Post by Nicole on Apr 10, 2011 17:49:01 GMT -5
"Velithos!" Calista gasped, moving to embrace him and kiss his cheek.
"Glad your safe Calista.... " He replied, hugging her close and kissing her in return.
Calista looked up to his eyes, a tilt of her head and a small sigh, "If the gods didn't give me strength I'm unsure I would ever leave my bed. Many questions plague me of that day brother. "
Velthios held her close and guided her as he moved over to a window.
"I can only imagine...I am grateful though...Not only that your safe but that he was there...if i were....things would have been different..."
Calista moves to the window as guided by her brother, hand resting on his back as she was quiet, listening to what he had spoken. She glimpsed over towards Velithos before she spoke, "I am grateful you are here now Velithos, perhaps gods will it be that you shine a bright star now."
-------------------------
Velithos
"It always was so hard to shine next to him....One is elevated faster with victory on the battlefield then in the market.... I always leaned more towards buisness then war..."
He sighed some and smiled at his sister. Though he worked behind the scenes it was he that kept the families coin flowing with keen investments and trade. Victor used his war spoils to help open up access to resources. it was a good partnership and he never really complained about it.
Calista
Calista looked to Velithos again, she'd learned so much from her brother, she too had a keen sense of business, thanks to him. In fact, she likely wouldn't have held half the prestige in the family that she did, half of the contacts, political and otherwise if it hadn't been for Velithos showing her how.
Yes, Victor had been the war hero, and had given them many spoils of war, and a name, one which carried far. Velithos provided the coin otherwise, though often overshadowed by Victor most always.
Calista shook her head slightly, turning her brother to face her as she looked up to his eyes. "Velithos.. I know not the mysterious ways the gods work, but believe everything happens for reason. If not to mourn a brother, I would be overjoyed to see you again, it has been long since I have been to Rome, and even longer since I was in it with you." she spoke.
Her eyes gazed down the ornate marble steps before them to where Victoria played, her charge now, assuming Kerina wouldn't now fight to get Calista out of the picture once again.
Victoria
She had been through enough in her short life already. From being born on the wrong side of the blanket yet still claimed by her father to being without her mother, for the woman had been killed almost as soon as she had come into this world. After all, she had been only a slave and one who had displeased the woman of the house. How her father had managed to convince, or perhaps countermand, Kerina's order that she be killed as well, she had never managed to find out.
And now, she would never get that chance either...because he was dead. She would never get to know the man her father would become, only what he had been. The man had died in a battle that really had been for nothing. It wasn't for glory, it wasn't for Rome and he hadn't been since. There had been no body brought home to be given last rites or anything like that. She didn't want to believe her beloved father was gone forever but everyone else seemed to believe it.
Her aunt had been the one to assume her care, not the horrific woman her father had chosen to marry. Kerina had never been all that kind to her, especially when no one else was around to witness it. She hated the woman with all of her soul. When Calista had stepped up, she hadn't been pleased but it was still a better deal than remaining with Kerina.
Though it may appear that she was playing, skipping along the wide stone stairs, she was also actively listening to the conversation going on above her. She had found out when seh was young, that the more quiet and unobtrusive that she was, the more she could learn from the adults without them realizing.
Velithos
He placed both hands on Calista's cheeks and kissed her on the forehead lightly. though he and Victor got along just fine he was always much closer to Calista. Perhaps the closeness in age helped a bit.
"I've done much while in rome. I've expanded the family fortune. I've dabbled a bit in slave trade. Mainly gladiators. Very lucrative but risky if you go into it blind. Speaking of such things....I'm arranging games in honor of victor....I'd love your help in the matter...Unlike most men.....I favor a womans opinion..."
His ears were a bit more keener then most. So when he heard some skipping and saw where Calista was looking he turned his head to the little girl. One he had not seen in years. Not since she was a a baby.
"That is Victoria i take it? I have not seen her since she was small enough to craddle in my arms."
Calista
Calista hadn't simply just accepted the fact and moved on. It had only been a couple of days, and every night the gods cursed her with dreams of that dreadful day. She'd wake up in tears, a face of a brother she'd never see again. A brother she'd held with such high esteem and regard. The only thing tangible of him she had left was a gift he'd given her the day prior to their leaving for Capri and a niece that bore Victor's bloodline.
It was true that Victoria wasn't Kerina's, born of a slave instead. In truth Calista didn't understand Victor's reasoning for recognizing the girl, it certainly had caused problems in his own family, but it was Victor's choice, and in the end, she'd accepted it as well, if but for it being the wish of her brother.
Now she had grown protective of the girl. Kerina had isolated herself away, in seclusion after hearing of the likely death of both Victor and his Captain, Invictus - a man whom Kerina was pregnant with child of. Though such a fact was not known but only to the man and Kerina's bodyslave, sworn loyal oath of silence to such fact.
Things had changed, the very once pomp and glory of the House of Vitella had dimmed without Victor, Calista felt it, as if favor had turned. But even as dim as it was, there was a light, in the form of Velithos.
He was just as rightfully capable, though where Victor had been expected to carry on the service and oath to Rome, Velithos had taken up the trade. Calista remembered listening to their father talk to Velithos about the business, how to haggle and barter. As a woman she wasn't expected such things, but it didn't mean brother hadn't taught sister, in this way, she and Velithos had grown close, especially during the earlier years when Victor was in the Legion.
Eyes left the young girl before them and glimpsed towards her brother before she nodded with certainty.
"It is indeed brother, she grows faster than the ivy." Calista replied. "It was Victor's wish I teach her to be Roman." she grinned, glimpsing back towards Velithos. Hinting she was to teach her the 'power' of a roman woman, both political and otherwise.
Victoria
She glances up at feeling eyes on her, her gaze first moving to Calista, then Velithos before a small smile touches her lips. Her uncle was practically a stranger to her really for all she had heard she used to be closer to him when she was a baby. She didn't remember him from them, only what she had been told by her father.
Her days weren't all that different but for the glaring lack of her father being around. It wasn't as though he was gone on some campaign that would eventually bring him back to them, he was gone for good. An idea she hated.
She stops her bouncing about however as the adults watch her, instead settling on the wide stone border around a fountain and trailing her fingers in the water, gently teasing the small water plants that managed to survive the sometimes turbid dispensary.
Velithos
"Well....She's going to have quite the teacher then.... Brother chose well...I know little of this woman he married. We corressponded a bit here and there while he was away. Mainly for aid in certain affiars... But if he picked you over her...It say's much of the confidence he has in her..."
He sighed some and kissed Calista on the cheek softly. And maybe he letit lingr for to long before he called out to his niece.
"Victoria my dear....Would you like to come in and join us?"
Calista
Calista chuckled slightly, eyes closed for a moment as her brother gave her credit, a bit of praise for how well she'd been brought up. The Vitella were a strong family, the blood of them at any rate. Victoria too would be a Vitella, she was of the blood, and if Calista had any choice in the matter, she'd be a proper Roman woman with all the strength of her father in her veins.
"Be certain brother, I am not Kerina. " she replied, a small squeeze of her hand upon his arm before she drew back, looking to Victoria as Velithos called for her, a nod of her head given, signaling to the youth that it was alright for her to come. Perhaps it indeed be time niece and uncle were reunited.
Victoria
Sighing quietly, she dries her hand on her dress, the dampness leaving splotches on her skirt before she rises to her feet. Her fine leather sandals soften her footsteps as she darts up the stairs towards the pair.
"What is it?" Now that she's closer, she openly looks him over, noting the similarities between this man and her father. It was easy to tell they were brothers indeed. "So you're my Uncle Velithos? I don't remember you."
Her eyes slip to Calista. "Should I remember him?"
Velithos
"It would be amazing if you could remember me child....You were but a baby when i last seen you...Maybe a few months old... There were many rumors that you weren't really my brothers daughter.... But the moment i held you to grabbed my finger in your little hand and stared up at me with such an intense look in your eyes....The same one that my brither always had... And that settled the dispute in my mind...You are my niece. And if you need anything at all just ask and i will do all i can to satisfy your needs my dear. You are all we have left of Victor and that makes you one of the most precious people to me in the whole empire...."
He smile at her and leaned down to kiss her on top of the head.
"Just make sure you listen well to your aunts lessons. They will take you far in the world. I can guarentee that."
"Glad your safe Calista.... " He replied, hugging her close and kissing her in return.
Calista looked up to his eyes, a tilt of her head and a small sigh, "If the gods didn't give me strength I'm unsure I would ever leave my bed. Many questions plague me of that day brother. "
Velthios held her close and guided her as he moved over to a window.
"I can only imagine...I am grateful though...Not only that your safe but that he was there...if i were....things would have been different..."
Calista moves to the window as guided by her brother, hand resting on his back as she was quiet, listening to what he had spoken. She glimpsed over towards Velithos before she spoke, "I am grateful you are here now Velithos, perhaps gods will it be that you shine a bright star now."
-------------------------
Velithos
"It always was so hard to shine next to him....One is elevated faster with victory on the battlefield then in the market.... I always leaned more towards buisness then war..."
He sighed some and smiled at his sister. Though he worked behind the scenes it was he that kept the families coin flowing with keen investments and trade. Victor used his war spoils to help open up access to resources. it was a good partnership and he never really complained about it.
Calista
Calista looked to Velithos again, she'd learned so much from her brother, she too had a keen sense of business, thanks to him. In fact, she likely wouldn't have held half the prestige in the family that she did, half of the contacts, political and otherwise if it hadn't been for Velithos showing her how.
Yes, Victor had been the war hero, and had given them many spoils of war, and a name, one which carried far. Velithos provided the coin otherwise, though often overshadowed by Victor most always.
Calista shook her head slightly, turning her brother to face her as she looked up to his eyes. "Velithos.. I know not the mysterious ways the gods work, but believe everything happens for reason. If not to mourn a brother, I would be overjoyed to see you again, it has been long since I have been to Rome, and even longer since I was in it with you." she spoke.
Her eyes gazed down the ornate marble steps before them to where Victoria played, her charge now, assuming Kerina wouldn't now fight to get Calista out of the picture once again.
Victoria
She had been through enough in her short life already. From being born on the wrong side of the blanket yet still claimed by her father to being without her mother, for the woman had been killed almost as soon as she had come into this world. After all, she had been only a slave and one who had displeased the woman of the house. How her father had managed to convince, or perhaps countermand, Kerina's order that she be killed as well, she had never managed to find out.
And now, she would never get that chance either...because he was dead. She would never get to know the man her father would become, only what he had been. The man had died in a battle that really had been for nothing. It wasn't for glory, it wasn't for Rome and he hadn't been since. There had been no body brought home to be given last rites or anything like that. She didn't want to believe her beloved father was gone forever but everyone else seemed to believe it.
Her aunt had been the one to assume her care, not the horrific woman her father had chosen to marry. Kerina had never been all that kind to her, especially when no one else was around to witness it. She hated the woman with all of her soul. When Calista had stepped up, she hadn't been pleased but it was still a better deal than remaining with Kerina.
Though it may appear that she was playing, skipping along the wide stone stairs, she was also actively listening to the conversation going on above her. She had found out when seh was young, that the more quiet and unobtrusive that she was, the more she could learn from the adults without them realizing.
Velithos
He placed both hands on Calista's cheeks and kissed her on the forehead lightly. though he and Victor got along just fine he was always much closer to Calista. Perhaps the closeness in age helped a bit.
"I've done much while in rome. I've expanded the family fortune. I've dabbled a bit in slave trade. Mainly gladiators. Very lucrative but risky if you go into it blind. Speaking of such things....I'm arranging games in honor of victor....I'd love your help in the matter...Unlike most men.....I favor a womans opinion..."
His ears were a bit more keener then most. So when he heard some skipping and saw where Calista was looking he turned his head to the little girl. One he had not seen in years. Not since she was a a baby.
"That is Victoria i take it? I have not seen her since she was small enough to craddle in my arms."
Calista
Calista hadn't simply just accepted the fact and moved on. It had only been a couple of days, and every night the gods cursed her with dreams of that dreadful day. She'd wake up in tears, a face of a brother she'd never see again. A brother she'd held with such high esteem and regard. The only thing tangible of him she had left was a gift he'd given her the day prior to their leaving for Capri and a niece that bore Victor's bloodline.
It was true that Victoria wasn't Kerina's, born of a slave instead. In truth Calista didn't understand Victor's reasoning for recognizing the girl, it certainly had caused problems in his own family, but it was Victor's choice, and in the end, she'd accepted it as well, if but for it being the wish of her brother.
Now she had grown protective of the girl. Kerina had isolated herself away, in seclusion after hearing of the likely death of both Victor and his Captain, Invictus - a man whom Kerina was pregnant with child of. Though such a fact was not known but only to the man and Kerina's bodyslave, sworn loyal oath of silence to such fact.
Things had changed, the very once pomp and glory of the House of Vitella had dimmed without Victor, Calista felt it, as if favor had turned. But even as dim as it was, there was a light, in the form of Velithos.
He was just as rightfully capable, though where Victor had been expected to carry on the service and oath to Rome, Velithos had taken up the trade. Calista remembered listening to their father talk to Velithos about the business, how to haggle and barter. As a woman she wasn't expected such things, but it didn't mean brother hadn't taught sister, in this way, she and Velithos had grown close, especially during the earlier years when Victor was in the Legion.
Eyes left the young girl before them and glimpsed towards her brother before she nodded with certainty.
"It is indeed brother, she grows faster than the ivy." Calista replied. "It was Victor's wish I teach her to be Roman." she grinned, glimpsing back towards Velithos. Hinting she was to teach her the 'power' of a roman woman, both political and otherwise.
Victoria
She glances up at feeling eyes on her, her gaze first moving to Calista, then Velithos before a small smile touches her lips. Her uncle was practically a stranger to her really for all she had heard she used to be closer to him when she was a baby. She didn't remember him from them, only what she had been told by her father.
Her days weren't all that different but for the glaring lack of her father being around. It wasn't as though he was gone on some campaign that would eventually bring him back to them, he was gone for good. An idea she hated.
She stops her bouncing about however as the adults watch her, instead settling on the wide stone border around a fountain and trailing her fingers in the water, gently teasing the small water plants that managed to survive the sometimes turbid dispensary.
Velithos
"Well....She's going to have quite the teacher then.... Brother chose well...I know little of this woman he married. We corressponded a bit here and there while he was away. Mainly for aid in certain affiars... But if he picked you over her...It say's much of the confidence he has in her..."
He sighed some and kissed Calista on the cheek softly. And maybe he letit lingr for to long before he called out to his niece.
"Victoria my dear....Would you like to come in and join us?"
Calista
Calista chuckled slightly, eyes closed for a moment as her brother gave her credit, a bit of praise for how well she'd been brought up. The Vitella were a strong family, the blood of them at any rate. Victoria too would be a Vitella, she was of the blood, and if Calista had any choice in the matter, she'd be a proper Roman woman with all the strength of her father in her veins.
"Be certain brother, I am not Kerina. " she replied, a small squeeze of her hand upon his arm before she drew back, looking to Victoria as Velithos called for her, a nod of her head given, signaling to the youth that it was alright for her to come. Perhaps it indeed be time niece and uncle were reunited.
Victoria
Sighing quietly, she dries her hand on her dress, the dampness leaving splotches on her skirt before she rises to her feet. Her fine leather sandals soften her footsteps as she darts up the stairs towards the pair.
"What is it?" Now that she's closer, she openly looks him over, noting the similarities between this man and her father. It was easy to tell they were brothers indeed. "So you're my Uncle Velithos? I don't remember you."
Her eyes slip to Calista. "Should I remember him?"
Velithos
"It would be amazing if you could remember me child....You were but a baby when i last seen you...Maybe a few months old... There were many rumors that you weren't really my brothers daughter.... But the moment i held you to grabbed my finger in your little hand and stared up at me with such an intense look in your eyes....The same one that my brither always had... And that settled the dispute in my mind...You are my niece. And if you need anything at all just ask and i will do all i can to satisfy your needs my dear. You are all we have left of Victor and that makes you one of the most precious people to me in the whole empire...."
He smile at her and leaned down to kiss her on top of the head.
"Just make sure you listen well to your aunts lessons. They will take you far in the world. I can guarentee that."
