//------------------------------// // Rapax // Story: Legio VII: Invictus // by Silbern //------------------------------// The Sun was especially warm that day as the Memorial came to a close with a small crowd remaining to mourn over the dead. Celestia and Luna were mingling among the crowd as they shared in their woes but the lone Human decided better of it. Lucius watched from a safe distance in the shade of a large Oak tree with his two personal guards nearby. During the Memorial he didn't speak but was on the stage along with many others including the Royalty, the six Ponies from Ponyville and a few others that were being awarded for their bravery to stop the heinous criminals. Celestia had urged him to accept an award himself before the ceremony but he declined as politely as he could. The last thing the Centurion wanted was an award for being a target which caused innocents to die. If anything, he would consider the award a mark of shame. His fingers tapped in a slow rhythm against his biceps as he watched the crowd for any pony with ill intention. The Ponies that were still around spoke in soft terms as hugs and condolences were spread around. The Centurion has seen it before and he knew he would see it again. His focus broke when he noticed a low, rapid moving fog cross the courtyard. It didn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong and with the reflex's of a python he gripped the handle of his sheathed sword only to feel a incredibly strong grip on his sword arm. Lucius quickly struck out with his free hand only to have it blocked with ease and when Lucius turned to make eye contact with his attacker he was numb with shock. “Mars!” Lucius shouted with shock before dropping to a kneeling position. “I humbly request forgiveness for striking at you,” The Roman God simply smiled before reaching down to pull the man up so they could be face to face. “There is nothing to forgive. You have done what you were trained for. I cannot blame a dog for biting when being brought up to assault the enemies of the Empire nor can I blame a Soldier for defending himself,” Lucius was still in slight shock before realizing where he was. The Centurion turned to make sure his Guards were paying the proper respects until he noticed that they were stock still. They didn't breath nor blink and as the Human turned once more to the crowd did he realize that in fact, no one was. His eyes caught Celestia mid conversation as her eyes were looking over to him but they didn't move. “Do not attempt to communicate with them, Centurion,” Mars spoke up which caused the mortal to turn to address him once more. “We are in your mind and my time within these confines are running short. You have defeated one of the enemy, Lucius, my son. The enemy will no doubtfully be taking extra measure from here on out. They tried to rush a victory over their only true obstacle,” “Obstacle?” Lucius spoke as he arched a eyebrow in confusion. “Do you mean, Celestia?” “No, Lucius, I mean you,” Mars spoke as the God placed an arm on the Human's shoulder. “You have been chosen to be Rome's protector, Lucius Vor. I have given you all of my remaining martial prowess to defeat any deity that would normally be beyond any mortal's strength. You have felt it already during the fight with Zelus,” Lucius was silent as he tried to digest such information. He was a God's Champion. He only heard of such things from fairy tales or from Veteran's drunken boisterous banter. “Lucius, my time is running short and I come with vital news. There will be another attack soon but I cannot tell from who,” Mars explained as his body was soon starting to almost meld with the fog. “You need to defeat this assailant and restore Rome's faith in it's Gods, Lucius. Give us back our power and we can secure the imbalance from claiming any more innocent lives from Immortal power,” “You've said that before!” Lucius spoke out once more as he stretched out a hand to grab Mars by the shoulder but his rough hand simply passed through the fog. “I don't know how to give the Roman people faith!” “Follow your Father, Lucius,” “Lucius,” “Lucius!” The Centurion almost jumped from his standing position as he noticed Celestia's violet orbs worriedly looking over him closely. Lucius took a quick moment to breath and notice his surroundings had changed slightly from what he remembered. Most of mourning crowd had left and the sun had progressed farther along it's path. The Centurion could almost guess that Dinner would be served soon. “Lucius? What happened? Are you alright?” Celestia asked again as she used her magic to levitate the Soldier's arm to inspect for any injury which only got a hand wrapped around her horn. The Princess looked up to see her beloved smiling back at her. “What?” Lucius didn't say anything at first as he gave himself a moment to breath. The God's have given him another vision of this mission that was thrust onto his shoulders. His hand stretched out to cup the Princess' cheek which she leaned into but her eyes barely left his. “We need to have a discussion in private,” Luna watched as her Sister wondered off to speak with Lucius but she had another task to attend too. The younger Princess waved and smiled at her subjects as she retreated into the Castle but as soon as the large double doors closed behind her, the smile faded. Her stride picked up as she and her intimidating Guards made directly for her office. For a moment, she thought leaving the mourning families may seem a little offensive but Celestia was still around to listen to their woes; something that Celestia did better anyways. Luna levitated a pair of slim glasses to her as she quickly got to work. There was an infestation within the Castle's ranks and she was going to exterminate it. Cooks, servers, cleaners, pages, soldiers and numerous other positions needed to be examined over with every date and contact under scrutiny. The Nocturnal Princess had several plans in place and soon she would enact all of them with one fine swoop. In all possibility, the entire guilty party was caught or killed the night of the assault but to be lax now would only invite others to fester and corrupt. A knock echoed in the room which caused the still guards to tighten their hold on the deadly halberds within their grasp. Luna didn't move her head as she simply peered over her glasses to open the door to a lone Guards pony. “Greetings, Princess,” Captain Trueshot announced before stepping into the room to have the guards close them behind him. Luna nodded before gazing back down to the paper she was scrutinizing over before his interruption. The room was silent as the Princess scanned the final parts before levitating the paper into a different pile. “Greetings, Captain. I assume with you being here that everything was taken care of?” Luna questioned before picking up another paper. “I have spoken to the Prisoners, my Highness,” Trueshot started. “Most didn't discuss anything but absolute muttering. Religious jargon of judgment or retribution mostly but there was a name that was muttered a few times. Furiae,” Luna listened for a moment before pulling out a blank piece of paper and begun to madly scribble down something before giving it to one of her Guards. “Give this to Fabulinus in the Library,” The guard smacked his breast plate in salute before leaving on his task. “What did you do with the Prisoners afterwards?” Luna questioned as she continued her work. “I placed them back into their cells,” Trueshot reported. “Execute them,” Luna ordered without a hint of hesitation or regret. “All of them,” Trueshot stood in shock as he searched Luna's eyes for some form of jest. He found nothing but cold hard determination and hate. It was true that he didn't harbour any love for the guilty but he was also one for justice. The Prisoners still had no trial and therefore no true righteous judgment even if their case was completely unwinnable. “Your Highness, are you sure that is wise? Should these Prisoners not be given trial first?” Trueshot argued but soon his will to fight vanished as he witnessed Luna raise from her seat and into the air. “I will not suffer these traitors to the crown! They have killed innocents to propel their vile agenda under the power of an evil entity,” the Princess bellowed moments before landing again in her chair. “Gather ten loyal Ponies and make my will done, Captain. Dismissed,” Trueshot paused for only a moment as he pulled in a deep breath. “Your will be done, Princess,” “What do you mean that another attack is coming?” Celestia asked in bewilderment while in the safe seclusion of her personal quarters. The Princess, for all her usual poise, seemed rather exhausted to the point that she slumped onto her bed. Her royal attire floated over to the night stand and her large wings unfolded only to cover her face from the outside. Lucius watched all of this with a strange mixture of worry and amusement. He walked with a slow purpose towards the bed as his fingers worked to remove his helm and to place it beside Celestia's flashy attire. His eyes watched as the white lump atop the extravagant bed fidget for a moment but otherwise remained still. Her mane and tail however didn't seem to share her current emotion as they still kept flowing like a gentle stream. “Why are they doing this, Lucius?” a almost inaudible whisper emerged from the feather cocoon. The Human sat on the edge of the bed but didn't didn't respond immediately. He knew the answer or at least enough of the answer but he knew his response would not elevate the Princess' mood. This is what he was poor at. He could engage in the art of war as a Soldier but speaking from his heart was something different. Flashes of images of his moment on the street where the distraught mare had slapped him were still fresh and he knew not if he truly felt at peace. In the darker confines of his mind he mauled over the idea that perhaps he never knew peace to begin with. “You know that they came for me,” Lucius decided with a low tone. The room had grown quiet as nothing could be heard except for two distraught beings breathing. “Will this turn into a war, Lucius?” Celestia broke the silence with a sombre voice. Lucius lowered his gaze for a moment as the idea stewed within his head. A war against Gods and Daimons was something he only thought so bizarre that he expected to hear it from a drunkard or child. How is one to fight against such a force? There was no more Legions for him to rally and Equestria hasn't seen war in so many years. The only beings still alive that would have actually witnessed any war would have been the two Princesses and himself. Celestia waited for an answer but the quiet moments dragged on. She lifted her wing enough to see the the Human was just laying on his back as his eyes gazed up towards the ceiling unfocused. The Princess took her chance as she pulled her wings back to her side before leaning her head to rest on the Centurion's chest plate. A drawn out sigh escaped the Princess lips before she felt a hand running through her mane. Celestia opened one eye to watch as the human ran his fingers through her mane in slow patterns before resting on the back of her neck. “I honestly thought I could spend the rest of my life quietly with you, my love,” Celestia spoke as she unfurled her wings and wrapped them around her most treasured Human. “I was thinking of opening a vineyard just down the mountain with a Villa beside it. We could spend our Summers there while in the sunlight, deep in red wine and great company,” Lucius was pulled from his darker thoughts as he hummed softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. “That was suppose to be my retirement plans,” Lucius voiced softly as he twirled some of the silky mane around his fingers. “I think my Father would really appreciate me following in my Family's footsteps,” “We have no idea where or when this attack is happening, do we?” Celestia asked once more. “I only know that it is happening soon. It could be in days or hours, I didn't even have a moment to ask,” “All of Equestria is already on high alert. Whoever this attacker is, we will be better prepared than the last attack,” Lucius knew that it wouldn't be enough but they could respond quicker to save lives. He knew that a crew for Celestia's Airship were permanently ready to depart at a moments notice. It was only going to get worse but the masses didn't need to know just yet. These thoughts made Lucius open his eyes to look down at the Princess with renewed respect. He could not rule any nation worth it's salt but she knew what to say or if anything needed to be said. To have that same Pony now resting her head on his chest in a vulnerable position was intoxicating. Celestia let out a short gasp as she felt two arms reach for the rest of her body to pull her in close. The Princess didn't fight it as she was slowly pulled to the Human's side. Celestia, with a raised head gave the man a raised eyebrow of curiosity but instead of ruining the mood she lowered her head to touch her lips to his. Her horn glowed softly as the distant sun began to lower in the distance. With the Sun lowered, Lucius expected the candles to be lit but they remained dark. “Lay with me, Lucius Vor,” a voice plead. The named Centurion paused for a moment as he reached out to cup Celestia's face in the dim moonlight. Her expression was filled with uncertainty or perhaps anxiety as her eyes refused to move away from him. “You wish to concrete this relationship then?” Lucius asked as he slowly began to run his other hand up the Princess' side feeling every tremble. “I was ready for a long time. I do not want to go on without knowing your warmth as only lovers can before confronting any more foes,” Celestia explained as her magic started to undo the straps that was still constricting Lucius remaining armour and weapons. “I do not fear death will take us but the enemy can inflict things far worse than death. I do not think I would fare well knowing you were encased in stone or something equally as bad again,” Lucius could do the only thing he could think of as he reached up with both his hands to cup the princess' head and plant his lips forcefully upon hers. “I will kill every last God if they challenge our dreams of owning a vineyard. Anything you want that I can give, you need only ask,” Lucius spoke as he internally thirst for another kiss. His eyes drank in the gorgeous violet orbs that began to shine in the moonlight as Celestia gave a gentle smile in response. “All I wanted for centuries was to see you again,” Lucius stirred in the bed as his blurry vision slowly cleared. He could feel his lover pressed tightly against him and that caused him to genuinely smile. The Centurion honestly thought that the whole thing would have been more awkward than it was but it almost felt natural which confused him at times. It shouldn't be normal but he was happy so he currently thought that any naysayers could drown in the courtyard pond for all he cared. It was because of this that he found himself tremble with sorrow. He ignored his accumulated sweat on his body as he begun to don his armour with the most amount of silence that he could muster. The whole ordeal took only a few minutes but it almost seemed like an eternity. His fingers grazed the large door handle before stopping to listen to the soft slumbering noise behind him. He could listen to that sound till the end of his days. He pushed the door silently to the surprise of the guards but they didn't make a sound. The Centurion silently closed the bedroom door behind him before nodding tot he two Pony soldiers. “I'm going for a walk in case the Princess asks,” Lucius informed them without losing stride. “Yes, Centurion,” was all that he heard before disappearing around a corner. He didn't dare stop. Lucius knew that if his feet halted than he would turn around and return to bed to cuddle with his love. He couldn't stop now. He needed to follow his father. He needed to go Home.