Chapter 6
“My father will be worried, I should hurry.” Livia said, rushing forward. Marcus stopped her by taking her hand.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqG9CL02n5a
“You cannot go alone. If it happens again you could be in danger. I will come with you.” He said earnestly. She nodded, trying to hide her worry.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQiAeNS2F3
Caius was behind them, pulling along the startled donkey.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wEcA4Bcr5
“You two go on ahead, I will be fine with the donkey.” Caius said, making a “shoo” motion with his hand. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell Tetraites where you are.” He said with a wink.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynEpBCTrye
Marcus rolled his eyes and begin to hurry down the path, almost jogging. Livia followed, being led by the hand.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTSvDoDqoB
“If you do not wish to make my father’s heart stop beating in his chest, I suggest you drop my hand when we near the city.” She said with a laugh. Marcus had almost forgotten that he still held her fingers in his palm; he had gotten used to the feeling.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGmTNMo52M
As they entered the city, they saw that the quake this time was much more serious than the rumbles and quakes that had occurred in the days previous. This time, mosaics had fallen off the sides of houses and slaves were outside picking up the shattered fragments. Small statues of the gods had fallen from their pedestals in the small alcoves inside and outside houses. Livia bit her lip at this.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozCcxPRDyp
“They will be angry now, if they were not before.” She said quietly.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfADK7RUiA
‘Who?” Marcus asked.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8t0O76PquQ
“The Gods. Their statues have been destroyed, the murals dedicated to them have fallen apart.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDPbWQIHmX
“The Gods sent the quake. They cannot blame us for this.” he said, motioning to those picking up the arms of Bacchus and the legs of Hera. A statue of Apollo lay completely shattered to Livia’s right. She gently picked up the head of the statue, the only part that remained intact. It had fallen from such a great height that it’s arms had been reduced to dust.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNPeemjRpy
She still worried that they would be angry. Perhaps the citizens should have secured their statues better? Should have used a stronger adhesive when sticking their mosaics to the wall, to paint their murals on stronger walls. She shook her head.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JEvrvRYyr
“Caius was right, Marcus. Bad things are coming.”
She said goodbye to Marcus a safe distance away from her house. He watched as she climbed the few stone steps to the large bronze door, he waited for her to be safely inside before he left from his spot behind the trees and left for the arena.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcW4eWoURF
Once inside, Livia could hear her mother’s hysterical voice.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA2OpcSwlk
Upon entering the dining room, she was engulfed immediately in her father’s arms.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cYRseKXgV
“We were so worried, we could not find you or Ariadne. Where have the pair of you been?!” He said.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGEJWeB8TD
“I…We had gone walking, father.” She said quietly, thinking fast of an excuse.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYhWX19rP2
“No matter, no matter. All that matters is that you are safe.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGwyUZQNN6
Her mother gave a small cry as she sat down gently in one of the cushioned chairs.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFxfltTLJ0
“My frescoes are ruined!” She said, pointing to the painting of Poseidon that she had bragged of the night before. Part of the pigments had come loose, but not fell away all together. Poseidon himself had a large crack spanning from the top of his forehead to the edge of his thigh, and he had lost an ear.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5grDvNu9oO
“The damage in the city is much worse than this mother, we are lucky to have escaped so cleanly!” Livia said, amazed at how little damage the quake had done compared to houses outside.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIXsAzsp4e
“We are lucky, Aemilia. Do you not recall the quake of 62? This is nothing.” Livia’s father said, placing a comforting hand on her mother’s shoulder.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbUap5jNMH
“I should go and make sure Ariadne made it home safely.” Livia said. Her father nodded.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArkonyWjww
“Be safe yourself. I want you home before dark.” He said, worry in his voice. His eyes roamed around the room, and he thanked the gods that the quake was not as bad as it could have been. Nevertheless, he could not shake his feeling of worry.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhijVbvPvPp
“I will father. Besides, the quake is over. We should all be safe now.” Livia said, forcing optimism into her tone.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhyfWVpPuk
“I hope so Livia. I hope so, but I feel this is only the beginning.”
Liva reached Ariadne’s house. They too had escaped the earthquake relatively safely. The heavy bronze dishes that would hold fire had been knocked over, and the door knocker had fallen off the door but other than that, the outside appeared undamaged.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JnUMJ3B8t
As she stepped inside, Ariadne’s father came rushing to her.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttJpv7qmkC
“Livia, I am relieved to see you. Where is she? She has not returned home, she told us she was with you!”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rVKBBgzFd
Livia forced herself to remain calm and lie flawlessly.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBykeWz5UP
“I was with her, we said goodbye after the quake so she could return home and I to mine. Perhaps she has visited Maximus?” She offered. Her father bit his lip.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzCtDzjPvk
“I think she would come home first. I am worried for her, Livia.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfny6VSa9B
Livia placed a hand on his forearm.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVBYcRr5Nd
“I will find her. I promise you, I won’t return until I have her with me, safe.” She promised. Ariadne’s father nodded, taking comfort in her promise.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7gZxj9Rkv
“Please do, Livia. Find her and bring her home quickly.”
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Livia knew where to look. The one place they had always gone as children, and the one place Ariadne was always to be found if she was missing. It was a small clearing, deep in the trees at the feet of the mountain. There was a small lake there. It was remote and quiet. Livia was certain that no one else in the city of Pompeii ever noticed it, or if they did, they never visited it.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuecOQwiBK
As she headed there, she passed Caius, still leading the donkey.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8Dls8YCMi
“You’re not going back up there?!” He said incredulously.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAOiNaDqBe
“Ariadne’s missing, she’s by the foot of the mountain, I know it.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4ZBab6IXh
Caius threw his head back and sighed heavily. He turned the donkey around.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHUh4nfshQ
“Come on then. If I die up there, I’ll kill you.” He said.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNdhgrRo0y
Livia smirked.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgAKRLDXnS
“If you’re dead, you can’t kill me. And besides, I never asked you to come with me.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8E8DXEnJV
“What kind of man would be I be if I allowed a lady to go near that thing alone?”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALgA1QdXgA
“Not a gentlemanly one.” She said with a shrug. He tried to feign anger, but a smile broke through his lips.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eigNsw2Sj
“I see why Marcus likes you so much.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdFz8spRZv
“And what would you know of how much Marcus likes me?” Livia said with a raised eyebrow. Caius merely tapped the side of his nose and nodded in the direction of the volcano.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJgt1hUsmE
“So she’s up there is she?”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCR3pn3a5hQ
“No. She’s in a clearing at the bottom, like I said.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiEFdrtDfX
“Oh.” Caius said. “I’m not a good listener.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡar3s2dMqg3
“Come on,” Livia laughed “I need to be home before dark.”
They found her quickly. Livia knew the path to the clearing like the back of her hand. As children they spent many a day there, dipping their toes in the water and eating the berries that grew on the bushes there. As they pushed through the trees, Livia knew something was wrong instantly.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtPvZNnI5d
“Livia, thank the gods you’re here!”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowNIkoNVIk
It was Max, Livia’s fiance. He was sitting on the floor, worry stricken.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTsjFxChxn
“One of the rocks fell during the quake, she was hit on the head. She’s been unconscious since. I… I tried calling for help but no one answered and I don’t know the way back here, I was afraid that if I left to get help I would never find her again.” He ran a shaking hand through his hair. “She will be alright, won’t she? Won’t she Livia?” He asked. Livia fought the urge to marvel at this sight; a citizen of the Roman Empire that genuinely loved his wife-to-be. Love within marriage was rare indeed.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcSpwaDms2
Caius immediately tore a piece of fabric from the donkeys saddle and ran to the small lake to soak it in water. He was about to place it on her forehead when he stopped.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSsUL9BFtx
“Does this smell funny to you?” he asked.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuSn1s1d7l
“It’s just been ripped from the back of a donkey, I would imagine that it’s smell is not pleasant.” Maxentius said, wrinkling his nose.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqX7fKUbCZ
“No, it’s not that. It’s the water.” He said, pushing the cloth towards Maximus, who dutifully lifted it to his nose. His face screwed up in response to it.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDJ2yGc1iI
“It smells foul. It smells like something used by an alchemist!”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSMEnAfyeN
Caius threw the fabric into the trees.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUyrrpCHlx
“Let’s hope its not in the water system.” Maxentius said, shaking his head.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4f7zaqqSd
“No, the aqueducts aren’t near here, this isn’t the water we drink in the city. We should be okay.” She said and he sighed in relief. Caius clapped his hands together.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RM9ga4FIU
“Right, put her on the donkey. We need to leave quickly and get her to a doctor.’’975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eOwUsZPNt
Livia nodded, lifting Ariadne’s arm as Maxentius took the other and Caius took her feet. They placed her on the donkey gently. Her head lolled forward onto the animal’s neck, and Maxentius and Livia held her arms on either side whilst Caius led the donkey. They walked slowly, ensuring that Ariadne did not slide off the side of the donkey.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCy6tPq4R4M
When they reached the city, she was escorted to the hospital. The hospital itself had suffered in the quake. As it was a building fairly close to the mountain, it had felt the tremors more severely than others more further in. Much of the paint on the walls had fallen off, and a large crack ran through the floor tiles in one room. Here too, the statues of the gods had all fallen. One man was sitting over a candle, heating an adhesive substance, trying desperately to repair the figurines. Caius gave Livia a knowing look as they passed this, but said nothing.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhcwzupiU4
Ariadne was placed on a small bed immediately, a cold compress applied to her forehead and the cut on her cheek where the rock had hit her was tended to with a salve.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifOn97UjrS
“Why were you out there anyway?” Livia asked Maxentius as they sat around her bedside.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ifodR93nh
“We had gone for a picnic by the lake. She said it was the calmest place she knew.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XlfL3Jg2r
Livia fought back the bite of jealousy she felt. The clearing had always been their place, their secret clearing. That Ariadne had shared it with someone else filled Livia with a jealousy that she knew was ridiculous. Of course she would share her favourite place in Pompeii with him, they were to be married in only a few weeks. Still, Livia thought to herself, that was our clearing.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYr3dYyTLt
“She told me it was special to the two of you. That it had been since childhood.” Max said softly, almost as if he could tell what was running through her mind.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxorWkwWIRW
“It was.” Livia said simply. “I’m glad she has you, Max. Not all men are so kind to their wives.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGdvPJLISd
He laughed heartily.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtx48vJSqFj
“It is strange for a man to love his wife these days, I will give you that. She makes me happy.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFMU1ZfOhS
Livia smiled.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI3z2Uc5ss
“Good. Then I am glad she took you to our clearing. She is practically my sister, and by that logic, we are soon to be family.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXl4QnE4qy
“I think it will be hardest for her to leave you behind, more than anyone else.” He said, a sad sort of look in his golden brown eyes. Livia’s confusion made him groan. “She did not tell you?”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xI3JkGR1k
“Tell me? What is she supposed to have told me?”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYoP9t6jLJ
“We are moving to Rome after the wedding. I thought you knew.” He said, biting his lip. Livia felt like someone had knocked her backwards and she had lost her breath.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMCOijpp54
“She never told me she was leaving.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdp4cQSXAF8
“Perhaps she thought it was not a big deal; after all, you have only just returned. She did fine without you here.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGoy5U3FsX
“But I only left for a few months, she’ll be leaving permanently.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i3SN9bIjj
“You will always be welcome to visit.”975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkO923YA9rO
Livia shook her head. Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but not just because her friend was leaving soon, but because she had found out of another. Ariadne should have told her, did Livia not deserve the truth from her own lips?975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQ7WLvhYTi
“Besides, she said you would hardly miss her, what with that gladiator around.” Max said with a shrug.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xn7Oz0p2z
“When she wakes up, tell her I need to see her.” She said, standing up and leaving the hospital, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her.975Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLXnyjF2QW
She walked home in the dark without looking back.
