From: bellydancergirl7@aol.com   
      
   "Did you enjoy the party?" Lucilla asked only minutes later when they    
   were in her room, taking a few pins out of her hair.   
      
   "Immensely if your father asks, but yes, I had a good time."   
      
   "You would lie to my father?"   
      
   "I wouldn't lie. I would simply exaggerate the truth."   
      
   Lucilla chuckled and resumed her task. In the mirror, she saw Maximus    
   get up from his spot on her bed and walk over towards her.   
      
   "Did you enjoy the party?" he asked her.   
      
   She shrugged her shoulders. "It was all right, I suppose. All    
   festivals seem the same to me lately."   
      
   "Becoming bored, Luci?" he teased.   
      
   "I grow tired of endless parties week after week," she explained. "I    
   want to experience something else for a change. Something greater."   
      
   "Is that why you're always asking me about my campaigns?"   
      
   She acted nonchalant. "I suppose."   
      
   Maximus met her eyes in the mirror. "Yes, it is. You're living    
   vicariously through me."   
      
   "I am not."   
      
   "Yes, you are," he insisted, the smile on his face growing. "You want    
   to hear of my travels so you can imagine a different life."   
      
   She turned around to face him. "That's not why I ask. I ask because    
   I'm generally interest and because I enjoy hearing about life outside    
   of these four walls."   
      
   He paused before saying, "How is that different from what I said?"   
      
   "It's different because it makes more sense. It's more… it's    
   explained. Now stop bothering me." She turned back around feeling    
   flustered and continued her nighttime ritual.   
      
   Maximus puts his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged. As he    
   continued to massage, the tension left her body. When she took the    
   last pin out of her hair, his hand moved to caress the soft curls    
   that cascaded down her back.   
      
   "You look beautiful, Lucilla," he whispered in her ear. "I don't    
   think I've told you that tonight."   
      
   She shook her head and swallowed shallowly. "You haven't."   
      
   "Forgive me, then."   
      
   He pushed her hair aside and continued with the massage. He held her    
   eyes in the mirror, seeing the desire settle in there.   
      
   "I had a dream about us the other night," he said randomly. "I would    
   tell you about it, except that it's easier to show you."   
      
   Her expression didn't falter. "That's very forward, Maximus. It could    
   get you killed."   
      
   "It's worth it to be able to touch such soft skin. To kiss such soft    
   lips." He moved his lips closer to her ear. "To desire making love to    
   such an… intelligent body."   
      
   She smiled faintly. He knew she hated being seen as just a pretty    
   face. Many suitors came calling to marry the beautiful princess, not    
   the woman with a mind of her own. She told him that once, and he    
   remembered.   
      
   She slowly turned to face him and pressed her body intimately close    
   to his. He sucked in a breath when he felt her hands on his abdomen.   
      
   "You'd be willing to risk death just to touch me?"   
      
   "Well, since we're already touching, yes," he said, aiming for humor.    
   At her serious expression, he sobered. "I've had the desire for    
   years, Luci. I'm ready to act upon it."   
      
   She grabbed his hands and walked him to her bed. She had him sit down    
   while she reached for the sash of her dress and said, "You'll have to    
   be gentle with me."   
      
   ** ***   
      
   18 December 173   
      
   "Do we have enough horses?"   
      
   "Yes, sire. One hundred and three."   
      
   "What about tents?"   
      
   "We are two shy but it shouldn't be a problem."   
      
   "Rations and water?"   
      
   "Still being collected."   
      
   "And I have the map," Maximus said, holding up the    
   parchment. "Palidorus, I'd say we're ready."   
      
   "Caesar wanted to see you when you were finished, sire."   
      
   Maximus gave the map to Palidorus. "Then I'd better go see him."   
      
   ** ***   
      
   The morning sun felt deliciously warm on Lucilla's face as she slowly    
   woke. A smile played on her lips as she rolled into the sun. She    
   could hear the occasional shout of command from the officers training    
   outside. The birds whistled a sweet melody as they flew outside the    
   window. Other than that, there was silence. And she loved that.   
   She rolled onto her back and flung her arms out to the sides. When    
   her left hand connected with something, she opened her eyes. She    
   smiled when she saw the familiar handwriting on the piece of paper.   
      
   Sitting up on one elbow, she slowly opened the note and read:   
      
   `Your skin was not as soft as I imagined. Your lips were sweeter than    
   remembered. Your eyes flutter when you dream and you snore softly.    
   It's the most beautiful sight.' – your soldier   
      
   Her smile grew silly as she read the words. It was hard to believe    
   that just a few sentences could make her heart pound in her chest.    
   Feeling like a young girl with her first crush, she hugged the note    
   to her.   
      
   Her day was already turning out beautifully.   
      
   ** ***   
      
   Two eyes were burning a hole into the back of her head, she could    
   just feel it. It was going on ten minutes and the eyes were still    
   staring at her. She could feel the hatred in the stare, too.   
      
   "Sophronia, was there something you wanted?" Lucilla asked    
   impatiently.   
      
   Sophronia blinked. Her cousin hadn't even looked at her in the last    
   half hour. How had Lucilla known she was staring?   
      
   "No, nothing," she answered succinctly.   
      
   Lucilla nodded and continued reading.   
      
   "Except," Sophronia said, much to the annoyance of her    
   cousin, "something seems to be different about you. You're acting    
   differently than normal."   
      
   "I don't know why. Nothing… different has happened. I am the same, as    
   always."   
      
   Sophronia made a noise. "If you say so, but something is different.    
   You look different. Something happened. Something happened during    
   Saturnalia last night," the young girl deduced. "But what?"   
      
   Lucilla let the girl wonder. She simply flipped the page in her book.   
      
   "I didn't see you with anyone last night, though. Although there was    
   that one man but you didn't seem to like him. Or there was that    
   prince, but you never looked directly at him. Or…"   
      
   Lucilla rolled her eyes at her cousin's observations. So she stood    
   and stepped away from the bench. She found another sunny and shady    
   area and sat down on the bench. She looked over at her cousin and    
   wasn't surprised the girl was still talking.   
      
   ** ***   
      
   "Have you noticed anything different about Lucilla today?" Aurelius    
   asked his wife.   
      
   "Nothing that different. She smiled a not more today, I believe, but    
   she was quiet as well. Why?"   
      
   He shook his head. "No reason, I suppose."   
      
   ** ***   
      
   "Is there any particular reason you're in here right now, Sophronia?"    
   Lucilla asked of her cousin as she eyed her from her spot in the pool.   
      
   "Yes," she answered haltingly. "I was just wondering if you've seen    
   Maximus today. I haven't seen him in a while."   
      
   "I saw him this morning, yes, but I haven't seen him since then,"    
   Lucilla admitted.   
      
   "Where did you see him this morning? Neither one of you were at    
   breakfast," she remembered.   
      
   Lucilla hesitated. Maximus left her room before dawn by at least two    
   hours. When she had rolled over and not felt his warm body beside her    
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)