De Immortalitate – Immortality

Incidentally, in this chapter there will be a storm, with its consequences. This is only fiction, while in these same hours many American friends are coping with "Irene." My thoughts are with you.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended at any point.

A quick historical reminder: as we've seen in the 6th chapter, the impluvium was a sunken part on the atrium floor. Similar to a tub, and designed to gather the rainwater coming through the compluvium (a big hole on the roof), the impluvium was made of marble and placed about one foot below the floor. I'll post some pics on the thread (link at the end of the chapter).

Chapter 10 – Storm

"Quo me cumque rapit tempestas, deferor hospes."

"Where the storm drives me I turn in for shelter."

(Horace, Epistles, I, 1, 14)

Bella's POV

Through the library window, I stared at the sky. It was so dark that it seemed like it was nighttime, although it wasn't later than early afternoon. The violent rain was keeping me worried. Hail started to fall: another hint that a heavy storm was approaching.

I went back to my work and put away another manuscript–a part of Homer's Iliad–on its shelf. I had read it when I was still at home–it was considered the greatest war poem ever written. In literary works, soldiers' glory and courage were celebrated, as well as the steadfastness of character of the women who waited for their husbands to come back and encouraged their sons to be brave. I had been told that Spartan mothers, while giving their sons shields before their first battle, told them With it or on it. It meant that the soldiers were supposed to come back with the shield as winners, or carried back on it as fallen heroes, but never without it: a warrior who had abandoned his shield was considered a coward.

What kind of soldier had Antonius been? I could compare him to the traditional warriors: he was handsome and strong, like the heroes described by many poets. But the thought of him wounded in a war, or of him still, white and cold on a battlefield–to have never seen his smile when he was serene, or even his green eyes flashing through his changing moods–it was unendurable. It made me burst into tears.

I recalled the poems and the stories of many heroes that my preceptor had told me, but it didn't mean knowing what a real war was. How many soldiers died without being celebrated through the poets' verses? Jacobus' father, my father's best friend, had joined the war as a soldier. When he had come back, he couldn't walk anymore because of a war wound. What sacrifices were required to achieve glory?

My parents insisted that, for Christians, the greatest honor was giving their life for their faith. Jacobus' father had sacrificed his legs for the glory of his country. But when our families had been slaughtered by Felix and his men for their faith, he had given his life. Which glory was actually the greatest?

A stroke of lightning flashed in the room and made me jump. I didn't feel comfortable being alone during a storm. The library didn't even seem like the same room where, a few days ago, the master and I had been reading Berenice's story.

Antonius' words still resonated in my memory. "What about you, Bella? Would you have cut a lock of your hair for me?" I hadn't answered his question, but he hadn't scolded me because of my silence. He had released my braid and stood up. I hadn't had the courage to look him in the eyes. Before leaving the room, he had put a hand on my head and caressed my hair, taking leave of me.

The thought that Antonius had been in the war–and could have died there–was still overwhelming. How could my master be so dear to me? When I had arrived to his villa, I would have done anything to have the opportunity to run away. But then...if I had the chance to be free, would I choose to be so, if it meant that I would never see Antonius again?

A strong clap of thunder made me shudder. I left the library and went toward the servants' quarters, hoping that Esma was still there. As I hastened along the corridor, I ran into the master, who was talking with Sextius in the atrium.

"I'm afraid that a tempest might occur soon," Antonius said to him.

I gasped. Did it mean than the storm could become worse than it was already?

"I was thinking about the same thing," Sextius confirmed. He pointed at the clouds, frowning. "The sky is becoming greenish. It's not a good sign."

The master spotted me, and his expression changed. His frown turned into a smile, and he motioned for me to come closer. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was putting away the manuscripts in the library, but I heard thunder and it startled me, so I left," I told him sheepishly. "I was looking for Esma."

"Esma is still in the kitchen," he said. "There's a room that we use as a refuge, and I've already instructed all the servants to gather there. Stay with Esma. She'll show it to you."

I was reluctant to go. Would the master come to the shelter too? Could I wait for him and go there together perhaps? I remained in the corridor as the master went back to speak with Sextius.

"Take some waxed towels to cover yourself and try to reach the farm before it's too late," he instructed. "I hope you will arrive there before the weather gets worse. Check that everyone is secured. Iacomus is supposed to know what he must do for the stables, but take a look at the horses all the same. Stay at the farm until the storm is over. I'll check the villa in the meantime."

Sextius left immediately, not heeding the rain. Thunder rolled overhead once more and made me cringe. "Master?" I squeaked. "Are we in danger?"

"What are you still doing here? Aren't you too old to fear the thunder?" he scoffed.

I looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"I will check on the atrium and then join you and the rest," he continued, more softly. "Go now," he encouraged me.

I went away as I had been told, but my concern didn't lessen. The wind had brought the rainwater even on the floor of the columned porch: it had become wet and slippery. At home I had seen some storms and, once, even a small waterspout. They had given me nightmares long afterward. In my master's home, I didn't have even the comfort of my parents to help me face the fear of the bad weather.

I stayed as close as possible to Esma as we joined the other servants and freemen in the room they used as a shelter in case of calamities. The people in there were talking in small groups, worried about what damages the hail would do to the villa and the farm.

"The workers from Rome hadn't arrived yet," I heard one of them saying. "The roof is already ruined and there's a big risk that a part of the tiles would come down with such a storm." They kept talking about the other damages that the bad weather could cause; as soon as the rainstorm was over everyone was going to work twice as hard to repair them.

Time went by, but Antonius was nowhere to be seen.

"Esma, the master said that he was going to check a part of the villa before coming here, but he hasn't arrived yet," I fretted.

"I see, Bella. But he knows his business very well. We have nothing to worry about." Her words didn't match the expression on her face. She kept eyeing the door too.

I held my breath as I heard a noise. Was Antonius coming? I looked at the door, but it remained closed. It had been only a branch rattling at the outside of the house. The wind was howling–it reminded me of an everlasting scream. I couldn't do anything to make it stop as...as I couldn't have done anything to help my parents, Jacobus, and his family. I had heard them screaming in the distance as one of Felix's men led me away.

Esma held my fingers in her warm hand. "It will be over soon," she assured me softly. I wished I could say the same about the sorrow for my family's loss.

A clap of thunder made me jump. For a moment the room fell silent. Then the people resumed their chatter, their voices muffled by the sound of the unrelenting rain.

Another glance at the door. No trace of Antonius. "May I go to look for him?" I asked.

Esma frowned. "He said that everyone must stay here." She looked like she wished to say more, but wouldn't allow herself.

"Please, Esma, I'm worried..."

I didn't get any answer. The rain was pounding away at the roof as if the house was nothing more than a toy being shaken and pummeled by a giant toddler. We waited in silence for a short while, then I moved closer to the door. Could I beg her again to let me go? I was afraid that it would have been to no avail. Esma never discussed the instructions she had been given, and I was sure that even if she were as worried for Antonius as I was, she wasn't going to disobey.

One of the clientes and his wife had been compelled to stay in the villa because of the rain, and Esma was busy reassuring them that they were going to get something to eat as soon as the rainstorm was over. How long could it take for me to go to the atrium and return unnoticed? A sudden draft in the room made the candles blow out, leaving us trapped in the semidarkness. The afternoon light was scant. I could pass unseen and it was my last chance to go: I wouldn't have been brave enough to go around alone in the darkness during a rainstorm. Antonius could have gone in any other room of his house, but I decided to check on the atrium and the corridor. If he wasn't there, I planned to return to the refuge.

I slipped out the door, running through the corridor. I shivered as I left the room where all the people of the house had gathered. We had all been huddled together in the refuge, and I hadn't realized how cold the house had become because of the storm. Through the columns of the long corridor, spurts of rain hit my feet. My steps made a squeaking sound on the floor. After a few steps, I stopped in my tracks. In front of me, I didn't see anyone in front of me in the corridor. I looked behind me. I could no longer hear the voices of people talking in the room I had left. The branches of the garden trees, shaken by the wind, were casting haunting shadows on the wall. I ran as if I was chased by intangible ghosts. Maybe the master is in his quarters and doesn't want to be bothered, I thought. Did I have to find an excuse, in case I was caught? It wasn't the right moment to think about it. As long as nothing bad had happened to Antonius, I could endure punishment for disobedience.

My blood went cold when, in the atrium, I saw a man.

Antonius was on the floor, in the center of the atrium. His head was on the border of the impluvium. The rainwater, coming down in sheets, was filling the sunken part of the floor where his body lay.

My knees trembled, and I had to lean against a column of the porch. "Master," I called in a strangled voice. I waited for a response, but he didn't acknowledge me. A stroke of lightning made me gasp. Instead Antonius remained still on the floor. I had to move closer to him. The fear that he could be hurt was bigger than the fear of the punishment I might have to endure. "Master!" I called again.

Again, he didn't answer. Was he unconscious? Was he...

I went down on my knees beside him and put my hands on his chest. He was still breathing. His soaking-wet hair was plastered on his face. I brushed it aside and gasped when I saw it: a long ribbon of blood was running down his temple. The heavy rain made my clothes cling to me, and I was soaked instantly. The water stung like needles on my skin and blurred my vision. "Master," I kept calling, shaking him with all my strength until he cracked his eyes open. They widened when he saw me.

"Bella," he murmured.

"You didn't come in the room where we were waiting for you, and I was worried," I said defensively.

He clutched his leg. "I've sprained an ankle," he said, his voice sounding strained. "Go call someone."

"Master, you are hurt," I objected. "I can't leave you here."

He shushed me. "It's nothing," he muttered.

"Please, Master, let me help," I insisted. I took his arm and pulled him toward me. Antonius was much bigger than I was, but I could try to help him reach the porch, at least. He didn't push me away. My arms and legs were tingling because of the cold. My teeth were chattering; I gritted them as I gathered all my energy. Shaking in the rain, we crawled away from the impluvium.

As soon as we were under the roof, I tried to lower him to the ground without causing him further pain. I took a corner of my cloak and pressed it to his head to stop the bleeding. He winced as soon as I touched his wound. More thunder made me recoil. Antonius tried to give me a smile. "Don't be afraid, Bella," he reassured me.

Having found him, I was less frightened than I had been while waiting for him with the other servants. But the rainstorm wasn't over yet: another downpour was followed by a crashing sound. Was it a clap of thunder? Why wasn't it ending? It was as if boulders were grinding together. I looked around, frantic, and tilted my face toward the ceiling. I scrambled to my feet, trying to distance myself from what I saw–but it was too late. A deafening rumble made me shut my eyes and curl in a ball.

Antonius shouted a terrible imprecation.

My heart seized in fear as a cloud of dust surrounded us.

Earthquake was the first thing I thought. But it wasn't an earthquake. As the dust set down, I stared at the place where we could have died. Images of what could have happened kept running in my mind.

A part of the roof had collapsed, and the impluvium was now covered by the fallen tiles. If I hadn't gone to look for Antonius or had arrived even a few minutes earlier...if I had called for help as he had directed...he would have still been in the impluvium.

A reassuring strength surrounded me as Antonius clutched me against his chest. We were alive and safe.

Antonius gazed at me, awestruck. "I owe you my life, Bella."

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Chapter's Notes

Waxed towels were used instead of umbrellas.

Author's Notes

A special hug to my friend Holly. This chapter is for you!

Romanward gratias agit to Camilla10, LJSummers, Duskwatcher2153, Marlena516, and Jmolly. Thanks to Project Team Beta.

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