The House of the Rising Sun

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Good Men Fall

Aquilina blushed. “Thank you, Alexander. And I’ve never met a man so skilled in politics. Of course, you were trained by the great Mark Antony.”

I sighed. “I’ve been worried for him. And then he went to Egypt by himself…”

Aquilina put her hand down, stood, and went over behind me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and she gently pushed them down. “Gods, Alexander, you must quit worrying. Your shoulders are tense. Antony is a grown man and he knows how to take care of himself.”

“I understand that, but…he’s not in favor with Octavian, and that worries me as well.”

“Octavian is a big baby who’s used to getting what he wants,” stated Aquilina flatly.

“Yes, Aquilina, a big baby who influences today’s government and has the power to raise and lower taxes.”

She snorted. “Yes, that is true… I swear under his command it’s a wonder how Rome is faring relatively okay.”

“Especially with him and Antony—who’s also in charge—bickering at every political meeting we have.”

Aquilina sighed. “Let’s not worry about politics right now.” She began to knead her thumbs below my neck.

“Aquilina, it’s okay, you can go sit down. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t mind,” she said, and I could just imagine a beautiful smile on her face. “So”—suddenly her hands stopped cold.

“What’s wrong? Am I growing wings now or something?” I asked, trying to joke. She passed her thumb just a little under the neck of my chiton, tracing something.

“Alexander, put on a sleeping kilt,” she commanded, her tone worried but cold.

“What’s wrong? What kind of wings?”

“This is not funny. Show me your back.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

I went to my room, which was next door, and I put on my red sleeping kilt. I was vexed now, afraid that she had found something on my back to be worried about. I walked back to the kitchen, where Aquilina was nervously taking a sip of wine.

“What’s going on?” I queried nervously.

“Turn…turn around, please,” she said quietly. I walked a little closer to her and turned around. Suddenly she let out an awful cry and I whirled back around.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded, grabbing her hands. Her eyes were misty as she met my gaze. Slowly she turned me back around, and she traced a line on my back. Then another. And then another.

“Holy gods, Alexander,” she whimpered. She placed her arms around my waist and rested her head against my back. “Scars. More than thirty of them.”

And then I realized what she had seen. To be totally honest, I had completely forgotten about them. I turned around and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, resting my chin on her head.

“They’re only scars, Aquilina,” I said gently. “Please, don’t worry about them.”

“What happened?” she asked. I kissed the top of her head.

“It happened four years ago. Please, it’s nothing to worry about now.”

She looked up at me. “Alexander, no secrets, remember?” Aquilina said, reminding me of a promise of truth that we had made each other.

“Yes, I remember,” I murmured. I kissed the top of her head again and thought of what I was going to say.

“No secrets,” she repeated.