Countryhumans One shots! (cause shipping is cute)

The man with the gladius (Reichpol Roman Empire AU)

(Warning: This chapter has descriptions of gladiator's fights, therefore, there's going to be blood, death and some dark roman traditions -let's not judge past traditions with modern eyes, please ;w;-. Also there's going to be some latin words because of context :D, if you want to know the specific meaning, I'm going to do a little dictionary at the end of the chapter. Now, let's begin!)

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Reichtangle looked curiously as the new gladiator entered the arena, the sound of heavy chains clunking against each other while the pulley released the big metal door and the roar of the multitude screaming for blood filled the amphitheatre.

The man was tiny in comparison with other gladiators, but he seemed to be in good shape, a sign that he wasn't one of those andabata, men sentenced to death, destined to fight blindly against each other until there was just one last standing. No, the helmet had two circular openings, revealing the determined eyes of the man, ready to chase victory.

The son of the emperor smiled a sharp smile, the door on the other side of the arena opening to reveal another fighter. The man was enormous compared to the other and as soon as he looked at the smaller man, he laughed loudly.

Reichtangle wondered what was the reason behind of this. He was sure the director of the Ludus Magnus, the academy for gladiators of the capital, knew very well his life depended on the inauguration of the enormous amphitheatre.

As soon as the taller stopped laughing, the smaller one charged against him, gladius in hand and ready to strike the other on the chest.

The public gasped in surprise when the larger man stumbled, barely stopping the double edged sword with his rectangular shield. After a moment of surprise, he tried to hurt the other, but he just dodged, quickly putting space between them.

The big man tried to run directly towards the other, raising his straight sword over his head and trying to go for a fatal wound. The smaller just dodged, running fastly to the other's back and slashing a deep cut into the white skin.

It wasn't fatal, but it was enough to make everyone's expectations fell to the ground, like the red blood that tinted the sand.

Maybe this fight wasn't as predictable as it had seemed.

Reichtangle straightened his posture, now completely interested in the fight. It was impossible, wasn't it? This fighter was totally unknown to everyone, his complexion against him and his training a secret. He had to be trained in order to be there, specially if he was against one of the strongest gladiators of Rome.

The minutes passed and the battle continued, the dust of the sand being kicked raising in yellowish clouds and the sun slowly moving trough the sky.

The small gladiator breathed heavily, after all his main strategy was running in order to dodge his opponents attacks and using the heavy shield to protect himself when he couldn't.

The future emperor knew this had to end soon for the tiny man if he wanted to win this battle, and he was starting to hope for it.

He talked to his father in a whisper.

"What's the name of this gladiator, father"

"Poland, I think. I was told he's one of the slaves of the conquered people around Germannia"

Reichtangle watched at the arena again, and his eyes widened.

In a surprising act, the small man had thrown his helmet away. The judge of the fight screamed at him to put the helmet back on, but the crowd celebrated the act of rebellion when the gladiator took the helmet and, instead of using it again, he threw it at the taller man's face, running behind him and cutting behind his knees making him fall to the ground.