146 Family Reunion
Having received the surrender of the young Emperor Theodosius II. Marcellus entered the palace of Constantinople, where he came across three young girls. A fierce look appeared on the face of an adorable young girl who was no older than twelve. Marcellus knew this girl to be Aelia Pulcheria. Behind her were her sisters, Aelia Flaccilla and Aelia Arcadia.
Though he had a kind and gentle expression on his handsome face, Pulcheria appeared to be enraged about his very appearance within her household. She quickly called him a couple of names, which he honestly wondered if she even knew the meaning.
"Heathen! Fornicator! You shall step no further into my father's household!"
The look on Marcellus' face was one of surprise. Though he may technically be an enemy of her little brother, he had no animosity towards him or his three sisters. Instead, Marcellus slowly approached the girls, with his arms spread out, signalling that he was no threat.
"My name is Titus Claudius Marcellus, and I am your uncle. As I told your brother, I mean you no harm. Your aunt is my wife, and she is still alive and well within the city of Rome. I think Placidia would love to see her nephew and nieces returned to her alive and well.
Please do not think of me as your enemy. If you wish to use such a term for anyone, then it should be reserved for the man who coerced your brother, the Emperor, into declaring war on the Western half of our people's mighty Empire."
Though Pulcheria was still reserved around Marcellus, even after finding out he was her uncle, Arcadia, who was the youngest of the three girls, ran out from behind her elder sister and towards Marcellus with tears in her eyes.
"Uncle!"
Losing their parents at such a young age had obviously been hard on the kids. To find out that the old miser, Yazdegerd, had used his power to declare war on their aunt and uncle had truly broken down the younger of the four siblings' defenses.
As for Pulcheria, she was a devout christian despite her young age and because of this, she could never forgive her uncle for being a godless heathen. In truth, she did not know that Marcellus had married her aunt Galla Placidia until just this moment, and because of that she felt a deep sense of duty to convert the man to the proper faith.
The way the girl stared at him, as if he was a clear and constant threat to her life, made Marcellus feel a bit bad. He tried to reason with Pulcheria the best he could.
"I understand your fury. After all, your brother has now lost his throne because of me. But it was a choice he made. I have yet to have any children of my own, and it would be my honor to take you home with me so that your aunt and I can raise you as a proper family. Do you really wish to stay here in Constantinople, under the protection of strangers?"
The words 'as a family' hit Pulcheria in her most sensitive spot. After all, she had lost her parents at a young age, and because of this, she had practically raised her siblings herself these past few years. It was only after hearing this phrase that the girl approached Marcellus with a hint of caution in her eyes.
When Marcellus saw this, he smiled and kneeled down so that he could be within eye level of the young girl. However, he never expected that the girl would take off her cross pendant and place it around his neck before speaking to the man as if she were giving him a sermon.
"I will never accept a heathen as my uncle. You must repent for your sins, or I will never acknowledge you!"
Marcellus honestly did not know how to respond to this. He would never convert to the Christian religion. Its tenants were simply irreconcilable with his way of life. The young Imperator could also never forgive the Christians for their persecution of his faith. However, in that moment, he felt that if he had any chance to get this girl to follow him to Rome, then his only choice was to do as she said.
Thus, the rage in his eyes was quickly replaced with compassion as he held onto the pendant and lied to Pulcheria through his teeth.
"I repent for my sins..."
For the first time since Pulcheria laid eyes on Marcellus, she smiled before hugging him along with his sisters. However, the moment their eyes no longer met, an ugly expression appeared on the Imperator's face.
He gazed at the cross that hung around his neck with disgust. Though it was a present from his niece, he would not feel at ease until he removed such a hated symbol from his personage at the first given opportunity.
Though Marcellus had no way of knowing it at this time, Pulcheria would later find out about his insincerity and would come to despise him for lying to her about his conversion to the Christian faith. However, at the same time, she would make it her life's goal to convert the man to the one true god.
After gathering Theodosius and his sisters, Marcellus did not even give the mighty city of Constantinople another glance. He looked on towards his Generals, and gave the command to Constantius to take command over the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, until a time its soldiers swore loyalty to him alone.
"Constantius, since it was your victory in Illyricum that made this reunification of our Empire possible, I will leave you in command of the east until a time where I am able to incorporate it into the system I have established in the west. From this day forward, you are to protect the city of Constantinople from any and all threats which may bear their fangs against her."
The Imperial Legate bowed before his Imperator before responding in the affirmative to his commands.
"Your will be done, Imperator!"
After saying this Marcellus carried the four children with him towards the nearest supply wagon, and had them accompany him on the long journey back to Rome where their aunt lied in wait for their arrival.
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