Act I
A bloodied dagger, a yelling sister, a dead uncle and a betrayal of servants.
Lazir stirred in his bed of feathers, wools and hides.
"What a strange dream. . ."
Lazir spoke out as his body rose unwillingly.
The softness of his bed, the warmth of his blankets hugged and compelled Lazir to stay.
It was a struggle, to even open his eyes.
'I must not lay here, there is too much to do to keep myself in bed.'
Even with the seduction of the early morning bed, Lazir won.
With a swift act, Lazir sat up rather than lazily laying down.
"Young master? Are you awake?"
'Who could that be?'
Lazir thought, as his eyes looked about the room, his lips frowning.
"It wasn't a dream."
Lazir mumbled but it sounded clearly in the silent room.
The servant girl gave the half asleep boy a confused look.
'A servant?'
She lowered her head as their eyes met for a split second.
"Can you come closer?"
Lazir requested as he extended his hands forward.
The servant gave little hesitation as she accepted the anticipated request.
She walked forward placing her head on Lazir's chest.
While Lazir moved his hands to her red haired head.
'She smells of herbs, spices and ash, she must have just been in the kitchen.'
The fair haired boy enjoyed the moment.
Breath* Breath* The servant girl was breathing erratically, her back stiff.
As her hair was being braided, as her warmth pulsed into the boy's chest.
His other hand was fixing the wrinkles on the back of her woolen blanket-like tunic.
'What should I do today?'
'Now that Valia and I had been moved to my older sister's Villa, our schedules had become rather free.'
'I can't remember why, but my tutors can't leave the city.'
"Young. . . Master. . . Please, the mistresses are waiting for you in the triclinium."
Surprised with the whisper to his ear Lazir gave the girl a light squeeze, Hm~* making her lightly moan.
The boy's cheek flushed, making him give the servant girl a little push before standing up.
She didn't dare look up, as she lowered her head before pulling out a white long blanket with golden and red accents.
What she brought out was the toga for Lazir to wear over the inner clothes he slept in.
Her hands trembled as she helped Lazir put it on, after a few minutes she was leading him out of his room.
"Young master." thump* thump*
Two legionaries fully dressed for war greeted Lazir, by striking their fists onto their scale cuirass.
"At ease."
Lazir told them as they relaxed and followed him and his servant.
'I wonder why the housekeeper of the Villa thought it prudent to keep replacing my personal servant.'
As the group of four walked, Lazir's eyes wandered to the newly braided ginger hair of the servant girl.
'Did that grandman expect me to ravage every girl she had? A distasteful thing, for the rumours to reach even here. . .'
A doorway stopped the group, except for Lazir, as he entered alone.
"Brother!"
The voice sounded of extreme excitement and joy, it made Lazir's lips curved into a smile as he saw his twin sister Valia.
Valia sat up in excitement her lounging, on a long chair with a bowl of sliced fruit on her side.
"Come and sit, let's eat together little brother."
Another voice sounded in the dining room.
It was a little older and colder, but still a sweetness was apparent from her words.
Memories came immediately as Lazir saw her brown curling hair and green eyes.
'She's my adopted older sister Mirda.'
"Good dawn to us, Sisters. What is there to eat?"
Tap* tap* tap* Lazir said gently with a smile as he patted his chest three times.
His sisters did the same, as well as the servants in the dining room filled with small tables and reclining chairs.
'What was that? Wasn't I about to say good morning?'
Lazir's smile twitched as the realization perturbed him.
Act II
'Something's different about him, did that assassination attempt make him change this much?'
The thoughts of Mirda swirled as her brother took his seat.
In her eyes she saw him as taller and stronger than others of his age.
Which wasn't that surprising, as he is the son of the Centurian giant of Vallis.
"Brother, had you planned anything for today?"
The pale blue eyes of Lazir glanced into the greens of Mirda's eyes for a second, before shrugging his shoulders.
'He isn't sure? Well that isn't much of a surprise.'
"Do you want to practice sword play with us?"
Mirda gave her own smile, as she gave him an offer.
She knew that he would never accept, as he always hated fencing.
Preferring to spend his leisure, with shooting bolters, fiddling with machines of war or reading those dry books.
"Ha ha ha! Sister Mirda, I have barely escaped death. Why must you wish it upon me again?"
'He joked?'
Mirda's smile fell for but a second at the surprising response.
The change in the youth made the serious Mirda, look at him strangely.
For how can such a timid boy become this brazen of a youth?
'Oh mother of flames, let this new confidence not cause too much trouble.'
The older sister prayed in her heart as the boy tasted a green grape, his attention still on his older sister.
"What I wish for does not matter, how about we eat?"
That was the reply Mirda could muster, as the food was brought forth by the servants, it was a simple plebeian meal.
'From my own experiences seeing death would make even the finest meals taste like ash.'
That is why Mirda the mistress of this Villa made sure the meal was vegetarian.
A meal that even the plebeians could enjoy, which were bread bowls filled with a hearty well seasoned vegetable stew.
"Hmm~ this is good, I think I'll go on a hunt sister, I do crave some smoked sausages."
Lazir was smiling joyfully as he spoke of death and meat, as if he had not lived through an assasination attempt.
Is he really that kind of boy? The Optiune Mirda had seen it from time to time.
Some recruits turn sickly and weak, after their first real battle, but others?
They revel in it, those unlucky few with war in their hearts.
Those who fight without fear, with a passion that should only appear in bed.
"A hunt you say? If so, then you are welcome to the armory, but you will have to travel with guards."
Mirda's adoptive father said to keep them safe, but still Mirda gave him her permission.
The smart thing to do was to not let him hunt, and forced him here in the Villa for a few more days.
'But why would I baby my little brother?'
Giggle* Mirda gave out a giggle as she ate.
Remembering how smothering, her adoptive father was and the probable reason Lazir used to be so timid.
Act III
"These bolters are a little light."
Lazir said in surprise as he looked over the armory.
The place was rich with weapons of iron such as the short sword, the republic calls a gladius and the short fighting spears many call a pilum.
There are even spare sets of scaled bronze armor pieces that the legionaries use, yet the missile weapons were lacking.
There was only one barrel of ammunition for bolts, throwing axes and javelins.
As for the crossbows, they were nearing a joke.
They were only the light hand drawn bolters.
Used by unranked farmers in case they needed to create an ad hoc militia.
"My apologies young master, but Optiune Mirda had not ordered any Legionary bolters to be kept in her armory."
Lazir turned to the scarred man who spoke, after nearly a few minutes of him disappointingly staring at the crossbows.
The scarred man was the quartermaster of the Villa, another retired legionary that most likely served under my parents.
"Well it should be fine, I'll only be hunting boars after all."
Lazir said in a placating tone as he picked up a farmer's crossbow.
After that he looked around to see the legionaries were already packing bolts for Lazir to use.
"Young master, if you're planning to hunt boars, best to do it in the woods west from here."
The quartermaster gave the suggestion, as Lazir showed surprise in his eyes.
It was because the legionary unit didn't take any of the crossbows.
Preferring to empty barrels of javelins.
"Why those woods specifically, dear quartermaster?"
Lazir's attention focused, as he looked back at the quartermaster.
'I wonder why the legionaries didn't take any of the crossbows.'
"A few drinking buddies I know that live there say a pack of boars have been. . . 'violating' their pigs during their fattening."
Cough* The veteran cleared his throat after speaking, Lazir didn't much care for the vulgarity but it does make sense.
"Pig herders? Now that's an adventure, thank you for the advice, old man."
Lazir gave him a smile and a golden coin before turning to the legionary unit lended to him as his escort.
"Legionaries, wait for me in the yard, I would need to change into something more fitting for a hunt."
"We received your order." Thump* Thump*
The legionaries saluted, as Lazir returned their salute, after that he left them.
"From what I remember of this villa, there should be a household weaver mistress somewhere."
Lazir spoke out as he tried to remember an old memory.
'But from how fragmented my memories are I might be thinking of another Villa.'
Even so the youth Lazir still wondered if he could find something to wear.
That wasn't a glorified blanket that was only keeping him decent because of a fancy sash and belt.