"Melitta," she called softly. "I would share words."
The older woman didn't even try to mask her surprise. Octavia had avoided her like the plague for well over half a year, and Melitta had long feared that time would never come to an end. "Domina," she replied, rising to her feet quickly as she followed Octavia to her chambers.
Mira spared Melitta little more than a glance as she moved about the room, watering the plants Octavia kept near her windows. Melitta had remained largely abreast with Octavia's life over the last few months if only due to Mira and her penchant for gossiping with the other young slave girls who enjoyed discussing the most handsome gladiators and their masters when they knew no one of import was listening. "I'm sure you know already," said Octavia, calling Melitta's attention back to her. "Oenomaus must've told you."
"Of Gannicus?" asked Melitta, noticing how the younger girl still flinched upon hearing his name.
Octavia hesitated, her eyes moving to Melitta's feet for a long moment, before she brought them back up to meet her gaze. "You were right to intervene," she said. "I thought I should say so. It is not a life I would have wanted for myself."
"He may have chosen a different path for you," said Melitta.
Octavia's smile was a sad one, and she could only hold it in place for the briefest of moments. "A childish notion," she replied, "to believe oneself capable of altering a man's true nature. I've left such thoughts in the past."
"With future thoughts toward Spartacus?" asked Melitta, though she knew she ought not ask.
"I had not thought Oenomaus so enamored with rumor," Octavia laughed.
"The dominus presses him upon your relationship with the Thracian."
Octavia sighed, sitting at the edge of her bed. "The result of contention with Ashur," she admitted. "To be remedied swiftly." In truth, Octavia found herself in a difficult position with the man. It would have been an easy thing to encourage a training accident if the man were still a gladiator. She could have asked Crixus to toss him from the cliff side were he still the champion, but in his current state, she would not risk it. She had heard her mother and father discussing the possibility of selling the Gaul but a few hours before.
Spartacus, she knew, would not hesitate in cleaving the Syrian's head from body - and with the coin he was currently earning her father, he could get away with it too. But Octavia did not think herself capable of the courage it would take to ask such a thing of him. "The man is dangerous," warned Melitta.
"I'm dangerous too," Octavia replied, her intentions to speak with Spartacus now solidified. Melitta opened her mouth, taking a step forward with an outstretched hand before stopping herself. She did not have the relationship she once had with the girl. One false move and she may be pushed away again. She couldn't say what she wanted, couldn't coddle her as she'd always done before. "You need not worry, Melitta," she spoke, her tone surprisingly gentle. "I am not the fool I was once was."
"You were not a fool, domina," Melitta said quickly. "You were born into a world that punishes kindness and rewards cruelty."
"Is there a world where it's different?" she wondered, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Melitta didn't hold herself back now, stepping forward to grab Octavia's arms in her hands. "There must be," she insisted. "And I will do what I must to make sure you find it."
"These vipers have a rabid taste for the embarrassment of their friends," said Ilithyia, a smile upon her face that everyone in the room could see through.
Octavia wondered distantly if the irony of such words would ever fall upon Ilithyia. She knew no one who delighted more in the humiliation of those closest to her. "Truthfully, my tastes lie elsewhere tonight," said Licinia, the cousin to Marcus Crassus. She could not count on both hands the number of times her mother had spoken of the woman in such exacting terms since announcing she would visit the villa. Octavia tried not to flinch upon realizing the woman's eyes had landed upon her. "Gaius was insufferable after your visit to Rome."
Lucretia blanched as she looked between the woman and her daughter. "Caesar?" she asked.
Licinia tilted her head curiously. "Did you not know?"
"No, of course I knew," Lucretia lied without missing a beat. "But I've heard nothing of his response."
Licinia rolled her eyes, but smiled, enjoying the power she currently held over both women with something as simple as having overheard a conversation. "He spoke of returning to Capua, his purpose quite clear," she informed them. "Marcus forced his attention to matters of greater import."
With all eyes on her, Octavia knew she ought to say something. "Such a man will always have matters of greater import to attend to," she replied lightly, hoping the tugging she felt at her cheeks was a smile.
"Perhaps," agreed Licinia. "Or perhaps not. He was quite determined in his intent to return. Though, how such a simple girl could capture his attention does remain a … curiosity of mine."
"Perhaps you mistake intent," said Octavia. "He was quite taken with the games when last in Capua."
"He was quite taken with you," the woman insisted, she and the pack of wolves she called friends looking at Octavia with thinly veiled envy. Octavia could not pretend she didn't enjoy it. Ilithyia's words still echoed in her ears: perhaps his time abroad forced him to develop a taste for the … exotic. As if she were no more than a creature from the jungle masquerading as a proper Roman woman … and yet, how desperate they all were to be her in that moment.
She smiled at the women, easily this time, and wondered if the smug sense of superiority radiating through her was how these women felt all the time. "A matter of little concern for this evening," she stated. "Ilithyia has far more exciting news to discuss with our newest gladiator."
As the attention shifted from Octavia to Ilithyia, her mother gave her an appraising glance, and then a subtle wink before turning her attention to discuss the new trainee under Ilithyia's patronage. "So he is only a slave," Caecillia remarked, suddenly looking bored with Ilithyia's news. It had only lasted a brief moment before the women had turned on her again. "I would see a real gladiator."
"Yes, bring Spartacus up," said Licinia, to the agreement of her friends.
Lucretia hesitated, glancing between Octavia and Ilithyia. Octavia knew she was likely to be recalling the last time Spartacus and Ilithyia had shared the same space, and did not want a repeat performance in front of the cousin to Marcus Crassus. Her mother waited to see if Ilithyia would fulfill her role as the last line of defense, but even she did not wield enough power to hold the other women at bay. "Bring up the champion," she murmured, bringing her wine to her lips. "Let us all … revel in his presence."
It didn't take long for Spartacus to be brought up to join them, freshly bathed and hands unbound. Octavia thought it a mistake. There was little the women or guards present could do to stop the man should his mind wander towards more violent thoughts. And yet, he stood obediently as Licinia stood before him, her fingers trailing across his chest and lower. "He stands as Mars ready for war," she said. "Is there truth to the legends? Gladiators share the blood of gods?"
"The mighty Crixus, certainly," said Ilithyia, clearly ill at ease with the praise Spartacus was receiving. The other women murmured their agreements, inquiring upon Crixus's return to the arena.
And yet, Licinia remained quite focused upon the gladiator in front of her. "And what of you, Spartacus?" she wondered. "Are you a blessing?"
"To some," he answered, before his eyes found Ilithyia. "To others, a curse."
"The duality of his kind," the woman responded, her anger at being addressed by the man evident upon her features. "Admired as a gladiator, and yet despised as a slave."
"He's much more than a common slave," Licinia argued, his hands drifting ever lower on the Thracian's body. Octavia glanced away, pursing her lips and trying best she could to pretend she was somewhere else. "You can feel it radiating from his skin. I have heard tale of a champion's blood possessing many restorative powers. A few drops in a glass of wine is enough to make a man hard for days."
"Such are the legends," her mother confirmed, smiling alongside the other women as they whispered and giggled amongst themselves at the thought.
Licinia pouted ever so slightly as she looked up at Spartacus. He'd not spared her a glance the entire night and it left her feeling frustrated. "I would test the legends myself, if I could," she said with a smile, glancing at Lucretia over her shoulder.
"Certainly," her mother agreed. "I'll send a messenger with a vial."
"I would have it now."
Lucretia glanced quickly at Octavia, a silent plea for help. While Spartacus had become much more tame and obedient after his wife's passing, he was still unpredictable. A feral beast, as far as Lucretia was concerned. Octavia stood sharply, grabbing the small knife Ilithyia had procured before the woman could volunteer to retrieve the blood herself. "Of course," she said loudly, interrupting Ilithyia's protests. "The House of Batiatus is happy to oblige."
She brushed past Licinia and placed a hand against Spartacus's chest, pushing him back ever so slightly. He was quick to oblige, taking three steps back to put more space between himself and the Roman women. He glanced down at her curiously when she hesitated, the knife lay gently against his skin without making a cut. "You've done this before," he reminded her, earning himself an annoyed look.
"Come to the gates of the ludus tonight," she murmured so softly he had to strain to hear her. "Let no one see you."
Spartacus gave no answer or indication that he'd heard her, but grabbed her hand within his own, forcing the pressure of the blade against himself until it began to bleed. She looked away from the blood and up to him, to find him watching her with a look that threatened to make her knees give out from under her. She promptly forgot her purpose, but Spartacus was quick to remind her, releasing her hand with the knife in favor of the one holding the vial. He brought it up to his chest and held her there until enough blood had filled it, his eyes never moving from hers. "Domina,"
"Legend does call for the blood of a dead gladiator, does it not?" asked Ilithyia, pulling Octavia from her trance. "But such details should not concern us. Spartacus will die soon enough, to the roar of the crowd."
"I don't believe he will ever fall in the arena," said Licinia, absentmindedly chewing on the tip of her thumb as she looked over at Spartacus. Octavia could tell with ease how much the woman wanted to trade her places, to have the gladiator look at her the way he'd looked at Octavia, to have him touch her with the same gentle familiarity. It was just as Ilithyia had said: gladiators were despised as slaves, but it did not stop women of note from desiring them. "He is a god among men."
Octavia did not know what to expect as she descended deep into the ludus, without so much as a torch to guide her way in the dark. She knew the path well enough she could traverse it blind, but she still jumped at every sudden sound and breeze. "You're here," she remarked in surprise upon finding Spartacus leaning against the iron bars that separated them.
"Presence was commanded," he reminded her, pushing off of the bars to turn to look at her.
She took a hesitant step forward, reaching the precipice of her end of the villa. Spartacus was illuminated well enough by the light of the moon as he tilted his head ever so slightly and rested it against the cool iron of the bars as he looked down at her. "Why did you lie to my father?"
"Is that why you've brought me here?"
"No," she admitted. "But I would have answer all the same."
"Your father commands you balm bitter wounds with gentle touch and yet seeks your punishment for doing so absent orders," said Spartacus. "It would not have been right."
"Perhaps you are not the monster I believed you to be," she murmured, finding herself unable to meet his eye.
"I am far worse," Spartacus mused, finding himself rather amused by the way she could not meet his gaze now. "But would not bear teeth toward you."
"And toward another more deserving?" she wondered, forcing her eyes up to his.
"At last we arrive to true purpose," he replied.
She pursed her lips and took a step back. "There is no one else I may turn to," she admitted. "I would see Ashur struck from this world and an end to the suffering he causes."
"He is not often within the ludus," Spartacus informed her.
"I will create opportunity if you would but seize upon it," said Octavia. "Spartacus is the name upon too many tongues of import for my father to seek reprisal, even if he were to discover what you've done. You have been requested in the primus of games well into the future."
Spartacus scarcely appeared to be listening to her. He had little concern for his future within the ludus. He knew well what sort of things he could get away with as champion, for as long as the crowd favored him so. "And my reward for such a task?"
"Put voice to desire and I will see it so," said Octavia, though her gaze had shifted away from him again.
Spartacus stepped closer, his hand passing through a hole in the bars to find her chin, tilting her gaze back up to him with a soft grip. "And if my desire requires you look upon me for more than a moment?" he wondered. "I fear you incapable."
"You ask more of me than you realize," she grumbled, her head subconsciously pressing further into his palm as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"And would have more still," replied Spartacus. Octavia thought her legs likely to give out from under her again. Her head had gone foggy and she found her thoughts slow and sluggish. All she wanted was for the bars between them to melt away and for Spartacus to have from her whatever he wanted. It was only when he pulled away, his hand slipping from her cheek, that sense and reason began to retake her mind. "I will seize opportunity should it arise," he promised.
Author's Note: I know I will get some sad faces for not having Octavia visit Crixus yet. I've actually already written that scene (next chapter), but Ashur being a lil snitch has made it difficult for Octavia to move freely within the ludus as she used to. Her opportunity to see him will come soon, I promise. :)
Special thanks:
Edenofcher: Done! It's an easy request to keep Duro alive, though I'm not sure how often I'll reference him - promise to keep him alive for you~
Actina13: I wish I had it in me to only be interested in a few of Octavia's pairings … they're all so perfect! Hopefully you're enjoying the Spartacus crumbs, and you'll eat well in the next chapter too!
Sniperbro1998: Next chapter, I promise! I've already written it, so I hope you'll enjoy! 3
Kencpd: Part of me leans towards Crixus/Naevia, as well just for the simple fact that it's hard for me to juggle so many relationships for Octavia in this arc and keep them all meaningful. However, fortunately, I think most of the people who read this story are very happy to indulge me in giving Octavia romantic tension with everyone in the show haha and there are a lot of Crixus lovers reading, so I think he will at least have a little Octavia detour before landing on Naevia.
As for the compliments for my writing, thank you so much! Sometimes I struggle with really hating how I write, so comments like this mean more to me than you know! 3
Fernanda: It's so fun to hear someone is reading this all the way in Chile! It shows how well our thirst for Spartacus characters can bring us together haha! I hope you'll always enjoy the updates :3
Bronsonsimmerman: I will absolutely indulge this hehe~
Viki: Um I'm gonna need you to drop the Taylor Swift songs for each couple IMMEDIATELY. I will play them in the background whenever I'm writing in the future~ I think you should enjoy this update since our babygirl Melitta is back on the scene. Trust me, I miss having her around too and I hope I conveyed how lost and alone Octavia was without her too.
ZERO ROMAN CURSES TO YOU TOO BRO (unless it's Caesar, bc him haunting you would actually be so funny hahah)