Though Nero was indeed skilled, Rubria was worried about his descent into drunkenness and played to his vanity in an effort to better his mood. He had been singing and reciting for over two hours, breaking only to eat and attend to his toilet. Rubria had picked on some fruit and sipped on watered wine, more to appease the Emperor rather than any need but she was getting tired and longed to be gone. She was wondering how to broach the subject of her leaving when the situation took a fateful turn. Outside in the distance someone screamed.
‘Ah, I believe the time is approaching,’ said Nero, ‘Come with me.’ He led Rubria from the room and made his way through the corridors of the palace and up several stairwells. Eventually they reached a round room at the top of a tower. Nero stopped before a pair of drapes and turned to face Rubria.
‘Oh, Priestess,’ he said, ‘How privileged are you to witness what now unfolds.’
Rubria waited patiently until he finally called her forward. She shuddered involuntarily as he placed his arm around her shoulder and led her out to the balcony. What she saw took her breath away. The city sprawled out before her like an embroidered blanket but though she had seen the vista before, this time it was different. The darkness was illuminated by scores of fires across the suburbs, each seemingly competing for size as the breeze fed their hunger. Even as she watched, she could see more and more fires starting and as they did, the screams of those affected became audible.
‘By the gods,’ she gasped eventually, ‘The city is ablaze.’
‘That it is,’ answered Nero, moving behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders, ‘The city is being cleansed of the accumulated filth of generations to make way for a place of greatness, a place where an Emperor can reside alongside the Gods and become immortal.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Rubria, ‘Who would do such a thing.’
‘Those who see clearly my greatness and would hasten my path to the Pantheon.’
‘But why,’ she asked, unable to take her eyes from the catastrophe unfolding below.
‘To scourge the city of what has been and make way for what will be. Across the hills to your front, the places that are presently occupied by the hovels of the poor will be replaced by magnificent gardens and marble palaces of unimaginable opulence. At its centre will be a building the like Rome has never seen before. A palace fit for a God, adorned with gold and bejewelled in stones from across the empire. The words greatest artisans will be brought to Rome to decorate the walls with friezes and mosaics of such breathtaking beauty that scholars and kings will travel from the corners of the earth to weep at their beauty.
‘But I don’t understand, Sire,’ she said, ‘Surely the palace in which you reside is glory enough for one man.nougA
‘Any ordinary man perhaps, but a God? No,’ he said, ‘And besides, how could I expect any woman worthy enough to rein alongside me to settle for anything else?
‘Alongside you, Sire?’ she asked, ‘I don’t understand, are you saying you have plans to marry?’
‘Oh yes, Rubria,’ he said, ‘Plans indeed. Look again to your front and imagine the sweeping hills covered with lush vegetation, interspersed with fountains and streams. Fish will dart in its pools and tiny deer will gambol through the manicured gardens. Bird song will be the only sound to disturb the peace and the tastiest of fruits will make the trees groan under their weight. Oh yes, Priestess, I have plans, and when all this is done you will understand why it was necessary.’
‘But what about people’s homes?’ she asked, ‘Where will they all go?’
‘It concerns me not,’ said the Emperor, ‘They are my subjects and would willingly give up their very lives for my benefit. What matters a few mud bricks and wooden doors? There is room enough on the outskirts for new buildings or even outside the city walls. No, the centre of Rome should reflect the greatness of my glory, or should I say, Our glory?’
Rubria’s heart missed a beat and her stomach turned as she realised what he had just said.
‘Our glory, Sire?’ I don’t understand.
‘You and me, Rubria,’ he said, ‘Ruling the world together. A living God alongside the most beautiful woman in the empire. I did it for you, Rubria, all this will be yours. A life of untold privilege and power the like that has never been seen before. All you have to do is consent to be my bride.’
Rubria felt sick. All of a sudden everything made sense. All the times she had been summoned to the palace to the exclusion of all other priestesses, all the compliments he had paid, and all gifts he had lavished upon her, all were simply a means to an end. While she thought he had favoured her for her honesty and council he had only one thing in his mind and that was to entice her into a union that was impossible.
‘Sire,’ she said, still staring over the city, ‘I am flattered but surely you can see this is impossible.’
‘I see no such thing, Rubria he said.’
‘But I am a Priestess of the Temple of Vesta, and am promised to her service. I cannot entertain the company of a man for many years yet. Perhaps when I leave her service it may be possible.’
‘An ordinary man perhaps,’ he said, ‘But I am your Emperor and such trivialities worry me not. When I am immortalised I will swat aside your Goddess’s little whims as I would a fly. I am Nero, and there has never been any such as I.’
‘But Sire,’ she said, breaking free and turning to face him, ‘Surely you understand, this is not a burden imposed on me but a calling I embrace completely.’
‘That will soon pass, Priestess,’ he said, ‘When you sample the glory of my power and the pleasure of my bed, all such thoughts will be like memories in the wind.’
‘Sire,’ she pleaded, ‘Please cast these thoughts aside. I can never forsake the Goddess. This can never happen.’
Nero’s face changed slightly as her words sunk in.
‘You misunderstand, Priestess,’ he said, ‘This is not an option, but a decree. You will be my bride and you will do so willingly or else suffer the consequences.’
Rubria was breathing fast now, close to tears as she realised there was no way out of this.
‘Sire,’ she said eventually, ‘My calling permeates my very soul, and though I recognise your glory, the needs of my Goddess will always come first. I beg of you to turn off this path for I cannot join you. I will always be here for you as confidante and friend, but, whatever the consequences, I cannot consent to be your bride.’
Nero stared at the girl before walking towards the door and Rubria breathed a sigh of relief, believing he was going to leave.
‘I will not lie to you, Priestess, he said as he pushed the wooden bar across to lock the door, ‘I am bitterly disappointed. Ours was to be the most glorious wedding ever seen in the history of Rome.’ He turned around and faced her. ‘You could have had everything Rubria, and if you had only seen the sense of being my bride, I was willing to wait before partaking of your particular pleasures. Our wedding night was to be magical, romantic, sensual and gentle as I introduced your pure body to the pleasures of the flesh.’
Rubria was scared now, as Nero circled her like a cat circling its prey.
‘But you have taken that option away now, Priestess,’ he said, ‘You have spoilt it for yourself. However, all is not lost, for I will still have my vision. My grounds will be planted and my palace will be built, and though there will no longer be a wedding night to look forward to, there is an upside.’
She stared at him in fright as his voice lowered, menacingly.
‘Sire?’ she said, her eyes transferring the unspoken question.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘At least I won’t have to wait for the wedding night before enjoying your hidden treasures. In fact, everything suddenly seems much better. Why wait and share when I can have it all right now.’
‘Sire, surely you don’t mean…’
‘Oh but I do,’ said Nero. ‘You had your chance, Priestess. I asked nicely but it seems you don’t understand nice so now we’ll do it the other way.’