by Lynn, R.
before continuing. “You are bold yet kind. Beautiful yet humble. Innocent yet intelligent. I have never met anyone like you.”
* She lowered her gaze from his, his eyes held so much love that it was almost smothering. But his words, his words touched her more than any other she had heard. Simeon was a good, kind man. He would be a good choice for a happy future.
He grabbed her chin and gently lifted her face so he could look upon her. “I would be honoured if you would consider me to be your husband,” he finished.
***
“Thaddius! Oh Thaddius my love, how was your first
race? I am sorry I couldn’t be there. I was in town getting my hair colored. Do you like it?” Calista’s asked as she twirled her now bright-red-locks in her fingers.
When he had seen her approach, he sighed in defeat. All he had wanted was to make it back to his quarters and avoid crossing her path.
He was far too tired to entertain. “Yes, it looks lovely,” Thaddius offered with a tone that reflected he did not care.
Yet despite his indifferent response, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. At first he held his head back
as she awkwardly tried to pull it down. But then he realized he had no reason to deny her himself, she was after all his future wife.
His lips met hers, and he could smell the sickly sweetness of her over-perfumed skin. There was no fire, no passion that urged him to continue, so he pulled his head back and looked down at her.
“Calista, I have another race in the morning, and I desperately need my rest. You can stay in my room, and I will stay in my father’s quarters,” Thaddius pulled her hands from around his neck and turned to leave.
He did not look back at her as he walked into the villa and down the hall to his father’s room. Ignoring the rising emotions at the familiar smells and sights he closed the door behind him and took off his sandals and crawled into bed.
He had barely been able to close his eyes and fully enter rest when the door to the room creaked open.
Propped up on his elbow, he gave Calista an angry look as she entered his room uninvited.
“What is it now? Can you not see I am trying to find sleep?”
“I just heard you gave a ride to another woman. If I am to be your bride, it must be me showcased with you on your chariot!” She stuck out her bottom lip and swayed her hips.
Thaddius rolled his eyes when he knew she was not looking. He really had gotten himself in deep with Calista. “You are right, and tomorrow you can ride out to the gates with me. Now leave me!” He rolled over and pulled the bed covers over his head. He could hear Calista huff in frustration as she stomped out of his quarters.
It took him longer than necessary to find sleep. His mind worried about racing without Diana, about the events with Simeon, and the wager with Barachius.
He tossed from side to side, never descending to a dreamless state. And when the light of the morning sun streamed into his room, it did not offer him peace. He was deeply worried about the day ahead.
There was a knock on his door. Thaddius groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Enter.”
“Good morning,” Vettius beamed as he brought in a tray of food for Thaddius.
“Good morning,” Thaddius grumbled as he got out of bed and walked over to his basin to splash water onto his face.
“Someone is in a foul mood,” Vettius joked.
In response to the jest, Thaddius threw his face cloth at Vettius and started eating the food on the tray.
“When you are done, you need to go to the stables and chose a new lead horse. Everything else has been packed and ready for transportation to Circus Maximus.” Vettius diligently went about the room, straightening out the bed covers and picking up Thaddius’s mess.
“I don’t want another lead. It doesn’t seem right,” Thaddius complained as he stuffed his mouth with food.
“You have no other option, Thaddius. Besides, all those horses adore you. A change of lead horse gives you a chance to prove to the green team that your skill far exceeds your lead horse.”
“Do you honestly believe so?” Thaddius raised an eyebrow at Vettius.
“I do indeed. Now hurry up and meet me by the horses.”
Vettius grabbed the now empty tray, shaking his head at the mess Thaddius had made in his haste to eat quickly.
“Did you mange to get any of the food in your mouth?”
“W hat will the day look like?” Calista asked as she got
into the transportation cart and closed the door.
“The next of the races will be on Circus Maximus,”
Thaddius replied as he looked toward Lucius. “It is a
privilege to ride upon the sand of its arena. For almost fifty
years the world’s best drivers have competed there.” “I have never been to the Circus Maximus, tell me what is
it like?” Lucius put his arms behind his head and closed his
eyes to picture the arena in his mind.
Thaddius smiled as he remembered his first time at the
Circus. It was a wonderful yet frightening place.
“It is big, alarmingly so. It can hold hundreds of thousands
of men. But it is beautiful. The track is one of the finest I
have seen. It is long and oval, and in the middle of the track
is the spina that is decorated with obelisks of the sun,
immortality, and images of the gods. Wherever you are on
the track a different god watches over you. It is a powerful
feeling.”
Thaddius’s heart beat in anticipation. It was on the Circus
Maximus that he was proclaimed Victor of Rome. The Circus was now like a second home to him. He had even decorated his villa with some of the same obelisks.
“It does sound powerful!” Lucius sighed. “How many laps is the second race?” Calista asked, as she picked at her nails.
“Seven,” Simeon interrupted. His arms were crossed and he tapped his foot impatiently on the floor of the cart. No doubt he was still mad at Thaddius for the other day.
“How do you know which lap you are on?” she asked as she looked innocently toward Thaddius.
“At each end of the spina is a set of seven eggs. After each lap around the track an egg gets removed. That way you will know how much farther you need to go.” He looked at Lucius to make sure he had heard as well.
“An egg? That seems senseless. Horses don’t lay eggs,” Calista threw in.
Sellah coughed, in a transparent attempt to cover her laughter.
“They are in memory of Castor and Pollux,” Thaddius said as he looked upon Calista in frustration. Yet all he received was a blank stare indicating that she had no clue about the tradition. He sighed before he continued, “You know, born from an egg, laid by their mother Leda, who was impregnated by Jupiter in the form of a swan?”
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
He threw up his hands in defeat as he looked to Simeon, Sellah, and Lucius for help.
“Castor and Pollux are the patrons of horsemen and the equestrian order. They aid our soldiers on the battle field!”
Lucius exclaimed. He too was in shock that she had never heard of such important deities.
* The silence in the cart worked to brew Calista’s annoyance. She did not like the way people were looking at her, so in an attempt to change the topic, she focused on Sellah.
“That amulet you own looks to be above the state of a slave. Did you steal it from someone?” Calista studied the silver and alabaster pin with envy clearly in her eyes.
Sellah held her gaze and brought her hand over her amulet to hide it from Calista’s sight.
“Thaddius, control her tongue,” Simeon growled as he wrapped an arm around Sellah to offer her his support.
Sellah stiffened under his forward touch in front of the others.
<
br /> Calista stared at Thaddius, her mouth dropping open as she waited for him to scold Simeon for talking so rudely about her.
* But Thaddius did not notice Calista’s offense; instead, he watched Sellah’s reaction to Simeon. Her delicate hands fiddled with her stola. It was something he had seen her do many times.
“Simeon, take your arm off of her at once. And Calista, she did not steal it. It was a gift. No one, I mean no one,
speak for the remainder of the drive or I will have you removed from the cart.” He glared at Calista who snapped her head back in bewilderment and opened her mouth to form a retort.
“I was not jesting. Your status of my betrothed does not spare you in this instance,” he warned.
She crossed her arms and shut her mouth as she frowned at him for the rest of the drive.
Soon the images out the window distracted them all enough to forget Thaddius’s outburst. They watched as the crowds walked in groups toward the circus. Spectators were clothed in the colors of their favorite teams.
There were twice as many people attending this race than the first. She could barely see through the throngs of spectators as they made their way toward Circus Maximus.
Blue supporters pushed back people so that Thaddius’s entourage could make its way through. They waved and clapped and sang Thaddius’s song.
Lucius, soaking in each moment, hung out of the window waving at them, grabbing as many hands as he could as they passed.
Thaddius smiled. He remembered the days when he was as excited to see his supporters and greet them before the race. “Lucius, you may speak to them,” he offered.
Lucius pulled his head inside and looked to Thaddius to confirm he had heard correctly. Thaddius smiled and nodded toward their supporters.
“Thank you, thank you!” Lucius called out. “We will crush the greens!”
The supporters went wild screaming for him, asking him questions, and Lucius relished the attention.
Thaddius watched for a while before he turned his attention back to Calista. She was obviously not pleased that Lucius was permitted to speak and she was not. She glared at Thaddius and offered grunts and groans of disapproval.
“If you keep this up, I will grant everyone a voice but you,” he threatened. Thaddius could not stand pouting women. He found them extremely irritating.
Snapping her head away from him, she raised her nose proudly in the air and quietly watched out the window, smiling and waving to people as they passed. If she was not going to get Thaddius’s attention, she could at least gain the crowds.
A shadow cast over the people indicating that they were close to their destination. Sellah poked her head out the window and looked up to see a large stone building blocking out the morning sun. Its huge presence was astounding, and she couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.
Thaddius chuckled as he shifted in the cart to be seated next to her. Simeon glared as he did so, but didn’t risk Thaddius’s wrath by speaking his mind.
“It is beautiful is it not?” Thaddius watched intently for Sellah’s response.
A smile brightened in her eyes as she nodded. Instantly he felt a fool. Of course, she could not answer him because he had not permitted them to speak.
He looked to Simeon and Calista, and by the pouts on their faces decided he would forgo hearing Sellah’s voice to save having to hear theirs.
“Just wait until you see the inside,” he beamed as he turned back to Sellah.
He leaned over her to look out the window, and one of the
women in the crowd spotted him. She began to shake in excitement as she screamed his name. He gave her a brief smile and nod before quickly pulling back into the safety of the cart.
As he came to rest he slumped into his seat, his body half leaning on Sellah’s.
* She could tell he was tired, exhausted even, by the lack of enthusiasm he put forth.
The first race he could barely keep the smile from his face. But today, he seemed to have lost some confidence. She should have pulled away from him, especially after catching the glare Calista offered her. But she couldn’t find the strength to do so.
Instead, she pressed her leg closer to his and waited for him to tense and move away, but he did not. He merely looked at her, as if to ask if her touch was purposely done or by chance. And when Sellah saw the look in his eyes, she diverted her gaze, afraid of what her face might reveal.
Accalia was right, Thaddius would not want her. He was betrothed to another woman, one of better breeding than her. She moved her leg and pressed herself as far from him as she could.
How could she act so recklessly after the heartfelt conversation with Simeon the night before? She had apologized for pulling away from him as he attempted to kiss her. And she had given him hope by saying she would think over his proposal of marriage.
A kind and decent man had wanted her, and yet here she was entertaining thoughts that her touch would comfort another.
Both men watched her, wondering about her prompt movement. Simeon, upset over her closeness to Thaddius, was relieved to see her leave his side, yet that left Thaddius feeling the sting of rejection.
She watched out the window as she thought over her actions. In the distance she could see a swarm of green as Barachius’s party made their way through the crowds. They came with hundreds of attendants who pushed back the people so their charioteers and supplies could be brought through.
At the front of the greens rode Barachius upon the back of a white horse. The horse seemed to struggle underneath his weight but he did not care. He dug his feet into its side and waved at the people as he passed.
Soon the green and blue melded together as they came to the large wooden doors of the arena. Just as before, the supporters fought over which team would win, some going as far as to physically assault the others.
Sellah was thankful that no one had thrown anything at their cart so far. She wondered if it was because they were honoring Thaddius for winning the first race.
As the wooden doors opened and forced back the crowds, Barachius pushed his way before the blues so he could enter into the arena first. As he passed the blue entourage, he spat at the ground. Each charioteer who followed him repeated the gesture.It was a sign of utmost disrespect, and soon the green supporters in the crowd followed their action. The blues supporters became enraged and another large scale brawl
broke out. Thaddius motioned for the drivers to move on before the carts got pulled into the fight.
Sellah watched behind them as they entered the arena. It pained her to see people getting needlessly hurt over a sport. But she knew pain and death were what ruled Rome. And like it or not, she had to live with it.
Thaddius instructed the driver to do a loop around the track before pulling into the stables. They watched from the cart as thousands of colorful spectators filled the seats.
It was a sea divided into sections of green, blue, white, and red. They waved their flags and stomped their feet, each section calling out the names of their favorite drivers.
The biggest sections were filled with the greens, followed closely by the blues. These two groups were separated by the reds and whites. And rightfully so, as the greens and blues were already were throwing objects at each other and exchanging shouted insults and threats.
In the middle of the stadium seating, there were open rooms, colorfully decorated with draped silks. Sellah could make out servants attending to men and women within them. Some were waving palm branches to cool their masters and others were serving food and drink. She wondered what powerful and well-bred men and women used these rooms.
When they first pulled up to the arena, she had thought the people in the street would be filling the spectator seats, but there was not an empty seat to be seen. They had gathered in the streets around the circus just to catch a glimpse of the race.
*
As soon as the cart came to a halt at the stables, Thaddius began shouting orders. Sellah was once again instructed
to see to the hipposandals as she had done a good job the first time. Simeon also worked with the horses, fastening each one to the quadriga and insuring they were properly decorated in the colors of the team.
When Thaddius and Lucius were in their armor and the horses ready, they took off into the arena procession. The charioteers from all four teams paraded around the arena, waving and shouting to their well wishers in the stands.
Slaves took this moment to see to the last demands of their drivers, oiling the wheels, adjusting the leather armor, and offering water sponges for drink. Other men concentrated on the condition of the track, dispersing buckets of water onto the sand.
As promised, Thaddius brought Calista along with him for the opening ceremony of the event. She pressed her body close to his as he drove her around the track, displaying herself before the crowds in the stands. Unlike Sellah, she embraced the angry taunts of the other woman and would often do things to anger them further such as rub Thaddius’s chest or wrap her arms around him.
“What are they doing?” Calista pointed to the men with buckets as she turned to face Thaddius. “They water down the sands so that there is less dust. Yesterday, we were on stone ground and still could barely see. It is far worse when we are racing on the sand,” he explained.
The trumpets sounded announcing that the race would begin in just a few short moments. He was happy to hear them so he could finally say goodbye to Calista. When he
had successfully seen her off the track, he motioned Lucius to follow him.
They pulled their chariots before the starting blocks and awaited their next signal. Thaddius found his familiar foot grooves, rewrapped the reins tighter to his forearm and ran his hand over the rough wood of the cart.
The crowds screamed alongside the trumpets, clapping their hands on their wine vessels, and singing the song of their favorite charioteer. This continued to escalate in volume and caused an unnatural echo to reverberate off the walls of the arena. Many thousands of men, woman, and children had gathered to watch the race. As the trumpets stilled, Thaddius looked up to see the magistrate standing in the middle of the track on top of the spina. His hand was held high above his head, and in it was the mappa cloth. The crowd quieted, anxiously awaiting the release, the start of the race.