Publica Section 1 Part 5

Part 5

Twirling in laces of blue and white, Lavendi danced about the courtyard with a subtle grace and welcoming face. Lithe arms caressed Hasitus body but they were too quick to let him grip her too tightly. In the centre of the gathered guests, they spun and danced. Hasitus was left breathless when they finished. Still vibrant and energetic, Lavendi gently pushed them onto a dais and quietly waited for the priest to step forward.

The old man was Lavendi’s uncle, an Agri priest who held a hidden but great influence amongst the clergy. Hasitus did not know his name, but many others did. It was a great honour that he perform their wedding ceremony. Few centurions were so well greeted by religious powers.

The words were said and they kissed. Lavendi pushed herself closer and her tongue into Hasitus’ mouth. She let go smoothly masking her whole kiss as a simple touch of lips. Smiling to hide his shock, Hasitus led Lavendi by the hand to a nearby table where a meal was already being prepared. On the table, a plate of lean cuts of a roasted duck beckoned them

Lavendi leaned over to Hasitus as they waited for the guests to seat themselves. She whispered quietly into his ear, “Love, would you like to know why you’ve married me?”

A piece of roasted duck sat between Hasitus’ fingers. He bit into the meat and savoured the taste before turning to his wife. “I guess it’s too late to marry a woman just for her looks?”

“Look, see there?” Lavendi pointed at two well decorated soldiers. “Those two are Lupus praetorians. They pay you a visit as a hero of the republic. Imperator Thracus has a great interest in you. A leader of the military might be powerful, but he needs an icon for the people to rally behind. You’re a perfect centurion.”

“Well, it is nice to know that my successes on the battlefield are well received by the republic,” Hasitus replied.

With a flirt of her eye, Lavendi threw Hasitus’s gaze across senators dressed in green silk. “There you see the Serpens, Lassus and his ever present companion, Valisus. The fat senator has a loud mouth but a large mind. He is ever plotting to gain his family more power and more riches. Valisus appears to do nothing, which means he is doing something. They may be opposites in political standing but their blood tie is far thicker. Of course, you already know they’ve taken a liking to you. You’ll be sent with Germanicus out to relive Gladius of the surrounding threats.”

“I cannot see the political gain from such a small mission,” Hasitus replied.

“There is a political gain,” she said. Carefully, she laid a hand on his arm and gave a look that appeared to be genuine concern. “Don’t waste your life for a Serpen. I’m always waiting in bed for you.”

“Gladius will not be so dangerous,” Hasitus said.

“There’s still one person left in this whole puzzle,” Lavendi replied. She pointed to another man, smiling and joking with the Serpen senators.

“My uncle?” Hasitus asked. “You think he has personal plans for me?”

“Why else has he married you to me?” she answered. “He will certainly not wish for you to be harmed, but that doesn’t forbid him from using you. Blood ties may be thick but only hold to a point.”

“Then,” Hasitus began warily, “how could I possibly trust you?”

Lavendi picked up a grape and leaned her whole body against her husband. Smiling and giggling, she placed the grape into his mouth and kissed him. “I married a hero of the republic already.”

For a moment Hasitus felt besieged by all sides. He let his disappointment show on his face for an instance but Lavendi was quick to notice. In the shade of a two orchard trees, she pulled him to the side as if to kiss him gently. As she kissed him, he looked down at her soft auburn hair. Enough sunlight had slipped past to light up the flowers in her hair. He felt uncertain, holding her as she caressed him with her hands.

“You only need to know the battlefield,” she whispered. “You just need to live for me. I will always wait for you here. The politics are nothing. It is only old men prattling endlessly and I will ward them off for you. I will be your wife. I will be a part of you.”

She spoke the soft words into his ears. As military man, Hasitus knew not a response. He simply let his hands lay upon her unmoving. A sudden tune began to flow from her humming mouth. The melody was slow and the tone serene. Lavendi was trying her best to comfort him, and he let her.

“The guests are waiting for us to greet them,” Hasitus said to finally break their embrace.

She smiled and skipped forward quickly, pulling Hasitus behind with her hand. With a certain energy she took him into the crowd to share his wine with the guests. They stopped first at his uncle’s table, greeting Hasitus’ relatives first. Then they moved on, drinking wine with the Serpens, the praetorians and Lavendi’s merchant friends and relatives. Hasitus could hardly sip the wine in his cup by the last tables.

The wife he had married took it as a game to be played and rather appeared to enjoy it all. She drunk in the relationships, the gossip and the rumours. Schemes and plans worked in the back of her mind, and she would whisper a piece to his ears from time to time. She would ask him to greet this man with these words, and to praise another for some achievement. The guests enjoyed Hasitus’s scripted words, not knowing he hadn’t the slightest idea why he had to say such things to people he had never met.

The praetorians gave Hasitus a surprise as they greeted him back with words of admiration of his exploits on Londimin. Few knew he had served in the campaign, and less still of his deeds. It filled Hasitus with pride to know the Lupus praetorians had at the very least studied his accomplishments and gave him sweet words for it. The Battle of Londimin had been terrible, and the Federation heartless. Yet still, Hasitus believed good culture would triumph over despicable war tactics.

A table seated all of his military friends at once, condensing the noise of the party to a single location. They were the rudest speakers and the heaviest drinkers. Even a few hours into the wedding party, Posydin had gotten himself drunk, singing lewd songs. Hasitus greeted them with a fresh cup of wine, and in a loud chorus of banging goblets, they shouted their congratulations to Hasitus. It was unknown whether they appreciated Hasitus’ marriage, or the wine that could be drunk at Jacobi’s expense.

Drawing him away from his battlefield comrades, Jacobi spoke a few quiet words to him. “Family is all important, nephew,” he said. “Never forget the ties that blood creates. Our culture is a good culture because of the strength we hold to such blood bonds.”

“There is something troubling you?” Hasitus asked.

“No,” he replied and broke into a smile. “You should always know that I will look over you in the halls of the senatus. So, never despair on the battlefield that some senator may be scheming your demise. I will stop them.”

Suddenly, Hasitus could feel Lassus watching him. The man’s eyes looked lazily upon the two of them, as if he was merely watching the sky beyond them. Hasitus knew he had already been locked into a plan of his. He was helping Germanicus, a man of unknown qualifications, for some equally mysterious end. The only hope was that it was not a perilous scheme.

“Do you know what he has planned for me?” Hasitus asked.

“No, but I do not suggest you risk your life to save this Germanicus if the situation should ever arise,” Jacobi said. “The loss of some unknown centurion means much less to me than your health.”

“Good health and family,” his uncle said, much louder for the guests to hear. He patted him roughly on the shoulder before turning away. For the uncaring, he was giving marriage advice to his nephew. The scheming would ponder all night what he had said.

Here, in Porta, Hasitus knew he was surrounded by both his friends and enemies. He had no true place to rest. The battlefield meant facing the unending waves of Federation forces. At home, it meant wading into the pool of politics. Hasitus wished to face a foe with sword in hand to cut him down and be done with war and politics.

After exhaustively meeting every person in the party, Hasitus sat with Lavendi to enjoy the meal Jacobi had ordered prepared. Meats, fruits, wines and breads were laid out in full before them. Each person reached out their hand to eat what they wished, in the old dictum style. It felt odd that dictum culture was revered as the best because it formed the republic, yet they still used bare hands to eat. Hasitus had always thought using utensils would seem more cultured.

Hasitus leaned back and bit into an apple when he had filled his stomach with enough meats. He let his muscles relax and mind empty. Dancing began to take hold around him. Lavendi took to the courtyard Lassus, and a Lupus praetorian but Hasitus remained in his seat, speaking comfortably with new relatives about nothing important. It was a wedding, and Hasitus felt justified he could simply do nothing and enjoy his time.