Based on the work of Robyn Bee, In 7 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.

"My guards were out in the city last night," the Empress said. "They can confirm some of the captain's reports. There is real wealth, real organization behind some of these dissenters."

"Traitors," Belisarius growled. The dark-haired general's cheeks were red with anger. "Augustus, let me bring my legions into the city. I can have the worst of the factions hanged by sunset."

The Emperor, Justinian, massaged the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to let stratiotai loose in my own capital, Bel. The people aren't our enemy."

"They're burning the city down around us!"

"Captain," Theodora said before her husband could speak. She addressed the nervous-looking commander of the city guard. "We've had riots before. Why haven't you been able to keep the peace these past few days?"

The guardsman bowed low. "Your pardon, Augusta. I have few men under my command, and the Blues and Greens are well entrenched in most parts of the city. In the past, they've done a lot of the work in keeping their own neighborhoods orderly. Now, however,” He trailed off into a grimace.

"Now, they're the bastards doing all the damage," Antonina said from where she sat beside her husband.

Belisarius' wife had swept her blonde hair back from her face, sifting through a stack of reports on the table in front of her. Antonina accompanied the general nearly every time he went out on campaign. She was well used to helping him untangle the mess of paperwork that taking any sort of decision inevitably produced.

"You cannot control the city, then?" The Empress said.

"Forgive me, Augusta, but I cannot. Not on my own. I've lost dozens already in the attempt."

"Then let me bring in the legions," Belisarius said, his fist slamming against the table. "We're letting the mob run us over!"

"Enough!" The Emperor snapped. "I am not slaughtering hundreds because a few nobles are stirring up discontent! We are an Empire of laws, and I will not taint our efforts with the senseless spilling of blood."

The two men glared at each other. They were men of power, both used to getting their own way. But of course, only one was Emperor.

Belisarius looked away. "Of course, Augustus."

The Empress let out a breath. She dismissed the captain with a few words of thanks, before going to her husband. She leaned into him from behind his chair, wrapping her arms around his chest.

Justinian slumped back. "The Blues and the Greens; why did my damned predecessors have to cede so much to them?"

Theodora kissed him on the cheek. "We always knew that curtailing them would be difficult, love. Don't lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish."

The Emperor breathed deeply of his wife's scent, leaning into her touch. He let out a long sigh and straightened.

"Okay. They want me to pardon the escaped prisoners, right? Will satisfy them?"

"Seems like the minimum," Antonina said, fanning her summer-reddened face. "They've already escaped, so what's the harm?"

"The harm," Belisarius said. "Is that they were condemned to die."

"Bel is right, my love," the Empress said. "You spoke of upholding our laws; what message does it send to those watching us for weakness if we capitulate on this now?"

I shifted in my place against one of the walls. Helena and I were the only other ones in the room now, our post only a protective lunge from the Empress' seat.

They had been at this for an hour and more, a series of officials, titled aristocrats and soldiers streaming in and out of the Emperor's office. They'd been summoned to give their official opinions, testimonies, and reports; the mass of information intended to aid the Emperor in handling the developing crisis.

Or not handling it, as seemed to be the case.

I turned away, looking towards the open window. Outside, the sun was high in the sky. I could see the sloping roofs of the Hagia Sofia and the Patriarch's residence. The city stretched beyond, baking in the afternoon heat.

The scorching summer temperature, not at all helped by the pall of smoke that hung over the capital's streets.

The planned chariot races were due to begin soon, when there was a loud knock at the door. One of the Excubitors on duty poked his head in.

"Senator Hypatius is here, Augustus," the man said.

"What?" The Emperor responded. "This is a closed meeting. Send him away."

The guard hesitated. "Of course, sire. He says that he's come from the city, however. And that he holds a list of the people's demands.

Justinian and his wife exchanged a glance. "Very well. Send him in."

"You Imperial Majesties," the senator said, sweeping his robes out in a deep bow. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Out with it, Hypatius," Belisarius growled. "We don't have time for your pretty words."

"Of course, general," the senator said. He approached after a nod from the Emperor, pulling a roll of parchment from somewhere on his person. "I'll speak plainly. Representatives from the Blues and Greens approached me earlier today. We sat down together to speak of their grievances. This is the result of that meeting."

He set the parchment down. The Emperor, Belisarius, and Antonina set upon it like wolves; ripping it open and devouring its content. The Empress, however, watched the senator.

"You're uninterested in the people's demands, Augusta?" Hypatius asked.

"I have a good idea as to what they are already, senator," she said. "I'm more interested in what role you play in all this."

The man smoothed his robes. "That of simple messenger, Augusta."

"But why you?" She said. "And who were these 'representatives' you met with."

Hypatius shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I've worked hard to cultivate a reputation as a fair man who is much agreeable to reason. So, perhaps it is for that."

"Indeed," the Empress said. "It must be your, reputation."

The senator bristled, but the Emperor chose that moment to speak. "This is absurd! The dismissal of my prefect, John, and of my quaestor? The full pardon of the prisoners and the repeal of my new laws?"

"Not every single one of your new laws, Augustus," Hypatius said, smoothly. "I believe those changes most desired are spelled out."

"No," the Emperor said. "Not all. Mainly those towards women and the change in the aristocracy's share of tax."

"The people are aggrieved, your Majesty," Hypatius said. "You've stripped the Blues and Greens of power and have changed many of the basic tenants of our laws. Add to this, the ruinous cost of our campaigns in the east; surely you must understand some of the people's plight?"

"I'm not agreeing to any of this," the Emperor growled.

"Augustus, please. There is wisdom in giving a little to gain a lot."

Theodora snorted. "Explain to me the wisdom of completely folding over?"

They continued in this vein for the rest of the time they had, arguing back and forth until we left for the Hippodrome. Hypatius accompanied us through the halls of the Imperial Palace, one of several that had been invited to watch that afternoon's races in the presence of the Emperor.

The stadium was full when we arrived, the crowd a roiling mass of anger. They roared when Justinian stepped into view, drunk on wine and the victories they'd already had against the city.

The Emperor called for quiet, biding them to let him answer their resentments. It was several long minutes before the mob was still enough for his voice to be heard. He began his speech, and on the sands, the first of the charioteers emerged.

Theodora had not yet taken her seat, remaining back by Helena and me while her husband spoke. There were a dozen or so Excubitors in the box as well, there to make sure no harm came to the Imperial family and their guests.

Hypatius approached while Justinian was halfway through his prepared words.

"The Emperor is wise to give into these demands."

The Empress didn't let any of her anger show. She'd argued hard against any sort of concession. "There are some things that he will not bend on. No matter how much of your wisdom that you share."

The senator's eyes moved about, making sure that none but we were within earshot. Disdain flooded his tone.

"You mean the repeal of your laws?" He smirked. "I fear that it is only a matter of time, Empress."

"Victory is an ugly color on you, Hypatius. But it is a bit premature, is it not?"

"Premature?" The senator swept his arm out. "Look at this. The people cry for change! Will you really try to keep forcing your unwanted beliefs onto so many who want nothing of them?"

"Unwanted?" The Empress said. "The elevation of women is good for the Empire as a whole, senator. Are we too, not God's creatures."

"Of course, though none other possess such delusions of grandeur."

The Empress snorted. "Only those born to privilege see equality as a loss."

"A privilege," Hypatius said, "that was granted to us by God. And how wise a decision it was. Did a woman's choice not already cost us the paradise of Eden?"

"Ah, of course," Theodora said. "That old tale. What a stupid girl she was, to listen to the serpent and hide her naked perfection. As if clothing herself against a man's crawling eyes could ever bring some sort of comfort."

"A wholly false interpretation." The senator sneered. "But I suppose that we should trust a whore's mind to see lust as the root of all things."

I tensed, my anger flaring. I made to step forward, but the Empress flicked her open palm towards me.

"I was a whore, senator," she said. "And so, you may trust me when I say that it wasn't women that came to me with minds full of lust."

"As you well know," Hypatius said, face reddening. "Eve's sin was disobedience; her refusal to submit herself to man and God. A sin which you seek to drive us back into."

"Was it not God who made me Empress?" Theodora said. "It is by His divine authority I rule."

"Your authority," he spat, "comes from trapping a powerful enough man between your legs. You would determine the course of our Empire through the ungodly use of your sex!"

"Does my husband's love and respect for me somehow cloud his mind?"

"Love," he said. "Or is it your flesh that you use to steer him towards your ends?"

"My husband is no slave to his desires, Hypatius. Great men do not possess the flaws of the majority."

Hypatius' eyes flashed, but the Empress wasn't finished.

"And surely, senator, a man like you can come up with something other than the same fearful lamentations? God has granted gifts to all his creations. Is it not the most pathetic sort of weakness; that the man who lords over his family with the strength of his arm, suddenly cries sin when his own base lust is used against him?"

"Our laws are clear," Hypatius said through gritted teeth. "Do not expect us to sit quietly by as you trample over nature and tradition."

"Ah, so it is 'us' now?" Theodora said. "How easy you speak of disobedience when it is the sin of another. Your Emperor, the one who you have sworn to obey as your master, has commanded that you cease this insurrection."

The Empress' expression was hard, looking down towards the senator from an eagle's height. "Do you too, as Eve once did, refuse to submit yourself?"

Hypatius didn't respond, glaring at the Empress with barely-held fury. But she wasn't finished speaking, leaning forward.

"You cannot see past your own failings. You're weak, and your insecurities disgust me. Men like you make us out to be frail, simple creatures that are good for nothing more than venting your lust and bearing your children. Your fragile egos cannot bear the thought that a woman might, in truth, be a stronger, more intelligent, more capable being than you will ever be."

The Empress moved towards him; the deadly grace of the raptor's dive. Her words, filled with the eagle's unshakable pride, pinned him like talons.

"But I will liberate us. I will show all of you what a woman can really be."

She reached out to run a finger along Hypatius' jaw. He flinched back at the sudden contact, looking away from the Empress' languid smile.

"And be sure," she purred, her silken chest so near to his. "That I will use every weapon in my arsenal."

"Vile woman," he hissed. His face blazed. "You don't know what's coming, you stupid whore. I'll,”

The mob's rising roar swallowed his next words. I turned in time to see the crowd flooding onto the sands of the Hippodrome.

"Nika! Nika! "

They crashed against the palace walls; swords and axes and pitchforks flashing in the summer sun. The Emperor shouted, but the mob didn't hear. They pounded against the walls, flames rising from where men held torches to the stadium's wooden stands.

The Hippodrome was burning, smoke rising with the thunder of the crowd's battle cry.

"Nika! Nika! Nika! Nika! "

We were under siege. And when I looked back towards the Empress, Hypatius was gone.

"Have you ever been under siege, my Leontius?"

I turned at the sound of the Empress' voice, stiffening into a salute. "Augusta! "

She rolled her eyes. "And a good morning to you too. Has three days of confinement truly done nothing to ease your sense of property?"

"That's like asking whether the sight of the sun makes the fish want to fly," Helena called from where she stood by the door.

"Oh?" Theodora said. "And what does this fish have in common with our Leontius?"

Helena grinned. "Neither of them can actually comprehend the question."

The Empress laughed, and I leveled my best glare toward my shield mate. This, of course, had the unfortunate result of drawing laughter from her as well.

"We're under siege," I reminded both women.

The Empress came to stand beside me at the window. She lay a warm palm against my forearm and gazed out.

Beneath us, Constantinople burned.

The sky was choked with a haze of smoke and ash. The mid-morning sun appeared dark, hanging there like a disk of smudged bronze. The fog was noxious, cloying; it blocked the sun's light though it did nothing to shield us from the summer heat. Rather, it seemed to trap it like some great oven; magnifying it so that the already thick air turned positively suffocating.

"So much destruction," she said. Her palm flexed on my forearm. "The labor of decades and centuries gone, just like that."

"Augusta." Then, after a moment's hesitation, I added. "I caught a few glimpses through the smoke. It looks like there's a lot less damage further out."

She squeezed my arm, smiling without feeling. "I suppose that makes sense. It's not their own homes they wish to burn, after all."

I followed the Empress' gaze as she took in the shattered villas, pavilions, and monuments that now surrounded the Imperial Palace. Many of the ruins still smoldered, adding the stench of their own unique blend of char to the air.

The Praetorium, the military headquarters of the Empire, had been gutted. A centuries-old courthouse had been torn down; its statues shattered. And in the distance, where great Hagia Sofia had once stood, there was nothing more than an empty patch of sky.

Theodora stared at that empty place for several long moments, eventually pulling the heavy golden cross out from between her breasts to press it against her lips.

Last was the Hippodrome. We could see the edge of it from the Empress' window. And though its venerable stones were scarred by fire and rage, it still rose high above the city. It was at once a reassuring reminder of the Empire's might and the cradle from which its destruction might have been birthed.

"You never answered my question," the Empress said.

"Augusta?"

Theodora smiled. "Have you ever been besieged?"

"Your pardon, Augusta," I said, flushing. "No, I was never garrisoned along the border. I've only ever been on the attacking side."

"Hmm," she said. "And what do you think our chances are here?"

"They're good, Augusta. In a lot of ways, it's harder to sit around outside the walls than within. It takes a lot of will, discipline, and organization to properly besiege a fortress."

"Things that you don't believe our citizens have?"

I shrugged. "They're focused now, Augusta. But that becomes more difficult as days become weeks."

"Hmm," she said. "Perhaps."

We could see them from up here; the mob. They swirled through the streets below, stained with soot and fueled by wine and victory. They were not so much an organized force as a writhing mass of blue and green with iron in their hands and cries of war on their lips.

Nika! Nika! Nika!

I could hear them now, the crowd pulsing with their chant of conquest and fury. They were swirling about the Hippodrome's entrance, keeping clear, as of yet, of the palace's walls. They seemed to be going into the arena, funneling into the still-smoking interior.

"It's hard to believe," the Empress said. "That so few of my husband's guards can keep out so many."

"Three hundred Excubitors is not so small a number, Augusta, when put behind strong walls."

"Neither are those extra few hundred that Belisarius called in, I suppose." She squeezed my arm one more time before letting go. "I shall defer to your judgment then, my Leontius. Now, trapped nobles and dignitaries will soon begin to pester my husband. Before I go to help him, however, I wish to see what the crowd is doing."

I saluted. "Your will, Augusta. "

Theodora became the Empress once again, striding back through her quarters and disappearing through an entrance. I could hear her calling for her maidservants, summoning them to her wardrobe.

"Where are we going?" Helena asked.

I finally moved to join my shield mate by the single door.

"The Hippodrome," I answered, stiffening into place. "The crowds going into it."

Helena chewed her lip for a few moments, fingers drumming along the haft of her spear. She stared out towards the smoke-stained sky for a few moments before taking a step towards me and kissing me on the cheek.

I raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

"In case I can't do it later."

I didn't like the direction her thoughts were heading, so I plastered a look of affront onto my face. "I refuse to let that be the last time you kiss me. That was terrible."

She'd been in the process of stepping away, but my comment brought her up short. The cypress of her eyes shifted a shade brighter when she caught sight of my expression.

"Terrible? I didn't have to kiss you, you know."

I sniffed. "You may as well not have."

Both of her eyebrows popped up, her lips parting in surprise. I laughed and then I reached over to loop my empty hand over her waist, pulling her to me. Her lips curled into a smile, a faint bloom of red rising to her cheeks.

"While on duty?" She teased. "You really have changed."

"It's your fault," I said.

Then, I leaned down and kissed her. Our breastplates ground loudly against each other, but I ignored it. My entire focus was on Helena; on the softness of her lips,