Romulus

Romulus

The evening sun shone through the high windows, suffusing the room with a soft crimson glow. Lanterns hung on the wall, just now being lit by a short woman with eyes like sapphires and at least half a smile at all times. The sound of laughter and relaxed conversation mingled with the sunset, punctuated occasionally by a yell of excitement or the clinking of cups. Groups of men and women formed, merged and separated across the tables in the room in waves of conversation and cheer, the sounds breaking against Romulus’ ears gently and consistently.

Romulus and his companions rose another mug to their success and drank deeply, drops sometimes spilling free from the ceramic and falling to the stones below. Guffaws and giggles followed, usually accompanied by a solid clap on the back. Romulus laughed with them, his head beginning to spin from all the round before. He looked around at the grins of his friends, their bodies relaxed and carefree as they ordered more drinks. This, right here, was a room removed from time and troubles, where nothing could go wrong, nothing could be wrong. 

Romulus felt like crying.

For a moment, when Sander lifted his mug, Romulus could see the baton glinting in his hand. Aime shifted in her seat and he could see her twisting her body into the kick. If he looked down, he could still see the body on the floor, in the dirt, twisted and broken. He looked up, seeing Sander’s eyes on him and laughed, accepting the drink and throwing it back. His smile felt like a disease, something corrupt that had crawled onto his face while he slept and taken up residence without his permission. 

Someone yelled a few tables over and it sounded like a cry for help. The young duster had yelled like that, for what felt like hours. They’d always been told that dusters were savages with only two states: placid or angry. This duster had definitely been angry, but the tears that glinted in the torchlight had to have been from sadness, hadn’t they? Romulus didn’t know if anyone else had even seen them. Surely if they had, they wouldn’t be out drinking now, would they?

Romulus threw back another drink. A seeping dampness on his chest let him know that more had spilled than the mug before. He didn’t care, and laughed along with the others. Their grins looked predatory now, twisted grimaces that were all teeth and malice. Romulus shook the image out of his head and fished out his money to buy the next round. 

The sun had set a while ago, and the only light was from the flickering green lanterns. Someone walked past one and a looming shadow crossed the room, making everything just a little bit darker until they moved on. Romulus left the table before the drinks arrived, saying that he needed some air. The door kept moving to the left but he eventually made it outside, under the stars. Using the wall to prop himself up, Romulus walked around the side of the building, not feeling the chill of the night. The alley was unlit and he stumbled more than once before finally collapsing, sitting with his back to the wall. From inside he could still hear laughter, muffled by the bricks between them. 

Romulus leaned forward and retched. Cheers sounded from inside, as if congratulating him. His stomach heaved a few more times and then was still. He pressed his head back against the cold wall, feeling a bit of stone dig into his skull. He swallowed, trying fruitlessly to rid his mouth of the taste of bile. It was between his teeth now. His eyes stung and he felt tears run down his face. His body shook, the shaking not connected to the cold. 

He could hear the young duster shouting, yelling, pleading with them to stop, but they didn’t. The body crunched under his boot, snapped under his baton. The woman was dead but they kept going, just kept going to make sure and the duster was crying and screaming and Romulus might have been too, he couldn’t remember.

He leant forward again, feeling his stomach begin to rise once more. Inside, the crowd laughed and drank and celebrated their success.

Another little something from The Fifth Citadel.

These are really just to give me snapshots of different characters at different moments in time. Spoilers: this is a sad moment.