Chapter 23: Another Night With the King, The Right One

Commodus and Ursa spent several hours talking endlessly about the past and treating the wounds that he had suffered. It seemed to make things less akward and uncomfortable to talk about something that wasn't even close to what they were going through at the moment. All of that could wait until the matter with Gaius was resolved and he could declare Ursa as his wife. The wounds were superficial, but painful never the less. Ursa used a soothing salve of mint, ground apple, and comfrey to treat the wounds after removing the layers of armour and cloth. Commodus had put on a more simple tunic and continued simply talking with her for the evening. He sat on the floor with her leaned against him. She felt wonderful, breathing slowly and laughing every now and then. If this was any preview to the rest of their life together, then it would be a most marvelous exsistance. Ursa looked up at him for a moment. She smiled brightly.

"I wonder if you remember something.", she said.

"What is that?", he said laying his cheek against the top of her head.

"Your scar. Do you remember where it came from?", she asked. He smiled.

"I remember that I was attacked by an animal while playing, a wild dog I think. Mother rarely let me out to play at Galen's warnings of the air being bad for my lungs and all. I suppose I became a little reckless when I was allowed out since it was so rare and liberating.", he mused. "I don't remember how I got away from the beast."

"I do.", she said softly. He lifted her up and turned her to face him.

"Truly?", he asked. She smiled and nodded. "How then?"

"My brother was a servant to your family at the time and we had been sent out to the villas in Lanuvium with you and your mother. I was allowed outside to play quite often. Your mother, senator Gracchus, and the other servants never saw me as a problem so I had free run of most everywhere. We even played together twice that I can recall.", she said smiling brighter as he looked at her in stunned silence. "I heard the beast growl and saw it leap for you. When I heard you scream I hurled a rock at its head. It flinched, but didn't leave. I threw another and sent it running. I wasn't strong enough to carry you, I was only four after all, but I did manage to drag you back safely."

"That was you? You were four?", he asked in astonishment. Ursa laughed and shook her head.

"My brother was sent to serve under your father in the wars shortly after and told that story to every soldier that he could. I imagine that Maximus has heard it a hundred times." She looked up at him and touched the mark pensively. He moved away for a moment, then held still, closing his eyes and breathing in the moment. "I miss those days. I knew nothing but the love of my brother and the cycles of the moon and sun. Good times."

Commodus frowned. His childhood had not been happy and carefree in the least. His mother had made things a little easier when she had been alive, and he had to admit that the two years he had spent at the academy away from the combat training his father wanted and often oversaw were manageable. It seemed though, that after the age of eight, Commodus had lived a nightmare. Even when set on the throne as regent in his father's absences at the tender age of fourteen, the boy had known nothing but heartache and strained survival from birth up. He envied what Ursa recalled as being the fond memories of her early life. Perhaps in that sense, being a servant was far better than being a royal or noble. As a servant or peasant, you didn't adhere to protocol or regulation. You simply learned to obey and stay under the law as much as possible. Peasants were free to marry for love, pursue dreams, even raise their children without the need for nursemaids and groomsmen.

Then again, peasants were subject to numerous plagues, hunger, cold, heat, and vicious assault. Everything would have a downside, but choosing between the two he had to admit that royalty would still be his choice. Commodus could not imagine being cold and hungry. Were those things worse than being lonely? He looked down at Ursa once more and wrapped his arms around her, leaning her against him while facing away as they had done a moment ago. The two sighed. Ursa closed her eyes and began to drift into a dreamless sleep. Commodus felt the same drowsiness overtake him since he had not slept well the past two nights. Not to mention the wounds on his body had ceased to hurt and he felt the euphoria that came with the alleviation of such pains. He groaned and laid to the side, moving Ursa with him. The two lay side by side on the floor, Ursa with her head laid against his chest. This seemed right. It wasn't a powerful emperor lying in an enormous bed with favourite concubine, it was simply a man fast asleep with his wife. This was far better than being either peasant or royal for both the time being and for the rest of their lives.

A shout jarred Commodus awake in the middle of the night. He jumped and looked around the room. Ursa sat up and looked at him.

"What is it?", she asked softly. He put a hand over her mouth and listened carefully. The shout came again from the hallway. It was Lucius. Commodus jumped up and raced towards the boy's room. Ursa stood and followed after him. As he reached the boy's door, he saw that the two guards surrounding it seemed unmoved. He looked at them angrily.

"What on earth are you doing!? My nephew is in danger!", he shouted as he moved past them.

"Actually, sire the boy is simply crying for his mother.", one of them said. He looked at the young soldier with sheer anger. "We were told never to disturb the ones we guard unless their life was in peril, sire."

Commodus said nothing and pushed past them, entering the boy's room silently. Lucius was crying loudly, sitting curled up in the centre of his bed. His uncle approached him and sat down, embracing him gently. Lucius accepted the gesture and cried madly into the man's shoulder.

"It's alright, Lucius.", he soothed. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"No.", the boy sniffed. "I just couldn't sleep and went to ask where mother was and the guards told me that she was in the prisons. Mother's going to die!", he wailed.

Commodus held the boy tighter and rocked a little with him. He wished vainly to himself that he had been comforted properly when he had been a child and therefore might know what he was doing at the moment. He sighed and looked down at the sobbing child.

"Your mother isn't going to die, Lucius. I'm protecting her.", he explained. Lucius wiped his eyes, quieting slightly.

"Then why didn't you protect her from going there in the first place?", the boy asked sniffling.

"Your mother did something wrong, Lucius. There are always punishments for such things, even when you're very sorry. She will be home tomorrow, but wiser for the experience.", he comforted. Lucius nodded and laid his head against his uncle. "I hope.", he added under his breath.

"When you did something wrong the other night did you have to go to the prisons?", he asked.

"No.", he said flatly.

"Why not?", Lucius asked sitting up and looking at the man directly.

"Because I fixed the problem before much damage had been done. If what has been said is true, your mother may be guilty of quite a bit more than I was.", he stated. Lucius gasped. Commodus pulled the boy back into his arms and held onto him. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just try and sleep now."

"Do you promise mother will be back tomorrow?", Lucius asked firmly. The young emperor chuckled at the boy's suden seriousness without fear.

"Of course. Now go to sleep.", he ordered, kissing the boy's head as he stood and left the room. He closed the doors carefully and turned to Ursa who had waited by the doors. He smiled. "He's fine. Just a little frightened about being without his mother, that's all."

"Is Lucilla really under arrest, then?", Ursa asked quietly as they walked down the hall once more. He nodded to her. "Why?"

"Apparently your little coalition has plotted to have me done away with since I came back to the capital.", he laughed. "Not even a full week here and I was already popular enough to assassinate."

"I don't think popular is the word I'd use. However, the majority of the peasantry are fond of you. You've been more close to the people than your father. I hope you plan to further that.", she said as the two walked into his bedchamber casually. Ursa stopped in the doorway and looked up at him. She frowned. "I need to go and see to my brother."

His expression dropped a little as well. He stared down at her for a moment. Perhaps being playful would help. "Ursa, you are one of the concubines now. I could order you to stay with me.", he said with a smile. To his dismay, Ursa had not read into what he had meant by this at all. A look of horror and shame crossed her face. He stopped. "What? What is it?"

She pulled away from him and hurried off towards the infirmary. Damnation!, he thought to himself. Why wasn't he better with women? He had tried courting several women since he had been twelve with no positive results whatsoever. He grumbled to himself as he entered his quarters and prepared for another evening alone. As he lay down and closed his eyes, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He opened his eyes. Standing to the side of the bed was a young man. In the man's hand was a dagger, the point of which was now embedded in the young emperor just below the ribcage. Commodus gasped for a moment and tried to scream for help, but darkness enveloped him too quickly. He wasn't dead, but he couldn't break free of the darkness.