Melitta's stomach was in knots as she listened to her daughter's plans. "He has not spent a coin in months," she announced. "I've checked the ledger. With a few more victories in the primus he will have ample coin to purchase freedom."

Octavia flinched when Melitta's fingers tangled her hair into knots. "You think your father will allow such a thing?" asked the body slave, doing all she could to keep her voice steady. "Gannicus stands champion. Entire contest was held to keep him within this ludus."

"If he refuses, I will make other arrangements," the young girl answered with a shrug, smiling into the mirror upon noticing how beautifully Melitta had braided her hair for the games. "I know you feel unfavorably about it but I would be happy. I have no need of … this," she gestured to the room around her, the finery, the comfort, the villa. "Not if I have him."

Melitta bit down hard on her tongue, willing herself not to speak. She knew better than to attempt to maneuver the girl, who so often set herself upon a path and refused to be moved from it. It was not Octavia she would sway from this path of foolishness, but Gannicus.

In the reflection of her mirror, Octavia could see Gaia enter into her bedroom, adorned in a beautiful gown of silk and lace, each the color of blood. "Beautiful, is it not?" the older woman asked, smiling when Octavia turned around to gape at her. "Delivered for you by a man I had thought far out of your reach by now. Why red, do you think?"

"For blood," answered Octavia.

"Maiden's blood or blood spilt in the arena?" the older woman wondered. "I expect he's equally fond of both." Gaia approached and sat beside her, tucking a loose tendril behind her ear delicately. "He has gone to surprising lengths to procure your affection. And yet you would still deny him it?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Why?"

Octavia had never pondered the answer to this question before. She had never considered the reasoning important. "It's not my affection he wants, but my humiliation."

Gaia smiled at her, as if she were smiling at a very naive, very silly, little girl. Octavia supposed she was. "I do not think that's true," she said. "But women are given so few choices in this world I will not deny you this one. Your father, however, is like a bloodhound, his nose ever seeking out more power. You and I are naught but commodities to him, ready to be sold to the highest bidder. He will not permit choice if he hears of Caesar's continued interest."

"But you would?" asked Octavia, sounding dubious.

"I may reconsider if you do not strike that look of surprise from your eyes," the older woman replied, sounding equal parts serious and teasing. "I'll consider the dress payment for my silence."

Octavia would have given her a hundred dresses for that.


The opening games of the new arena were like nothing she had ever seen before. The Pulvinus in the old arena had been little more than a platform raised no more than a foot above the rest of the crowd. But here, they stood high above them all, overlooking the crowd and chaos below far out of reach. It was certainly much safer, she thought, though she felt very far removed.

There was more space in the Pulvinus now. Magistrate Sextus was among them, alongside his companions Varus and Cossutius. She also spotted Solonius and a handful of other less important people, but then her eyes landed upon Caesar and she could not tear them from him.

His eyes raked over her body, taking in every inch of the peach colored fabric that clung to her body. It suited her skin perfectly, but it wasn't what he'd wanted to see her in. Octavia tried not to smile at his disappointment, but she didn't really try very hard. "What an impetuous woman you've turned out to be," he commented morosely as she took the seat beside him.

"You did suggest I not fear you," she reminded him. "I appear endlessly unable to please you."

"Endlessly and with powerful intent," remarked Caesar, his gaze lingering upon her for a moment before shifting to the sands below.


"Don't die too quickly," said the Gaul, appearing beside him with freshly cropped hair and a clean shaven jaw. Someone in the villa had taken a liking to him, Gannicus realized. Likely not the woman he had wanted to, however, which explained why his expression was so treacherous. "I will see you upon the field and have proper contest at last."

Gannicus merely glared at him, his brain feeling oddly slow, leaving him unable to think of any kind of quick witted retort. He couldn't be bothered with Crixus now. His mind, body, and soul had one solitary purpose: blood. "It's not often I find you so quiet," Oenomaus commented. "Now is not the time to develop fear of the arena."

"You mistake purpose for fear," he replied. Threats from Crixus were easy enough to ignore as he had grown quite accustomed to receiving them, but he would not have Oenomaus think him afraid.

Oenomaus had seen Gannicus in a hundred fights and the man's arrogant, easy smile had never been so far removed. "New arena has inflamed you so?"

"Rather the coin linked to it," admitted Gannicus.

"Coin has never motivated you," said Oenomaus. It dawned on him suddenly, the meaning of it all. "Your freedom … could you really be such a fool?"

"It would seem that I am, brother." A range of emotions flashed across his dearest friend's face before he seemed to settle on anger. He understood why. There was no time left between them for Gannicus to explain; the horns had blown, signaling the beginning of the opening games.


Octavia had never witnessed anything like she had that night. More than a dozen men had spent an hour trapped within a burning circle, and half of them had been her own. Gannicus, Crixus, and several others that were hers. It was terrifying enough to witness one of her men fighting, but to see Crixus turn upon Gannicus? It was almost more than she could bear.

But Crixus lived, and Gannicus stood triumphant. Covered in blood and death, he ignited the crowd as he always did, their screams shaking the very foundations of the arena. It was all Octavia could do to breathe again, relaxing into her seat knowing that winning the primus had secured their future. He would have more than enough coin now to purchase freedom and her life, the life she had always wanted, would finally begin. "Your man Gannicus truly ignites the crowd," she heard Sextus compliment her father.

"Perhaps you'll have mind to use him in your future games," her father replied, ever a man of business and forethought.

Sextus smiled, nodding his agreement. "Gannicus seems a necessity to make anything memorable," commented Cossutius. "I have mind towards your man for my own games."

"As do I," agreed Varrus. "Listen to how they rejoice!" Chants of Gannicus could be heard throughout the arena.

"Would they not forever remember this day and the men responsible," Caesar wondered, "if Gannicus were granted freedom?"

"An excellent suggestion!" said Sextus, glancing over his shoulder at Batiatus. "You can always train another gladiator, yet to conclude the opening ceremonies with such a blessing?"

Her mother had gone a ghostly shade of white, nearly collapsing in her seat as she hoped and prayed her husband would find a way to weasel his way out of this one. But Quintus knew - how could he deny a request from such powerful men? Caesar had trapped him this way once before, and he had even less power to contend the man now. "I but honor my city," her father said, slumping down into his own chair.

Sextus rose now, addressing the crowd. "Gannicus has proven himself to the city of Capua! Let us reward him … with freedom."

Gannicus appeared unable to register the word at first, and the realization of what he had won took many moments to dawn on him. As it did, his eyes moved sharply to hers, the weight of the world in one simple look.

Octavia flinched as Caesar's lips brushed against her ear, more startled than truly frightened. "You may have found pleasing me more pleasant," he murmured, completely unaware of the aid he had just given her.


All of his brothers had come to see him off upon the sands of the ludus. His blood, their blood, had blessed the earth beneath him, and part of Gannicus feared leaving it. It had been his home for longer than he could remember - he did not remember a life before the ludus. The promise of a life yet to come was all that steeled his nerves.

"I'll join you soon, you mad fuck," Barca grinned, grasping his arm tightly.

"Of that, I have no doubt," replied Gannicus, embracing the man before approaching the only brother who seemed to have no interest in seeing him off. Crixus scowled upon his approach, his pride yet too wounded from the previous night's games. Gannicus pulled the necklace from his throat and handed it to the man, who accepted it reluctantly. "I was given this when I became champion of this house. Wear it with more honor than I have."

Oenomaus would be his last goodbye, alongside Melitta. "Proof you no longer stand a slave," his oldest friend said with a smile, offering a sword etched with his victories. "It lifts heart to see treasured friend earn his freedom … before tarnishing himself forever in my eyes."

Gannicus grimaced, avoiding Oenomaus's eye in favor of Melitta's. Her gaze was not much kinder. "I know what you intend to do," she stated. Octavia had told her, as she told her everything. Gannicus meant to leave the ludus but return in cover of the night to steal away the most precious thing in her world. "A crueler man has never existed."

"Love makes me cruel?"

"Leave her," the woman demanded, grasping his hands harshly. "I beg of you. Leave her be. Let her grow within this ludus, let her marry a Roman man. Let my grandchildren be Roman citizens instead of … instead of you. Do not take this life from her for the sake of love."

"You speak of love as if it is some insignificant thing and not the greatest cause of all," he argued, feeling himself grow angry. He had to reel it in; Batiatus and his wife still watched them. "What is freedom worth without it? You would have me leave her behind to marry a man like Caesar? Or a man like her father, who sees her as little more than a commodity to be sold?"

"Yes," said Oenomaus. "If you are the man I know you to be, the brother I have loved, you will not wrest her from the heavens and drag her back down to our level. Love cannot feed her or shelter her or protect her from the cruelty of this world. Men like Batiatus and Caesar can."

Gannicus wanted nothing more than to argue. To tell them both they were wrong, that he could feed and shelter and protect her more than the others could. From a blade, it was true, but he had no idea how to protect her from the rest of it. He'd been in the ludus since he was a boy. He didn't know how to earn coin outside it. He didn't know if the coin he had was ample enough to buy her a bed and a roof overtop of it. Who would protect her while he was gone trying to procure more? To leave her behind after all he had promised was unspeakably cruel, but was it even more so to take her from this? "You ask me to tear out my own heart and leave it behind," he said.

"We ask you to love her enough to let her go, as we had to," said Melitta.

There was a pain in his chest that he couldn't quite explain. "I have to … to explain," his eyes found the ludus, found the room he knew was hers.

"That girl is a force of nature," Melitta said. "She will not let you go if you give her the chance to stop you."

An image of Octavia came to his mind as she sat waiting for him, alone in the dark, and alone still when the sun rose. The pain in his chest was unbearable. She would hate him after this and that was the cruelest thing of all. "You are exactly the man I thought you to be," said Oenomaus, a proud smile on his face as he embraced the broken man before him. "Go in peace now, brother, knowing you have done what is right."


A/N: Yikes! Another really long gap between chapters. I've been in the process of moving to a different country and settling into a new job, so fanfiction has unfortunately fallen off the ol' priority list for the time being. Fortunately, I have the beginning of the Blood and Sand era written and ready to post. I'll probably post it this weekend to make up for the long wait. :) Thanks for sticking with me!

Honestly, I really feel like I dropped the ball with this chapter. I apologize if this isn't the greatest part of the story. I know it seems rushed - it absolutely was. I've been trying to write this chapter since MAY! and it really just didn't want to come out of me. Normally I'd rather take a bit of extra time to make sure the chapter is good but for me, at this point, I felt like if I didn't push something out and finish this chapter, I would never do it.

And yes … I know it's a bummer ending. Yes, I know I didn't give them any time to interact or say goodbye in the final chapter. It was intentional - to be in the Spartacus fandom is to suffer. :P Don't worry, they'll see each other again.

Special thanks to:

Swingrim: Hahaha I would have loved to write more of that scene with Gaia and Crixus but sex scenes are really not my forte. Fortunately because I didn't include Tullius or Vettius there's no one around to kill Gaia and she'll get to live a while longer. Plenty of time for more scenes with her and Crixus. :) Thank you so much for the review and all your ideas and support! I really appreciate it.

BookKeeper88: Octavia isn't too sure about how he feels, either! I would say for the time being it's somewhere in between those two things. I'm glad you enjoyed her developing her friendship with Crixus, and thanks for the review! :)

Vikihungerrgame1: That is a totally valid reason to ship Spartavia (I like this one most, I think) and I support you. I'm impressed you know so much about Caesar! It means I'm going to have to do proper research since I can't trick you. :P No, but yes, his wife is going to die. She's still alive now but she's RIPing before War of the Damned era bidness.

No, Gaia has no clue who her parents really are. But look, she was nice this chapter! See! Now you just have to trust me that Caesar will be someday, too! Titus and Oenomaus both have no idea what happened at the party and … for the time being, it's definitely going to stay that way. We don't need Oenomaus chopping poor Gannicus into little tiny pieces on us.

This was totally a depressing chapter to write which is probably why it took so long. Fooooortunately, he will be back and Blood and Sand will be tons of fun! And no, I don't think I have seen any of the Spartacus crack videos. Just the bloopers. Recommend me some of the funny ones!

Queenofterassen: Don't worry, Gannicus and Octavia are definitely my favorite ship. And if by what Spartacus, do you mean Andy or Liam? OBVIOUSLY ANDY! He's the only Spartacus worth mentioning. Thanks so much for your review, I hope you continue to enjoy!

Ariana Le Fay: Thank you so much for your reviews! As for who I picture as Octavia, that's totally up to your own imagination. Whoever you picture should be a POC as her parents are black and Hispanic, but aside from that, it's up to you! :)

Eitan: I'm glad you could find my fic in your time of need! I know how painful it is to watch Spartacus and then come on here and find no new fics to read. I'm thrilled somebody enjoys reading Octavia/Caesar as much as I enjoy writing them. I'll admit I'm very partial to ships where they kind of start out as enemies.

As for any pacing issues or lack of development with certain characters, you've got to understand this fic in its majority was written about five years ago with a friend with zero intention of ever sharing it with anyone else. I did a lot of editing to make it presentable enough to post on here, but to make this fic (in my opinion) actually good, it would've required an entire rewrite. There are tons of things that I wish we had written differently or spent more time on, but at the end of the day, I would just go ahead and write a completely new Spartacus story if I wanted to fix it. So, unfortunately, you're just kind of stuck with what we wrote all those years ago, flaws and all. :P

Hopefully you continue to enjoy reading it for what it is, and thank you for your review! :)

KEJunge: I'm so glad you managed to stumble upon my fic! I'm also happy to see someone else agrees that part of the greatness of Spartacus is all the suffering involved. It's just not good if you don't feel empty inside at the end. :P Thanks for your review!

Everyone else: Thank you so much for all of your reviews! Getting positive feedback on this is definitely what forces me to continue editing and writing and compiling new chapters to post on here, so I really appreciate it! :)