A Most Important Lesson

[Atrice]

She was blushing again, sweet and pretty as she was, but this time he knew it was his fault. And not because he'd charmed her, but because everyone else knew he could. And would, if he really tried. He hadn't even done that. He'd tried to act civil with her the whole time, well apart from the fact that he had not lied to her when she had questions... but wasn't that also a good act? To be honest with someone. More people should be. Then Rome might not be such a dangerous place. Meanwhile Ovinia shifted in her seat and said they'd stay until the fight was finished. Alexius nodded and emptied his wine while she just sipped hers. Fuck, now he'd need more, again! Problem was, the more he drank, the more he wanted it. And more. 

Ovinia said that she was not embarrassed over him, but she worried about her reputation. Alexius nodded again, "I know." He simply said and then she laughed, claiming it would not be an issue if she had a husband. Wouldn't it though? A married woman out in the open with Alexius... sure, she could say he was just here as her bodyguard. But even as a bodyguard he'd sometimes had more kinds of payment than what had been agreed to in the first round. Horizontal payment. Well sometimes vertical, he thought with a smile. Just then, the crowd roared and Alexius looked to the sands just in time to see the thraex fall to the ground. Ovinia saw it too.

"You did! Congratulations!" Alexius said with a grin and clapped her back, "See, murmillos are good." He knew, after all. Around them, the crowd cheered and roared and some people had stood in their seats. That wasn't going to make it easier to leave their spot, "We may have to wait a few moments before we can leave. I don't want to see you tumble down the seats." He said, "You can finish your wine then." 

@Sara

[Sara]

She turned in her seat and offered him an imperious little glare as he clapped her back (he really was far too familiar), but not even that could dull her jubilant mood. She could see now, why people gambled. The thrill was addictive. She could even see why people liked the games, despite her newfound squeamishness.

Moving her legs out of the way as people shuffled past them (clearly not fans of the next fighters), she glanced back at Alexius with a smug little smile and held out her wine cup to him. "It's not to my tastes, you can finish it." Honestly if she had any more her head would be spinning and her throat would get even drier. The poor plebs; a life of work and terrible wine to accompany it. 

"I have to think on our next day trip..." She narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips in thought; "Do you like libraries?" She asked, before shaking her head, "I suppose it doesn't really matter," A grin was on her face, "Because I do and it's my day. I don't like the scrolls though," Which was, in fact, the whole point of a library, "But it's a good place to pick up gossip. And then maybe a temple...do you worship much?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

She glared at him when he clapped her back. But wasn't that a normal thing to do? He wasn't here as her bodyguard, after all. Not officially anyway, although he would look out for her... and he did. Still she also smiled, seeming happy that she won. He suggested she finished her wine while waiting until they could leave, but she handed it to him. Alexius shrugged, "Are you sure?" He replied and took the cup into his free hand. Well at least now he could not clap her back or pat her knee, because his hands were full. 

Ovinia already began considered their next trip, since she won, she would decide where they would go. Alexius' eyes widened for a moment when she joked about libraries. He couldn't read very well, more or less not at all, so a library wasn't exactly his kind of place. But she'd decide. She didn't give him a chance to respond, because she went on about how she didn't like the library for the scrolls, but for the gossip. And then she spoke of temples.

"My worship mostly happens at the festivals. I do visit temples sometimes... but not so often." And his kind of worship often had to do with drinking and being merry, as you did at the festivals, "I'm not very familiar with libraries. But it is your day, once we get there. So you do decide." Alexius added with a smile and emptied her cup of wine too. With his size and his manners, he could take it - he was very used to it. Perhaps a bit too much. 

"Shall we attempt leaving?" He then suggested and stood, still feeling quite responsible for her. If he brought her home and something happened to her... no, that would not happen. Not on his watch.

@Sara

[Sara]

"And who is your favourite God or Goddess?" She asked, genuinely intrigued. She didn't know whether he worshipped any of his ancestral deities from his homeland, but she supposed that was an acutely personal question to ask so stayed quiet. In her head she was already planning the day, but she'd not be so selfish to make it completely about her own desires. 

She watched him as he downed the rest of her wine as well, amused. She'd had a cup and a sip and already felt foggy in her mind. How on earth did he manage it? She'd seen her brothers drunk and they'd had to be supported by the slaves to walk. She gave him a once over. She reckoned she could perhaps carry one of his arms at a push before her back broke. 

She stood with him, pulling her palla back over her hair. She was still acutely aware of the stares they were receiving. "Let's. And perhaps some food?" She glanced back over her shoulder at him as they walked slowly to join the throng of people leaving the stands and others making their way back up. "I want to hear more of Melissa's stories." She said with an amused smile tugging at her lips, "Unless you know somewhere else somewhere...with less gawkers?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

“Fortuna.” Alexius replied certainly to her, that might have been the easiest question she’d asked him since he came to pick her up! “I find her very worthy of worship, for if you don’t, who knows if she may steer you in the wrong direction? But I was eventually handed everything I wanted. Almost anyway. So yes… Fortuna must be my favorite.” He explained. He could not recall the deities from his original homelands. He’d been presented with them, when he went to Germania, but nothing rang a bell. He grew up mostly in Rome and with the Roman pantheon, so that’s what he’d kept.

 She seemed amused that he actually emptied her cup, but why shouldn’t he? Sure he enjoyed a drink or two or many more, but with his size, it took a bit before he felt really drunk and couldn’t walk on his own. A few cups of wine did nothing but brighten his mood, at least that’s what he considered it did.

 They stood together and she pulled her palla over her hair. Suggesting they found some food, maybe at Melissa’s place, “Melissa may be here somewhere.” Alexius gestured to the arena, “But we can go there, if you’d like. I’m feeling a bit hungry too, now you mention it. I’ll let you pick the place, you won our bet, after all.”

@Sara

[Sara]

Fortuna. Of course. She smiled to herself. Perhaps that could feature in their day, although how she didn't yet know...she didn't worship much at Fortuna's altar herself but she knew her brother did. Perhaps she'd ask his opinion. 

"Alexius," She laughed with a grin, "I don't know anywhere. I'm not in the habit of going out to eat..." Unless accompanied by her father or brother, as hey and done once or twice during a festival. That was such a rarity though that it stuck vividly in her mind. "I didn't even eat at Melissa's..." She sighed and slowly walked down the stairs, milling with the crowd. She hugged herself tighter - keeping one hand on her purse as she did. "Perhaps we just go somewhere quieter." She said in a murmur to Alexius, "This is still your day after all - me winning the bet has nothing to do with it. Take me where you like." She didn't catch the innuendo that time either.

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

Perhaps Fortuna would be good to Ovinia too, if she paid the goddess of luck any attention. And it did sound like she needed it, with all of her questions today and how little she truly grasped about the Roman people. At least she learned something today, also about gladiators and slaves... and plebians and senators. Alexius was happy to teach her it all and more if she would want him to. And it would seem she did. But she didn't know where to go for food and pointed out that she didn't even eat at Melissa's.

"That's true. But it's a good place." Alexius said, but she knew his opinion... biased as it might be, because Melissa served him some good dishes both in the thermopolia and in the bedroom. She then suggested somewhere quieter and claimed this was still his day, if she won the bet or not. He gave her a look when she said he could take her anywhere he liked. Obviously she didn't mean what she said. She hadn't had that much wine yet.

"I'll find a good spot. Come." He wanted to lead and clear the way down the stairs, but he didn't want to turn his back on her and lose her in the process. So he held out a hand for her to take, not thinking twice about the gesture, "Let's get out fast. There's usually some food stalls set up near here, when there are games like these." 

@Sara

[Sara]

She blinked at his hand and then up at his face. "Are you this familiar with everybody?" She said over the din of people coming and going down the stairs. She raised her chin, pulling her shoulders back and instead of taking his hand, reached out to clutch his tunic like a child clutching at his mother. She felt like this was better. Wasn't it? 

They moved slowly down the stairs until the crowds started to thin out. She kept her eyes lowered, ignoring the curious glances that were shot their way. "You were not lying about your reputation." She said quietly as they moved through a more sparsely filled bit of the crowd where her voice could become more hushed. "I...would ask exactly what you've done to deserve it but I don't think I want to know...do I?" he'd alluded  to not keeping faithful, to taking lovers but...surely that couldn't be all...unless it was a monstrous amount...

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

At first he didn't know why she was asking that, but then he noticed how she looked at his hand. Right... "I kind of am, actually?" Alexius tried to excuse himself and then she took hold of his tunic. Really? As if she was some child, which she was not. Well in some ways as pure and innocent as a child, but she knew how to ask questions and she knew something, she just didn't know everything yet. But they moved down the stairs, he in front of her and she began talking about his reputation again, wondering if she wanted to know more about it.

"Maybe you do? It would only be fair, just so you know next time." Alexius said with a grin and winked at a young lady walking up the stairs, "But I can tell you more once we sit down to eat, if you'd like." He said and then chuckled, "You know, maybe a library isn't such a bad idea. I don't go such places on my own. Maybe my reputation has not reached the libraries of Rome." Or maybe he forgot to consider that some of the people he knew did visit libraries, but since he never went, why should he consider that? 

@Sara

[Sara]

She nodded, feeling a little on edge. She had never really known anybody like Alexius - she wasn't brought up to, really. 

"You don't go to them?" She arched a brow. That shoudn't have surprised her, should it. "Where do you get your scrolls from then?" She was not a voracious reader but she had been taught and it seemed a shame not to use the rare skill her father had granted her. "Oh..." She swallowed. It hadn't occurred to her until that moment that such a rare skill was not oft granted to slaves; particularly slaves that had no need to read. She cast him an embarrassed look and then ardently searched for a distraction. 

There was a food stall, a little way up ahead - its line was short which was clearly indicative of poor food, but she was not going to say no - she wanted to get out of this awkward conversation as quickly as she could. "What about here? I'll pay!" She offered.

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

He kind of really was this familiar with everybody. Especially when he had a cup of wine or two. If he got more, he'd probably be even more familiar towards her. So maybe it was a good thing they were leaving. Alexius relaxed, when he drank wine. It made him forget who he ought to be, and just act like he wanted to. But he had to try and be who he ought to be, for her sake.

She was surprised when he said he never went to the libraries, but he shook his head when she asked. Then she asked more about scrolls and before he could reply, she reached the conclusion on her own. He didn't read... "I don't really need scrolls, for anything. I know the letters? But I am not good at it." He wasn't really shy about admitting that, because that's just how it was like. He recalled that his old master had assigned a scribe to him and a tutor, when he was freed. But the scribe did most of the work and he didn't stay as a lanista for long enough to learn enough about reading and writing. He learned a little. He could read and write his own name, his full name, and a little more than that. But give him a scroll with a story and he'd be all confused.  

Ovinia had spied a food stall outside of the Amphitheatre and suggested they went there. There was only a short line in front of it and Alexius tried spying what they were selling. If she was paying, she could have whatever she pleased, "Sure, you like duck?" Alexius asked. It was some kind of dry stew served on flat pieces of bread, that would serve as a plate and you could eat it too.   

@Sara

[Sara]

He didn't seem embarrassed which...surprised her, but made relief flood through her body. Good. She hadn't completely put her foot in it. 

"I shouldn't have presumed." She offered, clearing her throat, "It's difficult. If you ever need anything to be read aloud to you," Was she being patronising? She was really trying hard not to be... "You know I am here. But I am not reading what it says on the walls about you." She indicated to the corner of the insulae they were standing against where, in big bold letters it said 'are any men good in bed?' followed by 'Alexius is'. It was tame, compared to other things that she'd glanced at. She blushed deeply. No wonder people had been staring.

Nodding she joined the queue, pulling her palla further down over her hair. "Are your friends here?" She asked him as they shuffled up through the queue to the counter. She'd never queued for anything before. Its as a novelty. "If I'm keeping you from them...I can go home." she was more acutely aware, minute by minute that this festival really wasn't for people like her.

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

Why should he be embarrassed over something that was a simple fact? He couldn't read very well, he never had a great need to learn. And when he did have the chance, it didn't interest him so much. There were other things he'd rather do with his spare time than read. Still Ovinia appeared to be feeling bad about asking in the first round, saying that it was indeed difficult and if he ever needed anything read to him, she'd do it. Except for the walls. Alexius chuckled, he could see his name on that wall too, "I don't think I need to know. I can almost guess, though." He added with a wink, while they waited in line to get something to eat.

But Ovinia appeared to try and hide herself further with her palla and tried to make excuses for leaving. Alexius looked around, but shook his head, "No one around here, no... and I'm here with you, remember?" He said, looking at her again. She was his here as his companion, his friend even, not as his lover or partner like that. But that didn't mean he wouldn't let her have all of his attention while they were together. Because that's just what he did. If he was with someone, he didn't need anyone else but them.

Yet she was the one who seemed uncomfortable, suddenly, while he had stopped feeling that a little while ago, "Would you rather leave, Ovinia? I can take you home, if you'd like." He paused, as an idea sprung to mind and he forgot to consider it might be a bad one, "We can buy a meal at Melissa's place... I don't live far from there, we could sit down at my place to eat?" 

@Sara

 

[Sara]

"I think it's flattering." She chuckled with a  shake of her head and a faint blush. Why anybody would feel the need to write that on the walls of Rome was beyond her, but she pointedly ignored her own name whenever she glanced it. People with nothing better to do, clearly. 

He gave her the option to leave and she glanced back at the crowds and then at the food stand. It smelled awful to her. Yes. Yes she would rather leave. She cleared her throat, trying to summon the courage to say as much but Alexius offered an alternative first. Her eyes widened and she blinked at him. "I...can't go into your home, alone, Alexius!" She choked, utterly bemused. It was such a foreign concept that it was almost funny and she began to chuckle and then giggle and then grin. How ludicrous of a suggestion! Imagine!

"But home." She nodded sheepishly and stepped out of her place in the queue, embarrassed. "Yes, I think I should go home and we have food there and you can come in and enjoy the gardens." She offered as she began walking what she hoped was the route back to where they had left the litter. "I...think this is just a little too much a little too quickly." She winced and glanced at him apologetically, "I'm not used to life...like this. You do understand, don't you?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Atrice]

She thought what was written on the walls about him, flattering? Well that put it in a better light at least. But the walls were one reason why he knew that people in Rome knew him. Or at least knew about him. Even people he had never met would sometimes know about him, because they listened to gossip and saw his name on the walls. But enough about writings on the walls, they were here presently and Alexius was looking out for her, or at least trying to, in his slightly drunken state. Just drunk enough to be in a good mood though. And friendly. That's all. So friendly that he suggested they left, if she felt uncomfortable, and they could just eat in at his place.

But her eyes widened and she said she could not go into his home alone. Couldn't she? Right, of course, a respectable young lady as she, walking alone into his home. When they just talked about his reputation! Look at that, classic foolish Alexius, talking without thinking. Not considering he'd done the exact opposite most of the day. Then she began to chuckle however and wanted to go home. But to her home and they could have food there. 

Enjoy the gardens. Right.

They began walking towards her litter and she spoke of how this was too much for her, and she wasn't used to this life. Alexius shrugged, "Not sure I understand completely, Ovinia, since I never lived a life like yours. My life doesn't even come close." He pointed out, "... but I know you're not used to it. That's exactly why I think it's good for you, though... you need to experience life outside the safe walls of a fancy domus or villa in Rome. This is the life most Romans live." He explained and looked at the litter as they approached it. Were they going to squeeze in there again? He supposed they were. He held a hand to help her get into it.

@Sara

[Sara]

She listened with a soft, if not sad smile on her lips and nodded. She would never understand, Gods be willing, what it meant to be poor or in work or enslaved. Like he would never understand the responsibilities that rested on hers and her families shoulders. He was free to live his life and as he'd so gently broken it to her, she was not. 

She nonetheless flashed a smile and took his hand, settling herself into the corner of the litter once more. She was tempted to tell him to walk - they'd been so familiar with one another today, really far, far too familiar but she didn't have the heart. Instead, she ducked her head through the curtains and flashed a grin. "I have experienced plenty of life outside the safe walls of my fancy domus today, thank you," She grinned, "But for now, doesn't reclining in the gardens with nice wine and nice music and pretty flowers sound appealing to you...?" She arched a brow and sunk back into the cushioned seats of the litter, waiting for him to join her. 

Today had been...interesting.

 

TAG: @Atrice