Lovers In Pompeii (Ian Hecox)

Chapter 20 - Searching

*Lucia's Point of View*

I sealed the letter that I wrote to my father explaining everything about Ian, how he escaped and me telling him when we'd arrive home.

Our journey would take a few days and it would take even longer because we were looking for some towns that we could possibly live in.

"Ready to go darling?" Ian asked me as I grabbed my packed suitcase.

"I think so." I said while looking around the room, searching for anything I might have missed. "I think I'm ready." I smiled and he nodded.

We paid for our hotel room and found a carriage waiting for us to get to the next town. We set our bags near the front and sat near the back of the carriage.

"Where to?" The driver asked and we both shrugged.

"Take us somewhere beautiful and unique." Ian smiled and the driver nodded.

"We could go to Casonable. It'll take a few hours but the city is beautiful this time of year." He offered.

"That sounds perfect." I said.

"Okay then. To Casonable!" He exclaimed and started yelling at the horse to go forward.

I sat across from Ian in the small carriage. I looked at how beaten up he was. His bruises were slowly healing but the cuts were much slower. They were small and shallow but very long. One ran from the left top side of his forehead to his cheekbone. When he noticed me looking at him, he smiled.

"How are you? Honestly." I asked him.

"Honestly, I can't feel half of my face so pretty good. My arm hurts from the bad burn on it." He admitted.

"How did you burn your arm again?" I asked him, he knew I had a rather bad memory.

"Well, when the lava started rolling into the city, it caught everything in its way on fire and fire spreads quickly. It was impossible to avoid the heat and the flames. I got unlucky once and my arm accidentally swung and hit a burning building." He laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" I laughed with him even though I didn't know what's funny.

"It's just in all the chaos, I burn my arm. I was so lucky that I walked away with a few cuts and bruises instead of a missing ligament." He said truthfully.

"We're both lucky. I don't know what I would've done if my mother didn't send me away from the city. We'd both probably be sitting under metres of ash and pumice, insisting on going out in a blaze of glory." I smiled at the thought. Not the thoughts of dying, but Ian and I insisting on leaving this world together.

"She loved you so much, you know that right? You mother." He said.

"I always knew deep down that she only wanted the absolute best for me." I smiled. "She sacrificed her own life for yours just so I could be happy. That says everything."

"She was an amazing woman. A pain in the ass sometimes but extremely honourable." He sighed.

I crawled over to where he was sitting and sat beside him. I rested my head on his shoulder and we just sat together in silence. We were thankful to still be in each other's lives because we know how many weren't as lucky as we were.

"When we find a home, I promise that the first thing we do after we move in is to make you my beautiful wife." He said and kissed the top my head.

"I'd love that." I smiled and kissed his shoulder.

"Have you ever thought for a second how insane our lives are? We broke so many rules for each other and we've survived so many problems. A few months ago our biggest problem was how were we going to keep seeing each other. Now, every problem seems so small." He laughed.

"Now we can fully appreciate how lucky we are." I smiled.

"You're right. As usual." He smiled.

*Ian's Point of View*

"Lucia, wake up." I whispered to the girl asleep in my arms.

She shot up and it made me jump. She looked around frantically but calmed down when she saw me beside her. She let out a deep breath and fell back into my arms.

I let out a small laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Don't worry, I'm fine." She smiled. I knew it was a lie but I didn't have enough time to address it.

"We're almost in town." I told her.

"What's the name of the town again?" She asked, clearly still half asleep.

"Casa- Casoma- I don't remember." I admitted and she giggled. "What are you laughing at?"

"It's funny when you can't remember things. You just kind of blank out. It's adorable." She said and sat up beside me.

"I'm not adorable." I said. "I'm manly." I flexed my arms for her which only caused her to laugh.

"You are such a dork." She smiled and kissed my cheek.

"We have arrived in Casonable!" The driver announced.

"That's the name of the town." I remembered.

We spent a few days exploring the old town. It was nice but it wasn't for us. It was a town made up of older people and not enough young people.

"Ian, I kind of just want to go home. Home as in Roseville. Back to Violet and my father." Lucia told me and I nodded.

"Okay then. Let's go home." I draped my arm around her shoulder and kissed her lightly on her forehead.

We arrived back home in a few days. I grabbed Lucia and I's luggage as she ran into the mansion to greet her father that she has been apart from for a few weeks. When I entered the home, she was in the arms of her father. I dropped the luggage and walked towards the man who married the woman who helped me escape. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and mid-back.

"I can't imagine what you've gone through son." He whispered to me.

"We've both lost a lot but we're both here." I told him.

"You were one of very few lucky people who escaped." He tells me.

"I will never take anything for granted anymore." I told him and let go of him and took a few steps back to stand beside my love.

"You've both been through so much." He smiled at us and I put my arm around Lucia's shoulders. "I'm so sorry that I have to put you through more."

Lucia and I looked at each other with a puzzled look.

"What do you mean Dad?" She asked.

"A war between the Roman Empire and France is about to break out. Every household is required to provide two men for the war." He paused.

There was a heavy silence in the room. I looked at Lucia and she looked at me. I couldn't tell if she looked sad, angry or disappointed.

"Are you saying that you and I.." I questioned.

"I'm sorry Ian. But yes." He sighed.

"I'm sorry son. We leave in a week to prepare for the battle." He walked away sadly and left Lucia and I alone in the large room.

She started crying into my shoulder and I held her as tightly as I could.

"Why can't we just be together?" She wept.

"I know this seems horrible right now but I promise, I'll do everything I can and then I'll come back to you." I whispered to her as I rested my head on top of hers.

"So you're going to have to fight against your home country? You'll fight against people we know and you will just kill them?" She asked and I nodded.

"I will do whatever I have to so we can be together. I love you Lucia." I told her.

"I love you too Ian but it seems like someone or something really doesn't want us to be together." She said.

"Lucia. You need to be strong. I'm sorry but you need to be strong for the both of us." I told her honestly and she stopped crying and stood up straight.

"You're right. Strong for the both us." She said.

"We can make it through this. I know we can."