140AD - The Rise to Empress || [GxG] ||

Chapter 30

Translations:

Ego quidem omnes vos desiderabat. = I have missed you.

Et ego vos desiderabat, Imperatrix. = And I missed you, Empress.

Volo te. = I want you.

Stigma = Branding / Tattoo

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The world seemingly came to a standstill. Society overall disappeared and it felt like the stars themselves, even in daytime, had fallen from the heavens. It felt like a tale as old as time itself was being told for the thousandth time again but yet it felt brand new. It was a thump, sloppy and unceremonious but neither women cared.

The Empress wrapped herself around the figure she had only seen in her dreams for the past year, a figure that danced through her dreams mercilessly, one that toyed with her emotions whenever it felt like it, one that brought chaos and peace all at once. One she almost lost hope to see again.

Perhaps it was the way the tanned flesh felt under her touch now, or maybe it was the strength of the hold that came in return after the briefest moment. Clarke doesn't know if this is another dream, if this in fact is only a figment of her imagination. If Lexa is only visiting her dreams again.

It's the soft hoarse voice that follows. A simple word. One that is so simple but one she had yearned to hear again. Imperatrix. Lexa never spoke in her dreams. No, she was only present in them, always too far to reach, yet close enough to feel, a constant torturing that went on for far too long. This was different; this moment was different.

The hold tightened around her, almost suffocating so but she couldn't get herself to protest. If death would take her now it would be fine, she would die in the arms of the woman that had finally returned to her. "Ego quidem omnes vos desiderabat." Clarke's voice came out in just above a whisper, so close to Lexa's ear that only she heard her.

The Empress dug her fingers into Lexa's hair even deeper, pulling her impossibly closer. Lexa could feel she was near the palace, the eyes that watched from the shadows, one pair more desperate to see something that could make them a quick coin than the last. Romans, that was their problem, always all too keen to get their hands on the newest gossip.

Stories had spread among the settlers throughout the past year; stories told by a particular jealous senator. The gossip was similar to the times before and then it suddenly took flame again. The secret lover of the Empress had returned and they all knew it now. The fierce Gladiatrix was back and the few that saw the embrace now believed that the tales that were told were indeed true.

"Et ego vos desiderabat, Imperatrix."

Clarke pulled back first, placing her palms on either side of Lexa's face, taking in the few little scars that were added to her impeccable beauty. The last time the Empress laid eyes on her so closely, the three lines over her eye were only scabbed, but now only three faint lines remained. A new small horizontal line was above her left eyebrow now and another small line coated her left cheek, both barely visible.

Lexa's eyes remained transfixed on the blue ones in front of her, ones that scanned all over her face to see if it didn't perhaps miss a feature in the process. But Lexa only found herself lost in the sea of blue, she was drowning all over again and gods be damned if she allowed another thought of Fenix Kyros to cross her mind. The thought of someone else that potentially laid their hands on Clarke was infuriating.

The minutes that passed felt like an eternity, no one daring to interrupt the budding moment. Octavia was starstruck by the image of her sister returning after more than a year of battle, all in one piece even, breathing, as they joked some time ago.