Chapter One

My eyes wondered around the arena. Gladiators took their stand to fight, possibly to the death. Had I known what was about to happen, would I have been less reckless? Probably not. The truth was that I missed it. I missed the fighting. I missed the fights we had.

The Emperor sat on the side of me. His hands gripped his gold armrest eagerly, waiting for the bloodshed. I was not. I hated the way Rome wanted to kill or maim. We would never go so far in our contests because it would usually be to first blood. We cared for our fighters, but here they were treated like animals. I awaited for the bloodshed. Then the door opened. I gasped at what I saw.

It was the man. The man who had taken me aside. The man that had saved me from the guards. He was thrown into the ring, along with three other men, while a giant came out on the other end. I straightened on the edge of my seat.

"What's wrong, love?" the Emperor asked. I felt sick hearing him call me that. I felt no love for him in my body, but I did not say a word. I simply shook my head and slackened on the chair. Please, God let them win, I thought silently to myself. Before I could give a second thought, the one with the brown-haired beard carrying a sword cap harmed. The giant easily kicked him away. The crowd cheered its approval and the Emperor laughed. I had the urge to close my eyes, but they stayed open. Next, the one with short dark hair ran forward. They were doing this wrong. They would have the advantage if they charged together. The giant grabbed the man by the throat. The man gave him punches to the stomach in vain. The giant easily tossed him away, leaving a dent in the ground where the man had landed. The man I knew, Patrick noticed the giant's back was to him. He tried to run at him, but the giant brought his fist back sending Patrick flying.

My heart ached. I needed to help them, I needed it badly. That's when the man with the blond hair ran forward. The giant blocked his blows and threw him onto the ground. That made the crowd go crazy and he basked in their praise. He went over to the weapons. The Emperor laughed on the side of me. Then the four men rose slowly. They each had something in their hands. I raised an eyebrow. What were they planning?

Soon the men huddled and the blond took the object. A slingshot. I smiled softly. Brilliant. The giant was bringing a axe, not realizing the fallen men were up and stronger than before. The blond threw the slingshot and the stone inside lodged itself in the giant's skull. That made me look away, but my smile was still present. They had one. The crowd cheered, and the men celebrated their win. The Emperor did not look happy, but he did smile when the doors opened again. That was when the other giant came out. The men looked towards their new contender shocked and exhausted.

"You can't! They won your match!" I snapped towards him. He looked at me, his eyes dangerous.

"That may how your little kingdom ran the fights, but this is Rome. What will you do about it Athena?" he said coldly. I froze, but I knew what I had to do. I got up and left the Emperor and headed to my death.

After years of practice, I got my armor on while running into the arena. I hoped I wasn't too late. On the way in i grabbed a sword. No one bothered to stop me. That would disturb the perfect show. I threw open the gates. The men had managed to avoid the giant, but everything stopped when I entered. The crowd went silent and the contenders stared at me. Patrick smiled. The Emperor too was smiling, as if he was right. I gripped my sword tighter, and the giant holding the spear smiled too. He had a real opponent now. He charged and I easily moved out of his way. I turned and brought my sword into his side. He roared. As much as I hated it, I would have to kill him.

When my sword came out, it was covered in red, but the giant was fine. I was taken by surprise when he brought me off my feet and threw me. My sword left my hands and I rolled to a stop. I growled and looked up. The men jumped on the giant, but he threw them off. I jumped up along with the men and ran for my sword. I reached him before. He was surprised to see me. He was even more surprised when I thrusted my sword in his stomach.

He fell, and I looked to the door again. The Emperor ran out of contenders, but he had plenty of guards. Three grabbed me, but I didn't fight. That would be pointless. I saw the four men get grabbed also and we were dragged into the dark dungeons.