Well, I'm not a huge fan of updating a story when I have four of anything (reviews, alerts, faves, etc.), but I finished this and I'm not sure when I'll get to a computer in the next few days, so...really hoping this doesn't jinx me...

Okay, fair warning: I write in a snippet style, meaning that I present scenes and such with low connectivity. So, if my writing seems at all jumpy or anything, that's why. This whole story is basically going to be snippets as the brothers grow up. Should've put that in the last chapter, but ah well... Anywho, just thought I'd let you know what's up.

Disclaimer: Through the power of the Internetz, I could be Hidekaz Himaruya. However, through the soul-crushing reality of life, I am not. I only own the OCs...to varying degrees, thanks to collaboration with my rp buddy.

Enjoy!

Hours after their abduction, the brothers were clean and in fresh linens. The woman their "rescuer" had dumped them on was a cheery Greek slave by the name of Nausicaä. She reminded them a great deal of their mother, from her dark green eyes and gentle smile to the way she held little Gratianus. The only differences were her long brown curls and tanned skin. Their mother had had pale skin and vibrant red hair that she kept tied in a thick braid down her back…

"Now, boys, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Why would you have to know?" Romanus questioned, suddenly suspicious of the woman's motives.

"If you are going to be staying here, it would be nice to know what to call you. The master's sons are all called by their names, as are the women and the servants who stay here. I am merely a slave captured in combat, yet even I have a name." Nausicaä showed them the metal cuffs on her wrists, each with a crest engraved in it, marking her ownership by her master.

Felicianus cowered behind his older brother, and Romanus knew the toddler was thinking the same thing he was. Mater had had bracelets just like this girl's…was that why they had to live in darkened rooms, hiding like thieves? Had their mother been an escaped slave?

Due to his young age, Romanus was extremely curious. Anything that could create a more solid and steady link to the mother he had permanently lost was definitely something he wanted to investigate.

"I'm Romanus, and this is my brother, Felicianus. You're holding Gratianus."

"Oh, how sweet! Come then, I'll take you to the nursery and you can meet the other children!"

Felicianus gripped Romanus's sleeve, letting the older boy know what he was thinking. Other children meant trouble. On the streets it meant competition for whatever scraps of food that could be found and some very tricky situations that often ended up in someone's blood. The brothers couldn't imagine it meaning anything else here, even if it seemed that any child in this minor palace would want for nothing. They both worried for their infant brother, too young to have even a vague idea of what was going on.

The room Nausicaä led them to was very large, leading out into a magnificent courtyard full of vibrantly colored flowers and brilliant greens. There were several people in the room already, three young boys and a several women. Nausicaä walked up to a woman dressed in a pristine white toga hemmed with thick bands of blue waves and bowed.

"Nausicaä," the woman began, her voice as light and musical as her smile was warm and friendly, "who do you have with you?"

"Romanus, Felicianus, and Gratianus, my lady. Master Rome found them and ordered me to look after them."

The oldest brother didn't miss the dark looks that crossed the faces of the women. Bringing Felicianus closer, Romanus subtly moved so that the younger brother was carefully shielded from any wrath the women would unleash. It seems there was little love for the man who had brought them here. The woman Nausicaä had bowed to stood up and walked up to her servant, carefully taking the sleeping baby cradled in the girl's arms.

"Oi! What are you doing! Give him back right now!" Romanus shouted, worrying for his sleeping brother.

"Relax, grandson of Rome," the woman said with a smile, "I am a mother, with a mother's heart. You and your brothers have done nothing to warrant my wrath. It has simply been a while since there was such a small child in this house. I adore children."

"Grandson? So the ungrateful brat and his barbarian whore did survive," another woman said, her skin dark and her hair a black tangle of thick curls. She stood up and walked over to the two brothers, her expression harsh and full of cold regard.

"The oldest certainly takes after his father. Pity he has the whore's eyes."

"My mother wasn't a whore!" Romanus shouted, glaring at the darker woman. Felicianus buried his face into his brother's back.

Frater, what is a "whore"?

…I don't know, Feli, but it can't be a good thing.

"Oh?" The dark woman smirked, hers far crueler and terrifying than even the smelly men who murdered their parents. "I suppose you are far too young to truly understand, and I doubt that your parents would have told you anyway. I want you to remember this, little Rome, and remember it well. One day you will know what I mean, and when that day comes, I want to see the rage in your eyes. Your mother was nothing more than a pleasure slave your father was fool enough to love."

"Persia! That is enough!" a third woman, dressed in linen and gold with black lines around her eyes, said as she stood. Her eyes were hard as she regarded the malicious woman. "The children do not need to hear such filth. I do not care if his mother was a slave or the princess of some distant land: while they are in this house, they will be treated as well as our own children."

Felicianus peered out from his hiding place, grateful for the interference.

"Persia" frowned, and offered the other woman a withering glare. "Of course, Egypt. It is to be expected. After all, the grandsons of Rome would be more important than his sons, now wouldn't they?"

"Persia." The woman holding Gratianus looked like some heavenly defender of the weak.

Persia said nothing, but grabbed the arm of one of the boys and led him out of the room. The boy cried out in protest, but his words fell on the deaf ears of his enraged mother. Sighing, the woman set Gratianus down in a cradle.

"Auait, thank you for stopping Amardad. That could have gotten much worse."

Auait gave a small tilt of her head in acknowledgment. "I do not want her spreading her filth to my son, Zosime. As foolish a notion as it may be, I want to preserve my son's innocence for as long as I can."

Zosime nodded. "Nai, I understand. I wish to do the same."

The two remaining boys got up and each ran to their respective mothers. One little boy had a cat sleeping on top of his head. Felicianus giggled a little behind his brother, causing Romanus to smile a bit. The boy with the cat on his head stared over at the two brothers. He looked sleepy and mostly uninterested in the newcomers, but there was something else going on behind his eyes. Untangling himself from his mother's arms, the boy moved over to the brothers. After staring at them for a moment, the boy nodded.

"I'm Heracles. The boy over there is Gupta—he doesn't talk much."

The other boy said nothing but walked over to join them, a small bit of interest tinting an otherwise blank expression. Felicianus peered out at the boys from behind his brother. Heracles noticed him and tilted a little.

"Hey, why don't you come out? That mo̱rós—"

"Heracles!"

"—Sadiq and his mother are gone. There's nothing to be afraid of." Heracles then looked back at his mother and offered her an apology in their native tongue. Zosime said something else, to which Heracles gave a nod of agreement and the two let the topic die.

As the mothers and their servants left the room, Felicianus inched out from his hiding place and sat down across from Heracles and Gupta. Romanus sat by his brother, still close enough that the younger boy could dive behind him in need be. The lighter-haired boy had become very clinging towards his brothers after their parents' brutal slayings…

Hope everyone enjoyed that! We were originally going to have Heracles call Sadiq an asshole in Greek, but we decided he was too young for it and changed it to moron instead.

Auait is Ancient Egypt. Her name is the same name as an unidentified goddess, which is why we chose it.

Amardad is a Persian name meaning "immortality". Our purpose for using this name is that Persia took a different name after discovering her position as a nation.

Zosime is Greek meaning "survivior". We figured it would be appropriate.

Preview for the next chapter!

"Mater, why are we praying to a crucifix? Don't people die on them?"

"Yes, my son, but we pray to special person. He died so that we all can find happiness in afterlife," she said with a smile, kissing his forehead."In fact..."

Suddenly, Romanus knew something was very wrong. He left something wet, and looked to see drops of crimson on his hands. Looking up at his mother, terrified of what was happening, Romanus wanted to scream. His mother, his beautiful and gentle and loving mother, was bleeding and there was a huge wound in her side.

"Your father and I have found happiness in afterlife. Won't you come with us...?"

He screamed.

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