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Seppia let her brother lead her to their carriage out from the harsh night. Sea breezes pushed the stench of the ludus towards them. How she longed for home. She relished the darkness of the carriage. It hid the moisture on her cheeks. She slumped out on the silken blankets, head pillowed under her arm, as she watched Seppius peevishly bark orders to the slaves. Tears dried yet more soon followed. She felt like a foolish girl.
Seppius stepped in the carriage and closed the curtains. The carriage rocked starting on the long road back to Capua from the Batiatus Ludus. And the horrid people within. Sighing, he laid out next to her. Jealousy still wracked his handsome features despite the gloom. He had to compose himself, wiping his mouth, and taking a deep breath. Seppius rolled onto his side. The moon peeked in from the gaps in the flowing curtains to lay shadows and light on his face. Reclining his head on his palm, he studied her face. His expression softened. Running a hand down her arm, he held her serpent bracelet in his grip as he had so many times before. His thumb drew circles on her wrist. Quiet words burst from tortured mouth. “Tears shouldn’t be spilt for such.”
“Humiliation fuels the torrent. Not the man.” Seppia frowned and leaned closer to Seppius. Orphaned so young, their bond had been steeled by tragedy. Comfort had come only in his arms. Her ears had been made grave error for not heeding him. “I was a fool blinded by ambition. Playing games with a tigress.”
“Hush.” He brought their hands together so the bracelets clinked. In the dark carriage, They were as close as twins in the womb. Light voices kept their words from their slaves’ ears. “You made a mistake of youth. Let not worries of marriage consume you.”
“Too few men are like you so I must choose between bores, grey beards and rogues.” The bronze snakes on the bracelets appeared to slither together in a sacred pair. The Gods punished those who attempted to part serpents. Perhaps it was their influence that soured her fortunes.
“Are you unhappy in our home?”
“I only worry of being a maiden burden.” Seppia, shaking her head, squeezed his hand.
“You are the Diana to my Apollo.” Seppius closed his eyes for a moment. He ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek.
“Seppius, you are dearer to me than my own heart. How simple our lives would be if we were Ptolemies in Egypt.” Seppia leaned into his touch with a sigh.
“In another life...” Opening his eyes, he pulled her closer to gaze into her eyes. Their breath mingled. “You lighten my world. Your sorrow is my own. Never forget.”
A smile crept onto her face despite the ill-fated evening. The silence grew but she was content to look at him. she didn't need words around him. The carriage hit a bump on the dirt road. Seppia bounced into his arms with a laugh. Tucking her head under his chin, she relaxed against him. “Likewise, brother dear.” She frowned when she felt his jaw tense at the familial word. Seppia tried to pull away to look into his eyes yet he held her fast. She turned limp. The night must have wounded him deeper than she thought. “Apologies for upsetting you this evening.”
“Seppia, joy cannot be claimed from watching you with Varinius. Never could he fully appreciate you.” He let go of her to roll onto his back. His lips twisted into a grimace. “In darkest nights, rage fills me at the thought of your wedding night. Only fleeting strength may be found to bind you in marriage to another. I fear for the honeymoon.”
Seppia pushed herself up to sit against his side. She braced herself, from the bumps in the road, with a hand next to the other side of his waist. She looked into his eyes. “You wont lose me, Seppius. You have my love until the end. Yet I am a woman, now, with needs requiring husband... and child.” She quickly added hoping that a blush didn't suffuse her cheeks.
His brown eyes darted to her face. “Needs,” he said the word low and slow. A darkness came into his gaze.
She held her breath and bit her lip. Ptolemies indeed. Even vengeful Juno would fail to break their gaze. Then yet another rut in the road sent her sprawling forward. Seppia would have smiled ruefully at the power of a ill-cobbled road if her face hadn’t been mere inches from his.
He steadied her, fingers sprawled wide, by the hips.
She stopped her fall with palms on either side of his shoulders. Her chest rose and fell from a racing heart. Holding his gaze, she nodded. “Chaste I remain yet I yearn...”
“You’re a woman then,” His fingers skimmed her side, past her breasts, to her face. Fear and wonder filled Seppius’s voice.
“Yes.” Seppia sighed. She couldn’t determine if she dreaded or longed for true womanhood. Women were born in a bed of blood and they very often died in one. She was the oldest maiden of her friends. Did Fortuna bless or curse her in such situation? Seppius cared for her better than any husband. “Hopefully one not long from your side.”
“You’ll always love me? No matter what?” His earnest vulnerability tugged at the heart. None of the fierce gladiator hunter surfaced in his expression. He lay completely unguarded under her.
“Of course.” She smiled. How could she ever stop?
Seppius leaned up to kiss her. Expected light peck turned ardent as a questing tongue met her own. He cupped the side of her face as the other hand roamed over her buttocks. So much overwhelming emotion poured from his kiss.
Surprise stilled her limbs as she gasped. A dull throb beat a tattoo within her.
Head lowering and hands falling away, he pulled back to stare at the ceiling. Perceived rejection dipped his lips into a pensive frown. “What have I done?”
Seppia couldn’t stand the look of pain on his face. Harm would never be her intent. “Hush.” She took his face in her hands. Caressing the apples of his cheeks with her thumbs, she cooed to him. “Do not let worries consume you, isn’t that what you said?”
The corner of Seppius’s lips curved into a smile.
“I never realized but I always knew.” She brought their lips together briefly this time. Heat spread throughout her body as she resisted deepening the kiss.
His hands became like vises on her hips. Seppius rolled her under him and nipped at her bottom lip.
Seppia felt him stiffen against her. Common sense screamed at her that this wasn’t the proper venue for such an act. Too many slaves and hired men around. She broke from the kiss to whisper in his ear. “Capua awaits. We must be presentable.”
He withdrew from her to the other side of the carriage in silence. His face in shadow yet his eyes still upon her.
The carriage soon arrived at their villa on the edge of town. Seppius helped her to the ground. Snapping orders for a bath, he flung barbed words as he stomped into the villa. She followed him at a more sedate pace to settle the nightly concerns with the aged housekeeper. She would let him cool his passions in peace without the slaves fluttering about. Seppia waited for him outside the baths, absent slaves, once the villa had been tended.
“I know you’re there, Seppia. No need to wait if tongue must give voice.” His voice echoed from the candlelit stone chamber.
Seppia spoke only to dismiss the body slave as she walked in. A blush rose up in her cheeks. She kept quiet until she knew the slave had fled.
Seppius raised an eyebrow at her.
“Our conversation remains unfinished.” Seppia stepped closer to him as she unpinned the straps of her dress. She smiled to see his eyes widen. Walking down the bath steps into the water, she went to him. She straddled his lap and pushed her hair over her shoulder. “I am a woman now and I have needs.”
Seppius grinned darkly as his hands slipped under the water. “Our lives would be simpler if we were Ptolemies.”