Una sacerdotessa camina cap a una cambra subterrània. La gent fa cua al carrer per veure-la mentre ella reclama que és innocent. Tant és. El judici ja ha acabat i és culpable. La sentència? Enterrada viva. A la cambra subterrània hi ha pa, aigua, llet i oli. També hi ha un llum, un llit i una manta, però no en sortirà pas viva. Al llindar, la sacerdotissa es para, i proclama la seva innocència per última vegada. Tot seguit entra a la cambra. Cap romà la tornarà a veure. La sacerdotessa és una de les sis verges vestals romanes, escollides de petites de les famílies més aristocràtiques de Roma. Amb la seva mort, ara només n'hi ha cinc, i s'ha d'escollir una nova sacerdotessa. La Licinia, una nena de sis anys, ha presenciat l'espectacle, sense sospitar que uns dies més tard seria escollida com la nova verge vestal. La seva edat, llinatge patrici i la seva aparent bona salut fan que sigui la millor candidata per servir la deessa Vesta. Els seus pares estan orgullosos que sigui l'escollida. La Licinia té por, però no hi té res a dir. Ha de servir la deessa els propers 30 anys com a mínim. Durant els deu primers anys de servei aprendrà a ser una verge vestal. El seu deure més important és vigilar la flama de Vesta, la deessa verge de la llar. Vesta no té una estatua com la resta de deus i deesses romans. Se la representa amb la flama que crema nit i dia al seu temple, al costat del fòrum al centre de la ciutat. Com les sacerdotesses vestals, la Licinia dedica part de la jornada a vigilar i cuidar la flama. La flama representa dues coses. La primera és continuïtat de Roma com a potència en el món. Els romans creien que si la flama s'apagués, la ciutat estaria en perill. La flama també simbolitza la virginitat de les sacerdotesses vestals. Per als romans, la virginitat de les vestals no era només castitas, o modèstia en esperit i cos, sinó també la seva puresa ritual. La Licinia sap que no pot deixar que la flama s'apagui mai. La seva vida, la de les seves companyes vestals, i la seguretat de la pròpia Roma en depenien. La Licinia aprèn a recollir aigua cada dia d'una font propera per netejar el temple. Aprèn el fasti, el calendari dels rituals sagrats i observa com les sacerdotesses amb més experiència fan els sacrificis. Quan la Licinia acaba el seu aprenentatge té 16 anys. Entén que la forma en que ha d'actuar és un reflex de la deessa que serveix. Quan li toca anar a recollir aigua manté la mirada cap a terra. Quan fa sacrificis, s'hi dedica plenament. La Licinia dedica tota la seva energia a ser la millor sacerdotessa. Li preocupa que un dia l'estat reclami la seva vida per motius propis per salvar-se del perill. La Licinia podria ser acusada d'incestum, o falta de castedad, en qualsevol moment i ser sacrificada tant si és innocent com culpable. La Licinia ara entén per què van enterrar viva la seva predecessora. Fa deu anys, la flama de la Vesta es va apagar. Les sacerdotesses sabien que no ho podien mantenir en secret. El futur de Roma en depenia. Van anar al sacerdot en cap i es va obrir una investigació per descobrir per què la flama s'havia apagat. Algú va dir que una de les vestals ja no era verge. Allò va ser l'inici del final. La acusada va protestar la seva innocència però no en va ser prou. Se la va jutjar i va ser declarada culpable. La mort de la vestal va ser per a protegir la ciutat, però la Licinia plora pel que s'ha perdut i pel que ara sap. El seu propi camí s'havia obert a causa de la mort d'una altra i la seva vida podria acabar senzillament pel simple fet que s'apagui una flama.
A lone priestess walks towards an underground chamber. People line the streets to watch as she proclaims her innocence. It doesn't matter. She's already been judged and found guilty. The sentence? Live burial. The underground chamber contains a portion of bread, water, milk, and oil. She will have a lamp, a bed, and a blanket, but she won't emerge alive. At the threshold, the priestess pauses, claims her innocence one last time, then enters the chamber never to be seen again by the Roman people. The priestess is one of Rome's six Vestal Virgins, each carefully selected as children from Rome's most aristocratic families. But now with her death, there are only five, and a new priestess must be chosen. The six-year-old Licinia witnessed the spectacle, never suspecting that a few days later, she'd be chosen as the next Vestal Virgin. Her age, her patrician family lineage, and her apparent good health makes her the best candidate to serve the goddess Vesta in the eyes of the Romans. Her parents are proud that their daughter's been chosen. Licinia is afraid, but she has no choice in the matter. She must serve the goddess for at least the next 30 years. For the first ten years of Licinia's service, she's considered in training, learning how to be a Vestal Virgin. Her most important duty is keeping vigil over the flame of Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth. Vesta doesn't have a statue like other Roman gods and goddesses. Instead, she's represented by the flame which burns day and night in her temple located next to the Forum in the center of the city. Like all Vestal priestesses, Licinia spends part of each day on shift, watching and tending to the flame. The flame represents two things. The first is the continuation of Rome as a power in the world. The Romans believed that if the flame goes out, the city's in danger. The flame also symbolizes the continuing virginity of Vesta's priestesses. For the Romans, a Vestal's virginity signaled not only her castitas, or modest spirit and body, but also her ritual purity. So Licinia knows she must never let the flame go out. Her life, the lives of her fellow Vestals, and the safety of Rome itself depends upon it. Licinia learns to collect water each day from a nearby fountain to cleanse the temple. She learns the Fasti, the calendar of sacred rituals and she watches while the senior priestesses conduct sacrifices. By the time Licinia completes her training, she's 16 years old. Licinia understands that the way she must act is a reflection of the goddess she serves. When it's her turn to collect the water, she keeps her eyes lowered to the ground. When she performs sacrifices, she focuses intently on the task. Licinia directs her energy towards being the best priestess she can be. She's worried that someday the state will claim her life for its own purposes to protect itself from danger. Licinia could be accused of incestum, meaning unchastity, at any time and be sacrificed whether she's innocent or guilty. Licinia fully understands now why her predecessor was buried alive. Ten years ago, the flame of Vesta went out. The priestesses knew that they couldn't keep it a secret. The future of Rome depended upon it. They went to the chief priest and he opened an investigation to discover why the flame had failed. Someone came forward and claimed that one of the Vestals was no longer a virgin. That was the beginning of the end. The accused protested her innocence, but it wasn't enough. She was tried and found guilty. That Vestal's death was meant to protect the city, but Licinia weeps for what has been lost and for what she knows now. Her own path was paved by the death of another, and her life could be taken just as easily for something as simple as a flame going out.