Fabula Cinerulae: Chapter One

"Always look on the bright side of life." - Eric Idle

Well, it's me here, with another story. Except this isn't just a short story. I'm excited about it. This is a bona fide chapter of what might end up being a full out novella I'm writing. As I said, I'm excited, as I've plotted it out, and I just know I can do this. Why? Because I'm doing something tons of writers have done before: retell a classical fairy tale in my own way. However, I'm doing something that's less popular: combine two fairy tales into one. So, this has a defined plot with a structure I can follow and use to make sure the story is fairly long, but I can have fun with this. And so, I'm very proud to show you the first chapter of "Fabula Cinerulae: A Fairy Tale". Set in ancient Rome, it is essentially the story of Cinderella, except that it turns into something more like Rapunzel at the end. Now, why have I chosen these two stories? The first reason is because it's fairly easy to do them in a setting of ancient Rome. Their fantastical elements aren't that out there, and what can't be removed can be explained as the Gods. The second reason is because they have female leads. I've noticed something, and it's that I don't write a lot of female characters. So I decided to write something with a girl as the main character. Also, I need practice writing female characters, probably. I am, after all, but a man.
Anyhow, please enjoy Fabula Cinerulae, Chapter One: The Love of Caecilius and Terentia.

I. AMOR•CÆCILII•TERENTIÆQVE

Once upon a time, there was a city in Italy, just off the River Tiber. This city was known by its inhabitants as Rome, and out of Rome grew the greatest empire the world has ever known. The city of a million inhabitants was the great on the face of the Earth, full of mankind’s greatest achievements. Even today, one can stand in the Amphitheatrum Flavium and picture the great ludi gladiatores that once went on there. Even today, one can feel the impact of Lex Romana on the legal codes of the world. But this is not a story about Rome – that is merely the backdrop. This is the story of a girl named Caecilia. As with all stories, hers started out quite a while before she was born, with the meeting of her parents and their subsequent love.
Gnaeus Caecilius Felix was a wealthy young Patrician man. The son of a senator, he had few worries in life. He had as many slaves as he could ever want. There were very few limits on what he could buy, and those things out of his reach were so opulent that he wondered what sane person would want them. There was, however, one thing he lacked: a beautiful wife. Despite his wealth and his father’s fortune, Caecilius had never married. Oh, women had been offered to him, that was for sure, but he’d refused them all. They just hadn’t appealed to him in that way. Of course, his father had said that that was an incredibly silly thing to base a marriage off of, but Caecilius knew of many marriages that were based on actual, tangible love. And he wanted that sort of marriage.
It was a hot summer day. The summers in Rome were always awful. The heat was terrible. Disease was rampant. The city’s normal pungent odor grew to be nearly unbearable. Or at least, that’s what Caecilius thought. On this hot summer day, he found himself in the theatrum Pompeii. He wasn’t particularly interested in what was happening on the stage, though. No, for all his love of Plautus’s comedies, he was far more entranced by a young lady sitting very near to him. While she was engaged in Mostellaria, Caecilius was engaged in her long, golden hair. It nearly shone in the afternoon light. And her dress interested him, too. She was showing arm, and that was very sexy. He had to talk to her, he knew that. So, while Tranio cooked up a scheme to keep Theopropides from discovering the truth about their house, Caecilius cooked up a scheme to get this young lady’s attention afterward.
When the comedy was finally over (it had seemed like forever to Caecilius) he made sure to leave out the same exit as the young lady. He was going to wait a sufficient amount of time, then bend over, act like he was picking up a coin, and then ask her if she had-
“Excuse me, sir, but are you following me?”
“What?” Caecilius asked. “No! No, of course not! I’m merely heading the same way as you.” He smiled somewhat sheepishly.
“Well, then you could as least have the decency to walk beside me rather than in my shadow, don’t you think?” She afforded him a glance of a tiny smile, which only served to make her more beautiful. He dutifully moved from behind her to beside her. She said, “So, Patrici, why are you in the city in the summer? Shouldn’t you be off on some villa rustica in Baiae right now, or something?”
Caecilius shook his head. “Not this summer. This summer I must stay to furnish my home.”
“Oh, you don’t mean to say that you’re in that empty house on the Caelian hill, do you?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well, I’m told the last owner was brutally murdered. Could be haunted.”
Caecilius laughed. “I think someone has gotten too wrapped up in the Mostellaria.”
She giggled. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. Now, tell me, Patrici, what do they call you? I like to know the names of my stalkers.”
He blushed. “Gnaeus Caecilius Felix. And you?”
“Well, Patrici, my name would be Terentia.”
Caecilius nodded. “And your father’s name?”
“Why ever should I tell you that?”
“So I may call on you, of course.”
She laughed again, and gave him a sideways look. “And what if I should want to call on you?”
“That is hardly proper, for a woman to call on a man.”
She stopped, and stared at Caecilius. “Well,” she said, “Perhaps I will have to see you again, if only to fix these silly notions of yours about ‘proper’.”
“Even Venus waits to be called on,” said Caecilius, and then he started walking again. Terentia hurried to catch up.
She said, “Yes, but she’s the goddess of love. So, really, she’s making the first move.”
“Women always make the first move, my dear.”
“Oh, I’m your ‘dear’ now, am I, Patrici? Then tell me, ‘dear’, how do women make the first move?”
Caecilius smiled again, and said, “By being so beautiful, of course.”
“Well thank you. You’re rather pretty yourself.”
The two laughed, and Caecilius said, “Why haven’t I seen you around before?”
“Rome is a very big city. But look, this is your house, is it not?”
Caecilius looked startled to have already arrived at his home on the Caelian. “Are we really here already? Wow. Time does, indeed, fly.”
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Terentia blushed. “My father is Decimus Terentius Varro,” she said quite suddenly.
Caecilius said, “I will be sure to inquire after you.”
Terentia smiled. “You’re an interesting man, Gnaeus. I may just have to inquire after you first. Good night, mi patrici.”
Caecilius stood in his doorway as Terentia turned away and began walking home. His only thought was, ‘Wow. What a woman.’

***

The next day, just as Caecilius was preparing to call on Terentia, he heard a knock on his door. He wasn’t particularly surprised to discover that she was the one knocking. He smiled. “You,” he said, “are quite the unique woman.”
“So I’ve heard. Usually the person saying it isn’t quite as happy about it as you, mi patrici.”
“I can’t imagine why. I think any man would be lucky to have your attention.”
“Then I do suppose it’s your lucky day, Caecilius Felix. Felix means lucky, does it not?”
Caecilius laughed. “It does, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s fate, then, that I’ve been lucky enough to meet you, Terentia.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her to do such a thing.”
Caecilius then said, “Oh, how rude of me. Please, do come in and sit down. We’ve just finished putting the couches in the peristylium.”
Terentia followed him through the house, and remarked, “Oh, you poor dear.”
“What?”
“You have no idea how to decorate a house at all. I think you need me more than I thought.”
Caecilius laughed. “Usually only a man’s wife helps him decorate his house.”
Terentia smiled. “Well, you never know what the fates have in store for us.”
And indeed, not a month later, the two were engaged to be married. The wedding was an opulent one, and there was much rejoicing. The two had looked into each others’ eyes and clasped their right hands. Terentia had said, “Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia.” Caecilius had, in proper custom, responded, “Ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius.” Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia. Where you are Gaia, I am Gaius. Then they had processed to their new home and, that night, consummated their love.
Nine months later, they were blessed by a healthy baby girl. They called her Caecilia, and this is her story.

So, as you can see, the first chapter is mostly background, establishing Caecilia's mother and father. The next chapter should, consequently, be more interesting. Especially because I'm going to try my darndest to keep this from being a romance. I'm hoping to make it more of an action-adventure sort of thing, if only because I'm not terribly fond of romance stories (which make Cinderella and Rapunzel odd choices for a base to this story, as they're primarily romance-oriented). But, anyhow, it's time for the Link of the Post. I'm rather excited to be sharing this link, as it's another blog that I made sure to keep off my blogroll. I said to myself, Self, I said, This website is far too interesting to simply put in my blogroll. I must actively tell my readers about it.
The site is seriously awesome. It's called Library of the Damned. The site is run by a couple women (and one taco of questionable typographic and magical ability), and its purpose is taking really bad fanfiction and making fun of it. It's awesome, so go read it, because everyone loves some good schadenfreude.