Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 103 ~ Soror missa

Still and calm, the Gulf of Naples glistened faintly in the pale light of the moon. A mild summer wind blew through the treetops and playfully rustled their leaves. Gaius leaned thoughtfully over the parapet of the balcony that bordered his bedroom and stared at a point a little further west of here. One of those faint lights there was the villa of his sister Agrippina, to which Aurelia had banished her.
By now Gaius had worked out what Agrippina might have done that Aurelia had made such a drastic decision about her. Since he had returned to Rome, five letters a day had reached him from Agrippina. Not a single one had he opened. Why should he have read them? It was obvious that she wanted to talk to him. Otherwise, she would have given up long ago.
But Gaius was not ready to face Agrippina. He didn't want to hear her excuses. For to him, it did not matter what she might bring up in her defence. Agrippina had deliberately gambled with his wife's life so that his daughter's life would never have begun in the first place. How could he ever forgive her for that? How could he listen to her when the next moment his daughter's innocent smile would only remind him again of her betrayal? For in his eyes Agrippina had not only betrayed Aurelia, but him as well. Her big brother, who had let her get away with everything. But she had crossed a line that Gaius neither could nor would negotiate.
The crackle of fabric snapped him out of his gloomy thoughts and a smile settled on his lips as Aurelia stepped up beside him with her hair down. Immediately, the onset began its teasing play with her golden mane. Fascinated, he enjoyed the sight of her.
"Last night she tried to escape her guards," Aurelia reported in an emotionless voice and a chill ran through his body. Instinctively, he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. Immediately her soft body sank against him, and her delicious scent beguiled his mind. Despite the mild temperatures, she trembled in his arms. He would have preferred to tell her that she didn't have to talk about it. He did not want to hear it. Gently, her hands settled on his arm and pulled him closer. Light as a feather, his lips touched her silky golden hair. After what seemed like an eternity, she relaxed and he whispered thoughtfully, "If I ignore her long enough, she'll give up."
A dry and mirthless laugh escaped her throat, and he couldn't blame her. Even he did not believe that his sister would give up. That was not what either of them had been brought up to do. In a calm, collected voice, Aurelia began to tell him everything, only confirming what he had already suspected. Still, he unconsciously tightened his grip on her when she told him about the poisoned cup. It had been so damn close. Cold anger blazed inside him.
When she brought up the letters Clemens had opened and read for her, Gaius closed his eyes and inhaled her soothing scent in a panic. Instantly Aurelia fell silent and drew soothing patterns on his skin. Instantly he felt better but paused for a while before loosening his grip on her a little.
Thoughtfully, he eyed the small lights on the horizon and wondered why they hadn't just gone to Dianium. The island was so secluded that he could have it all to himself.
After a while, Aurelia turned in his arms and suddenly her face was so close to his that he simply had to kiss her. Smiling, she pressed herself against him and her fingers wandered gently over his body. When they broke away from each other, breathing heavily, he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"Do you really think she'll ever give up?" she murmured exhaustedly, giving him a quick kiss, turning and running back to the bedroom. Frustrated, his eyes darted to the lights on the horizon. He knew what he had to do.

"I heard her name was Antonia," said a voice behind him, but he didn't turn to her. Stubbornly, he kept his gaze on his little girl, who was listening wide-eyed to her brother's words under the cherry tree. Aurelia had been against bringing the children to this place. But Gaius had wanted his sister to see her just once. So that she would finally understand what a treasure she had almost deprived him of.
Agrippina's perfume invaded his nose, and he closed his eyes for a moment to fight the feeling of nausea that was rising. As soon as he even saw a rose, his repressed memories of Tiberius screamed for his attention. Since when did Agrippina also use rose water?
Every now and then the fabric of Agrippina's dress rustled as she nervously adjusted the folds or restlessly shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Otherwise, there was absolute silence in her study. Then it burst out of her. The whole, sanctimonious apology speech she had practised trapped in this place for years so that she could plead her case to him. I wonder how long she had dreamed of this moment. If only she had never betrayed him. She justified herself, she gave him supposed glimpses into her depraved soul, she even begged for forgiveness. But above all, as always, she spoke only of herself.
"And yet it was also my child. Of my blood. Of our blood, Agrippina," Gaius interrupted her speech pointedly before she had the gall to beg him for another chance, rubbing her chin in frustration. Then he continued, trying to keep his tone matter of fact: "You were willing to risk my wife's life, and don't tell me now that you would have done that for Rome. There would have been no new civil war just because Aurelia... wasn't there to stop it. We had every possible scenario planned for in my absence. No, you only did it because you felt you were losing control. That's always been your biggest mistake. When you didn't get your way, you lash out like a wounded animal. Didn't you start that ridiculous affair with Macro back in the day to regain control of your pathetic life, huh? And now look at you. You're trapped in your own home, locked up with your bastard son who, thanks to your guile and my wife's good nature, lives believing his father was a boring, harmless drunk. A man you have on your conscience! Don't even try to deny it, Agrippina, we both know the truth. Just as we both know that you only knocked the cup out of her hand because you realised she had seen through you and your plan. What you did was damage control, and I don't care what you want to tell me. You betrayed my wife's trust and by betraying her, you betrayed me. I will never trust you again. So, remember every single day while you are locked up in here like the criminal you are, that the loss of your family and your freedom is all because of you. I hope it was worth it."
"Brother, please," she pleaded in a tear-stained voice. But it did not touch him.
"You are no longer my sister," he replied coldly. "You haven't been for years."