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It was on an otherwise uneventful evening when things truly began to change.
Jedediah was distracted from the blueprint he was currently drawing by the sound of someone yelling by the Left edge of their border. Curious, he abandoned the paper and jogged over to see what the fuss was about.
“Woah, there,” Lance was saying to the Roman- who was standing beside the mountain. “Ain’t no way you’re getting in here, partner. Hey, trade that skirt in for a pair o’ boots and then we’ll talk, hm?”
“Quiet, Lance,” Jedediah snapped, pushing past the irate cowboy to meet the Roman. Octavius, of course. He was probably here demanding they surrender a quarter of their land or some other such nonsense. Well, there was no use going about it violently if they didn’t have to. “Sorry ‘bout Lance, there,” he said, nodding apologetically.
“He’s trying to invade us, ‘course he is,” Lance protested, getting between the two of them again. “Oi, have you forgotten he’s a damn Skirt?”
“I said can it.” Jedediah shot Samson a glare. “Now, be polite, Lance, this is Octavius.”
“Oh, well excuse me.” Lance brought his feet together and spread his knees in a mock curtsey. “Didn’t realize I was talking to the biggest toad in the puddle, King Skirt.”
“You’ll be in the stockade for the rest of the week if you keep on like that,” Jedediah warned. “Now git.” Reluctantly, the other cowboy sulked off back to the mountain. Jedediah watched as he told a clearly bastardized tale of their conversation to another group of cowboys, and they all began scowling over at Jedediah.
“Well, I can see when I’m unwelcome,” Octavius cut in, looking supremely unimpressed. “I’ll take my leave of you now, then. Wouldn’t want to trouble you any further.”
“Hey, pay no mind to Lance,” Jedediah said, shrugging. “If all his brains were dynamite, there wouldn’t be enough to blow his nose.”
Octavius stared at Jedediah for a moment. As he clearly hadn’t understood a word of Jedediah’s, the cowboy decided to take pity on him.
“Look, he’s just mad enough to swallow a horn-toad backwards, don’t worry ‘bout him.”
“Well, he’s in good company,” Octavius noted, nodding to the group of cowboys that was still glaring daggers at them.
“What’d you want, anyway?” Jedediah asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his less than welcoming cavalry.
“I understand, of course,” Octavius continued, as if Jedediah hadn’t spoken. “My people are much the same. I sent the order for a group to accompany me here, but as you can see, none volunteered. And when chosen individually, each resigned their post.” He folded his arms. “And what’s more- by merely bringing the suggestion to light, I have been labeled a traitor.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll probably be stuck in that stockade any day, now,” Jedediah agreed. “But anyway, you came here for a reason?”
“I wished to talk,” Octavius said, nodding.
“Yeah, all right. What about?”
Octavius chewed his bottom lip for a moment, considering the question. “In truth,” he finally admitted, “this trip was not heavily planned in advance. The main meat of the mission was simply to make contact.”
“Make contact,” Jedediah repeated. “You mean you just wanted to talk… to talk?”
“I wished to improve our relationship,” Octavius clarified. “Between our two peoples.”
“Oh.” Jedediah nodded at that. “Well, that’s not what I thought you were comin’ here for, but I suppose it’ll do.”
“Why, what did you expect?”
“Oh, some sorta announcement that you were taking over part of our mountain, somethin’ like that.” Jedediah shrugged. “But back to our relationship?”
“Yes, well. There are not many of my people who are willing to accept such a change- after all, we have been at battle for near eternity.”
“Ever since you showed up in our room, yep,” Jedediah agreed.
“I believe we were the ones to have arrived before you,” Octavius corrected. “But no matter.”
“Excuse me-”
“The point remains that if we are to change this feud between our peoples, we will need the help of at least some of them,” Octavius interrupted.
“Yeah, all right.” Jedediah looked over his shoulder at the mass of cowboys adorning the railroad tracks. “That group there’s just a bunch of sour eggs- Angus’d come around if I told him I was for it.”
“Angus?” Octavius asked, curious. He looked past Jedediah to the railroad tracks.
“The one on top of the- there he is,” Jedediah said, pointing. “He’s the one giving orders right now.”
“I see.”
“Angus’s my partner, he’ll take my side.” Jedediah looked back once more at the cowboys before turning to Octavius again.
“Your partner?” Octavius asked, frowning slightly. “How do you mean?”
“Uh. He’s… my partner?” Jedediah repeated, not understanding what it was that Octavius had misunderstood. “Like… you got a second in command?”
“Well, of course.” Octavius nodded. “Cassius delivers my word to the senate and to the people if need be, and in turn has power over the populous that others-”
“See, for me, that’s my Angus.” Jedediah smiled, happy his point had gotten across.
“Ah, I see.” Octavius nodded. “So, he is not…”
“Not what?” Jedediah crossed his arms defensively. “Is this like a Latin thing? Because, you know, I don’t speak that Latin stuff.”
“No, no, I believe you have a term for it as well,” Octavius said, searching for the right way to phrase it. “In Rome, we have a separate definition for the word ‘partner.’ We speak that word with a… how do you way, a romantic connotation attached to it.”
“Oh!” Jedediah laughed, leaning forward and slapping his hand against Octavius’s shoulder. The Roman looked down at the hand curiously. “Yeah, yeah, course! We use it like that, too. No, of course.” He laughed again. At Octavius’s questioning glance he brought his hand away, coughing awkwardly. “I, uh, didn’t know that was what you meant.” He grinned. “Naw, Angus ain’t my fella.”
“And do you have a… ‘fella’?”
“Hey, now, why’re you so interested?” Jedediah teased. “Thought we were here to talk about relationships between our people, huh?”
Although he said it good naturedly, Octavius still appeared to have been caught off guard by the question.
“Apologies,” he stammered, reddening. “I didn’t mean to- I was attempting instigate conversation; I meant no disrespect-”
“Oh, calm down.” Jedediah waved his apology away. “Now, as I was saying. Angus’d agree with us; if we told him, he’d probably get some of the others to join in alongside him.”
Octavius nodded his assent. “Two of my Senate members are good men- with wise hearts as well as heads. And Cassius is trustworthy as well.”
“We shouldn’t take action too soon,” Jedediah added, knowingly. “If word got out we were plannin’ on peace, there ain’t no telling what’d happen.”
“That is true,” Octavius agreed. “But in the meantime, we should plan on our method of action once we reconcile our peoples.”
“Yeah? An’ what’d you have in mind?”
“An official truce.”
“Thought we already had that goin’ on.”
“We are at peace for now, yes,” Octavius agreed. “But I fear it will not stay for long unless we declare it.”
“And how’re we gonna do that?”
“You and I will address both parties at once- a great meeting,” Octavius explained. “We will show no hostility to one another, and we will call upon those who wish to pave forward the path of peace- namely, my Senate members and both your Angus and whomever else you and he can collect- and we will profess before the gods our intent towards good will.”
“Woah, woah, mister fancy-skirt, hold up.” Jedediah raised an eyebrow. “I mean, you’ve got the speech makin’ thing down, so you’ll do the talking, I think.”
“If it would so please you.”
“Well aren’t you just a regular apple pie order? You know, you could just say ‘yes.’ Or, I don’t know. ‘All right’? We’re not at a funeral.”
“Of course.”
Octavius allowed himself a smile.
o0O0o
“Hey, where you goin’?”
“I’m off to meet with Octavius- Angus, you take charge while I’m gone.” Jedediah checked to make sure his gun holders were filled and he had his trusty length of rope by his side before turning to the door that led outside of the cabin and out towards the mountainside railroad tracks. “Anything happens, you take care of it. Also, uh, let me know.”
“Right.” Angus nodded. “So, where are you goin’?”
“I’m meetin’ Octy, I told you.”
“Well, yeah, but where?”
“Oh, I dunno.” Jedediah shrugged. “Somewhere?”
“You don’t have these meetings in the Roman temples, then?” Angus asked, curiously. “Well, that explains why I couldn’t find you yesterday.”
“Why? What happened yesterday?” Jedediah demanded.
“Oh, nothing.” Angus shrugged. “Hogan an’ his friends got up to some trouble, but it weren’t nothin’ I couldn’t fix up.”
“Oh, right.” Jedediah nodded.
“So where are you goin’?” Angus pressed.
“Well.” Jedediah leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “Well, let’s see. We went to the African place yesterday, so today we might stop downstairs, see what else is interesting.”
“Cute,” Angus said, smirking.
“I ain’t cute!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Angus laughed. “What do you two talk about that’s so interesting, huh?”
“Oh, this and that.” Jedediah shrugged.
“Come on, there’s got to be more’n that,” Angus pressed.
Jedediah took off his hat and scrutinized it.
“Well,” he said, after a moment or two of silence, “lately we’ve been… talking about this whole war.”
“What about it?” Angus asked, curious.
“About ending it,” Jedediah said, cautiously.
“Ending the war.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Why?”
Jedediah sighed. “Because there ain’t no need for it, that’s why. And it’s awful hard to keep seeing him when I know for a fact half his army’d kill me if they saw me.”
“To be fair, you were more’n willing to shoot the general’s brains out if given the chance,” Angus pointed out.
“I know, I know. But- come on, Angus, I didn’t even know him!” Jedediah protested. “And, see, that’s the point- his people are just like us, ain’t they?” When Angus didn’t answer, he pressed on. “An’ we’d get so much more from bein’ friends with ‘em.”
“I suppose,” Angus agreed, quietly. “I’ve never thought of the possibility of peace,” he admitted.
“Start thinkin’,” Jedediah said, grinning broadly and slipping his hat back on his head. “Things are gonna change, Angus. Real soon.” He pushed the door open.
“Well, I’ll send word for you if somethin’ goes wrong,” Angus said, shrugging and taking a seat at the table in the middle of the room. “You have fun, now- an’ don’t worry about how that hat looks on you, you’ll look fine!”
Jedediah slammed the door behind him as he stormed out the room.
“I ain’t cute!”
o0O0o
“Legate, please, we must finalize this. The Senate is asking to see your opinions on the matter and I cannot stay them for much longer. And yes,” Cassius added, as Octavius moved to speak, “as much as I wish to delay them further and allow you time for your… meeting, I really must insist that we move these plans along.”
“Cassius, really.” Octavius huffed. “We go through this every day, is it really necessary?”
“You know as well as I do that the Senate will not wait forever, Legate. They grow restless without your presence.” Cassius sighed, following Octavius across the room as the Roman, pulling his cape around his neck, tried to avoid him.
“Rome prospers,” Octavius offered. “I see no reason to change-”
“Not a month ago we were breaking our own walls to expand,” Cassius protested. “And yet now we remain in the confines of our borders.”
“Then consider my meetings evidence of my… efforts on the matter.” Octavius picked up his helmet, inspecting the top. “After all, I am discussing the further plans of our partnership with the-”
“Partnership?” Cassius repeated, weakly. “Legate, the Senate is looking to prepare us for war.”
“We’ve been at war for far too long.” Octavius shook his head. “And it is unnecessary.”
“Not just declaring the state of war- they-” Cassius lowered his voice, ensuring that no one but Octavius would overhear him. “They are planning invasive maneuvers.”
“Unacceptable.” Octavius fiddled with the topmost decorations of his helmet. “Tell them I am vetoing their decision.”
“Legate?”
“We are ending this war, Cassius.” Octavius dropped into a chair and set the helmet atop the table. “I have not made any declarations as of now, but it is imminent.”
“You are choosing to surrender?” Cassius asked, incredulous.
“Not surrender. Compromise,” Octavius corrected.
“Marcus will never agree,” Cassius advised, reminding Octavius of the most hot-headed member of their Senate.
“Yes, but Nonus will.”
“And Regulus will agree with Nonus.” Cassius nodded to himself. “I see.”
“Cassius, the cowboys pose no threat to us. We can prosper from them. Making an ally does not mean admittance of weakness, rather a gathering of strength.”
“But we’ve never thought of them as anything but enemies before- even when fighting alongside one another,” Cassius began, but stopped at the look Octavius gave him. “Very well. I will tell the Senate your orders.”
“No.” Octavius shook his head. “Not yet. This is a delicate matter; none of the Senate can know of my intentions.” He looked to his side, as though checking that no one else was listening. “The only one who knows of this besides you is Jedediah. You must not change that.”
“Understood.” Cassius nodded. “Very good, Legate.”
o0O0o
“Hold up, what was that about Jedediah?”
“Make yourself useful, Samson, help me tie this thing down.” Angus tossed Samson a coil of rope and tugged at the line he’d already tied. “It’s secure for now but if any more weight gets on-”
“Angus, seriously, what was that? Peace?”
“Yeah, well.” Absent mindedly, Angus slid a length of rope underneath the metal ring fastened to the ground and pulled it tight. “Seems he’s gone soft on that Octavius fellow.”
“What, that general? Though he hated that guy.”
Angus shrugged. “Apparently not.”
“Huh.” Samson frowned. “Well, what’s he gonna do about it?”
“He and I- here, bring that around like this, yep, perfect- were talkin’ today. He wanted to stop the war between us- said Octy was all for it.”
“Who now?”
“Oh, yeah.” Angus sniggered. “That’s what he calls him.”
Samson finished tying the knot and looked at Angus, folding his arms. “Seriously?”
“Yep.” Angus laughed. “I reckon it’ll take another couple days before he goes all goo goo eyed just thinkin’ about him.” He sighed. “Anyway. You pick up that blueprint like I told you to?”
“Well, yeah, but I- hang on just a sec, Angus, what’re you gettin’ at?” Samson demanded.
“Give it here.” Angus held out a hand and Samson tugged the well-worn and folded sheet of paper from behind his belt. “Ah, he’s gone all soft. Can’t say I blame him for wanting peace around here. I mean, those Skirts ain’t half bad,” he said, taking the blueprint and unfolding it.
“You’ve talked with them?” Samson asked, incredulously.
“One of ‘em saved my life- back in the snow.” Angus shuddered. “I would’a just stuck down there, but he fished me out. Right nice guy.” Angus turned the page upside down, examining it. “Right, well, we’d better get to work. This thing’s gonna take a while to get done, if we want to finish by sunrise.”
Samson nodded, looking over Angus’s shoulder at the drawing. “We’ll need some more logs to finish that,” he pointed out. “Dunno if we’ve got any. Hey, when’s he want that done?”
“By sunrise,” Angus repeated, frowning. “Get your ears-”
“No, no, no.” Samson shook his head. “I mean that whole peace thing.”
“Oh.” Angus frowned. “He didn’t say. Soon, I think.”
“The others might not like it,” Samson warned. “Hogan in particular.”
“Hogan’s a stubborn fool who couldn’t teach a hen to cluck,” Angus dismissed. “He won’t be no trouble.”
“Yeah, but he’ll be able to sway some of the others.” Samson turned the blueprint over. “Angus, we gotta do something.”
“Do something?” Angus repeated. “Why?”
“We gotta help ol’ Jedediah.” Samson grinned. “Maybe get some Skirts- some o’ those folk to help us too.”
“What are you suggesting?” Angus asked, suspicious.
“We team up,” Samson proposed. “Prove we can work together.”
“And you think that’d work?” Angus folded his arms, unconvinced. “You’d be hard pressed to find a Skirt over there willing to change.”
“An’ I bet they’re over there sayin’ the same about us.” Samson folded the blueprint in half and clenched it so hard in his fist that it crumpled. “Angus- Angus, there’s gotta be somethin’ we can do to help.”
“Well.” Angus eyed the now useless blueprint. “Start by spreading the word, then. Not to everyone, though- if we’re gonna get this done, we gotta be under the radar.” Samson nodded. “Gather up as many folks as you can.”
“Got it.” Samson looked at the blueprint sheepishly.
“An’ don’t let Jedediah know we’re plannin’ anything,” Angus added. “He’ll tell the whole town and then there’ll be nothing to stop the naysayers from doin’ their part.”
“But won’t he want to know we’re supporting him?”
“Course he would. An’ that’s why we can’t let him.”
“Huh.” Samson unfolded the paper, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. “What are you gonna do, then?”
“I’ll do some snoopin’ of my own, around those Skirts. See if I can’t find anyone with the same mind as us.”
Samson looked down at the blueprint- took in its smudged lines and wrinkled edges, and deemed it useless. He folded it up again and crumpled it under his fist.
“You think it’ll work?” he asked, handing the paper back to Angus.
“I dunno,” Angus admitted. “But it better.”
From behind the mountainside, watching the two of them, Hogan grinned.
o0O0o
“Octavius is mad, surely,” the youngest of the three, Gallus, prompted.
“There’s talk that he thinks of making peace,” Marcus sneered, agreeing.
“Oh, yes. He told me just today of his plans- Gallus, put that down before you hurt yourself with it. Or at the very least, learn how to carry it,” Cassius snapped at Gallus, who was trying and failing rather miserably to twirl his spear through the air. At Cassius’s words, though, he held it straight and at his side.
“Don’t be so hard on him, Cassius. After all, Gallus is still learning,” Marcus chided, looking down at Gallus.
“Why, Marcus, I thought you’d be interested to know of our Legatus’s plans- or did you suddenly lose interest in politics?” Cassius smirked.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’d like to know what Octavius is planning,” Gallus cut in.
“That’s Legate to you,” Cassius snapped. “And keep your voice down- do you want to let the whole of Rome listen in on our conversation?
“Be that as it may,” Marcus said, voice radiating authority, “I believe you were coming to a point, Cassius.”
“Yes.” Cassius paused. “There are plans for peace on the horizon.”
“Why didn’t you say so at the debate?” Marcus asked, genuinely curious. “It would have been a grand topic of discussion- much more so than that idiot Nonus’s proposal.”
“For one, I had promised to Legatus that I would keep the information from the Senate,” Cassius explained. “And for another, it would have been disadvantageous, given the circumstances.”
“How do you mean?” Marcus asked.
“If we are to keep this war alive and the citizens at peace, we cannot have people like Nonus towering over us. No, this is a battle won with stealth.”
“Wait,” Gallus cut in. “Why don’t you wish to end the war?”
“No one here wishes to end the war- perhaps by conquering, but certainly not by surrender,” Marcus answered. “Making peace with the cowboys is akin to admitting defeat. The gods would scorn us for surrendering.”
“If he plans on peace,” Gallus said, frowning, “then he’s a fool for thinking the Senate will agree.”
“Octavius is a gift from the gods,” Cassius snarled, lip curling. “And they will strike you down if you say one more word against him.”
“Peace, my friend.” Marcus laid his hand upon Cassius’s shoulder. “Gallus is young- he still needs time to understand.”
Cassius huffed.
“In any case,” Marcus continued, as they approached the column covered building, “we cannot allow his plans to continue. Have you any idea of his proposed scheduling for it?”
“None,” Cassius admitted. “Though he is working with the leader of the cowboys.”
“Jedediah?” Gallus asked, pushing through the door behind the other two.
“He is a cowboy,” Cassius spat. “And, as such, not worth naming.”
“Peace,” Marcus said softly, as Gallus shut the door sheepishly. “Our focus lies on future action, Cassius. We don’t have time for your… distractions.”
Cassius glared.
“So,” Gallus began, sensing that perhaps this was a subject best avoided. “What is it, then? Our future action?”
“I’ve got an idea,” a voice said, from behind them.
Instantly, all three of them spun around. Marcus and Cassius drew their swords out, where Gallus pointed the spear threateningly. Leaning casually against one of the stone columns was a-
“Cowboy,” Gallus spat, thrusting the spear forward.
“Learn to hold that properly,” Cassius snapped, “or else you’ll take out an eye.”
“State your name and intention,” Marcus said coolly. The cowboy grinned.
“The name’s Hogan. An’ I’ve got a proposition for you.”
“We don’t make deals with cowboys.” Gallus scowled. “Leave now and we’ll spare you your life.”
“Gallus!” Cassius barked, and the young Roman snapped to attention, spear standing straight again.
“Sorry, sir,” he muttered.
“I assume you’ve been spying on us for some time,” Cassius continued, turning to the cowboy, Hogan, again. “You’ve heard our discussion, I take it?”
“Jedediah’s a fool if he thinks the rest of us’ll ever agree to a truce,” Hogan said, stepping away from the column and approaching the Romans. “An’ it looks like you all feel the same.”
“What is your proposition?” Marcus asked.
“A truce,” Hogan said, and cut Cassius off before he had even the chance to speak. “Jus’ between a few of us. To agree to disagree. We do whatever we have to in order t’keep this war goin’.”
“I see.” Marcus looked to Cassius. “This may be useful,” he said quietly. “We will work on our end and have him work on the other.” Cassius nodded.
“I got a few fellas back home who’d love to help,” Hogan said, shrugging. “What’d you say we meet tomorrow? Then we can talk about how we’re gonna go about this.”
“Agreed.” Cassius nodded. “A truce then, between us.”
“A truce it is.”
o0O0o
The night was passing with little incident.
“I’m surprised,” Octavius admitted, as they watched the two dioramas from afar. The windowsill was high enough up to see the stars over the treetops, but close enough to the ground that they could reach it with ease. “Usually by this time there’s been at least one… argument.”
“Well, look at us.” Jedediah smiled, knocking his shoulder against his friend’s. “If we can do it, what’s to say they can’t?”
“You have a point, I suppose.”
“Hey, look at that.” Jedediah looked over his shoulder and pointed at the star- or, more specifically, the planet- that was hovering just over the tallest treetop. Given the fact that they only had regular access to one windowsill, their views of the stars were limited. Usually they could make out a few constellations, and hardly ever were they treated to the sight of one of the planets- out of the nine total, they were informed.
But apparently tonight was one of those nights.
Both of them turned to the windowsill, gazing up at the night sky. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The trees bent in what was undoubtedly wind, branches tangling together before ripping apart again.
“Which do you think it is?” Octavius asked, quietly.
“Jupiter, I’d think.” Jedediah looked not at the planet but at Octavius as he spoke. “King of the Gods, right? Y’know, witness to all oaths. Divine authority, an’ all that.”
“Hmm, well. I believe,” Octavius said, meeting his eyes, “it might be Venus.”
“Venus? Isn’t that the goddess of, what, bein’ pretty?”
“Beauty, perhaps, yes,” Octavius admitted. “But more than that. Goddess of beauty, of love, of victory.”
“Victory?”
“Among other things.”
“Huh.” Jedediah crossed his legs. “I always thought Venus was just… supposed to be-”
“She is most popularly remembered for her beauty, yes, though few would recognize it,” Octavius said, thoughtfully. He looked back up at the planet, which was shining among the rest of the stars, which twinkled in reply. “True beauty, I mean. It is rare.”
“You ever known true beauty, then?” Jedediah teased, laughing a little and nudging his elbow again.
Octavius smiled.
“I like to believe so.”
o0O0o
Nonus Flavius paused on his way out of the Senate house.
The air was stagnant- nothing moved, nothing breathed. After perhaps a moment or two, he let out the air from his lungs and continued, walking toward the door.
Again, something alerted him to the presence of another in the room.
“Show your face now, and I will leave you unscathed,” he announced, drawing his sword. “Or else face the wrath of my weapon.”
“Woah, there,” came a voice he had no recollection of knowing, and he spun around to face the cowboy that was walking out from behind a column. “I don’t mean no harm; put that thing away.”
“What do you want?” Nonus demanded calmly. “Speak your name and your intent.”
“Name’s Angus,” the cowboy said, gesturing to himself. “An’ I just wanted to talk.”
“Then speak your office,” Nonus said. He sheathed his sword and took a step back. The cowboy- Angus, apparently- came forward, more into the light. He kept his hands visible and didn’t appear to have brought any weapons with him.
“So your, uh, general,” Angus began, and stopped short.
“Octavius, yes, you may speak his name,” Nonus provided, shaking his head. “Continue.”
“Yes. Right, well. Your Octavius and our ol’ Jedediah’ve been, uh. Spending time together,” Angus continued, evaluating Nonus’s reaction to his every word.
“They have,” Nonus agreed. “And what of it?”
“Look, I.” Angus looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening. “Now, if I tell you more, you gotta swear secrecy, all right?”
“It is perhaps against my better judgment, but I promise.” Nonus smiled. This cowboy was not dangerous, he could tell. “Speak your mind free of fear.”
“All right, all right.” Angus let out a breath. “So, our Jedediah’s been thinking of… of making peace.”
“Peace?” Nonus repeated. “Between your people and ours, you mean?”
“Yeah.” Angus nodded. “And me and my fellows agree with it- I mean, there are some folks who wouldn’t, but I know a good group that does- anyway, we wanted to ask you for help.”
“I see.” Nonus crossed his arms. “You did well to come to me and not to another.”
“I watched you all at your meeting thing,” Angus admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “It weren’t terribly interesting, to be honest. But I thought you’d be best to talk to.”
Nonus nodded. “A wise decision. Our Senate meetings are largely unimportant, but there are a few of us who uphold the right to offer opinions even in the event of disagreement.”
Angus blinked. “So… you’ll help?”
“I shall offer any assistance I can,” Nonus agreed, nodding. “I have had my doubts about this war since the beginning- your leader’s antics led to much more than a petty rivalry.” He sighed. “Though I fear you’ll be hard pressed to find many more in the Senate who agree. Perhaps I can find more people within the citizens.”
“Great!” Angus clapped his hands together and Nonus flinched. “Ah, sorry.” Angus grinned.
“It is fine.” Nonus waved his apology away. “I will keep this from the other Senate members, and see if I can find others to aid in this mission. We shall take all of tomorrow to collect members, and the next night, we shall meet.”
“Where? There’s no place round here that’d be big enough to hold a group o’ people- and besides, there ain’t no privacy.” Angus frowned. “Well, there ain’t a place back home, either.”
“We’ll have to meet outside the exhibit,” Nonus said, glancing past the stone columns. “Perhaps under the bench?”
“You got it.” Angus held out his hand. Nonus stared at it. “You shake it,” he said, taking Nonus’s hand and shaking it gently. “Like that. It’s like, you know. A pact.”
“I see.” Nonus shook his hand again, firmly. “Come tomorrow night, I will have gathered my people and you shall have collected yours. We will meet under the bench after that, beyond the eyes of our peoples.”
“Will do.” Angus tipped his hat. “See you around, partner.”
o0O0o
“Keep your voice down, Gallus; someone will hear us.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“If we could stick to the topic at hand, Cassius, that would be lovely.”
“If you pot-bellies are done arguing, we’re ready to go to work,” Hogan cut in, before the Romans could finish.
“By all means,” Cassius said sweetly. “We’ve brought our crew.” He gestured to the cluster of caped Romans behind him. “Who have you brought?”
“Some stragglers.” Hogan looked over his shoulder. “Lance, Anders, Hampton, Jennings-”
“Yes, yes, let us spare the trial of names,” Marcus said, waving his hand to bring the cowboy to a stop before he could continue any further. “And continue on to the meat of our mission.”
Twenty-odd minutes later found them in heated discussion, with the members having broken into different parts. Some of the cowboys and Romans had stayed with their groups, while others had begun to mingle.
All conversation stopped at the sound of two very familiar voices.
“Well, well, well, hammer me hoedowned, what’s this?”
“I don’t believe that’s an actual expression.”
“Oh, hush, you.”
None of the congregation moved as Jedediah and Octavius- casual as anything- simply walked past where two of the Romans had been keeping guard, straight into the middle of the discussion. Cassius shot them a glare before turning to Octavius, ignoring Jedediah completely.
“I see you are getting along with the others,” Octavius commented, looking between the mingling cowboys and Romans.
“Yes, Legatus,” Cassius said, falling to one knee. “Apologies for our appearences, we were not expecting you.”
“All is well.” Octavius waved his concern away, and Cassius got to his feet. “What is this congregation?”
“Yeah,” Jedediah added, hands on his hips. Cassius didn’t so much as look at him. “What’s goin’ on, here?”
“Mister Cassus here,” Hogan began, stepping up and addressing Jedediah, “was nice enough to invite us to meet. Ain’t that right?”
“Yes,” Cassius hissed, glowering.
“This here Cassus, he’s a right nice fellow.” Hogan grinned.
Distracted by the cowboy speaking, neither Jedediah nor Octavius noticed Cassius’s face grow from a light tinge of pink embarrassment to a full on red flush. But by the time Octavius turned to his second in command, the Roman had regained his composure.
“I was right to entrust you with my thoughts, Cassius,” he said, nodding. Cassius mimicked the motion, bowing low.
“Of course, Legate.”
“Well, we won’t bother ya’ any further.” Jedediah clapped Octavius on the back. “C’mon, didn’t you say we’d make it to the other side by midnight?”
“What? Oh, yes, of course.” Abandoning the rest of the Romans- Cassius included- Octavius followed Jedediah away from the group and into the next room. “If we hurry, we’ll be just in time to see Jupiter again- you know, they really should put a planetarium in here somewhere…”
Cassius watched until the two of them were out of sight.
“Gallus, you fool,” he chided. “If you hadn’t been so loud, perhaps they wouldn’t have found us.”
“Ha!” Hogan barked, pointing at Cassius. “Oh, he thought you were fluffier’n a rabbit, he did.”
“Quiet, you swine.” Cassius folded his arms. “It is to our benefit that he thinks us to be cooperating. Perhaps we can plan our countered attacks when he is particularly at peace.”
“Yeah?” Lance snorted. “An’ how’re you gonna know when that is?”
“I am the Senate leader, by the Legatus’s side in a moment’s notice. He will tell me,” Cassius sniffed.
“I’m sure,” Lance muttered. “I mean, after all, don’t he entrust you with his thoughts?”
The cowboys sniggered.
“Silence!” Cassius roared. “I shall decide when Rome attacks.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Hogan stepped up to Cassius, looking him straight in the eyes. “Who said anything ‘bout you attackin’ first?”
“I did.” Cassius didn’t meet Hogan’s eyes. “We shall engage you in confrontational war- with our attack, we begin. You counteract, we allow mild damage to be done, and the war continues down the road.”
“Why d’you get to attack us first?”
“And I suppose you’d rather you place the first blow?” Cassius mocked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah!” Lance shouted. “Yeah, America don’t take nothin’ lying down, we act first!”
“Very well.” Cassius sighed. “Let the cowboys land the first strike. Rome will return the favor shortly after.”
“Good.” Hogan grinned toothily, stepping back down. “We got us some work to do, in that case.”
“Meet again tomorrow,” Cassius demanded. “Under the bench in the main room. There, we will discuss the logistics- where you will attack, where we will counter, and the timing, and so forth, and so on.”
“Fine. Deal.”
A gloved hand met a calloused one, and they shook.
o0O0o
“I’m tellin’ you, Angus, it’ll work.”
“Uh huh.”
“I didn’ think it could happen- well, I mean, not like this- but I saw it with my own eyes; Hogan and Lance and all the shoot that always play with rigged dice when they ain’t workin’- all of ‘em were there with Octy’s guys, just talkin’. I dunno what about, but still.”
“It’s something, that’s for sure.”
“Angus, this’ll work. I’m tellin’ you.”
“Mmm.”
“Oh, come on, Angus. Have a heart.”
“You’d better get in place before the sun rises.”
“Oh, go swallow a horn toad backwards.”
O0o0o
“The bench, then, tonight?” Octavius asked, as Jedediah met him by the break between their exhibits the next day.
“Sure thing.” Jedediah grinned, and together they hopped off the shelf. It had taken a while to get used to, but now both of them had long since lost whatever fears of heights they might have ever harbored. The jump from the shelf to the floor was no longer a challenge, and they both reveled in the slight adrenaline it still gave them.
After the jump, it turned into a race- perhaps immature, but neither of them cared- to the bench.
Of course, Jedediah won.
“My shoes are harder worn than yours,” Octavius was saying, as they began climbing up the bench’s sides. “It is not fair-’
“Hold up, hold up.” Jedediah stopped, one hand on the bench.
“No, you don’t understand-”
“No, no, not that.” Jedediah frowned, waving Octavius’s words away with his other hand. “D’you hear that?”
Octavius listened, and sure enough, the faint sound of someone talking could be heard. Neither of them could quite make out the words- there was more than one person talking at once, apparently- but it was coming from below the bench.
“Cmon, let’s check it out.”
Abandoning the bench, they jogged around until they came face to face with-
“Oh, now, come on,” Jedediah roared, at the gathering of cowboys and Romans that were locked in battle. The Romans weren’t even bothering to hold back, instead using their swords- and one was wielding a spear rather clumsily- and the cowboys were fighting dirty as well, taking to hitting some of the Romans over the head with their guns.
But… was that one Roman fighting another? And was that Samson locking Hogan in a chokehold?
At the sound of Jedediah’s voice, the fighting ceased. Only Samson and Hogan were left, grappling each other on the floor. Lance kicked Samson in the shoulder, and he looked up. Seeing Jedediah, both of them got to their feet.
“What’s all this?” Jedediah demanded.
“These here Skirts,” Samson began, “they were tryin’ to stir up trouble.”
“Now, that, I wouldn’t have trouble believing,” Jedediah said, looking apologetically at Octavius, who nodded in assent. “But what’s Lance got to do with any o’ that?”
“He was helpin’ em!”
“I… what?” Jedediah looked between the two cowboys.
Octavius, on the other hand, had easily recognized a few of the faces in the crowd. Namely, his second in command.
“Cassius, what is the meaning of this?” he asked, coldly. “And Nonus, what were you doing?”
“The same, sir,” Nonus said, before Cassius could speak. “The cowboy Angus came to me for help in ending the war,” he admitted. “We were to meet here today to discuss our plans.”
“Ending the war,” Hogan mocked, folding his arms. “We’d never end the war with you, Skirts.”
“Exactly,” Marcus agreed, moving to stand by Hogan. “Nonus, you are a fool for believing their words.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Jedediah cut in, holding up his hands. “Lemme get this straight.” He looked between the two fighting groups, which had separated into two more or less equally sized groups. “You,” he said, pointing to the group on the left, “conspired together to keep the war goin’?”
They all nodded. The youngest of the bunch, holding his spear, didn’t meet Octaivus’s or Jedediah’s eyes.
“And you,” Octavius said, addressing the right group of people. “What was your purpose to meet? Explain yourself.”
“Apologies, Legate,” Nonus began, bowing his head. The dozen or so Romans behind him did the same. “We only meant to inspire peace between us.” He looked to the cowboy beside him. “When Angus first approached me I was hesitant to believe it would work, but I found many who would agree to help.” He gestured to the crowd of Romans, who all sank to their knees. “I apologize for not bringing this to your attention- but not for the act itself,” he added, quickly. Octavious raised an eyebrow. “For it is clear to me now that this is a plan of action that is worth fighting for. We can and we will unite one day- if these people are willing to,” he said, looking at the cowboys and the Romans stood behind him, “then we all shall be.”
“Pretty words,” Hogan taunted, from the other side of the congregation. “But you’re wrong.”
“A fool,” Cassius repeated, nodding.
“This war will never end,” Marcus added, standing by Cassius’s side. “And we would do well not to weaken ourselves by believing in its end. Nonus, you don’t even belong on the Senate; don’t pretend you know what you’re talking about.”
“You must understand,” Nonus pleaded, looking between Marcus, Cassius, and Gallus. “Part of war is picking your battles. We have no need to battle these people, do you not see that?” Cassius and Marcus didn’t grace him with an answer.
The silence was broken by the sound of Gallus’s spear hitting the ground.
“Can’t you hold onto that thing for more than a second?” Cassius roared, turning on Gallus. The younger Roman shrunk back, bending to pick up his spear again.
“Sorry,” Gallus muttered.
“Apologize by trying to be a Roman for once in your life,” Cassius growled.
“Cassius,” Marcus warned, voice low.
“Being a Roman?” Gallus repeated, slowly. He held the spear up, standing. “And what, precisely, is that to you?”
“To be known,” Cassius started, “never allowing one’s personal priorities to take precedent.” With every item, he took another step toward Gallus. “To be victorious, to be feared, to be superior in every single facet. To strike terror into the hearts of your enemies when they so much as hear your name.”
With the last three words, he drew his sword. Gallus didn’t flinch.
“You’re wrong,” he said, shaking his head. He pointed his spear at Cassius. “Being a Roman means honor.”
Cassius thrust his sword forward; Gallus parried with the wooden shaft of his spear.
“It means respect, not that you’d know anything about that.” He blocked another blow of Cassius’s sword.
Jedediah looked to Octavius, ready to jump in and split the fight up, but Octavius shook his head.
“You’re not fit to wear the cape around your back,” Cassius spat, striking forward with his sword again and again as Gallus blocked him. “Nor should you consider yourself worthy to stand by my side any longer, swine.”
“Fine!” Gallus slashed his spear through the air and Cassius’s sword fell to the ground. He pointed the spear at Cassius’s chest, and for a moment neither of them moved. The head of the spear didn’t touch the metal plates of his armor, even as his lungs expanded and retracted. After a few breaths, Gallus pulled back his spear.
Wordlessly, he strode over toward the other side of the crowd and took his place beside Nonus.
“Well, it’s decided, then,” Jedediah said, clapping his hands.
“Decided?” Marcus repeated, frowning.
“Peace, I should think?” Octavius proposed.
“Never.” Hogan scowled. “You know as well as I do, Jedediah. We an’ the Skirts, we’re never gonna get along.”
“Agreed,” Cassius said, standing by his side. Jedediah saw with some despair that he was holding his sword again.
“Really?” Jedediah asked, looking between them. “Because it sorta seems like you two are gettin’ along just fine to me.”
“This is different!” Marcus protested, stepping forward. “A temporary truce, to be ended as soon as-”
“As soon as what?” Octavius asked, a touch of amusement in his voice. “If your only intention was to ensure the war was ongoing, then at what point would you have ceased this camaraderie?”
“It ain’t camaraderie, it’s a truce,” Hogan cut in, scowling petulantly.
“A truce, precisely.”
“Lookit em, Octy,” Jedediah said, grinning at his friend. “Workin’ together all nice. Ain’t that sweet?”
“Truly warming to the heart,” Octavius agreed.
“We ain’t working together!” Hogan shouted, stamping his foot. “We’d never agree to anything.”
“That’s right,” Marcus agreed.
No one said anything.
Angus coughed.
After perhaps six seconds, Hogan sighed. “All right, fine, we agreed on that. But that’s an exception.”
“No, you know what? I’ve had enough of this.” Angus strode over to Hogan and prodded his chest. “We can work together and you know it just as well as I do. You just don’t want to admit it.”
Hogan prodded him right back, taking a step forward. “Oh, shut up.”
“Please. You worked together just to make sure we wouldn’t work together.”
“That’s not the point-”
“Hogan, you couldn’t cut a lame cow from a shade tree.”
“Oh yeah?” Hogan huffed. “Well, your brain cavity wouldn’t make a drinkin’ cup for a canary.”
“You couldn’t hit the ground with your hat in three throws.”
“You’re plumb weak north of your ears!”
“You don’t know dung from wild honey!”
“You couldn’t drive nails in a snowbank!”
“OI!”
Hogan and Angus stopped short.
“You’re both dumb, got it? So there ain’t no point in callin’ each other idiots.”
“Is that what they were saying?” Octavius whispered.
“As of this moment,” Jedediah said loudly, taking Octavius’s hand in his own and lifted it up into the air, “we are declaring peace between our people.”
Seeming to get what Jedediah was going at, Octavius continued. “Any fights between us and the cowboys will be considered acts of treason and punishable by death.”
Jedediah glared.
“Not death,” Octavius amended. “Some… other form of punishment.”
“Same goes for me,” Jedediah said, hand still clenched over Octavius’s. “You so much as say the word Skirt an’ you’re goin’ in the stockade.”
The two groups glared at each other.
“No!” Cassius roared, glaring not at Jedediah or Octavius but at their joined hands in fury. “Rome will never surrender to the lines of these… these… imbeciles!”
“Cassius, that is enough,” Octavius snarled, letting go of Jedediah’s hand and pointing at the Roman. “Listen to me, we are ending this war.”
“You listen.” Cassius faced the crowd. “Rome will not bow down to this fool’s actions. Jupiter would never forgive us if we surrendered to these heathens!”
The Romans behind him cheered, holding up their swords.
“Now, listen here,” Jedediah began, but the Roman cut him off.
“And you! You are nothing but a fool and a child!” Cassius shrieked. “The gods should feel shame for your creation!”
“Jedediah and I are of the same mind,” Octavius said coldly, “And as such, he is my greatest friend.”
Beside him, Jedediah lost all interest in the crowd before them.
“And if you speak one more word- if you think one more word against him, I will personally make sure you see the sun by the end of this night,” he finished, yanking Cassius’s sword out of his hand. “You’re no longer part of the Senate, Cassius.” Cassius opened his mouth to respond, but Octavius steamrolled him over. “I’ve no time for your petty jealousy. Or have you forgotten about not letting one’s personal priorities take precedent?”
Cassius scowled. Octavius nodded at Nonus and Gallus, who each took one of Cassius’s arms and pinned them behind his back. Octavius then turned to Marcus.
“I trust you don’t have anything else to say?” Octavius asked the other Senate member, crossing his arms.
Marcus shook his head, falling to his knees. “No, Legate,” he said, eyes on the ground. “I humbly request forgiveness.”
“You ain’t worth it,” Jedediah said, mockingly. “Octy, can I put ‘im in the stockade?”
“No,” Octavius said, shaking his head. “Marcus will remain on the Senate as he requests. He has done little wrong.”
“You kiddin’ me?”
“I am not, Jedediah. Cassius, however.” Octavius glared at the other Roman, who was still being held back by Nonus and Gallus. “Not only has he attacked a fellow Roman in cold blood, but he deceived me. I swore him to secrecy and he broke his oath.”
“S’ pretty bad,” Jedediah admitted. “So, uh. Stockade?”
Octavius sighed, shoulders slumping. “Fine. Yes. You can put him in the stockade.”
“Yes.” Jedediah pumped the air with a fist, grinning. “Boys!”
“One step ahead of ya, boss!” Samson called. Happily, Nonus and Gallus handed the ex-Senate member over to Samson and another cowboy, Travis. After the cowboys bound his hands in rope, two of the Romans offered to help take him back to the cowboys’ exhibit.
“Hogan,” Jedediah finished, because there was still one problem left.
“I don’t want no trouble,” Hogan said, putting his hands up in defeat. “Just… fine, all right? You want your peace? You’ve got your damn peace.” He folded his arms, looking at the remaining Romans still standing behind him. “An’ I suppose working with them Skirts wouldn’t be… that bad.”
“You’ll work the rail lines for a few days,” Jedediah concluded, satisfied. Hogan nodded, eyes locked on the ground. “And as for the rest of you all,” he said, addressing the group that had fallen silent. “I expect you all to get along, now.”
“I’ll make sure of it, Jed,” Angus said. He turned to Octavius, then, holding out his hand. “Thanks, mate.” He winked. “Jed needs someone.”
Octavius shook his hand, not knowing exactly what Angus had meant and what he was expected to have said back. He didn’t offer a response to the cowboy, instead giving a rather awkward nod.
“Right,” Jedediah said, breaking through the silence. “Well. Octy an’ I will just… be going. Now.”
“Yes,” Octavius agreed, glad to change the subject. “Yes, we should.”
“Make sure everything stays afloat, Angus,” Jedediah said, nodding at the cowboy. Angus tipped his hat, winking again.
“You go have fun; I’ll hold the fort.”
o0O0o
“I believe that’s Cygnus.”
“Sig- what?”
“This place needs a planetarium- the swan. Jupiter took the form of the swan to seduce a human he’d fallen in love with- without letting his wife know.”
“Wait, wait, wait. What’s the- why would you seduce someone by bein’ a swan?”
“The legends of our gods are… perhaps a little unlikely.”
“Unlikely.”
“You know what I meant.”
“Uh huh.”
“Tell me your constellations, then.”
“Well, there’s this one that- dunno if you can see it from here, but there’s like. Two different stories.”
“Yes?”
“The fancy-fancy name for it is Ursa Major, or something like that. Some say it’s a bear, an’ it’s running around in circles, after the North Star. Because that star don’t move, see. An’ the North Star’s the tail of Ursa Minor- the smaller bear, like the son. But the bigger bear- either the mom or the dad, we don’ know- it’ll never catch up to the smaller bear.”
“Very introspective.”
“Ah, shut up. At least it’s better than your seducing swan.”
“I’ll have you know there’s a plethora of myths surrounding our-”
“We’ve got time. Sun ain’t comin’ up anytime soon.”
“What. What are you doing?”
“S’ called being tired.”
“And leaning on me is your solution?”
“M’ not leaning. M’ just. Resting m’head. Tell me about your gods.”
“Rest away.”
“Hmm.”
“I think you would enjoy the legend of Hercules- he began as a human and, in time, earned his own seat amongst the gods…”
fin