Claudia Acte

My visits to the Emperor became more numerous in number as the Queen continued to be out on various business occasions. I thought she had just wanted to be far from Nero. His insanity had grown over the past month. Now that I was with him, he tried hiding everything. He hid behind a mask of joyfulness in music and arts, but that only made it more obvious that he was with a slave. Octavia knew. Seneca knew. Burrus knew. The people of Rome knew.

Demetri was not happy about me visiting the Emperor so often, but I never told him about my what my visits entailed. His heart would be destroyed. I assumed he must have known, but I didn’t want to tell him. Nothing should take away from what we have. But what did we have? We are slaves! Our simple relationship was trying to fit into a complex world; the complex world of slavery. Nevertheless, we were still there for each other. We were all we had.

I thought through all of this as I walked up again to his chambers after being summoned. I came to the door as Octavia left. I kept my head down, but I could feel her eyes burning fire at me. I was ashamed that I couldn’t do anything about my situation. I was a slave. I had no choice.

I walked through the huge wooden doors into Nero’s innermost chambers.

“Claudia,” his voice said, “my sweet, sweet Claudia.” He came across the room to kiss me.

“Majesty,” I answered with another kiss. I was good at playing along. I needed to if I wanted to stay alive. One wrong move and I could be gone. I didn’t want to take that chance.

“Come and eat with me,” he said as his arm opened in welcome to his garden where he usually ate. We walked over and lay before a huge feast on his couches. The feast was far too big for two people. It seemed like it would feed at least twenty.

As we ate we talked simply, but the conversation took a quick turn when he said, “Have you heard of my fabled brother?”

That caught me off guard, “Yes,” I answered unconsciously, “how have you heard of him?”

“I had a dream last night that he was gloriously triumphant over me. Did my mother ever talk about him?” That was a loaded question. I couldn’t answer truthfully! Agrippina would be killed! But if I lied and Nero found out, I might be killed!

“I have never heard her talk about him,” I answered, “but I can go to Seneca to find out.”

“Go and find Seneca. You must go find my brother, so that I can kill him. I am the only one who can kill him. We are possessed with a curse.”

“A curse?” I asked in astonishment.

“Two shall be born, but only one must live with him mother. They will be the same in likeness, but opposite in temperament. Their only enemy will be age and each other. This must be done, because they were born from above.” I was confused. Completely and utterly confused.

“How do you know this?”

“My dream. Janus came to me and warned me.” His insanity had taken a whole new level. I knew his brother was alive and well, but I didn’t think that Nero would have a “god” come to him with an insane prophecy. This was absurd!

“What do you want me to do?”

He didn’t look up from his food, “You must go and find him before he comes to Rome. I will come and kill him once you find him.” I looked up at the sky and noticed it was just past noon. I got up from my couch. I had eaten enough. He stood as well.

“What if I refuse?” I asked. He walked closer to me and smiled.

“You won’t.”

“I can’t refuse?” I asked with a smile. This was the first time I had smiled since I had been there.

“I like it when you smile. It makes you glow more,” he looked down at my hand and lightly took it.

“If anything goes outside my plans,” his grip became tighter and pain soared through my hands, “then I will harm your precious Demetri.” I gasped subconsciously.

“Oh, yes,” he said as he dropped my hand, “I know about your precious Demetri.”

“I do as you command,” I said and walked away from him.

“I will see you soon, my dear Claudia,” he said. My fury inside of me almost exploded. I closed the giant doors behind me and rested my back on them. I had to slow my breathing.

I walked into my room in the slave house where Demetri also stayed during the night. I stood in the door. Demetri sat the edge of the bed with his face in his palms.

            “Demetri,” I said softly.

            He jumped from the bed and came over to me as he wrapped his arms around me. I started crying.

            “Shhhh,” he said as he stroked the back of my head, “it’s going to be okay.”

            “He knows about us,” I said hugging him tighter. “He threatened to hurt you if I didn’t do what he said. I told him I would do anything to keep you safe. I should have resisted.”

            “How could you? We have no choice.”

            “I should have at least tried.” I loosened my grip and sat on our bed. I folded my hands and looked down with my eyes closed. I let my tears fall onto my cold fingers. Nero wanted me to be broken and attached to him. He truly wanted my sweet Demetri to be out of his way.

            “I’ll be right back,” he said as he cupped his hands on the side of my face, kissed my forehead, and ran out of the room. The vision of Nero’s face as he mentioned Demetri frightened me. Why would he have chosen me? There were plenty of prettier slaves than me! Was it because I had Demetri as a liability? I couldn’t shake his horrific smile out of my head. The way he touched me was so authoritative and lustful.

            I didn’t want to be beckoned again.

            Demetri came back into the room holding my three favorite things: red grapes, lightly cooked quail, and warm goat’s milk. I couldn’t help but smile when he placed the tray on my lap and sat next me like an excited child.

            “You’re too good to me,” I said wiping a tear away.

            He kissed my cheek, “I just know how to cheer you up.”

I tired to forget my whole experience with Nero, but when Vibius asked me about it, the vision of his eyes and his face reappeared in my head. He understood immediately when I told him I didn’t want to talk about it.

            When I went to Agrippina’s chambers, the queen immediately handed me a letter to take to Seneca. I put on my cloak and hurried over to his office. When I found Seneca, he was surprised to see me.

            “Agrippina sent me to give you this,” I said as I handed him the letter. He started to read the letter. His expression became confused as his eyes rolled down the page. He lifted his head to look up at me and then back down at his letter.

            “She wanted me to wait here for your answer,” I said.

            “Well, naturally.”

            “What concerns you then?”

            “She wants you to be my slave now.” What? Was this because of Nero?

            “Why would that be? If that is a fair question to ask.”

            “She is worried that Nero has been keeping you in hopes to get closer to his mother. He has always feared that his mother is conspiring against him. He is suspicious of everyone. She wants you out of the palace and with me.”

            Without thinking I said, “Nero knows about his brother.” Panic struck across Seneca’s face.

            “What?! How does he know?”

            “I don’t know. All I know is that I have to go find him.”

            “Nero is sending you on this chase?”

            “Yes, sir.”

            Seneca shook his head.

“You can find him in Fetum Spei. If you take the Cassia Via, you will be there in three days time. You will enter the city just before the two roads intersect. Go into the city and find a man named Antony Facio Julius. He owns Milo, and he will point you in the right direction.

“Thank you, sir,” I said with a bow, and I turned to leave.

“Wait, Claudia,” he said, “don’t you need an answer for Agrippina’s letter?”

I stopped and turned back to him, “Yes, sir.”

“Tell her no, but that I will take it into consideration.”

“I will return the message,” I said with another bow, and I left. I should have told him about Demetri, but he didn’t need to know. No one else should know.