By the time I woke up the next morning the legionaries had already left. After all the time we’d spend together it felt odd not having them by our side. So now it was just Tiberius, Cecilia, Flavia, Otho, Atia and myself. We packed our bags and tents and headed towards a small river town Catania, which was a few hours of walk away. There we boarded a ship that was already waiting for us. A small merchant vessel operated by three sailors. Being on a ship again made me think of Julia and our late night chats. I missed her presence. She led a fine life, despite what happened to her. A giant of a person!
The next two days I spent reading and admiring the countryside. Home. I felt good being home. Catching Lux in the distance made my whole body go warm with joy.
“At last, we’re back!” I said to Otho, who by chance was finally by himself. Atia was taking a nap bellow the deck. He didn’t respond and kept staring at the passing shore.
“What?” I asked, frowning my face. He remained oddly silent.
“Ah, I see,” I mused.
“What do you see?” he asked annoyed.
“You’d like to prolong this journey of ours indefinitely. After all, what happens now with Atia? Am I wrong?”
“You’re never wrong,” he sneered at me.
“Well, Tiberius told me we’re going to be on leave now. So don’t worry, you two love beavers will have some time for each other. Until duty calls, that is.”
“That’s just it, Antonius. Duty is becoming a burden to me.”
“What are you talking about? That is the mere definition of duty! What’s wrong with you? Oh, gods! You’re thinking about leaving the Cohort?!”
“Keep your bloody voice down!” he shushed me.
“Are you?”
“I am.”
“Because of Atia?"
“Well, yes!”
“You can’t do that! You were picked for this mission, that’s a great honor! They recognize your potential! Besides, haven’t you drunk the tea already? You can’t father children.”
“Atia is fine with that.”
“Oh, is she?” I shook my head and laughed, dumbfounded by everything.
“I’m only a pledge, I can still walk away.”
“That you certainly can,” I nodded my head, frustrated.
“You sound angry with me.”
“Not at all,” I sighed, “You already had one tyrant lurking above your head for most of your life. Trying to bully you into his ways. I dare not to be the same. You’re my friend and… I wish you well with whatever path you might chose. But take some time, think it over. We’ll be on leave anyway. There’s no need for rash decisions.”
“That’s true. I just wanted to let you know…”
“You’ll come with me to our house?”
“No, I’ll stay with Atia. She has a house near the Forum. But do give my best to your parents and let them know I’ll stop by when I can.”
“Will do.”
He nodded and went under deck. I borrowed a stick from one of the sailors and lit it with my lens. That afternoon we finally arrived to Lux. We docked in a small port near the city walls. We pledges gathered around Tiberius. Each of us had our bag on our back, eager to depart. We were spent and ached for a well deserved rest.
“You’re on leave for the next seven days. But I do want a written report of our travels from every one of you. On the seventh day, before sunrise, come to the Cohort Temple to receive further orders. And bring the report with you, so they can be filed into the Cohort annals. Understood? Good! You did well. I’m proud of you. Dismissed.” He gave us an exhausted smile, which we returned and we all left the ship. I said goodbye to Otho, Atia, Cecilia and Flavia. I had a feeling they’d all be leaving the Cohort.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
I didn’t want to go home yet. I knew my mother would nag me for details of the trip, then scold me for being so foolish to leave her matriarchal cage. So I decided I’d take some time for myself. Marius’s words echoed in my head, how there was nothing we could do to turn events around and might as well have some fun experiencing life. First I went to the bank to withdraw my modest Cohort salary that had been accumulating in those past twelve weeks. Then I went to the city center, to a tavern called Happy Duck where I rented a room. I could have gone to the Cohort Temple where they would have accommodated me, but decided against it. I paid the Happy Duck’s innkeeper, left my travel bag in the room and then headed back to the streets to grab something to eat. At the city market I bought some fish and bread and a cup of beer. I leaned on the wall of some building and ate the food. After that I bought a new stash of tobacco sticks from some Dwarven merchant. Dwarf tobacco was the best. Then I headed to the Cohort Temple, where I registered my tavern address. After, I headed back to the tavern with the intent to smoke and drink the day away. I was sitting at a table near the fireplace. I drank the sweet wine, reading the book about Alena until a familiar voice disturbed my solitude.
“You said you were going to write to me.”
It was Nicola. She looked stunning. She was dressed in a simple pale blue dress with long sleeves. She wore a yellow band around her waist that emphasized her beautiful figure. Her lips were colored blue and her straight brown hair was longer since the last time we had seen each other. And I could swear her chestnut eyes were glowing! Her wondrous presence made me aware of my own uncleanliness from being on the road. I did shave before we arrived to Lux, but that was it. My tunic was dirty and my hair was scruffy and messy.
“I did, didn’t I?” I frowned and smiled at the same time.
“One letter. One. Shame on you, Antonius.”
“A lot happened,” I said with sorrow I could not conceal. She sat down.
“How was it?”
“I just got back. I don’t want to talk about it. Today is about me smoking and drinking. And spa perhaps. I’m dirty. Look at me! I look like a stable boy! A very pretty, seductive stable boy. Right?”
“Ha ha ha! Would you like some company?”
“I would! What are you doing here anyway? Are you meeting someone?”
“No. Lately I don’t like being home alone. It’s too harrowing.”
“Alone? Where is your mother? Is she better?”
“She died a month ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I truly am.”
“It was for the best. In the end she wasn’t herself.”
“And you?”
“Well, I drank the Elixir and it helped. It put things into a perspective that agrees with me. Eh, I don’t know. I find it difficult to find the words to describe what or how I’m feeling.”
“Oh, I can relate with that. Now what? What will you do for money?”
“My mother left me a small inheritance. Not a lot, but I don’t have to think about money for a couple of years. So there’s that. In the meantime I’ll think of something. Maybe I’ll even join the Cohort. Who knows?”
“I’d like that,” I winked at her and she smiled.
“I know you would! Where are your friends? Otho and Marius, is it?”
“Otho fell in love, on the road! He was a part of the expedition. Marius as well! But he’s not in Lux, he’s stationed in some military camp in the Northern Forest. What about your friend, the blonde and the brunette? What are their names again?”
“They got married!”
“Both? To each other?”
“You say such weird things, Antonius, ha ha! No, they met two brothers, fell in love and got married.”
“Why? I mean… Why so fast? How can you meet someone and marry so soon?”
“I have no idea!” she rolled her beautiful brown eyes, “You know what? I think I’ll have some wine as well.”
The whole afternoon we drank and smoked and talked. Conversing with her was effortless. It was exactly what I needed to eradicate the mental exhaustion from the ill voyage. She talked of her father who died when she was merely a toddler. He got kicked in the head by a horse that got spooked by a pig bursting into the stables.
“What an odd way to die,” I said drunk and she laughed.
“I’m so awful for laughing!”
She told me of her mother’s sickness and how she took care of her since she was little. But now, now she’d experience life to the fullest in every way possible! Her cheerfulness made me feel better. Slowly I opened up to what happened on the trip. Porosia, Lord Cronos, Calista, the ill Porosian queen, and finally the Orc attack. I blushed when I talked of how Julia saved my life. She then hugged me. She smelled like roses, making my head dizzy, but in a good way.
“You smell so good,” I said out loud and only then realized how creepy I must have sounded. She laughed.
“You not so much,” she grinned. So we went to the spa, the biggest one in the city. It consisted of ten pools of different sizes and depth. They were interconnected by small, roofed narrow halls and passes that resembled natural caverns. It was late, so there weren’t many patrons swimming around. The warm water brushing against my skin felt exhilarating. And Nicola, swimming around naked made me drunker than the wine itself! We swam and swam until we stopped in one of the dark cavern-like passes. There we kissed and then in silence made love.