Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 23 Rebuking an Emperor

In the city of Rome, its most promising young General currently lies in the depths of the city’s dungeons. As he awaited the sentence for his alleged crimes, Marcellus was contained in a cell without the slightest hint of illumination. He sighed heavily as he sat alone in the darkness, reflecting on his previous bout of imprisonment.

“This is the second time I have been bound, chained, and covered in my own filth…”

He made a vow at that moment that he would never again be in this position, no matter what he had to do to ensure his freedom. However, the bitter silence that purveyed in the darkness was eventually interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps and the glowing light that accompanied them.

In the end, a single man was standing before the young General’s cage with a cruel smile on his face. When Marcellus gazed up at the poorly groomed appearance of the Emperor, he merely scoffed before speaking in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh joyous me, the Emperor himself has come to visit me in my final hours. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

It was obviously not Marcellus’ final hours as he had not been sentenced to death, still the way he spoke took all the joy out of Honorius’ face as he struggled to endure the insult he had suffered just now.

“You always were a smartass. Still, I’d like to see you maintain that attitude of yours when I have you flogged naked in the streets.”_.

When Marcellus heard of the punishment Honorius had in store for him, he merely chuckled before responding in a similarly lighthearted tone.

“Are you sure you want to do that? I am pretty well endowed, and if you display my manhood in front of the entire city, I can’t tell you how many young women will be flocking to my bedside to aid in my healing. Perhaps I’ll invite Placidia to help tend to my wounds…”

Honorius always found it difficult to endure Marcellus’ snarky attitude, however when he heard the man threaten to drag his sister into his bed, he broke out into a fit of fury as he latched onto the bars of the cell, spiting profusely as he screamed at the prisoner.

“Watch your tongue! You are speaking to your emperor! Mention my sister’s name again and I will have it removed!”

Marcellus gazed arrogantly upon the poorly illuminated face of the young emperor. As always, he had a smug response as he toyed with the fool who presided over Rome over his poor choice of words.

“So I am free to speak of your sister so long as I don’t mention her name? Understood!”

Upon hearing such nonsense come from Marcellus’ mouth, Honorius desired nothing more than to bang his head on the iron bars of the cell. However, he restrained himself. Still, he was beginning to think it was a bad idea to visit Marcellus when he was in prison. After all, the man hard a sharp wit and a silver tongue. There was no way a fool like Honorius could beat him in a war of words. Having gazed upon the enraged expression on Honorius’ lips, Marcellus smirked before inquiring about the main reason for the emperor’s visit.

“Why are you here Honorius, could you really not wait a day to see me in all my glory? Or does it simply make you feel better about yourself to see men better than you bound in chains?”

An ugly expression formed on Honorius’ face as he heard this remark. He could not help but lash out emotionally at his General, rebuking him for his vile comments.

“You think you’re better than me?”

Before Honorius could finish the rest of his statement, Marcellus nodded his head in silence, further instigating the rage in the emperor’s heart.

“Well, you’re not! You’re a lowly general, and if it weren’t for Stilicho’s protection, I would have gotten rid of you ages ago!”

Upon hearing this, Marcellus merely sighed before responding to Honorius’ words.

“You’re right, I’m just a lowly general, a boy who lost his father at a young age and worked my way up through the legions until I was a stood at the top. A man who slaughtered the enemies of the Empire while you laid on your sofa drinking wine and playing with your fucking chickens. Do you know why you despise me so much? Because I am everything you wish to be! Be honest with yourself. Who has done more for Rome, me or you?”

Honorius merely scoffed when he heard this before attempting to refute Marcellus’ grand claims.

“You think you have done so much for Rome? Then why would you stain our great civilization’s honor by offering yourself as a prisoner in the place of a lowly slave?”

When Marcellus heard this question, he raised his brow before answering in a way that he knew would justify his actions without revealing his feelings for Sigefrida.

“Why? Because, unlike you Honorius, it is against my moral beliefs to enable wicked men and their dark desires. If I had handed over my slave to the Bagaudae, I would have been condemning her to a fate worse than death. I would rather die as a captive than be responsible for such evil.

If our positions were reversed, and say your sister was being demanded as a prize for your safe passage, would you give her up? Of course you would, because a coward like you would sell your soul, let alone your ideals, if it meant buying yourself a few more years of your meaningless existence.”

By now Honorius was so enraged that the iron bars of Marcellus’ cell were rattling from the shaking of the emperor’s body. He immediately called out to Marcellus in a threatening tone to remind him of his place in this world.

“I could have you killed for speaking to me this way!”

When Marcellus heard this, his smug expression reached a new level of arrogance as he nodded his head before speaking the words Honorius least wanted to hear.

“You could, but you won’t…”

The emperor did not even think of the trap that Marcellus had laid before him, and quickly spouted off the first thought that had come into his mind as if he was fundamentally incapable of thinking ahead.

“Oh yeah? And why is that?”

It was at this point that Marcellus finally stood up from his position and hobbled over to the iron bars of his cell where he stood towering above the feeble emperor. With a smug expression on his face, he revealed the reason he could speak to Honorius in such a disrespectful manner while they were having a private discussion in the dark.

“Because even you realize that you need men like me to make you look somewhat competent. Without me, and without Stilicho, the people of Rome who you treat as your nothing more than a means of labor would realize what an inept, and foolish child you are, and would surely have your head on a spike within a fortnight.

So you can act high and mighty all you want, but at the end of the day your reign, and your life, are secure because I kill your enemies for you. How do you repay me for my service? Deny me the glories I have earned and imprison me for a minor offense. For what purpose? To satisfy your petty jealousy! So unless you want your empire to crumble around you, I suggest you let me live, and allow me to do my fucking job…”

The emperor was dumbstruck when he heard these words. He could not find a proper response. Everything Marcellus had said was true. While Stilicho may be the supreme commander of western Rome’s forces, they needed him in the Italian peninsula to ensure that the goths did not bare their fangs and invade at the first opportunity given.

Aside from Marcellus, Rome had few generals beneath its banner who were capable enough, or loyal enough to put down Constantine’s rebellion, and so long as Constantine remained a threat in Gaul, Honorius could not kill Marcellus, no matter how much he wanted to. Despite the poor treatment he had received at the hands of the Emperor, Marcellus was still fiercely loyal to the Theodosian dynasty, if not only because of his fondness for Placidia.

Thus, all Honorius could do was publically shame Marcellus for his defeat, and give him a good thrashing. He would not dare to actually remove the man’s head, even if it was what he desired most at the moment. The only thing Honorius could do was withdraw himself from the dungeons in defeat, enraged by the verbal humiliation he had suffered at the hands of his prisoner. As for Marcellus the moment Honorius left the room, he sighed heavily.

“I really shouldn’t have done that… This will only complicate matters further.”

With that said, Marcellus still remained a prisoner of the indolent emperor, and unless Placidia could convince Honorius otherwise, he would have to walk through the streets naked, while being flogged as a punishment for his actions.