Chapter 18 Returning Home

In the foothills below the alps, an army of five thousand Romans had gathered. They had been marching for days to rescue a captured Roman General, and by now they just wanted this whole excursion to be over. At the head of this Army was none other than Flavius Stilicho, the Supreme Commander of all of Western Rome’s forces who gazed into the distance with a frown on his face.

In the hills above, a lone rider strode towards their position. As strange as this was, Stilicho did not immediately react, and waited until he could get a good understanding of who this character was, and what his desires were. After all, one man was no threat to an army of Romans, and to attack such a mysterious figure could present some difficulties.

As the man closed the distance between himself and the Roman army, it became clear that he was being chased. Well over a hundred cavalrymen were in the distance riding down from the alps and towards this lone rider. It was at this point that Stilicho finally realized what was happening and bursted out into a fit of laughter as he boasted to all of his men who could hear him.

“Haha! That is my godson for you. The hard bastard escaped his own captivity, and his mother was fucking worried about his safety! Well, I suppose we should help him out. Archers at the ready! Fire a volley at those who are foolish enough to pursue Marcellus.”

The Archers did not hesitate to form ranks and knock their bows. After pulling back their strings, they pointed their weapons into the air and fired a rain of arrows down upon the pursuing horsemen. When the Bagaudae cavalry realized that they had walked into a trap, they immediately halted their horses, but it was too late. The arrows had already fallen from the sky and skewered them and their steeds.

The horses whined as they collapsed to the ground, with multiple arrows embedded inside of them, while the Bagaudae themselves turned into pincushions. Their blood flowing onto the hillside and forming a small pool. Marcellus gazed up into the sky and behind him, witnessing the entire scene as he laughed out loud, cursing his captors as their souls entered the afterlife.

“Hahaha! You fucking bastards just got what you deserved!”

After saying this, he slowed his horse to a trot and slowly approached his godfather with a wide smirk on his face. When Stilicho saw this smug expression, he couldn’t help but comment on the young man’s appearance..

“Why are you smiling, boy? You are covered in shit!”.

Marcellus did not take the taunt to heart and merely chuckled before expressing his views.

“It is good to see you too…”

It was at this moment Stilicho reached over and grabbed hold of Marcellus’ shoulder; with a stern expression on his face, the Supreme Commander informed his General of the mess he had caused.

“I am glad to see you are okay, truly I am, but you have to know what you have done is political suicide. I have done everything I can to rewrite the narrative about what happened to you, but being captured alive and held for ransom. There are only so many ways I can spin the story to make you look favorable. You know that your reputation will be ruined when news of what happened gets out, right? Tell me, was she worth it?”

Marcellus merely smiled and scoffed before nodding his head in response to his godfather’s warning.

“I like to think so…”

Stilicho sighed as he heard such a foolish response, before smacking Marcellus on the back of his head.

“Then get your ass home. Your mother is worried sick about you!”

It shocked Marcellus when he heard this information. He thought for sure his mother would not find out about this occurrence, thus he could not help but ask about it.

“What the hell does my mother have to do with this?”

Stilicho merely shook his head in disappointment while gazing upon his godson as if he were an idiot.

“Who the hell do you think sent me to save your sorry ass? Your mother was waiting in your villa when your slave returned by her lonesome. I have not seen that woman so pissed since you were a small child. You better get home quick, or she will have both of our hides. Don’t worry about the Emperor, I will calm that fool’s wrath so that he doesn’t hold you responsible for the loss in Gaul. It’s the sycophants by his side that I worry about…”

When Marcellus heard this, he chuckled before responding to his godfather with a snide remark.

“Truly, you are a better man than I…”

Stilicho merely scoffed when he heard this before making a witty retort of his own.

“Don’t you forget it, boy! Now get the hell out of here!”

With this said, Marcellus snapped the reins of his horse and rode off towards the city of Rome with a proper escort in tow. When he was finally out of earshot, another general, who was under Stilicho’s command, spoke up on the matter at hand.

“So what now? Do we return home now that Marcellus is saved or do we continue onward towards the Bagaudae camp?

Stilicho’s expression sank as he gazed off into the alps above where the Bagaudae encampment lay. There was a murderous glint in his eyes as he said the words that would seal the brigands’ fate.

“Now we kill every one of those bastards!”

—

Shortly thereafter Marcellus rode into the gates of his villa, to see his mother and Sigefrida waiting for his arrival with anxious expressions. The moment they saw him step through the gates unharmed, they rushed towards him. Aeliana hugged her son tightly after he stepped off his horse, getting the filth that coated him all over herself. Despite this, she didn’t seem to care and instead kissed her son on the cheek.

“My baby boy has returned to me! Tell me, did those bastards hurt you in any way?”

Marcellus merely shook his head and sighed before responding to his doting mother’s interrogation.

“No, mother, they did not harm me in the slightest.”

Upon hearing these words, Aeliana sighed in relief before abruptly slapping her son on the back of the head.

“You little bastard! Who the hell told you that you could play with your mother’s emotions to such a degree? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I couldn’t get out of bed for five days after hearing about your cruel fate. You owe me an apology!”

Marcellus chuckled as he hugged his mother tightly before responding to her claims.

“I am sorry mother, I promise I won’t make you worry like that ever again…”

Aeliana merely pouted as she sank into her son’s embrace. A single phrase escaped her lips as she enjoyed the sensation.

“Like hell I’d believe that…”

It was only now that Aeliana realized just how much her son stank, and she quickly forced herself out of his embrace before giving Sigefrida an order, who had patiently waited for her turn to speak with her master.

“Slave, fetch your master a bath, and quickly, he’s absolutely filthy!”

Though Sigefrida wanted to protest, she ultimately remained silent, nodding her head as she rushed off to do as she was instructed. When Marcellus saw this, he sighed before lecturing his mother on her treatment of the woman.

“Why do you have to be so bossy around her? You know she has been a part of our family since she was a small child, right?”

Such a comment infuriated Aeliana, but she did not let it show, instead she wore a smiling facade as she stroked her son’s filthy hair.

“Remember Marcellus, she is a lowly slave, and you are a mighty General. I know you have feelings for the girl, but she is not a proper match for you. Don’t let your emotions blind you to the reality of your position in life. Come, let’s get you cleaned up. Your stench is making me sick to my stomach.”

In response to this, Marcellus merely chuckled before doing as his mother had said. He walked hand in and with Aeliana up the stairs and into the villa where a bath awaited him. The moment his mother let go of his grip and watched him entered the bath, her smiling facade came crumbling down, and she gritted her teeth in rage.

The very idea that her beloved son would insist that Sigefrida was a part of their family filled her with contempt. She would have to find a way to punish the boy for thinking about that little whore while he was in her presence.

Still, as Aeliana reflected on everything that had recently occurred, she could say with certainty that there was one good thing to come from this whole ordeal, and that was the fact that Marcellus’ reputation would soon be thoroughly tarnished and because of this no woman would want to marry him. When Aeliana thought of this, a wide grin spread across her face as she voiced her thoughts aloud in a voice so low nobody could hear.

“Oh my sweet Marcellus, you don’t need to worry your pretty little head, even if all those little harlots despise you for what you have done, mommy will always be by your side…”