Roman Justice

PALESTINE

The trip was uneventful. We stopped at Sicily for the night and moved on toward Ephesus the next morning. We arrived in Ephesus in a couple of days. I sat on the deck as we entered Ephesus' harbor. I saw Lydia come on deck and sit down. I couldn't help but wonder what her feelings were as she saw her homeland again. I left her alone. She had enough to think about, she didn't need me to cloud up the situation. We spent the night in Ephesus and left in the morning.

There were several other passengers on this ship going to Palestine. One man was a Jewish businessman. We got to talking. I wanted to try and understand as much as I could about the Jewish people of Palestine. He told me a quick history of his people. He said they were very religious people externally, but inwardly, they were just like the Romans. People are people, no matter where they come from or who they are. Human nature always wins in the end. He told me they consider themselves the favored people in the known world. I wasn't surprised by that; everyone thinks they are special, and their god is the real god. I was beginning to see why Pilate was having trouble with their leaders. If you really believe you are above everyone else, it can't help but make you less inclined to try and understand any other culture or people. Sometimes the only thing people like that understand is an army sitting on their heads.

There was also a man from Damascus on the trip. He was not Jewish, but Arabic. He was an official of his local government who had gone to Rome to agree to whatever the Roman's emperor had decreed this time. This time, he wanted to place a Legion of troops in Damascus. He had gone to agree. What else could he have done. They would have come anyway. Now, they just won't start killing people when they first arrive. They may wait some time before they start crucifying people.

I can tell the opinion of us was not very high in the real world. They bow because of the legions of troops we keep there. They pay their taxes because they have no choice. This may not be a safe place for my women after all. I will speak to Pilate about protecting them.

The ship docked two weeks after we left. I was met by a Captain of the Legion in Palestine. His name was Marcus something or other.

"Mr. Cicero, please let me welcome you to Palestine on behalf of our Governor, Pontius Pilate. He wants me to take you to him immediately so you and he can work out your living quarters."

"Thank you, Captain. I appreciate you meeting us and helping us."

We were led by him and his squad of soldiers to the palace Pilate called home. He lived in the city of Caesarea. He only went to Jerusalem during the religious holidays or for Roman business with the leaders of the Jews.

Pontus Pilate was standing at a window overlooking Caesarea. It was evening, and the fires and lights were bright. It was a nice, modern city. It should be, the Romans had built it when they conquered Palestine. I soon discovered he didn't like living in old Jerusalem.

He turned to face me. "Thanks for coming here, Cassius. I know this is a letdown after Rome. Perhaps, if we are successful here, you will be able to return one day in triumph."

"Prefect, it is my honor to be here. I requested this assignment. I believe I can help you."

"Well, we will see about that. These are obstinate people. They say their religion is the most important thing in their lives, but they don't live like it. We have many gods, and everyone can have the one they wish. It doesn't make us crazy or unpleasant all the time. These people seem to enjoy suffering for their god."

He began walking toward the garden and I followed him. He was talking, but it appeared he was talking mostly to himself.

"What am I doing here? They are never happy no matter what I do. They want a messiah or two killed and I oblige them. Then they are not happy I didn't kill more of them. There is an endless supply of messiahs in their religion. I could have an entire road from here to Jerusalem decorated with crosses and they would still not be happy." He then turned to me. "Cassius, this is why I need you. Aurelius says you are good at finding solutions to thorny situations. The gods know, I have many such situations here. I will send you and your family to live in Jerusalem. That way, you will be readily accessible to the Jewish Council for "consultation" with them." He turned and shook my hand. "We will talk more in the morning. My secretary has found your family a nice, quiet place here. You will be always watched over by two guards. Thanks again for coming."

He turned to leave, and his secretary pointed in a direction for me to go. I've done enough to understand what that meant. You can leave now. And I happily did.

The secretary took me to a nice, secluded bungalow on the palace grounds. I walked in to find the ladies setting up home. I had to admit, they did a good job, and the fireplace gave the large room a warm glow on the cool night. We ate our meal together for the first time. I wanted them with me. I don't want to be alone now.

After the meal, I talked to Flavia. "Please come to my room tonight." I saw the look in her eyes, but she nodded and left to prepare. Momma didn't change her expression, but Lydia quietly left the room.

When Flavia came into my room, she was practically naked. I put a blanket over her and asked her to go and get something warmer on and return. She looked confused as she left. However, she came back in a few minutes with something that looked like what she normally sleeps in. I nodded and opened the blankets for her.

"I know you are confused. I don't want to have sex with you tonight. I just needed to talk to you. I realize we have not sat and talked alone since you came to my house. I need to spend time with you to understand who you are, as a person as well as a woman. Do you understand that?"

She nodded, but I could tell she still didn't trust me fully. I couldn't blame her. She has never been with a man, and I am sure she has many fantasies and misconceptions about sex. I am sure her mother tried to prepare her, but it is nothing like you are told. However, tonight I just needed a warm body to hold on this cold night. I did want to begin connecting with her.

She laid down as far from me as she could. "Flavia, please tell me about your family and history." She smiled a little and thought for a moment. After a couple of minutes, she began talking. For the next hour, we talked about her grandfather, his life and dreams, her father and her brothers. She was the oldest. If she married before her father died, the land and farm would go to her husband. If he died before she married, it would go to her middle brother. She told me stories of her childhood, and growing up on the farm in Macedonia. After an hour, she was as relaxed as she had been since she moved in with us. She had slowly moved closer to me until she was only a few inches away.

I felt warm and comfortable with her here. She was almost herself. I liked this person more than the reserved one she had to put on before. I finally told her I was sleepy and told her she could stay here with me for the night. I promised not to touch her and bid her goodnight.

I rolled over and tried to sleep. I turned back after a little while to see her lying on her side looking at me. "I am cold."

I smiled and lifted my arm over her. She snuggled up next to me and I lay my arm down along her back. I brought the blanket over us and within five minutes she was asleep. I lay there smelling her hair, enjoying the presence of a woman in my bed.

I awoke the next morning to find her still asleep where I last saw her. I just watched her sleep for a while. It felt comfortable having her beside me. I was beginning to warm up to the idea of having a wife.

It was then that she woke up with a start. She suddenly realized where she was and moved to the edge of the bed. "Good morning, Flavia. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded and began looking around.

"Would you like to go and get dressed for the day?"

She nodded and headed to the other room. She stopped at the door and looked back at me with a funny look. I wasn't sure what that was, but it wasn't bad. By the time I came out for breakfast, Momma had everything ready. She was humming as she worked. Lydia didn't look happy, but she smiled at me when I came in. Flavia came in last. She had dressed up more than she had before. She looked very pretty. Lydia noticed too. Flavia came to Lydia and hugged her. Smart move by her. She knew Lydia had been my sex slave before she arrived. She knew she needed to defuse the situation as much as she could.

I went to find Pilate after breakfast. He introduced me to his Jewish assistant, Judah. "I am asking Judah to accompany you to Jerusalem to make introductions to the necessary people." I nodded and we spent the couple of days discussing what awaited me in Jerusalem.

Finally, after three days, we were ready to head to Jerusalem. The ladies had just made a home for us in the little bungalow, and now, we had to move again. Momma just took to it without comment. Even Flavia, who could have said something, just smiled and helped.

It took a little more than one day for the caravan to make Jerusalem. We had my family, Judah, several other officials and an escort of the legion. As we entered the city, I noticed several things at once. The people we passed in the street showed open disdain for us. They made no overt motions in our direction, but it was clear their thoughts. I also noticed the clear presence of the Roman Legion in the city. They were everywhere. That could have something to do with the disdain. We were trampling their city, in their eyes. I also noticed it was a dusty and dirty city. There were only a couple of palaces I could see, and a magnificent temple in the middle of the city. It was easy to see what the center of these people's lives was. The legion stopped in front of the largest palace. Apparently, this is where we were going. I got down to meet a large contingent of robed old men. Judah whispered that these were the elders of the Jewish Council.

I bowed to them and thanked them for meeting me. I said this in Greek, and Judah translated it into Hebrew. I would later learn they all speak Greek but wanted everything in their own language.

They took my family into the palace and got the women settled into our new rooms. There was plenty of space. Pilate had moved back to Caesarea, leaving the palace empty. It was magnificent but sounded hollow without people in it.

Judah and I went to Pilate's old office. It was also magnificent. "This is too ostentatious for me. Do we have a more practical office to work in?"

Judah smiled and led me to the other office that had an entrance from the great hall. It had a good view of the countryside, and a nice view of the great hall below. I liked this office. "This is more practical. I'll work from here."

Judah nodded and made a note. I then asked Judah to give me a little background on Pilate's time in Palestine.

"Yes, sir. Pilate was appointed when Sejanus was in power in Rome. Pilate was one of his favorites. Everything was fine until last year. When Sejanus was executed by Tiberius, his benefactor and protector was gone. Tiberius is suspicious of everyone Sejanus had appointed. There are people in the Roman capital of this region in Syria that have been riling up the locals against Pilate. He has not helped himself with some of the things he has done. Keeping Roman troops with their banners and faces on their staffs offend the religious people here. There is a law on our books that no reliefs or faces may be cast as statues. Pilate also make coins with Tiberius' face on them. Both things offend our leaders. Of course, to be fair, everything offends our leaders. They feel you are only here because our God is punishing his people for our sins. Once he is satisfied with our penance, he will liberate us from you."

I sat down to think about this. Finally, I asked, "If I removed one thing first, what would they want removed?"

Judah didn't hesitate. "Get the troops off our streets. They walk around with their banners pushing people around and terrifying the children."

"Good to know. How do we conduct business here?"

"The leaders take care of everyday problems. The only thing they will bring to you are things Pilate or Roman law forbids us to do."

"Okay, enough for today. I would like to meet with the rest of the staff here in the palace. Can we do that today?"

Judah brought the entire staff to meet me. I met cooks, civil servants, housekeepers, even the janitors. Twenty people in all. Helena was going to have a problem with someone else cooking our food.

Sure enough, that evening, when I got to our quarters, she was fuming. "This people brought us food. I don't know what this is. Is it safe, or are they trying to kill you? I have prepared your meals for years and I am not going to stop now."

"Helena, I have an idea. I will put you in charge of the kitchen. I will take you down to meet them tomorrow. How is that?"

That seemed to calm her down. After the meal, I went into the large open area to sit down and relax. It had a large fireplace and was a warm and inviting room. Lydia was sitting near me, like she does when I am up and about. "Lydia, would you please go and get Flavia for me?"

Her expression changed so very little, but it was enough. I have a problem there.

Flavia came into the room. "You wanted to see me, master?"

"Please sit down, and please stop calling me that. My name is Cassius. I would like for you to call me by my name."

She bowed her head and nodded. I continued. "I realize we have not had a single conversation since you joined our little family, except for the night you stayed with me. I enjoyed our conversation that night. I hope you did also." She didn't lift her eyes but sat still. "I would like it if you and I could talk in the evenings. Maybe here, in this room. Whether or not we get married, I would like to hear more about you, what you want, what you think, and sometimes opinions about what we are facing. You know, like a husband and wife. I have never had a serious conversation with a woman of equal standing. I would like to. Would that be alright with you?"

She finally looked up at me. "If that is what you wish, Cassius."

I smiled at her. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

She smiled for a second. For the next couple of hours, we sat and talked. About our trip here, about our families, whatever came to our minds. Just before she got up to go to bed, I told her one more thing. "I want you to know that I informed Judah and the Jewish people that you are my wife. I wanted no mistake here with these people, and I wanted you to know that here, in Palestine, you are my wife. We can talk about that at some later date. I just thought you had the right to know." She blushed and headed to her room.

This began a pattern. Every evening, we would sit and talk about the day's events. I started looking forward to it.

After a week, I called the Captain of the Legion in to see me. "Captain, I have a couple of questions. What type of problems do your men have here?"

He stood at attention. I told him to relax and sit down. He did so. "Thank you, sire, for seeing me. Most of our problems are minor, small skirmishes with gangs of older boys, little children throwing rocks, things like that. We occasionally must break up fights, or arrest someone for a crime. Mostly, it is routine."

"Let me ask you a question. How much of a problem would it be if we built a barracks for your men on the outskirts of town? It seems the people resent us being here with our banners and faces on the poles. I was thinking we might try to relieve some of the tensions by not making your men walk around the city so much. You could watch the countryside and only come into the city if I call, or you see an emergency. What would be your opinion of that? I have one more thing in mind. I would like my bodyguard to not wear a uniform, but a simple cloak or toga. I want to walk around the city. Even though everyone would know who he was, I don't want to be showy about it."

"Sir, I had tried to explain that to Pilate, but he wanted a show of force. I will pull my men off the patrols tomorrow and see about finding us a place to stay. Thank you, sire, for thinking of ways we can reduce the tension here. I will inform your bodyguards of your order."

He stood up, saluted and left. I called Judah in. "Judah, could you ask the council if I could meet with them at their convenience?"

He smiled and left. I decided to take a walk. I told my bodyguard to stay within sight, but not intrusive. I then went into the city to see their bazaars and shops. I soon discovered that most people here did speak Greek. The regular people seemed pleased that I would talk to them as people, and they talked to me in Greek. While I was talking to a merchant in a small shop near the palace, Judah came to find me.

"Sire, they say they can see you today at your convenience."

I patted him on the shoulder. "How about now?"

He laughed, "Why not?" We headed for the council chambers. When we arrived, I waited outside while I was announced. After a few minutes, the entire council came out to see me.

The chief of the council spoke for them all. "Sire, please don't be offended, but no person who is not a Jew is allowed in our temple."

"I am not offended, sir. I have no wish to violate your religious laws, even by accident. In fact, that is why I am here today. I have ordered my troops not to come into Jerusalem without my explicit order. I don't want them to bring their banners and reliefs into Jerusalem. I will trust you can handle the day-to-day problems with your people. If you wish my assistance, I will always be happy to help. I hope this new arrangement will be satisfactory for you. I want us to work together to solve our problems. I have no desire to lord our culture over you. I have ordered my troops to not engage your people unless necessary. There will no more of troops marching and ordering everyone out of their way."

The Hebrew flew between them while they discussed this. It was obvious they understood everything I had said. No one asked for a translation. Finally, the chief rabbi turned to me, "We thank you for your understanding. We will try to keep the peace and not bother your people. We appreciate you trying to be more sensitive to our culture. Thank you for the changes. I believe this will help." They all bowed, slightly and went back into the temple.

Judah was watching. "That was a nice show. You don't believe them, do you?"

As we walked away, I explained to him my philosophy. "As a boy, we had a species of venomous snakes in the area. My father taught me how to navigate around them. He told me that I should always understand the areas where they like to hide. He taught me to keep them in front of me whenever possible. Snakes are safer when they are not aroused."

Judah laughed as we walked home. "I think you might survive here, after all."

That night, at our now usual evening discussion, Flavia showed me a letter from her father. He said he was resigning from the Senate and the entire family was moving back to Macedonia.

"I think that is wise for more than one reason." I handed his letter back to her. "It is not safe to be a Senator at the moment. The further away he could get, the safer he will be."

She smiled and moved on to another topic. "We need to talk about Lydia. Helena told me her story. You saved her life and treated her more like a person than a slave. She adores you. I would even say she loves you, for all a slave could. My being here has crushed her. You have not touched her since I arrived. She knows it is because of me. If we are going to have a relationship, I can't have her hating me. We need to come to a compromise."