The grandparents returned home and the household settled down to another typically quiet evening. Maximus bathed and went to his tablinum to work on some correspondence. Marcus returned to his studies; he was presently under the tutelage of Annius Vettius, a learned scholar who lived in virtual retreat across the valley but who had made an exception for the son of Maximus. Vettius was a hard taskmaster and Marcus an unwilling pupil at times, not because of a lack of intelligence but because his focus was on other things than philosophy and the law. He wanted to be a soldier, much as his father had done at his age.

Bella had retired early, packed the few belongings that she wished to take, and waited for deep night so that she could make her escape. She had a few clothes and a little bit of jewellery, most notably a bracelet that her father had given her when he had found out that she had had her first blood; he had told her quietly that she was now a woman and should be treated as one - but that she must behave as one too, with dignity and purity. Sitting at the window she rolled the trinket in her hands as she wept, unable to imagine a world where her father wasn't there for her.  They had had so little time together and now they must part forever. Then there was Marcus, too, who had almost been a real brother to her, even more so than her sibling, Fabius, whose memory was sadly fading as the years went by.

But then she thought of her beautiful Drago and all that he meant to her. Girls grew up and left their childhood home anyway. That was the way life went. At least she would stand by the side of the man she wanted, be his helper and companion and bear his children, not forced into some sham of a society alliance like most women of her class.

Except it wasn't her class. Her father might be a mighty name but she was stained with the shame of slave blood and, whoever was prepared to marry her, it would never be for love. That was out of the question for a girl of her illegitimate birth. Life is hard, that is what everyone knows, she thought to herself. I must be brave and strong and at least control my own destiny. As she sighed and wiped her tears, she vowed to accept her lot, sending her prayers to the goddess to protect her family and forgive her for how she had treated Serena. For she knew in her heart that her stepmother had only ever tried to do the best for her, whatever Bella had pretended to her face.

As the lonely hours passed, her last ever in this house, she listened to the sounds of her family as they settled down for the night and tried to cast them forever in her memory.

Maximus threw down his stylus and rubbed his eyes. He was beginning to find it harder to work at night by the light of the brazier only. Shaking his head, he stretched and smiled. The first sign of old age was when the eyes start to fail. But, as he observed to himself, there were worst things than growing old. Like dying young. He knew all about that.

Slumped in his high-backed chair, he read again through the missive that he was sending. Another request for him to stand as a councillor in Emerita Augusta rejected politely but firmly. He did not wish for office. Frankly, he had no desire for public service of any kind. Enough of his life had been spent in duty; enough of his lifeblood had been shed for the good of the Empire. Let other men take the honours and have their statues erected in the forum. He had no need of such things anymore.

He drained the goblet of wine and, on a whim, refilled it, swigging another large measure down. It was not his usual style but he knew why he was doing it. His body was restless, hungering for female touch. Once he had been sure enough in his resolve to force desire from him, wearing his body out in combat until he sank in exhausted sleep and the craving of his virility deserted him. But, since his return to the land of the living and his discovery of the dream of his beautiful wife still waiting for him, his appetite and libido had been unleashed as once his killing lust had driven him. Now he found it intensely arduous to share a bed with the woman he desired and not take his pleasure. But, he would never impose himself on Serena if she was not ready for him. A man like he would not behave in so crass a fashion.

And so he drank to deaden the ache inside.

Rising up, he threw open the shutters and looked out onto the still night, breathing in the fragrant jasmine-scented air.

Perhaps he had died after all, for how could this not be Elysium?

Maximus climbed the stairs to the upper floor and made his way to his chamber. The other rooms were quiet; even the new baby was settled and asleep. All was right in his world. Striding into his own room, he was surprised to see it empty, presuming Serena was already abed, but shrugged it off. She must be with the child. It was no matter. Yanking his tunic over his head, he sat to unfasten his sandals, just clad in his loose woolen breeches. The weather was almost too warm for them now but he had come to hate the tunic without them; he still preferred to dress as a soldier rather than a slave.

The door to the room opened and in stepped Serena, carrying a candle. The flame cast a warm golden glow on her face and highlighted the fine material of the loosely arranged robe she was wearing. He hadn't seen it before. His eyes lingered on the vague outline of her body beneath, revealed in the pool of candle light, and her hair, unbound and falling like a wave of black silk, giving him a strong urge to ball a handful and smell it. The wine had failed to do its work, had maybe even exacerbated the urgent longing he had felt all day. In response, he muttered gruffly, "Where've you been? Is the child well?"

Serena placed down the candle on the chest near the bed and walked slowly towards him, gathering the loose white folds of the hem in her fingers and raising the fabric. She was staring straight at him, a dreamy smile on her lips. Just as she stood before him, she straddled his knees, the cloth still in her fingers, and then lewdly raised it until her mons was bared. His eyes shot down and flickered; a vein in his temple pulsed.

She settled down on his legs, her naked sex pressed against his upper thigh; he could feel the heat searing into him. "What are you doing?' he muttered vainly, as if he was not quite fully aware of the only signal that her behaviour could be giving.

"Maximus...it is time..." She ran her hands over his chest, rippling through the hair and fondling his nipples until he grunted with pleasure, his head falling back and his hands reaching for her.

"...The child is barely a month old..."

"It is time!" She dropped her right hand and slipped it beneath the loose ties of his breech flap, dragging her nails across the thick line of hair that bloomed out beneath and then onto his hard cock. As she squeezed and it swelled even more, she grinned and dropped her lips to kiss his.

Maximus dragged the gown from her shoulders roughly, baring her breasts to his gaze as he broke the kiss to sample the taste of her milk-engorged nipples. He rubbed his face against them and shivered with the utter pleasure of her taste and smell. "I am as helpless as Meenee before you..." he muttered. "I should not be doing this. It is too soon..."

Serena broke in. "Let me be the judge of that! I have bathed and my girls have tended me. My body has been rubbed with fragrant oils and my body hair depilated...but not in the places where you like it..." she whispered seductively. "I may not be as slender or as smooth as I once was, but I still know what to do to please my man..."

He took her fine neck in his large hand and jerked her towards him, almost purring as she worked his manhood in her fingers. "...I have no more need of a slender girl in my bed than you have of a lean and hairless youth..." He took his other hand and traced the soft curves of her flesh and the still round swell of her belly. "...this is what I need....desire....a woman, as soft as I am hard, small where I am big, smooth where I am rough....this and only this..."

Falling back to the bed, he drew her to him and they kissed, rolling over like young lovers in a meadow until he had her beneath him and he could control the passion. Serena fumbled to open his breeches and he shrugged them away, pushing up her gown and kissing her belly. "You are sure it's safe? That you are healed inside?" he murmured as his lips began to trace a path downwards following the scent of her own wild honey.

"It is safe. I am healed. And we cannot conceive. This is the time to enjoy pleasure without consequence. Even the potent Maximus cannot seed my womb now!"

He chuckled at her words and then lost himself in her, always struck dumb by the sense of awe in which he held women and their power over men. They brought forth life - and yet they also could bring a man such pleasure with the selfsame flesh. And, by the gods, he would give her pleasure tenfold for all she had done for him.

Serena lay helpless as he lowered his head between her legs and used his mouth, his tongue, his nose, his beard to explore ever crevice of her sex. She bit on the sheet beneath her to stifle her moans of unbridled pleasure, lest Marcus or Bella might here what a wanton she was when this man touched her. All she craved was for him to take her to the heights and then bury his extraordinary sword deep within her; she wondered did all women lust to be filled and ride on their man's tool of pleasure? Or was it merely that Maximus was gifted so much more handsomely than most men - or how else to explain how wives grow indifferent and lie there hoping their men would finish quickly and let them be?

Maximus' body fascinated her, his strength aroused her, the feel of his solid flesh in her arms, the thick hair on his mighty forearms and his finely shaped legs, rubbing against her soft skin all drove her half insane with desire.

He stayed locked in his intimate kiss until she had calmed and then rose up, easing off the garment  she wore to bare her fully; she lay splayed before him and drank in the sight of him engorged and rampant, about to lower himself into her. He muttered incoherently as he wrapped her legs about his waist and sank in slowly, little bit by little bit, scared now the moment had come that he might hurt her. But she was not daunted and pressed him on with murmured encouragements, profanities, secret love words kept only for him in their most intimate encounters.

And he was home, deep within her, rising and falling, incapable of thought or action other than the compelling need to shed himself there inside the body of the woman that held his heart and spirit. Time passed as they breathed each other's breath and tested each other's mettle until they were broken on the wheel of need. Shuddering he spent and she trembled, love made flesh in their union. Maximus sobbed as he came, his release powerful and long held back, Serena cried softly, the weeks of denial as hard for her as it had been for him.

In each other's arms they lay, frenzy replaced by the warm acknowledgement of love. He rolled onto his side and gently caressed her, played with her hair and muttered of his love. Serena touched his face and played with the leather cord around his neck, fingering the tooth he still wore and had done ever since she had known him. It was a wonder that this alone had never left his neck through it all; she wondered if it was some talisman with a power they had never understood.

"That robe? Where did you get it? It is beautiful. I have never seen you wear such things for years..."

Serena giggled and snuggled closer to him threading her leg through his and rolling him onto his back to lie on his chest. "Lucius sent me the cloth from Antioch. It is so fine. I have never had such a material...like gossamer..."

Maximus smiled. "Lucius? He is enjoying his studies. Wants me to send Marcus out there to study with him. What do you think?"

Serena sighed. "He will hate it. I will hate it. He has not been raised with the kind of tutors and aspirations that Lucius has. But, I think it will be good for him. Open up his eyes that there is more to the world than Trujillo - and the army."

Maximus nodded thoughtfully. "I fear for Lucius. He has a great name and ambitious men will always see him as a threat. Do we want to bring Marcus close to that danger? Is it not enough that one of my sons must walk that path in life?"

Again Serena sighed deep. "I am a woman. What do I know of these matters? But to me, the thought of my baby in a battle line is enough danger for me to contemplate. Life is dangerous. If the gods want us to suffer then they will make us suffer, even should we wrap our babies up and keep them by our side. Talk to him about it and let us not allow our parental love to blind us to what is best for our children as men - or women..."

He grunted. "His mother tells me I am a simple provincial in my attitude. That I am not well versed in the world of the court and the upper echelons of society. That I should leave these things to her and Gracchus as they understand the times. She is right but...I am still his father and life has taught me that there is little to be gained from all the titles and honours men can bestow on others. I would that Lucius retired to private life and left that world behind..."

"Does she contact you often?" Serena asked softly.

Maximus gave her an amused look. "Lucilla? Only when she has something she feels we should discuss. She takes my role as his father seriously, for which I thank her. Does it bother you?"

To that Serena turned her face away; he reached out and turned it back. "Does it bother you?" he repeated.

"Yes. And before you tell me that I am unreasonable and childish...I know I am. But what if a man I had loved wrote to me from time to time? How would you deal with that?" Serena admitted, blushing.

At that he laughed heartily. "A man with no head cannot write! You think I would have let such a rival live?"

Serena punched his arm and he wrestled her beneath him again. For a while they played but their roughhousing did not last long. Their eyes soon met and it was enough to kindle desire again. Sinking back against the bolster, Serena took him in her arms, amazed as ever at his awesome masculinity - but ever thankful for it....

...Serena awoke and felt the warm air wafting from the open window onto her nakedness. Gathering the drifting clouds of her sleep-drenched thoughts, she roused herself to realize where she was. Maximus was lying sprawled on his front across the bed, deeply asleep, snoring into the pillow and she was similarly lain, with his body for a bed. They were both naked and love wrecked. She moved her legs and felt the sharp raw ache inside her, the uncomfortable irritation of her swollen flesh. How many times had they loved each other in that outpouring of passion the night before? She smiled to herself, even as she blushed for shame in the light of day for some of the things she had done to him and he to her. And then laughed at the sight of him in recovery, lost to the world. Only a woman could ever defeat Maximus - and even then the battle had to be a close one.

Just then, she felt a sheet being thrown over her and spun her head round. It was Sulvia, her eyes averted, but the broad smile on her face indicating her amusement. "Is he dead?" she muttered, irreverently. "By the gods, he is a sight to behold even lying snoring in his sheets!"

Serena chided her for her boldness and ensured he was covered as she reached for the robe her woman was holding out. Slipping it round her, she whispered, "You should not be here! What is it?"

"The little one. She will not feed from me. And she has cried for hours for her mother. I cannot see her like this!"

"Is it so late?" Serena gasped looking at the day outside and seeing the sun full high in the sky.

"Midmorning. I thought you and the master would never wake up - but then you did stay awake all night, did you not?" Sulvia cackled.

Serena gave her a warning look back and demanded some water and a change of linens. "I have them in the anteroom. And the usual salves. Your flesh will need some soothing after the master has been through, as usual."

They knew each other too well for such comments not to be accepted. Serena dropped the robe and stepped into the large bowl where Sulvia and a younger girl helped to wash her. Then they dried her in towels. Sending the girl away, Sulvia made her mistress lie on a low couch while she helped her with sponges soaked in soothing lavender water and then applied a balm. Serena winced and then gratefully bound a cloth around her tender sex.

"Give me the salve. I think Maximus will have need of it," Serena grinned as she arranged her stola properly. "I think he will be feeling the aftereffects this morning, too."

"Would you like me to attend him?" Sulvia added with a lascivious smirk.

At that Serena cuffed her playfully. "I think I can accomplish that myself, you slattern! One of the more enjoyable ministrations for both of us!" And she ran out to attend to her daughter, her mood light and girlish, intoxicated with love for her man and the life that was restored to her.

It was a while later before Maximus stirred and dragged his head from the pillow to wake himself. He was alone and one look at the sunlight outside told him how late it was in the morning. He groaned and then laughed to himself. By the gods, he was too old for this, but it had been sweet. Rolling over he sat up and winced at the tenderness of his cock. He reached down and hefted it in his hand, observing the red raw flesh; the flaccid flesh looked shriveled and sorry looking and it made him smile even more. He wondered how Serena was faring if he was this damaged, with more than a hint of arrogant boyish pride in his masculinity.

Standing, he washed his genitals in the bowl on a stand nearby and hissed as the cold water stung. Wandering out to the balcony he called for a boy to go and charge up the boilers for the bathhouse; he fancied a long soak and a lazy day. Tomorrow he had promised to go hunt down that poacher; today he intended to stay close to home and indulge himself with his family.

Downstairs he took a bite to eat and then made his way to the bathhouse. The steam room invigorated him, the hot bath soothed as he lay there half asleep again, his body loose. He contemplated the cold plunge and then decided to linger a while longer in the warm embrace of the pool.

"Father!" Marcus' urgent voice shook him back to wakefulness. 

"What is it?" he answered, somewhat tetchily at being disturbed in his erotic mood.

"I was in your study looking for a book and found this on the desk. I know I shouldn't have read it but it was hard to miss..."

He was holding out a message scraped on a wax tablet. Maximus looked at his son bemused and then picked it up, holding it clear of the water.

To my beloved father from his daughter Bella,

I am sorry but I have run away to marry the man I love. I do not wish to hurt you but I cannot stay where I know I am not really wanted. Thank you for all you have done for me. Do not try to bring me back. I shall always love you and hold you all in my heart.

"...What is the meaning of this? Is it some kind of prank? If so, it is in very bad taste..."

"Not that I know of, father! I just found it. I looked about for her but she is nowhere to be seen. Surely she would not really do such a thing?"

Maximus rose from the water. "Pass me that cloth!" He wrapped the towel carelessly round his waist. "Who is this man? Bella has been seeing a man? What do you know of this? Is he some friend of yours? Tell me, Marcus!"

Marcus looked astonished.  "I know nothing, I swear it! She has never said anything to me about anyone!"

With a grunt, Maximus threw on his leggings and tunic. "Have this place searched from top to bottom. If she is here I want her brought to me...Where is your mother...?"

Moments later he burst into the house and up to the room where Serena was still nursing her daughter. "What do you know of this?" he shouted as he strode in. The women scattered and made their exits at his approach. Maximus stood about, hands on his hips, until the room was empty and then passed her the tablet. Serena remained staring up at him, completely stunned at his anger.

"What... is it? Why are you behaving like this?" She eased the dozing baby from her nipple and lay her down in her cradle, before turning back to accept the document.

"Read it!" was his stern command.

Frowning at his manner, she looked at the note and as her eyes scanned, cold fear gripped her heart. Serena's face paled and she sat back down in the chair in shock. "Oh Bella...what have you done!" Her hand went to her face.

At her reaction, Maximus seemed to calm down. "Serena...what is this about?" He sank down to sit at her feet. "Who is this man? How can she have taken this crazy notion into her head and gone without us ever seeing any sign? It is as if this has come right out of the blue!" he gasped, rubbing his hand over his beard, his own bewilderment evident.

Serena placed a hand on his arm. "She is young and foolish as we all once were. This boy has caught her eye and she has taken it into her head to play out some romantic game..."

"...You knew about this?" His head rose and his eyes fixed her sharply. "You knew about this man?"

Serena blushed, suddenly aware of her predicament. "I....I did not know exactly. But....I heard stories that she had been seen with someone in the fields..."

"Stories? From whom? Who told you this?" He rose to his feet and stood facing her, the repressed anger now back. Even she quaked in the face of his stern authority.

"Er....some of my father's slaves...they mentioned it...."

"Your father? Corellius knows about this? You mother too? Who else knows before the girl's own father?" His voice was soft but he spat the words out, his chin raised defiantly.

"They told me yesterday. I knew nothing until yesterday! I took Bella aside and we discussed it. I told her it had to end. I warned her you would be furious. I told her that if she continued in this ridiculous liaison then I would encourage you to find her a husband..."

"...Is that so? So now you speak for me as well? Why was I not told? She is my daughter, not yours. If you had information that she had behaved in a manner unseemly then I should have been informed. I should have been the one to counsel her!"

Serena felt the sting of his words. Bella was his daughter not hers. All these years she had tried to be a mother to this orphaned child - for all their sakes - but not only did Bella reject all her efforts, but now it appeared Maximus himself was refusing to accept her as having any rights over the girl.

"I have raised her for years! I am as much a parent to her as you! I thought she would see reason. I never imagined she would take it into her head to go this far. You know what a willful girl, she is! You have no idea how she makes me suffer..."

"...No, I am sure I do not know, as it appears there are many things in this household I am not told. What is your problem with my daughter? Is this another example of your irrational jealousy? Like your animosity towards Lucilla?"

"WHAT? I have no animosity to Lucilla! You know that is not what I meant last night! Bella has some silly belief that you and her mother were lovers long after you were married to me. She blames me for her death. It is just the insecurities of a young girl who has realized the status of her illegitimacy and seeks to blame me for that...."

But he was in no mood to listen. "Enough of your rantings! All I know is my daughter has felt so alienated that she has run away with some fellow. You are responsible for that. If she had problems then you should have brought them to me. And last night, instead of coming to me with the news that my daughter was being seduced from under my nose when I just might have been able to stop this disaster, you come to me like a whore and allow me to indulge in love games while my Bella is so distraught she runs away..?"

"How dare you speak to me like that! I had no idea what was in her mind! She is spoiled and selfish - and that is mostly your fault for indulging her and making her feel like she could do anything she chose!" Serena was shaking with rage at his unfair reaction. Everything seemed distorted in his mind.

"I see. So it is my fault for loving my child and believing that I could make her life free of the stain of slavery? While you constantly remind her that she is lesser in status? Are you behind this notion to marry her off to Abrosius? Your father raised the issue with me yesterday. You know at first hand what a lecherous dog he is, but you would back him as a suitor for Bella? Perhaps the girl is right and you simply want her off your hands!"

At that Serena gasped. "How dare you! How dare you stand there and accuse me in this way! She has done wrong. Isn't it time you turned your thoughts to the matter of who this fellow is and how you are going to stop her?"

His eyes blinked rapidly, aware that she was right. This useless appropriation of blame was not helping. "Did your informants give you anything to go on? Where did she meet him? What is his name? I swear I will rip his heart out if he has despoiled her..!"

Serena swallowed hard, aware that anything she revealed would only make her appear more at fault of dissemination in his eyes. But she could not risk Bella's safety even if it meant that Maximus was even more sure of her culpability in the matter. "I only know his name is Drago. He is a free man but of common birth. No one knows him or where he came from..."

 Maximus muttered a profanity and turned away to pace the room. Lavinia lay in her cradle, Aulus played with a toy at his feet. Serena sat motionless as he gave the matter some thought. "This...Drago...I would hazard a guess he is the poacher who has lingered overlong in these parts. Now we know why. She has run to him with the news that I plan to hunt him down. And so I do. It will be with great relish that I skewer him on the edge of my blade..." He grunted out the words with an intensity that chilled Serena. She saw for a moment another man beneath the noble and upstanding man she loved. A man she had known was there; his tales of battle and his days as a gladiator had alerted her to the possibility that Maximus when aroused could be a wild beast.

"I do not know. It is possible. But do not act rashly...find her and talk to her first! If you harm this man she may never forgive you...."

"Never forgive me?  The man who has bedded my daughter and I must show him mercy?"

"She swore she was still a virgin!" Serena exclaimed, well aware that Bella had made no such assurances when asked.

He merely gave her a face of disdain at that remark. "She had better be. For her sake. For his sake. And for yours!" He advanced on Serena and pulled her to her feet, hissing into her face, "...If this ends badly, then I shall hold you responsible. You have allowed this to happen for reasons I cannot fathom. Are you not the woman I thought you were after all?"

He let her go and stormed from the room. Aulus whimpered, frightened by his father's tone and climbed up onto her knee to hug his mother close. Serena grasped him, her hands trembling in fear and trepidation. In all their years together, she had never seen him react like this, nor had he ever shown the fury of the beast within to his wife.

She did not know what to do to make him understand that any culpability she had in this had been only to spare him from unnecessary worry. But her actions now appeared to be much more guilt ridden than that. A cold hand of fear gripped her vitals at the position she was in. Bella was his flesh and blood. She was not. Was it possible that the only woman that she had ever had to fear was the one she had nurtured all along?

It had been dark when she finally tiptoed down the stairs and out of the house to run across the fields to the postern gate. But the night was not really black. It was high summer and the sky still held some of the light of day; the clear star-studded sky shone and made her path illuminated.  But even so, Bella was afraid as she hurried along tracks that she knew well by day. Moonlight casts strange shadows and the noises of the night are different from those familiar sounds of day. She had a strange sense that she was being watched; branches seemed to snap but there was no one there, leaves seemed to rustle where there was no wind, eyes seemed to pierce the gloom and bore right through her.

Sense told her it was probably small nocturnal creatures but that thought made her imagine wolves and she began to wonder if she was being stalked by a pack who were fanned out all around in her in the forest, closing in bit by bit as she advanced. Bella took out the small knife she had brought with her and stayed alert. She would not let anything take her down without a fight.

But nothing disturbed her other than her own fertile imagination and soon she was in the vicinity of Drago's camp. Forgetting herself as she ran the last distance in relief, she must have advertised her presence well before she was close to the clearing where she knew he would be sleeping. for she suddenly felt herself seized and strong hands hold her fast. "What do you want?"

"Drago?"

"Bella?"

They both stared at each other in surprise. Drago pulled the cloak from around her face and gasped when he saw it was indeed his love.

"...What in Jupiter's name are you doing here?" he exclaimed, leading Bella to the fire and sitting her down there. He handed her a mug of wine warmed by sticking a brand into it until it fizzed. She sipped at it gratefully.

"My father is bringing a party of men the day after tomorrow to hunt you down and string you up. You have to leave this place now! Oh, Drago, you have delayed too long because of me - and now you are in danger!"

Drago smiled and ran his thumb down her soft cheek, idly caressing the perfect curve of her jaw. "You have risked too much to warn me. Come, drink up and I will take you back. Then I promise to clear out for a few months. It is for the best. With any luck you will meet some handsome nobleman and he will have married you by then...."

"No!" Bella shouted, her hand going to his to grasp it. "That is what they intend. To marry me to some old man and get rid of me! I will not lose you! Tonight you must leave this area and I will leave with you. I shall not marry some old pervert just to make them feel better. I will choose you! Take me with you, Drago! Let me be your woman. Lie with me and take my maidenhood and then I will be of no value to anyone. Except to you..." She raised her lips to his mouth and kissed him softly but he pulled away, walking across the clearing to stand with his hand against a tree, his head hung low.

For some moments he remained like that thinking and then he spoke. "NO! You are wrong, Bella. I will not take you with me. I have nothing to offer you but a life of hardship on the road, sleeping rough, living like beggars. We cannot have children. I cannot see you delivering a baby by the roadside like a common drab. Bella!" At this he held her close and shook her gently. "You have lived a life of ease and have no idea of what this would mean. It is not romantic. It is not heroic. It is cold and lonely and hard. I will never put you through it. Never! And as for ruining you...your purity is the greatest gift you have. What kind of man would I be if I took from you your innocence merely because you trusted me? I will not do it. You cannot come with me. As unfair as this world seems, it is the only world there is. You must do as your father wants and I must leave you. I have done enough wrong already just by making you feel this way. No, Bella, no! Even though it is my heart's desire! No!"

She could not shake him. No tears, entreaties or arguments would make him change his mind. Instead he led her back to her estate and left her by the gate, kissing her softly. "Remember me, Bella. Always remember the boy who loved you. He loves you enough to let you go. Be brave. Be good. And know you will always be in my mind and my heart is lighter for having known you..."

She saw the tears in his eyes and knew then that he was singular; a truly honourable man. It was impossible to imagine that she would lose him. But he was resolute and she could not change his mind. With one desperate plea, she threw herself back into his arms. "Drago! I cannot live without you!"

He kissed her deep but forced himself to let her go. "You can live without me. You must live without me. Farewell, Bella Meridia. Most beautiful girl in the world. Farewell!"

At that he turned and ran off down the road, leaving her alone and sobbing. Never to see him again? Bella began to walk sadly down towards her home and then she stopped. No. She would not return. She would follow him until they were days away from here and then she would reveal herself. By then it would be too late for him to take her back and he would have no choice but to let her stay. It was what he really wanted. He had told her she was his heart's true desire. With that drastic decision taken, she found courage from within herself and traced back the route hoping to find some ground to observe him from and begin her desperate quest.

"We have her now," Thraxus Pontus watched from the tree cover as the girl ran back along the path in the direction the young man had taken. For weeks they had observed this family and their comings and goings until they knew the intricate details of their life at firsthand. He knew this girl and the young poacher were lovers although it still seemed a chaste childish relationship. Before, when he had been so close to snatching her he hadn't been ready, either his men had not been assembled or his plans not secured. But now everything was in place - and the little beauty had handed herself to him on a platter.

"Get her. Now." He rasped to the man called Mus, whose real name he had either never known or long forgotten. Mus motioned to a few other companions and they pulled back into the night to track down the girl who was heedless of their presence. All of them smelt fresh meat on the breeze. Pontus would have the girl himself first but they knew he would let them have what was left of her. And a beauty like this one was worth the taking.

Maximus had taken only a short time to saddle up and assemble the basics he needed for what he knew would not be a difficult trip. He would find the tracks and be onto the boy in hours. It was unlikely the trespasser had a horse and even if he was a true hunter, he would still not evade the scouting skills of an explorator. That had been one of Maximus' first posts, many years ago, but he had used the knowledge countless times since - against both men and animals.

With a cursory explanation to Marcus, the two mounted up and rode out without so much as a backwards glance at his wife. Marcus was bemused at the smouldering anger his father was exhibiting but was too intimidated to ask him why he was so cold towards mother; usually when he left the estate for any length of time, the pair behaved openly as lovers, much to the amusement of all present. Marcus looked back and Serena standing watching them depart, looking pale and drawn. He wondered if that was as much because of her husband's demeanour as the outrageous behaviour of his adopted sister.

They rode for some time without speaking, his father lost in thought and giving off a clear signal to his son not to disturb him, but finally Marcus plucked up the courage to ask him about what was on his mind.

"What will we do when we find them?"

Maximus stared straight ahead and then turned his head slowly; his expression seemed alien to his son, as if he were a different man.

"We shall bring your sister home."

"And the man?"

There was a pause. When his father spoke his voice was husky, and so deep that Marcus could hardly hear him. "I shall kill him."

Drago had broken camp that night, aware that Bella's warning must be heeded. He knew enough of the reputation of her father to understand that he must not take this man lightly. He was a famous warrior, a general, and still looked young and fit. Drago knew he would be useful with a sword and had no wish to tangle with such a man.

After a night on the road, he had slept a few hours in the heat of the day, eaten sparsely and then pushed on heading for the mountains, aware that he would have more of an equal advantage on higher ground and that the rocky terrain would provide less evidence for trackers.

An armed party of men could only go as fast as the slowest and they had to take routes accessible to horses. He knew these hills like he knew his own dick and was confident in his abilities to evade capture - and he had more than a day's head start. Time and time again local men in many areas about had tried to take him but he was far more skilled than they were and had even enjoyed being the prey, if only to have the satisfaction of disappearing into the night and confounding them once again. Drago was amused by the thought that Meridius might never let him have his daughter but he himself could at least deny the arrogant general the pleasure of stringing him up for poaching. And Drago knew he had stolen a lot more from the man than a few rabbits and deer.

His own arrogance, however, was misplaced as is often the case with young men. It was late that afternoon while he was stopping for a bite to eat when from out of nowhere, Drago was seized and held in a grip so firm that it seemed to him like iron. A knife was at his throat and a harsh voice rasped close to his ear, "Where.... is.... my.... daughter?"

For seconds, Drago struggled to comprehend the man. Daughter?

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Drago gasped. "Who are you?"

The grip tightened until Drago had difficulty breathing. The blade of the knife pressed into his flesh; he felt the first nick and the warm flow of blood trickle down. "My daughter... Bella. Think hard, for slitting your throat would be as insignificant to me as stepping on an ant...What have you done with her?" The voice threatened menacingly.

"Bella?" Drago stuttered. "She is not here!"

There was a pause and Drago felt the grip loosen. He was tossed to the ground and the man placed his foot on his neck, forcing his face into the dirt. He still had not seen the man but he was in no doubt as to who he was. This was the famous general himself. Maximus Meridius. And he was not hunting poachers today. He was after the neck of the man who had deflowered his daughter.

"I will break your neck in two, you sniveling little bastard...if she is not here, where have you left her? This is not a game! You tell me now or I will kill you anyway. You get only one chance..."

"She is not with me! I swear it! She came in the night and told me you were after me. She wanted to come with me but I took her back to your estate and left her at the gate. That is the truth!"

The moment he had spoken he felt himself hauled up again thrown hard against the rocks. "You are lying! She has gone and left me a note. She has run away with you. Now, tell me...WHERE IS SHE!"

Drago looked at Maximus and saw a different man than the handsome farmer who had seemed so content with his lands and his family. Before him was a man with formidable strength, an iron will and a countenance so determined that any man would have trembled before it. He stared at him and knew he was looking his death in the face. But despite the fear this man awoke in him, another even greater fear assailed him. If Bella had never returned home - where was she? If this was his last moment, he cared little compared with the thought that harm had come to her.

"I do not know! But if you do not know either, then something has happened to her...." His comment was greeted by the back of Maximus's hand forcefully driven across his face, knocking him spinning back against the rocks. His head hit the stone and he felt more blood coursing down his face; he was dizzy and lost his footing, tumbling to the stony ground. But Maximus gave him no quarter, dragging him to his feet once more and hitting him again with the full strength of his fist, drawing his knee between his legs and then taking his elbow to contact with his jaw. Drago fell to his knees, clutching his genitals and moaning, already incapable of defending himself.

"Where is she?"

"Not...with...me...! Kill me...but she will still be gone...!"

"You threaten me?" Maximus roared and kicked him to the ground before taking his knife and lunging at him. "I will cut out your heart and feed it to the carrion..."

"For what? For loving her?" Drago replied in defiance. He saw he was going to die and would meet his end bravely. Bella was a cause worth dying for. But this man had to know that whatever he had done, his daughter must be in a greater danger than he had ever afforded her. "If Bella has gone, then other men have her. Kill me if you like but what will that gain you? You are following the wrong man!"

As wild with anger as Maximus was, sense told him that this man was speaking the truth. A dying man, and this one was little more than a boy, had little to gain from lying. And what he had to say had the ring of truth about it, however absurd. Bella was not with him nor had he observed any sign of her throughout the tracking. Perhaps he was speaking the truth? Had something else occurred?

Maximus dropped his hold and circled the man warily, still brandishing the knife. "So talk. Save your worthless hide if you can. Tell me what you know. All of it!"

Drago wiped his face with the back of his hand and sat down on a low rock to recover his breath. For the first time, he noticed that there was another person there. Bella's younger brother. He was standing watching, a look of abject horror on his face. It would appear that Drago was not the only one amazed by this unleashing of violence. When he had composed himself, still wincing with the pain from his bruised testicles and ribs, not to mention the punishment his face had taken, Drago began to talk in a halting fashion.

"I have been meeting with Bella for weeks. I know it was wrong. But we fell in love..." At this Maximus grunted and edged closer; Drago thought of a mountain cat stalking and ready to pounce. "...She came to me last night and told me that some men led by you were going to hunt me down for poaching on your lands. She also told me she wanted to go with me. She said you were going to force her to marry an old man. But I would not let her go with me! This is no life for a lady. I never intended for her to do such a thing..."

Maximus grabbed him by the throat. "No! You just intended to seduce her and then leave her with your brat in her belly and move on...."

"NO! I swear I did no more than kiss her, although she offered herself to me...!"

He got the full force of Maximus' fist for that comment. Dragging himself back to his feet, Drago continued, "I would not let her run with me. I insisted she went home and took her back to the gate..."

"...Which gate?"

"The postern. I watched her enter. Perhaps I should have walked her to the house but it seemed too dangerous, so I simply left and packed up and got out of there. What was there left for me? I had lost all I ever cared about..."

"Shut the fuck up!" Maximus retorted. But he was listening and thinking. "You've been living rough in the hills for weeks. What have you seen?"

"Seen? I don't understand?" Drago replied. Maximus dragged him to his feet and shook him.

"Think! You claim to be a hunter - if there had been anyone else there you would have seen the signs..."

Drago realized that Maximus was offering him a chance to redeem himself. Maybe the general did believe him after all. "I...there are always people passing through ...I keep well away. I don't want trouble. I'm no fighter..."

"That's abundantly clear," Maximus sneered. "Think."

Drago ran his mind back over the past few weeks. There had been more signs of human activity than usual but it had mostly been on the lower slopes, near to the paved road. "There have been some men camped near your lands. They were a rough looking set, big men, scarred and they looked like trouble. They weren't hunting, although they took the occasional animal..."

"...What did you think they were doing?"

Drago shrugged. "I didn't think. I just let them to their business. It was nothing to do with me..."

Maximus pushed him roughly in annoyance. "THEN THINK NOW! This may be our only link to Bella!"

The young man swallowed hard but gave the matter some thought. "It occurred to me they were watching. They spent a lot of time watching. Your land. I thought they might be robbers. Bandits. But your estate is well fortified. I didn't think they would make an assault. There are easier pickings elsewhere in this region."

The assessment made sense. Maximus nodded his agreement, somewhat impressed by his clarity of thought. He was astute and intelligent and might be of some use to him. "You want to save Bella's life? And perhaps save your own?"

Drago faced him up, standing upright and drawing himself to his full height. Maximus had to raise his head to meet his eyes. It was a small victory but one Drago still relished. "I would do anything for her. Including give my own life..."

"This is no Greek tragedy, boy. But I intend to test your claim. And be assured, if you let me down then I shall take great pleasure in your death. It shall be slow and painful...so think on that..."

They gathered up Drago's meagre possessions and Maximus bundled them onto the spare horse they had brought for Bella. "Can you ride?"

Drago hunched his shoulders. "Not very well."

Tying his wrists firmly, Maximus indicated he should mount and when Drago was in place, grimacing at the pressure on his bruised groin, he tethered his hands to the pommel. "Then this is your time to learn. Grip with your thighs. I will have no patience if you fall..."

All through this episode, Marcus had said nothing, merely watching the exchange between his father and the younger man. Part of him was proud at being able to watch how fearsome his father was when necessity called upon him. But in another way he was horrified. His father had always been so gentle and loving, firm but fair, and to see him brutalizing this helpless young man shocked him. Yet in his heart he knew that any man would feel like this about his daughter. This Drago had done something very wrong. With a sense of awkward guilt, Marcus recalled his own behaviour in the town recently with a baker's daughter. They had lain together in a hay barn on the edge of town and she had let him do it to her; the girl was older than he but still, he thought to himself, what is the difference between my lust and that of another? She had a father and brothers. They would have been angry had they known what he had done.  It all seemed very complicated to him but he knew this was not the time to ask his father for advice. Marcus was not sure he would ever be able to broach that subject, particularly in the light of this incident.

The three men set off, Maximus little concerned that Drago was a novice horseman - if he had to he would rope him in place. They set off at a fast pace, eager to return home and look for other signs of hostile parties in the vicinity, this time at the rear of his land and possibly going in a different direction altogether. It was Maximus' intention to reach home before nightfall, have one good night's rest and then set out again on the morrow in pursuit. But the knowledge that his daughter would now have been lost for two nights and was possibly in the company of bandits chilled his heart. If all they wanted with her was sport, she would be dead already, raped and left for the wolves. His mind could scarcely grasp that horror.

Late afternoon they stopped to rest and water the horses and to take a little sustenance. Marcus helped Drago down and told him to sit beneath a tree. "I need to piss," the prisoner announced sullenly indicating his bound hands. "Or do you wish to hold it for me?" he added crudely.

Maximus overheard the comment. "Then piss yourself where you stand. Let's see how the ladies will go for that..."

Marcus frowned and went over to his father, whispering. "We have to free his hands! It is inhumane not to give him that courtesy. You wouldn't even treat a slave like that...."

"...You know nothing of how men treat slaves..." Maximus answered harshly but nodded, pursing his lips in temper. "However, if you insist..." He walked over and released Drago's hands. "Here. Where I can see you."

Drago turned his back and urinated, sighing in relief. Looking back to see Maximus standing alert nearby, he mocked "You like boys as well as women, general? I hear it's all the rage in the army. You get your pick of the pretty boys and girls...?"

Marcus held his breath, sure his father would explode at such a remark. He too had heard the rumours about the more scandalous behaviour that was supposed to take place behind the camp walls in the legions but it was hard to imagine his father ever having allowed such things - let alone been part of them. But Maximus merely laughed coldly. "Well, they would have eaten you for breakfast, pretty boy. And I might not have intervened for once..."

Marcus watched as Drago smirked and threw himself down again. He brought over the waterskin and a hunk of bread and cheese. Drago eyed him suspiciously but accepted with a nod of thanks. "You the brother?"

"Yes. Marcus."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Do you want to kill me as well?"

Marcus shrugged. "I...don't know how I feel about you. You touched my sister. You had no right. A man can die for that."

"You never wanted a girl? You never touched someone else's sister? You think you should die for that? You think Bella would be grateful?"

Marcus blushed. "I just want my sister back. The rest is up to my father..."

"Can't you think for yourself? Are you just a Daddy's boy?"

At that Marcus spun round, his eyes glinting in a way that marked him out as exactly that, the son of his father. "You should have such a father! I am honoured to obey him. Do not think you can worm your way between us. Eat your bread and think yourself lucky that you are allowed to live this day!"

It was nightfall when they rode back into the estate but the whole household rushed out to greet them, all hoping that Bella was with them. Serena ran forward but her hand flew to her mouth when she realized that the extra horse bore not her daughter but a young man. "You didn't find her?" she gasped.

Maximus slipped from his horse. "We were looking the wrong way. That bastard did not have her..."

"...This arrived after you left." Serena handed him a cloth. Inside it was the jeweled bracelet that he had given Bella and scrawled on the cloth was one sign:

"What does it mean?" Serena asked as Maximus groaned in recognition. 

"It means the illiterate who scratched it here is trying to tell me something."

"Tell you something?"

"That he is a gladiator and he is challenging me." Maximus was stony faced, staring into the sky above her head, seeing a demon rearing up before them that he had believed had long been laid to rest.

"A gladiator? How could this mark tell you that much?"

"It is the symbol of death chalked up next to a gladiator's name. He is telling me that will be my fate. My life for hers. Which means she is still alive. This is good news, Serena."

Maximus walked past them all into the house and stood before his altar. He kept his prayers to himself.