Chapter 1

The Meeting

Unrest crackled in the air like static electricity. The large column of Roman Guard, were stone-faced and serious. The column clattered in through the front gate and immediately surrounded the house, as if to take over the property. Flecks of foam around the horses’ mouths indicated that they had been driven hard all the way from Rome.

Ino and Helen were the first to hear the noise of the approaching soldiers, and had rushed to the front door at the first sounds of the disturbance. The sound of so many horses and riders disturbed the quiet of the countryside, and Aithilla and Portia were right behind them, as they heard the sounds also.

The centurion leaped off his horse and sprang to the doorway, demanding, “Portia, come here immediately.” Centurions were always courteous and deferential in her presence, so this brusque treatment was unprecedented.  His behavior told Portia that something was wrong. Very, wrong.  As she approached the doorway, her ladies made way for her. Alarm showed on Portia’s face, as she had heard the Centurion’s demand also.

The centurion handed her her father’s ring, and said, “There was no time for a written message. Surely, you recognize the ring as your father’s. He sent this so that you would believe me, and the legitimacy of what I am about to tell you.”

His hand barely brushed against hers as he placed the ring in her opened palm.  She closed her fingers around the ring, bringing her fist to her lips, momentarily closing her eyes.  Instantly, through her mind flashed the picture of herself as a child long ago, sitting on her father’s knee, playing with this ring. “This is who we are, my love,” he said to her.  “Know this well. You and I and our family sprang forth from Venus, the goddess of love.  However, in this ring, she shows herself to our family as the goddess of victory.  That is why she holds the shield and spear of war.  You are her daughter as well as mine,” he continued.  “We will be victorious under her mantle of protection if we stay close to her.  Mark this well.”

The slender woman opened her eyes and found herself looking into the face of the enormous, muscular centurion.  She saw a flicker of something in his brown eyes that she couldn’t identify at the moment, and she nodded and said, “Continue.”

“My name is Flavius and I have a message of great importance for you from your father. There have been some disturbances in the city and your father is concerned for your safety.  He dispatched me to make sure you are kept safe and to guard you until the danger has passed.”

She was not accustomed to having anyone speak so boldly to her, but, as she looked at the ring in her hand, she believed his story.  She studied his face for a moment, trying to get a sense of his understanding of the matter, but he was good at shielding his inner thoughts.  He had retreated behind the wall of his military discipline.

She looked deeply into Flavius’ eyes, pleading with some alarm in her voice, “And, what of my Father?”  Flavius quickly countered with, “Madam, he is safe. You are not to worry about that.  At the first sign of trouble, the Senate had the military close the city and place it under guard.  He is well protected.  You are special in your father’s heart, and he sent me just as a precaution.”

      Flavius had no intention of telling her of the chaos and uncertainty of the moment.  When he had left with his men, parts of the city were in flames, and there had been dark deeds of murder and sedition. Already, the flash of the sword was at work, and innocent blood was flowing on the streets.  It looked as if all the senators and anyone associated with them were targeted for the blade.

 The last words of Caesar were still pounding in his heart: “My daughter is an innocent to the intrigues of the city.  Reassure her.  Do not tell her of the danger.  I will get word to you when the rioting has passed and things are sorted out.  If anything happens to me, there will be plenty of time for her to mourn.  For now, it is enough just to keep her safe.”

As he was trying to reassure her, Flavius noted the concern in Portia’s eyes.  However, time was of the essence: as he had other duties to perform.  “We will talk more of this later”, he said. “Allow me to complete what I was sent here to do.”

“How do you intend to proceed?” she asked.

“I plan to split my men, some inside the house and some outside.”

Although, Portia felt threatened by thoughts of unknown dangers, she wanted to feel she had some control in the matter, so she said with as much conviction as she could muster,  “I am not a military person and would be uncomfortable with soldiers in my home. Is it possible that all the men be stationed outside?”

She saw the steely resolve in his eyes and knew that this man was unaccustomed to having an order questioned, but, since this was a senator’s daughter, he took pause to consider her request. Finally, he said, “Your father personally gave me that order and it cannot be changed. Your protection is of the utmost concern to him. I will agree to station my men outside as you request, but I insist that one well-trained centurion be placed inside. Since your welfare is my responsibility, I will be the one who will personally guard you.”

With that, he strode through the door with a self-confident swagger; several of his men following him. She knew further discussion would be pointless, and stepped aside to give them entrance.

By this time, several of the household slaves had gathered in the atrium to see what was happening.  Flavius said to Portia, “Is this your Chief Steward?”

“Yes, it is.”

To the Steward, he ordered, “Gather all the slaves here immediately.” The steward left to do as he was ordered.

Flavius looked towards the three women behind Portia. 

Ino was clinging to Helen, their eyes wide with fright, as the centurion’s attention turned towards them.

Portia explained, ‘This is Aithilla, Ino and Helen, my personal serving attendants.”

Ino thought she would faint from fear, because the centurion’s eyes were scrutinizing her.  Ino had learned that the name of Rome, and anything connected to it, meant violence; particularly, if that connection to Rome were soldiers.  She had felt their lash when they had herded her to the slave market. Roman soldiers enable slavery to exist.

 Ino was again reliving the beginning of her life as a slave.  She felt again, the revulsion at being passed among the pirate crew that had kidnapped her.  Each had had their turn at raping her. She could still see some of their broken, yellow teeth, showing behind their leering smiles as they took her in their dirty hands.

Helen would have tried to comfort her younger sister, but she was feeling just as terrified.  Still fresh in her mind was the memory of their Father being cut down by the pirate’s dagger, as he tried to protect his daughters, and her mother being thrown over the side of the ship, with a knife wound in her back. She, too, had felt the pain of Roman whips, and the degradation of having her clothing torn from her in the slave market, her nakedness and shackles, stripping her of all dignity.

Aithilla drew closer to Portia for protection, as she was the only family she knew now. Aithilla and her parents were waylaid on a lonely road near Thebes.  She never saw them again, and grieved at not knowing what happened to them. Her experiences had soon taught her that soldiers were to be feared.

As she was being delivered to the slave market, a soldier came across the slaver and his shackled string of prisoners.

The soldier said, “How much for the use of that one?” pointing to Aithilla.

The slaver said, “Sixty denarii.”

The soldier produced the silver coins from beneath his armor and threw them to the man.  The chains on Aithilla’s wrists were long enough to allow the soldier to throw her to the ground and ravage her. The slaver excitedly made his member hard as he watched the brutal scene before him. The slaver laughed, as the soldier kicked Aithilla after he got up. The slaver stopped laughing long enough to take his turn.

Flavius was a witness to all the brutality of his world.  He had seen the many guises of fear, and recognized the emotions of the women.  He noted their beauty, flaxen hair, and slender figures. He might not know their past, but he knew that it hadn’t been an easy one, before they found their way to this house.

“ I mean you no harm,” he told them.  “I have been sent here to protect you. There is no need to fear me, or my men, as they are well disciplined.”

The girls gathered around Portia and she put her arm around Ino.   

To Portia, Flavius asked, “Are you satisfied that all your staff are here in the atrium?”

Portia looked around and said, “Yes.”

Flavius said to the men who were with him, “Search all the rooms, thoroughly.” The men quickly looked for any assassins that might be hidden. When they had finished their search, and reported back to Flavius that there were no intruders, he strode back through the entrance and quickly gave orders to his men to form defensive perimeters around the house.

They executed Flavius’ orders with military precision. These were men who understood training. They understood the life of the warrior. They went about their business, knowing exactly what was expected of them. After all, Rome’s Horse Guard was made up of the finest, fittest and best trained soldiers in the world.

When Flavius was outside giving his orders to his men, Portia tried to reassure her household, who were excitedly talking to one another, commenting on what was happening.

Portia said to her staff, “The events of this evening are highly unusual, and could be unsettling, however, I believe my Father sent these men.  I don’t have all the answers yet, but I feel there is nothing to fear from them. My Father would not send anyone unless they were trustworthy.”

Flavius quickly came back inside after seeing that all his men received their orders. He said to Portia, “I have made arrangements for your staff to leave this house. There is too much danger to allow them to stay.”

 “But why?” she asked. “My ladies have always been faithful to me. They are my friends. You have nothing to fear from them. They are educated and well bred. The household staff has been here for a long time.  We live in peace and harmony.”

Flavius retorted, “No matter how peaceful your household, or well bred your ladies, there is always room for an assassin’s bribe. I have already made one concession by stationing my men outside your home, but I will not allow you to change this part of my plan. My duty to protect you outweighs all else.”

With mention of threats to her safety, fear welled up from the pit of Portia’s stomach and she shivered. She looked closely at this man standing before her.  He wore his armor proudly, seeming completely sure of himself. In his demeanor, she could see his training and experience. 

It was then that she remembered her father speaking of a man by the name of Flavius while he was in Asia. Yes, I also remember him laughing and talking about all the silver they captured while fighting in Further Spain, when he served as quaestor there under the governor. As I recall, Flavius saved him in some close hand-to-hand combat. 

Flavius beckoned to a group of soldiers, explaining to Portia, “Your household will be escorted to my garrison.  I have already made arrangements for them in a special barracks where all their needs will be met.”

Portia didn’t want her household sent away, but she looked into his eyes and knew her protests would not change the outcome of his decision. “You’re sure they will be safe?” she asked.

“Yes, they will be well-protected, by men are personally trained by me, and will follow my orders.” Flavius said.  

“I will do whatever you think is best,” she said, and he relaxed a little. As she looked into his eyes, she saw his gentler side coexisting with the force of steel.

She gathered the three girls close to her.  She put her arms around them and said, “There is nothing I can do to change the circumstances of the night.  I know my Father had to have had a good reason for sending these men.  I don’t like the circumstances any better than you, but I think we must accept the wisdom of his decision and make the best of it.  I feel you are in safe hands.”

Portia didn’t tell them that she preferred that they leave, as a means of protecting them.  She knew if anything happened to her, her slaves would be condemned and executed, as a matter of law.  Ever since Spartacus and his followers held off Roman legions in their uprising, there was a growing uneasiness among Roman slave owners. Condemned slaves were either crucified, or thrown to the lions, as a means of putting down potential uprisings.  Her ladies and household staff had been loyal to her, and she didn’t want this to happen to them.

Her household slaves were already leaving with the escort. She kissed the girls, and bid them safe journey, and they left, along with their laughter. The house was suddenly quiet, so quiet, in fact, that fear welled up and she shivered once more. Admittedly, she was home, but she felt as if that home had been taken from her, as if she were a stranger in it. Somehow, everything in her life had changed in the last few minutes, and that frightened her.

Her home had never been searched before. Many soldiers had been dispatched around the property, and her friends and slaves were taken away.  There was a sinister sense of danger springing forth from some unknown circumstances that she did not understand. She felt some sense of fear, and as this was a new emotion for her, it seemed to sap her energy.

Flavius, ever alert to details, noticed the change in her demeanor. “Where are your sleeping quarters Madam? I think it is necessary to decide if they are suitable to be defended, if it should come to that.” 

Portia pointed to a long center hall behind the atrium, leading to an area in the back of the villa. The atrium was partially open to the sky. The two of them walked past marble columns and statues that lined the room and a small garden arranged tastefully among the wall paintings.  Patterned in the floor, in the center of the court, was a large mosaic depicting the chariot races. 

Flavius was aware of the esteem that Romans held for their charioteers, and took particular note of the floor mosaic, and its beautiful colors and detail, and said to Portia, “I see your father still honors the games in his heart and would beatify your home with their spirit.” 

“Yes”, she said, “when Caesar held the office of aedile, he was responsible for the public games and the grain supply for the city, as you are probably aware.  It was well known that while he held this office, he spent much of his personal funds supplying entertainment for the people of Rome.  He believes in “bread and circuses” to keep the people content.  He keeps his name before the minds of the people, and they love him for his work.” She would not tell him her most secret thought, Caesar thinks of his power first, above all other thoughts.  He is obsessed with power, how to get it, and how to keep it.

As she led Flavius to her quarters, she inquired of him; “Do you or your men need supplies that I am able to provide?”  

“We can consider that tomorrow, thank you,” he said. “We have all that is needed for the night.”  It was not lost on Flavius that, even in this troubled moment, she seemed considerate and thoughtful of him and his men. 

At the end of the hall, they entered a small antechamber, leading to a large circular room beyond. The room had a small window to the outside on the far wall. Like some of the other rooms, the circular chamber was finished with marble that came from the mines to the south of the city.

It seemed likely to Flavius that Caesar’s daughter spent time here in the evenings, as there were several lamp stands placed around the room. Flavius walked through the antechamber and continued directly to the window to look outside.

Here, the earth sloped away from the house so there was a considerable drop to the bottom of the hill.  An intruder would have a high wall to scale to reach this room, as there was a storage room below it.  Flavius observed several of his men keeping watch below and felt comfortable with this location as Portia’s sleeping quarters.

Even though Portia was trying to put her fear out of her mind, it came back again as she watched Flavius make his inspections.  Sensing this, he said to her reassuringly, “I will make my bed in this room, right outside your doorway, and no one will get through that outer door. My men are stationed on the perimeters and I will be here next to you, my lady.”

She looked around the huge sunless room and said, “This room is so large, and when it is dark, you will seem far away. I know that you will be there, but can you move closer to my door, so that I can see you through the doorway? Then, if I wake up, I will know that you are there.”

As she spoke, Flavius’ trained eye noticed a slight, very slight, almost imperceptible, shudder in her shoulder, and it felt like a sword going through his heart. He suddenly realized that he’d been so intent in setting up proper defenses that he’d overlooked the fact that this slender, gentle woman, who lived a cloistered life with her three ladies, knew nothing of the ways of the military. Yet, she was handling the situation with grace and aplomb.

As he looked down at her, his eyes were filled with admiration and he felt that little shudder in her shoulder run through his whole body, which puzzled him. He knew about duty, courage and honor, and doing the will of Rome, but this gentle, sweet diminutive woman standing before him made him shudder, something that had never happened before, not even in the fiercest battle.

When he looked into her eyes, he saw the shudder again and felt it in his soul. “I will be there. You will see me. Have no fear.  My men are protecting both of us. They know their jobs and will give their lives to protect you. I have personally trained them well. They understand exactly what is to be done, and why they are here. And yes, I will put my cot by your door so that you can see me.”

As Portia heard those words, all the terror, known and unknown, seemed to wash out of her body, and away from the villa. It was as if there was nothing in the night but perfume and flowers and the sounds of the mountains as they danced in the heart of Rome. She felt pure, cleansed and sun-drenched, and a strange sensation in her chest that she’d never had before. He made her feel protected, safe and comfortable.

She didn’t always feel comfortable around people, which was why she’d made her home in the family’s summer residence, far from the crowds and politics of Rome. Out here, she felt at peace with the sun and the quiet and the birds and the flowers.

And now, suddenly, all these men surrounded her precious home, interrupting her household and sending away her friends. Just her and this man, this stranger who had burst into her life, a life forever changed.

Tonight, he will be just outside my room, she thought, and I can look at him while he sleeps, see his amber curls in the moonlight. She had seen curls before, but they didn’t quite move her as did these curls moved her.

Up to this moment, he had kept a formal distance between the two of them.  However, in trying to give her some measure of reassurance, Flavius found himself close to her, looking down into her warm and expressive eyes. At that moment, he became aware of just how blue they were, almost like a Roman sky. He had been so intent on his military duties that he just now noticed a wayward curl that kept falling over her forehead, and the dainty cleft at the base of her slender throat.   He also sensed a fatigue about her shoulders.

“Madam, it has been a long and difficult day for you. Could I persuade you to take your rest for the night?” he asked. “There may be new surprises tomorrow that will need our attention.”

She could see the wisdom in his words and she did feel fatigue pressing her. “Yes, I think you are right.  I will show you where there is a cot and blanket for your rest also.”

Later, as she prepared for bed, she thought that her heart seemed to be beating a little faster than it usually did, and she didn’t understand why. Puzzled, she extinguished the oil lamp and undressed. As she allowed her clothes to fall from her body, they made a slight rustle as they fell to the floor. Then she unbraided her hair so it fell down over her shoulders, almost covering her breasts, so that the nipples were barely exposed.  Through a gap in the night clouds, moonlight flooded in through the window, and moon-bathed Portia’s lithe body. As she slid under the cover, the firm swell of her breasts, tipped by brown nipples could be seen.

Flavius was anything but asleep.  He had noted that Portia had discreetly put the lamp out, thinking that, in the moonlight, he wouldn’t see her.  But as she had slipped into the bed, he had seen, dimly lit, the smooth porcelain skin of her arms and legs and the dark, curly vee at the top of her thighs.  As she pulled the cover up to just under her breasts, she looked up to admire the moon scudding between the clouds, and he again saw those dark nipples playing hide-and-seek through her hair.

After a few minutes, a little shudder ran through her body and she thought, It must be because of the strange circumstances of the night. It wasn’t the fact that a hundred soldiers were camped out around the house, nor that her ladies had left. The strange circumstances were the curls she saw just outside her bedroom door.

When the moonlight returned, it revealed that below those curls was a man’s forehead, furrowed in a deep frown. She wondered if he often frowned in his sleep, or, if his helmet caused the line in his forehead. That little line in his forehead was interesting. She wished there were enough light to see the ends of it. It wasn’t that the line itself was so important, but it seemed that everything about this man interested her.  She felt she wanted to understand and explore everything about him.

Sighing, she settled into the bed and tried to relax. Somehow all of this seemed so strange. It must be because of all of those men around my house. Yes, that’s why I am feeling so strange.

Flavius was wrestling with his own thoughts. He couldn’t ever remember being in a situation such as this. What was a lion of Rome doing, lying outside a lady’s bedroom? The strange feelings coursing through him he didn’t understand at all. For the first time in his life, in the pit of his stomach, this brave warrior felt confusion and uncertainty in the presence of a woman.

Suddenly, all his senses were acutely intensified. He felt the hardness of the cot against his body. The cover that lightly rested on his toes. The constricting weight of the armor he still wore, so as to be ready at a moment’s notice, sword in hand.

But the feeling, that unsure feeling, puzzled him and he didn’t know what to do about that. Nothing in his past had prepared him for this – whatever it was.  It certainly couldn’t be a love for a patrician senator’s daughter. That was unthinkable.

Suddenly, a muscle in the corner of his mouth twitched, and he tried to get it to stop, but failed. It was as if he no longer had control over his body.

As the moon rose higher in the night sky, it cast more of its light into the room, clearly illuminating her face. He thought he saw her eyelashes flutter for a second but wasn’t sure whether he’d seen it or felt it in his heart. She sighed, and all he knew was that he wanted to be closer to that sigh. He wanted to feel her breath on his skin. Then he too sighed; this was turning out to be one of the most difficult nights that he could remember.

He also listened intently to the night sounds made by his soldiers, to the sound of the horses, for anything more sinister, such as a whisper or a shout as an assassin crept through the perimeter.

Occasionally, his attention would be pulled back to the woman as she sighed in her sleep. As she turned, he followed the movement of her curves under the blanket. Then another shudder would run through him, something he didn’t understand. Centurions don’t shudder, he told himself.

As she slept, he listened to her deep, even breathing. He visualized her breasts heaving up and down with each breath, her nipples rubbing against the cover.

In torment, he couldn’t sleep. His thoughts would not allow him to. But as the glow of the new day’s first light came through the window, he knew that he must have fallen asleep at some point. The thought did not worry him even though he reminded himself that, if anything happened to this woman, his punishment would be death in inconceivable agony. But he knew that he had trained his men well, and that they had been out there through the night, rotating guard duty to secure the perimeter, taking sleep when necessary. This he knew. He would stake his life on it--and often had.

Caesar's Daughter and the Centurion © 2001

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 12