[b]Aemilia, The Palace[/b]

Aemilia looked her friend over. "Lady Venus would be jealous of your grace and beauty. Certainly the other ladies will be too." She herself looked splendid in a sleeveless gold dress with finely detailed purple embroideries. She wore ruby earrings, gold bangle bracelets, and was at that moment having her hair put up under a sheer golden veil. "The gods certainly cursed us to undeserving families." She stood gracefully. "Shall we to the Coliseum? I should like to be there before the crowds; It is hardly dignified to try to jam yourself into six inches of space because you were the last to arrive."

[b]Aemiliana, Noctura Villa[/b]
Aemiliana flushed very pronouncedly, then stood and followed Pentalius through the house. It was the kind of place that she would love to explore; lots of hallways and plenty of little rooms. She just about squealed when Pentalius showed her to her room, and she saw on the desk a sheath of paper, a wax tablet, and an armful of her favorite books. Then she frowned. "How did you know that I'm reading Cicero? And Musa and Celsus and... Andromachus? Gods, how did you get your hands on that?! It was only published a year ago! I couldn't get a copy of it, even when I used my father's name!" She wondered just how long Pentalius had been paying attention to her without her knowing it. For him to know her interests so well... Goodness. She knew that everyone paid attention to the emperor's daughters, simply in the hope of marrying them, but almost no one, save her teachers, knew how much she adored medicine and the sciences.