Chapter 44: 26 AD, Alexandria, Syria, and Capri

                                    

                                          
Victoria rubbed her sweaty palms together as she looked around her at the crowded dissection theater where her oral exams would take place before a committee of physicians. She had already completed several essays, dissected a cadaver, and diagnosed and treated patients at the infirmary. She had yet to be told if she passed those parts of the exam. Bolt put a hand on her shoulder as he came up behind her.
"They made a family section in the seats back of you," he said. "Everybody's here." 
She went to stand with them for a moment. Juba gave her a kiss on her forehead. He was in garrison dress but wore his turban with the circlet, Antony's torq and armband, and a dagger that belonged to Ptolemx XII Auletes of Egypt. Gaius had the other torq, and Lucius wore the jackal's head. Bolt had his cypress wood dagger. Mark Antony was present in spirit. She resumed her seat at a table beside Layla, wishing her father and sisters were here, as well. Demetrius pushed a pile of documents toward her.
"All the letters of reference," he said.
Marcus' letter was at the top of the stack, followed by letters from Marius, Fortuna, Flavius, Melita and Aulus Verus, Vinicia, Julia Vera, Crispinus, Longinus, Cornelius, Julius Verus and Decia, Tertullus, Florus, the late Aelius Burrus, and several others. The names and the words brought back so many memories. 
"Can I keep these?" she asked
"They are yours, Princess," her anatomy professor said. "Let's get started."
He called the meeting to order. Lucius squirmed on the hard bench, noticing Juba, Bolt, Gaius, Beaky, and even Canidius doing the same thing.
"First, I see a lot of nerves in this room," the anatomy professor said. "We don't usually announce results ahead of time but I've never had this much support for a candidate. Princess, you have passed your essays and clinical trials. You're almost there. Everyone else, at ease. That's an order." 
The men laughed and Victoria reminded herself to breathe.
.....
Drusus leaned against the rail of the ship carrying him and Nero to Seleucia, the harbor of Antioch. Almost ten years ago, they had made this journey with their parents. Drusus remembered his father, Germanicus, calling them to the railing of their boat to watch the harbor come into view, and using it as a lesson about Alexander the Great's general, Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Germanicus could turn almost anything into a lesson, and enjoyed educating his sons. Nero's thoughts were along the same lines as he came to stand beside his brother.
"Too bad Victory and Bolt aren't still here," Nero said.
Germanicus was heir to two of the most storied families in Rome, but he treasured his maternal side, the Antonii, and it was obvious why. His mother Antonia was a cultured and educated woman who made her home a place of society and learning. Germanicus was close to his younger brother Claudius. and his older cousin, Senator Julius. And he also came to love and trust his Uncle Marcus' family in Antioch, who welcomed him and his children with open arms.
Drusus and Nero found instant friends and companions in Bolt, Victoria, and Fortuna. Together, this band of cousins shared lessons, rode bareback, went swimming, and picking wild berries on the farm. They begged any adult for stories, which is how Roman children learned. The cousins remained close after Agrippina returned her family to Rome, using Claudius or Julius to transmit letters back and forth. Nero pulled a tablet from his satchel, with a months' old letter from Bolt.
...I wish I could go back to Antioch. The yearning is so strong, I almost want to go on the invalid list and just go home. Knowing that Beaky has been there, and now you and Drusus, gives me peace. You will love it there. Say hello to the Old Ones for me. Many of them still remember you and your father. Charon has so many sons and daughters as gentle as he was. Write to me often. I hope we can write directly....