Forbidden

Chapter 4

Since her outburst, Aeliana never stepped foot near The Colisseum again. She did see Terentius though, nearly every day and it was grating on her last nerve. "He is such a wonderful man for you Aeliana. Really, why must you be so difficult?" "Mind your behaviour with him, daughter. You musn't spoil this, he loves you." "Oh Aeliana. How I wish I had a betrothed, such as yours." That was all she ever heard now, since word of the arrangement circulated around the Empire. Sometimes, on daily strolls throughout the kingdom her people would shyly send smiles her way, congratulating her on the engagement. Once, a group of little girls came running towards her "Princess Liana! Princess Liana!" She beamed and knelt down to their height "Yes?" The smallest one with golden hair and oceanic eyes stepped forward, reminding Aeliana of the forgotten gladiator she had set straight so many weeks ago. "We made you a wedding present, Princess." She shyly said. Trying to hide her grimace Aeliana acted surprised. "May I see it then?"

"We made it ourselves! From our own garden. The paint was ours too! Hopefully Ma won't mind.." A tall girl with short brown hair smiled up at her, holding a golden Laurel crown. The branches were wrapped in a neat circle and leaves were strewn through it as well, also painted gold. Laughing, Aeliana let the tall child place it upon her head and she reached to give the girls an embrace, before her Mother's cold hand stopped her from doing so. "Come Aeliana." That was also the last time Aeliana had been able to leave her family's grounds.

As Caius had predicted, the Greecians had declared war and were pushing in on Rome from the western front. She remembered, during a quiet dinner with her family two Roman centurions bursting into the dining hall. Their faces were red as they removed the metal helmets from their heads. "Emperor, General, Second-General. Might we have a word? It is of urgent matter." Caius and Terentius dropped their utensils and stared at each other for but a moment before simultaneously pushing out of their seats. Terentius leaned down and kissed Aeliana's cheek. She flinched "Please stay with your Mother and siblings, Aeliana." She wanted to jump up, or stare at him and say 'Yes, Terentius. Because I had just planned to go with you, or maybe I was feeling a bit adventurous and wanted to watch a fight!' in a snide voice. But she nodded and looked down to her plate. The men rushed by and ran out of the doors. "Daughters, eat your meals. No sense in wasting such fine food." Feeling suddenly dizzy, Aeliana excused herself from the table and stumbled back to her chambers. She ran to the open balcony and rested her head against the ledge. After inhaling the clean, dry air Aeliana heard heavy footfalls outside of her door. From being the closest out of the 4 children and the many years of living under the same roof, she knew the footsteps belonged to Caius.

Aeliana wrenched the door open "Caius!" Her hiss resounded throughout the halls. Her brother turned, now clad in his gleaming armour. "Aeliana, go to bed. It is late." Slipping out, she turned to close the door. "Caius do not treat me as if I am a child. I know something is wrong. Please tell me." He sighed and slapped a hand over his forehead and took a deep breath. It was moments like these that Caius looked much older than his age. Motioning Aeliana to follow him, Caius turned to walk down the hall. He stopped at a balcony, overlooking the skyline of the Roman Empire. "Aeliana, do you trust your brother?" "Yes, of course." "Would you lay your life, your kingdom's lives in my hands?" "Caius, stop this." Caius looked straight at Aeliana with sad eyes. "I would sister, but you asked for the truth. The Greeks have declared war on Father, they wish to obliterate the Romans." Aeliana's heart felt as if a cold, icy hand clamped around it in a vise like grip. "Is there more..?" Caius nodded and once again, looked over his city. "They've already set sail for our western coast. It is not long now. I have tried to prepare the men, to the best extent. I am afraid that our number of men is far less than that of the Greecians, so.." He paused, as if contemplating whether telling Aeliana this was right. "We've enforced the help of the Gladiator men as well." That was enough for Aeliana, for she burst into tears. Caius shook his head "I am sorry for not being prepared, Liana." He kissed her on the top of her forehead, and sent her off towards her chambers.