The King of Rome

by Francis Mulhern

  “Your generosity is a credit to your noble house and your illustrious god” Istros said as he stood and bowed low. “I will return tonight when the meeting is finished and bring you the news.”

  He backed towards the door and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head before slowly opening the door, the hinges making no protest as they had done when the slave opened it to allow him entry. The Thracian slipped out and disappeared into the corridor as Capitolinus put his hands on the table and considered the news. So Cossus was looking to discredit his closest allies, no doubt at the request of Camillus. Why did the gods love that man so much, he thought. So many men were so deeply in debt to the patricians after the Gaul’s had sacked the city that it would take little to push them over the edge. He had to act and he had to act fast, but he needed more money. He stood and called for the slave who opened the door, its hinges creaking again as he came into the room and looked around as if expecting two men to be within. Capitolinus grinned, Istros was, indeed, as good as Javenoli had said. “Get my guards and send a runner to the Pontifex saying that I am on my way and must speak to him urgently” he said as he drained the last of his drink and looked at the decorations on the cup again. “And send Castrus in” he added as he thumped the table with a clenched fist.

  Moments later Castrus appeared, a large man with heavy shoulders and a thick neck. His face and forearms showed the scars of many years leading men in battle and his thick hands were calloused from years of hard work. He nodded; his eyes defiant despite his subservient position. Capitolinus nodded to the chair and he squeezed his large frame into it.

  “I want you to watch Javenoli more closely” he said as Castrus’ face darkened.

  “What?” he said quickly. “It’d be a death sentence if I was caught” he added quickly.

  Capitolinus shook his head. “Man, we’ve known each other for twenty years and you still haven’t got the brains you were born with” he said mockingly.

  “Good at other things though” grinned the thick lips of Castrus.

  Capitolinus let out a harsh laugh. “You certainly are, my friend. No, take this money and set up a few spies. I want to know what he is doing, who he is dealing with and whether he has any business with Camillus or Cossus” he added as he moved to the table and dropped a small pouch into its centre. “You will, of course, only report to me and keep this between us. Set up at least two levels between yourself and the man searching for information, you know what to do” he said.

  “Fine. So, you don’t trust Javenoli then?”

  Capitolinus turned and looked at Castrus. His lips tightened before he spoke. “I trust my own judgement” he said. “And it is telling me that something isn’t right.” Castrus nodded at these words.

  “He has the city in his grip, that’s for sure” Castrus replied.

  “Hmm” responded Capitolinus. “Maybe that grip needs loosening slightly.”

  ****

  It took over an hour for Capitolinus to converge on the Pontifex’s palace and for Javenoli to appear. His face was coloured with a fine powder which gave him a rosier appearance than when Capitolinus had last seen him.

  “Gaius” said the younger man as the Pontifex entered the room and he shot to his feet, the expression at the look on Javenoli’s face causing him to stop before he said anything further.

  Javenoli bridled, almost angrily, as he said “Pompeia likes it, she says it makes me look younger.”

  Capitolinus barked a sharp laugh before he stopped at the look of anger on his old friend’s face. “My apologies Gaius, I didn’t realise your relationship had moved on to the point at which the good lady Pompeia was dressing you and painting your face” he said with a smile.

  Javenoli grimaced but didn’t respond, instead turning sharply to a reclining couch and falling onto it with a heavy-lidded look at Capitolinus. “So” he said, ignoring the words of his visitor. “What is so urgent?”

  Capitolinus’ expression turned glum as he looked at Javenoli, noting the frustration in his voice. “The Thracian says Camillus and Cossus are plotting against us” he said as he watched the expression on the older man’s painted face. “Cossus is holding a meeting tonight to discuss calling in debts from many of the plebeians who support me” he added as he moved closer to the reclining Pontifex. “He cannot be allowed to call in those debts. Think of the chaos it will cause if the leading plebeian families are put into poverty in one stroke. We cannot afford to bail them out.” Taking a deep breath and shaking his head he continued without waiting for any response from Javenoli. “Without their support the remainder of the clans will lose faith in my cause and return to the patronage of the patricians. We need to bail them out, Javenoli” he said more sternly than he meant to, the bold statement causing Javenoli to raise his eyebrows. “We must” he said as no reply came to his words. “But how can we? We can’t afford to pay off all their debts, but we need their support. What can we do?” he asked, his voice showing desperation but his eyes calculating. “We must set the Thracian on Cossus. Kill him before he acts against me” he said as he lowered his voice once again. “We should at least consider this” he said as Javenoli didn’t reply. “Jupiter, greatest and best, saved me for this purpose” he continued forcefully. “To save Rome by becoming its greatest leader. That is my purpose” he said with total conviction as he sat straighter in the back-less chair he had come to sit on. “With this right hand, destroyer of the barbarian enemies of the gods, do I have the divine right to level my enemies to the ground, destroy them with the gods blessing. Is it not so?” he asked, answering his own question as he blustered on. “Yes, it is right. I have the divine power given to me by Jupiter and I will be the leader of Rome, its new King. A king in more than name. I will rule with the love of the people, not with their hatred because of their debts. We must unite the people to be freed from the yoke of the patricians, Javenoli. We must clear their debts so they can support me freely, taking the law into their own hands and declaring me their King. That is how we planned it. That is how they will grow and support me. We are so close. So close” he looked up at Javenoli as he finished speaking, eyes wide.

  Javenoli sat in silence and looked long and hard at Capitolinus, a shrewd look on his face. He’d noticed the constant changes in Capitolinus’ language. As he spoke of himself and the danger he was in, it was very much about Marcus Manlius Capitolinus. Yet, when he spoke of the cost and payment to develop their future, it was ‘we’. Taking a moment to deliberate on all of the suppressed anger that was evident in his words, Javenoli relied coolly. “You say we cannot pay off their debts, yet you say we must” he started. “You say we cannot do without their support and that we must gain their love” he added as he rubbed at his temple with a ringed finger, his eyes never leaving those of Capitolinus. “You say we should set the Thracian against Cossus, assassinate him” he shrugged. “All of which will set those patricians who believe you are creating an army of followers to rally even more strongly against you.” His eyes narrowed as he spoke again. “You say the people must love you as a king and call for you to replace the Senate” he said slowly as he watched the haunted look on Capitolinus’ face. “You say all of this, yet you wish to buy their loyalty in the same way that the patricians buy their fealty.” He shrugged again and waited for Capitolinus to speak, but he did not. His eyes worked as if thoughts ran through his head, but he did not respond.

  Javenoli turned to sit on the edge of the couch and looked at Capitolinus. “My friend” he said. “Buying loyalty does not work. I know I’ve tried it several times.” His eyes dropped to his feet momentarily before he looked up and caught Capitolinus in a long stare. “Killing Cossus will only mean several others will take his place” he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and took a moment to compose his words. He looked up at Capitolinus. “What if Cossus does want to attempt to claim debts from the families that owe them? It is of no concern” he added, raising a hand as Capitolinus moved to speak. “One family, two?�
� he shrugged again. “They are not important. Do not respond to the loss of one or two families, others will flock to you if your cause is just and the gods continue to give you favour. We cannot buy out debts as you say. Our funds are low, we don’t have much money with which to continue to buy more favours” he said. “At the rate you are spending our silver we will never achieve our goals. We must be more prudent, my friend.”

  Capitolinus clenched his fists and then stared at his open palms whilst Javenoli spoke to him. With a frown he replied. “I hear you, my friend.” Javenoli sat back on the couch and looked up as the two men both seemed caught up in their thoughts and neither of them said any more. Eventually Capitolinus motioned towards the door and stood, his head bowed, deep in thought. “I will consider your words, Gaius” he said as he edged towards the door. “Yet I fear that our plans are not working as well as I thought they would. By now I expected to have an army of followers all calling for the heads of those who hold their throats due to their debts” he glanced sideways to Javenoli, whose painted face was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

  “I don’t understand your comment” Javenoli said.

  Capitolinus turned slowly and looked back at Javenoli. He took a moment before he spoke, a moment in which Javenoli saw the eyes of the wolf looking back at him. A moment in which Javenoli saw Capitolinus for what he might be, not for what he wanted him to be, his puppet.

  “It has been many months since we climbed from our enforced prison on that Hill” Capitolinus said slowly and deliberately. “In that time, you have risen to a position of power.” He allowed his eyes to glance around the newly painted walls of the Pontifex’s palace, half-finished fresco’s adorning the walls. “Yet I, who has the divine love of the gods housed on the Capitoline, struggle to hold any position in the city except that of hated friend of the plebeians” he added as his eyes fixed on Javenoli. “Camillus plots against me, turning the people to him and all he stands for. He grows stronger as I stagnate.”

  Javenoli frowned but did not speak.

  “Our plans seem to move more slowly than the boats on the Tiber in the summer” he added with a wary glance towards Javenoli. “Yet your position in the city has grown, your power and standing has risen more quickly than any man since the Gaul’s left Rome” he added as he turned to face Javenoli, his expression showing that he was adding two and two together and making ten.

  Javenoli swivelled to sit back on the edge of the couch. “What are you saying?” he asked, his voice low.

  Capitolinus remained standing and staring at Javenoli, his right fist clenching and unclenching as Javenoli watched him, his shoulders suddenly tense.

  “I’m saying that our plans move too slowly. I’m saying that your position has grown and that mine remains as it was when we were prisoners on the Capitol.” He put his hands on his hips and turned to look around the room. “See what you have?” he said as he turned a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. “What do I have?” He turned back to stare at Javenoli, who sat impassively. “I have nothing like this. This power” he said with a petulant look in his eyes. “And now I have Camillus and Cossus plotting against me. The gods only know what else those who hate me are plotting” he added. “I see snakes at every corner, watching me, waiting to strike, to bring me down before I can claim my god-given prize. If not for this purpose, then for what did Jupiter give me the strength to fling the barbarians from the Rock and save the population from being another casualty of their murderous ways?” He started to walk along the edge of the room looking at a newly painted fresco, his right fist still clenching and relaxing, his footsteps sounding loud in the silence between his words. He turned back to Javenoli from the corner of the room he had come to stand in, his hand slipping to his belt and his thumb interlocking with the leather as he came to stop. “And what have you done to help me?” he asked, his question almost asked to himself as Javenoli’s eyes narrowed once again. “You stole the money from the Gaul’s and the patricians who died on the Hill” he said, a light coming to his eyes. “You killed them!” he said, his voice low and threatening. “Yes” he said as he stepped forwards towards Javenoli. “You took their money as well as the gold from the Gaul’s” he said, a fleck of spit forming at the corner of his mouth. Javenoli sat silently and watched as the man continued to stalk the room. “But what have you done to help me?” he asked himself again, ignoring the man he was accusing, who sat looking at him in silence. “You’ve never once given voice to my future beyond these walls. You’ve never spoken up for me in the Senate” his voice began to grow as he whirled towards the door, his hand now on his forehead as his eyes twisted left and right and finally finished back on Javenoli. “What have you done for me Javenoli?” he asked. “You say we have limited gold left, but maybe you have more of it hidden away. And you have the gold and land from your dealings on the Hill.” His teeth clenched as if he was in pain. “You’ve done nothing to support me” he added more forcefully. “And now I’m being sought by the families of Rome who see me as a threat to their positions of power. Power” he said again “which you seem to have and I have none” he added. A stony silence fell as he turned back to Javenoli having moved back to the chair and stood behind it, both hands resting on the sides of the curved frame as he leant forwards. “Tell me Javenoli” he asked menacingly “what exactly have you done to make me king?”

  Javenoli sat and watched Capitolinus for a long moment. Eventually he stood and spoke quietly. “Many months ago, I stood on that Hill with you” he pointed slowly towards the Capitol “and I felt that the gods had given up on Rome and all that we stood for” he said as his eyes moved around the room. “I despaired. I starved. I saw death looking at me as I opened my eyes every morning. I wretched day with hunger day after day, my belly ached with it” he said as his eyes came to rest on the floor in front of him. “And then the gods saw fit to put me and you together against the Gaul’s who had climbed the Rock and were storming the walls where we stood” his eyes moved to Capitolinus. “Remember Marcus Manlius that I was there on that night too” he said slowly. “My spear was thrown with your spear in those first attacks, don’t forget my part in this. Yet I have not profited from the tales of heroic deeds that have followed your rise to saviour of the Capitol.” Javenoli shifted his weight onto this left foot and took another few seconds to speak. “Our paths were entwined, Capitolinus. You poisoned those women as much as I did, you profited from their deaths and you cannot pretend that you didn’t. These things must never be spoken of.” He clenched his teeth as he continued. “You know the consequences if you do, and your family has much more to lose than mine if you do speak of them” he said as he stared hard at Capitolinus, the man glaring back at him, comprehending his words. Javenoli’s neck was reddening with the rising anger he felt, but he took a slow breath through his nostrils and tried to calm his irritation before continuing. “For you I have remained silent of my part in the defeat of the Gauls on the Capitol. I’ve spoken of your heroic deeds at private meetings, in the senate and on the streets. Was it not I who created the sacred geese in your name? Was it not I that stood and claimed your place as dictator when the Etruscans raised their armies?” His voice grew stronger now as he stared at Capitolinus.

  “Little use it did” responded the bitter voice from behind the chair.

  “We underestimated the love people have for Camillus” Javenoli replied with some irritation in the response from his guest. Capitolinus snorted. Javenoli continued. “Your fears are irrational. Your mind is filled with visions of assassins lurking in every shadow. You are not the man who I dreamed of a new state with when we sat on that Hill, Capitolinus. You’ve changed. Buying loyalty does not work. People have died to protect you, all paid for out of our funds, but they are now limited in supply. We cannot go on making payments to people who do not deserve them.” Capitolinus stood in silence, his lips held tight and eyes narrowed, so he continued. “You ask what I have done for you? I killed Camillus’ pet” he said a
s Capitolinus’ brows furrowed.

  “What?”

  Javenoli swallowed, his eyes suddenly narrowing before he spoke. “The morning Camillus and his army returned to Rome, the day the Gaul’s came to weigh the gold” he said as Capitolinus moved from behind the chair. “His man, Mella, climbed the Tarpeian Rock and appeared before me as I stood and looked to the heavens for a sign. He said Camillus was coming.” Capitolinus looked surprised at the words. “I gripped his hand as if to pull him up the last few feet, but I let him drop to his death. He brought news which could have caused problems for us. I needed to hide the gold and silver we use today” Javenoli said with a cold shrug. “I’ve given you a fortune in bronze, silver and gold” he continued quickly. “Money to pay for your followers, rebuild your house and bribe people to join your cause.” He glanced at the man stood in front of him. “I’ve bought you favours in the Senate, granted your family places in the hierarchy of the gods” he added as his mouth twisted into a grimace. “Almost every coin I had I have given to your cause, I’ve murdered men who deserved nothing but gratitude for serving Rome and I’ve supported you at every step as the love of the god Jupiter, greatest and best, is clearly upon you” he snarled. “Don’t tell me I have done nothing for you Marcus Manlius Capitolinus” he snapped as he finished, before seating himself back on his couch. Capitolinus stared at him evenly. “You are over-reacting to things which should not concern you” Javenoli added more quietly. “If Camillus and Cossus takes down two or three families, so what, you can challenge their actions and bring the people against him and the Senate. Twist their words like the best Greeks do, turn his attack on you into defence. Let the people decide” Javenoli said as he continued to speak more calmly, his voice now more tempered. “Bring the power of the people against them, isn’t that what you were just saying? Isn’t that what you want Capitolinus, to be the people’s defender?” he asked. “You ask what I have done for you, Capitolinus” he shook his head slowly. “Was it not I that gave you that name? I that has put myself in this house to be able to support you and grow your political power? Without this” he swept an arm around the room “we would have no power at all and we wouldn’t be in a position to make any changes, make any profits. Without this” he gripped the ceremonial robes he wore “nobody would take any notice of anything you or I said, Capitolinus.” He sighed heavily. “What have I done for you?” he shook his head mockingly. “What haven’t I done?” he asked, continuing to shake his head. “or maybe you see me as an enemy now?” he glanced at Capitolinus and narrowed his eyes. “Hubris is a deadly enemy” he added as Capitolinus shook his head with a squared jaw. “We talked of being kings of Rome as sat starving on that Hill. Fancy words borne out of hunger and boredom” he flailed an arm towards nothing in particular. “Dreams which hold no substance like smoke from a fire” he added dismissively as he finished speaking.