--Valeria POV--
"Happy birthday. I am sorry that I could not attend your feast, it must have been fun," I sighed into my childhood best friends arms, hugging her tightly as I had not had the chance to see her since my wedding which was almost a year ago.
"It is alright, being Empress must be difficult," She comfortingly patted my back.
"Not really. I don't have much to do in the first place," I sighed just thinking about it, pulling away from the hug as I linked my arm with Balbina's and continued walking down the garden with her.
"How are your daughter and husband?" I asked. Balbina had gotten married a few years before me to a merchant and they had a daughter together last year.
"Same as always, he spoils her as much as he can," She laughed. Both our parents are good friends so Balbina and I have known each other since a young age, she is only 4 years my senior but she has always been known to be more mature than her age.
I, on the other hand, was a mischievous child that never knew how to sit still. I would go out and buy groceries instead of the workers and I'd dance and sing and play games that apparently only boys are able to play. Nonetheless, my family still loved me and I often catch my brother, Julius, still watching over me in the palace since he works here.
"Do you always have guards with you?" Balbina whispered into my ear, nudging her head over towards the two guards that weren't stood far from us. Linus and Tiberius, Linus being my personal bodyguard and Tiberius who was a general so I'm not really sure why he was here but he was a man of few words that rarely spoke.
"Normally it is just Linus, he has become one of my only friends in this place. I'm not sure why Tiberius is here today though, Stacius must be worried about something," I replied.
"Only one friend? Now, that is unusual. Valeria who used to be able to make friends within a few seconds only has one friend in this large palace?" Balbina chuckled as she looked at me. I quietly laughed along with her, not sure how else to react.
"Stacius doesn't like me talking to other people so he limits it as much as he can. No one can enter or leave the palace without his permission, mother and father have only been able to visit a few times too,"
"And you?" Balbina asked, the smile vanishing from her face.
"Me? I have only left the palace once since my wedding,"
"And I am guessing that was the visit to the colosseum," I nodded my head in answer to her guess and now her neutral face had turned into a frown.
"Dear Valeria, how has that man succeeded in turning a wild flame such as yourself into a caged bird? Surely, an Empress should be able to look around her own Empire," I had thought so too, but I guess I only found out how wrong that was after my wedding.
"Are you happy with him?" Balbina asked, placing a hand atop my head.
"I should be, he is my husband," I smiled and she narrowed her eyes. "I asked for a loyal man and I got a loyal man," Although Stacius does sometimes seem to be a little more than just loyal, he can be quite scary sometimes.
"He takes the word loyal to a whole new level," She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "When you said you wouldn't make it to my feast, I had thought you were busy with your duties as Empress but I was mistaken... You have become a prisoner,"
"A prisoner?" I repeated.
"Yes, a prisoner... This won't do. I must talk to that man and have him rethink his decision to ruining your life, what kind of man doesn't even allow his wife to meet her friends?" She spat, turning around as she got ready to go in who knows what direction.
"No, Balbina, it is alright. Do not worry about me; I am perfectly fine," I jumped to hold onto her arm, holding her back from going any further.
"No, you are not fine. If you were fine then you would not be trapped inside this place like some animal. Being an Empress should not take away your humanity, you should be allowed to go wherever you want, even if you must take a guard with you,"
"Balbina, I should have known what I was signing up to when I decided to marry an Emperor. He makes me happy, he really does so you do not need to worry,"
"If he makes you happy then why are you keeping me away from him," I came to a halt after hearing her words, raising my head to look at her glaring face, but despite the glare, I somehow knew that it wasn't directed at me.
"That is... Because..." I stumbled, looking for an excuse.
If Balbina talks to him about my freedom, he will get angry at me. And Anastacius is scary when he's angry, I don't want to see the angry him.
"Because he must be busy right now, yes," I ended up saying instead. "Next time you come, I will let you meet him. So for now, let's carry on with our walk. I want to show you the flower garden, it is one of my favourite places," I faked a laugh, pulling her hand towards the said place.
Balbina probably caught onto my act but she knew better than to say anything against it and instead, thankfully, she gave in to my pestering and followed me to the said garden.
If Balbina talks to Stacius and speaks her mind, he will use whatever means necessary to keep her away from me and I couldn't let that happen, Balbina is one of my only true friends whom I have been friends with for nearly all my life.
I said I wanted a loyal man and I got a loyal man, I should be grateful for this. But still, who knew that wedded life could sometimes be so scary?
Before meeting him, I didn't think it was possible to both love and fear someone but he made it possible. I am happy whenever I see him but I am afraid that if I do something wrong then he will be angry and take his anger out on someone that doesn't deserve it.
So due to that, I try to stay close to my brother as much as possible but that is often a difficult task as Julius is a busy person with an important job. So I stick close to Linus who has become my good friend but as of recent events, I have come to realise that Stacius doesn't like that.
But still, I fell in love with Stacius.
That is why I married him and one day we will start a family together and until death, he will be by my side. One way or another, I must learn to live like this.
...