Part twenty-two of my RWBY series "Pollination: The Bumblebee and White Rose"

The title is Latin for "She Loves and She Leaves," a prequel to "Utraques Mages Amaverunt"

Mrrgh. I awaken. Yet, my eyes remain closed. Sleep calls to me again, as do those accursed birds. I care not that they can fly; I care that they be silent. Yawning, I turn over to my left and reach for-

She is not with me.

My eyes open, and I confirm it. I have awoken alone. I immediately sit up. There are murals of our military conquests on the walls and ceiling; there are plants potted in fine pottery; but there is no co-ruler of the Roman Republic.

I growl.

"Vinixa!" I call to my servant.

She does not come to me. That provokes another growl.

"My lord." Another voice answers. It is Adam who enters my chambers. I immediately pull the sheets up to my neck.

"Avert thy gaze!" I order.

"Ack!" He reels around. "Yes, my lord!" He stammers, "Did thou not seek assistance?"

"Where is Consul Long?" I demand. "And bring me mine toga at once!"

"Consul Long lies just beyond your fine estate, my lord!" My servant explains as he rushes out of sight. But he quickly returns with my black toga, eyes sealed shut, and hands it into my general direction. I snatch it from his grasp.

"Retreat and hold fast beyond my quarters." I order. He complies, stepping outside the doorframe and out of sight so that I may dress. "Where is Vinixa Lewda?" I ask as I quickly clothe myself.

"She doth dote over Consul Long, my lord." Adam declares as I exit my bedchamber. "And to my most current of knowledge dote outside in your garden pool, my lord." He bows unto me as I pass him.

"Why was Consul Long not at my side when I awoke?" I demand as I being to walk through the house. Fine pottery and murals fill the place, and precious stones carefully placed during construction catch sunlight in a multitude of colors. But it is all ugly without my love.

"Consul Long forbade me from revealing such information unto you, my lord." I growl as we exit through the back door and into the fresh morning summer sun. "She also requested you be left unto your own devices of slumber."

"Indeed, it would seem." I mutter as I walk along the path of rose bushes, still barefoot.

"But she doth have her reasons, I am most assured!" Adam quickly adds as we make our way to the pool.

"Very well. I thank thee for thy words." I nod to him. We are not but five meters and a corner away from the sound of splashing and laughing. Both belong to Yang. "Return to the house. See to it that a proper meal is brought underway for me."

"Shall I have it brought out to the pool, my lord?" Adam asks.

"Indeed, have it done so." I answer. He bows and briskly walks back. I immediately continue my walk.

Rounding the corner of thorny roses, I come upon a scene of Consul Yang without a shred of clothing, diving and swimming about in our bath. I scoff as I recall the day she commissioned the project. A twenty by twenty bath five feet deep in the middle for swimming and two feet deep on the edges for sitting. It's a basic design, but a fine one. Four white marble pillars stand tall on each corner, holding up a massive piece of white cloth that allows light in but keeps out the harsher rays of the sun.

And standing in the shallow section of the west side is my servant Vinixa Lewda who holds a plate of green grapes, no doubt picked from part of my vineyard. "Ah, my lord!" She exclaims with joy as she beings to slosh around to the south side and then the west side of the bath. I stroll to meet her, careful not to soak my toga.

I halt at the edge of dry marble. "Vinixa, why doth thou stand about idly when thou doth know full and well that I desire thee to be at my side to dress me?" I inquire as her smile falters.

"A thousand pardons, my lord." She bows, still standing in the water barefoot and holding the plate of grapes. "But Consul Long did awake first and request that I accompany her for a good morning's swim." She smiles meekly.

Raising an eyebrow, I ask, "And why doth thou trudge about with a portion of mine grapes?"

She performs her iconic, awkward sigh. "Consul Long did become rather famished after half the hour did pass by." She explains with a chuckle.

"Hark! Do mine eyes deceive me?!" I turn to see Consul Long emerge from the water, long blonde hair streaming down and clinging to her back. It is quite a view. "For they do set sights upon a goddess!" I feel a warm blush spread across my face. She holds her arms out. "Hath thou come to bless me with a kiss?" She asks cheekily.

I scoff. Vinixa moves out of the way, still remaining in the water. "Perhaps thou would rather be blessed with this." I move to greet her but instead of kissing, I push her back into the water.

She reemerges. "Deception!" She shouts. "Thou doth deceive me! Thou is no goddess! Thou be a fiend!" She laughs as she gets out of the bath again.

I gawk at her. "Hypocrite! Did thou not abandon me in mine own slumber?!" I pull her in for a wet kiss. As we pull away, I murmur, "It is thou who be a fiend of deception and treachery, not I." She giggles as I pull locks of golden hair out of her face.

"Perhaps so, Consul of rome. Perhaps so." She looks to Vinixa and snaps her fingers. "Vinixa, join us! I require more sustenance!"

Vinixa comes to our sides and offers forth the plate of grapes. "Of course, my lords." She bows.

Yang helps herself to a handful. "These be of a fine harvest." Yang informs me as she pops one into her mouth. "They shall net us much wealth."

I sample one and then promptly take a few more. "I thank thee, Vinixa." I nod to her. "Thou doth know thy way around our vines."

She bows. "Shall I fetch another plateful, my lords?"

"Indeed!" Yang declares. I raise my left arm.

"Nay. Do not waste thy strength." I order. Looking back to the house, I explain, "As I speak, Adam doth prepare a proper meal for the morning."

"In that case..." Yang murmurs as she closes the distance between us. "Perhaps we should partake in a different kind of meal?" She holds a grape up to my mouth.

Sighing, I role my eyes and open. She pops it in, and I chew.

"Uh..." Vinixa awkwardly asks, "Shall I leave mine lords to their own devices?"

"Oh, do not fret, Vinixa!" Yang laughs, "Perhaps thou would care to join us!"

I growl. "Do verify that Adam is preforming his task properly." I order her. She nods, setting the plate of fruit on a marble bench, and thankfully leaves the scene. "Such perversity." I sigh as I finish my grapes. "What would General Schnee say unto you?" I ask.

Yang chuckles, "The general would keep her voice unheard, for she is aware that we know of her own perverted relationship with General Rose!" She chews up the last of her grapes and begins to remove my toga. "Come, my love. Let us enjoy this morning's weather with a swim."

I cannot help but smile as she strips me of my clothing and tosses it onto the very same bench that holds the fruit. "Whatever shall we do with ourselves?" I ask as she leads me into the water.

"Tomorrow shall be when I leave with my legions." She sighs as I step into the cool, refreshing water. "So let us do whatever it is that your mind may conjure into thought."

I sigh. "Please, my love." I beg, "Do not leave for that accursed city. Let General Valkyrie command the siege! She doth possess the fiery will to burn it to the ground!"

She shushes me with a kiss. It is gentle and brief, but it calms me. Curse my undying love unto this woman. "We both know all too well that the general would gamble on the Roman Army in hopes of compounded glory and fame." Yang sighs, "It is best that I go. The war shall be shorter, and fewer lives shall be lost." She smiles. "Then I may return unto you with enough gold to commission the draining of the entire Mediterranean Sea!"

I cannot help but laugh and scoff, "No other Roman would dream of such a foolish thought." We travel out to the deeper and more suited for swimming center. "Will you write to me with utmost love and consistency?"

She murmurs in between kisses, "I shall write upon enough parchment to fill a library of Alexandria."

"Thou hast better." I chuckle as I wipe away a stray tear. "I love thee with all mine heart and soul."

"And I wish for you to know that I return such feelings with twice as much passion." She smiles that big, bright, joy-spawning smile. It is one that I have come to know and love, and shall miss in her absence.