Disclaimer: Hetalia and all its characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya, not me.
Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit – Greece conquered its fierce conqueror.
146 B.C
Rome was at the gates of the city of Corinth. He was still young. He was in the middle of his republican period and his body had grown quite large in the last years.
He met her years ago, when he was only a child, but he promised himself she would be his. And the day had come. In all his life, he had met a lot of women, but none of them could compare with the beauty of his beloved Greece.
"Rome!" shouted a woman, with brown hair and dressed in armour, from the top of the walls "Rome! Why are you here?"
He looked up from his horse.
"I have come to keep my promise, I have come to make you my wife" he shouted with that smile that would later inherit the Italian brothers.
"I don't want to marry you Rome, just take your legions and leave me alone"
"Helen!" his expression became serious "please, surrender, I can't stop them anymore and I don't want to hurt you, I don't want them to hurt you"
"Never!"
Hours later the sand had covered in red with the blood of men and women. They had been mercilessly slaughtered by the legions under the command of the roman Res Publica*.
Julius was standing before the destroyed gates. He hadn't been able to cross the threshold; he remained there, immobile, looking at how they destroyed everything. He saw a silhouette approaching him. Helen threw herself at the Roman; he dropped his sword and shield, trying to keep balance while the Greek woman hit him again and again. She was shouting and cursing in Greek while hitting every part of his body that was on the way, and he let her do it, because he knew the pain she was going through and because he loved her, with all his might. He had her nailed so deep in his heart that he couldn't take her out even if he wanted it.
He hugged her and she began to calm down until she stood immobile between his strong arms, the only moves she made were the ones caused by each of her sobs. Julius picked her up and took her to his tent so she could rest.
The journey back to the capital was long and tedious for the tired Roman. Helen refused to journey in one of the carriages. Rome tried to convince her, but Greece kept on refusing, she didn't want to be far from the only men she felt she could trust. So Julius got her onto his horse, before the astonished legionnaires, and put his arms around her while taking the reins. They were almost there, and Rome kept on kissing her neck and cheek while Greece indulged. He looked up.
"We're here" he whispered.
Helen followed his gaze and found herself before the towering walls of Rome. Julius slowly entered the city. He stopped occasionally to show her the great monuments that were his pride while Helen looked at them with indifference.
They reached Julius' domus*, a big patrician house. Rome picked her up and took her to his room, once there he placed her on the bed and sat by her side.
"You haven't said anything in days" he stroked her hair.
She turned her face away from him.
"Helen, look at me, please" she looked at him, she was crying, her cheeks soaked with hot tears "don't cry, I'm not so bad to live with"
"You had no right to invade me like that. In a few years there will be nothing left of my culture"
"That's not true. I've gone mad trying to copy you, you were so beautiful that…" Rome sighed "don't you see you are everywhere; in the temples, in the music, in the literature, in the theatre, even I copied your gods, changing their names so it wasn't so obvious"
Greece smiled and Rome did the same. Taking her hand he placed it over his heart.
"You're in my heart, literally" they laughed.
Helen took him by his hair and kissed him.
"I think so..." said Julius while trying to catch his breath.
Months later Herkcles Karpusi was born.
Res Publica: Republic in latin.
domus: name of the roman house.
Hope you liked it and don't forget to review :)
My next stories will be: Grandes personajes de la historia de España (Great figures of the history of Spain, sorry this will be in spanish) and I still love you (Russia/Hungary fic)