The Rogue Emperor (A Riordanverse Story)

Chapter 6: Nico Sees The Judges' Chambers

Much like everyone else on the quest, Nico found Livia and Augustus unsettlingly friendly. In his experience is deities, they always have an ulterior motive, and he was determined to figure what the imperial couple wanted from them before they were stuck in a trap or worse. They'd pried a bit too deeply for his liking and he didn't want them to use what they'd learned against him.

They were given the opportunity to wash up, a luxury not often available on quests, so one by one, they all took turns in the bathroom scrubbing off all the dirt and sweat they acquired walking around St. Augustine. Since it was late, the couple insisted on letting them rest for the night, refusing to leave their home until morning. They needed the couple for their quest, so the four of them hesitantly slept in shifts, always at least one person awake in case relations turned sour. Nico was last watch, so he wandered around the mansion, looking for any signs that Livia and Augustus may have been in connection with the Triumvirate or currently in cahoots with Tiberius.

Nico ends back up in the massive sitting room that they had initially been placed in while their hosts whipped them up a feast. It was quite impressive, rivaling the many museums Nico had visited as a child in Italy. He stares at the portraits with a sneaking suspicion that the people staring back at him were some of the other deified emperors that Augustus had mentioned.

"You're suspicious of us," says Livia, leaning in the doorway, blocking Nico's only exit. Her face is illuminated in the early light of dawn, reminding him of someone he knew from his childhood in Venice. She wasn't dressed in traditional attire, instead in a sundress and hair up in a claw clip.

"You clearly were in contact with Caligula recently," responds Nico, pointing to the image Reyna had shown them earlier. "You'd be suspicious too if you were in my position. Caligula killed my friend; he killed a lot of people at the Roman camp."

The empress sighs. "And he was also mi nipotino. (1) It's not everyday one turns 2,000 years old." She touches the picture, brushing Caligula's face with her index finger. "We often warned him that venture with his nephew would end badly. It was a misguided attempt to become a god and companion of his dearest sister. As we predicted, he went and got himself killed, again."

"Nero was your family too."

"Yes, but he killed my sweet Claudius and his mother. Matricide is an unforgivable crime; I'm a quite disappointed that the people forgave him so easily, even if she was unpleasant at times," states Livia, making her way to Nico. She takes his hand in hers. "Families are difficult, bambino, (2) you should know this. My eldest and I had a very strained relationship in life, mostly due to faults of my own. I love him, but I am not aiding him in the capture and torture of good, Roman soldiers."

Nico stares at her, wanting to believe her, but having a hard time doing so.

"Let me just say one last thing; history was written by the ones in charge. The common people loved Nero as a ruler and were devastated when he was murdered. Because those who had the money and power to write history hated him, he was remembered as a crazed mad man." Livia smirks and lets go of Nico. "The Christians believed him to be the one that was going to cause the end of the world, ha. Because he was never formally deified, how the people remembered him shaped how he was. If I was left to that fate, I wouldn't have been remembered so kindly either."

He nods, slowly remembering that Livia had been rumored to be at the root of many deaths that lead to Tiberius being named the second emperor of Rome. Augustus' nephew, grandsons, and others had all been desired to be next in line to be Caesar before Tiberius, who very reluctantly took the role as heir apparent. Livia was even rumored to have killed her husband in his old age, though Nico doubted that given how well they were getting along now.