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Atrice

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Cynane

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September, 77 AD

Claudia had some errand with her uncle Octavius and Cynane, as always, followed wherever her mistress went. Claudia still said she felt most safe with Cynane close by, and Cynane also disliked Claudia leaving the palace without her, so of course she was coming. And well, of course she was also coming, because she was a slave and this was her duty to her mistress. It's not like she could just turn down an order, even if it was spoken in a friendly tone.

But now they were here, Claudia went off into the garden with Octavius and Cynane was left in the atrium. She hadn't been here very often and she wasn't all that fond of Octavius... although he was of course the one who gifted her to Claudia, so without him, she'd still be a gladiatrix, she'd still be fighting for entertainment and sold for entertainment. At least she wasn't doing that anymore. It had been years now, since she was gifted to Claudia and that also meant years since she'd been touched in a way she didn't want to. That also wasn't going to happen today. So Octavius wasn't the worst Roman. But he was still one of them. Her favorite Roman might always be Claudia, she thought to herself. Claudia was safe with her... and Cynane was also safe with Claudia, at least in some regards.

She looked after the pair as they disappeared into the sunshine and once left to her own devices, she wondered what to do. Should she dare sit in that chair over by the wall? Or perhaps explore the house? As long as she didn't get in the way of the house slaves. But where to go though?

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Rufus

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Rufus' master had no need of his body slave, taking his niece into the garden to enjoy the sunshine on this later summer (early autumn?) day. He hadn't exactly been left to his own devices, but the chore he had been left to do hadn't taken as much time as Octavius doubtless thought it would, which meant that Rufus had nothing to do until he was next summoned, and that might be a while.

He emerged from his master's rooms into the atrium and paused, a little taken aback by the appearance of an unknown female slave dressed in a very masculine manner, with a blue tunic and braccae and leather armour, her hair pulled back in several braids to keep it out of her way.

He'd heard rumours about the princess' British bodyguard, but hadn't really expected to see her.

"Salve," he said, his Latin with the somewhat rustic accent of Campania. "Have they just left you to wait for them?"

It wouldn't be the first time a slave had been forgotten until wanted; he could keep her company until then unless she preferred to keep her own company.

 

@Atrice

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Cynane

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Cynane still hadn't decided what to do with her time here in the domus. She didn't know it that well, she'd been here maybe a few times before, but it was always brief and usually Claudia wanted her close by. But that wasn't what she chose to do today. Maybe Cynane should just stay here. Maybe she'd be back real soon. She eyed the chair again, but then a younger man, rather short and with stunning red hair, emerged into the atrium area where she stood. He almost reminded her of home somehow. Gods, she'd been in Rome for more than a decade, but Britannia would always be 'home', wouldn't it? Rome had never been home to her. 

He seemed surprised to see her too, paused for a moment taking her in, before he greeted her.

"That's exactly what they did." Cynane said, considering that she might just make good use of the other slave being here. He appeared to be a slave anyway... "Do you know if there is a good place for me to be, while I wait... besides here?" 

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Rufus

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Rufus knew of several places where it would be possible to wait out of the way and out of view, yet within call, and indicated a particular doorway. The room it led to was as richly decorated as the atrium, with chairs and couches where its occupants could make themselves comfortable. Almost as if they, and not Octavius Flavius Alexander, were the owners of the house. They weren't supposed to be here, but there was nobody to chastise them and their owners were out in the gardens and would be there for a while. And it wasn't Rufus' duty to fetch and carry refreshments for the master and his guests; that task belonged to the house slaves.

"I'm Rufus, Octavius' body slave," he said by way of explanation and introduction. The reason for the name was plain enough, and the reason he wasn't dancing attendance on his master right now could doubtless be inferred. Octavius had plenty of other slaves whose duties included serving refreshments to the master and any guests.

 

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Cynane

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Cynane followed the other slave to a nearby room, richly decorated and it appeared to be a place where the Romans would make themselves comfortable. She didn't sit though, wasn't sure if she was supposed to, this was not her house, after all - and she didn't want to get into trouble. So she remained where she was and the other slave introduced himself and his rank within the house. She nodded.

"Good to meet you, Rufus. I'm Cynane, Claudia's bodyguard... in case that wasn't obvious." She said with a small smile, gesturing to her outfit and appearance and looked at Rufus again. He didn't look very Roman at all, but he sure sounded like it, or, he didn't have a foreign accent at least, which made her curious, "You're not from Rome, are you?"

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Rufus

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"I'm Cynane, Claudia's bodyguard... in case that wasn't obvious."

"Ah. I did wonder," Rufus said. Her own appearance was as singular as his, although in a very different way. Red hair was unusual in Rome, and so were female warriors. It was probably the colour of his hair that had prompted her question. "And no. I'm from Campania originally - but my mother was British."

He indicated the furniture. "There's no harm in sitting, nobody's going to be using this room for a while, and we'll hear if we're wanted."

Doubtless some slaves would take the opportunity to make themselves scarce and a lot harder to find, but Rufus was more conscientious than that, and it seemed as if Cynane was, too.

 

@Atrice

 

 

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Cynane

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She smiled again at his response to her explaining about being a bodyguard. Of course he wondered, everyone did, with her appearance. And she'd long since given up on caring about it. She wore this because it was practical and because she liked it - and because her mistress didn't mind. Rufus stood out too, with his hair. He had a special appearance too. Which made her wonder where he was from. She nodded at his words.

"That explains a lot. I'm British too." Which tribe did his mother belong to, she wondered? Maybe he didn't know, because he was born here. Sometimes she thought it must be easier to have been born into slavery. You'd never tasted freedom, so didn't know what you were missing. She knew. While she mused to herself, Rufus said they could sit.

"If you say so." She responded and looked around, then picked a couch, but so far only sat on it. She was far too aware and always alert to just relax... "Do you do this often? Sit in their furniture when they're not watching?" It was kind of rebellious and she had to admit, that part she didn't mind so much. 

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Rufus

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"It's the hair, isn't it - has to be," Rufus said, shrugging. It was a distinctive colour, he knew that - the vast majority of people in Rome had dark hair, either brown or black, and dark eyes, and Rufus knew that his own red hair stood out like a beacon.

"I don't do it very often," he confessed. "Only when I know I'm not going to be wanted, and people aren't going to just walk in." Although working in a palatial house like this was very different from the small villa near the sea where he'd grown up - there were more slaves here, and his own role was much more focussed on his master than the position he'd had as a house slave in that coastal villa. He wondered, for a moment, whether it had been bought by now and extended into a more luxurious villa maritima... it would surely only be a matter of time before someone bought it for that reason.

"I guess you don't get to relax very often," he said. She was sitting upright, looking somewhat fierce and rather regal, and he couldn't help wondering how she had come to be here - though the Romans were bent on conquering everywhere and of course they took slaves from the people they conquered, although his own mother had come to Rome before the Romans had sailed to invade Britannia.

 

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Cynane

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She smiled at him again. He earned a lot of smiles, didn't he? "It is indeed the hair. You don't see many - if any - Romans with hair like yours." She replied to him, thinking again of how it reminded her of home. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But on the other hand, was it a good thing? She'd never been able to forget... "I like it." She finally added, because she decided it was a good thing to be reminded of home. Since she couldn't forget, why not just accept that? 

Cynane sat down when invited to do so and wondered if he had a habit of doing what they did now. He didn't, at first... but then said he did it when he wasn't going to be wanted. So he did it whenever he got the chance. Cynane nodded, thinking that perhaps she should do the same. It was the least she should do, after having served her people's enemies for so long. Rufus assumed right, when he thought she didn't get to relax often.

"I don't. I am not supposed to, after all. I have to look after my mistress. Keep her safe... at all times." She explained, because that did explain everything. How could she relax, when she should always be alert and always be ready, should anything happen to Claudia? 

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Rufus

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"Your mistress is safe enough here. Probably safe enough anywhere on the Palatine," Rufus said. "And there are more people in Rome than anywhere I've seen before - I think it was only Mother and my sister and me who had red hair, back in Campania. Even your hair would stand out down there." Cynane's hair was golden, more like spun gold than the straw colour he'd seen on some slaves from the north. It made Rufus and Cynane exotic among the dark-haired olive-skinned Romans.

"I can understand not relaxing when you're out and about with your mistress - there are so many people in Rome, who knows what might happen otherwise." But here on the Palatine, with her own family and the Praetorians... the Flavii-Alexandrii dynasty was relatively stable, certainly in comparison to everything he'd heard about Caligula, and the various civil wars. Even though Titus Augustus was young, he had good councillors and Octavius spoke of him as being sensible and thoughtful.

He wasn't married, but he was young yet.

Cynane looked far more competent as a warrior than Rufus would be; he was good at being unobtrusive, pouring wine and simply attending on his master. He'd be completely lost if he was given armour and weapons. It was an interesting thought, that a woman would be better at fighting than a man - but Rufus had only once ever handled a sword, and that one had been sheathed at the time.

 

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Cynane

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She smiled when he said her own hair would stand out where he was from, "It seems I would stand out anywhere around here." She replied, because she was used to it and she both didn't care about what people thought of her - but she also kind of enjoyed being different and not caring that people thought her odd. She did her thing the way she did it best. Screw the Romans for thinking her weird and exotic. 

Rufus commented on Claudia being safe on the Palatine, but also understanding that Cynane didn't relax when they were out and about.

"Anything can happen, anywhere. I suppose you heard the stories about how my mistress' brother, who was the Caesar years ago, was murdered after a race? He was supposed to be safe too." She replied, she hadn't been in Rome back then and her mistress was barely old enough to remember, but she heard stories from the older Praetorians and Romans, who were there. As a member of the Imperial family, Claudia was never safe. The young Junus had even been murdered by a Praetorian. Claudia was much safer with Cynane, she believed.

"It suits me well though, to guard her. If I can't be free, I'd rather do this than anything else." She added, "Are you comfortable as body slave to your master?" He must be, when he even took liberties like they were right now. 

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Rufus

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"I heard something, but only rumours - I was a house slave in Campania at the time, and that's not exactly the best place to hear gossip, not like around here where there's all the gossip you could want right outside the door," Rufus admitted with a shrug. "And it's old history around here. My master doesn't exactly encourage gossip about his family, and everyone has more recent things to talk about anyway." Like the current Caesar's lack of a wife and rampant speculation about who the lucky lady might be.

"It's very different, to what I grew up doing. My old master never came to Rome, I don't think he went further than Pompeii, maybe Neapolis - he certainly never took me with him anywhere. He had his own body slave who was freed when the master died." Looking after Octavius Flavius Alexander wasn't hard, though it had taken a little while to get used to attending his master rather than waiting to run an errand, or serving drinks and waiting on the diners at the evening meal.

"Octavius Flavius is pretty good, as masters go - I could have ended up in a far worse place." Like a brothel or somewhere, even. He'd been incredibly lucky and he knew it. "You've got a good mistress then?" he asked in turn; it sounded like it, at least.

 

@Atrice

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