Bittersweet Taste of Victory

17AD, still around May, Palatine Hill

The emperor had sent a messenger ahead of time to his palace to announce their arrival to the people of Rome.

"Io triumphe!" "Waaaaahhhh!", the sudden outburst of people made Germanicus and his company a bit startled.

They've only just stepped inside the city.

*Clack* *Clack*

"Io io io!" "Roma victoria!"

But it is to be expected, since the people of Rome have longed for the campaign to finish.

It is still spring, but it feels warmer, there is not even a single breeze.

The sudden surge of people in Palatine city, who came from different parts of Rome, makes it feel a bit suffocating.

"Waaaaah!" "Vivas Roma!"

The city is thick with the smells of fresh bread, incense smoke and different kinds of people's sweat; it is assaulting their senses.

But the people who gathered to catch a glimpse of their victorious general ignored it.

They are more interested in what they see—the triumphal procession that's currently happening.

It was a very lavish parade. It's been a while since this happened.

*Clack* *Clack*

Germanicus is riding alongside Emperor Tiberius, with the Roman legions marching in formation behind them.

Their final destination is the palatium, which is located at the heart of the city.

Their armatura militaris over their tunica militaris is glinting under the sunlight.

And the people of Rome cheered and chanted as they lined the lively streets, wearing their best colorful attire, bringing the city to life.

The sight is spectacular! Filled with anticipation and excitement as the people patiently observed their general and the Roman legion's long procession.

But mostly, the attention is on Germinacus—who is unaware of his own popularity with the ladies.

His charm is oozing… half of the female population is fainting left and right after he passes them by. 

Germanicus' piercing blue eyes make the ladies' knees weak when he glances at them.

Slightly long brown hair that almost looks dark under the rays of the morning sun free from his galea.

His fit and toned body, honed from years of battle, was evident beneath his lorica hamata.

And when he smiled in the crowd while he rode on his black horse…

The responding roar of the crowd is deafening.

"Roma victoria!" "Euge!!!"

*Clack* *Clack*

Germinacus thought that he owed this warm welcome from the masses to his father—Nero Claudius Drusus, a renowned Roman general and statesman.

Often hailed as the 'People's Hero,' the original bearer of the honorific title 'Germanicus'.

Bestowed upon him by the Roman senate in recognition of his triumphant territory expansion campaigns in Germania.

But he died from a sudden illness while on a campaign.

And his son took on the title and made it his name making him now - Germanicus Julius Caesar.

'Father, I've brought you more glory in your name,' he silently prayed.

It was a moment of triumph, not just for Germanicus, but also for his father's memory and legacy.

'His legacy,' he smiled gently to himself, earning another batch of cheers from the crowd.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"

'I'll pass it to my sons and daughters', Germanicus vowed.

As he rode through the streets, the sound of the crowd's cheers and the pounding of the horses' hooves created a thunderous atmosphere.

"Io io io" "Vivas imperator!"

"Vivas Roma!" "Vivas imperator!"

*Clack* *Clack*

"Io io io!" "Vivas imperator!"

*Clack* *Clack*

Tiberius smiled, thinking all the cheering and chants were for him. 

After all, he was the one who made arrangements for the triumphal procession.

To show the people, especially to those damn nobles and senators that always run their mouths and compare his reign to Augustus.

He wants his greatness to shine as the overall commander of the Germania campaign.

"Vivas Roma!" "Vivas imperator!"

'Yes, that's it..', he thought, seemingly pleased with what he heard.

His face then suffused with an air of supercilious arrogance as he acknowledged the crowd's adoration.

With calculated grandeur, he raised one arm, then the other, in a stately, alternating gesture, as if bestowing benedictions upon the masses.

The emperor, adorned in expensive robes that showcased his power, wore a gold crown on his head.

His black hair, flecked with white, and his brown eyes, surrounded by wrinkled skin, convey a sense of age and authority.

However, his physique lacks the vigor and fitness that Germanicus possesses, a contrast that is evident even as he rides his white horse.

The people's cheers grew louder, and the chants became more fervent, unaware that it was all for his nephew.

Tiberius was smiling more widely now at the people, one arm still raised as he basked in the people's warm welcome.

He breathed in the sweet smell of spring in the air.

'Ah! What a beautiful day it is!'

"Vivas imperator!" "Dii immortales!"

'More!' he thought.

"Io imperator!" 

'Yes, shout it out more! Make my name known to the whole world!!'

"Vale, Germanicus!" "Euge, Germanicus!"

"Vale, imperator! Vivas, Germanicus!"

But as the procession continued, Tiberius' smile faltered, his eyes narrowing as he heard more and more of Germanicus' name being shouted instead of his.

'What?', his joy being dampened.

"Vale, imperator! Vivas, Germanicus!"

"Vale, Germanicus! "Io imperator!"

'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?' 

"Tch," Tiberius muttered, his expression darkening. 

His pride that he delicately put on a pedestal seemed to have lost its foundation and came tumbling down to the ground.

He silently seethed.

"Vale, Germanicus!" "Euge, Germanicus!"

"Vale, imperator! Vivas, Germanicus!"

It's been stomped on too.

'Curses,' he looked at the dumbfounded Germanicus, who didn't seem like he was aware that his name was being shouted by the crowd, and that made his ego hurt more.

"Vae," Tiberius muttered, and then, as fast as his ego broke, he decided to spur his horse forward, leaving the procession.

*Neigh* *Snort* *Snort*

*trot* *trot* *trot*

Germanicus, startled by the emperor's sudden movement, reined in his horse for a moment.

Oblivious to the emperor's darkening mood, he urged his horse slightly forward.

Following Tiberius closely behind. Breaking the procession.

The praetorian guards are also following.

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack*

Then a group of Roman citizens, dressed in their finest garb, waved olive branches and laurel wreaths in celebration as he passed.

And a young kid that's on his father's shoulders wearing a blue tunica caught his eye, making him slow down.

'He looks like Caligula..' the boy, blond hair but his blond is a bit dirty and his eyes.

'They're not as blue as him..'

The young kid is persistently giving his laurel wreath to Germanicus, earning a gentle smile on his face.

And he obliges; he takes the wreath and waves it in the air, earning him another wild loud cheer from the crowd.

More and more people, young and old, are now persistently giving away their olive branches and wreaths to Germanicus, but he's already not paying attention to the crowd.

Instead, as he rode, his mind was consumed by worry about his young son, Caligula.

He had sent the boy ahead to Agrippina with some of his men but couldn't shake off his concerns about the child's well-being.

Caligula had fallen ill after witnessing a gruesome sight, and Germanicus feared for his son's mental health, one of the reasons why they got delayed for a bit.

The problem was how to balance his duties as a general with his responsibilities as a father.

And the aftereffects of the war on his son.

'I guess i'll have to retire early as a general', he thought to himself.

His mind then turned to the loads of the carts that were not in their procession this time; they'd already been sent to Esquiline Hill, where the fallen soldiers would be laid to rest in the necropolis. 

He smiled bitterly. 'The price of war,' he thought.

They have to retrieve the pieces of their fallen soldiers. They can't just let it be buried there. They have family and friends here.

Germanicus sighed again, saying a silent prayer for his fallen comrades in the Weser river.

*Clack* *Clack*

The sound of the crowd's cheers and the pounding of the horse's hooves brought Germanicus back to the present.

He also willed his horse to run faster, eager to reach the palatium to get it over with and reunite with his family.

To his wife..

*trot* *trot* *trot*

Tiberius, however, reached the palatium first.

He just jumped down from the horse, never waited for anyone, and stomped angrily on the marbled floors as he walked.

His leather-sandal-clad feet were echoing as he passed through the corridor as he made his way to his throne room.

While ignoring the greetings of those around him. He is seething with resentment.

'I am the emperor! and they dare to ignore ME????? ME!!!!'

He's already feeling overshadowed by his past predecessor, Emperor Augustus. Making him unable to take a step out of it.

The senate constantly talked about how Emperor Augustus this and Emperor Augustus that, and now?! And now there is another man's shadow looming over him.

'No.. but Germanicus is not ambitious enough..' he walked back and forth inside the throne room.

'No but he could have just have it hidden well', he stopped walking.

Tiberius' paranoid nature and his jealousy had reached its boiling point.

He began to plot. He'll have to get rid of Germanicus for his name to resound throughout the whole empire and outside of it.

'I can't do anything about Augustus now that he is dead, but I can do something to Germanicus while he is still alive.'

'Do it,' a woman's voice said.

'No, don't,' a man refuted.

Tiberius tried to block the voices in his head. "Shut up!" but when he looked around, there was no one.

He is alone.

He looked around once more and tried to calm himself. Tapping his feet on the marbled floor.

'Kill him.' both voices are in unison.

'No.' He answered in his head.

'Have someone do it...'

'Like you've always done...'

Only then did the emperor's mood lift up. He stopped tapping his feet. 'Yes, I don't have to do it myself.'

He remembered a certain someone at the banquet, and the issue that he'd been putting off for a while.

'Perfect!'

He sneered at himself and sat on the throne. 'I won't let you take what's mine, Germanicus.'

The problem is how he should go about this.

************************************

Leaving the banquet, Germanicus was finally free from the sound of raucous laughter and the smell of liquor that had filled the emperor's celebration after the triumphal procession.

He is now riding his horse and on his way home.

It is said that it's the highest honor someone could have, but for Germanicus, who is unable to concentrate at all, everything doesn't matter.

He only owed the campaign to the people of Rome, for Varus.

For Rome.

Nothing more.

He kept feeling restless, impatient even.

His mind was on Caligula. Although the boy had recovered quickly, he could sense something was amiss.

The boy's enthusiasm had vanished, replaced by nightmares that left him bawling his eyes out.

'I never should have asked Agrippina to take him to the camp' Germanicus regretted. He is afraid his son has gotten traumatized.

'I should have gone with him, but I had to participate in the triumphal procession that Tiberius prepared.' He felt like his status and position as a general had become a curse.

He wasn't in the position to deny it. This is for the people of Rome. The campaign is for revenge.

'I could only hope that the boy will grew out of it; he's still young,' he whispered to himself.

Caligula, once energetic and lively, now seemed distant. His head turned in the direction of his domus.

He can already see it.

Their wide hortus, the patio… the slaves that are going back and forth as they do their daily work.

He willed his horse forward more quickly than when he chased at the emperor earlier.

Once he reached the front of his domus, he jumped down. His movements, although elegant, were quick, as if he was being chased.

Then Germanicus stepped through the doorway.

His eyes locked onto Agrippina's warm smile. She is wearing a white stola up to her ankles that perfectly hugs her figure, making Germanicus gulp.

The sun is setting; the orange glow of the sun is reflecting on Agrippina's beautiful face and her pretty blond hair.

"!!!!!?," Germanicus, unable to utter a word at the incredible sight that greeted him.

Then a smile blooms on his lips, his eyes are full of longing for his wife.

Forgetting about anything and everything.

He finally felt like he was home.

"Welcome home," Agrippina whispered in bated breath.

Germanicus swept his wife into a tender embrace.

He brushed his lips against his wife's ears and breathed in her scent.

A gentle, flowery smell that's easy on the nose wafted through his senses.

He closes his eyes. Agrippina feels shy in her husband's embrace. She can feel the heat of his body.

"My beautiful wife....." Germanicus whispered, sending a delicious shiver to her spine.

"How are the children?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

Although he could already feel his body slowly getting hot in Agrippina's touch.

And he is not letting her go.

"They're fine… though Drusus broke his leg; he jumped down a tree…" Agrippina replied. A small laugh escaped her, seemingly affected like Germanicus, and then she sighed.

"But Caligula is..." A hint of worry has graced her face. She looked up at her husband's face.

"It's alright… everything will be alright," Germanicus, unable to resist, kissed his wife while promising that everything would be alright.

Despite feeling a sense of foreboding, Agrippina let his sweet, gentle kiss and embracing arms distract her.

As they parted from the kiss, Germanicus quietly said, "Tomorrow we'll attend the funeral."

He looked at her hazel eyes and traced his fingers to her face.

Distracting his thoughts of all his dead comrades' bodies still lying in the carts.

Understanding what he meant by funeral, Agrippina nods. A bit sad that her husband let her lips go.

But her husband pulled her to their cubiculum.

And she smiled.

************************************

INDEX:

Io triumphe - hail the triumph

Roma victoria- Rome victoriou

Euge - bravo/well done

Io io io - similar to huzzah

Vivas imperator - long life to the commander

Vivas Roma - long live Rome

Dii immortales - immortal gods

Io imperator - hail to the commander

Vale Germanicus - hail Germanicus

Euge Germanicus - bravo/well done Germanicus

Vale imperator - hail commander

Vivas Germanicus - long life to Germanicus

Armatura Militaris - over all armor of their soldiers on the outside

Tunica Militaris - military uniform

Galea - helmet

Lorica Hamata - a type of armor worn by someone higher in the military

hortus - garden

domus - family residence

stola - a dress for married women

cubiculum - a room (^_^)

(we all know where this is going hehe)

 *this is my first time writing aside from the other ones i mean im not a professional so im sorry if sometimes it feels off..*