—apta ad deos
meanwhile, the bard began to sing the loves of mars & venus, & how they first began their intrigue. — (hbo rome)!julius caesar x greatniece!reader ; ༻⏝༺
You shut the door swiftly behind you, hiding the three of you away in a cramped closet.
You stutter for explanation, until Posca answers that question, which you are unsure how to even ask. "He has the morbus comitialis," he explains.
"It will pass in a moment," he assures you.
You seat yourself, pulling your great-uncle's head into your lap, tears stinging your eyes as you watch his body tremble and flinch and shake helplessly. You merely hold him close, shooshing him, supplying him with empty, soft words which are mean to comfort.
You are unsure if he can even hear you.
"Should—should we not send for a physician?" You ask in a rushed whisper.
The man begins to shake his head. "At all costs, he cannot have his affliction known. No one will follow a man whom Apollo has cursed with the morbus."
You nod just once.
And then Caesar finally calms, dragging shallow breaths into his lungs—beads of sweat having now gathered at his brow.
You glance to Posca. "Hand me one of the cloths behind you."
He does as instructed and you begin to dab at Caesar's forehead.
Through bleary eyes, he looks up at you, raising a finger. "Vow to Orcus, never speak of this."
You nod your head, running your fingers through his hair, smoothing stray strands. "By him you have my word, uncle."
He reaches up, taking your hand in his then, the cloth falling away to the floor as his eyes flutter closed. "You have a gentle touch, my niece. If naught else good has come from me frightening you in such a manner, at least I now know the feel of your careful hand."
His eyes slowly open once more and you smile warmly down at him.
His own lip twitches in response, rising from your lap reluctantly.
You stand silently behind your mother at the door as she bids Caesar farewell.
And then his gaze settles on you.
She steps aside as he comes toward you, taking your face between his hands, claiming a long and tender kiss from your lips.
With him blocking your view, you do not see the way your mother's mouth drops open as she grips your sister's arm excitedly, near-ready to burst with joy.
As his mouth hovers over yours, it turns upwards into a slight smile.
And then he leans in closer, whispering in your ear. "Thank you, for your discretion."
You merely nod, blinking up at him, unsure of what next to do.
And then he leaves you all, stepping out the door, and into the night.
"Well done, my love!" Your mother exclaims as she comes barging into your room just as you are readying yourself for bed.
Your brows furrow as she throws her arms around you, planting many kisses to your cheek.
"What're you—"
She takes a step back, continuing to grip your upper-arms as she gives you a knowing look. "As if you are not aware. Well, you are certainly my daughter, aren't you?"
You give her a look of befuddlement.
She tsks, stepping away, pouring herself a glass of wine from the decanter across the room before turning back to you. "A servant informed me of what occurred between you and Caesar!"
You remain silent, now sweating, wondering what all it is which the servant thinks they bore witness to from the other side of a closed door, exactly.
You raise a brow, crossing your arms, growing tired of her guessing-game.
"There is no need to play coy! You're my child!"
You give a sigh of exasperation then, turning back to your bed, fluffing a pillow.
She pads toward you. "You and Caesar were in congress with one another, were you not?" She asks happily.
You nearly choke on your own saliva at such an implication as you spin round back to her. "W—We what?"
She shrugs. "I saw the way he was looking at you over dinner. He was quite taken with you. And to top it all off, that kiss before he left! Gods, I thought I was near to fainting from the disbelief of it all! Now I suppose I know why; he saw something that even I did not. Always portraying yourself as so docile and innocent. Ah, the perfect ploy for a man of his caliber! You gave him a chase through longing glances, reeling him in like a fish on a hook before giving him the bait at the perfect opportunity!"
"Are you mad?" You ask incredulously.
She seats herself on the edge of your bed. "No need to be modest now, darling. You must tell me everything!"
You pinch the bridge of your nose, thinking how best to word this which will not give away precisely that which occurred within the confines of that room.
"He was taken ill. We were not...doing that."
"What? Fucking?" She asks casually.
You groan, looking at her once more, refusing to respond to such vulgarity.
"Taken ill," she finally repeats, her smiling fading.
"Yes."
She gives you a doubtful look. "Then where did such a passionate gesture originate from, I wonder?"
"I aided him in a moment of need. Perhaps he was showing his gratitude."
She rolls her eyes. "Gratitude. He whispered something in your ear, what was it?"
"He thanked me."
"Thanked you for what?" She shouts, hands splayed out from her sides in exasperation.
"Tending to him!" You yell, your temper growing short.
She flops back onto the mattress, mumbling something to herself. And then she sighs. "Nothing happened."
"No, nothing happened."
She shakes her head. "You had an opportune moment before you to seduce him and you shirk it for what? Propriety? Because you're shy?"
"He is my great-uncle!" You exclaim.
She sits up then, draining the last dregs of her wine before standing, tucking a lock of hair tenderly behind your ear and clicking her tongue at you. "I assure you, my love, it was not a familial gesture which he gave you at the door. If that was how we greeted family around here, I would've let him put me on my back long ago so we might—"
"Please stop," you say, pressing the heels of your hands against your closed eyelids.
She chuckles, wrapping her arms around you, pressing a kiss to your head.
"A seed has been planted," she states. "Give it time, and with much luck, it may grow."
You roll your eyes, resting your cheek against her shoulder.
You hear a loud squeal that echoes through the halls of your home, which you know can belong to only one inhabitant.
You exit your room, traversing the halls, until you are met by the vision of your mother running toward you with an elated look upon her face.
You do not know that you've ever seen her so happy.
"Gods, what is the matter, mother?" You ask, placing a hand over your racing heart.
She pulls you toward her in a chokingly-tight embrace then. "Nothing, my love! Nothing in our world shall ever be wrong again!"
She shoves a piece of parchment in your face. "Read! You must read!"
You take it from her, stepping a few paces back, while she herself is practically bouncing with joy.
She cannot contain herself even long enough for you to finish reading the correspondence before she ruins the surprise. "He wishes for you to be his concubine!"
You blanch, staring at her. "Wh—"
"Caesar! Your great-uncle Caesar, of course! Oh, I knew you were withholding the true events of that evening when I attempted my little interrogation! You will do him well, in that, my love! Keeping his confidence, his secrets; such important things to a man like him—a statesmen, a general!"
She begins to clap her hands giddily, holding them clasped before her lips as she stares at you with raised brows, waiting for you to react.
"He wants me to be his whore."
She rolls her eyes, shoulders slumping. "Why must you always be so negative? This is a most singular opportunity, and we must cease it. Make no mistake, Y/N, he is not asking for you to fill this position, but commanding your presence to his home."
"He has a wife," you insist. "Married men are not meant to—"
"As if the great Julius Caesar should give a fuck about all that," she interrupts, waving a hand. "He wants his great-niece for his bedmate, and you he shall have."
She begins combing her fingers through your hair. "We must make you absolutely perfect for when you are delivered unto him. Oh, my sweet, do you've any idea what this will mean for you? He possesses a lavish estate, and riches beyond even your imagination! He will spoil you senseless, so long as you are good to him and supply him with that which he desires most. Gowns and jewels and slaves—coin to do with as you please. You will not so much as need lift a finger for the rest of your days now."
"Until he tires of me, or his wife sees fit to send me away once she has grown sick of tolerating our affair," you reply, desperate to make her see sense.
She adjusts the sleeves of your dress, fussing over you like you are a prized piece of livestock to be sold at market. "Him asking so boldly for you and so quickly after your brief intermission does not bode well for that old cow. You will do whatever it takes to wrap him tightly around your finger until he is reluctant to ever let go. I don't have much time to teach you, but I will what I can."
She cocks her head to the side, placing her hands on her hips. "Or, perhaps I shouldn't. Tampering with one he may intend to teach himself to his own particular liking will only create issues by filling your head with conflicting ideas about that which a man desires."
She frowns. "They're near all the same—thinking with only their cocks. It seems even one of the most revered men in all of Rome is no different. Though, I suppose, you will come to discover if that is so in due time..."
Tears fill your eyes. "You would just hand me over to him so easily? Just...just send me away?"
Her face falls and she takes you back into her arms, smoothing the hair at the back of your head as she shooshes you. "He is family, darling. And we could not have dreamed of a better match. Besides, as I said, this was not a request on his part—whether the wording of the letter made it seem as much or not. To try and deny him this..."
She pulls back, shaking her head. "We would come to regret such an action, I fear."
She presses a kiss to your forehead. "You will do this, won't you? Make yourself agreeable, and amiable to him?"
You study her for a moment, but know that, in truth, there is no other option.
You nod, and your mother smiles.
headcanons:
reader was born 68 ac. she is thus atia's eldest child.
caesar dotes on her. honestly, i plan for their relationship to be similar to that of nettles & daemon from fire & blood.
she will give him a son posthumously.
he will be aware that she's pregnant before he dies, however, & she'll be fairly far along when the senate murders him.
when it is discovered that she's pregnant, she's very apologetic toward him, trying to assure him that she took her herbal remedies as prescribed & that she will rid herself of it immediately.
he tells her that a child created as two halves of each of them, which has been combined as one divine whole, has been designed by the gods themselves. he would have her keep it.
is it extremely important to caesar that she never lie to him. that he is the one person she is to share all of her truths with. she is to be loyal to him above all others.
he likens their relationship to that of venus & mars.
he gives her her own private chambers, but they come to be of little use rather quickly after he first takes her into his bed. his room is where he would have her stay most often.
notes for me:
caesar born 100 bc
atia born 85 bc
oc born 68 bc
octavia born 66 bc
gaius born 63 bc
rome s1 49 bc
caesar's country estate included a colonnaded court, a mile-long, lushly planted garden, and an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures. caesar mainly lived in the center of the city, near the forum.
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ideas masterlist
original stories:
a breath of life
a little death
boarding school
delmar mountain
down by the river
me & tennessee
pink champagne
a court of thorns & roses
— helion spell-cleaver:
helion x human!reader
a song of ice & fire
— dalton greyjoy:
pirate!daltongreyjoy x siren!reader
black sails
— singleton & charles vane:
singleton x maid!reader x (eventual) charles vane
far cry v
— john & jacob seed:
baptist!johnseed x lost!reader x soldier!jacobseed
grey's anatomy
— dr. alex karev:
alex karev x patient!reader
harry potter
— draco malfoy:
deatheater!draco x ravenclaw!reader
— severus snape:
ordermember!snape x hufflepuff!reader
his dark materials
— magisterium priest (oc):
magisteriumpriest x dæmon!reader
house of the dragon
— aegon ii targaryen:
soft!aegon x servant!reader
— aemond targaryen:
regencyera!aemond x niece!reader
— cregan stark:
hockeyplayer!cregan x iceskater!reader
kotnbigbadwolf!cregan x woodswtichredridinghood!reader
parkranger!cregan x stranded!reader
— jacaerys velaryon:
dark!jacaerys x servant!reader
oldertwin!jace x youngertwin!reader (fall '24 one-shot collection)
— gwayne hightower
gwayne x niece!reader
life is strange
— damon merrick:
damon x voluntarilymute!reader
outlander
— murtagh fitzgibbons fraser:
murtagh x modernday!reader
read dead redemption
— charles smith:
charles x orphan!reader
rome
— julius caesar:
caesar x greatniece!reader
sons of anarchy
— thomas teller:
thomas x librarian!reader
star wars
— qui-gon jinn & obi-wan kenobi:
qui-gon jinn x princess!reader x obi-wan kenobi
stranger things
— billy hargrove:
80srockstar!billy x reader
carny!billy x fortuneteller!reader
dad!billy x heartbroken!reader
hardcorepornking!billy x softcorepornqueen!reader
stepbrother!billy x stepsis!reader
student!billy x fwb!reader
trucker!billy x sexworker!reader
vietnamvetbiker!billy x flowerchild!reader
succession
— kendall roy:
kendall x officeassistant!reader
suits
— harvey specter:
harvey x ex-employee!reader
supernatural
— dean winchester:
halfbrother!dean x lilhalfsis!reader
the boys
— homelander:
yandere!homelander x collegestudent!reader
the hobbit
— king thranduil:
thranduil x modernday!reader
the hunger games
— haymitch abernathy:
haymitch x victor!reader
the last of us
— tommy miller:
tommy x survivor!reader
the twilight saga
— paul lahote:
paul x imprint!reader
the vampire diaries
— tyler lockwood & matt donovan:
tyler lockwood x bestfriend!reader x matt donovan
yellowstone
— ryan:
ryan x youngestdutton!reader
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