By the time Titus had returned, Ace and Ibis were truly in love.

   Ace would send her many gifts, as he learned was customary for everyone around him. He would visit her often, kiss her, and spend time with her all across Alexandria. It was quite easy for him to do so, as he could simply go anywhere he wanted. Titus returned, none the wiser.

   He was upset that he could not find this strange sundial that Ace spoke of. He returned home and found Ace bored once again, sitting on a stone bench in Titus' garden. Ace's eyes went wide in surprise when Titus hugged him. He was genuinely happy to see him, and then he worried that Titus would learn what he had done.  

 Titus kissed him on the cheek and apologized for his absence. "I have failed you," he murmured. "I will not give up. I promise." Ace held him close, and he felt guilty. Titus truly cared for him, and he did not. He decided that he would tell him the truth.

  "I have to leave you," Ace said. "I can't be with you anymore." Titus began to cry, and Ace was shocked.

"Is it because I have not found your sundial," Titus sniffled.

"No," Ace assured him. "I have just found someone else..."

   Titus did not believe him. He was quite simple-minded and continued to cry. "I cannot lose you," he cried. "You are the only person who can be with me forever!"

  Ace shook his head. "That's impossible. Even if we were, one of us would die before the other."

Titus shuddered and looked him straight in the eye. "I can give you eternal youth," he promised. Ace knew he was serious from the tone of his voice because he rarely was.

  "I, I can't do that," Ace replied. "If I say yes, then I have to stay with you, don't I?"

"I will not let anyone else have you." He kissed Ace and rubbed his neck, and Ace stood awkwardly not knowing how he could shake him loose.

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  That night Titus would not let Ace rest. He was expecting that when he returned, but his body wasn't. After the third time, Titus finally stopped, as he could no longer get hard again. Ace sighed in relief on the bed, sweaty and wondering if Titus would accidentally kill him from too much sex.

"I am a much better lover than whoever this person is," Titus declared. Ace hadn't slept with Ibis, but he didn't say anything, because Titus wouldn't believe him, and he might try to start again.

   Titus laid his head on Ace's chest and they relaxed, listening to the sounds of the ocean, only cooling down when the breeze would sometimes come in. "We will be together forever," Titus mumbled, as he fell asleep in Ace's arms. "I will give you my gift of youth tomorrow."

  Ace couldn't sleep now, especially with this news. He waited until he fell asleep, and slowly slithered away, trying to break free. He found a woven basket, put all of Titus' gifts inside, some clothes for later, and simply left. He regretted leaving suddenly but knew if he didn't, then Titus would follow through on his strange promise.

  Titus awoke the next morning to an empty bed. He had not assumed that Ace left him. He thought Ace was in his room or the garden. He searched around and could not find him. Ahtem told him that he sometimes liked to travel alone, and Titus was upset.

Someone could take him, he thought. He is too free!

  Titus waited all day for Ace to return, so he could scold him, caress him, and once again plow him like a field. Ace never returned, and Titus began to worry. He sent people out to search for him. They never could. It cannot be hard to find a red-haired prince, Titus thought. There is no one else around that looks like him.

   Soon the news spread far and wide of the magic prince that Titus was infatuated with. Many of the nobles did not believe his tale, as Titus was already a grandiose man.

  At first, they were excited when he took the throne. He had brought over many of his Roman customers and customs. They loved the parties, the architecture, and of course the orgies. However, people began to notice that Titus Cassius never aged. They noticed that he would never eat at the parties, he would never be satisfied at the orgies long after everyone had left, and he took many consorts but none bore him a child.

  They thought nothing of it when they heard he had taken a male consort, thinking that it was another habit brought with him from Rome. They raised their eyebrows when he got rid of the others, and then they knew something was wrong when he no longer held debaucherous parties.

   The nobles hoped that eventually, Titus Cassius would die at the hands of his consort, who claimed to be a prince, and he would leave no heirs, leaving them free to retake part of Egypt from the Romans.

Something much worse happened instead.