Chapter Ten

With Romulus, Messalina and Livia before him in the garden, Tiberius spoke. "Starting with you, mother..." He began. "Augustus' will states that you are adopted into the Julian family as Julia Augusta. You shall also receive one third of his property, the other two thirds being mine."

Julia Augusta, formerly Livia, nodded at what her son had told her. "So my late husband has allowed me to maintain my status and the power that comes with it. And what has he left for his grandson?" she asked, gesturing to Romulus.

"Augustus has left Romulus two estates." Answered Tiberius.

Romulus stared with a confused expression upon his face. "T-Two? W-W-W-Why would he leave me two?"

"You were born of a Roman woman and fathered by a man of one of the Celtic races." Stated Tiberius, handing Romulus the scroll so he could read it himself. "One of the estates is here in Rome, the other alas is not in Hibernia as Rome has no power there. It is in—"

"Narbo Martius?" asked Romulus, finding the part about the estates after a full paragraph of comparing him to Aeneas in the most vague way possible.

"In Gaul, yes." Answered Tiberius. "I suppose with me being First Citizen you would like to be as far from the capital as possible."

"Do you really want to kill me?" asked Romulus.

"No, I just make threats to scare you." Replied Tiberius.

"You wanted to expose me."

"I was perfectly in my right to do so since I do not recognize you as my son."

"And now that you are First Citizen you seriously do not want to kill me?"

"You have been taught strategy, Romulus. Killing you would be an awful waste." Tiberius took a breath and then said: "I would like to see you put what you learned to use helping your cousin and maternal half-brother-in-law Germanicus."

"Send him to Germania to fight Arminius!" Messalina exclaimed in shock. "Arminius gave Rome its greatest defeat! How many more defeats is Arminius going to give us? He killed Publius Quinctilius Varus, how long until he kills Germanicus?"

"Be silent!" ordered Tiberius, glaring at the dancing girl. He then once more spoke to Romulus. "You were also taught astrology and that with strategy can make a deadly combination."

"Astrology!" scoffed Julia. "A silly credulity!"

"An accurate discipline, mother." Corrected Tiberius. "Knowing the future will give us a greater victory over the Germanic hordes. If we know how they will defeat us then it shall be all the better to know how to defeat them."

"I may have been taught astrology but I do not believe in it..." Stated Romulus. "Only with a sound strategy can we defeat the Germanic hordes. I would like to see my estates before I decide on going to Germania."

"Decide?" asked Tiberius, a tremor of anger in his voice. "I am the First Citizen of Rome, if I send you to Germania you shall go!"

"Not as long as I live!" exclaimed Julia. "My status and power remain the same as it was when Augustus was First Citizen. Romulus shall not go to Germania if he does not wish to."

"I never wished to be First Citizen but here I am, mother. Romulus will be going to Germania and that is that."

"If anything happens to Romulus it will be Drusus that follows him, Tiberius. Is that understood?"

Tiberius stood there with an absolute look of horror on his face. "My son... Your own grandson... You are threatening Drusus?"

"Should Romulus die you will be the one responsible for sending him to Germania. My position has not changed with the death of Augustus, as I must remind you a second time after you so recently informed me."

Tiberius took a breath and looked to the sky for a moment before once more looking to Romulus. "What is your decision on going to Germania now?"

"I'd still like to see my estates first." He said. "Beyond that I have no military training, Tiberius, so I am doubtful I would be of any use."

"Your place will be as a strategist not as a soldier... Still, you must decide on whether or not you will want to go to Germania and I shall allow you time to decide. If you do, you shall be serving alongside the future First Citizen. Germanicus shall succeed me and one of his sons shall succeed him be it Nero, Drusus or Gaius."

"I doubt that." Muttered Romulus.

"What? What is that?" asked Tiberius.

"I do not believe Germanicus will ever live to become First Citizen." Said Romulus. "He is too much like Alexander the Great who was too much like Achilles and they both died young. Germanicus has lived long than Achilles but so did Alexander. Alexander died at two and thirty, Germanicus is now nine and twenty, how long can he have left?"

"I am not a young man, Romulus." Returned Tiberius. "How much longer do I have? I may not be an old man but I will be sixty in five-twelvemonths. Should Germanicus die then my son Drusus will become my heir."

"The Castor to Germanicus' Pollux." Commented Romulus.

"And just what pray tell do you mean by that?"

"That Pollux died not long after Castor." Explained Romulus. "I do believe Drusus' death will herald Germanicus'."

Tiberius let out a chuckle. "Believe what you wish. It matters not to me, I am plentifully supplied with heirs: Germanicus, Drusus, Nero, Gaius... What need have I to worry?" And with that Tiberius made his exit.

Julia shook her head. "My son! Such arrogance and already planning to step over Germanicus' middle son! I'll have a talk with him, see if I can get him to put you somewhere in the line of succession, Romulus."

"He already said he is plentifully supplied with heirs so I'm guessing I'm somewhere on the line of succession."

"Still, I'll make sure that you are somewhere on there." Thus did Julia Augusta make her exit leaving Romulus and Messalina alone!

Romulus looked to Messalina with a smile and asked her: "Have you ever been to Rome?"

"Never been out of Nola!" she exclaimed joyfully, realizing what Romulus was asking.

Romulus was right in suspecting that Germanicus would die young. Five twelvemonths later Germanicus died at the age of three and thirty. He had beaten Achilles by eight twelvemonths and Alexander the Great by one but still Germanicus had died young but his death had not been heralded by the death of Drusus. Upon Germanicus' death, Drusus became Tiberius' heir. Three twelvemonths prior to his death, Germanicus had defeated the Germanic hordes led by Arminius at the Battle of Minden, which occurred on the very same day that Romulus and Messalina married. Upon learning of his cousin and maternal half-brother-in-law's marriage, Germanicus sent Arminius' own sword as a wedding present. Arminius had been wounded in the battle but he would continue to live on for two twelvemonths after Germanicus' own death but would never more fight against Rome. Ultimately, his own tribe murdered him.

Romulus never did do military service. After the Battle of Minden, Rome was at peace. Drusus did eventually die as well, four twelvemonths after Germanicus at the age of six and thirty. It was no natural causes that killed Drusus Julius Caesar. He had been poisoned with two of the three people behind his death living for a good eight twelvemonths after his death. One was his cousin-wife Livilla and the other was his friend and her lover Sejanus. The day Drusus was poisoned was the very day that a son was born to Romulus and Messalina.

Sometimes love can be instant and sometimes love can be gradual. For Romulus and Messalina it was somewhere in between. They had a long and happy life together with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren until they ultimately died during the Nerva-Antoine dynasty.

The End