Dies Irae

~~~***~~~ DIES IRAE ~~~***~~~

Undecima Charta: Ad Casam




Aemilia yawned broadly fighting to urge to sleep as the slow movement of the horse was lulling her back to the dreamland. She and Daizus had had quite a busy night, both of them falling asleep at dawn, hence having only a couple of hours to rest.


She was upset with the man. Ever since they woke up, Daizus had been grinning, every word of his laced with a subtle sensual meaning. His happiness was getting on her nerves, making her feel angry and ashamed. They would separate that day, was he so happy to get rid of her? She felt cheep and used, he could at least be more sober about it, not so openly admitting his pleasure at the situation.


"When I was little, my father used to take me with him to the council meeting, so I could be acquainted early in life with negotiating", Daizus suddenly broke the uncomfortable silence in which they were riding. "I found it to be quite an useful skill", he added.


"Well, I am happy for you", she grumbled, wondering what made him say that.


With a short movement of him hand, Daizus stopped the horse and turned around to see the girl behind him.


"What are you doing?", she screeched, as he grabbed her waist strongly and pulled her in a quick movement from the back of the saddle, setting her in front of him on the horse.


"Hey, why did you do that? You sh hav have warned me…", she grumbled under her breath, silently thankful. She liked it a lot on the front, she could see better the view.


"So, getting back to negotiating…", he replied, pretending not to having heard her.


"Will you stop that already!? I'm not in the mood for a lesson in diplomacy!", she snapped.


"Tsk, tsk, be patient, I am getting somewhere.", he chided chuckling. "But since you seem impatient, I'll sum it up for you. I promised I will let you go if you help me get better, but I didn't say when.", he finished brusquely, letting her put the pieces together by herself.


"You didn't say when…"e ree repeated dumbly.


"Yeah, first rule when you're dealing, always make things clear. I swore to let you go, but I didn't say when: in a day, a year, 20 years or 50 years….so, guess today's not the day.", he calmly stated, bracing himself for her violent reaction.


Surprisingly, it didn't came. Aia oia only let out a confused "Oh" and leaned back boneless against his chest, trying to register what he had said.


They rode in silence for a while, each caught in his own thought.


"Are you upset?', he finally asked, one hand slowly rubbing her tummy.


"It's strange", she answered, "I had my life planned carefully, and then everything changed. The Gods must be mocking me"


"You think a life with me will be a mockery?", he asked in a small voice, the hurt palpable in his voice. "Look, when I took you I didn't expect a real hot-blooded woman, but only a vessel, a means of revenge. I can do better, Aemilia, I really can, but I am not going to force you to stay with me if you really don't want to. You can go back to your husband, if that is what you wish."


"I don't know. It's all so confusing…"


Daizus smiled and decided to put an end to her dilem


"I hope you stay with me, after all I would hate for a Roman to raise my child."


Aemilia turned around quickly, to look him in the face. She shook her head in surprise, her mouth agape.


"A…a child? I am not pregnant!", she murmured half in disbelief, half in amazement. "I can't be."


"I am not sure myself, but I think you have the symptoms. After all, you have never had your monthly bleeding since we met."


"And how in Pluto's name would you know that?" she demanded, full of indignation.


'Because I was under your skirt almost ever single night', he thought happily, but decided to state it was because she didn't ask for any bandages.


"Still, if you were not pregnant so far, I think that after last night, you must be", he pushed his luck.


She slumped against him again, meditating at his saying and realising it made sense.


"Very well, I'll come with you! I'll give you a choice, my ass…", she mumbled.


Once again, he stopped the house and jumped down, soundlessly puling her down on the ground.


At her inquiring expression, he explained grinning wolfishly.


"Since you're already pregnant…", he winked.


At that she only had time to chuckled, before he kissed her sweetly, lowering her on the grass field parallel with the narrow mountain path.


***


Hours later, Aemilia took a first look at the village which would be her home for an indefinite period of time. Though the possibility of having a child was still confusing, she became enthusiast at the idea of a baby, hers only to mould and love, to raise and spoil the way she hadn't been during her youngest years.


The village was a small one, with compact houses, hidden behind imposing trees. It stood in the middle of a depression, surrounded by high, abrupt moins.ins. Truly, it was an imposing site, very well placed and hard to penetrate by any army, only reachable through small, hidden paths.


As they entered the village, Aemilia started feeling self-conscious. Tall, fair-headed people appeared on the sides of the road, curiously watching them. The youngsters' eyes were full of wonder and surprise at he unknown lady, while most of the adults were openly staring at her with disgust and hatred.


lia lia just stared back defiantly, smiling mockingly now and then. She was not going to let herself impressed by these mere barbarians.


Meanwhile, Daizus was saluting his mates in his native language, swiftly deflecting any word of reproach that may have come out. They had been warned months ago that he would be bringing a Roman woman with him, so they ought to have accepted that fact so far. And whoever didn't, was going to have to face him.


"Per, per!", a young boy, not older than 5, came running down towards them, his long, blond hair matted with dirt.

Daizus jumped down from the horse and, in a few large steps, was close to the boy, hugging him tightly. Their mutual joy was obvious, as the boy giggled madly, in the bear hug.


Aemilia got off the horse as well and approached slowly the couple, curiosity getting the best of her. Daizus turned to face her and solemnly made the iductductions, not succeeding completely in hiding his smile:


"Aemilia, this is my son, Roles."




Oh, I bet you didn't see that coming!


~~~


ad casam = home


The wealthy Romans had a "domus", which was a luxurious urban house. They also had a "villa" in the provinces, also richly ornamented.


"Casa" was an improvised house made of branches and mud, that the Roman soldiers used to build to shelter themselves in. This terms had been preserved in all the romance languages ("ad" is a preposition which can be translated by "to"/"towards" and demands the use of the Accusative form of the noun "casa,ae") under the form "acasa" ad+casam, (except French, where the Latin term had been preserved in the early stages of the language, but , because it formed an homonymy was later replaced by a term from the Occitane, "maison")


Very little is known about the Dacic language. Around 100 words in Romanian are considered to have Dacian roots. "Per" is a word found on an inscription which said "Decebalus per Scorilo", and most of the linguists assume that it means, "father".