"Now all we need to know is who could have made the poison." Hector whispered as they made their way to their morning training.
Trix had come to hate this part of the day the most since she would often come out exhausted. Although several noblemen who had witnessed one of their sessions had commented on how well she could fight. Trix felt quite the contrary. She often lost to her male opponents and she feared having to face Hector. But today she was excited. It would be the first time she would see her maids fight. They had once been gladiators alongside mistress Maxima. They had chosen to serve the emperor as protectors of his daughter.
"Lady Vitatrix, Lord Hector." One of the men bowed as they entered the courtyard. Trix smiled and nodded to the man before making her way to the group of men to accompany her on her run. General Cato ha
Hector ordered for the nation's top spies to report to him that night. They had agreed that a larger force would not be practical, nor would it make sense to attack with put confirming that Trix was indeed being held captive in Felix's villa."Seeing as everyone is now here this is your mission, we will march out before dawn and camp in the woods behind the villa." Hector explained pointing at the map on the table. "From there the spies will advance first to confirm if the empress is indeed being kept captive there and if she is still within the grounds. We will all be dressed discreetly. The forge has made a new light weight armor that we can test out, it should be well hidden under our cloaks and disguises."The men all nodded in understanding."Expect the place to be
Hector marched into the hall where the senators and other leaders of Rome had gathered. Two weeks had passed since the attempted rebellion of Gaius and Marcus where Trix had disappeared. The senators were in a frenzy, they still believed that Trix was on a military tour. They began to worry, the reign of the empress was young and very susceptible to people who wish to take over the empire themselves. Many were pressing for Trix to wed in order to show a stronger front. Hector debated with many of them explaining that this would only show their lack of confidence in their empress. Vitatrix may be a woman but she was proving to her people that women were not weak.After the attempt no other unrest outside of the ordinary was reported. It was as if Marcus and his men had vanished. Gaius had been killed in the fight and his son was making right his father's mistake. Not surprisingly C
Trix stood frozen between Jacob and her aunt. She knew Jacob had heard what Aria had called her. How foolish of them to let their guard down."We will discuss this later Jacob." Trix whispered."If you are who she says you are then you must get out of here." Jacob said."Not without everyone being safe. If I escape they will use this as leverage." She explained."Silence!" Marcus commanded. "As you see there is no empress, her future consort is my prisoner, I told captive majority of nobles in Rome. So now you will have over the crown to me.""The empress will return." A man in the crowd shouted."Sh
"Are you ready?" Jacob asked straightening out his tunic."Almost. Give me a moment." Trix called out. She had worn a simple cream colored dress with a red belt. She had chosen to wear something simpler over the violet dress Aria had offered for her to use."Who do you think will be coming to the party?" Jacob asked."Most probably every noble in Rome. This is Lord Felix we are talking about. He is good friends with the empress and it would not hurt to be on his good side." Trix walked out from behind the screen dressed and ready. "That is why I must remain simple. If someone recognizes me our mission will surely end tonight.""You look amazing." Was all Jacob managed to say as he looked at his pretend wife.Trix blushed and smiled sweetly at him. "Well we must get going. It would be a shame to miss all the events tonight."Jacob nodded and offered his arm to her. She gladly took it and they made their way to the banquet hall. The hall was brightly lit with nobles from across the empi
Trix was worried at Felix's reaction. She knew that if Gaius was aware of her presence in his home, she will be used to gain the throne. "Sir, you have me confused with the empress. I merely look like her." Trix managed to say. She watched as Felix glared at her, clearly not convinced on the fact that only a double stood in front of him at that moment. "Very interesting." Felix said looking her over. "Aaron, I mean Jacob, it has been quite a while. I had my men look for you all over the city." "Sir I felt like a burden living in your villa. I chose to find my way." Jacob reasoned clearly ashamed by what he had done. "None the less I still open my doors to you and your wife. Live on my land as a friend. Although I think you've foun
Trix could not believe what she was hearing. Lord Felix was arranging his marriage to Gaius daughter, a woman clearly of much lower rank than him. It was uncharacteristic."I would be honored my lord for such a union to occur." Lord Gaius said with a grin. "It most definitively would further strengthen our plans.""What plans?" Felix asked the older man."My plans for my children sir." Gaius said quickly covering up what he had let slip, leaving Trix much more confused than ever."Ah, a father good must indeed look after his kin. Tell me sir when might I meet your daughter?" Felix asked."We could arrange for a small gatherin