I'm not your errand boy

[Sara]

"Mhmm." She mumbled in agreement. She knew exactly how to put Tertius in a good mood, but it certainly wasn't something she was willing to talk about in front of his son. Especially given their past awkwardness. "I'll think on it. But I'll try and get a good look tomorrow." She added with a sly grin. In her mind this Titus would be a mirror image of her own domine; controlling, oblivious and confusing. She didn't dare harbour the possibility that he was cruel or malevolent, nor did the idea that he might be a kindly sort cross her mind. 

At Teutus' addition, she smiled and nodded. "I'll find a way, us Britons are ingenious people." Not so ingenious that they outsmarted the Roman occupation, mind. 

Trying to bring him back on side, she shifted so she was facing him fully, folding her legs to be crossed beneath her on the bench. "You'd like Ardra, she's a taller, blonde...nicer version of me. Full of ideas and sunshine. I don't think I ever heard her say a bad word about anybody really." She chuckled to herself. In their family if Turi was the would-be warrior and she was the belligerent peace-keeper then Ardra was the dreamer. Of course her younger sisters naivety and generally positive outlook on life made Charis concerned for how she was adjusting to life as a slave, but she tried to shake the thought from her mind. 

Realising she had been talking on, she took the tablet from his hands and placed it behind her on the bench, arching a brow at him. "So, this," She indicated with a wave of her hand to the tablet, "Is my news...what has happened in your life since," She smiled slyly, "The door slamming incident." She hoped  he'd take her question as sincere, rather than sarcastic.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"What's happened in my life since..? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I run the same errands, give Antonia Varia her lessons, eat the same meals, wear the same clothes and sleep in the same place, go to the baths when I can and the market when I'm sent." Teutus shrugged. What was supposed to have changed? He'd still be doing exactly the same things this time next year.

"I'm glad it was good news for you, though," he said, and put his stylus back with his own tabula. "I don't think I know what good news is any more. I hope things work out and you can meet with your sister - I think Sulpicius Rufus would allow it." Whether their own master would was something altogether different, but even Teutus could allow that Tertius Quinctilius Varus wasn't a cruel man intentionally.

He sighed. "I'm sorry about... that day. I know you'd rather not have anything to do with him, not like that. But I just... He's promised and promised, and I can't bear thinking about it because he'll probably never get around to it, and then everyone in the house will know he doesn't really care, he just likes to think he does."

 

@Sara

[Sara]

She was about to snap that conversation with such a cynic was dull, but bit her tongue. She doubted Teutus would take it well as he might have done in one of their lighter moments, before their argument. She only offered a light smile, moving to wrap her arms around her knees as if hugging herself; "Even if they don't allow it, they don't have to know." She countered, her light smile becoming mischievous. Tertius - for all his proclamations about her three roles in the house - gave her a decent amount of free time when she asked for it, and even when she didn't. She raised a finger to her lips, as if shushing him; "But pretend you didn't hear that." 

The thought didn't occur to her that by the time she found time to meet Ardra, Teutus would be one of  her masters. Perhaps then, he wouldn't be quite so understanding. 

For once, Charis listened. She actually listened. Usually her mind was too full of her own problems these days, or it flitted from problems to solve to understand and hear another's problems. But this time she did and she sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. Releasing the hug from her knees she tentatively reached to squeeze his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't listen." She offered, shaking her head, "I didn't know...how much he'd promised it before." She'd found out from Rhoda, some weeks later, that this little charade had been going on years. She glanced up at him with a little humour in her eyes, "But being a pessimist doesn't solve it. Does it?"

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"No." Teutus slumped a little, resting his elbows on his knees and allowing his hands to hang, clasped loosely, between them. "No, it doesn't. It just... If I don't hope for it, I can't be disappointed when it doesn't happen, you see?"

He turned to look at her and swallowed. "And I'm sorry for... everything, that day. I know you'd rather do anything than... that. But it - gives you advantages the others don't have, because, well, none of them are ever so close to the master as Hector, and you. Even I'm not - I can't ask him for things, really, even though I'm his son, because he'll think I'm taking advantage of him or something stupid. But you... I don't know how long it'll last, but if you're careful and don't go overboard... You might be able to ask for things. Just try something small, at first - and don't whine, he really doesn't like that."

He sighed. "And don't... Look, neither of us know how long it's going to last, with you and him, let's be honest. Don't tell tales on the others, don't use your position to hurt them, and if it doesn't last, you'll still have friends. There's nothing worse than having no friends at all in a place."

Even if Tertius did free him, and Teutus couldn't see it happening, his friendship with Charis would change from necessity, though he couldn't see himself being overly strict or anything. Certainly not in the early days, with those he'd served alongside.

"I wish... I wish I could be as hopeful as you, Charis," he continued, looking back out at the garden. "How do you manage it?"

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Charis did see. She did understand. But she also knew that consistently thinking the worst was no way to live one's life. She often chided her younger sister for being away in the clouds, dreaming romantic, naive dreams, but sometimes everybody needed a little dreaming in their life. As he turned to look at her she swallowed, surprised by the forthright apology. She interrupted with a little "I-" before she stopped herself and just listened. She knew she was afforded privileges most did not get even a sniff f; new clothes, days out, a bed to sleep in and even learning to read. She understood she was lucky, even if it was hard to stomach at the best of times. 

"I can ask him for something the others, you want," She eyed him with a narrowed gaze, watching his reaction before shaking his head, "I don't need anything." The things she did want were so far out of her grasp they were laughable. 

But she frowned, swatting at his arm trying to be playful; "When have I ever hurt them on purpose?" He, of course, being an exception. But she could be cruel when her fire was provoked. She sighed though, understanding the implications of what he meant. If it did happen, and that was a very big if, she'd lose him. They wouldn't be able to sit like this again, or laugh, or even argue. There was no arguing with your master, after all. 

She moved her hand to squeeze his lightly, in a sisterly comfort and sighed. "Do you remember when I first got here?" The corners of her lips tugged into a slight smile, "I was so miserable, so depressed. I'd lost what? My husband, my sister, my brothers, my mother, my father, my baby," She had forgotten that part had remained unsaid, "And here I was, deposited into a house where nobody liked me and I barely spoke the language. If I hadn't been hopeful I'd have slit my wrists that first night and been done with it." She eyed him but her gaze had turned steely, "If you don't have hope, what's the point of going on? You might as well just...stop trying." Life had always been very black and white to Charis.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"I don't... Things have changed, and they don't know how you might act towards them now - you could easily get them hurt, if you wanted, so they may be a little afraid of you, even." Something that Teutus knew all to well himself, being in that same position all his life.

"I remember," he said and fell silent as she continued. "Is life always so easy for you? I mean... not easy. Simple, maybe. Easy to understand." He had tried to be friendly towards her, that first day, even if they weren't outright friends, because he could appreciate that it could not have been easy for her to have been thrown headlong into the household of a Roman, in Rome, in a culture she knew nothing of, whose language she had very little understanding of.

"It's not that I don't have hope... I just, not hope for me, for my manumission," he said, trying to explain. "I carry on, for Antonia. For me, even, because the life I have isn't the worst life possible. He's not a bad master, when all is said and done." He could be a better father - but he doted on Antonia, and could not be described as a bad father to her.

Just to Teutus, then.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Charis grinned and nudged him with her foot, unfolding it from her crossed-leg position to swing off the edge of the bench. "It used to be easy: this is right, that is wrong. Turi don't do this, Ardra do that." She laughed a little, "I was quite the slave driver at home, knew exactly what we should do and when." The irony wasn't lost on her. Nor was the fact her husband and brother had evidently defied her wishes. She shrugged though and resumed leaning her face into her palm, "But that was then and this life isn't so simple now," She swallowed, "I don't...want to do what he wants me to do, I used to cry every time after he fell asleep," Now she had shown a little vulnerability to him the rest came pouring out, "But then I sort of shook myself and realised this is a way to survive, I mean practically - it's a way to get what I want." She shrugged, before adding for good measure; "It doesn't help me feel less bad about it though." Her life before had been simple; a very clear, white and black, set of morals. Here? In Rome? Her life was just clouded in grey. 

She offered him a sympathetic smile. He really was an excellent brother to Antonia, even if their relationship was horribly skewed by the slave-mistress dynamic. The more time she spent with Antonia as one of her million duties, the more she saw it. 

Sighing, and drawing her legs back up to hug with her arms - chin now on her knees - she considered him; "Then maybe you should start finding other things to be hopeful for, in this life. Finding friends," She looked at him, amused, "Things you enjoy doing, even a girl maybe." She nudged him again with her foot, playfully. "You've been living this sort of..." She tried to find the words, "Half-life? Not ready to commit to anything or anybody because you don't know where you'll be in five years...maybe you need to start committing." She shrugged, satisfied at what she considered was sage advice.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"I think... the rules have changed. It still is 'this is right and this is wrong and do this...'" Teutus said thoughtfully. It was easier for him, this life was all he'd known, but for your world to shrink from what you'd known to the confines of someone else's house... He couldn't really imagine that. "We all have to do things we don't want, though some of those things are easier for people than others, and people react differently anyway. I'm sorry you ended up chosen for that, though. It's not... I mean, Hector likes it, why couldn't he just stick with Hector?"

He couldn't help looking a little abashed as she nudged him. "I never found a girl I would like... I mean, well. I would have liked to have asked you, only." He shrugged. Not once his father had stepped in - if he wasn't related to his father, he might still but now? Ugh. Sleeping with his father's concubine would be just... He couldn't find words to describe the sort of mess that would be.

"There would be problems if I did that and then he did finally follow through and manumit me," he said instead. "I think he'd like me to do all the things I would if I'd been freeborn, but freedmen can't hold any political office, so he's going to be disappointed - probably the only way I could would be if Quintus Augustus decrees it, and I don't know if he's likely to." Any sons Teutus had after he was freed would be able to hold any political office at all, but there would be a stain on their name, being the sons of a freedman.

"It isn't as complicated as this in any other household at all," he said. "Only this one. I wish you'd ended up somewhere easier, without all this mess to cope with."

 

@Sara

[Sara]

She threw up her hands, exasperated; "Gods if I know. He puts enough effort into himself to rival any bloody woman, you'd think that would be enough for Tertius." She'd never considered herself particularly alluring or...sexy. She had that sort of no-nonsense, easily irritated, practical quality that made men see her as trouble or stubborn. At least at home they did, here men seemed to have a fascination with her delicate size and odd, pale skin. Teutus, it seemed, was no exception and her lips parted a little as he spoke, bluntly. Did the man have no tact? Not that it was entirely unexpected, given how flustered he'd become that day she'd made him dance.

Still, she felt irredeemably awkward and ducked her head, suddenly finding the plain cloth of her tunica fascinating to look at. It also occurred to her, with a frown of irritation that 'there would be problems if I did' took precisely zero feelings of her own into account. Like father like son, she mused to herself. But there was no point picking him up on it, she didn't wish to provoke another argument and it wasn't as if it was ever to likely happen anyway. Gods only knew what Tertius would do, after all. It did make her consider him in a way she hadn't before, albeit just for a moment, before she blinked and offered a wry smile; "Well...I'll have to hunt out a different, less complicated girl for you then."

"You never know." She shrugged with all the confidence of a woman who knew nothing of what she spoke, "Your father is important - even I know that. Exceptions can always be made." Especially for those that could pay, in her experience. But she laughed a little at his suggestion and grinned, "You say that like I wouldn't be bored to tears in another household. At least here there are some good people and I get to do what I want, for the most part." After all, Tertius had let her choose the garden for her work, gave her freedoms nobody else seemed to have and was even teaching her to read. What other slave could say the same? 

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

Merda. "That's not... quite what I meant," he said, feeling extremely awkward all of a sudden. "I meant, if you wanted to , with me, only. Well, I wouldn't even ask you, now, because... " Because Tertius had stepped in and blithely ordered Charis to his bed without taking anyone's feelings into account, least of all Charis' own.

"I'm sorry. I just always seem to put my foot in it, with you," he added, feeling more awkward than ever.

"I don't think I want a girl right now, anyway, not with the way everything is," he said, honestly. "Wouldn't being bored to tears be better than the other sort of tears?"

He would be surprised if she hadn't cried herself to sleep since arriving in this household - maybe not every night, but more than once. "I wish... I wish I could do something to make it better for you, I do. I'm used to all of this and you're... not."

Statement of the century, Teutus, he thought to himself.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

"I..." She blinked at him and her cheeks flushed a little. "I might have...I don't know." She concluded. Because she didn't know. She'd never really seriously considered Teutus in that way, firstly because when she had first arrived and had the opportunity she had been lost in grief for her husband, and now she had zero opportunity. Nor any real motivation. Men, as she had often concluded before, were nothing but trouble for women. "But yes, now there's..." Your father taking me to bed three times a week. But that, obviously, didn't need addressing so explicitly. 

With a wince, she shrugged. "You can make it better when you're free." She countered. His earlier statement, that tears of boredom were better than tears of pain or sadness was so accurate she didn't wish to address it. "You can be kind to me," She nudged him, "And not too demanding. Don't expect fresh cut flowers in your cubiculum every morning." She arched a brow at him. Obviously, she was in no position to make demands if he was free, and he would have every right to expect fresh posies of flowers every hour of every day, if he deigned it. But she hoped he'd be respectful. She hoped he wouldn't lose his understanding. 

"And if you're not free...we can stop arguing. That makes it better." She added with a wry smile, "And we can bitch about Hector making our lives miserable. Solidarity in pain?"

 

TAG: @Sharpie

 

[Sharpie]

"Hector is... Well, he has the wrong name, for a start - do you know the story of Narcissus?" Probably not; he didn't think that Tertius spent any time at all in telling her any of the old myths and legends. "It's an old story, I don't know if it's true. It probably isn't. But the story is that there was a very handsome young man called Narcissus, who caught sight if his own reflection in a pool of water and fell in love. He loved his own reflection so much that he leaned down to try to kiss it, even." And fell in and drowned, but they could only hope the same might happen to Hector.

There had been Echo, who'd fallen in love with Narcissus, but he'd been so besotted with himself that she'd faded away to nothing but a voice that could only repeat the last thing anyone said to her, but that part of the story wasn't likely to cheer Charis up at all.

"And not every morning. Maybe once a week, if you want?" He smiled at her, trying to inject some cheer into things, though it was probably a vain hope. "I don't want to be the sort of master my father is; I'd rather be fair and treat my slaves well."

It wasn't as though Tertius was a bad master, he thought again. He was mostly oblivious, really, rather than deliberately bad or trying to upset his slaves. Though it wasn't fair to make a promise and not keep it, or not give any hint of when he would keep it.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Charis had never heard the story but as he told it she found herself laughing loudly, to the extent that she had to cover her mouth. The image of preened and perfect Hector falling headfirst into a pond in an effort to get a better look at himself was too perfect and she shook her head in disbelief. “Well to me he is now Narcissus.” She said triumphantly. She’d use this new name whenever she could, in front of him or behind his back. 

As he went along with her joke she arched a brow at him; “So demanding already!”  She laughed again, quieter this time, “But I think I can manage once a week. Just don’t tell your father, I don’t even do that for him.” Because she had no intention of going out of her way to extract extra observation from him. 

She nodded a little at his estimation of his own abilities as a master. How odd to think that in a few weeks (if Tertius actually came through) she’d never be able to say ‘Oh, Teutus, look at this?’ or ‘How are you Teutus?’ his name being forbidden to the likes of her. Then again, given they’d spent months not even talking at all, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard. Nonetheless, it seemed alien, and she hoped she’d pick up the new rhythm of the house if or when it happened. Cautiously, she asked: “If it does happen...we won’t, we won’t be able to talk like this will we?”  It was an obvious point but still stung. “You’re not going to want to spend your free time sitting in the garden with a slave, talking about my day or letting me ask you about yours, are you?”

 

@Sharpie

Edited February 7, 2020 by Sara

[Sharpie]

"I did say if you want," Teutus said. "Really, though, you don't have to. And whether I want to talk with you or not, I probably won't be able to, because, well, for the look of it - and if that sounds stupid, it is, but people in Rome put a lot of weight on the look of things. More than they should, maybe, but that's how it is. I mean, if we'd started out with me being free, you'd find it uncomfortable talking with me like this, wouldn't you?"

She needed a friend in this household who wasn't him, that was for sure, but who knew how that could happen now. It was going to be worse - if he did get his freedom, unlikely though that was! - in the next few weeks and months as they tried to adjust to things. It would be easy for Teutus to stay out of her way for the most part, as he had in the last few months since their quarrel, but that wouldn't help, not really.

"I'm sorry," he added, obscurely.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

Charis could only look at him with a mixture of horror and acceptance. So that was it, that was how it was going to be. She shook her head a little to herself, as if irritated, but thought better of snapping at him. It wasn't really his fault, after all. His question, however, promoted a little laugh and she dragged her eyes back up to  him with a narrowed gaze, "You forget I was free for twenty years of my life, why would it make me uncomfortable?" She arched a brow before shaking her head at his 'I'm sorry'. 

Feeling awkward she ventured a joke, trying to lighten the mood; "Maybe I should give you tips, about how to be free?" But it came across as bitter. 

Biting the inside of her lip, awkward, she had a thought that shook her and she looked up at him with big blue eyes; "If it happens will you still get me the yarrow root to stop..." She cracked a smile, "To stop a brother or sister? I can't afford it all the time with just my coins..." What she really wanted to ask him, of course, was would he be there for her if she really, really needed him but it went unsaid, she was afraid of the answer.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"I'm sorry," Teutus said again. It was going to be awkward, of course it was. Was he a horrible person for preferring it to be awkward if he got his freedom, rather than stay a slave with this easy companionship? If so, then so be it, he was a horrible person. Although, as he had told Charis, it would probably never happen.

He sighed. He did not want Tertius to have another child end up in his position if he could do anything to prevent it. "Of course," he said, and put his hand over Charis'. "I'm not so mean as all that.

@Sara

[Sara]

Relieved, Charis exhaled a breath she didn't realise she had been holding and turned her hand over to squeeze his. "Thank you." And from the inflection in her words and the look in her eyes, it was evident that it was sincerely meant. Poor Charis, of course, didn't realise that yarrow root as a contraceptive was about as useful as dust. 

"I don't think your mean," She countered with a small smile now the tension had eased a little and they'd moved on from the hypothetical parameters of their relationship should his position change, "A bit aloof maybe," She teased, "And awkward with women, but not mean." He wasn't spiteful, nasty little Hector after all. And really, who could blame him for being aloof given the circumstances of his life? If he never knew whether he was coming or going, how on earth could he be anything other than cold to those who had such certainty and finality in their lives. 

Squeezing his hand again, and enjoying the feeling of it covering hers she arched a brow; "Am I keeping you from anything?"

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"Awkward - now, there's a good word to describe this whole mess," Teutus said with a bitter laugh. "Complicated would be another one. I wish you'd ended up in a better place, with better people around you than me. And..." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the tablinum, obviously meaning Tertius.

"No, you're not keeping me from anything," he said, aware that he had a little more freedom to manage his time than most of the others in the house, even if he was officially the same level as everyone else (apart from Hector and, ironically, Charis). "Am I keeping you from what you're supposed to be doing?" he asked in turn, looking back at the garden - it looked so much nicer now than it had in a long while, with the roses properly cared for and the other flowers well-watered and pruned and everything.

"You've done a very good job here," he said, indicating the garden with his free hand.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

"He's not so bad." She countered, surprising herself with her leniency. How low had the bar fallen for her? That he didn't beat her or worse as he took her, against her will, to his bed? Was that the sign of a good man? In Rome it certainly seemed to be, especially for female slaves with a pretty enough face. But she was relieved as he changed the topic and she grinned, shaking her head. "No, it's good, I'm sick of plucking off damaged petals." She laughed. How trivial it seemed, but Tertius was particular and he had company around. The garden needed to be pristine and that included every leaf and petal within it. 

"You think so?" She beamed and unfurled herself from both his touch and from the bench, standing up to take it all in. 

She glanced over her shoulder down at him, a mischievous smile on her lips, "I might have told a little white lie to domine about my skills. Back in Britannia we grew herbs and vegetables but rarely flowers, although my mother liked them." She arched a brow and looked back out at the sea of roses of climbing plants, immaculately entwined, "But I've been asking the imperial slaves at the Gardens of Sallust for tips and," Her smiled broadened, "Better I'm here or with Antonia than cooking. If you ever become pater familias please don't put me back in the kitchens, you'll end up with burnt polenta and vegetables the texture of vomit." And that wasn't an exaggeration.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

"Well, I'd rather not have burnt polenta, and I like my vegetables to taste of what they're supposed to," Teutus said with a smile. Freedmen could become paterfamilias, of course, but right now, it didn't seem at all likely that he would. That was neither here nor there, though. 

"It looks nice, though, and you've got more idea about it than I have - looking after it all, I mean. I'd probably end up killing everything, me." He could never remember whether things had been watered or not, or anything of the sort. 

"How are you getting on with Antonia?" he asked, as the idea suddenly occurred to him. He hadn't really spoken to Antonia about Charis, mostly because he hadn't wanted to have any reminder about their falling out.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

"Antonia?" She arched an eyebrow, interest pique but smiled warmly. "Good, I think...but you will have to ask her." She let out a melodic little laugh and withdrew to sit cross legged on the bench again, smoothing her long tunica over her knees. 

"She's very sweet, although she likes to laugh at my accent." She rolled her eyes. Children were children and the unfamiliar was often strange and funny to them. Even if her Latin was now fluent (for the most part) her accent still lingered strongly and to the ears of a nine year old it was deeply amusing to hear her mispronounce words that should be easy. "We go to the baths and I teach her women things..." She rolled her eyes again. Children of that age - especially, it seemed girls without mothers, were curious and after a few months the girl had started plucking up the courage to ask why Charis couldn't go to the baths every day of the month, or why she wore a strophium sometimes. Once the questions started they didn't really stop coming. 

"I think domine was planning on making me her body slave, at some point," She nibbled on her bottom lip, as if the idea was unpalatable, "I'm not sure if that would be a good or a bad thing...bad that I would miss the garden...and my certain freedoms...good that, when she's older and married I get to leave?" She cracked a half smile.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

Edited February 17, 2020 by Sara

[Sharpie]

"I don't have any experience of being a body slave," Teutus said thoughtfully. "They're not all like Hector, and what he does. Most of them aren't, even, I think. A body slave is the closest slave a master has - it show the sort of trust a master has." 

He turned his head to look at Charis. "If he did, he might get a proper gardener to look after the garden." He paused to think for a moment as something occurred to him. "I couldn't promise it, but if he did make you Antonia's body slave, it would be very strange if he still wanted you to be his bed slave, too."

 

@Sara

[Sara]

She rolled her eyes and gave him a deadpan expression; "But everything in this house is strange." Not that she had any other sort of lived experience as a slave to compare it to, but from what he had said and what her other friends in Rome had suggested, this sort of set up was as far away from a 'normal' life as a slave as one could get. Minus being taken to bed of course, that seemed to be a standard for a pretty, youthful woman the world over. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she managed a little grin; "Knowing my luck he'll just add it to the rest of my list of duties; gardener, body slave, bed slave...maybe he won't stop until I die from exhaustion." Which was not a far off possibility. Between working in the gardens, attending to Antonia, bedding Tertius, practicing her reading and writing and her daily commitment to her Gods she felt like she was in a daze quite a lot of the time. 

She'd miss, this snide ribbing of their joint master. When or if he became a freedman she hoped he'd remember just what a pain in the arse Tertius was. Their conversation was interrupted by the patter of small feet and a curious question. "What are you doing?" She glanced around to see Antonia standing there, curiously eyeing their close proximity as they relaxed on the bench.

 

TAG: @Sharpie

[Sharpie]

Teutus snorted, nodding. Charis was right, of course; this was a perfectly normal household from the outside, but not from the perspective of those living in it. It probably only seemed normal to Teutus because he'd lived here all his life and didn't know any differently.

"I suppose Rome must be strange to you after Britannia," he said. "Britannia would be strange to me after spending all my life here, after all."

He looked up as Antonia came towards them, her slippers quiet on the stone of the colonnade. "We're talking. Are you bored?"

She nodded and indicated she wanted a hug, so he lifted he into his lap. "And lonely," she said, snuggling into his neck.

He gave Charis a wry smile over Antonia's copper head.

 

@Sara

[Sara]

"You'd not last a day in Britannia." She grinned, joking but only slightly. She couldn't imagine Teutus working in the forge or on a farm, or trudging for miles through the mud and the rain, not when he was used to 'civilised' Rome. But then maybe she was underestimating his resolve. Not that it mattered, it wasn't like he was about to pop over for a holiday anytime soon. 

She arched a brow at Antonia but dutifully dropped her eyes. Teutus might get away with being more familiar with her given their shared heritage, but she couldn't and the last thing she needed was the little girl off-handedly mentioning to her father that Charis was getting ideas above her station. 

With a little smile returned to Teutus she spoke; "You don't need to be lonely with Teutus and I here, domina. I could take you to the baths later if you would like, or to see Rufilla Salvia if her mater allows it." She offered. She had a hundred and one things to do in the garden first, mind, but she hated to see the little girl - who really was so childish in so many ways for her age (a consequence of having no mother, perhaps?) lonely. Antonia shook her head though, not buoyed by the idea. "I want to stay and talk. What were you talking about?" Charis blinked up at Teutus with a wry smile. The sudden inquisitiveness wasn't new, the girl asked plenty of odd questions but it did put her on edge.

 

TAG: @Sharpie