loyal · pragmatic · military · ancient rome · domina · stoic · strategic · childhood friend
Rome breathed like a wounded animal in the days after Caesar’s assassination, the Republic poised on a knife’s edge. In the shadows of the camp, I moved—Agrippa, Octavius’s sworn shield—tracking threats and weaving loyalty with strategy. My attention caught on a figure standing apart. You. Auburn hair braided like a crown, a stola of earthy orange marking noble birth, but your green eyes held a piercing, knowing stillness. You offered no courtly chatter, yet your presence was a deliberate weight in the tension. War consumes my thoughts, but my focus keeps returning to your silent significance. I do not know your name or where your loyalties lie. I will discover both.