Practice (Tag: Alidia) rated M

After getting Lilly to eat something, and paying for their meal, Nicodemus led her to Aphrodite's fountain. It was a beautiful sight. It depicted the Goddess rising from the sea shortly after her birth.
"This is the place." he said to his companion.

Lilly nodded as she took Nicodemus by the hands again and looked into his eyes. "What I am going to say is what my heart feels and I can't fight it...not anymore..." Lilly took a deep breath in and out. "Nicodemus....I...I am in love with you...I know it's forbidden but I don't care..." she started to cry. "I had many results of what I thought love was but your love is genuine..."

Nicodemus held her close. A big smile began to work its way over his face. A sigh escaped his mouth.
"Well, that saves me a lot of time. I was going to tell you that I loved you first, but you beat me to it." he told her.

Lilly heard his heartbeat coexisting with hers when he held her close. She looked at him with her sparkling eyes and she was about to kiss him but the fountain began to rain on them. Lilly smiled and laughed.
Meanwhile Oliver the oil merchant noticed the lovers and smiled. "Found you Lilly..." he hid well and waiting for the right moment.

Nicodemus laughed with her at the rain on them. It was unexpected. He carefully shielded Lilly from getting more soaked.
"How very romantic." he said to the statue of Aphrodite, attempting to make a joke out of the situation.

Lilly smiled. "Very romantic but its missing something...."
Lilly kissed Nicodemus as she pressed herself with him.
Oliver smiled. But he still waited patiently.
Music filled the air as they kissed.

His kiss with Lilly was sweet and gentle. There was nothing forced about it. They had all the time available to enjoy it.
"I really do love you." Nicodemus told her when he needed air.

Lilly giggled. "I love you too." She picked a lilly and put it in Nicodemus's belt.
She had no worries with her Nicodemus around.
Then it happened. Oliver striked. "Guards arrest these two....one is a runaway and the other is an official..."
The guards came on the double and arrested Lilly and dragged her off. "Nicodemus...." she cried.

"Stop this at once! You have no authority here! Who do you think you are?" Nicodemus demanded of the stranger.

Oliver smiled evilly. "I am Lilly's master...now if you excuse me I have to go to the arena to see how they treat her there and you are going to jail..."
At the arena Lilly was so scared. "Nicodemus I miss you..." she cried. She gasped when she saw lilies blooming at the window of the cell. Made her think of the one she put in Nicodemus's belt. Without anyone looking she picked it and placed it on her heart.

Nicodemus had never thought he would find himself inside a jail cell. He worried about where Lilly was right now. Was she safe, or afraid? He noticed the flower she must have given him. He held it up as he sampled it's sweet scent.

Lilly smelled the lily and put a couple of tears in it. Then she heard footsteps. She placed the lily on the bed and looked at it once more with her sparkling eyes. "I love you and only my dear Nicodemus...no matter what happens...."

Meanwhile Oliver was telling Caesar what happened and Caesar ordered that theyd free his favorite official to hear his story.

Nicodemus was surprised when Caesar himself asked to hear the story from his perspective. He was brought before the Emperor to explain. If he was going to save them both, he had to trust himself and set the record straight at once.
"I found her as a thief after taking a woman's ring. I tricked her into confessing, but her story of being beaten and raped by her master made me take pity on her. However, I could not let justice be ignored. I gave her an offer to serve as my assistant in upholding the law until we agreed that she had paid her debt to society. That is the truth." he explained to Caesar.

Caesar nodded as he understood. "I'm so sorry but I can't do anything cause her master is taking her back...and I signed papers...but if you love her the way you are saying ...go save her..."

Meanwhile Lilly was back at the Oliver fields but she was whipped constantly sometimes for no reason. And then Oliver wanted to see her, in the secret place. She knew what was going on she cried. She missed her beloved. With every thrust he did she thought of him and their kiss.

The ride to the fields was long and Nicodemus was in no mood to be patient. He had permission to find Lilly and save her, and that was exactly what he was going to do. By the time he got there, he found that Oliver was sleeping and Lilly was curled up in a corner, shaking. He had a good idea of what had happened. He snuck in and made his way to the room.

Lilly scented something familiar in the air but she thought she was imaging it. She missed her beloved so much. She started to get up to mend her wounds. "Did I say you could get up..." Oliver asked. Lilly whimpered as he walked towards her. "No...please...I'll do good..." Oliver grabbed her and pushed her across the room and grabbed his whip. She screamed. "No!!!! Please..." she cried in pain as he whipped her.

Nicodemus was just in time to grab the end of the whip. He took the offensive thing and wrapped it around the other man's neck. It was obvious what he was intending to do with it.
"This looks great on you, Oliver. You wear it well. It's a pity you had to go to all that trouble just to die." he said as he strangled the man who'd hurt his Lilly.

Lilly opened her eyes and looked up. She cried as she went to her beloved. "You came for me...but what about...oh forget it..." she kissed him. "my beloved Nicodemus..." Lilly ran her fingers through his hair.

"What makes you think I would not come for you? I was granted permission to come here and I would have even if I didn't." Nicodemus told her, gladly.

"Forgot it...you came and that's that...Oh Nicodemus I love you so much...let's go home..." Lilly kicked Oliver in his "maker", "I am so glad you came for me..."
Meanwhile in Olympus some of the gods and goddesses were happy for the couple but Hades and Nxy weren't happy, Hades wanted her and Nxy wanted a strong official like him so they; Hades and Nxy decided to work together to get them.

"I would always come for you." Nicodemus told her as he led her out of that place. He was glad to hear her refer to his home as her home. It made happy as he took her back home with him.

Lily smiled when she was back with her beloved. "I am going to take a bath and I will be freshen up for where we left off at the fountain..." she giggled as she kissed him and went in the bath. As she was almost done she went underwater to get the soap out of her hair and she opened her eyes she saw Hades. She tried to scream but Nxy showed up and shifted to look like her. Nxy who was Lilly looked at Nicodemus "Now where were we at the fountain...oh yes with me kissing you..." Nxy began kissing him and Lilly was in the Underworld.

Nicodemus received the kiss, but something didn't feel right. There was a certain bold quality in her behavior that he didn't think Lilly would express this soon. This was not his Lilly, there was no other explanation. He gently pushed the imposter off and held her out at arms length.
"Who are you? Where is Lilly?" he asked, trying his best not to sound offensive in his question.

Nyx smiled as she shifted to her goddess self. "I am Nyx Goddess of Night and you mortal named Nicodemus...have captured my heart....and forget about your flower Lilly...shes with Hades....see...." She made a sphere show up. Hades was touching Lilly while she screamed as she was chained. "Nicodemus....is my beloved not you....."

The sight of a Goddess there was a real surprise. However, Nicodemus did not feel anything for her like he did for Lilly. And he wasn't in the mood to be played around with.
"I am sorry, Great Goddess, but I do not love you. And Hades, you surprise me. You have always been faithful to your wife, Persephone. I can expect this behavior from Zeus or Poseidon, but not you." Nicodemus finally said, sounding rather tired.