Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 96 ~ Fere

28th April 45 AD

The mild spring breeze rustled in the branches of the trees of the magnificent garden, which was in full bloom. But Aurelia was blind to the beauty of nature outside her window. With each passing day, Gaius approached Rome and each morning she opened her eyes in the knowledge that he would soon be with her.
But as the distance dwindled, so did the letters he sent to the Senate, expressing his wishes for triumph. Her husband had very definite ideas about how his entry into Rome should proceed - of course he did. After all, he had dreamed of this moment all his life. What Roman did not share this dream of experiencing, at least for once, the honour of a triumphal procession through Rome?
Only a few moments ago, another of these letters had arrived, which Aurelia took from the messenger without a murmur. Lately she had been reminded more and more that officially she was only her husband's mouthpiece in Rome. With every dwindling metre, she lost freedom of choice. But she was happy to disappear into his shadow again if Gaius was at her side for it.
So, Aurelia suppressed a sigh, breathed a farewell kiss on the cheek of her beckoning children, left the villa and made her way to the Senate. Apart from her dwindling decision-making power, her daily routine had not changed. She still worked a lot so that the handover to Gaius would go more smoothly. So, she was well informed about the situation in the provinces and had prepared a little surprise for Gaius' triumphal procession.

Smiling, she entered the temple and greeted the senators. She was late, but at least not too late. Claudius had not yet appeared and as long as she arrived before him, she was content. Apart from Gaius, Claudius had by far the most clients and so, shortly after his return from Britain, a small, secret, daily competition had arisen as to who could best of them handle the flood of clients at the salutatio. Most of the time Claudius won, for it did not matter how early Aurelia opened her doors to her clients' affairs and problems. The number of her clients was simply much larger.
Just as she settled into her curule chair and began a conversation with Claudius' brother-in-law, Claudius himself entered the temple and glanced around unobtrusively. When their eyes crossed, she twisted her polite smile into a triumphant grin for a second. Unmoved, Claudius continued on his way and dropped into the vacant seat beside her.
"You cheated," he accused her, whispering softly, and Aurelia was about to answer him when Consul Corvinus rose and commanded silence. The meeting of the Senate had begun.
After they had discussed the vital points such as the city's grain supply, Corvinus indicated to her with a nod that it was now her turn. With dignity, Aurelia rose from her curule chair, pulled out the scroll and felt the tension in the hall rise. Routinely, she broke the seal, unrolled the letter and began to read out Gaius' latest instructions for the Senate to discuss.
Aurelia's voice was clear and calm as she read out the proposals they had decided on together in their private messages. Neither Gaius nor she doubted that the Senate would fail to comply with even a single request.
In this letter Gaius expressed his request that the small delegation that would receive him outside the city would be accompanied by her son Julius. Gaius justified this request by saying that his father Germanicus had also been sent to meet his family so that they could enter the city together on the chariot for his father's great triumph. But unlike his father, Gaius only wanted to enter Rome with his son. Antonia was still sulking that she had to wait longer than her big brother for her father.
"What about you?" a young senator called out in confusion, and Aurelia's voice trailed off in mid-sentence. Frowning, Aurelia lowered the letter and fixed the young man, Gnaeus or Gaius she called to mind. He had only risen to the Aedile and should not have interrupted her in a purely formal way.
"I don't understand the question," she returned innocently, and scowls were heard from the more senior senators. Instantly the blood rushed to the Aedile's cheeks as he realised that he had just exposed himself to the public ridicule of the senators. Nervously, the young man looked around the room and one of his side men tried to pull him back to his seat to spare him further embarrassment. Calmly, Aurelia continued, "The Senate will receive my husband at the foot of the temple of Jupiter. It is my duty to present him with the city I have administered in his name. A small delegation will pay their respects to Caesar at the gates of our city, which my son will also attend. This is exactly as it is written here, and this is how it will be done."