Her mistress had ordered her to buy flowers to decorate the house this morning; it was one of many tasks she would have to do throughout the day. She made her way down the Palatine Hill and followed the same path that she had traveled over many times before. Cheers and applause reached her as she approached the Forum Romanum; perhaps a politician was speaking upon the rostra. She stepped into the warmth of the Temple of Vesta and made a quick prayer and exited quickly to head to the market. As usual, a small group of children were taking lessons from a teacher upon the steps of the Basilica Aemilia, although today they seemed much more troublesome than usual. The source of their excitement was centered on a crowd of people that had spilled out among the columns of the Basilica. She walked past with an uninterested glance; she had seen too many court cases to care about this one. She finally reached the market and began to look curiously over all the wares that were being sold: rich cloths that she would never be able to afford, pieces of jewelry that she was sure would look beautiful on her. But she was here to buy flowers, and after perusing the fresh bouquets at the flower stand, bought a few that she hoped her mistress would not reject. As she made her way back through the Forum amid another round of applause for the politician, she began to wonder how she would feel if she was a freedwoman. But there was no time for that; she had to get back to her mistress to receive her next task and most likely she would find herself at the market again.