Chapter 5

Six months later, Lucius and Attia were married at the Lepidius home in Ostia. It was just his and her families plus a few friends. The gifts were not lavish like the ones Penelope received when she wed Maximus in the presence of the Emperor Augusta. The couple were happy and Lucius promised never to reveal the secret she told him though her Mother knew about it.

"I want you to have this," Penelope handed her the expensive jeweled broach that Livia had given her on her wedding day way back when. She never wore it fearing she might lose it. "It was a gift to me from Augustus and his wife when your Father and me were married. Now I hope if you have a daughter you can pass it down to her. I wish for this to be in our family for generations to come."

"Oh, it is so beautiful. Augustus must have been a very generous man. I will keep it always.

Lucius and me will keep trying until we have a daughter to give it to on her wedding day."

"Actually it was his wife Livia who gave it to me, but that doesn't matter any longer."

"I'll make sure it stays in a safe place," Attia said as Lucius came to her side. "Look darling, Mother gave this to us. We can keep it until our daughter gets married."

"That sounds good to me. We can get to work on our daughter tonight," he smiled. Attia gave him a gentle nudge in his stomach with her elbow.

On their wedding night, Attia's maidenhood was broken by her new husband. Everything she had heard from other women and from her Mother was even better than she imagined.

She kept waking Lucius up for more lovemaking. It wasn't until past dawn when she wound down and fell asleep for a few hours. Rested, her husband was on guard duty, she got up to practice her swordplay with her Mother. Penelope kept it up for an hour before claiming her exhaustion. Attia next got out her bow and shot at wooden dummies a hundred yards away. She hit each wooden object she aimed at. Eventually she too felt tired. She bathed with Penelope telling all about her wedding night with Lucius then ate a small meal. In the afternoon she napped until Lucius came home for another bout of their honeymoon.

Six months later Agrippa was promoted to a Commander of the northern Legions with the promise of having his same position as leader of the Praetoriun Guard when the present his time of duty was over. Lucius was taken with him. Attia insisted going with and argued with her husband until he gave in. Penelope felt this was a perfect time to get the eagles back from the barbarians. She told Lucius and Agrippa about where she last saw them and when.

She felt the Germans were not in the least interesed so they might be outside Arminius' old home. She told them about it at dinner the day before they left. Attia had a glow in her eye as she listened silently taking in all the conversation as she ate slowly. Her cunning mind was at work but she wasn't about to tell this to Lucius until they reached Gaul. First she had to show her husband how really good she was handling a sword.

Messalina had heard of Attia's slaying of Giganticus. She was intrigued by the fact that such a tiny girl had the strength and finesse to take down Rome's greatest gladiator. Word came to her that the redhead had moved so fast when the warrior started to rush her the guards swore by the gods that they weren't aware that Giganticus was dead until he fell backwards hitting his head on the granite block's of the arena's staging area. It was told that he had died in his sleep and Messalina chose to let it stay the way it was. Even Claudius was unaware of what really happened.

The beautiful Empress had a strong sexual attraction to Attia. Claudius was much older didn't have the stamina to keep up with her needs. She had men she chose on the streets brought to her at all hours of the day to bed her. She lived in a special wing of the Imperial Palace where her husband seldom visited. Despite her like for big brawny men with huge penises, Messalina also had a thing for beautiful young girls. She was brought to this place when Caligula the ruler and as a joke, he married her off to Claudius who still practiced his limp and stuttering knowing that if he played the fool, Caligula would find some entertainment in his uncle. Messalina had happily married Claudius just to get away from the madman who ruled the Empire. She honestly feared for her life at that time and her husband was a way out to live somewhere besides the Palace. She gave birth to a boy Brittanicus but didn't know whether her son was fathered by Caligula or Claudius. She found herself to be with child shortly after their marriage.

She wanted to bring Attia to the Palace for a few days of debauchery. Perhaps line her up with some men once she had her fill of Attia. However her plans were temporarily dashed when she learned that Attia had left Rome with her husband a few days before. She knew that sooner or later the girl would be back in a year or so then she could make her move.

In the meantime, she expected to find others to please her. Both men and women.

It took twenty-six days for the small party, escorted by several guards, to make the trip from Rome. Attia was able to keep up and seemed disappointed when the men decided to stop for the day while there was still daylight. It was cold since spring was a few months away.