The full impact of Lucilla's death did not really strike him until much later that night, or rather early the next morning. The long hard ride had continued and given his thoughts time to range over many things. One by one he had lost every woman who had ever meant anything to him in his life; his mother when he had been only a small boy, his wife in the most horrific of circumstances and now Lucilla, another victim of the rivalry of men for supreme power. On the edge of his conscience hovered the spectre of Aurelia, all alone now in who knew what circumstances? He tried not to think about her for he knew until they reached Ostia there was nothing he could do but leave her in the hands of the gods.

Who, he could not help but recall, had signally failed him in the past when he had beseeched their intervention. That was the terror of this occasion for him, the recurrence of the nightmare of that time when he had tried, hope against hope, to race across vast tracts of land to reach them, knowing every moment that his chances were slim, half mad with pain, fever and anguish. Tonight he was calmer. Was he more inured to the inevitability of loss by now or had his years as a gladiator taken away most of his ability for emotional response? Or was it neither of those things that caused this glacial calm he felt. He had a sense that he was approaching some nemesis that had always been lying out there in his future waiting for him. Good or bad, he would soon know once and for all what was the divine plan for him. He was ready.

If he lost her, he had already made up his mind that he no longer wished to live. It had not been an emotive decision; his mind was sound and he was sane enough. But it was his wish to depart this existence and be the master of his own leaving. It was a noble route not a cowardly retreat. He would entrust the protection of young Lucius to Antoninus and Juba, should they be spared, and go to his loved ones in the manner of the ancients.

But that seemed the easier road to take when set aside the other matters he now had to consider. If he saw this thing to the end, where did that leave him? Even now, he was not a man to step away from responsibility, particularly one that he had engineered for the sake of Aurelia. What would be expected of him if they should carry the day? He knew he was further than ever away from the dream he had once cherished of retiring to his ancestral lands and becoming a farmer.

He shook the speculation from him. One step at a time. No war was ever won by anticipating the victory before the battle was even committed. They were not far from Ostia now. It was time to take a halt and plan their approach. That was all he need concern himself with for the time being.

There was no question of riding up with two cohorts to demand entry to the fortress. Any further advance in the vicinity would be regarded - quite rightfully - as a declaration of war. They wouldn't stand a chance in such an engagement. Even taking into account that his former soldiers were unlikely to be too eager to fight against him, he could not be too careless with their lives. It would not be easy to get near enough to actually convince them of his identity. They were not naïve fools. A wild claim that the enemy was led by their old commander was not going to stop them in their tracks. Soldiers fought first and asked questions later.

And who knew what stories had been told to explain this insurgency?

Then there was the overriding concern, which was, as always, Aurelia. If she was being held to ransom within the fortress then the chances that they would kill her and throw out her body to the dogs just to taunt him was a high possibility if they appeared at the walls with an army. He could not risk any harm to her person which was exactly why Quintus had arranged for the women to be taken in the first place. He would have to find another more discreet way to approach his men.

Dismounting, the troops were told to stand down and take a quick break while the commanders gathered for a war talk. They settled around hastily built fires with cups of heated wine, the wet dank night having settled into their bones; they were all stiff and cold.

Maximus and the other generals squatted near the flames, warming themselves and discussing where they went from here. "We can't go further. Their scouts will detect a force as large as this and by the time we got near, they'd be waiting for us on a battle field of their choosing. We'd be riding straight into it. We can't lay siege. They'd kill the captives one by one.... I'm going in alone..."

"Ye Gods, Maximus! That is playing into their hands! That is precisely what they want! If they have Gracchus, the princess and you - then we are all finished...!"

"Let my men see me and that is all I will need to convince them.... But I have to get close enough to prove that I am indeed their commander returned from the dead. I tell you once I do that, they will never raise a sword against me..."

Galba looked unconvinced, Veranus shook his head. "It is almost three years since Vindabona, man! These legions have short memories...who knows what inducements they have been offered...? You cannot presume it is now as it once was. If it ever was as you seem to believe. We are their leaders but you fool yourself if you ever think they take any general to their hearts...!"

Maximus gave him a long hard look. "It is your command of which you speak. Not mine. My men would lay down their lives for me - because I would lay down mine for theirs. I never asked any man to do anything that I was not able or prepared to do myself. They know the difference. Don't be fooled by the conventional wisdoms of our class. The common man thinks and feels as deeply as we do. Perhaps even more. I am going to Ostia alone. I am prepared to take my chances..."

It was impossible to prevent him from taking this extreme route; both Veranus and Galba knew enough about him to understand he would not be shaken once his mind was made up. With the pragmatism of their years in the army, they stopped trying to persuade him and turned their minds to the strategy that would then follow should Maximus succeed in entering Ostia and returning with his legions - or the retreat they would have to make if he failed. He was given until noon and then they would pull out, aware that if no message came by then he was most likely dead or captured.

Juba and Antoninus listened to the discussions impassively, exchanging the occasional glance. There was no way Maximus was going over alone.

As he strode out of the light of the fires and returned to his horse, ready to ride out, they accompanied him. He heard the stamp of their feet behind him and turned. "Stay with the others...!"

"No," Juba answered. 

"No?" Maximus repeated. "Who are you to refuse to obey an order?" he gruffly replied.

"I am not one of your men. I am no longer a slave. No man gives me orders," Juba reminded him. Maximus's face relaxed and he allowed a grudging smile.

"Juba, old friend...if I die today, I am relying on you to find young Lucius Verus and offer him your protection. I promised his mother..."

"...You will not die today if I am with you. Not will Lucius Verus stand a chance if you do not survive. None of us will. We are not asking you for permission to accompany you. We are going to do so..."

"...I plan to swim the Tiber, to enter through a secondary gate on the water..."

"You think I cannot swim? I have swum the Great Mother River of my homeland...I am more than a match for you any day...!"

"And I, sir, am an excellent swimmer. I would imagine stronger than either of you as I am carrying substantially  less weight ..."

Maximus glared at Antoninus. "Thank you for the reminder! Saddle up but I warn you both...if either of you gets into difficulty - I am leaving you to drown. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Antoninus responded smartly. Juba just grinned and burst into a booming laugh. Maximus reluctantly smiled too. In truth he was heartened by their presence, not because he was afraid of what he had to do, or unsure of the loyalty of his men, but because he wanted the company of his comrades-in-arms. The bond between those who would die for you if asked was one of the sweetest comradeships of life. One was never alone even in the darkest hour with such men at one's side.  This was how it would be. So he accepted the honour.

He swung up into his horse and the other men did likewise. Maximus looked across at Veranus and Galba, raising a hand to them, clenching his fist and then slamming it firmly against his chest. They copied his gesture. "May the Gods be with you!"

They rode out into the grey pre-dawn.

The fortress at Ostia stood in a loop of the Tiber on the north eastern tip of the Isola Sacra, the section of the coastline that was bounded by the river to the north and the sea to the south. It was the ideal situation for a military stronghold, a virtual island within an island circled on three sides with the best of all boundaries - water. Access to the fort could only be gained by crossing the great ditch, Fossa Traiana, to the west. It was bridged but that was always heavily guarded. It would be impossible for even a rat to slip through unseen, let alone a man., especially one that these soldiers were already looking out for.

So instead, they would swim the Tiber to the north and make their way to one of the river jetties that were used for offloading supplies to the fortress. It was risky but to arrive in the early light, they just might have the element of surprise in their favour, Maximus hoped. No one would expect an incursion by only three men. He also knew well that the men on duty there would be lax and negligent at that time of the day. This base was not on the front line, discipline would be slack within the fort when men were kept in idleness and the command was weak.

They tethered their horses in a quiet valley. Maximus stripped down to his tunic, discarding all weapons. The others looked unsure.

"No weapons?" Antoninus asked shocked. "Not even a dagger?"

"Nothing. What the hell do you think you are going to do against ten thousand men anyway? Hand to hand combat? Take them on one by one?" Maximus muttered. "They either hail me as their leader - in which case they will soon enough arm and clothe us as befitting our ranks - or they will kill us. A dagger would be about as much use as a gnat on the back of a stallion..."

Antoninus shrugged and complied, feeling naked without his arms. The three men made their way down the bank. It was cold and the water looked unforgiving. They paused on the edge. "I will do all in my power to make this work. If it does not, you must know that I cannot ever repay you both for what you have done for me already. You are my brothers. Closer than brothers..." He held a clenched fist to his chest. "If not in this life...then the next? Strength and honour...!"

He turned and dived into the misty grey swirling eddy, surfacing to strike out strongly in the direction of the fortress that rose up dark and foreboding on the other side One by one the other two men followed his lead, gasping with shock as they hit the icy water, almost cold enough to cause a man's heart to stop. The tidal current was strong as it headed for the narrow channel that lay between the port of Ostia and the fortress. It was exerting a strong pull against them as they swam.

They could see the disappearing wake; Maximus was already well ahead and they had to strike out hard to keep him in their sights. It was important they did for they had to ensure they reached the same section of the fort or the game might be up before it had even started.

As the cold and wet seeped into their bones and their woolen tunics dragged with the weight of water, it became harder and harder to make the strokes count. Somewhere in the middle of the river, Antoninus felt himself beginning to panic, as the current won over his efforts. Every move forward he seemed to be drawn a greater distance back. His arms were beginning to protest, his lungs were full of the water which was oily, dirty and brackish; he did not even wish to think about what it contained having carried the effluence from the City towards the sea.

From time to time objects reared up and he was struck by wood and refuse, even dead animals. Revulsion soured in his belly. He would not make it. How ignoble it would be to die here in this watery grave, his body lost for the fish to gnaw at his bones! He was failing to make any headway. It would only be a matter of time.

Suddenly he felt a hand grab him and shake hard. Juba had taken hold of him; the two men treaded water, face to face. "I...can't...make it...!" Antoninus gasped.

Juba slapped him. "Be a man! This is when it counts! When you are at the end...that is when you begin to fight...!" He gave the boy a firm push and then dived under himself, kickingout. Antoninus steadied himself and gained control over his fear. 'I will not fail!' he muttered. 'Not here...not now...this is when courage is proved...' He thrust forward again, pushing his body past pain and stiffness and endurance.

And he made the crossing safely.

Maximus extended a hand and grabbed the slimy landing step of the jetty, his heart pounded and his body screaming in complaint at the punishment he had given it. For long moments he held on, gasping for breath, taking great lungfuls of air, painful to swallow. The blood was pounding through his head and his vision was impaired, flashes of light and spots before his eyes. His arms felt too weak even to drag himself up onto the cobbled walkway.

The dizziness passed and he willed strength into his weary arms. With one last mighty effort he pulled himself up and rolled onto the solid ground, immediately scrambling for the wall and hiding in a small niche while he assessed the place he had landed.

The gods seemed to be with him. He had chosen a spot near a gateway that lay open; a few men were still rolling in barrels of provisions from a waiting barge. There were a small number of guards hovering but they looked bored and sleepy, yawning and scratching, making the occasional comment to the others.

Going back to the water's edge, Maximus waited for the others. They were soon approaching. He indicating to them to keep silent and showed on his fingers the number of men in the vicinity and the direction. Juba and Antoninus paused in the water while Maximus watched from the corner until the last man had entered the gateway, leaving the deserted barge which was moored just below the line of sight of the jetty. He returned to the others and hissed down.

"Make your way to the barge. Get on board. I'll meet you there. We overpower them - no need to kill, but make sure they are secured and can't shout a warning. ..."

He crept over to the landing point and hid on the barge, waiting for the return, feeling the sway and dip of the launch as the two men pulled themselves in. They heard the muttered guttural dialect of the bargees as they returned.  It only took a matter of moments and they were trussed up like chickens. "Not a word, boys...you'll be fine if you just do as you are told...!" Maximus muttered. The startled men did not look convinced but they were in no position to argue.

Helping themselves to barrels they raised them onto their shoulders - Antoninus struggled but managed to keep his in place after a steadying heave from Juba - and they made their way through the gateway. The soldiers were in the guard house eating bread and drinking warmed wine. They nodded in reply to the grunt from Maximus failing to notice the drips from the wet tunics as the 'workers' passed by.

From then on it was a relatively simple task to make their entry. There was nobody about in the large courtyard. They dumped the barrels and ran for the comparative shelter of an alleyway.

"We are in the northern extremity. Between us and the main headquarters lies the bathhouse, the latrines and the horrea where the grain and supplies are stored. If we skirt the back lanes, we should not come across too many people at this time of the morning. We head for the south west barracks we must cross the central spaces carefully. That is where the command and the Praetorians will be based. Just let me round the fires of the men though and we are home safe...."

"How can you be so sure of this place?' Juba asked curiously. "You have been to Ostia before?"

Maximus grinned. Antoninus explained. "Seen one fort, you've seen them all, Juba. We Romans are not known for being imaginative. The thinking is if they are all the same then any soldier or officer is immediately at home...it never occurs to us that we might ever be stormed and any enemy would thus know exactly where the important buildings Lay..."

"...Lucky for us that we're soldiers then, hey, Antoni?" Maximus joked as they began their stealthy progress, using the storage houses to cover their advance.

They passed along the narrow alleyways unseen as if a cloak of invisibility was shrouding them from discovery. Skirting the open areas in the central fort, they made their way towards the barracks where men were beginning to mill about, squatting round fires to break their fast with a hot drink and stale bread. No one took much notice of the men who passed them by - they were wearing military style tunics which did not mark them out from the others. Even Juba did not give them pause: there were men of every race from every area of the empire to be found amongst a vast legionary army such as this one. He would probably be thought an African auxiliary.

Maximus scanned the men as he walked along until he found a face he recognized - and then he stepped forward into the flickering light of the campfire. "Morning, soldier...!" he muttered as he sank down by the fire. The man grunted, glancing across.

He dropped the cup he was holding. "Fuck....!"

Jumping to his feet, he backed away. "General...? General Maximus? Are you real?"

Maximus grinned and held out a hand. "Brixus, isn't it? How are you, old friend...?"

"You remember my name?" The soldier gasped.

"Why, wouldn't I? You were my groom for several years, weren't you? And I recall you cleaning me out a dice on a few occasions..."

Brixus chuckled. He was an old warhorse, nearing retirement and he had served under them all.

But no one like this man. He would have walked willing to Hades for general Maximus. "We've been waiting for you, sir. They said you were back. Not sure any of us quite believed it though. Expected you to ride up at the head of an army if the stories were true. Not wander in wearing a wet tunic and begging at the fires for a drink. What did you do, sir, swim the river?"

"I did indeed. Where's the drink then, man?" Brixus ladled him out some of the mulled wine and Maximus cupped his hand round the vessel for warmth, blowing on the steaming liquid and sipping. Brixus called a few men around. "Look...the general...!"

And they began to gather, the word trickling from this one fire to the other neighbouring ones and then to the barracks houses beyond. Streams of men arrived, all standing around respectfully for just one chance to meet the man they had all thought was dead.

After a short while in which Maximus remained sitting and calmly taking his drink, he stood up and held out a hand. The men fell silent. "I do not know what you have been told, nor is this the time for me to tell my story - but I will assure this. I am back and I need your help. Spread the news around the camp by word of mouth. I wish the entire legionary forces to assemble. Then we will take on the command. You are my men. No one else will command you but I...!"

"They're hiding out in the Principia since yesterday, sir. There've been rumours flying since then. We've all been put on alert and extra duties - I think they were expecting an assault but they weren't sure if they could trust us to fight if you were at the head of it. You show up now and they'll all shit themselves, sir..." Brixus told him.

"...They are still your commanding officers until I remove them. Show some respect for the office...!" Maximus barked back. Brixus lowered his head and accepted his reprimand. No matter whether Maximus was a man who understood the common soldier or not, he would never tolerate insubordination amongst the ranks. You always knew exactly where you were with him.

Like a river flowing down a mountain the word tumbled through the camp, gaining momentum as it spread from barrack to barrack. In a short time, the men began to trudge to their lines with the discipline borne of years in the army: moving briskly, no one rushing or pushing. It was a silently orderly massing, all the more astonishing for that. Ten thousand men taking their places in the line.

As the ground began to fill up, the noise of the assembly brought the Praetorians rushing out and shortly afterwards the officers, too, hurriedly throwing on their insignia. Fabius Manlius ran up to the Rostra already sensing the mutinous intent of the men and vainly trying to diffuse the moment; he had already told his steward to have a fast horse saddled at the rear gate if things got too ugly.

"What is the meaning of this? Go back to your stations...!" he shouted in vain.

The men continued to fall in line, wave after wave of them sullenly standing there, staring blankly ahead as if he was not there. He spluttered and exclaimed a few more times but as the vast army assembled, he began to see that whatever was driving this incident, it was way past his abilities to resolve. Manlius stepped down as Cinna caught his arm. "What are you going to do, you fat little coward? Run away? He isn't here! The guards have been watching for him all night...!"

"He's here... Mark my words. They know something...!"

"What if he is? That's was the idea, anyway. We held the girl to draw him here. So he's here, is he? Then we have him..."

Manlius shook away his hand. "I may be a coward but I'm no fool. Weren't you listening yesterday? Even the mention of his name and we lost them. Do I need to remind you that we don't even have the girl anymore?  I'm leaving. I would advise you to do the same. Our only chance is to get back to Rome and throw ourselves on the mercy of the Senate. He might just listen to them..." Manlius ran down the steps in a manner that was entirely shameful in the circumstances. Cinna glowered, well aware that whether he could stand Manlius or not, the man was telling the truth. He himself had no idea what he was going to do to stem this tide of rebellion. But he was damned if he was not going at least to try.

Taking his place before the army, Cinna waited until the stream of men stopped. For a long time he stared out at the sea of faces as they stared back at him. There was a tension and expectation in the air that was palpable. It would only take the tiniest spark to ignite and turn this silent congregation into a wild killing machine. He wondered exactly what was holding them back.

"Why have you assembled here? Have you a spokesman? You must have something you wish to say or you would not be here. Stand forward those who are the ring leaders of this insurgence. We shall listen to your grievances and talk. These are dangerous times we live in and we must all work together not tear at our own flesh from the inside..."

"What guarantees have we got that if a man steps forward, you will not have him summarily executed?" A lone voice rang out.

Cinna laughed. "And how would I do that, when such a man would have ten thousand bodyguards?"

The acknowledgment of the superiority of their numbers made an impression. There was a noticeable easing of the menacing threat. Before his eyes, the line parted and from its midst stepped one man. He advanced until he stood before the army, at the foot of the Rostra. The man was weaponless.

Cinna paled. "You? But how...?"

Maximus did not answer his question. "I have come to take back what is rightfully mine!"

"You are no longer a general. The former emperor removed your command and sequestered your estates. Your presence here is tantamount to inciting mutiny...!"

"I have come to take it back. Who can stop me? Can you stop me, Aemilius Cinna? With what will you prevent me? With a handful of Praetorians? There are ten thousand men at my back waiting for you to try... Or would you prefer to have it out with me man to man? Should we settle this here and now?" The flare in Maximus' eyes warned Cinna that this would be madness. Maximus had been the most fearsome gladiator in living memory. Cinna was no Commodus. His feet were firmly planted on the ground.

"I will withdraw my men. But if you step onto this Rostra, then it is an act of war against the Roman people..."

Maximus took a step forward and Cinna instinctively took one back. "Do not worry about me, Aemilius. Look to your own future!.. Where is the Lady Annia Aurelia? You have one chance to save your miserable hide. You thought to use her as bait? She is your lifeline. Return her to me and you may still have a chance to live..."

"..She is not here. I have no idea where she is..." Cinna muttered. For the first time Maximus looked ill at ease. 

"You must know! You were the one who took her...!"

"...I know where she is..." A man stood out from the ranks.

Maximus swiveled round and faced Uticus. "Who are you?"

"Marcus Uticus, sir! Centurion of the Fifth, second cohort!"

"Step forward and speak!"

"I'd prefer to keep this between us, sir."

"You would, would you?" Maximus answered tersely. "Is she safe?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then we will speak later...make yourself useful in the meantime...take this man into custody..."he ordered, indicating Cinna. "You cannot arrest me! Upon what grounds do you presume to have the authority...?" Cinna protested as Uticus and a few other men advanced up the steps of the Rostra and laid hands on him.

Maximus laughed as he followed them up. "...On the power invested in me by the will of the Roman people...Look at them, Cinna!.. Have you forgotten so much of what you learnt at school? Rome is its people. The Respublica...I have need of no other validation or honour than that I am laying down my life for them..."

"They are but a mob...!"

"Then I lead a mob...Does that make you feel any less concerned for your future...?" Maximus spat into his face.

"You offered me my life if I spared the lady..."

"She is not yours to spare anymore. You just lost your lifeline...and I promised you nothing. I said you may have the chance to live, once you have answered for your crimes before the people of Rome, however much I would like to end your miserable existence here and now before all my men who would delight in seeing your blood flow...Take him out of my sight...!" He whirled round to where the Praetorian guard were standing with their weapons sheathed, unsure what they should do at this moment. They were aware that the tide had turned and were not eager to lose their lives for nothing in the service of yesterday's men. "My quarrel is not with you but your leaders. Round up your officers, secure them and then you may join my force...."

They hesitated a moment, looking around at each other for agreement and then one man knelt in obeisance. The rest followed. Maximus curtly told them to stand and do what he had told them to. He was no more enamoured of them in this instance. An honorable soldier would have refused to change allegiances so swiftly to a man who was clearly a usurper. But Praetorians were trained to be without loyalty or honour. That was the point of them.

With his order carried out, Maximus returned to face the vast crowd of men who had stood patiently waiting for him to address them. He held up his hand and they fell again into complete silence.

"Men of the Felix, I am touched almost to weeping by the loyalty and trust you have extended to me today! I must be honest with you, for you have won the right to be consulted in this endeavour of mine. I am not about to pretend that what I am embarking on is not treason. For it is. As the law stands, for a man to seize control of the armies without the leave of the Senate and to demand the dismissal of various senior officials of the Republic is nothing less than treason. And we all know the penalty for that."

"...We are Romans. Our state was built upon treason. What else was it when the heroes of the past rose up and drove off the last king of Rome to set up the Republic in the first place? When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and headed for Rome with his troops - what then was he, but a traitor? Every single leader who has ever opposed the status quo since then and changed history by his deeds was once called a traitor, even our great father Augustus Caesar! For without rebellion and opposition to tyranny, then Rome would long ago have become just another monarchy - and we would all have been ground under the heel of tyrants."

"The time comes when we, as men, have to stand up and be counted. We may have to stand against those who would use the law against us. It is up to us to represent what is right. But we take a chance that our reckless cause might not succeed. We may fail and perish by the same sword we raised. But by the same token, we may prevail - and then it is beholden upon us never to forget what drove us to this extreme action for fear victory may make us even worse tyrants than those we replaced. I can offer you nothing this day by way of an inducement, apart from this promise. Follow me and I will strive with my last breath to restore Rome to its people and fulfill the final wishes of Marcus Aurelius, the last great emperor...at least we can take comfort in knowing that we shed blood in the hope that we could build a better future for our children and our children's children...Come with me today - and we will make history together....But before I ask for your answer, I must also say this. Any man who does not wish to be a part of what must follow, fall out and return to your bunks. There will be no question of reprisals against you. Feel free to go. We are all free men. We choose our own destiny. It is not thrust upon us by the will of others..."

No man moved. Instead a shout began which was soon picked up by all and reverberated like a mighty roar about the ground: "Maximus! Maximus! Maximus! Maximus...!" On and on it rolled like an endless wave and it was only after several attempts that Maximus himself managed to quiet them down. With a grin he raised his hand, now holding a sword and shouted:

"I vow this day to free Rome from the tyranny of evil! I do not do it for power. I have no interest in that. I do not do it for glory- I have shed enough blood to last me a lifetime. I do not do it for the Senate. They have long proved themselves unworthy of the privileges they hold. I do it for the people!  For the millions and millions of innocent people whose lives are ruined by the greed and corruption of those who govern them. And I do it for a young woman who has taught me again, if I needed the lesson, that there is only one cause any man should fight for. It is for his own. For his family. For his friends. For those he loves. All else is meaningless. Go to your barracks. Prepare to leave. We are marching to Rome!"

Maximus stepped back and surveyed the men as they were dismissed by their centurions and the vast crowd dispersed with that efficiency and discipline that was the true key to the Roman military might. He called over to Antoninus. "Take a party of men and ride for Veranius and Galba. They need to know what has transpired..." Antoninus held his clenched fist to his chest in obedience to the order, bowed and withdrew. Maximus saw that the authority of his rank was already descending upon him and those around him. He was ready once more to bear the burden of command.

"Centurion!" Maximus shouted to Uticus. "The Principia. Now!" And he strode down from the Rostra and entered the headquarters behind him.

Maximus dismounted in the dirty narrow street of the settlement. They had ridden single file through the maze of alleyways into the heart of this squalid township straddling as it did a port and a fortress. There was every sort of commodity imaginable on offer but the streets they had come to were probably the most heavily frequented of all - the brothels. A sign crudely scratched up on a wall announced it as the 'Street of Venus' or the Via Venusia. Maximus doubted whether love was a regular visitor here. Ten thousand soldiers and who knew how many sailors from the nearby port of Ostia? There was enough business to keep hundreds of women on their backs day and night. The thought made him shudder for the lives of the women involved.

But it was to this place he came to find Aurelia. Uticus had told him briefly what they had done and he had been overcome by the act of protection that these soldiers had extended to two helpless women - and also amused by the place of safety they had chosen. It also seemed at one with what he had learnt about life these past years.

Bending to enter the low portal and squinting as he entered its gloomy interior, Maximus observed the silent faces of the women sitting about as they observed him back impassively. "What do you want?" A more mature, hardfaced woman stepped out and faced him up.

Maximus smiled. "A woman. Why else would I be here?" And then Uticus entered. "It's him, Fannia. Maximus. The general..."

The woman paled and threw herself on her knees. "Forgive me, sir! I did not recognize you...!

He held out a hand and raised her. "Do not kneel for me. I come for Aurelia and her maid, Yanitra. Are they here?"

"Yes sir. They're safe and sound. She was tired and hungry but none the worst for her adventures. She's still asleep, I think. Slept since yesterday! Poor little mite..."

Fannia rambled on failing to observe the slight stagger that Maximus made as he heard confirmation of what he had dreamed of. She was alive and well, and only a matter of a wall away from him! The tension of days drained away and he felt lightheaded. Only then did he allow himself to really understand how afraid he had been since she had been taken.

"Lead me to her...!" A loud whoop broke out from up above; they all looked towards the head of the stairs. Yanitra was running down, her face alight with joy. She brushed past Maximus and jumped into Juba's arms, still screeching and laughing, covering his face with kisses. Juba would have blushed if his skin tone would have allowed it; but the embarrassment on his face was plain to see. It made everyone smile to see. It was a great moment of light amidst all the darkness.

Leaving the lovers to their reunion, Maximus followed Fannia up the steep worn wooden staircase to the floor above. There he was led past several small cell-like rooms until Fannia stopped at one. "It ain't much for a princess, but it's clean and safe..."

"It is all any of us need, mistress. I cannot even begin to thank you for what you have done for her..."

Fannia laughed. "Take as long as you like, general...you'll be the first man in quite a while to get it in here for free..." she cackled and then winked. "Lucky girl...!" she added as she passed him by and went back downstairs.

Before entering, Maximus wiped a hand over his face. He hadn't washed in two days. He should have taken the time to bathe before coming here, but had been too eager. Composing himself, he pushed aside the tawdry curtain, a worn heavy piece of carpet, and stepped within. There was no furniture except for a small wood framed bed and a little bench on which stood a jug of water and a bowl for washing in. It was shady inside, the small window shuttered but little cracks in the wood allowing shafts of light to creep through, enough to illuminate the beautiful vision lying fast asleep on the bed.

Aurelia was dressed in a shapeless brown wool housedress, her feet and ankles bare but even that could not make her look any less lovely. He wondered whether the sight of this woman he adored had ever appeared more beautiful to him than at this moment. She was alive, breathing gently, her full breasts rising and falling in her dreams. The golden hair that set her apart from others lay scattered on the bolster like a yellow cloud and her perfect face lay peaceful, as unmarked as a child.

He poured a little water into the bowl and washed his hands, the least he could do in the circumstances before touching her and then picked up a cloth to dry them. Casting it aside, he stepped over to the bed and knelt beside her, watching her for a while, unwilling to disturb her rest. His hand reached out to hold her little one in his. It was enough. Just to establish contact, his flesh to touch hers, seemed to heal all the wounds her loss had opened.

Aurelia's eyes fluttered open and she sighed softly. Then her gaze fell upon him and she gasped, rising up, almost unable to believe the evidence of her vision.

"Maximus!" she said his name softly as if she had to accustom herself once again to its sound upon her lips. "Maximus!"

He smiled and so did she. Neither said another word for the longest time, just gazing on each other. His hands reached for her face; hers cradled his cheek. They came into each other's arms and held on, pressing each other close, inhaling the other's scent, taking strength from the other body, fighting the tears of relief that forced their way through. He felt her body soften and the shudders that ran through her body as she gave herself over to weeping. She needed the relief and so he let her cry, rubbing her back tenderly and whispering endearments into her ear as she wept until she was exhausted. When she finally grew silent, nothing but deep sobs coursing through her, he pressed his lips to her forehead and said: "Did they hurt you?"

She knew what he meant. She nodded.

"Who did it?"

"Quintus. He raped me. While Lucilla lay dying..."

Maximus closed his eyes as the red sea of blinding anger threatened to descend. "He will pay!"

"It was nothing compared to what happened to Lucilla..."

"He will pay for that, too...make no mistake..."Maximus vowed his vengeance.

Aurelia raised her face, streaked with tears and her eyes hollow. "He did not kill her. I killed her...."

Maximus clasped her arms gently and raised her up to him. "What do you mean? How could you have killed her?"

"It was your dagger. Quintus ordered her summary execution. He was going to hand her over to his black crows...you know what that would have meant...! She begged me...what else could I do? I had the means and she knew it..." Aurelia began to sob again; he felt tears prick at his own eyes. What a choice for this young woman to have had to make, leaving her all alone in her misery without even the comfort of her aunt whose blood would always be on her hands.

"It was what she wanted. You released her from a worse fate. No one blames you for her death..."

"...But it was my hand that plunged the knife! I can still feel that moment. The hard steel penetrating the soft flesh...and the blood...so much blood...!I will never wipe it from my hands! She was my flesh and blood! It is a terrible crime. He gods will make me pay...!" At that she broke down and dropped her head against his chest, weeping uncontrollably again. This act seemed to have marked her profoundly whereas she had all but dismissed her own abuse at the hands of Quintus Metella. He tried to comfort her but was unsure what words to use. Her first kill would remain with her forever.

"Perhaps if I had not acted...maybe I made things worse? Quintus was so very angry with me for what I did. It drove him to attack me...then he handed me over to his men to be brought t Ostia....if we had kept him talking, perhaps you would have reached us in time...You were right. Juba should never have taught me to feel confident of my skills with a weapon. We should have listened to you...!"

Maximus shook his head. "You did the right thing. Lucilla was already dead. You could not have relied on us reaching you. Even had we arrived in time, he would have used you both as a shield against us. I doubt the end result would have been any different. Perhaps a lot worse...Aurelia, when life brings us to those moments when we have to take a momentous decision, we must take it based on what we are given there and then. Once we have decided on the best course that has been allowed to us, we must accept it. It is of no use to ask 'what if?' You did not know I was near. You and Lucilla both thought that it was the end. And you did what she asked you to do. You brought her peace. The gods see all. They know all. You acted as a true Roman... Remember that..."

"She died alone, bleeding out on the floor when I should have held her...I should have closed her eyes..."

"You could not. That animal did not allow you too. But I did. Aurelia, she was not quite dead when we found her. Her last thoughts - apart from giving her son into my care - were for you. She loved you, Aurelia, and your safety was all she was concerned about..."

"...You closed her eyes? Kissed her last breath?" Aurelia gasped.

"I did." 

She sighed in relief. "Then kiss me and share her spirit! For I would have her courage....I wish I could be brave...I wish I could stop crying..."

Maximus cupped her face in his hands. "There is no woman more courageous than you. There is nothing wrong with tears. Whilst we can still cry, we are still human..."He bent down and kissed her lips softly, tenderly, and felt her desperate response. Pulling away, he held her again. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I let him do it. It was over quickly. I barely remember what he did, for my mind was on you and Lucilla and all the important things in my life. Not on him. Then I spat in his face. He hit me...but that was all. He did not cow me..." Maximus gently caressed the bruises on her pale face. And she wished to be brave? How many men could have faced up the Prefect of Rome at such a moment?

"You know what I will do to him for his violation of you? And for the death of Lucilla... for the responsibility of that lies with him, not you..."

"...I hope you make him bleed. I hope he dies hard..." Aurelia exclaimed with a passion. Maximus was surprised by the vehemence of her words. He saw within her again at that moment, as he had done from time to time already, the Aurelian ruthlessness that even her grandfather had possessed, for all his wise humanity. It had been present in both Commodus and Lucilla too but expressed in different ways. How might it have gone for Aurelia had her life followed a different path? We all have the capacity to use our talents for good or ill. It depends what road life takes us down.

"I would not like to be your enemy," he smiled softly, chiding her gently in an affectionate way. She tossed her hair back in response to his words, recovering her spirit at last.

"They will all pay! For what they did to us - and for what they do to the people they are pledged to serve..." He nodded his agreement and approved of her iron will. Who would have thought such a young girl was made of this stuff?

"There is still a long way to go, Aurelia. We do not have the City yet...

"But you have the armies, now?" she asked.

"Yes. The Felix legions have declared unanimously for me..."

Aurelia smiled in triumph. "I had no doubt they would!  I saw those men. I saw what they did even for me! To a man they defied Cinna and the others...they turned their backs when he flaunted me naked before them..."

"He did what?" Maximus exclaimed, wishing in that moment that he had indulged the urge he had felt back then to separate Cinna's head from his shoulders.

Aurelia briefly told him what had happened and he shuddered again at the outrages that had been visited on this young woman, enough to make most girls go insane, he would imagine. But she seemed to have only been driven to a greater commitment to the cause they had taken on. Character is inbuilt in those who are born to rule; it is no coincidence that those who make their mark upon the world have risen to preeminence. What a man she would have made! What an emperor she could have been had her sex not denied her access to such honours!

"He is under guard..."

"Let me see him...!"Aurelia muttered menacingly but Maximus shook his head. 

"Enough bloodshed, Aurelia. He will be dealt with by the rule of law. A desire for revenge is natural, but I have learned that it is an empty victory if it does not bring change with it. We can only truly avenge the dead and the other victims if we do our best to prevent such things happening again...By simply indulging out own thirst for blood, we are in danger of merely reduplicating their crimes..."

"You have learnt this? You believe you should not have killed Commodus then? You would have let him live?" Aurelia retorted brusquely. 

"No, I would not have let him live. I had little choice that day. It was my only chance. But since then, our world has still not risen from the mire of his regime...I was wrong to refuse my support when I had recovered from my wounds. My work was not finished. This time I will see it through to the end. I finally understand what is to be my mission in this life and I accept it humbly. Not because I seek power or command, but because it is right. Your grandfather once asked me to take on this burden and I told him I did not want it. He answered: 'That is why it must be you...' He was always right. Just as you have always had an instinct for what was happening, as young and unexposed to the world as you are...without you, I could not have found my way back...without you, I would be nothing..."

Aurelia's face softened and her eyes grew gentler. "You are so wrong about yourself! You are incapable of a worthless life, whatever you would have chosen, Maximus. We should all learn from you how to be better people. For beneath your warrior exterior, lies another tender and compassionate man, who is unaffected by the baser instincts that drive most of us. Without you, I would have grown into a very different woman. A woman neither of us would have liked very much, I imagine. Perhaps even a woman like my poor mother...or worse. Because of two men, my father and you, I have had the chance to become a woman of more dignity than nature intended. I will not forget what I have learned..."

"...I love you..."Maximus broke in. "I thought I had lost you...! I did not believe I could bear that loss again..." He no longer wished to talk of what had passed. They had so little time before he had to leave again. It was still by no means certain that he would survive the coming struggle. No soldier of experience ever leaves for battle without making sure that all that must be said has been said.

"And I love you, too. But there is something else I must tell you, before you leave for this final battle. I would not have you go without this knowledge now that I am safe..."

"What do you mean?" he muttered as he drew her close, his hands slipping down her body, his mind beginning to drift to desire.

She caught his hand and rested it on her stomach. "I am with child..." she whispered into his ear.

He moaned soft and low but said nothing. She raised her eyes to look at him and saw that this time, the tears were his. There is always a time for weeping. It is how we know we are still human beings. Holding him against her breast, she rocked him while he let his emotions free. There had been a time when he had thought that he would die in this last battle. Now he knew he could not let that happen. He would not let that happen. He would live and they would find their dream. He and Aurelia and the child they had made together

"I don't know what to say...!" he gasped. "It is all I yearn for in this life...all I have ever wanted... a child...from you..."

"You're not angry with me then? I never used those contraceptive things..."

He smiled through his tears. "No, never angry at such a joy...! I never wished for you to use them. They are hideous...The gods have decided, as they always do, my sweet girl...You have given me my future back. My line continues in you...whatever happens to me, I shall always know that..."

Aurelia scrambled to her knees. "Never say that! You will come back to me.! You will not die! I will not allow it, not after all this!"

Maximus lay back on the bed and laughed, pulling her down on top of him. "So you are making the rules now, are you? You will not allow it? Then I must bow before your formidable will, madam...I promise you that I will return. In fact, I will not leave you. Come with the armies! You are safer with them than left here where you could always be taken as a hostage against me...Ride with me to Rome. Let the people see what manner of woman stands at my side...they will love you as I do...!"

Aurelia clapped her hands and threw herself down upon him. They rolled over on the bed, kissing wildly, at last giving way to the desire that overwhelmed them both. It was natural in the midst of the traumas they had suffered. For how else to truly proclaim life when you are surrounded by the gathering clouds of death?

He slept. Moments after he had poured himself out into her, muttering her name and staring into her eyes as if he had just been allowed a glimpse of Elysium itself, he had slid gently into sleep. Even the mighty Spaniard could not fight against his manhood and mortality. It had been two days since he had slept. The total comfort and peace he had rediscovered in her arms was more than enough to allow him to rest his guard for a moment and crawl into a shelter as safe as he had ever known. Aurelia, wakeful after so much sleep and too animated by his presence and the erotic pleasure he had given her, lay and held him in her arms, happy just to be with him and take vigil over his rest.

She felt she could look at him forever and never tire of it, nor ever fail to find something new and wonderful to discover. Tenderly she caressed his face, smoothing away the lines of care and watching as his face loosened and dissolved into peace. There was a sprinkle of grey in his thick beard which she couldn't quite recall having noticed before. Had it always been there, or had the events of the past days caused it? She stroked back his hair, now short and closely styled in the military fashion; it was still dark, even darker than when had been longer when its curl and chestnut lights were revealed; the oil he used to tame it when short concealed those. She wondered if he would ever again feel free enough to wear it longer so she could run her fingers through its velvety softness as he loved her. No matter. Whatever he did he was always magnificent to her.

Maximus sighed softly in his slumber, threw an arm heavily above his head, lay stretched out totally relaxed, a distant smile parting his lips. She traced her finger gently over his parted mouth; he stirred, muttered something incoherent, lost inside his dream but soon disappeared back into the profound sleep he had entered. He took a deep breath; it became a rumbling snore, she giggled, shook him and he grunted, stopped and fell away again. Every moment she set inside her memory as if it was a precious treasure all of its own. He was hers. The father of her child. Her lover. All three of them- father, mother and baby - lay here in this humble bed where men and women had eased their lusts countless times in the past. Now it became a place of purity and innocence, their shelter from the storm. Throughout her life she would never forget this day. She had thought they would never see each other again in this life - and here he was, large as life and in her arms again.

"Dear Mother, keep us safe! I would give everything I have, my rank, my name, the comfort of wealth and privilege, my beauty, my youth...I would live as a common woman, work the fields, carry out every task of drudgery if I had to...but give me Maximus and the chance to bear and raise his children! That is all I ask for. To keep them safe and watch over them every day that the gods grant to us..." She prayed a rambling desperate plea to the Goddess and also to that other mother whose image she still carried deep in her heart. Her poor, long lost mother, whose life and name were besmirched. Yet somehow she knew Galeria watched over her too. And now Lucilla, with her dead brothers and sisters, the last of her generation, the children of Aurelius and Faustina, reunited with their parents, she was already on the other side to guide them.

A noise at the entrance stopped her reverie. "Psst! Aurelia...! Juba says it's time to get going..." Yanitra had been sent to tell them. Aurelia, slipped from the bed, wrapped herself in Maximus' discarded cloak and pattered over to the door.

"He is asleep! I hate to wake him. He's exhausted...!"

"Should have gone easy on him then, girl..." Yanitra grinned. Aurelia slapped her arm playfully.

"You are so crude!"

"Like you didn't do him?" Yanitra laughed and pulled out her tongue. "I nearly made Juba's eyes bulge out...but then, I know a few tricks you don't know..."

"Shut up! I'll go and rouse him. Tell Juba, he wants us to go with the army. We are not to be left alone again...so go and get ready!"

Yanitra's face danced with glee. "We ride with the legions!"

Aurelia nodded. "Whatever happens now, their fate is our fate. Are you ready?"

"I am ready. Just give me that tosspot Cinna and that bastard Quintus in one room tied up and I'll...!"

"You'll do nothing...It would not be fair to deny Maximus and Juba their sport, eh?" She laughed and Yanitra could see that her ordeal had not marked her unduly. Aurelia might be spoiled but she was a tough one all the same. It would take more than Quintus' unwanted attentions to hold her back.

"You told him?"

"Everything. The good and the bad. He needed to know..."

Yanitra nodded. "Hurry up. It is late..." And she ran off down the corridor.

Aurelia crept back to the bed and knelt by his side. Blowing softly on his face, she shook him gently and whispered. "It is time, Maxime...!"

His eyes flickered and then opened, staring at her unfocussed for a few moments and then the light dawning in them. He turned his head towards the shuttered window. "The sun is high! Why did you let me sleep so long...?"

"You needed the rest. Your body will fail you if you push it too hard. You were exhausted. Your destiny will wait a few hours and still be there for you...!" she murmured as she caressed his cheek.

He threw back the covers briskly. "Come, dress...!" Naked, he leapt out of bed and began to gather his clothes, tossed away earlier in their haste to bare each other's bodies.

"I only have this cheap dress..." Aurelia said as she picked up the brown house dress.

"Your beauty needs no adornment, Aurelia. And when you ride through the streets of Rome, it will show you as a woman of the people. Imagine how you will look? The crowd will love you as I love you. You will be the spirit of Aurelius reincarnate!"

Aurelia shook her head at his hyperbole, unable to grasp the events that might lie before her. She washed herself intimately to cleanse the traces of his love, tied her covering, slipped on and belted the simple dress and then rolled up her hair, knotting it skillfully with a scrap of cloth. Maximus watched her deftly ready herself and knew how far she had come in that alone since she had been the indulged little rich patrician daughter of a wealthy landowner he had first met.

Aurelia was even ready before him and came over to help him buckle on his breastplate and secure his greaves. They both smiled and kissed as she carried out these unfamiliar tasks, fussing and brushing down his clothes in that meddlesome way of women. He fought off her attention. "Enough! I am not going to a banquet but to war...!"

Aurelia laughed brightly. "Stop being such a moaner! I want you to look your best when you step out. You must enter Rome as a conquering hero, ablaze in glory, riding a white horse, your armour burnished and glowing like the sun!" she exclaimed.

"It will probably rain. Real life is never like the story books... Now we must compose ourselves. For once we leave this room, we enter a new life, a public life, where everything we do and say will be observed. Are you ready to do your duty to Rome?"

She tilted her face up to his, here eyes shining with a new fervour. "I am ready. May the Gods ride with us this day...!"