Chapter 6
“My father will be worried, I should hurry.” Livia said, rushing forward. Marcus stopped her by taking her hand.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdacyp3NIHU
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUth7aPTvZ
Caius was behind them, pulling along the startled donkey.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWowx90iOHl
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD19RbuRFw3
Marcus rolled his eyes and begin to hurry down the path, almost jogging. Livia followed, being led by the hand.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMhgjwM1c9
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2w2Yg19gd
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0oBSiWlaX
“They will be angry now, if they were not before.” She said quietly.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO5WcCCIeF
‘Who?” Marcus asked.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoP41HDraAG
“The Gods. Their statues have been destroyed, the murals dedicated to them have fallen apart.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvptXjQFKjD
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FjxYMi68H
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojoZoEgMUw
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNOp8lOkk2
Once inside, Livia could hear her mother’s hysterical voice.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rNjpOAoDi
Upon entering the dining room, she was engulfed immediately in her father’s arms.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnp5iiJdgPV
“We were so worried, we could not find you or Ariadne. Where have the pair of you been?!” He said.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpJjpMEduC
“I…We had gone walking, father.” She said quietly, thinking fast of an excuse.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAeWE8NgKO
“No matter, no matter. All that matters is that you are safe.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQZfZLd9FK
Her mother gave a small cry as she sat down gently in one of the cushioned chairs.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMbHocffqw
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xCP9CvroE
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wsb4Z1IrY
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7N2yaV9x9
“I should go and make sure Ariadne made it home safely.” Livia said. Her father nodded.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6oQxy2xj2
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRZUzUolTf
“I will father. Besides, the quake is over. We should all be safe now.” Livia said, forcing optimism into her tone.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowyreV29yn
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQm5KHHKZn
As she stepped inside, Ariadne’s father came rushing to her.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkf1xnq2BK
“Livia, I am relieved to see you. Where is she? She has not returned home, she told us she was with you!”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSid056u5tE
Livia forced herself to remain calm and lie flawlessly.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2aLjo3G8m
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanhSnz71Ar
“I think she would come home first. I am worried for her, Livia.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtJYsVJyXP
Livia placed a hand on his forearm.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2LwGTWbQQ
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOzm651xme
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPPqU82V2x
As she headed there, she passed Caius, still leading the donkey.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2qRvfXABO
“You’re not going back up there?!” He said incredulously.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL9MqFgiWX
“Ariadne’s missing, she’s by the foot of the mountain, I know it.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMikYZicpN
Caius threw his head back and sighed heavily. He turned the donkey around.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVipaoBEd6
“Come on then. If I die up there, I’ll kill you.” He said.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mQ92se8JL
Livia smirked.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OJm1uzbfS
“If you’re dead, you can’t kill me. And besides, I never asked you to come with me.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2iqIpfRSO
“What kind of man would be I be if I allowed a lady to go near that thing alone?”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaDpDVCieX
“Not a gentlemanly one.” She said with a shrug. He tried to feign anger, but a smile broke through his lips.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1G3Jd4BwfX
“I see why Marcus likes you so much.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdde1E7ZYhx
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWn6dIiPJBi
“So she’s up there is she?”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJM2EzpXDmG
“No. She’s in a clearing at the bottom, like I said.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3sWAf0Z37
“Oh.” Caius said. “I’m not a good listener.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pHCuIx1A8
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDswnyvAiz
“Livia, thank the gods you’re here!”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG47cJVngyL
It was Max, Livia’s fiance. He was sitting on the floor, worry stricken.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyELOS5c8G
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tksdPYYqO
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJcsTzjU72
“Does this smell funny to you?” he asked.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UDoij6ZJc
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99Os7e0C1v
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1ZyUTm8zM
“It smells foul. It smells like something used by an alchemist!”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1LHjjsZFA
Caius threw the fabric into the trees.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZa64REEKs9
“Let’s hope its not in the water system.” Maxentius said, shaking his head.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡledPLr62c9
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyGxibWWu2
“Right, put her on the donkey. We need to leave quickly and get her to a doctor.’’1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXYdn8ArsV
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jbMMfR3Ua
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRyQQGW1j3
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVy4KtRbmuY
“Why were you out there anyway?” Livia asked Maxentius as they sat around her bedside.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtGbj3adFJ
“We had gone for a picnic by the lake. She said it was the calmest place she knew.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGddXA1VPz
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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVapniCtbA
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXaTlDtep3
“It was.” Livia said simply. “I’m glad she has you, Max. Not all men are so kind to their wives.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmL5aBgSJW0
He laughed heartily.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5V7OBIiWfR
“It is strange for a man to love his wife these days, I will give you that. She makes me happy.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8QlCQZuxR
Livia smiled.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccZ1XBu5ki
“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.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN0yMChnle
“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?”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyQNrusuwX
“Tell me? What is she supposed to have told me?”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhYAmKTGEu
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9sfmGJHhw
“She never told me she was leaving.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiq1Oj7Yn5
“Perhaps she thought it was not a big deal; after all, you have only just returned. She did fine without you here.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xr43hCoAk
“But I only left for a few months, she’ll be leaving permanently.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tJH2GwU4L
“You will always be welcome to visit.”1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NMQElgBrl
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?1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuwjVPZdCk
“Besides, she said you would hardly miss her, what with that gladiator around.” Max said with a shrug.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncZEKwiDXF
“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.1039Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0xq3o6b6Y
She walked home in the dark without looking back.
