When Octavian and his men reached her monument Cleopatra refused to let them in. She negotiated with them through the barred door, demanding that her kingdon be given to her children.Octavian ordered one man to keep her talking while others set up ladders and climbed through the window. When Cleopatra saw the men she pulled out a dagger and tried to stab herself, but she was disarmed and taken prisoner. Her children were also taken prisoner but were treated well.
Cleopatra was determined to die - perhaps because she had lost Mark Antony, perhaps because she knew Octavian intended to humiliate her, as her sister Arsinoe had been humiliated, by marching her through Rome in chains, and because the Witchblade was lost to her now, it had abandoned her. With Octavian's permission she visited Antony's tomb. Then she returned to her mausoleum, took a bath, and ordered a feast. While the meal was being prepared a man arrived at her monument with a basket of figs. The guards checked the basket and found nothing suspicious, so they allowed the man to deliver it to Cleopatra.
After she had eaten, Cleopatra wrote a letter, sealed it, and sent it to Octavian. He opened it and found Cleopatra's plea that he would allow her to be buried in Antony's tomb. Alarmed, Octavian sent messengers to alert her guards that Cleopatra planned to commit suicide. But it was too late. They found the 39-year old queen dead on her golden bed, with her maid Iras dying at her feet. Her other maid, Charmion, was weakly adjusting Cleopatra's crown. "Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?"one of the guards demanded. "Extremely well,"said Charmion, "as became the descendent of so many kings." And she too fell over dead. Two pricks were found on Cleopatra's arm, and it was believed that she had allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a kind of poisonous snake) that was smuggled in with the figs. As she had wished, she was buried beside Antony.
Cleopatra was the last pharaoh; after her death Egypt became a Roman province. Because Caesarion was Julius Caesar's son and might pose a threat to Octavian's power, Octavian had the boy strangled by his tutor. Cleopatra's other children were sent to Rome to be raised by Octavia. Cleopatra Selene married King Juba II of Mauretania and had two children, Ptolemy and Drusilla. No one knows what happened to Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus [but] they may have been murdered at the order of King Herod I of Judea.
(Most text from www.royalty.nu/Africa/Egypt/Cleopatra.html)
Into the following century, no 'true' Bladewielders have yet been positively identified Emperor Claudius carried the blade with him while he visited his troops during Rome's invasion of Britain. He may have tried to wear it, but we all know what happens to men who try to conquer the Blade.
Julius Caesar had started Britain's invasion in 55 BCE, but never really managed to impose his domination over the Britons. It was in 43 AD that the Emperor Claudius ordered that Britain should be conquered. It is during this second invasion that Queen Boudicca's story is set. Boudicca gained possession of the blade when she overran London in 61AD. While she was apparently not a true Bladewielder herself ~ although she was definitely a great warrior in her own right ~ she did understand it's power somewhat and decided to hold onto it until someone who could wear it ~ and wield it ~ come forward.
Boudicca is described as a fearsome, powerful woman. This description comes from a Roman writer: "She was very tall. Her eyes seemed to stab you. Her voice was harsh and loud. Her thick, reddish-brown hair hung down below her waist. She always wore a great golden torc around her neck and a flowing tartan cloak fastened with a brooch."-- Cassius Dio, quoted by Terry Deary in The Rotten Romans.
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