~You're In My Dreams~

She saw him in her dreams
His dark eyes spoke to her, words she could not understand murmured with every moment his eyes held hers, whispers of syllables that with every blink brushed over her cheeks, raking over them lightly, words that were sometimes dampened by something beyond her grasp, words that she came to suspect didn't exist, couldn't be understood, could only be felt. The deep set of them lured her into the untold story of the slave she wished to call something other than "the slave", she wished to know his name, something to utter as her eyes drifted off into sleep seeking immediately the refuge the vision of his would give her, even if they were mere moments as she slept, she cherished them- told no one, not even Ariadne, kept them as her own- engrained them in her memory.

Even now gazing at the very man who had found his way into her dreams, his dark eyes gazing back at her as she had imagined they would so many times before, she could not understand what they told her, why they told her, how they told her-she only saw that they did- with an intensity that made her head spin. She would give her last breath to know what they confessed, she would give him everything she had if it compelled him to slowly whisper the words into her ear, to enable her to look back into his eyes with understanding in her own green orbs, to give him what they seemed to plead for.

"That man" She felt herself take a step forward, her voice holding more conviction than she thought her petite frame capable of, her eyes locked on him perched high on a pedestal that she found suited him in the way it put him above the men of prestige who thought themselves god-sent, his shoulders were broad and stood tall, his eyes now staring curiously at her as she approached

"Who owns that man?"

"I do, My lady" A heavyset man stepped forward to take her hand, curls plastered on his forehead as he bowed before her obviously recognizing who she was "Has he done something to upset you, My Lady? I do apologize- he is a savage-"

"Stop- he has done nothing wrong" she assured, eyes flickering back to the podium where the man stood ignoring the woman caressing at his arm, staring at her intently in obvious intrigue for what she would say next

"I wish to buy him" the words felt wrong even as they fell from her lips, they left a sour taste in her mouth that she reluctantly swallowed- hating how his brow cast a darker shadow upon his eyes when they knitted together, how his shoulders stiffened at the degrading words, at the reminder that he was merely a slave, half of a person that could be bought and sold at other people leisure. Most of all she hated the look he gave her, one she wished she wouldn't understand- You're one of them

but she wasn't. She wasn't

"Surely you do not wish to-"

"I do" she pressed, lifting her chin in defiance, daring the man to deny her

"My horse tender, Felix, is nowhere to be found, and this man- he helped me with my horse before and I wish for him to continue doing so" she finished, locking eyes with him over the head of the hefty man whom she had been speaking to, he saw the way his head tilted slightly in a quizzical gesture

He was confused- how could he not be? Gods! even she was confused- one moment she had been pining over the slave who she found every night in her dreams and then suddenly in the next moment she was stepping up to buy him without anyone's consent or really any money.

"I fear I cannot oblige you, My lady. This man here, the celt, they call him- he is one of my best fighters, brings in the most assets" his thumb and index finger came up to rub against one another and his smile turned lecherous- greedy "If you know what I mean"

"I do not 'know what you mean' sir, I will give you all the gold you wish but I want that slave there and It would be unwise to deny the daughter of the governor of Pompeii" she lifted an eyebrow at the man who's forehead had now formed a thin layer of sweat that he was rubbing off nervously with a gold embroidered handkerchief

"yes of corse, my lady, but I fear he knows nothing other than how to be a killer- you see he's been a slave since childhood, a gladiator since he was tall enough to hold a sword- won't be much of use as a stable boy, I'm afraid"

"I'm afraid, sir, that I did not ask for your take on his qualifications, I asked for his price, now if you would be so kind as to tell me so that I may fetch you the gold and he may stay here and tend to my horses, my gratitude would be with you"

"my lady, I cannot-"

"Sir, I believe my daughter has asked something of you that you would be wise to carry out" Aurelia, who had been watching the dispute stepped out from the shadows in aid of her daughter who she had never seen so determined in her young life

"Of corse my lady, of corse"

"Why did you do it?" the stables were quiet, the moonlight casting a surreal glow upon his tanned skin, the shadows making the cut of his jaw look so severe, the pained look on his face as he uttered his next words making her want to reach out and soothe the crease between his eyebrows, the deep frown of his lips

"buy me- I mean, why did you do it?"

"Do not call it that" she whispered, her eyes falling to study the small heaps of mud that surrounded their feet at the stables, suddenly unsure of what to say

"Buying?"

"Yes, do not call it that"

"What might you have me call it, My lady? shopping? purchasing?"

she looked up at the hint of the humor she heard in his voice. The eyes that had been troubled before now held a spark of something a lot like amusement that sent her heart pounding under the silky fabric of her gown

"I do believe you are teasing me"

he laughed at that, a sound that nothing in her life could have prepared her to resist. A sound so warm and hypnotizing that she knew would be the very root of her enrapture and she feared how little she cared, about codes of conduct, about rankings and birth, about anything that wasn't how the look in his eyes caressed every inch of her skin and made her shutter, or the blanket of warmth and protection she felt fall on her shoulders whenever he was near- the life she felt surge through her veins at even just the thought of him- that's all that mattered as she stood before him still trying to figure out what his eyes could be conveying

"How do you do that?" she said before she could stop the words from tumbling from her curious lips

"do what?" his own brow lifted at her question

"Do that with your eyes,as if you were saying something" something I've spent my dreams trying to understand

"what are they saying?" her voice dropped to a whisper as she spoke the words with a hint of frustration

he laughed again, the sound traveling to warm every corner of her, a blush tingling on her cheeks

"They're saying that it's late, and you should rest, my lady"

"I wish you would not call me that"

at the confusion in his eyes she clarified what she meant "My lady, I am a lady to everyone, to you I wish to be Cassia- just Cassia"

a shy smile pulled at the edges of his lips that seemed to always be cast down in a frown, he nodded, the movement causing a strand of unruly hair to fall from behind his ear, it captivated her, everything about him enchanted her heart.

"And what might I call you?"

"Milo"

Milo

Hey Guys ! so I'm not quite sure how big of a fanbase this movie has on this website but I recently re-watched the movie and I had to write something for this couple! This is not going to be a super long story with angst or anything, it will be insanely fluffy and very idealistic "in a perfect world" sort of thing. Anyways I always feel like Kit Harrington gives foot for his characters to be interpreted in a certain way, with a low key sense of humor but intense at the same time so I really wanted to explore that potential side of Milo, Reviews are love !
Thanks for reading !
-Martha