#to think that caracalla was crying while facing geta as he spoke to him make me so emotional

[vyoongi]

❝ I love you. You are my brother ❞

[ashprince-of-bel-air]

To Love An Emperor

Apparently a few of you also wanted to see Caracalla being a crying pathetic mess so he is a little something I wrote on my dinner break today

@byronking @ange-olras you guys all asked on my original post so I hope this is what you wanted ❤️

Part 2

A small servant girl broke the peace of your chambers, the large wooden door scraping across the tile caused you to snap your head away from your book, staring at her silently as you awaited what commands she had been sent to give you.

You watched the petite young thing bow before you, he voice soft and high pitched as she spoke. "The Emperor has summoned you, my Lady". It did not take you long to figure out which one had summoned you to his chambers before you nodded to her and waved her away. With a sigh you closed your book for the night and began to dress yourself, you did not think the the Emperor would care if you were in your night dress but manners and respect dictated you would present yourself in a manner beffiting of him.

The long walk to the royal chambers gave you time to steel yourself for what you were about to deal with, it must have been another one of those days in the council chamber, Geta shouting and and throwing things around the room, something that had become all to frequent as of late.

Your footsteps echoed down the hallway as you approached your destination, surely the Emperor would hear you approaching and be ready to recieve you. Gently you pushed the guilded door open, not wanting to make too much noise and disturb him further. As you stood in the door way you spotted Caracalla perched on the end of his bed, his head in his hands, he had been crying again.

You sat slowly beside him on the bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, gently rubbing it trying to reassure him somewhat, not that it ever worked before. In one swift movement Caracalla moved to kneel on the marble floor before you, pushing himself between your, wrapping his arms tightly around your waist and burying his head into the fabric covering your chest. You could hear his muffled sobs against your chest as you stroked the back of his head, waiting for him to stop. Geta must have been particularly brutal to him today, you had heard the vituperative way he spoke to him before and it certainly would have broken a lesser man a long time ago.

"Why does my own flesh and blood treat me this way? Is it not enough that he tried to kill me in the womb but now to kill my spirit as well?" You never answered him, you knew he didn't ever want an answer, he just wanted to vent out his feelings someone who would not report back to his brother, making him look weaker than he already felt around him.

After a while the tears stopped, lifting his head away from your chest, your clothes now wet from his tears. Caracalla sunk further down onto his knees, his sad wet eyes looking up at you, pleading for love and acceptance, you had been the only one to ever understand him.

His hands gripped at the fabric on your waist, clinging so tight as if you would disappear from him. "You love me don't you? You think I'm good enough?" The tears began to well in his again, threatening to spill forth once more, making his blue eyes sparkle like sapphires, his voice shakey and desperate.

You cupped his face in your soft hands, smiling as you felt him lean into your touch, craving as much of it as he could get. You stroked the tears away from his cheeks and placed a delicate kiss upon his head. "Of course my Emperor" Your words soothed his tears and ignited him at the same time, feeling his lips crash roughly against your own. Caracalla did not care if you meant those words or not, it was all he wanted to hear, to feel your affection and to be loved.

[lanietadelatierra]

Why do I reckon myself sittin' there, readin' my poetry to the emperors? I dreamed it up back when I went and put my very first short poetry e-book out there for sale in Spanish. Only my kinfolk bought it, and, well, it didn’t exactly take the world by storm. But anyhow, lemme tell y’all what wandered through my mind the moment I hit that publish button. 

General Acacius had escorted me to the great hall in the palace of Rome, and there I stood before the emperors. I was kinda nervous. 

-Proceed, young lady - Emperor Geta said, gesturing with his hand as he sat on his throne. His brother, Caracalla, in contrast, seemed indifferent to the scene before his eyes, eating grapes and drinking wine while looking at me with disdain. 

I nodded and recited a fragment of one of my poems. As I spoke, Geta's eyes never left me, as if he were evaluating every word, every sigh. 

“Nothing endures over time. Empires fall, people are forgotten, even love fades like a breeze in the air, causing the reminder of our mortality to make us feel alive”. 

Everyone fell silent. 

-That was... intense. What did you say your name was? - Geta asked me. 

-Evelyn, my lord - 

-You have a charm for words - 

I smiled and nodded in gratitude. 

-Thank you, my lord - 

-What do you think, brother? - Geta directed his words to Caracalla. 

-Quite uncomfortable. I will never be forgotten with time, nor will any of us. What nonsense your poetry is - 

Those words made me feel uneasy. 

-Do you think we should give her a chance? - Geta asked him.

-Ha, I don’t even know how she got here - Caracalla replied. 

Geta looked at me. I kept my head bowed as he turned his gaze to Acacius, who was standing beside the emperors, before looking back at me. 

-You’ve traveled a hard road to get here, haven’t you, young lady? - 

-Yes, my lord - 

-And what did you have to do to come here and recite your despicable words? - Caracalla interrupted. 

-What did you offer in exchange for having your poetry heard by us? - Geta asked, looking me up and down. 

At that moment, I remembered the following: 

It was falling night when I met Acacius at the entrance of a lupanarium in Rome, just as we had agreed. We entered, and the moans filled the air. I walked with him toward one of the rooms. He sat on the bed, and I stood in front of him, starting to lower my dress. I would give him my virginity in exchange for the chance to be a recognized poet. I didn't want to do it. I felt forced, but in this world, things aren't won easily. 

-The important thing is not how I got here, my lord, but that I have managed to get here - I said, my face serious. 

Geta laughs at my words, and Caracalla follows with his own laughter. 

-It’s not the stones in the path that matter, but the end of them - I continue. 

-Your poetry insults Virgil, who must be turning in his grave - Caracalla says. 

-Alright, brother. I’ll give you another chance, and your poetry will be published. That way, you’ll become the first lady poet of Rome - Geta says. 

-Thank you so much, my lord - I said, excited, wanting to cry from emotion, but I held back my tears to avoid losing my composure in front of them. 

-And we will make sure they create a bust of you to place here in the palace - Geta added, before grabbing his wine cup and taking a sip. I nodded in gratitude.

In Rome, my name will echo, but it will be my soul that carries the echo of my sacrifice.