Forbidden

Chapter 16

Aeliana followed her family through the cold, dank tunnels of the famous Colosseum. The Avitus' were to wish Atilius and Dilios good fortune before their matches. The pair were to fight on their own this time, and Aeliana felt her stomach clenching repeatedly. They came to a large, thick wooden door and her father raised a hand, rapping on it twice.

The flustered man, Martialis, Aeliana remembered, answered the door. His face was showed instant relief. "Your Majesty!" He exclaimed a little too loud for Aeliana's tired ears. "You have come just in time! The men are preparing themselves." Martialis opened the door wider and allowed the Emperor, Empress and their daughters through the entrance. When Aeliana laid her eyes upon Atilius' half-armour clad body, she bit her lip to refrain from crying out.

"You promise me, you shall win Atilius. Promise!" The night before, Aeliana held his face between her hands and stared at his solemn eyes. "Aeliana.." He murmured. She knew what he was to say. 'I cannot. There is always a possibility I will die tomorrow.' Aeliana had shook her head, blinking her burning eyes. "You get out of there alive, do you understand?" She whispered. Atilius had just stared. "Atilius please!" She was shaking, and Atilius kissed her forehead, lay her on his chest, and held her tight. All without promising Aeliana his survival.

Now, she was staring at him lace up his leather wrist cuffs with a grim face. He did not look up when her father addressed him. "Atilius, we wish you the best of luck on this fine morn. We hope that you please us, as you always do." Instead of acknowledging Januarius, Atilius looked up at Aeliana with expressionless eyes as he yanked the laces together. Aeliana looked away and focused on the weapons lining the wall.

"Dilios, we also have the most confidence in you! Do us proud today boy." Her father obnoxiously boasted "Now, daughters. Present the men with our gifts." Aeliana turned, grabbed the dagger a Colosseum slave held for her and brought it forward to Atilius. "An Avitus dagger. Made with the finest metals, and marked with your initials." Aeliana stood as close as she could to Atlius without it seeming inappropriate. He held his hand out, and she dropped heavy object into his palm. They met gazes for a short while and Aeliana whispered one word. "Please."

*****

She sat restless in her chair beside her mother. Her hands twisted together every few moments, she adjusted her ankle-length dress, and sighed relentlessly. "Would you cease with that incessant foolishness?" Her mother bit. "Mother, I do not enjoy it here." Aeliana said between clenched teeth. The longer she spent under one roof with her mother, the more irritable she got towards her. "Learn to enjoy it! Truly, Aeliana. Such a disgrace towards this family." The woman huffed.

With each passing minute, the crowd started to grow larger and louder. The Imperial Box was nearing full, all but one spot was filled. Terentius'. But just as Aeliana found herself thinking the thought, she heard him making his entrance. He shouted greeting to Senators and their wives, clapped Caius and Januarius on the back and kissed Sabina, Mariana, and Caecilia on both cheeks. Terentius finally sat down beside Aeliana. This was the first time she had seen him since his attempted attack, and she hid a smirk upon seeing the long red scratch across his tense face while shifting ever so closely towards her mother.

"Good day, my love." He grabbed Aeliana's cold hand and planted a kiss to her palm. She tore it away quickly and focused on the slaves readying the sands on the floor of the Colosseum. "Terentius." She said. He grabbed her wrist in her lap, and held it fast in a tight grip. "I do not want to hurt you." Terentius said under his breath while waving to a fellow Centurion. "Let me go." He pinned her wrist to the arm of his chair and flashed a serious glare towards her. Shaking her head, Aeliana smiled as if he whispered a sweet nothing to her. "You forget, my darling. You have no right" She twisted her arm in his grip, forcing him to let her go "over me." She giggled childishly at the end of her powerful statement to keep the facade and folded her hands in her lap.