‘Ahhh! Wine!’ Julius took a long drink from the slender drinking goblet, fashioned from the finest Greek porcelain, and closed his eyes in pleasure. ‘Such a relief after all that German ale. The need to maintain appearances dictates that I cannot drink anything but beer in public, but here, alone, I can still indulge in my guilty pleasure and enjoy fine wine.’
The two of us were reclined on Roman divans, surrounded by Greek and Roman works of art, in Julius’ private home, which was decorated as finely as my own house in Rome, and in a similar vein. ‘Do you ever entertain any of your chieftains here?’ I asked him, supping my own wine, which was a full-bodied draught and held a hint of spice from southern Italy.
Julius barked a laugh. ‘And let them see me like this? They’d be up in arms in rebellion at the very sight of me!’ Julius had discarded his heavy armour and furs and looked much more relaxed in a light blue tunic, and simple soft leather Roman sandals. ‘This is where I come to get away from them, where I can be myself, and forget about the burden of kingship for a while.’
‘Your guards see you here,’ I reminded him, adjusting the soft cushion beneath my back.
He grinned. ‘Yes, but they’re my own men, from my own cavalry unit. They’ve got used to the easy pleasures of the Roman way of life, just as I have, and they don’t hold the odd Roman piece of art or Italian wine against me.’
‘Your champion, Ewald, he’s not from your cavalry.’ I shivered as I thought about the sinuous swordsman who had accompanied us from the grand hall of warriors over to Julius’ home. He was now standing guard outside Marcus’ room, who had insisted on going straight to bed after claiming I had humiliated him in front of everyone at dinner. I wasn’t worried about Marcus’ petulance. He could be like a child at times, quick to anger, but also forgave just as quickly. I was slightly put out by his ingratitude however. Marcus might not realise it, but I had risked my life offering to cross swords in his place. It was even odder to think that the man who might have killed Marcus in the hall was now guarding his room against intruders.
Julius yawned. ‘No, he’s not, but he’s loyal enough.’
I frowned. ‘But why? Surely his loyalty should be to his father.’
Julius laughed. ‘Well yes, but by being the tribe’s champion, he has a position of honour. It is politically expedient keeping Segestes brood happy – it helps heals rifts within the tribe. Segestes came within a whisker of becoming king himself.’
I’d heard Segestes was previously a claimant to Julius’ crown. I shook my head. ‘They seem a strange family. I wouldn’t want any of them near me. Where’s the mother in all this?’
Julius sat up on his divan. ‘She died when Ewald and Thusnelda were small children. Rumour is that Segestes struck her too hard once when drunk. He’s hot-headed enough for it to be the truth.’
‘Thusnelda is the bold sister who hates Romans?’ I thought of the malicious stares the dark woman had directed at me across the hall.
‘Yes, and you’re not wrong there.’ He grinned offering to top up my goblet with wine. ‘You might have noticed her colouring. Some say the mother was raped by a Roman legionary and she is not the daughter of Segestes at all. All the family deny this, but it might explain her implacable hatred of Roman men.’
I let him fill my goblet. ‘But she’s now married to Sesithacus. Surely that’s not a favourable match.’
Julius raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re telling me? Sesithacus is a simpering fool, and Segestes knows it, but he likes someone around to massage his ego. Sometimes I think he forced Thusnelda into marriage with Sesithacus to show Ewald and his sister who the real head of the family is.’ Julius laughed. ‘German family politics can be more complicated than any tribal factions.’
I took another mouthful of wine. ‘But why would he want to do that?’
Julius lay back down on his divan. ‘Well, Ewald is devoted to his sister, and you’ve witnessed yourself that she doesn’t exactly defer to Segestes. Maybe he thought marrying her to Sesithacus would pull her into line. It hasn’t worked from what I’ve seen.’
I smiled. ‘Yes, I’ve seen that myself.’
Julius chuckled. ‘She’s a troublemaker all right. There’s never a dull moment with that family about.’
I was intrigued. ‘You say Segestes almost won the crown. What stopped him? How did you come to take it from him?’
Julius stretched before explaining. ‘When a king of the Cherusci dies, the tribe chieftains meet, and all claimants to the throne must declare themselves. When my uncle died, there were initially several who came forward. Members from my own family, and others like Segestes who commanded a lot of respect from the warriors he led. When I turned up with my two thousand cavalry, back from Syria, some of the chieftains said I couldn’t stand. I was considered too Roman and out of touch with the tribal ways. Fortunately, as the previous king was my uncle, they couldn’t prevent me from making my claim. Augustus provided me with gold to buy off most of the other claimants, until only myself, my uncle Inguiomerus, who was my father’s and the former king’s younger brother, and Segestes remained.’
I rubbed my chin. ‘How do they decide who becomes king?’
Julius shrugged. ‘It’s simple really. Each chieftain votes for their chosen candidate. Each chieftain’s vote is weighted by how many warriors he commands. The one who accumulates the largest number of warriors wins. The whole process takes weeks, as chieftains make bargains and shuffle amongst themselves to gain advantage from the bidding. As I was an outsider, many were distrustful of me. The warriors from my cavalry helped, by telling stories of my prowess in battle, as did the gold supplied by Rome, but both Inguiomerus and Segestes held a clear lead over me in the final days. Inguiomerus was the favourite of the older traditional chieftains who wanted a return to the old tribal ways, whilst Segestes was favoured by many of the young warriors, as he promised glory in battle and a marshalling of the Cherusci strength.’
I frowned. ‘What was your position?’
Julius looked thoughtful. ‘I tried to take the middle ground, saying we should honour our traditional roots, but must also use our alliance with Rome to our advantage in order to help us become the most powerful of the Germanic nations.’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘An ambitious claim.’ There were scores of Germanic tribes, all of which had been fighting each other for supremacy for hundreds of years. None had ever achieved a position of dominance over the others in all that time; why would Julius prove successful when all others had failed?
Julius grinned. ‘I had to be bold, and gradually my arguments started gaining favour. I told them of the great opportunity the Cherusci had. Some were distrustful of me because of my perceived Roman ties, but I came to be seen as a good compromise between the other two factions.’ Julius laughed. ‘Although, I’ll admit, Roman gold helped me convince them!
‘Before the final vote I gave a speech, telling the chieftains that the times had changed. Holding onto the past was no longer possible. Whether the Cherusci liked it or not, Rome was the new master of Germany, and someone who could help the Cherusci use this to their advantage was what the tribe needed now. I promised to honour our former tribal ways, which went a long way to placating Inguiomerus’ supporters, but argued that using our alliance with Rome could mean us gaining unprecedented dominance over the other German tribes. That was enough to sway over many of Segestes supporters –bitter rivalry with the other tribes runs deeper than their dislike of Rome. It was a close-run thing, but I managed to win through in the end, taking the crown and becoming the leader of the Cherusci for the rest of my days, however long that may be.’
I shook my head and smiled. ‘And is this how you expected your life to be? I never even knew you held ambitions to lead the Cherusci?’
Julius laughed. ‘In all honesty, I never did. I wanted nothing more than to be a soldier and serve Rome in the field. But Augustus can be very persuasive, and when he asked me to take up this role, how could I refuse?’
I knew all too well how persuasive Augustus could be, or in my case, his wife. I wondered if Julius was given the same choice I was: that is to say, no choice at all. ‘But are you happy as king?’
He grinned. ‘Surprisingly, yes. The responsibility weighs heavily at times, and I do sometimes miss my simpler earlier life. But I think I can do some real good here. This is my destiny, Gaius, I’m sure of that now. I’ve never felt so alive.’
I swilled my wine around in its goblet and mused over everything he had told me. ‘From what you tell me, Segestes has reason to resent you for many reasons. Can you trust him or his son?’
Julius laughed. ‘No, of course not! As long as I hold onto the crown, however, they will do as I say. You saw that Ewald bent to my will in the hall, despite it displeasing his sister, whom he adores. They accept me as their king, but I tread a dangerous path, and must keep my support within the tribe – any show of weakness and they’ll leap on it and pull me down. My kingship has brought the Cherusci many successes over the other tribes. Most now firmly believe in me and my vision for the Cherusci. I think I even have Ewald convinced. He’s a peerless warrior, but does genuinely care about the welfare of his tribe. When he’s not practising with weapons, honing his body into the ultimate warrior, he can be found listening to the debates of the other chieftains.’
I took a deep swallow of wine. ‘And how good is he with that sword of his?’
Julius tone turned serious. ‘Better than the finest gladiator in Rome. Faster, more deadly, than any I’ve ever seen. You were probably the best I ever sparred with, Gaius, but you’re no match for Ewald. His speed and agility is outstanding. No warrior could ever come close to matching it.’ Julius laughed. ‘If only Augustus could get his hands on him, he could sell him into a gladiatorial school for more money than he ever lavished on setting me up as King of the Cherusci!’
I let out a slow breath. From what Julius had told me, he had probably saved my life by forbidding the fight from going ahead. Damn Marcus and his stupidity! ‘In that case, I have you to thank that I am still here now.’
Julius laughed. ‘Yes, I think you do. That sister of his would almost certainly have insisted on the contest going to the death – they normally always do. I should have realised she would have some mischief planned. I apologise for spoiling your dinner.’
I waved my hand as if it was nothing, but inwardly I shuddered. Yet another close brush with death, and owing my life to my friend Julius once more. I didn’t want Julius to see how scared I was, so I tried to move the conversation away from the deadly swordsman. ‘His sister has a mean spirit. I thought my sister was bad enough.’
Julius looked up. ‘Antonia? How does she fare in Rome now? It would be so good to see her again.’
I smiled, thinking of her. ‘Well, she’s married now. To a lawyer, a man named Aulus. He’s not really the sort of man I warm to, but he puts up with Antonia’s scolding tongue, and I must admit he seems to treat her well.’
Julius laughed. ‘If women could be lawyers, I swear Antonia would be the best of them. Aulus has a lot to live up to.’
I grinned. ‘And how about your own family? What became of your younger brother, Flavus?’ Julius’ younger brother was seven years his junior, and had joined his brother in Rome when we were approaching manhood. I remembered him with unruly blonde hair, laughing eyes, and a cheeky mouth.
‘I received a letter from Flavus only last month. He joined the Sixth legion based in Spain. He is only twenty and has already reached the rank of centurion!’ Julius beamed. ‘I’d have him here with me, but Flavus must make his own way in life, I guess. How can I deny him the same military education I enjoyed with the legions?’
‘That’s great news, Julius. I remember him fondly. I should have known any brother of yours would flourish in the legions. The Sixth Victrix is a fine legion.’
We carried on talking long into the night and reliving past experiences together in Rome and our time together in Syria. Eventually Julius brought the night to an end, telling me, ‘I must be up early tomorrow. I will be taking some of my cavalry back to the north.’
I laughed. ‘Ha! It’s late already. Surely you can leave it a day?’
Julius rose from his divan. ‘I can’t neglect my military duties, Gaius. Someone has to keep an eye on the Angrivarii.’
I downed the remainder of my wine and rose also. ‘On that score, I have had a result. I’ve persuaded Vala to start sending his patrols back into Angrivarii territory.’
Julius turned round, clearly surprised. ‘But won’t that infuriate Varus?’
I shrugged. ‘Possibly, but it has to be done. Your men can’t be expected to do everything.’
Julius put a hand on my shoulder. ‘I guess you’re right. I just don’t want you getting yourself into to trouble with the governor. Remember you are newly returned to Germany – don’t get on the wrong side of him. He comes across as convivial enough, but he has a ruthless side.’
I shook off his concern. ‘Don’t worry about me. You just look after our Roman patrols. We don’t want any more men going missing.’
He smiled as he led me to the door. ‘I’ll do all I can. I know how much you care for the men.’
I nodded in agreement. ‘Keep those reports coming, and take care of yourself in the field.’
Julius led me out of his quarters and pointed me in the direction of my room. He laughed. ‘Now I know you’re reading them, I’ll take extra care in compiling them. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my oldest friend.’
‘Night, Julius. Sleep well, my friend.’ I walked down the corridor and waved a hand at him, bidding him farewell.
I left him to find my bed, which was situated in a room alongside Marcus’. I nodded my head at the menacing Ewald as I passed him, who was still holding guard outside our rooms. He gave a small inclination of his head, but otherwise made no other sign in acknowledgement of my passing. You’re a cold one, I thought. If things had turned out differently tonight, one of us would have been dead by the hands of the other. Thanks be to the gods it didn’t come to that, was my final thought before getting into my bed and falling asleep.