Jump to content

A little discomfort in a good cause


Sharpie

Recommended Posts

Teutus felt more than a little obvious and rather ridiculous with an entourage of three slaves and his mother, and as they headed up the Esquiline after their lunch, he drew his mother to walk next to him, however much she might feel uncomfortable at doing so. The last time they had seen each other, Teutus had been a slave too, so hopefully it wouldn't feel too uncomfortable for her.

"I missed you, Mama," he told her quietly. He had spent the last eight years or so with half a parent rather than two full parents - his father was more his master than his father and even though Tertius seemed to be trying to mend that now, it was far too little, far too late. He had never felt like a father to Teutus, whereas his mother had always been his mother.

 

@Sarah

Edited by Sharpie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a rare treat, eating something other than basic fare. Not that she'd ever really wanted, once she was in Rome, her masters had treated her well. It might have been something of an event in her life as a slave, had it not been wholely overshadowed by the presence of her son, thought lost to her forever.

He indicated that she should walk beside him, and she obediently did so, caught between the hard-learned role of slave to a master, and mother to a son. It was new ground that they would have to negotiate, and what their relationship was to be was largely in his hands now.

I missed you, Mama.

Again, her heart clenched in her chest. Her little boy, a man grown. "I missed you too, Makki." She replied, very quietly, using her pet name for him when he'd been little. It meant simply 'my son', in her mother tongue. She'd never really liked the name his father had given him, because in Gaulish it simply meant 'a person'.

At least he'd acknowledged that much.

"It seems much has changed." She ventured, with a quick glance at him, partly to see how he'd respond.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Teutus thrilled at hearing his mother call him by the pet name she'd used to use to him - another thing that spoke to the closeness they'd once had between them, a closeness he'd never had with his father.

"Yes, a lot has changed, Mama," he said. So much had changed, in fact, that he wasn't quite sure where to start. One thing was very clear, though - his mother wasn't going to remain property for a moment longer than absolutely necessary. But right now, of course, she still was, and of course she had spent a great deal of her life (most of it?) as a slave. Which meant that right now, she would be following his lead with regards to how to behave, what to do, what to say.

"You must have a lot of questions," he said, inviting her to ask them, to actually have a conversation with him that wasn't all one-sided.

He had plans to make, but would include her in them because they involved her - he was not his father and refused to follow his father's example in how he treated his slaves. He was going to treat his own slaves the way he wished his father had dealt with him before his manumission, the way he saw other citizens treat their slaves.

He might not be perfect, but he was going to do his best. And the fact his father was a good example of what not to do was something that probably wouldn't please Tertius in the least, and that brought a wry sort of smile to Teutus' face.

"You don't have to wait for me if there's something you want to talk about," he added, for his mother's benefit.

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You must have a lot of questions.

That was one way of putting it, yes. She had a great many questions, and wasn't accustomed to being allowed to voice any of them. Of course, the beloved son whom she remembered wouldn't mind one bit, but so many years had passes, and she was all too aware that he was also his father's son. How much might he have changed in that time?

So she dipped her head in a silent nod. That seemed safest for the moment.

You don't have to wait for me if there's something you want to talk about.

Well, it couldn't get much plainer than that. He wanted her to ask. Perhaps her little boy, with whom she'd been so close, was still there. Perhaps they could be close again. She looked up at him, grey eyes searching his face for a moment. "So you are free then?" She asked. "He has recognised you?" Perhaps the answer seemed obvious, but she wanted to be certain. One thing she had learned as a slave was never to make assumptions.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He met her eyes as she looked up at him - which was all wrong. The last time he had seen her, she had been taller than him and now here she was, her head at somewhere about his shoulder height, looking up at him with an anxious expression and a somewhat nervous look in her eyes. In fact, she had a much more anxious air about her overall than he could remember seeing in her before.

That would change, over time, but they had to start somewhere - and right now, they needed to catch up on everything that had happened in the last fifteen or so years. The last fifteen or so months had seen huge changes in Teutus' life and standing.

"Yes, I am free," he said in answer to her first question. "It happened not last Saturnalia but the one before. And... sort of, but not really - it's complicated." Like everything to do with Tertius Quinctilius Varus' family was complicated.

"He has a slave-girl, a British girl. I think she might remind him of you, actually. And she has had a baby boy, that he has declared free - as his father didn't do for me. So, he has his heir, as I can't be as a freedman. But he has given me money to start my business - I'll show you that, probably the day after tomorrow. I think he wants to try to put things right but..." Teutus shrugged. "He doesn't quite know how to. And he's... I think he's afraid of not being in control. I don't think he likes that I decided to move out of his house."

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a lot to take in, and something inside Varinia froze, paused, as Teutus told her of the developments in Tertius's household. So her son was free, that was a very good thing, but Tertius hadn't claimed him as heir, taking instead the son given him by a (presumably) young slave who looked like her as his heir. A part of her wondered dispassionately whether he was replaying the same scene from his earlier life, with the preferred outcome. A part of her was surprisingly hurt to think that she'd been replaced. And a part of her burned for the role her son should have had, that some innocent babe now filled. Never would she blame the child though, she knew that rested squarely with Tertius and his father.

Always she had wondered whether Tertius would have claimed Teutus, had his father permitted it. But she knew she might never get an answer. Best to start with what was certain. Clearly what was not certain was Teutus's relationship with his father.

"Being free, and having money to start a business are all good things." She said carefully, as much because she was working it through in her own mind. "You have your own life now." And that freedom was a wonderful thing. She could only imagine that having the infant son of the new slave claimed by his father had hurt Teutus though. "I have always wondered whether Tertius would have claimed you, if his father had let him." She admitted quietly. Perhaps the man who had been her young lover regretted that. "But I have learned that one cannot live in what might have been." She offered him a small but warm, even faintly reassuring smile, looking and sounding more like the mother she had been to the growing boy he had been.

"If he is trying, that is something. And the best thanks is to use what he has given you to prosper." Then Teutus would be on at least slightly more equal footing, though as a freedman she knew it would never be equal. "I would like to see your business, when you're ready." She wanted to see that her beloved son, her only child, was prospering.

"If you'd like, I can help with organising your household." She offered carefully, still unsure of what her son planned to do with her, now that he owned her. But being a slave in his household would be far preferable to some strange master. Goodness knew she had enough experience running one for various masters over the years. And if she could do that for him, she would be glad to.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"It's doing well - my business, I mean. I was my father's secretary for years, I've got skills and it's a good way to use them." He sighed. "We'll never know, whether my father would have or not, if he could. He - I - He promised me my freedom for years... I stopped believing him, in the end. It was a surprise when he did it, in the end." It was all a mess, a total mess.

Hopefully he could make sure his own household didn't have all that emotional tangle to deal with.

"And then he was trying to find a way that he could actually adopt me and make it official, except I'm a freedman and he's a senator, and Charis got pregnant in the meantime and had a boy and - I think he just took the easy route in the end."

And it hurt, after all the promises and reassurances. And that's what Tertius didn't understand, how deeply that had hurt.

"So, I'll make my own way - you'll be proud of it when you see what I've got so far, Mama. And I'm not going to make the same mistakes my father did. I'm not going to promise something over and over and then never do it, or only do it when it's too late to mean anything."

He took a breath and stopped walking so that he could look at her, properly. "I'd like you to run my household, Mama, but only if you want to. Because... because tomorrow, we're going to the Temple of Liberty and I am going to set you free. I promise."

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was good to hear that Teutus was gaining some advantages in life from his father; skills, money and of course his freedom. It was something. But it hurt Varinia to hear the uncertainty in his voice when he spoke of his father's doings. How he'd been promised freedom, promised adoption, only to be overlooked for this new baby and then freed at the last minute.

"I know it doesn't change anything, but from what you say it sounds as though he did want to change what happened; make you his own." But it was one thing to claim a slave's newborn, quite another to adopt a freedman. She wasn't really all that surprised that it hadn't happened, from what she had learned of Roman society. "I think you're probably right. It was too hard, and too late, to make things the way he wanted. Instead he chose not to make the same mistake again with this new child, now that he has the choice." Which seemed reasonable when looked at from Tertius's point of view, but still so very hurtful and disappointing from Teutus's. And of course Varinia supported her son, but she knew she had to do that in a way that helped him, rather than goading resentment.

And it seemed that he had come to much the same conclusion. "Life often doesn't give us everything we want." Sometimes it even took much away. "What's important is what we do with what we have. I am proud of you, Makki, and I am sure I will be even more proud, to see what you've done." And there was precious little that would ever change that. "I am just thanking the Gods that I have you back."

Where she'd been hesitant to speak, now the floodgates seemed to open, and they were mother and grown son again, not slave and master, not anything else, the years between them washed away. That was, until he made his promise, and she stopped for a moment, in shock. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, not knowing what to say. Freedom. He offered what she had most longed for, for so many years, and in that instant she didn't know what to do. Images of her home as a child flickered through her mind for a moment, to be surplanted by the very real presence of her grown son before her as she looked up at him.

Eventually she nodded, then sought for her voice. "I would like that, Makki." She said, and reached out to grasp his hands in a grip that was gentle but firm, as it had been when carrying an infant or holding an energetic toddler. A couple of tears slipped down her cheeks. "I would like that very much." She said again. And unlike his father's words, she believed him.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"He's tried to make it right, but - I don't think we understand each other, not really." Tertius wanted a son, but the only way Teutus had ever related to him was as a slave to his master, he didn't know how to negotiate any other way of being. And it didn't help that Tertius kept things very close to his chest and then expected those around him to react a certain way. The memory of that disastrous dinner with Wulfric loomed large in Teutus' memory.

His relationship with his mother had always been so much simpler; they were the same status in the house and neither had played any sort of mind games with the other.

"You've lost so much, and I want to do what I can to make it right again," he said. Though that wasn't the reason for wanting to free her; he wanted that just because she was his mother.

He grasped her hands in return, before freeing one of his own hands to wipe the tears away. "Tomorrow, then, the very first thing in the morning."

After that, he would take her shopping - she would need a whole new wardrobe for a whole new life.

"And I think I may have to look for a domus after all," he added wryly. "Three rooms and five people is going to be a bit of a crush." Even if three of them were slaves and the same gender; he could hardly ask his mother to share with any of them, could he?

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was no easy answer to the situation with Tertius, and from the sound of things it hadn't become any less complicated after the death of his father. It might never get any easier. She longed for it to be right between them, and even between Tertius and her, but who decided what was right? Part of her, the young girl within, longed to go to him, but the experienced woman feared - and was almost resigned to - further rejection. Besides, if he had another slave and an acknowledged son, what right did she have to disrupt that woman's life? She would not resent her, just because she had what Varinia had wanted.

She'd been full of resent when she was first enslaved, of course. But it had achieved absolutely nothing, save a thrashing for being sullen. No, over time she had learned to simply take what few offerings and opportunities appeared, when they did, and be glad of them. She suspected that Teutus would have to learn to have the same view about his relationship with his father. Which was a harsh thing, but the alternative was pining over something he'd never have. She'd done enough of that for both of them.

Still, it was good to see him thinking of other things, excited even, and she gave him a warm if tired smile as he wiped her tears away. "Just finding you again has made so much of it right, Makki. " She assured him, squeezing his big man's hands - when had that happened? - one more time before releasing them and regaining her composure. In some ways it was a delight to hear him planning excitedly, but in others there was a mother's worry that he might get over excited and be careless with his funds. She didn't want that, and it was so very much for her to take in.

"Lets take one step at a time." She suggested moderately. "Amandus can sleep with me  for now, if you need the room." Indeed, both might be glad of the comfort. "Then tomorrow, the Temple. It's a huge change, it shall take some getting used to." She admitted. No doubt he knew exactly what she meant, having gone through the same himself. "Then, if you will give me a few coins, I can go to the market and shop for the household." Then, whilst she had the welcome distraction of ordering her son's household, she could mull over the implications of finally attaining her freedom.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

His mother would probably need a maid or body-slave once she was freed; if she was amenable to the idea, he had half a mind to inquire about the younger girl who'd been in the same pen as her, doing one of the other's hair when Claudus had shown him around.

That was for tomorrow, though - and whether he got her a slave or a free servant (if she preferred), he would definitely have to move them to a bigger house somewhere. Tertius was going to love that!

"One step at a time, then," he said in reply, and nodded at her suggestion; it was a good one. Jennus could probably sleep in his room, especially if he was going to employ him as a body-slave too, and that left Olipor in the main room of the apartment, at least for now.

'A few coins' though - he would give his mother as much as she needed, and some for herself as well. Something he had wanted to do for her when he was a child but had never really dreamed he might one day be able to do for real.

"I don't think I said what my business actually is, though, Mama," he told her, glancing at her and unable to keep from smiling. Oh, this was going to be a very big surprise, and in the best way - he thought briefly that he'd like to keep it a surprise until she actually saw his warehouse and the good he had in stock, but he didn't really have the patience for that.

"I import luxury goods, and I'm looking at expanding." Hence the need for a good clerk and therefore why he'd purchased Olipor.

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

She nodded as he agreed to take things slowly. They could work out together what they needed for the household, and what they could afford. It was so terribly sweet that Teutus obviously wanted to spoil her, that he obviously still loved her eclipsed everything she'd been through since they'd parted. But she wouldn't let that love or enthusiasm bankrupt him, or spoil her. She had done with little for so long, she didn't need much. And whilst he obviously had the funds to purchase several slaves, she didn't know whether that was earned, or what his father had given him.

I don't think I said what my business actually is, though, Mama.

"No, you haven't told me yet." She agreed, giving him a small smile. "Are you going to make me guess?" She teased, just a little, whilst silently hoping it was something secure. Not that she could imagine her baby boy doing anything ridiculously risky or illegal. If Tertius was as controlled as Teutus said, he surely wouldn't allow it.

I import luxury goods, and I'm looking at expanding.

She looked up at him, that small smile broadening. It sounded very exciting, and very rich, and if he was looking to expand then surely he must be doing well? She'd be the first to admit that she wasn't accustomed to managing anything more than the simplest of household accounts, under the direction of her master, but Teutus had said he'd learned under Tertius, and if nothing else, Tertius was a Patrician. Their class knew about money.

"That sounds wonderful. Business is going well then?" It certainly explained why he needed more slaves. Did he have any already, she wondered? For some reason she'd assumed he didn't, but she realised she shouldn't assume anything. Except that her son loved her, and really that was all that mattered. They would work this out, and it would be the best thing in a very long time. She had decided that.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Yes - business is going very well, I'm looking at hiring another ship. The empire is vast and all sorts of goods are needed all over it - and of course so much comes into Rome. All the senators and their wives want the very best, from Egyptian glass to African ivory and spices from the distant east." And maybe amber from the north, as well as silver, lead, copper and gold from Britannia and precious stones from - everywhere.

"I've been keeping my own records and everything so far, but I can't keep doing everything if the business is to grow."

He would keep some of that Egyptian cotton back for his mother, he thought; she would like that. And maybe some ivory pins for her hair - small luxuries but personal ones. She had never really had anything, being a slave, and he thought her tastes would incline to simpler things - he could not see her decked out in silks and perfumes and weighed down by masses of gold jewellery. One or two refined and elegant things, and no more, where the cost was evident more in the quality of the fabric or the craftsmanship.

"I've been living very simply," he added, in case she thought he'd thrown money away on a show of luxury. He'd spent a bit more on clothing for himself, and a more expensive brooch or two for his pallium and cloak - nobody would buy from a supposed luxury importer who dressed like a slave, after all - but even that was with a view to increasing trade and growing his customer base.

 

@Sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a mother's worry. Was her son doing well, looking after himself, not overstretching his resources? Even those mothers who had a choice in the matter had to let go eventually, but she'd not been ready when she'd been sold away from him. Now he was a man grown with his own business, no longer the youth she remembered, and she had to adjust to that. Plus many of the things that he spoke of were things she'd not dreamed of as a slave, but it sounded as though he was doing well for himself.

"There is nothing wrong with living simply." She assured him. "The Gods know we have done so. And I have seen those who spend too freely." And occasionally heard what could befall them. Not personally fortunately, but when one's master discussed the matter within earshot, because slaves were invisible, well one listened and learned. "But it sounds as though you are doing very well, if your business now requires more staff." That explained his purchases of the other slaves. He'd said he needed runners and someone who could keep the business records.

"You probably don't want your mother involved in your business, but I can keep the house for you, if you want me to." It was something she knew to do well. She wanted to help him, and as much as she wanted to be free, she was also a little scared of it, after so many years. It meant so much uncertainty, so much responsibility for one's self. At least if she stayed with Teutus and helped him with his household until she found her feet, that would give her some surety.

"Do you have any other plans for the future?" Like any mother, she did wonder whether marriage might be on her son's mind. But there could also be a host of other things.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"I'm used to living simply," he said with a shrug. Gods knew he had few enough friends who'd want to come to some extravagant party of other - none of his real friends (who were few enough) would care to attend something of the ridiculous ostentatiousness of some upper class parties he'd heard of. Some nice food and good conversation were all Teutus really wanted at a party, after all.

"I would like that," he told her. "I want it to be your home too, you can run it just how you want to, I won't interfere with anything." It would be something for her, as his business was for him - an escape from the past and a way to make the present their own. He shrugged. "No, not really. I probably ought to think about marrying but... it can wait for a bit."

A prosperous freedman who had a well-known and respected business in trade would be a better prospect than a freedman who had nothing at all.

"I'm the guardian of Charis' son and Antonia Varia," he said. If anything happened to Tertius, Teutus would be expected to do everything for them that Tertius would have. Just one reason why he had to hope that nothing would happen to Tertius before Peregrinus came of age, even though on a more personal level, he wouldn't mind too much if it did.

Something he would never admit to anyone, ever.

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Varinia smiled quietly as Teutus said he'd like her to run his household. It was something that she knew she could do, and gave her security in her future. And of course she wanted to be around her son and look after him, whilst also aware that he was a man grown now, and free, with his own business. They would work out their future and their new relationship, she told herself.

Of course he wanted to wait a bit before marrying, men so often did and Roman men in particular. As a mother she couldn't help but wonder where he was getting his needs seen to - the thought never occurred that he might not be - but that was his business. Given his own experiences, she trusted him not to make the same mistake his father did. "Of course." That didn't mean a loving mother might not keep an eye out for the right girl.

Then Teutus revealed something that Varinia had not expected; guardianship over the infant who had replaced him, and his legitimate sister. "Tertius clearly trusts you then." She observed, and it was a fact that said a lot. The relationship between the two men might be strained, but Tertius had to put a lot of faith in his first son to make such an arrangement. It said what perhaps words did not.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Uh-huh." Teutus said, and sighed. "I almost wish he didn't, you know."

Not that he wasn't pleased about it when it came to being able to look after Antonia, of course; but Tertius had absolutely gone and played merry hell with him when it came to making him responsible for the baby who'd replaced him in pretty much every way imaginable as his father's heir. Tertius had never cared for him in anything like the same way he doted on Charis' baby, despite everything he'd said to the contrary.

Tertius said a lot of things, in Teutus' experience, but he rarely matched the action to the word. How long had it been that he'd promised Teutus his freedom, after all? He'd only given it when it seemed he had no choice.

"He probably only did it because he trusts everyone else even less," he added, knowing it made him sound bitter. Hades, he was bitter, and jaded, when it came to his father and anything to do with Tertius Quinctilius Varus.

"Anyway," he said, striving to lighten the mood. "This is home - for now, anyway." He led the way up the stairs of the insula to his apartment - three rooms that had seemed too much for just him but now looked as if they'd be slightly cramped quarters for five. The door opened into one large room, and two smaller rooms led off it to one side, one with a window to the street, the other with a window overlooking the walkway around the insula's interior courtyard.

Maybe he should be on the lookout for a domus somewhere - or a bigger apartment, at the very least.

 

@Sarah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Teutus clearly had mixed feelings where his father was concerned, and rightly so. Varinia wasn't certain how she felt about the man herself, as the remnants of girlish infatuation warred with the pragmatic acknowledgement of the man's actions. Her son sounded as though he wanted much the same thing she did; someone to love, admire and look up to. And Tertius couldn't be that man.

Her heart ached for her son, wished she could have bourne him to a loving husband, wished she'd never heard of the bloody Romans. But she'd learned long ago that wishing changed nothing, so for Teutus' sake she sought the good in the bad. "Then he still trusts you the most." She pointed out. And surely that was something. It had been eight years since she'd been sold; was Tertius so mistrustful? What was he like, as a man? She decided quietly then that she would find out.

The topic was dropped, perhaps fortunately, as they arrived at an insula, and Teutus led them upstairs to a neat, three room appartment. "This is all ours?" She asked, well accustomed to cramped slave quarters. At the same time she cast an experienced eye over the furnishings and stores, thinking of what she could do with the space to make it work for them.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"It's all ours," Teutus said, letting her have a look around. He was proud of it, though it wasn't much in comparison to the grandeur of Tertius' domus further up the Esquiline. But it was his own space - their own space now - and he couldn't deny that it needed a woman's touch.

He indicated the room he'd taken for his own. "That's my room. You'll have this one." He opened the other door, letting her have a look.

He hadn't expected to return home with his own mother, so he hadn't prepared it for her, but it was clean and tidy, with a bed. They'd have to find something for Amandus and Jennus, though Olipor could probably sleep on the couch in the main room. They'd make it work and if they needed more furniture, or better furniture, they could get whatever they needed.

Teutus had no intention of living like a slave now that he had a proper income, and nor was he about to let his mother live like a slave, either. Getting in some comforts was not going to break the bank.

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all ours.

Varinia looked around at the space, clasping her hands together in a restrained little gesture of joy. True it wasn't some magnificent domus, but that didn't matter; it was theirs. Not some masters for whom they had to keep it, but their very own where they could do what they liked. It was a strange and wonderful feeling. And even more wonderful was that she got her own room. As Teutus held the door she looked inside, noting it's size. It seemed positively luxurious, and she would only be sharing it with the little boy.

"It's perfect." She could do much with this modest space, she just knew it. Something bigger might feel overwhelming to start with, but she could make this feel like home. And if they moved to something bigger in time, that would be fine too. Everything would be fine, now that she had her boy back.

And he was going to set her free.

@Sharpie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"It's perfect."

It wasn't, but it could be made more perfect now - his mother had an eye for things that Teutus knew he didn't. It needed a feminine touch, really, something he was distinctly lacking in.

"Whatever you think we need, we can get. And, if you want a loom or anything, that can be arranged, too." They'd need a couple of straw pallets for Jennus and Amandus to sleep on, too, which could be easily stowed away under Varinia's and Teutus' beds during the day.

"This is your home. You can do anything with it that you want - if you need money to buy anything, you can have it." He'd leave Jennus and Amandus with her for the first few days or so, in case she did want to buy anything large enough that she would need help bringing it home. He had work for Olipor down at the warehouse.

He pulled his mother into a hug, grateful beyond words that he had found her again.

 

@Sarah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was hard to believe what she was hearing. It was their home, and it was hers. She could manage it for Teutus; she would love to do that. To lavish on him the care that she had missed over the last eight years, during which he'd become a man. But she would always be her baby boy.

And he was trusting her to furnish their home, apparently at whatever cost. It was sweet, that he trusted her so, and she would be worthy of that trust. "I'll start with the basics, then we'll see." She promised, determined not to take his apparent new funds for granted. "A loom would be nice one day, but I'll have to spin up the wool first." Which took time. Often the lady of the house did the weaving, whilst her slaves spun the threat for her, which was the tedious part. It was only her most recent household, where the mother had been older and ailing, that she'd learned to weave and shown a talent for it. But she would put it to good use. "I'll make you a tunica." She promised, smiling.

After her initial need to touch him, she'd been respectful of his space, the need for Roman reserve. But here, in their house with only their slaves, he pulled her close. Varinia wrapped her arms around her son's neck - when had he grown so tall? - and wept silent tears of joy and relief into his shoulder. They were together at last, and she vowed she would never lose him again.

@Sharpie (OOC: Fin?)

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...