Roxanne could only but curse the noise both inside and outside the palace for her inability to sleep at night. The eerie silence of the day when they arrived, was a sharp contrast from the hullabaloo of the night. It was almost as though everyone slept during the day and went about their daily activities at night, like nocturnal animals. And Roxanne found it extremely weird and very unpleasant. Guards walked outside the palace, the laughter of maidens could be heard and she was left to toss and turn and savour the little sleep she could get. It was bad enough that she spent most of her night listening to footsteps go to and fro her door, while she sat inside, hoping that she was safe. After her encounter with the strange king, Roxanne knew that she would have to be very wary of her movements in this palace. "Stick to my side at all times." Peter had said. Well, she would do just that. Now, the small sleep she had managed to get after hours of staring from ceiling to door to window
The sun rays hit the pit of the grand collosseun, which Peter had previously called the Flavian Amphitheatre. However, Roxanne was struck with the realisation that apart from the pit of the collosseum, where the fight was to take place, the rows and columns where the audience and musicians sat where shielded from the sun with a thick canopy of brick roofs. Peter had said it was to shield the audience away from the scorching sun, seeing as the fight could sometimes take hours, and Roman sun rays were not as friendly as the ones of the spring, summer and even autumn sun in London, or back in her hometown in America. For this, Roxanne was grateful. The thought of being sunburned along with hundreds of thousands of people was not really a good one for her. Now, she could watch the fight in peace. All around them, the crowd agitated, musicians played drums while the rest of the audience screamed strange chants of war. Roxanne saw Peter nod to the the rythym once or twice, as though he w
From where she sat, Roxanne watched in horror. The man she was looking at was a totally different person. She could almost see the flames of anger burning around him. Subconsciously, she gripped the linen of Peter's suit trouser. He stared down at her, she was visibly shaking. "Are you alright?" "What is this?" She asked breathlessly, while her stunned gaze was fixed on the beast that had taken over Lancelot, and the laughing maniac he was so close to killing. "Tradition." Peter replied curtly. A knot tightened in Roxanne's stomach, she wanted nothing more than to lower her head and vomit. The sight of so much blood was making her nauseous, but she said nothing. What kind of tradition was this? She would have thought that with the way everyone in the palace was so prim and proper, they would have better things in their tradition than a bloody gladiator fight. Lancelot continued to pound Aztec's face, but the man wouldn't just shut up. "Why are you so angry my prince? Not that s
"Let's get out of here. Now." His voice continued to echo in her ears and blacked out every other sound in the Amphitheatre. Immediately his skin came in contact with hers, her senses stood at attention. The hairs on her skin stood alert, and Roxane found it hard to breathe. As he led her down the steps, through the crowd of people, Roxanne could only see him. Nothing else that happened in the room mattered, only his warm and sandy hold on her was important. Roxanne thought back to how long she had waited for his touch. All those times she had secretly prayed that he looked at her, said a word to her. Finally, he had acknowledged her. Finally, he had seen her, and now he was holding her. What better thing could happen today? Lancelot held her and led her through the crowd, into the hollow corridor beyond the iron bars, they led the way to a row of bathrooms. Peter was trotting behind them, while the guards behind him made sure that no one from the audience came close to them. Whe
Peter had not expected any form of enthusiasm from Lancelot. So, he did not know why the man's lack of excitement seemed to bother him. Nevertheless, they had to move forward. There was much more ahead for all of them. Once again, Lancelot and Roxanne ended up at the back seat, while Peter sat at the front. "I was unable to make reservations at any hotel sire. Every single one in this city seemed to be occupied. Rome is indeed a busy city. But, I have found an exquisite hotel online that had vacant rooms, so we'll be heading there." Peter spoke from the front seat, and Lancelot only murmured something, but it was in approval. Peter smiled curtly and turned to the driver. "Hall of Athena, please." He said aloud, and the dark haired driver nodded in understanding. Throughout the ride, Roxanne made sure that she did not glance at Lancelot. She had decided it was time to abolish thoughts of ever being with him from her mind. She was tired of being constantly tossed about by him. His
Wrapped in his arms, their heartbeats syncing, and his nose buried in her chest, Roxanne felt like she would finally be able to get some sleep. Ever since they embarked on this weird business trip, it had been impossible to even get a minute of rest, and she was grateful for the opportunity to close her eyes in peace. Until it wasn't so peaceful anymore. It was dark from the moment she closed her eyes, but something about the darkness she saw now was strange. It was thick and heavy, like she could stretch her hand into the empty void and hold the blackness. Roxanne shifted in her sleep, her eyelids pressed themselves together. Her heartbeat suddenly picked up a racing pace. Something about the darkness seemed to suck life away from her, she was finding it difficult to breathe. Animalistic growls emanated from everywhere around her. It felt like four wolves were around her, but she could not see them. She could only hear their howling and growling, all in anger. She was not welco
It took Roxanne about forty five minutes to get dressed and organize Lancelot's suitcase, as well as hers. Peter joined in fifteen minutes later, while still making calls and hotel reservations for them, in Greece. Peter was very hard-working and passionate about his job. And sometimes, Roxanne wondered if she could take on all the responsibilites that he did. But, she would often remind herself that this was temporary, and it was for her good as well. They left the hotel by 9:30am, got to the airport by 10:00 am and their flight was scheduled to leave by 10:30am. For the thirty minutes they spent in the waiting room, Roxanne stayed silent. She and Lancelot were not really on talking terms and Peter was still very busy answering Lancelot's calls. So, she was more or less on her own. Finally, they boarded the plane and Roxanne managed to get a few hours of sleep, before the plane landed and they had to board another limosine again. She had boarded many flights and entered more luxu
Outside the room, Roxanne continued to pace about, restlessly. She was very uneasy. Everyone who had walked into the room had cast her ugly snares. Roxanne was frustrated! She did not understand why she always got one strange form of reception or the other. Did Americans really irk Europeans that much? If so, they had no reason to worry. Once her three months here are over, she would return to her land, her home. Behind her, an anxious woman hurried over to the door she was currently standing in front of. When the woman saw her, her senses told her to stop. Hera, the younger queen of Ahab, stood behind Roxanne, watching her keenly. Her nostrils twitched and her eyes glowed faintly. There was no mistake in the aura around this strange woman, she was definitely human. And from the looks of it, an ignorant one. The thought of having a human in her kingdom seemed to excite Hera, so she burst out in cheers as she smiled. "Wow! Wow! Wow!" The strange voice caused Roxanne to turn sharpl