Thirteen Lullabies | ✓

III.II

We spent that night hiding as far from Octavian's home as we could get. We tried to move off the main road and remain in the shadows as best we could. Every once in a while, the sound of foot soldiers running past would startle us, and we pushed closer to the bushes and trees in which we were hiding. By the time the sun had risen, we were so exhausted from running and the adrenaline of possibly being caught that we took turns resting our eyes while the other kept watch.

I ventured out just a bit to see if I could find us something to eat. I knew I could pass for an everyday Roman citizen, so I did my best to stay near you enough to watch over you while still trying to find some sustenance.

I was unsuccessful, so I returned back to you. I spent much of that day watching as you slept, not waking you when it was my turn to rest. I would not have been able to sleep at a time like that anyway, and you looked the most peaceful you had looked since I met you.

Eventually the gurgling of your stomach woke you and we decided to press on. You mentioned that there was someone you knew who might be willing to house us, so we went in search of her. She was apparently sympathetic to your plight, one of the few people who used to support your mother and who wished to spit on Octavian for how he had paraded you around.

Eventually, we found her home, and she welcomed us in, eyes searching the road around us to ensure nobody had witnessed us entering. We had made every effort to move during the night, when the Roman patrol had decreased, so I knew we would be okay.

She introduced herself to me, insisting that I call her Vita. She then ushered us into a room with a table of leftover food, which she told us she wanted gone by the time she woke up the next day. I knew that wouldn't be a problem.

She also let us know that a mandate had been decreed only a few short hours after our run-in with a near catastrophe, ordering that you be brought to Octavian. It stated that punishment would be dealt for your treasonous actions. If they weren't after your head before, they certainly were after that. She told us that many of the Romans were upset with Mark Antony for abandoning his Roman brothers and wife to be with your mother, his "foreign paramour."

So when that decree went out with a bounty over your head, the streets of Rome were flooded with a surge of people looking for the "traitorous half-breed". That is why the roads had been so much busier after we fled Octavian's home. Everyone was in search of you, hoping to have the great honor of the bounty bestowed upon them, as well as a meeting with the first Roman Emperor.

Octavian always knew how to spin a story to fit his needs.

For sixteen days, we slept curled up on the floor in the corner of Vita's closet, just in case the group of Romans in search of you came knocking at her door and we didn't have the time to move.

Thank goodness we did, because on the sixteenth night, as I held your small body against me, shielding you from the outside world, we awoke to the pounding of guards storming the house. Emulating you from only a couple weeks earlier, I slid my hand over your lips to ensure the small squeal of surprise would not break past us.

The steps came closer and closer until I thought they had seen me, but Vita asked them, rather disinterestedly, if they would like some wine, to which they all agreed. Vita was quite the actress when she needed to be.

We remained silent throughout the rest of their time in the small house, careful not to give away our only hiding spot. The guards seemed to be enjoying their stay with Vita, boisterous laughter filling our ears.

I looked into your striking eyes and saw you attempt to hold back your tears, closing your eyes as they slid down your cheeks. I swiped them away, pulling you into my embrace. I wanted to tell you that things would be fine. Vita was doing a great job of ensuring we remained safe here, whether to protect herself or us. The guards no longer suspected anything was amiss.