Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 97 ~ Pater rediens

14th May 45 AD

With the first light of the rising sun, his home came to life. By the sound of footsteps, one could immediately tell who was walking through the corridor in front of his door. The slaves' footsteps were barely audible because they tiptoed around, trying to be as invisible as possible. The praetorians, on the other hand, sounded quite different, their hobnailed soles audible from afar.
But it was his mother's footsteps that Julius was eagerly waiting for that morning. Mom's footsteps were harder to hear than those of a praetorian, but easier than those of a slave. Mom's footsteps were neither loud nor soft, neither slow nor hurried, neither clacking nor creeping. They were simply mom's footsteps and Julius recognised them immediately. For an hour he had been lying in his bed with his ears pricked up, waiting to recognise her footsteps in the corridor. The door to the next room, the room of his little sister, Tonilla, was open as usual and he could listen to her regular breaths. Apart from the breathing of his sleeping sister and the various footsteps in the corridor, Julius did not hear a single sound. Where was his mother? She had promised to wake him.
Suddenly the boy listened. Pinned footsteps reached his ear. A praetorian. Disappointed, he sat up in bed and looked out of the window at the awakening city. The sight was almost as beautiful as mom and his breath caught. The light of the sunbathed everything in a golden glow - the gardens, the houses, the streets, the temples, the trees, the clouds, everything golden. The colour reminded him of his mother's hair and eyes. Just as Julius was about to sink back onto his pillow, the handle was pushed down with a soft creak and his bedroom door opened with a barely perceptible squeak. As Julius wheeled around, his sister's breathing in the next room came out of sync for a blink.
With a radiant smile, mom entered the room. Her dress was unusually plain, but she always looked beautiful. Behind her stood three praetorians. If only he had listened better, he told himself, he would have noticed them sooner.
Excited, he jumped out of bed and fell around her neck. As soon as her arms wrapped around him, he felt warm and content.
"It's time, my darling," she whispered conspiratorially in his ear and blew a kiss on his forehead. Tapping footsteps made him look over mom's shoulder. Tired and disoriented, Tonilla blinked at her.
"Good morning, little one," mom murmured, reaching out to Tonilla. Slowly, his sister plodded over to them and pressed a kiss to mom's cheek, visibly confused. How could she have forgotten that today was the big day? Without understanding, Julius shook his head. Reluctantly, mom detached herself from him and strode to the chest where his clothes for today lay ready. She ran her fingertips over the white wool of his toga, just as he had done again and again in the past few days. Proudly she smiled at him with dreamy eyes.
"Come, I'll help you in," she said, and immediately he ran to her. Getting dressed by mom took much longer than having one of his nannies dress him. But mom wasn't a slave, how was she supposed to know the moves perfectly? So, Julius held still and watched mom do her unaccustomed work.
After a while, mom turned to look at his best friend Marcus' father and inquired if the toga was fitting properly. Marcus' father sighed and called one of the nannies over. Her name was Kiana, and she was very nice and pretty. Even if she wasn't as pretty as mom or Tonilla. But no woman was as pretty as his mom or his sister. Quickly Kiana put his clothes in order and wanted to hide his golden bulla under the fabric as usual. But surely Julius stopped her. The bulla had belonged to his father and before that to his grandfather and great-grandfather. He had grown so much over the years that he was secretly afraid dad wouldn't recognise him. But the bulla would recognise dad, so Julius wanted to wear it over his toga. Quietly, Kiana held out a mirror to him and while Julius checked his clothes, he spotted his sister in the reflection. Tonilla sat on his bed and mom helped her tie a bracelet around her. His sister's silver lunula sparkled on her pale red dress. Sadly, she looked up at mom, who stroked her hair soothingly and whispered something to her. Hesitantly, Tonilla put her arms around mom and hid her face against her shoulder.
Julius immediately rushed to her and gently nudged his sister. Usually, it was enough for someone to take her in their arms to make her sadness disappear. But as she watched him over Mum's arm, her lips twisted into a pout.
"It's so unfair that father only wants to see you," she fretted, and Julius sighed in frustration. He understood her all too well. He couldn't have waited another day himself, and yet he already knew Dad.
Soothingly, mom stroked her shoulder while Julius remained silent. He loved his sister more than anything and it pained him to see her so unhappy. But he would not and would not trade places with her. Father's word was law and his decision final. Today Julius would see him again, while Tonilla got to spend the day with Aunt Julia. Mom had to make final preparations for dad's return, but just now she promised the sulking Tonilla that they would play together this afternoon. Instantly Tonilla's resistance began to crumble, and she blinked up at mom thoughtfully. Then she nodded hesitantly, slid off the bed and held out her small hand to Julius, which her brother immediately grasped.
With a fluid movement, mom also rose from his bed, took Julius' other hand and the three of them left the room. Julius could only restrain his impatience with difficulty. He would have liked to drag mom through the corridors to the atrium so that he could be reunited with his father as soon as possible. The grip of mom's hand was almost unbearably tight. Her gaze wandered aimlessly and hurriedly without really noticing anything. Something was troubling her. Very. So, he held back and clasped her hand. She shouldn't have to worry about him too.
When they finally reached the atrium, most of the clients had already gathered and were eyeing them curiously. Automatically he stretched his head and pushed his back through, as mom had shown him, so that he could use his full height. Steadily and slowly, Julius walked down the stairs by his mother's hand, as she had taught him. She called this way of moving dignified. But he only felt very ponderous. Mom looked dignified.
No sooner had they negotiated the last step than mom pushed Tonilla unobtrusively in his direction. His sister let go of mom's hand, bridged the distance and put her arms around his neck in farewell.
"Give Daddy a kiss for me," she whispered in his ear, and he calmly whispered back that she could give him the kiss herself the next day. He blanked out his mother's clients. Tonilla quickly detached herself from him and took a step back. At the same moment, mom sank to her knee so that she was at his eye level and smiled encouragingly at him. Grinning, Julius leaned forward a little and pressed a goodbye kiss to her cheek. Mum's words were lost in the rapt murmur of the clients. As she rose, she gently stroked his hair.
Out of the corner of his eye, Julius spotted his friends Marcus and Titus standing behind mom's clients with a small group of Praetorians. They waved at him excitedly and Julius instantly forgot that he would not see mom and Tonilla again until tomorrow. Encouraged by mom's gentle nudge in the back, he started moving and joined his friends full of anticipation.
On the front doorstep, he turned once more and waved to mom and Tonilla one last time. Then he followed Marcus into the carriage and concentrated on the words he wanted to say to dad at their reunion.
Although the carriage ride was of very short duration, the atmosphere inside the carriage was one of tension mixed with anticipation. Apart from Marcus, neither Titus nor he had travelled alone, and it was unusual for him to be able to talk only to his friends. Of course, they had no other topic than the imminent meeting with dad and uncle Vespasian.