Nero

  Nero sat on a cold hard bench. All of his clothing had been stripped from him, and he was only given rags that barely covered up his body. There was a barred window above him that looked straight at the executioner’s podium. Nero checked every couple of minutes to see if Gala showed up yet. Every time she wasn’t there, only more people showed up. More minutes passed by, and the only thing that Nero could do was listen. He couldn’t bear to watch people’s life suffocated out of them with a rope. Nero would only allow himself to bear that once.

  Every time someone was executed a cheer roared, and it was the same volume and intensity. Nero waited until it got louder. Once the crowd saw Gala, they wouldn’t be able to contain themselves, and so it was. A cheer rippled through Nero’s cell, and he stood up, stepped on the bench, and watched as Gala was dragged to the wooden pole. The same people who would have benefited the most from Gala’s rule, cheered it the most. It was understandable since they didn’t know her true intentions, and the end of a civil war would only be good news for most people. Still, Nero wanted to yell out the window and say how wrong they were, but there was nothing he could do.

  He silently watched as Romulus appeared from the crowd and stepped onto the executioner’s platform. He gave a nod, and a rope was tied around Gala and the wooden pole. The executioner, who was the size of three peasants, held the long rope across the platform and waited for the order. Romulus seemed to ask for Gala’s last words which Romulus repeated so the crowd to hear. “Kill me, as you are too weak to keep me alive.”

  And like that, the executioner pulled on the rope with all his might and Gala’s head slammed back into the pole. For a moment, she reached for the rope to try and free herself, but quickly ended as she accepted her end. Everyone watched in silence as it took a grueling forty seconds to choke out Gala. Nero could even see that once the tension was released, the rope had even dug into her throat and caused blood to slowly stream out of her dead body, all the while her expression turned from panic to acceptance.

  Nero took a deep breath and fell back onto the cold bench. Yesterday, he was standing in the throne room, and now he probably was never going to see the inside of the palace ever again. All he could focus on now was the ever-increasing cheers of the crowd as it seared into his brain.

  About half an hour passed and nothing happened. Nero could hear the crowds standing around for the next person, which Nero assumed it was him, and when Romulus walked through the door of his cell, Nero sat there, waiting for Romulus to give the command, but instead, Romulus took a seat and started talking to Nero. “How was working at an architecture firm?” Romulus asked.

  “Really?’ Nero asked unimpressed. “This is what you are doing. After all of that, you are just going to sit here and start a normal conversation?”

  “We haven’t talked to each other properly in almost two years. In a couple of days will be the second anniversary of Titus’s death. So, tell me, brother to brother, did you enjoy your exile?’

  “You know what? I did. I tried my best and actually did something. Sure, Lucius died in my arms, and I now have been on the losing side of two wars, but I’m sure my death will get rid of that pain.” Nero responded. His voice was plain yet sarcastic. “I wonder how you’ll guide the ship. You got a treasury in severe debt, a divided country, and people who think that the People’s Lord was a member of the royal family.”

  Romulus smirked. “Don’t you worry, I’ll do what’s right. Besides, it’s better than problems you can’t see. Even though Smith was already a dead man, that deal he made with me to betray Gala really got rid of any chance of me sparing his life. I don’t know how he would have coexisted with Florian for the rest of my reign.”

  “Florian?”

  “The guy who arrested you. Florian Kosta. He’s done a lot for me over the last two years.”

  “Though, did you have to smash the guy’s skull in the throne room?” asked Nero.

  “You haven’t seen this guy fight, and with the troops he was leading, he needed to go. I saw an opportunity and took it. Which I suppose Benito also did when he accused Gala of being the People’s Lord.”

  Nero looked at Romulus suspiciously. “You didn’t accuse her with him?

  “Who do you think I am? I would never let a foreign entity dictate what my policies would be. Plus, the notion was ridiculous. The People’s Lord members would kill her at the notion of their leader being a royal. Plus, I don’t think it was anyone in the first place. Florian found a guy who provided information about letters. I shouldn’t bore you in the details. Though I just now realized I never talked to Florian’s source, I don’t think Florian would say anything like that without being certain.”

  Nero took a second to process the information before commenting on Romulus’s comment about Gala. “Did you know anything about Gala’s mom?”

  “No,” Romulus said with disappointment. “If she is still alive she is probably kicking herself. Though, to be honest, for a person who changed their name, I don’t imagine she is in a safe situation. Probably dead like her bastard daughter.”

  “Did you have an idea of what our true intentions were?” Nero asked.

  “I had an idea,” responded Romulus. “The ending of slavery probably wouldn’t have been the end. You would have gone after the earls, then the legitimacy of the royal bloodline, before giving some power back to the people. How much? I couldn’t tell you.”

  “All of it,” answered Nero. “We were going to establish a democracy.”

  Romulus gave out a pitiful laugh. “Good thing I stooped you then.”

  Nero silently didn’t respond and the two remained silent for some time. At long, Romulus spoke. “I’ll let you live if you pledge your undying loyalty to me right now.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Nero didn’t answer for some time. “Just like Smith, eh?”

  “Smith wasn’t first in line for the throne. If you die, Albus becomes first in line, and who wants him on that seat? Please, let me avoid that possibility.”

  “I promised someone something a long time ago,” Nero said.

  “Nero, that’s not—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Nero calmly said. Romulus seemed to be taken aback at this brother swearing, as his eyes widened and sat back on the bench. “Remember that trip we took to Walik’s Volcano? When I was ten, and you were twenty.” Nero asked as his voice became more somber. Romulus nodded. “It was supposed to only have earls and their families on board. There was this girl; I think you remember. She was also ten like me, but more importantly, she also had dragonvine on her face. The same condition in the same way, from top right to bottom left. I told the family that she was an earl’s niece or something. I don’t remember. Hopefully, you remember from the first day onwards, that I talked to her. I never met someone else with dragonvine, and I couldn’t handle myself. It was the first time I remember talking to a stranger all on my own.

  “We talked throughout the entire day. Morning became afternoon, and then it became night, and we kept on talking. She wasn’t an earl’s niece but a poor girl from the slums of Gatherstorm. She didn’t even know where the boat was going or why. She didn’t know who I was, and I was okay with that. Anyway, we shared so much in common, she had the sweetest smile and the cutest laugh.” Nero stopped for a moment to wipe his eyes. Tears slowly crept as if they were raindrops on a rooftop. “Second day, she threw up over the deck. Nothing to worry about because it’s just sea sickness, so we continue talking when out of the blue, she grabs my hand and doesn’t let go. I looked up at her precious little eyes.” Nero paused again. “I never felt anything like it. It wasn’t like how I felt about you, Gala, or Mom. It was different. I never wanted to let go of her hand. Her skin was so soft and pale. I wanted to never leave her side. I knew her for a day, and I felt these things.” Nero’s voice cracked, and his neck strained. “I loved her.”

  Nero stopped but for longer this time. Romulus interjected. “Okay, what happened? She must have known Nero. She couldn’t have—”

  “Please, don’t.” Nero’s voice strained and tears began to flow faster. Romulus closed his mouth and let Nero continue. “Third day it was more of the same. We played hide and seek around the boat, and later on, she showed me the room that she was hiding in. Apparently, one of the earls never attended, and she found that room. She gave me a small kiss on the lips. I jumped in joy and smiled the biggest smile of my life. I hugged her and held her for who knows how long. Shortly after, she threw up overboard again, and by the end of the day, she was bed-stricken. She was nauseous, her stomach roared louder than my stomach ever did, and she got paler by the minute. I begged her to get a doctor, but she said not because they’ll discover who she is and arrest or kill her. So, I stayed. We continued to talk about our lives, and the entire time she smiled and held my hand.

  “I kept—kept begging her to get a doctor, but as soon as the sun set, I gave up. I let her get some sleep, and I went back to my bed. I didn't get any sleep that night. The next day, I ran back to her room, and load and behold, there was vomit all over the floor next to her. The smell would soon let the entire crew know what was up, but she still refused to get a doctor.”

  Nero looked up at Romulus and stared him in the eyes. He couldn’t even see Romulus’s face clearly. There were too many tears. “I held her hand as she drifted further and further. I asked her what happened, and she said that the day before she got on the boat she was playing in the mud and had a piece of glass cut part of her foot. She had no shoes, and she was a kid, so she kept on playing. She never cleaned it.

  “An hour later, she told me to come closer so she could whisper something. She no longer had the strength to do anything else. I leaned in, and she whispered to me: ‘I love you, Nero, now and forever.’ I told her the same thing. ‘I love you, Tullia. Now and forever.” Nero paused once again as he continued to stare at Romulus. “She died after that… I stayed in that room for a couple more minutes before I closed her eyes and said goodbye. I left the door open as I left and walked to the edge of the boat, and stared back at Gatherstorm as the sun rose. I knew as I looked out that some piece of glass hidden in the mud was killing kids, and there was nothing I could do about it. The only thing I could do was Romulus was make an oath. An oath that I would, to the best of my ability, get rid of every speck of mud and dirt off the streets, so kids like Tullia wouldn’t have to die.” Nero stopped and looked off to the side. His breaths were heavy, and he strained and pulled every muscle to stop himself from breaking down. He looked back up at the new, dirty, and morally compromised king. Who was he to lead a country? Thought Nero.

  He could no longer contain himself, and his voice cracked as he began again. “So no kid would have to die in fear! So, the kid would die surrounded by their own fucking vomit, afraid to ask for help because they fear! Fear that they were going to be punished!”

  Nero was now shouting. He couldn’t hold back the tears, and they came flooding onto the cold cell floor. Romulus jumped forward and told him to calm down. Nero’s shouting went from shouting to screaming. He called out for Tullia; he wanted him by his side in his last moments. He cursed Romulus for killing Gala, for becoming like his father, having no empathy for those around him. Romulus was finally able to calm down Nero and went back to his bench as Nero wiped more tears from his eyes. Romulus asked if he was okay. Nero looked up and asked: “Who decides these things?”

  Romulus sat there, speechless. He looked at his brother, confused, shocked, and grasping for answers. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” he asked.

  “I was ten. I couldn’t control my emotions, and if I went around telling people that one of the reasons I was pursuing the goals I did was because of some girl I met on a boat, they would laugh. Plus, one way or another, it would reach Dad, and he would punish in some cruel manner.” There was a brief moment of silence before Nero finally answered Romulus’s question. “I will not swear loyalty to you because I will never cross Tullia, so if you are going to drag me onto that platform and tie a rope around my neck, then so be it. At least, I would die with some honor and compassion in my heart.”

  Romulus sat there in silence. His mouth hinged open, but no words came out. He had a choice, but a decision like this couldn’t be made easily. “Would you do it for Tullia?” asked Romulus. “Would you serve me in the name of Tullia? I can give you all the resources I can, I can give you all the money I can, and I can give you all the favors one could dream of, but under two conditions. You don’t have to support me but must not oppose my aim of reunifying the continent or make any attempts to undermine my rule.”

  Nero contemplated. He wanted to be faithful to Tullia and not work for a man that he did not trust, but if he didn’t mud would prevail. Mud would continue to kill those around him and deny children the opportunity to experience any part of their lives. His mouth opened before he made a choice, but after a couple more silent moments of consideration, he looked at the stone beneath his feet and answered. “All right, Romulus. I’ll go along.”

  Romulus smirked and stood up. “That’s great to hear,” he said as he nodded and turned to leave, but before he stepped out back into the hallway, he told the guard to open the gate; and as he left, said one last thing to Nero. “Gala told me something before she died. It was about something you said, and I think it’s very appropriate for the coming years. ‘Nine countries, nine forms of government. I wonder who will come out on top?’”