The End of a Dynasty

by David Adkins

  “I am just warming up.” I countered but my voice lacked confidence.

  “Attack me,” she invited.

  “If you insist,” I muttered and I stepped forward and thrust with my weapon but she parried easily. I tried again and again but each time my thrust was comfortably countered and once more I swung my sword only to find my effort blocked again. I took a few steps back and turned aside as if I had had enough and then I launched myself at her hoping to take her by surprise. I jumped at her, swinging my sword in a downward motion. She bent low and parried with ease. Her left arm seized my left arm and using my own forward motion she swung me over her head. I landed heavily on my back and was winded badly.

  Once again I felt the point of her wooden sword at my throat. “You have died twice in one afternoon, Parthenian.”

  I groaned with discomfort. “I did explain that I was a lover not a fighter. How about having a return contest in your bed, Corelia?”

  She laughed. “Do what you know you have to do and I might consider a return contest.”

  Aria had just joined us and at last she was smiling openly in my presence. “Did I hear Parthenian wanted a return contest? He must be mad.” She looked down at me. “You have no chance against Corelia.”

  “I realize that,” I remarked as I scrambled painfully to my feet.

  Aria was grinning. “If it is another contest you want then I will accommodate you, Parthenian.”

  “I think he has had enough for now, Aria,” said Corelia. “Perhaps you can have a practise with him tomorrow before he leaves.”

  “Unfortunately I do not think I will have enough time for I have to make an early start for Capua in the morning.”

  “You are scared,” taunted Aria.

  Corelia then spoke. “While just the three of us are together, Aria, I must tell you that Parthenian has told me why you have been so intent on fighting in the Colosseo and why you have been training so hard. I will not allow it and will do everything to stop it, even to go as far as taking your place.”

  “You will not take my place,” said Aria, no longer smiling.

  “I will,” countered Corelia.

  “You would end up in a novelty contest,” Aria warned.

  “Then so be it,” said Corelia and she gave me a telling look.

  “Is that why Parthenian has been doing his best to get me out of the frame?” Aria asked. “You have threatened him.”

  “Parthenian is doing his best as a personal favour to me and because he does not want to see you in the arena again.”

  I nodded but Aria looked doubtful. “I will speak to the Emperor again.” I said.

  “One more thing before we part,” said Corelia. “We will not talk about this matter at dinner this evening. Hylas knows nothing of all this and we want to keep it that way.”

  Aria nodded assent. “It is better, Parthenian, that my husband does not know.”

  “Has he not got a right to know?” I asked.

  “He would likely do something very stupid if he did know; especially on Domitian’s next visit to Tibur,” said Corelia.

  “It is best he does not know,” Aria agreed.

  “Then I will say nothing,” I concurred.

  “Good, then we will all meet again for dinner,” Corelia stated and walked away.

  “Such a shame there will not be time for our contest tomorrow, Parthenian,” said Aria and followed Corelia. I was left alone contemplating on how I was to get Domitian to change his mind.

  *

  I entered the triclinium to see a table that was generously adorned with many bowls each laden with meat, vegetables, bread, sauces and cheese. “This is wonderful,” I commented enthusiastically as I sat down on a couch next to Corelia. On the other side of the table opposite to us Aria and Hylas sat on a similar couch.

  There was a large bowl filled with warm water and I washed my hands within and dried them on the cloth provided. “I am sorry if I kept you waiting,” I apologized.

  “We have only just arrived ourselves,” said Corelia. “Eat as much as you wish, Parthenian.”

  Some servants brought in some large drinking vessels containing calda and wine and then placed smaller cups in front of us. “Would you like calda or wine?” Hylas asked.

  “Wine please,” I replied.

  He poured the wine into my cup. “We have all been concerned about you after that incident with Tero and his guards,” he offered.

  “There is an animosity between myself and Casperius and Tero but they have left me alone since then, for I enjoy the protection of the Emperor and Empress.”

  “You should be careful,” said Corelia. “I do not know about the Empress but relying too heavily on Domitian is not a wise thing to be doing.”

  Aria smiled. “Domitian and Casperius are not popular here.”

  “You should be careful what you say about the Emperor,” advised Corelia.

  “She can say it here among friends, is that not so, Parthenian?” said Hylas.

  “Nothing said at this table will ever be repeated by me,” I assured him.

  “Do you now feel able to tell us why Casperius had you beaten by Tero?” asked Hylas. “Nothing said at this table will be repeated by us.”

  “I trust you all implicitly but some things it is safer for you not to know.” I decided to change the subject slightly. “I think I know why Domitian is unpopular but why is Casperius unpopular?” I spoke to Aria.

  “You had better ask Hylas that question,” she replied.

  Hylas volunteered the information. “I was in the Praetorian Guard under the prefect, Paulinus. Casperius engineered a conspiracy under the orders of the senator, Marcus Gracchus, which resulted in the murder of Paulinus. Paulinus was not just a senior officer but also a friend.”

  “I keep hearing the name Marcus Gracchus. How are you connected with him?” I inquired.

  “Paulinus once sent me on a mission that involved travelling around the Empire. Gracchus did not want that mission to succeed and tried to have me assassinated.”

  I whistled. “Tibur is the furthest I have ever been from Rome, though I go to Capua tomorrow,” I admitted. “Travelling around the Empire on a dangerous mission sounds like quite an adventure to me. Can you tell me about it Hylas?”

  “We would all like to hear the story again, Hylas,” laughed Aria.

  “Marcus Gracchus was rightly on trial for leading a conspiracy against the Roman state for he was very guilty. The star witness for the prosecution was not in Rome and his whereabouts was unknown. Paulinus sent me to find him and persuade him to return to Rome to testify.”

  “What was the man’s name?” I asked.

  “His name was Solanus Fuscus and he has since become a very good friend.” He looked at Corelia and she shrugged as if the man did not interest her, but it was obvious he did.

  “I remember the name from that famous trial,” I nodded. “So you were able to find him and thwart the assassination attempt.”

  “I was lucky for the assassin was a very resourceful woman.”

  “Tell me about it, if you do not mind.” The fact that it was a woman had sparked my interest even more.

  “It is a long story but I tracked Solanus to Byzantium and then to Thrace and Dacia but I always seemed to be one step behind him.”

  “May I interrupt before we go any further?” said Corelia. “We all seem to have finished our main meal.” She clapped her hands and the servants came to take away the empty bowls. “Now help yourselves to wine and drink as much as you want,” she smiled. I found her even more devastatingly beautiful when she smiled. The waiters returned with more bowls full of all types of fruit. “Now eat, while Hylas finishes his story.”

  Hylas continued. “Should I mention the side story concerning the gladiatrix, Amina?” he addressed Corelia.

  “Leave that out for it is a painful memory and has no bearing on the Gracchus story,” suggested Aria. “We will save that one for another time.”

  Hylas nodde
d agreement. “I travelled overland from Byzantium to Philippopolis, the capital of Thrace, and I met a fellow traveller on the way called Sotan. It was lucky for me that I met up with Sotan for we were shortly attacked by some robbers. Together we killed them and survived and successfully made our way to Philippopolis. It was now winter and I could not continue the journey to Dacia, where I suspected Solanus to be, until the spring. In that part of the world it was impossible to travel over the mountains in winter. Sotan had become a good friend and I had dinner with him and his wife Glyca regularly. When spring finally arrived I went to Sotan to discuss the journey into Dacia. Instead I was held prisoner for many months by Glyca and two ruffians. Sotan had already gone to Dacia with a man named Decarian, who had intended to murder me. I was lucky that Sotan had become a friend for he had dissuaded Decarian from that course of action and he was going to set me free when he returned after eliminating Solanus. In the meantime I was to remain a prisoner so that I did not interfere. Does this all make sense?” he asked.

  “It makes perfect sense,” I assured him.

  “He never returned and Glyca grew very worried. She decided I would accompany her to Dacia to find her husband, which was now her main objective. We did not find Sotan and so I decided to continue to Singidunum in search of Solanus and she decided to go with me. We eventually caught up with Solanus in Singidunum but before I could speak with him Glyca poisoned me.”

  “She poisoned you?” I gasped as I bit into an apple.

  “Again I was lucky because I had only drunk a few sips of her deadly poison otherwise I would not be here speaking with you now, Parthenian. Fortunately she did not catch up with Solanus because, hearing of the trial, he had decided to return to Rome anyway.”

  “So your journey was all for nothing,” I said.

  “Indeed and the poison left me ill for many weeks and then I was confronted by the other assassin, Decarian. I managed to kill Decarian before I too eventually returned to Rome. Sotan had unfortunately been murdered by Dacians who were in revolt against Rome at that time. Glyca made another unsuccessful attempt to murder Solanus in the Imperial Palace in Rome but managed to escape.”

  “She had access to the palace?” I gasped again.

  “She was very shrewd and calculating,” he sighed. “It was not difficult for a woman of her resources.”

  “Where is she now?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” he replied.

  “If we knew I would tear out her heart and feed it to the crows,” added Aria.

  “But Marcus Gracchus was acquitted anyway,” I stated. “I remember.”

  “He was because in the end, Solanus did not testify.”

  “Why did he not testify?” I asked.

  “Because Gracchus managed to convince him that he was holding his wife, Kotys, and if he did testify that she would be butchered. He was not willing to take the chance that the words of Gracchus were lies.”

  “So Gracchus walked free but he was soon murdered himself,” I muttered.

  “He was,” agreed Hylas coldly.

  I took a final sip of wine. “It is time for me to return to my room for I have to make an early start in the morning.” I stood up. “Thank you for a wonderful meal, Corelia, that was most generous of you. And thank you, Hylas, for an interesting story.”

  “It was a true story, though I left much out,” he replied.

  “You can tell the rest another time,” said Aria kissing her husband.

  I turned to Corelia. “I saw you battle with Amina in the Colosseo. You were truly glorious.” Both Aria and Hylas were grinning at my open admiration for their mistress.

  “It was my hardest contest,” she smiled.

  “Goodnight, then,” I said to the three of them and made my way back to my room. I hoped that Corelia would recognize my admiration for what it was; an invitation to my room. I was also intrigued by the story of the assassin, Glyca, and I wondered about her possible identity. Corelia did not come and I could not go to her for that would be dangerous and overstepping the mark for many reasons.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning I rose early in order to make an immediate start on my journey to Capua, which would take all of the daylight hours. I wasted no time in making preparations and was happy to see that Hylas, Corelia and Aria were there to see me off and say their goodbyes. I was sure that Hylas regarded me as a friend and I hoped that Corelia and Aria did likewise though I wanted Corelia to be more than a friend. The journey would take me along the Via Appia which connected Rome to Capua and the eighty leagues in distance would take me all day to traverse. My plan was to seek lodgings on arrival in Capua and visit the gladiatorial school the next morning.

  The Via Appia was one of the finest and most famous roads in Italy and cut through the Alban Hills and a large area of marshland before reaching Capua. As I travelled towards the gladiatorial school I could not help thinking of that notorious gladiator, Spartacus, and his association with the Via Appia. Spartacus had led a great slave revolt almost one hundred and sixty years earlier, which had been put down by the wealthy and renowned consul and general, Marcus Crassus. Spartacus had been killed in the battle but thousands of the rebellious slaves had been captured. Crassus had then decided to make an example of these prisoners and had them crucified in their thousands at intervals along the Via Appia, all the way from Rome to Capua. I looked about me and I could almost imagine the rotting corpses which, as intended, had successfully deterred slaves from any further insurrections.

  I arrived at Capua at dusk and as I made my way towards the forum I passed the amphitheatre and a fortified building which had the appearance of a gladiatorial school. I now knew where to go in the morning and so all that remained was to find a decent inn. Just off the forum I found exactly what I was looking for and I booked myself in for the night and then stabled my horse. The room was small but clean and agreeable with a table and two chairs. The bed was soft and comfortable and I played a game in my head as to who I would most like to share it with. There were several candidates and I weighed them up in my inventive and licentious mind. In the palace there was the Empress, my aunt, who though spurned by her husband and many years older than me was still desirable. There was also Drucilla who I liked very much but perhaps did not desire quite so much. Finally there was Marcella, the woman of mystery, who was able to turn on my passion whenever it seemed to suit her. At Tibur there were the two gladiatrices Corelia and Aria but both brought with them disadvantages. One was the Emperor’s concubine which made her seemingly out of reach, though her beauty was unparalleled. The other, the appealing and fun loving Aria, was the wife of a friend and therefore also out of reach. I grinned as I narrowed it down to two and the lucky two were Corelia for her matchless beauty, which overcame my fear of reprisals, and Marcella for her tried and tested rampant sexuality. I grinned and made my final decision from the two alluring contestants and soon after I was fast asleep.

  After breakfast I walked the short distance from the inn to the gladiatorial school. As with the one at Rome there was a guard on duty. “I am Parthenian, the Emperor’s chamberlain. I am also his representative and I am here to see Quintus Tubero on the Emperor’s business.”

  “Is he expecting you?” he asked politely.

  “No, I did not have time to give him advanced warning. The Emperor has sent me at short notice.”

  “I will tell him you are here.”

  He soon came back with a short stocky individual who appeared strong despite his diminutive height. The small man looked up at me. “I am Tubero,” he said in a firm voice which belied his size.

  “I am Parthenian,” I replied.

  “You wish to see me on the Emperor’s business?” He seemed puzzled. “It is a most pleasant morning so shall we sit and watch the training while we talk?”

  “Bring some refreshments for me and my guest,” he called to a young man who was also watching proceedings. He gave his young servant a lascivious glance before returning his
attention to me.

  “That is kind of you,” I said as we sat on a seat some distance from the training exercises. “I have to speak with you about Medusa.”

  He seemed delighted. “The Emperor wishes to have her fight at his games?”

  “He does indeed,” I confirmed. “He has a vision of the two finest gladiatrices in Italy battling it out for the honour of their cities. He sees it as the new Rome versus the old Rome; Capua being the new Rome.”

  “Of course,” his enthusiasm had waned a little. “Will Corelia be representing the old Rome?”

  “Does that make a difference?” I hedged.

  “I would not wish to see Medusa fight Corelia.”

  “Why is that?” I inquired.

  “I saw Corelia fight the Asian champion, Amina, at the Colosseo last year. Medusa would have little chance against her for Corelia is immensely impressive and always finds a way to win. She would be too clever for Medusa.”

  “Is that a problem?” I asked, intrigued.

  He leaned towards me in a conspiratorial fashion. “Medusa is the best gladiatrix I have ever had at my school. She makes me lots of money and I want that to go on for many years if possible, and not come to an end in a few months time.”

  “I see then you are in luck for her opponent will not be Corelia because she refuses to come out of retirement. Medusa will have to fight the best that Rome’s school has to offer but it will not be Corelia.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Have you a name for Rome’s best?”

  “It has not yet been decided for sure but it could be a German gladiatrix named Geta.” I informed him.

  “Good, I know this Geta and Medusa will have an excellent chance against her. Tell the Emperor that Medusa will fight at his Jupiter games.”