The Oracular Servant

Part VI: Aurelia

I was in delight. I had left Marcus in the barn with the animals. I had to go and see if my mistress was doing alright. I trusted Sibyl, I did, but you do not leave everything to her. Some jobs were still mine.

Yet I could not find my mistress. She was not in her rooms, or in the main house. I asked the maids where she was, and no one had seen her. So instead I decided to return to the barn. Marcus would be waiting. I smiled as I remembered his soft touch, his soft and light pink lips. He kissed me so tenderly. I knew with every caress that this was what Sibyl meant to be in the web of Venus. I prayed to gods to not let this relationship fail.

I heard noises as I neared the barn. Soft but clear. I moved silently around the back, and gazed in through the an opening in the wall. And what I saw shocked me to my core.

I saw my beloved Marcus in the arms of my mistress. He was holding her gently in his strong arms. She head her head thrown back, with her cheeks red with exhaustion. I stared for so long till I could not look at it any longer. I turned away from the window and ran so far and fast. The imprint still on my eyes. I never forgot it.

As I ran the dark clouds in the sky let loose a torrent of rain. And the water from the sky mixed with tears from my face, and no one could tell the difference. What once held a bursting heart, held a broken one.

I turned quickly towards the nearest house, determined to never let anyone see the tears on my face. I will never speak of it again. I had to be the strong one. My mistress could seduce whomever she wanted. But, oh Marcus, Marcus! Why must it have been you?