❝     The loneliest girl in town was bought
For plenty of price, well, they dress her
Up in golden crowns, his smile hides a lie.
She smiles back, but it's a fact
That her fear will eat her alive.     ❞

— THE TRADITION, HALSEY

     Octavia Amulius was a woman born from the darkest depths of sorrow.

From a young age, she was forced to reconcile with the world and accept it for what it was — bloody and brutal. After the death of Maximus Decimus Meridus, who had served and died for the ancient city of Rome in the colosseum as an enslaved gladiator, instead of honouring his legacy, the city plunged deeper into darkness. Empires rose, then fell. Blood was spilled amongst the guilty, and even the innocent. Dead, decrepit bodies of men, women and children alike seemed to spread across the country. Casualties of war, that's what they called it. While Octavia was nothing more than a mere child thus too young to understand the death of Maximus, and the fall of the city she was fortunate enough to grow up within at the time, she was no longer naive enough to bite her tongue and keep her unflattering thoughts to herself.

     To put it simply, Octavia believed the casualties were unwilling victims of the ongoing slaughter scattered across the realm.

     It only seemed to get worse when the evil twin emperors, Emperor Geta and Emperor Caracalla, came into power. One just as mad as the other, neither retaining any reliable knowledge on how to rule a kingdom. The only language they truly understood was one; war. War broke out once again across Rome, and stretched across many foreign lands. Octavia knew this because her father, Florian Amulius, was the second in command in the ruthless Roman army, standing beside General Acacius, and leading trained men into battle. The long week and months of battle left Octavia Amulius without her father for long periods of time, tending to her ailing mother alone, who slowly succumbed to the disease eating away at her lungs. And even in the events following her death, Florian Amulius was not granted permission to leave his post to return home to his grieving daughter, and bury his deceased wife.

     Do you know what that kind of pain does to a man?

     Do you want to know the kind of anger that creates?

In the long days following her father's return to Rome, Octavia watched as he became closed off and secretive, like there was something he didn't want her to be a part of, like he was trying to protect her from something. It was only when Florian Amulius was caught, beaten, and taken to the royal palace, Octavia learned what her father was planning; a rebellion. Florian wanted to stage an uprising against the mad emperors and sought justice for every living, breathing soul that died under their rule, including Octavia's mother. Truth is, Octavia blamed herself. She shouldn't known her father would do something outrageous in her mother's name. She was just so tangled up in her own grief that she didn't see the signs until it was too late.

Octavia raced to the palace upon hearing the news her father would be arrested and presumably executed for his crimes against the emperors. Knowing she couldn't go through another loss, she met with Geta and Caracalla and pleaded with them to spare her father's life. She watched, with their glistening golden crowns, and extravagant robes, as they smiled and laughed manically at her relentless efforts to save a traitorous man. Octavia had believed all hope was lost. But what she didn't notice was the way Emperor Geta looked at her longingly, his menacing gaze lingering over every inch of her body. He wasn't admiring her, no. He was not capable of admiration. The Emperor stared at her with a kind of hunger and lust that Octavia couldn't quite decipher. He was infatuated by her very presence in the room with him.

That was when Emperor Geta proposed a trade; he would have her, and in return, she would see her father freed from the shackles they put him in. It was a deal that made Octavia's blood run cold as a bitter taste pricked across her tongue. If she accepted the Emperor's gracious offer, she would be his wife until the moment she took her last breath. She would be forced to bear his children and give him an heir. She would be his property, just some pretty thing he can show off and never truly love or cherish because men like him are not capable of loving another human being. They just don't. But her father would be alive. She would never be able to see him again, but he would live peacefully on the outskirts of the city, and that's what Octavia told herself when she accepted Emperor Geta's offer; Her freedom for her father's.

     If there was one thing the woman believed she would never have to grieve the loss of, it was her freedom.

     As the months started to past following Octavia's quick move into the palace, she fell deeper into a void of loneliness, suffering alone in her own dark solitude, while she waited for the wretched day she would be forced to marry the monster she had become familiar with. Trapped in her own desolate cage crafted by her captor, she believes there is no hope for a woman like her. That is until she meets him. A violent gladiator who's rage only seems satisfied when his blade becomes coated in the blood of his enemies. Octavia's knew she should stay away from a man capable of such violence, but her gut told her there was more to this gladiator than meets the eye. So, when her soon-to-be husband orders her to tend to the gladiator's wounds after every fight, Octavia finds herself becoming more enthralled by his very being.

It was then she learned her gut had been telling her the truth. This man called Hanno wasn't violent, and only killed when he was left with no other choice. Instead, he was kind, he was gentle, and he was pure, something someone like him shouldn't be. Everything Emperor Geta failed to be. It left Octavia wanting more. After every conversation, every lingering glance, and every touch, she craved to have him, all of him, and yet, that wasn't even possible. She was betrothed to another, and he was nothing more than a slave turned into a killing machine in the colosseum. They were never destined to be. Their fates were never meant to cross. It was written in the stars from the very beginning. She couldn't have him. She had to not want him.

But the longer Octavia Amulius lingered in his presence, the more difficult it became to stay away, especially when she learned he wasn't just a slave, nor a gladiator. He was more, so much more. And he wanted her too, all of her, and neither of them would stop until they were together. . .

In this life, or the next.

SIMONE ASHLEY / . . . OCTAVIA AMULIUS

𖤓

THE BEAUTY.   THE PRISONER.
THE REALMS DELIGHT.

PAUL MESCAL / . . . LUCIUS (HANNO) VERUS

𖤓

THE GLADIATOR.   BARBARIAN.
THE LOST PRINCE.

JOSEPH QUINN / . . . EMPEROR GETA

𖤓

THE CRUEL.   MAD MAN.
THE UNTRUE RULER OF ROME.

⋆☀︎｡

▃▃▃▃▃▃ I TRIED TO
BE GOOD, AM I
NO GOOD? ▃▃▃▃▃▃

&

may calamaway / AUGUSTA CARBO
as described / FLORIAN AMULIUS
as described / CAIUS
pedro pascal / GENERAL ACACIUS
denzel washington / MACRINUS
fred hechinger / EMPEROR CARACALLA
connie nielsen / LUCILLA
the rest of the gladiator ii cast / THEIR RESPECTIVE CHARACTERS

authors note.
In todays segment of Amber can't be normal about anything she watches, I present to you a gladiator ii fic because yes I'm obsessed with Paul Mescal after this movie and this fic is just adding fuel to the fire. But I've had this plot for a while (since i saw the movie) but it took a gentle push to actually cave and write it. And oh my god I'm so excited to write this, everything about Octavia and Lucius has me in a chokehold so I'm buzzing to dive into their story with you guys!!

The beautiful cover for this story is made by aastratta <3

warning.
This story will contain sexual content, violence, mentions of suicide, sexual assault, and may contain other triggering topics throughout so please read with caution.

dedications.
I want to first and foremost give a special shoutout to Aly ( starlightsuns ) when i said it took a gentle push to write this book i mean she convinced me to write this and I'm so glad she did. This story is only happening because of her, and she has a gladiator ii fic of her own coming out soon so make sure to give it love because the plot is life changing <3
This story is also dedicated to heywardsswhore sweetvinyls warrensdrums fIeetwood elfaouly aaronhtchnrs & anyone else who has supported me in the making of this story <3