V

THE LOST PRINCE OF ROME

TRAINING with her father was never an easy thing for Caecilia. Acacius was a general, The Roman General. He was so strong, but he knew that Caecilia had the same strength as him and the same determination as her mother.

«Too slow.» Acacius uttered, pointing his sword to Caecilia's throat after having disarmed her. She was not too slow, it was her father who was too fast. Every time it happened.
«Again.»

Caecilia tried to hit her father, but Acacius managed to dodge the blow. «Too slow, again.» he then said, teasing her. A little smile came out of his face, as Caecilia snorted.

«I can handle the bow better than the sword, it's not my fault.» the girl replied, picking up the sword her father dropped on the ground.
«You need to improve with the sword if...»

«Father. Nothing will happen to me. He won't do anything to me.» Caecilia cut off, looking at him. She knew that he was just worried about her, just like a father did with his daughter. But she also knew that Geta would never hurt her.

«Besides asking you to marry him.» Lucilla arrived, interrupting their conversation. It was the first time since the day before she smiled. She had been constantly overthinking.

Caecilia noticed that. She was still thinking about what suddenly happened to Lucilla. She changed... after saw the battle in the Colosseum. She looked... restless, very restless.

«I will kill him.» Acacius interrupted Caecilia's thought. The girl almost laughed at her father's words. Geta was not a monster, at least with her. But Acacius was so angry with him, because of the war and especially his love interest in Caecilia.

«Killing is not the right thing to do, father.» the girl replied, looking at Lucilla for a moment. She knew Marcus Aurelius' daughter could understand her.

«Do you care about him, Caecilia?»
Caecilia was so surprised for her father's question. If Geta asked her to marry him, she wouldn't accept it. Never. But she couldn't deny that she didn't want him dead. «Maybe he's not how he appears to everyone. Maybe he...»

«He's a monster, sweetheart. Like his brother.» Acacius continued to insist, maybe because he knew what his daughter really thought of Geta. He knew that Caecilia kept to see the same boy she had met years before. A different boy than the man he was today.

«But this doesn't mean that they must die.» and, after all, Acacius couldn't help but hold back a little smile. Caecilia was too good for that world. Just like her mother was.

«General.» someone spoke, before Acacius could say anythinf to his daughter. «It's time to go.» the soldier adviced him, making him nodd.

Despite the games, Geta and Caracalla demanded to Acacius to prepare the next war against India and Persia. Rome couldn't waste time according to them. They had to hurry.

«I will be back soon.» Acacius left a kiss on Caecilia's forehead as he looked at his wife. Lucilla was strange, and Caecilia wasn't the only one who noticed it. But Acacius had no time that moment. So he was forced to leave his home.

«What happened?» Caecilia suddenly spoke, when they were alone. Now, they could finally talk. Now, Caecilia would finally discover the truth behind the restless of her step-mother. «Lucilla.»

«Nothing, sweetheart.» Lucilla tried to convince Caecilia to give up, but that girl was not so easy to convince. And Lucilla was so aware of it.
«It's not nothing, Lucilla. I know you're hiding something and I don't know if my father knows but...»

«I can't tell you, I would put you in danger.» she was sincere, because that was the truth. She couldn't risk to put Acacius and Caecilia in danger because of her... and her secret past.

«I'm just in danger as you are. Remember?» Caecilia stared at Lucilla. She had no intention to give up. That was the perfect and right moment to know the truth, and so she would get it.

But Lucilla didn't spoke. She didn't say what Caecilia wanted to know. Not then, at least. «Come with me.» she just said. Three words, without meaning for Caecilia. Or maybe... maybe that was the moment she realized that the truth would be harder to hear.

So Caecilia was led to follow Lucilla into a part of their house she didn't know. Or maybe she did, but she had entered in that room only one time. When she was a child, for a mistake. That was a forbidden room in the house, not because it was dangerous, but because it was full of memories that Lucilla wanted to forget.

«Why are we here?» Caecilia asked to Lucilla, after a little silence. She knew why they were in that room, but she wanted to hear those words coming out of Lucilla's mouth. She just needed confirmation, because she saw everything.

«Geta made me think with his words yesterday, after seeing a gladiator in particular in the arena.» Lucilla began, taking a moment before continuing. She had had a day to think about what she had heard, but still needed time to metabolise. «He said that the gladiator uttered some verse in Latin.»

«Smooth is the descent, easy is the way.» Caecilia repeated the verses. Lucilla was looking around, her attention was on the walls of the room. «But I don't know what you...» Caecilia stopped as Lucilla turned her gaze to something on the back of the room. A cradle.

«I taught them to him.» Lucilla said, knowing that Caecilia had stopped talking because she finally realized the truth. She finally understood. «He's my son, Caecilia.»

Caecilia could feel her heart lose a beat and her breath fades for a second after Lucilla's words. «The lost prince of Rome.» she then whispered, almost as if she needed to tell the truth out louder to realize it was true, really true.

Because Lucilla had told her about him many times. But knowing he was alive, and he was the gladiator she had found to help in her father's plan, hit different.

«Lucius.»

≫ ──── ≪ • ◦ ❈ ◦ • ≫ ──── ≪

«Are you okay?» Geta interrupted her thoughts, after a while. He noticed her restless from the first moment he saw her in the palace that day. «You know you can talk to me if something goes wrong.»

Oh, Geta. You are the last person I can tell what I've found.

«I'm fine. I'm just... tired.» she just said, trying to reassure him with a little smile. What would Caecilia have told him? Geta and Caracalla hadn't found out that the lost Prince of Rome, Lucius Verus Aurelius, was alive.
«You can lie down here, or I can called a doctor if you...»

«Geta.» Caecilia stopped him. She appreaciated the way he cared about her. That side of Geta was her favourite. The boy, not the tyrannical man. «I'm fine. I'm just tired because today I trained with my father. That's all.»

«It's not that's all. I know what your father's training means.» Geta replied, making Caecilia laugh for a moment. Geta smiled at her, lost in her eyes for a few seconds. Caecilia knew what he was thinking and decided to change the topic.

«What are the next games?» she asked, making Geta awake from his thoughts. Caecilia was curious, but she especially needed that information. For Hanno. She had to warn him.

«Ships Battle.» Geta answered, looking away for a moment. He knew what she would think after his next words. «Caracalla wanted to add the sharks in the water.»

«What?! It's crazy, Geta.»
Geta sighed. He wanted to inform her, because he didn't want secrets with her. But he also knew that Caecilia cared about the slaves in the Colosseum, perhaps too much for his taste. «They are slaves, Caecilia. This is their destiny.»

Caecilia didn't know what made her snap. Maybe the tone that Geta used to say those words, or perhaps the idea he could understimate the value of their lives. «My mother was a slave too.»

Geta blamed himself for not having thought of that little detail in Caecilia's life. He didn't know her mother, but he knew that she was a slave. So he had always avoided that conversation with her. «I didn't mean...» he tried to say.
«Yes, you did.»

Geta was about to reply, again. He didn't want her to be angry with him, but how could he blame her? He was wrong, so she had the right to be annoyed about him.

Actually, Caecilia was the only one to whom Geta had given that chance to. And, in particular, Caecilia was the only one who had ever received Geta's apology.

«Brother!» Caracalla suddenly shouted, appearing in the room. He smiled at Caecilia who answered him with another smile. «Why didn't you tell me that Caecilia was here? I know you are...»

«What do you want?» Geta cut off his brother, before he could say anything false. Not false, acutally, because Geta's feelings for Caecilia were too much real. And Caracalla knew it very well.
«Macrinus wants to talk with you.»

«I'll go.» Caecilia informed them, leading Geta to take it mentally with Macrinus for having interrupted that moment. «See you tomorrow.»

And, after that, she left the palace to go home. Her father was certainly still outside of the house, busy with the preparations for the new war. Instead Lucilla must have come home.

While Caecilia went to Geta, Lucilla went to Hanno. She was convinced by her stepdaughter to go to him. Because Caecilia hoped that Lucius could undestrand her reasons.

But the moment she came back to home and saw Lucilla cry in her room, she realized that everything went wrong. «Lucilla?» Caecilia caught her attention.

«Lucius hates me.» that were the only words that came out of Lucilla's mouth. She had no strenght to speak and tell Caecilia what happened with Lucius. But Caecilia knew.

Caecilia knew what she had to do. Lucilla needed help, and Caecilia would help her. She had to talk with Hanno. Lucius, actually. Now that was the name she had to use.

≫ ──── ≪ • ◦ ❈ ◦ • ≫ ──── ≪

The Colosseum at night was something different from the morning. But it was so wonderful to see. The light and the darkness couldn't hide the greatness of the Colosseum. Nothing could.

«Caecilia? Why are you here? At this hour, moreover.» Ravi was the first to notice Caecilia entering the Colosseum. And he was the first to realise that something strange was happening on that day.

«I must to speak to Hanno.» Caecilia answered, almost begging his friend. She knew she could trust Ravi, just as she knew he would help her without hesitation. «Please.»

«I'll pretend that Lucilla's visit before and yours now are not connected.» Ravi whispered in her ear. Caecilia smiled at him, knowing he wouldn't ask anything more.

Ravi was a keen watcher, so he knew something was wrong. In a few hours Hanno had received two visits from two important personalities in the city of Rome: the daughter of Marcus Aurelius and the daughter of Marcus Acacius.

The moment Hanno heard the cage suddenly open, Caecilia was the last person he expected to see. It was late, too late, just like Ravi had noticed before him. «Did you already miss me?»

He had to be honest, he had hoped that Caecilia would come to him. He didn't know her very well, but she was in his mind. Constantly. He wanted to talk to her again, he wanted to know her.

«Always.» Caecilia smiled at him, staying at his game. She went to him just for a reason, but she couldn't ask him immediately explainations. «How are you?»

«No fights tomorrow, one more day to survive.» Hanno shrugged, a little smile came out over his face as she looked at the girl in front of him of him. A few centimetres separated them.

«I saw you, yesterday. The way you lead your soldiers...» Caecilia said, thinking of Hanno's fight in the Colosseum the day before. She had to advise him. «Do the same for the next game. It's a ships battle.»

«Do you know what is it?» Hanno asked, with a confusion expression on his face. But he took a few second to find the answer for yourself. «Of course you do. Geta told you.»

Caecilia could hear a hint of contempt in his tone. How could she blame him? Geta and Caracalla had made him a slave and forced him to fight for his freedom. «I asked, he answered. It's simple, isn't it?»

Hanno smiled, but a grimace of pain quickly spread across his face. He had to lean against the wall while rested a hand on his hip. The battle he had fought against Glyceo and his rhinoceros hadn't been so easy.

Caecilia immediately rushed towards Hanno, worried about his wound. «Let me see.» she said, not looking at him in the eyes. Her attention was entirely on his hip.

«Ravi healed me, don't worry.» Hanno replied, trying to smile but he grimaced in pain again as Caecilia grazed his hip. «It's nothing.» he whispered, pretending the girl's fingers hadn't had a strange effect on him.
«It's not nothing, Hanno.»

There is something strange about the way she said his name that day. Maybe he was making an impression, or maybe something was wrong. But he couldn't think about it anymore.

Caecilia demanded the guard to call Ravi, so Hanno was forced to sit down while the healer tended to his wound. «I told him not to make any effort.» Ravi informed Caecilia, making Hanno snort.

Caecilia said nothing, just watched his friend tend to the man. She still wondered how the gladiators could survive so many wounds every time.

She felt so bad for them. She would have save them all if only she had the chance. So... it must have been the same feeling her mother felt every time she tended to a wounded warrior. It had been so bad for her.

Her father, Acacius, always told her how empathic was her mother. Caecilia wondered if her mother held back tears every time, just like she was doing that moment because of Hanno.

«Ravi has left the cage. You can speak now.» Hanno teased her, laughed a little. But Caecilia didn't. Her mood suddenly changed because her thoughts. «Are you okay?»

What an ironic thing. Hanno, a slave who became gladiator and who was fighting for his freedom, was asking her, a rich lady, if she was fine. Ironic, isn't it?

Caecilia didn't reply. She simply took off her necklace and put it on him. It was an amulet her father had given her to protect her and gave her the strenght she needed in special moments. «Take it.»

Hanno hesitated before taking it. He didn't understand why Caecilia was giving him a necklace that she had always with her. «What is it?»

«It will protect you, for the next games.» Caecilia answered, looking her necklace for a moment. She thought about how many times it had helped her in her life. But now, Hanno needed to be helped.

«Do you care about me?» Hanno was teasing her, again. But Caecilia didn't reply, again. She just smiled at him, until the moment Hanno finally decided to take the necklace. «Thank you, lady.»

The gladiator said nothing more. He took the necklace from her hands, touching them lightly with his. «Stop calling me lady.» Caecilia murmured, hiding the blush on her cheek from the touch of Hanno's hand earlier.
«It's what you are.»

Caecilia knew that the gladiator was just telling the truth, but as she had already told him... she's not like the other ladies. «Yes, but... it's irritating.» in fact she replied, making Hanno hold back a little laugh.

But just for a moment. Because Hanno saw something in Caecilia's eyes that was different from the day before. So he took a step forward, towards her. «What happened?»

Caceilia closed her eyes and sighed. After seeing Lucilla cry for him, she decided to go to Hanno with no hesitation. She wanted to help her stepmother, but she never thought it would be so hard.

Hanno kept his look on her, but Caecilia didn't look at him. That was a proof that something was wrong. Another proof? The jolt Caecilia had when she felt Lucius' hand rest on her cheek.

The gladiator wanted her to look at him. She was helping him, and now he wanted to return the favour. «If something is wrong, I...»

«I know who you are.» Caecilia cut him off, no longer able to hold back those words. That was the moment the girl looked at him. And that was the moment Hanno realized. But he continued to pretend.

«I am a gladiator.» he told her, with a smile on his face. But Caecilia saw the nervousness hidden behind that smile. And she knew it was a sensitive topic for him.
«Your mother told me.»

«She's not my mother.» the firm and hard tone he used to say that almost made her falter. Lucius had so much hatred for her mother. Caecilia couldn't blame him. He felt abandoned by her.
«Hanno...»

«There is anything else I can do for you, lady?» Lucius cut her off, tired of hearing more about his mother. Now, he wanted to be alone. He wanted to rest and not to think.

«Stay alive and do nothing stupid. Please.» Caecilia said, taking his hands in hers. At that touch, Hanno pulled his hands away. He didn't want her to do that, not that moment at least.
«Your money are safe with me, lady.»

«It's not my money that I care about.»

≫ ──── ≪ • ◦ ❈ ◦ • ≫ ──── ≪

It shouldn't have been gone that way. Caecilia knew it would be difficult convicing Hanno to listen the truth, but she hadn't expect it to be this hard. He hadn't even given the chance to explain. He immediately had cut her off.

«You should stay away from him.» a voice interrupted her thoughts, making her startle. She had already heard that voice, days before.
«He's your gladiator, but he didn't belong to you.»

Macrinus held back a smile, lowered his head slightly for a moment and then raised it again. Caecilia looked at him, and saw a different light in his eyes.

«Do you know he doesn't want freedom?» he asked her, getting closer to her. Caecilia wasn't afraid of him, but she was afraid of his words. Something didn't add up, and Marcinus words confirmed it.«He only asked me one thing.»

Caecilia was afraid to ask, but she had to do. She knew very little about Hanno, so she wanted to know the reason that had pushed him to have all that rage.

She knew that Hanno had lost someone because of the war, and thinking about that made her attention to a detail that she had previously ignored. «What more could a slave want than freedom?»

«A head.» Macrinus said in a whisper. He was almost amused in saying those words, but Caecilia didn't notice it. Her mind was focused on one thing. And the smirk on Macrinus' face was proof that she had finally realized.

«He wants your father's head.»

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Don't blame Hanno for what he has done. He believes his mother abandoned him, so he was angry with her. Caecilia wanted to help them reunite, but it didn't work.

I love Lucius and Caecilia's little moment in that chapter, even if the atmosphere has completely changed because of the truth revealed.

Geta's focus on Caceilia's health makes me cry. What do you think about what Geta was about to say to Caecilia before his brother interrupted him?

And especially... what do you think will happen when Lucius finds out that Caecilia is the daughter of the man he wants to kill?
I wanna know. :)