Preface
26th August, 79AD, 9AM.
She stood atop the hillside in the darkness. The horse beside her was restless and shifted its weight from one leg to another nervously. The air was thick with smoke and ash and contained little oxygen, but it was enough to fill her lungs for now. She gazed down upon her city, a city reduced to ruins, whose people lay silent. They would appear to be sleeping. Sleeping under a blanket of ash with the stones of the pavement as their pillows. She wondered if any had survived. As the fires themselves were smothered and died down, she knew in her heart that none had escaped this time. When the volcano had first spat out the great cloud that covered the sky and turned the day into night, many had ran and made for the hills. They, at least, would have salvation. They, at least, would live. For the girl atop the hillside, salvation seemed impossible. Her family were in the city. She had no money, no possessions. Nothing except the clothes on her back and the horse she rode on. She turned the horse, no longer able to bear the sight before her eyes, and made for the direction of Rome. As the sun rose above the darkened city and the full extent of the damage became clear, the girl turned her horse away. Away from the life, and away from the death in the city of Pompeii.
Chapter 1.
18th August, 79AD
Our story begins here, in Pompeii. The year was 79AD and the month was August. The day was as warm as any other in the height of summer, and the sky was clear. The waves moved calmly and the market made business as usual. The priestesses in the temple made their offerings with wax candles and scented flowers, and the gladiators were practising in the arena for the games ahead of them. Children ran through the streets, their leather sandals slapping against the paving stones. The breeze that accompanied their speed sent the fine silks of women's dresses fluttering and their eyes widening. The steady sounds of cart wheels and horses hoofs, of market vendors and hagglers, of those bickering, of those whispering and, if one listened closely, of the quiet, slow rumble of the volcano and its tremors.
"Livia!" A voice called from across the marketplace where the girl had come to buy flowers. The voice belonged to another young girl, Ariadne. "Livia, I thought you were still in the North, why did you not tell me you had returned home?!" The girl demanded, pulling Livia to the side of the street so as not to be carried away by the crowds.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvcMFWCpCx
"I returned only last night, I intended to pay you a visit later today!" Livia studied the girl in front of her, paying close attention to the brightly coloured silks and folds of her dress. "No longer training to be a servant of Apollo, I see!" She laughed.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8p8D7UVOs
"No, I am still a regular at the temple, but I had to give up my vocation."1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyL9Jjq1Ha
"Give up? Dear friend, tell me why!" Livia laughed again and Ariadne smiled with a gleam in her eyes. A gleam that comes only when telling a secret.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNk9a8j0dS
"I am betrothed!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak0WyvgEY4
"Betrothed? When? To who?!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCQeXT9N53
"Shush, shush! It is not yet announced! He is from Rome, quite high up in the senate actually! He asked for me himself, it was not arranged by my father. I believe he truly loves me! We are to wed four moons from now! You must attend, you have no choice in the matter."1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBxcnghVUp
"My dear friend, I would not miss it for the world. I do wonder why you did not write to me and inform me, I shall have to be quite angry with you for that!" She smiled.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ShenWdzhS
"It is not yet known in Rome, and I could not risk a letter being misled and intercepted. But stop, enough of my marriage, did no man catch your eye whilst you were away?" Ariadne looped her arm through Livia's and they began to walk, glancing at the market stalls as they passed.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69hseRNIH7
"No, no man worth thinking about. I envy you, Ariadne!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctwxGN3npy
"Well, I hear the arena has just received a new batch of gladiators, you at least are free to gaze at them with your lusty eyes!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfqoiXyAap
"I do not have lusty eyes, and besides, isn't lust frowned upon by the priestesses?"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWKZQn526x
"Some frown upon it, I suppose it is lucky that I am no longer a priestess!" She laughed heartily and then sighed in mock sadness. "Alas, as a promised woman I suppose I cannot be caught looking wistfully at gladiators!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqy04V9ih5g
"Then you do not let yourself be caught!" Livia said, a slight twinkle in her eyes. Her friend smiled mischievously. "Do you not recall how we used to sneak down the side of the arena's training grounds to see the gladiators fight?"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmxTywC6vn
"Oh, I did miss you whilst you were away!" Ariadne exclaimed. She turned on her heels and the two headed in the direction of the arena with their arms linked and their eyes bright.
"As partakers in the art of gladiatorial combat, you will be risking your life on a daily basis. However, that is not to say that I do not expect the very best from you. Our patrons are paying to see you fight and they are paying to be entertained. They will not hesitate to ask for their money back if you fail to please them. Therefore, you will give your best and you will fight to the death, if necessary." The trainer paced back and forth in front of a line of men. Most of them were foreign slaves, some were native Romans who had gotten into an excessive amount of debt, but all of them appeared to be truly formidable. They were dressed in the traditional leather, and were brandishing the weapons of their chosen area of gladiatorial combat. Some had nets, some had spears, some had swords. The trainer finished his speech, and immediately set them to work fighting each other. As soon as one man had fallen, the trainer stopped the entire group. The man that had fallen was instructed to get up and to fight again, this time with all eyes upon him.
"Tetraites is really pushing them hard, how many did he lose whilst I was away?" Livia whispered.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61k1wNcyKQ
"Quite a lot, they lost almost all of the fights against those from Rome. You know the thirst for blood they have in Rome... the patron condemned almost all of the gladiators that wound up on their backs with a spear to their throats." Ariadne whispered back. Livia was shocked by this; usually, a patron of the games would refrain from allowing a gladiator to be killed as he would have to pay for a replacement for the dead gladiator's master.
Her eyes were drawn back to the training ground, where the man that had fallen was up against a foreign slave brandishing a net and a spear. The slave swung the net around in the air, and attempted to bring it down upon his opponents head. The man dodged it, and hit at the slave's leg with his sword. He missed, and the net encircled him. He fell once more to the floor. The slave's spear was thrust through the net and stopped mere inches from his face.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHxeIWMl5x
"You ducked low to aim a blow at his shins, you gave him the perfect opportunity to catch you inside his net. Take note, men. Never, ever, take your eyes from your opponent. Always assume that your opponent is superior to you in strength, size, cunning and skill. Now, all of you, again. And this time, pretend that this is a real arena and not a training ground." Tetraites said loudly. His voice echoed off the stone walls and sand floor of the training ground.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aL7cPxOVU
Livia and Ariadne were concealed behind a barred entrance gate at the rear of the training ground that was in relative darkness. They looked through the bars at the gladiators for a good while before they were noticed. Tetraites approached the gate and stood with his back to it. His eyes were fixed on the fighters before him, but his words were intended for the women behind him.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lSKkEUlpW
"Girls, I thought you had finally listened to me and stopped spying on my men." He said. Although he was tough on his gladiators, he had an air of amusement in his voice.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiXl55zxXx
"Livia is back." Ariadne said as a way of explanation. "Come Tetraites, did you think we would pass up a sight such as this?" She giggled as Tetraites sighed heavily. They could almost sense his eyes rolling.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh70YM9rTl
"I had wondered where you had gotten to, Livia. I trust your travels went well?"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTEt20oX0T
"Yes, thank you Tetraites. But I am glad to be back in Pompeii, especially since I see we have so many new gladiators! I cannot see why I ever left!" She laughed.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdOtw7hahy
Tetraites scanned the training ground with his eyes and turned to face the girls at the gate.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO33Tsfybqs
"Now girls, although it was nice to have seen you, I have men to train. I implore you to leave oggling at my gladiators until the official games, but I have no doubt that you will ignore this request. Please, try not to be noticed. You will prove a distraction. They will try to impress you and focus less on their training. You wouldn't want to be responsible for such a thing would you?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. The girls shook their heads and took a step back and further concealed themselves in the darkness provided by the arch over the gate.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfGiiQDd4d
"Thank you." He said cheerily. "Men!" He shouted as he turned. His voice had returned to the intimidating, authoritative tone it had taken before.
Livia glanced at the man that had fallen in the battle before.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPv8uI8ZAm
"What's his story, do you think?" She asked Ariadne.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbolbS4bDp
"He doesn't look like a slave, and he certainly doesn't have the skin tone of one who is from a foreign land. A citizen of Rome perhaps?" Ariadne suggested. She studied at his fair hair and skin and his straight nose and angular cheekbones. "He certainly looks Roman to me."1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAKWbawz2p
"It's a shame, such a pretty face should not have to face death in the arena." Livia sighed.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5R5mpMKIe
"My my, Livia, if I am not mistaken you are admiring this man!"1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7JeIY6Ezl
"There is something alluring about him. Perhaps it is the fact that he is so close to death."1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oQGX2ppQf
"I will give you that, it does give him a certain something... but it is something that all gladiators possess, and yet you seem fixated upon this one man!" Ariadne teased. Livia rolled her eyes.1137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVROd1BCr2
"I have not missed you reading too much into every glance, Ariadne! Now, shall we make a move? My father will be wondering where I am." She glanced once more at the training ground and Tetraites giving the gladiators one more speech before turning and heading back towards the market and home.
