There were a few moments when the small group of riders came to a halt in front of the great entry gates of the City on the western side in which time seemed to stand still. For once the portal was deserted where usually it teemed with life. Today no one was entering or exiting and the gates themselves were symbolically closed. Antoninus dismounted on a sign from Maximus and walked forward. There might have been no visible signs of people, but eyes were fixed on the rebels from every available vantage point. The presence of onlookers waiting and watching hung heavy in the air.

His steady pace seemed ponderous as the young man approached the mighty iron-clad gates. Antoninus raised his eyes as if seeing his home city for the first time; but then he had always in the past entered as a young lord. Now he was seeing the might of Rome from the position of an outsider and its cold brutality rose up to taunt him. He raised his hand and thumped a fist on the wood.

A voice cried out: "Who asks for entrance?"

"Antoninus Gracchus, only son of the Consul and officer in the honour guard of General Maximus..."

"State your business..."

There was a pause that pulsed with heavy foreboding. How would he answer this question?

"To free Rome from the tyranny of corruption and fear...!"

Maximus could not restrain the fleeting smile that passed across his face at those words as he waited stiffly, drawn to his full height on top of his warhorse, the insignia of his office an unfamiliar weight on his broad shoulders. Antoninus was more poet than soldier for all his reckless courage. He and Aurelia were of the same ilk, romantic dreamers with an ambitious streak that ran beneath the surface of their beauty: an interesting if volatile combination.

A deafening clanking sound, metal on metal grinding, heralded the opening of the door as slaves hauled on the great wheel that raised the lead weights which swung open the doors. They creaked and protested and then began to move. Antoninus' hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword but a terse command from Maximus stopped him from drawing it. "Sheath it!"

Despite the order, Maximus and the others were also primed to go for weapons if they had to. Any action that was unexpected would be the only sign they would be afforded that might give them time to fight their way back and escape across the open ground. It all depended what came through the gates.

In moments their worst fears were eased. Although a corridor of Praetorian infantry did run through and line up right and left, it was immediately obvious that someone of great distinction was about to welcome then. Out came several horses; on the first rode Consul Gracchus. With the group of following Senators was Lentulus Priscus.

"Rome welcomes you, general! On behalf of the Senate and the People we open the City to you...proceed!"

The greeting was formal but the smile of relief and joy on the face of the Consul showed in an instant that this was no trap. Whatever had transpired in Rome over the past few days, there had been a miraculous change of fortune. Maximus wondered how it had been achieved. He bowed his head to the Consul and led his men forward, passing Lentulus Priscus who extended a hand. "How is my daughter?"

"She is safe and well in Ostia. I will send for her tomorrow..."

He observed how Lentulus reacted, momentarily closing his eyes and muttering a grateful prayer of thanks. It was an unusual show of emotion for this man and said much about his true feelings for his child. His very presence here also suggested that he had had some role in the recent events. Had Lentulus stepped out of the shadows of comfortable obscurity to save her?

The riders passed through the portals and into the streets of the capital. If the gates had been deserted on the outside, there was no shortage of people within. To their great astonishment, the narrow paths extending from the gates were thronged with citizens, crowding along the edges of the street, hanging from open windows and doors, clustered on tiny balconies and roof tops. As Maximus came into view a roar went up that reverberated ahead and was picked up even by those who could not yet see him. One word was chanted: 'Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!' The outpouring of the common will was astounding. The mob did indeed control Rome if it chose to exercise its authority. And the man who controlled the mob, ruled Rome.

Since the days of the end of the Republic two hundred years before, no general had been allowed to ride the streets in a triumph. This process was no triumph in word, for Maximus rode without his army and the usual martial signs of a conquering hero. There were no weapons, enslaved enemy, tributes from captive rulers to flaunt before the eager crowd. But there was no mistaking the spirit of this occasion. This was triumphalism. No man, woman or child was there because they had been dragged onto the streets and bribed to cheer. This was the true expression of a republican state. This is the man. We choose our own leader.

By the time they reached the Capitoline, it had taken several hours to negotiate the ways and the mood of all was jovial and relaxed. Flowers had been thrown, girls running alongside begging that the great general just touch their hands and they would be enriched, mothers holding children up for an embrace from the commander who seemed to them to be some invincible god. So many had seen him that day in the arena, a dying man, struggling to overcome terrible injuries to remove the tyrant - and then he had succumbed. But here he was again, risen from the dead, an immortal in their eyes.

Maximus was not entirely sure, as the adoration and applause rippled around them, that he was comfortable with their perception of him. There was something distasteful to him in their excessive welcome; it smacked of the eastern adulation of kings and pharaohs. He was not a god. He had not come back from the dead. He was just a man.

Who had no desire to be emperor.

Yet, it was so much better than it could have been. He had ridden again before an army and not a blow had been struck. The casualty list was very low so far: Lucilla and Cinna. The thought of Quintus Metella crossed his mind. Where was the Prefect now? Dead already?

They dismounted at the foot of the great staircase that led up to the Curia. Crowds streamed in the wake of the senatorial escort, soldiers forced to surge forward and roughly impose some sort of control on the unruly mob. This was a spectacle that no one had planned for, spontaneous and haphazard, but with these vast milling numbers there was always a danger of a stampede or fights breaking out. Maximus looked back and declined the offer extended by Gracchus to address the crowd. In its current state of hysteria, he thought anything he might say would only whip up more fervour - and that was not a prudent development even if the frenzy was directed in his favour. People could die easily in a crowd that large. And he had no idea what he could say to them. He was not a politician. He was not an emperor. This was far and away different from a rousing pre-battle speech to his men.

"Will you address the Senate, sir?" Gracchus asked him deferently. Maximus gave one look back over the scene below and sighed. How could he even begin to explain how this moment had overwhelmed him? He felt panic rising. What did he know of government? How could he plot a course through the labyrinthine corridors of power? He knew that for every man here who fawned over him, there would be a number whose smiles were false and who were already moving behind his back. A sudden desire to run ceased him, to get as far away from this place as possible. The days with Aurelia in Africa now seemed to him an idyll that he longed for, like the halcyon days of his childhood or the dream he had once cherished to return home and be a farmer. Never would he be free again to live life as he chose. It was another form of servitude.

Turning back, he nodded briefly. "I would prefer if they would address me, Consul. I have no demands of them. But I offer myself in their service..."

The Senators seemed taken aback by his response. If this was just empty hyperbole, then it was very convincing. The man seemed almost humbled by the moment.

"If I may ask one question?" Maximus asked.

"Of course..." Gracchus began, his eyes now firmly on his son who was grinning over at him.

"What of Quintus Cornelius Metella?"

"Under arrest. In the Praetorium. We await your decision..."

"My decision?"

"The disposal of the Prefect lies in the hands of the Protector. You have been declared Dictator, Maximus. Only the ratification and formalities are left to be accomplished..."

Maximus' jaw dropped at the announcement and his eyes blinked rapidly as he realised that events had already run away from him. There was no going back. The will of Marcus Aurelius had prevailed. He felt the old man's presence by his side, whispering in his ear, his gnarled old hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready to do your duty for Rome?"

Bowing his head slightly in acquiescence, Maximus strode forward into the Senate House. His public life was about to begin.

He sent almost immediately for Aurelia but told her not to make the journey until the following morning. Antoninus conveyed the message and was instructed with the task of commanding the honour guard which would escort her to the Palatine. Maximus had no intention of allowing a similar stampede to occur as had that day as he entered Rome. Orders were given to announce the arrival of the Lady Aurelia with the other generals, troops were sent to patrol the route; an orderly procession was to be maintained.

Antoninus left immediately with a detachment of legionaries, eschewing praetorians as a matter of principle, preferring regular soldiers. Before they left the City however, he made a stop in the garment district, bought a few elegant dresses, some slippers and veils and even chose some jewellery and a box of cosmetics and perfumes. He requested a dressmaker to accompany the escort in case there were any adjustments or alterations to be made.

Maximus had never given a thought to her appearance but Antoninus knew that Aurelia would wish to make a good impression; the simple woollen dress which was all she had to her name at the moment would not be her choice for such an occasion. He paid for all his purchases from his own pocket, although it was a vast sum. Nothing but the best for the lady.

As he had anticipated, the news had preceded him and when he reached Ostia, the camp was in a state of high excitement. He himself was welcomed as a conquering hero; Galba and Veranius were eager for all the details. It was necessary to have an audience with the first although he would rather have been with Aurelia, for he knew she had to be beside herself to hear from him what had transpired.

When he finally reached her quarters, he found her pacing up and down; she all but leapt on him as he entered. "What did they do to your hair? Your beautiful hair? Oh, men are such monsters!" she ruffled her hands over his now close shorn Roman cut. Antoninus laughed sheepishly and pulled away with a grin.

"Military regulations, my lady. And much easier to look after on the march..." She tutted and grasped his hand, pulling Antoninus down to a couch and declaring: "Tell me all! Tell me all! I want to know everything that happened! How is Maximus? Did he send a message to me?"

After he had answered all her questions, Antoninus told her that Maximus wanted her to join him the next day. Their relationship was to be public knowledge. She would be announced as his future bride.

Then he laid out his purchases.

Aurelia was astonished, fingering the fine silks and the exquisite jewellery. "Did he send these for me?" she gasped, enchanted to imagine that in the midst of everything Maximus had stopped and thought of how to please her.

Antoninus smiled and bowed his head. He would not undermine her belief that her lover had been sentimental enough to consider such trivial things as what she would wear. It was his fate merely to love her from afar. Just the sight of her beautiful face lit up with joy was enough reward. Even if she was reserving her thanks for another man.

The procession reached the gates to find them thrown open and a city adorned in its best for welcoming. The story of the gladiator who had freed a city from its tyrant giving his life in the task, or so it had seemed, only to rise again and return, taking the reins of the empire in his own capable hands and be ready to defend Rome against all comers had already spread through the whole pulsing metropolis like wildfire. And now rumours were flying that the general had won the love of a beautiful noblewoman who had been taken captive and held as surety against him, that somehow he had prevailed and here she was, the future bride of a man whom all believed would be their next emperor.

Little was known about this girl other than that she was a direct descendant of the house of Marcus Aurelius, a chaste virgin possessing of incredible beauty and dignity, untouched by scandal or tainted by the intrigue of the court. Annia Aurelia Lentula Prisca seemed the perfect match for the legendary Spanish general who had survived the worst that life could throw at him, most pitifully the loss of his first wife and child. It was the stuff of epic legends and the sort of tale that grabbed the imagination of these capricious and superstitious people.

Waiting for her at the gate was an honour guard that contained her future bridegroom himself. Banners hung from upper storeys, flowers were strewn before her path, great cheers were raised as her party entered the City. Aurelia rode her chestnut mare, her face revealing her shock at the level of controlled hysteria that greeted her arrival. These people had no idea who she was. How could this be meant for her?

It was unusual to say the least for a lady to ride in such a progress through the City but Maximus had declined a carriage, bearers or a chariot for them both. He had no wish to encourage the disturbing whispers that were gaining strength all the time. Even on the streets that day, Maximus could hear cries of 'Maximus Augustus!' and 'Hail, Maximus Caesar!' To have given an imperial flavour to the arrival of Aurelia would merely have fed that illusion.

So he merely rode forward, raised his hand in greeting to his fellow generals and took Aurelia's hand, bringing it to his lips. "What is this all about?" The bewildered girl exclaimed.

He murmured as he held onto her hand and showed her to the crowd. "This is Rome. See the power of the mob? Never underestimate it. It can be our friend but it can just as quickly turn against us. Do not ever take it seriously. It changes nothing..."

She stared around and smiled. Her veil slipped from her head and revealed her glorious hair and beautiful countenance. A gasp arose from the crowds. The stories were true. She was a goddess. Someone from a rooftop raised a shout of: 'Aurelia Aurea!' - Aurelia, the Golden One - and it was quickly seized upon as Maximus led her through the congested streets, his natural reserve showing as he smiled softly and appeared discomfited by the whole excess. Aurelia soon accustomed herself to it, waving shyly to people even catching a flower posy that was tossed and holding it to her nose. She seemed to possess an instinct for how to comport herself in the moment: serene, dignified but gentle and affectionate.

Maximus turned his head to watch her as she gazed about at the crowd and he could not help but be affected himself by the sight of her poise and majesty. It was hard to recall that young girl who had crept into his room late one night and disturbed his feverish dreams. In a matter of half a year, Aurelia had changed into a woman of stature. The child was long gone. What a metamorphosis she had made!

He wondered where she had found the means to array herself as she had done that day. How like a woman to discover fine raiment even in a military fortress! The gown she was wearing was a shimmering green silk edged in gold, her feet were shod in tiny slippers of palest ivory and the veil which she now wore over her slender white shoulders was a paler green, a fabric as fine as gossamer, decorated with tiny slivers of pearl. She had emeralds at her throat and ears and her hair was dressed with golden ribbon. "You look so beautiful," he leaned over and muttered. "Only you could contrive such a wonder out of nothing!"

Aurelia flashed her eyes. "Well, I couldn't have managed it without your generosity and forethought! Who would have imagined you a man to think of my gown at a time like this?"

A puzzled look crossed his brow; he opened his mouth to speak. Just then Antoninus broke rank from his place a few rows back and rode level with him. "Sir?"

"Antoninus?" he turned to speak with him.

"She thinks you sent her the gowns and jewels..."

"And who did?" Maximus rasped.

Antoninus just grinned and wheeled his horse to fall back in line. "I told you I was a better lover than you were...it starts outside the bedroom, sir...that's the golden rule..."

Maximus gave Antoninus an amused scowl as the younger man left his side. 

"What did Antoninus say?" Aurelia asked.

Maximus paused for thought and then decided that if one was given an advantage, then it was only fair to take it. "Nothing. Just a question about the deployment..." She seemed satisfied, her attention soon drawn away to the crowd and the road ahead as it turned into the wide avenue that led to the Palatine. There was to be no public address or official welcome for the lady. It had been offered by the Senate but Maximus had refused to accept it. This had been enough already.

As they made their way towards the gateway that would take them from public sight to the private way leading to the palace, Maximus pondered Antoninus' act. There was a lot he had to teach the boy, but he ought to also learn from the young man. He himself had not been raised to be a patrician gentleman with all the courtesy that was expected of him in his dealings with the rest of his class. He needed to acquire some polish. Such things were as natural as breathing to a young nobleman like Antoninus Gracchus. He must have spent a small fortune - and with no intention of even claiming any kudos from the act. He was either lovesick or too rich for his own good.

Or perhaps just an exceptional young man who was the true future of their nation? 

Maximus left Aurelia to her palace ladies, instructing them to arrange anything she needed, and spent the rest of the day in serious talks with respected senators and those whose loyalty he felt he could call on. The following morning would bring the official announcement of his appointment as Dictator; there were many details that needed clarifying and documents that had to be perused. When they finally broke in the late afternoon, all ready for a bathe and a rest before the dinner to follow, Lentulus Priscus came over to address Maximus in private. So far they had not had a moment in which to speak.

"A word if I may, general?" This time Lentulus had lost the arrogant superiority of their previous meetings. He seemed almost humbled.

"Maximus..." he smiled and extended his hand. The other man grasped it. "It is I who must speak with you. Come, let us stroll along the portico."

They stepped out onto the wide balcony that surrounded the private quarters. The views were magnificent perspectives on the City below, but the weather was cold. It was late October and winter would soon be upon them. A chill wind blew across from the north as the day waned.

"You would be in your rights to challenge me for what I have done to your daughter, Lentulus. I beg your forgiveness...as I ask for her hand. I would marry her as soon as it is possible to arrange...if you grant your permission..."

The older man gave a sigh. "Why did you not indicate your interest back then< Maximus? Had you offered, I would never have given a moment's consideration to Metella's suit..."

Maximus shrugged. "I did not understand my feelings then. And furthermore, I believed I had no intention of marrying again. Aurelia was just a child to me...it was an inappropriate interest..."

"You're ten years younger than Metella and hundred times the man! I am not such an unfeeling father that I don't wish for her to be happy...she is happy, I trust? I saw her from afar today and she looked at peace. I hardly recognised her. You have made a woman of my child..."

"...She made a woman of herself. Make no mistake, your daughter is a exceptional young lady. Her intelligence and courage mark her out amongst her sex..."

Lentulus smiled sadly. "As her mother could have been. Had she met a better man than I..."

At that Maximus rested an arm across his shoulders. "You raised Aurelia virtually single-handed. That takes a very special kind of man. I have no idea what troubled Annia Galeria, but you are not the only cause for what she became...and whatever you did wrong, you have put right through your daughter..."

"Are you lovers?" Lentulus asked suddenly.

Maximus nodded.

"Is she with child?"

Again he confirmed that fact with a lowering of his head.

For a while Lentulus said nothing, merely staring out to the City below.   

"I offer you my permission willingly. There is no man to whom I would rather give her. Even if you did rather act in a somewhat rash fashion...so, I am to be a grandfather, am I? Then we must plan this wedding without delay. The crowd expects a virgin bride. Make sure there's a blooded sheet, hey? No matter if the child comes early. You know what they always say...all babies must grow for nine months within the womb ...excepting the first...!" Lentulus raised his eyebrows saucily, demonstrating an unexpected sense of humour, rarely seen. "May I meet with her before dinner?"

"You need to ask? She will always be your daughter, Lentule. I do not seek to take her from you..."

Tears pricked the stiff old man's eyes at the response. "Thank you. She is all I have in this world..."

"No. That is not true, sir. Now you have a son and a family, too. I hope you will make a home with us..."

"Bah! You already live in the public eye. All you need is a father-in-law breathing down your necks! I shall return to Sicily when this emergency is over and tend my fields. Join us whenever you can. It is a quiet backwater but a welcome relief from this corrupt City of ours...but you and Aurelia need to cleave to each other for now. I understand that. What bridegroom would really want his wife's father around?"

But Maximus assured him that he would be delighted at his presence. For him, it was a normal fact of life that a home should contain all the generations. His upbringing had been simpler than the more formal practices of the upper classes. Lentulus was not entirely comfortable with the attitude but he welcomed the sentiment. Aurelia and he had been alone too long. This was probably what they both needed.

He did not linger then, making his way immediately to his daughter's rooms where he waited in an anteroom while he was announced.

He heard a scream of joy and his 'serene' daughter bounded out, the exuberant child back again in the moment. "Papa! Oh Papa! How I have missed you! I have so much to tell....!"

He held out his arms and embraced her in a full hug; it was the first time he had ever been so demonstrative with her. No longer did he have to guard against indulging his pretty little girl, so wrought in her mother's image. She was safe now with a man who would fill her life and never require her to look elsewhere. To Maximus could now devolve the luxury of spoiling her in future. But first, he had to clear the air and make sure she understood the dreadful deed that he feared might always lie between them.

Leading her to a couch, they both sat down; Lentulus took her hands in his. There was no sign yet of the pregnancy as far as he could tell, unless it lay in the radiant bloom that shone from her. "Before we go any further, I must make my peace with you, Aurelia. I have never spoken to you of your mother in many years. There was a reason for my silence. I loved your mother, Aurelia. She was one of the few passions of my life. But....it was I who ended her life. I killed her in a fit of jealous rage when she had pushed me too far..." He slipped onto the floor with difficulty, struggling onto one knee and bending his head in supplication. "I would not blame you if you hated me and refused to have anything to do with me for how I have wronged you both..."

Aurelia caught his head between her hands and raised it until he was looking up at her. His eyes were wet with tears. "I always knew, papa. I don't quite know when I worked it out. But I always knew. Maybe, from the very beginning. Even a child can sense things. I always knew it was you who killed her somehow. I also think I understand why you did it. Passion is a very strong emotion. That much I have learnt already. Papa, it was a very bad thing that you did but you have paid over and over for it in the intervening years. How could anyone punish you worse than you have yourself for destroying that which you held most dear? Today you have faced me with this unpalatable truth - in doing so showed your true courage. I hear it was your speech in the Senate that saved Maximus' life by turning them against Quintus. I know that would not have come easy to a man like you. All debts are paid, father...I have some thing to confess to you as well. Maximus and I are in love. I wish to marry, father. I am with child. I, too, have shamed my family by my licentiousness...but I love him so much...We could not help ourselves...he is my life..."

Lentulus made to stand; Aurelia assisted him and helped rest him back on the couch. "Dear girl...there is no shame in loving a man and bearing his child! It is not the same as promiscuity. Even an old wretch like me knows the difference. We gave you both no choice. Maximus has already spoken to me. I have given my permission. And he told me about the child...it brings deep joy to my heart..."

They embraced again, father and daughter, half laughing and half crying as they found a new way together in the brave new future that destiny now offered them.

Aurelia had to wait much longer for Maximus to arrive. It was late in the evening before he could excuse himself from his endless meetings and the dinner that had been thrown by yet another senator keen to prove his loyalty. He expected to find her asleep when he entered her rooms.

But she was still awake, lying on a long couch, dozing but obviously waiting for him. Yanitra led him in. "She wouldn't go to bed, sir. She was sure you would come..."

His smile was indulgent as he dismissed Yanitra, telling her to go find Juba; he knelt at the side of Aurelia's couch and gently nudged her awake, smoothing down her cheek and watching her tenderly as she slowly returned from sleep.

"Maxime!" she jumped when she realised he was there, throwing herself into his arms as he beamed his own welcome. "Oh, Maxime! I was waiting for you all the day! I wanted to say how sorry I was for the coolness between us when we parted. It has been a weight on my heart ever since!"

He took her tiny face in his hands. "There was no fault on your part, my sweet girl. It was I who was to blame. Let us set it aside. You were magnificent today, Aurelia! The City is on fire with talk of your beauty, grace and purity..."

She laughed. "Had they known what was in my belly, they would not have such illusions about me...!"

He shook his head at her blatant honesty. She was always such a forthright girl and rarely held her tongue. "By the time that is generally known we will be long married and it will do no more than raise a few smiles as they speak of how the battle-hardened general could not restrain himself in the presence of this lovely woman...It is a known fact that the mob prefers its heroes lusty than celibate..."

He extended his hands and pulled her to her feet, bending to swing her up into his arms and then carry her snuggled up against him to her bed in the inner room. Despite the late hour, Aurelia was refreshed from her nap and Maximus was animated by the extraordinary events of the past few days: he laid her down softly, divested himself speedily of his clothes and joined her. They made love slowly and tenderly. He was highly conscious of the delicacy of her condition and, moreover, was overcome by a sort of awe for her. His child was within her. She was his love. To him she was the most precious thing on earth. As they loved, his eyes never left her nor hers him. He did not want to take on this burden of rule -but  for Aurelia's sake it was worth it. She was worth any sacrifice in the world and as for the child she was bearing? He would move Olympus if he had to merely to ensure its safety.

Lying together afterwards, Aurelia sprawled over him, his arms wrapped around her, they talked and he described all the tumultuous events that had taken place since they had last been together. She listened quietly, playing idly with the hair on his chest as he spoke.

"...What you said about destiny...I now believe it. This was what I was meant to do. Until I meekly acceded to the demands that the gods had made of me, then my life was to be thrown into chaos and every wrong step away from that end was rewarded with more and terrible consequences. We cannot avoid Nemesis. She awaits us at every turn." He laughed bitterly at his own final acceptance of the inevitable.

Aurelia held him close, unable to add to what he had said. It was what she had instinctively thought all along - and yet she knew what lay beneath his reluctance to accept such a self-discovery. It meant that the deaths of his wife and son had always been demanded of him. It was so sad. So very, very sad.

"Maximus? What happened to Quintus?"

She changed the subject to something that she believed he would wish to tell her about. Knowing Maximus' capacity for ruthless and uncompromising revenge on those who harmed the ones he loved, she could only imagine what he had done to the Prefect once Quintus had been divested of his honours and arrested.

She felt a tension in Maximus' body at her introduction of this new topic and sensed that this was not something he was ready to discuss with her.

"He is being held in the Praetorium. There is a certain irony in that."

"He is still alive?" Aurelia sat up, surprised.

"Of course. He will be tried. I am not sure yet what the charges will be..."

"Charges?" she exclaimed. "He violated me...isn't that enough for you to run him through?" She was confused by his reaction - and hurt even more by his next move. Rolling away, he sat at the edge of the bed reaching for his clothes. Was he simply going to walk away without answering her further?

"Maximus? Stop! Do not turn from me! What have I said that is wrong?"

Without turning back, he slipped on his tunic. "Quintus is what he is. But I am the head of the government now. I am not a gladiator with a sword in my hand who may hack his way through the world to bring justice as he sees it! I must use the law. Quintus was a legitimate commander and official of the Respublica. What did he do wrong? He defended the state and acquitted himself as he was expected to do...Compared to Commodus, he was a virtuous man..."

"What? Maximus, I am not talking about what he did for Rome! I speak of what he did to us personally! He raped me! Does that mean nothing to you? He ordered Lucilla's death! You killed an emperor when he acted against your wife and son...and yet for me, you do nothing?" She screamed at him, trying to make him turn and face her.

At that Maximus did finally turn, his face pale with rage, taking her hands and forcing her back onto the bed away from him. "Do nothing? This has all been for you! Everything I have done since this damned thing began has been for you! Do you think I would be here now if it were not for the fact I only wanted to save you from harm!"

Aurelia struggled up onto her knees and then dragged herself from the bed, wrapping a sheet around her nakedness. He lowered his eyes as if he did not wish to see her. "I don't understand you! If this is all for me - why the sudden hesitation to act against a man you hate? All along this has been a battle of wills between you and Quintus and I have been the battleground on which you both chose to fight! Is that all a woman ever is? The spoils of war? Is her fate now deemed an acceptable cost to the general? As long as not a blow is struck and none of his men are in anyway endangered...? How noble of you...how considerate! What a commander of men you are!"

"Shut your mouth, Aurelia, and do not presume to speak of things about which you have no knowledge! Everything changed once I assumed the dictatorship. Now I must behave as the leader of the state, not a private man with a grudge! If I do to Quintus Metella what my instinct urges me to, then I am no better than Commodus, or all the other corrupt abusers of power! I may not use the machinery of the Republic as if it were a private weapon at my disposal!"

"No one would blame you! That is what strong rulers do! They remove their enemies! Any enemy of the dictator is the enemy of the state anyway! Do you think Quintus would retire to private life if you spared him? He would hate you all the more! He would join your enemies...he would wait for a chance to work against you again! Wake up, Maximus! You have made such decisions when you were a general, ordered massacres and executions where you had no other choice! You cannot lose your nerve now!" Her words hit straight and true. Aurelia had a formidable sense of political strategy on her young shoulders already. There was nothing in her impassioned speech that he had not already told himself. But other things were holding him back. It was hard for him to explain his dilemma.

"I am sick of death and bloodshed! I would rather never take another life again if I had my way..."

"You were ready to go out and fight for Rome! Kill innocents! Quintus is not an innocent man! That is not the same thing!" Aurelia faced him up now, tweaking his conscience acutely and putting to him the easier and more obvious answer. But the cruelty and the revenge seeking had to stop somewhere. Especially now when he was in supreme command. For who but he could halt the threatening decline into anarchy?

"What difference then between Commodus and me would there be? I refused to follow him - and he tried to destroy me. Some might argue - following your logic - that he acted wisely, removing the one man who had both the means and the will to oppose him...that he used the adjuncts of the state that were at his disposal to carry out that 'politically astute' decision. Quintus himself had merely been following orders - just as I have carried out orders ever since I was a soldier, many of which, as you correctly point out were never to my taste...What possible difference is there between us then if I do the same? Am I not opening us both to the next pretender treating us in the same way?"

Aurelia clasped the fabric of his tunic, gripping hard. "Commodus murdered his father to take power! He was not the legitimate heir! You were! He killed thousands of innocents to appease his blood lust and increasing paranoia! Strong government is not the same thing as abuse of power! Why cannot you see this? Why do you always buck against what any fool could see was the only possible course of action? But even if it were not, I ask this of you... I want that man to bleed and suffer as he made you bleed and suffer! He was your friend! There is no excuse for what he did other than arrant cowardice and a bitter jealousy for a man who was always better than he ... Maximus ...kill him. For me. ...Or I swear I will take a sword and go myself to the Praetorium and do the deed in your place!"

Her fervour terrified him. There was a feverish burn in her pale cheeks and her eyes glinted malevolently. It was that curious capacity he had observed in her from time to time of late that made him uneasy. Aurelia had depths within her that were dark and as ruthlessly brutal as any of her race. "I once knew a young girl who told me she never wanted men to die for her..."

"...That girl has gone...Quintus Metella did his work well..." She let her hand fall from him and walked away. Maximus watched her and remembered a time when he had said much the same about himself. His life had irrevocably changed him. He was not the man he had once been, the general who would have raised a city and ordered the death of all its inhabitants if it had been deemed necessary. Aurelia, too, had met her fate head on - and it had changed her forever too.

But who could say whether the woman left behind was one who would use her newfound knowledge of life in a way that would resonate with his own? Fear and tragedy work their own bitter consequences on people.

Would their private metamorphoses drive them apart just at the point when they had in their grasp everything they had ever dreamed?

He walked towards the door. She addressed his back. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you. I cannot talk to you now. We would say things that were better left unsaid. But know this..." He spun round and stared at her coldly. "...I will not become a monster just because I am the most powerful man in the world! This will only work if my hand lies gentle on the reins of authority. Or I will become the greatest tyrant in the history of the empire. For I could be. It is in me. I have known the icy chill of utter hatred that makes a man blind even to his own humanity...! Do not set yourself to tempt me or seduce me into that insidious course of action. For you will fail, Aurelia. And I will come to despise you for it..."

With that he lurched from the room and left Aurelia speechless, clutching her heart as it pounded with the effects of her fear and his cruel words. How could he have spoken to her like that? What was wrong with what she had asked him to do?

It was almost as if he was afraid. But afraid of what?

Afraid of himself? 

Aurelia paced about her rooms a long time after he had left her. It was deep night by then but she knew that it was pointless even to try and sleep. She even wondered if she would ever close her eyes again unless Maximus returned to her and gave her a chance to explain, apologise, say anything that would make him love her again and take back the awful words he had said. It didn't matter whether he was right or wrong. She would crawl through burning embers if he would only look upon her as he had earlier the night before. The blazing heat of anger that she had felt when they had argued had long subsided, and now all she felt was empty and cold.

Maximus was a proud man unused to being crossed by anyone, least of all a woman. His first wife had probably been the perfect Roman matrona, she imagined, who would never dare to oppose him or raise her voice in temper. Aurelia cursed her own fiery nature and the ridiculous inability she seemed to possess ever to hold her tongue with a man. Why could she not be meek and mild as other women?

A young palace slave girl came to attend her, offering her food and drink, trying to coax her back to bed. Aurelia shook her head. She was about to dismiss the girl when a thought came to her. She needed to speak to someone. Yanitra was no doubt wrapped around Juba somewhere and furthermore she did not feel that the woman was really the companion in whom she wished to confide. No doubt the hot-headed servant would simply have told her she was a fool and that Maximus deserved a woman who knew how to treat him. Yani always had little sympathy for Aurelia when she played the great lady.

"I need to speak with Antoninus Gracchus. Find him!" Aurelia asked the girl, whose brown eyes widened in surprise. She did not dare counter an order from her mistress but her expression told Aurelia that this would be considered a matter of great impropriety. Aurelia waved her off, unwilling to listen to any voice of good sense. "Well, go on...! He has to be somewhere in the palace..."

The girl sped off; Aurelia waited by the window, sitting on a chair and staring out wondering where Maximus had gone. It did not take long. Soon enough Antoninus was entering the apartments, his hand resting on the hilt of a sword he had donned. Even in the palace danger could be ever-present.

"My lady....is something the matter?" his eyes scanned the room rapidly as if he expected some unseen enemy to appear any moment.

"Oh, Antoninus....how good of you to come to me at this hour...I need to speak with you..."

"Anything...but, where is Maximus? Is he... well?" Antoninus' voice had begun to waver as if the truth was beginning to dawn on him. Perhaps the general was keeping well away from Aurelia's chambers until the marriage rites were performed. That would be wise. It also made his own presence there in the middle of the night, totally unacceptable. If this story got out, there could be terrible ramifications for them both.

"Maximus is not here. That is why I sent for you. We have had a terrible quarrel and he has stormed off. I needed to talk to someone and I thought of you. Help me find him, Antoninus! I cannot let him leave me in this frame of mind!"

While she had been speaking, Antoninus' face registered several different emotions: comprehension, horror and confusion. "Help you? How can I aid you in this? A quarrel between a man and his woman? Are you quite mad, girl? Have you any idea how rumours fly in the imperial palace and what will be made of our relationship if I am allowed to visit your quarters at such an hour? I cannot stay here. I will not stay here. You ask too much..." he backed towards the door.

Aurelia all but ran across the room, gripping his tunic frantically. "It was not a lovers' quarrel per se! We disagreed about Quintus! He seemed almost to be of a mind to spare him...I was trying to explain to him that it would be sheer folly to pardon the life of his greatest enemy...you must talk to him and make him see reason...!"

Antoninus listened to her words and frowned. "Pardon him? He cannot take such an action...! The Senate will surely find him guilty if Maximus indicates that is the decision he wishes..."

"...And if he does not? Do you understand what is moving his decision on this? He was curiously affected by Cinna's death, too. What has happened to him...? Do you think he has been charmed in some way...?"

Antoninus smiled softly, his expression changing as he surveyed her lovely face creased with concern. How he wished her worry was on his account, not on that of another man! Imagine to be loved by such a woman? The crushing disappointment that his discovery of Aurelia's secret love affair with the general returned stronger than ever. Had he really believed that he could be as a brother to this woman whom his heart already loved as a mistress? He reached out and touched her face, wiping away the path of a few tears that were leaking from her sapphire blue eyes. "No, I do not believe any magic has made him feel this way. I am not sure I fully understand him myself - but then I have not known the terrors that he has suffered. He seems to have lost his taste for bloodshed. It is as if he would rather not take another human life whatever that man may have done. But he will still kill when he must. That instinct is still strong in him..."

"...What would you do with Quintus Metella?" Aurelia asked bluntly.

Antoninus replied in the same forthright style. "I would have him killed. Immediately. No public trials. No legal process. For what has he done in truth, but been Maximus' rival? That is not yet a crime unless Maximus wishes to become a tyrant...the Respublica allows, even encourages, opposition...but everyone privately understands the need to remove yesterday's man or he will become tomorrow's thorn in your side...'

"Exactly! You agree with me! Maximus is wrong...!"

"I did not say he was wrong. I gave you my opinion. I do not know upon what he has based his own. But my knowledge of the general already leads me to believe that he has a good reason for whatever he does..."

"Quintus forced himself upon me as Lucilla lay dying..."

Antoninus stopped short, a sudden violent anger flaring across his face. His conciliatory mood disappeared. He held Aurelia gently by her upper arms. "He did what? Does Maximus know? I would rip the man's heart out...he violated you...?"

Aurelia nodded. 

"And Maximus knows this?"

She again nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I...I...I don't know what to say...!" Antoninus was lost for words.

"Maximus revenged his wife and son, but he does not seem to want to avenge my shame..."

"He must have a reason..."

"Kill Quintus for me! Save Maximus the need to make the decision...! I do not want the man to live past this night...!"

Antoninus stepped back and walked away, pacing the room, deep in thought. He looked up at her and his face was pained. The young man was torn between his love for her - which she was clearly abusing, and he knew it - and his loyalty and admiration for Maximus.

"I cannot do such a thing without his order. I could be executed myself for it. I have pledged my allegiance to Maximus and I cannot dishonour that promise..."

"Is there no man who will honour me?" Aurelia exclaimed. "Or is a woman's honour just something for men to barter and claim like winning a new territory? Of no possible concern set against the higher affairs of state? I am to bear a child who may one day be the ruler of the world...does my rank not accord me some respect?"

At that Antoninus threw himself at her feet. "I will speak with him for you. I will try and discover what is causing him to procrastinate in this decision. There may be other reasons that we do not know...I will do what I can..."

Aurelia smiled down at him tenderly and held out a hand to raise him to his feet. "Stand up! You must not kneel before me...you are my friend..."

Antoninus stood and moved a little closer, a sudden darker expression crossing his handsome features. He bent his head as if to savour the young woman's fragrance, sighing softly. "I am more than that. Aurelia...more than a friend..."he paused, searching for the right words to say, all at once serious and sombre faced. "...When this is over, I shall ask Maximus to send me with the legions against his enemies outside Italy. To Gaul to watch for any incursion from Clodius Albinus out of Britannia...or to Dalmatia to monitor Septimius Severus' deployment. We cannot keep the armies locked into Italia...we cannot risk drawing the fighting here and ruining our homeland..."

"Why? Why would you not stay with Maximus? He will leave soon enough for other provinces should an attack come..." She knew the answer already but something in her made her wish to hear it from his lips -those lips that hovered dangerously close to hers as they spoke.

"Because of you...I cannot pretend anymore that I have subjugated my feelings. I burn for you, Aurelia! And yet you belong to another... You tell me tonight that you carry his child? I can smell him off you even now...!" His comment was earthy and crude; it made her gasp and her pulse race as he openly indicated he was aware that she had lain with her man that night. "...you did not argue with him all night, clearly..." he added provocatively.

"Antoninus...you cannot speak to me like this....!" Aurelia protested, trying to back away, but his hand held her wrist firmly.

"I am well aware of that. Which is why I must go. For if I stay around you, I will eventually go too far..." His nose nudged her hair. His presence was affecting her. She felt her body responding to his proximity despite herself. In response she struggled harder but he merely jerked her closer.

"Antoninus...I do not want this! Let me go! I do not love you...!"

"I know...but I feel your desire...lust is a powerful emotion, quite as powerful as love. It can make fools of us all. One day, we would make a mistake...I from love...you from desire...and then he would kill me. And he would be right to do so..."

"He would kill you? But not Quintus, it would seem?" Aurelia subtly reminded him of the purpose of his presence there tonight.

Antoninus dropped her hand and his face relaxed, smiling sadly now. "It would be an entirely different thing. A betrayal of trust and friendship. And he would know that you gave yourself willingly...as you would, if I pursued you...and that he would never tolerate...!"

"I do not understand men and the way they think..." Aurelia declared.

"...As we rarely understand women...but then, why else would we be so drawn to the mystery of each other?"

Antoninus bowed and walked slowly back towards the door. He raised his fingers to his lips and kissed them, blowing his farewell across to her. "Vale atque vale, my beautiful Aurelia! Not in this life...but if we never meet again then at least know this...I leave you only because I love you. Hail and farewell...!"

She ran the distance between them on bare feet and threw her arms around his neck. "One day you will find the one and then when you do... then you must come back to me and we can truly be friends at last...! I cannot bear to lose you...my beautiful Antoninus...!"

He kissed her lips softly, lingering too long but unable not to taste them as he took his leave. "I will find him tonight. We will talk. Then I must leave..."

And then he was gone and the night felt even lonelier. How confusing it was to be an adult, Aurelia observed. She had no doubts about her feelings for Maximus but for a few moments back then she had been aware that had Antoninus made just one move, she might have weakened. How could that be? Why could they not remain just friends, the young man who had charmed her so naturally and been her faithful companion through the past weeks?

The emotions that drove men and women were too powerful to allow for that, she was beginning to understand. Boundaries were crossed so easily and amicitia, brotherly love, could change into that deeper and more dangerous eros, sexual love in moments. Even if it was only a mistake, made in a mad frenzied moment of passion, it would destroy lives as surely as military betrayal or political intrigue.

Aurelia knelt before the small altar in her outer room, and lit the oil lamps praying to the goddess, her hands joined in supplication:

Blessed Mother, hold Maximus in your gentle hands tonight and steer us both back safely to each other across the stormy sea of life...Father, watch over Antoninus as he enters his public life. Protect him with a ready sword in the trials to come...

The dank subterranean passageways in the bowels of the Praetorium were darkly familiar to him in their crepuscular gloom as Maximus walked again in the same path along which he was once dragged, severely beaten and his clothes torn. He had thought it then his last night on earth, and had almost welcomed the time when it had finally seemed to have come. Memories flooded back of brutality, pain and fear. All men must face this moment one day and overcome nature's desperate desire to live. He had once passed through that hinterland between death and life and found the means inside himself to laugh at his fate.

I  knew a man who once said 'Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back'...

And did this wise man smile at his own death?

You must know. He was your father...

But he had not died. Like Orpheus who went down to Hades to bring back his dead wife, he had reached as far as the very brink but as his eyes had lighted upon them both...he had lost them. Back he had found himself in a hostile world, lamenting at his ill fortune still to be alive, and ready to throw himself to the mob again so that they might tear him apart and scatter his remains to the four winds. Then Aurelia had come into his life.

And life had come back into him.

The passageway widened out into a large chamber where several guards were playing dice to keep themselves awake. They stood to immediate attention at the arrival of the Dictator. He acknowledged their salute with an impassive face. These men had once been his gaolers too. How the pendulum of fate swings back and forth in a man's life!

"Stand easy. I wish to see the prisoner..."

He was led to the cell door where he stopped and peered in. Quintus was sitting on the rough stone floor, his back to the wall, his eyes staring ahead blankly seeing nothing but the contents of his own head. Maximus recognised that expression for he had worn it himself often enough. It was a man looking down the tunnel that represented the walk he must make to the other side. He was gathering his resources for the inevitable moment when he must die with honour. It made Maximus feel immeasurably sad. Not just for Quintus himself, but for all men and women.

We begin life as innocent as that babe who even now was growing in Aurelia's womb only to find ourselves one day irrevocably at the end, with only the path we have chosen in life to give us the strength to meet what lies ahead. He thought of the many people he knew who had gone before him: his parents, Marcus Aurelius, his wife and son, Proximo, Hakon, Commodus, Lucilla, Cinna and the countless unnamed scores who had fallen beneath his sword...they had all closed their eyes on this world and had already been though that portal on whose brink Maximus himself had once stood - and where Quintus was now.

They had once been friends, shared each other's lives, spent many a night with a few jugs of wine revealing their hopes and dreams, their fears and disappointments. Side by side they had fought through victory and disaster. When had they begun to drift apart? Had Quintus always hated him inside?

Even now, Maximus could not truly regard Quintus as a bad man. He was not a good one either although by the estimation of a Roman, most would view the life of Quintus Cornelius Metella as that of a virtuous Roman hero. For the opposite of good was not evil to a Roman. As long as a man demonstrated the chief virtues expected of his rank and class then how he conducted himself personally was not relevant. Quintus was a man of courage, fortitude, gravity, loyalty and duty - or had been in a public sense. Some would call him a great Roman. Yet here he was chained and brought low by the state which he had served throughout his life. What a reward Rome gave to its servants!

"Open the door...unchain him and leave us alone..." The guard raised a quizzical eye but did not oppose Maximus' request.

The door clanged shut behind him as Maximus surveyed his erstwhile friend solemnly. Quintus raised his head. He did not appear surprised to see who his visitor was.

"Come to gloat, Maximus?" he said in a steady voice.

"No. I have no wish to do that..." Maximus replied softly.

"Then you must have come to kill me," was his equally expressionless response. 

Maximus shook his head. "Nor do I have any desire to take your life. I came to see you. To try and understand why two onetime friends now find themselves in this position. You came to see me that last night. You tried to apologise..." He held out a hand to Quintus. "Stand. Face me like a man. I do not want you to grovel at my feet."

Quintus laughed bitterly but pulled himself onto his feet. He looked older, gaunter than ever his sparse hair now more white than grey, his skin drawn thinly across his granite etched face. He had always been the taller man and looked down upon Maximus.

"So, you are come to apologise to me now? For what? What have you done to me? I thought I was the one who was beneath your contempt...I had your wife and son killed, I stood by while Commodus gave vent to his excesses..."

"You were a soldier. You had no choice. We have all carried out orders that were contrary to our desires..."

"I raped your woman."

Maximus stopped and advanced on Quintus, his face stony and hard to read. "I ran away with your bride on the eve of your wedding. Some might say both Aurelia and I deserved little better..."

Quintus looked sceptical. "I am to assume that you take it as calmly as that? I took your woman. Did you know she did not fight? She lay there as placid as a whore...you gave her quite a taste for it, eh?"

With the lightening speed of cobra, Maximus had Quintus pinned to the wall, his hand gripped tight about the other man's neck, constricting the air flow - but not quite enough to do serious harm. He hissed his reply into the other man's face. "You will not taunt me into ending your life. Other men have tried and failed. No man makes me crawl on my belly in the same filth he inhabits! For what you did to my family and to my beautiful Aurelia, I should strangle you with my bare hands. But I will not indulge my baser desires. I am not Commodus. Nor am I Quintus Metella. I do not use my authority to take revenge on others."

"And you wonder why men hate you?" Quintus gasped, mocking even now. "You are everything that a man would wish he was...next to you, we all fall short..."

Maximus let his grip loosen. "The problem then is yours not mine. You  seek to destroy that which reminds you of your own failure. Where would the world be then if we all behaved as you?"

Quintus held onto his neck, sweating profusely as he re-gained his breath. "What do you plan to do with me? Public trial? Have me thrown from the Tarpeian rock for my crime? Why have you come here tonight then?"

"It is not about what I plan to do to you. But what you plan to do from now on. Do you know this is the end, Quintus? And how you meet it is up to you. You made a bid, and your bid has failed. I am here to offer you the chance to redeem yourself..." He drew his dagger, flipped it over catching it by the blade and proffering it.

Quintus looked thoughtfully at the knife. "I did not dare approach you even in your torment until you were beaten, chained and helpless. Even then I feared your wrath. Do you not fear mine? I could take the knife and use it on you. You are only a man. You can bleed too..." he replied.

Maximus turned his back and walked to the door. "I am not afraid of death. If you kill me, you do not save your own life. A wise man would take the expedient course. A man of courage would take the Roman way. A man of honour would show the world his dignity and refuse to give his enemies the chance to humiliate him..."

"Are you my enemy?"

"I am not. Your enemy is within yourself. Farewell, Quintus, old friend. I shall see you again one day. Today you face the ultimate challenge - but so must I one day. But not yet...not yet..."

He rapped on the door which was swiftly opened. "Take care, he has a knife..." Maximus muttered as he strode out. The guard glanced up.

"Doesn't look like he could do much damage with it now..."

Maximus spun round; Quintus was slumped against the wall, his belly ripped open, its contents spilling out in a thick red wave. As he turned their eyes met. Maximus thought he saw Quintus' lips shape the word: "...vale..." but the light died out almost at the same moment. His body slithered down the wall and he crumpled, already a corpse by the time he hit the ground.

Maximus turned to the guard. "Treat his remains with honour! Return the body to his family for a quiet burial. I will have any man executed who allows his corpse to be desecrated...he was once your commander...remember that...!" With one last look back, he left that place, immeasurably relieved to be once again able to step out into the cool night away from that place that stank of cruelty and corruption.

As Maximus crossed the silent halls of the palace towards the private apartments, he came across Antoninus sitting at a desk, writing. The younger man jumped up and gave the salute. Maximus raised a hand to stop him."What are you doing about at this late hour...?"

"Waiting for you."

"Why? Have you news?"

Antoninus shook his head. "I wanted to request to be transferred. To Gaul or Dalmatia...I wish to be at the front should war break out..."

Maximus frowned, standing with a hand on one hip and rubbing his brow. He was tired. What was this about now? "We can talk about this some other time...I need you with me now..." He made as if to walk away but Antoninus stayed him with a hand to his arm. "Please, sir...hear me out..."

Maximus sighed and nodded, taking a seat. "So? Go on..."

"It is about Aurelia..."

Maximus interrupted. "Somehow I thought it might be..."

Antoninus coughed nervously. "I'm in love with her..."

At that Maximus groaned. "For Jupiter's sake, man, not now! You think I have time for your lovesick ramblings? Go take a cold bath - or better still, a warm whore... and fuck it out of your brain..."

Antoninus looked pained but doggedly continued. "I am not trying to ask for your advice! I want to serve you. You are the man I most respect in all the world, next to my father. It is my great honour to ride at your side. But Aurelia will always come between us. I have tried to regard her as a friend, a sister even...but it is not possible. I fear the consequences..."

Maximus grinned. "There will be no consequences other than your bleeding heart, I can assure you of that. I am the man she has chosen and she is not about to change her mind. Antoni,it is high time you joined the rest of mankind and learned what it feels like to be unlucky in love. But I respect your request. You would be of use to me either at home and abroad. Tomorrow, come to my office and I will have your new commission drawn up for you. I have need of legates I can trust..."

"Legate? My own legion?" Antoninus gasped.

Maximus shrugged. "Under a general command, why not? Or do you think yourself not up to the task?"

Antoninus jumped to his feet. "I am at your command, sir!"

"Then, that is decided. Now...I have other business... if you have finished..."

Again Antoninus seemed uneasy, embarrassed to continue but forcing himself to answer. "I was wondering about the fate of the prefect..."

"Quintus Metella is dead...he has already met his fate..."

Antoninus said no more, bowing his head. "Until tomorrow then, sir..."

"Until tomorrow..."

At the entrance to her rooms, Maximus stood and watched Aurelia for a moment before entering. It was only a few hours off dawn and yet she was still awake, kneeling before the shrine to her ancestors, her hands joined in suppliant prayer.

"You should be in bed. A woman in your condition should not be awake all night on her knees..."

Aurelia's head shot round at the sound of his voice. "Maximus...!" she stumbled to her feet; he stepped forward and extended a hand to help her. "Oh, Maximus....what can I say? I have been such a fool...I am so ashamed of myself...!"

He raised her to her feet and helped her to sit down on a nearby bench before falling to his own knees. "We have both been fools, striking out at each other when we were really angry at the world. It is I who should apologise. Aurelia, I have something important to tell you. Hear me out....Quintus Metella is dead..."

"...You killed him!" Aurelia gasped. Maximus shook his head, taking her hands in his.

"I gave him a knife. He used it prudently. Now, he is no longer a threat to us..."

"So you gave him the chance to die with honour that he would never have given you?" Her reply was contentious but her tone showed it was not meant as a criticism. Aurelia was merely trying to understand.

"I think that was rather my point all along. I am not interested in what other men would do in my place. I have no desire to become the thing I hate. The more they descend into their darkness, the less inclined I am to emulate them. Aurelia...." And at that he held her hands to his lips. "Your grandfather once told me something. 'To refrain from imitation is the best revenge...' He was the wisest man I ever knew. And he was right. I was angry with you tonight not because I disagreed with what you were asking of me - but because you were encouraging me to do that which my instinct also wished to carry out. Do you think I did not wish to tear out Quintus Metella's heart for what he did? But I do not want to be that man any more who resolves problems with a sword. Once, I had no other course of action - now many are open to me..."

"Why did you not say that to me earlier, then? I believed I had offended you...?"

Maximus sighed. "Because in the heat of anger, we do not seek to conciliate, but to drive away. You were the voice of my inner daemon, goading me to indulge my desire for violent revenge. The more you spoke, the more you made it easier for me to take advantage of the position I am in and to abuse the authority I have been given. That is what is wrong with Rome. That is what Marcus Aurelius saw and wished to end. That is why he chose me - and yet there I was, about to be seduced into the same megalomania as the rulers who have made Rome to the corrupt and brutal state it has become..."

Aurelia looked confused. "But...it is not the same! Quintus is your enemy...!"

Maximus smiled softly and tilted up her chin to his face. "There is no crime in being my enemy. Not everyone must follow me...Know this, Aurelia...I will move against those who threaten the state - or my family. But when a man is in chains and already at the mercy of the Respublica, I would be a tyrant if I took personal revenge on him. I am no longer a private person. I am the state. As a general must not act for himself but for the good of the empire and the benefit of his men, so a Dictator has even more need of restraint on his own will. To be a true leader one must subjugate one's own will. One must be the servant of the people...."

Aurelia closed her eyes in weariness. "I have so much to learn..."

"You are not the one at fault. It is not wrong to have passion and pride. It is not wrong to seek to avenge wrongdoing. I have always taken notice of your opinion, for you have a remarkably astute reading of events. But in the end, every man - or woman - must take their own road. Is your road mine, Aurelia?"

She opened her eyes and slipped to the floor beside him. "I would never leave your side, if the gods spare us both...!"

Maximus held her close and rocked her like a child. Resting his chin upon her crown, he whispered: "You need to sleep. So do I. Come, let us go to bed and rest. When we wake everything will be different."

Rising he picked her up and carried her to the inner chamber where they were soon lying in each other's arms. "I never want to fight with you again!" she murmured sleepily.

Maximus chuckled softly. "You and I will always fight. And we will always reconcile. You are quite a handful, you know? Most men expect their wives to be a little less spirited...which brings me to another matter...Antoninus came to see me..."

"You ordered him to cut his hair!" Aurelia observed, ruffling her fingers through Maximus' short military style locks, changing the subject quite noticeably and thus confirming his suspicions.

He grunted, ignoring her irrelevant comment. "That young man is very confused and I doubt you have made his life any easier...I am sending him overseas to get it out of his system...leave him be...!"

Aurelia said nothing but her face showed her embarrassment; he knew there was more to this than either was saying, but chose to remain ignorant. Maximus surveyed her for a few moments but this time Aurelia did not argue. She merely nodded demurely -which amused him even more - and rolled into his body, snuggling down to sleep. In moments her soft rhythmic breathing told him she had already sunk into slumber with the facility of the young to dismiss cares and take one's rest regardless. Maximus lay back, his head on his crooked arm, the other around her, thinking over the events of the day. But as the first light streaked the sky, he too slipped into sleep, his body and mind at last giving into to its need for rest. A new day was dawning. A new epoch for the world.

Maximus walked the perimeter of the field briskly, receiving with an affectionate smile or nod, the instant reverence from each section of the line he passed. He did not say much, just the occasional word of encouragement, or profanity, or even greeting which was enough to make the soldiers feel that this man was more than their leader; he was their father too, and would share in their defeats as much as their triumphs.

It was a wet early summer day, leaves mashed into a slippery carpet in the mud churned up by the feet of thousands of men and the hammering rain that had fallen all night. The downpour had stopped by now as if it too was aware that today was meant for great things. A thin sunlight was trying to break through the grey clouds, a damp mist rising eerily over the open space between the two armies, dew glistening and bringing a certain bleak beauty all its own to the scene.

Straying away from the lines, Maximus stared away from the site of the forthcoming battle, away to the fields beyond. A few stray birds were hovering, obviously expecting to pick up some scraps of food discarded by the vast horde of men. He could observe hares pricking up their long ears in the meadows, listening and then darting off, curious at the activity in this usually quiet countryside. It made him smile. Life would always go on in nature long after every man here was forgotten.

He sighed. Far away to the south, Aurelia was waiting for him, safe on her father's estate, waiting out the last days of her confinement. It had been two hundred and eighty eight days since he had left her after the news of Septimius Severus' armies massing in Pannonia had reached him. Since then there had been a few inconclusive engagements but today he had the bulk of the Severan forces pinned down and only one of them would leave the field as conqueror. Rome would either have an emperor or a Dictator who would remain only until such time as it was expedient for him to step down and hand the government back to the people and Senate of Rome.

It was his deepest wish to be with her and to be present when his child entered the world - but it was not to be. Such mundane gifts of life were not allowed to the men who walked the stage of power in this empire. All he could hope for was that she was well and happy and that her labour would be safe. He prayed for them both constantly.

It seemed to him that Aurelia and he were both about to engage on their own particular trial - and neither could be sure how the day might end. Every man and woman has their own duty to perform. He closed his eyes, pictured her swollen-bodied, indescribably lovely, ripe with life and fertility. It would already be warm in Sicily, the sun shining down on her glorious golden hair. In his mind's eye, she was laughing. Juba was by her side, her faithful protector. If anything happened to him on this battlefield then riders were already instructed to make their way to Megara and raise the alarm. Juba knew what to do to safeguard her in the case of his death. This time, he would be ready. No Praetorians would invade the peace of his family ever again, even if he were dead.

Straightening up his shoulders, he turned back and surveyed the amassed troops, the heightened anticipation of approaching combat almost palpable. He could smell fear and apprehension - but his men were ready. They would not let him down.

It was always the most tense of engagements when two Roman armies faced each other. Both sides knew what to expect - this was no barbarian rabble that could easily be confounded. Yet, on the other hand, knowing what to expect could be an advantage. He had his battle plan. There was a great challenge in a contest of this nature. It was two generals pitted against each other, two equals. There could only be one victor. These were the odds Maximus favoured, for one-on-one, no man could ever defeat him. His will was too strong. He had too much to fight for. This was the arena that he knew and understood.

Squatting down he drew his fingers through the mud and scraped up some of the sodden earth, raising it to his nose, inhaling the scent of the land where so much blood would flow this day. Would his own lifeblood water this fertile soil? Or would he rise from it as the conquering hero, raising his standards above the vanquished, shouting out the cry: 'Respublica Victa'?

Only the gods knew the answer.

The battle commenced, the legions clashed, Maximus rode into the fray with his cavalry charge behind him. Everything else then fell away as the elemental conflict was engaged and the entire world seemed to disappear into a whirling maelstrom of screams, shouts, blood and death. It was impossible to think, let alone feel - in the heat of battle a man acted on pure instinct alone and became little more than the beast within, his lust for survival the greatest weapon he possessed. There were moments of startling clarity, great bravery, astonishing sacrifice, terrifying danger, total bloodlust, abject fear, heart-stirring comradeship and almost bestial cruelty until it was nigh impossible to tell the outcome of the fight.

Time seemed to slow down, contract, blur into a confusing panoply of images but slowly, and with increasing enlightenment, each man began to realize that all around him the enemy were dead, captive or in surrender. It was over...the battle was won....they were all safe.

Except for the thousands who lay by then lay bloodied and cleaved in the mud.

The day was hot. Aurelia walked through the meadows thick with spring flowers that rose up beyond the wheat fields on her father's estate, Yanitra following behind and Juba as always keeping watch over them all. She had been living in a state of high excitement for days; the villa could no longer contain her. Today she was wandering as she did every day, her eyes rarely off the road that led from the main gate. 'Today he will come... He will come... He will come...'

A dust cloud caught her attention. She covered her eyes and tried to focus on the figures that rose from amidst its core. There were riders on the road, clad in black. Even at this distance, it was evident that it was a Praetorian detachment.

Juba had already noticed it. Dashing forwards, he put himself before the women and told them to go back to the house. Aurelia pushed past him still absorbed by the riders. "Wait...! Wait...Look! I see the Felix standard...it is...it is Maximus...!" she cried out.

Stumbling forward in the direction of the men, Aurelia began to cover the distance between her and the intruders. Juba went to hold her back but then he too saw it. One rider at the head of the pack broke from the others and speeded up his mount, riding at a breakneck gallop in their direction. Juba stopped and smiled. Only one man he knew looked like that on a horse.

Maximus.

With his arm around Yanitra, his duty done at last, Juba watched as the rider grew ever closer to the young woman who had gathered up her skirts and was running in a most unladylike fashion in his direction. Her hair fell free of its ties and streamed like a golden wave down her back; she screamed and laughed her joy at her man's approach.

In a short time, he was upon her, reining in his horse and slithering down from its back to race on foot the short distance between them.

"Maximus! Oh, Maximus....oh Maximus!" she exclaimed over and over sobbing out her relief as he held her to him and lifted her high, the better to look at the woman he loved, his only purpose in life.

She shrieked with happiness as he let her slip through his hands back to the ground. "Aurelia...my beautiful girl...my beautiful girl...little mother...!" He smiled his welcome, his fingers stroking down her soft cheeks almost in disbelief that he was with her at last. "I am home...I am home...I am home...!" he muttered as he kissed her, disregarding the troop of soldiers who were now standing waiting and watching this unusual display of affection so uncommon in Roman society where public behaviour was strictly governed by conventions..

"Maximus....I love you, I love you, I love you...!" Aurelia muttered back into his ear. "I promise not to embarrass you..." she added, hiding her tear-stained face against his neck.

Maximus grinned. "What a shame! I was rather hoping you would. My men think I have no interest in women...you are ruining my reputation...But I for my part intend to be very shameful with you all the same..."

Aurelia giggled and relaxed into his arms where they kissed again, this time more passionately, her body pressed close against his. Then he let her go and asked her the question that had been burning him ever since he had left the fortress in Dalmatia, sailed the Adriatic and then made the long ride down to Sicily.

"Where is my daughter...?"Aurelia pulled away and called Yanitra over. In her arms she held her precious burden, the tiny baby who was the child of Rome's greatest hero and the most beautiful woman of the day. Maximus stopped to gaze upon this little female child, her small head covered with a fuzz of red gold, her eyes deep blue and her perfect features relaxed in sleep as she slumbered against her servant's breast, satiated with her mother's milk. "She is so lovely...was there ever a more beautiful baby girl?" Maximus asked, almost to himself.

Yanitra offered the child to him and he gingerly took her in his arms, unused to babies and conscious of the rough cloth of his uniform against such silken skin. "What is her name?"

Aurelia laid her head on his arm, unwilling to break contact with him. "She has no name. We just call her 'little one' or 'baby'...the honour of naming her is yours...you are her father..."

Maximus did not really believe such things ought to matter. Had he died, the little girl would have needed a name. But he appreciated the sentiment and the respect that Aurelia was according to him. "In two days' hence we shall have her naming ceremony. It should be celebrated. We shall host a great dinner...."

"Is it over, Maximus?" Aurelia broke in and he knew what she meant.

"No...it is not over nor ever shall it be while there are men in this world who seek power over others. Our lives will never be easy, Aurelia. I think we have both accepted that. But we shall make every day count from now on. For what can the world do to us that  it hasn't already done before? Together we can withstand whatever comes at us. And now we are three...do you understand how great a gift this is for me? How precious in my life are my two little girls...?"

"...But I wished to present you with a son..."

"...And I wished for a daughter. There is time enough for sons in the years to come," he retorted. "Imagine..." His rough calloused fingers stroked the baby's soft warm head. "Imagine...she is the gift for all those we have lost! Without their sacrifice, she would not have been born...is there not a certain peace in the acceptance of that...? Her life will honour them all..." Maximus observed as they began the slow walk back to the villa, his daughter on his left arm, his glorious Aurelia wrapped up in his right.

"Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear...." Aurelia whispered as her fingers covered his over their daughter.

"How profound - but how true..." Maximus replied, smiling down on her and wondering for the hundredth time how she had grown so wise.

Aurelia chuckled. "Not my words but my grandfather's! I have been reading his journals...it was like sitting at the feet of the master...he even mentioned you...!"

Maximus raised an eye and laughed. "All good I hope?" They were near the house; he handed back the child to Yanitra. "Here, take her while she sleeps..." Then he looked back at the honour guard of men who had followed the small party at a safe distance. "Stand easy, men! Juba here will organize whatever you need....I think I can manage the next part alone..." And with a swift movement he had swung Aurelia up into his arms and was running the steps to the main entrance. He was home. His little daughter was safe...

...but now it was time for love. His duty was done for now and he could relax and be the boy inside that he had so long wished to be.

With the girl who had stolen his heart. The Golden One.

Aurelia.