Midnight, 19th August AD79
Livia sat alone in her bedroom. The candle was burning low, its wax pooled around the base of the terracotta holder. It cast strange shadows around her room, causing ordinary things to mutate and malform. Her leather satchel thrown carelessly on the floor, with her tunic slung over the top of it, seemed to create a shapeless mound whose sides appeared to rumble due to the flickering nature of the candle.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jimm1nbsH
She yawned, and got up to blow the candle out. After doing so, she opened the door to her balcony to let in the cool night air. The stars above her were so bright they almost lit her room as well as the candle. Their soft blue shade was gentler than that of the candle; it did not cause any misleading shadows. It did not flicker and most importantly, it did not melt. No matter how long Livia stood there, the light of the stars would not burn out. Not until they were replaced by the light of the sun, at any rate.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgYYJgxxVE
She lay on her bed, the thin sheets kicked to the bottom of the bedframe. No matter what way she turned or how much she twisted, sleep evaded her until the birds began to sing and the sky began to turn orange. It was only then that her eyes closed, exhausted, and she was finally able to grasp with thin hands even the faintest whisper of sleep. Like smoke, it was slipping through her fingers and as the sun climbed higher in the sky, her consciousness tried desperately to cling onto whatever remaining moments of rest it had left.
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20th August
She was woken by a banging on her door. Not knocking, she noticed. Urgent banging. Yawning, she got up and opened it. Not to Livia’s surprise, it was her mother.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqgSNPxTfg
“Livia, you must come downstairs quickly.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU17EPwe7X1
Livia opened her mouth the protest, or to at least ask why, but she was cut off by her mother holding up her hand to stop her.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Igb8nvmJa
“Ariadne is here.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhs49cZRtN
“Ariadne? She was in the hospital only the yesterday, what is she doing here? Surely they cannot have let her leave so soon?!”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYK6mDnnGEb
Her mother merely raised her eyebrows.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTADRdPIDh
“She refuses to talk to anyone but you. She says she left the hospital as soon as she had woken.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEMuGt7sgP
Without further ado, Livia hurried down the wide staircase and saw Ariadne waiting at the foot of the stairs. Her head was bandaged, her skin was pale and her eyes had dark bags underneath them that hinted at a night of restless sleep. Before Livia could say a word, Ariadne had taken her by the arm and lead her through the house and into the garden. She didn’t stop there; she carried on walking, to the very edge of the garden, to the stone benches that sat next to the high back wall.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0BfNlULFQ
Whatever she wanted to say, she didn’t want to be overheard.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXz6727zTC
“What is this? Why do you need to drag me all the way down here?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZ0LYtSCic
“I know Max told you we’re leaving after the wedding, and I did mean to tell you and I know you’re angry with me, but I promise I’ll come back every single summer, and you can visit us in Rome and stay with us in our house; it’s going to be huge, you know. Max has the favour of the emperor, there is nothing in this world that we can’t have if we want it!” She said without breath.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmpGevKPdN
Livia tried not to smile at her friend’s words running into one another as she struggled to get them out in one breath.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq60al4nsjA
“All I wish is that you had told me, not him.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YuMdkyV9W
“And I am sorry for that. I was waiting for the right time.” Ariadne said, genuine apology in her eyes.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kgeQhQqc3
“Then I forgive you.” Livia announced rather grandly. Ariadne smiled, but a hint of sorrow remained in her pupils.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTyH2ztrHT
“What is it? Why do you despair?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzZmnC0ikA
“I came here not only to apologise. I need your help, Liv. I’m afraid I find myself in quite a bit of trouble.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUJ7xIYl39
“Trouble? What sort?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwiJbEcfee
“I am with child.” Ariadne said, so quietly it was almost inaudible.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1R0e5GooJ1
“How is that possible? You are not yet married!”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrEuoFk1G2
“No but we figured that we do intend to be married, and are betrothed to be so, why should we waste time waiting?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtuwicn6sS
“How will you tell your parents?” Livia asked. It was not the question Ariadne had wanted to hear, and the fear in her eyes intensified.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyloOCBaaU
“I hadn’t thought about that. I didn’t even know until this morning when the doctor at the hospital asked me some questions and I realised. I haven’t even told Max yet.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlErYAWTRt1
“Then that is what you should do. Propose to move the wedding up, at least then you may be able to appear virginal on your wedding day. I suggest a loose fitted wedding gown too.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcN1E1vfHn
Ariadne nodded. She stopped herself from trembling, steeled herself and raised herself from the stone bench.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwcl9XN0kl
“That is what I shall do. Thank you, Livia. I do believe I would be lost without you.”
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“This water, it tastes… strange.” Caius said, sitting down to his breakfast. It was not much. Although Tetraites was aware of what gladiators needed in order to perform well in the arena, he was struggling financially. Too many gladiators were coming in, and over the past year too few had won their matches. Although not all of them were killed, and the ones that were had been replaced by the master of the games, they had to be put through even more extensive training. Tetraites had to hire three more trainers, the best he could get, and they did not come cheaply.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoaKU2kB5b
Caius was sitting down to a breakfast of olives, lentils and a small piece of fish. Fish was easy to come by, as Pompeii was near the docks, but with the amount of gladiators Tetraites was taking in recently, the portions of fish had become significantly smaller.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVTmyEfa8A
Marcus shrugged when Caius held up his water cup.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwZRP7Hz4n
“Perhaps it is water from out of town.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3PqpV6272
Caius snorted.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDfh3ZDHFX
“Tetraites is broke. Can barely afford this much fish, never mind some fancy water from out of town. People like you did this; not paying your debts back.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JX0akksxn
“Perhaps he shouldn’t have lent me so much and allowed me to gamble.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMRTTiMcP0
“He’s not your mother, Marcus.” Caius said. His tone was chastising, but his face said he was merely joking. “What did you bet on?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57gNxOhUu2
“Chariot races.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaruJbrTFks
“I was hoping you would say you had bet on a gladiator fight. The irony would have brightened my day.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5hMvf0AZe
Marcus rolled his eyes, popping an olive into his mouth and draining his own water cup. He resisted the urge to spit the water back out again.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc33BBKkMx
“I told you it tastes funny.” Caius said casually, not looking up from his plate.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETwEmGORaI
“It tastes unclean. Are you sure the kitchen staff are not getting the water from the bathing house?!”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmGktYyEja
“No, it is from the aqueducts, I’m certain.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWCYbpEsLM
Marcus simply shrugged.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6dfFOR2XZ
“I’m fairly certain this water is still better than any in Rome. Ours is straight from the mountain springs.” Caius said mockingly, a grin on his face.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoFGVolcnD
“I do wonder Caius, when you will cease to mock me simply because I am from Rome! Besides, how can we be sure that the mountain isn’t what has caused the water to taste strange?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwOnlNJSa1
Caius’ grin fell, and a intense look passed across his face. He was clearly thinking hard to counter Marcus’ argument that Pompeii water was somehow contaminated.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedvQneg1n7
Marcus laughed, stood and clapped his friend on the shoulder.
“Well brother, I am going to head down to the arena. I trust I will best you in a fight later?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1sMxz8CTp
“You wish, Roman, you wish!”
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Livia was at the market with her father. The heat was not yet unbearable; it was just past ten o’clock and so the sun had not yet reached its full power. Her father was looking at various marble, arduously trying to pick the right one so that her mother would not be angry when they returned.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhcQVlRxGQ
“Why does mother want marble again, father?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBl7gu6ax0
“She’s going to give it to a sculptor. She wants a magnificent statue of Apollo to go in our gardens; if there is any left after the sculptor is done, perhaps she’ll have a small one made for you. Poseidon perhaps? Or Minerva?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelIATEGtSZ
Livia shrugged.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5f4c1VMvC
“I shall let mother decide that. It can be a surprise.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX0WKQNkfa
Her father laughed.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLZ9I8kCFB
“I know your mother can be rather… excitable, but she means well.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HliGZ4ISu
“I know she does.” Livia said gently. “I do need some fabric though, would you mind if I went to the fabric merchant?”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKhs1kZ2mD
Her father shook his head, pressing a few coins into her palm and instructing her to be no longer than an hour. She promised she would be back in time, and weaved through the crowds to the other side of the market.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNsCmspo5M
The fabric merchant was pleased to see her, and immediately brought out his finest silks in the most vibrant pinks and purples.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRivAq8AK0x
“I want something for a wedding.” Livia said, looking at the fabrics hanging from the rafts of the wooden market stall.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT53r1AUFWv
“Ah yes, I have heard. Ariadne is marrying the big shot from Rome. Something in pale pink perhaps? It would compliment your eyes.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESlCgKycy7
Livia shook her head.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGksOpfHws
“Perhaps a blue?” She suggested. The merchant nodded, and pulled out three fabrics in varying shades - turquoise, navy and a deep, vibrant blue that Livia did not know the exact name of.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJtaowyk8l
She was drawn towards the turquoise, touching it gently to feel the fabric. It’s quality was astounding; so soft and it seemed that the colour would last a long time.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGgTNmFKjL
“When do you need it for?” The merchant asked.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdql13LM61
“As soon as you can make it, if that is possible?” She did not know when Ariadne was going to move her wedding to, and she thought she had better have her dress ready and waiting as soon as possible.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3CucpnlQJ
Livia paid the merchant and said she would be back within three days to see how the dress was coming along. The merchant promised that if it was finished before then he would have it delivered to her home.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEKhXo0ZUU
As Livia was leaving, her father rushed around the corner.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WMeO5nRC0
“Livia I have to go, I have urgent business in Herculaneum.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqImPAxZFX
Her father was a local politician, and the nearby town of Herculaneum was a sort of holiday resort for the rich and powerful. However, Livia did not sense that her father was headed there on political business.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDkCkJEWhM
“The earthquake yesterday hit the town worse than here; I am needed over there to assess the damage.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRn7vBpXmo
“Is it bad?” She asked, fearing she already knew the answer.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw8M1awdGx
The expression on her father’s face was one of grim truth.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSQ1UMDF4C
“I fear three lives have already been lost. The messenger that sent me notice was shaken, he could barely speak. Tell your mother I shall try to be home later tonight.”987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡce7dX9PTee
She nodded as her father rushed to find a horse to carry him to the nearby town, praying silently that the mountain stayed silent whilst her father was close to it.987Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOfOWCtQIW
Gods, she whispered to herself, please keep him safe.
