Forbidden

Chapter 13

Aeliana sat in her gardens, the night quickly approaching, a slight cool breeze causing for the flowers to dance. Heavy footsteps told her that she was to soon have company on the small golden bench sat in the midst of all of the vegetation. A sudden sense of arrogance told her it was her betrothed, Terentius. "Sitting on our lonesome, are we?" he spoke in an attempt at softness, but to no avail. "Yes, and we do enjoy it." Aeliana replied bitterly, with no hesitation to keep her gaze on her favourite flowers. Terentius only laughed and sat by her side. Since the bench was rather small, their limbs touched causing Terentius to want more and Aeliana to become disgusted. "Facetious, too, I see," his voice seemed distant as if he knew Aeliana was not in a mood to argue," "I do understand, Aeliana, that you become annoyed by me. My hopes are that this barrier may be broken, for I find you to be quite the opposite." Aeliana was no fool. Her mind was not easily tricked, and this rude man was not going to be the one to do so. "I do not become annoyed by you, Terentius." She spoke through clenched teeth.

He laughed once more, "This is not true, and both you and I know this." Aeliana scoffed, "Do not put words into my mouth, Second-General." She stood. "I am going to sleep," she continued, and bit her tongue before she did, "I should hope that you might get rest as well. My brother has planned a marvelous trip to the mountains for the three of us in the morn, along with Priscilla. We mustn't haste to wake early, Terentius." He grabbed her hand before she could leave and pulled her towards him.

Aeliana truly hated this man. She could not stand another minute of being close to him, she had thought. His face so close to hers she could she herself in the pupils of his cold blue eyes, his breath smelled of a brutal intake of harsh alcohol, as per usual. "Are you truly going to your bed, Princess?" At this, Aeliana froze. Terentius was drunk; he must have been. Still, he had seemed sobered at the beginning of their conversing. "Of course I am, darling." she stuttered and Terentius shook his head in disbelief. He winked at her and squeezed her wrist to the point where she whimpered in pain, then released her and turned as if nothing had happened.

***

Aeliana reached for the hood of her dark cloak as she slid past the palace's front doors. The oranges and pinks of the sunset's sky had been painted blue and purple by the night, and a calm silence washed over the streets of Rome. Aeliana took caution with every step, her feet barely making sound as she trudged forward. When she finally reached the temple at which she met Atilius every eve, she noticed that in place of his single dark figure she would see, she saw two figures. "Princess," Atilius' friend Dilios- the second figure- said and greeted her with a kiss to the hand. Aeliana smiled at the handsome man, a smirk never leaving his face. "Dilios, how surprised yet joyed I am to see you." Dilios opened his mouth to speak, but Atilius had snaked his arms around Aeliana's waist and pulled her close. She blushed furiously as she looked away to Dilios, the smirk having doubled in size. "Atilius," she stuttered and looked back at him with a mild glare. He but smiled towards her, "Are you joyed to see me, Princess Avitus?" She had thought it were impossible, but the red that flamed her cheeks embarrassed had darkened and she looked at a laughing Dilios. "Atilius," she spoke once more, causing both men to chuckle again. He pulled her even closer to him, her face so near his own that she could feel his warm breath on her face. "Does my presence bring you joy, Aeliana?" He muttered with a laugh, Aeliana smiling slightly once she thought about the question.

Every time she saw him, her heart pounded as if it wanted to jump out of her chest to join his; as if their hearts were somehow bound by the gods so that one day they would find each other and be together until the end of time. Her limbs grew weak under his touch, and whenever she looked to his eyes it was as if her legs changed to water. Aeliana felt her mind soar whenever she was with Atilius, and when he was near other women, it dropped to her stomach. She felt as though when she left his presence, she was leaving a piece of herself behind, and that unless they saw each other again, the piece could never be filled by another. It was as though the day they met should be made sacred; it already was to her.

"I am forever happy when I am with you, Atilius." She said so in a very serious manner, her deep blue gaze never leaving his. The three were now silent, and her straight face broke into a smile to keep the feeling uplifted. "Where are we headed, men?" she laughed childishly, though she didn't mind when she was with Atilius. They smiled in relief and Dilios spoke, "I will eventually leave the two of you alone, Princessa, do not worry. I am here but to bring you to the Garden of Venus, one I should think you will enjoy. See, Atilius here is unaware of it's whereabouts; he does not bring himself around gardens too often, only yours of course." Dilios winked at the princess, a blush creeping to her face again. Atilius wrapped an arm around her once more, this time allowing her to walk.

***

Once they approached the Garden, Dilios moved to leave them. "Dilios, thank you." Aeliana said as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He turned and smiled at her, a true smile, then looked at Atilius and winked. At that, Dilios left the couple. They waited a moment to earn the silence that came with Dilios' absence, and once it approached Atilius did not hesitate to speak. "You must not have meant that, truly, Aeliana." The princess froze and turned to look at him. "Meant what exactly, Atilius?" His oceanic gaze never met hers, but the smile that crept up his face told her that he was not upset with whatever she had said. "You told me that when you are with me, you are forever happy. You must not have meant that." He repeated the latter to her, his eyes finally looking into hers. Disbelief washed over Aeliana's complexion, her heart felt as if it were breaking in two. "Foolish of me to assume you thought the same of me, I suppose." She spoke bitterly, standing from their sitting positions. Atilius laughed and stood along with her, his hands taking hers. She tried at pulling her hands away from his but to no avail; he was far to strong for the likes of her. "It was not foolish, Aeliana. I thought that you must not have meant exactly that, because if one were to ask me how I felt when I was with you, my reply would be the same as yours."

Aeliana stared at Atilius for a moment, the smile never leaving his face. Her hand lifted to his cheek, fingers grazing his temple. His hand reached for hers and held it there, the smile growing on his face. His other hand gripped the back of her head, intwining with her hair. He pulled her head forward. Her lips crashed against his, and in that moment, she knew more than she had ever known that she loved him with all her heart and all her soul.