Chapter One
A beautiful young woman stretched as her servants tended to her, washing and making sure the water was perfumed. This was the woman's daily routine and it was only normal for her to do this though she did have the knowledge that there were people who actually had to go without bathing sometimes. Shuddering at the thought, she ran a slender pale hand through her golden locks that was her best asset at this point. Her name was Sulpicia Venita Pius and she was at that point in her life only twenty-three. She was married and she had only one child, a male named after his dreaded father Larcius. The woman shuddered at the thought of it and even though the basin of water that she was currently bathing in was nearly scorching hot, the woman felt as cold as ice. It had been an arranged marriage between her father and Larcius' father as well and pretty much she had been a pawn in her father's political games. The reason being is that Larcius' father was the governor of one of the major proveniences and that meant Sulpicia's father, Sulpicius now had a high connection though he, himself was a pretty high connection as well. Sighing at the thoughts of her marriage, she submerged her head under water and all the servants could see was her milky white skin and her now dark golden hair sprawled away from her like a fan. They merely muttered to themselves though, knowing all about what was going on in their master and mistress' home and of course, their relationship that leaned towards the volatile. When the young woman finally felt her lungs scream for air, she came back up and pushed her hair back out of her face. Sulpicia waved off the extra servants as she climbed out of the bowl of water and wrapped a piece of cloth around her to dry herself. It was pretty early in the day and she had to get the household mobilized for the day and check with her husband on whether or not there would be any guests coming to the house which had become the norm. Sighing, she patted her hair and told the servants to begin braiding her hair while braiding in pearls and rubies that stood out against her blonde hair. The next thing they did was put on her first tunic which was of a simple color. Her stola and palla on the other hand was a complete representation of her status and wealth. Her stola was of a cream color and had an ornamental border at the end in gold and ruby stitches. Of course her palla was a deep crimson as well and was held in place on her left shoulder by a golden broach that had a couple of rubies in the center and around it. Her stola had no sleeves and her palla covered only part of her left arm and she smiled at the outcome of it. So with that, Sulpicia walked out of her chambers and first went to her dear son's room that was only ten years old and was the joy in her life at the moment. Her smile widened when she saw him alone, so she hadn't missed him off to school with his tutor. In less wealthy households in Rome, one's father would walk their sons to their school but seeing as her husband was important, he did not have the time. The short and dark haired young man smiled as well when he saw the beautiful lady that was his mother. It never failed to make her happy to see that smile with a dimpled chin and blue eyes that were as deep as the oceans sailors sailed over. Larcius had received that particular trait from his mother for she had the same blue eyes and it made her want to laugh and cry when she saw the carbon copy of them in her son's face.
"Mother!" An excited boy said as he rushed over and embraced her around the waist, the only place that he could reach at this point in time. She knew though, that he would grow to be tall and handsome … She could already see it and of course he would be hitting growth spurts sooner or later. A musical laugh escaped her lips as she leaned down and held her son to her chest and kissed the crown of his head.
"Why, Larcius! What are you still doing here? Is your tutor running late again … Oh dear."
"No mother! He is not running late. You are just awake very early; I don't even have to be there for another couple of minutes."
"Silly me, I am getting so old that I am not even aware of what time it is! Hm, maybe you should tell me about your lessons when you return home so that I can get some common sense in my head." She smiled and ruffled his hair and hugged him again. Sulpicia had the boy when she was only thirteen and now ten years later here she was and with the same horrid man.
"Of course mother, I will!" He gave her one last hug and ran down the hallway going only the gods knew. Chuckling to herself, she moved her tunic's hem around as she turned and went down towards her husband's chamber. He wasn't an unattractive man, no in fact he was quite handsome once you got past his vulgar mannerisms and scars on his face. For when he was a young boy as well, he was stolen and got cut by his abductors … One for every time he acted out. In fact he had a couple on his chin, three to be exact and one above his brow, the rest was well hidden from the general public. At the beginning of their forced marriage, she had felt sorry for him but now... She felt absolutely nothing for him. He had ruined any feelings she had once had for him and now all she felt was a cold indifference that leaned sometimes towards pure hatred. He did not know that for she was his jewel and liked to show her off as one of the gorgeous wives for apparently there were not that many. Sulpicia knew that she was beautiful and that was why her father was able to sell her off to the highest bidder rather then just some common senator's son. She sometimes she wished that she had not been the beauty in the family and that her younger sister had been … Though of course fate can work in weird ways. Sighing, she found the elaborate door with an even more elaborate lock on it in case someone decided to murder the man behind it in the middle of the night. Sulpicia usually scoffed at the man's sense of self worth for no one thought him that important to murder him … Though he did make a few enemies here and there sometimes. Sighing, she knocked on the golden door and awaited the answer to come in. When there was none, she tapped her foot that was covered with a leather sandal impatiently, and finally there was a click and … A giggle. The blonde woman knew that her husband had affairs but still it did annoy her to a certain level. After all, she was gorgeous and most of the women that he decided that should grace his bed were … well not. Sighing, she shoved the door and put a hand on her hip while shaking her head. There was the plump little servant and her husband who was in the bed stark naked and all she could do was glare at the couple. The servant inhaled quickly and became suddenly interested in the carved wood while slipping on clothing. Sulpicia walked over towards her husband while pushing over the naked woman in the process, a slight feeling of triumph overcoming her; in fact she had to hide a small smile from her husband as she walked over. The woman on the other hand did not like it nor found it amusing which just made it all better to the golden haired woman that emitted grace and beauty even while standing still.
"Really? Do you think that this does NOT insult me … Why can't you find company in an attractive woman at least?" Sulpicia said with a voice that was cold as ice and her eyes showing the hot anger behind them. The man merely chuckled and that annoyed her more then anything, so she left without consulting him and decided to go to the market instead.
She quickly found the litter that took her to the market and forum and quickly climbed into it while the servants and slaves ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Chuckling, she lounged and put the veil that showed her status in front of her, a shimmery fabric that had the same color as an emerald and it helped obscure her features on the street. It added mystery and at the same time lust for something most people couldn't have. Sighing, she felt the initial anxiety as she was lifted off the ground and swayed as they put the bars on their shoulders. She never showed anything though and kept her composure even while moving around in the small cart.
"Where to Mistress?" One of the higher ranking servants asked her as they began their ride.
"The Forum please, I would like to visit my family for a couple of hours." She replied in a voice that held no emotion, what these servants didn't know was that she wasn't welcomed to her family's casa anymore and that sometimes made her sad. Then again she had a much better house then she ever did so the sorrow was short lived. Sulpicia had another idea of where she was going to go once the servants and slaves left her … She was going to wander around the forum and maybe catch a glimpse of that man that had caught her attention the week previous. The fact that he matched her own beauty was one reason he stood out in the crowd and of course it was the pale skin that didn't belong in the summer … Those eyes as well, she remember the glint of crimson in them though no one else seemed too. She shook her head at the time thinking that she had just imagined the coloring but the more she thought about it the more she realized that she had not thought it all up. Sighing once more, she pursed her lips as she took in her surroundings which she hadn't before. It was overcast and the grass was still wet from the night previous, with dew most likely. So the earth smelled musky while the air smelled fresh and at the same time filled with water. Sulpicia chuckled, the woman could never figure out what the air smelled like after a storm and the only way she could sum it up was that it smelled like water from a spring that was near flowers. Smiling once more at the thought of her being at a loss of words, the woman looked around once more and the temples came into view. Then the state buildings and shrines along with the lower class homes, which was a weird combination bit Sulpicia had never thought too much about it. She was beginning to feel restless though and she knew full well that she was never going to hear the end of the fact that she had left her home without his consent. A groan escaped the perfectly parted lips and she had to look down at her pale hands that were currently wringing her stola and the woman bit her lower lip. Yes, she was scared of her husband's wrath but she knew she could handle it herself, if anything she could just run off again and he wouldn't know where to find her.
The litter came to a stop and a servant helped her descend from the high seat, which she appreciated very much. Smiling at them she gave them a coin each and told them to go buy some food, which kept her reputation as someone who didn't abuse her slaves. The smile stayed on her face as she saw them look eagerly from one to another and she had to stifle a chuckle from escaping her lips. With that though, she turned and began to walk through the forum and of course her family's home came into her view but that was not where she was going. Sighing while deep in thought about her son and husband, she turned down an alley and of course that was when her luck hit rock bottom.
It was him. The man that she had seen before and he was still as beautiful as before though this time something twitched in her gut telling her to run. There was no way something so beautiful could be dangerous though and instead of turning on her heel she smiled sweetly at the man with the craziest looking eyes she had ever seen. They were burgundy and in there somewhere there was a spark of hunger and of course lust for the woman that was standing in front of her. Those eyes were what dragged her in though and she couldn't move out of fear and of course out curiosity.
"Well hello Madame." His voice was a smooth as silk and that made her heart race with both nerves. Though of course there was something nagging in the back of her head telling her to run … Because this man was dangerous.