Chapter VII
"Love begets love, love knows no rules, this is same for all.” - Virgil
We stood on a hill looking across the bay at the peninsula upon which Sinope was built. The city jutted out against the sea like a thumb on an outstretched hand, its high sea wall standing like jagged teeth, pointed towards the blue sky. Small clouds drifted cheerfully in the sky and seabirds cried as they glided on the air currents above us.
It had been a long journey, but we had avoided all the settlements and stolen and begged food and accommodation on the way for two weeks. Footsore, sunburned and tired we made our way to the city. Junius strode ahead, and Hypsicratea quickly and deftly squeezed my hand and smiled over her shoulder at me. My heart beat a little faster and a longing awoke in me. My fantasies of love with a Pontic Queen had not been fulfilled and I thirsted for her. That it might be an absurd fantasy had yet to emerge in my head, for youthful dreams know no boundaries.
The gate guard did not know what to think. Two bedraggled dirty soldiers, in torn and ragged red tunics and a young woman with a red, torn gown was not what he expected to see that morning. He hailed us and accepted our explanation. We were taken before the duty Centurion and then on to the officer of the guard.
Hypsicratea was escorted immediately to the palace and Junius and I were to be de-briefed by the duty officer.
'I want you to give me your report,' he said looking us up and down.
'Well it's complicated,' I said.
'Yes complicated, you see,' Junius said.
The Tribune looked at us as if he thought they were deranged.
'However complicated, I want to know what happened.'
We told our story, down to the last detail. The Tribune frowned.
'Pack of lies! You're the deserters who escaped last week. We've been looking for you.'
'Deserters?'
'Yes, deserters. Meridius and a contubernium have been searching for you since last week. Am I to believe you never deserted and were simply taken prisoner?'
'That's right.'
'I can't deal with this; it will have to go before the Legate. In the meantime, you will be placed under arrest and secured in the guardhouse. Do you understand?'
'We're innocent! We would never desert! If we were deserters why would we have come back?'
'Not my problem. Braccus, take 'em to the cells and if you have any trouble from them, make sure they know Roman discipline. There's every chance they'll be executed in a day or two in any case.'
We were led away to a guardhouse with a feeling of gloom. It was a block of small houses near the temple headquarters. They put us into a small dark room with two straw palettes in each corner and two small ventilators at the top of one wall. The place smelled of urine. As the door was locked ominously behind us, we both felt the injustice of our situation.
'It may have been a mistake to return with the Queen, you know,' I said after a few moments of silence.
'Nonsense, they need us to tell them where the treasure went down at least, if they're going to recover it.'
'They can ask the Queen and anyway she has a much better idea than we have of how to get there. In any case they have ways of extracting things from prisoners,' I said feeling gloomy.
We spent a restless night. The heat in the cell and the anxieties of our situation made us both irritable and depressed. During the night, Junius awoke from a nightmare. He sat up sweating only to find me, bolt upright, staring in front of me and fully awake.
'I had a nightmare, I was back on the corsair's ship,' Junius said.
'I can't sleep either. I was thinking about Hypsicratea. She is really beautiful.'
'For the love of Mercury! We are imprisoned and at risk of being executed for something we did not do and all you can do is occupy your mind with thoughts of a woman.'
'Maybe, but do you think she really likes me?'
'I'm beginning to think I don't! There is no prospect of you ever being with the Queen of Pontus, apart from which she is already married to the King of Pontus and he might have a slight problem with it!'
I pictured her face. A strong face, a beautiful face and I sighed.
Shortly after dawn, a guard awakened us and provided us with clean tunics and water in which to wash.
We were then escorted from our cell and into the presence of Lucullus himself. We stood before him at attention, two common soldiers expecting to be defending our very lives.
'You have been brought here for three reasons.'
Lucius Licinius Lucullus ex-consul and General of the Asian armies, was a tall man, balding and thin. He had a reputation for fairness and there was seemingly no meanness in him. He wore his armour however, as if it was a part of him and if any man in Rome, it was said, knew how to lead an army, he did. They also said that if anyone knew how to live and celebrate lavishly he did. His banquets were renowned and his wine a legend. His greying beard was neatly trimmed and his piercing blue eyes took in everything. He looked me in the eye.
'Firstly, we need you to help retrieve the treasure that the corsairs tried to steal. Secondly, you may be able to help pinpoint the traitor in our midst who helped the corsairs and the Queen in her escape. Finally, the army owes you both an apology for I think you have both done your duty and acquitted yourselves well in bringing back our prisoner, the Queen.'
I looked at Junius and we both smiled with relief.
'I have been talking to Hypsicratea,' he went on, 'She tells me how you both remained loyal when she offered to make you rich and I realise that you may have faced a temptation that few others would have refused. Rome is truly grateful. Well done! She also told me that you saved her life more than once. For that, Rome is grateful. If we had lost her, we would have lost the most important playing piece we have in the game of pacifying this part of Pontus.'
Neither of us knew what to say. We were in awe and tongue-tied.
Lucullus seemed in a genial mood. He sensed our discomfiture.
'I was once attacked by pirates myself you know. They sank all my ships off the coast of Africa but I was luckier than you were and managed to escape. I think after all you have been through, the army at least owes you a good meal. I will allow you both to dine with me tonight. The Queen has particularly requested you be there. Well? Have you nothing to say?'
'Sir, we are most honoured,' I said, for Junius appeared struck dumb.
'I presume you know how to behave at a palace dinner?'
'Yes, I think so sir,' was all that I could say.
'Very well then, you are dismissed,' a smiling Lucullus said, 'oh, and by the way, I'll be sending someone to discuss the business of the traitor so stay near your billet.'
We saluted and left.