p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"You grabbed a small strand of your (h/c) hair and twirled it around in your fingers as you stared at your image in the mirror. A stunning white dress tugged at your features and flowed to your feet, and at your waist a simple woollen belt. A sad sigh escaped your painted lips as you remembered why you were doing this./span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""I don't find the idea of me being an item of bargain too appealing, but... I guess this is what I must do for the sake of my family's safety." You heart ached at just the thought of them. After the ceremony, it was very likely you would never see them ever again. Your only solace came from knowing that they would be cared for and safe. Tears pricked at your eyes as you thought of how reluctant your father was to let you go into the arms of a man like emhim./em But this was the last chance for your family. "At least now they'll have a better life." The soft click of the door opening behind you caused you to turn around quickly. You relaxed when you recognized the kind, aged face of your soon-to-be handmaiden./span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Dear, you look so lovely!" she beamed as she eyed your dress from the floor to the neck. Her smile faltered as she glanced upon your head. "Oh, but sweetie, I think you're missing a piece!" she sang as she revealed what she had been hiding behind her back. You glanced upon the long, yellow fabric in awe: a veil. It was accented with beautiful lace roses around the trim and looked to be made from the finest fabric you had ever laid eyes upon. /span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emIt's very beautiful, /emyou thought. /span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s2""I see you like it!" The maid grinned wide and giggled as she delicately placed the stunning veil atop your head. She walked back a few steps /spanspan class="s1"and gasped in awe, bringing a hand to her mouth. "You are...perfection, my dear!" She noticed the sad smile on your face and softly grabbed your chin and tilted your face down to hers. "Hey, chin up dear! Master Vargas isn't as bad as you think." She let go of your chin and patted your hand lovingly, "It'll be alright." She smiled warmly at you, and for the first time that day, you gave back a genuine smile of your own. "Well!" she started suddenly, still holding your hand. "It's time. Are you ready?" You cleared your throat in a attempt to make your voice sound strong. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Yes," you stated simply, a straight look written on your face./span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Ok then love, I'll make sure everything's in order and then come back in to lead you down the aisle, alright?" she smiled. You gave a weak smile in return as she exited your room. You turned back to the mirror and stared, deep in thought. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"You remembered the day your father told you the deal that had been offered to him. Your hand for the wellbeing of your family. Ever since your father was handicapped while on the job, money was hard to come by; three kids can only do so much. You did all you could for your family; taking any jobs available just to be able to feed your brother and sister. Father told you Mother would have been proud of you for taking care of your family. At the thought of your mother, you unconsciously touched the simple, beaded chain that dangled from you neck. Your thumb found its way to the oval ornament, weighted at the end of the chain. It was the same necklace your mother wore on her wedding day. She married for love, and you always thought you have the chance to do the same. You traced over the blue stone inside the pendant, gaining as much courage as possible. Some people say your family was lucky the most important man in the city-state spotted you on the cobble streets. What rotten luck. Of course Julius Vargas took a liking to you, and as soon as he heard about your compromising situation, he was already forming a plan. He promised your father that he and your siblings would never again go to bed hungry, if he just offered his oldest daughter's hand in marriage to him. Your father knew what kind of man he was: a rich, conniving man with more wives than he could count; he could emnever/em give his daughter to emthis /emman. And although you didn't want to be with Julius either, you jumped at the chance to save your family. You would never be able to forgive yourself if you had to send your siblings to bed without a meal one more time. You were jostled out of your thoughts when the handmaiden touched your shoulder gently. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""They're ready for you," she said with a warm smile as she gripped your hand and led you out of the room. You glanced at the mirror one last time and drew in a large breath of air. You sighed deeply as you faced forward./span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI can do this./em/span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"em~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"The thick morning breeze brushed your cheeks as you stood rigid and emotionless next to your father. Your (e/c) eyes made contact with your betrothed, your distaste for the man remaining hidden by your expression. Still, the simple action made him smirk and you had to withhold a snarl. You quickly shifted your gaze to your father's right hand, guilt overtaking you./span/p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI should have told him to stay home that day. /emA million thoughts rushed through your mind on how you could have stopped the accident, but you knew you never could have seen it coming; no one could have. Your father had been an architect, a local favorite no doubt. He was currently assisting the construction workers on the new temple when emit /emhappened. Debris from the roof of the unfinished building fell on your father's right hand, effectively crushing it beyond repair. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""(Name)?" The priest's voice broke you from your thoughts and you looked up at him, realization flashing across your face as you gazed upon his confused one. /span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""R-right" you stuttered, recomposing yourself, "Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia," you recited as you looked upon your wedding party, most of them having ecstatic smiles on their faces, save for the ones who knew you better; their smiles were full of pity instead. You could hardly call your bridesmaids your "friends," except maybe Lucia and her older sister Flavia. Most of these girls were ones you had seen around the village, who had met you maybe one or twice before now. Flavia had been the older sister you never had, helping to raise you and your two younger siblings after your mother passed away during childbirth. As much time as she spent with your family, it was only natural that you were to become friends with her younger sister, as you two were close in age. Both sisters had their mother's trademark golden-brown hair and her deep brown eyes, though Lucia's were a bit lighter in color. You always thought their looks rivaled those of Venus herself, and you were sure they would be married off before you. Well, at least you were half-right. Flavia had gotten married about six years ago, though her wedding was much different than yours. The atmosphere was just...happier, and you could tell by the look on her face that she truly loved the man she was to marry. Flavia walked over to you and gave your hand a reassuring squeeze as she joined your hand with emhis/em. Cheers were heard throughout the venue, the only ones remaining silent being you, your father, Flavia and Lucia./span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"You pushed around your food as slaves set present after present around the table where you and your new husband sat. The rest of the ceremony had been a blur after Flavia had joined your hand with Julius'. You can hardly remember sacrificing the boar, or the signing of the marriage contract. All you could think about was that now you embelonged /emto someone. You were no longer free. There would be no hope for your future. You had no choice but to spend your life bearing children and pleasing a vile man who had exploited your father. You could hear Julius' laughter towering above your thoughts, much like he towers over your freedom now. A droplet of water hits your plate and you glance up at the sky to see...not even one cloud. Your hand unconsciously touches your face./span/p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI'm crying. /emYou quickly wipe away any traces of tears before anyone could see your broken state. emI have to remain strong./embr /br /em~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/embr /br /The sounds of laughter and music echoed through the atrium of your-no, your father's home, as drunk men and foolish girls stumbled about making merriment and dancing. The celebrations had lasted throughout the day, and it seemed as if the whole city-state had come to celebrate; it might as well have been so. Julius had so many "friends" and connections, it's surprising he didn't invite all of Rome to party. Even still, you somehow found solitude. You walked alone through your old house, Flavia and Lucia having gone home and Julius too drunk to notice your absence. It's not as if he was missing you anyways, he was too busy flirting with other women to have time for you. You reached the courtyard and sat on an old, cold, stone bench with green vines crawling up the legs. You sighed as the cool evening wind splashed against your face. You closed your eyes, and for a minute, imagined yourself standing on the edge of a boat at sea, the salty air wiping through your hair and sending you off to new places, far away from Julius and Rome. You grabbed your necklace again, humming a soft tune you could remember being sung to you; a song so old you forgot if it even had words. You could almost feel her hand gripping the necklace with you; almost feel her breath on your ear as she whispered, br /br /"What are you doing out here?"br /br /You turned abruptly, startled from your thoughts. That was emnot/em your mother. Julius stood in front of your house, a drunken smirk on his face. "Shouldn't my lovely new wife be celebrating with her friends?" You cringed at the words emlovely new wife/em, as if he said them /br /"My friends have all gone home and it has been a long day for me, my lord."br /br /His smirk grew. "Well the day has ended and the night has begun, and it shall be long night for you as well." You leaned back a bit, your stony face hiding your fear and disgust. "It is almost time for the next part of the ceremony my dear!" He offered up his arm for you to lock with yours, "Come let us continue our nuptials." You reluctantly stood up from your seat and hooked your arm in his. You glanced back at the outside scenery one last time and confusion found its way onto your face. In the distance there were...lights? You didn't have time to check out the scene much longer for Julius demanded your undivided attention as he led you back /br /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br /br /You once again stood outside the front of your home, perhaps for the last time. This time though, the sky was dark and littered with stars; the moon seemingly shining pitifully down on you. Your father stood next to you, just as last time, as a young man from Julius' groomsmen ran out from your house carrying a torch followed by Julius and two other young men. When their party reached yours, you turned to your father, solemn looks etched on both your faces. His kind, aged face tried it's best to smile for you, but you could see tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. You quickly pulled him in for a long hug, a few sobs escaping your lips for the first time since the announcement of your engagement. You had been strong for so long, but the look on your father's face caused your facade to crumble. If Julius had had a heart it might have broken at this sight, as it was sure doing a number on Flavia and Lucia who had come back to your house for the wedding procession. Just as your father was choking out an "I love you," you were mercilessly ripped from his arms. Julius held you tightly in his arms as more tears rolled down your face and your father fell to his knees. More cheering was heard from the drunken guests as Julius carried you over to where his chariot waited. He handed you over to one of his three groomsmen and turned towards his /br /"I shall meet you at my house, wife," he words like a sly smile as he climbed onto his chariot and rode off to his estate. Your blank face had returned and you wiped away your useless tears as the three men escorted you and the rest of the wedding party to Julius' home. Your father of course stayed behind while Flavia and Lucia comforted him and your siblings looked on in confusion. You could hear laughter and happy jeers from the party-goers as you struggled to keep your feet moving. You kept your eyes to your feet as you kicked away the stray walnuts that came across your path. br /br /Suddenly, the sound of a deep horn pierced it's way through the din of the celebration and for a minute, everything stopped. The voices, the laughter, the dancing, the /br /Then,...br /br /utter chaos ensued. Screams filled the air and romans quickly fled in all directions. You could hear shouts in latin and shouts in...a foreign language? You looked around at the mayhem, confused and scared. The three men around you, save for the one holding the torch, drew their swords and surrounded you protectively. You gasped in horror as you realized you four were the only ones on the street now; everyone else had run away in terror. But...from what? br /br /"Argh!" You looked to your right to see one of the three men now had an arrow sticking out of his forehead. You held back a scream as the other two men's faces twisted with horror at the sight of their dead friend. The one with the sword shouted to your attackers, daring them to come out and fight him light a man. Just as he was about to shout at the mysterious enemies once more, two arrows hit him square in the chest, causing him the drop his sword and fall to the ground. The last young man screamed in sheer panic and dropped the torch as your feet and ran off into the dark, leaving you alone. br /br /emThat bastard!/em You thought as you nervously looked in all directions for any sign of the enemy or at least for something to defend yourself with. You quickly picked up the sword dropped by the man to your right and waved it protectively around yourself. emI must look like a fool! I don't know how to use a sword! /emOut of the darkness you saw what looked to be like a small group of barbarians emerge. They made their way over to you, arrows raised and swords pointed. The one at the front with a scraggily red beard and a scar across his cheek, said something to you in his language. Your eyes remained wide and you gripped the sword tighter quickly glancing from each of them to make sure no one was going to make a move on you. The man who spoke must have suddenly realized you couldn't understand him because he spoke the same words again slower, this time pointing to your sword, then motioning towards the ground. He said something else and pointed to his men, who in turn raised their weapons more menacingly towards you. You took this as him trying to tell you to drop your weapon. You let your sword fall to the cobble street with a clatter and you raised your hands in surrender. A couple men from the back came up to you and tied your hands, one of them throwing you over his shoulder. You would have screamed and kicked and flailed about in this barbarian's arms, but you were frozen in fear of not only what they would do to you if you struggled, but also what they would do to you when they got to wherever it was they were taking /br /emOh gods, I'm so sorry for complaining about my previous situation! I've learned my lesson! Please take me back! Send someone to save me! Please...br /br /I'm sorry./em/span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""I don't find the idea of me being an item of bargain too appealing, but... I guess this is what I must do for the sake of my family's safety." You heart ached at just the thought of them. After the ceremony, it was very likely you would never see them ever again. Your only solace came from knowing that they would be cared for and safe. Tears pricked at your eyes as you thought of how reluctant your father was to let you go into the arms of a man like emhim./em But this was the last chance for your family. "At least now they'll have a better life." The soft click of the door opening behind you caused you to turn around quickly. You relaxed when you recognized the kind, aged face of your soon-to-be handmaiden./span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Dear, you look so lovely!" she beamed as she eyed your dress from the floor to the neck. Her smile faltered as she glanced upon your head. "Oh, but sweetie, I think you're missing a piece!" she sang as she revealed what she had been hiding behind her back. You glanced upon the long, yellow fabric in awe: a veil. It was accented with beautiful lace roses around the trim and looked to be made from the finest fabric you had ever laid eyes upon. /span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emIt's very beautiful, /emyou thought. /span/p
p class="p2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s2""I see you like it!" The maid grinned wide and giggled as she delicately placed the stunning veil atop your head. She walked back a few steps /spanspan class="s1"and gasped in awe, bringing a hand to her mouth. "You are...perfection, my dear!" She noticed the sad smile on your face and softly grabbed your chin and tilted your face down to hers. "Hey, chin up dear! Master Vargas isn't as bad as you think." She let go of your chin and patted your hand lovingly, "It'll be alright." She smiled warmly at you, and for the first time that day, you gave back a genuine smile of your own. "Well!" she started suddenly, still holding your hand. "It's time. Are you ready?" You cleared your throat in a attempt to make your voice sound strong. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Yes," you stated simply, a straight look written on your face./span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""Ok then love, I'll make sure everything's in order and then come back in to lead you down the aisle, alright?" she smiled. You gave a weak smile in return as she exited your room. You turned back to the mirror and stared, deep in thought. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"You remembered the day your father told you the deal that had been offered to him. Your hand for the wellbeing of your family. Ever since your father was handicapped while on the job, money was hard to come by; three kids can only do so much. You did all you could for your family; taking any jobs available just to be able to feed your brother and sister. Father told you Mother would have been proud of you for taking care of your family. At the thought of your mother, you unconsciously touched the simple, beaded chain that dangled from you neck. Your thumb found its way to the oval ornament, weighted at the end of the chain. It was the same necklace your mother wore on her wedding day. She married for love, and you always thought you have the chance to do the same. You traced over the blue stone inside the pendant, gaining as much courage as possible. Some people say your family was lucky the most important man in the city-state spotted you on the cobble streets. What rotten luck. Of course Julius Vargas took a liking to you, and as soon as he heard about your compromising situation, he was already forming a plan. He promised your father that he and your siblings would never again go to bed hungry, if he just offered his oldest daughter's hand in marriage to him. Your father knew what kind of man he was: a rich, conniving man with more wives than he could count; he could emnever/em give his daughter to emthis /emman. And although you didn't want to be with Julius either, you jumped at the chance to save your family. You would never be able to forgive yourself if you had to send your siblings to bed without a meal one more time. You were jostled out of your thoughts when the handmaiden touched your shoulder gently. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""They're ready for you," she said with a warm smile as she gripped your hand and led you out of the room. You glanced at the mirror one last time and drew in a large breath of air. You sighed deeply as you faced forward./span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI can do this./em/span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"em~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"The thick morning breeze brushed your cheeks as you stood rigid and emotionless next to your father. Your (e/c) eyes made contact with your betrothed, your distaste for the man remaining hidden by your expression. Still, the simple action made him smirk and you had to withhold a snarl. You quickly shifted your gaze to your father's right hand, guilt overtaking you./span/p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI should have told him to stay home that day. /emA million thoughts rushed through your mind on how you could have stopped the accident, but you knew you never could have seen it coming; no one could have. Your father had been an architect, a local favorite no doubt. He was currently assisting the construction workers on the new temple when emit /emhappened. Debris from the roof of the unfinished building fell on your father's right hand, effectively crushing it beyond repair. /span/p
p class="p4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""(Name)?" The priest's voice broke you from your thoughts and you looked up at him, realization flashing across your face as you gazed upon his confused one. /span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1""R-right" you stuttered, recomposing yourself, "Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia," you recited as you looked upon your wedding party, most of them having ecstatic smiles on their faces, save for the ones who knew you better; their smiles were full of pity instead. You could hardly call your bridesmaids your "friends," except maybe Lucia and her older sister Flavia. Most of these girls were ones you had seen around the village, who had met you maybe one or twice before now. Flavia had been the older sister you never had, helping to raise you and your two younger siblings after your mother passed away during childbirth. As much time as she spent with your family, it was only natural that you were to become friends with her younger sister, as you two were close in age. Both sisters had their mother's trademark golden-brown hair and her deep brown eyes, though Lucia's were a bit lighter in color. You always thought their looks rivaled those of Venus herself, and you were sure they would be married off before you. Well, at least you were half-right. Flavia had gotten married about six years ago, though her wedding was much different than yours. The atmosphere was just...happier, and you could tell by the look on her face that she truly loved the man she was to marry. Flavia walked over to you and gave your hand a reassuring squeeze as she joined your hand with emhis/em. Cheers were heard throughout the venue, the only ones remaining silent being you, your father, Flavia and Lucia./span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/span/p
p class="p5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;" /p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"You pushed around your food as slaves set present after present around the table where you and your new husband sat. The rest of the ceremony had been a blur after Flavia had joined your hand with Julius'. You can hardly remember sacrificing the boar, or the signing of the marriage contract. All you could think about was that now you embelonged /emto someone. You were no longer free. There would be no hope for your future. You had no choice but to spend your life bearing children and pleasing a vile man who had exploited your father. You could hear Julius' laughter towering above your thoughts, much like he towers over your freedom now. A droplet of water hits your plate and you glance up at the sky to see...not even one cloud. Your hand unconsciously touches your face./span/p
p class="p6" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;"span class="s1"emI'm crying. /emYou quickly wipe away any traces of tears before anyone could see your broken state. emI have to remain strong./embr /br /em~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/embr /br /The sounds of laughter and music echoed through the atrium of your-no, your father's home, as drunk men and foolish girls stumbled about making merriment and dancing. The celebrations had lasted throughout the day, and it seemed as if the whole city-state had come to celebrate; it might as well have been so. Julius had so many "friends" and connections, it's surprising he didn't invite all of Rome to party. Even still, you somehow found solitude. You walked alone through your old house, Flavia and Lucia having gone home and Julius too drunk to notice your absence. It's not as if he was missing you anyways, he was too busy flirting with other women to have time for you. You reached the courtyard and sat on an old, cold, stone bench with green vines crawling up the legs. You sighed as the cool evening wind splashed against your face. You closed your eyes, and for a minute, imagined yourself standing on the edge of a boat at sea, the salty air wiping through your hair and sending you off to new places, far away from Julius and Rome. You grabbed your necklace again, humming a soft tune you could remember being sung to you; a song so old you forgot if it even had words. You could almost feel her hand gripping the necklace with you; almost feel her breath on your ear as she whispered, br /br /"What are you doing out here?"br /br /You turned abruptly, startled from your thoughts. That was emnot/em your mother. Julius stood in front of your house, a drunken smirk on his face. "Shouldn't my lovely new wife be celebrating with her friends?" You cringed at the words emlovely new wife/em, as if he said them /br /"My friends have all gone home and it has been a long day for me, my lord."br /br /His smirk grew. "Well the day has ended and the night has begun, and it shall be long night for you as well." You leaned back a bit, your stony face hiding your fear and disgust. "It is almost time for the next part of the ceremony my dear!" He offered up his arm for you to lock with yours, "Come let us continue our nuptials." You reluctantly stood up from your seat and hooked your arm in his. You glanced back at the outside scenery one last time and confusion found its way onto your face. In the distance there were...lights? You didn't have time to check out the scene much longer for Julius demanded your undivided attention as he led you back /br /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~br /br /You once again stood outside the front of your home, perhaps for the last time. This time though, the sky was dark and littered with stars; the moon seemingly shining pitifully down on you. Your father stood next to you, just as last time, as a young man from Julius' groomsmen ran out from your house carrying a torch followed by Julius and two other young men. When their party reached yours, you turned to your father, solemn looks etched on both your faces. His kind, aged face tried it's best to smile for you, but you could see tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. You quickly pulled him in for a long hug, a few sobs escaping your lips for the first time since the announcement of your engagement. You had been strong for so long, but the look on your father's face caused your facade to crumble. If Julius had had a heart it might have broken at this sight, as it was sure doing a number on Flavia and Lucia who had come back to your house for the wedding procession. Just as your father was choking out an "I love you," you were mercilessly ripped from his arms. Julius held you tightly in his arms as more tears rolled down your face and your father fell to his knees. More cheering was heard from the drunken guests as Julius carried you over to where his chariot waited. He handed you over to one of his three groomsmen and turned towards his /br /"I shall meet you at my house, wife," he words like a sly smile as he climbed onto his chariot and rode off to his estate. Your blank face had returned and you wiped away your useless tears as the three men escorted you and the rest of the wedding party to Julius' home. Your father of course stayed behind while Flavia and Lucia comforted him and your siblings looked on in confusion. You could hear laughter and happy jeers from the party-goers as you struggled to keep your feet moving. You kept your eyes to your feet as you kicked away the stray walnuts that came across your path. br /br /Suddenly, the sound of a deep horn pierced it's way through the din of the celebration and for a minute, everything stopped. The voices, the laughter, the dancing, the /br /Then,...br /br /utter chaos ensued. Screams filled the air and romans quickly fled in all directions. You could hear shouts in latin and shouts in...a foreign language? You looked around at the mayhem, confused and scared. The three men around you, save for the one holding the torch, drew their swords and surrounded you protectively. You gasped in horror as you realized you four were the only ones on the street now; everyone else had run away in terror. But...from what? br /br /"Argh!" You looked to your right to see one of the three men now had an arrow sticking out of his forehead. You held back a scream as the other two men's faces twisted with horror at the sight of their dead friend. The one with the sword shouted to your attackers, daring them to come out and fight him light a man. Just as he was about to shout at the mysterious enemies once more, two arrows hit him square in the chest, causing him the drop his sword and fall to the ground. The last young man screamed in sheer panic and dropped the torch as your feet and ran off into the dark, leaving you alone. br /br /emThat bastard!/em You thought as you nervously looked in all directions for any sign of the enemy or at least for something to defend yourself with. You quickly picked up the sword dropped by the man to your right and waved it protectively around yourself. emI must look like a fool! I don't know how to use a sword! /emOut of the darkness you saw what looked to be like a small group of barbarians emerge. They made their way over to you, arrows raised and swords pointed. The one at the front with a scraggily red beard and a scar across his cheek, said something to you in his language. Your eyes remained wide and you gripped the sword tighter quickly glancing from each of them to make sure no one was going to make a move on you. The man who spoke must have suddenly realized you couldn't understand him because he spoke the same words again slower, this time pointing to your sword, then motioning towards the ground. He said something else and pointed to his men, who in turn raised their weapons more menacingly towards you. You took this as him trying to tell you to drop your weapon. You let your sword fall to the cobble street with a clatter and you raised your hands in surrender. A couple men from the back came up to you and tied your hands, one of them throwing you over his shoulder. You would have screamed and kicked and flailed about in this barbarian's arms, but you were frozen in fear of not only what they would do to you if you struggled, but also what they would do to you when they got to wherever it was they were taking /br /emOh gods, I'm so sorry for complaining about my previous situation! I've learned my lesson! Please take me back! Send someone to save me! Please...br /br /I'm sorry./em/span/p