[u][b]Tainus Fulvius[/b][/u]

His body ached and he felt like he was covered in a thick layer of dirt from head to toe. He had been travelling for a long time now, it had only been a few days but already it felt more like weeks to him. He rode slowly now, Rome in sight, its grand sprawling profile greeting him like an old friend. He longed to once more walk her streets and visit her temples, her shops and the many many distractions that existed everywhere when he was younger. He would soon arrive at his own villa, for only the second time since he had bought the place quite some time ago and he was eager to see it, eager to rest and recover after the long trip. He wished he was coming here for a more pleasant reason, but the emperor had forced his hand with his own actions. He could afford no such luxuries, at least not to begin with. He would have quite some time before his men arrived in the area, approximately a week or so to find out exactly how the political landscape lay and who would likely lend him their support or oppose him. 

His horse trotted slowly down the long winding trail that lead to his estate, it was thoroughly fatigued but could sense that the end was near and so moved with a slight spring to its step. As Tainus approached he spied several children playing amongst the vines that lined the road, their parents likely being those who were employed and resided under him. He regretted that he had met few of them, most of them being employed via messages that he had sent back and forth over the years. As he approached the main villa he grinned softly, he had forgotten just how beautiful it was here, the scent of grapes and olives carried lightly on the breeze mixing with all number of plants and herbs that reminded him fondly of his youth. As he dismounted from his horse a young woman approached him from the main house. He stared as she approached, she had long dark hair luscious and flowing with a face which contained a natural Roman beauty. He examined her loose fitting summer dress which revealed her shapely form and long legs, feeling his pulse quickening as he did so. 

“May I assist you traveller?” she asked, her voice soft and almost musical.

He took a few steps closer as he unclasped his travelling cloak to reveal his Legate armour before introducing himself “Salve, I am Tainus Fulvius. I have returned from Gallia Belgica - I would have sent a rider but I needed to travel immediately, I trust everything is well here?”

She had seemed shocked for a brief moment however soon regained her composure, bowing slightly before she said “Of course, everything is as it should be. I shall arrange for your quarters to be prepared immediately. I am Severina - My husband Priscus is not here today, and will likely not be back until late, but in the morning he would be more than happy to discuss the estate in detail with you if you need.” 

He nodded as he made his way towards the villa’s entrance, that would at least give him the rest of the day and evening to settle in and recover from the long ride. He recognised the name Priscus as the man who had taken over the running of his estates after his old friend Spurius had passed away from some sort of illness. 

“Thank you Severina” he said “perhaps if you would be kind enough to dine with me tonight, it has been quite some time since I have last been in Rome. Also if you could keep the news of my return as quiet as possible, I’m afraid the circumstances that bring me here require this.” 

She nodded and watched him for a moment before he added “and Severina, if you could bring a few bottles of our finest vintage from the cellar I would have some with the meal”. She nodded once more and turned as he entered the villa. He seemed much better than what she had pictured, the great Tainus Fulvius of Gallia Belgica, the barbarian conqueror who had now returned. It sent shivers slightly down her spine, it was exciting to have a man of such power and influence so close. 

[u][b]Tressa Corcoran[/b][/u]

Tressa finished her shopping as quickly as she could, luckily there were no further incidents as rushed from the agora square and back towards the house. She dreaded to be outside, she dreaded returning to that place, she felt completely trapped no matter where she went. She simply hoped that the rest of the day would pass quickly and she would be left alone to her cleaning tasks. 

As she stepped through the doorway into the main hallway of the lavish villa she paused at the sounds of raised voices, a heated argument obviously occurring in the courtyard. The guard who had been following her sauntered forwards to observe whatever was happening whilst she froze on the spot, it very quickly became clear that it was Varinius arguing with his wife about her once more. There was the sound of a slap and a woman cried out, moments later she was storming her way directly towards her, her face bright red and fury in her eyes. For a moment Tressa thought that she was going to attack her, but she simply shoved her out of the way before storming out into the street. 

“Tacita!” her owner bellowed from the courtyard, clearly angry that she had left. As he emerged from the courtyard and locked eyes with Tressa and for a moment stared angrily at her, she suddenly felt very afraid, and so quickly broke eye contact before making her way into the kitchen. She placed what she had bought on a counter, hesitating for a moment at what to do next. Another slave made her way over to the counter before collecting the produce and giving Tressa a pained and sympathetic look before she moved away. 

“Tressa” came Varinius’s voice calmly from behind her. She knew that tone, she was being summoned to his side for one reason or another. She blankly made her way over to him, avoiding his gaze as she simply stood before him. 

“Get ready to go out” he instructed, his tone being somewhat pleasant ,causing her to look up in surprise “I want you at your best, we are going to the colosseum”. 

She again hesitated for a moment before she quickly responding “Of course Varinius” and turned, still uncertain if she really wanted to be caught in the middle of another fight. But as always he commanded and she obeyed, if he wanted her to accompany him then she couldn’t exactly refuse. Several minutes later she was dressed in finery and had been sufficiently made up by the other women, as she returned to Varinius he smiled and gazed at her for a long moment, the look in his eyes being soft and caring. Moments like this were rare, but they had happened before. Once he had used to hold her all the time, whisper into her ear and tell her he loved her, spin tales about all the things they would do together. That had been quite some time ago, and she had come to learn that what he said were nothing but hollow words, these Roman’s clearly not knowing the meaning of the word love. She did her best to reciprocate his affections however, preferring a content and smitten Varinius to his usual self. 

He soon began to speak about himself, telling her of his work and of Rome, as always he did not ask about her day. He moved onto the game they were going to see, a glorious fight that was being attended by everyone – according to Varinius. He joked about the new fighter who had recently arrived in Rome, winning peoples praise, everyone talking about how he may win his freedom. “He will be gutted like the rest of them” he jested “there is no way that he can defeat the best of Rome’s gladiators, some of them come from the best families, and I hear he is simply from some slave pit in Hispania somewhere.” She nodded along to his words, before he suddenly remembering something and said “oh, and he is from Britannia originally apparently, maybe he is related to you somehow?” he chuckled at his own joke. Tressa however was only reminded of her brother, a painful memory that she resented. There would be little to no chance that her brother was even alive let alone here in Rome, also by now they would both be very different from the last time they saw each other. No, he was simply being insensitive as always. Tressa continued to nod along as they made their way slowly towards the grand colosseum through the many streets of Rome. 

[u][b]Ansgar Corcoran[/b][/u]

Ansgar sat eating the bowl of tasteless oatmeal quickly, occasionally adding in a small piece of dried fruit for some flavour as he did. He had spent the morning preparing himself, sharpening his sword and making sure that his protective gear was all in order. He didn’t want to take any chances on this day, and so ate alone, focusing his mind and body on what was to come. He felt ready, he felt focused and like any man who stood before him today would surely die by his blade rather than prevent him from becoming a free man. 

His mind turned to what waited for him on the outside, what kind of life he may have as a free man in Rome, after all he assumed he couldn’t just leave if he wanted to, or maybe he would be able to. There was also the matter of this marriage to think about, and exactly what would be expected of him in this arrangement. What was the woman like, he wondered. Was this her choice or was she like him denied any say in the matter. She was apparently the daughter of a very successful merchant family, but he had to wonder at the situation that lead her to a marriage with himself. He worried that she would not be beautiful or that she would be very un-kind, but Lentulus had assured him that her father had spoken positively of her appearance and personality, but of course what father wouldn’t when arranging a match for his daughter. 

He turned his thoughts away from what he could not control and back to what he could. Standing he moved up and away from the table, leaving everything where it was. It was time to don his armour, time to prepare himself for the short trip to the colosseum where his life would be once more in his own hands, and hopefully this time it would stay there.