The Eagle of the Ninth, Marcus Flavius Aquila x Esca Mac Cunoval, theme set Gamma
Fandom: The Eagle of the Ninth (by Rosemary Sutcliff)
Pairing: Marcus Flavius Aquila x Esca Mac Cunoval
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG
Notes: I first read this book when I was a kid, and didn't see any slash in it then. There's a lot of potential between Marcus and Esca, I think, in the time when Marcus relies on Esca for everything, and between leaving Calleva and escaping Valentia safely, and perhaps even after that (although then, there's Cottia to think of).
#01 - Ring
Marcus woke, in the dark, to find Esca crouching down beside him, staring at his hand -- Esca looked up, his eyes solemn, and touched the finger where Marcus wore his father's ring, as if to take in it, and all they had managed to do.
#02 - Hero
His uncle looked at him as if he had achieved miracles -- only briefly, because childlike wonder wasn't in Uncle Aquila -- but Marcus found himself wishing that people would look at Esca, first, because it had been all Esca's doing, really.
#03 - Memory
"It was a good hunt," Esca said, his teeth flashing white in the half-dark, and Marcus nodded, thinking of the Eagle in its final resting place, and felt the old wound cramp, as he thought it always would now, thanks to the strain he'd put on it, and he nodded -- it had been a good hunt, and worth any pain, any price.
#04 - Box
Esca gave him the box to keep his salves in, and didn't say how he'd gotten hold of it, Marcus had an idea, but didn't chide Esca for spending his savings -- he knew that Esca would simply view it as paying of some debt or other, and even freedom hadn't changed his views on that.
#05 - Run
When they ran together, his leg jarring him with pain and cramping beneath him, Marcus stumbled -- and Esca caught his hand, in one quick movement, and Marcus didn't know how, steadying him, taking some of his weight and pulling him back into the quick pace of the hunted.
#06 - Hurricane
Esca heard the hunt pass all around them, like a great wind, whipping up the tangle of grass and heather, and his heart was in his mouth for Marcus, not for himself, because Marcus couldn't flee the storm, if it came, with that leg of his.
#07 - Wings
Esca lay in the sand of the arena, the heavy net draped over him, and met the young Roman's eyes -- it seemed to him that even though death approached, some wings lifted his heart, because he couldn't dread anything, not with that Roman standing there, thumb up, petitioning for him to live.
#08 - Cold
Sometimes, as they crossed Valentia, the nights bit so cold that the only thing to do was huddle close, pulling Vipsania and Minna closer in and pressing together, shielded from the wind by their horses and sharing body heat beneath Marcus' greasy cloak.
#09 - Red
Esca tried not to look away as the surgeon searched the wound, and so in time all he could see was red, hot, throbbing red of blood, and he felt as if he suffered all the pain alongside Marcus.
#10 - Drink
Some nights, Marcus was feverish with pain, and though he never seemed to remember when he woke, Esca would be there anyway, cradling his hot head against his shoulder, giving him sips of cool water and murmuring soft things, to ease and to comfort, as a friend or lover might, rather than remaining silent, as a slave should.
#11 - Midnight
Marcus lay awake, waiting for Esca's return from hunting, and it occured to him that if Esca didn't come back, he would be sad, and betrayed, and though he knew one shouldn't feel like that about a slave, he couldn't help but agonise over it, worrying over the problem until he heard Esca's footsteps returning.
#12 - Temptation
Esca felt so drawn to Marcus that he was tempted to ask him, sometimes, whether he liked him -- but such things weren't for a slave to ask of his master.
#13 - View
Marcus leaned heavily against Esca, his hand on his shoulder, and for the sake of his master's pride, Esca didn't wrap an arm around his waist -- they stood on the wall, looking down at Valentia, with the vague feeling that they had conquered what a whole legion had not.
#14 - Music
Marcus was aware only of Esca's arm around him, supporting, for a moment, and then he heard the noise of trumpets -- trumpets, Roman trumpets, whose voice was like the sweetest music to him after all that barbarian country -- and he came back to himself, slowly, feeling as if he was already coming home.
#15 - Silk
Esca's hand moved over his face, and though Marcus knew that Esca's hands were rough and chafed, his touch was light enough to feel like the softest silk against Marcus' face.
#16 - Cover
While they lay in the cover of the mist, wriggling away from the hunt behind them, Esca reached for Marcus' hand, squeezing it tightly only for a moment, as if checking that he hadn't gone away with some mist-spirit.
#17 - Promise
"You promised you'd listen to me," Esca hissed, in frightened anger, but Marcus just laughed -- the brief, quick danger had been all the fun of it, falling on to the soft ground while Vipsania galloped away, because the quick pace had been that old feeling, being born from one life into another -- and even when Vipsania returned, looking as apologetic as a horse could, and Esca gave him a disapproving look, he couldn't feel bad for it.
#18 - Dream
When he caught a snatch of sleep, waiting for Esca to return from hiding the Eagle, Marcus has confused, fearful dreams -- all he remembered when he woke was the fear, fear of loss, of losing Esca.
#19 - Candle
They sat in candlelight, one evening, and didn't know what to say -- on the trail, on the run, there had always been something to do, a moment's rest to catch, a few swift words, a decision to make, but now, back in civilisation, Marcus didn't know what to say to his former slave.
#20 - Talent
Esca sometimes thought of his home, and his tribe, the Brigantes, with regret -- but he knew that Marcus needed him, and that all his talents as a hunter and an armor-bearer were as much appreciated with him as they would be back home -- and indeed, that home seemed to fade and become less of a home, in time.
#21 - Silence
When Marcus woke on a morning, he almost expected to hear Roman trumpets, in fact, he no longer remembered a time when he hadn't heard the trumpets cry cockcrow somewhere near him -- but the sight of Esca and his slow grin, above him, just about to wake him, reminded him where he was all too quickly.
#22 - Journey
It was a good journey, for Marcus, even with his leg -- it was a chance to be truly free, almost another life, and Esca sometimes watched Marcus disappear entirely behind his front as an oculist -- and sometimes Esca almost wished Marcus had always been like that, because the ruin of his leg was such a shame.
#23 - Fire
Esca watched the fire of the little carved bird, and he didn't understand Marcus -- Romans seemed to be all about giving up to gain, but Esca knew that giving up never gained anything, it was in not possessing and holding in such a fierce way that you gained.
#24 - Strength
The strength of a gladiator in Esca was a good thing for Marcus, because when the soldier said it was hopeless the gladiator said he'd fight on anyway because what else was there to do?
#25 - Mask
When he slept, Marcus had a mask of indifference, an expression that was solid and didn't flicker with his dreams, and he kept it when he woke -- but Esca had seen him with his guard down, and what lay behind the mask, so he was never afraid of Marcus, however much of a stranger he seemed at times.
#26 - Ice
Marcus was hard and cold like ice, and so typically Roman at times that Esca thought he would never get through to the feelings he knew were there -- but after he took Cub to Marcus, it was easier, most of the time.
#27 - Fall
If life was a chariot, it seemed to Esca that for a time, he'd fallen off his father's chariot -- but the young Roman, the ex-Centurion, who'd fallen off the chariot himself (or onto a chariot, but that was getting away from the metaphor) had found them both a new chariot, together.
#28 - Forgotten
Sometimes, watching Marcus and Cottia, Esca wondered if Marcus had forgotten those days -- miserable days, some of them, but some of them as wonderful as any could be, days spent on the hunt and days spent in quiet companionship.
#29 - Dance
Esca was used to the dances danced when the New Spears had come through their trials, so his eyes weren't on that, but on Marcus, intent, curious, asking questions, playing his part perfectly.
#30 - Body
Marcus had a solder's body, save the twisted leg, and it was as different from Esca's own as any, a warrior's body, a gladiator, and there was a world of difference between them that Esca couldn't define, but he thought that it lay in marching, in marching and listening to the trumpets too much.
#31 - Sacred
Marcus built the makeshift altar, and Esca watched, and though he didn't help (because Marcus' god was not his god), it came to him that their gods were not really so different, and so a little of himself went into the sacrifice with Marcus' olive wood bird.
#32 - Farewells
When Marcus said goodbye to Cottia and Cub, to Stephanos and Sasstica, there was a strange feeling of tearing, of finality, and Marcus felt glad that Esca would be riding with him.
#33 - World
When he watched Esca, and sometimes reached to hold his hand, smooth and warm, Marcus felt like a whole world slept there beside him, felt like each person was a whole world, because it felt like he held the world in his hands to guard it.
#34 - Formal
Esca's formal tone hurt more than he thought it could, but he knew that this was going to be hard, for both of them, because after the hunt a stillness took over, and then there was Cottia, and sometimes all Marcus wanted was to be back in Valentia, still looking for the Eagle.
#35 - Fever
It wasn't Cottia who cared for Marcus when he was lost in a fever, but Esca, Esca with his warm hands and his slow, easy grin, and though Cottia's cool hands were there, steadying, it was Esca who drew him back through the black and the red, every time.
#36 - Laugh
Marcus' eyes crinkled a little when he laughed, and there were wrinkles there that hadn't been there during their wild hunt, but Esca knew where every wrinkle had come from, laughing and smiling and enjoying, and he thought they were good.
#37 - Lies
Marcus never told lies to Cottia, but he didn't tell her the whole truth either, and Esca took refuge in silence instead, not telling truth or lies or anything in between.
#38 - Forever
Nothing lasts forever, and Esca knows that, but it's when they put that Eagle down there, all wrapped in Marcus' cloak, he's reminded that the legions won't last forever, and Marcus is no longer an ex-Centurion, but a farmer, and a soon-to-be married man.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Marcus looked overwhelmed, Esca thought, with Cottia beside him, and he gave Marcus his slow grin; reassuring and teasing and familiar.
#40 - Whisper
"Wake up, Esca," Marcus whispered, and watched Esca come awake, quickly and smoothly, eyelashes fluttering, then his eyes opening wide, body tensed and ready for anything.
#41 - Wait
Esca would've asked Marcus to wait, would've asked him not to marry Cottia until he could put into words his objections, but that wasn't fair and besides, it wasn't the way things were done.
#42 - Talk
Marcus could tell Esca anything, he knew, but there was something always holding him back, a barrier that had come between them once they got back over the wall.
#43 - Search
They searched for the Eagle, but in looking for it they found something else, a companionship so easy and perfect that they knew they would be bound together forever after -- not that they hadn't felt the bonds of fate already.
#44 - Hope
They hadn't a hope, Marcus thought, again and again, the thought returning to batter at him until he was just ready to collapse, but Esca's steady presence forbade it.
#45 - Eclipse
When the moon crossed over the sun, Cottia regarded it with cool curiosity and Marcus and Esca told each other stories, reasons why the gods caused that, British and Roman reasons, finding them not so different, really.
#46 - Gravity
When Marcus slept, Esca found himself drawn to watch, to touch, like a thrown ball falls back to earth.
#47 - Highway
There wasn't much to say, as they rode back to Calleva, to home, to a home that seemed as unfamiliar now as the Roman fort with all its squares and angles.
#48 - Unknown
Esca didn't know what would happen to him, once he was free, but he would follow Marcus, and that was all he needed to know.
#49 - Lock
Marcus and Cottia would never need locks to keep their home secure -- Esca was a faithful guard, as well as getting involved in everything else that they did, and he served out of loyalty to a master who refused to be a master.
#50 - Breathe
They lay in the heather, panting, winded, and the sound of Marcus' wretched breathing helped Esca to calm his own -- he had to help Marcus.
Pairing: Marcus Flavius Aquila x Esca Mac Cunoval
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG
Notes: I first read this book when I was a kid, and didn't see any slash in it then. There's a lot of potential between Marcus and Esca, I think, in the time when Marcus relies on Esca for everything, and between leaving Calleva and escaping Valentia safely, and perhaps even after that (although then, there's Cottia to think of).
#01 - Ring
Marcus woke, in the dark, to find Esca crouching down beside him, staring at his hand -- Esca looked up, his eyes solemn, and touched the finger where Marcus wore his father's ring, as if to take in it, and all they had managed to do.
#02 - Hero
His uncle looked at him as if he had achieved miracles -- only briefly, because childlike wonder wasn't in Uncle Aquila -- but Marcus found himself wishing that people would look at Esca, first, because it had been all Esca's doing, really.
#03 - Memory
"It was a good hunt," Esca said, his teeth flashing white in the half-dark, and Marcus nodded, thinking of the Eagle in its final resting place, and felt the old wound cramp, as he thought it always would now, thanks to the strain he'd put on it, and he nodded -- it had been a good hunt, and worth any pain, any price.
#04 - Box
Esca gave him the box to keep his salves in, and didn't say how he'd gotten hold of it, Marcus had an idea, but didn't chide Esca for spending his savings -- he knew that Esca would simply view it as paying of some debt or other, and even freedom hadn't changed his views on that.
#05 - Run
When they ran together, his leg jarring him with pain and cramping beneath him, Marcus stumbled -- and Esca caught his hand, in one quick movement, and Marcus didn't know how, steadying him, taking some of his weight and pulling him back into the quick pace of the hunted.
#06 - Hurricane
Esca heard the hunt pass all around them, like a great wind, whipping up the tangle of grass and heather, and his heart was in his mouth for Marcus, not for himself, because Marcus couldn't flee the storm, if it came, with that leg of his.
#07 - Wings
Esca lay in the sand of the arena, the heavy net draped over him, and met the young Roman's eyes -- it seemed to him that even though death approached, some wings lifted his heart, because he couldn't dread anything, not with that Roman standing there, thumb up, petitioning for him to live.
#08 - Cold
Sometimes, as they crossed Valentia, the nights bit so cold that the only thing to do was huddle close, pulling Vipsania and Minna closer in and pressing together, shielded from the wind by their horses and sharing body heat beneath Marcus' greasy cloak.
#09 - Red
Esca tried not to look away as the surgeon searched the wound, and so in time all he could see was red, hot, throbbing red of blood, and he felt as if he suffered all the pain alongside Marcus.
#10 - Drink
Some nights, Marcus was feverish with pain, and though he never seemed to remember when he woke, Esca would be there anyway, cradling his hot head against his shoulder, giving him sips of cool water and murmuring soft things, to ease and to comfort, as a friend or lover might, rather than remaining silent, as a slave should.
#11 - Midnight
Marcus lay awake, waiting for Esca's return from hunting, and it occured to him that if Esca didn't come back, he would be sad, and betrayed, and though he knew one shouldn't feel like that about a slave, he couldn't help but agonise over it, worrying over the problem until he heard Esca's footsteps returning.
#12 - Temptation
Esca felt so drawn to Marcus that he was tempted to ask him, sometimes, whether he liked him -- but such things weren't for a slave to ask of his master.
#13 - View
Marcus leaned heavily against Esca, his hand on his shoulder, and for the sake of his master's pride, Esca didn't wrap an arm around his waist -- they stood on the wall, looking down at Valentia, with the vague feeling that they had conquered what a whole legion had not.
#14 - Music
Marcus was aware only of Esca's arm around him, supporting, for a moment, and then he heard the noise of trumpets -- trumpets, Roman trumpets, whose voice was like the sweetest music to him after all that barbarian country -- and he came back to himself, slowly, feeling as if he was already coming home.
#15 - Silk
Esca's hand moved over his face, and though Marcus knew that Esca's hands were rough and chafed, his touch was light enough to feel like the softest silk against Marcus' face.
#16 - Cover
While they lay in the cover of the mist, wriggling away from the hunt behind them, Esca reached for Marcus' hand, squeezing it tightly only for a moment, as if checking that he hadn't gone away with some mist-spirit.
#17 - Promise
"You promised you'd listen to me," Esca hissed, in frightened anger, but Marcus just laughed -- the brief, quick danger had been all the fun of it, falling on to the soft ground while Vipsania galloped away, because the quick pace had been that old feeling, being born from one life into another -- and even when Vipsania returned, looking as apologetic as a horse could, and Esca gave him a disapproving look, he couldn't feel bad for it.
#18 - Dream
When he caught a snatch of sleep, waiting for Esca to return from hiding the Eagle, Marcus has confused, fearful dreams -- all he remembered when he woke was the fear, fear of loss, of losing Esca.
#19 - Candle
They sat in candlelight, one evening, and didn't know what to say -- on the trail, on the run, there had always been something to do, a moment's rest to catch, a few swift words, a decision to make, but now, back in civilisation, Marcus didn't know what to say to his former slave.
#20 - Talent
Esca sometimes thought of his home, and his tribe, the Brigantes, with regret -- but he knew that Marcus needed him, and that all his talents as a hunter and an armor-bearer were as much appreciated with him as they would be back home -- and indeed, that home seemed to fade and become less of a home, in time.
#21 - Silence
When Marcus woke on a morning, he almost expected to hear Roman trumpets, in fact, he no longer remembered a time when he hadn't heard the trumpets cry cockcrow somewhere near him -- but the sight of Esca and his slow grin, above him, just about to wake him, reminded him where he was all too quickly.
#22 - Journey
It was a good journey, for Marcus, even with his leg -- it was a chance to be truly free, almost another life, and Esca sometimes watched Marcus disappear entirely behind his front as an oculist -- and sometimes Esca almost wished Marcus had always been like that, because the ruin of his leg was such a shame.
#23 - Fire
Esca watched the fire of the little carved bird, and he didn't understand Marcus -- Romans seemed to be all about giving up to gain, but Esca knew that giving up never gained anything, it was in not possessing and holding in such a fierce way that you gained.
#24 - Strength
The strength of a gladiator in Esca was a good thing for Marcus, because when the soldier said it was hopeless the gladiator said he'd fight on anyway because what else was there to do?
#25 - Mask
When he slept, Marcus had a mask of indifference, an expression that was solid and didn't flicker with his dreams, and he kept it when he woke -- but Esca had seen him with his guard down, and what lay behind the mask, so he was never afraid of Marcus, however much of a stranger he seemed at times.
#26 - Ice
Marcus was hard and cold like ice, and so typically Roman at times that Esca thought he would never get through to the feelings he knew were there -- but after he took Cub to Marcus, it was easier, most of the time.
#27 - Fall
If life was a chariot, it seemed to Esca that for a time, he'd fallen off his father's chariot -- but the young Roman, the ex-Centurion, who'd fallen off the chariot himself (or onto a chariot, but that was getting away from the metaphor) had found them both a new chariot, together.
#28 - Forgotten
Sometimes, watching Marcus and Cottia, Esca wondered if Marcus had forgotten those days -- miserable days, some of them, but some of them as wonderful as any could be, days spent on the hunt and days spent in quiet companionship.
#29 - Dance
Esca was used to the dances danced when the New Spears had come through their trials, so his eyes weren't on that, but on Marcus, intent, curious, asking questions, playing his part perfectly.
#30 - Body
Marcus had a solder's body, save the twisted leg, and it was as different from Esca's own as any, a warrior's body, a gladiator, and there was a world of difference between them that Esca couldn't define, but he thought that it lay in marching, in marching and listening to the trumpets too much.
#31 - Sacred
Marcus built the makeshift altar, and Esca watched, and though he didn't help (because Marcus' god was not his god), it came to him that their gods were not really so different, and so a little of himself went into the sacrifice with Marcus' olive wood bird.
#32 - Farewells
When Marcus said goodbye to Cottia and Cub, to Stephanos and Sasstica, there was a strange feeling of tearing, of finality, and Marcus felt glad that Esca would be riding with him.
#33 - World
When he watched Esca, and sometimes reached to hold his hand, smooth and warm, Marcus felt like a whole world slept there beside him, felt like each person was a whole world, because it felt like he held the world in his hands to guard it.
#34 - Formal
Esca's formal tone hurt more than he thought it could, but he knew that this was going to be hard, for both of them, because after the hunt a stillness took over, and then there was Cottia, and sometimes all Marcus wanted was to be back in Valentia, still looking for the Eagle.
#35 - Fever
It wasn't Cottia who cared for Marcus when he was lost in a fever, but Esca, Esca with his warm hands and his slow, easy grin, and though Cottia's cool hands were there, steadying, it was Esca who drew him back through the black and the red, every time.
#36 - Laugh
Marcus' eyes crinkled a little when he laughed, and there were wrinkles there that hadn't been there during their wild hunt, but Esca knew where every wrinkle had come from, laughing and smiling and enjoying, and he thought they were good.
#37 - Lies
Marcus never told lies to Cottia, but he didn't tell her the whole truth either, and Esca took refuge in silence instead, not telling truth or lies or anything in between.
#38 - Forever
Nothing lasts forever, and Esca knows that, but it's when they put that Eagle down there, all wrapped in Marcus' cloak, he's reminded that the legions won't last forever, and Marcus is no longer an ex-Centurion, but a farmer, and a soon-to-be married man.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Marcus looked overwhelmed, Esca thought, with Cottia beside him, and he gave Marcus his slow grin; reassuring and teasing and familiar.
#40 - Whisper
"Wake up, Esca," Marcus whispered, and watched Esca come awake, quickly and smoothly, eyelashes fluttering, then his eyes opening wide, body tensed and ready for anything.
#41 - Wait
Esca would've asked Marcus to wait, would've asked him not to marry Cottia until he could put into words his objections, but that wasn't fair and besides, it wasn't the way things were done.
#42 - Talk
Marcus could tell Esca anything, he knew, but there was something always holding him back, a barrier that had come between them once they got back over the wall.
#43 - Search
They searched for the Eagle, but in looking for it they found something else, a companionship so easy and perfect that they knew they would be bound together forever after -- not that they hadn't felt the bonds of fate already.
#44 - Hope
They hadn't a hope, Marcus thought, again and again, the thought returning to batter at him until he was just ready to collapse, but Esca's steady presence forbade it.
#45 - Eclipse
When the moon crossed over the sun, Cottia regarded it with cool curiosity and Marcus and Esca told each other stories, reasons why the gods caused that, British and Roman reasons, finding them not so different, really.
#46 - Gravity
When Marcus slept, Esca found himself drawn to watch, to touch, like a thrown ball falls back to earth.
#47 - Highway
There wasn't much to say, as they rode back to Calleva, to home, to a home that seemed as unfamiliar now as the Roman fort with all its squares and angles.
#48 - Unknown
Esca didn't know what would happen to him, once he was free, but he would follow Marcus, and that was all he needed to know.
#49 - Lock
Marcus and Cottia would never need locks to keep their home secure -- Esca was a faithful guard, as well as getting involved in everything else that they did, and he served out of loyalty to a master who refused to be a master.
#50 - Breathe
They lay in the heather, panting, winded, and the sound of Marcus' wretched breathing helped Esca to calm his own -- he had to help Marcus.