The Tempest

[Chevi]

Lucius did not like the laugh. Or the look. Or the way there were more of them than he could take on. His heart sank as they waded ashore. He just hoped Ovinia would hear the voices. And that she'd be smart enough to not come out.

"We'd been told to look out for fires on the islands, got paid just to keep our eyes open. A few wrecks have gone down recently. Which one were you on?" 

"We were headed to Patara. A few months ago." Lucius looked away. At least he didn't have to fake the sting in the memory. "I was the only one who made it to shore. There was also another one since then... they washed up on the other side of the island. No one made it." He sighed. "But at least this place has fresh water. Otherwise I'd be long dead."

@Sara

[Sara]

The man's face remained inscrutable right up until one of his men let out an audible groan. "Patara! And he's the only one!" 

The leader held up his hand with an irritated grumble, "Ignore my colleague. We take our pay from the families of those gone down in the wrecks, or...those that hopefully survive." He sighed and his shoulders slumped as he looked Lucius up and down. "I'm guessing you were a slave? Or a sailor?" One of the other men called out; "No payment for returning him!" 

The leader looked irritated by that and shot the other man a glare. "We can't feed you for free on our boat. You'll have to work if you want to come."

 

TAG: @Chevi 

[Chevi]

"Patara! And he's the only one!" 

Lucius blinked. That was not the reaction he had been expecting. Were they... looking for someone?

"Ignore my colleague. We take our pay from the families of those gone down in the wrecks, or...those that hopefully survive. I'm guessing you were a slave? Or a sailor?"

"Sailor."

"No payment for returning him!" 

Lucius felt a glimmer of hope, but pushed it aside. They could still be people hunting for an easy ransom.

"We can't feed you for free on our boat. You'll have to work if you want to come."

"I have worked on boats all my life" he nodded. "So... were you looking for someone else who was on our boat?"

@Sara

[Sara]

The man nodded at Lucius' statement he could work, and barked orders to his other men in Greek - asking them to ready the smaller boat. He almost missed Lucius' question. 

"Hmm? From your boat? Patara...Patara..." He arched a brow and then turned back to him with a fuller look of calculation. "A pleb family from Athens that was travelling - middle aged couple and a couple of kiddies. And a patrician girl from Rome. You see anything?" 

The man looked behind Lucius to the shack with a curious expression on his face, and a smirk thinning his lips. "Or somebody, maybe?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"A pleb family from Athens that was travelling - middle aged couple and a couple of kiddies. And a patrician girl from Rome. You see anything?... Or somebody, maybe?" 

They knew about Ovinia. Which meant, someone was looking for her. Her family, probably, paying to get her back in case she survived the wreck.

He remembered the family too. Lucius shook his head with a sigh.

"They didn't make it." The family didn't, anyway. And Ovinia... could he trust these people to return her to her family?

"There is fresh water up that way" he nodded towards where the spring was hidden by the trees. "I'll go get my things. Ready to leave when you are."

@Sara

 

[Sara]

The man gave a grunt that might have either been in disbelief or annoyance at Lucius' words, but he nodded and whistled to his men to follow the direction Lucius had indicated; "Boys, fetch some water and load it onto the boat. You - get your things." He nodded to Lucius. "And wave goodbye to your island paradise." With a chuckle, he moved to sit down on the sand as his men scurried away up to the spring and Lucius was left alone.

Ovinia was sat, back pressed against the wall facing the door, knife in her hands and a drawn look of panic on her face as Lucius approached the shack. She heard only snippets; strange voices - male voices - and Lucius saying he was alone. Panic shot through her in a jolt, waking her up, forcing her to get dressed and adopt the defensive position (such that it was) on the floor. He wouldn't leave her, she reasoned. He couldn't. He couldn't. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius opened the shack's door just enough to slip inside. He'd been wondering if Ovinia had heard... and clearly she had, because she was sitting up with a knife in hand. Lucius jumped, pulling the door closed. At least there was still light inside. Not plugging all the gaps in the wall had been a good idea, after all.

Lucius put a finger to his lips, warning Ovinia to stay quiet as he crouched down next to her.

"Well... seems like we are being rescued." he whispered.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia's eyes widened and she almost let out a scream as a shadowy figure appeared in the crack of the doorway. And then it was Lucius and she all but launched herself at him, as he crouched down next to her, gripping his arms feverishly. 

"W-what do you mean?" She whispered and glanced, worried to the door. "I-I heard voices." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius held Ovinia steady, although she almost managed to knock him off balance.

"There is a ship here, with a crew. They... say they have been paid by families, to find survivors after the shipwrecks." Whether or not that was the truth... that was another question. "They mentioned they were looking for a patrician girl from our ship. That's you, right? It has to be you. Your family is looking for you."

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia's eyes widened and she bolted up right, and made for the door before stopping and turning on her heel back to Lucius. "Then why are we whispering?!" She hissed, eyes wide with confusion, "I-I was the only patrician on your boat they must be looking for me and..." And this whole blissful life was over and reality would kick in. A reality that either meant isolation from her family in Lucius' arms or...misery. She blinked, tears welling. She had wanted salvation for so long, and now it was here she didn't know what to do. She just looked at him, blinking. 

She didn't see the door creak open or the man lingering there until he was clearing his throat, glancing between Lucius and Ovinia with suspicion on his face and a hand on the knife at his hip. "Did you hurt her, boy?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

They stared at each other for a long moment. This was it. Going back to their lives from before the shipwreck. To the families looking for them.

Lucius stepped closer to him, opening his mouth - but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the ship captain.

"Did you hurt her, boy?" 

Oh, shit.

"No I didn't. I just wanted to make sure she'd be safe" he sighed, stepping back. "This is Ovinia Camilla. The patrician girl you're looking for."

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia flew back to the wall at the male voice and rose the knife. Unfortunately, from the captain's vantage point, it looked as if she was raising it at Lucius. She would have understood his concern had she been an outside observer - a young woman in a ripped chiton with a mussed bed next to her, wild hair and panic on her face. A man on an island with a young woman as well...well, it didn't look good for Lucius. 

She tried her best to explain but Lucius got their first and she nodded hurriedly. "He hasn't hurt me." she affirmed, as firmly as she could manage. She still held the knife aloft. 

The captain glanced between the pair warily and as Ovinia nodded in confirmation again, he relaxed, a beaming smile lighting his face. "Delighted to meet you, my lady." He dipped his head in a modicum of respect and then moved his hand from his own dagger. "Your father's been worried sick. Glad to see you've been well taken care of." He cleared his throat and Ovinia tried to channel the imperious girl that she once was. She pulled at her chiton to straighten it. "I have been. And you may leave us for a moment, I'll be down to the boat in a moment. Please leave your cloak outside the shack." her current outfit wasn't exactly fit for company. The captain nodded and with another suspicious glance at Lucius, stepped back, letting the door shut behind him. 

"It's...over." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius let out a sigh of relief as the captain left them alone. Looking at Ovinia, and judging by his own behavior, anyone could have assumed that he was keeping her here by force. And the captain certainly had the men to exact whatever punishment he deemed necessary, in the name of Ovinia's family.

Lucius sighed, and he looked at her.

"It's...over." 

"Seems like it." he nodded slowly, at a loss of what else to say.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia was utterly lost for words. Anguish and delight mixed in her blood in equal measure. She cast wide, tear-filled eyes around the shack. Her home for months. How could she be sad at the prospect of leaving? How was that possible? She didn't know, but she was. In a moment of panic she lunged for Lucius, throwing her arms around his shoulders, just wanting to hold him and be held before it all came to an end. 

---

Two and a half weeks had passed since that day on the beach and it had been awful. The business of the city was jarring, the emptiness of her soft, plush bed was agonising and the company she was forced to keep was mind-numbing. Having been safely deposited back in the city she was dropped at the door of a tangentially related fourth cousin, once removed, and his aged wife. The house was beautiful - marble and mosaics everywhere but their endless questions made her heart ache for the serenity of the island. It was almost pitiful. 

She had wanted to see him since the moment they parted in the street outside this cousins front door but hadn't figured out a way to. Her family didn't let her leave unless escorted by them, themselves (seemingly afraid of her fathers wrath should she somehow fall through their fingers again) and she hadn't been able to think of a reasonable excuse to invite him into the home. Until her fathers letter arrived, with a rider, saying he was two days outside of the city. She needed to see Lucius, ostensibly to make sure he was aware so he could be rewarded, in reality because she craved him. 

She sat demurely in one of the private receiving rooms. The house wasn't entirely in the Greek fashion with male and female sides of the house, and mercifully her cousins were out at present (well-timed, Ovinia). Arrayed in a fine green silk chiton with a matching palla, hair combed and gleaming, set with gold and pearl pins, and with heavy golden bangles and bracelets jangling as she sipped her wine, she looked the very opposite of the person she had been for the last several months, as Lucius was escorted in.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius did his best to look presentable for the visit. He had been staying with one of his father's old friends who was now a small time merchant in Pireus. He had sent a letter to his family, letting them know he was alive and coming home soon. But he needed to make sure Ovinia was alright, first. It took more than a week to get word from her again, after they parted at the fancy house of he relatives, and he hated every moment of it. He wanted her back, he missed her touch, her voice, even the small annoying things she did. When she finally sent word inviting him to visit, he could barely contain himself. His friend gave him a decent tunica and sent him to a barber, so for a sailor, he looked well cleaned up for once.

Nothing like Ovinia, though. As he was shown to the private receiving room, it took Lucius a split second to recognize her. She looked... rich. The kind of rich lady he had only ever seen from afar, all done up and shiny. Lucius looked her over, a smile lingering on his lips.

"So this is what you look like in your element" he noted, walking in. He was teasing her, but his eyes kept wandering over every detail.

@Sara

[Sara]

"This is what I look like normally." She replied sheepishly and had to grip the arm of the chair she was sat in so she wouldn't run up to embrace him. Her family might have been out but slaves still lingered and they had watchful eyes. She was just hopeful they were deafer than they looked. She cleared her throat and self-consciously smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in her dress. It still felt odd to wear it now, after all that had happened and how low she'd sunk on the island by comparison. 

"You look..." She narrowed her eyes with a flirtatious smile edging on her lips, "Well. Nice haircut." He'd needed it, and she'd offered on the island but had been refused. It was probably for the better, she couldn't imagine that she'd make a very good barber. She gestured to the spare seat next to her. Close enough that she could whisper undetected and pushed over a cup of wine in his direction, reaching out to brush his hand as she did. Just for a moment. "How have you been?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Oh this was going to be torture. Lucius' eyes followed her hand as she smoothed down her dress; he noted her smile and the look in her eyes. He sat down next to her and she leaned closer, hand brushing his as she handed him the wine. He had wanted to hold her since that last hug they shared on the island. But he knew slaves were probably watching from a distance.

"I miss you" he said quietly, taking the cup. He really did. "Otherwise... I miss you."

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia looked at him under her lashes, eyes wide and face earnest. She desperately wanted to hold him. She wanted to wake up in his arms in a draughty, leaky, basic shack and curl closer into his chest. She wanted to feel the rhythm of his heart under her fingers and see the sleepy smile on the corner of his lips. 

"I miss you so much." She admitted and then reluctantly drew her hand away from his. She missed him  but they had to do this properly. Ovinia was rapidly losing courage. "My fathers written...he arrives in two days." She took a deep, deep sip of water, her bracelets jangling as she did. "I...don't know what I'm going to say Lucius." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I miss you so much."

Lucius felt his heart twist. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to be back on that damn island, where things had somehow been easier.

"My fathers written...he arrives in two days. I...don't know what I'm going to say Lucius." 

He sighed, shaking his head. Her father... at best, he'd never let Ovinia meet him again. He knew that much about him. At worst... he would accuse him of things he had not done. And punish Ovinia for it.

"I don't know" he admitted "Maybe... wait to see what he says first?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"I have to tell him though." She looked at him, a little pained. "He'll ask what happened and..." She shook her head and sunk lower in her chair. "I'll have to say." And she had absolutely no idea how to phrase it; father, I'm sorry, I fell in love with the pleb I was stranded with and made love with him...a lot. She flushed at the thought. 

"Maybe...maybe you should be here too?" She glanced up at him, utterly out of her depth. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I have to tell him though. He'll ask what happened and... I'll have to say." 

"Do you?" He sighed. Did she have to tell... all of it? There was something to be said about honestly, and getting it over with all at once while the father was still glad he got his child back, but...

"Maybe...maybe you should be here too?" 

"I... think that's a bad idea" Lucius frowned "What... what do you want to tell him, exactly? Because if you tell the truth... he might want to kill me for it." Or her. He had the right.

@Sara

[Sara]

"Everything." She bit at her lip, fingers fiddling with the goblet in her hand, "If I don't tell him anything he'll take me back to Rome, back to everything, find me a husband and then..." Either the husband would twig something was up or she would snap. And that was ignoring how desperately she wanted to stay here, with him. 

"He won't kill you," She shook her head although she wasn't convinced of that, "But...I need him to agree to leave me here." She glanced sideways at him, "Blackmail is not in my nature but...I could say if he doesn't give me an allowance, leave me in a villa here...I'll come back to Rome and...shame him." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Everything. If I don't tell him anything he'll take me back to Rome, back to everything, find me a husband and then..." 

And then the husband would find out Ovinia is not a virgin. And that was not going to be good for anybody. Let alone the fact that someone, anyone else, would be with her instead of Lucius...

"He won't kill you. But...I need him to agree to leave me here. Blackmail is not in my nature but...I could say if he doesn't give me an allowance, leave me in a villa here...I'll come back to Rome and...shame him." 

Lucius reached out to squeeze her hand. She was a brave, determined young woman.  "You think... you think he'd allow that? I'll be here if you want me to be. I can't tall if seeing me would make it better or worse... but you know him. I'll follow your lead."

@Sara

[Sara]

She gave him a half smile. "Appearances are everything. I'm sure he'd rather have no daughter than a daughter who could bring shame on his family." She shifted awkwardly in her seat. She had, over the weeks they'd spent together, grown more comfortable with what she'd done. Island life and proximity to him had helped. Now she was back in the cut and thrust of her old life, it felt almost...heinous. She still struggled to regret it though, even now.

She reached out - after a glance around to make sure nobody was looking - to grip his hand with her own smaller one. "A villa. Near your family. A new name. I'll spend my days...well, I'll find something to do and you can fish in the bay. A life." She smiled waveringly at him. What if he didn't want that?

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Appearances are everything. I'm sure he'd rather have no daughter than a daughter who could bring shame on his family." 

"We can agree that that is fucked up, right?" Lucius sighed. He couldn't imagine having a child survive a tragedy, just to send them away right after. That was just... not good parenting. That was how social mores worked, but it was not right.

"A villa. Near your family. A new name. I'll spend my days...well, I'll find something to do and you can fish in the bay. A life."

He smiled a little, squeezing her hand. Yes, he wanted all of that. "Does this mean... you'd marry me?"