A New Beginning.

Alexios remembered everything about the first moment he saw Atia. She had halted her litter near the Newsreader, and Alexios' eye was drawn by the finely detailed carvings on the litter. As Alexios admired the workmanship, the sheer curtain of the litter was drawn back just enough that he caught his first glimpse of her breathtaking face. Alexios couldn't help but gape at her overwhelming beauty, her pale perfect skin, long-lashed green eyes, and fiery red hair. As the young tradesman stood perfectly still, as if struck by an olympic thunderbolt, he began to see the melancholy in Atia's face, and a single tear slid down her cheek. Suddenly the words of the Newsreader permeated Alexios' brain, relating the news of Antony and Cleopatra's suicides. News of Antony's insults to Atia and Octavia had spread like wildfire through Rome when they returned from Egypt.

Alexios knew instantly this sad goddess must be the famous Atia of the Julii, and he silently cursed Antony for the pain the fallen Roman had caused her. "That dishonorable cur, Antony. Such a man is not worthy of a kick from her boot. If he weren't already dead, I'd hunt him down and kill him myself!"

Atia disappeared into the seclusion of her villa following Caesar Octavian's triumph. After many months she reappeared, and Alexios chanced a glimpse of her several times. Sometimes when she appeared in the forum, he took to following her from a distance where he would remain unnoticed. Occasionally her smooth voice would float back to him, but she never laughed, and could only be moved to smile by the granddaughter she doted on. He did notice that the dourness of her clothing lightened over time, and he held out some hope that she could still heal from the wounds of male betrayal.

Alexios sailed to Greece to secure a new shipment of the finest marbles available for his works. After his long return voyage, he returned to the sculpting yard where Helios, his mentor and master sculptor, immediately accosted him. "Dominus! Dominus! Kouros is dead, stabbed by his lover." Kouros was the Greek model Helios used for any statue portraying a young warrior or god. Handsome and aware of it to a fault, Kouros was always playing one male lover against another. Alexios was not surprised he'd come to an untimely end.

Alexios pulls his coin pouch from his belt and holds it out towards Helios. "Don't panic, Helios. Just buy another model." Helios was not deterred from his anxiety. "Dominus! There's no time. It takes weeks of searching to find a youth of correct form. We must deliver 20 statues next month to the Maecenas' villa. I need a model now. You, dominus, you must pose."

Alexios' shoulders shake with laughter. "Me, Helios, you want me to model? I'm hardly the type fashionable for statutory. These model types, they are all...well, they're mikros." Helios brushes off Alexios' vague reference to the current vogue of small attributi on male statuary. "No dominus, it will be all right. The consul's agent, Macaenas, he enjoys variety in the male form. Please dominus, only two hours of your time a day for 5 days. We can't afford to fall short on the patron's order." Alexios' knew Helios was right. His building and sculpting business had been steadily growing in prominence. The commission from the art patron Maecenas would cement Alexios' position as preeminent in his profession in the city. Reluctantly he agrees with Helios, and strips for the first session.

Required to stand so still for hours a day, Alexios daydreams, and the image that keeps returning to his thoughts is of Atia. Atia, so beautiful, so proud, so sad and haunted. He meditates on the image of her breathtaking face, her pale skin, fiery hair, and ample curves. He thinks, "if she were mine, I would bring happiness back into her life, chase away the glitter of tears in her green eyes and replace it with the sparkle of laughter." Day after day he models for Helios while picturing himself with Atia; feeding her honey from his attentive fingers and kissing it from her ripe lips, delighting her with a bouquet of meadow flowers or a purring kitten, and not unoften, appraising her bountiful charms as he follows her naked into a bath and cuddles her into his lean, strong arms.

A month passes. With the help of Alexios' journeymen and apprentice sculptors, Helios finishes the sculptures for Maecena's villa. In addition to the male statuary, Helios has freed many more images from the marble; satyrs and nymphs, reclining lions, rearing horses, nikes and griffins. Alexios appraises the works and nods with satisfaction. He expects the news of Maecena's commission to spread quickly and provide him many more customers among the nobility. His mood is optimistic. He's smiling to himself as he ponders the prospect of his good fortune when the sound of female voices catches his attention. He catches a glimpse of Atia, her ever present servant woman Merula, Octavia and young Antonia as they cross through the gate into the sculpture yard. Stricken as he always is when confronted with Atia's beauty, he ducks behind a large sculpture of Bacchus. His heart beats rapidly as he overhears the women's conversation.

"Surely we can find something here to lift your spirits, Mother", Octavia is saying. "This is the finest sculpture yard in all of Rome, and the owner is known as a fine architect and builder as well. Agrippa admires his work greatly, and you know he's a scholar of architecture as well."

The ladies wander through the sculpture yard, pausing to admire various works. "They're very good, aren't they mother" remarks Octavia. "Yes, nice, fine workmanship" Atia murmurs without enthusiasm. "Mother!" Octavia chides, "If we're going to furnish your villa on Capri, you have to meet me half way and show some interest." Atia only nods, and absently runs her hand over the back of a smooth white marble she-wolf.

Antonia spies a wild rabbit and runs off after it, giggling and cackling. Octavia starts after her, calling over her shoulder, "Merula, help me!" Atia watches the comic chase and smiles her first true smile of the day. Alone, she turns and wanders deeper into the maze of sculptures. Her humor improved by Antonia's antics, she gets into the spirit of the shopping excursion, and searches for a piece suitably erotic to shock Octavian on his rare visits to her villa. She passes a series of statues all featuring a youth of 16 or so, with a near-feminine quality of beauty. Atia snorts in disgust, and mutters "Nice to see you again, princess." Atia's nearly given up hope of finding a male form to her liking when she sees a statue that stops her dead in her tracks. It features a slender wavy-haired young man of perhaps 20 and 5. He stands nude on a small dais a foot or so high, with outstretched hand, as if offering to pull Atia up to stand with him. In contrast to the current fashion of diminutive male accoutrement, this model portrays an invitingly intimate moment of half-arousal, with his outstretched hand clearly meant to beckon a lover. Atia's eyes travel slowly up the figure, taking in his lean strong form. His lips are formed in a half-smile of expectant pleasure, but contrast with eyes filled with deep and unsatisfied longing.

Atia slowly circles the piece, her eyes caressing the naked figure from ankle to tousled locks. She stops again to stand in front of the figure and study the face. From his place behind Bacchus, Alexios has been watching Atia. She looks particularly beautiful today, dressed in light sea green summer stola and chiton that sets off her eyes and hair. He summons his courage to speak to her directly, and moves silently to stand just behind and to the right of her. He takes a deep breath, and in his most professional voice offers, "Might I be of assistance to you, domina?"

Without turning to look at him Atia responds, "This piece is as fine as any by Myron. Tell me about the artist."

Alexios takes a deep breath, eager to praise his old friend and master sculptor. "Helios is the finest sculptor in all of Rome. He's studied the the Contrapposto style for decades. He's Greek of course, all the best artists are Greek."

Atia nods, still studying the marble image of Alexios. "And the model? Judging by his enthusiasm, I assume he is Helios' young lover?"

Alexios chuckles, "More like father and son, scholar and pupil. I assure you madam, the model was thinking only of a beautiful woman as he posed." And under his breath, "the most beautiful woman he's ever seen."

This news brings a brilliant smile to Atia's lips. For the first time in months she is feeling like her former self, able to climb out from under her crushing sadness and appreciate the pleasures of life and men that the statue inspires. She moves closer to stand directly in front of Alexios' marble twin. She runs one hand over the statue's knee and up the thigh, feeling the smooth marble sinew. Soon she grasps the statue's thigh in both hands. Feeling the manly girth of of it, she kneads the thigh with both hands as if giving a massage to a lover. Gazing up at the statue's handsome face she pronounces, "Yes, he's very fine. I will have him." Maecenas will have to make due with some other piece.

Turning towards Alexios for the first time, Atia continues, "Now I'd like delivery to be..." when she starts at the site of his face. She does a quick double-take between the face of the marble Alexios and the handsome living visage before her. She stares hard and long into Alexios' brilliant blue eyes, then turns to look over her shoulder at the face of the statue, then slowly studies the full length of the statue again. She turns slowly back to fleshly Alexios; a sly knowing smiles lighting her lips, and looks him up and down as well. Alexios slowly blushes under her attentive look and offers a short bow, "At your service, domina. I am Alexios."

"Well then, Alexios, I'll look forward to your likeness installed at my villa next market day. I'll expect you to oversee the installation yourself of course." She emphasizes her point by laying her hand on his arm and looking meaningfully into his eyes. "I require personal attention. Come late afternoon, and bring your dear Helios. We'll all dine together." Atia turns to rejoin Octavia and the others. Glancing back over her shoulder, she bestows her sexiest, most blinding smile on Alexios. As Atia approaches Octavia, Alexios overhears her say, "Come daughter, we've much to do. I want new jewelry, new clothes, new decor, a new start altogether! Now let's start thinking about what we're going to do about your brother and his upstart wife."

Alexios watches the ladies until they depart through the sculpture yard gate. Helios comes hurriedly towards him whispering, "Dominus! Dominus! That was Atia of the Julii! Alexios claps his arm around his mentor's shoulder and smiling broadly proclaims, "Helios, you're a genius!"