Lucius watched Cassia walk ahead of him in the corridor. Now seemed to be his chance. He wanted to approach her. He needed to ask her what had happened or what Commodus had done to her, but he dreaded it. Perhaps he was overreacting, but the sinking feeling in his stomach and her earlier behavior told him otherwise. He could already feel his blood racing through his veins. How dare his uncle threaten Cassia to get to him. Lucius and Cassia had kept their talking to a minimum to avoid their growing closeness to become noticeable, but after a while, Lucius had found himself thinking of her more and more. She made him feel as if someone actually wanted to talk to him. They had begun regularly talking at night over the past month after sneaking from their rooms. So far, their friendship had been limited to talking. They were not intimately involved—not yet at least. She told him of the hardships she had faced. Her family that lived here in Rome had been very poor, and she had found herself being sold. Her father had gotten himself into trouble. Lucius did not question her too personally. He knew that it was a hard subject for Cassia to speak of, but Cassia told him that she felt lucky that she now called the palace home. Lucius felt the need to warn her of the hidden dangers. He spoke of the differences in his life before and after his mother and Maximus had been caught in the attempt to cross Commodus. He told her everything, and did not even worry that she wouldn't keep his secrets. He knew that she would keep them, so he told her of Commodus and every horrible thing he had done.
"Cassia!" Lucius called lowly.
Cassia turned on her heels. Her hair was no longer down, and she no longer had the bundles of cloth with her.
"We can't speak right now, Lucius," she whispered back. "I just saw the emperor head that way-
"He went to my mother's room," Lucius half jogged half walked to catch up to her frozen form. "The guards are still by my mother's chamber."
Cassia crossed her arms across her chest and swallowed hard. She looked nervously down the corridor and then met his eyes with her dark ones. "You look upset, Lucius. You know I am here if you need to talk. I cherish our talks, but…" Cassia paused as she studied his face. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it. "But we cannot speak here in the open, and I cannot meet you in secret tonight. We will have to find another time."
Lucius studied her worried face.
"There's nothing to speak of regarding me. You already know all of the troubles I face…and the one, lone reason behind them," Lucius said quickly. He could feel his emotions running high. "But we need to speak of you."
"Me?" Cassia furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Lucius, will you please not look so distraught? And do not be so loud."
"How?!" he bellowed. "This is no small matter-"
"Shhh," She warned, pressing her hand over her own mouth warningly.
"How can I not look that way when I know that it is only a matter of time before my uncle sends someone to kill me?"
Cassia shrank back. "Your mother told you of my worries?"
"You told her in hopes that she would tell me. You had to of."
"I do not know if I hoped that or not," Cassia whispered. She lowered her face to the floor.
Beneath her eyes, her pale skin was darkened with tired circles. Lucius reached out and tilted her face to look at his.
"I already know how he feels about me, Cassia But you should have told me that he threatened you."
"Please just lower your voice, Lucius," she warned as she nervously looked behind him again.
"Commodus no longer needs me to use against my mother. He no longer needs children from her. She cannot provide him with anymore, and he sees me as a threat…and he…he is going to get rid of me…but you-"
"He loves your mother…deeply. I have seen it myself. He did not just want children from her. He loves her. He will not hurt you because in doing so he knows that it would wound Lucilla. He fears losing her the most," Cassia interrupted him, keeping the same hushed tone. "But I will not lie. He does have horrible feelings about you. If something happens to her though-"
"He is becoming more independent. He does not need her as much. She is growing weak. When did he threaten you?" Lucius demanded suddenly.
"He hates you," she whispered. Her eyes widened at her own words, and Lucius watched them become teary.
She exhaled slowly, shakily.
"But what did he do?" Lucius begged. "My mother told me that you said he found out about us? He should not care if we talk."
"Last night…after we spoke together I saw him in the corridor. He informed me that he knew we talked, but he thinks that there is more going on with us."
"What did he say?" Lucius demanded.
"Just be careful, please. Do not let him get to you," Cassia spat out quickly. She turned as a tear slipped from her eye.
Lucius reached out possessively and grabbed her wrist, twirling her back to face him. It was much easier than he would have guessed, and he felt guilty for doing so.
Cassia's eyes widened. "Stop it Lucius!" She hissed at him as she attempted to pull her arm back away.
Lucius paused but he did not allow her to retrieve her arm. Instead, he lowered his eyes to it, shocked by her defensive reaction. He turned her arm over in his hand.
Small bruises littered the soft, pale skin of the underside of her wrist—finger-shaped. Lucius loosened his grip a little. He had not grabbed her hard enough to leave marks, nor was his hand large enough to make the marks. All of the breath left Lucius's lungs.
"Cassia," he whispered breathlessly. He slowly raised his wide eyes to hers.
"We cannot speak here, Lucius," she jerked her wrist loose from his grasp and brought it protectively to her stomach as if she could just hide the marks.
"What else did he do? Tell me," Lucius demanded gruffly.
Cassia turned away from him, but he reached out and grabbed her again- This time her elbow.
"Come with me," he choked out.
"Okay," she gasped out.
He wasted no time leading her into a small room that the servants used for storage. She did not protest. Lucius pushed her in ahead of him and he followed her. His blood pulsed through his veins as hot as fire.
Once inside, he dropped the curtain and the darkness filled the spaces between them, hiding Cassia's fresh tears, and his blood red face. Lucius kept his hold on her arm, worried that she would leave if he did not. His throat ached, and his stomach fluttered, but he did not speak. He allowed the silence to reside around them until she spoke up because he did not know what to say.
"He saw us together," Cassia whispered softly, so softly that Lucius leaned closer to her to hear.
"I'm not sure that he heard us talking, but he could not sleep. I know that he saw us together. He must have seen me hold your hand…. He was having nightmares… as usual and he could not talk to Lucilla because she was asleep," she continued.
"And?" Lucius's voice cracked. He knew what was coming. He already knew. It had been the fear in his mind the moment that his mother had mentioned Cassia and Commodus's encounter.
"He was alone. The guards were not with him," she paused again.
Lucius loosened his hold on her arm. He could feel his anger being replaced with helplessness. He felt deflated, and his eyes burned as if his own tears would soon fall.
" It was the first time I have seen him without them," Lucilla whispered. "He must have sent them away…for the night or something."
Lucius's own breathing quickened. He shook his head in the darkness.
"But he…he…did not hurt you?" Lucius whispered breathlessly.
"He…. brought me…to…to his room, Lucius…. He forced-"
Cassia must have heard his sharp intake of breath because she quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry Lucius. I tried…but…I feared….I could not protest…I-"
"I will kill him," Lucius growled suddenly. He jerked the curtain open, but Lucilla grasped his arm desperately, pulling him back in.
"No stop it!" Cassia ordered. She sniffled, and pulled on him harder as he tried to leave. "Please come back. Just listen to me."
Lucius stopped. He sank back into the darkness and let the curtain fall.
"He cannot control himself in anything…You know that. You warned me of his unpredictability. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Cassia murmured.
"Don't you ever say that!" Lucius hissed quickly. "Stop blaming yourself! He was in the wrong. You're a chambermaid not a concubine. I am so stupid. It is my fault."
"It's not your fault Lucius. It's over as long as you don't retaliate."
Lucius squinted his eyes shut. He imagined Commodus spying on the two of them, watching Lucius leave Cassia alone in the corridor and then Commodus—with a sick need to anger Lucius had forced Cassia into his bedchamber.
Lucius clenched his fists. Of course Cassia stood no chance against the emperor. There was nothing that she could have done once his mind was made up—once the idea was in his head.
"It's my fault," she whispered again. "I should've-"
"Should've what?" Lucius asked. "He could've had you killed if you would've tried anything drastic."
Silence fell around the pair once again.
"It is not your fault." Lucius shook his head slowly. "No… This is my entire fault. He did this to spite me. You are right, he wants to push me into doing something I will regret. He's using you to anger me."
"No it is over," Cassia said sternly.
"He wanted you to tell me," Lucius murmured.
"He…He told me to tell you, but you don't have to do anything about it," Cassia pleaded. "Don't be noble."
"You think that he will not come looking for you again…when the entire palace is dark and quiet…when he cannot sleep?" Lucius questioned angrily. "Even if I did not retaliate…he has had a taste of you already. Do you think that he would not come back to you? If I was gone, he would still…"
"Lucius," Cassia whispered quickly. "Don't say that. You don't know that he will."
"You don't know that he won't.
"Look at me," Cassia began. "Calm down please. I was not going to mention this because I do not want you to get hurt." Her voice shook and she stifled a sob.
"But while you try to protect me, he is hurting you," Lucius whispered.
By now, his eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness- just as they had the night before as they spoke together, when her hair was soft and silky against her shoulders and their fingers were interlocked.
"He forced himself on you because he thinks that I…he thinks that I love you," Lucius whispered softly, pondering his own words.
Finally, he looked up at Cassia's darkened face.
Lucius brought his hands down to meet Cassia's. He closed her delicate fingers in his. She looked down at their hands and then she looked to his lips. Lucius, still breathing deeply, watched her. Cassia slowly weaseled her hand from his and reached up to touch his chin. He stood motionless as she tilted his face down and pressed her lips to his. Lucius closed his eyes and kissed her back. He could taste the saltiness from her tears. He breathed her in.
He reached down and grasped her waist, squeezing gently, feeling her petite form through cloth.
But then he thought of Commodus kissing her the night before, marking her skin with bruises. Where else had Commodus bruised her? Lucius pulled away from her abruptly. He released her waist.
"I…I…I apologize. That was entirely inappropriate!" she exclaimed as she backed away. "I'm sorry. You must think that I…I'm nothing better than a concubine-"
"Wait, Cassia," he reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him.
"I would never think that," he murmured. "It wasn't your fault."
Cassia swallowed hard.
"I love you, Lucius. I have loved you ever since our first talk," her words sent chills up his spine.
"I…I…love you too," Lucius whispered. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She rested her face on his neck and let out a soft sob.
She felt so small and fragile in his arms.
"I must go check on your mother. I believe that her pains have begun already," she whispered against his skin.
Lucius opened his eyes. "Wait until Commodus leaves her room."
Cassia exhaled tiredly. "I have been avoiding him all morning. When I hear the guards coming, I hide. Oh the guards…they saw me leave his room this morning. I was so embarrassed. They knew…they had too."
"I am going to figure something out," Lucius murmured.
"What? No…no…no. Please don't do anything."
"For now, don't wander alone. Stay in my mother's room and..." Lucius trailed off. He didn't know how to protect her. He didn't know what to do. All he wanted to do was strangle his uncle with his bare hands.
"Please do not worry your mother…she needs you to be strong Lucius," Cassia continued. "Go to your room. Do not approach your uncle about me. Do not. It is what he wants you to do."
"And what if he comes for you again?"
"It doesn't matter," Cassia finally murmured. "I will be okay."
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