Twins of Egypt

Chapter 4: Tiberius | Part 2

[[Selene]]

"Tiberius," I announced as I walked next to Tiberius playing with my pretty skirts as we walked through the roads to the middle of the capital.

"Yes," he smirks. He settled his hands behind him as he watched me.

"Do you feel better now?" I ask, leaving my skirts alone for now.

"Yes," he watched his feet, "did I scare you back there?" he asked.

"No-" he cuts me off.

"I know you care for Marcellus," he states.

I blush slightly, "I do," I note, "but only as a dear friend."

He sighs, "I've seen those little glances you would pass him when I first saw you."

"Well things change," I quiet down and watch the scenery.

"You found out he and Julia are engaged?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted.

"Does that hurt you?" he asked.

"No," I say truthfully, "I may admire Marcellus, but I haven't grown deep feelings for him." I lied. I do not know if I have or have not. I have only seen love once, my parents, I may feel it with Marcellus, or with Tiberius...

He quiets for a moment and I turn to look at him. He was staring at me, too. I smile, "So tell me," I passed a vender selling strange looking green fruit. It looked like an onion, except green and with a hard cover, "Tiberius, what is that?" I pointed.

He smiled, "That, Selene, is a fig," He moved closer to me to admire the fruit.

The plebian woman who was the vender of the fruit smiled at us and asked if we wanted to try.

Tiberius' guard cautioned him not to.

"Nonsense," he told his guard, "give me bag of denarii and we will buy two." He turns to me, "Figs are from the Middle East and Asia, but some are grown here," he smiled, "they're delightful fruit, and would make a great breakfast."

His guard takes the two fruits watching the vender carefully. He asks to try one, and when he does not pass out, he hands it to Tiberius while silently threatening the woman.

Tiberius takes the two fruits and walks with me away from the vender, probably trying to shelter me from the guards cursing. I wondered who hired him for Tiberius. It must have been Livia, her favorite son was Tiberius and she did not hide it. I wonder how Drusus felt knowing he was second best to his mother and not even on his stepfather's list. If Drusus cared, he did not show it. He seemed content being free and able to go to Octavia's villa to visit Tonia. Tiberius rubbed the fruits on his dark red and passed one to me.

"Thank you," I smiled and held the fruit inspecting it.

"Try it," he bites into the tough skin of the fruit.

I watch him for a moment then put the fruit in my mouth and indulge the raw crunchy sweetness.

"So what do you think?" he asks after he swallows.

"It's crunchy and delightful," I answer truthfully, "however, I've never eaten a fresh fruit. Well except for the ones that survive the deserts of Egypt. I have grown up accustomed to dry fruits." I conclude.

"It's different here," he smiles, "we get everything here. We're the center of the world."

I stay silent for a moment, munching on the sweet fig. I think about Rome. Is it really the center of the world? I look at all the markets and the venders. There are venders who sell Chinese products, such as silk, from the Far East. There are Middle Eastern venders who sell silk as well as their own delicacy. I then turn to the Egyptian venders who sold grain and many jewels such as lapis lazuli, the prime jewel of Egypt. I walk off to the Egyptian vender and seeing me the venders eyes grow and she calls her family in Egyptian.