Ravens of Eternity

467 Courtship Rituals

After their little fracas with a would-be thief and a shopkeep, both Freya and Lucifer continued to sightsee the grand city laid out all around them. And of course, they snacked on candied plums and stuffed dates as they continued.

“Hey, um, before we go and visit the Ravens, how about we enjoy a bit of ‘us time’?” asked Lucifer.

“What, you mean like every other day in our lives?” Freya joked.

“No no, not like that. I mean, without the jobs and the coin. Just you and me and this city and a whole lotta fun. It’s just that I don’t think we really get to do that often, do we?”

“Oh, you mean kinda like a date night?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Lucifer exclaimed. “We haven’t been on a proper date in a long time… Not since before we split off to do our own thing years ago.”

Freya blinked in realization. It had been quite a lot of time since they did anything of that sort, just for the sake of being together. Although they had spent almost all of their time together, it was just as Lucifer had said – too much business, not enough pleasure.

Well, with the exception of their nighttime intimacies, of course. That was something neither failed to do on the regular.

She wasn’t quite sure why she had forgotten about all this, but then again she had been forgetting quite a lot of things lately. Or, more accurately, she had been remembering too much of a life that never existed.

.....

“Yeah, I’m down for date night,” she said after a moment. “What’re you in the mood for? Wanna check out the coliseum, maybe? See who’s fighting who?”

Lucifer shrugged at the suggestion. It wasn’t like ze didn’t like a good fight, but every fight they had personally participated in far eclipsed any fight they could watch.

“I guess it depends,” ze replied. “Are you looking to watch or join in? Personally, I’d get bored being a spectator. Can only really get so excited watching two people ham it up while they play at fighting each other.”

“I get what you mean,” said Freya. “They’re more show, and less fight.”

“Yeah, exactly. And on top of it, if we want any kind of fun, we’d have to join in and challenge someone. Or maybe lots of someones at the same time. And at that point, we’d end up working instead of, er, coupling.”

“Alright, alright. So no arenas then. How about… ummm… brothels? I keep hearing that they’re basically tourist attractions in the city. Are you even into those?”

Lucifer looked at her questioningly. Ze didn’t expect her to suggest such a place – the Freya ze was familiar with wasn’t quite as outward with her sexuality. Not out of private, anyway.

But ze quickly brushed it off.

“It’s not a bad suggestion, and I wouldn’t normally mind, but…” ze replied.

“But?”

“Why?”

Freya shrugged slightly.

“I dunno, maybe to be a little naughtier than we are normally, I guess?” she said. “I mean, aren’t you feeling more experimental? It might be a good time to try things out, now that we’re in the city for a bit.”

“Experimental? I guess,” said Lucifer. “Not really all that tempted, honestly. I mean, I’ve already got you, right? The both of us can pretty much do anything we want, especially out there. I guess what I’m saying is that experimentation is what we do normally.

“I think for me though I’m not quite so into the whole brothel experience because, well, aren’t most of ‘em slaves? Doesn’t quite sit right with me.”

Freya grimaced lightly as she realized that Lucifer was right. Most of the men and women (and children) employed at brothels were mostly slaves. Or freed slaves. Either way, their existence there wasn’t always of their own will, even if they enjoyed their line of work.

Hell, even if they were paid very generously for their work.

Of course, both knew that the majority of work done in the entire empire was performed by slaves. Their use rose higher and higher as the years passed, with more duties taken from the plebes.

Which of course meant more money for the patricians that owned them, and less for the common people.

The fact that they were in the largest city in the empire didn’t change things in the slightest. In fact, both fundamentally understood that the situation was far worse here.

“We really oughta do something about that,” muttered Freya. “Not just with the brothels, but everywhere.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Lucifer replied. “But not on date night, alright? Any other night but tonight. Although… a bit of small-time slave freeing could be a fun post-coital activity, yeah?”

“Listen to you – ‘post coital activity’. You sure do know how to keep things nice and romantic.”

Although Freya chuckled at Lucifer’s choice of words, for some reason it nagged at her in the back of her mind. It seemed too… programmatic.

Not that the words were wrong, of course. They worked just fine. They just didn’t seem to fit Lucifer, or vice-versa.

Lucifer however, simply sighed at being teased.

“We can fuck stuff up after we fuck,” ze said. “Or is that too crude for you, your highness?”

Freya burst out in laughter at hearing hir curse – this too seemed out of character for Lucifer. But it was so outrageous that she couldn’t help but find it hilarious.

“Okay, fine, fine, fine,” Lucifer said after a few moments, and after Freya’s laughter died down a bit. “How about we go see a play or a show, then hit up some of the cheap tabernas afterwards? Or vice-versa?”

Still charged up with laughter, Freya chuckled as she tried to respond.

“We’re in ancient Rome, and the best thing you can think of for a date is dinner and a movie?” she said.

“Seriously, your teasing is incessant,” Lucifer groaned.

Ze even crossed hir arms in frustration, annoyed at being picked on. Freya quickly nudged hir with an elbow in an attempt to disarm hir annoyance.

“No sense pretending you don’t like it,” she said. “And besides, I didn’t say I didn’t wanna do it. Honestly, I kinda dig the idea. Old earth habits, new terra lifestyle.

“Though honestly, that’s exactly what I figure people did anyway when they courted each other. Went to see or experience some kind of entertainment, and enjoyed a whole lot of wine in the process.”

Lucifer quickly loosened back up after hearing that Freya actually was game for a simple kind of date night. It was more of a relief than anything – ze had a few more ideas, but was running out of all the good ones.

All the legal ideas, anyway.

“And hey, like I said maybe we could do something during the late night, post date,” ze added. “Just for fun, to cap things off.”

“Now that’s romance,” Freya said with a laugh.

By the time they had finished debating and teasing each other, dusk had already started to fall.

And as the skies became darker, so too did the streets. To avoid becoming prey to the night, many lit the numerous torches lined up in braziers everywhere. The city’s bustle began to ebb and fade as the majority of plebes and slaves went to get their dusktime meal.

Certainly, many of the streetside tabernas became filled with all sorts of people, even as twilight descended down on them. While most retreated back to their homes after filling up, especially the slaves,, some stayed out to continue celebrating whatever day they had labored through.

Freya was surprised at how many people de-stressed their day through wine and song, sometimes with copious amounts. Both were completely unsurprised to see that very few women were out, and that they were perhaps the most feminine figures out there on the streets.

Nighttime wasn’t exactly safe in ancient Rome, especially in the city. And definitely not for women.

Sure, there were night watchmen – Vigiles Urbani – patrolling around, but they didn’t exist to keep the peace between citizens. Not exactly, anyway. They existed to stop thieves and fires and catch runaway slaves.

Or, in other words, they protected the interests of the patricians, rather than the people.

Regardless, neither Freya nor Lucifer was particularly afraid. Both were certain they could handle whatever came their way, even if it was a platoon of legionaries.

They elbowed their way through a small crowd of plebians into what seemed to be a very popular taberna. There, the smell of grilled fish and vegetables wafted into the air, which wove around all the boisterous singing and conversation.

Both eventually made it to the L-shaped counter near the rear where a gruff man cooked up his goods over a few open flame grills. Next to him was his young female assistant, likely his daughter, who served up whatever food he made.

Lucifer gave her a wide smile as ze held up two fingers.

“Dinner and wine for two, please,” ze said happily.

The young girl immediately acknowledged the order, and prepared their meal for them. She first set a pitcher three-quarters full of wine in the middle of a wide basket, then placed two bowls, two spoons, and two mugs next to it. All made of wood.

Then she placed barley bread in each of the bowls, then poured a light brothy stew on top of it. The stew was mostly lentils and chickpeas, though there were marginal amounts of fish as well. She then topped it off with a chunk of cheese, then handed it over to Lucifer.

At the same time, Freya dropped a gold coin into the payment basket right next to her, which she audibly gasped at the sight.

“Th-that’s too much!” she said.

“Well, give everyone else a bit extra for a while,” Freya replied with a shrug and a smile.

The both of them then headed off to the room behind the taberna, where a number of booth-like seats were lined up along the walls. The booths were rather simple, and had been formed out of shaped concrete. Most were already occupied by other patrons, so they went to the corner and sat down at the only empty one.

In the center of the booth was a circular pedestal, where they gently placed their basket tray filled with food and drink.

Both sat down and quickly chomped down on their delicious food. Although it was simple and relatively light, both found it extremely enjoyable. Sure, enjoying delicacies and the finer foods was always a treat, but food like this was always satisfying.

They took a sip of their wine, which was both potent and decently made. The taste was still rather strong, despite it being watered down a great deal. The alcohol quickly spread through their systems and warmed their blood.

A warmth spread through them as their bellies and hearts swelled – their affection for each other filled their chests. They long since found that the simple act of enjoying a meal together was as powerful as beating down some despot or tyrant somewhere.

It was a tried and true bonding experience.

“Never thought in a million years that we’d be in the middle of ancient Rome, enjoying the simplicity of life,” said Freya. “You really hit on a great idea there.”

“Same,” Lucifer replied. “Honestly, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I just love you so much that it doesn’t even matter what we’re doing, as long as it’s together.”

Freya was absolutely floored by what Lucifer was saying. Ze had said the ‘L word’ so easily and so casually that she was practically disarmed.

It wasn’t the word itself, but rather she hardly ever heard hir say it. And of course, she knew that ze loved her deeply. Ze displayed it in hir every action and decision. But hearing hir say it out loud made it seem as though the entire world had shifted, somehow.

“I love you too,” Freya replied. “And I love that you said it. I mean, I know you’ve always had trouble with the word. So hearing it now… I’m just glad you finally overcame whatever was stopping you before.”

Lucifer quickly shot her a look of absolute puzzlement.

“What’cha mean?” ze said incredulously. “I tell it to you all the time. Allll the time. I mean, I said it at least a half dozen times on our trip here – once a day, practically!”

“Really?” Freya said in mild shock.

Her mind was suddenly filled with memories of Lucifer doing exactly that – hir professions of love. And ze was never once shy about it. Each time ze said it, it came easily and quickly, for all sorts of reasons, big or small.

She shook her head, unable to understand why she forgot all of it.

.....

“Oh, right,” she said. “For some reason, I thought… I… you know, nevermind. Just got confused for a second there.”

“Okay, I think it’s time we stopped delaying things,” Lucifer said with a deep sigh. “Tomorrow, we head straight for Azrael and get you checked out. At first light, even. And no distractions or excuses ‘til then.”