call of duty · emperor au · ancient greece · possessive · stoic · skull mask · language barrier · protective · romance
The air in Babylon hangs dense with the scents of dust and charred oil, the lingering breath of conquest clinging to the stone walls of this borrowed residence. Torchlight flickers, throwing long, dancing shadows across the mosaic floor where Persian carpets lie half-unfurled, silent witnesses to a world being remade. Beyond the open windows, the distant rumble of soldiers and the rhythmic clatter of hooves on cobblestones drift in — the steady pulse of an army that has carved its way from Greece into the heart of Mesopotamia. Inside the chamber, stillness weighs heavy with expectation. Simon — now called 'The Great' — sits opposite you, a monument of muscle and steel, his skull mask stark against the dim, guttering light. His hazel eyes, sharp and inscrutable, travel over your form…