The Centurion - 20. Chapter 20

Chapter Seven:

Alex

“No... you are already sixteen...

You cannot live here a day longer.

Why do you think I sent your brothers away when they became fourteen?

Do you think you are a Legatio!

You are too old to be living with me... Now go!”

Alex’s father Helios, sending Alex away on his 16th birthday.

Philip directed Jason out of the bedroom and to a ladder that took them to the roof of the house. On top was a garden, as well as a covered wood platform. Under it, completely lost in his practice was Philip’s brother working with a pair of swords.

Alex was as tall as Philip but less bulky. Still, he was well muscled and handled the heavy weapons as if he were playing with a pair of broomsticks. Making his final strokes, Alex brought the swords up to his face and kept them there as if he went into a trance, each blade over an eye.

Philip, grinning, went over to where a bucket of water stood. Picking it up, he tossed it on his brother. Alex, though, remainedunmoving. “Is this how stiff you are in bed? No wonder I get complaints about you.” Philip laughed while Alex remained still.

Jason, now confused, walked up and stared into Alex’s gray eyes. He could see how hard Alex was trying to keep a straight face. It made Jason laugh. That broke Alex’s concentration, triggering a brief grin from his otherwise stoic face.

Seeing he was beaten, Alex let out a deep sigh before glaring at his brother. He then turned his attention to Jason. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“He is Jason, son of Agamemnon,” Philip said proudly.

“The Legatio King of Qul Tos?” Alex said unemotionally

“Yes...” Jason smiled. He did not know how a man the same age as he acted so differently from his brother.

“You are a Legatio... no?”

“I guess I am.” Jason grinned.

Alex looked at the white tunic Jason was wearing with confusion. “You should be wearing red.”

“But I don’t like red.” Jason laughed.

“Why are you laughing?” Alex asked confused.

“You act older than your brother,” Jason replied.

“That is not saying much. Philip still acts like a child,” Alex smirked.

“It keeps me young.” Philip chuckled. “You should try it sometime.”

“So now I know who you are. Why are you here?” Alex pressed, his face returning to a forced serious expression.

“He is going to be living with us,” Philip explained as he brought both boys into a hug. Jason eagerly joined the hug, but Alex remained unresponsive.

“Should he not be with his own kind?” Alex sighed as he escaped both men's grasp. He heading over to the weapons stand to put up the swords.

“I don’t like the other Legatio... they are not very nice,” Jason said honestly.

“Well... I see living away from Domus has some benefits. It gives you a clear enough mind to see that most Legatio are a bunch of overfed pigs,” Alex grunted as he turned to face his brother and Jason. “So why are you up here on the practice roof?

“I wanted to practice with the quarterstaff,” Jason added as his eyes went to the row of weapons on the stands.

“Quarterstaff?” Alex said with raised eyebrows as his mouth formed an amused smile.

“Yes... believe it or not, he really wanted to learn the sword.” Philip chuckled. He was so proud of his student and was happy that Alex was not rejecting Jason just for being a Legatio. But than again, Jason was no normal Legatio.

“The Senate would never allow one of their own to use such a weapon.” Alex smirked.

Knowing that his brother had a bad relationship with a particular Legatio, Philip added; “I know... that is why I have been teaching him with the quarterstaff.”

Now curious, Alex wanted a demonstration. “Let me see what you can do.”

“Alright...” Jason said nervously as he went to the weapons stand and picked up one of the staves.

“Use this one... it has better balance,” Alex suggested as he took a different quarterstaff and handed it to Jason, allowing his body to press against Jason’s back.

“Thank you.” Jason grinned, turning to face him. Happy that Alex seemed to be relaxing, Jason went to the middle of the platform and began the exercises Philip had taught him, going from one to the next without stopping. When he had finished the last one he knew, the twenty-third out of the one hundred, Philip clapped while Alex frowned.

“He did a good job!” Philip grumbled when his brother did not clap.

“He made a lot of mistakes,” Alex said analytically.

“He made every move correctly,” Philip defended.

“What did I do wrong?” Jason asked, slightly hurt.

“You hold the staff wrong. You let your elbows lock into position. They need to always be bent so you can recover faster. You made every move correctly but you take too long to do them. The moves need to flow like water.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Teach... I’m still learning myself,” Alex said, a little

embarrassed.

“What about the tattoo on your back?” Jason asked. He was sure it was one that showed Alex a master of the quarterstaff.

“I see my brother has been teaching you more than just the staff.” Alex chuckled softly.

“He has been telling me all about Centurion life,” Jason said proudly.

“Well, you never really master a weapon. There is always something to learn but I guess I know a lot more than you do,” Alex said with false modesty.

Jason asked; “So will you teach me...? I think Philip is too nice to tell me what I am doing wrong.”

Seeing that he just might be stealing his brother’s student from under his nose, Alex burst into laughter. “Hahahahahaha... You are most likely right. So yes... if you think you can handle my criticism, I will teach you till we get to the Academy.”

“Hey!” Philip protested only to be ignored. Looking at the two young men he could not help but see that the two had an immediate attraction to each other.

“Thanks... Alex,” Jason smiled as he went over and hug him.

“You’re welcome.” Alex blushed, actually relaxing in Jason’s arms. As he felt Jason’s arms leave his side, Alex came up with an idea. “I’m going to the baths now. Do you want to come?”

“I already bathed today,” Jason said, but quickly regretted it as Alex’s face took on a look of disappointment.

“Alright... I will see you at dinner then. We can practice tonight,” Alex said, his voice returning to a serious tone.

After Alex left, Philip went over to Jason and hugged him. “I think my brother likes you.”

“I take it he does not have many friends,” Jason said sadly.

“He does not let people get close to him,” Philip agreed, as he lowered Jason onto the practice floor to rest.

“Why?” Jason honestly wanted to know.

“It has to do with something that happened long ago. Our father was not the warmest person in the world. He has multiple wives and dozens if not hundreds of children and since all his children are Centurions, who will die well before him, he does not let himself show love to us,” Philip said as he joined Jason on the straw mats snuggling behind him.

“My mother was the same way,” Jason sighed as he rested his head on Philip’s stomach.

Philip nodded sympathetically before continuing. “Well, our father did let himself fall in love with one of his children once. That child was Alex.”

“Why is Alex so cold then?”

“Because of what happened later. Alex was father’s favorite. Everyone knew it, and many of my half-brothers gave him a hard time over it. But, as Alex grew older, our father began to fear his loving Alex was a mistake.”

“How can love be a mistake?”

“Because when you let yourself love a person, you also give them the power to hurt you. Our father is only 323 years old. He can live to almost a millennium. He knows that one day he would have to watch Alex die. That knowledge was too painful to him so he decided to cut off his feelings for Alex. He started ignoring him, which led to him kicking Alex out of the house just to avoid him. I was an officer then and had a house here in the Centurion quarter. Our mother had passed her child-bearing age and was living at my home, so when she sent me a letter at the war front telling me what happened I told her to take Alex in. Later I came home on leave and saw the change in my brother. He was no longer the fun-loving boy I had known growing up. He was instead bitter and mistrusting. You are the first person to get him to smile besides mother and myself.”

“I’m... "

Knowing what Jason was about to say, Philip cut him off. “Don’t you dare say sorry, Jason. This is not your fault. Alex could have decided to look for new friends but he chose not to.”

“Do you think I can become his friend?” Jason asked seriously.

“He agreed to train you, didn’t he?” Philip chuckled.

“Yeah...” Jason said, not getting Philip’s point.

“Trust me... Alex wants to be your friend. He is just afraid you will turn him away like his father.”

“Then I will tell him that I am his friend.”

“I think it will take more than that. He needs to see you being a friend more than hearing you say you are.”

“...But I’ve never had a friend my own age before.”

“Just be yourself... I think that will work,” Philip said encouragingly... it was how he came to love Jason.

“Alright... but I don’t know what I am. Perils says I am a Legatio, but I don’t feel like one, you say I am a man, but I still don’t know what that means.”

Philip pulled Jason closer to him so the young man’s head was pressed against his chest. “I know. That is what makes you so charming. You were not raised with our prejudices. Your father was highly respected by his men. While all of them are now dead, the poems and songs the Legatio wrote about him still bring out feelings of love and respect from us. Western Field Marshal Lukas was right... you can bring us and the Legatio closer.”

“I hope so. I would like everyone to be friends.” Jason sighed.