Cleopatra's Maid

Eavesdropping

Kira finally found Apollodorus after hours of searching, he was on the balcony, looking out to the gardens. He was leaning against the railing, his back to Kira. He had not heard her step onto the balcony.

Kira wasn't sure what to do, so she stood there for a long time. Just watching him. When she finally got up the courage to walk up to him, she ended up hugging him from behind, her arms around his waist.

Apollodorus was a bit shocked for a moment, but then he turned his head over his shoulder and saw Kira. He sighed when he saw her, "You should be with Brutus."

This confused Kira, she pulled back and looked at him with raised eyebrows, "What ever do you mean?"

"He's right," Apollodorus explained, turning to face the girl, "He can give you things that I can not. Money, happiness, and security. You deserve better than this life, Kira, but I can not give you what you deserve. I want you to be happy."

Kira frowned, staring up at him, "No. He wouldn't make me happy. Sure, I'd have money, but I don't want money. I want you! You make me happy, not Brutus, and definitely not his stupid money."

Apollodorus cupped a hand under the girl's chin, using his thumb to caress the side of her cheek, "You'd give up a perfect life to be with me?"

She nodded, "Of course I would!"

He grinned and pulled the girl closer to him, to where he was inches from her face, "Can I kiss you?"

She nodded, "Of course you can!"

He laughed and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her gently. Kira wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. His hands tangled in her hair as he began to kiss her more passionately. It was like nothing they had ever experienced before.

Kira couldn't help but be a little hurt when he suddenly pulled away, "What's wrong?"

"Someone's coming," he said, narrowing his eyes at the open entrance to the balcony, "Be quiet."

Sure enough, Kira could soon hear footsteps approaching. Apollodorus took the girl's arm and pulled her towards a large lounging sofa that sat on the balcony. Cleopatra sat here when she wanted to look out to the gardens. Kira caught on to what Apollodorus was trying to do and went around it, crouching down so she could hide behind it easily. Apollodorus did the same, their shoulders pressed together. There wasn't a lot of room to hide, and it was a bit uncomfortable crouching on the hard stone floor. But Kira kept her mouth shut and listened for the footsteps.

That's when three other people walked out onto the balcony. All Kira could see was their feet, but she recognized them to be Roman by the style of their sandals and paler skin. Kira's heart beat fast against her chest, surely they would find them! Apollodorus squeezed the girl's hand tightly, also nervous.

"I can't believe that the poison didn't work!" sighed one voice.

"There has to be something else we can try," said another, "We can't let Julius end up with that wrench! She will brainwash him and turn him into a puppet."

Kira knew they were talking about Cleopatra, her blood boiled. How dare they talk about a Pharaoh in such a disrespectful manner! Cleopatra was above them all!

"We can figure out something else," another voice hummed, it was Brutus! Kira looked at Apollodorus with wide eyes. He put a finger to his lip for her to stay quiet.

Brutus continued to speak, "Look, Cleopatra mentioned giving us a tour of her little boat. That will give us the perfect opportunity. We can surely make it look like an accident."

"What do you suggest Sir Brutus?" questioned the first voice.

"Let me think of something, I will summon for you both in the morning to tell you the plan."

"Very well," answered the second voice, "But this time it better work, or the senate will have your head!"

Brutus grunted and stomped back into the building, leaving the two other Romans behind. They soon followed after him, and Kira and Apollodorus were alone once again.

Kira stood up from her hiding spot, "I can't believe this! I can't believe Brutus is the ring leader of this, oh! I should have known! I had a weird feeling about him you know, but I never thought he would be apart of a conspiracy! Oh my gods, what about Cleopatra?! How do we tell her? They'll never believe us! Wha-"

Apollodorus stood and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm the girl down, "Calm down, you'll only hurt yourself. We'll figure something out, don't worry. We just have to think of something."

Kira embraced her friend, her head resting against his strong chest, "Everything seems to keep falling apart."

"I know," Apollodorus sighed, his hand tangling in her hair once more, "I know, but we'll figure it out. We'll stop him." 

Kira looked up at him, studying his face, "I love you, Pollo."

He grinned at her nickname for him. She had given it to him a long time ago, when they were just children. They had been playing hide-and-seek in the garden. He was 'it', and he was looking around for her. He was upset when he couldn't find her, and sat down next to a bush, pouting. Suddenly Kira had jumped out from the bush, pouncing on top of the boy. He had screamed, and she had laughed.

"You scream like a donkey, Pollo!"

"Pollo? What's a Pollo?"

"It's a nickname, silly. Your new nickname."

"I don't know if I like it. It sounds weird."

Kira had rolled her eyes at him, "Too bad, so sad. I'll call you Pollo everyday if I want to!"

"Fine, but you're the only one who can call me that, okay?"

"Deal."

Apollodorus couldn't help but laugh at the memory, and he buried his face in the girl's dark brown hair. "I love you too, Kira. I always have. I'm sorry I never realized it sooner. I was too blind by my infatuation with Cleopatra, but I should have realized that it was nothing more than a crush, and that I already had the best sort of love right in front of me. True love."

Kira gave a forced laugh, "Here we are, admitting our love for each other while a man is planning to murder the Pharaoh. Something's wrong with us."

"We should just run away from here," Apollodorus sighed, "We could climb down from this balcony right now and get on a boat to where ever we want. We could leave all this behind."

"Our consciouses wouldn't let us live with that though, knowing we could have done something to stop Cleopatra's murder."

"You're right."

Kira took his hand in hers and placed a soft kiss on the side of his palm, "We can run away after we stop Brutus, okay?"

"Deal," he laughed, kissing her nose.

Kira pulled back, pulling him by the arm, "And I think I have an idea! Come on!"