The Rogue Emperor (A Riordanverse Story)

Chapter 5: Reyna Meets The Founding Father

Reyna was quite literally shaking as she stood in the elaborately decorated sitting room of Chez August. The first imperial couple of Rome had ushered the group into the room while they changed out of their swimwear and gathered some refreshments because they thought the group looked famished and they wanted to be hospitable.

They took it that their hosts didn't often get guests because they insisted on making a huge spread of food for them and wouldn't take no for an answer. The two of them dash in and out of the room, placing huge platters of sandwiches, cookies, fruit, and smoothies on the table in front of them. Reyna found it strange that Livia and Augustus didn't have any sort of servants considering who they were and the sheer scale of their impressive home. Reyna hadn't met too many immortal beings, though these two seemed to be on the nicer side according to Frank.

Save this current room, the place could have passed for your run of the mill multimillion-dollar beach house, but it seemed like the two of them shoved any kind of historical item they'd acquired into their sitting room. Marble busts of several different people, to what Reyna was positive were actual Renaissance paintings, to more modern photography. They clearly had the time and resources to amass such a collection that rivaled any museum Reyna had been to before.

One picture in particular caught her attention, an huge image over the fireplace that looks like it was taken in the early 1960s. Livia and Augustus look practically the same, in black-tie clothing, gathered around with a group of people that looked to include movie stars.

"Is that Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck?" asks Reyna when their hosts enter the room again.

"No, Rhea Silvia and Tiberinus," responds Livia like it was obvious.

"That was taken at our 2,000th wedding anniversary in '62. Wonderful night, wasn't it, mea amica?" (1,2)

Livia nods. "Let me tell you, everyone was there, gods, emperors, human celebrities; we even got some special release from your father, Nicolò, (3) to have our family out of Elysium for the night. Kinda a big deal."

"Oh yes, Pluto has been quite kind to us," says Augustus with a smile.

Reyna glances over at Nico, who looks a bit confused by the statement. Nico never portrayed his father as a kind and enjoyable man.

Their hosts step out again, likely to get them more food, and Reyna returns her attention to the room. It was quite daunting to see these two people go through history relatively unchanged; the fashion, the hair, the location was all different, but Livia and Augustus remain frozen as late twenty somethings traveling through the years.

She wondered why they'd chosen to look like they did. Augustus had been about twenty-five when he married Livia and thirty-five when he became emperor, yet he was smack in the middle of that. Reyna knew the empress was a few years younger than her husband, her age adjusted to reflect that as she looked to be mid-twenties. Gods could appear however they please, though something made Reyna think that they really hadn't altered their appearance too much.

She pans over the pictures on the mantle, mostly pictures of them on holiday. Her gaze lands on the last image, her heart stopping in shock. It was like seeing a demon reborn and she was concerned that perhaps she'd discovered a terrible truth about the most famous emperor and empress in Roman history. In a small frame, sat a picture likely taken in the early 2010s given the fashion. Livia looked similar to how she did now, but next to her, smiling after blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, sat the man that attempted to take out New Rome, the man who killed Jason, the man that Reyna thought Frank had killed months ago, almost dying in the process.

She yanks Frank over, pointing to the image. "Is that Caligula?"

All color drains from her friend's face. "Sure looks like him. How? He should be dead."