--Valeria POV--
"Are you sure about this, your imperial majesty?" Linus asked as he watched me put the hood up to cover my face from view, dressed in normal clothes himself.
"Linus, I told you to call me-"
"-Valeria when it is just the two of us, I understand but I still do not think it is appropriate," He mumbled under his breath, holding onto the hilt of his sword which lay hidden under his cloak.
"It is appropriate, we are friends after all," I hummed, smiling at him before continuing on my way down the streets which would lead me to the market which I used to visit all the time. "Oh, isn't it wonderful? I do not remember the last time I have felt so free," I sang to myself.
"Well, you do look quite happy," Linus smiled at me.
"That is because I am. Being trapped behind the palace walls was suffocating, I feel as though I can finally breathe... But I wonder how Stacius will feel if he is to ever find out?..." I mumbled the last bit to myself but Linus clearly heard.
"I do not believe that he will be happy, especially after all those warnings he gave you," I glared at Linus and he hummed, raising his hands in surrender.
"Now, what should we do. We only have an hour before we have to go back so I have to make the most of this time," I looked around the place, the bustling people selling and buying all kinds of things, not one of them paying any attention to me.
See, Stacius had been worried for nothing.
Now that I think about it though, I had once bumped into Stacius here, months before we got married. This was probably the place where I had first started falling in love with him, I didn't even know it at the time but who knew that I would be calling that man my husband?
And he's changed so much since then.
"Is everything alright?" Linus's voice brought me back to reality and I quickly nodded my head, going back to looking around the place.
"I shouldn't buy anything that I can take back with me, that will make Stacius suspicious. So, maybe just some food?" I looked to Linus and he nodded his head in agreement.
"Then, let's see..." I looked around, wondering where to start until the aroma of something sweet made its way to my nostrils and my question had been answered. Grabbing, Linus's wrist, I pulled him towards the said stall, one of the largest grins on my faces.
"Hello, dear," The woman greeted with a cheerful smile which I didn't hesitate to return. "What can I get for a lovely maiden such as yourself?" She asked, watching me look around the assortment of different foods she had placed out in front of her.
"Can I please have-" I was cut off when a strong force collided with my side and if not for Linus who had quickly grabbed onto me, I would have fallen to the ground.
"Are you alright?" He asked and I nodded my head before turning to look at the man that had bumped into me, he sat on the ground, grumbling profanities under his breath and I moved to help him stand up.
"Are you alright? You don't look so-" I hissed when he slapped my hand away.
"You annoying wench! Can you not watch where you're going!? You've got some nerve, bumping into an innocent old man then accusing him of-" He spat up at me, working hard to get back up on his feet but was instantly cut off by the woman that stood behind the vendor.
"Hey, what the hell are you going on about? Innocent? I saw you bump into the lady on purpose, men like you have nothing better to do than to exploit the innocent, take a good look in the mirror before you go robbing people about who is innocent and who isn't!" She yelled.
People who had previously been getting along with their lives stopped to stare at us and I turned to look at the ground, pulling the cloak over to cover more of my face. This isn't good, if this escalates any further and my face is somehow revealed then I'll be in trouble.
As if hearing my thoughts, the man growled, leaping towards me and grabbing my cloak which had been doing well to cover my face. "Don't hide, you wench! Show me your face!" He yelled.
"Agh! Let go," I tried pushing him away.
I saw the silent figure of Linus sweep past me as he easily pushed the man away and he fell back to the ground. Grabbing me around my shoulders, he pulled me back to a safe distance.
But it was too late.
"That face... Isn't that...?" The quiet whispers of people slowly began to spread until it was no longer simply whispers.
This isn't good.
"Your hood!" Linus urgently said, pulling my hood back up to cover my face.
"It really is the Empress!" And that was when things got out of hand. There's no way that Stacius wouldn't find out about me leaving the palace now.
Screaming people, rushing towards me, outstretching their hands and trying their hardest to push Linus out of the way as I cowered behind him. This wasn't supposed to happen... Stacius was right, people really do change if you have a title added to your name.
If only I had listened to him...
"Your imperial majesty! We have to get out of here!"
I jumped at the sudden unfamiliar voice, turning around to meet the brown eyes of Claudius. Right, this was the gladiator that I watched fighting some time ago.
"Wha-What are you doing here?" I meekly asked but moved my hand to grab his already outstretched one.
"Now is not the time for that... Please, forgive me for this," He leaned in to whisper in my ear, confusing me for a moment until I felt his arms wrap around my thighs, effortlessly picking me up and sitting me down on his arm.
I gasped, hurriedly moving my arms around his neck as he ran away from the crowd, Linus not far behind us, trying to push as many people away before he moved to follow us.
I watched as the once calm sight turned into an exciting array of people, their day-to-day lives forgotten because of me... Stacius was right.
I moved to bury my face in Claudius's neck, squeezing my eyes shut and waiting for all of this to be over. Stacius was surely going to be angry with me. With my heart hammering against my chest, I waited for his punishment.
This wasn't going to end well.
...