Once again I was woken up by loud knocking. I stumbled to the front door and opened them. There stood Marius, in his full armor, grinning at me.

“Still asleep? You lazy diplomat!”

“What are you doing here?!” I asked with a happy voice.

“Lord Tiberius ordered me to bring you this.” He handed me a small glass bottle containing the Elixir.

“When did he do that? Come on in,” I gestured with my hand and stepped aside. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Then he looked around and shook his head.

“He visited the camp early this morning. He and our commander were discussing something while they pranced around.”

“What about?”

“Who knows, politics, I guess. Anyhow, he ordered me to bring you this. Who is it for?”

“That I can’t say. It’s not for me, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“You’ve become very secretive. And this room! Look at all this! I sleep in a tent, on the hard ground and you in this glorious, luxurious bed! I always knew you’re the smarter one, ha ha! Well, best be going now.”

“Already? Stay, let’s talk, we’ll get some breakfast.”

“Oh, young Antonius," he mocked me, "I have orders. We have to prepare everything for tomorrow’s departure. We leave before sunset.”

“That’s right,” I yawned.

“Fancy-pants yawning diplomat!” he yelled and punched my chest, then laughed and left the room.

When he left, the chamber pot and my behind got acquainted for the very first time. I used some rags that were stashed next to the pot for wiping. Then I got dressed, put the Elixir bottle in my pocket, and decided to check on Otho. He didn’t answer to my knocks, so after waiting a bit, I slowly opened the door and walked in. He was still in bed, snoring like a boar. At first I wanted to wake him up, but then decided against it. So I carefully closed the door behind me and went downstairs. The servant from the day before stood at the bottom of the stairs, completely motionless, as if he was a statue. When he saw me he perked up and said:

“Good morning, pledge Antonius!”

“Good morning.”

“Had a pleasant night?”

“Yes, I did, thank you.”

“Hungry?”

“Very much so.”

“I’ll take it from here, Atrius” said a voice near us, a voice which startled us both. We looked towards its source. It was the queen, standing in a dark corner, with a straight, commanding posture. She was wearing a black dress with embroidered golden roses. Her hair was twisted into a single braid. The blue eyes were more lively than the night before. I politely smiled, yet her face remained cold.

“Yes, my queen,” answered Atrius and bowed. The queen then nodded her head towards me as if wanting to say Come on, let’s go. I followed her lead and we left the hall and the stiff Atrius, stepping out to the courtyard.

“I apologize for bothering you so early, young Antonius. I was wondering if you managed to talk to your Lord yet?” she asked while we aimlessly walked around.

“I have, my queen. I have the Elixir in my pocket. But I think it’s best I hand it to you somewhere more private. From what I could tell, the guards on your walls are quite nosy. Forgive me for saying so.”

“No need. They are an undisciplined lot. Well, I guess that’s partly my fault… We’ll have breakfast in my chamber, if that’s alright with you, Antonius? You’ll give me the bottle there.”

“That would be optimal.”

We entered the south-west tower and started climbing the narrow spiral stairs. The queen had to stop a few times to catch her breath, so our ascend took some time. Every time we stopped I offered my hand in help, but she refused it. On the top floor stood a young servant girl ready to fulfill all her queen’s orders. She had green eyes and brown hair. Very pretty.

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“Basilia! I’ve decided I’ll have breakfast in my room, along with my young Vetulonian guest. Go to the kitchen and order them to fetch us some food.”

“Yes, my queen,” she answered and then glanced at me with an innocent curiosity. I smiled and she smiled back.

“Now!” the queen yelled and she jumped and ran down the stairs.

“Ah, good help is tough to find,” queen mumbled more to herself than me, opening the door of her room. The set up was quite luxurious. A large bed, a wide shelf filled with books and scrolls, a large desk, comfortable chair, a dining table, a large dark green bathtub and countless paintings on the walls. I immediately walked towards them. They depicted all sorts of things, from horses and people to battles and countryside.

“You like those?” she asked with pride in her voice.

“I do, they’re beautiful. Are they all yours?”

“Every single one of them.”

“You’re quite talented.”

“Thank you, Antonius.”

I then took the Elixir from my pocket and handed it over.

“Drink it before going to bed. That’s it.”

“I always imagined it was more complicated than that.”

“Not at all.”

“Will it cause discomfort?”

“Some people vomit, but most don’t suffer side effects.”

“Have you drunk it?”

“I have. All pledges have to.

“What did the gods tell you?”

“All sorts of things, my lady. I haven’t deciphered it yet. One thing I am sure though. We’re only a part of a greater realm.”

“Hm… Thank you for this. And please, thank your Lord.”

“I will.”

Someone knocked on the door. The queen answered and two chefs brought some food. Bread, eggs, meat, beans, apples and cherries, and a pitcher of honey water, along with two cups.

“Would that be all, my queen?” one of them asked.

“Yes, yes, thank you,” she waved them away and they left. We sat and ate. She started talking about her family. Her father, a lord, was a powerful, but emotionless man. Her mother was very vane and only cared for her family’s name and prestige. She had two sisters, but they died while giving birth, a fate quite common for Porosian women. She told me how her mother perished from the lump in approximately two years since discovering it. So she knew she didn't have much time. It had been a year and a half since she first noticed it and it was getting worse, bigger.

After we finished eating we left her room and took a walk around the castle. She showed me the dungeon stacked with old torture devices and some skeletons. Then the wine cellar, filled with countless barrels. Then we climbed the highest tower from which we could observe the city and the country beyond. The sun was shining strong, while the wind caressed the world around us.

“I like the wind,” she said, “It takes the smell of the city away.” She took a deep breath and continued: “I find strange comfort in realization that soon I will be gone... And everything here will stay the same... Life will move on. As if I never existed. But I did. I do! Hah! What do you think happens when you die, Antonius?”

“Our philosophers and sages do argue that what makes us us, survives the death of the body.”

“What do YOU think?”

“I think… I think that when we die, we go home. Our true home. Life is a dream of our true self.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that…”

We then had lunch, again in her chamber, where she showed me her latest painting she was working on. It was dark, full of monstrous figures. I liked it. Then she asked me questions about myself, something that didn’t happen very often. I was more of a listener than a talker, so me ranting about myself was a pleasant change. I told her about my family and how burdened I was with the slave-like mentality my mother has towards my father. And how she succeeded in passing this undesirable trait to my brother. How my father was an obnoxious, selfish man and how he had another family in another Vetulonian city. And how we all somehow accepted this abnormality, and how frustrating that was, at least to me. For some reason, by the time I finished talking, I was drenched in sweat.

“Your father sounds like an idiot. Reminds me of my son, hah!”

“Will you excuse me, my queen? Dinner is in a few hours and I’d like to freshen up.”

I was tired and spent.

“Oh, of course, Antonius. We’ll see each other in the evening. Tell Atrius you’d like to take a bath and he’ll handle everything.”

We said goodbye and I headed towards my room. I found Atrius by the staircase and asked him if it was possible to take a bath.

“Of course! I’ll take care of it.”

I climbed the stairs and headed straight to my chamber. There I meditated until three loud, quick knocks brought me back. I stood up and opened the door and was met with five young women carrying large buckets of steaming hot water.

“Bath,” one of them said and slightly lifted the bucket she was carrying.

“Oh, of course!” I let them in and they poured the water into the tub and then threw in some nice smelling herbs.

“Will there be anything else?” one of them teasingly asked. They all giggled.

“No, that would be all,” I answered with a red face. They all bowed and left the room, whispering to each other.

The bath felt good.