Surrounded by a grove, in the middle of the road from Saetabis to Laminium, the white, three-story building could be easily seen from a distance, during the day. At night, however, specially if a dark new moon was the only celestial body in the whole sky, it was difficult to find the temple of Diana, if the traveler was not familiar with the site. When Olodum and the three women he was escorting arrived at the gate that gave access to the alley conducting to the temple, it was almost dawn. The porter - an unarmed slave - quickly opened the gate to let the expected guests in.

The temple was built in tiers. Each story, in a perfectly squared shape, was smaller that the lower one. They formed two wide upper terraces around the second and third floors, covered with flowers and a well tended vegetation. A huge black door, made of the finest ebony found in the forests of Tyre and Sidon, was the only entrance to the lower floor. As soon as the sound of the horses and the carpentum advancing through the alley were heard inside, an illuminated rectangle projected itself upon the ground and the silhouette of a woman was cut against the light coming through the open front door. She wore a dark robe; beside her, a few young men, holding lamps, were only waiting for her sign to go out and receive the newcomers.

When the carpentum stopped, Olodum dismounted and opened the door, extending his hand to Morgana, who quickly got off the vehicle, running towards the woman. They embraced each other and the contrast between the vivid affection displayed by Morgana and the very reserved greeting from the woman were extremely evident.

"Annia! It is so good to see you!"

"Welcome, my dear sister. We are honored to guest you and those who travel with you in our temple."

There was also a noticeable physical contrast between the two women: Morgana was tall, with a lavishly black hair framing her expressive face; her sister, was short and a brown mass of hair, with reddish reflexes, surrounded her delicate face. When Morgana released her from the enthusiastic embrace, she was able to see the other guests:

"And these are...?"

Morgana made the introductions: "This is Olodum Flaminius, Legate of the VII Gemina Legion, and a good friend of our family, as you may recall; and those are Julia Livilla, Agrippina's younger daughter, and her servant, Euphemia." Turning to her companions, Morgana went on: "This is my sister, AnniaFlavia, high priestess of Diana."

Compliments were exchanged and AnniaFlavia invited the guests into the temple. The young men with the lamps showed the small entourage of soldiers and servants that came with the guests, their accommodations in a building separated from the temple by a small garden.

A table with a frugal meal was set for the travelers and after this light repast, the guests were escorted to their designed rooms, at a wing in the temple specially designated for that purpose. All, except for Olodum, who explained the urgency of the situation. He then left some soldiers to guard the temple taking the others with him, and departed to Laminium on the same morning, without even a moment of rest. He hoped to reach the castra of the X Gemina Legion on that same day.

When little Julia Livilla and Euphemia were properly accommodated for the night, Morgana followed AnniaFlavia to the quarters reserved for the high priestess. The rooms she occupied were preceded by several chambers, all richly decorated. But none of them was as exotic as the high priestess' sleeping chamber.

It was located on the upper floor and a door facing the entrance door gave access to the suspended garden on the terrace. Even in the darkest night, small lamps strategically located illuminated very well that sort of small mirror of the sacred grove that surrounded the whole building. Aromatic burners spread the scent of myrrh and other aromatic resins all over the room. Antelope horns hanging from the walls held bracelets, earrings, and necklaces made of precious stones. At the right, a bed, with a mattress and pillows made from parrot feathers and soft lynx fur, was hanging from the ceiling, held by ropes made of skillfully twisted threads of silk. Small statues of little deers, games, birds, all made of fine alabaster, were arranged in each corner, while richly painted phallic symbols adorned the walls and ceiling. Here, in a secluded room in the temple of Diana, a trained eye would finally be able to see that, together with the Roman goddess' symbols, lay also the sacred symbols of Tanit, the guardian goddess of the once powerful city of Carthage.

The high priestess dismissed the servants and sat with her sister in a small couch near the terrace. A cold wind blew from the east, announcing the beginning of the day. AnniaFlavia spoke without softening the topic: "Now tell me what is this all about, please. Why are you helping these Romans? Particularly this family, whose members are responsible for our mother's death?"

"Oh, Annia, how can you say that? Agrippina's mother was our mother's best friend! I practically grew up together with her, when we lived in Rome. You were not born yet, and I understand that you don't have the same feelings for them as I do, but you know the story, you know what happened. We cannot blame the Julians!"

Annia made a small movement of impatience: "It is useless to discuss this with you. You and our father are blind to the truth. Besides, you are married to a Roman, one of the many abject servants of that disgraced family."

"You are right. Let's not go over this again. However, I was thinking: if the gods changed my course, bringing me here instead of our father's villa, why don't we take this opportunity and you come with me to visit him? We'll depart as soon as we can safely proceed."

"No, my sister. It is best if I stay here and he stays there. To him, I am only a disappointment. What will he do with a daughter that will not marry a man to suit his interests? A renegade daughter, who chose to serve the gods of his deceased wife's people..."

"Come, come, Annia. He has long forgiven you and respects your choice. He even made the largest contributions to have this temple built and still helps the college of priests to maintain it. He would be so happy to see you...!"

"Then why doesn't he ever come here?!"

Morgana took her younger sister's hand: "You know why. Certain memories are too painful for him..."

Annia rose from the couch and stood at the terrace door, avoiding to look at her sister: "It is you who brings him memories. Memories from our mother. You are the one who looks like her. He sees her everytime he looks at you! And because of your obedience to all his commands, you are the ideal AnniaCarvilia!

Morgana interrupted her sister: "I only do what is expected from me. You serve the goddess; I serve our family."

AnniaFlavia didn't seem to have heard: "While I... I am the one who didn't come out as expected. And yet... I try so hard to be like her... I try to be faithful to her people, to our true ancestors!"

"Annia, Annia, our mother was a Roman citizen, just like our father, like our brothers, like ourselves!"

"Never! Our mother dared to challenge the Romans. And like anyone who does that, she was killed..." Annia passed her hand across her forehead, as if she wanted to dismiss an unwanted thought. She went on, this time looking at Morgana, forcing a smile: "Did you notice my hair is darker? I had the best cosmetic expert create a hair-dye that would make my hair as black as yours. But it didn't work." The high priestess became serious again: "No, you go alone. Our father will be happy to see you, not me."

Morgana got up too, coming closer to her sister: "He loves you as much as he loves me."

The high priestess walked over the entrance door, calling one of her waiting women: "Tanach, please come in and help my sister. She needs to rest from her long overnight trip." And turning again to Morgana: "Please ask Tanach whatever you need. Have a good rest, sister. I have to conduct the morning rituals with my priestesses."

And without any more words, AnniaFlavia left her room.