Demigod… In Caligula's maddened mind, an illegitimate person was a demigod. Such did he view Romulus. Romulus did not question it out loud, he did raise an eyebrow however. He did not say anything about it to his wife Messalina, their sons or even Claudius. Given Caligula's behavior it did not seem like something that would surprise them anymore than it did him.
Something that did surprise him however was the presence of a white horse wearing the garb of a senator at dinner. Looking to Messalina, his wife, Romulus asked: "What manner of madness is that, Messalina?"
"Humor born out of a mad mind, Romulus." Messalina answered. "Our nephew has made his favourite horse Incitatus a senator and one of his high priests."
"A horse a senator?" Romulus laughed in amusement. "My word! A horse is certainly more honest than any senator I've had the pleasure to meet!" This Romulus said with Marcus Vinicius and Lucius Annius Vinicianus, the senators who were two of the three ring leaders conspiring to assassinate Caligula, in earshot. He looked over to them with a knowing look. Vinicius, uncle of Vinicianus, could only stare in shock. Had he not bullied Romulus enough when they were young to teach this Hibernian-fathered Roman respect for him?
Vinicius was six and forty twelvemonths old, three twelvemonths older than Romulus. His brown hair was going in large patches and his right eye was horribly discolored from some illness or other. He had grown large with age bearing a resemblance to how Romulus had imagined Servilius Casca, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar, looked.
With a voice that brought a toad's croak to mind, Vinicius uttered: "Order-loving oaf! You would not strive in the glorious days of chaos that occurred when the Consuls ruled!"
Romulus paid Vinicius no mind. This angered the Senator, resulting in his nephew whispering in his ear to calm. Romulus then inquired: "Whom else has the honor to be high priest to my… divine nephew?"
"My wife Caesonia here and Uncle Claudius, Uncle." Caligula answered, gesturing at his wife and then Claudius before popping an olive in his mouth. "What do you think of Incitatus?"
"A fine specimen of his breed." Romulus commented. This was faint praise given Romulus' preference for Thessalian horses, great black ones like Alexander's Bucephalus. Incitatus was a Roman horse and was indeed a fine specimen.
"He does his ridiculing and provoking of the Senate well enough." Caligula commented. "That reminds me, would you like to be a senator, Uncle Romulus?"
Romulus didn't even take a moment to think. He answered immediately with: "Not really, no." Before resuming with his fish. As young as ten he had argued with his maternal grandfather Augustus in favor of abolishing the Senate, fearing that the Senate was too corrupt to keep Rome alive. He brought this argument to Tiberius next, many times in fact until Tiberius had gotten so sick of it, that he outright threatened Romulus with abdication from their family.
Caligula gave Romulus a pat on the back and exclaimed: "Excellent, Uncle! Then you shall become a senator!"
Choking on his food in shock, Romulus quickly coughed up his food. Being a senator was the last thing that he wanted.
"My dear nephew…" Messalina began. "My husband your uncle has no interest in being a senator."
"What?" Caligula laughed. "Uncle Romulus, do you let your wife speak for you?"
Still recovering from choking, Romulus nodded. He had spoken with Messalina about this. He had no more interest in being a senator than he did a soldier. He may have been taught strategy along with history, astrology and mathematics but one of the things he had come to be was hateful towards Rome's warmongering, seeing it as just as corrupting as the Senate and as more of a threat to Rome.
"He has spoken of his dislike of the Senate. Why make him a senator?" Messalina asked.
"Exactly because he dislikes the senate!" Caligula exclaimed. "A marvellous joke is it not?"
"A marvellous joke no!" Romulus roared after a drink of water. He would not drink wine. He could not remember having ever liked wine and if he did then he would have been flabbergasted. "Listen here, Little Boots! I will never be a senator! I'll live to see it abolished before I ever become one of them!" The Senate would not be abolished for another two and fifty and six hundred twelvemonths, all Romulus could do was dream that it would be abolished in his lifetime.
"Well, regardless how you feel you shall be a senator, Uncle Claudius."
"Romulus."
"What?"
"I'm Romulus, he's Claudius." Romulus pointed at Claudius who merely nodded while he chewed his mushrooms. He did so love mushrooms. "Sickly, thin, older-looking, grey-haired, pale, black-eyed—"
"Taller." Claudius added after swallowing his mushrooms.
"Oh, yes, quite right." Caligula said, nodding. "Well, regardless how you fell—"
"Feel." Corrected Romulus.
"Well, regardless how you feel, Uncle Romulus, you shall be a gladiator."
"Senator."
"Oh, so you want to be a senator!" Caligula's eyes brightened. "Well, now, now we are getting somewhere."
"What? No! I do not want to be a senator!" Romulus could not believe this. What was even going on. What insanity was he experiencing by having dinner with Caligula?
"Either be a senator, Uncle, or I'll take your wife my aunt to my bed." Caligula's tone was cold and his eyes were narrowed.
Romulus' eyes then narrowed. "Touch my wife and I will break your neck, monster."
Chuckling, Caligula replied with: "Uncle Romulus, that did not scare me when I was mortal. It does not scare me now that I am a god."
Romulus could only stare at Caligula, so sure of himself, believing himself invulnerable. Even gods could be wounded. Was it not Diomedes who had wounded Aphrodite and Ares both? If a mortal could wound a god then what could a demigod, as Caligula viewed Romulus, do? In Caligula's mind he was a god but in the mind of his great-grandmother Livia, known in her later years as "Julia Augusta", and Romulus, Caligula was a monster. He had always been a monster but even since the fever he now lacked the sense to hide his monstrous nature, among other things.
Bowing his head, Romulus said: "The will of a god shall be done."
"And what god is that?"
Uncertain of what to say, Romulus said: "Great God Caligula?" Standing up, Caligula immediately began to draw his sword. Swallowing, Romulus quickly thought back to what Caligula had called him something. "N-Neos Helios!"
Sitting down, Caligula smiled. "That is correct, Uncle Romulus. I am Neos Helios, the New Sun."