My Family and Other Romans (ebook) by Marie Basting

Author:Marie Basting
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic

CHAPTER 23

The Decided

Bellona’s chariot had been wheeled into position in front of the couches, her ceremonial cape draped around it like a river of gold, almost covering the giant Persian rug. Ignoring the fact she was giving me the evils, I squoze into the gap between Felix and Romulus.

Poly gurgled excitedly at me from her perch on Remus’s knee. ‘Mama,’ she cried, pointing at the oiled musicians peeking out from behind the tapestry curtain divider. ‘Mama!’

‘Ahem!’ Bellona lifted her curved bronze trumpet and blew . . .

and blew . . .

and blew.

I’m telling you, there were ships on the Tyne turning round, right now.

‘Make it stop!’ mouthed Tiber with his fingers in his ears. ‘Please make it stop.’

But Bellona continued to blow the trumpet for what felt like an eternity. Maybe I was immortal after all?

‘Thank you, children,’ she finally said, her cheeks taking a few seconds to deflate. Composing her smile, she passed the trumpet to a glossy-haired guard with teeth so white he could have been in a toothpaste advert. Oh my Greco-Roman gods, it was the soldier from the forum. I’d recognize those gnashers anywhere.

‘Cornelius Lucius Sulla,’ whispered Romulus, confirming my suspicions. ‘Praetorian Prefect and Mother’s latest suitor.’

‘Total snipe eel,’ said Remus. ‘Always telling tales to mother. The soldiers call him Potty-Mouth.’

‘Potty-Mouth?’

‘Yes, because he whitens his teeth with wee.’

Ugh. The communal bum-wiper was bad enough, but this took things to a whole new level.

‘Extreme, hey?’ said Tiber. ‘I thought the mortals had stopped doing that!’

‘When you’re quite finished, Tiber!’ Wow, Bellona sounded like my head teacher. She’d be dishing out detentions next! ‘So,’ she continued, ‘the whole family together at last, ready to taste the glorious thrill of war! Jupiter knows, I haven’t felt this proud since I led Trajan to victory in Dacia. And with the sacred arrow finally in my grasp, victory will be mine again as we put Vulcan’s fire out once and for all.’

That nagging feeling again. There was nothing glorious about war. I got that Vulcan had to be stopped, but I thought the point of me fetching the arrow was to bring about peace?

Remus winced as Poly tugged yet again at his snake hair. He set her down on the floor and pulled the tray of stuffed dormice towards her.

‘Mama!’ she cried, making a grab for the biggest roasted rodent on the platter, and swallowing it whole.

‘Good girl, Poly,’ said Bellona. ‘Let us feast and enjoy each other’s company, for there is much to celebrate!’

There she goes again. Celebrate? In a few hours’ time, I could be dragon fodder and Romana plunged into civil war. Maybe Athene Noctua was right. Maybe I had rushed into this.

‘Silvia, are you sure you’re OK?’ A hundred glassy eyes stared at me in concern.

‘Yes, well, it’s just . . .’ I turned my gaze from Romulus to Bellona. ‘Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?’

‘Of course,’ said Remus. ‘It’s just last-minute jitters. You are the Undecided, after all. You’re destined to dither.’

‘Nice!’ said Tiber, fist-bumping Remus.

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