Octavia found difficulty sleeping once again. In her dreams she was being held, caressed or pleasured by Gannicus. Her body felt hot at the thought of him, the feeling he left within her and the first time she woke up panting and aching to have him once more. Then she'd drift off again and she'd see the eyes of the Romans watching them, staring, wide eyed while the room filled with laughter and wine spilled to the floor. It spread out, engulfing her, and began to look terribly like blood as it filled the room, drowning everyone as she and Gannicus fought to stay afloat until he finally sank beneath it.

She thrashed around, alone, until a cool hand grabbed her wrist and she looked up to find Caesar, with large black wings, pulling her from certain demise, before immediately releasing her, laying her gently on a bed of more feathers. Her heart pounded as he hovered over her, running his fingers across her naked skin, making her tremble and whimper, but it was no longer out of fear. He was awakening a desire within her as well and that scared her more than anything; the idea of him touching her, kissing her, trailing his lips across her neck, her chest, her stomach, light as feathers as they grazed her hips and thighs.

She woke with a sudden start as Melitta pressed cool fingers to her head. Her eyes fluttered open to see the body slave, staring down with a stitched brow. Octavia felt ashamed for some reason, thinking about Caesar, dreaming about Gannicus and what he had done to her. "Are you well, Domina?" Melitta asked gently.

"Yes," she insisted, though it wasn't entirely true. She felt a certain pressure at the apex of her legs and a burning, but she assumed it was normal. It was always supposed to hurt the first time, regardless of how gentle he'd been. "Should I not be?"

"Come, up. You need to be dressed."

"For what reason?" asked Octavia, wincing as she sat up. She was sore, but she tried to hide it from Melitta. The slave had always fussed over her much more than her mother ever had.

"Because you're a woman now," a new voice called, and Octavia looked past Melitta to where Gaia had entered her room, her mother following closely behind. She winced again as Gaia pulled back her silk curtains, letting the full intensity of the sun wash over her. "Did you really hope to lounge in bed until midday?"

Lucretia was oddly quiet as she remained on the outskirts of her daughter's room, seemingly unsure of her place and how she should speak to her child after the previous night's events. "A late start would not have been ill received," admitted Octavia, but she made no further protest as Gaia pushed past Melitta and sat on the of Octavia's bed.

"Now is when your life begins, little one," the older woman said, grabbing Octavia's much tanner hand within her own. Octavia looked down at them, marveling at how the woman was at least twenty years older but had hands a thousand times more delicate than hers could ever be. "Foolish little girls are often at the mercy of powerful men, but a beautiful young woman can pull a very powerful man along like a puppet on a string."

Gaia, she was certain, could do just that. But Octavia could barely maneuver slaves to her will, there was nothing she could do in Caesar's wake but try to survive it. "You have seen first hand how your father and I have struggled over the years," said Lucretia, calling all eyes to her. "You would not know these struggles with Julius Caesar."

"There is no limit to how high that man will rise," continued Gaia. "There are whispers he remains within the marketplace today but will return for Rome by nightfall. There is but one reason he remains within Capua."

"If you wish to remain in bed, I will send Naevia with your breakfast and we will never speak of this again," said Lucretia, wringing her hands together. "The decision is yours."

Octavia could only gape at her, realizing how guilt ridden her mother must be for her to say so. She imagined the reason her father was not currently present was his own inability to grant her choice in the matter. "Of course it's her choice," Gaia said, still gently stroking her hand. "But, of course, she may come to regret that choice in five years time when she's got a poor merchant for a husband and half a dozen children with no more than a handful of slaves to tend to them." Octavia cut the woman a dirty look, unable to hide it. "I only speak from tragic experience, darling. It is a terrible thing to be alone in this world but it is not much better to be with a man who cannot take care of you."

Her dream from the night before came to mind. The panic as she drowned in the blood with no one there to save her, and the relief that sight of Caesar brought. How assured of himself he had seemed, unconcerned with the toxic pool of blood, as if his legs were too long for him to drown in it, as if her shoulders were too broad and strong to let her succumb. It had to have meant something, she thought, some sort of sign from the gods. But she couldn't ask her mother or Gaia. They would twist anything to suit their own agenda. Melitta, however … her gods were not the same as Octavia's, but she had always been a strong believer. "If I could have but a moment to … consider," she murmured. "You have given me much to think about."

"Of course," Gaia said, dropping her hand in favor for her cheek, brushing long, slender fingers against it before her brow furrowed and she scrubbed a bit more aggressively at them, as if trying to remove the rouge from her rosy cheeks though none was there. "Oh, she's so young," the woman lamented, standing abruptly and leaning on Lucretia for support as they left Octavia to her thoughts.

Once the door closed behind them, Melitta was quick to reclaim her seat beside the girl on her bed. "There is a lot of pressure for a girl at your age," she noted, almost grateful that she had not had a choice in her marriage.

"You believe the gods send us visions, do you not? That they show glimpses of the path we're meant to take."

"Have you had such a vision?"

"Last night I dreamt that I was drowning. Everyone was dead, even Gannicus, and I was all alone. Caesar saved me."

Melitta's brow furrowed as she listened to the younger girl's recollection. "It is possible the gods are encouraging the union," she admitted. "But these dreams are not usually so simple. Capua has been in a drought for months, perhaps Caesar is linked to the end of it. Perhaps a great rain will come when he leaves the city."

"It was not rain that drowned us. It was blood."

A heavy silence fell between the pair. Such an ominous dream gave Melitta great concern, but she did not want to offer an interpretation of it. Not now, not on the spot, not when her interpretation was telling her that Caesar would save Octavia, in some way or another. "The gods may offer suggestions but your fate is your own," said Melitta. "What is your heart telling you?"

"That I will disappoint my mother if I do not at least try," said Octavia.

Melitta grabbed Octavia by the head so sharply the younger girl nearly flinched, her eyes going wide. "Your mother loves you," her slave told her fiercely. "Whether you marry Caesar or a slave, that will not change. All your mother wants is for you to be happy. Perhaps Lucretia does not know what will make you happy. Do you?"

Did she? Octavia couldn't be sure anymore. When she was a younger girl, her thoughts may have drifted to her parents, to the mostly loving home she'd grown up in, but something had changed last night. She felt little love or joy in her heart when she thought of her parents, but the entirety of the ludus had not grown so cold for her. "Yes," she said. "I do. Tell Naevia I'll have my breakfast now."


Choice had been stripped from his hands. Truthfully, a slave rarely had a choice in matters, especially when it came to what he must do with his body. So Gannicus was upon the sands at first light, training swords in hand as he sparred with Barca, and then Crixus, who now stood a brother. His ceremony had been the night before, absent the domina who'd fostered him.

On another day, Gannicus may have offered the Gaul sympathy. He knew what it felt like to be absent the girl's presence when it was all you longed for, but his head was filled with more pressing concerns that day. He spent hours upon the sand, training as if nothing were different, but instead of retiring to her private chambers when the sunset, he snuck inside the ludus, waiting in the shadows for her to come.

One of the other slaves came first, and then another still, before finally she found herself beneath the ludus. "Melitta," he called to her, grateful when her flinching did not lead to dropping the jug of wine she carried.

She had never looked less happy to see him in all their many years of friendship, but those years counted for something. Even if she didn't want to speak to him, he knew she would. "You should not be here," she informed him curtly, but made no movement to leave him.

Ignoring her advice, he approached the steel bars that kept the gladiators from ever entering the villa and wrapped his hands around them. "Is she …" The words would not formulate on his tongue. He'd practiced them in his head over and over throughout the day, a thousand different words in a thousand different variations, but none of them would come to him now.

She seemed to hear and understand them all the same. "She will recover, with time and distance from those who would harm her," she assured him, giving him a look that he didn't quite like.

"You think me one of them?" he demanded, looking as if she'd reached through the bars and struck him.

"What happened would not have absent your affections." His mouth fell open, filled with protests, but none of them bubbled up to the surface. She wasn't wrong, no matter how much he wished her to be. Had his eyes strayed to her less, had he accepted a lashing instead of speaking true … "I know it was not your intention ... however, it would be for the best if you do not speak to her again. Renew your focus on the games and do not let your attention stray to her. The time for those foolish affections are over."

"Foolish affections?" demanded Gannicus. "Melitta, I love her. You know that."

"If you love her as I do, you will not ruin her with your selfish longings," she said. "All that I have done, all of the sacrifices I have made, they cannot be for nothing because you cannot control yourself."

It was the end of the conversation as far as Melitta was concerned, and she turned from him now, wine jug still in hand, when he called out to her again. "Sacrifices?" he asked. "What sacrifices have you made? You have no idea what it's like to see her everyday and know that I can never-"

"Do I not?" snapped Melitta, sitting the jug of wine down on the stairs as she approached him again, her fingers gripping the bars just beneath his own. "The pain you feel is nothing compared to what my husband and I-"

"Oenomaus?" he interrupted, the irritation on his face fading into confusion.

The fire had gone out of Melitta as well as she stared up at the gladiator for a long while, her brow stitched tightly together. "It was before your time," she told him. "When I was but a girl no older than Octavia, when it was yet Titus who controlled this ludus. He did not wish for the dominus to marry Lucretia." Melitta paused, glancing over her shoulder as if fearing the repercussions for even speaking Lucretia's true name. "He thought her below the status of a lanista. After they were married, she could not produce an heir. Titus came up with an ultimatum before falling terribly ill and returning to Sicilia. If Lucretia could not bear a child, the dominus would have to leave her or leave this ludus with her. He was gone for over a year and when he returned, Lucretia had a healthy baby girl in her arms. But it was not hers."

Things were beginning to come together in Gannicus's mind. The overprotective streak from both Oenomaus and Melitta. How little Octavia looked like her parents. Her darker skin could've been attributed to more time in the sun, but her hair was thick and full and dark and after years of seeing her stand between Lucretia and Melitta, he should've known better. "They took her from you?" His dominus had done terrible things during his time in the ludus, but to steal a mother's child from her breast …

"What choice did we have?" she asked. "She grew up within my reach, with luxuries beyond my wildest imagining. She grew up a Roman citizen instead of a slave. She is above the cruelty and whims that we must suffer and I will not allow you or anyone else to bring her further harm."


A/N: Heeeeeeyyyy guuuyyysss … well, I did say it would take a lot longer to update now. I didn't really mean QUITE this long. Fortunately, things in my life have settled down again and I should be able to update this story more regularly. Don't worry, I have no intentions of abandoning it. I know how it's going to go and how it's going to end, I just have to sit down and write it.

Special thanks to:

Kairi-senpai: I'm glad someone still is reading it! Hopefully the long gap didn't turn anyone away and you continue wanting to read it. :)

Daryl's Lady: There is more soon! :P I'm glad you think it's well done. I'm not sure how great this chapter is as I've been trying to bust it out to have something to post after a two and a half month drought, but things will improve and be more regular from here on out. :)

HelltotheNo123: Here's that update you asked for! Maybe it came later than you hoped … but hope you enjoy!

Aranel Celebrenlam: I wholeheartedly accept the responsibility of keeping the Spartacus fandom alive! I love it enough to do so single handedly, but I definitely wouldn't mind if you felt like helping me out and posting some of your own fanfiction for me to read! :P If you ever do decide to write something for Spartacus, let me know! I'd love to read it!

XionNight: Woooowww I love when people leave reviews on each chapter! It definitely helps me a lot to see what people like or didn't like about certain parts of the story, so I really appreciate you leaving me feedback! Unfortunately, I did take your advice and took a LITTLE too long with updating, but hopefully it will be worth it when I get back into the swing of things. I'm thrilled someone doesn't mind the change to Crassus and Caesar. My story covers the entirety of all four seasons, so it made sense for me to have "villains" (not sure I'd necessarily call them that) that span the whole thing, rather than having new villains start and end every 5-6 chapters when I hit a new season. Thanks again for your reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy! :)

HelloWorld: Haha I'd love to give Gannicus and Octavia some more alone time, trust me! But it's just not Spartacus if there's not a bit of anguish. :P Thank you so much for your kind review! I feel terrible it's taken me so long to update, but I should be updating at least every two weeks from now on. (But hopefully more.)

Vikihungerrgame1: I loved loved loved loved loooooved Melitta! Especially the way she fostered and tried to protect Naevia and Diona. I really preferred her as the motherly character she started as, without all the nonsense with Gannicus, so I'm glad I'm doing her justice in this story. No, no, fortunately for you, Caesar is going back to Rome! You're free! :P You'll definitely be seeing him again, of course, but he'll have a lot of growing up to do in that time. I promise you'll (hopefully) like him more then, and so, I suspect, will Octavia. :)

Thank you, as always, for the review! I love getting to read them and you were the first person to notice and acknowledge this story, so you're really the reason I went back to it and keep updating it now. Hope you keep enjoying. :)

Amandamarinhorosa22: I'm afraid it took me a while, but here's a continuation for you! :)