Familia

Germanicus' eyes met Caligula's, and a warm smile spread across his stony face.

"....Filius meus iuvenis.." his father said, a little bit loudly. Germanicus voice is a bit thunderous, the man himself can't even whisper even if he wants to.

Agrippina's affectionate voice dripped with honey as she called out to her young son.

"..Caligulchen, come sit with me."

Her beauty, still striking despite her age, shines as she smile warmly and adoringly, gesturing for Caligula to join her.

She shifted slightly, creating space between herself and Julia, his youngest sister, effectively sandwiching Caligula between them. Julia's visible irritation was palpable as she rolled her eyes only for him to see.

"Father...Mother," Caligula greeted each one of them with a slight bow of his head, his voice respectful.

"What's going on?" Caligula asked, a pinch of curiosity sparking in his eyes.

The warm glow of the morning sun cast a warm and homey light upon the noble family as they gathered in the triclinium.

Germanicus from his warm smile became beaming with pride because of his question, his wife Agrippina also smiled radiantly at Caligula. A little intrigued by the excitement they radiate, he looked at his parents and then at his siblings, waiting for her mother to explain, but his father answered him instead, making his undeniably joy visible.

"Last night, while you are out with Asprenas, a messenger arrived with a royal decree from Emperor Tiberius.."

Germanicus' face lit up even more as he looked from Caligula's face to Nero Caesar, his father's firstborn and his older brother.

Nero Caesar's eyes sparkled like a sun as he leaned in as if whispering a secret, his voice filled with confidence.

"By the Emperor's decree, I've been named the heir apparent."

His voice exuding an air of arrogance.

"I'm gonna be the future Emperor.!"

After declaring, that he would become the future emperor, Nero Caesar laughs genuinely, his blue eyes showing how delightful he is at the idea of being an Emperor in the future, reclining back to his seat, he puts his arms around his wife, Aemilia Lepida, whom he is married to for three years, an only daughter of a higher noble than his family.

He kisses her cheeks and say to her, "..you are going to be the wife of an Emperor!".

Aemilia's already smiling face falter a bit from being referred to as a wife of an Emperor and not as an Empress, a small irritation, is about to seep, but nobody caught that. And like a great actress that she was, as if it's a lie, her cheeks blushes to a color of a rose. Then smiles shyly to his husband's words.

Hearing the words from Nero Caesar, Caligula's eyes widened in surprise.

"Our faction finally succeeded in persuading the Emperor like they promised?"

Germanicus chuckled, his eyes twinkling.

"Well Emperor Tiberius didn't have much of a choice, did he? Without a son of his own, and his health declining slowly.. He needs a strong heir to succeed him, and our family has the pedigree and influence to secure that position."

As Germanicus spoke, the room seemed to vibrate with the weight of their newfound status. Nero Caesar's ascension to heir apparent marked a significant shift in the family's dynamics, and Caligula couldn't help but wonder what this meant for his own future.

But realizing that, thinking about it right now, is futile, he's not the one that would become emperor, it's his brother, Nero Caesar. '..this is great! Father has achieved something remarkable for our family, and brother will make a fine emperor.. this is something to celebrate! but for now..' he looks around the table, wincing. His head hurting again from drinking last night although he is not showing it.

Caligula's stomach silently growled as he gazed at the delectable spread before him. He snatched a slice of panis focacius, breaking it into pieces before dipping them into the sweet defrutum. The fruity flavor exploded on his tongue as he chewed slowly, savoring the taste. The pain in his head began to subside, momentarily soothed by the pleasure of eating.

As he lifted his face, he caught Germanicus and Nero Caesar are still deep in a conversation about the royal decree and news about how the other factions reacted to Nero Caesar's appointment of being an heir. Agrippina's laughter and occasional interjections added warmth to the discussion.

Hearing the noisy use of utensils, his attention drifted to Drusus, the secondborn son of his father, his second older brother. Drusus appeared bored, but Caligula knew better.

The way he carelessly use the silver ligula and culter to eat dormice in his silver platter creating small noticeable noises and the way his eyes look, betrayed Drusus's true emotion - a mixture of bitterness and resentment.

Caligula understood why. As the second son, Drusus has always been overshadowed by Nero Caesar's achievements and confidence. Their parents' favoritism toward Nero Caesar had taken its toll on Drusus. He wasn't always this bitter, Caligula remembered. Drusus used to be cheerful, bright and competitive, but now he seemed lost in the shadows, only the competitiveness seems to remained. Caligula felt a pang of sympathy for his brother.

He was grateful not to be in Drusus's position, constantly living in Nero Caesar's shadow. Perhaps Drusus should just follow their sister Drusilla's example, living a quiet life with her husband's family, with her twin babies. But Drusus is yet to wed his fiancee of two years, they have to wait first for Drusus to reach the age of twenty in three months.

Julia grumbled softly beside him, earning a playful pinch on the side from Caligula. She slapped his hands viciously like a cat swatting a dog away, and he chuckled, 'not cute at all, this small one' he thought to himself.

Caligula reached for his silver cup, adorned with detailed designs, and took a sip of wine. 'Ugh liquor again', he muttered, his headache likely protesting from the wine. He puts his cup down. His gaze now drifted to Livilla, his older sister but younger than Drusilla, seated beside Nero Caesar and his wife.

He noticed her pale face, and her weak smile that concerned him. She pushed the food around her plate, seemingly lost in thought.

Their eyes met, and Caligula offered a gentle smile, but Livilla quickly looked away. Puzzled by her reactions, with a pinched of embarrassment by her behavior he thought to himself 'what's up with her?', they used to be close.

In all of his sisters, they are the one that's close to age, just a year older than him. That made them close enough to play together, falling asleep together and have each other's back when one of them is being scolded.

Just a year ago, they are still close, but lately he feels like there is an invisible wall between them.

Caligula got lost in his own thoughts while eating, when a young male servant slave nervously approached him. The boy nervously said, whispering, "..dominus iuvenis.. Asprenas awaits outside... gladiator fight.. happening today.. meridies.."

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*LastRevision(021725)*

INDEX:

1. filius meus iuvenis - my young son

2. Caligulchen - little Caligula, an endearment

3. panis focacius - ancient flat bread that resembles modern day focacia

4. defrutum - fruit syrup served with bread

5. ligula - spoon

6. culter - knife

7. dormice - considered a delicacy at that time. it's a stuffed mouse. (im shookt too.. i never know that they stuffed mouse with meat and nuts and all kinds of food and roast them or cook them)

8. meridies - midday or noon