Emperor Nero had always wanted to perform in a play. He finds theatre delightful, and finds the art of it divine. It took long before he actually gained his own courage to perform. But, as ruler of the empire, he realized there was no one to stop him, and no one to critisize him.

So, he ends up performing his own play. He's practised for ages; rehearsing his lines, executing many vocal exercises.. He did everything to perfect it.

He finally takes the stage. With tar black face paint, a bland white mask and a sceptre he walks to the centre, and begins to recite the script. Halfway through his performance, he drops his sceptre. He pauses, then bends over to retrieve it. He continues on and at the end he received a booming applause.

After he's taken the face paint off - leaving messy black rings around his eyes - he walks backstage, where he's greeted by you, his loved partner.

"Was I perfect?" Nero asks with a great smile. "It was perfect! Even when you dropped the sceptre and paused, it was so quick-" You reply, which makes Nero pause and his smile fade.

"What did you say? About the sceptre.." Nero interjects while creeping up in your face.

Your heart skips a beat, and you freeze. You know what he does to others who wrong him, what methods of torture he uses, yet.. you pointed out his flaw.

You try to save yourself, but he won't let a word through. "You said.. I made a fool of myself."