Aurelia went into the courtyard, where there was the soothing sound of a fountain. She sat on the stone bench, waiting for the voice she expected any moment from the other side of the tall reddish orange villa wall. Hopefully her mother would not miss her during the day being busy with the dinner party that night. Aurelia’s maid could not even be spared to do her hair or arrange her white tunic. Aurelia did not care in the least, however; she spent little time worrying about her appearance. "Aurelia?" Aurelia stood up on the stone bench, hooking her feet in a niche in the wall and pulling herself up on the wall. On the other side looking up was Claudia. "By gods, be careful Aurelia. Don’t break your neck!" Aurelia climbed over the wall, hindered only by her clothes. She fell to the ground and popped up looking around. "Don’t worry so much Claudia!" Aurelia began walking briskly away from the villa, observing the city that did not appear to be too far in the distance. "I don’t think this is a good idea, Aurelia. I heard one of our slaves saying that walking to town would take hours. Hours! And it’s not safe, Aurelia. I’ve come to tell you that I won’t do it. Things are nice here in the country." Aurelia stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed Claudia’s wrists. Her shockingly green eyes twinkled. "Not go! Why, Claudia! Not go? What is there to do here, and what is there to do in Rome? Just think." Aurelia began hurriedly walking again, and Claudia followed, her more delicately arranged hair coming undone. Aurelia did not care to think about dangers and inconveniences. "I don’t plan on walking anyway. We’ll get a ride when we reach the Via Appia." "Oh! I won’t do that. Two girls traveling unaccompanied…" "Don’t lecture to me, Claudia. Did you bring your half of the money and the pigskin?" "No, I left them outside my window. It’s on our way." "Very well, but now we run the risk of running into someone." Claudia bit her lip.
They came upon Claudia’s family’s summer villa, and they hurried around the side. Aurelia tried to hide her face, as the slaves tending the garden looked their way. "You see, Claudia? People are noticing…" Aurelia stopped short, because Claudia’s older brother, Julius, was sitting on the ground below Claudia's window. Aurelia turned on Claudia exacerbated. "You told him!" "I was afraid, Aurelia! Don’t be angry with me." Aurelia looked back at Julius, who was smiling at her. "Go ahead and laugh, Julius. I’m sure you think us very stupid for trying to escape to Rome," she said trying to imitate his deep voice. He stood up, and his advantage in height only bothered her more. He ran his hand through his fairly long golden hair. "You’re always up to something, Aurelia. I’m sure you don’t need to go to Rome to find entertainment." She picked up the pigskin full of water and handed it to Claudia. "I wish I was a man." "I’m certainly glad you’re not, as you would make a poor go of it" he said while showing the coin purse that he held in his fist. He smiled devilishly at her. "Fine. Come on Claudia. We can manage with what I’ve brought." Aurelia started walking, and Claudia followed on her heels, glancing back at her brother. "Aurelia!" he shouted after them in a commanding tone. "I don’t have to listen to you!" Aurelia shouted back, tossing her head. Julius hurried after them and quickly overtook them. He put his hand on Aurelia’s shoulder effectively stopping her. She struggled. "Aurelia, I don’t care if you run wild all over the countryside, but I won’t have you running off to Rome to be killed. You’re too old to be playing at games such as this--you’re liable to get yourself into real trouble." Julius was no longer smiling. Claudia spoke up, "someone will send for us before we get too far, anyway." Aurelia turned to her friend with a look of disgust. Julius turned her around to look him in the face: "What would you do if you actually got there? Where would you stay?" "A boarding house." His eyes grew wide, and he took Aurelia’s arm to drag her back towards the villa. "I’ll thank you not to. Do you know what would happen to you?" Julius was turning bright red and it took a moment for him to recover himself. "What do you want to do there anyhow that is so urgent?" Aurelia yanked herself free, but followed Julius, knowing he would prevent them from leaving anyway. She was furious, and it was all Claudia’s fault. "I would visit the temple to the gods, to worship the triad." Julius looked on her kindly, but she missed this, refusing to look him in the face. "You will visit the Capitoline Hill when the season changes." "My parents have no interest, thank you. I will see to it myself, Aurelia." Aurelia looked back towards the city over her shoulder, unwilling to answer him.
Aurelia sat under a tree eating a bunch of grapes. She had spurned Claudia’s companionship on principle, but she was not yet ready to go home either. The fact that Julius had effectively prevented her from doing what she wanted made her extremely irritable. Of all people: It was the wish, no the expectation of both of their parents that Aurelia should marry Julius. Now that she was fifteen the hints of such a match were becoming less veiled. The idea was somewhat repellant to her. Claudia insisted that her brother was very handsome, but Aurelia could not and would not agree. "But Aurelia, he is very nicely built…tall and broad. His chin is good, and with such beautiful eyes and hair that I don’t see how you can persist in saying he is not attractive." "I’m afraid I offend you, but while your blue eyes and blond locks are very lovely, I believe that they appear effeminate on a boy." "Your green eyes are peculiar, Aurelia, but that is what sets you apart. Besides, Julius will be turning seventeen, so he is most certainly a man." "Then he best get married, and not hang about bothering us anymore." Claudia had looked sheepishly at her, Aurelia remembered. Now Julius had been eighteen for a number of months, Aurelia thought with aversion. "A man indeed," she said aloud, throwing a grape at an imaginary Julius.
Her mother stood in the entry hall, hands on hips. "Where have you been, Aurelia?" "About." "The guests will be arriving soon," she said ushering her through the doors to the family’s apartment. "And you have disobeyed me. Where have you been? Who have you been with? Don’t you know that my position is questioned by your behavior? Nona!" she called for Aurelia’s slave girl, pushing Aurelia into her own room and forcing her into a chair. "Nona! There you are. Stay here and watch over your mistress. Now, please be good tonight," her mother pleaded to her as the slave girl began pulling a brush through Aurelia’s hair. "You’re so pretty dear, and if you continue to run mad…" "No one will want me?" Aurelia supplied. "I’ve allowed some of your friends to come this evening, to keep you company. Stay inside your rooms where no one will see you. Think of your father and I, for once." Aurelia knew her mother meant that Aurelia would make herself unmarriageable, should she not begin to behave more like a women, and therefore, make herself a permanent burden to her family. "I’ll be invisible." "Good. Oh, and you do know Julius is coming," her mother said smiling as she left the room, and Aurelia banged a fist down on the dressing table.
The torches that lined the garden paths were lit, but the light was dim, the moon providing most of the light. Having spent most of the day in solitude, Aurelia had long given up the Roman plan, which in a sane light had proved itself to be ill conceived and dangerous. She had indeed behaved childishly, although she would have never admitted it to anyone but herself. She sat with other young unmarried girls idly gossiping in the far corner of the walled garden. They were alternately whispering and laughing about young men that they had seen entering the villa for the dinner and others that were not present. "What happened to your beloved, Vincentia?" one girl teased. "Now poor Antonius is forgotten, and Julius is all-wonderful." Aurelia looked at Vincentia, feeling an odd feeling well up from her stomach. So, Julius was that stupid, falling for Vincentia. It would serve him right to marry such an unfaithful flirt, but she had thought he had more sense than that.
A couple slaves brought the girls a small dinner. Aurelia frowned, thinking of everyone enjoying a feast while they were locked out of sight. She wanted to peek into the rooms, if she could. "Excuse me," she said, slipping away from the girls, calling over her shoulder, "I’ll be back, presently." She tiptoed down the hallway, making sure no slaves that could report her to her mother lurked in the semi-darkness. Hearing the sound of someone’s footsteps around the corner, Aurelia stepped into a doorway. She held her breath, beginning to resent her hasty decision to enter the main rooms of the villa.
"Julius!" she exclaimed. "Aurelia! You’ve nearly scared me to death! What are you doing hiding in the dark?" "Well, what are you doing wandering around in the dark?" "I was going to fetch my sister. My mother wants her home early, and she didn’t want to send a slave at this time of night." Aurelia sighed, holding onto the doorframe. "I wanted to see what was going on inside." "You’re not missing much, I assure you. But, if your mother catches sight of you, there will be Hades to pay." Aurelia stepped out of the shadow of the doorway. "As long as you don’t tell on me, I should be alright." "You’re still not angry with me, are you? I just couldn’t stand the thought of you and Claudia putting yourself in that kind of danger." Aurelia disliked his bringing up the incident, feeling chastised once more. She blushed deeply, and hoped that he could not see it in the darkness of the hallway. She wanted to hurt him, tease him, make him feel uncomfortable, and not so grown up. "So, I hear you and Vincentia are a pair." Julius was taken a back. "Is that what she said?" Aurelia immediately regretted mentioning it. "She said something," Aurelia said lowering her brazen voice. "I feel very bad about that." "Why, have you led her on?" "No, I certainly don’t think so." "Have your parents spoken with hers?" "No." "More and more girls will start pursuing you, if you don’t get married soon. All of my friends have become frighteningly brazen in those matters." Aurelia said in a matter of fact tone, gaining strength by looking over his shoulder down the hallway, instead of looking at him. Julius looked down at her. "Yes, I suppose so." They stood in silence for awhile and the general din of the party reached them from afar. "It really means that much to you?" "What, Julius?" He smiled at her; pleased she had said his name in a sincere way rather than in her typical sarcastic tone. "The temple?" "It amuses you?" she asked, mistaking his smile for sarcasm of his own. "No, not at all. I would not laugh at devotion to the gods." This surprised Aurelia. "Who, may I ask, is your patron god? Saturn, I suppose?" "Apollo, the god of music, light, and reason," he said very seriously. "Excuse me. He is very worthy." Aurelia found herself slightly embarrassed, and her color was once again turning a shade of rose. "There is no reason to feel badly, Aurelia," he said touching her hand, "you just don’t know me." "I certainly do. By Jupiter, we grew up together. We’re practically brother and sister, Julius." "Practically, but not quite."
***
