Free The Memory of Snow by Kirsty Ferry Page A

of the
goddess today,’ smiled the young man. ‘Forgive me; aren’t you the Commandant’s
daughter?’
    Aemelia laughed.
    ‘It is very obvious, Sir, that I am,’ she said, bowing
slightly. ‘My name is Aemelia. I am very different to these lovely ladies of
the vicus. I do not feel that I blend in particularly well here.’
    ‘Only because they are used to this weather,’ said the man.
He indicated her wraps. She had several layers of furs around her body and
looked like she could have used some more, had she been given the opportunity.
    ‘Hmm, yes. My attire sets me apart somewhat,’ said Aemelia.
‘That and the fact that my teeth are chattering and my nose is red.’
    ‘It gets colder,’ warned her companion. ‘Much colder. This
place,’ he indicated the Well, ‘is dedicated to our marvellous goddess
Coventina. She helps, amongst other things, to melt the ice and snow and bring
back running water to the countryside. She is a water nymph, but a very special
one. Her name means ‘the memory of snow’.’
    ‘How lovely!’ cried Aemelia. She tugged the animal skins
closer to her and fixed the man with a look. ‘So I know that this is Coventina,
and you know that I am Aemelia. I do not know who you are, though. Would you be
so kind as to enlighten me?’
    ‘Certainly.’ The man bowed. ‘My name is Marcus Simplicius
Simplex. I am a Prefect in the Batavian Cohort, stationed at Carrawburgh. But
you will know where I hail from, no doubt.’
    ‘I had my suspicions, Prefect,’ smiled Aemelia. ‘Are you free
for a little while, perhaps? I would like to become better acquainted with the
vicus. You have already explained Coventina’s Well to me. I should like you to
escort me around the area and point out some places of interest.’
    ‘That would be my pleasure,’ said Marcus. ‘But will your
father be agreeable to it? I should hate to think that I was crossing
boundaries...’
    ‘No boundaries,’ said Aemelia. ‘I am new to the area. I am
being escorted and advised by a soldier in my father’s cohort. You are looking
after me, a stranger, in a new place. He cannot complain about that, can he?
And besides,’ she nodded pointedly behind her where an olive skinned man stood
half-hidden amongst some tall ferns. ‘My dear slave Syrus never lets me wander
far from his sight.’
    ‘Then we have no issues. It is perfectly reasonable that I
should escort you, under the eagle eye of Syrus,’ said Marcus. He raised his
hand in acknowledgment to Syrus and offered Aemelia his other arm. ‘Come with
me, young lady, and I shall protect you.’
    Marcus had originally intended to go to the Mithraic temple
to give thanks to the sun god. It was a brighter day, today, despite it being
cold and blustery; the icy wind that blew from the north had not brought snow
as they had feared. But he contented himself with throwing a coin into
Coventina’s Well, and sent a silent prayer to her instead, thanking her for the
absence of snow and ice.
    Marcus and Aemelia did not see a man standing at the door of
Aelia’s house, watching them walk away from the Well and in the opposite
direction to the temple. The Pater watched them disappear behind a building and
narrowed his eyes. He had expected Marcus to come to the temple today. He had
mentioned that he would be there. It was almost time for the Corax’s  next
initiation ceremony and the Pater needed to let him know.
     

 
    AD 391
     
    ‘She is rather attractive, is she not?’ asked Janus. Marcus
dipped his head and coloured. The disagreement on the ramparts long forgotten,
Janus and Marcus had slipped easily back into their friendship.
    ‘I do not know who you are referring to, my friend,’ Marcus
replied, busying himself with mending the leather thongs on his sandals. He had
spent the morning on drill and practising swordsmanship. It was not his turn
for watch yet, so he had taken the opportunity to tend to his kit.
    ‘Our Commandant’s beautiful daughter, of