“I ask that you be my wife, though there is no ceremony,” he’d said and she had kissed him and cried. She said yes and the Ludus knew that they were unofficially married. Doctore had just shaken his head and looked at them both with sad eyes. Glaucis had threatened him with castration if he made her sad. Dean blew out a long breath. He could live for tomorrow, which might be over in a second or he could live for today and enjoy each sweet moment. He chose to live for today.
Seeing the city had been an eye-opener Dean wondered where he and his wife could go. He would want his friends to come as well but they might not have the ability to leave before or after him. They would have to sit down and hammer out some kind of plan. He was doing well and was very popular. He laughed softly, thinking of the chant the throng now did for him when he came out to fight. The money was coming, but he had to buy two people’s freedom.
The wagon hit a deep rut and jolted him. Felix woke up and grinned sleepily. He leaned and pulled the canvas aside. He nodded and let the heavy fabric fall back into place. Dean took a chance and looked out again and realized they were now in a sparsely populated area. He shifted and then the wagon began to slow down. There were now vast fields around them and it was quiet and he no longer smelled putrid stench of raw sewage. He flexed his nostrils and took in a deep breath. The wagon slowed down and then stopped. One of the il domatore had accompanied them, they had been chained and the man came around and opened the canvas.
He said nothing as he unlocked the shackles and Felix jumped down from the wagon. It was a sprawling villa and had beautiful flowers around it. It was manicured and well maintained and the door opened and a woman, plump and short came running out. She was screeching and saying something so fast that Dean couldn’t understand her. He was afraid they were at the wrong place, then he watched in amazement as Felix ran forward and picked the plump woman up and swung her around.
“Mamma!” Felix said and Dean’s mouth fell open in shock. Behind the woman, a tall, older man came and several other men as well. They all had wide smiles on their faces as they came down the stairs. The old man looked almost like Felix and his hair was faded red and he had large ears. His brothers took on their mother’s appearance, short and squat. There were numerous slaves that brought in the equipment from the wagon.
Felix turned and he appeared to glow from within, a wide smile on his face.
“Momma, this is my friend, Dean,” Felix said and the short woman moved forward and looked up into Dean’s face. There was a glow about her, as only a mother could have. She reached up and gently cupped his face, kissing him on each cheek.
“Il mio bell’uomo, my handsome man,” she said softly, smiling up to his face. Felix laughed and rolled his eyes and headed into the large home. The rest of the family followed behind and Dean was towed unresisting. The il domatore simply grinned. Apparently, he knew there wasn’t going to be a demonstration.
Dean looked around the villa and was impressed. These people were seriously wealthy and he just couldn’t understand why Felix put himself in danger. Especially, after what had happened to Greg. His heart squeezed at the thought of his friend. Months later and the pain was still fresh. They were all hustled into a large room with tables scattered about, along with reclining couches. Servants or slaves moved swiftly but Dean saw that they were well fed and clean. He thought perhaps they were servants. At least he hoped so. He figured if you weren’t a Roman citizen, more than likely you were a slave of some kind.
Wherever Rome went, it collected slaves. He appreciated the rugs spread across the floor. He saw that there was even silk material, though he wondered because he was pretty sure that silk had not made its way to Rome. Perhaps because Felix’s family were merchants, they came across it. Dean did know that Egypt had the material, so he thought perhaps that was where they got it. Dean wondered if the emperor knew about it. He thought that Domitian was a greedy bastard and cruel as hell.
There were numerous braziers around the room, several smoked with incense. There were also statues sprinkled about the rooms as well as busts of ancestral family members. His own time had photo albums, he guessed this was theirs. Some of them looked old and there were chips here and there. Some he noticed, bore a striking resemblance to Felix and his father. The family ebbed and flowed around Felix, their speech too fast and too excited for Dean to fully understand. He felt a hand on his forearm and looked down. It was Felix’s mother and she smiled up.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. Thank you,” he said gently. His heart squeezed again for the touch of his own mother. He’d only had the occasional dream about his family and it was usually those frustration dreams, like when he was going to see them, but he missed his chariot. She guided him over to the couches and the rest of the family followed.
“My brother says you do very well in the games,” an older man said. Dean thought that he was about five years older than he and Felix.
“I’m surviving,” Dean said and shrugged, a smile playing on his face.
“Let him eat. You too, Felix, eat,” the older woman said and the family settled down to eating.
