Copia's Secret

Chapter 1 ⋆｡°✩

(This book is going to contain depictions of things such as panic/anxiety attacks. If you are bothered by those things, please read with caution)

The day was April 21st, 1970. In a hospital in the city of Siena, Italy, a baby boy named Copia Emeritus is born. He is the child of Imperator Romano and Nihil Emeritus, however, the father is not present. 

Imperator looks down at the child in her arms, the child of her fallen relationship with Nihil. 

Nihil had cheated on her just last year during her pregnancy whilst on tour performing a show in Los Angeles at Whiskey a Go-Go. At the end of his famed song "Kiss the Go-Goat", he kissed several audience members, and poor Imperator had to witness it all from the balcony. She witnessed their relationship crumble right before her eyes. This act made her child illegitimate, and therefore, no longer of importance. 

Nihil regretted his actions deeply, it was the worst decision he ever made in his life. It was purely out of impulse. He was faced with the reality of his actions when Imperator returned to their home country of Italy early from the tour. She not only returned to her home country, but also her home city. She did not return to the Ministry. She could not face him just yet, but she still wanted to remain of importance in the Ministry.

To cope with the loss of Imperator, Nihil proceeded to have a series of hookups with different women. Three of them ended up getting pregnant and having children, Primo Emeritus, Secondo Emeritus, and Terzo Emeritus.

None of the three women wanted to keep the children, so they were Nihil's to handle. The three boys grew up in the Ministry their entire life, but went to boarding school for Secondary school. Nihil was a busy man, and usually did not have time for the boys. Primo acted as a sort of father figure sometimes, as he was a full seven years older than Secondo and Terzo. The two were only a few months apart in age, Terzo being the youngest.

Nihil had no idea Imperator was pregnant, and Imperator didn't know it either, but she was pregnant that very day he cheated on her. She found out around a month after her return, and she was bewildered. She was carrying the product of their once prosperous and loving relationship. It was all she had left of that part of them. She of course had no intention of informing Nihil of this pregnancy, she felt that he didn't deserve that.

Copia was brought into this world as a complete and utter secret. Ever since Copia was able to comprehend speech, she grilled into his mind that he was not to tell a single soul where he truly came from. She felt that if his identity was revealed, she would lose her position in the church, and most importantly, her dignity. He was to be kept a secret, but it didn't stop Imperator from loving Copia unconditionally. He was her only child, and she couldn't keep her motherly instincts at bay.

Copia was to remain in Siena, whilst Imperator returned to the outskirts of Rome and the Ministry. She needed to keep her power there, as she was the main one in charge. The Ministry couldn't exist without a firm leader. Nihil certainly wasn't fit enough.

Copia grew up with basically zero parental influence in his life. His mother only visited him once every few months, and that was for a few days at a time at most. His father still didn't know about his existence, so he had never even met his father. Not once in his life.

The only person he had for some sort of parental guidance was his nanny, Alexandra Rossi. Imperator had hired her a few months after Copia was born, and she had been his guardian ever since. She is essentially his mother, even if she isn't blood-related. Copia always saw her as his mom, and referred to her as such when he was a young child. Alexandra never minded this. She cared for Copia relentlessly, and took pity on the young boy as he was left with no true parental figures. Copia later just referred to her as "Al" or "Alex" though, as he felt the term "mom" seemed a bit awkward.