Swords of Rome (4 page)

“Now I shall claim my prize, my queen, Helen of Troy,” Achilles said with a sinister smile as he stepped over Gaius’ body, walking over to a girl
who sat across the road, watching the whole ordeal with wide eyes and a bigger grin.

“Ewww!” the pretender who played the part of Helen of Troy cried out as she sat on
the top of a wooden fence, swinging her legs back and forth.

“But you must marry me. I have defeated Hector for you,” Achilles said as he stood before the younger girl who looked disgusted by the thought of marrying the warrior who walked towards her – his arms held wi
de to his side as he knelt down on one knee, waiting for her to run into his embrace.

The uncooperative Helen leaped from the fence. As she hurried over toward Achilles, she pushed him out of the way, which forced him down onto his backside before she hurried over to Gaius, who finally managed to get back to his feet, tying to brush the drying mud off from his tunic and
bare legs.

Throwing her arms around Gaius, the girl looked back at Achilles, the boy who was actually her brother, and proclaimed, “I choose Gaius as my husband. He is my
hero, and I shall marry him!” she cried out as she looked up into Gaius’ boyish eyes with a wide smile on her young face.

Her grip on his leg was firm, not caring about the dirt that stuck to his body, as long as she had him in her arms.

“Hey! You can’t do that. He is supposed to be Hector. And he is dead!” the pretender who played Achilles yelled with a frustrated expression, bitter as he watched once again his sister ruined his game.

“And besides, Helen is supposed to be in love with Paris,” Gaius said as he looked down at the little girl.

“I can marry whoever I want!”

“No you can’t, Julia!”
Antony, her older brother screamed. “You can’t just go and change the story. Can’t she, Gaius?”

Gaius looked down at Julia as she stared back up at him with her big,
dark-green eyes, seemingly asking him without words that he should agree with her and not her brother.

“It d
oesn’t really matter, I guess. Pretty much everyone dies in the end,” Gaius answered as diplomatically as he could – setting the historical facts straight.

“Well, that isn’t very fun. Why can’t we just change it?” Julia asked.

“Because, it isn’t our story to change,” he answered.

“Yeah, so strop trying to marry him already,”
Antony said as he walked over to his sister and smacked her upside her head. Julia turned, yelling at her brother as she started to swing at him.

Gaius looked on, watching his two friends as they fought, as they normally did. For the moment, he was thankful that he was the only child in the family.

As Antony and his younger sister fought in the middle of the road, Gaius looked over his shoulder and gazed upon the falling sun, which in fewer than two hours would be gone, ending his day with his two best friends.

He sighed as he had to start his way home. If he didn’t, his father would be angry with him. He still felt the effects of the last time he had made the mistake of getting back home after nightfall.

“I have to go home before it is too dark,” Gaius said, but he wasn’t sure if his friends actually heard him, as Antony, taller than his six-year-old  sister, was mocking her foolish attempts to beat him with her tiny fists.

Julia, while four years younger than her brother, held her own. She never backed down from a challenge, or let her brother bully her. So she would fight him, confront any attempt to demean her, especially when she was with Gaius. He figured that Julia felt she had to prove herself worthy to play with the boys, or risk being cast out if she should back down.

For all the talk and physical torment that Antony committed against his sister, it was clear to Gaius that he loved and looked out for her as any good brother should. He simply wasn’t accustomed to having to share his friends with a girl, who demanded daily to play with the two boys, namely because she desired to be around Gaius as much as she could.

Julia followed them day after day, like a little mascot as the two filled the afternoon with fantastical wonders, pretending to be warriors or acting classical stories, as champions defending Greece from Troy, or the Persians, or battling the fearsome Cyclops, the Hydra, or
the frightful snake-haired Medusa. On occasion the two found use for her, such as their need for a girl to play the part of Helen of Troy. However, stubbornly, Julia was always more interested in the here and now – being around Gaius, and preferring that she, not an alter ego, be the object of his affections.

He found her cute, to say the least. She was an adorable young lady, even though she was half his age. She had a small, dainty body, groomed to someday be a proper Roman woman. H
er hair smelled of scented oils and was curled in strands around her bangs. Her nails were painted different colors almost every day as she was tended by a dozen slaves, all women who acted like second mothers. Julia didn’t care about being a girl, trapped in her physical limitations. She liked being around the boys and playing their games. It might have proven an issue if her father was around more, but he spent most of his time in the city. Her mother was gone, having died during childbirth when Julia was born. Perhaps that was, as Gaius figured, why the two rich children of a Roman senator found common interest with a simple farm boy, as Gaius had lost his mother also.

“I have to go home,” Gaius called
out again as he picked his wooden sword up off the ground; bashing it against the dirt road, so he could dislodge some of the loose mud from the blade that meant to simulate a Roman
gladius
, the standard sword of Rome’s infantry.

“I will walk with you,”
Antony replied quickly as he let go of his sister, who was pushing against him with all her might. The act caused her to fall to the ground as Antony turned and grabbed his own things that lay up against the fence; his wooden sword that was designed more in the fashion of a longer Greek blade, a simple wool cloak and a small water skin.

“I will come as well,” Julia eagerly said as she picked herself up off of the ground, already forgetting her skirmish with her brother.

“No! You go home, Julia. And take these with you,” Antony called out as he walked over and dropped his things into her arms.

“I want to come with you,” she demanded as she dropped the items to the ground.

“Julia! Take these and go home – Now!” Antony demanded once more, harshly, as he picked his things up and again pushed them into her arms. However, she continued to refuse as she crossed her arms, not giving him an inch.

Gaius smiled as he shook his head. He knew he had to intervene if this matter was going to be resolved within the time he had. These two could argue for hours if they were allowed to continue without interruption.

“Go home, Julia. I promise you and I can play a game, just the two of us, tomorrow,” Gaius said calmly.

“Do you promise?” she asked.

“Have I ever broken a promise to you?”

She rushed over to Gaius and threw her arms around him, calling out, “I love you Gaius!” before she turned and hastily grabbed her brother’s things and ran up the road, heading back in the direction of her own home. Technically, she was already home, as everything for miles in all directions was owned by their father.

“I guess you just need to know how to speak to women,” Antony commented.

“Maybe we should walk her home, before
you, and I leave,” Gaius suggested.

“She will be fine. What could happen to her on my father’s property?”

The land that was owned by Gaius’ father wasn’t anywhere close to the size of
Antony’s. His land was simple, enough for a family to live on without due hardships. The property, as Gaius knew, had been reward given to his father after many faithful years of service to the Republic. He had fought and nearly died in the last war that Rome fought with its oldest of enemies, the nation to the east, Carthage. Gaius did not the particulars of what happened, but his father had become a celebrated hero. For that, he was given this land, which now was overgrown with weeds, an unkempt field, and a home that was barely standing. Sometimes he was embarrassed to bring Antony here as he came from a wealthy family who never knew what it was to want. The land that the two boys had played on was only the tip of Antony’s estate, which extended for thousands of square miles, and was attended to by five hundred slaves and workers, which tended to the fields, grounds and other profitable endeavors.

Antony,
however, at no time said anything disrespectful about the state of Gaius’ home. He always shared what was his, never asking for anything in return other than a good friend with whom he could act out their favorite adventures, such as the Battle of Troy, Hercules and his Twelve Trials, or Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia. Gaius observed that Antony had a hard time making friends because of his father’s status within Rome, as one of its wealthiest citizens and leading members of the Senate. Antony knew plenty of boys who pretended to be his friend, but typically, these friendships sought because of influence, political or financial favors. Gaius, on the other hand, had no hidden agenda or dishonest intentions. As a result, while they had only known one another for little over a year, they had grown very close, almost brothers.

Julia,
on the other hand, came along only a few months ago, when she was old enough to keep up with them. She was in a worse state than her brother. She had no friends to call her own, as most of her father’s associates' daughters were either too old, or only had sons. Regardless, she enjoyed more boyish games than what was typically expected of young ladies.

Once she joined the two in their frequent adventures, her affection for Gaius grew. She had an obvious crush on him, and for a time, it bothered him, given his
non experience with girls. However, he grew to accept Julia’s less than vague hints about her desire to marry him, even though both barely understood what the concept entailed. Ultimately, he grew to like her as much as he did Antony– his extended family of a sort.

The two boys continued their play as they neared Gaius’ home, as they pitted their wooden swords against one another in a running, uphill battle, as the sun was nearly below the western horizon.

Antony pretended he was a great swordsman. He loved tales of the blade and often imagined he was a master with it. Honestly, he was just a boy, and his skills extended only to basic thrust and poor blocks. Gaius, on the other hand, while no master was more practiced. His father showed him years ago how to handle and properly wield a sword – how to respect the weapon and use it if need be to protect himself. Because of this, he held back when playing. He didn’t want to hurt Antony’s feelings by winning each bout, but he wasn’t going to lose them all either. He made sure to keep their victories and defeats about even, and along the way he showed Antony few useful tricks to improve s own form. The gesture was appreciated and made their games all the more enjoyable.

“So, did I tell you that I was going into the city in a few days?”
Antony spoke as he thrust his sword high, which was easily parried by Gaius.

“
The city
? You are going to Rome?”

“Yes. And I was wondering if you would like to accompany me? It is the last day of the games, and there is to be a festival in honor of Jupiter. My father said I could bring a friend along, if I so choose. And who better than you?”

Gaius couldn’t help but smile at Antony’s words. For as long as he could remember he had dreamt of going to Rome, the capital of the Republic – the greatest city on the face of the earth. It had always annoyed him greatly how close he lived outside the city, yet had never been allowed to see Rome for himself.

“Yes, of course I would like to go. You know I do!” Gaius replied enthusiastically. “But…” a terrible thought suddenly entered his mind, which wiped the wide smile from his face.

“What is it?”

“My father – I would have to ask him, and I don’t have to tell you what his feelings are about Rome,” Gaius
answered; his voice filled with doubt.

“I am sure you can convince him, if you try. But, let me know by tomorrow, will you? Good day, Gaius.”
Antony patted Gaius on the shoulder as he turned and raced down the hill, heading back towards his father’s lands; swinging at the overgrown weeds with his sword as his mind was still trapped in the body of classical heroes.

Gaius felt a knot begin to form in the pit of his stomach. The prospect of having to convince his father
into letting him go was daunting, and as he neared his front door, he began running through his mind what words he would use that might better his chances. However, none came to mind as he reached his house.

Gaius reached for the old and
worn wooden handle that led to his home. He took a deep breath before he pulled down the latch and opened the door. He had just gotten home by the expected time, but as he entered he could clearly see that his father was nowhere in sight, which brought a faint sense of relief as he sealed the door shut, and then putting his things by his bed, which was set against the far left corner of the small home.