Commodus walked onto the royal platform, his arm linked with Candace on his left and Tessa on the other as Lucilla trailed behind them. The boys had been upset that they weren't allowed the Colosseum as well, but they had lessons that day. Commodus let the girls slip away from him to take their places at the seats on either side of his throne before sitting down himself. The crowds started to quiet as Cassius's voice rang out throughout the arena.
"On the fourth day of Antioch, we can celebrate the sixty-fourth day of the games, and in his majestic charity, the emperor has deemed this day to favor the people of Rome with a historical final match. Returning to the Colosseum after five years in retirement, Cesar is pleased to bring you the only undefeated champion in Roman history the legendary, Titus of Gaul!"
Commodus clapped with the others as the former warrior rode out on a chariot, a solemn expression on his face as he rose his hand to the crowds.
However, it was Maximus that received the loudest cheers as he walked out into the arena.
Commodus forced himself to clap for the sake of appearances, but he couldn't stop from scowling down at the other man. "They embrace him like he's one of their own," He said.
"The mob is fickle, brother," Lucilla said. "He'll be forgotten in a month."
"No, much sooner than that," Commodus said. "It's been arranged."
Candace turned towards him with a frown, her brow furrowed down in confusion. "What's been arranged?" she asked.
Commodus ran a hand across her head then down to her cheek. "It is nothing you should worry about," he said. He gave her cheek a quick pat before turning to look back at the arena.
Candace exchanged a nervous glance with Tessa for both of them knew that whatever their brother had arranged couldn't bode well for Maximus.
Tessa decided that Commodus had quite outdone some of his former plots with the one that he had arranged for Maximus. It might have even managed to turn out successfully if Maximus hadn't been a skilled enough warrior to defend himself against a powerful opponent and tigers at the same time.
He was now standing over Titus, who he had knocked to the ground only a few moments ago, with an axe at his side. He slowly brought his gaze up towards Commodus, waiting to see what the emperor would decree, even if the crowds were already shouting out for death.
Tessa could already guess how her brother would decide even before he pointed his thumb downwards.
Maximus swung the axe upwards as his eyes moved back down to the man bellow him. He stood there for quite some time, leaving everyone waiting on bated breath for the kill to come. And yet it never did. Maximus threw the axe away to the collected gasps of the crowd.
Cassius was quick to turn the action into something favorable, however. "Maximus, Maximus the Merciful!" he cried out.
The people accepted the title eagerly, chanting it as Maximus glanced up into the royal box to lock eyes with the emperor. Commodus stared down at the other man for a long time before turning away with a cold smirk that told Tessa that Maximus still wasn't safe.
Candace was walking towards her brother's chambers to retire for the evening when she heard the sound of his raised voice.
"And now they love Maximus for his mercy! So I can't just kill him or it makes me even more unmerciful. The whole thing's like some crazy nightmare."
Candace believed that he was only ranting to himself and was about to enter to soothe him before she heard the voice of Senator Falco.
"He is defying you. His every victory is an act of defiance. The mob sees this and so does the Senate. Every day he lives they grow bolder. Kill him."
"No," Commodus said. "I will not make a martyr of him."
"I have been told of a certain sea snake," Falco said, "which has a very unusual method of attracting its prey. It will lay at the bottom of the ocean as though wounded then its enemies will approach, yet it will lie quite still. And then its enemies will take tiny bites of it and yet still it remains still."
"So, we will lie still," Commodus murmured, "and let them nibble. Have every Senator polled."
Candace decided that she had enough of listening to her brother's plots. She wrenched the curtains aside and strode into the room. She shot a cool glance at Falco as she past him to Commodus, who was staring at her in surprise.
"Sister, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I thought that you might be having trouble sleeping," Candace said.
The tension that had been in Commodus's face before disappeared as he smiled down at her. "You always seem to know just when I need you," He said. He turned towards Falco, waving towards the door. "You may leave now, Falco."
Candace waited until the Senator had left to take Commodus's hand and lead him over to the bed where she sat down, patting her lap. Commodus chuckled before laying down across the bed with his head falling down into her lap. His eyes slid shut as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"I've decided what to do about Maximus," he said.
"Perhaps it would be better to just leave him alone," Candace said. "He might seem important now, but the mob will forget about him the moment a better fighter comes along. And when that happens you can neutralize him as a threat by giving him to Tessa as either slave or husband. It would certainly spare our poor sister the pain of having to loose him."
Commodus frowned as he turned his face into her hand. "Our sister will understand that I did what had to be done. And then she will find another."
Candace shook her head as she felt him kiss the palm of her hand. Why couldn't he see that he was making such wrong decisions?
Candace was being carried through the city on her royal litter. There weren't any games being held that day and she had wanted a break from politics. She had nearly managed to fall asleep as she lounged until she hard her guards ordering someone to get back. Then there came a man's voice.
"My lady! I served your father at Vivdabona. And I served the General Maximus! I serve him still!"
The last part was what caught Candace's attention, making her raise up from her cushions. "Stop!" She ordered. She motioned with her hands for her guards to move aside as the man moved forward to kneel before her.
"The general wants to meet with you," The man whispered.
Candace frowned slightly, wondering why Maximus would want to meet with her. He had grown up alongside her and her siblings, but they had never been particularly close. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to take advantage of this situation, however.
She reached into the folds of her gown to extract some coins to press into the man's hand. "For your loyalty," She said.
The man dipped his head respectfully to her as he backed away, allowing the litter to carry on.
