The Death of Antinous || bxb ✔︎

DE OMNIBUS DUBITANDUM

Hadrian told Antinous that the locals of a nearby Libyan village were being stalked by a Marousian lion. It crept into their farms at night, killed their livestock and even carried off one of their children. The creature was insatiable, he claimed, and, during a diplomatic engagement, the villagers begged the Emperor to put an end to their troubles.

He had whispered this to Antinous so late in the night he thought he might have dreamt it but when he awoke, Hadrian was outside their tent ordering the slaves to pack for the afternoon's hunt.

The horses were brushed and saddled. Orodes was back on his feet and eager to help. He was not yet well enough to serve him, but the slave wanted to feel useful again. Antinous asked him to fetch his spear but let him do no more than that and implored him to stay behind and rest.

Antinous touched the tip of the sharpened spear and let it prick his finger. He held the grip and tested the weight of the weapon in his hand as he rocked back on his heels. He had never hunted lion before and was unsure of himself.

"Is there no other way to deter them?" he asked the Emperor.

"Once an animal has had a taste for human blood, only human blood will satisfy him. He has to be killed or the villagers will never be free from him."

He saw that Leonides would be escorting them. Antinous would have preferred to stay behind. He didn't like to be around Leonides in the Emperor's presence in case they unknowingly aroused suspicion. Though, refusing to hunt would have been more suspicious, so he decided to go along with the Emperor's plans.

Hadrian was in a strange mood, pacing back and forth before the horses. Hunting normally put him in a peaceful state of mind, but this trip agitated him, which was all the more strange since he was so insistent that they go.

Antinous noticed that the rest of the retinue would stay behind. Only a small hunting party of slaves and guards would attend them.

"Is no one else coming?"

"It is only you I wanted to share this experience with."

Commodus, who had been eavesdropping beneath a nearby canopy, interrupted. "I couldn't hunt in this heat anyways." He fanned himself perhaps waiting for Hadrian to hastily extend an invite. "No, no, don't mind me. I'm sure I can make my own fun here at camp."

Hadrian said he would like him to stay behind and consult with his secretary about the new tax plan for the provinces. "As always, I am eager to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"Fun indeed," he replied with a poison smile.

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There was no wind. Red sand stretched out before them smooth and undisturbed. They rode at a cantor, the horses' hooves clomping on the ground creating a soft drumbeat.

He couldn't see any lions on the horizon. It was a straight line, sharp and clean as a knife's edge. Leonides and Thaddeus rode out front to peer beyond the sand dunes and be sure that no threats lay in wait. Brutus and the slaves rode in back so they weren't approached from behind.

Antinous snapped the reins to keep the pace when his troublesome gelding bucked. He stopped and patted his neck.

His eyes followed Leonides and the easy stride at which he rode. His tunic was hitched up to his waist and his naked thighs snugly straddled the mare's back. He never whipped his horse or made abrupt adjustments. His movements were seamless, and the animal seemed unaware that it was being steered in any particular direction. This is what they had to do to escape, he thought. Stay calm and even keel. Act as though nothing had changed or was about to change. Their happiness was so near and Hadrian so suspicious, the smallest disturbance could throw the entire plan off course.