Free Nest of Vipers by Luke Devenish

bond.
    In front of us at the auction block a landowner's overseer purchased the Britons, completing the transaction with the scribes while the mangon took a gulp of wine, dribbling it on his gaudy robes. While the mangon drank, a giant of a man, greater than six feet tall, with long, yellow hair tied back with a wire, came out from the covered area. His thick, bare arms and hands, crossed across his broad chest, were covered in battle scars. He looked like the most fearsome of German warriors.
    'Look at that one, Lady,' I whispered.
    Agrippina saw him. The warrior's gaze – if that's what he was – found her among the crowd, as if drawn to her by a spell. They held each other in their looks for a moment, Lady and slave, each assessing the other, appraising and measuring their respective strengths.
    'Is he for sale, Lady?'
    The two continued to fill their eyes with each other before the golden-haired warrior broke the connection.
    'A brute like that would be uncontrollable,' said Agrippina.
    Castor cleared his throat. 'There has been news this morning, since you mention my father.'
    'I didn't mention him,' said Agrippina, turning her back to the giant. 'You brought him up.'
    Nero and Drusus smiled indulgently at their mother. They held knowledge she did not.
    'I am very fond of these two fine boys of yours,' said Castor. 'You know that, don't you?'
    'Of course I do,' said Agrippina, warmly. She turned her head to the auction block again. The first of the domestic slaves were emerging. Sosia and Claudia made little exclamations of pleasure with the appearance of several attractive young boys.
    'Aren't they sweet?' said Agrippina. 'Should I purchase myself a little pet, Iphicles?'
    I nodded, but my eye was on Castor.
    'I will always be a protector to them for as long as Nero and Drusus need it,' Castor went on, 'in memory of their father.'
    'I know you will,' said Agrippina. She wasn't looking at him anymore.
    Castor glanced at the boys, and they nodded at him encouragingly. 'With Nero about to gain his robes of manhood, and Drusus only a year away from it too, I have asked my father for his permission to have the boys placed in my care.'
    Agrippina blanched and spun around. Her retinue of supporters sensed that something had shocked her and strained to listen above the din of the crowd.
    Castor went on. 'They have no father now. It seems like a sensible idea.'
    ' You asked him? You went to Tiberius and gave him this . . . betrayal of Germanicus on your own accord?'
    Castor paled. 'It is not a betrayal, Agrippina.'
    The boys looked around us, fearing their mother was gathering unwanted attention.
    'What else have you done but betray me with this, Castor? You may as well poison me too.'
    'Mother, please,' said Nero. 'No one is talking about anything like that here.'
    'Your father was poisoned,' Agrippina turned on him. 'You know that – you were there when he died in my arms – and you know by whose hand it was done.'
    'It was Piso, Mother,' said Drusus, 'and his wife, Plancina.'
    'They were his agents.'
    'Agrippina, for the gods' sake,' Castor appealed to her.
    She stared into his eyes. There was kindness there, a genuine love for her, along with a deep concern for her welfare. She guessed the truth. 'You didn't go to him to ask permission at all, Castor. He summoned you.'
    Castor's embarrassment was plain. 'I . . . I care for the boys.'
    'But it was all his idea?'
    'We want this, Mother,' Nero tried to tell her.
    'We love our uncle,' said Drusus. 'This is what's best for us.'
    'This is what's best for Tiberius,' said Agrippina. 'He wants you both away from me. He's frightened I'll turn your minds against him.'
    'Mother, please. This is terrible,' Nero said. 'We want our uncle to adopt us.'
    Agrippina lurched with a fury into the mass of attendants, forcing her way through. 'What about what Rome wants?' she cried over her shoulder. Sosia and Claudia kept pace, striding behind her, their faces still smiling as if nothing was