Cisra gave him a banquet. It was too fancy for Rome"s taste, with pretty dancers and loud music.
Rome didn't say anything, but would have vomited on Cisra and passed it off as an accident if given the chance. He couldn't eat enough to give his stomach the strength.
When Cisra considered the evening over, he showed him to a nice room, with purple paint on the ceiling and red walls. A desk in the corner with any amenity he could ask for, a wax tablet, candles, oil, papyrus. An armoire on the other side, filled with any garment. No dust, no crumbs, not a speck out of place in any corner of the room, like no one had ever used it.
X
Rome laid on the bed, without changing into a clean tunic. The bedding too warm to use, he fell asleep uncovered. He dreamt of gauls burning him alive.
When he woke, Veii was there, attending him. She looked better than him. He wanted to stab himself.
"Oh, you're up," She spoke his language, turning it ugly and blunt, "You've had a fever for two weeks now."
He sat up. He tried to speak, but couldn't. His mouth was a desert. Veii gave him an already prepared glass of water. He drank it and cleared his throat, "How did you get here?"
"Most of your army fled to me. I came here with messengers who wanted to make sure that Roma-" She spit his name more than spoke it, "and the vestal virgins were safe."
"And where's our gracious host?"
"Somewhere. I've barely spoken to him."
Something about the way she spoke made him want to slap her. He sighed. His situation wasn't her fault, for once.
"My status makes him nervous. We never got along well, but I think he considered me somewhat of a sister. Or at least related." She paused, "But even if not, enslaving a near city state would make anyone uneasy."
"He shouldn't worry, I have no qualms with him. I'll be friendly to him as long as he's friendly to me," He handed her his glass for a refill, "Do you consider him a brother?"
She shrugged, "He wouldn't be a very good one."
He laid back down and waved her off, "Get me some food too."
X
"I just can't believe you were out for such a long time." Cisra had only focused on him since he had reawaken, "Without the reports I would have thought there were no Ruma left."
Rome sipped his wine. Cisra was throwing him another banquet, somehow better than the first, (or maybe Rome was just in a better mood) to celebrate his recovered health. He smiled, "Maybe I'm just too prideful."
"Your ego was too hurt to stay conscious?"
"I see no other explanation."
X
Rome could not fall asleep. His body refused to feel tired. He laid there for an hour, trying to convince it to sleep before standing. He needed to do something.
He decided to find Veii. He hadn't seen exactly where her room was, but he knew she was here, somewhere.
X
Rome walked around for twenty minutes looking for any possible partner, but found none. The house was completely empty. It unnerved him.
He avoided going near Cisra's quarters. Was he having an orgy and just hadn't invited him? Probably not. He felt like he'd still hear it, even if he refused to go down the hallway where it was happening. And he didn't think Cisra seemed like that kind of guy.
He went out into the atrium and laid on a couch. The cold air enliven him. The moon was almost full, with Orion next to her. An owl hooted. There was so much art in Cisra's house, the atrium no exception. Frescos of dancers and lounging, black pottery in every corner, even an ostrich egg on a table. A statue of Apollo too, hand out, like he wanted to offer you something.
"You're still awake, Ruma?"
Rome almost fell onto the ground. Cisra stood in the doorway. Rome hadn't heard a single footstep.
"Yes," He repositioned himself, "Next time give a man a warning, you know."
"Sorry," He went and laid on the couch next to him, "I've been told I'm quiet."
"Quiet is one word for it—you could be a great assassin."
"Maybe I could... but I think I'd probably get cold feet. I'd rather fight a man when he knows I'm coming."
"A very nice and honorable preference—sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty though."
"More then sometimes."
"Yeah more then sometimes..." He drifted off, remembering how it was only the two of them, "Where's all your slaves?"
"I sent them away for the night."
Rome furrowed his brow, "Why—why would you do that?"
"You said you like to be alone."
"You can't really think that's what I meant."
Cisra tilted his head, "I've met plenty of us that don't like interacting with mortals unnecessarily. I thought you might be one."
"Well, thanks I guess… But it's fine, I really don't care."
"I won't send them out tomorrow then."
Rome studied Cisra. The moonlight illuminated him into a silhouette with eyes. He saw a resemblance to Veii. Their noses were the exact same, both strong and straight. And Veii had the same dark curly hair, only longer.
"What about Veii? Where's she?"
"She's with your vestal virgins. In the temple of Uni."
"I never said she could go there."
"I didn't have the heart to stop her."
"I was looking for her earlier, but it's fine—I can just use a prostitute—you wouldn't know where to find those, do you?" He laughed.
"Ruma, I like you, but don't push it. I don't want to hear about what you do with Veii."
"Sorry, I guess I'm still a little drunk."
"Yeah, I guess you are..."
"Do you..." He hesitated, "Do you think of her as your sister?"
"We're both Rasenna, aren't we? Do you consider other latium cities your siblings?"
"I guess... Sorta. Yes and no."
"Yeah, it's sorta, yes and no... I imagine my relationship with her is exactly the same as you have to Lanuvium, or Aricia."
"Are you happy that I sacked her?"
"Would you be happy if I had sacked Lanuvium or Aricia?"
"...Yes and no."
"I'm glad we're on the same page."
Silence.
Rome opened his mouth to speak multiple times, but did not trust the words he considered saying out of it. Cisra looked at the stars. His hands were relaxed besides him, and Rome felt like they were about to fall. The owl screeched.
Rome remembered it was usually said hospitality goes both ways. A host should always try to accommodate his guests, and a guest should never over extend that welcome.
"I think I'm starting to feel tired."
"Oh, I'm sorry to have kept you up."
Rome stood and swayed, "It's fine, goodnight."
"Goodnight. Have nice dreams, Ruma."
Author's note/historical context: Werid family dynamics are werid. That's what I like about hetalia, lol. Because two personifications can have sooooo much history of fighting/allies/fighting/allies/reluctant peace/fighting/etc but they're people and it's impossible not to form some sort of personal bond. Especially when you have the same culture!
I read somewhere that veii might have been founded by caere, either that or vulcii(? I think might be misremembering what other city).
Most adult males were killed at Veii, and the women and children were taken as slaves. Veii's either lucky/unlucky (depending on your view) she's female, or else Rome would have killed her.
Some historians question whether rome was really burned by the gauls, but I've included it here for plot. Rome feels better after awhile, because all the fighting stopped. The battle turned into a seven month blockade, I'll probably go into details next chapter (and carthage will show up... eventually).
