Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 83 ~ Castra movere

With a thoughtful smile on his face, Gaius trudged through the camp. The soldiers' mood was a tad too boisterous and carefree for his taste, but they had every reason to celebrate. Today they had won the last battle before their retreat to the winter camp and just being alive was a reason to celebrate.
He was very pleased with the progress of the invasion - he could not have achieved this feat without every single soldier. At the latest since he had fought shoulder to shoulder with them, the respect of his soldiers belonged to him. No one called him Caligula anymore. He was Imperator Caesar and he bore this name with great pride.
Wherever he went, the legionaries paused in their work to pay their respects to him. Every now and then he would stop and chat with them, just as he had always observed his father do as a child.
Something in the otherwise expressionless faces of the guards outside his tent made him wonder. Inwardly alert, he gave them a friendly nod, flipped back the tarp and disappeared inside his tent. Where were his servants?
With a frustrated sigh, he went to a bowl, scooped up some water with his hands and just as he was about to wash his face with it, he registered movement at the edge of his vision. With a splash, the water fell back into the bowl and drops of water splashed onto his breastplate. Forced to remain calm, he slowly straightened up and tried to suppress the panic rising in him. He was not alone.
Just as his hand settled on the pommel of his sword, an excited whisper reached his ear, followed by a very feminine giggle. Gaius allowed himself to take one deep breath before venturing further inside his tent. A common assassin would not make himself so conspicuously obvious, he kept telling himself, trying not to think of Macro and Gemellus' assassination.
When he reached his sleeping area, he sucked in a sharp breath and tilted his head. On his bed lay three women who could not be more different. But they had one thing in common: they were all obviously very expensive prostitutes. Anger flared in him; he had given explicit orders. One of them with flaming red hair slowly rose from his bed and held his gaze. Presumably she wanted to look particularly seductive. By Zeus, she didn't even come close to Aurelia.
"We have been expecting you, sir," she whispered in an unmistakably British accent and slowly strutted to him. She couldn't even walk straight yet. Presumably the three whores were so afraid of him that they had helped themselves very generously to his expensive wine while they waited. The wine had been for strategically important meetings with Britannic tribal leaders and kings - or when he needed to keep his top officers happy.
Still, despite his growing annoyance, he also felt a little amusement at her pitiful attempts at seduction. The blonde was giving him looks that were probably meant to look languorous but were completely nullified by her squinting, and the dark-haired one was probably trying for cleavage. The redhead came to a halt directly in front of him and as her hot breath hit him, he struggled to hide his disgust at her flag. Doubting, he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Who let you into my tent?" he asked, trying to soften the edge in his voice. Intimidated, the redhead blinked up at him. Her colleagues rose now too and came at him like hunting dogs, eager to corner their prey. But Gaius had never been the prey and certainly would not be.
"Your men thought it a good idea to offer us as a small gesture of gratitude for your hard work," the brunette cooed, licking her lips. Tiberius had done the same before he'd had his way with any young girl or boy. Gaius gave himself an inward kick and pushed those memories away. Could no one in this camp forsaken by the gods obey his damned orders. The redhead put an arm around his neck, pressed her body against his and made a move to kiss him.
"I'm married!" he protested immediately, pushing her firmly away from him. The blonde on his left laughed mockingly and shouted to the brunette on his right that this was no obstacle. Slowly he turned his head towards her, allowing her a fleeting moment to look behind his mask and see the anger in his eyes. Her eyes widened; her mouth opened slightly as she immediately recoiled from his dismissive coldness.
"Ladies, this is obviously a misunderstanding," he explained politely, ignoring the puzzled looks they exchanged with each other. "I do not require your services. You may go."
Completely taken aback, the three whores looked at him and Gaius inwardly counted to ten, wanting to at least give them a chance to leave the tent with dignity. But a small part of him was pleased that they let this opportunity pass. This way he could at least use this unpleasant situation for his own purposes. No one was ever to disobey his orders again.
"Suetonius!" shouted Gaius impatiently, trying to keep his anger in check. The praetorian prefect immediately appeared at his side and stared in surprise at the whores, as if he could not explain how they had got into his superior's tent. Well, the answer to that question also interested Gaius burningly, but it was not his job to get it.
"Be so good as to escort the ladies out," he ordered calmly, giving the women a friendly smile. They were still too confused by his rejection to understand the position they were now in. Audible only to Suetonius, he whispered, "Bring those responsible to me immediately."
Suetonius blew a whistle and not a blink later the sleeping area of his tent was full of guards. A small scream escaped the blonde and the redhead stared in fear at the heavily armed men. Suddenly something like pity flared up in him. How desperate must these girls be that they had come here despite their obvious fear of Rome's power?
"Have you been paid yet?", Gaius wanted to know, addressing the brunette who seemed the most reasonable. Mechanically she shook her head and Gaius suppressed an annoyed groan. He had no idea what the price was in Rome - how could he? He found fulfilment only in Aurelia, why should he have sought it elsewhere. Gemellus had always known best about such things.
Suetonius returned his gaze with an expressionless expression. Gaius quickly asked the whores what his men had promised them. But they remained silent. With a sigh, he went to one of his chests and took out a bag. It was full of Aureli and relatively heavy. A tad too heavy for his taste, but he was willing to pay that price for peace. Casually he sauntered back beside Suetonius and focused on the brunette.
"All of this can be yours in return for making sure nothing like this ever happens again," he stated forcefully and the brunette whore nodded slightly. "I have no need of your services, nor of any other of your... profession. Tell it to every single woman you meet"
Even as he tossed the bag to the brunette, he knew that this news would spread like wildfire among the whores of Britain. Likewise, he was sure that not a single word would be said about the fact that he had paid very dearly for this true rumour. But he had always been a master at manipulating the opinion of the common people in his favour. People like these three whores were all alike in their desperation. They longed for a better life and were willing to do anything for it. Before he met Aurelia, he had been one of these desperate souls.
Unobtrusively, he nodded to Suetonius and turned his back on the scene. Completely calm, he strolled back to his washbowl and washed the traces of the battle from his face. As he brought his water-filled hands to his face, he registered how badly he was shaking.
Exhausted, he ran his hand through his hair. That had been a damn close call and could have escalated so quickly. Quickly he sent a quick prayer to whatever deity had just held its protective hand over him.
"Imperator, here are the guards you wanted to see," Suetonius tore the silence and Gaius turned agonisingly slowly to face the three exceedingly frightened Praetorians. Waiting, he eyed them coldly, watching his silence make them increasingly uncomfortable. But they were part of an elite unit of his army for a reason. At least now they paid him the respect he deserved and did not speak to him. If they could not completely hide their feelings, they could at least now control their actions - at least partially. By now they were sweating quite profusely.
"You disobeyed your orders," Gaius stated, noting with satisfaction that they winced in shock. Otherwise, they remained perfectly still.
"You have disobeyed my orders," he specified and could read remorse in their eyes. Before continuing, he took a moment to examine the men more closely. They were barely older than Gemellus. They had probably really thought they were doing him a favour.
"As punishment for your misconduct, each of you will receive twenty lashes in public. From today onwards, in addition, you will be on latrine duty until we return to Rome," he said, and relief flared in them. So, they were afraid of him after all. Good. They thought their punishment was lenient. Even better. In an almost gentle tone, he added, "For the duration of the campaign, moreover, you will never be assigned to the same guard again, and if such an incident should happen again - I will not hesitate to execute those responsible in front of the entire legion and, moreover, to send a letter to my wife in Rome so that the Senate will vote to deprive her survivors of their civil rights. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, imperator," the Praetorians replied and saluted briskly. Gaius indicated with a hand signal that they could now leave. They quickly left his tent and he looked to his Praetorian prefect. He nodded curtly to Suetonius, indicating that he was now allowed to speak. Suetonius, in his calm and terse manner, assured him that he had had no knowledge of his men's plans. For a long time, Gaius eyed his praetorian prefect and tried to weigh his statement. Suetonius had seen Macro fall and he was too smart to repeat such a mistake. Gaius nodded curtly and Suetonius returned to his post. He would never see such a thing again as long as Suetonius lived.

A few hours later, Hesiod appeared and placed a scroll in front of him on his writing desk. He recognised the seal immediately and an irrepressible joy flashed through his body. A letter from Aurelia was just what he needed after this turbulent day.
"Do you still need me, my lord?" asked Hesiod calmly, and Gaius tore his gaze away from Aurelia's seal. With a faint smile on his lips, he shook his head and Hesiod left him alone again.
Full of impatience, he broke the seal, unrolled the scroll and began to read her careful handwriting. It was almost as if she were here with him at the end of her realm and not in its pulsing heart.

Oh Gaius,

your last report was received with great enthusiasm by the senate. That same evening, I read it to Julius, and he insisted that he be allowed to sleep with the scroll in his arms. He is so proud of you, his father, and he asked me to tell you that one day he too will fill you with pride. He doesn't want to believe that he is already doing that. But this is not the reason why I am writing to you now. There are so many things I cannot write to you for fear of this letter falling into the wrong hands. However, recent events in Rome force me to at least hint at certain things and I want me to be the first to tell you this news. It breaks my heart to have to inflict this pain on you without being able to go into more detail. Please sit if you do not already. Your sister Agrippina has betrayed my trust by seriously endangering not only my life but also the stability of your position in Rome. It was only through the loyalty of my girls that I escaped her intrigue. Because I still fear for the safety of our family, I have banished Agrippina to her country estate until your return. There she will be guarded by the most loyal and incorruptible Praetorians until you can make a final decision about her fate. I swear by all that is sacred to me that I will tell you the whole story as soon as you are back with me.

May the gods be with us until your safe return to us.

Yours forever

Aurelia

Agrippina's betrayal of Aurelia shook him more than he had thought possible. He knew his sister's character. Her ambition was almost on a par with Aurelia's, which was why he had thought her the most likely of his sisters to betray him. But he had always suspected that one day she would stab him in the back and not his wife. Still, it gnawed at him that he didn't know the details.
Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair and tried to silence his imagination. Aurelia's words were well considered, and he suspected Agrippina's betrayal was more far-reaching than her letter implied. Probably all the answers were already in those few lines, but he simply could not make sense of her words. He only perceived the deep sadness and the gnawing pain that his wife had to face all alone in Rome at that moment. Oh, if only he could lift this burden from her delicate shoulders. But they both had to do their duty and prove themselves worthy servants of Rome. Only then would he be able to truly protect Julius and her.