Let's Kill Caesar

5: Awkward Supper with the Folks

Endymion couldn't drive his eyes from the piling up posts. A few from friends of Pompey were releasing shaky videos of Bastian's interruption, their captions dripping with poison.

This fledgling should be punished!

It's Pompey THE GREAT for a reason??

Typical of a friend of Caesar.

Entitled snake 🐍

He wet his lips as he scrolled from post after post of venomous loathing. All on the behalf of someone who hadn't even commented himself on the incident. Cato could preach whatever he wished, there was no doubt of Pompey's prominence amongst the Senate. Caesar paled in comparison to the Republic's golden child.

Endymion grit his teeth as he searched Cato and began to browse his recent posts. Shit. An attachment of the same circulating clip of Bastian.

Um what?! Wow v_caesar some standards you're setting. What a lovely prelude to what the Senate is to endure when you return. I'm just glad I wasn't here to see this indecency of Octavius. #putOctaviusontrial

***

Night had fallen when Endymion emerged from his chamber, drawn out by the rich scent of rosemary-dusted meat. Voices echoed against the stone walls as he edged slowly toward the heart of the villa where he'd gladly stranded Cato.

"I was wondering when you would join us."

Endymion froze as his mother appeared at the end of the hallway. The formidable Mira Caepionis. She was dressed in her usual ironed white blouse, crisp black dress pants and cool sneer. Endymion picked at his nail beds. "I was busy. Recapping the assembly."

Mira snorted, finger plucking a strand of hair behind an ear. "Hm. Well Cato left so I couldn't imagine recapping alone was a good use of time." Her grey eyes narrowed, pinning him to the spot. Her lips pursed. "Especially since your brother achieved a Triumph-worthy victory in Greece."

Endymion's jaw clenched. "Yes, I heard about that earlier mother. A great pride for our House."

His mother snorted. "His pride; don't tie yourself in. You have done nothing of note."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes mother."

Endymion didn't have the strength to challenge her. Mira wasn't wrong anyway. The tall woman rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, clicking her fingers at him. "Come Endymion - supper is to be served. Your father is waiting on us."

Endymion bit down on his tongue and dragged his feet as he followed his mother to the dining table. The dining room was on the far end of the villa, with a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that created a true chart of the burning stars.

The Brutus house was a typical villa of a reputable family. Tall walls of a Greek marble, littered with lattice-framed windows and pedestals of precious heirlooms and hard-faced ancestral busts. It was essentially a blend of proper tradition and contemporary needs. In the living room was a traditional loom across from a huge plasma screen television. Air-conditioning was installed in every inch of the house, along with dusty woven tapestries and shrines for Vesta, Minerva and Venus. A bitter balance of old and new.

Uncomfortable silence settled between mother and son. Calm before the storm. Endymion was anticipating the worst. It was always a misery when his brother had gained another accomplishment.