Praetorian Series [4] All Roads Lead to Rome

by Edward Crichton

  I shrugged internally as I thought about them, happy Artie had found someone to rely on in my absence and equally happy that she’d apparently tamed the primal beast within Santino, but also saddened by their separation. Their loss of each other seemed to cut even deeper than my own feelings concerning Artie’s disappearance.

  After only a second, Galba turned back to me, his face mildly amused. “He always was quite amusing,” Galba said. “Not actually funny but his antics never failed to amuse.”

  I scrunched my nose and nodded in agreement. “It’s an acquired taste.”

  “Indeed…” Galba said distantly, “…but tell me, Jacob Hunter, if you haven’t in fact staged a coup and have been ruling Rome as an usurper, who has?”

  I shrugged, as though the answer was obvious. “Who do you think? Nero, of course.”

  Galba literally choked on his answer, but Vespasian was much quicker to recover from his shock. “But he is just a boy.”

  “Yeah,” I said, “but he’s also Agrippina’s only heir. In fact, he’s the only Caesar left after she cleaned house. He…”

  “But…” Galba sputtered, finally coming to his sense, “…he’s just a boy!”

  “Uh… yeah,” I said as I hooked a thumb at Vespasian, “your buddy over there just said that. Now let me finish, because you’re going to love this part. Nero is Agrippina’s heir, we all know that, but he’s also underage and can therefore not legally take on the role of emperor. In fact, as you already well know, Agrippina was only empress because she was simply filling the role in the interim while young Nero reached the appropriate age. Once he…”

  “Why do you insist on telling us information we already know as though we have no idea what you are speaking of?” Galba asked.

  “It’s called exposition,” I said impatiently. “Now shush and let me finish. With Agrippina gone, someone needs to step in and act as guardians of young Nero, taking on her responsibilities as provisional emperor until he’s ready. That someone is…”

  Galba’s eyes widened. “Do not say you have stolen this role for yourself!”

  I lifted a hand to my brow and shook my head. “For the love of…!” I lowered my hand and looked at him squarely, causing him to flinch with my next statement. “No, Galba! No!” I paused. “No! No! Just shut up or I’ll make you go sit in the corner.”

  Galba glanced to either side of him. “What corner? Why? For what purpose would…”

  “Just shut up already!” I yelled, throwing my arms out to my side. “For crying out loud, I’m already regretting this…”

  “Regretting what, Jacob?” Vespasian asked suspiciously. “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t do shit!” I exclaimed while I flung an arm behind me and pointed at Gaius and Marcus. “They did! You see, also as you know, the Praetorian Guard aid in the protection of the Caesar’s belongings as well as their persons. Which includes such things as their wills. And upon Agrippina’s death, Gaius and Marcus went in search of her will, and low and behold, do you know what they found?” I paused for effect, but grew frustrated when neither man answered. “Her will! And do you know who she named to take her place in the case of her untimely demise? To rule Rome and prepare Nero for his time to take over?”

  Galba let out a little snarl. “Just like a Praetorian to take control for themselves. I never should have trusted them to…”

  I cut him off when I smacked my thighs loudly in frustration, dropping back down into the emperor’s uncomfortable chair. Returning to my earlier slumped position, I held my head in my hand and shook it slowly

  “Why do I even bother?” I asked myself quietly. “Here I am trying to put everything right… make everything better… be a good boy scout and clean up after myself, but here’s fucking Servius Galba, an ugly man with a child’s mind, unable to keep himself from interrupting me. Oh, cruel God. Why have you…”

  “Ignore him, Jacob,” Vespasian ordered while I heard Gaius and Marcus chuckling quietly from beside me. “Please continue.”

  I lowered my hand so that I could look at him, and stared him dead in the eyes. “You.”

  Vespasian’s mouth tightened. To his credit, he appeared surprised and humbled by this decision, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Galba, once again, stepped in.

  “I knew you would choose him!” He yelled. “All your talk of history and lines of time and believing you know this man to be someone he is not… this is unacceptable. I will not allow him to simply take control of Rome so easily. His army is of equal strength to my own, and I will…”

  I interrupted him with a pair of words completely insignificant on their own, but of great meaning in the current context: “And. You.”

  Galba blinked, clearly unsure what he should say next, which in of itself was a blessing. Vespasian too looked surprised by this announcement, more so even than when I’d announced him as Nero’s guardian. No one else in the room stirred.

  To my surprise it was Galba who spoke next. “Joint custody?”

  I rolled my eyes again and rose to my feet. “It’s not like you guys need to get married. You aren’t his fathers. You’d just be his legal guardians. The real point, however, is that the two of you would have equal stewardship over the entirety of Rome and its holdings until Nero comes of age.”

  The pair of men glanced at each other, almost distrustfully, almost amicably, I couldn’t really tell. They turned back to me after only a moment and Vespasian spoke up.

  “It is difficult to believe that Agrippina would name us as her successors. In fact, I do not believe it.”

  I smirked. “Well, again, as you already know, there are a few benefits to holding high rank in the Praetorian Guard…” I twisted at the waist and held an arm out in Gaius and Marcus’ direction. The pair of Praetorians remained at attention beside my chair but they wore small but proud smiles on their faces.

  “Ah,” Vespasian remarked. “I see. And I see that you have broken the law and forged a deceased head of state’s will. This is a highly criminal offense Jacob, you…”

  “Listen!” I called out again, growing extraordinarily frustrated by all of this. “I’m doing the two of you a favor here. I’m giving the two of you and, by proxy, Rome, a chance. I know you. I know Rome. I understand the basic principles of how this Empire works. I know its history and I know a version of its future. I know how its military works, its administration, its religions, and I know of its vulnerabilities and threats. After everything we’ve done, there are still external variables that have in no way been affected by our meddling… and they’re out there. And they’re coming. Not today, not tomorrow, not for a while, in fact, but they’re there. I’m giving the two of you a chance to rebuild, reposition, restore this empire into what it was, and so much more. And I’m doing this because I know you can do it. I didn’t pull your names out of Wang’s ass when I thought about this. I know you. I know you both. I know you can pull this off.”

  The two were silent again, appearing almost like school children having been scolded by the principal. I wasn’t sure what they were thinking, but I was again surprised when Galba spoke up first, his tone even and rational.

  “You always favored Vespasian,” he said. “More than a year ago you asked for my aid in supporting him, but now you wish to elevate us both to the same position. What has changed?”

  “Everything,” I said calmly. “Everything has changed. I told you both about the history of Rome from where I come from, and in that history, Vespasian was the guy who rose to power and led Rome to prosperity. Galba, unfortunately, you did not. But that isn’t the case here. Here, you’ve proven yourself as an extremely capable individual, far too shrewd to be pushed aside and far too important to ignore. You’re younger – you both are – you’re vital, healthy, sharp, and you’ve been involved in all of this since the beginning. How can I ignore that? And then, of course, there’s the point that you’ve taken a dislike to poor Vespasian here recently, and that I’ve been told you occasionally spoke
of a power grab yourself. No offense, but I couldn’t allow that. Rome’s too vulnerable for another civil war. So… a compromise. Joint power. And I’ll let you in on a secret, it was a concept Rome worked with for quite some time a few hundred years from now. It worked well enough for a while, and it can work even better now. But it’s your choice. Not mine. I’m simply offering you the deal of a lifetime.”

  A shout emanated from one of the benches off to my left. “Take the bloody deal!” Wang shouted, his hands cupped around his mouth. He lowered them and nudged Santino in the side with a smile on his face as though he’d said something incredibly clever. Santino returned the smile but, again, his heart didn’t seem completely into it.

  Galba and Vespasian had both looked in their direction, and like the last time they’d looked away, they quickly returned their attention to me, then each other for a quick glance, and then back to me.

  It was Vespasian’s turn again. “But what of your desire to… ‘fix’ our history. This seemed of great importance to you when we spoke late last year.”

  I nodded. “It was, but new information presented itself and made me rethink my position. And…” I glanced at Helena, seated to my left. She looked up at me and smiled. “…well, let’s just say I’ve let go of certain burdens. I may have been responsible for a lot in this world, but I’m not its father. It’s not my job to nurture it, raise it, and send it on its way… well, I guess in regard to that last part I am like its father. All that’s left for me to do is let go and step away.”

  Galba cleared his throat, covering it with a fist. “I must admit I did not expect this. I had thought you would seek control for yourself.”

  I worked my mouth left, then right, taking a second to think before I responded. “Two months ago, you may have been right. I was under the orb’s influence and Agrippina was there every second, manipulating me. Even if she hadn’t offered me power, at some point, I may have tried to take it from her. But I was lucky. Am lucky. Lucky that I have people who care about me, more than they probably should.” I chuckled at myself for a moment. “It’s unfortunate that the past year of my life had to happen to remind me how lucky I am, but, at least, I know it now.”

  Galba didn’t seem impressed. “I do not believe that I misread you, Hunter. Orb or no, it was still you who did all those things. That evil is still inside you. It may be repressed without the orb, but still it is there.”

  I nodded. “I think you’re right, but we all have our demons. Some worse than others. I understand how much I have to atone for, so let’s just say that I’m trying to start right now with this offer to you. Trust me, I have no interest in more responsibility.”

  He lowered his chin slowly in a nod, causing his other chin rolls to reveal themselves. “And your orbs? Have you found what you came all this way for? Will their menace no longer enslave you?”

  “I did,” I said, “but there are never any guarantees in life. The threat they pose will always be there, but precautions have been taken and I have no intention of abusing their power. Honestly, we could have all been long gone before you even arrived, leaving this city to you in a state of pure chaos, but we decided to stay. It seemed the least we could do.”

  Galba heaved in a deep breath, his chest rising, then falling. He turned to Vespasian and waited until his counterpart returned the look. “I will accept these terms,” Galba said. “You’re faith in Hunter was brash, reckless, but…” he hesitated before glancing back at me, his voice suggesting he was almost reluctant to continue, “… but it seems it was well-warranted.”

  Vespasian dipped his head, accepting the compliment and apology in stride. He then turned to me. “But will Rome accept this? Will its people? Tenuous cease fires and peace accords have been made throughout the empire but Rome’s military is not at the height of its popularity at the moment. Will Romans accept a pair of generals as their leaders?”

  I shrugged. “They’ve done it before. I think many were mostly upset at Agrippina, not the military. What they need now is another Augustus. They need another princeps, a first man, first among equals, humble leaders with common sense, worldly experiences, decency, and a knack for governance and administration. Not vainglorious, egotistical monsters. And I think you guys are the ones to do it.”

  Vespasian smiled. “I always did have aspirations to enter politics. And I have no more desire for bloodshed and war.”

  “So you’ll accept then?”

  He shook his head, but not so emphatically that I assumed he was saying no outright. “But what of Nero? You have spoken of him before as well. Of the man he is to become. Is allowing him to fulfill his role as Caesar the appropriate course of action?”

  “He’s just a kid,” I said with a shrug. “He hasn’t even entered his impressionable years yet. Rome wasn’t the only thing entrusted to you. He was as well. Teach him. Guide him. Take him to the streets. Take him to the front lines. Let him get his hands dirty. Let him make mistakes. Let him learn from experience. Don’t coddle him and don’t spoil him. Let him see you as father figures but don’t let him forget his mother. And… well, if he wants vengeance for whoever killed her, just blame us. We’ll be long gone. Just don’t encourage him on that one, if you please.”

  Vespasian nodded with a small smile. “Sound advice. I believe you will make a good father yourself one day, Jacob Hunter.”

  I glanced at Helena. She was already smiling at me. I looked back at Vespasian. “Let’s hope so. But back to Nero for a second. If you see him turning into the kind of person that shouldn’t be leading an empire, do something about it. Don’t just let him take control completely. Surround him with advisors who have backbones and will maneuver him accordingly… maybe even yourselves if need be.”

  “Not always an easy task,” Galba muttered.

  “I know,” I said, “but that’s your only option. Now, do we have a deal?”

  Galba nodded again and we all turned to Vespasian, waiting for his reaction. After a moment’s consideration, which I took as a good thing, he too nodded. He then turned to Galba and shook his forearm.

  “Great,” I exclaimed, spreading my arms wide before clapping them both on the shoulders. “God speed to you both. It’s been great knowing you.”

  I stepped forward, wedging my way between them, and headed for the exit. Helena jumped to her feet and walked out beside me, supporting my bum leg, while the rest of my friends filed in around us. Only Gaius and Marcus stayed behind, asked by Vespasian to stay behind for a moment.

  We were all nearly to the exit when Galba suddenly called out from behind us. “Wait! This is how you will leave us? Without ceremony? Without our leave? You will just… walk away, never to be seen again?”

  I halted, mere feet from the wide doors that lead to the outside world, eager to do just as he’d suggested. But instead of being overly dramatic, I turned so that I could see him. “We aren’t going anywhere yet, Galba. There’s still a few more things we need to do. We’ll be around, but I promise we’ll stay out of the way.”

  “Such as?” He asked, taking a step toward me.

  I sighed as I offered him one last annoyed look before stepping through the entrance, calling out over my shoulder as I vacated his presence for hopefully the last time. “Just a few personal errands. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  ***

  The first of which was to lead my friends to a nearby park on the Esquiline Hill where we could discuss our futures. Everyone was here except our pair of Romans, and we all had decisions to make. I assumed most had already made up their minds regarding where they wanted to go from here, but we’d all agreed to remain silent on the matter until now. We hadn’t wanted to share our plans with each other until we were certain we could just walk away from it all. Had Galba, Vespasian, or some other entity denied us our freedom, or forced us into a fight, or somehow managed to take the orbs from us, certain hopes from one individual or another may have been shattered. So, we’d thought it best to wait. Obviously, our caution
had been unnecessary – Galba and Vespasian had done exactly what we’d hoped they’d do – but now we were faced with a slew of choices, and it was time to share our decisions.

  The walk was short, and refreshing. For the first time in over a half decade, I felt free of responsibility and internal torment, with one caveat: the blue orb still nagged at me, its presence a constant reminder of what I had done, who I had been, and how far I had come to destroying my entire world, both literally and figuratively. I would never forgive myself for having that village of Druids burnt to the ground, for ordering the execution of prisoners, for abandoning my friends and family in my darkest hour, and I would never forgive or allow myself to forget what I’d done to Vincent. I’d stolen a beautiful life from this world, one full of knowledge, wisdom, and compassion, a man who had opened his heart on a number of occasions just to help my own feel better. He’d been the closest thing I’d had to a father since I was in middle school. He’d been a husband, an adoptive father, a biological father, a man of deep faith haunted by a mistake he’d made in his youth that had driven him to surround himself in penance.

  He was irreplaceable, and I’d never forget him.

  But there was still the orbs to consider. They were my responsibility now, and if I wanted to truly atone for what I’d done, I had to keep the world safe from them. It was a dangerous duty, the risk of exposure to one or the other always present, but it was something that had to be done. Merlin had entrusted them to me, offering them to me so that I could use them to go home, but he hadn’t needed to do that.

  So now we were here. At a crossroads. I knew what I was going to do and I knew what Helena wanted to do. I suspected what the others wished to do as well, but I didn’t know for sure. Today, I would, and we would start the process of returning our lives to whatever semblance of “normal” we wanted.

  The sun was shining, the air was thick with late summer humidity, and despite the sweat on my brow and dripping down my back, I felt more comfortable than I had in ages. My bones were still defrosting from their time in Britain, my mind continued to clarify from my time under the blue orb’s spell as well as my withdrawal from it, and my muscles and limbs were rebuilding. The local Romans seemed cheerful and exuberant and there was a taste of rebirth in the air, as though the entire public was aware that with Agrippina’s passing, life in the empire was bound to change for the better.