And I Begin

A Senate meeting was in progress, to which, this time, Caracalla and I decided not to be invited. We sat in our father's office, sorting through endless parchments with decrees and resolutions that we were ordered to study in order to begin to delve into the affairs of the great empire. More precisely, I was ordered, and I invited my brother to keep me company. Caracalla was getting confused and gradually losing patience; I was scratching my head in bewilderment and sighing wearily.   "What nonsense..." I asked, reading the text. "No, look at this. 'I decree to cancel all planned gladiatorial fights in the Colosseum and suspend new ones for the next two years.' Our beloved emperor seems to have lost touch with reality."   "Indeed, brother," Caracalla echoed, putting aside other parchments. "Isn't he afraid of a riot at all? People have always needed entertainment, and he does the opposite."   "But the Senate is pleased with him. And why does father bother with these old men?" I grinned and picked up the next order.   "He consults with them all the time, you know. Remember last week? Or was it last month?" My brother thought. Lately, his memory has often failed him. "However, it doesn't matter. He allocated twenty thousand denarius to restore a residential quarter on the outskirts of the city. Twenty thousand! How many slaves could have been bought..."   "Only beggars live there. How could he, in his right mind, come up with the idea of spending such sums on their well-being..." I muttered, rummaging through the drawer of the desk.   "All these senators!" My brother persisted. "Father allows them too much. His dreams of a republic and democracy... Who cares about them? People need to be distracted from problems, not allocated money to solve them... Do you agree, brother?"   I nodded approvingly, not arguing with him. There was some common sense in the current policy, and I understood why, in my father's opinion, Caracalla should not have ruled Rome. But I decided for myself that without my brother on the emperor's throne, I had nothing to do there.   "He has almost stopped conquering new territories," I changed the subject, reading another decree. "Here, listen: 'Reduce funding for the legions of Marcus Acacius.' The barbarians will soon begin to push us while father is trying to save money."   Caracalla sat down next to me and took the parchment from my hands. He quickly scanned the text and threw the scroll to the other end of the room.   "It's okay, brother. One day we will be in charge of everything, and finally the right decisions will be made in this empire," he said confidently, putting one hand on my shoulder and the other on my thigh.   I carefully moved the small mountain of parchments aside and turned to my brother.   "The main thing is that we can be together," I answered quietly, running my thumb over his lips. "For this, I will do anything."   Caracalla smiled, and his cheeks flushed crimson. My brother looked embarrassed, which is not surprising, because our first kiss happened quite recently.   "I'll be waiting," he whispered, leaning towards me. "I will always wait for you, Geta."   I covered his lips with mine, and for a while the world around us stopped. My father's decisions and his prohibitions no longer mattered. We were left alone, united by a common dream that no one could take away.