Chapter One
The Long Journey
The trip was long and uncomfortable. Lucilla Patrious had left her Roman home a week ago with all of her belongings; twenty-four chests of clothes, shoes, accessories, linens, china and the rest of her possessions.
Lucilla was the daughter of Cassius, the great Roman senator. He was a man elected by the people to speak for the people, and they loved him for it. But all of his philanthropic acts had sent him spiraling into debt and eventually bankruptcy. His only choice was the perfect match. Not for him of course, the perfect match for Lucilla. They needed a man of wealth, upper-status of course, preferable with a military background –to show he was a man of Rome- and he needed to match Lucilla's beauty. That man was Marcus Patrious.
Marcus came from a family of Generals, each man serving Rome on some foreign frontier and Marcus was no different. He had been schooled in Rome but spent much of his time in the South of Gaul. His potential was enormous and he was the eldest of two sons, hence the family wealth would go to Marcus.
Lucilla had met him only once before their wedding. She had seen a tall man with an olive complexion. His eyes were deep brown but cold. The Roman uniform fit him well as the gold emblems shined. Even as they spoke for the first time he spoke down to her, she was certainly inferior. She knew that growing up, once married she would be no different than a servant in his home.
Marcus could see even as she stepped into the room she would need supervision. Lucilla was an untamed beauty, natural brown waves laid on her shoulders as deep green eyes searched his soul. He felt naked before her, but he knew he needed to possess her, if for no other reason than to make sure no other man could. He wanted to say the beauty of Rome was his to command. He promised Cassius any sum of money needed to fund his reelection campaign, in return he received Lucilla.
The wedding had taken place on a warm day in July. Every senator past and present arrived with an entourage of people. Caesar arrived with his wife and son, all three dear friends of both families. Both families poured gifts upon one another, as music was played and wine was guzzled.
Because of the status of the couple the Pope performed the ceremony. Latin psalms filled the church as the ceremony ended. Lucilla was numb the entire time, her dreams of marrying for love had come crashing down upon her. She put on a happy face but inside she was screaming. Throughout the ceremony all she could do was look towards the door. She thought she could make it to the door before anyone could stop her, but she saw the faces of her parents. They looked so proud of her; she wouldn't allow herself to disappoint them. She just kept smiling at this man, a man she couldn't care less if he fell off a cliff.
The next morning Lucilla found herself alone in bed. Marcus had left for the day. The wedding night had been pleasurable, but Lucilla knew if Marcus needed female company he would go elsewhere. Lucilla was there only to bare him sons.
They had been married for nearly six months when Marcus returned home one evening with fantastic news for his military career. Lucilla had never seen such a large smile on his face.
"You bring exciting news home husband?" Lucilla asked in proper form for a man's presence.
"I do. Pack your belongings wife you leave in two weeks." He walked passed her.
"Leave? Where I am going?"
"I have been given a charge that is new to the Empire. I am the first dux Britanniarum, the first Duke Protector of Britain. I will need to keep out the barbarian hordes of Northern Britain."
"That is wonderful news." Lucilla handed Marcus a glass of his favorite red wine. Of course for Lucilla this was terrible news, she would need to travel to the other end of the Empire, to a war torn nation away from everything she new merely for the promotion of her husband's career. But this was the role of wife, subservient to her husband's every want and need.
"We shall be taking our home to Britain, living at the most Northern point of the Empire…Hadrian's Wall." Marcus announced as he took another gulp of his wine.
"Not Londinium?" Lucilla spilled out, quite accidentally.
"You question me, woman?" Marcus shot back. He had jumped from his seat and stood before her, only hair lengths from her face.
"No." Lucilla quickly shook her head, acknowledging her mistake.
This was Marcus's household and this was how he liked it to be run. Lucilla was subservient to him, no more than a 'goddess servant' he would say. But of course he didn't believe in gods and goddesses there was only one…the blessed Jesu was the only savior. 'Pah! Pagans, moronic fools the lot of them.'
He had left only a few days after he announced the promotion. He needed to prepare the household for Lucilla's arrival. And he would need to procure an escort for her from Londinium to the wall, a week's journey.
Marcus was only a few days from the wall when Lucilla said goodbye to her family. Her mother and father were happy to see her following her husband and most good wives would. She promised herself she wouldn't cry, knowing she would most likely never see her parents again. There were three carriages leaving the large mansion in Rome. There were two carriages merely for the chests of belongings, and one carriage for her.
After a few hours Rome disappeared behind Lucilla and the mountains appeared. For days on end Lucilla saw mountains and valleys, finally reaching the South of Gaul she saw the sea once more. This was the view she would miss the most, the sea. Yet again the sea disappeared and they were in the mountains once more. Moving north now to the Channel of Britain. The ship to take her across the water was not what she had in mind but she was happy to be rid of the tall peaks of the Alps.
The water was a lovely retreat and as the few days passed there was land once more. But Lucilla was nervous about this land. Mist lay thick upon the landscape. Sometimes you believed you saw a person or a mooring platform but as you moved in closer you realized it was only your imagination. The shipmaster was skilled bringing the ship into the dock at Londinium.
"Well as usual, all night in the freezing cold for nothing!" Young Galahad exclaimed.
"Pity…no one to kill." Smirked Tristan.
"That would make it a good night." Dagonet announced, happy to be heading back to the Wall.
"Only for the Woads." Tristan replied, reining his horse behind the group to keep a sharp eye.
The knights had been patrolling the southern face of the wall all night. Reports of Woads were handled with care by Arthur. These were not people you could ignore; they must be taken care of. Thankfully there were no Woads in the specified areas, he always feared an ambush. The horses carried the riders to the Milecastle the knights called home for the past thirteen years and would call home for the next two.
Arthur rode as the lead, with Cai and Lancelot close behind; his two closest friends, befriending each other as young children when they were brought from Sarmatia all those years ago. Behind them strode Galahad, Gawain and Bedwyr. They were the drunks of the group, the entertainment during the evenings. Bors and Dagonet were the elders of the group, both taken from Sarmatia during their twenties. Lastly rode Tristan the scout, the isolated one.
They laughed and joked as they rode into the fortress, Romans pounding their chests in salute to Arthur, the commander of not only the knights but of the wall it self. Entering the fortress required the knights to ride through the majority of the Milecastle. Children would always run behind the horses trying to catch up or get a good look at the knights, legends of their own.
They entered the large gravel paddock to dismount, Bors' family waiting just outside the gate. Jols, steward to the knights ran up to Arthur handing him a rolled message. "From Rome, Arthur. The messenger said it was vital." The urgency in Jols voice persuaded the knights to gather into the hall.
The hall was a large area. The epic round table stood nobly in the center of the room as shields, swords and paintings hung on the walls. Large torches were lit giving the room a soft glow. The knights shuffled in each taking their assigned spots along the table. It seemed empty without their companions who were already freed of Rome's grasp (even if by death). Arthur sat first with Lancelot a few seats to his right, Cai next to him. Bedwyr, Galahad, Gawain sat at the lower end of the table with Bors and Dagonet opposite them. Lastly again, Tristan sat alone a few seats to the left of Arthur.
"Well Arthur, what does Rome command?" Joked Bedwyr. His dislike for the Empire was just as strong as everyone else's.
Arthur remained silent.
"Arthur?" Lancelot asked.
"A Roman is coming." The knights gave a slight chuckle. "This is no laughing matter brothers. He is the new commander of the Wall, of all Britain in fact." Arthur laid the scroll down in front of him.
"So who is this man?" Tristan calmly questioned. You could tell Tristan the world was falling down and his face would never change.
"It doesn't say. It only says he'll be arriving by the end of the week and his wife will be along shortly." Answered Arthur. All the knights let out a sigh of unhappiness, the last thing they needed was a bitching woman running around the fortress taking down all the shields putting up canvases of naked Romans.
