Dissension in the capitol
Based on the work of Robyn Bee, In 7 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.
"My guards were out in the city last night," the Empress said. "They can confirm some of the captain's reports. There is real wealth, real organization behind some of these dissenters."
"Traitors," Belisarius growled. The dark-haired general's cheeks were red with anger. "Augustus, let me bring my legions into the city. I can have the worst of the factions hanged by sunset."
[[MORE]]The Emperor, Justinian, massaged the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to let stratiotai loose in my own capital, Bel. The people aren't our enemy."
"They're burning the city down around us!"
"Captain," Theodora said before her husband could speak. She addressed the nervous-looking commander of the city guard. "We've had riots before. Why haven't you been able to keep the peace these past few days?"
The guardsman bowed low. "Your pardon, Augusta. I have few men under my command, and the Blues and Greens are well entrenched in most parts of the city. In the past, they've done a lot of the work in keeping their own neighborhoods orderly. Now, however,” He trailed off into a grimace.
"Now, they're the bastards doing all the damage," Antonina said from where she sat beside her husband.
Belisarius' wife had swept her blonde hair back from her face, sifting through a stack of reports on the table in front of her. Antonina accompanied the general nearly every time he went out on campaign. She was well used to helping him untangle the mess of paperwork that taking any sort of decision inevitably produced.
"You cannot control the city, then?" The Empress said.
"Forgive me, Augusta, but I cannot. Not on my own. I've lost dozens already in the attempt."
"Then let me bring in the legions," Belisarius said, his fist slamming against the table. "We're letting the mob run us over!"
"Enough!" The Emperor snapped. "I am not slaughtering hundreds because a few nobles are stirring up discontent! We are an Empire of laws, and I will not taint our efforts with the senseless spilling of blood."
The two men glared at each other. They were men of power, both used to getting their own way. But of course, only one was Emperor.
Belisarius looked away. "Of course, Augustus."
The Empress let out a breath. She dismissed the captain with a few words of thanks, before going to her husband. She leaned into him from behind his chair, wrapping her arms around his chest.
Justinian slumped back. "The Blues and the Greens; why did my damned predecessors have to cede so much to them?"
Theodora kissed him on the cheek. "We always knew that curtailing them would be difficult, love. Don't lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish."
The Emperor breathed deeply of his wife's scent, leaning into her touch. He let out a long sigh and straightened.
"Okay. They want me to pardon the escaped prisoners, right? Will satisfy them?"
"Seems like the minimum," Antonina said, fanning her summer-reddened face. "They've already escaped, so what's the harm?"
"The harm," Belisarius said. "Is that they were condemned to die."
"Bel is right, my love," the Empress said. "You spoke of upholding our laws; what message does it send to those watching us for weakness if we capitulate on this now?"
I shifted in my place against one of the walls. Helena and I were the only other ones in the room now, our post only a protective lunge from the Empress' seat.
They had been at this for an hour and more, a series of officials, titled aristocrats and soldiers streaming in and out of the Emperor's office. They'd been summoned to give their official opinions, testimonies, and reports; the mass of information intended to aid the Emperor in handling the developing crisis.
Or not handling it, as seemed to be the case.
I turned away, looking towards the open window. Outside, the sun was high in the sky. I could see the sloping roofs of the Hagia Sofia and the Patriarch's residence. The city stretched beyond, baking in the afternoon heat.
The scorching summer temperature, not at all helped by the pall of smoke that hung over the capital's streets.
The planned chariot races were due to begin soon, when there was a loud knock at the door. One of the Excubitors on duty poked his head in.
"Senator Hypatius is here, Augustus," the man said.
"What?" The Emperor responded. "This is a closed meeting. Send him away."
The guard hesitated. "Of course, sire. He says that he's come from the city, however. And that he holds a list of the people's demands.
Justinian and his wife exchanged a glance. "Very well. Send him in."
"You Imperial Majesties," the senator said, sweeping his robes out in a deep bow. "Thank you for seeing me."
"Out with it, Hypatius," Belisarius growled. "We don't have time for your pretty words."
"Of course, general," the senator said. He approached after a nod from the Emperor, pulling a roll of parchment from somewhere on his person. "I'll speak plainly. Representatives from the Blues and Greens approached me earlier today. We sat down together to speak of their grievances. This is the result of that meeting."
He set the parchment down. The Emperor, Belisarius, and Antonina set upon it like wolves; ripping it open and devouring its content. The Empress, however, watched the senator.
"You're uninterested in the people's demands, Augusta?" Hypatius asked.
"I have a good idea as to what they are already, senator," she said. "I'm more interested in what role you play in all this."
The man smoothed his robes. "That of simple messenger, Augusta."
"But why you?" She said. "And who were these 'representatives' you met with."
Hypatius shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I've worked hard to cultivate a reputation as a fair man who is much agreeable to reason. So, perhaps it is for that."
"Indeed," the Empress said. "It must be your, reputation."
The senator bristled, but the Emperor chose that moment to speak. "This is absurd! The dismissal of my prefect, John, and of my quaestor? The full pardon of the prisoners and the repeal of my new laws?"
"Not every single one of your new laws, Augustus," Hypatius said, smoothly. "I believe those changes most desired are spelled out."
"No," the Emperor said. "Not all. Mainly those towards women and the change in the aristocracy's share of tax."
"The people are aggrieved, your Majesty," Hypatius said. "You've stripped the Blues and Greens of power and have changed many of the basic tenants of our laws. Add to this, the ruinous cost of our campaigns in the east; surely you must understand some of the people's plight?"
"I'm not agreeing to any of this," the Emperor growled.
"Augustus, please. There is wisdom in giving a little to gain a lot."
Theodora snorted. "Explain to me the wisdom of completely folding over?"
They continued in this vein for the rest of the time they had, arguing back and forth until we left for the Hippodrome. Hypatius accompanied us through the halls of the Imperial Palace, one of several that had been invited to watch that afternoon's races in the presence of the Emperor.
The stadium was full when we arrived, the crowd a roiling mass of anger. They roared when Justinian stepped into view, drunk on wine and the victories they'd already had against the city.
The Emperor called for quiet, biding them to let him answer their resentments. It was several long minutes before the mob was still enough for his voice to be heard. He began his speech, and on the sands, the first of the charioteers emerged.
Theodora had not yet taken her seat, remaining back by Helena and me while her husband spoke. There were a dozen or so Excubitors in the box as well, there to make sure no harm came to the Imperial family and their guests.
Hypatius approached while Justinian was halfway through his prepared words.
"The Emperor is wise to give into these demands."
The Empress didn't let any of her anger show. She'd argued hard against any sort of concession. "There are some things that he will not bend on. No matter how much of your wisdom that you share."
The senator's eyes moved about, making sure that none but we were within earshot. Disdain flooded his tone.
"You mean the repeal of your laws?" He smirked. "I fear that it is only a matter of time, Empress."
"Victory is an ugly color on you, Hypatius. But it is a bit premature, is it not?"
"Premature?" The senator swept his arm out. "Look at this. The people cry for change! Will you really try to keep forcing your unwanted beliefs onto so many who want nothing of them?"
"Unwanted?" The Empress said. "The elevation of women is good for the Empire as a whole, senator. Are we too, not God's creatures."
"Of course, though none other possess such delusions of grandeur."
The Empress snorted. "Only those born to privilege see equality as a loss."
"A privilege," Hypatius said, "that was granted to us by God. And how wise a decision it was. Did a woman's choice not already cost us the paradise of Eden?"
"Ah, of course," Theodora said. "That old tale. What a stupid girl she was, to listen to the serpent and hide her naked perfection. As if clothing herself against a man's crawling eyes could ever bring some sort of comfort."
"A wholly false interpretation." The senator sneered. "But I suppose that we should trust a whore's mind to see lust as the root of all things."
I tensed, my anger flaring. I made to step forward, but the Empress flicked her open palm towards me.
"I was a whore, senator," she said. "And so, you may trust me when I say that it wasn't women that came to me with minds full of lust."
"As you well know," Hypatius said, face reddening. "Eve's sin was disobedience; her refusal to submit herself to man and God. A sin which you seek to drive us back into."
"Was it not God who made me Empress?" Theodora said. "It is by His divine authority I rule."
"Your authority," he spat, "comes from trapping a powerful enough man between your legs. You would determine the course of our Empire through the ungodly use of your sex!"
"Does my husband's love and respect for me somehow cloud his mind?"
"Love," he said. "Or is it your flesh that you use to steer him towards your ends?"
"My husband is no slave to his desires, Hypatius. Great men do not possess the flaws of the majority."
Hypatius' eyes flashed, but the Empress wasn't finished.
"And surely, senator, a man like you can come up with something other than the same fearful lamentations? God has granted gifts to all his creations. Is it not the most pathetic sort of weakness; that the man who lords over his family with the strength of his arm, suddenly cries sin when his own base lust is used against him?"
"Our laws are clear," Hypatius said through gritted teeth. "Do not expect us to sit quietly by as you trample over nature and tradition."
"Ah, so it is 'us' now?" Theodora said. "How easy you speak of disobedience when it is the sin of another. Your Emperor, the one who you have sworn to obey as your master, has commanded that you cease this insurrection."
The Empress' expression was hard, looking down towards the senator from an eagle's height. "Do you too, as Eve once did, refuse to submit yourself?"
Hypatius didn't respond, glaring at the Empress with barely-held fury. But she wasn't finished speaking, leaning forward.
"You cannot see past your own failings. You're weak, and your insecurities disgust me. Men like you make us out to be frail, simple creatures that are good for nothing more than venting your lust and bearing your children. Your fragile egos cannot bear the thought that a woman might, in truth, be a stronger, more intelligent, more capable being than you will ever be."
The Empress moved towards him; the deadly grace of the raptor's dive. Her words, filled with the eagle's unshakable pride, pinned him like talons.
"But I will liberate us. I will show all of you what a woman can really be."
She reached out to run a finger along Hypatius' jaw. He flinched back at the sudden contact, looking away from the Empress' languid smile.
"And be sure," she purred, her silken chest so near to his. "That I will use every weapon in my arsenal."
"Vile woman," he hissed. His face blazed. "You don't know what's coming, you stupid whore. I'll,”
The mob's rising roar swallowed his next words. I turned in time to see the crowd flooding onto the sands of the Hippodrome.
"Nika! Nika! "
They crashed against the palace walls; swords and axes and pitchforks flashing in the summer sun. The Emperor shouted, but the mob didn't hear. They pounded against the walls, flames rising from where men held torches to the stadium's wooden stands.
The Hippodrome was burning, smoke rising with the thunder of the crowd's battle cry.
"Nika! Nika! Nika! Nika! "
We were under siege. And when I looked back towards the Empress, Hypatius was gone.
Act 3
An Empress besieged.
"Have you ever been under siege, my Leontius?"
I turned at the sound of the Empress' voice, stiffening into a salute. "Augusta! "
She rolled her eyes. "And a good morning to you too. Has three days of confinement truly done nothing to ease your sense of property?"
"That's like asking whether the sight of the sun makes the fish want to fly," Helena called from where she stood by the door.
"Oh?" Theodora said. "And what does this fish have in common with our Leontius?"
Helena grinned. "Neither of them can actually comprehend the question."
The Empress laughed, and I leveled my best glare toward my shield mate. This, of course, had the unfortunate result of drawing laughter from her as well.
"We're under siege," I reminded both women.
The Empress came to stand beside me at the window. She lay a warm palm against my forearm and gazed out.
Beneath us, Constantinople burned.
The sky was choked with a haze of smoke and ash. The mid-morning sun appeared dark, hanging there like a disk of smudged bronze. The fog was noxious, cloying; it blocked the sun's light though it did nothing to shield us from the summer heat. Rather, it seemed to trap it like some great oven; magnifying it so that the already thick air turned positively suffocating.
"So much destruction," she said. Her palm flexed on my forearm. "The labor of decades and centuries gone, just like that."
"Augusta." Then, after a moment's hesitation, I added. "I caught a few glimpses through the smoke. It looks like there's a lot less damage further out."
She squeezed my arm, smiling without feeling. "I suppose that makes sense. It's not their own homes they wish to burn, after all."
I followed the Empress' gaze as she took in the shattered villas, pavilions, and monuments that now surrounded the Imperial Palace. Many of the ruins still smoldered, adding the stench of their own unique blend of char to the air.
The Praetorium, the military headquarters of the Empire, had been gutted. A centuries-old courthouse had been torn down; its statues shattered. And in the distance, where great Hagia Sofia had once stood, there was nothing more than an empty patch of sky.
Theodora stared at that empty place for several long moments, eventually pulling the heavy golden cross out from between her breasts to press it against her lips.
Last was the Hippodrome. We could see the edge of it from the Empress' window. And though its venerable stones were scarred by fire and rage, it still rose high above the city. It was at once a reassuring reminder of the Empire's might and the cradle from which its destruction might have been birthed.
"You never answered my question," the Empress said.
"Augusta?"
Theodora smiled. "Have you ever been besieged?"
"Your pardon, Augusta," I said, flushing. "No, I was never garrisoned along the border. I've only ever been on the attacking side."
"Hmm," she said. "And what do you think our chances are here?"
"They're good, Augusta. In a lot of ways, it's harder to sit around outside the walls than within. It takes a lot of will, discipline, and organization to properly besiege a fortress."
"Things that you don't believe our citizens have?"
I shrugged. "They're focused now, Augusta. But that becomes more difficult as days become weeks."
"Hmm," she said. "Perhaps."
We could see them from up here; the mob. They swirled through the streets below, stained with soot and fueled by wine and victory. They were not so much an organized force as a writhing mass of blue and green with iron in their hands and cries of war on their lips.
Nika! Nika! Nika!
I could hear them now, the crowd pulsing with their chant of conquest and fury. They were swirling about the Hippodrome's entrance, keeping clear, as of yet, of the palace's walls. They seemed to be going into the arena, funneling into the still-smoking interior.
"It's hard to believe," the Empress said. "That so few of my husband's guards can keep out so many."
"Three hundred Excubitors is not so small a number, Augusta, when put behind strong walls."
"Neither are those extra few hundred that Belisarius called in, I suppose." She squeezed my arm one more time before letting go. "I shall defer to your judgment then, my Leontius. Now, trapped nobles and dignitaries will soon begin to pester my husband. Before I go to help him, however, I wish to see what the crowd is doing."
I saluted. "Your will, Augusta. "
Theodora became the Empress once again, striding back through her quarters and disappearing through an entrance. I could hear her calling for her maidservants, summoning them to her wardrobe.
"Where are we going?" Helena asked.
I finally moved to join my shield mate by the single door.
"The Hippodrome," I answered, stiffening into place. "The crowds going into it."
Helena chewed her lip for a few moments, fingers drumming along the haft of her spear. She stared out towards the smoke-stained sky for a few moments before taking a step towards me and kissing me on the cheek.
I raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"
"In case I can't do it later."
I didn't like the direction her thoughts were heading, so I plastered a look of affront onto my face. "I refuse to let that be the last time you kiss me. That was terrible."
She'd been in the process of stepping away, but my comment brought her up short. The cypress of her eyes shifted a shade brighter when she caught sight of my expression.
"Terrible? I didn't have to kiss you, you know."
I sniffed. "You may as well not have."
Both of her eyebrows popped up, her lips parting in surprise. I laughed and then I reached over to loop my empty hand over her waist, pulling her to me. Her lips curled into a smile, a faint bloom of red rising to her cheeks.
"While on duty?" She teased. "You really have changed."
"It's your fault," I said.
Then, I leaned down and kissed her. Our breastplates ground loudly against each other, but I ignored it. My entire focus was on Helena; on the softness of her lips, the warmth of her skin, and the feel of her opening herself to me.
She made a sound low in her throat, her tongue darting forward. I responded in kind, tasting her, plunging ever deeper into the feel of her lips.
My breath was ragged, my body alight when we finally parted. I didn't look away from the shifting vastness behind her eyes.
"There," I said. "Wasn't that better?"
She shifted against me, sliding one leg along mine in a motion that was as smooth as the tide. There was a new depth to her now, a rising ocean to match the heat I felt curling within me.
"My lion," she murmured. "Always hungry."
"Well," the Empress suddenly said. "I guess that we were wrong, Helena."
I wrenched my neck around. Theodora was watching us from the doorway, hands resting on the swell of her hips.
I leaped back, now burning with an altogether different sort of heat. I babbled a stream of nonsensical apologies, which I was sure that neither woman heard over the sound of their laughter.
"We were wrong, Highness?" Helena eventually said. "How so?"
The Empress grinned. "It seems like some fish really can fly."
The Mod Swells.
The sound of the mob grew as we moved through the palace.
The three of us marched single file. The corridors were quiet, kept clear for passing soldiers by the Emperor's orders. Helena was in the lead, her boots ringing loudly against the stone floor.
My shield mate and I were armored for war.
I'd had us check every strap of our breastplate and greaves before leaving with the Empress. We'd strapped on our heavy shields and cinched our helmets atop our heads. Swords hung from both of our waists, a compliment to the spear in our hands.
Theodora, for her part, moved silently in the space between us. She'd garbed herself in a light, sheer purple dress. The hem of her garment trailed behind her, long enough that I had to be careful where I set my feet. She'd once again had strands of gold woven into her walnut tresses, the gleam matching that of the warm chain that disappeared into her chest.
And as we emerged from the darkness of the corridor, she shone with the colors of Rome.
A squad of Excubitors stiffened to attention as we stepped into the Imperial Box. Their leader stepped forward, hammering a fist into his breastplate.
The Empress nodded her head.
"Have any yet tried to climb through here?" She asked, speaking loudly over the sound of the crowd below.
"No, Augusta!" The man answered. He nodded to the bows and long spears that his men carried. "But we'll be ready if they do!"
Theodora smiled her gratitude, the expression making the guard blush brightly. I suddenly felt a strong sort of kinship to this man.
Helena fell in beside me while the two exchanged a few more words. Her face was flushed red, and I knew from the sweat coating my back that I looked the same. The heat was brutal, the feeling un-helped by the smothering weight of all our armor.
I took a few moments to look around.
The fire had marked everything. What had once been large seating galleries of wood had been reduced to ruin. Vast piles of still-smoldering timber had spilled over much of the remaining rows of seats, cracking the stone and creating an impossible maze of char and smoke.
"I brought you something," Helena said from beside me.
I looked over to find her holding out a square of folded paper. It was an envelope, one I recognized.
My mother's letter.
"What?" I said. "Why do you have this?"
She just smiled, and in that smile, I saw the sadness that I'd sought to avoid back in the Empress' chambers. She'd been asking me about this letter for the past three days. This morning, when our schedules had finally allowed us to wake up together, I guess that she'd just taken it from my desk.
I didn't reach for it. I didn't want it. I didn't want things to change; I wanted to be happy and stay like this forever. But Helena's eyes never left mine. And that sad, broken smile,
Just in case, it said.
It was only right, I thought, putting it away; that I'd receive my mother's letter here. That I'd feel this weight in a place where the air was so heavy with the stench of ash and violent apprehension.
Helena stepped away, and I didn't look at her again. The Empress had finished speaking with the guards and started towards the edge of the Box. I quickly moved after her, Helena a bare step behind. We placed ourselves before her, shielding her in case any below had a bow or was particularly adept at throwing stones.
Nothing flashed towards us from the seething crowd, though I almost wished that something would. My thoughts were numb, my mother's letter pulling all of me under.
I swept my gaze over the roiling mob, desperate for any sort of disturbance to focus on.
Luckily, or perhaps not, I soon found one.
A ripple of calm was spreading from the Hippodrome's far corner. Out from where I'd once seen Maleinos and Velanis emerge, came another chariot.
This one was wide and looked heavier than those typically used to race. It was large enough for two passengers. I saw a driver, slowly guiding a team of four white horses through the crowd.
The other figure stood straight. He was dressed in a robe that was dyed both blue and green. He held his arms out, and people fell silent in his wake.
"Hypatius," the Empress hissed. "The fools turned traitor then."
"Not just him, Highness," Helena said from beside me. "There's a group on foot following directly behind him. I recognize Senators Lucas and Narses in there."
"Indeed," the Empress answered. "Those goddamned fools."
The men were making no effort to hide their identities. I recognized a few more lords, powerful merchants, and even a bishop or two. These men must be the core of Hypatius' support and were, if I had to guess, those responsible for all the swords and spears I saw flashing amongst the crowd.
When the chariot finally halted, the mob was as silent as a throng of several thousand could be. Hypatius noticed the three of us watching from the Imperial Box, and I saw his lips curl into a sneer before he turned to address the crowd.
"Good people!" He shouted, holding up his arms. "My fellow citizens. I am honored to be speaking to you today, on this, the dawn of our new golden age!"
The crowd roared, shoving fists, flags, and weapons up into the air. Hypatius basked in the adulation, continuing once the cheering had abated.
"You have done the work of God these past nights. You have shown the world, and our leaders, that we are a people with a will!"
Hypatius was an orator well used to shouting down his opponents on the Senate floor. His voice was loud, powerful, and thrummed with the yawning depths of his passion.
"We have the will to shape our world, to make it better! We are a people wise in our knowing, secure in the word of our God. We are a people that knows what is right! And for too long, we as a people have been kept silent!"
The crowd roared.
From behind me, I heard the Empress tsk. "Hypatius has always been a tiresomely effective speaker."
"I tell you, brave citizens of the Empire, that our star is waning. For decades, our world has been crumbling at the edges. We've been sliding backward, our realm in danger of falling to the same blackness that consumed our first capital in the West. But we are not to blame! Look, my people! Raise your eyes and see the greatest author of our degeneration!"
I stiffened, as suddenly the weight of a thousand and more eyes fell upon us. No, not upon us. Upon the Empress.
"Theodora," Hypatius sneered. "Wife of our Emperor."
All around him, the crowd hissed and booed. The once Senator lifted his head, his voice rising to speak over the mob's anger.
"She is our Empress, but she was not born to the purple! Tell me, who amongst you remembers her career as an actress?"
The people laughed and jeered.
"Who amongst you remembers her on stage, baring her tits and flaunting her naked sex? Or perhaps you remember her from the brothel, where she'd spread her legs for anyone with a few silver coins. And this, my wise, my good people, is who leads us!?"
The crowd spat, roiled, and shouted. They heaved their flags up, a boiling sea of blue and green.
I snuck a peek back at the Empress. Her expression was cold, her back straight and shoulders unbent. She looked down upon them as an eagle, a creature secure in its majesty and unconcerned with the scorn of those beneath the shadows of its wings.
"Wolves gather at our borders!" Hypatius roared. "The Persians and savage tribes of Arabia take from our eastern provinces with impunity; while in the west, Vandal and Orstrogothic hordes mass with knives sharpened for murder!"
The Senator gesticulated with every word; his face red with feeling.
"And here, in our capital, the price of grain has doubled! Gangs of foreign criminals haunt our streets and pestilence reaps us with its pox-blackened scythe. These are times of strife! God is testing us, hoping to see us worthy! And who do we have to lead us?"
Hypatius paused for a heartbeat, his words ringing through the smoke-scarred Hippodrome. "Rome's greatest whore!"
The mob screamed.
A hail of debris rose towards us. There were stones, bad fruit, and empty flagons of wine flung with rage-strengthened arms. Helena and I raised our shields, protecting the Empress. A few of the better-aimed stones thumped against them.
"We need to go, Augusta! " I shouted. "It's not safe!"
"Not yet."
"Our enemies mock us! God turns his back to us! And in her gilded chambers, this vile whore laughs even as she strips everything from us!"
Hypatius, swathed in green and blue reached his arms into the sky. He raised his head, gazing up towards the heavens.
"But I say to you, righteous people, that it's not too late. We can reclaim our glory! We can be strong once again! We can do away with these perverted laws and go back to the traditions that once made us great. We can conquer!"
"Nika!" The crowd roared, stabbing fists and weapons and flags into the air. "Nika! Nika! "
"Let's go," the Empress said. "I've seen enough."
We finally turned away, moving past the now nervous-looking squad of Excubitors. But even as we stepped out of the Imperial Box, Hypatius' words followed us.
"We can take back our Empire! We can seize it from those who would pervert it! So, take it, my people! Fight! Conquer! Together, we can show them that blue and green are mightier than purple and gold!"
The rest was lost in a wordless roar.
It faded slowly as we made our way through the palace halls. I took the lead this time, moving quickly towards the Emperor's office. Not one of us spoke, and what servants we passed hurried aside in the face of our grim expressions.
We were about halfway there when a new sound reached my ears. I froze, though I was pushed a half step forward when the Empress walked into my back.
"What,”
"Quiet!" I barked.
My heart thundered, and I was only distantly aware that I'd snapped at the Empress. What was that sound? It had been like,
Then, we heard a much louder sound; a crash of splintering wood. Right on its heels was the clash of metal, followed immediately by a piercing, blood-soaked scream.
"They're in the palace!" I cried. "Run!"
The Empress fights.
I charged down the hallway, Helena and the Empress sprinting behind me.
Doors and junctions blurred past, my boots skidding around every corner. I hardly felt the weight of my mother's letter now. I was lost in the immediacy of the moment, my mind empty of all but our survival.
I was stratiotai, and this is what I knew.
I finally slowed when we came to a T in the corridor. I stopped when I saw that both passageways were empty. There was sound everywhere. I heard rough laughter, the splintering of wood, and screams of anger and pain.
I clenched my teeth, fingers flexing on the haft of my spear. I'd hoped to find allies by now; either someone who had information or a sword with which to fight beside us.
Or both. Both would have been nice.
But we hadn't, and careening blindly around the palace was a sure way to get ourselves killed. I had to get the Empress to safety, though I knew she wouldn't like my decision.
I turned at the sound of tearing cloth.
Theodora had a knife in one hand and was ripping it through the hem of her purple dress. Within moments, she'd cut her legs free; the dress now ending in a ragged line just above her knee.
"Damned thing's impossible to run in," she said, handing the knife back to Helena. She stepped high with one leg. "That's better."
The Empress bundled the excess cloth in one arm, using the other to sweep her tresses back from her reddened face. Sweat sheathed her dancer's limbs, due mostly to the heat, I thought.
"Let's go," I said, gesturing to the right with my spear. "We don't stop until we're back to our quarters."
"My husband is not in my quarters, Leontius," the Empress said. "I will not abandon him."
"With all due respect, Augusta, my duty is to you. The Emperor has his Excubitors, while you only have the two of us. We are vulnerable here. We have to go."
"I'm not leaving him," she insisted. "Besides, if we make it to his office, we'll be in a larger group."
"If," I said. "Your husband's office is nearer to the main entrance. We can't risk it."
Damn, we didn't have time for this. I could still hear the chaotic swirl of screams and crashing metal. Was it getting nearer? It was impossible to tell with the way sound traveled through these fucking hallways.
Theodora opened her mouth to speak, but I cut off her. "No! I'm sorry, Augusta, but we don't have time. We're going to your quarters."
Her eyes flashed. I saw in her the strength that had allowed her to survive the horrors of poverty, and the iron-bound determination that had seen her climb to so high a station.
"And if I refuse?"
My duty was clear, and I met her gaze without flinching. "Then I'll sling you over my shoulder and carry you there."
The tension ratcheted upward, but Helena stepped between us a bare heartbeat later. "He's right, 'Dora, we have to go. Justinian has a full squad of soldiers with him. He'll be fine, but not if something happens to you."
A shriek shattered the air. This one was close. That decided it.
"Let's go!" I barked.
I turned towards the Empress' quarters. I didn't look back, hearing the slap of her sandals and the jingle of Helena's armor directly behind me.
I careened around another corner, pumping my arms to maintain my speed. Then, two men spilled out from the junction we were racing towards.
In a flash, I took in a dozen details. Both men were bearded, their eyes wide, wild, and a bit glazed from the same wine that stained the rough tunicas they wore. They stumbled around to face us, shouting. I saw strips of green cloth wrapped around their biceps. And in their hands, each bore a blood-soaked sword.
"Through them," I roared. "Don't stop!"
The men braced themselves, the hallway was narrow and so there was no way to leap out of my way. To their credit, they stood with swords ready, facing me with surprising bravery. But that didn't matter. I was stratiotai, armed and armored for war, and these men were not.
My spear took one in the gut, folding him around my weapon's haft. The shock of the impact twisted my arm, but I let go of the spear, tucking my shoulder behind my shield to crunch into the second man a bare half-step later. His sword flew from his hands, the force of my charge sending him tumbling away.
"Keep going!" I shouted, not dropping my speed.
The man I'd impaled had started to moan, but I was quickly past him and trampling over the writhing form of his companion. The moan warped into a high shriek of pain, the sound like claws tearing into my mind.
I'd killed him.
He may as well have been defenseless for all the chance he'd had. I could feel his blood splattered against my hands; another layer of filth that I'd never wash away. I was a monster and a butcher. The letter in my pocket,”
I wrenched my thoughts back to the present, packing all my horror, doubts, and self-loathing away for later. There'd be time enough for that if we survived the next hour.
Several tense minutes later, we neared the Empress' wing.
One last corner and we were before the door, stepping into the small reception chamber where I'd been made to wait. I swept my eyes over the familiar space, lingering for a heartbeat on the deeply cushioned chair where I'd once shifted so uncomfortably. My first audience with the Empress.
It seemed like a lifetime ago.
I shook my head clear, turning towards Helena and the Empress. My shield mate was breathing evenly, her spear unbloodied. Her skin was flushed, but she watched me from below her helmet with eyes that were clear and ready. Theodora's gaze was no less direct. She'd dropped her purple bundle of cloth, I noticed, replacing it with a bloody spear.
"Augusta," I said. "Is that, my spear?"
"Indeed," she said, thumping the butt onto the stone floor. "I pulled it out of that man as we ran past."
"You,” I trailed off.
Her sandals were soaked in blood. I remembered the way his moan of pain had suddenly morphed into an agonized shriek. A picture of the Empress grasping the spear with both hands flashed through my mind. I saw her plant her foot into his ruined guts, her shoulders flexing as she yanked the weapon free.
The Empress arched an eyebrow. "Don't look so surprised. This is my home; I have no qualms about working to defend it."
"Yes, but,”
"Do we really have time for this, Leontius?"
I clicked my mouth shut. She was right, it was only a matter of time before more rioters found us.
"We don't," I said. "Helena, get the door open and then help me drag this furniture over. We're going to barricade it."
She nodded, moving to obey.
"And me?" The Empress asked.
"Augusta,”
Her eyes flashed. "We don't have time for your tiresome sensibilities, Leontius! I'm here, so put me to work!"
I grit my teeth and squashed my reservations into the same corner where I'd packed the thoughts of my mother.
"Look out the window," I said, moving to the room's single divan. "Tell me what you see. And then go around the corner and keep watch."
I dragged the wide chair past the door Helena had just opened and into the hallway beyond. This was the single passage that led to the Empress' sitting room. It was narrow, free of any sort of encumbrance, and about a couple of dozen paces long.
This was where we would hold them.
I didn't know how many people had invaded the palace, but in this space, it wouldn't matter. Well, it would matter less.
This corridor was narrow enough that, with our shields locked, Helena and I would block its entire width. The mob would have to come at us from the front, funneling themselves into a space where my shield mate and I would have every advantage.
They could still dislodge us if they were persistent enough, of course, but I aimed to make that as costly an endeavor as I could.
"I can see into the courtyard," the Empress called. "The gates are open."
"Not broken?" I asked.
"No," she answered, grimly. "Wide open. People are streaming in, but there's fighting down there too. Belisarius' soldiers, I think, pushing their way to the gatehouse."
The gates were open. Someone had let the bastards in.
"Go keep watch, Augusta. Warn us when any come near."
Helena and I worked quickly, hauling over everything we could. We piled the furniture up, keeping the way mostly clear, ready to shove things into place as soon as we were all behind it.
"Is this going to work, Leo?" Helena asked.
"Not forever," I said. "We just need to hold until those gates are closed."
"You're sure those soldiers will make it?"
"No, but that hope is all we have."
She nodded, and we were able to work for another minute before Theodora came racing back into the chamber. "They're coming! Dozens of them."
I cursed. "Did they see you?"
She grimaced
"Into the hallway, then. Go!"
We hustled through the door, Helena locking it behind us. Without a bar to drop down, it wouldn't hold long, but I'd take every minute we could get.
The rioters shouted as they spilled into the room. We shoved what we could of the furniture into place directly behind the door, finishing right as it shook with the first blow.
"We have a few minutes," I said, moving back until I stood with the two women. "Is your armor still tight, Helena?"
She nodded her face a mixture of fear and bloody-minded determination. "Should we grab more furniture from the sitting room?"
I shook my head. "The door won't hold long. I don't want to risk being out of position. When they break through, we're going to hit them fast and hard."
Her eyes widened. "You want to charge them?"
I bared my teeth, feeling every thundering beat of my heart. "All that debris in front of the door will trip them up when they come through. We're going to hit them while they're unbalanced."
I looked back toward the door. It was rattling on its hinges; fists, shoulders, and the hilts of weapons crashing into it.
"We're better armored," I continued, speaking quickly. "We're better armed. They can't get around us here, but that just means that all of their weight will be on our shields. If they're stubborn enough, it's that weight that will eventually kill us."
I could picture it, Helena and I shoved back step after step; our strength fading as the fighting dragged on. Eventually, we'd be pushed back into the Empress' sitting room, surrounded and killed.
The invaders would pay a hideous price for our deaths. But if we couldn't break them, it was an inevitability.
"Bodies on the ground will tangle them up as well. It'll make it harder for them to really push into us." I met Helena's gaze. "Remember, we're playing for time."
She let out a breath, but her nod, when it came, was sharp.
"Very well," the Empress spoke up. "Helena, may I borrow your knife once again?"
"Augusta," I said. "Is there somewhere in your chambers that you might hide?"
Behind me, I heard the deep thunk of an axe striking wood.
"I'm not going to hide, Leontius. Your knife, Helena."
"Augusta," I said, watching her take Helena's knife. "You can't stay here. Please, go into your chambers."
She ignored me, bending down to cut another few strips from the ragged hem of her dress. She swept her walnut and gold tresses back, tying them off with one of the lengths of purple.
"Not only will I stay," she said, once more taking up my bloody spear. "But I'm going to fight."
Wood splintered, axe-blades bursting through the door. Rough laughter and eager shouts spilled into the hallway.
The last of my patience broke as well.
"This isn't fucking pretend!" I shouted. "People are going to fucking die here! Go to your chambers!"
I expected defiance; an eagle of Rome rising to scream at whoever dared to question its majesty. Instead, the Empress smiled.
"And tell me, my Leontius," she said, gently. "If you and Helena fall, will I be any safer cowering beneath my bed?"
"Our duty is to protect you," I growled. "Whatever happens, it'll be worse here."
"I disagree," she answered, still in that disarming tone. "A long time ago, I swore that I would be mistress of my own destiny. I won't sit back while others decide my fate."
Theodora stepped close to me. She smelled of smoke, her sweat, and a blend of scented oils. She touched my arm, looping one of the strips of cloth around my bicep as she continued to speak.
"I've made a real life for myself; one that I believe will allow me to finally put some good into the world. I won't let them take it from me."
"Augusta," I tried. "You could climb from a window. You could go to the docks and catch a ship."
"No," the Empress said. "I won't run, and I won't hide. I will fight, and if the worst should happen, well,”
She cinched the strip of purple around my arm, her movements sure, her eyes flashing with the iron of her will.
"Purple is the noblest shroud."
More wood splintered, axes and swords and hands tearing at what was left of the door.
Theodora leaned into me. She pressed her palms against my chest and kissed my bearded cheek. "For what you're about to do, you have the gratitude of an Empress."
Then she moved over to Helena, tying purple around her arm and repeating those words. We had seconds before the rioters broke through.
I flicked my eyes to the purple silk around my arm. So be it.
"Helena, give me your spear," I said. "Augusta, move with us but stay a few steps back. Stab through whatever gap you see."
She nodded, and I turned with Helena to face the door. I took her spear.
"You remember what to do, shield mate?"
Helena drew her sword. "Shield up. Thrust, don't cut."
"Stay tight against me."
"Side by side," she said. "Together."
God, but I was in awe of these women. I was in awe of their strength, their determination, and their composure under this most terrible sort of pressure. And though these might be my final few minutes, I thanked God for the miracle that had brought me to them.
I met Helena's eyes for what might be the last time, allowing myself a heartbeat to stare into that beautiful vastness within her cypress gaze. I had the urge to kiss her, to press my devotion into her lips. But an envelope, heavier than all the world, pulled me away.
Then, the door shattered.
Men burst into the hallway, tripping over debris and their own momentum. They scrabbled at the piled furniture, roars of triumph and cries of Nika turning into confusion, and shouted curses.
My blood screamed through my body, my breath coming faster. Helena was tense to the point of shaking, her jaw clenched tightly enough that I thought her teeth might crack.
"Stratiotai! " I roared, slamming the butt of my spear onto the floor. "Stratiotai! "
I slammed it down again, and again; a pounding drum beat. Helena's gaze darted towards me, her eyes, wild along the edges.
"Where is your heart?" I bellowed. The mob was quickly pushing through our barricade, but I stayed in place. My spear hammered its steady rhythm. "Show them, stratiotai! Show them!"
At my side, Helena brought the flat of her sword crashing against the flat of her shield. She did it again, and again, matching the drum of my spear. Her body loosened, ready; her breathing steadied, falling into that same rhythm.
"Rome's heart beats!" I shifted my grip on my spear. "Stratiotai! Let them hear!"
Behind us, the Empress brought her own spear down, and our space was filled with the legion's war-thunder.
The first of the attackers stumbled through the furniture and into the open hallway.
I stepped forward, moving with the pounding beat. I cocked the weapon back and launched it forward.
It harpooned into a wild-eyed man waving an axe and blue flag. He crashed back into his companions, the spear jutting from high on his unarmored chest. His scream and thrashing body added to the entranceway's chaotic heave.
"Show them!" I drew my sword, slamming it against the face of my shield; once, twice. "Show them!"
I charged, and at my side, Helena moved with me. The stones blurred past, and my vision tunneled, locked on the milling horde of blue and green.
We screamed and thundered into them.
My shield crunched into a man, blasting him back into the press of invaders. I didn't slow, the violence of my charge driving me forward. Helena was with me, and together, we hammered into the roiling mass.
But there were so many of them.
They were packed too tightly, and after a mere handful of paces, we rebounded off what felt like a solid wall of bodies.
"Hold!" I bellowed. "Hold!"
Men screamed and cursed. I heard the roar of my pulse, the sound of smashing wood, and the howls of the injured being trampled underfoot.
I bellowed wordlessly, grinding forward, my body taut. Helena was with me, her metal hip against mine. Our shields overlapped, separated, and then clacked back together; fighting the weight of the mob.
Hands clutched at my shield's rim, and weapons scarred its surface. A few weak blows slipped around it to ring against my helmet, shoulders, and armored shins.
Nika! Nika!
My heart crashed against my chest. It was so loud; louder than the thunder of a thousand marching feet. I couldn't think, couldn't doubt, and couldn't fear. I existed solely within those beats; within the scream of my muscles and the pressure of Helena's shield against mine.
And the feel of the sword in my hand.
With another wordless scream, I stabbed the weapon up beneath my shield. My blade punched through something soft. I ripped it free, spilling a gush of hot liquid, and feeling a weight slide off my shield.
Helena's sword was in what space there was between our bodies, stabbing into the cracks that separated us. I had an instant's reprieve, a single heartbeat in which to notice her. She was screaming, her face red, her sword red, her body rigid.
Her shield was falling, so, in the moment I had, I shoved my own higher up against hers. It was all I could do before more weight slammed against me and I was killing again. We were slightly out of sync now, leaving us vulnerable, but I pulled my attention away, trusting her.
She was my shield mate. She wouldn't let us fall.
Nika! Nika!
I wasn't sure which of us was the first to step back, but it didn't matter. We moved as one, our swords punching out again and again and again.
Nika! Nika!
We were forced back another step, and then two. My sword arm was a blur, pumping in and out. I tore my knuckles open against the wall on my right. Blows rained down on me, but I hardly felt them.
Nika! Nika!
Then, a moment of true danger. A huge man, reeking of wine and the stink of his dead companions, hooked an axe along the top of my shield. My sword cut towards him, but a shift in the mob caused me to miss. He yanked back, jerking me forward.
More hands closed on me, pulling me into them, away from Helena. I heaved backward, but they didn't let go. I was out of position, would be torn down in a moment if I couldn't,
A bloody spear ripped over my shoulder, its tip skipping off the big man's jaws and cutting into his throat. He screamed, and bubbled, and the pressure against me eased. Then, the spear pulled back behind me, stabbing forward an instant later to sink into another's flesh.
I managed to tear myself free, my shield locking back into place with Helena's. We fell back another step, killing, moving as one.
Nika! Nika!
We killed, stepped back, and killed again.
Nika! Nika!
We saved each other's lives a thousand times, shifting our bodies and shields to cover each other.
Nika! Nika!
The blood, the stink, the stones, and the screams. All of it swirled within me, layering over the pounding of my heart and burning of my muscles.
Nika! Nika!
We thrust, and we stabbed. We killed again and again.
Nika! Nika!
Death, so much death. But the weight never fell away.
Nika! Nika!
Those words became my own, thrumming through me. I made them my entire being.
Nika! Nika!
Victory; I would take it from them!
Nika! Nika!
I would rip it away. I would fight for it. I would never fucking stop, never fucking surrender.
Nika! Nika!
Conquer! I would conquer!
To be continued in part 7, Based on the works of Robyn Bee, for Literotica.
