Antony

Ferocious burning pain soared through my veins as my body trembled subconsciously, unable to free itself from the tar that smothered my bare skin. My eyes fluttered opened as I lifted my head to see the emperor pacing in front of my grounded stake.

            “Tisk, tisk,” he said, “what a shame that you brought this fate to him.” I looked past Nero and saw my dark, curly headed gladiator being consumed by flames.

            “If only your success and wealth hadn’t let you turn blind with ambition and dreams,” he continued, “maybe this wouldn’t have happened to him.” My mind was confused. Why did the emperor want kill this gladiator?

            “And to think,” he scoffed as he walked closer to my pyre, “that anyone had the chance to steal my power away from me! You have only confirmed my suspicions of your naivety and carelessness.” He stepped back and waved the sword as if he were preparing to fight.

            “The true power of my father is what separates me from my brother. I am the true side him! The only side that matters! The only side the Roman people care about and ever will care about.” I looked down at him to see the red vengeance that filled his ruthless gaze.

            “They will call me the greatest emperor that ever lived! The only one that set Rome into its rightful place! But why should you care? You will end up like him in a few short moments.” He snapped his fingers, and Benedict walked up next to him with a flaming torch in his hands. A sinister smile spread across his face as he handed the torch to Nero.

            “Don’t worry, Master. Your fate will meet you soon enough,” he said, and Nero threw the torch at the foot of my pyre. I watched flames burst at my feet and begin to consume me.

I gasped as I sat up in my bed. I felt sweat drip off my face. I rose up and dabbed my face with a cool towel. I changed my tunic and started to walk down to the barracks. It was still dark outside, so I knew Benedict would still be asleep.

            What would Nero want with this slave? He was just a slave; nothing special. I found him nearly dead three months ago. Why would he be so different now? He had proved himself to becoming one of my most prized fighters, but he was still just a gladiator. He could die tomorrow at the games or this morning in his cell. I knew where he would be. He would be in the same cell as Marius. The two of them had recently started fighting together and became widely known as the “Gemini”.

            Once I made it down to the barracks, I unlocked his cell and pulled him out of his cot. He fell to the floor in shock.

            “Stand up,” I commanded him. He stood up and said nothing.

            “Who are you?” I said.

            “I am part of the Gemini,” he answered. I looked over at Marius who was aroused by the early morning excitement. I stared at Marius for a second. Marius quickly stood up as well.

            “Do you know why I am here?” I asked Marius.

            “Because of the vision you had last night,” he answered unwavering.

            “How do you know of this?”

            “I had the same vision.”

            I turned to the curly headed one, “And you? I suppose you had the same vision as well.”

            He held his head high, “I did. The last thing I remember was Nero saying, ‘The true power of my father separates me from my brother.’” I tried to read his face, but there was nothing to show. He stood there expressionless.

            “Are you suggesting that I am Nero’s brother?” I asked, appalled by his inquisition.

            “I am suggesting that I am his brother.” I looked at him in disbelief, until I saw his eyes. Nero and him had the same look in their eyes of pride and vengeance, only Nero’s were red and his were soft green. The different between their struggles for power were immense.

            “What is your name?” I asked him.

            He held up his arm to show the light burn mark on his wrist with the name MILO.

“This was the name that was given to me, but I never knew my mother or my father. There is no way for me to be sure.” I threw his arm back down.

“I have never seen anything like this! How am I supposed to believe that you didn’t just burn that on yourself?”

“You can believe anything you want, sir.”

“I did not come in here to hear what you thought of me!”

“Then why did you come in here?” I stopped for a second to collect my temper.

“I believe that dreams come to us for a reason, don’t you?” Milo didn’t answer. I turned to Marius, and he didn’t respond either. Nevertheless, I continued, “ From the vision we all had, I can see that there is something miraculous that is going to unfold, so much that the Emperor of Rome will feel threatened.”

“He should feel that way!” Marius said as his voice rose, “Someone finally has the opportunity to take his power away from him!”

“How can he?” I challenged Marius.

“His brother is standing before you! Don’t you think he is enough to make Nero feel threatened?”

“Nero doesn’t even know that I exist!” Milo interjected.

“How do you know?” I asked him, “Why is Nero’s brother a slave?” That quieted them down.

“Oh, no one knows the answer?” Still not a word. “Well,” I turned to Milo, “keep yourself alive tomorrow, and I will get you to Rome.”

I walked through the quiet hallways beneath my amphitheater. Benedict walked close behind me. All the swords were in place. All of the helmets were in place. All of the shields. Special weapons.

            “Everything is in place,” I commented.

            “Yes, sir,” Benedict said behind me.

            I put my hands behind my back and clasped my fingers together, “Will the Gemini be ready for today?”

            “Yes, sir,” Benedict answered.

            I laughed slightly, “Will their competitors be ready?”

            “As ready as they can be.” I smiled; their opponents were never ready. How can they be? I felt as though they had been blessed by the gods.

I stopped walking. Blessed by the gods. Blessed by a god…

“Are you alright, sir?” Benedict asked me.

I blinked back, “Yes,” I cleared my throat and made my voice seem more sure, “Yes. Let’s continue.”

That thought was absurd. If that was true why was Milo here? Why wouldn’t his godly parent, or parents, save him from his slavery? I made my final preparations for the day and went up to where I sat to watch the games.

 The thought that Milo was godly danced around in my head. It could be true.

I thought again about when I had first saw him. Three days with no food or water and a freak accident. This man was most likely from the gods; he would save us.

But only time would tell.

The sun was unrelenting, but the shade I sat under was refreshing as a soft wind blew onto my face. The wine I was drinking was sweet and the berries I was eating were fresh.

            Benedict was standing in front of the gate on the sandy floor below. I looked out at the seats as people hustled in to sit down.

            This was the way I made my living: drugging the people of my province with gladiator spectacles as they bet their livelihood on their favored champions.

            I waited for the sun to be at its highest point. I stood up as the sun grew close and walked to the edge of my balcony as I looked down at the five readying fighters.

            The crowd began to cheer viciously once they saw me. The five gladiators that stood below looked up at me; they knew they would be dead soon.

            I held up my hands as a welcome to the crowd. The crowd cheered louder once the horn was blown. Benedict pulled the chains to open the gate for two of the greatest gladiators I had ever seen.

            “Gemini! Gemini! Gemini!” The crowd chanted. They had truly made a name for themselves in such a short time.

            They stepped out of the gate side-by-side as they surveyed their competition that stood before them. The crowd grew quiet in anticipation.

            “Uh!” grunted one of the gladiators as he threw a spear at Milo. The spear flew, and there was a noise to be heard. As the spear grew nearer to where Milo was standing, he quickly side stepped, and the spear struck the ground right next to him. The crowd roared again as he picked it up and threw it at one of the men that was running towards him. The man fell back onto the sand. Milo jumped on him and stabbed him to make sure he would not resurrect himself.

            “Here!” Marius yelled at Milo. He quickly turned and saw his counterpart fighting one of the heavily armed gladiators. Milo quickly killed another advancing towards him on his right and then rejoined Marius. Milo slashed at heavily armed fighter and made the brute drop his weapon. The blonde ran his sword into his throat leaving him lifeless. Two left.

            I sat at the edge of my seat. That was the quickest I had ever seen veterans like the ones I put before them go down as quickly as they did. I was fascinated by the way they fought together. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Fluid. Flawless. They were always one step ahead of their competitors. And what astounded me more was the fact that they knew each other’s fighting style so well.

            I watched them effortlessly kill the last two gladiators. The crowd began to chant again.

            “Gemini! Gemini! Gemini!”

            But they hardly regarded the crowd as they went back through the gate. I clapped for them as I stood up from my seat to get more to drink. I turned to leave as a woman came running into my balcony. She was gasping for breath.

            “Why are you here? This is off limits!” I said to her. She looked like a slave.

            “I’m sorry, sir,” she said collecting her words.

            “What do you need?” I asked her.

            “I am a slave in the Emperor’s household and he sent me here looking for that man that just fought.”