It was hot in the city of Aram (modern day Aleppo, Syria). Shinshar was bathing her feet in a shallow creek that ran through the city. He loyal followers were scattered around the city. A few went drinking, others went to the bazar and some stayed in sight of Shinshar. Then a loyal messenger showed up: "Our one and only beloved queen, I am here to bring the message of your uncles death. He was executed by the Sassanids." A smile came upon Shinshars face: "Finally that fool is dead. He is the reason why the empire fell and he deserves it. I heard a roman royal is supposed to be in the city. Maybe he can help us get our empire back. You are my royal guard but I have many other loyalists from Ur to Byzanz. But they arent enough to defeat the Sassanids. We still need allies such as the Bedouins (Arabs), the Romans and the Assyrians." Shinshar was sure that once she got the empire back, she would expand over the Sassanid empire and get rid of that pesky folk. Her intention was to expand the empire beyond its former borders to awaken a new golden era. She had a bag full of dates in her hand and ate one every so often. "Find me the Roman. Maybe we can do him a favor to win his trust." Shinshar said.

"I confess that I like Rome better," Ancus mused to himself in Latin as he walked through the dusty streets of Aram. All around him, people were talking in foreign-sounding languages. From his studies, Ancus knew both Greek and Latin, but it was taking him awhile to understand the local dialect.

"Still. I wouldn't want to live under my sister's rule," he noted, trying to imagine what horrors his sister and her husband were inflicting on his beloved city. Was there still clean water and grain for everyone? He hoped there was, but he somehow doubted it. He approached a stand in the market square, ordering a couple of apples and handing the merchant some silver. At least he had some money left.

Shinshar decided to wander around the city a bit. She thought she should see where the bazar is and if any of her people were still there. At the bazar (market), Shinshar noticed a foreigner. She watched him for a bit, trying to determine where he was from. She could hear a bit of what he was saying and thought that the accent was kind of European. Shinshar walked up to him and spoke in the Greek she knew: "You arent from around here are you? And you might be a roman? If so, I could maybe do you a favor. In return, you become my ally."

Ancus looked up, frowning a little as he heard someone recognize him as a Roman. He had thought he had done a good job obscuring his features. He turned around, flushing slightly at the sight of a beautiful woman addressing him in Greek.

"What kind of favor? And why would you want me as your ally?" he asked her.

"I want you as an ally because I doubt you are a trader and one of my messengers told me a Roman of noble blood is in town. Even if you might have disguised yourself, my messengers are everywhere, read lips and find out things about people. I am Shinshar, noble of Babylon and rightful heir of Babylon. But due to some difficulties I am in exile, my uncle became king and soon afterwards the empire fell into the hands of the Sassinids. And about the favor, I will do anything to gain your trust. Even if you are the heir to some title like me but had it taken away for some apparent reason." Shinshar continued.

"Wow. We are similar," Ancus said in surprise, eyes wide. He grinned at her and bowed, "I am Ancus Marcius, Prince of Rome. My father was the King, but he died and my sister and her husband took over and banished me. I suppose I'm lucky they didn't kill me..."

He frowned a bit at the thought.

"Then I think, I know what favor I can do for you. We will go to Rome and reclaim your throne. My guards and loyal followers will come. They are the best trained warriors in the world and the empire wouldnt have fallen if my uncle hadnt banshed my followers too. My royal guard here in the city numbers 50. My followers number somewhere between 500 and 50,000. We will go to Rome and kill anyone who gets in our way. Your sisters head as well as that of her husband will be served on a bronze plate." Shinshar said. Maybe she could gather territory along the way or ask her old allies that Byzantines for help as well.

"Wait, I don't know about killing my sister! Sure, she's evil, but she's family!" Ancus objected, thinking about his older sister. Sure, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him, but that didn't mean he had to sink down to her level, did it? It seemed so barbaric.

"Fine then." Shinshar said. "But I had to avenge my family by killing my brother. And I was put in a spot that made it look like I killed my whole family." She lied. She actually killed her whole family except her uncle because she wanted to become the empress and thought her uncle was too weak to be enthroned. "Why dont I get my guards together and we can leave towards the west. Depending on the weather we would need at least three weeks on land or two weeks by boat. I have the money because I plundered the royal treasury before I was banished. My messenger told me that my loyalists will come when we leave the city. They are about 20 and one of them is a former general who served me. So when we leave the city we will be a power of 72."

"Uh, yeah, I guess that sounds good," Ancus told her thoughtfully with a shrug. He was taken aback by how easily she told him about her banishment. Surely, she must have been more angry about her family dying. He smiled. Well, that didn't matter. He had an ally now.