Coriolanus Act 4.5.2

Scene 4.5.2

A hero’ welcomes

“Where is this fellow?” Audifius paraded in with the staff who had complained. He was still in his prime as seen by his half naked body with only the top half covered his upper thigh. He reached down to scratch his inner left thigh while he glared at Coriolanus.

“Here, sir. I would have beaten him if he was …” The staff who earlier posed his fighting skills tried to impress his master.

“Where had you come from? What’s thy name?” Audifius asked with his voice slurring from the heavy intoxication. He stumbled in his steps.

“If, Tullus not yet know of me, and seeing me, does not think me for the man I am, necessity commands me name myself.” Coriolanus wanted his identity to be known than to be branded a vagrant.

“Okay, okay, what is thy name?” Tullus spoke up while he straightens his back as if he was back in the army.

“A name unmusical to the Volsces ears.  And harsh in sound to thine.” Coriolanus mocked the other. He wanted to be received with equal respect. That was something he had missed the last months.

“What’s thy name?” Tullus was trying to understand the man. “Thou hast a grim expression, and thy face bears a command in it, thought thy tackle torn from thee. Thou still show a …noble vessel. What’s thy name again?”

“My name is Caius Martius, who had done thee particularly, and to all the Volsces.” Coriolanus spoke out.

“Caius Martius? The Caius Martius? Oh my God!” Tullus shouted out. “You are one crazy son of a bitch. But I liked you. Come with thee.”

Tullus pulled Coriolanus to the Main Hall. Inside the hall, was a large pool filled with people; men and women in state of naked and half naked, either coupling or enjoyed being administered by another. The unique part of it was none of the guests were masked to cover their identities, although the tattoo on their body marked their military affiliation. 

Coriolanus knew of such parties while Rome was one of the advocates of such freedom of acts. It was the Nobles who partake in it although it was kept discrete for fear of ill words spoken to the faithful one at the home. Soon the tradition became more open in participation although the actors veiled themselves with face masks, while both sexes took liberty of the illicit action. No acts of such were ever bound by limitations, where its boundary may expand to the whims of its actors. The pool of participation soon included the paid actors be it servants or stand-in so long as secrecy was maintained on the identities.

Tullus pulled Coriolanus to the pool and leaving the later in the center of the pool while he sat himself on the far side. Men and women were also in the pool obvious to the dirty man in his dirt caked clothing. Caius felt out of place and chooses to remove his clothes to be one with them while Tullus spoke.

“Men, this man said he is Caius Martius. Have any of you recalled him?” Tullus asked. No one responded although some did try to pay attention to the stripping man. Coriolanus stood there nude with the pool water reaching his knees. He was getting upset that none of those bastards he have them beaten before could not identify him. He however recognized some faces; old adversaries who ran with the tails between their legs, now laid there exposed to compare against his own.

“Great hurt and mischief, witness you all, my surname, Coriolanus.” That last mentioned of his name caught some more attention. There were some murmurs but most of them there were in the drunk with their glazed eyes. “The painful service, the extreme dangers, and the drops of my bloodshed for my thankless country, are paid in full. In some places, the blood flowed over the rim of the bowl.”

Coriolanus glared at the Volsces there. He recalled the battles and then the banishment. The same Romans he had fought for with his life had banished him. He sighed back in his tone.

“That with that surname, only that name remains. Coriolanus….”

“The cruelty and envy of the people permitted by our dastardly Nobles, who have forsook me, having devoured all of me.”Coriolanus raised up his arms. “Suffered me by the voices of the slaves to be whooped out of Rome.”

Some of the sobering guests muttered the name in their lips and then their eyes beamed up.

“Now, this extremity half brought me to thy hearth: not of hope; mistake me not of it, to save my life; for if I feared death, I would have avoided all of men. In mere spite, to be fully quit of those my banishers, I stand before thee. If thou has a heart of wreck in thee, that will revenge thine own wrongs done on you and stop those maims of shame seen through by my country, speed thee straight and my misery serve thy turn. Use it that my revengeful services may prove as benefits to thee, for I will fight against my cankered country with the spleen of all the fiends.”

Coriolanus stood there in the pool and looked to those who were once his foes. Some more had stopped their stupor of drinking and stared at him. Suddenly one of them picked up the goblet of wine and threw at Coriolanus.

“Kill the bastard! He once waged war on us.” The man who threw charged at Coriolanus. The later threw a punch at the charging man but they both went down into the water. Soon more men jumped in and wrestled Coriolanus to drown him.

“Stop, you fool. He is my friend.” The voice belonged to Tullus who pulled away the vicious men off Coriolanus. “He had come to serve us, not kill us. Why must be …like whom he was before.”

“He’s Caius Martius, the one who defeated us.” One of the other attackers shouted.

“True, but heed thy words. He had defeated you. He had beaten us all. But here now, he had offered to serve us. Whom do you think would do a better task than one who had done it well before on us?” Tullus pulled up the half drowned hero of his enemy.

“Oh, Marcius. Each word thou hast spoken hath weeded from my heart a root of ancient envy.” Tullus dragged the later to the side of the pool. If Jupiter should from yonder speak divine things, and say it’s true, I will not believe them more than thee, all noble Marcius.”

“Have thee gone mad, Tullus?” A fellow man in the pool asked. “He’s Caius Marcius.”

“Aye, he is.” Tullus replied. He reached down to cradle Coriolanus onto his lap. “Let me twine my arms about that body, where against the grained ash and hundred times broken. I clip the anger of my dagger and do contest as hotly and nobly with this love.”

“Ah, give him to me. I would show him the anger of my daggers up his love butt.” One other shouted out and was cheered by the others.

“Know thou first, I loved the maid I married;  never man sighed truer breath; but that I see him here, more dances to my heart than when I first wedded mistress saw besides my threshold. I have dream of encounters between us, we have been drawn together in sleep, unbuckling the barrier in between, and fisting each other throats to wake up half dead with nothing.”

“Aye, I have the fisting thee need now.” Another one who had seen to take on more drinks showed his earlier drunken approach but Tullus ignored him. He sighed to himself, those fools sees no admiration for Coriolanus like he did. They were foes, but within them, they were in love and hate. He had found no one could equal that in him; not even his first bride which he was so much in love. With her, it was infatuation and so named love but with Coriolanus, they were like a spirited pair made by the Gods but separated by physical means to battle before this.

“You bless me, Sir.” Coriolanus had regained his consciousness and heard the pledge of his previous foe. He shared then the bonding of the other like when he was with his own men. They have only themselves to bond during the long war, and honor forbidden them to consummate with the enemies wives. It was a sworn honor never to dethrone their wives rank, but there were other equal avenues to release the tension.

“Most absolute, Sir. If thy love to me is real, then shared my commission to set down thy best art experienced by the years. See to the defenses and offensives that we are to undertake to knock on Rome’s gates or rudely fight them here to destroy.” Tullus saw then the opportunity to use what was Rome to undo the Romans at their best. “Staff, have my friend here fed and above all, be entertained as a guest.”

Tullus looked to the ones who were still standing there.

“Do I need to command you or would you move on your own? Caius is my guest as all of you are. Whatever you may partake, he may do so. I am sure beneath all that dirt, he had loads to share.” Tullus spoke out.  He then turned to the serving staff. “Bring on more wines, and food. We have a new reason to celebrate. A thousand welcome, Caius. More than a friend now than an enemy once before.”