Oh dear, I hope I am not causing you any trouble with this :(<br/><br/>~~~<br/><br/>As the carriage stopped, Lucilla felt her heart sink within her chest. Would Juno abandon her when she needed protection from the Goddess the most? Would the heavens avert their gaze in favor of her brother's dark desires? Or would the light shine in her favor, and grant her wisdom from Minerva to shield her from ill fate. The questions would not cease, even as the door was opened and the bright sun entered the dark carriage, illuminating Lucilla's fair skin and causing her dark eyes to squint ever so slightly. Her hands graced the edge of the open doorway, and as her sandled foot touched the ground the crowds cheered. It was a bittersweet thing to have their princess back, and though Rome was much preferred to Alexandria in her heart, Lucilla could not help but to linger on the bitter taste of her return to the Empire's capital.<br/><br/>She kept her arms regaly at her side as she made her way up the steps to the palace. Though she stepped with an ethereal grace which almost mirrored floating, with each step she felt a thousand needles diving into her skin. She was torn, in so many ways. Her brother was very much her world, just as her own son, and yet she dreaded seeing Commodus for fear of what he could command in the name of his birthright. When they were children, it had been quite simple for Lucilla to take command and correct her brother for simple fact of age. Their mother had passed into the Underworld shortly before Commodus' third year, so Lucilla had taken up the charge of raising him, causing a more intimate dependancy on both their parts. The young prince however had been the one to settle on this dependancy, so much so that it had never left him, and took root within his heart until it developed into something sinister. Age could not be used as a command of respect now, for as the a female, Lucilla had little power in the eyes of the Empire. Despite her father's favor towards her, and the soft whispers he had shared claiming she would make a beautiful and wise ruler of Rome, the crown would pass to Commodus...and the hand which gave him this crown would be trembling more than Lucilla's heart at that moment.<br/><br/>As his hand joined with hers, she smiled to him, elevating herself so that she might stand on the plateau beside him. The kiss caught her off guard, as she usually could catch his advances in time to direct her lips to his forehead instead. This time however, as their lips graced one anothers, Lucilla felt heat rise to her face and she quickly averted her gaze. "It does me good to see you as well, brother.." she said softly, her slender thin fingers slightly tensing within his grasp. She turned her attention to the crowd, whom she gave a passive wave to before stepping back towards the door, her hand still taken within her brothers. She glanced down at him, seeing as she was still slightly taller, but mostly due to her lengthy curls which had been taken up in a rather refined style.<br/><br/>"The carriage was less than comfortable, but that is to be expected considering the distance.." she remarked, glancing around with a soft sigh before turning her attention back to her wide eyed sibling. She smiled without thinking, he was so corrupt, yet so innocent at times. It seemed  this golden quality would forever be unknown to anyone but Lucilla, who had for some forsaken reason been blessed with the fortune of knowing cruelity's charm.<br/><br/>Bittersweet...<br/><br/>Such is life..<br/><br/>She withdrew her hand from his grasp, moving it up to brush a curl away from her face she made her way to the open doors of the palace. "Have you and father silenced your bickering, or have you simply stopped speaking to him all together?" she asked, raising a thin brow as she turned down the hall which would lead to her chambers, knowing he would follow without being asked to. He had spoken of a bit of an uproar between himself and their father in the last letter she had recieved. Something regarding immaturity and doubt, and words exchanged with Maximus which Lucilla could not recall clearly at the moment, but was certain Commodus would make his opinion known about the issue. Whether this would be truth, or would be twisted to envoke sympathy from his sister, Lucilla would have to wait until their father returned from Gaul to find out....<br/><br/>