Forbidden

Chapter 18

When the tip of the sword protuded from Dilios' chest, Aeliana screeched until her throat became raw and large, warm tears slipped from her swollen eyes. She thrashed about violently against the centurion and bit down on the stale fabric in her mouth. Women screamed, children cried, and men who were in favour of Dilios called out in horror. "Stand back! Stand back! It is treason if you do not do so, and you will follow the gladiator's fate!" cried out Astinos. He turned and tried to catch the eye of the princess, but her gaze was focused on the dying man.

Dilios, still alive surprisingly, looked up at Aeliana one last time with such pain in his eyes. Then, looked down at the bloody tip and just as Atilius broke through the crowd, his eyes rolled back into his skull. His body dropped to the sand. Dilios was dead.

"DILIOS." Atilius screamed. A soldier came running up to hold Atilius back, but seeing nothing but red, Atilius grabbed the young man around the neck with one hand and drove his knee into his stomach. Terentius stood with his hands behind his back. Watching with hard eyes. A large crowd had gathered, and most were focused on Atilius.

Aeliana shifted her neck continuously, succeeding in rubbing the cloth off from around her mouth. "Atilius!" she cried. "Unhand me now! That is a royal order you heartless bastard!" She called out to the man behind her. Still he did nothing. Taking matters into her own hands, Aeliana drove her heel into the mans foot and his hold weakened slightly. She broke out of his arms and slid to her knees beside Dilios' body.

Aeliana sobbed and held her mouth over her hands, while Atilius dropped beside her. He took Dilios' upper body into his arms and held his neck upright. His blood was pooling in clots around Aeliana and Atilius, and Atilius' legs were being covered in it. "There's so much blood, Atilius. So much.." She moaned.

Atilius was not paying any attention towards the princess, but instead his dearly loved friend. His eyes welled up with despaired tears and one rolled down his cheek. Angrily, Atilius swiped it away and he jerked his head up to stare at Terentius. Aeliana knew this stare. It was the one of a man about to kill another. She'd seen it many times in the Colosseum, and she was witnessing it now.

She wrapped her hands around Atilius' bicep, and tugged. "Not now Atilius, please. Look at the people." The citizens of Rome were all gathered in a wide circle, eyes the size of saucers and all focused on the pair. Atilius wrenched his arm out of Aeliana's grip and turned to look at her with cold eyes. She met his cold gaze with a pleading one, but he ripped his eyes from hers and focused down on the body that lay in his arms.

He slowly lay it back down on the road, and stood up even slower. He looked at Aeliana without remorse in his emotion, and walked up to Terentius. Aeliana's betrothed stood his ground and stood taller to meet gazes with the gladiator. As quick as a whip, Atilius threw up his fist to meet Terentius jaw. When Terentius' head snapped to the side Atilius grabbed him around his cloak. "I should have killed you when I had the chance." He growled in Terentius' face.

Like he did with the young soldier, Atilius grabbed Terentius by the hair and drove his knee into his face. But Terentius managed to escape his hold and wrap a forearm around Atilius' neck. "Stop it! Stop this, you idiots!" Aeliana yelled hoarsely. She turned to the numerous soldiers who stood, frozen to their places. "You are going to just watch?!"

Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and made her way over to the men. Atilius now had his own hands wrapped around Terentius' thoat and was bleeding from his lip. "Listen to me! Listen!" Aeliana had her hands around Atilius' elbow again, and pulling hard. Priscilla ran to the other side of the two, and started to push on Atilius' torso.

Before long, the two girls were pushing on each man's chest while the city watched on. Finally, they broke apart. But Atilius was attempting to push Aeliana out of the way. "No! No, you ass listen!" She screamed in his face. "Atilius!" Not caring who seemed to be watching, Aeliana stood on her toes, grabbed Atilius around the neck and forced him to look down at her. "Leave it! Now is not the right time! You will be killed-" "Let me die!" Atilius yelled. "You idiot! You can't give-" Aeliana felt an arm around her waist and she was being pulled back.

Two men came up behind Atilius and held him fast. "The barracks!" Terentius yelled whilst holding his nose with one hand. "NO!" Aeliana burst when the soldiers clamped cuffs on Atilius' wrists. They dragged him off with the help of 5 men when Aeliana looked at Terentius for what seemed like the first time that day.

He smirked and came up to her, grabbing her arm in a crushing hold. "Solitary." he whispered.

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By this point, Aeliana's heart was beating out of her chest. Terentius had dragged her all the way from the city's court, up the marble stairs and threw her into solitary. They had seen Caius on the way, her brother giving her a remorseful look when she cried out to him and he slowly shook his head.

Dilios is dead. She kept repeating to herself. Why? For what reason? Aeliana was sure it was because Terentius had never liked the two much anyway. Why not just get rid of one? Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, Aeliana put her head down in her lap. And thought of nothing but the two gladiators. One dead, and the other very much alive. And angry.

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Sabina and Mariana walked together quickly to the Study. Both silently slipped into the doors where their siblings betrothed stood, waiting. "The quick one is dead." he murmured without a greeting. Sabina frowned "Such a shame. He was rather handsome." Mariana looked to her sister and rolled her eyes. "Oh Sabina. Hush, please? He would have brought such shame." "Both of you, shutup." Terentius growled.

The two looked to him with raised eyebrows and a questioning glare on their twin faces. "The blonde is in the barracks. He should be for the next week. Until his next fight. I will make sure he dies this time. Those idiots couldn't even get a decent-" Terentius broke off, biting his knuckle.

"And then we get to punish Aeliana?" Mariana asked. "No, marrying me shall be enough punishment for her. I will make sure to make her life a living hell." Sabina nodded. "But, when do we get to tell her we know of the affair?" Terentius' hands shrunk into fists "Soon. That is enough. Goodbye"

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. Both left the same as they had come in. Terentius turned to the open balcony and breathed in the dry Roman air. If this did not come to the end that he had planned, the gladiator might have to follow the same fate as his partner...

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really, really, terrible i'm so sorry. but, hey. new update! yay.