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Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
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<blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 1153188" data-attributes="member: 10689"><p><strong>Cornelia's Long Night</strong></p><p></p><p>There was no way I could go back to sleep after that. Oh, I didn’t think they would try it again – not after what happened the first time. I was just too angry to do anything more than pace back and forth.</p><p></p><p>Poor Cato – there are times when I’m grateful that he and I share our feelings, and then there are times when I feel sorry for him. The poor little thing had fluttered up into a corner of the room, trying to get as far away from me as possible. <em>I’m not going to hurt you</em>, I thought at him as I swished around a corner. </p><p></p><p><em>No throwing?</em> Cato’s ‘voice’ in my head trembled. Only then did I realize that I had picked up the wine decanter from the nightstand and was starting to lift it threateningly.</p><p></p><p>“No throwing,” I sighed out loud, setting the decanter carefully back on the table. My hand started trembling again as soon as I unclenched my fingers. I didn’t want to hurt <em>him</em>. I wanted to hurt <em>them</em>! Off I went again. Back and forth, back and forth.</p><p></p><p><em>Spells aren’t so bad?</em> Cato ventured hesitantly, after a moment. <em>You do charm spells…</em></p><p></p><p>“Not like that!” It came out louder than I had meant it, and I held my breath for an instant after, listening for the sound of people coming. But the silence held, and I continued in my mind. <em>I don’t do spells like that. Sneaking into my bedroom? My bedroom! At night! And I only charmed Metellus once! And it was only to get him to take me to Caledonia, not for – for anything else!. I have never done anything like that since!</em></p><p></p><p>“And I won’t,” I said, out loud again. My voice was a little steadier now, and I kept going. “I will never do anything like that to Metellus again. I promised him.” I paused, feeling a small warm smile come to my face at the memory of Metellus coming to the rescue, his voice commanding the others in my defense. “And I’m going to keep that promise,” I continued. “<em>If </em> I am to marry Metellus, I will do it honestly.” I knew Melech was still outside my door – I let my voice grow just a bit louder as I continued, so that he would hear. “No charms. No love-spells. I will do it <em>honestly</em>.”</p><p></p><p>The anger was going out of me now, and as it left, I realized that my knees were shaking too, along with my hands. I let myself slump down on the bed, sighing, “Oh, what am I going to do? What can I do to them? They’ve disgraced the family – but if I make it known what they’ve done, it will disgrace me, too! I can’t do that to myself, to my branch of the family…” I wasn’t sure if I was even talking to Cato anymore, or to myself. His scattered owl-thoughts fluttered confusedly at the edges of my mind. I sent an absent reassurance back to him as I stood up again slowly. “But I can bring some others to my defense. Other people in the family…”</p><p></p><p>Carefully, with still-trembling fingers, I slipped my great-grandfather’s mask out of my traveling bag, and unwrapped it. Did I even have enough to make a funeral offering? Well, there was a bit of wine left in the decanter that I had nearly thrown…and there was a honey-cake that I had sneaked away from the dinner table for a late-night snack. That would have to do.</p><p></p><p>I set the mask up on the bedside table, poured out the wine-dregs and placed the honey-cake before it, murmuring the prayers that brought forth his spirit. I waited…waited….I could never tell when he was there, until he spoke. “Great-Grandfather?” I ventured.</p><p></p><p>The voice echoed deeply in my mind. “Great-Granddaughter?” There was faint surprise in the hollow words. “Why have you called on me?”</p><p></p><p>“There has been a great dishonor done to the gens Cornelii.” I could feel his presence begin to darken with anger. “I need your help to avenge it.”</p><p></p><p>“Who has harmed our family?” he intoned.</p><p></p><p>“Some of our own. Gnaeus Cornelius Nepos, and his sons Decimus and Septimus. They attempted to force me to marry Decimus by means of sorcery. A curse tablet, placed on my…person. In my bedchamber. At night.”</p><p></p><p>Anger rumbled in my great-grandfather’s voice. “Worthless descendants! Their sleep shall not be easy. Not for months to come. Their dreams shall be haunted by their ancestors. They shall not be allowed to forget the dishonor they have done to their kinswoman and their family.”</p><p></p><p>Finally, I let myself smile. “Thank you.”</p><p></p><p>“Are you safe, Great-Granddaughter? You do not remain in their house, still, do you?”</p><p></p><p>“It’s the middle of the night, Great-Grandfather. There’s nowhere else to go…” I sighed. “But we’ll be gone first thing in the morning. And I don’t think my friends would let anything else happen to me between now and then.” Another thought struck me, then. “Nepa. Oh, no, poor Nepa. Having to live in this house, with them? I don’t feel safe leaving her here. Not with people who would do such a thing to one of their female relatives.” Great-Grandfather didn’t reply – was he even still there? The wine was running low; he might be gone already, with the funeral offerings used up and their power to hold his spirit here gone. Still, I kept talking. “I don’t think she’s safe. But…could we take her with us? </p><p></p><p>“Yes,” I said, answering my own question. “We can.” My thoughts sped up, my words hardly able to keep pace. “No! I’ll offer to take her with us. I’m not going to force her. There have already been too many attempts to force the women in our family to do things. I’ll let <em>her </em> choose. I’ll…make her father tell her what he did. Yes! That will be part of his punishment – to have to confess it to his daughter. And then, after she knows exactly what her father has done, I will let her choose whether she wants to come to Rome with us.” </p><p></p><p>I looked to Great-Grandfather, but I already knew that what I had decided was the right thing to do. And in any case, he didn’t answer. I sighed. Whether he was there or not, I made my usual farewell to him: “Vale, Great-Grandfather. Tell Father I love him. We’ll speak again soon.”</p><p></p><p>Gray early-morning sunlight was starting to come into the windows as I sat back and turned my eyes away from the mask. Cato was still on his high perch, head tucked under a wing. “Lucky that you can sleep,” I said softly. And then I stood up, and started out to face the day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ladybird, post: 1153188, member: 10689"] [b]Cornelia's Long Night[/b] There was no way I could go back to sleep after that. Oh, I didn’t think they would try it again – not after what happened the first time. I was just too angry to do anything more than pace back and forth. Poor Cato – there are times when I’m grateful that he and I share our feelings, and then there are times when I feel sorry for him. The poor little thing had fluttered up into a corner of the room, trying to get as far away from me as possible. [I]I’m not going to hurt you[/I], I thought at him as I swished around a corner. [I]No throwing?[/I] Cato’s ‘voice’ in my head trembled. Only then did I realize that I had picked up the wine decanter from the nightstand and was starting to lift it threateningly. “No throwing,” I sighed out loud, setting the decanter carefully back on the table. My hand started trembling again as soon as I unclenched my fingers. I didn’t want to hurt [I]him[/I]. I wanted to hurt [I]them[/I]! Off I went again. Back and forth, back and forth. [I]Spells aren’t so bad?[/I] Cato ventured hesitantly, after a moment. [I]You do charm spells…[/I] “Not like that!” It came out louder than I had meant it, and I held my breath for an instant after, listening for the sound of people coming. But the silence held, and I continued in my mind. [I]I don’t do spells like that. Sneaking into my bedroom? My bedroom! At night! And I only charmed Metellus once! And it was only to get him to take me to Caledonia, not for – for anything else!. I have never done anything like that since![/I] “And I won’t,” I said, out loud again. My voice was a little steadier now, and I kept going. “I will never do anything like that to Metellus again. I promised him.” I paused, feeling a small warm smile come to my face at the memory of Metellus coming to the rescue, his voice commanding the others in my defense. “And I’m going to keep that promise,” I continued. “[I]If [/I] I am to marry Metellus, I will do it honestly.” I knew Melech was still outside my door – I let my voice grow just a bit louder as I continued, so that he would hear. “No charms. No love-spells. I will do it [I]honestly[/I].” The anger was going out of me now, and as it left, I realized that my knees were shaking too, along with my hands. I let myself slump down on the bed, sighing, “Oh, what am I going to do? What can I do to them? They’ve disgraced the family – but if I make it known what they’ve done, it will disgrace me, too! I can’t do that to myself, to my branch of the family…” I wasn’t sure if I was even talking to Cato anymore, or to myself. His scattered owl-thoughts fluttered confusedly at the edges of my mind. I sent an absent reassurance back to him as I stood up again slowly. “But I can bring some others to my defense. Other people in the family…” Carefully, with still-trembling fingers, I slipped my great-grandfather’s mask out of my traveling bag, and unwrapped it. Did I even have enough to make a funeral offering? Well, there was a bit of wine left in the decanter that I had nearly thrown…and there was a honey-cake that I had sneaked away from the dinner table for a late-night snack. That would have to do. I set the mask up on the bedside table, poured out the wine-dregs and placed the honey-cake before it, murmuring the prayers that brought forth his spirit. I waited…waited….I could never tell when he was there, until he spoke. “Great-Grandfather?” I ventured. The voice echoed deeply in my mind. “Great-Granddaughter?” There was faint surprise in the hollow words. “Why have you called on me?” “There has been a great dishonor done to the gens Cornelii.” I could feel his presence begin to darken with anger. “I need your help to avenge it.” “Who has harmed our family?” he intoned. “Some of our own. Gnaeus Cornelius Nepos, and his sons Decimus and Septimus. They attempted to force me to marry Decimus by means of sorcery. A curse tablet, placed on my…person. In my bedchamber. At night.” Anger rumbled in my great-grandfather’s voice. “Worthless descendants! Their sleep shall not be easy. Not for months to come. Their dreams shall be haunted by their ancestors. They shall not be allowed to forget the dishonor they have done to their kinswoman and their family.” Finally, I let myself smile. “Thank you.” “Are you safe, Great-Granddaughter? You do not remain in their house, still, do you?” “It’s the middle of the night, Great-Grandfather. There’s nowhere else to go…” I sighed. “But we’ll be gone first thing in the morning. And I don’t think my friends would let anything else happen to me between now and then.” Another thought struck me, then. “Nepa. Oh, no, poor Nepa. Having to live in this house, with them? I don’t feel safe leaving her here. Not with people who would do such a thing to one of their female relatives.” Great-Grandfather didn’t reply – was he even still there? The wine was running low; he might be gone already, with the funeral offerings used up and their power to hold his spirit here gone. Still, I kept talking. “I don’t think she’s safe. But…could we take her with us? “Yes,” I said, answering my own question. “We can.” My thoughts sped up, my words hardly able to keep pace. “No! I’ll offer to take her with us. I’m not going to force her. There have already been too many attempts to force the women in our family to do things. I’ll let [I]her [/I] choose. I’ll…make her father tell her what he did. Yes! That will be part of his punishment – to have to confess it to his daughter. And then, after she knows exactly what her father has done, I will let her choose whether she wants to come to Rome with us.” I looked to Great-Grandfather, but I already knew that what I had decided was the right thing to do. And in any case, he didn’t answer. I sighed. Whether he was there or not, I made my usual farewell to him: “Vale, Great-Grandfather. Tell Father I love him. We’ll speak again soon.” Gray early-morning sunlight was starting to come into the windows as I sat back and turned my eyes away from the mask. Cato was still on his high perch, head tucked under a wing. “Lucky that you can sleep,” I said softly. And then I stood up, and started out to face the day. [/QUOTE]
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