All's fair in love and war [M]

[Sara]

"I was thinking I could help you!" She protested, irritated by his chiding, speaking over him, "You never look after yourself!" 

Only when she had stopped shouting over him that she heard his news. She blinked, mouth falling ajar in shock. Thank the Gods he'd sent his household to the villa. But everything else...all his things, all the memories the place held...She reached out a hand to cup his cheek and tried to direct his gaze to her own.  "I'm so sorry..." She swallowed and stroked her thumb over his cheekbone, "Are you alright?" She didn't mean physically. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I was thinking I could help you! You never look after yourself!" 

Even though she was chiding him, Lucius couldn't help but smile. When Ovinia forgot about herself, she tended to show how caring she could be. She would have walked all the way to Rome to take care of him in the middle of a conflagration. It was the kind of thing that made him love her. She looked concerned when he told her the news about the house.

"I'm so sorry... Are you alright?"

"I am" he nodded. Losing the entire house was a blow, but... "No one got hurt. Everything else is replaceable." Most of his childhood memories were attached to the villa, anyway. Lucius smiled, leaning over to kiss Ovinia gently. "I did bring you something, though."

@Sara

[Sara]

She sighed and nodded. She had lost her own domus to the flames of the city, and she still remembered the wrench of her gut when she'd walked through the charred atrium. She wondered if Lucius felt the same and was merely putting on a brave face; it would be very like him, she considered. 

Still - she sunk into his kiss. It had been months. She had dreamt of what it would be like when he came back, when he came home. In her dreams she had been standing at the foot of the road that led to the villa in the new tunica he'd bought her - hair neat, smile beaming on her face. He'd see her and dismount, running to her and sweeping her up in his arms in a passionate embrace for all the world to see. Tumbling him into it, frazzled after a night in her cell was not the dream. But she found the kiss, gentle and fleeting though it was, perfection nonetheless. 

"You did?" She quirked a brow as she pulled back, smiling against his lips. "I only had the one cat, and Typhon is safely here at the villa." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Oh no. One cat is enough. That one is a menace." Lucius chuckled, getting up from the floor and offering a hand to Ovinia. He had left the few belongings he'd brought with him on the table nearby, and now he dug through a bag, pulling out a leather case that held a scroll. He looked a little sheepish as he offered it to Ovinia.

"I... I don't really know how to do this in a fitting way." he cleared his throat. "You are free."

@Sara

[Sara]

She gripped his hand and pulled herself up slowly with a wince, threading her fingers through his for a brief moment before he let go to rummage through one of his bags. All of his belongings smelled like smoke and she wrinkled her nose. 

She took the box with curiosity on her face, opening it to take out the scroll and began to unroll it, only half-listening at his awkward start. She heard one word though. And then she saw it. She blinked and felt as if the floor was giving way. She was not naturally a very emotional person but she was utterly powerless to stop the tide that overtook her. She welled up, utterly overcome, and began crying so deeply that her shoulders shook and she had to grip onto the table for support. Her voice was hoarse and wracked as she looked up at him her face a mixture of too many emotions to count; "H-how?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Ovinia's reaction was immediate and shocking. Lucius knew the news were big... the news she'd never expected to get, something that changed her entire life. But even so, the way she broke down was a force of its own. He wrapped an arm around her, guiding her to sit down before she'd collapse from the shock, and knelt down next to her. She was free. He was feeling those emotions too.

"H-how?" 

"Imperial favor" he smiled a little, holding her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "It's real. He signed it himself."

@Sara

[Sara]

In the early days of her enslavement she had convinced herself that this day would come; that she'd be free and things would return to the way they were. That, as the weeks and months wore on, had become a distant dream - somewhere far off on the horizon. Then, over time, it had become a fantasy. She had grown used to her life and adjusted to it. She had never expected anything more. And now here it was in black and white on a page in her fingers and she couldn't fathom it.

She let herself be guided to a seat, still heaving wracked sobs for which she apologised breathlessly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Although whether the words she made were intelligible that was another matter. She managed to look at him though, his outline blurry and watery through her tears as he confessed how it had happened. She gripped his hands so tightly, the scroll now discarded at her feet that she thought it might hurt him. "Thank you." She finally managed to choke and then with no warning, she threw her arms around him, burying her wet face in his neck and shuddering, crying into his skin, kneeling down on the floor with him. "Thank you." 

But she wasn't only crying out of relief, there were other things there as well. She gripped onto his tunica, bunching the fabric between her fingers, "I'm not going to l-lose you though." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Ovinia ended up in his arms, and he held her as she sobbed. She had months and months of tears to cry. His hand stroked her back gently, waiting for her to gather herself. She was free. She was happy. And he lived to tell her the news. The gods were kind sometimes.

"I'm not going to l-lose you though." 

"No you are not" he smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm not going anywhere." He paused, chuckling as he tilted his head, pulling back to wipe some tears from her cheeks. "Literally. Looks like we will be here for a while, until the domus is restored..."

@Sara

[Sara]

She gripped him so hard her fingers were blanching, unaware of any pain, unaware of the wet patch she was leaving on his shoulder from her tears that kept flowing, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. His assurance that she wouldn't lose him helped a little, but she couldn't stop the trembling. 

She sank into his fingers as he brushed away some tears although they were quickly replaced by a fresh batch. She felt overwhelmed. And nauseous. She nodded dumbly. He'd be here for a while. They would figure it all out. She sat back on her heels, her eyes flitting between him and the scroll lying dejectedly next to them. "What..." She raised the back of her hand to swipe away at some of her tears as they finally slowed, "What do I do now?" She knew how to navigate life as a patrician woman, and life as a slave. She had no idea what to do as a freedwoman. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Ovinia finally gathered some words, although her tears were still flowing. Lucius held her, allowing her time, until she finally sat back to look at the scroll again. Asking what she would do now.

"Well... that is up to you." he said "I don't tell you what to do anymore, although I don't think I ever really did..." he added with a small smile. "I mean, I have ideas. But it's your life."

@Sara

[Sara]

She managed a choked, strangled sounding laugh and nodded, wiping at her cheeks. No. She had never really listened to him. She had listened to the servants though, even Marius, particularly during her time apart from Lucius. She had spent her days diligently working like any other slave in a household in Rome; tidying and cleaning and sweeping and scrubbing. That was why this all felt so strange, she concluded. 

She managed a weaker laugh at his comment and shook her head, wrinkling her nose dramatically. "You smell of smoke and horses," She wiped her cheeks again, the remaining tears drying on the back of her hand, "You should bathe." She exhaled deeply, trying to calm the fluttering in her chest. "And I should too. I can wear the tunica you bought for me, and then I said I'd help Verenia with polishing the cups today..." She blinked, "Oh." She glanced at him, "Your other freedmen and women work for you." Is that what I'll do too?

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"You smell of smoke and horses. You should bathe."

"Yes, I should." Lucius had had a long day of travel, and as much as emotions were running high, he knew Ovinia preferred him clean.

"And I should too. I can wear the tunica you bought for me, and then I said I'd help Verenia with polishing the cups today... Oh... Your other freedmen and women work for you."

Lucius tilted his head, watching as the realization dawned on Ovinia. She was a free woman now... but thinking of herself as a freedwoman would take some time.

"They chose to" he nodded. "Obviously, I did not want to marry any of them though."

@Sara

[Sara]

"Shh!" She reacted instinctively and pressed a finger to his lips to silence him, almost immediately after he'd finished speaking. Her eyes were wide and with their redness following her tears, and the water still on her lashes she looked almost comical. 

She wanted to marry him. She'd known it from the moment they'd kissed each other  on the beach, she'd realised this wasn't some youthful infatuation but something far, far deeper. She couldn't imagine a moment without him now that he was here. But she was not the woman who had walked into his house full of pride and hubris and expecting things to be her way. She was warier now, but also more patient, and far, far more realistic. 

"Don't say that," She dropped her finger from his lips, a slight flush of embarrassment on her cheeks, "We haven't seen each other in months and before that..." The flush increased, "We've only spent one night together. I can wait, we should wait. I want...to be a freedwoman, on my own, first." She never, ever would have thought those words would come out of her mouth - Ovinia Camilla who had expected to jump from her fathers luxury and protection to her husbands, wanting to strike out on her own. But here she was. "I love you," She soothed, "And...I want to marry you. But I want to find out who I am first." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius blinked as a finger was pressed to his lips. He waited for Ovinia to speak what was on her mind. And hopefully not break his heart in the process.

"Don't say that. We haven't seen each other in months and before that... We've only spent one night together. I can wait, we should wait. I want...to be a freedwoman, on my own, first."

Lucius nodded slowly. That... made sense. Well, it didn't make sense to him, he'd always known what he wanted, but it made sense for Ovinia to feel that way.

"I love you. And...I want to marry you. But I want to find out who I am first." 

He nodded again, more relieved this time.

"That... Is probably a good idea?"  he smiled. "Let me know what you need, anything... Or ask any of the others. I'm... um. I'm gonna go take a bath." And not ask if she would still share his bed in the evening.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia sat back, relieved that her (temporary) rejection hadn't broken him. She nodded, a brighter smile appearing on her lips. "I...need to figure out what I want to do." She reaffirmed with a little chuckle, shaking her head. "I...need to figure out how to earn money." That prompted a little wince and a shrug, "I'm not good at very much. Something with children perhaps? Or music?" The lute she had borrowed was propped on her cot, ready to be played for Lucius. 

As he made his statement she chuckled and nodded, pushing herself up on very, very shaky legs to stand. She leant down to clutch the scroll that had been discarded - holding it almost tentatively, reverently. She also needed a bath, but would wait. This reunion had none of the passion she had expected it to have, but that was right in its own way. This was sweeter, more adult. She couldn't help the little flutter in her chest though when she looked at him. 

What was she going to do with her day? Not help Verenia polish thirty silver cups, that was for sure. 

"I'm going to the beach. To swim." She said with a broad grin, which didn't really match the watery eyes and flushed cheeks and trembling legs. "Meet me when you're done?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

They both got to their feet, and Lucius chuckled as Ovinia mused about her future. Ovinia Camilla, working. Making money. He knew better than to make a joke about that, but the whole thing was endearing.

Right. He needed to go get clean.

"I'm going to the beach. To swim. Meet me when you're done?" 

He did. It took a while to get properly clean, shave, and tend to his wounds, but eventually Lucius, refreshed and in clean clothes, made his way down the path to the beach. It was the late afternoon now, but the sun was out. It felt almost unreal, being in this peaceful corner again, after the past weeks in Rome.

@Sara

[Sara]

She was utterly lulled by the news and the sun in the sky on her way down and across the beach that it was the height of summer. It was only when she had dipped her toe into the water and was greeted by a very fresh water temperature that she realised she'd been duped. Still, Ovinia - as everybody knew - was stubborn and so after a few minutes of wading into the water up to her thighs - teeth already chattering - she finally plunged in. She came up spluttering and choking a few moments later, breathless from the chill. It wasn't hideously cold, but it was absolutely not warm either and as she floated around, drenched, she debated getting out. 

But much like her very, very literal freedom now, floating in the frigid water, she felt free. She could do what she liked. Which included getting soaked and freezing and swimming lengths across the bay of the private little beach. By the time she did get out, some time later, she was almost blue with cold but smiling - grinning, actually, a big beaming smile that lit up her face. She spent the next several minutes dragging pieces of driftwood into a little pile. She'd never lit a fire before, but how hard could it be? The exertion warmed her up, even if it didn't dry her as she left rivulets of water on the sand as she trudged back and forth with her load.

By the time she deposited it all down in a heap she was breathless, but warm enough and she knelt down to try and catch two pieces of flint together to start the fire. How hard can it be? She'd seen it done plenty of times. As it turned out, it was very hard and as Lucius approached, she was leant over the fire, dripping and frowning, swearing in Greek.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius was a little surprised to find Ovinia soaking wet. The weather was definitely far from the heat of summer afternoons. Did she... actually go swimming? Gods, it was cool enough for him to wear a cloak! As he walked down the path, he saw that she was kneeling over driftwood. Trying to light a fire.

"You... were not joking about the swimming." he noted, crouching down next to her. He took the light cloak off, draping it over her shoulders. "That wood's never gonna catch like this. It needs kindling."

@Sara

[Sara]

She didn't react to the cloak or his surprised comment, concentrating instead on her failed attempts to light the fire. "What's kindling?" she asked with a frown and absolutely no irony. She might have been a slave for the last year and a half, but she certainly hadn't experienced everything that came with that life. Basic, live-saving skills amongst her deficiencies. 

She knelt back on her heels and frowned, throwing down the flints in frustration. "Go on then." She offered with a glare which melted into an amused smile. "You can start a fire for once." She sighed and watched him, eyes tracing the lines of his body and his face. "You look so handsome, even with that." She murmured and then gestured at a bruise forming on his skin. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"What's kindling?" 

"Oh boy." Lucius would have laughed, but he had an inkling that she was serious.

"Go on then. You can start a fire for once."

Lucius chuckled, walking away to gather some dry grass and twigs before he returned, and set about starting the fire. He could tell Ovinia was watching, although he was not sure she'd try to learn the skill just yet.

"You look so handsome, even with that." 

"I'd hope so. The bruises add to the whole rugged look." he smirked, sparking the flint and blowing on the kindling until he had a flame going. Lucius was nobility, but he knew a whole lot about fire. He sat back on his heels too, smiling at her as he looked her over. "And you look... very distracting." he added, gesturing at the outline of her body in the wet clothes.

@Sara

[Sara]

She watched him, jealously, as he seemed to effortlessly light the fire. She really supposed she should learn some practical skills. She had absolutely none, at present. 

She managed to laugh though, her grin genuine; "Very rugged. You should have kept the stubble though, if that's what you were going for." She preferred him clean shaven - it showed off the dimple in his chin and the line of his jaw, but really she wasn't fussy. She was sure she'd love Lucius with no face at all. 

His own compliment made her blush though and she tried her best to flirt; "Sea-drenched as I am? I went swimming a month or so ago and when I came back up Marius said I looked like a sea-witch. I didn't realise that was your type." Barbed comments were better, she thought. She might have bedded Lucius the last time they were together but that had been her only experience and it was...different. It had felt like the last time, and it had happened so organically and so easily. Now though, she was stuck trying to flirt and trying to act far more confident and far more assured in this newfound situation than she was. She felt...awkward.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius smiled, picking up a stick to adjust the pile of wood as it was beginning to catch fire. The warmth was good, especially since Ovinia was... still soaked from swimming. The tunica clung to her ver tightly.

"Sea-drenched as I am? I went swimming a month or so ago and when I came back up Marius said I looked like a sea-witch. I didn't realise that was your type." 

"I think Marius doesn't know how to use his words." Lucius rolled his eyes. "If anything, you look like a Nereid... You must be cold, though..."

@Sara

[Sara]

She beamed at him. She'd take Nereid over a sea-witch. She hoped that name wouldn't catch-on in the household.

She glanced down at herself, fully aware of what he was looking at and cleared her throat, staring instead at the fire. Why was she feeling so bloody awkward?! Get a grip, Ovinia. He's already seen you naked. The thought made her simultaneously blush and bolden her words; "Do I look cold? Are you going to warm me up?" She regretted it as soon as she said it - the words sounding corny and well...funny to her, rather than sexy or alluring. She grumbled and stared back at the fire.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

A laugh bubbled up from Lucius' chest as he scooted over, wrapping an arm around her. Gods, she was cold. The cloak helped some, but he was not sure it would be enough. He rubbed his hand along her arm.

"You know you have already seduced me, right?" he chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

@Sara

[Sara]

She grumbled, glaring dejectedly at the fire; "Don't laugh at me." But she didn't blame him. Such language really did sound just...well...wrong coming from her. She was trying though and leaned into him with a moan of protest. 

"I know," She said and cleared her throat, glancing up to him, "And last time was....perfect." And nothing at all as she imagined it to be. Which was all for the better. "I just..." she wrinkled her nose, embarrassed and cast her flames back to the fire that was really starting to catch now, heat was rising to her cheeks, "You know I'm not very experienced. It's a bit...humiliating, to not know what to say or do. I..." Gods give me strength...and words, "I've been...thinking about you a lot. When you've been gone." That was all she could muster.

 

TAG: @Chevi