Passion and Sand 3: Empire of Desires

by Andromeda -

The emperor frowned. “As your emperor, I could command you to go out with your armies, though I would want you to do it out of your own will. These rebels are getting bolder; they are gathering like buzzards upon a corpse. Will you stand idly by and watch as they march down the streets of Rome? Will you stand idly by while they take turns with your wife?”

  The chamber fell silent, as all knew the emperor had gone too far. If there wasn’t anyone that Cassius loved more in the world, it was his wife. They had married at a young age. She was terribly fragile in health, but he stood by her side in all things. He would die to protect her.

  “What kind of man would I be if I let savages try to march upon my doorstep?” Cassius said through gritted teeth. “But, my lord, as I have no personal conflict with them, I will neither spend my coin or send out my men to stop them.”

  The emperor stood to his feet, enraged by his indifference. “Get out of my sight,” he spat. “You’re nothing more than a coward! All of you are cowards! I ought to have all your heads upon platters. Get out!”

  Everyone hurried out as quickly as they could, though Cassius walked slowly. A man of philosophy and science, he was interested in why these ex-slaves could organize and gather so quickly.

  To most Romans, in their normal arrogance, they did not look at their slaves as human beings. They didn’t think their slaves had the mental capacity to do things like this, but Cassius knew better.

  In all his travels, and all his time in the world when he was in the legions, he knew the ones the Romans called ‘barbarians’ were just as civilized—if not greater—than the Romans themselves. But, of course, they would never admit that. They could not. To admit it would mean that they were wrong in their actions of enslaving almost one-third of the known world.

  When he arrived at his home, and after he checked on his wife, he went to his quarters and began to write letters before sending them out by messenger falcon. He needed to find out more information about these rebels. He had to find out what they wanted, but most importantly, he had to find out who their leader was.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Alina held the reins of her horse tightly in her fist as she waited in line behind the other travelers. She was at a toll booth, the last one before she crossed over into Greece, and the Romans had taken control of it. Behind her, a couple miles back, was Eryx and Huneric as they had made the decision that the best way to avoid detection was to separate themselves into smaller numbers.

  Though she knew that her husbands were worried for her, Alina knew she could handle this. It was going to be easy. No one knew that she was the child of Ayanna and Kaiser, and thus, she should be safe.

  “Next!” the Roman guard yelled.

  Alina kicked her horse’s side and made it walk forward. She held out the travel papers she had made and waited for him to check them. The Roman looked at them, then looked to her with a clear, lustful leer. She tried to not roll her eyes as he smirked at her.

  “What is a lone woman like you doing traveling to Greece?” he asked in a voice she could only guess was his attempt at seduction.

  “To meet my family,” Alina answered. “They passed through a fortnight ago. I stayed behind because I was too ill to make the trip. I am better now.”

  “I can clearly see you are…,” he said with a smirk. “If you need a guide to where you are going…I know of a man who is for hire.”

  Alina forced a smile. “Thank you, my lord, but I know where I am going. If I can have my papers…?”

  He handed them back to her, though his fingers lingered on her skin in a way that made her shudder, and not in a pleasureful way. Tucking them into the bag at her side, Alina kicked her horse’s side and they thundered down the roads.

  She was to ride to a safe spot that they had chosen ahead of time and wait for them, though how long the wait would be, she did not know. As she made camp, her hand rested against her flat stomach, though she smiled.

  Pregnant again, she found out before they had left Freiundedel. She knew it was Huneric’s, as she had lain with him the whole visit, as Eryx was busy with making contracts for their new allies.

  This last ally they were being sent to get was going to be a tricky one, as she wasn’t supposed to be in power. Like them, she was a leader of a rebellion against Rome. The main difference was that their rebellion was several generations old.

  These Greeks had been fighting against Rome for almost fifty years, which was quite long. If Alina and her husbands managed to convince them to join their alliance, then they would have the final piece that would bring down Rome.

  ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

  As she laid asleep, however, a twig snapping outside of her tent made her eyes fly open, only to be greeted by a net being thrown over her body. She grunted and tried to pull it off, but the ropes at the end were tied tightly, and she was yanked forward.

  Torches were lowered as she saw a group of men glaring down at her.

  “What do we have here?” one said in Greek. “A lonely woman out here?”

  “She could be a Roman spy,” another man said. “She had papers in what looks to be Latin.”

  “If she’s a spy, then we kill her,” a man said. “No discussing it.”

  “You kill me, and you’ll be risking the fury of my mother and father, the King and Queen of Freiundedel,” Alina said in fluent Greek. “Not only that, but I have a meeting with Iphigenia.”

  The men looked at each other with a frown, and then back to her. “What do you want with our queen?”

  “My name is Alina,” Alina said. “I have a meeting with Queen Iphigenia, who will be quite angry that you killed me.”

  The leader of them nodded to his men. “Pack her up. She wants to meet the queen? Time for us to return to Sparta.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “I thought they would never let us through,” Eryx said as he and Huneric trotted down the roads.

  “I feel the same way. You would think it wouldn’t take forever to check our passes,” Huneric said. “Then again, when you are men like us, I would think you would wish to be a bit more careful.”

  Both men laughed as they continued their journey. After being delayed by the Roman guards for almost an hour, who asked them a thousand questions on why they were traveling together, they were finally on their way to the place where they were to meet Alina. Yet, when they reached the location, all the blood drained from their faces.

  Their wife was not there.

  The campground she had apparently set up was abandoned.

  Eryx leapt down from his horse and ran into the tent as he shouted her name. Worry pumped through his blood as he shouted out her name and searched in vain for the love of his life.

  “Where is she?!” Eryx bellowed. “Where is she?!”

  Huneric frowned, as he, too, leapt to the ground and began to look around, his nose low to the ground. He could tell there was a struggle, but not a violent one. He saw multiple sets of large footprints, followed by a smaller one that he knew was Alina’s. There wasn’t blood on the ground, so he knew they had not harmed her. Alina was a tough warrior, and she got herself out of virtually anything unless she was greatly outnumbered.

  Leaning down closer to the ground, he picked up a long silver hair, that after feeling it, he realized was a horse’s hair. As he looked around, he saw hoofprints and knew that this was a sign that she was not harmed.

  “Eryx,” he said, as he walked back to his worrying counterpart. “I believe Spartan guards took her.”

  “What makes you say Spartan and not Roman?” Eryx asked sharply.

  “Besides the fact I do not see heads and limbs around?” Huneric responded. “Also, think. Alina would have used that silver tongue of hers to get into Sparta. I believe that is where we need to go.”

  “What if you’re wrong?” Eryx asked.

  “What if I’m not?” Huneric said as he got back onto his horse’s back.

  Eryx frowned and weighed his options. He didn’t know who he was
more frightened of if he returned to his home without Alina: Kaiser or his wife, Ayanna. The thought of Alina’s mother sent a shudder up his spine. Definitely Ayanna.

  Swinging himself upon the back of his horse, he kicked its sides and together they galloped down the roads, Sparta in their sights.

  ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

  The once mighty Spartan empire was now only a shadow of its former glory. After a crushing defeat from Thebes, then the conquest of the Roman empire, it was clear to both Eryx and Huneric that if anyone wished to throw off the shackles of Rome, it would be the Spartans.

  When they were young, they had listened to the tales of the great Spartan empire crushing anything that stood in its path of independence. They had heard of a lost Ethiopian princess who was given to the Spartan King as a tribute, yet fell in love and married him, taking her place as his queen. They had several children. Their first born daughter married to King of Persia and united two rivals, yet that was where the happy stories ended.

  Corruption, jealousy, greed and more slowly began to eat away at the empire and caused its downfall. Yet, the current head wished to return its country to its former glory and would stop at nothing to achieve this.

  It was easy to find the royal palace, or what was set to be the royal palace, as the real one had long since been destroyed and demanded an audience with the queen. At first, the guards refused, but when they mentioned Alina, the guards looked at each other, before uncrossing their spikes and allowing them inside.

  They were led into the throne room and found a quite young and beautiful woman sitting in a large chair. She had a haughty air about her and her lips curved into a defiant smirk as her grey eyes looked both men up and down. It was easy to see that she was of mixed blood, as her African features were quite prominent in her appearance, such as her hair, lips and nose.

  “Who do you bring into my throne room?” she asked in fluent Latin, which surprised them.

  “My Queen,” a guard said, “we bring before you Eryx and Huneric, both of whom claim to be the husbands of your guest.”

  The queen looked to a servant and said something in Greek, and then turned back to the men as the servant ran off. Her eyes were drawn to Eryx, and that smirk got even larger.

  “Well, aren’t you blessed by the gods?” she purred. “Makes me wonder what a night with you would be like.”

  Eryx flushed at her obvious flirting and chose to ignore it. Instead, he took a step forward, though the guards held him back. “Where is my wife?” he growled.

  “Eryx, please do not get us killed so quickly,” Huneric whispered to his friend. “Alina would not be pleased.”

  “No, I would not,” Alina said as she entered the chamber.

  She was dressed in the Greek style of clothing, which made them both do a double take, as it showed off her lush curves to perfection.

  Alina looked to the queen with a slight frown. “I would also not like the obvious flirting with my husband…”

  The queen chuckled. “It could not be helped. I am a lover of fine art. He looks as if he was sculpted by Apollo.”

  “And he is mine,” Alina said, her jealousy clearly showing.

  The queen chuckled again. “Do not worry, I am not trying to take him from you.”

  Alina nodded and walked to her husbands, who both hugged her tight before taking turns in giving her a kiss.

  “Are you harmed?” Eryx asked as he looked her over for any sign of trauma.

  “Not at all,” Alina answered. “They did not hurt me.”

  Huneric gently touched her stomach, knowing she was with child. She nodded that the child was all right, and it was that that finally made him calm down. Clearing her throat, she pulled away from them and nodded to the woman on the throne.

  “My loves,” she said, “allow me to introduce Iphigenia, Queen of Sparta.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

  A meal was prepared with Iphigenia and Alina sitting at both ends of the table, while Eryx and Huneric sat between them. Both men were slightly confused, but they did not refuse as that would seem rude.

  Iphigenia tore a piece of bread, then dipped it in the gravy of her dish before tossing it to a cat that was at her feet. She smiled and picked it up, setting it in her lap, and stroked its back as it purred loudly.

  “Cats, a favorite of my mother,” she said. “I do miss her. She told the best stories of my foremother.”

  “She was…Zenobia, correct?” Alina asked.

  “Correct,” Iphigenia said with a nod. “She was a great warrior. Most say I look like her. I plan on doing what she and my forefather, Alexander, did: bring Sparta back to its rightful place as the most powerful city-state in all world.”

  “How do you desire in doing that?” Eryx asked.

  “By joining you in your quest to rid the world of the empire that has held my people hostage for several generations,” Iphigenia answered. “Rome.”

  “Sparta is known for having a powerful navy,” Alina explained. “Iphigenia and I were discussing on a way of using it.”

  Huneric tilted his head. “Were you speaking of an attack that happened at the same time? One on land, and one on sea?”

  “Correct,” Alina said, as she smiled at him in a way that said she would reward his intellect by coming to his bed tonight.

  “I like the idea,” Iphigenia said. “However, we were also discussing the price of my alliance to your cause.”

  “What would that be?” Eryx asked.

  “I want all of Sparta’s stolen lands, as well as that of Thebes and Athens,” Iphigenia responded. “Those lands have made a fool of us for too long. That will not ever happen ever again.”

  “Doing that could take months,” Huneric pointed out. “Maybe years.”

  “I am young,” Iphigenia responded. “And I will bring back the honor of my family that was stolen from us in our time of trouble. My brother did not make it any better.”

  “You have a brother?” Eryx asked.

  “Had,” Iphigenia corrected him. “I had a brother. Growing up, my father only cared for his son, who was a complete and utter idiot and fool. Yet, my mother saw the value of my intellect. When I found out my brother was going to make a secret alliance with Rome, trading our lands for their coin for a selfish thing he wanted, I knew I could not let it slide. So, one night, I slipped into his chambers and slit his throat.”

  Both men looked gravely uncomfortable, though it was Iphigenia who looked the more intrigued.

  “I would think your father was not happy about that,” she stated.

  “Of course, he wasn’t,” Iphigenia said. “But then again, he didn’t have a choice in the matter as my mother and I were staging a coup. We were not the only ones dissatisfied with how he had been running the kingdom as Rome’s lackey. So, he was thrown in prison and then strangled to silence him forever. I took control, and began a rebellion.”

  “I believe you will fit in great with us,” Alina said with a smirk. “Though your terms will have to be agreed upon by my parents.”

  Iphigenia tilted her head. “Your parents? You had me thinking you were the one in charge with how well you handled negotiations.”

  Alina did not know what to say about that, as deep down in the pit of her stomach, she felt…strange. It wasn’t the baby, but the words of Iphigenia had rattled in her head a couple of times before about being the one to be fully in charge, rather than being just a message girl.

  Would it be so bad…if I wished to be in charge? she wondered to herself.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Bloody foam bubbled in the emperor’s throat as he coughed into the napkin in his hand. With a soft groan, he looked at the scarlet drops before he sat back on his bed with a deep sigh. Sweat beaded on his brow as his cheeks were flushed with fever. On the other side of the room, Aurelia stood with another golden goblet of wine, a soft, false smile of comfort upon her lips.

  “My lord,” she purred, “would you like another drink of wine?” />
  The emperor shook his head. “No, thank you, my dear. I just wish for some sleep.”

  Aurelia frowned. The poison in the goblet was enough to do just that: make him fall into a deep sleep, and he would pass into the next world. She was right in giving him small doses over the years to make it look as if he was growing ill. This goblet held the last dose that would kill him, but if he didn’t drink it…

  “Are you sure…?” she pressed. “You look as if you are thirsty.”

  “Ice water,” he coughed. “To cool my throat.”

  Aurelia nodded, though she tried to not scowl. Her poison would not work in ice water, as the cold diluted the toxins. She had only given him warmed wine as it made it go into his blood quicker. Also, if she gave him water, it just might dilute the toxins already within his body.

  A slave brought the ice water and gave it to the emperor, who drank it as if he was a dying man. It cooled the burning in his throat, and he asked for another goblet before he sat back on his bed.

  He could already sense the buzzards that were the Senate swarming around his bed, knowing that all they were doing was waiting for him to die. He could not give them the satisfaction, yet at the same time, he knew that his time was nearing its end.

  “Summon…Cassius…,” he said to Aurelia. “Now…”

  Aurelia arched an eyebrow. She did not know why he was being summoned, but she did as ordered and told a slave to summon the man. It took two days for Cassius to arrive from his villa, but he was led right to the emperor’s chambers and knelt before his lord.

  “You have summoned me?” he said.

  The emperor, with shaky fingers, took off his ring and handed it to him. “I am giving you charge of Rome and my son. I sense a great battle is upon us, and Rome needs a strong military leader.”

  Cassius took the ring with wide eyes. “But, my lord…”

  “No buts,” the emperor said firmly, as he coughed again into the cloth. “My will is final. Save Rome.”

  Cassius nodded and bowed his head. “Yes, my lord. As you wish.”