His new Italian slave seemed to be serious about what he had said, and almost way too enthusiastic for Ludwig's taste. Nodding, Ludwig took his stained tunic off before throwing it at his slave. Feliciano caught it with a surprised yelp, looking down at it before looking at his new master and blushing madly. Ludwig stood there, completely naked. He never wore anything under his tunic, if he was lucky he'd wear a small cloth to hold and cover his privates, but not today. The auburn haired boy looked over the Gladiator's toned and pale chest, trying his best not to look at anything below his hips. Burying his face in the tunic in his arms to hide his embarrassment, the Italian nearly instantly regrated it as some blood from the stained clothing went on to his face. Ludwig raised an eyebrow and smirked in amusement. "Why do you act like that? We're both men here, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, I need you to go clean that for me. Understood?" He told him, crossing his arms.
Feliciano nodded, keeping his head down. "Good. If you go outside and find one of the other slaves, I'm sure they'll direct you to where they clean the clothes here." The German told him. The Italian nodded again and left the room, somewhat quickly as to get out from the presence of the naked other. Ludwig smirked at his slave's hurriedness, before he found his sword and took it to the bowl of water. It was easier to have a slave, Ludwig realised. Now he could easily work on focusing on his sword and training more while his slave cleaned his tunic for him. Using the rag from before, he wiped some of the blood off of his weapon, making it clean once again. It was still sharp, he knew it was, but he would sharpen it the next day before his next battle. Sighing tiredly, he put his sword next to his bed as he looked for something to wear for the time being. Finding his cloth that covered his privates first, he put that on. Next he found one of his other tunics, this one slightly cleaner than the one he had before as he only wore it after a battle. Stretching once he was finally clothed, the German lay on his soft straw bed as his muscles felt sore from the exertion he did only a few hours before. Closing his eyes, he focused on the soothing sounds of the underground system of the Colosseum before he was lulled into sleep.
Meanwhile, Feliciano was busy trying to find someone to direct him to where he had to go to wash his master's tunic. His face was still slightly red as the memory of seeing the other naked still played in his mind. Other than the feeling of embarrassment, he was happy. The Italian was glad that at the last minute, the menacing looking Gladiator saved him from certain death. The auburn haired boy would have been one of the few who would be put on to the arena floor of the Colosseum while deadly animals such as tigers, lions and panthers were released to attack them and rip them to shreds. He owed his master his life. Bumping into someone, he fell to the ground. He wasn't a really clumsy person, well, he was, but his body was so thin and easily thrown around so it was no wonder why he easily fell. "S-scusa! Please forgive me." He whimpered, covering his face with his arms to try and protect himself. "Whoa, kid, I'm sorry. I didn't see where I was going. Here, let me help you up." The voice of the person he bumped into said. Feliciano moved his arms from his face to see a hand held out for him. Sniffling, he grabbed it and was easily lifted up.
"Grazie." He mumbled a thanks as he looked at the face of the other. He was surprised to see that the person who he bumped into and helped him up looked so out of place. He wore a large cloak that covered most of his body and most of his face. His clothes seemed like they were from somewhere else, outside of the city of Rome. Not only that, but the small glimpse of nearly pure white pale skin, silver-white hair and a pair of red eyes made Feliciano gasp in surprise. The person gave a look of panic as he gasped, covering the Italians mouth with his hand. "Shh, please, don't speak too loudly. I'll get in trouble if I'm caught." He said in a hushed voice. Feliciano nodded and the person took his hand from the small boys mouth. "Why-a would you get in-a trouble?" He asked in a low voice so no one could hear him. The other man looked around before leaning his head down to the boy's ear. "Don't tell anyone, but, I'm here to find mein little brother. He was taken a few months ago from our home, so I came to find him. I heard he was working here, so I snuck down here and now I'm looking around for him. Please, don't tell anyone. They'll kill me if they find me here." He begged the auburn haired boy in a hushed voice. Feliciano nodded, knowing how much family mattered. "Si. I promise I won't tell. You have my word." He told him. The other man nodded, and walked off. Feliciano watched as he walked. He noticed that the other man seemed to stumble as he walked, and nearly bumped into columns and walls as he walked, almost like he had trouble seeing where he was going.
"Hey!" A voice yelled at the Italian. He jumped in surprise and started to shake in slight fear. Most times before he came here and someone yelled out to him, it meant he was caught doing something or he was going to be beaten. A guard walked up to him with a scowl on his face. Oh Jupiter, please don't tell me he saw me talking to that other man. He thought in a silent prayer. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you doing your duties?" He barked at him, making the small boy shake more but feel slightly relieved that he hadn't been caught talking to that other man who wasn't meant to be in the Colosseum. Feliciano felt like he couldn't answer, he was so scared he would get hit like so many times before and his voice was lost to him. The guards eyes looked down to the blood stained tunic in the Italians arms and recognition went over his face. "That's the champion Ludwig's tunic, isn't it?" He asked. Gulping, Feliciano nodded slowly. "Why didn't you say so? If I'd known you were his new slave I would have done something sooner. Come, you probably want to find the cleaning rooms. I'll take you to them." The guard said, his whole attitude changing.
Surprised, Feliciano looked at the guard with a confused expression. The guard rolled his eyes and tugged harshly on the chain that was around his neck to pull him along. Feliciano yelped and started to follow. He noticed that the tug on his chain wasn't as bad as others did before. Maybe it was the fact that he was Ludwig's. In all honestly, Feliciano still hadn't figured out or knew why the guards from earlier let Ludwig take him, or why this guards attitude change. But at the mention that his new master was a champion, made the slightly clueless Italian realise. His master was the champion of the Colosseum. The Italian didn't know how to react to his. He knew that his master was the champion, so that must mean he was a cold-blooded killer that held no remorse at all. But why did he help Feliciano and was so kind to him earlier? He didn't know. Most of the people within the underground system of the Colosseum, the gladiators, slaves and even the guards, seemed to have a mix of respect and fear towards the blonde German. That made sense as to why the guard leading Feliciano to the cleaning rooms changed his attitude instantly as soon as he learned that Feliciano was Ludwig's.
The guard stopped in front of a door, pointing at it. "In there is where you can clean the tunic. I'm sure you can figure out how to do your job. If you need any help getting back to your master, ask any of the other guards and tell them, they'll help you." He told him before walking off to go and continue his duty as a guard elsewhere. Feliciano gulped slightly and opened the door, looking inside to see if anyone else was in there. The room was empty; no one was in there at the moment. Stepping inside and closing the door behind him, his amber eyes scanned over the room. It was probably the only room that had some sort of sunlight let into it from an opening in the roof, making the room hotter but slightly cooler than the other parts of the Colosseum. There were several large tubs around the room filled with water that were used to clean things. There were also rocks laying out where the sun was shining down, probably to help clothes dry. Taking one more look around the room again to make sure he was alone, he walked towards one of the tubs and looked into it.
The tub was full of clear water, so Feliciano put the dirty tunic he held in his arms in the water, starting to wash it. He made sure that he tried his best to get the blood out of the fabric as best he could. Using his blunt nails, he scratched some of the dry bits of blood off the tunic. He kept cleaning it, persistent to make it clean as a way to say thanks to his master for saving him that day. The work was hard to do, making the Italian start to sweat a bit. He wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead with the back of one of his hands. It felt like a cool release as his hand was slightly wet and cold from the water in the tub. Though, he did not remember or notice there was still blood on his face, which spread a bit from the water on his hand. Before long, the water in the tub was a dull crimson colour and the tunic was clean, nearly spotless. Sighing in relief, Feliciano picked the wet tunic up out of the tub and squeezed as much water as he could out of it back into the tub. Once he done that, he walked over to the drying rocks to set the piece of clothing out to dry.
Touching the rock with one of his fingers, he felt how warm it was from being under the sun for so long. The day itself was hot so it would help in drying the tunic that the Italian just washed. Laying the tunic out on the warm rock completely flat, he smiled to his accomplishment of making the tunic clean. Hopefully his master would be pleased, and not like other master before him, wouldn't hit him. Sighing tiredly, his energy felt drained. Looking around again to make sure he wouldn't get caught taking a break, he walked to another reasonable sized rock and lay out on it. The rock was warm and comforting, and with the sun shining down its warm rays made Feliciano feel like he was lying under warm blankets, warm blankets that felt like a very distant memory that he hid in his mind. At times Feliciano would feel as though he could be compared to a cat. Sunbathing was one of his favourite pass times, before he would go and obey the orders of his master and before he became a slave. It felt like years that he had been a slave; he had not been born one. His true legacy was one he chose to forget, one in which if he did remember and others found out, he would be killed. But he kept that out of his mind as at that moment, all he was focusing on was the warmth of the sun and rock as he fell asleep.
He didn't know how long he had been sleeping on the rock for, but when he felt a cold breeze hit him, he shivered as he woke up. Feliciano opened his eyes to see that he had slept for so long that it was now night, if not a few minutes pass sunset. Shooting up to his feet, he ran to the tunic he had left to dry. Picking it up, he felt it was dry and still partially warm from being out in the sun for so long. Running out of the room, he ran down the paths and bridges that lead to the different parts of the underground system, looking for his master's room. When he arrived there, he opened the door and stepped inside. No one was there, his master was gone. He looked around frantically, hoping that while he was gone that his master hadn't been killed in another battle if he was taken up for another that day. Putting the clean tunic on his master's bed, he looked for any signs that he was still alive and used the room. Feliciano tripped a few times as he looked around anxiously, before he heard someone open the door to the room, making him turn around.
It was one of the guards from earlier, chuckling at the anxious mess that was Feliciano now. "Where-a is my-a master?" He asked, a slight whine in his voice though it was done by accident. The guard smirked. "He's up on the arena, training. He does that mostly at night once the civilians have left and everyone is getting ready for dinner." He told him. Nodding, the Italian ran passed him and towards where he knew one of the entrances to the arena were. Finding one of the trap doors, he climbed up with expertise and found himself on the arena's ground, hearing the clang of a sword. "Master!" He called out as he recognised the form of the German even in the dully lit arena ground. Ludwig turned to the sound of his slave as he hit one of the practice dummies that he trained with. "Oh, Feliciano. What are you doing here?" He asked, taking his sword and walking towards him.
Feliciano shrugged and fumbled with his hands nervously. "I-a lost track of time when I-a cleaned your tunic and fell asleep-a. And-a when I came back-a to your-a room-a you weren't there, so I got-a worried. I'm-a so sorry." He said, biting his lip and hoping he wouldn't get hit. Ludwig nodded, before he lifted his hand up towards his slaves head. The Italian winced and braced up, preparing for a hit. But it didn't come. Instead, Ludwig patted his slaves head. "It's okay, we all make mistakes." He said in a blank voice. Feliciano's eyes went wide in surprise at the kindness that the German was showing him, not being cruel like he thought he would be. Ludwig stopped with his small showing of affection and headed towards one of the trapdoors. "Come on, it's nearly time to eat. We need to go. Come on." He told his slave as he lifted the trapdoor up so he could jump down. Feliciano nodded and hurried to join his master. The mention of food made him run faster, but also the fact that he was still so surprised and happy at the kindness that his Gladiator master gave him. And still, Ludwig had no idea why he was so kind to this slave, his slave.
A/N: And so here is another chapter. I'm having to remember all my studies I've done on Rome, the Colosseum and Gladiators since I started this so it helps because this story is ment to be slightly historical. In my imagination for the underground system is slightly different than what the original one for the actuall Colosseum was, but I'm keeping it slightly the same to what I know about it. Oh, and for Feliciano's thoughts of 'Oh Jupiter' was to be because Jupiter was a Ancient Roman god, also known as Zues in Greece mythology for those who don't know.
Thanks to the reviews, favourites and follows for this story so far. Thank you all, I love you all. Ciao~!