Ever since Commodus became emperor, he was known as the cold-hearted Caesar in all of Rome. Through his dictatorship and malicious executions, many grew to fear him. That is until a young village girl catches his eye. He kidnaps her,and takes her to...
"My people!" He calls to everyone," if there is anything else needed, please, I beg of you, notify me immediately so it can be provided!"
Everyone cheered, gathering around to personally thank the emperor themselves. All through this, Commodus's kept a kind genuine smile. He shook hands, hugged people, whatever they desired he gave to them.
I could no longer see the hatred in his eyes...
I could no longer feel the darkness of his soul...
As I watched on, now the only one in the village not apart of the circle, I felt his bright soulful blue eyes meet mine. His expression goes blank, and slowly his eyes start to droop with sadness.
I felt it...
I felt the pain....
I wanted nothing more than to go comfort him...
But how could I...?
His life is going for the better...
All because I left...
As I watched Commodus, I notice his lips gently curve upwards, giving me a bittersweet smile. Without realizing it, I felt myself smiling back, feeling this heavy weight being lifted off of my shoulders.
Once everyone was searching through the boxes, he picked up a blanket. He slowly makes his way over to me, stopping right where the tips of our shoes met.
I didn't know what to say...
And if I did I wouldn't know how to say it...
"It's going to get colder..." he says, his voice in a quiet mumble, he then drapes the blanket over my shoulders, folding them at the ends. "You need to stay warm..." he says, he then turns around to leave me be.
"C-Commodus...." I call to him, causing the man to stop in his tracks.
" I-I'm sorry..." I tell him.
He turns around to face me," why are you sorry...?" He asks," you did nothing wrong, I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am".
We stood in silence, not knowing what to do
"How is your auntie Bertha?" He asks with a smile,"I'm sure she is thrilled to have you back, especially since you were gone for so long".
...
"Zola...?"
.....
"Zola what's wrong...?"
He doesn't know.....
~He doesn't know~
"Hey..." I feel him set his arms on my shoulders, leaning down to face me with a concerned expression," it's okay...you can tell me".
His voice is so gentle...
So sweet and kind...
So loving~
"She died..." I finally have the strength to tell him. His eyes grow wide,"h-how...?" He questions,"w-what happened..?"
"She grew stressed from me being gone, which caused her to become ill" I explain,looking down at the ground, too ashamed of myself to keep a focused gaze.
"It's all my fault~" I hear him mumble, I snap my head up, looking into his guilty eyes.
"N-no..." I tell him," no it wasn't..."
"Yes it was Zola" he tells me," I took you away...I...I killed her..."
"Don't say that..." I tell him," it was neither of our faults...maybe she wanted to pass on...maybe it was just her time..."
I place a hand on his warm cheek,"it's okay" I tell him,"things like this just happen...we have to come to terms with that".
He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes and gently touching my hand with his. I could see how much he longed for someone to give him a gentle loving hand.
"How can you be so kind to me...?" He asks, I notice his eyes slowly turning a pale red, glossed with early tears. However, he quickly blinks them away before they could fall down his pale cheeks.
"How can I not...?" I say with a smile," I can't, I'm just not like that....are you okay?"
"I-I'm..." he stutters a bit," I'm alright..."
I nod, " that's good..."
I watch as he opens his mouth, trying to come up with what to say."Z-Zola I...." he was struggling, I could see it in his eyes," I'm so sorry....I just...I-I want you to know t-that I-I...."
"You what...?" I ask him gently
His eyebrows scrunched with frustration, he then let's out a sigh.
"I hope you have a good winter"
I nod," you too Commodus...." I tell him, " thank you...for everything, I am forever in your debt".
"Of course Zola" he says,
~"I'd do anything for you"~
I felt my heart burst from those words, my cheeks now flushed and warm.
He turns around,focusing his attention back on the townspeople." I must go" He says," I must attend to my duties, please have a safe winter and a blessed evening!"
As he made his way back inside the carriage, the people cheered for him, clapping their hands and whistling. He gently pokes his head out of the window, giving me another comforting smile as the carriage proceeded to leave.
I could tell by that smile what he was trying to say....
'Everything is going to be fine now'....
As the carriage slowly grew smaller in distance, I felt a small pinch of ice gently lay on my hand. I look up, my eyes wide as I realize it's starting to snow.
I feel myself smiling, watching the pretty snowfall against the night sky.
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