It was a dark, cold night. Almost freezing as the wind blew hard through the opened palace hallway. The sound of running footsteps grew louder and louder through the long nearly endless hall. Victoria was running as fast as she could trying to get away from them. She has been running and struggling to get away from them for hours it seemed. The two guards were far behind as she turned a corner. She could no longer see them behind her but she knew they wouldn't give up this easily, in fact this chase would have only made them angrier and much more willing to kill her after they got what they wanted. Victoria's legs were hurting so bad that she thought she might give up. It seemed like the best choice since there was nowhere to hide and no rooms in this long hall to escape into. She kept running even though the pain was shooting up her leg every time her feet hit the ground. Sweat was running down her beautiful face even though it was nearly freezing but stung when it went past the small cut in her eyebrow that the fight with them caused. 'That's it' she thought, 'I can't take anymore'. Right as she decided not to go any further she saw this rather large pillar coming up close and thought she can hide behind it. She quickly spun around it and her back accidentally hit the wall and she fell hard to the floor. She was silently cursing herself for being so clumsy and loud when she notices that half her body was laying in a completely different room. She took her last and only chance and quickly crawled into the pitch black room and put all her weight onto the door trying to shut it.

She was starting to panic as she heard the two sets of fast footsteps getting closer. She gave her all in one last push and the huge, thick stone door slowly closed. She fell to the floor and crawled to the nearest wall and leaned up against the frozen marble and waited. Her breathing was so silent you would think that her heart stopped as she waited and listened. She heard the guards getting closer and louder. The same panic feeling was filling her again, she cannot be found...she cannot. The guards footsteps were the loudest she'd had heard and they started to disappear. Victoria was so relieved but didn't breathe again until she was sure they were gone, even the slightest noise would give her away. That's it. The sound she has been waiting for this whole night, silence. She let out a rather loud gasp for air and started breathing heavy. She was so relieved. She was safe now. But what will she do tomorrow? How will she escape this place with so many people and guards around? The thought of all her troubles to come made warm tears escape from her eyes. She didn't care she was tired of trying to be strong, she felt weak physically so why not let go emotionally. She had enough of everything. Then out of nowhere came a strong male voice.

'Who's there?'

Her breathing stopped again, this time in fear. It was so dark in there she couldn't even see her own hands let alone anyone else.

'Show yourself now!' Said the male voice, even harsher then before.

Was this really happening? How will she get away from this danger? She was so tired and so cold. She couldn't go on anymore. She cant fight with anyone anymore. 'I'm too weak' Victoria thought. So she curled up against the wall with her knees close to her chest, sank her head and tears started to fall. A soft light slowly lit the small room, she could see it through her arms that were tight around her legs.

'Who are you?' the man asked in a gentle voice this time seeing that it was just a girl. Victoria said nothing and remained still.

'Ah. So you were causing all of the commotion out there. What did you do? What did you steal?' He said jokingly knowing that she was far from a petty thief.

'I did nothing wrong.' Victoria half cried, still hiding her head.

'Then why are you running?'

'My life depended upon it.' she said quietly. He had a confused look on his face, he knew she was the cause of the stir outside his door but he didn't know it was this serious. He tried to get a little closer to this mysterious female but she quickly tensed up.

'Please don't hurt me.' she cried.

'I will not harm you, I promise.' He said gently as he knelt down in front of her. He noticed a few bruises on her arms starting to appear.

"Are you hurt?' She remained silent again. She didn't know if he was just playing with her or if he really cared.

"My name is Commodus and i promise again i will not harm you. Please, look up.'

Somehow she trusted his word. She slowly lifted her head and stopping when the light hit her eyes for the first time in hours. It was dim but it still stung a little. Commodus gently put his strong hand on Victoria's soft cold cheek and guided her to look at him. He was speechless at her beauty. The first thing he noticed was a small red cut was above her perfectly shaped eyebrows then her deep golden piercing eyes were outlined with long, black voluptuous lashes but had a slight darkness underneath them. She had dark, thick wavy hair that past her chest. Her skin was milky white but had a warmth to it still, like fresh porcelain. Her lips were delicate and plump, a very soft pink with small hints of the lightest purple from the cold. He leaned back and sat on the floor still staring in awe at this beautiful girl. When her eyes adjusted from the dark she can see that he was very handsome. Tall and strong wearing a rather large fur and some dark grey armor, his face was softly sculpted with dark features but still a hint of boyish charm. Minutes have gone by and neither had said anything. Then Commodus's senses somewhat came back to him.

'What happened tonight? Who did this to you?' He asked with some anger toward whoever was responsible for hurting her, while brushing a curl away from her face.

'These two men...they looked like guards...They started harassing and tormenting me, i tried to get away but they wouldn't stop. Then they started grabbing at me and...' she said quietly while gesturing to her ripped dress 'but i got away and just ran, then i accidentally found this room. I'm sorry i didn't mean to disturb you. Please don't tell anyone I'm here, please. I can get into a lot of trouble.' He heard the worry in her voice heighten as the words left her darling lips.

'You didn't disturb me at all, I'm glad you're safe now and not hurt as badly as you could have been.'

'But i might not be secure yet, they could still be after me and i don't want to be the cause of someone innocent to be in danger.'

He looked confused. Did she not know that he was the emperor?

'Aren't you innocent? You certainly did not ask for this to happen.'

'I'm used to these kinds of misfortunes. I may be young still but I know of the worlds evils.' She explained quietly. He knew she wasn't misleading him. He could see the strife in her eyes, though there was no sign of wrinkles or any type of aging upon them, she seemed greatly aware of the cruel ways of people. It nearly broke his heart to think that this young girl has had it worse then many people, but she still had a sparkle of happiness and hope in her eyes.

'How did you come to be in the palace?'

'I had to leave my home, it was a bad place...when i was walking down the road a servant girl from the palace asked me to come here and perhaps have somewhere to work and live. That was just today and when it was dark i still had no place and the guards started questioning me but i can tell their intentions were not what it seemed immediately. Then they forced themselves onto me but i got away before anything bad happened.' She could feel her breath getting shorter, her mind and eyes were getting too tired to talk anymore. Half her body was numb from the cold and sore from the struggle she had. But she still kept trying. Commodus had so many different feelings swirling inside him. He was still in awe of this young girls beauty, but felt bad for her horrible experiences. He needed to know more about her. He felt a lot of anger against those guards who would do such an awful thing to this sweet angel but was also was so happy that she had found him on this cold late night. Just as he thought that he got back all of his senses, who did this was no matter right now, it was almost freezing outside and this poor girl was only wearing a ripped dress. As she looked up at him he saw a glittering tear fall down her cheek and as he went to brush her tear away he noticed that she didn't move, she didn't even flinch as his warm strong hand went toward her cheek. Just as he touched her skin he slightly pulled his hand away. She was like ice, and now that he looked passed her beauty he saw that she was noticeably weak and was struggling to stay awake for him.