Midnight, 19th August AD79
Livia sat alone in her bedroom. The candle was burning low, its wax pooled around the base of the terracotta holder. It cast strange shadows around her room, causing ordinary things to mutate and malform. Her leather satchel thrown carelessly on the floor, with her tunic slung over the top of it, seemed to create a shapeless mound whose sides appeared to rumble due to the flickering nature of the candle.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcd2YMPUl4
She yawned, and got up to blow the candle out. After doing so, she opened the door to her balcony to let in the cool night air. The stars above her were so bright they almost lit her room as well as the candle. Their soft blue shade was gentler than that of the candle; it did not cause any misleading shadows. It did not flicker and most importantly, it did not melt. No matter how long Livia stood there, the light of the stars would not burn out. Not until they were replaced by the light of the sun, at any rate.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxbGv9DgGN
She lay on her bed, the thin sheets kicked to the bottom of the bedframe. No matter what way she turned or how much she twisted, sleep evaded her until the birds began to sing and the sky began to turn orange. It was only then that her eyes closed, exhausted, and she was finally able to grasp with thin hands even the faintest whisper of sleep. Like smoke, it was slipping through her fingers and as the sun climbed higher in the sky, her consciousness tried desperately to cling onto whatever remaining moments of rest it had left.
983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvrlrx5t0v
20th August
She was woken by a banging on her door. Not knocking, she noticed. Urgent banging. Yawning, she got up and opened it. Not to Livia’s surprise, it was her mother.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCW9tCe3Ytx
“Livia, you must come downstairs quickly.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FJrV1Lk0p
Livia opened her mouth the protest, or to at least ask why, but she was cut off by her mother holding up her hand to stop her.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNVoVcZf5w
“Ariadne is here.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnR2NXXvdO
“Ariadne? She was in the hospital only the yesterday, what is she doing here? Surely they cannot have let her leave so soon?!”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZZOCkCv3W
Her mother merely raised her eyebrows.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZ5NqI9JOE
“She refuses to talk to anyone but you. She says she left the hospital as soon as she had woken.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4W55fLjauh
Without further ado, Livia hurried down the wide staircase and saw Ariadne waiting at the foot of the stairs. Her head was bandaged, her skin was pale and her eyes had dark bags underneath them that hinted at a night of restless sleep. Before Livia could say a word, Ariadne had taken her by the arm and lead her through the house and into the garden. She didn’t stop there; she carried on walking, to the very edge of the garden, to the stone benches that sat next to the high back wall.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHclErn9Am
Whatever she wanted to say, she didn’t want to be overheard.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO64xfj9sIU
“What is this? Why do you need to drag me all the way down here?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqINwZASHXt
“I know Max told you we’re leaving after the wedding, and I did mean to tell you and I know you’re angry with me, but I promise I’ll come back every single summer, and you can visit us in Rome and stay with us in our house; it’s going to be huge, you know. Max has the favour of the emperor, there is nothing in this world that we can’t have if we want it!” She said without breath.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6zOv85YgD
Livia tried not to smile at her friend’s words running into one another as she struggled to get them out in one breath.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUvTmOMAPk
“All I wish is that you had told me, not him.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOF08NdwKyi
“And I am sorry for that. I was waiting for the right time.” Ariadne said, genuine apology in her eyes.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiULEkqTgSx
“Then I forgive you.” Livia announced rather grandly. Ariadne smiled, but a hint of sorrow remained in her pupils.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcxPSOaXG6
“What is it? Why do you despair?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqct0knisGY
“I came here not only to apologise. I need your help, Liv. I’m afraid I find myself in quite a bit of trouble.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxbgiRMPuU
“Trouble? What sort?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER7LfsoHg8
“I am with child.” Ariadne said, so quietly it was almost inaudible.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4YrOvuBx8
“How is that possible? You are not yet married!”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8vXvMu1AO
“No but we figured that we do intend to be married, and are betrothed to be so, why should we waste time waiting?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0pY1TW7yG
“How will you tell your parents?” Livia asked. It was not the question Ariadne had wanted to hear, and the fear in her eyes intensified.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjwkUTF2L4
“I hadn’t thought about that. I didn’t even know until this morning when the doctor at the hospital asked me some questions and I realised. I haven’t even told Max yet.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6uGGT2MAJ
“Then that is what you should do. Propose to move the wedding up, at least then you may be able to appear virginal on your wedding day. I suggest a loose fitted wedding gown too.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5tGvMpYkj
Ariadne nodded. She stopped herself from trembling, steeled herself and raised herself from the stone bench.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmQyFNt899
“That is what I shall do. Thank you, Livia. I do believe I would be lost without you.”
983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlU1kVXmBMv
“This water, it tastes… strange.” Caius said, sitting down to his breakfast. It was not much. Although Tetraites was aware of what gladiators needed in order to perform well in the arena, he was struggling financially. Too many gladiators were coming in, and over the past year too few had won their matches. Although not all of them were killed, and the ones that were had been replaced by the master of the games, they had to be put through even more extensive training. Tetraites had to hire three more trainers, the best he could get, and they did not come cheaply.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHT52gA78mx
Caius was sitting down to a breakfast of olives, lentils and a small piece of fish. Fish was easy to come by, as Pompeii was near the docks, but with the amount of gladiators Tetraites was taking in recently, the portions of fish had become significantly smaller.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhyqf0UNu6
Marcus shrugged when Caius held up his water cup.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqHwZlvVML
“Perhaps it is water from out of town.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7k7PS79Ud
Caius snorted.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Qv0lNH5PF
“Tetraites is broke. Can barely afford this much fish, never mind some fancy water from out of town. People like you did this; not paying your debts back.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ljKXKe4jt
“Perhaps he shouldn’t have lent me so much and allowed me to gamble.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclLCeL0VQp
“He’s not your mother, Marcus.” Caius said. His tone was chastising, but his face said he was merely joking. “What did you bet on?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqtgk6gX9N
“Chariot races.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrFDBigwQV
“I was hoping you would say you had bet on a gladiator fight. The irony would have brightened my day.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjKM9jmjt7
Marcus rolled his eyes, popping an olive into his mouth and draining his own water cup. He resisted the urge to spit the water back out again.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROijxisI9C
“I told you it tastes funny.” Caius said casually, not looking up from his plate.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lGrFJQB8l
“It tastes unclean. Are you sure the kitchen staff are not getting the water from the bathing house?!”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPQZttFlme
“No, it is from the aqueducts, I’m certain.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4uw2mz6pt
Marcus simply shrugged.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFumxTuCPcY
“I’m fairly certain this water is still better than any in Rome. Ours is straight from the mountain springs.” Caius said mockingly, a grin on his face.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZfVGtlXWC
“I do wonder Caius, when you will cease to mock me simply because I am from Rome! Besides, how can we be sure that the mountain isn’t what has caused the water to taste strange?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnJ7jPgzz4
Caius’ grin fell, and a intense look passed across his face. He was clearly thinking hard to counter Marcus’ argument that Pompeii water was somehow contaminated.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZInOV9UNGR
Marcus laughed, stood and clapped his friend on the shoulder.
“Well brother, I am going to head down to the arena. I trust I will best you in a fight later?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XhmXAZ3J0
“You wish, Roman, you wish!”
983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4uiG0glWa
Livia was at the market with her father. The heat was not yet unbearable; it was just past ten o’clock and so the sun had not yet reached its full power. Her father was looking at various marble, arduously trying to pick the right one so that her mother would not be angry when they returned.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszGqrflDo3
“Why does mother want marble again, father?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CE2cEbLYY
“She’s going to give it to a sculptor. She wants a magnificent statue of Apollo to go in our gardens; if there is any left after the sculptor is done, perhaps she’ll have a small one made for you. Poseidon perhaps? Or Minerva?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NwIabaDGe
Livia shrugged.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVvErWGVYn
“I shall let mother decide that. It can be a surprise.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGvzr2kFdF
Her father laughed.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZK2EOlexs
“I know your mother can be rather… excitable, but she means well.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVtaNcxc4t
“I know she does.” Livia said gently. “I do need some fabric though, would you mind if I went to the fabric merchant?”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZwgw3jC7r
Her father shook his head, pressing a few coins into her palm and instructing her to be no longer than an hour. She promised she would be back in time, and weaved through the crowds to the other side of the market.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsoFkNHLwj
The fabric merchant was pleased to see her, and immediately brought out his finest silks in the most vibrant pinks and purples.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz5L69a1jG
“I want something for a wedding.” Livia said, looking at the fabrics hanging from the rafts of the wooden market stall.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiW91X1RifJ
“Ah yes, I have heard. Ariadne is marrying the big shot from Rome. Something in pale pink perhaps? It would compliment your eyes.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ndZE5yQz4
Livia shook her head.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgl7djYjUhc
“Perhaps a blue?” She suggested. The merchant nodded, and pulled out three fabrics in varying shades - turquoise, navy and a deep, vibrant blue that Livia did not know the exact name of.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK79G7RXRLr
She was drawn towards the turquoise, touching it gently to feel the fabric. It’s quality was astounding; so soft and it seemed that the colour would last a long time.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAsleic97G
“When do you need it for?” The merchant asked.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pNg4LjIme
“As soon as you can make it, if that is possible?” She did not know when Ariadne was going to move her wedding to, and she thought she had better have her dress ready and waiting as soon as possible.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNV0gn34k0a
Livia paid the merchant and said she would be back within three days to see how the dress was coming along. The merchant promised that if it was finished before then he would have it delivered to her home.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcA9tc3VbQv
As Livia was leaving, her father rushed around the corner.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfeCUJ1rzp
“Livia I have to go, I have urgent business in Herculaneum.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqxE9HRNds
Her father was a local politician, and the nearby town of Herculaneum was a sort of holiday resort for the rich and powerful. However, Livia did not sense that her father was headed there on political business.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QGP9iHQkV
“The earthquake yesterday hit the town worse than here; I am needed over there to assess the damage.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqKBvyUcEI
“Is it bad?” She asked, fearing she already knew the answer.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGMzpwz2Ez
The expression on her father’s face was one of grim truth.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvz83di6RHz
“I fear three lives have already been lost. The messenger that sent me notice was shaken, he could barely speak. Tell your mother I shall try to be home later tonight.”983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ55YQxy9l2
She nodded as her father rushed to find a horse to carry him to the nearby town, praying silently that the mountain stayed silent whilst her father was close to it.983Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRk41yx8kj
Gods, she whispered to herself, please keep him safe.
然後按「加至主畫面」