Laria

Callista - 6 - Cyan - Laria Marcella Laelia - 12 - Violet - Laria

Marcella had been practically glowing since her recent engagement, from the moment she meet Titus she had felt as if she had no reason to continue avoiding others. That was perhaps the reason why she had decided to go to this book club in the first place, as much as she enjoyed literature she was not a fan of the women typically found in book clubs. From her experience they tended to be pompous and cheeky little prudes who feigned virtuosity when she was sure that they all had more than a few skeletons in their closets. Of course, Marcella couldn't condemn them for that, she had her fair share of bones but the way they all gossiped about the others, she believed it to be pathetic. Of course, while she didn't participate, she did always listen and take note of anything that could be useful to her in the future. As the domus came into view she began questioning if going to this book club was such a good idea, she never would have RSVP'd yes if she hadn't been in such a good mood when the invite had arrived. It wouldn't be hard to get out of it, she could always explain that her father had taken a turn for the worst that morning or previous night. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, this would be a good opportunity to make some valuable connections. She straightened her dove grey palla as she reached the entrance of the domus and adjusted her grip on her copy of The Odyssey. She was hoping to make a good impression, she had never meet this Horatia Justina but from what she knew her husband was a well respected senator, she would almost certainly be a fountain of valuable information. Upon entering the domus she removed her palla and handed it to a waiting slave, reveling a dark blue chiton. Her hair was twisted into a deceptively simple style that was securely pinned in a braid at the top of her head. She looked rather plain but compared to her usual attire she was dressed up. She matched Horatia's smile when she came to greet her, "hello, I'm Marcella Laelia" she said introducing herself "I would like to thank you so much for hosting this club, literature has always been a passion of mine." @Sara

"To us?... I don't think there is a reason... we were just the easiest path for him to get to the domina." She looked back at him and held his case before looking down at her lap. She sighed, continuing to look down and said "not just that... it's just... not exactly the best lot in life to get, is it." She didn't specify what but it was clear that she meant their both being enslaved. "Live isn't fair, I know that" she continued, this time looking forward rather than down, "but this shouldn't be our fight, and yet it is. And the worst part is that whatever happens I will feel responsible, even though I never choose this and whatever reason that man is so furious never had anything to do with me." Her eyes had started watering as she spoke and she furiously started wiping at them, she had done enough crying for one day. @Chevi

"Well... that's quite the premise." She laughed along with him, it was a rather strange plot, though most comedies were. "Am I going to have to read some plays from the others to get all the jokes?" "Maybe a few, but I don't think that missing a few of the jokes would matter to much" she answered, "I'm sure it's written so that everyone can enjoy it, not just those who have studied the works of Euripides and Aeschylus." She was beginning to doubt her choice, maybe it would have been better to go with a more straightforward history, even if it would have been more dry. She began to try and think of other recommendations, ones that she had actually read before, in case he decided that it wasn't the best choice. @Chevi

Callista walked with Felix to the garden and sat down on the bench. They didn't bring a candle or lamp of any sort but the moon light made it bright enough for them to see. She took a piece if bread and looked up at the moon as he started talking. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to... They probably asked you enough times for today, I guess?" She looked over at him and said "they may have asked me but I haven't been able to talk about it, truthfully I'd like to talk, but if you don't want to..." she trailed off at the end, not exactly knowing what she wanted to say. She turned away from him, took a bite of her bread and looked up at the sky again. Her anger that she had carried with her all day was beginning to subside and she now felt nothing, while sitting here she was completely numb. "Why did this have to happen?" she asked but not to anyone in particular, Feix was the only on there but she didn't face him as she said it, instead she continued looking upward so it could have been a prayer. @Chevi

"It's been a long day" She nodded in understanding, she knew exactly what he meant. "I wanted to come and see if you are feeling better. I brought some food if you feel like eating... maybe we can sit in the garden, if you'd like fresh air?" "Thank you, that sounds wonderful" she said, she looked over her shoulder to see that they were still being watched. She quickly started walking to the garden with him, eager to get away from all those prying eyes. As they walked she said "thank you" again. While she didn't specifically for what, she meant for the food, company, and excuse to leave her room. She didn't say anything more after that, what could she say? Even now she was still seeing red, and she didn't want to chase away Felix, not after everything they had gone through. @Chevi

After the whole ordeal Callista had spent the remainder of her day busying herself with work to keep herself from dwelling on all the events that had happened that day. Even after being dismissed for the day she had gone to the kitchen to help wash dishes. She needed the distractions, because while everything was happening she had felt an overwhelming amount of fear, but now that she had time to process everything, all she could feel was white hot anger. As she tried to fall asleep she wished for just a bit of privacy, some of the braver girls in her room had tried to ask what had happened, she brushed them off and when they realized that she was not in the mood to talk they left her alone, but Callista could still feel their eyes on her making it nearly impossible for her to sleep. "Callista? Are you awake?" She sat up and her head turned towards the doorway while every other pair of eyes in the room turned towards her, earning those in her immediate line of vision a rather uncharacteristic glare. She recognized the voice as Felix and stood up without saying a word to meet him. If it had been anyone else she would have pretended to be sleeping, but Felix was perhaps the only other person who could possibly understand what she was going through. "Hi" she said greeting him. She she the tray of food in his hands and as if on cue her stomach rumbled and she realized that she had completely forgotten to eat. Ignoring her stomach's grumbling, she asked "how have you been?" knowing perfectly well that it couldn't have be any better than she was. @Chevi

Callista considered her options while browsing the shelves, she immediately thought of poetry but she wasn't sure how Felix would feel about that. Satire would be a good choice, except it might be to risky. That left history, philosophy, and plays; history and philosophy, while very informative, could sometimes be considered dry. That left plays, she decided that they were the best choice, they were entertaining and unusually fairly easy to read. She scoured the shelves, occasionally picking something up only to set it back down. She eventually picked up a scroll and studied it carefully before asking "have you ever heard of 'The Frogs'?" she opened the scroll to study the writing before continuing, "I myself have yet to read it, it's a play by Aristophanes, a lesser known Greek playwrite. I believe that it tells the story of Dionysus venturing into the underworld to judge who is the best writer, Euripides or Aeschylus. I thought that it would be a good choice because plays are easy to read and this one is suppose to be a light hearted comedy." She hoped her reasoning was sound enough, she didn't mind looking for something else but it would still be nice to have selected something good on her first try. @Chevi

((Me too)) @Chevi

How could this had happened? What had she and Felix done to deserve this? These thoughts ran through Callistas mind as she was lead back to the domus. None of this made sense, for some unexplainable reason her domina had been targeted by a member of the praetorian guard and Felix and she were now stuck in the thick of it. "I know... I am sorry you had to go through all that... I was scared to. Scared he'd hurt you... We will go home and talk to dominus, and we will figure this out. And we might need your help. You said that man... thinks you work for him now? Did you get his name?" She blushed when he looked over and said that he was afraid that he, (whomever he was) had hurt her. She shook her head at herself, she was already to emotional as it was, she couldn't be focusing on her crush too. "I didn't, no" she answered "but from the way all the other solid gets were following orders from him we can assume that he is pretty high ranked, that narrows it down some." She knew that they would be needing her help, after all, she had made a promise to betray her familia to a man who's name she didn't even know, the least she could do was act as a spy. When they finally reached the domus her breath hitched and she stopped walking. It felt as if oxygen had stopped working for her and she couldn't breath. How could she enter her home now after all she had done? She tried to steady her breathing but it only got quicker and shallower. "I can't" she managed to squeak in between wheezes. It felt as if she were drowning, she started to see black spots dance in front of her vision before she collapsed, unconscious @Chevi

She couldn't believe it, Felix was offering to buy her a book. She had no idea how to react to this. Honestly... I have not really found a vice yet to spend my money on... And books seem better than others. Go ahead, choose." "Thank you" she said sounding almost in awe. "Do you have an preferences on genre or author?" she knew that the answer was probably no but she thought it was worth asking anyway. As she waited for his answer she began to browse the shelves, looking for anything that caught her eye. @Chevi

It looked as if Felix was confused, and rightfully so, this whole situation was absurd. The domina? He's after her?" She nodded and said "It seemed like it, but it might have just been because most of my time is spent with her... What did he ask you about?" She was considerably calmer now that she was out of the Castra and that Felix was here. "That man is unhinged." She was about to agree with him but the words caught in her throat when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. "We need to go home. We are not safe out here. Come." "Okay" she said, to stunned to say anything else. She let herself be lead through the maze that was Rome's streets, trusting Felix to not get them lost. "We have to tell them. We don't have a choice." She sighed and said "I know we have to but... I'm just scared... he threatened you and even the children." She felt a lump form in her throat but willed herself to not start crying again, telling herself that she had done enough of that today. "I'm terrified Felix" she admitted, "I don't think I've even been so scared in my life." @Chevi

"You were brave enough, Callista. And you are smarter than I." She certinly didn't feel smarter, she had agreed out of sheer terror, deceiving him had never even crossed her mind. If she had been smart then she would have agreed right away when he offered her freedom, it would have made it seem as if she had no loyalties to the familia and she would have gotten out of there quicker. We are all in danger... But you should not be the one protecting me. You and I... we need to protect the familia. We need to find out what that man's plans are, and what we can do to stop him. It was clever of you to agree to help him... maybe we can use that. Dominus will know how." her face paled again and she said "if you tell Dominus he will kill you, we need to figure this out on our own." She thought for a moment and then said "When I talked to him he seemed to have some sort of vendetta against Domina specifically. He said that he suspected that her whole family were traitors. I don't know why but he acted as is he were obsessed with her" @Chevi

"You were right to do it... He would have hurt you if you didn't. I... refused to help him, and I... was scared he'd take it out on you. I'm so sorry, Callista." She shook her head at him as he tilted her chin up and apologized. "It wasn't your fault" she assured him, "you were much braver than I was." It was true, had done what she couldn't; said no. She sighed and said "you're in danger now, Felix, even more than I am and it's because of me. He's using you as leverage to keep me in line." Though she usually wasn't so forward she took his hand and said "you need to be careful." @Chevi

"Look at me" She did, and he took her head in his hands. She blinked up at him, her tears already starting to subside. "I'm not going to let him do anything to you. Do you hear? I won't." She felt his arms wrap around her and she gladly hugged him back. She felt her breathing steady and her heart beat a little slower. She was safe now, she would be okay. She pulled back from the hug and started talking, this time less frantically. "Felix, I agreed to help him" as she said this shame filled her face, "he said if I didn't he would kill you and Titus and Calpurnia in addition." He also threatened he own life but that didn't feel as important at the moment. "I'm so sorry" she said, she was looking down now, to ashamed of what she had done to look up at him. @Chevi

Felix looked angry as he continued to look her over for injuries. It was a quiet sort of anger, that they both knew he couldn't act on but was still there. When the nail fell it was Felix, not Callista who moved to pick it up. "Callista, what is this?" "A memento" she answered. Looking at the nail she thought of all it's possibilities, it wasn't as sharp as she would have liked but it was sharp enough. She thought how with just one good shove into her stomach this could all be over, but what would that solve? She finally started crying, she had tried to hold back her tears but now she couldn't stop them. Through her sobs she tried to explain the nail, though her works were interrupted by her own ragged breathing. "He threatened me with it, and then he slammed it into his own desk. It sat there, upright, for our meeting, until he finally let me go. He gave it to me as a reminder of what he could do" @Chevi

She allowed herself to be pulled deeper into the alley, glad to be moving father away from the Castra. Once they were out of sight of any guards Felix began to look her over, inspecting for any injuries, and she did the same to him. "I'm not. Are you? Did they hurt you?" "No" she answered, but she was sure that she had been close at several points in that discussion. He took her hands and the long crucifixion nail that she had grasped, white knuckled, slipped from her fingers and fell in between them. It rolled in the dirt, and she watched it, a reminder of what would happen to both of them should she fail. @Chevi

Callista was still shaking as she was escorted out of the Castra. The moment the guards left her she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her, all the adrenaline that had been keeping her going had worn away now that the threat of immediate danger was gone. She hardly even saw the crowd street she was walking on, she just had one goal; to think up an excuse for taking so long and to go home. She she was wracking her brain for reasons that she might be so late after running a few quick errands, she was grabbed by the wrist and pulled into an alleyway. For a short moment all the adrenaline she had left kicked in, her heart pounded faster and she prepaired to scream or run, possibly both, until she saw who had grabbed her. She looked up at Felix and felt a wave of emotion pass over her, she didn't even think and just started talking. "Inch’ e patahel? lav yes? "* she stopped speanking mid-sentence, realizing that in all of the confusion and terror her brain had reverted back to Armenian, she didn't even know that she still remembered how to speak it. She shook her head and started again, this time in Latin "I was so worried, what happened? Are you hurt?" @Chevi *that is the phonetic form, the actual spelling is "ինչ է պատահել լավ ես" essentialy it means "what happened, are you okay"

Callista was glad that Felix had come with her, having someone to talk to made the rather dull task of running errands much more interesting. "I... can't say I know them... Say, how about this: I have some money to spend. You choose a book you'd like, and I'll buy it. If you'll let me borrow it later." She was stunned, she had never expected for him to offer to buy her a book, and any one of her choosing for that matter. "You really don't have to do that," she answered,"I'm sure you'd rather spend your money on something else" @Chevi

"No, but you do" Callista blushed, she didn't know what to say, but before she had too Felix continued. "A lot of slaves do, or would like to, I think. And we don't usually have money to spend on books. Not much anyway..." "Yes" she agreed nodding, even though he had continued to talk about a broader spectrum of slaves who liked to read she couldn't help but feel flattered that he had still thought of her. "So... if you selected books for that library, what would you pick?" "Maybe The Silvae by Statius, or Elégies by Tibullus" already her mind was whirring as she thought of more titles she would potentially add. @Chevi

Callista beamed back at him, glad that he laughed rather than hushing her for saying such a thing. She had been worried that he might have been offended at her joke, but he laughed. He certainly looked surprised but he laughed. "Good question... maybe I'd convince dominus to build a library instead of a bath? ...One that is open to slaves as well?" "That sounds wonderful" she answered, already she was getting missy eyed thinking of such a place. "But why a library?" she asked after coming back to reality, "thought you said that you don't usually read" @Chevi

Hello! Welcome to the site, I'm Laria. It's so great that you have joined, I'm sure you're going to love it here.

"I don't think so. It seems like an awful hard thing to do. And exhausting... Unless it was small things." Callista laughed at this, it would indeed be exhausting to leave behind such a legacy that it would alter the course of history. She lowered her voice so that only Felix could hear and said "so that's how some politicians manage to sleep at night, it's the exhaustion." She knew that such a joke, no matter how clever, could easily get her into trouble. It was astounding some of the scandals that were leaked to the public. "What small things would you change?" She inquired, intrested in what things Felix would do to influence history if he had the chance. @Chevi

"I don't think it's silly... it's just not a common interest" Callista smiled at this before answering "no, it really isn't" she was well aware that a slave woman who felt the need to study history was unheard of. She still thought that it was sweet of him to say that he didn't find it silly. "Would you do it? Influence history? If you could?" This question slightly caught her off guard, it was unusual for slaves fo speak of hypotheticals un case it could be interpreted as rebellion. "No, I don't think I would" she finaly answered, most women that had been recorded in history books were written as treacherous girls who were remembered for their unsavory deeds. Even if this wasn't the case, Callista decided that if her life could be exactly as she wanted it, she would lead a quite life and raise a family, nothing grand enough to even slightly leave her mark on the world. "Would you?" she asked in return. @Chevi ((Eep! Sorry about that, I should have checked to make sure the tag worked. Don't worry about the late reply, it was my fault))

"I can't say I know his works." Callista smiled, amused by his sheepish answer, she found it endearing that he seemed to become bashful when discussing literature. "Is history one of the domina's interests?...or yours?" she considered the scroll in her hands and answered honestly saying "I'm not sure, when she reads it seems to be for equal parts entertainment and inlightment". Callista knew that she would never over-step the in place gender rules, but in a different world her intelligence would have been recognized and she could have been someone great. Not that the domina wasn't great now, Callista thought, she was the wife of a senator and mother of two wonderful children, she was about the best a woman could be in this world. She took a moment before answering the second part of his question, she had gotten into the habit of considering her words before speaking them. She answered saying "I can't say that it intrest me but I feel an obligation to learn it, even if in the end I will not influence it" she added sounding embarrassed "I know it's silly". @Chevi