Placidus stared down into the indignant face of the Briton, he could practically feel the hate radiating off of him, yet Marcus had his love. But why? What did Marcus have that Esca would not only betray other natives of this land for but also he'd chosen the roman over his tribesman; Esca could have returned at any time to his own people but he had chosen to start a new life with Marcus instead.
Bitterness welled up inside of him nobody had ever loved him, not really. His mother has palmed him off to a nursemaid as fast as imaginably possible, and his father had only shown interest in him when he'd done well enough in his studies to deserve recognition amongst his peers.
As for friends, well money had bought him plenty of those although he knew them to be false. Yet the power of his station was like a drug he could anything or anyone he wanted …. Still looking down at Esca's azure eyes he realised there was something he did want – genuine affection. He wanted to love and be loved in return.
In that moment he hated Marcus more than ever, his family loved him, his friends were sincere and he had true love. However Placidus had overlooked one crucial detail, it wasn't that Marcus was blessed by the gods or any more significant than any other man but he was kind, honest and brave there was a quiet intensity about Marcus that came from his actions and not from titles.
If Placidus had realised this factor then perhaps he might have had the good sense to change his ways, it wasn't too late even for him, but as it was he did what many people do; he bitterly cursed Marcus's name and envied him whilst blaming anything other than himself for his troubles.
The seed of evil had resided in his heart for too long for him to see past it now, all he was concerned with now was getting what he wanted and what he wanted was Esca.
