It’s been three days since our encounter with what Nerva and Octavia called a ‘Shadow Figure’. We didn’t see it again this whole time, although I had a weird feeling of being observed by someone, even when we were sitting alone or indoors. It was freaking me out but I decided not to inform the rest of the group, in fear of scaring them.

The rest of the group… Sadly after our little adventure Marius didn’t want to talk to us, communicating only through Octavia. Who seemed very torn between staying by her friend’s side and actually investigating what might be happening here. That rift which my short presence created, made me slowly warm up to the idea of telling them the truth of my origin. I spent my nights thinking, but I didn’t feel like it was the right time.

Besides, I had lots of work to do, the storm caused a bunch of damages at the farm I was helping at and it took most of the day out of my life. Making “the right time” seem even more distant. And in the short evenings I saw Nerva, Octavia and Caius, everyone acted strange and uneasy, making me feel guilty for what had happened with their friend. They never implied that was the case, which I was thankful for, but I knew better than to think otherwise.

Everyone was more and more unhappy with the situation and I knew I had to do something, but Caius assured me that it’s better to wait than to say too much or something wrong due to emotions. He was very kind to me, not letting me feel alienated and reassuring me that everything will be okay. We got closer during those days, but I felt something odd about him, as if his mind was always just a bit elsewhere, he often smiled to himself, and once or twice started saying something. He never got past the first word and immediately turned red and flustered.

He wanted to tell me something and I had a sneaking suspicion what it could be. But I didn’t even have time to think about that due to work and the approaching day of mine and Caius’s trip to the city.

I’ve spent a month in Rome but during this time only traveled the outskirts. Rufus wanted to make sure I’m in an area close enough for him and his son to act if there was any trouble, so any solo sightseeing was out of the question. Their busy schedule didn’t allow for any of them to accompany me either.

That’s until Lucia got a big order from some rich patrician, who requested that the clothes she made would be delivered to him. That was our opportunity to leave the immediate area of the house and finally visit the city I was unfortunately stuck in. We were to leave at the very first sign of the sun and I was extremely excited. So much so that I completely ignored the feeling of being watched.

***

In the morning, our solo expedition was joined by Rufus, who insisted on accompanying us in his full guard’s gear. Both me and Caius were confused by this last minute plan change but we weren’t against it, that was until we were informed about the route Rufus wanted to take.

Instead of the more hidden and shaded way through the alleys of Rome he made us go through a ‘scenic’ route, which hit most of the important Roman landmarks I knew from history. This made our march about half as long as it should be, which in combination of the mediterranean heat and us being loaded with fabric - made it feel more like we were enduring a torture, rather than a ‘family trip’.

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Our first stop - Campus Agrippae - was a rather big area with lots of small buildings strewn around, built by previous emperors since Augustus’s time. Rufus wanted to take us to the terms but I declined the offer to the surprise of Caius, who welcomed the prospect of a shower on this extremely hot day. I lied, that I’d rather not relax now or else carrying the clothes might become impossible. Truth be told I knew that if I were to see him naked I’d have trouble keeping “it” lowkey. But luckily without further questions we left, heading towards the race track.

At first, we thought we'd just look from outside for a bit and go along on the way to the client, but we were approached by some guard, who welcomed Rufus profusely. After a short talk he led us into the ‘Circus Flaminius’ and handed our goods over to someone else, tasking them with the delivery. Caius’s father had a massive smile on his face the whole time, but he wouldn’t tell us why or what exactly was happening. We did figure it out on our own however, when the sun blinded us as we exited the arena’s corridors onto the VIP lounge.

“I’ve got these places from a friend who works at the palace.” Explained Rufus finally, as we sat down on the cushioned chairs. The stadium was slowly filling around us and soon every place was taken, this seemed a bit too excessive for a normal race or a gladiatorial fight. “Today is a special day-” he explained, seeing our confused expressions. “- I mean not a special date, but rather… well you will see soon enough.”

He snickered to himself, making Caius look at me. He made a weirdly cute, puzzled face. I had to turn around, feeling how my cheeks turned red.

That’s when I saw it… or him? Standing at the top of a wall circumventing the audience, holding on to a pillar was the shadowy creature we saw earlier that week. Although in full sunlight the term ‘Shadow Figure’ no longer worked, as I was looking in the face of a rather short person. Their fiery red hair was messy, with leaves sticking out of it, looking more like a nest than what one would expect to see on someone’s head. They looked like a deer in the headlights, probably not sure what to do now that I spotted them.

Lucky for them my stupidity forced me to turn around, to call Caius’s attention. By the time we both turned around to look at them, they were gone.

What wasn’t gone however, was the memory of their clothes, which were definitely not roman. The person who was stalking me was wearing big brown boots, tattered jeans and a shirt which looked incredibly dirty, but under the mud and some dark substance, retained a reddish color.

“What was that?” Asked Caius, eyeing me suspiciously.

“I… I think I saw the shadow figure.”

“What? No way? What did it look like?” He looked so excited, almost standing up from the chair, to scan the circus.

“Well it was…” That’s when the horns interrupted me. It was so sudden that it made me and my friend jump up.

“It’s starting!” Yelled Rufus, over the yells of the crowd.

The ceremony had begun. I still didn’t understand what was happening and looked at Caius for an explanation. But he was focused on a roofed area right next to our VIP seats. Someone stood there and waved to the crowd below him. In the golden sun he looked dignified, almost like an angel in his white flowing robes and a glowing aura of a golden crown around his head. He looked like a proper king.

“Nero!” Yelled someone. I turned around but nobody was looking at me, soon more people started chanting my name as the reality of who I was looking at slowly sank in. They weren’t screaming at me. They were referring to their emperor.

I looked once again at the tall construction, trying to get a better look at his face.

Nero. The one who will burn the rome, the one who was supposedly crazy, was standing right in front of me in the flesh. And unlike what I saw in the textbooks.

He was hella hot.