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Garden Games


Sara

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Mid May, 74AD

Charis frowned at the mass of tangled roots as her fingers delicately tried to prize them loose. Whichever fool her Dominus had employed in the garden before her evidently had no skills in tending to the flowering plants or small collection of herbs that grew here. Whilst Charis herself couldn't claim she had extensive experience in tending to gardens, her natural proficiency with the natural world, and the work she had done on her family's small cooking and medicinal garden had enabled her to at least have a semblance of knowledge that her predecessor clearly lacked. The fool had planted the roses in the shade and their once beautiful petals had curled and withered. She needed to replant them, but it was taking far longer than anticipated. Knelt on the floor, she muttered in her own language under her breath as she tried to prize the roots free. 

She had been in a better mood since her afternoon of relaxation with Cynane, three days prior. For whatever reason, Rhoda - seemingly the only one who had noticed her absence - hadn't informed the Domine, and she was deeply grateful. She had needed that afternoon, to laugh, drink and be carefree. The headache she had dealt with the next day, however, was less than fun. 

Batting a bead of sweat away from her forehead - still deeply unused to the heat - she didn't notice the little figure moving to join her until the young Antonia Varia was standing next to her, peering down. "What are you doing?" The voice made her jump, and she sat back on her heels, smiling a little but respectfully dropping her eyes. "I need to replant roses domina, and cut heads off so grow again." She said in accented Latin, which had improved tremendously in the two months she'd been here. She'd met Antonia very briefly that day after her introduction with Tertius - and seen her around more now that she was working in the garden, but had never held a full conversation with the little girl. She  had wanted to though, she was a deeply family-orientated woman. 

She moved to quickly wash off her hands in the small basin she had brought out with her - thinking it inappropriate to have hands covered in dirt whilst speaking to her domine's daughter. "You have to cut their heads off?" Antonia asked and Charis grinned, "It does not hurt them, domina, but yes...cut their heads off."

Charis glanced up at the sound of another figure approaching, and grinned broadly seeing Teutus.

 

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"Salve, Charis," Teutus said as he came up to them. Antonia's bright copper hair and sunny yellow tunic stood in sharp contrast to the dark hair of the British woman.


"I see you ladies have met," he added, clasping his hands behind his back. He had brought a wax tablet and abacus with him because he was supposed to be tutoring Antonia in her arithmetic today. The cool shade of the garden peristylium was a much better choice than the atrium, if Antonia could keep from being distracted by everything going on.

A conversation before settling down couldn't hurt, though, if she could work out Charis' accented Latin.

And keep from asking too many personal questions...

"How's cutting their heads off going to help them grow?" Antonia asked, with all the directness of a nine-year-old who knew she was the master's only legitimate child.

 

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She smiled genuinely and warmly at Teutus. She had grown fond of him - he was one of the few fellow slaves here who gave her the time of day, especially since she had been given seemingly preferential treatment and allowed to choose her own work. "Salve, Teutus."

"We have, domina interested in garden." She didn't look at Antonia but continued to work, finally releasing the trapped young rosebush from its position. She had made a separate spot on the other side of the garden ready for it to be replanted, where it would get the hottest sun in the morning, rather than the dregs of warmth in the evening. Arching a brow at the young woman's question she smiled. "These ones dead." She brushed the shrivelled petals. "If don't take them off, then no more flowers." It wasn't just true of roses, of course, but they were particularly susceptible to it. 

Glancing at the tablet and abacus that Teutus had set down, she looked between the unlikely siblings. "But I do not want disturb lesson." She herself had always been better at numbers than anything else, it had helped their family with their trade. Then again, she enjoyed company. The one downside of her new work was that she rarely had the opportunity to converse with others and it got a little lonely. 

"It is very pretty here though. Do you know what plants are here, domina...or Teutus? I could teach." She grinned and gestured around the garden. She knew some of the Latin names for them, but not all, and it seemed she discovered something new everyday. It was nice to feel, however, that she was being useful and that others actually appreciated her work.  

 

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"Why are you digging it up? Won't that kill it?" Antonia was studiously ignoring the abacus and the boredom of actual lessons in favour of this far more interesting chat with her father's newest slave with the funny-sounding Latin. There weren't really very many female slaves in the house, not interesting ones, anyway. Rhoda was nice enough, and let her lick the bowl out when she'd been making something 'specially tasty. Like honey cakes.

"I know mint, and lavender, an' rosemary, an'... an' apples, an' roses, an' oranges, an' lemons, an' figs, an' vines - for the grapes, though they haven't growed nice enough to eat yet," she added, looking around the garden.

It didn't escape Teutus that every single plant she named was included in some sort of food, either.

"Tata says you come from Bri... Britannia," she added, enunciating the word carefully, as if afraid she'd forget a syllable or two. "What's it like? Is it always cold? Do you have lots of nice things to eat?"

"Antonia..." Teutus said, trying not to laugh at her eagerness to know everything all at once. "Let her answer something before you ask too many questions and we forget what you want to know!"

 

 

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Charis shook her head. "If we leave it, it will be kill." She said, unsure of her Latin and speaking slow enough for the young girl to understand. She pointed to the sky, "Needs more sun." And rain. Not that it ever seemed to rain in this inhospitable place. "So I move it over there." She pointed to the space she had cleared, although tactfully didn't stand to try and replant it now. She had at least learned then when being spoken to, you shouldn't just walk off...

She grinned broadly, however, as Antonia reeled off all of the plants she knew. It was impressive - but made Charis said. When she grew and found a man and ran her own house, she would never need to know the healing properties, or nutritional value of her plants that were cultivated. She'd have a new generation of Charis' and Teutus' for that. For Antonia and her ilk, the gardens were just nice to look at not a product of labour and love. It saddened her a little. Still, she said encouragingly; "Very good!", not wanting to dishearten the little girl. "But my favourite this one." She pointed to a flowering oleander plant, "It is a nerium but you must not touch...it can make you sick." They had it in Britannia as well, and they had lost horses to the beautiful flowers. She find it ironic that  the Romans were inadvertently growing poison in their gardens. 

Glancing to Teutus for a sort of confirmation that she was free to talk about Britannia, she nodded. "It is...very different to here. It cold, yes," She laughed, "But very pretty...lots of green and hills and lakes, beautiful." She said the latter with a hint of sadness in her voice. She had felt, since she arrived, deeply claustrophobic in her new city. As if it was smothering her, compared to the rolling wilderness of her homeland. She added, with a gentle smile, "Food better here, domina." That part, at least, was true.

Rolling back to sit on her feet so she was kneeling upright she asked Antonia, but glanced at Teutus; "It is long way from Rome too, Britannia. Very long way...Where is best place you have been, besides domus? Does Teutus take you to nice places in Rome?" 

 

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"I've been to the Temple of 'Pollo, the other week. An' the baths sometimes, an' the theatre an' races once each," Antonia replied, standing straight, like a miniature Augusta. "An' the villa in Campania, though I don't know if Tata's going to go down this summer."

She looked at the older girl with the frank bold expression only a child of her age and status could give.

"How long's it take to get here from 'Tannia?"

Teutus gave Charis an apologetic look from behind their young mistress.

 

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Charis grinned, "I would like to go to theatre." Not that she'd understand much, she suspected. And the villa in Campania sounded interesting. She hadn't heard of it before and cast Teutus a curious glance, asking him; "Villa?" She thought it was a bigger house, and the prospect of escaping this city and its infernal heat excited her. 

"I..." She hesitated at the little girl's question, appreciating Teutus' apologetic glance. She didn't know how much the young girl understood about slavery, nor its realities. She didn't particularly wish to relive the journey in her mind, nor the endless days on the road and boats, shackled and in pain after the loss of her child. "Almost two months, domina." She offered a weak smile. It had taken longer for her than others, having to recover when they made landfall from the miscarriage.  

She rinsed her hands again to distance herself, and Antonia, fastidiously picking the dirt from her fingers. "But I try not remember Britannia, I live in Rome now...and need ideas of where to visit to see city."

 

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Apparently this would have been Charis' journey, but I imagine she stopped for 5-10 days after she lost the child. 

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"Tata's got a villa in Campania, way down south of here, near the sea," Antonia said, as though everyone ought to be aware of that already.

"We can't go there without Tata, though, and he's got to stay in Rome all the time the Senate need to meet," Teutus said. "They have a lot of important things to talk about and decide, and they need Tata for that."

Strictly speaking, Tertius wasn't necessary to any of the Senate's decisions, but it would be good for him to be there and be visible.

"We should get on with our lesson, and let Charis get on with her work," he continued, though he was perfect willing to continue deferring the lesson.

"Have you seen any of Rome at all?" Antonia asked, ignoring the hint.

 

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Charis nodded, understanding they had no choice about a break to the villa without Tertius' say so and...who knew what Tertius wanted. Charis, in her two months here, hadn't really been able to discern any of her domine's feelings on much of anything. 

Arching a brow, she smiled. "I don't mind...it is nice for company. Gardens are pretty but quiet." And Antonia - despite her station and status - was engaging company. She reminded Charis a lot of her younger sister at that age before she blinked such memories away, for another day. 

At Antonia's question, Charis narrowed her eyes thinking. "I seen markets," Where she was sold, and now where she went to buy goods when instructed, "And baths, and some of the gardens. They very beautiful." They didn't need to know that it had been very recently, and for all Antonia and Teutus knew she had only passed through...not sat in the sun drinking and eating with friends. She smiled to herself at the memory, however, nonetheless. "Is Teutus good teacher, domina?" She grinned, arching a brow and trying to change the subject. "He has been teaching me Latin, I think he's very good." She flashed her company a smile. it must be hard; to care for and love a girl that could have been his equal, but was now his mistress.

 

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Antonia's expression turned a little doubtful; she thought Teutus was a good teacher, but the other girl's Latin wasn't very good, so perhaps he wasn't a very good teacher after all, though it seemed disloyal to say so.

"Charis has learned a lot of Latin since she came here, she's been working very hard at it," Teutus said, stepping forward to join in the conversation properly. "They speak a different language in Britannia, and just think how long it must take to learn a whole new language!"

"I've been to the gardens, and the baths sometimes - I hope Tata will let you come to the baths with me, an' then I can go more often. Can't go with Teutus, an' there isn't really anyone else to go with 'less I go with Rufilla Salvia when she goes," Antonia said, and chewed her little finger thoughtfully.

 

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Charis, grateful for Teutus' words, blushed a little. Her Latin had improved - but she wasn't a complete novice. She'd had those few lessons with Aius in Britannia, years ago, and had picked up some from the traders that flocked to Petuar in the intervening years. "Latin is difficult," She laughed, "I hope you understand me?" Antonia nodded slowly, but still looked doubtful at her heavy accent. Gods they don't know how hard it is! Lets see them try and speak my language!

A little surprised by her suggestion of the baths she glanced to Teutus, speaking to him; "I...I'm not sure I be allowed?" As if asking Teutus' opinion. It was Tertius' decision of course, and nobody could read his mind.

Smiling a little at Antonia, "But you can ask him, domina, if you like. I would like that, to spend time with you, properly." Charis herself knew what it was to lose a mother. Poor little Antonia had almost no women in her life, how difficult it must be for her! She offered a grin, "And you always find me if you need to talk girl...things, domina." She added with a sly grin. "Your father has said I work in gardens all the time now so you can always find me here." She didn't know if she was overstepping her place, but she felt for the little girl. 

 

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"You'll have to ask your Tata about Charis taking you to the baths," Tertius said. If Antonia raised the question, he would almost certainly say yes - he could refuse his daughter very little, and it was about time she had someone to look after her, especially at time when Teutus could not.

"What else do you like to do?" Antonia asked. "I visit Rufilla Salvia - she lives over that way," she added, indicating. "An' sometimes she comes here."

"They have lessons together, sometimes," Teutus put in. "Though not as formal as a school, of course."

"Because we're girls."

 

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"I work a lot, not much time for others things." She laughed gently. How different it must be for Antonia - never having to work a day in her life. Even in Britannia, Charis' family were nowhere near wealthy enough to countenance a slave. She did a majority of the housework, and supporting the business with her limited Latin and numerical abilities. Still, Antonia had asked and so she shrugged. "I like...walking and gardens, so I like my work." She grinned, "And seeing friends, when I can." 

Not that it was often. She'd only been able to see Cynane twice in the months she'd been here. She considered for a moment that Teutus hadn't heard of her newfound friendship, and so elaborated for his benefit; "I met another Briton at market and she is nice, so if she at market sometimes I'll speak to her." 

She did, however, offer a sly laugh at her comment. "A lot of men...do not know how important girls are." She was about to suggest that Teutus would learn that one day, when he had a daughter of his own...but then bit her tongue. He likely never would, if he stayed a slave. "We do a lots of things they cannot do, have babies, wear pretty clothes, and be just as important...in different ways, domina." Charis had run her family thanks to the weak wills of her male relatives and husband. She hoped Antonia wouldn't lose the fiery temperament, and inquisitive nature she had. When she was older, the men wouldn't know what hit them. 

"What is favourite thing, that Teutus teach you?" She asked. 

 

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Teutus rolled his eyes. "mehercle! If you're going to talk about me, wait till I'm somewhere else, do!"

Antonia slaps his wrist, lightly. "You shouldn't use language like that, Teutus. Anyway, I'm going to say nice things about you, don't you want to hear them?"

"You'll make me blush the same colour as my tunic, Antonia. Anyway, Charis was in the middle of moving that rose - if she does that, you can sit on the bench near where she's going to put it." And you won't be stopping her from working while you chatter away, that way, he added, meeting Charis' eyes with an amused look in his own.

"All right," Antonia replied, and went back to chewing her finger, thoughtfully. "Um. He showed me how to play knucklebones, and win when the boys say I can't catch them all on my hand."

 

(OOC - mehercle = by Hercules!)

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Charis grinned at Teutus, grateful. She had a million and one things she needed to do before the sun went down, and talking to Antonia - no matter how delightful - was delaying her. Glancing to Teutus, she inclined her head. "Could help me Teutus? Its heavy..." And Charis whilst strong for a woman of her stature, was slight. Moving to stand, she bent down to pick up one half of the small bush, laughing; "Be careful of thorns." Was that an analogy for her as well? 

She whispered low as Antonia moved to the bench the other side of the garden, grateful for a few moments of peace from her questions, to be able to speak to Teutus alone. "She sweet girl...likes to asks questions." She moved the rosebush up, hoping he'd help, still speaking low so Antonia wouldn't hear as she sat, minding her own business on the marble bench where Charis tried to forget, she had been with the girls father a few weeks previous. "How have you been? I so busy here now in garden, I don't get to ask." When she had been brand new in the domus, she felt as if she saw him every day but now she had grown accustomed to life here, their meetings had been less frequent. 

"Domina..." She called over Teutus to Antonia, who looked at her warily, "While I put this in new place, you could pick out favourite flowers you like...I could put a bunch in your room, if you like?" That should keep her distracted.

 

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Teutus grinned. "How were you planning on moving this thing before I came out here?" he asked, carefully reaching for the trunk of the bush. "I honestly think it'll be easier to do it on my own, just tell me where it's going, exactly."

It was more awkward than heavy, especially with the thorns. He was sure one of them had caught his tunic, which would need a couple of stitches to stop the hole growing.

"I have been... fine. Busy with errands and all sorts of things, as usual. And yes, Antonia does like asking questions, she's very good at it. She'd make a good lawyer, if women were allowed to have a political career."

 

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Charis swatted at him, but with a laugh as she set down her half of the bush. "I would managed, thank you.In truth, she probably would have spent some time figuring out how to drag it across the floor, and would likely have ended up with thorns stuck here, there and everywhere. "Here." Charis moved to pick up the small bowl of water, so Teutus could rinse his hands, and the other items she had gathered for its removal and strode to the little spot she had cleared for it.

Antonia set about moving through through the garden, grinning and plucking individual flowers. Charis winced. She hadn't meant for the girl to do it herself and those poor plants...still, she glanced back at Teutus as the bush was set down in its new home, and moved to kneel again to work it into its new soil. "Thank you."

"Mhmm, she is not like her father," She offered a little grin to Teutus. Charis couldn't imagine the generally stone-cold Tertius ever being as irreverent as his daughter, "She like her mother?" Gingerly, she set to work scooping little handfuls of soil back over the roots - careful not to disturb them anymore than she already had. 

Glancing up, Antonia was on her way back with a little posy that Charis would undoubtedly have to make into a fuller bunch before it was acceptable. Quickly, before her return, she spoke to Teutus; "Now I here not kitchens you can come and see me more. It's...lonely out here and other slaves angry I get choice." Not that she'd explained the particulars of why Tertius had allowed her to be out here rather than sweltering in the kitchens, but she understood they had their suspicions. 

 

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"Her hair is from her mother," Teutus said, indicating his own straight brown hair. "Her face more like her father. I think she's like her mother - very... Thinks a lot, wants to know things." Tertius was, on the whole, more pragmatic than that, though some of it, doubtless, was to do with the difference in age as well as gender.

He grinned, and sighed. He could understand the other slaves being annoyed that Charis had somehow finagled her way into working in the garden, despite the fact that the house had needed a gardener and not one of the others had shown the slightest interest in it.

"Perhaps you should have stayed in the kitchen, burnt the bread and the polenta, made everything they eat taste bad. Then they'd be happy you're out here now," he said lightly, hoping she would understand the joke and not think he was poking fun at her.

 

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“Then I sad I never meet her mother.” She said but then it dawned on her that perhaps a female mistress could be worse than a man. Men, at least, had simple pleasures and ways to torment, women were so much more vicious. She had no sense of whether her dominus was looking for a new wife, but hoped not. She could handle his lingering eyes by herself, she didn’t want want another person complicating a situation she felt she could control.

Grinning, she offered the small basin and jug of water to Teutus so he could wash his hands. “Rhoda used to tell that I worst cook she ever had to teach.” She laughed a little and moved her hair over one shoulder to get some air to her neck on the heat.

She was about to engage Teutus further when little Antonia reappeared with a small posy. Holding them aloft to Charis she said imperiously; “These ones. I like these ones.” Charis took them from her with her spare hand, evaluating the colours and flowers. She had good taste. “Very pretty Domina. I make you bigger display for your room?” Antonia nodded, but looked slightly apathetic. At her age, Charis would have been delighted with a beautiful bunch of flowers. Then again, Antonia had anything and everything she wanted - no wonder she wasn’t impressed by mere flowers. After a beat, she looked between Charis - kneeling, and Teutus; “Will you make one for Tata? And Teutus?”

 

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Teutus rinsed his hands in the offered basin, wiping them on his tunic once the worst of the dirt had gone.

"That's pretty, Antonia," he said, looking at the flowers. "One for Tata, sure - for his cubiculum, or the tablinum?"

"Cubiculum," Antonia said decisively, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

"And I don't need flowers, but if you do want to make me a bunch, we'll put them on the table in the atrium so everyone can see them and know that you're a good domina, who likes to make her house look nice for visitors," Teutus added, squatting at Antonia's feet as she perched on the marble bench again.

"Have you always liked looking after the garden, Charis?" he asked, remembering the day she'd arrived, and how taken she had been by the space. He wondered how similar this was to what she'd know back on Britannia, but he wasn't going to ask and risk stirring up unpleasant memories.

 

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Charis smiled to herself at their little exchange as she worked soil to cover the roots of the re-planted rose bush. It was almost sweet to hear, and she didn't fail to notice Teutus' referring to their little mistress by her name. Not that Charis was bold enough to try similar. She'd only met the little girl twice, and was well enough a stranger to her. "I will help you make display for your Tata and atrium once I have replanted this, if okay, domina?" She asked, not willing to presume that she would be free to continue her work. Antonia nodded, swinging her legs from the bench, and relieved, Charis continued her task.

At Teutus' question she smiled and shook her head, speaking to both of them. "No...I work on trade, not gardens at home." She corrected herself with a little wince, "Old home. We did not have garden like this in Britannia. We grew herbs and food but no flowers, not really." Her mother had planted some wildflowers around their small home, but it wasn't really the same. It did, however, teach her the skills she had now. "But I like nature and flowers, and learnt how to grow thing, so domine kind to let me work out here." She didn't need to tell either what she had lost in this arrangement. Although it didn't feel like a great hardship, at least not yet. 

After some moments of quiet she sat back on her heels, satisfied. "Done!" She turned to both of them with a grin. It was satisfying work, much more so than burning bread or cutting fruit. Moving to rinse the dirt from her fingers in the little basin, she eyed the small bunch of flowers that Antonia still had. "When I was girl, my mama used to make me little..." She tried to find the Latin word and gestured about her head, mimicking a crown or coronet, "Flower band for my hair. You would look pretty with one, I sure." And resolved, even if Antonia wasn't keen on it today - to leave her a little gift for the morning.

 

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"There's lots of flowers that can be used for food," Antonia said sagely. "Like, oh, roses an' lavender, I know them."

"corona," Teutus said, translating Charis' gestures and fumbled words. "Or coronula," he added, making a 'smaller' gesture with his hands. He was pleased they seemed to be getting along. Maybe it would pave the way for Charis to be appointed body slave to Antonia? Juno knew she needed one, a woman who could take her to the places that Teutus could not, and explain to her certain feminine mysteries that he was utterly utterly certain he could not.

"No garden in Britannia?" Antonia asked, her eyes wide. "None at all?"

Even Teutus couldn't quite help the thought that the British must be complete savages if they did not have even so much civilisation as cultivated gardens!

 

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Charis smiled, wistfully, as if remembering a dream. “Rich had gardens, we - my family, we were not very rich.” but they were certainly not poor. They weathered the winters well and generally had a steady stream of income, even after the occupation. “But my mama planted the herbs and food, and some flowers from woods that she find...” She lent back on her heels directing all of her attention on Antonia - as she had learnt to do in the presence of her owners.

Smiling, because she assumed children liked stories, she continued; “There big city near my home - Petuar - there were big garden where tribe leaders lived. It was beautiful,” She remembered holding her father’s hand as he led her round them, after a business deal in the city, the year before the Romans came. If she closed her eyes she could still feel the warmth of his hand enveloping hers. But she didn’t dare linger on the memory now, not here. “Even Roman soldiers like it, when I went back I found them sitting in it...we not complete savages...”

Brushing stray strands of hair from her face, and pulling the rest of it over her shoulder again to get some air to her neck, she sighed. She had much to do - she needed to prune the roses, and tend to the herbs that were withering as the weather grew warmer, and now she had to collect some displays for Antonia, Tertius and the atrium...but she was enjoying the company from the others. 

“What do you like to do, domina? Beside lesson with Teutus?” She grinned and lightly slapped Teutus’ thigh in jest, “You must have many friends?” She smiled to Teutus, hoping he wasn’t finding the conversation dull.

 

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"A big city? As big as Rome?" Antonia asked, trying to imagine another city like Rome.

"Rome's the biggest city in the world," Teutus told her quietly, though he wouldn't deny that there might be other large cities in other parts of the world - like Pompeii, or Massilia, or... He was not about to list every single town of any size, even in his head.

"I like to play ball and other things with Rufilla Salvia, on'y she's hurt her wrist," Antonia said. "An' go places with Teutus. We went to the Temple of 'Pollo the other day, to pray for Rufilla Salvia to get better." She pulled a face. "Don't like lessons, they're boring."

"You're lucky Tata lets you have them, though, some girls don't know how to read or write or do 'rithmetic at all," Teutus pointed out quietly. "Even some rich girls like you know that stuff."

 

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Charis smiled, "No...not big as Rome, Rome is too big...scary." She had said as much to Tertius at their first meeting and whilst she'd been allowed out a handful of times since then, the daunting size of the city was no less frightening for her. She had grown up in the country, their small hamlet having only five families. Now she was in a city that felt like it would swallow her whole. No wonder she found it intimidating. 

As she listened to Antonia, she demurely folded her hands in front of her to stop them itching to get on with her work. As she mentioned the temple, Charis smiled. "I heard you went there...I met man with golden hair, who said he saw you both." She cast a glance at Teutus knowingly. She had started to learn their Gods but their purpose still evaded her for the most part. What was Apollo God of, again? "I hope he listened to your prayer, domina." She said noncommittally.

At her injection about her lessons though, she laughed. "Tetus right...I never learn to read or write, even in my language let alone Latin." She could barely speak the latter, the thought of being fluent enough to read the squiggles other people told her were letters, was laughable. She knew some numbers - enough to do some basic addition to help their families finances, but that was different and a lot less complex. Glancing back across to the abacus, abandoned on the other bench where they had been sat, she arched a brow at the little girl. "Would you like to have arithmetic lesson now? I sure you very good...and you want to be good because then that mean you are clever, and clever women are fierce." she said resolutely, and Antonia nodded sagely. The young Briton was firmly of the opinion that knowledge was power. Any fool could hold a sword, few knew how to strategise about a war effectively though. Not that she could, obviously, but it was different with her. 

Quickly standing and stumbling at the aches in her legs and back having been knelt down all morning, she moved a hand to work at the click in her shoulder blade. The work was more enjoyable for her out here, but probably more strenuous on her body - one which was still recovering from the journey and miscarriage. "I don't want Teutus or me to get in trouble with your Tata because we distracting you from your lessons." She glanced across to Teutus. 

 

TAG: @Sharpie

Edited by Sara
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