How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 13- A Defiant Empress

--Valeria POV--

"You are not an animal that he can tame, you are a human and like all humans, you have the right to live your life as you see fit because your life is just that, it is yours," That's what Balbina whispered into my ear before she left and ever since then, it has been echoing in my mind for a whole week.

My heart sparked with the desire to go beyond the walls, to walk outside amongst other people without the restraining chains of my husband, but then I would see him and my mind would go blank.

What should I do?

Was this the life that I used to wish for? Is this life worth my freedom?

I lay in our bed, in the early morning as the sun cast itself upon our bodies, watching my husband sleep, tired from the work of being an Emperor and unknowingly, I shuffled closer to him, nuzzling my head under his chin.

He has the ability to make me feel both calm and excited at the same time. Comforting me at times and scaring me at others. Was this normal? Was I too inexperienced to know? That must have been it.

According to Balbina's words, it wasn't normal though.

In his tired trance, he tightened his arms around my waist, pulling me closer and leaning his head down to kiss the top of my head.

"Good morning, flower," He whispered, voice deeper than usual as he just woke up.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I replied, leaning back to look at his face and seeing that his eyes were still closed. Raising my hands, I rested them on his cheeks and stroked my thumbs back and forth while he moved to kiss my palm.

"Thanks to you," He mumbled and my lips crawled up into a smile. Leaning forward, he kissed my forehead and I squeezed my eyes shut as he chuckled.

Yes, if I want to be happy then I have to get used to this life.

"Any plans for today?" He mumbled, running a hand down his face in an attempt to get rid of the morning tiredness that lingered.

But no matter how many times I tell myself that, my mind would always find itself going back to the original thought of wanting to explore the world, not even the world at this point, I just wanted to go beyond the walls and to the market.

"Can I..." I unsurely started, not sure how to word it out in a way that wouldn't make him angry. Noticing my hesitation, Stacius moved to sit up and he brought me with him, sitting me down on his lap so that I straddled him.

My arms hung loosely around his shoulders and he leaned forward, kissing one of my eyelids lightly. "What is it?" He whispered, his breath tickling my cheeks.

"I want to go out," I somehow managed to say without stuttering.

His forehead creased, eyes narrowing into slits with his lips falling down into a disappointed frown and he released one, long, heavy breath of air that did well to make me feel like a child.

"When you say out, I am guessing you do not mean the garden," Raising a brow, his hand outstretched itself to play with one of the loose tendrils of my hair and I shook my head at his words, biting down on my bottom lip, unable to meet his gaze.

"I want to go out of the palace. Just for a day, to meet my friends and... have fun..." I drifted off, losing the energy to even complete the sentence and come up with a valid argument against him. What was I thinking? Simply pestering him will never be enough.

"And..." He moved to hold my chin, picking my head up so our eyes would meet. "How do you think I will reply to that?" Pursing my lips, I moved his hand away from my chin and looked to the side where he was no longer in my line of vision.

"I like to have my questions answered, Ria," He said, surprising me when he grabbed my waist and thrust me forward all of a sudden. I gulped back a gasp, holding onto his shoulders tightly as he pulled me as close as he possibly could, leaning forward and landing his lips on my collarbone, lightly kissing the area.

"Do not ignore me, flower," He breathed out.

"No," I mumbled, glaring at him as he leaned back to smirk at me, placing a hand on my cheek and stroking my cheekbones with his thumb as if my glare only excited him.

"No what?" He humoured himself.

"You will say no," I gave into him and he chuckled, nodding his head before leaning in and lightly kissing my lips, moving back with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

"And what will you do after you hear my answer?" He hummed.

"I will have no choice but to listen to you," I mumbled.

"See, if you already know how the situation will unfold then why would you bring it up in the first place? Now, will I ever have to hear about you wanting to go outside again?" The humour that had been on his face and in his voice, disappeared without a trace, replaced by a glare that I knew better than to go up against.

Yes, you will. I thought to myself.

"No," Grabbing the back of my head, he moved forward and kissed my forehead, grinning a satisfied grin and pecking my lips a few more times before finally letting me go.

"That's a good girl," I heard him whisper.

And I didn't waste a second to climb off his lap and go to the bathhouse where a slave was already waiting to help wash me up for the day.

Submerging myself in the warm water, I leaned back against the ledge and played with a few flower petals that were in the water as the slave massaged some oil into my shoulders.

Never.

I will never allow myself to become a tool for him.

No matter how much I loved him, I will not let my love for him control me because as Balbina said, I am not an animal that he can tame, I'm a human with free will and my life belongs to me and only me, not Stacius.

So, with that new mindset, I felt the first spark that would lead to my freedom.

"My outfit for today..." I started.

"Yes, your imperial majesty," The woman replied, waiting for my next words.

"Prepare something that would be fit for travel, something that doesn't stand out and will keep attention away from me. If I don't own anything like that then please let me borrow one of yours," I turned to look at the woman who looked surprised beyond words.

"B-But... Your imperial majesty-"

"Please, do me this favour. I will not let any harm come to you so do not worry about that. I just want to go outside for a little bit and I will take a guard with me, so, please... Let me do this," I almost begged if that wasn't already begging.

The woman slowly gave in, nodding her head at my words and I almost jumped for glee but held back since Stacius wasn't far from here and I didn't need him listening in on this conversation.

"When will you be leaving?" She asked.

"After I've had breakfast with Stacius, I'll leave while he's busy with work and I'll be back before he finishes. He'll never even know that I left," The woman smiled at me lightly as if looking at an excited child and I chuckled at her.

"Very well, your imperial majesty. I will do as you wish," She quietly replied.

I could already feel my heart thumping with the excitement of being free, even if it would be just for a little bit, I couldn't wait to be free of the restraints that tied me to this palace.

But at the same time, I feared the consequences of what would happen if Stacius would ever find out about my plan.

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KEYWORDS:

Slaves- Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services and might be employed at highly skilled jobs and professions. Accountants and physicians were often slaves.

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