Chapter 2: The Next Day of the Ordeal
Cicero went quickly to the palace gate and up to the main entrance. He sent a messenger inside with a note for Lucilla and waited patiently. After a moment, the emperor's jealous sister appeared in the entranceway and motioned for Cicero to walk with her. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment, but then followed.
"How is she? Did she sleep well?", he asked.
"Try not to get too upset, but the emperor called for her last night.", Lucilla began. Cicero's expression dropped and he began to turn red everywhere but the two scars that marked his character. "I'm afraid it didn't go so well. Luckily, the physician wasn't too far away and..."
"Physician!? What did he do to her!?", Cicero demanded.
"Not much. Apparently he was too shocked to take your sister to his bed.", Lucilla explained. Cicero leaned against a wall and steadied himself for a moment. "She began to scream for you and Gracchus so the emperor allowed Galen to take her back to her room and treat her for panic. She's resting today."
Before Lucilla could say anything else, Cicero took hold of her throat and held her violently against the wall. "Where are her quarters? Where!?", he demanded.
"The eastern side of the palace.", she choked. Cicero dropped her quickly and raced into the palace past the servants who had just witnessed the display. She motioned for them to continue as she headed after the enraged manservant. Cicero raced into the area where the concubines were kept, only to be held back by a guard.
"Hold on there, young man. Only the emperor, Laetus, and those he has given permission to may go beyond this point.", the guard said firmly.
"My sister is in there. I need to take her home. I was wrong to ask her to giver herself to the emperor, she's too young.", Cicero breathed. The man frowned.
"I'm sorry, young man. Once a girl has been given to the emperor as a concubine, then she is his slave. She can't be taken home like any other servant.", he explained. Cicero felt every muscle in his body go numb and then limp for a moment. The moment was brief enough for him to catch himself and take a few deep breaths. He looked up at the man. "You could always petition the emperor to send her with you, but that would give her a very low place in the world."
"Lower than being the emperor's whore!?", Cicero yelled. The guard glared at Cicero and pushed him forward, away from the doorway.
"These young men and women are well cared for and have a stable place in the empire. There's a small cost on their part, but we all make sacrifices in the long run.", the guard said calmly. Cicero felt the words he had used to coax Ursa into coming here and soothing his own conscience burning bitterly in his ears as it came from the mouth of another. He choked a little and looked back at Lucilla enraged. She frowned and looked at him inquisitively.
"Cicero, you knew about the policy surrounding concubines. You must have.", she reasoned.
"No I didn't!", he shouted. He panted in desperation and true sorrow. He had lost the only family he had in the world to the little brute on the throne. All in the name of a few bits of information that Lucilla may or may not have been able to gather herself. Even in this rebellion, the aristocrats were selfish pigs. He fought back tears. "I knew of the position of servant. Body servant and otherwise, nothing more. But you counted on that, didn't you? You knew that if I knew what the position would do to her then I wouldn't have given consent for Gracchus to take her!"
The guard frowned deeper and felt his heart ache slightly for this young man. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "The girl will be well cared for. The emperor doesn't call for a concubine every night and I hear he is more gentle than most with them.", he reassured. "Also, she has the protection of all the Praetorians and the palace walls themselves."
"You lied to me!", Cicero shouted angrily at Lucilla. He turned around and began to head for the throne room.
"Where are you going?", Lucilla asked.
"To your brother. I want my sister.", he said firmly. Lucilla sighed and followed after him.
"If Commodus sends the child home, then she can never have a proper position in the empire and she will never have a trusting husband.", Lucilla reasoned. Cicero whirled around in anger.
"And you can gaurantee both of those things for her here?", he demanded.
"No one can guarantee those things for her. Especially now.", Gracchus said as he approached. Cicero clenched his fists and tried to keep himself from striking the man. "Ursa had little chance of a stable life living among servants and soldiers, young man. Surely you realize that."
"She had me! We had each other! Here she will be a prisoner to both the emperor and her own body!", Cicero raved. He glared at both of them. "She cried last night, she must have. I wasn't there. I didn't comfort her!"
"You didn't need to. Galen saw to her quickly and Commodus didn't harm her permanently.", Lucilla reasoned.
"She still needs me, you fools! She's still a young girl!", Cicero said panting. "You promised. You promised that it would be temporary. You promised that she could come home if things went wrong.", he said softly as he slunk to the floor holding his head. He looked up at them. "What will happen to her when he is dead?!"
"She will be given back to me or to another nobleman to be looked after for the rest of her life.", Gracchus explained. "She will want for nothing."
"Won't she? She will be a slave for the rest of her life thanks to you two!", he shouted madly. A hand softly touched his shoulder. He instinctively held onto it and began to breathe heavily.
"What's all this about?", a man's voice asked. Cicero tensed and pushed the hand away from him. Cicero rose slowly and turned to face the little runt that had entered the room. He growled and stared directly into the young emperor's eyes. "What is going on?"
Cicero threw a full punch into the armoured youth. Fortunately for him, the emperor didn't wear armour on his face. Commodus flew back a few feet and felt blood begin to trickle down his nose and mouth. He reached up and tried to simply wipe it away, but the flow coming from his nose continued after one swipe. He groaned at the sight and smell of his own blood. Lucilla cried out softly and Gracchus took a protective step back.
"This is for every tear she shed on your account!", Cicero shouted angrily as he grabbed the fallen ruler by the collar and hoisted him up to face him.
"Cicero, stop!", the emperor yelled. This caught the young man off guard significantly. He stopped his punch in mid air and stared at the emperor harshly.
"You know who I am?", Cicero said softly. Commodus looked at him with slight admiration and empathy.
"Your sister cried out for you.", he replied.
Cicero growled and truly felt like handing another blow to the arrogant little weasel in front of him. Still, the fact that he had taken note of the name Ursa had shouted was commendable. He lowered the younger man to the floor and released him. Five Praetorians ran into the room and began surrounding the two, readying to kill Cicero on sight. Commodus put up his hand defensively. He stared fully at Cicero, who looked back without fear. Commodus could see true sorrow in his eyes. The young girl must have really been the only family he had left in the world. There was no telling just how close these two were. After all, he knew first hand what it was like to lean on a sibling after the death of a parent. He sighed.
"I want my sister; now.", Cicero stated in a low tone. Commodus frowned a little. Even if he did allow the poor girl to go home, there was no way this side of the river styx that she would have a decent life. A 'released' concubine or candidate was a terrible title for someone to bear, but especially someone so young. He tried to think of something quickly. An idea popped into his head almost instantly.
"Your sister is a candidate for a concubine, yes?", he asked. Cicero growled a little more and nodded. "Then she does not have their responsibilities yet. Laetus, the keeper of the women and men will return in one week. If he finds that she is too young for such a thing, then she will be sent home immediately with documentation of the fact that it was her youth and youth alone that caused her rejection."
Cicero looked less than comforted by this. "I want my sister; now.", he repeated. Commodus felt his limited patience being tested far too greatly for this time of morning; especially after the night he had endured.
"I told you what must be done for her.", Commodus countered in an even lower tone. "If you like, then you may come into the courtyard every day and watch the women from a distance and recieve a report from my sister."
Cicero looked down and held back both rage and tears. Commodus could almost feel the horrible sadness and frustration this young man was suffering.
"I have never been without her.", Cicero added. "She has never been without me."
Commodus nodded. "You forget, citizen, I myself have a sister."
"Yes, but you have never been deprived of her.", Cicero said angrily. He walked up to the emperor, leaving only a few inches between their faces. "You know nothing about what I am facing."
"No, I do not. And I promise that I will do my best to keep the suffering to a minimum for both of you.", he said softly. Cicero nodded.
"Do not touch her. Do you understand me?", Cicero warned. The guards moved forward a little, but Commodus motioned for them to stay their hands. He nodded to the young man in front of him. He knew how hard Cicero must have been fighting to keep from wailing or killing something. The man must have had bravery and strength beyond any of the soldiers in the ranks. Commodus stopped for a moment. Hadn't he seen this young man before? He seemed familiar somehow and the thought of the army had brought this to his attention. He tried to place the young man's face with some of the recruits he had seen in Germania, but he couldn't picture him in a uniform. "She isn't used to sleeping without me."
"I'm afraid she will be sleeping alone for the next week. If she begins to pine or cannot sleep at all, Lucilla will tend to her.", Commodus stated. The statement told Cicero two things. One, the girl would be fine on her own for a little while. After all, she wasn't an infant anymore. Two, neither he nor any of his other concubines would be sleeping with her. The wording should have insighted some trust within the young man for the time being. Cicero nodded and took a step away from the emperor. Commodus turned and looked at Gracchus very angrily. Cicero noticed this and took another few steps back. "You should leave for now, Cicero. I will see to this matter personally. I apologize for the hardship you will suffer for the next few days. Though I don't believe...", Commodus said as he walked slowly over to Gracchus and Lucilla. He glared at the senator and didn't lock eyes with his sister at all. "... that I am the only one that is qualified to give you an apology."
"I will return tomorrow.", Cicero said quickly and turned to leave. Gracchus moved to follow him, but Commodus gave a stern look to the old man.
"Where do you think you're going, senator?", he asked coldly.
"I was going to show our young friend where he should stand in the courtyard tomorrow.", Gracchus said with a bow.
"That won't be necessary. I will see to that tomorrow.", Commodus stated firmly. "Tell me, Gracchus; did you know that the girl was a virgin?"
"Of course, sire.", Gracchus said softly. "I wouldn't bring you a girl off the streets of with an established reputation."
"Commendable, but that was cruel.", Commodus replied.
"Cruel, sire?", Gracchus said angrily. "I hardly think presenting my emperor with a gift like that is cruel by comparison to my emperor breaking protocol and trying to force himself on her before she had been processed into the rest of the concubines."
Commodus glared at him. The palace had begun to come alive with the rest of the staff and a few senators walking around. Now was not the time for one of his outbursts. He had recieved enough ridicule for such things as of late. He growled and looked up at the old man with near hate in his eyes.
"I think before you give such firm advice, Gracchus, you should remember what I am.", Commodus warned. "I also recommend that before you bring a young girl before me, that she know precisely why she is here and she be a willing participant."
"Forgive me, sire, but since when has that been a concern of yours among any of the concubines?", Gracchus countered as more people began to form around them with curiosity. "In all fairness, highness, you have taken nearly more than a hundred concubines to your bed over the years and haven't once stopped simply because they cried for their families or felt a little shy in front of you."
"You are absoloutely right, Gracchus. Then again, I have never had a friend offer me an innocent little girl who has barely become a young woman.", Commodus replied icily. "Not to mention the fact that she is a helpless and vulnerable orphan who has never been away from her brother for protection and company."
"Sire, I simply felt that you needed a companion that was more suited to your own maturity.", Gracchus spat hatefully. The crowd of nobles, servants, and senators behind them began to snicker at the statement. Commodus reached for his sword, but simply clutched it tightly without drawing it.
"While I am flattered by that, Gracchus, I believe you should reconsider your choice. You see, I am a tad more mature than the small boys you have as body servants in your home, but having so many of them around you all of the time must be truly confusing when it comes to understanding me.", Commodus quipped back. The group snickered loudly at this. "All is forgiven. Now, the sun has risen and I believe that the arena has opened for the morning."
The group began murmuring excitedly. Commodus glared once more at Gracchus, then motioned for Lucilla to follow him out of the room. He turned back to the guard at the door of the chamber for the concubines and told him to go in and see about the condition of the young girl in question. The man nodded. Commodus would expect a report as soon as he came back from the games. In her room, Ursa began to stir slightly. She prayed that as she opened her eyes, she would be back at home and Cicero would be waiting for her. Her heart and spirit sank tremendously as her vision settled and her fears were realized.