All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Furthermore, I am not a historical expert. I've taken the Pompeian culture, and mashed it together with the Athenian culture to make things more exciting. But please understand, this is fiction, and I've taken a fuckload of liberties with the past...

This fanfiction is probably different to most things you've read before. It's set in Pompeii in 78AD, both the location and the date will be extremely important to this fanfiction, just keep that in mind. On that note, let me introduce you to Togaward... oh but first you're going to have to put up with a bit of Charlie and Carlisle. Enjoy!

VOCAB:

Calidarium- the hot baths at the bathing rooms in Pompeii. Men would attend the baths most days to stay clean, be shaved and moisturised, and to do business.

Peristylium- a colonnaded garden found in most townhouses in Pompeii. Only the family and close friends would be allowed in the peristylium.

Tablinum- the study in a Roman Townhouse, normally the centre of the house. Business would be conducted here, and the room was by invitation only.

Prologue: 365 days

Carlisle Cullen made the decision to move his family to Pompeii after months of deliberation. However, he eventually realized that at his time of life, he needed to slow down, and most of all, enjoy. Esme, his wife, was all for this. She worried constantly about her husband, who worked non-stop, despite the fact that the family had enough money that they could have done without the added income from Carlisle's job as a Doctor. Esme knew that if Carlisle wasn't careful, he was going to drive himself to an untimely death, and so she decided that Carlisle needed a push in the right direction- towards retirement. Of course, he would think that he made the decision himself, but then again, don't all men?

Carlisle was enjoying retirement, and certainly at the moment, life didn't seem like it could get much better. He was sitting in the calidarium in the Stabian Baths in Pompeii. He preferred these baths because despite them being more expensive, here he could get some peace. Edward, his son, had declined to join him today, saying that he was restless and bored, and a ride on his new horse, Snowfire, would do him much more good then a trip to the baths. The horse had been a bribe really, Edward had not wanted to move to Pompeii at all.

Carlisle thought about his son- his stubborn, wilful son. He was a nightmare of teenage angst, or so Carlisle thought, and at 18, he should be married off by now. However, Carlisle couldn't bring himself to arrange a marriage for him, and even if he tried, he had a feeling that Edward would simply run for the hills. He'd probably move in with his cousin Emmett in protest, which would be an even worse situation, for two reasons: one, Emmett was a very frequent visitor to the brothel, and Carlisle didn't want his young and delightfully naïve son exposed to that kind of behaviour; and two, it would simply break Esme's heart to see her son unhappy. No, Carlisle couldn't do that to either of them.

Carlisle looked up as another man entered the Calidarium. This surprised him, he had been visiting the baths at this time for quite a few weeks now, and he had never once come across another man in his routine. If he had known the time, he would have been less surprised. Lost in his internal musings, Carlisle had lost track of time, causing his routine to intersect with another man's.

This man was Charles Swan, and this meeting would change both of their lives.

"Greetings sir, it's nice to see another face in here for once. Normally I don't get much company," Carlisle, ever the peacemaker, broke the somewhat awkward silence first.

"No, you're right, I don't normally see many other people in here. But it is nice."

Charles' face broke into a smile, something that made him look a lot more friendly and a lot less intimidating to Carlisle.

"I'm Charles Swan, but please, call me Charlie. I've just moved here, and I'm afraid I don't know many people, so I'm still in the dark as to who you might be."

"Carlisle Cullen, I'm new to the area too, just moved here with my wife and son. Do you have family who have moved with you?"

"At the moment, there's just me and my daughter, Bella. My wife, she passed away about a year ago, and I moved here to try and give Bella a new start. Her mother's death shook her to her core, we weren't expecting it, and she's been even more withdrawn from society than she was before, she's something of a recluse now. I thought the sunshine here would be good for her, but she barely ever sees it, she spends most of her time reading."

This was probably the longest speech from Charlie that Carlisle would ever here. Charlie was a man of few words, yet in his worry for his daughter, he quickly found him baring his soul to this relative stranger. The two continued to talk, until they noticed their skin had shrivelled up, and they both vaguely resembled prunes. The two laughed, unanimously making the decision to leave the baths behind. They had established a friendship, and this bond would simply grow stronger over time.

"Charlie, we must have you and your daughter over to our villa! I can't wait to meet Bella, she sounds like a delightful young girl. Esme's going to love her- she always wanted a little girl, but after we had Edward, it never seemed to happen for us again."

"Bella is going to love you and your family Carlisle, and I have a feeling that I will too."

The two men laughed together, as they redressed and headed outside. A young boy, clearly a slave from the way he was dressed, quickly approached Charlie. His face was drawn, and his expression grave.

"Jacob, what is it?" Charlie questioned.

"Sir, Bella's taken another fall. She's insisting she's fine, but I thought that you might want to know. It's just her wrist, but it looks inflamed to me."

"Thank you for informing me Jacob, fetch my horse please." Charlie now turned to Carlisle, "I'm afraid I must take my leave of you," Charlie's face was lined with worry, "my daughter often injures herself; she's not the most graceful creature in the world, but she frequently will downplay her injuries to make me feel better. I must stop in on her."

Charlie had already told Carlisle about Bella's tendency to fall over thin air; or, which was often more likely, her own feet. He already felt a fatherly love for the girl about which Charlie had told him so much, and he was quick to offer his services to Charlie.

"Charlie, let me come with you- I'm a doctor, well a retired one at least. I can assess Bella's injuries and tell you whether they look serious, and save you the worry."

Charlie much appreciated this offer, and agreed swiftly. The two of them rode over to Charlie's house, Charlie pushing his horse faster then he normally would have been comfortable with in his need to reach his daughter.

Charlie lived close to the baths, and near the port. The sunny August day was beautiful, as was Charlie's quaint and modest house, however the two don't notice this. They were in too much of a hurry to reach Charlie's daughter, Bella.

Charlie lead Carlisle through the house, ignoring the decorum that would have insisted Bella was brought to them. Her bedroom was off the peristylium, the family garden, and they reached it quickly. Charlie knocked on the door once, before entering swiftly. The scene before them shocked the two men, and Bella was equally shocked by her father and this unknown man bursting into her room, practically unannounced.

What Charlie and Carlisle saw was a stunning young girl, with soft brown ringlets rolling down her back, long enough for her to sit on, if she tilted her head back. Her eyes were wide in shock, and her lips were softly parted in a silent gasp. One hand was captured immobile by her side, whilst her right hand held a book up to her face. She was perched on her bed, legs innocently crossed underneath her simple blue toga, and she appeared very much unharmed.

Bella on the other hand saw two frantic men, bursting into her room- one of whom was her father, who had a terrified look in his eyes, while the other was a completely unknown, albeit extremely handsome older man. Bella was shocked, up until then having being lost in her book. She gasped silently, the shock forcing the sound out of her mouth. Her father, Charlie, strode forward, perching awkwardly on the small bed.

"Father, is everything okay? I was not expecting you back until dinner?"

Bella's soft lilt startled Carlisle. The young girl was stunningly beautiful, something Charlie had failed to mention when they discussed her before. He immediately thaught of how perfect this girl would be for Edward, who had never once seemed interested in anyone before. Carlisle had often wondered about his sexual orientation, hoping beyond belief that Edward would not show interest in people of the same gender as he- the stigma surrounding this was one he would wish on no man; however to him, Edward seemed more asexual than gay, and the one time he had confronted him about it, he had denied it with gusto, appearing offended.

"Bella, my god, Jacob told me you hurt your wrist, did you seriously believe that I would not check on you? You're my daughter, and as soon as I heard, I came home. What happened?"

Bella laughed, "Just the usual father. I tripped over an unsuspecting passer-by on the way home from the Forum, almost taking him down with me."

What Bella had chosen not to reveal to her father, was that this mysterious stranger was devastatingly handsome, and she hadn't been able to shake the image of his piercing green eyes from her mind.

"Bella, you need to be more careful! I'd be lost without you- you know that. You could have hit your head and done yourself serious injury! Please, I beg of you, look after yourself- for me?"

This speech nearly moved Bella to tears, however she quietly, yet resolutely assured Charlie that she was and will be fine. "Daddy, I've been on this earth for 17 years, and of all my tumbles, not one of them has done me serious harm. Please, don't worry about me so much, if anything happened to you while you were worrying for me, I'd never forgive myself."

The depth of Charlie and Bella's relationship amazed Carlisle, until he reluctantly drew the conclusion that the death of a family member, however tragic, can tie people together in ways that were perhaps unattainable for people who have not experienced a tragedy and pulled out the other side unharmed and together.

"Carlisle, would you mind," Charlie said, gesturing to Bella's arm with a rueful smile.

"Father, you brought a doctor with you!" Bella's shock and upset was visible on her face.

Carlisle, not wanting to cause a feud between the two, quickly intervened.

"Bella, I'm Carlisle Cullen, and I have the privilege of calling your father a friend, despite the fact that we only met this morning. When he received word that you were injured, I offered to accompany him, as I, up until my recent retirement, was a doctor of high regard, I assure you. If you will allow me to take a look at your wrist, I'm sure that I can assure the both of you that there is relatively little damage."

After turning Bella's wrist over once or twice in his hands, squeezing it gently in places, and asking Bella to make a fist and then straighten and flex her fingers several times, Carlisle pronounces Bella's wrist as merely inflamed from the impact with the ground, and declares that it will be fine, so long as she doesn't use it for a week or so. Bella looks pointedly at Charlie, as if to say, 'I told you so.'

Charlie took leave of Bella, but not before kissing her head and whispering in her ear "thank you for humouring me, darling." Turning to Carlisle, he invited him into his tablinum, or study. Carlisle, accepting with grace, exited the room swiftly, after telling Bella what a pleasure it was to make her acquaintance.

Carlisle and Charlie made themselves comfortable in the tablinum, both relaxing and reclining on the sofas laid out in there.

Charlie is the first one to break the silence: "thank you for coming with me to see Bella today Carlisle, you don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Charlie, it was my pleasure to meet your lovely daughter. Can I ask a more personal question though?"

Charlie cleared his throat gruffly, "you can ask", he said.

"Well I can't help but find myself wondering why a young girl as beautiful as your daughter isn't married at 17? Most girls are married at 14, and I see no reason as to why your daughter shouldn't be one of them."

Charlie sighed, resting his head in his hands. "You don't have a daughter Carlisle, so you don't know how much my mind rebells at the thought of giving her away to another man. However, I know that I will have to some day... but that doesn't mean that I'll give her away to any man. No, I want to find my Bella someone who'll love her as much as I do."

Carlisle admired Charlie greatly for this. Too many young girls now were married off at the tender age of 12 to much older men, in order to seal business deals, or to make political alliances. Charlie's need to find someone better for his daughter brought an idea that Carlisle had been musing over since he first met Bella to the forefront of his mind yet again.

"Charlie, I know that you want Bella to find the perfect man, but would you settle for someone who she could love and would love her in return? I can't promise he's perfect, but I can promise that he'll try harder in the world than any other man to be, especially for her."

Charlie looked puzzled, and gestured for Carlisle to continue.

"My son Edward has never found a woman that he can even stomach for more than a few hours. He barely even manages to make it through some of Esme's luncheons, often excusing himself half way through. He finds most women in our time uneducated, uninteresting, and vapid; he's never shown interest in a girl or a woman before, but I think your Bella could be the cure to this- from what you have described of her, she sounds like everything that he's ever desired in a wife."

Charlie's face immediately drew over, storm clouds falling across his brow.

"Carlisle, I thought you were above this! Are you seriously suggesting an arranged marriage between our children? Have you ignored everything I've said to you today?"

Carlisle jumped to his feet, and responded to Charlie's harsh words very simply: "Charlie, all I'm asking for is an invite for myself, my wife and my child to dine with your family. I have a feeling that that's all it will take..."

A/N: So, what do y'all think? I'd really appreciate it if you left me a little review letting me know, and you know what, I'll even make it really easy on you, all you have to do is copy and paste one of the faces:

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Just pick one, and click that little button below... you know you want to ;)

Scar x