Chapter 7.3: The Kingdom of Hawaii

 Ace sat on the bed and closed the drapes, hoping that the man would not return. He did, since it was his room, and Ace was too overwhelmed to think clearly. Ace let out a shriek when the man opened one of the drapes and he laughed. "You are the strangest looking Roman I've come upon in my life," he purred.

  Ace looked at him, inspecting him and trying to understand who he was and what he did to garner such importance. Unlike most of the people he had met so far, this man was fair skinned, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. He was clean shaven, wearing only a necklace made of red beads, and a fine linen kilt that went to his knees. He had kohl on his eyes, used as a type of eye liner, and Ace was confused why this man was dressed as if he were ready to go to a costume party.

  "Stop staring," the man sneered. "It's unbecoming." Ace looked away and apologized.

  "It's fine," the man smiled. "You are of course, only nervous in the presence of a god." Loud laughter came from Invictus, and Ace wondered if he was about to be stuck with more crazy people as before he arrived, except this time there was no television, no internet, and worst of all, no air conditioning.

  The man then took his time, staring at Ace, taking all of him in, curious as to where he was from. "Your hair is so bright," he mumbled. "Your skin is so fair. You are quite possibly the cleanest man I have met in my life." Ace did not feel very clean, as he had not bathed in a day, and became more self conscious as the man himself just bathed and strangely smelled of perfume.

The man got on the bed next to him, and Ace's eyes went wide, worrying that he had no choice but to stay here, with this man, and do things.

  Instead of anything horrible, the man grabbed Ace's purple hoodie and caressed it. Ace turned red, and the man had a strange look on his face as he rubbed the material. "You must be a prince," he whispered. "From a strange land. How else could you afford such rare colors and soft material?"

I should tell him this, Ace thought. If I do, then he won't kill me, and maybe he will stop touching me.

"I am…," Ace lied. "I am lost and cannot find my way home."

"What is your name and title," the man asked.

   Ace did not want to give his real name, and hesitated. He decided to give it to him anyway, worried that more lies would only catch up with him. "I am uh...Acheus. Acheus of Ionadis," he mumbled. "I am the only son of the King… Tyreceus…." The man nodded, and looked grim, now worried that another kingdom would think that he had taken one of their princes hostage.

  "I am Titus Cassius," the man replied. "I am a representative of the gods here among the mortals, one of their children."

  Ace had heard this claim many times before. That people like him were the children of the gods, that was where they gained their powers from. So Ace smiled, thinking he had found another person like him, an astral, in this strange land. "So am I," Ace mumbled. "What can you do?" Titus did not expect that reply and turned red.

"You go first," he commanded.

   Now comfortable and thinking that he would not be assaulted again, Ace and Titus got off the bed and Ace grinned, waving his hands around, making a big show. Here he was seen as powerful and almighty, while back at home, his ability was seen as dull and common. Titus watched as Ace blipped around the room, grinning and making jokes, easily acting as if this were a normal thing.

  When he was done showing off, Titus' heart was beating fast and he was clapping, overjoyed with what he had seen. He held Ace's hands and looked him in the eyes, face flushed and excited. "You will stay here," he declared. "I will give you everything. You will be my consort." Ace did not know what that word meant, and simply nodded, knowing that this was the best it was ever going to get until he found his watch and could return home.

Ace looked into Titus' eyes and felt strange.

"Have we met before," Ace asked. Titus said no.

"I would remember someone such as yourself," he exclaimed. "You are amazing!"

"Thank you," Ace mumbled. He pried his hands loose from Titus who was now overly friendly and touchy.

"You must tell me how you made such fine clothes," he said in awe.

"I can't tell you, because I don't know how they made it," Ace replied. "I am so sorry."

  "It is no matter," Titus decided. "I will give you your own quarters, your own servant, and best of all, I will send word to your kingdom of your safety." Ace now knew that he was caught in another lie. He decided it was best to lie again, and came up with a name of a place that did not exist.

"I come from the Kingdom of...Hawaii."

  Hawaii was not yet a kingdom, but Ace hoped that Titus' ignorance would make it work, and Ace himself had no idea it was once a kingdom thanks to his own ignorance.

  Titus went off, and got the first servant he could find. He told them to send a letter to Tyreceus of Hawaii, and that everything was fine, and his son would soon return. This servant was sent on a fool's errand, and would never find this kingdom that had yet to exist.

He would later be punished for refusal to complete a task.

  Titus spent the next several days showing Ace around the city of Alexandria. Ace was amazed how a place could be so beautiful, but was still upset that there was no electricity. He visited their grand library, and was impressed that there could be a place that rivaled the Academy's library. Titus took him to the port, and Ace grinned, seeing boats, and many fish, most of them extinct in the time he had come from.

  At this point Ace realized that he was still on Earth, just simply a time from very long ago. He had no idea what year it was, but he did not care. Ace was worried about how long he had been gone. After a week he had been there, Ace had become quite depressed. He was stuck in this strange land without his friends, and the only person he could speak to Titus, who was always so excited to see him, he didn't feel like it was truly a real conversation.

  Every day Titus Cassius slowly pushed down Ace's many walls, attempting to get him to sleep with him. Ace was finally understanding what a consort was and now mentally prepared himself daily for when Titus would finally make his move. Over the past week Titus did not, for he was simply distracted by Ace's many tales of electricity, air conditioning, and airplanes.

  Ace had switched over to the clothes that everyone else wore, because even though his own clothes were more comfortable, it was too hot to keep wearing them. It was very hard for him to get used to not wearing boxers, and he only had one pair that he couldn't wear every day. Titus noticed his sour mood and attempted to cheer him up.