Except for Grace and Mercy

Chapter 2

Adah has just finished sewing her mother's woollen gown. She has been so weak of late: Adah knows it's the illness of the heart from fear of loosing her sons to the Romans eventually that has mother troubled. Everyone in the village of Kana in Nazareth, knew about her sons' involvement with the resistance fighters; the only good thing is that the Roman soldiers do not frequent marching through Nazareth since the Herods were given charge, but with the last Herod Agrippa no more in power, Nazareth was back under the Roman control. Adah fears that one day these soldiers will march by Kana and act on the gossip that Beeri and Jonas fought with the resistance forces, and their arrest, will further leave their mother heartbroken. Adah has been truly grateful to this woman who took her in when she lost both parents: her father was a Gibeonite, his descendants had deceived the then leader -Joshua and the Israelites and so they had to be conscripted as slaves of woodcutters and water carriers for the temple workers. Her father's marriage to an Israelite particularly from the tribe of Benjamin, was met with a lot of backlash despite being given the tribe of Benjamin as their possession. Her mother had to run away to her friends at Judah and after much persuasion from the other tribes, her family were forced to consent to the marriage; the Benjamin's were warned and told how God had already accepted the Gibeonites as part of the Israelite family. Her siblings died at infancy, she was the only surviving child. Her paternal  great great grandfather's encounter with the Messiah while he walked this earth, changed him for good. Both her parents became christians after hearing his stories about the Messiah...
"A-ad-ada-h". The weak sound of her name awakened her to her adoptive mother's voice. They decided to keep her on the first floor of their stone foundation building made with mudbrick and wattle. This room was initially the animals floor but due to Bilhah's deteriorating health, she had to be put here and all the animals were sold except for the donkey. The proceeds were for paying her treatments.
"Yes mother". She reaches and holds her outstretched hands.
"C-an-w-we-c-c-con-tin-ue t-the me-s-siah's sto-ry?"
Mother Bilhah wasn't a Christian yet despite hearing about the messiah's works while serving in Herod Antipas' house. She also faulted the pharisees, Sadducees and other high priests for falsifying the messiah's authenticity from spreading. Gently putting her mother's hands on her lap, she begins retelling the narration while seated on the wooden stool: "Jesus attended a wedding feast here in Galilee; the wine just got finished and his mother Mary came to him trying to persuade him to perform a miracle of producing more wine for the guests but Jesus tells her his time had not yet come for a miracle to be performed, but after seeing the desperation of the master of the ceremony, he calls his attention to fill the empty jars with water and blesses them and they turn to wine".
"W-wo-w, th-at o-ne m-u-st ha-ve ta-sted be-tt-er".
"Oh, very we..." My reply is cut short by the neighing of horses and our neighbours scampering about for safety. I quickly hold mother's hands together just to reassure her when I hear -"the ovadia's family!" Just outside our door: I quickly get up and place her hands inside the woollen quilt and rush outside where there are four Roman soldiers on horseback and their leader holds a scroll opened, the others are giving me lustful looks that makes me readjust my linen veil to cover my face and give a gap to speak when questioned. My brothers have always been my pillar of support, defending me against wicked men and their lustful advances, but lately their presence has been missed since joining the resistance fighters. My heart skips praying my worst fears have not turned to reality...
"Your brothers are Beeri and Jonas?" His question digs deep into my subconscious
"Y-ye-yes Sir"
"Where are they?"
Before I can provide an answer, I hear the voice of Jonas the ever brash one -"we are here, just returning from the fields". He is panting so heavily and shortly after, Beeri joins us, he too breathing heavily. The soldier gives them a run over seeming very irritated.
"Is this another census soldier?" Jonas again response.
The soldier folds the scroll, and with a deadly stare directed at my brothers, he says - "just to remind you, that Caesar will always protect it's province and citizens". With that, they turn their horses to leave, with the earlier soldier giving her a coy smile and tipping his helmet before veering off with his colleagues.
Beeri spits on the ground and mutters -"dirty Romans, claiming what does not belong to them and I don't like the way that no good Roman kept looking at you".
"Why were you outside Adah?" Jonas asks
At this, all her pent up emotions flare; turning to face them, she yells-"you left us for a whole day knowing how frail mother's heart is"
"Sister don't be sad, we are here now, let's not wake mother, why don't we all go inside it's getting dark". Beeri cajoles them.
As the trio retire for the night, a lone stranger is watching them from a distance.

*********************************
The sun was shining brightly on this day dedicated to the Sun god-Sol; he had barely rested when emperor Vespasian's message came through for him to come over to Jerusalem and lodge at the Antonia Fortress to oversee some rebels trying to cause an uprising during the Jewish festival of the Passover. He knew Josephus would still get followers even after his arrest: he remembers Pontius Pilate's dealing with the rebel Barrabbas. Now who could be troubling the pax Romana the practice that came with the accession of Caesar Augustus? He was truly a man of peace, he did not like to engage in wars except it became necessary. His bloodline had been angry with him for not acting and looking more Roman. They saw him as a different breed, his older sister seemed more sympathetic -Valeria who was now married to senator Manius Acilius Aviola, his uncle's trusted friend. His nieces loved having him visit them whenever he was in Rome, but with the start of this war campaigns, he wasn't so certain of his visits. His great, great, great grandfather emperor Caligula was assassinated by his own men in what was termed a conspiracy after just ruling for four years. He always thought that was weird and maybe he was one too. His legion had about a hundred men all fully armed. They decided to rest by the temple mount and drinking from their water cans. Am just about to relax by the wall, when the war cry of men awakens me; my sword is out of it's sheath from impulse, I suspect they must be resistance fighters but just a fraction of them. Two of my men are killed instantly from my rear; I turn to fight off any but I see one advancing to my right, another to my left and the last from my rear. Throwing my sword to the ground, I move abruptly to the ground causing two of my attackers to stab themselves while I grapple the fighter to my rear and we end up tumbling on the ground till his head hits a wall, then I look into his eyes and realize he's just a child not more than eighteen years of age. Holding him tightly by the hands, I lift him up and take away his dagger, realizing my men have dealt with the situation.
"Tribune Opimius, we've lost two men and five others are injured. Two of the resistance fighters have fled". He says this, handing me my sword.
I hand over the boy to Miles Albus. I ask the lad for his name. He gives me a very queer expression and I don't expect him to answer me, but he replies -"Azrael".
I call out to Miles Albus, "release him". My men look at me as if I've lost my mind. "The emperor Vespasian has been waiting for our arrival, we can't waste more time, while we are here, we'll get all the information we need on the fighters. Tend to the dead and injured immediately". I hurry the remaining distance to Antonia Fortress and just as am about to be ushered in by three of his servants, I hear a loud shriek of a lady covering her mouth yet trying to look dazzling and seductive. I ignore her and submit my helmet, the cloth shirt , my leather straps to the servants just as emperor Vespasian comes out with open arms to receive me.
"Welcome my dear boy. It's indeed saddening to be welcomed to Jerusalem by the resistance fighters"
"Indeed, I've often wondered why Judea has always been so strange even with good rulers". He takes a goblet of wine given to him by a servant and they both are seated in a room with my luggage being carried inside while my men are taken to the barracks. "Some of the Jews must still be bitter about the war"
"Hahahaha, my son, all is not fair in war. We just have to be vigilant and not neglect the work of the great Caesar Augustus to promote prosperity in all the Roman provinces"
"Tell me your most excellent Vespasian, I came upon a frightening lady just now on the rooftop, I don't remember you having a daughter". The emperor laughs hard before replying,
"Cornelia has an eye for you Opimius and as your guardian, I could not refuse such a match even my wife Domitilla agrees. Besides, she is descended from emperor Tiberius bloodline who was your great great grandfather's by six generations close friend. She's also from a noble background like you"
Suddenly Feeling low and tired, he stands to plead with the emperor Vespasian to retire for the day and to promise to meet with the empress the next day. While moving to his quarters, he prides himself as one who cares not for marriage; he has had flings in the past, but all that now irritate him. This might just be the Thorn that might sting his relationship with the emperor down south.