A/N: Right, here is Chapter 6, and I hope you enjoy it!
Also, this is completely unrelated to this story, but a friend and I are going to the G3 convention in the summer, and we're making a book to give to Riker that will consist of messages from fans, pictures and any artwork that people contribute. So if anyone wishes to input anything personally, then please PM me and I'll give you some more information. If you can't PM, then just leave a note in a review telling me what you'd like to do and I'm sure it can be sorted out. Thank you :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.
"But I am."
"What?" both Nick and David exclaimed simultaneously, while Jeff had been so stunned that he couldn't even get his thoughts straight. He didn't know Nick's friends all that well yet, but he'd imagined that if either of them had come up with anything like this, it would have been Sebastian, not Wes. Never in a thousand years would he have imagined that Wes would even consider something like that, and from the looks of things, neither Nick nor David had seen it coming either.
"I'm sorry, Wes, but you're doing what, exactly?" David asked, looking at his best friend as though his sanity had suddenly abandoned him.
"I'm doing what is right for this empire," Wes said, suddenly looking much older and wiser than his twenty years. "The Emperor is clearly not fit to rule us; he makes the decisions based on his own foolish whims and defies all the rulings and rights on justice to remove anyone that he deems an obstacle. He knows his popularity among both the people and the senators is flagging, why else does he make a big deal out of the shows that he puts on?"
"Are you mad?" Nick hissed at his friend, looking at the door nervously to check that there was no one who could overhear them. "This is treasonous talk, Wes. Do you want to be arrested as well?"
"You know I'm right, Nick," Wes continued regardless, "You know what the Emperor is doing goes against everything our country should stand for. This is the man who murdered his own mother over five years ago, and has killed a number of other people that he just dislikes. He kills those who oppose him to consolidate his power, what does this tell us? It tells us that there is no other way for him to stay in power, as he has no support within the people anymore. If only we could convince enough people and win enough support, then we could remove him from power or drive him away from Rome forever."
"I'm sorry, Wes," David said, "We? How are we going to do this?"
Wes leant back on the couch, clasping his hands together and thinking deeply.
"We'll have to do this in secret; we'll hold meetings in secret and hope that membership of this group grows through mutual support," he said finally, "A sort of secret society."
"Secret society?" Nick's eyes widened almost comically, "Have you lost your senses?"
"Yes, a secret society, Nick," Wes said evenly, "Would you like me to spell it out for you? And as to my mental health, I am perfectly well, thank you for asking." He looked so deadly serious that David actually snorted with laughter.
"Is everything alright, David?" Wes asked, looking at his friend, "Do you think that this is funny? I am actually serious here. I want my father back safe, and I feel that the only way to do that is to break him out of prison, and, in doing so, bring down the man that is corrupting our lives."
"Wait a second," David stopped laughing immediately, "We're not only overthrowing our ruler, we're also breaking into his prison as well?"
"I want my father back, David," Wes said, "He knows the Emperor's movements, he can help us."
"So, your father wasn't committing treason when he was arrested, but you want him to once he's been freed from jail?" Nick asked.
"Basically, yes," Wes said, "So, what are your answers?"
It didn't take more than a few seconds for David to come up with an answer.
"Well, I guess I have no choice," he said, "I'll be dragged into it whatever I say, so okay, I'll join you. Anyway, however much I doubt your sanity, it does sound kind of exciting."
"Thank you, David. Nick?"
Nick leaned back on the couch and sighed. This was dangerous, he knew that, but he'd always made a point of saying that everyone should be free, and if what Wes said was true, then the Emperor was slowly strangling the city until everyone did his bidding completely.
"Alright," he said, "I'm in."
"Now, Jeff, what about you?" Wes' voice startled the blonde boy out of his silence. He'd actually been so quiet that both Nick and David had almost forgotten that he was present.
Jeff had been listening to their conversation as though he was separated from them by a wall, but he could still see everything that occurred. He'd been so shocked by what Wes wanted to do, that he'd detached himself from the discussion so he could process all of the information that he'd received.
He'd been in Rome for all of three days. He still knew next to nothing about the city itself, and here he was, being asked if he wanted to participate in a plot that could change the face of the Empire if it worked; if didn't, though, Jeff had no idea what would happen to them.
"I understand if you don't want to join us, it is a very large commitment that we're asking for." Jeff realised that Wes was still addressing him, and he struggled to find a response.
He cast a frantic look at Nick, who was sitting next to him. Nick's eyes shone with some sort of eager light, and Jeff knew that if Nick was going to go ahead with this, then he couldn't let him go in alone.
Slowly, he nodded.
"Yeah, I'm in," he said in a half-whisper.
Wes smiled broadly.
"Good," he said, "Now, remember that this is not a game and there has to be absolute secrecy about this. Nick, I want you to deal with Sebastian, maybe he'll join our cause?"
Nick looked sceptical.
"I don't know," he said, "I always thought that he sided with his father on everything."
"Listen," Wes said, "We're giving Seb the chance to oppose authority and become a proper rebel, I'm pretty sure that's all he lives for. As for his father, he shares the same views as the Emperor, so no one, not even Seb, could possibly see the sense in any of his beliefs."
"Alright," Nick said, "Next time we see him, Jeff and I will ask him."
"Thank you," Wes said, "And remember, this happens with the utmost secrecy, and I will contact you when it is time for our first meeting."
Nick and Jeff did not have to wait long to confront Sebastian; in fact, they saw him only the day after their meeting with Wes.
"Why is it so important that we visit the baths?" Jeff asked Nick, as they were walking through the crowded city streets, "Your family have their own private baths in the house."
Jeff still couldn't believe that fact. Before he'd arrived in Rome, he'd only ever been to one other urbanised area, and that was barely a small town. They'd had one set of very small baths in the centre of the town, and everybody, those who could, used them. Jeff remembered asking his mother why they'd didn't just have baths in their own homes, and his mother had told him that only the very rich could afford to have their own baths. Now, Jeff realised just how wealthy Nick's family were; very few people in Rome had their own baths, and Nick was one of them.
Jeff's own family, along with the rest of their village, had bathed in the nearby lake, with no luxuries or comforts like Jeff was about to discover in the city, and that was where he'd learnt to swim.
"I know," Nick said, "But the point of the baths is not just to bathe, they're also for exercise. And you, Jeffrey, need exercise, whether you like it or not." He poked Jeff in the side, laughing as the blonde boy squeaked and then joined in with the laughter.
"Or what?" Jeff asked, grinning mischievously at Nick.
"Or you'll become old and fat," Nick replied, poking Jeff again.
Jeff laughed.
"I'm pretty sure that a lack of exercise doesn't make a person become old, Nicholas," he said, poking Nick back.
"Hey!" Nick said indignantly at the use of his full name, and he stuck his tongue out at Jeff childishly.
The pair dissolved into giggles in the middle of the street, earning themselves a disapprovingly look from a passing old man, which just served to make them laugh harder.
They were only a few hundred yards from the baths, and as they rounded the street corner, Jeff got his first look at the building itself. It was huge, much larger than the bath house that Jeff could remember from his childhood, but he did realise that these baths probably had to accommodate a large portion of the city's one million inhabitants.
They reached the door and were greeted by a slave, who directed them to the changing rooms. Just seeing another slave there made Jeff uneasy, as though he shouldn't have been there to relax; as though he should have been working himself. But no, Nick had assured him that he was not going to be a slave, and therefore, he shouldn't feel uneasy; should he?
"Right, Jeff," Nick said, turning to his friend as they removed their outer clothes in the changing room and left them in one of the wall compartments, "Where do you want to go first?"
"I don't mind," Jeff said, "Are you sure it's okay for me to come around with you? Or are slaves not supposed to be here?"
"Listen, Jeff," Nick said, "You know what I've said every time you ask this; you are not a slave. You are not a slave in anything but…"
"Law," Jeff said dejectedly.
"You heard what Wes said earlier," Nick lowered his voice, and checked that the changing room was empty before he spoke. "If everything goes to plan, the law will not count for anything anymore."
"No, I suppose not," Jeff shook his head, he went to speak further but another group of young men entered the changing room and they had to quickly stop their conversation.
"Alright," Nick said, once they were alone in the corridor, "Since this is your first time here, I'm going to give you the grand tour."
Jeff smiled broadly.
"Lead the way, then, sir," he said with a grin, sweeping his arm out so that Nick could proceed down the corridor.
Nick led Jeff into the cold room first, where there was a large plunge pool in the middle of the floor. Jeff tested the water with his foot, recoiling rapidly at the fact that it felt as though he had just touched an iceberg.
"You can't seriously expect me to want to go in there?" he said, turning to Nick with an incredulous look on his face.
Nick nodded.
"Of course," he said, suddenly taking a running jump and diving straight into the pool, splashing Jeff with the freezing water.
Jeff froze for a second, and then he dived into the water with Nick, re-emerging a moment later, his blonde hair plastered to his forehead. Nick started to laugh at his friend, only to find himself swallowing a large amount of water as Jeff got him back for splashing him first.
However, within a few minutes, both boys were shivering and had to quickly get out the cold room and run to the next room, where there was no water, but instead the entire room was heated itself.
Jeff was mesmerised by the fact that the walls themselves appeared to radiate their own heat; he had never encountered such an engineering feat as basic indoor heating. Nick watched his blonde friend as he walked about the room, running his hands around the walls as he went.
Eventually, Nick convinced Jeff to leave the room and go to the last pool in the warm room. The pool itself was just the right sort of temperature, and Jeff had got into it before Nick had even registered that he'd left his side.
Nick watched as Jeff lay on his back in the pool, and just allowed himself to float peacefully.
"Come in, Nicky!" Jeff called, his face lighting up as he saw Nick watching him happily, he sat up in the water and held his arms out to the brunette. "Come and float with me!"
"Alright," Nick said, coming to the edge of the water and getting in, "But I can't float like you do, Jeff."
"Sure you can," Jeff said, manoeuvring Nick so that he was lying down, "Now, just relax, but don't let your body fall further into the water."
Nick lay there for a moment, before he felt himself sinking, and Jeff's hand had found the middle of his back and was pushing him back up again. After a few more tries, the two boys had discovered that despite their best efforts, Nick just wasn't getting the hang of floating.
"Maybe next time," Jeff said, as they collected their clothes from the changing rooms.
Nick laughed and shook his head.
"I fear that I am a lost cause," he said, with a grin. "Anyway, there is somewhere else that I want to take you before we leave," he continued, changing the subject, "I promised you exercise, so you're going to get it."
He led a slightly confused Jeff out into the courtyard, where a number of other young men were either running races or taking turns throwing discus or javelins.
Nick and Jeff had just crossed to the opposite colonnades, when Nick suddenly stopped, placing a restraining hand on Jeff's arm. Jeff immediately halted his steps, wondering in panic whether they were suddenly in trouble or something; maybe someone had overheard their earlier conversation?
"Look, over there," Nick hissed, pointing to further down the courtyard to where two young men were talking.
"What?" Jeff asked in confusion, squinting at the two figures, "Wait, is that Sebastian?"
Nick nodded, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. From their vantage point behind a column, both Nick and Jeff could see Sebastian as he laughed at something that the other man had said, but neither of them could see the other man's face; it was obscured by the shadows.
"I wonder who his friend is," Nick said, he turned to Jeff, and both of them momentarily took their attention away from the two figures. "Shall we go and surprise him?"
Jeff grinned and nodded, picturing Sebastian's face if they embarrassed him in front of another friend.
"Alright," Nick said, turning back to watch his friend again, "Wait, where have they gone?" Jeff whipped his head back around to where the two men had been previously, only to discover that Nick was right, both of them appeared to have completely disappeared.
"Good day, Nicholas," a very familiar voice interrupted them, "I hope you and young Jeffrey here are having fun being two of the worst spies on the planet."
Both boys spun around to find Sebastian behind them, lazily leaning on one of the columns and grinning smugly.
"How…?" Nick asked, effectively being shut up when Sebastian leaned over and placed a finger on his lips.
"Hush, Nicholas," he said, watching as Nick frowned, looking thoroughly not amused as he managed to go cross-eyed while looking at Sebastian's finger. "I'm hurt that you don't appreciate my superior knowledge and observation skills, of course I knew that you and Jeff were here, Jeff's hair is practically screaming for attention."
Jeff, who'd previously been giggling at Nick as he went cross-eyed, then went cross-eyed himself while trying to look up at his bright blonde fringe, and he raised a hand to his head almost protectively.
"And, I also know that you're wondering who my friend is," Sebastian continued, smirking as Nick opened and closed his mouth in a close resemblance to a fish. "Well, my dear friends," he said, waving his arm dramatically so that the other boy stepped out of the shadows and faced them, "This is…"
He was cut off by the other boy and Jeff speaking simultaneously.
"It's you."
A/N: Yes, another cliffhanger. Any guesses as to who Sebastian's new friend is?
Also, some more of my many historical points:
1. Some Romans really did have their own baths in their own homes, but only the very very rich ones, and so by Nick's family having their own just shows how much money they have, and with money comes power.
2. Nick and Jeff's trip to the baths is actually highly inaccurate, I didn't want to go completely into depth with all the rooms, and it's also really hard to translate the Latin names for the baths into English so 'cold room' and 'warm room' are very vague. Also, it is highly unlikely that the baths would be as empty at they are here, but I just thought it would be nice for Niff to have some bonding time on their own without any strangers being there.
Please review and tell me what you thought, or you can ask me a question about the story or the history behind it! Thank you for reading! And please don't forget to PM if you want to be involved in the book for Riker!