Helena watched, unable to look away as the two combatants circled each other. Surely the gods could not be so cruel to allow him to die before her eyes. Around and around they circled. First Tullio had the advantage and then Androceles. Then Tullio again.
Androceles pressed forward. Tullio stumbled and half-fell to his knees.
‘Blow the horn, Helena. Call for aid!’
Helena looked at him, not understanding. Tullio knew that it was just a relic, a superstition. She started to move towards it.
‘Now, Helena, blow it now!’
She did not believe Neptune would send aid, but perhaps the sound would distract Androceles for that slightest of breaths and allow Tullio to escape. She filled her lungs with air. A long low sound filled the temple, echoing and reverberating off the walls. Everything went still.
Then nothing. No parting of the seas. No destruction of the temple. Nothing. It was simply a device. She had failed.
‘You see who the gods favour, Roman.’ Androceles stood poised over him, sword gleaming.
Tullio waited, then thrust upwards with his legs, throwing Androceles backwards. The pirate flew through the air and landed at the base of the statue of Kybele. The statue rocked and then crashed down on top of Androceles and he lay still.
Everyone froze.
‘Kybele has spoken,’ Flavia’s commanding voice said. ‘Let no man doubt that.’
‘My father is dead? I will avenge my father’s death.’ Kimon advanced with his sword drawn. He motioned to his men. ‘We will take this temple by force.’
Tullio crouched low. If he took Kimon, he could at least prevent Helena’s death, hold off the pirates until reinforcements came. If they came. He wiped a hand across his mouth.
The doors of the temple were flung open. Quintus stood at the entrance with his soldiers ranged behind him.
‘You called, Tullio?’
‘You might say that.’ Tullio brought his fist back and connected with the open-mouthed jaw of Kimon, who crumpled to the ground. ‘Neptune sends his regards, but is a bit busy. He sent the Roman legion instead.’
The soldiers streamed in, swords drawn and beating against their oblong shields. Tullio held the sword over his head.
‘You see how the gods favour me and punish those who would commit sacrilege in this temple.’
At that, the pirates laid down their arms. Tullio turned towards the centurion.
‘For once, Quintus, your timing is impeccable.’
‘I do but try, Livius Tullio.’ Quintus’s face wore a broad smile as he gave a smart salute.
‘Shall we round these miscreants up and return the temple to the sibyl?’
‘You’re the tribune.’
Lichas stood up and motioned for quiet. The entire hall fell silent.
‘Once again, sister, I appear to have underestimated you,’ Lichas said. ‘We will abide by the goddess’s decision and take the Roman’s offer of lands.’
‘But, but—’ Zenobia protested.
‘Be silent, woman!’ Lichas roared. ‘If I hadn’t listened to you in the first place, the gods would not have turned against us. I will not fight the will of Neptune and Kybele. The gods’ will be done.’
A general cheering broke out.
Tears pricked Helena’s eyes and she turned her head. Aunt Flavia stood at the edge of the altar, hands held high in the traditional gesture of a blessing. Tullio and the rest of the Roman legion knelt down. Without hesitation, Helena handed the gold mask to Aunt Flavia.
‘Your time as sibyl is not finished, Aunt.’
‘Do you know what you are doing, niece?’ Flavia’s fingers closed around the mask.
‘I do. I renounce my claim as sibyl. My destiny lies along another path. All I want is to spend the rest of my life with Tullio.’ Helena went and knelt by Tullio. ‘If he will have me.’
‘With the utmost pleasure.’ Tullio’s fingers curled around hers. ‘I came back for you. I love you, Helena and I mean to have you for my own.’
‘And I love you,’ she whispered. ‘But how did you get the soldiers to arrive like that? How did Quintus know?’
‘There are some things that should not be left to the gods.’ Tullio placed a finger on her lips to silence any more questions.
‘The senate and people of Rome will be proud of what you accomplished today, Livius Tullio,’ Quintus said, coming up to him and laying the pirates’ swords at Tullio’s feet. ‘The gods were with you.’
Tullio look down on the pile and over at the prone figure of Androceles. Both Kimon and Zenobia were in custody. The legate would decide what to do with them, how best to make an example. It was a good day’s work. But his life meant more than battle honours.
‘Rome can go to Hades as long as Helena is safe. She is the only thing in my life who matters.’
In the warm circle of Tullio’s arms, Helena watched Aunt Flavia go to Niobe and speak to her. She knew that she was no longer alone. She had found her home.
Epilogue
Eighteen months later—Near Cyrene in North Africa
Helena stood on the terrace of the villa she shared with Tullio and looked down at the farms dotted about the countryside. The remaining seafarers and villagers had taken to farming with great vigour. Where there was once untilled land, vines and olive trees grew.
Aunt Flavia had even engineered a move of the temple away from the island and now presided over the thriving community with Niobe at her side. After her outburst at the temple, Niobe had regained her power of speech. It was Helena’s belief that in due course Niobe would become the next sibyl.
‘You are looking very pensive, Helena.’ Tullio mounted the steps to join her. ‘Is something wrong with one of the children?’
‘Both are doing fine. Asleep.’ Helena nodded towards the twin cradles where their three-month-old daughters slept.
‘They are beautiful like their mother.’
‘You are an idle flatterer. I am sure you did not break off from your work just to tell me that.’
‘I have had a message from Quintus. He is enjoying being the first centurion of the legion. Galla is very happy as well. Pirates have started raiding again. He believes Kimon is among them. It was an evil day when that tribune allowed him to escape.’
‘Rome will catch him.’
‘In good time. Quintus assures me that he will not need help from Neptune this time.’
‘And when he is captured, what will Rome do?’
‘Execute him, I hope, but Quintus favours making him a gladiator—to pay him back.’
‘Yes, a gladiator would be better.’ Helena looked out over the peaceful land. ‘There has been enough bloodshed. Let the gods decide if he lives. I hold no feelings of revenge towards him or any of the seafarers. That is a matter for Rome to sort out. The past is done with and there is a bright future to look forward to.’
‘Whatever my sibyl desires,’ Tullio whispered in her ear, his hand going about her waist.
‘A sibyl no longer, but your wife.’ She glanced over at the cradles. ‘I do believe our girls will be asleep for a while longer.’
‘My very beloved wife who offers wise counsel.’
Helena laughed, and gave herself up to his kiss.
Author’s Note
The kidnapping of Julius Caesar in 73 BC and the destruction of Delos and the Sanctuary of Apollo in 88 BC inspired this book. After Carthage fell in 140 BC, in the absence of a Roman navy, piracy grew. Once the Ptolemy dynasty effectively turned over the eastern shipping lanes to the Cicilian pirates in 96 BC, the pirate problem spiralled out of control, menacing shipping and capturing Roman citizens for ransom or, in some cases, slavery.
Delos, a major trading port, was raided and destroyed by Archelaus, an ally of Mithridates. A small group of Italian militia organised resistance, but ultimately the increased threat led to the abandonment of a thriving port.
As a young man on his way back from North Africa in approximately 73 BC, pirates captured Julius Caesar�
�s trireme and Caesar endured several weeks of captivity. Once ransomed for a large sum, Caesar returned with a massive force and killed the pirates who had captured him. However, despite the success of this and other minor battles against the pirates, piracy continued and it was left to Pompey to solve the problem in 67 BC.
After assembling one of the largest fleets in ancient times, winning a battle or two, Pompey promised the remaining pirates land and resettlement. The pirates accepted the offer. The largely intractable problem that had plagued Rome since 139 BC was solved in forty-five days.
For anyone wishing to read more about the period, I found the following books useful. Tom Holland’s book is perhaps the most readable, but I did enjoy making some of the recipes from Grant’s book on Roman cookery and can wholeheartedly recommend the pyramid cakes!
Bibliography
Goldsworthy, Adrian In the Name of Rome: The Men who won the Roman Empire (Weidenfeld & Nicholson 2003) London
Grant, Mark Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens (Serif 1998) London
Holland, Tom Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic (Little, Brown 2003) London
Matyszak, Philip The Enemies of Rome: from Hannibal to Attila the Hun (Thames and Hudson 2004) London
Rauh, Nicholas K. Merchants, Sailors & Pirates in the Roman World (Tempus 2003) Stroud, Gloucestershire
Woolf, Greg, ed. Cambridge Illustrated History: Roman World (Cambridge University Press 2003) Cambridge
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5233-6
A NOBLE CAPTIVE
Copyright © 2006 by Michelle Styles
First North American Publication 2010
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