Lucius (ONC 2021)

9

The sun was just rising, but Lucius Sipio walked from the palace to the senate chambers. The wind was cool, rustling his tunic and hair as he walked. He enjoyed the early morning air, the quietness and solitude of Fure at this hour. But even at this hour, he wasn't free to walk alone. The threat of ambush never quit dogging his steps. Despite the solitude of the city, Lucius still wore his sword, his hand resting on the hilt as two guards trailed behind him.

Five years had passed since the Battle of Fure. Five years that had seen Lucius as king over the city and surrounding lands. Despite Vican's displeasure in seeing Decius abdicate the throne, he had chosen to abide by Decius' wishes, albeit reluctantly. Lucius had been declared king instead of his older half-brother.

Lucius had felt it was a good switch.

After being named king, Lucius' first act had been to proscribe all the Ascantal senators who had killed his father. They had all been brought to him and were executed brutally before being burned on a pyre, their ashes tossed into the river. There was no describing the satisfaction he had felt when Pirilius had burned and he had seen the former interrex's widow weeping, reminiscent of Tarquil all those years ago.

Now you know how my mother felt when your husband murdered my father.

In fact, Lucius had enjoyed watching every widow and orphan cry at the execution and cremation of their fathers. He had no pity for monsters such as them.

Decius had urged pity, had suggested Lucius at least give the bodies back to the families so the Ascantals could bury them in accordance with their rituals, but Lucius couldn't justify that. His father's body hadn't been spared for a cremation, so the bodies of his enemies wouldn't be spared for burial. "Eye for an eye," he had told Decius. "These men don't deserve decent burial."

"Who are you to decide who is deserving?" Decius had fired back.

Lucius felt Decius should be grateful Acitus Casarion, his father-in-law, wasn't among the proscribed. "He is deserving," Lucius had pointed out. "He knew his duty to the king and didn't join the throng planning on murdering him."

Shortly after the battle, Decius had married Minerva Casaria, adopting her son Tiberias from her first marriage. Minerva had been wed to an Ascantal senator, Tiber Mitian, after Decius and Lucius had fled Fure, but he had been one of the guilty Ascantals and so had been executed. Acitus had then offered his daughter's hand to Decius again, apologizing for the breaking of the previous engagement. Decius had accepted the apologies while Lucius had burned with fury on his brother's behalf.

"You can have any other girl in Fure. Why Minerva Casaria? Why an Ascantal?"

"Don't you want to honor your father's wish? He chose this House for me to be connected with. I respect and trust his choices. Besides, I have a fondness for Minerva. Pirilius forced her to marry Mitian in order to draw Casarion into his circle – she never had any love for him."

"Father chose Casarion because it was a powerful House and we were surrounded by enemies. But now our enemies are dead and I am king. We need not hide behind Ascantals anymore."

"But we need not make them enemies, either, brother. The war is over. We are Furians, whether human or Ascantal. We should not isolate ourselves from them."

Lucius had been unable to change Decius' mind, despite reminding him that Casarion had given in, had allowed his daughter – while still engaged to another man – to break her engagement and marry another. "He did not stand by our father, or us. Why should you look for him to stand by us now?"

Decius still hadn't listened and had married Minerva anyway, adopting Tiberias into Numas House. He and his Ascantal wife had gone on to have a daughter. Diana Numa was three now. Lucius heard tell of how pretty she was, for a child, but whenever he saw her, he only saw the monster lurking behind her skin, the Ascantal in her features. The same with Minerva. None of her smiles could convince him that she was anything but a monster, a slayer, and behind her son's eyes lurked one of the worst creatures to walk the earth, his features reminiscent of his father, one of Sipio's murderers.