Into the Unknown

[Atrice]

August, 75 AD

It had been a good while since that night she went out to Bacchus’ Cup and had met that Senator Metellus – or Lucius, as she most often thought of him as. In fact, it was more than a year ago and she had forgotten everything about him. Or, not everything, but most things. So much had happened since they met, and yet here she was, still a slave. He had teased about wanting to see her again, but since nothing had happened, it must have been teasing and nothing more. It was all for the best anyway. He was annoying as *Lugh, but also handsome and attractive in his own… Roman way. Cynane usually did not have high thoughts of Roman men and Lucius had not impressed her at first, but apparently, he got under her skin, because she’d thought about him more than once since their odd encounter.

She hadn’t expected however that she would ever hear from him again. He was a high and mighty Senator, he might even have a wife and Cynane was nothing but a Briton slave to him. He had his fun with her, he had his jokes on her and that was that. She went back to her life and he went back to his and although she thought about him, she also didn’t think she would ever see him again. Unless maybe at some fancy banquet for the wealthy and noble, and then he probably wouldn’t notice her.

But then a messenger showed up, now, more than a year after they met. And apparently, suddenly, there had been some sort of an exchange between Claudia and Lucius and it was arranged, it had been allowed… Cynane had been invited to his home, alone, without her princess or anyone else. A slave, invited to spend time with a Senator. She knew how that looked, but knew that Claudia wouldn’t just rent her out like that. What did he expect though? Did he just want to spend time with her or did he want to bed her? She simply didn't know. What did he want with her? 

She put on the only actual dress she had – a stunning crimson piece that she almost never wore. Claudia had given it to her early on. She could barely remember when she last wore a dress - they were so inconvenient! Cynane was much better with wearing breeches and a tunica, so she could move and not these difficult skirts that most other women preferred. But she pulled the chiton-like dress (it was held together with clasps over her shoulders) over her head and made her hair up as nicely as she could. She had Volusa help her with the little braids, she didn’t want to look like some Roman woman. She had a light brown palla that went well with the crimson dress, but of course also brought a cloak for the travel to his home.

Gods this was so weird, she thought, while she walked through Rome on her own in the late afternoon. She had never been invited to someone’s home like this, she was just a slave, after all – but soon she stood there, outside the fancy looking domus on the Caelian Hill and she inhaled a breath and knocked. A slave let her inside and invited her to wait in the atrium. Cynane looked around quietly, inhaled a breath. She had no idea what to say to him. Or what this night was going to be like. What did he expect? What should she expect? And then she finally heard the footsteps of someone else approaching the otherwise silent atrium of the domus.

@Brian

*Lugh - a Celtic trickster god

Edited August 18, 2020 by Atrice