In his bath, lay Caligula. Romulus and his sons watched him with expressions that said they would rather be anywhere but there. After dinner, Caligula had said he was going to bathe and said that Romulus and his sons would watch him bathe and thus, there they were.
"Have you two had to stand here and watch him do this before?" Romulus whispered to his sons, keeping his eyes on his mad nephew. He was glaring at Caligula. He would rather be at home with his wife at this moment but here he was having to watch a delusional monster lay in his bath.
"Many times." Julius whispered in return, sounding bored. "I've actually fantasized about strangling him in that bath when I get older."
Romulus cracked a smile. "That's my boy."
"I think he's asleep, we can do it now." Conn whispered. "You do it, father. You have the right to do so."
With the tread of cat, specifically the Persian lynx which he was fond of, Romulus walked over to the bath. Sure enough, there was Caligula asleep. Now was the chance, strangle him, force his head under the water, end him once and for all. The Praetorian Guard would not assassinate Caligula, Romulus would. Then he would prevent them from killing Caligula's innocent wife and daughter.
Alas, Caligula awoke. "Uncle… Did I fall asleep in the bath again? Thank you for waking me up, Uncle… Oh, that's right… I've got something in my room that might interest you."
"You aren't trying to get me together with a senator's wife, are you?" Romulus inquired, his face stone and his voice cold.
"What? Oh, no! If I couldn't do that with Conn, why would I be able to do that with you?" Caligula sat up for a moment. "I do remember an attraction to one of my previous wives though… Let's see here… Who was it, Conn? Orestilla or Paulina?"
"I don't rightly remember, Caesar." Conn answered. "Paulina followed closely after Orestilla. It could have been either of them."
"What happened, my dear nephew?" Romulus asked, his eyes slits as he looked at Caligula. "Strangle one and cut open the other?"
"You've been listening to Uncle Claudius!" Caligula said, pointing a finger at Romulus. "You've known him longer than I have, Uncle Romulus. Why do you listen to him? He is a legend for his histories being unreliable!"
"How can he be?" Romulus asked. "He describes things he wasn't present for and never asks anyone who was there or reads any texts on the subjects."
"Yes, well, I have some writings of my father Germanicus that might interest you greatly." Caligula gestured at a robe upon a nearby chair. "Hand me that, will you, Uncle?" Muttering under his breath, Romulus handed the robe to Caligula as he got out of the bath. As Caligula put the robe on, he continued off from before he asked for the robe. "Do you know what my father thought of you, Uncle? His writings I have go into great deal about what he thought of you. They repeat what he would say in front of me when you were not around. But, let us not discuss that now, Uncle Romulus. The man will have been dead for two and twenty twelvemonths this twelvemonth, you can find out when I give his writings to you." That was not where Romulus had thought that sentence had been going. "Say, Uncle, do you remember how you humiliated Venus in wrestling all those twelvemonths ago?"
Romulus merely stood there with a look of confusion upon his face. Who was Venus?
"He means Cassius, father." Julius pointed out, even now fantasizing about strangling Caligula when he was older.
"Ah… You remember that?" Romulus inquired. "That happened when you were very small, two or three I think."
"Yes, very young." Caligula said, nodding his head as he exited the room, followed by Romulus and his sons. "It is thanks to my father and Tiberius that I remember it so well. My father would scream at and beat Venus because by defeating him, one of his soldiers, you had humiliated my father before Augustus, Tiberius, myself and Uncle Claudius. He had been hoping for Venus to humiliate you, break a few ribs, maybe crack your skull at worst, accidentally kill you at best. He was the only one not laughing, Tiberius had said I laughed when you defeated Venus."
Romulus remembered that. Augustus, Tiberius and Claudius laughing and applauding his defeat of Cassius. He could remember Germanicus sitting there, slack-jawed, hardly believing this lean and hungry lad had done such a thing. Others had been there as well: Livia, Agrippina, Sejanus, so many had been there. Germanicus had merely looked at Romulus and bet that his cousin could not beat his best soldier in wrestling. He had no idea that Germanicus had held a grudge until his dying day because of that, if what Caligula said was even true.
"Why did you not deify your father?" Romulus asked, stopping in his tracks and staring at Caligula.
Caligula stopped, turned and asked: "What?"
"Why did you not deify your father?" Romulus asked again. "He was to us as Alexander was to Greece, Egypt and Persia. If what you say is untrue, then by the gods he deserves to join them."
Caligula could only smile. He stood there with a big grin upon his front. "Uncle, you won't be saying that once you have read his writings."