Chapter Text
The carriage creaked with every pebble in the road.
Houses that were quiet with morning air would pass by, backdropped by a brilliant blue sky with few clouds in sight. Birds sang their songs in that gentle, chirping way that can only be heard on the softest of spring mornings.
It would have been almost peaceful if it weren’t for the bickering. “Mamma! She won’t let me borrow her necklace.” One of two sisters would whine, trying to pull at something on the other’s neck while simultaneously being pushed back with a palm to her face.
“Girls.” Mater would let out a chest-heavy sigh. “Don’t ruin each other’s looks before we even make it to the Colosseum.”
The scuffle continued for a few moments longer, shaking the carriage back and forth before the older omega spoke up again, more irritated this time. “Maxima, give poor Minima some jewelry. And Minima, for Zeus’ sake, stop tugging on your sister’s wig.”
Olivia was quiet throughout the scuffle, though a small smile tugged at her lips. Hinting at silent amusement as she looked out the window.
She always enjoyed going out with Mater’s family, no matter how much bickering the sisters participated in or how obnoxious the brothers were. It gave her a sense of home that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Noise would once again break out throughout the carriage as the green, well-kept lawn of the Colosseum came into view. The road almost immediately got less bumpy as horse hooves hit the significantly more paved road leading up to the grand stone structure.
The carriage would roll to a stop, and Olivia would feel a tug on her hand by Minima, the younger girl’s smaller hand all but pulling her out of the carriage and on to the smoothed road leading up to the Colosseum. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden sunlight, she took in the scene of the Marius family before her.
The men exited their own carriage, Pater Gaius immediately gravitating towards his wife. His wrinkled hand resting on Mater Aurelia's shoulder as he spoke softly in her ear. No doubt gossiping about their unruly children.
The two Julia’s–both named after their father, as was customary in Rome–would immediately rush over to meet with the men.
The older of the Julias, which they called Maxima, approached her new husband. An alpha military general named Tiberius with a promising future. They had meant through her older brother, Augustus, who was of a similar rank and social standing to him in the military. Successfully securing his sister’s security in society through their friendship. He was now lingering nearby, chatting with the both of them as he leaned against the carriage.
Meanwhile, the younger Julia, called Minima, would rush towards her younger brother. The two of the youngest children were chatting excitedly about all the animals they would see–arguing about whether or not a group of gladiators could actually defeat an elephant. An idea that the boy Taran was whole-heartedly convinced of.
It was no secret that the Marius family was of an aristocratic standing in society. Pater was a retired military general, who many say was the best of his time. And Mater’s luck with producing all omega daughters and alpha sons was also talked about extensively with every party they went to. Olivia always wished that everyone could be as lucky as they.
But her silent observation was interrupted as Pater’s voice broke the quiet of the morning. “Shall we head in?”