind here, deny that it's mine, if he brings me back to Rome." She swallowed, "Even if we married now it's too late to claim we conceived this one in marriage." TAG: @Chevi

She let him reach out, and his hesitancy was almost amusing. She supposed without a wife or a permanent lover he'd have never felt this, unless he Vipsania had let him with her brood. She covered his hand with her own and laughed a little, awkwardly. Why isn't he saying he's happy? "Yes." She swallowed. She wouldn't go into the details of how she knew it wasn't her husbands, although it was a very short story given he preferred the whores of the Venus than her and hadn't touched her in months before she found out she was pregnant. "I know it's not what we planned." There was supposed to be a neat divorce, a quiet reflective period and then an even quieter second marriage to him. No baby or exile to stupid fucking Lupiae. She swallowed, "But I'm happy." She squeezed his hand over her belly, "Are...you?" TAG: @Chevi

"We're well, thank you Wulfric." Wulfric didn't sound right, but nor did calling him dominus. Sir, maybe? She'd have to try it out for size. "I would have brought Peregrinus but he needed his nap whilst I was out at the markets...but next time I will bring him." Because once she found out where he worked, and Tertius could be convinced, she'd be allowed to go somewhere with her son. Ridiculous though it was that she needed to even ask permission for her own child. "I...wanted to thank you, for your advice about sleeping in the bed with him. It's helped," She chuckled, "And I wanted to see how you were doing...I'm sorry we haven't been able to see one another since..." That very fucking awkward dinner. TAG: @Atrice

Disappointment and upset visibly flashed across her face, settling her features into a frown and a bitten lip. She felt foolish - that Gaius would have forgiven her transgression and allowed her home with the father of her child. Two months in this purgatory clearly wasn't enough for him. She still remembered what he'd said to her as he'd shown her round the villa; 'Get used to it. You've got until the child is weaned to get to know the place.' She swallowed the temple-sized lump in her throat and exhaled through her nose, finally releasing him. He was still here - she still had company, but clearly not forever. He'd have to head back to the city again before they knew it and she'd be left alone. Again. "He'll be furious when he finds out." She murmured mildly with a little shrug, "You should have seen him when he found out about the chil-" She blinked. The child. She looked between Lucius and then the curve of her bump and then back at him. Way to skip over the important things, Ovinia. Self-consciously, she placed her palms over it and swallowed. "I-I wanted to tell you first. A slave found out..." She winced, "...surprise?" TAG: @Chevi

She let out a little laugh at his joke, terrible though it was and relaxed enough to release him although both her hands still gripped his arms, she at least settled down from her tip-toes. "Out of sight, out of mind." She mumbled with a little glare at one of the slaves who was standing, clearly uncomfortable and unsure of what to do a little way off. Relief washed through her at the sight of him, that she didn't even attempt to talk about the pregnancy. It was old news for her, she was even bored of thinking about it, and in that moment it didn't even cross her mind to talk about it with him - even as the curve of the bump was further revealed by the movement of her tunica. "I'm fine," She swallowed - she wasn't, but she wasn't going to lay out just how lonely and depressed she'd become. He was here and she would be fine now, wouldn't she? "Please tell me you've come to take me home?" TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia physically jumped as she heard her name called. She'd recognise that voice anywhere, but even if she hadn't, nobody had visited her here in the months she'd been sequestered away and she was unused to the idea that somebody would be here to see her. She glanced up and saw him, and for a moment wondered if she'd actually, fully cracked and lost her mind or was Lucius really standing in front of her in her villa-prison with that look on his face. She blinked, almost comically, to make sure she wasn't hallucinating and when he was still there after a sizeable pause, she launched herself from her chair and bounded to him, wrapping her arms around his neck before he could do anything. "You came." She breathed and she felt the loneliness ebb away almost immediately. In her darker moments she had wondered, self-consciously, if he did know and decided against pursuing her further. She recalled the conversation they had had that first time she had seen him, all those years later, where he'd admitted he didn't have children, and again on Saturnalia when he'd proudly proclaimed that he didn't care if she was barren, that all he wanted was her. What if he didn't want the child? What if he didn't want her now it had become so much more complicated? She blinked against his neck but didn't release her crushing grip on him. "How are you here?" Had Gaius sanctioned it? TAG: @Chevi

--- September - nine months later A villa outside of Lupiae (modern day Lecce), 11 days ride from Rome Late summer sunshine streamed through the peristyle, warming Ovinia's face as she tried to concentrate on her stitching. Gaius had evidently chosen Lupiae - or rather a villa half a day outside of it - because there was absolutely nothing to do here and no reason why any self-respecting Roman would want to visit it. It cut the chances of Ovinia running into friends or acquaintances to practically zero, but it also meant that she was utterly bored stiff. She was a person that thrived on other people - she needed conversation and socialisation to feel alive and sitting here, now for the better part of two months, alone in every sense of the word - she thought she'd go mad. The fact that Gaius, nor her other brothers hadn't visited her and he'd signed away the majority of her rights to see and raise Tadia in the divorce proceedings, meant that the days passed in a blur of loneliness. She didn't even know if he knew. The villa was at least grand. Gaius hadn't allowed her to go their usual spot in Baiae for fear of her running into friends, but he'd rented a house just as grand for her here. She supposed it was a small mercy but a very pretty, very expensively furnished prison was still a prison. The staff, likewise, were not of her choosing besides her bodyslave. They were perfectly pleasant and attentive but she knew she was being watched. They wouldn't even send letters directly for her - instead they send them to Gaius to vet and then send on if he deemed them appropriate. She supposed she should have been accepting of this as a punishment; she was alive, free from her husband, healthy and in a beautiful house - it was more than most women in her position with her sort of family got when they were revealed to be with child from an affair. But gratitude had always been hard for Ovinia, and as the weeks wore on and the morning sickness abated and the curve of her bump began to show under her tunica, it was becoming harder and harder to be thankful. Distracted in thought, as she threaded the needle through the palla she was mending, she stuck it into the skin of her thumb. Yelping in pain, she immediately plucked it out tried to stymie the small prick of blood that was blooming. This would undoubtedly be the most exciting thing to happen to her all day. She couldn't help but laugh. TAG: @Chevi

"What?" He deadpanned, with a frown so deep he would be surprised if he didn't have lines on his forehead hours later. Wasn't this kid rich? And being forced onto some...curse thing? He decided, of his own volition, to throw all that in the garbage pile to...clean up burnt bits of furniture and save grumpy old plebs from infernos? He was too surprised to take any pleasure in the fact the man was a kindred spirit. Titus liked his job immensely, but had never met somebody who enjoyed it in equal measure. Go figure it would be a rich boy playing freedman for the day. "You doing this to impress your woman?" He quipped with a hint of a smirk on his lips, "She didn't look very impressed." Folding his arms back over his chest he shrugged, "Men like you can buy your way to Tribune straight away, you realise? No need for any of this." He gestured to the scorched room around them. TAG: @Chevi

Mid-March 76AD By the time Charis had actually tracked Wulfric down, it was a month or so after her conversation with Tertius. It wasn't that he was exceptionally difficult to find: a couple of light enquiries at various stalls in the market had led her to this warehouse, it was more that she a) didn't have the time to spend on the errand, and b) had been putting it off. Being in league with her dominus was an uncomfortable feeling for her. She hadn't been on 'his side' of anything since she'd come to Rome, but their joint suspicion of his newfound son was something other than Peregrinus that they had in common, and it was an unpleasant feeling, but she knew she couldn't put this off forever. If she did try and ignore the fact that Wulfric was here for...unkown reasons, the curiosity would eat her alive. So here she was, awkwardly standing outside of a bustling warehouse - stacked to high-heavens with produce, waiting to try and catch a glimpse of her...step-son? No, she wasn't married to Tertius...Peregrinus' half-brother sounded less awkward. She tried to ignore the fact that Wulfric was older than her, that made the whole thing all the odder and much more complicated. When she did spot his face, she had to do a double take. He really was the spitting image of Tertius - his parentage really couldn't be denied. She swallowed, and weaving through the big, burly men that stood around lugging crates or chatting, she moved to stand in front of him. She let out a small smile and inclined her head, "Dominus, sorry, I know you're busy but I thought I would stop by to see you, I was in the market and well..." Well, she didn't have an excuse. TAG: @Atrice

Ovinia flinched at the curse word. She had heard the same from her brothers, but it was still not common language in her circles. She managed a ghost of a smile as he apologised. At least he has some manners, she thought to herself. "Your friend..." She cast a glance up at him as they walked, "What happened to her?" If it was the same man then it was a stroke of luck. In her naive estimation of Rome's seedy underbelly, there had to be thousands of depraved men wandering around with knives ready to jump innocent women as they walked home. Maybe she was just a pessimist though. Smiling tightly, she nodded. "You did. I..." She winced, "I haven't said thank you, have I?" She felt more settled in his company as they walked. She would perhaps be called foolish, for letting her guard down so easily, but she reasoned that if he had been in on the plan or wanted to jump her, he would have surely done it by now? "I am...thankful. Thank you, Lucius." TAG: @Atrice

Vibia pretended not to hear their conversation until the little trio was stood right in front of her. She gave the girl an appraising once-over (nothing special, slim, young, dark-eyed brunettes were ten a penny in Rome) and then flashed a wide grin at Lucius and Marcus in turn. "A pleasure, domina, dominus." She inclined her head at Ovinia and then Marcus. "And we've met; yours isn't the only party my talents have been employed at, sweet Marcus." Although she seemed to recall the tall, tree-climbing Lucius had been less than complimentary about such events. Yet here he was. Maybe he was a hypocrite, not that she really cared. "Do you have any requests?" She lazily dragged her fingers across the strings of her instrument, letting a melodic chord fill the air. "I'm good at accommodating most things." TAG: @Chevi @Atrice

She nodded mutely as he asked if the man had a knife. Yes. And the feeling of it against her waist, she was sure, would keep her up for days to come. At his question she felt her cheeks flush red. She knew she needed to be cautious in the backstreets of Rome; her father had sat her down to have the awkward conversation about what a pretty, unmarried woman like her had to offer the scummy men that lurked in the shadows. "I...I don't know." She swallowed and looked up at him with wide eyes. "He had a knife t-to my waist and wanted to try and drag me off," She swallowed and felt her fingers shake. She rearranged her palla over her hand to hide it. "I...assume he was going to..." She exhaled and tried to gather confidence, as if talking about this was natural, "Force me. But he didn't get the chance. But yes," She swallowd, "He had a knife. And when you came and he ran he said...he said another time then." TAG: @Atrice

Working. Titus arched a brow and tilted his head to the side. He didn't take abuse or snapping from his peers, nor his betters. "Oh really?" He was cut off from his reprimand as the man turned around and he saw the sigh in his shoulders and his face. "No, you're not." He shook his head and depositing the firestick down on the floor, he moved to lean against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest. "Your not a vigile. If the centurion catches you, you're dead meat. So give me that-" He held out his hand for the bucket the man was holding, "And get out before you injure yourself." TAG: @Chevi

She sighed and cast her eyes to the side. They'd been married for so long and Aulus had an observant nature anyway, that she knew he'd pick up on some clue she'd missed in her attempt to pretend she was joyous. Shrugging deeply, she shifted in her chair until she was facing him and moved her eyes back to his face. She'd practiced for this, rehearsed it in her head on the off-chance he had queried her reaction. "It's just a surprise, that's all." She managed a tight smile. "It's been eight years since you came home and we haven't been blessed with another. I suppose I thought the Gods had decided two was enough, and...I had come to terms with that." That was plausible, wasn't it? The reason for her muted reaction? She had been foolish that day in Baiae when she'd bared her soul and the trauma on the road. She'd had a stern word with herself that evening that she wouldn't do it twice. The assault was one thing to admit; she had been blameless. Secretly taking contraception to prevent giving her husband a third child was a whole other situation. "But we will manage it." She squeezed his hand firmly, "Together." TAG: @Sharpie

She chuckled as he did and groaned, nodding. She'd be willing to actually convert if it meant more snatched moments like this. Gods, how desperate was she? Maybe it was the fact that it had been fifteen years in the making, or that she was so desperately unhappy at home, or that it was Lucius enveloping her in his arms, or that...to put it crudely, this had been the first decent sex she'd ever had, but she didn't want this day to end. "Just send a note. I'll speak to my brother as soon as he's back in the city." How on earth that conversation would go, she had no idea. Settling into the crook of his arm, one of her own languidly draped over his chest, she stifled a yawn against his skin. She really had no concept of the time but judging from the silence in the house the slaves were either asleep or not working. Servants, she corrected herself with a huff of amusement, Lucius didn't own slaves. The fool. "Are all your staff off for Saturnalia?" She mumbled sleepily, trying to divert the conversation away from the serious. "How are we going to celebrate?" TAG: @Chevi

Charis flashed a brief smile as he covered her hand. It was an intimate gesture, which she wasn't expecting him to reciprocate. He always surprised her; being tender one moment and cold and aloof the next. "Yes, domine." She would give Peregrinus her life it would help him. She had to bite her tongue though; history would repeat itself as it had done with Teutus with her son. Her boy would grow up and see his mother (metaphorically) in chains. She wondered how long it would be before he couldn't call her mama in public, and when she'd have to start referring to her own son as 'dominus'. He was free and that was the most critical thing but Tertius was deluding himself if he thought that keeping their son's mother enslaved wouldn't have any impact on him. She kept her thoughts to herself though, and a smile on her face. If she needed to become free, then pressuring Tertius was never going to be the way to achieve it. She had to try flattery and warmth and all the things he liked. She squeezed his forearm softly. TAG: @Atrice

Ovinia didn't particularly want to be alone with Lucius and Marcus; both irritating men in their own way but even a blind man could see that something was running in the undercurrent between sweet, naive Sosia and the Imperial. It flared her jealousy again, but she wasn't such a bitter sort that she'd linger around to try and ruin it for either of them. Much as part of her was tempted to. Instead she followed the men as they weaved through the crowds to a small stage that was set up. A group of actors were lingering around, dressed garishly with enough cosmetic to cover an elephant on their faces. Her eyes lit up though, at a blonde with a cithara leant against her leg. She'd always wanted to learn, but her father thought it too expensive and unbecoming. She barely hid her glee. "You've hired professional musicians?" She asked Marcus, following up Lucius' question and taking it a face-value - not understanding his double meaning. "Are they good?" TAG: @Atrice @Chevi

"You should speak to my father." Ovinia commented mildly. He'd been a Praetor as long as she could recall, really. He'd settled at the post and enjoyed it, as far as she could tell from the lectures her brothers received most cena's. "He'd be happy to talk you through the role, I'm sure. Even if," She quickly tried to find the right words, "Things here don't...progress." She chuckled a little. Her father was a rigid man, a stickler for formality and propriety but he was good to his core and undoubtedly would like the flattery of a younger man asking his experience and expertise. Arching a brow, she glanced sideways at him. "You've already asked me that." Gods had they really circled all the conversation topics they could between unmarried men and women? Her lips quirked in a sly smile though and she laughed, hinting that she was only teasing. "But I don't have huge amounts of time. My mother has been unwell, and I'm the only other woman in my father's house so I run it when she can't." Which was most of the time now when her pain flared. "Managing the slaves, greeting his clients, running the household goods and things." she shrugged, it was good practice for her own household if nothing else, although she supposed she had all of the pressure of being materfamilias with none of the benefits of a husband to support her; just a quarrelsome and demanding father. "But outside of that; sightseeing, travelling to the villa, music as I've said and socialising, I suppose." Gods was that really all there was to her? TAG: @Sharpie