All's fair in love and war [M]

[Chevi]

Lucius rolled his eyes. He complimented people whenever they earned it. Ovinia seemed smarter than she gave herself credit for in her struggle to keep up patrician appearances. Which is why it was so annoying that she refused to get out of the damn water.

"You first. And pass me my veil when you get out. Please." 

Lucius sighed, getting out of the pool. Once again, everything dripped water, and the clothes clung to his frame, instantly getting cooler in the evening air. Oh the walk home was not going to be fun. The weight of his own arm was also adding to the soreness, and he slipped it back into the sling with some difficulty.

"I could go home and send Marius with a blanket." he noted, picking up the veil "But then you'd have to wait here alone."

@Sara

[Sara]

She glanced over her shoulder, the men weren't looking at her or him but she was confident that should she be left here alone, it wouldn't take long for somebody to approach her. That wasn't her being egotistical, merely that she'd come to know that a woman alone in Rome was rarely safe from harassment.

"Fine." She mumbled and slowly, agoningsly slowly, she waded over to the steps and with a breath of annoyance and embarrassment, pulled herself up out of the water. The shapeless tunica that had been too big for her was...not anymore. Neither was his. She diverted her eyes from her snatched the veil from his hand with surprising force, dripping water everywhere as she did. She had no doubts she looked like a drowned rat, but that was potentially better than looking like a meal. She did the best that she could in picking the tunica out of the curves of her waist and away from her chest before she wrapped herself in the cheap veil she'd persuaded a market seller to trade her for a loaf of bread (stolen from the domus).

She jammed her feet into the sandals with a mutter and a glare in his direction and then set off walking, not waiting for him to follow. This was humiliating to say the least.

 

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[Chevi]

They both looked like drowned rats. Lucius felt a pang of guilt as he saw Ovinia's meager attempt at covering herself. The tunica stuck to her skin, showing all of her figure. She probably had never been exposed like this in public before. He averted his eyes, walking along as they headed home.

[Chevi]

A few weeks later

Lucius did not like hosting. He really didn't. Organizing parties and planning feasts was an art form he was not familiar with, and he did not like the games and unspoken rules of the social gatherings of Roman elite. He would spend time with his men any time... but tonight was not one of those occasions.

It had been the praefectus vigilum himself that requested the young tribune host a dinner party. Lucius knew eventually the hosting would fall on him, but that did not mean he had to be happy about it. Luckily, Marius and the others went above and beyond in making the house presentable, cooking the large and fancy meal, and even dressing Lucius in a proper dinner attire. Ovinia had been strangely absent for most of these proceedings, but for once Lucius did not have the time to get annoyed about that.

Among the invited were the other tribunes, the praefect, and some other officers that held up order in the city during the rebellion - from the cohortes urbi, the praetorians. Some other equestrian noblemen and women were also in attendance, and the few patricians that deemed that mingling with this crowd was advantageous for their career despite the fact that they were slumming it below their rank.

Lucius was sitting in a chair by the dinner table, while most others were lying on couches; his arm still hurt, so lying down for a meal was awkward to say the least. He was holding on to a cup of wine, putting on a good face for the whole thing.

This was going to be a long evening...

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia had kept out of the way; firstly by hiding in her little box room that she had reluctantly started to sleep in only a week prior and then, when Marius had all but dragged her out, in the kitchens where she absently plucked herbs and placed them atop the trays being carted out to the triclinium. Everybody was annoyed with her unhelpful presence. Marius moreso than everybody. 

"The domine wasn't gifted you so you could stay in here and hide. You're supposed to be seen." He commented as he rearranged the pastries she had deposited haphazardly onto a serving platter. She gave him a little shrug and a tense smile. "Then he can come and fetch me if he wants me." Which she knew he wouldn't. She'd attended enough of these sorts of dinners that she knew the host would be too busy, too distracted to do much of anything, particularly look for a vanishing slave girl. 

Marius scoffed and slapped her hand away from where she'd begun to fiddle with the pastry. Instead, he picked up a pitcher of wine and shoved it at her. She barely caught it before it fell to the floor. "Make yourself useful and serve. We can't be in there, we have to manage this. Go-" He was practically pushing her from the room, annoyance and frustration evidence. She tried to dig her heels in but she wasn't a match for his strength and he managed to finally man handle her out of the kitchens into the peristyle. He gave her a look as she attempted to squeeze back past him and sighed. It wasn't an unkind look. "Better get it over with. You'll have to eventually, and the thought will be worse than the doing." She pursed her lips but she knew he wasn't wrong. 

With a huff, she turned on her heel, pitcher of wine in her hand and padded towards the triclinium. She heard laughter before she saw the group and she felt her stomach lurch. Maybe they wouldn't notice her? She never noticed the slaves that served her at dinners after all. Quietly, she joined the group of servants stood ready and waiting with water and more food and hoped nobody would look up. She did cast a glance at Lucius though and surprisingly, met his gaze. She gave the faintest hint of a nervous smile and then dropped her eyes back to the wine. Gods she wished she could down some of it.

 

 

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[Chevi]

Ovinia eventually made an appearance, although Lucius could tell from across the room that she wanted to be anywhere else but here. She was carrying a pitcher of wine, probably because that was the only thing Marius trusted her with. Their eyes met and she managed a little smile, before trying to blend into the paintings on the wall.

"I have to say, you do live up to your reputation about knowing the finer things in life" one of the praefects noted, raising his cup, waving for more wine. He was obviously referring to Lucius' patrician past more than his actual taste, because he did not give a shit about the finer things in life. The wine was decent, though, he'd made sure of it.

"You can say that again" one of the younger tribunes piped up, his eyes following Ovinia. "Where have you been hiding this one so far?"

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia wanted to push the glass cup that the praefect was holding all the way through his eye to his brain. She didn't, of course, but the glare she gave the pitcher in her hands could well have turned it to stone. She steeled herself and stepped forward, decanting some of the wine into his cup and mercifully didn't spill any of it. 

She thought she'd gotten away with it until another, younger voice piped up and she flicked her dark eyes to his face. He was staring lasciviously and she felt herself recoil. She wondered if it showed on her face. He was young, probably around her age or maybe a little older. He looked like a gangly insect, she thought in her head, and in her past life would not have given him a second of her time beyond maybe to pass a cruel comment. Now the way he was looking at her...she opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself just in time. She couldn't speak, could she? She blinked, completely unsure of her footing here and trying to channel the slaves that had served her own dinners. What did they do? Certainly not snap back at the guests. 

Her fingers were blanching white against the jug, a testament to how much she was trying to keep her cool. She flicked her eyes to Lucius, as if willing him to dismiss her. Marius was wrong. It wasn't better to get it over with, in fact, it would be better if she was never bloody here at all. She considered just walking out but another voice piped up, assured and amused.

"You got your present then? I saw the list from the Emperor...saw your name. Must be nice, eh?" 

 

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[Chevi]

Lucius saw Ovinia turn white as she was commented on, and silently prayed that she would not respond. She was not supposed to talk at all, but that had never stopped her before from talking back, or calling him names, or flat out declining to do as she was told. If she stormed out, that would be bad enough. But still better than talking back.

"You got your present then? I saw the list from the Emperor...saw your name. Must be nice, eh?" 

"Oh! She was the present? A patrician girl, huh?" one of the women piped up, suddenly interested in looking her over. She was an equestrian wife, which meant that once upon a time she would not have shared dinner with someone of Ovinia's rank. Judging from the glint in her eyes, she was fully prepared to enjoy this turn of events.

Lucius bit the inside of his cheek. He waved to Ovinia, motioning her to refill his cup while he tried to act like this conversation was not a big deal at all. "She's good enough."

@Sara

[Sara]

Yes a patrician girl, Ovinia seethed and cast an assessing look at the woman which made her recoil on her couch, just for the briefest of moments. She was nothing special. Why was Lucius keeping company with these sorts of people again? 

She saw Lucius make a motion and wanted to toss the whole pitcher of wine at him. That would serve him. She didn't, but she wasn't exactly spritely as she dawdled her way over to him, trying to catch his eye as she refilled his wine. Good enough. Good enough?! She felt herself choke. She heard one of the men chuckle and saw from the corner of his eye that he held his wine cup out for her to fill. Fuck you too. The man saw her turn and his grin grew. "Lies there like a sack of fruit, eh? Ah well, you're welcome to borrow my Letitia to teach her what to do." Whoever this Letitia was, Ovinia most definitely did not want lessons from her. She nonetheless dutifully refilled the mans cup but stopped dead as he felt a hand snake up to her waist, fingers kneading her flesh. 

"Get off!" she choked and took an instinctive step away as everybody stared at her, dumfounded.

 

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[Chevi]

Ovinia refilled his cup, although she looked like she was about to dump the entire pitcher over his head. This had to be excruciating for her. Lucius hoped the wine would run out soon so he could send her out, but the guests were having too much fun with this. At least the ones that did not have the decency to look sheepish about it.

"Lies there like a sack of fruit, eh? Ah well, you're welcome to borrow my Letitia to teach her what to do." 

Uh-oh.

"Get off!"

There was a sudden silence. Everyone stared at Ovinia, and the man who still had his hand raised to grope her. He turned red, and turned his gaze at Lucius.

"Have not quite broken her in yet, have you."

Lucius opened his mouth, not knowing what the fuck he was going to answer, but the young tribune decided to chime in.

"Lucius? Please. We all know he has a soft spot for them."

SHIT.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Chevi

[Sara]

Not broken in? I'll break your fucking head in. Ovinia blinked; where had that come from. She was seething and wanted to dump the entire contents of her pitcher right over the grubby little man's head. Nobody touched her like that. Not since the madman near the Colosseum that had almost cost her, her life and nothing after that. She opened her mouth to retort but the young tribune gave his view and she blinked at Lucius. It didn't seem much like he had a soft spot for her. It seemed, in fact, that he loathed her.

The man who had groped her snorted in contempt. "No good comes from being soft on slaves." He shook his head and shot both Ovinia and Lucius a glare in turn. She didn't know who this man was, didn't know if he was important but judging by his attitude he thought he was. 

"Gaius, this isn't appropriate conversation for..." One of the women chimed in and Ovinia couldn't help but agree. Finally somebody talking sense. Unfortunately the angry little man didn't care. "Deal with her, Lucius. The Emperor wanted them cast as slaves for a reason, not so they could swan about as if they still mattered." 

Ovinia - as the conversation had been going on, had edged herself further and further away from the angry man and closer to Lucius' chair. When he'd finished speaking she gave an impish smile and turned to Lucius; utterly ignoring the others; "More wine, domine?" 

 

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[Chevi]

"No good comes from being soft on slaves." 

No good came from being hard on them either, but Lucius was not about to start pointing that out. This party was already going to the dogs anyway.

"Gaius, this isn't appropriate conversation for..."

"Deal with her, Lucius. The Emperor wanted them cast as slaves for a reason, not so they could swan about as if they still mattered." 

Lucius winced. He knew this was going to come up sooner or later. Being enslaved was only part of the punishment, after all. The other part was the humiliation, and being toted out to teach everyone a lesson about what happens to those who rise up against the emperor.

"More wine, domine?" 

He looked up to Ovinia smiling at him. The stupid girl didn't know what she was playing with. And she was doing it all wrong. Lucius frowned at her, desperately trying to will her to get the message, while he felt the glare of all the guests on his skin. He hated this, he hated all of this.

"I can help break her if it is not your thing" the young tribune piped up again with a wolfish grin. "I think quite a few of us would happily do that service for the Emperor."

"I really appreciate the offer, Publius" Lucius managed to note, with a fake lightness in his voice "But I think I'll do it myself. Once I can do it properly." he added with a thin smile, glancing down at his arm that was still in a sling.

@Sara

[Sara]

She saw his frown but utterly missed the point of it, presuming he was just putting on a show. That changed when the young man piped up, followed by Lucius' own amused admission. She felt her blood run cold and a shudder run the length of her spine. She blinked it him, utterly terrified for a moment and it showing clearly in her face. Was she...nursing him back to health just so he could hold her down on his bed stronger later? She choked, an audible sound that she couldn't help.

No. No, no, no, no. 

She recalled their conversation that day when the plan had come back to her and her eyes snapped to the knives on the table. Maybe she wouldn't be so afraid to do it if the inevitable, final indignity was a more pressing reality. That thought could wait though; she didn't need to make a big show of it now.

"Well," The angry man chuckled, "When you have, be sure to loan her out? Sharing is what friends do, no?" 

Her shoulders slumped a little and she felt her breathing slow. The show seemed to be over for the men as well, who grinned and guffawed. They were more obvious now in their show of enjoyment; grabbing her arm or her hip or her waist or her thigh as she moved to pour them all more wine (suddenly everybody seemed in need of a refill). She pointedly kept her eyes from Lucius and avoided standing near him if she could help it. She desperately wanted the wine to run out.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

He could see the dread in her eyes. Dammit. He never wanted to be a person to do that to someone else. He hated this show, the guests, the whole thing. This was why he never hosted parties. He felt like they turned him into a worse person every time.

"Well. When you have, be sure to loan her out? Sharing is what friends do, no?" 

"You might not want her when I'm done with her" Lucius replied with a smirk that felt like a stab. There was general merriment after that. Ovinia walked around refilling cups, and when the wine ran out, Lucius dismissed her. He knew she was not going to come back, even if Marius tried to force her to.

The guests left well after midnight, happily drunk, and leaving the house in a state of disarray. Lucius felt a raging headache coming on that had nothing to do with wine. He made his way back into the house after seeing the last guests off, heading to his room, hoping he could fall asleep.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia hadn't slept at all. She chose not to go into the little box room at the foot of her dominus' bed; instead choosing to sit in the gardens awake and wired until almost dawn. She was weighing her options, and not even Marius' curiousity could stir her out of it. "You should take the master his breakfast when he wakes up. I heard about last night, you could use it as a peace offering." She merely kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't look at him. It was only when Marius heard the slave door bang open and hurried around, looking for the keys to it in the dormitory that he knew they had a problem. 

Opting not to wake their patron until she was found (or at least, they established that she couldn't be found) it was well after dawn when Marius finally bumbled into Lucius' room, sweating, flushed and breathless. "Sir, sorry to wake you like this w-we had an incident this morning." He cleared his throat, clearly  trying to frame this diplomatically, "Ovinia has left. We found her, we found her don't worry - but she's refusing to come home. Says if we try and drag her well..." He winced. Marius had been there and seen it, and it looked pretty convincing, "She has a knife. She's at the ruin of her old family domus. I...am not sure what  to do. I could send for the vigiles and a medicus, in case she does..." He winced, feeling dreadful.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

It was late in the morning, but Lucius was still dead to the world when his bedroom door banged open and a very upset Marius hurried in. Lucius blinked, struggling to sit up. "Smthing on fire...?"

"Sir, sorry to wake you like this w-we had an incident this morning. Ovinia has left."

"... what?!"

"We found her, we found her don't worry - but she's refusing to come home. Says if we try and drag her well... She has a knife. She's at the ruin of her old family domus. I...am not sure what  to do. I could send for the vigiles and a medicus, in case she does..." 

"Oh, fuck." Lucius was instantly wide awake. He fumbled out of bed, in the same tunica he had been wearing for the party the night before. "Take me. And send someone for a medicus. But don't let anyone else know. Definitely not the vigiles."

Hopefully they would still arrive in time.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia was sat on her bed. Or what had once been her bed - now it was charred and warped by the heat of the fire that had torn through her domus. Her old domus. Before. She'd spent the few long minutes before Marius had figured out where to find her, looking through the house. Everything was gone. Her parents room had been stripped before it had been torched; the heavy stone of her fathers desk in his tablinum had been up-ended and shattered. Even the fountains had been demolished. All that was left standing was a single lemon tree, charred and covered in dried ash, but still bearing fruit in the garden. 

Her own room was equally sparse. Whomever had been in here had clearly been searching for loot before it had burned. Her boxes were scattered on the floor, although they'd been emptied of her most precious belongings before they'd fled to the villa. She breathed, trying to summon some strength. She'd thought it would feel better here; more natural, but it didn't. It felt like she'd missed the boat - as if she'd had the opportunity to cross the gangplank safely when her father had taken a sword to his chest and her mother had swallowed the poison, and instead she'd waited and now was on the verge of trying to jump over open water. It didn't feel right. She needed it to feel right. 

She heard some glass crunch under somebody's foot and she blinked up, eyes wide and immediately moved the knife back to her wrist. "I said go away or I'll do you first." She spat, expecting it to be Marius. It was, but then another face popped round the door and she recoiled, pulling herself farther back against the wall. "Get. Out!" 

 

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[Chevi]

The domus was a horrible place of desolation. Anyone who had to see their home turn into this... no one deserved that, no matter what their family had done to the emperor. Definitely not Ovinia. Lucius waved at Marius to wait at the door as he walked in. He found Ovinia in one of the rooms, still holding the knife.

"I said go away or I'll do you first. Get. Out!" 

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said, stopping in the doorway. She looked scared. "What in the gods' name are you doing here?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"You're not going to hurt me yet, I understand." She said and pulled her knees up to her chest. She'd not slept and looked like it - skin smeared with ash from the house, still wearing the same plain tunica as last night, hair a tangle of knots down her back. 

"I'm going to join my parents." She said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, as if she was just going to meet them for a walk or to take lunch. She pressed the knife slightly harder to her wrist and felt it sting. She winced. He was right, she was sacred. "Can you not just leave me alone? Even for this?" She choked. 

 

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[Chevi]

"You're not going to hurt me yet, I understand." 

Lucius looked at her with a pained expression. He knew what this was about. Wrapped up in her loss and her humiliation, Ovinia had missed what he had been trying to do, back at the party. And she blamed him for being the monster she'd always expected him to be. He felt ashamed enough to accept some of that blame.

"I'm going to join my parents. Can you not just leave me alone? Even for this?" 

He winced as she actually managed to press the blade to her skin. His instinct was to stop her, but there was no good way of doing that without proving exactly what she believed.

"Please don't do that." he said, more quietly. He slid down to sit with his back to the blackened door frame, facing her. "I'm sorry I said those things. I didn't mean them."

@Sara

[Sara]

"Yes you did." she threw back with a choke and felt tears fill her eyes. "You wanted me to be pliant, learn my place, fix you so you can what?" She choked again and felt her breath quicken, her throat close, "What was it you said last night? So you can break me?" Was it him that had said that? Or one of his guests? It didn't matter. If anything, what she did remember him saying was worse; you might not want her when I'm done with her. 

She willed herself to press the knife deeper but she couldn't and she let out a low, guttural moan, body crumpling. Why was she such a coward? Why couldn't she just do it? Her father had done it, her mother had done it, some sensible people in the slave cages she had been with had done it with smuggled hair pins and such. She didn't relent though and regrouped the knife, fingers flexing. 

"Please," She swallowed, breathless, "Please just leave me alone." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Yes you did. You wanted me to be pliant, learn my place, fix you so you can what? What was it you said last night? So you can break me?" 

He hated, having those words thrown back at him. He hated the reason he had to say them, and hated that she had to hear them and believe they were true. She pressed the knife against her skin and he tensed up. If she really tried, he would have to stop her. He could see she was shaking.

"Please. Please just leave me alone." 

"No." he was not going anywhere. "Do you not understand what I was trying to do, back there? You think I said those things because..." being seen as a person like that, it made him frown with pain. "I was trying to save you."

@Sara

[Sara]

"Save me?" She blurted out with an exasperated, wildly bemused laugh which sounded strangled from her lips. She held onto the knife. "You were trying to save me by detailing how and when you'll force me?" 

She had no idea what he was clutching at, and figured it for a ruse. She saw the way his eyes skirted to the knife and doubled down on the pressure until a bubble of blood snaked down her forearm. She bit her lip in pain. "Are you looking at me like that because you're worried you're going to lose out on your present?" She spat at him with venom, a frown of pain and anguish creasing her forehead, "Don't worry, I'm sure Caesar was a whole store of other girls to give you." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Save me? You were trying to save me by detailing how and when you'll force me?" 

She did not get it. She just... he couldn't make her see, she was too hurt, too scared. She managed to draw blood and he winced again, getting up on his knee.

"Are you looking at me like that because you're worried you're going to lose out on your present? Don't worry, I'm sure Caesar was a whole store of other girls to give you." 

"I never wanted this." he snapped. He was trying not to scare her, but he was hurting too. "I never wanted any of this. You think I want you to see me like... a monster?" He was halfway there himself already anyway. "They gave you to me to punish you. And if they think I am not doing that properly, they will take you away." How did she not realize that? "I was lying, Ovinia. I was telling them what they needed to hear, so they wouldn't try to take you." Because they both knew what would happen if they did.

@Sara

 

[Sara]

His snapping did scare her, and in her mind, only proved her point. He was clearly a man on a knife-edge. She glanced down at her wrist, bleeding lightly. She understood what that felt like.

She scoffed at his explanation though, utterly unconvinced and backed herself into the corner - literally - of the bed. Her movements jerked the knife a little tighter against her skin. Another trickle of blood left the wound. "You could be lying now. You're telling me that protecting me, not doing your duty in my punishment is more important to you than what would happen if they found out you'd lied?" She shook her head, "You're a liar!" She screamed and pressed the blade deep into her wrist, managing a scream through her teeth. 

 

TAG: @Chevi