There was honey in the milk, which made Constantine, in a rebellious bout against manner, to drink it from the bottle.

“This is not bad at all,” spoke the usually reserved Marcus Agrippa from his left, his cheeks rosy despite him taking less sips. They were in the garden, sitting on a rug and drinking milk.

They might have also not told Drusus, Livia’s father, that it was fermented and not normal milk with honey. Tycho looked at them with veiled amusement from his spot on the floor. Octavia had offered him some of her drink, but he had reminded her that he had to be sober to see them all home.

“I know, right? It tastes better than wine,” said Octavian, and he snickered. Then, he turned to Constantine.

“Tine is very interested in Scythia. A princess from there caught your eyes?” Constantine sighed and took another swing from the bottle. The sweet liquid flowed pass his lips and warmed his stomach.

“I have a nation friend from there,” answered Constantine. All the surrounding children turned to look at him.

“I thought Adnan and Bolgar didn’t like you,” it was Octavia who spoke, and she was right. Well, at least half-right.

“I am speaking of their brother, Kyla. He rules over the Scythian territory now,” Octavia gave him a look and drank some of her milk.

“You are what? Eleven, and you already make alliances with the big players,” there was jealousy in Octavia’s voice, and he didn’t like it. Nor did he understand where it had come from.

“Nothing wrong with an early start,” said Livia from next to Constantine. She was his best friend, and he was glad that she didn’t find it odd that his allies came from the East.

“But, isn’t he in something called a Khanate, ruled by his father?” Octavian looked confused, and Constantine was quick to enlighten him.

“Well, yes, but those are his mother’s lands. So, as the…” Well, Kyla was not the eldest. He was the middle child from his side of the Xiongnu family. So, how had he risen to power over his brothers.

“Yes?” Asked Octavian.

“I don’t know why, but he rules there. He sends me letters from time to time, and we are friends,” but not allies. Not as long as Constantine kept the company of Beshter. And that hurt the child at times.

“Maybe you can invite him to Rome?” Constantine turned to Marcus, who shrugged. “Surely, the steppe people have something to offer the republic, apart from good horse milk.”

Constantine had no idea what that would be. Kyla has begun building cities in his territory, and renovating others. Fanagoria, the capital, being the first to be completed.

“He has plenty of gold and good land for pastures and agriculture, despite his people being mostly sheep herders and horse breeders. And their horses are huge. I saw Sadik’s and Ak’s in the stables. They barely fit in the stalls,” that had been quite the experience for Constantine. Yet, the beasts had been mild and had even let him pet him. That also had this weird thing attacked to their saddles.

On a belt, there were two swings like things where the feet were supposed to be. Later, Beshter had told him those were stirrups and that was the reason the East had such an advanced cavalry.

The make of them was kept mostly as an open secret, and Rome still didn’t have them. And yet, when he had written his father about them, Romulus had been excited and had said he will write to the Easterners for smiths who could come and teach the Roman ones how to make stirrups.

“I’d like such a fierce beast one day,” spoke Marcus wistfully. Octavian nodded along, and Constantine turned to the girls.

“I have troubles with normal horses, let alone a behemoth masquerading as a horse,” spoke Scribonia. Constantine didn’t know why, but he got the sudden urge to praise her golden locks. He leaned on Livia and set his bottle down.

“I think I had enough alcohol for one day. Do you want to play some dice games? Livia, can we move to the baths?” As any influential family, Livia’s too had private baths. Constantine loved the pool. His was not even half as big, and so his laps around it had to be short.

“We can be more adventurous,” said Octavia with a twinkle in her eyes. “We can go to the public baths. The plebeian ones.”

Scribonia grinned at that and nodded. Soon, Tycho was escorting the visibly drunk children to the closest public baths. The clerk at the front desk almost didn’t let them in. But then, Constantine told him his last name and paid him twice what the sign at the front told him he needed to. The clerk just let them off with a warning that if they caused any scenes, they will be kicked out.

“Some nerve he has,” spoke Octavian as they relaxed in the pool. Just the three of them, Octavian, Marcus, and Constantine. Livia, Scribonia and Octavia were in the women’s section.

“Who is up for a massage after this?” Continued Octavian.

Both Constantine and Marcus raised their hands, and they giggled drunkenly. A patron to the left scoffed and distanced himself away from the children, but they didn’t pay him any mind.

“Ave, lords, care to play dice with humble Aurelius?” said a skinny man who had a towel wrapped around his waist. The boys nodded eagerly and the game began.

In retrospect, they shouldn’t have agreed. Now, they were all out of money and Aurelius went off with a hundred denarii, from all of them. Their entire allowance for the year.

“Well, that was the last time we will see the baths this year,” Marcus was regretful as both boys nodded.

“Maybe the girls will lend us some money? At least for a massage and some oils?” Suggested Octavian.

“It is shameful to ask a girl for money,” Constantine repeated the old words of his mother. “Unless she is your mother.”

The three shared a look. It would be horrible, but they needed to ask their parents, or rather, guardians in Constantine’s case, for more money. Or earn them, somehow.