Free The Memory of Snow by Kirsty Ferry

bodyguard, she thought. And for what reason? She only wanted
to visit the vicus again. It was not as if she was going to come to any harm in
the little village.
    Aemelia enjoyed wandering around the market stalls and
peeping into the taverns. She loved the smells of the meals cooking in the
houses, the sound of the children laughing and playing in the little forum
whilst their mothers chatted. Occasionally she would see a soldier from
Carrawburgh, slipping into certain buildings furtively, or leaving them with a
kiss and a wave from a woman who was wrapped only in a blanket. Aemelia
couldn’t help smiling. Everyone knew exactly what was going on; yet some of
these men tried so hard to hide it. Why, most of these children belonged to
serving auxiliary soldiers in the cohort. The families were happy to wait until
their men had completed their service, before they could be married and granted
Roman citizenship. The Officers were more fortunate. They had quarters in the
fort with their families and slaves. Marriage was legal for them. Aemelia
always loved it when babies were born within the walls of the forts– it was
always a cause for great celebration. And although her father was a devout
Christian, he turned a blind eye to the offerings and prayers the families made
to the Pagan deities who had blessed them in such a way.
    Aemelia had grown up surrounded by men on the forts. She had
changed from a chubby, dark-haired toddler, always ready with a smile for the
soldiers, through the awkwardness of youth where she blushed and stammered
should anyone address her and finally to the beautiful, confident young woman
she was now. She enjoyed exploring new places and meeting new people. Any
change in her father’s post was a God-given opportunity. She particularly loved
it up here. It still amused her to think of the Picts trying to storm the Wall;
but to be fair she had never seen any of them attempt it.
    Aemelia wound her way down the path to the vicus and headed
towards the village; for, to all intents and purposes, a village was what it
had become. She walked towards a large, stone wall, which formed the edge of a
square building. She leaned over the side and rested her hands on the wall as
she sniffed deeply. This place had a special smell – sort of fresh and pure.
She couldn’t explain it any better. Water bubbled within it, and like the
shrine to the water nymphs by that awful temple, it was open to the elements.
It was obviously a shrine as well, or something sacred at least; it had that
feeling about it. Aemelia shivered slightly – it always had that effect on her.
She didn’t know if part of it was guilt. Lenient though her father was with his
soldiers, he was less lenient with her. He made her wear a gold cross around
her neck and had taught her to be proud of her Christianity. It was nothing to
be ashamed of, he told her. Aemelia knew that; yet she couldn’t help but be
fascinated by this shrine. A man walked past her and threw a coin into the
water, muttering something as he did so. Aemelia watched the coin sink into the
pool and wondered what he had thanked the goddess for. She saw a stone carving
leaning up against the wall, depicting a woman reclining on what might have
been the edge of stream. There were several smaller altars lining the walls.
They showed carvings of leaves and wreathes and patterns and even people. She
wondered again what the significance was. There was a carving showing three
people at the other shrine. It was enormous; but this one wasn’t quite so big.
    ‘Do you find this interesting?’ said a voice close by her
ear. She jumped and turned to see another man smiling shyly at her. It was the
fair haired man she had noticed on her first day here.
    ‘Oh! I’m sorry – am I in the way? Do you need to be in here?’
asked Aemelia stepping back. ‘Please – don’t let me stop you.’ She waved her
arm towards the entrance and smiled.
    ‘No, I do not need to be in there. I have no need