Austin Moita
Tiberius stood
idly behind a tree near the Theatre of Pompey, trying to clarify the erratic events
that had unfolded in front of him on an otherwise beautiful March day. After
his eyes had fallen on a woman who was clearly of the Equestrian class, if not
the daughter of a senator, she had been grabbed and taken by two men who wore
tunics typical of those worn by slaves. In part due to his morals but also due
to an unexplainable bond he felt with the woman, Tiberius had followed behind
the men and the abducted woman from a distance, all the way to the theatre
before watching the men take her inside.
“What in the name
of Venus should I do?” Tiberius whispered to himself. He knew there was a form
of indignity going on, but this was no place for a Plebian to be, no situation
where a man of Tiberius’ status should insert his role. He then began to think
about what his father would do, the great swordsman that he was. He would not
be afraid of this situation, of rescuing a damsel in distress. Realizing that
he might be this unknown woman’s only hope, Tiberius left the cover the shadows
of the tree provided and proceeded up the steps of theatre, ready for whatever
was ahead.
The theatre was
eerily empty, with a dead silence normally befitting of an empty building but
questionable considering there was an abducted woman nearby. Tiberius made his
way through the theatre, looking for any sign of the slave-looking men or the
woman. He looked across the hall and noticed the statue of the great Pompey,
and stopped momentarily, this being the first time he had seen the statue of
the late, great leader. Just then, two men came from around the statue, and
Tiberius darted behind a statue. “Hey!” The shout rang out all through the
empty theatre, and the two slaves came to an abrupt halt. From behind the
marble Pompey, Marcus Brutus emerged and approached the slaves. Tiberius
immediately recognized the senator, and wondered what he was doing chatting
with two criminals.
“We are out of
time,” Brutus said in a low voice, keeping with the suspicious air in the
theatre after his earlier angry yell. “Caesar could be approaching up the steps
at this very moment! We must rid this place of the girl’s body. I don’t care
what you do with it, I just never want to lay eyes on it again. Come!”
Brutus and the
scraggly men disappeared around the statue of Popmey. Tiberius, stunned at the
thought of a Senator being a part of a murder, decided he must act. A woman’s
innocent life was in his hands to save.
