Chapter 16 Hell Hath no Fury...

Within the ancient capital of the Roman Empire, Sigefrida knelt before a prominent noblewoman with a downcast expression on her pretty face. There was a substantial bruise across her left cheek as an audible slap still resounded in the air. Weeks had passed since the Bagaudae took Marcellus captive and the Barbarian slave had just arrived at her master’s villa. Surprisingly the mature beauty who was Marcellus’ mother was lying in wait, preparing to surprise her son upon his arrival.

However, the doting mother had just received the news from Sigefrida of what had transpired at the borders, and she was visibly enraged, so much so that Sigefrida was shaking in fear. Throughout her entire life, Sigefrida had known Valeria Aeliana to be among the most vicious and fearsome women she had ever met, especially when she was angered.

In reality, Aeliana, who was Marcellus’ mother, had hidden this part of her personality from her beloved son. Leading the man to think of the woman as a living angel. After all, she had raised him in the kindest manner since his birth. In truth, the woman’s wrath held no bounds, especially when somebody had been foolish enough to transgress against her precious baby boy.

Aeliana was a mature and buxom beauty, whose looks had not faded with her age. Though she was now thirty-eight years of age, having been married and conceived Marcellus at the age of twelve, she looked at least a decade younger, and it was not uncommon for people to mistake the noblewoman as being Marcellus’ older sister. After all, they shared the same hair, eye, and skin color.

The very thought of Marcellus being captured drove Aeliana insane with rage and she could no longer contain her inner fury, screaming at the top of her lungs as she violently gripped her dainty hands around Sigefrida’s thin neck.

“You fucking bitch! You allowed my baby boy to take your place as those filthy ungrateful peasants’ hostage. I should have you killed for this!”

Sigefrida stared into Aeliana’s furious olive green eyes with an overwhelming sense of dread. She could feel the woman’s grip tighten around her throat, cutting off her air supply and slowly causing her to slip into unconsciousness. Aeliana was gripping Sigefrida’s throat so tightly that her nails had dug into Sigefrida’s flesh. It was only after the barbarian girl had fainted that Aeliana released her grip and spat on the poor girl in disdain.

“Marcellus would never forgive me if I killed you… But mark my words, if he does not return to me safe and sound, I will have you killed on the spot. You stupid fucking whore! How dare you think you are worthy of my beloved son!”

Of course, Sigefrida could not hear a word the woman had said, and thus Aeliana focused her attention elsewhere. The proud noblewoman immediately called forth another slave and issued her orders to him.

“I want you to find Flavius Stilicho and tell him the time has come to honor his vow. Inform him of Marcellus’ current predicament and compel him to rescue my baby boy!”

The slave did not question his orders and merely nodded his head in silence before going on his way to fulfill them. Under normal circumstances, the idea that Aeliana could give an order to the Supreme Commander of Rome’s military was prosperous. In Roman society, a woman had virtually no rights and could never compel a man into action, let alone one in Flavius Stilicho’s position. But there were underlying reasons behind Aeliana’s ability to do such a thing.

Marcellus was an only child, his father having once been a prominent and wealthy patrician by the name of Marcus Claudius Angelus. He was a man who had served alongside Flavius Stilicho during the Supreme Commander’s ascent through the ranks of the Roman Army. However, unfortunately, Angelus had died when Marcellus was a young child.

On his deathbed, Angelus had forced Stilicho to swear an oath to protect Aeliana from her enemies and to raise Marcellus as a proper Roman. Despite only being half Roman, Flavius Stilicho had made this vow, and had since looked after Marcellus and his mother when he could. It was largely because of this close relationship that Marcellus could so rapidly rise in the ranks of the Western Roman Army.

After giving this order, Aeliana collapsed to the wayside, too grief stricken to stand. She burst into tears while thinking of Marcellus’ current predicament. All kinds of scenarios ran through her wild mind on how poorly her son was being treated by his captors. Yet, she was powerless to do anything.

Days passed since Aeliana had first received word of her son’s capture, and during this time, she lie in bed stricken with grief, too feeble hearted to remove herself from Marcellus’ quarters. The scent that her son had left behind calmed her nerves to a certain extent.

However, on the fifth day, a knock occurred on the door to the room where she lied. With a sulking expression, the grieving mother called out weakly to whoever was at the door.

“What is it now?”

To her dismay, a fragile and submissive voice responded. Unfortunately, this was a voice that Aeliana despised. After all, it belonged to the foreign whore who had captured her beloved son’s heart.

“Domina, the Supreme Commander is here to visit.”

When Aeliana heard these words, any fury she had towards Sigefrida vanished. It was as if it fully restored the life that had escaped her these past few days. She quickly jumped out of bed and prepared herself for the meeting. After a total of thirty minutes, she opened the door, revealing the Suebi slave girl who stood waiting for her master’s mother to attend the meeting.

One thing that Aeliana immediately noticed was that the wounds on Sigefrida’s neck that were left behind by the strangulation had begun to fade, which was a good sign, as it meant that Marcellus would not be able to discover the abuse that she had inflicted on the girl.

Sigefrida bowed her head in respect and did not hesitate to lead her master’s mother down into the foyer where the Supreme Commander of Rome’s forces was standing, along with several of his most well-trained bodyguards. The moment Aeliana entered the room, the man issued an order to his guards.

“Leave us…”

The soldiers nodded their heads in silence before doing as instructed. It was only after Stilicho had ensured they were out of earshot did he address the mother of his godson.

“Aeliana, I came as fast as I could. Tell me what has transpired…”

A look of scorn etched itself upon the woman’s face as she pointed towards the Suebi slave girl who attended to her.

“Marcellus foolishly offered himself as a prisoner in exchange for this whore’s safe passage to Rome. I swear to God, if those ungrateful peasants harm my baby boy in any way, I will have this bitch flogged in the streets until she dies of blood loss!”

Stilicho knew of the quasi-relationship that existed between Marcellus and Sigefrida, but he never expected his godson to do something so egregious for the sake of a lowly slave. It was because of the effects that such a decision would have on Marcellus’ reputation that Stilicho gazed sternly at Sigefrida before uttering a command.

“Tell me everything you know, slave…”

After a lengthy discussion, Stilicho sighed heavily in defeat. He could not believe that Marcellus had encountered such a scenario. It truly was the end of days if a group of peasant insurgents could hold a Roman Army for ransom.

Luckily, few people knew of this incident, and thus Stilicho would have to act quickly if he wanted to preserve Marcellus’ reputation as best he could. He voiced his thoughts aloud as he came to an understanding about what needed to be done.

“I will dispatch an order to all who bore witness to the event to hold their tongues on the matter. We will say that Marcellus gave himself up in order to spare the men beneath his command since he could not afford to pay the ransom. Anyone who says otherwise will be silently removed…”

After hearing this, Aeliana nodded her head in silence before responding to Stilicho’s words with the most important question in her heart.

“As for Marcellus? How will we save him?”

Stilicho smirked when he heard such a question before responding with a proud smile on his lips.

“What else can we do? I will personally lead my troops to the alps so that I may rescue Marcellus from his bondage. Those filthy peasants have gone too far this time and I cannot leave such a slap to the face of our great civilization unanswered!”

In response to this claim, Aeliana sighed in relief, knowing that the Supreme Commander of Rome’s forces would personally lead the charge calmed her heart and mind. She could finally overcome her grief, knowing that her precious son would soon be rescued.

With that said, Stilicho left the building, as he prepared a small army to march on the alps and bring Marcellus back to Rome. As Stilicho mustered his forces, Marcellus was working on his own escape. After all, he would not sit idly by and wait to be rescued. He had too much pride to allow himself to become a damsel in distress.