Forbidden

Chapter 9

The Romans had won the war against the Greecians, under the strategies of gladiators Atilius and Dilios. Aeliana sat on a level above the vast crowd, along with her mother, father, and sisters, as a symbol of Rome and it's children. She was not the person being looked upon, though, and this made her happy. Aeliana could sit and watch, without being told to sit up straighter or fix her hair.

As she gazed below at her people, she noticed their wild love of violence, bloodshed, and victory, and this was what had unpleased her. What was the most aggravating, though, was that as much as she spoke her heart out of peace, there would always be war. This was because of her father, and all the men in her life. Aeliana hadn't noticed until that moment, that all her life, and the lives of her family, and the lives of the populates of her country, was revolved around war and fighting. She could not say that she was proud of that fact, but as most of her thoughts are, they were pushed to the back of her brain as the Triumph Parade began.

Aeliana could not help but to laugh at the sight of Terentius walking behind the main asset of the parade, being her brother, Caius, alongside Atilius and Dilios. Her laughter was simmered to a large smile as Atilius stared straight at her in the most obvious manner, and smiled. Many occupants of Rome went to catch a look at what the gladiator had smiled at, and became befuddled at how friendly he had been towards their princess. They unlocked gazes and instead Aeliana looked towards Dilios, who laughed with her but broke eye contact immediately, Empress Caecilia glaring towards the two gladiators. Her brother, Caius, was his charming self as per usual; bright grins spotted from miles away, beautiful eyes filled with joy, and a friendly wave sent to every person watching. It was Terentius' actions which Aeliana found more cheerful than expected, and to which she also instantly assumed the works of alcohol.

His eyes were moved with urgency, as if the next object caught in sight was to be the most beautiful thing in the world. His mouth was what seemed to be permanently lifted into a smile. Most surprisingly, though, Terentius was faced towards Aeliana for the majority of his sudden eye movements. She fakingly waved towards him, his smile lifting higher as he mouthed towards her, 'We won.' Ah, yes of course, he's perfectly content when a fight's been won, but when there is none, he must start a fight. Aeliana could never fathom the thoughts that changed so violently inside of his mind, nor would she ever wish for herself to be able.

As the crowd began to dispatch from its wholeness, Aeliana and her family were brought to a carriage in which they were met with the eyes of her brother, the two gladiators, Terentius, and Astinos. Astinos immediately jumped out to escort the remainder of the royal family onto the carriage. The Emperor climbed into the carriage by his own means, before the young soldier could respond. "Empress Caecilia, my pleasure of course." he spoke with a childish laughter in his voice, to which Aeliana could not help but smile towards. "Sabina, Mariana, the youngest princesses, hello." he greeted them as he lifted them in, before looking to Aeliana with a mischievous grin. "Oh, must I help you up?" he spoke facetiously which made for Aeliana to scoff. "You must." she went along with his jokes, and allowed him to lift her into the carriage. After plenty moments of meaningless chatter, Aeliana looked up from her fingernails and smiled all too pleasantly, "Well my sincere congratulations must be shared with you, for all of your hard work and victory." Several "I agree" and "Yes of course"'s were shared before the Emperor spoke, "Now for the feast." They rode off towards the palace, Atilius and Aeliana sneaking glances all too often.

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"The meal is served." a servant called before the Emperor motioned for everyone to begin eating. Aeliana took her meat in her hand and laughed to herself before indulging into it, causing for her mother to roll her eyes as if Aeliana were a lost cause. "Wonderful dining hall, really, Emperor Januarius, Empress Caecilia." Dilios spoke kindly, in his own naturally friendly way. Their nods of 'thanks' were rude acknowledgements in Aeliana's eyes, and she found herself ready to tell them to reply properly, but Dilios seemed unaffected by the response. She huffed and turned to look across the table at Atilius, who had been watching her the entire, and smirking. Aeliana felt as a blush crept up on her cheeks, her hair falling over her face to protect herself from embarrassment. "Aeliana, darling," Terentius drawled in notice of Aeliana's blushing at Atilius, "pass the wine, please." "Of course Terentius." she replied automatically, reaching for the wine and handing it to him. Silence crept up on the diners like darkness crept up on the earth at night, and Aeliana craved for a noise other than food being eaten.

This had been the only moment which Aeliana found joy in hearing another of Terentius' stories, before she began staring at Atilius again. He seemed to have found a joy in making her hold her laughs, for he acted in one way throughout Terentius' whole story without one person other than Aeliana taking notice. This was the rolling of his eyes from one side to the other throughout the whole tale, and his mouth moving as if to mock the Second-General. Aeliana's face turned beet red, her hand covering her mouth out of fear of letting her laughter go, and her face contorted in humour.

When dinner had ended, Caius brought Aeliana and the gladiators on a tour of their palace, and Terentius spoke of how he had been sore and would rather share more tales with the remainder of the family. The foursome strolled around the halls, Aeliana excited in showing them her prized gardens. Atilius took interest, whether fake or true, towards the flowers and with a glare sent from Atilius to Dilios, Dilios lost all interest and so Caius kept him out while the couple stayed there.

When they were no longer in company, Aeliana ran towards Atilius and threw her arms around his neck, him lifting her up as if to say that he never wished to let her down. Aeliana crushed her lips against his and when they pulled apart, whispered, "I am glad of your safety, I missed you when you left." Tears filled her eyes forcefully and Atilius frowned when he saw one escape. He gently brought his fingers to her cheek and wiped the pain away for that moment. "Do not cry, pulchra. Please, promise you will not cry over me." Aeliana nodded and sniffed; she did not know if she could keep that promise.