Last Man Standing

Chapter 16: A Deal with the Devil

I was eight years old when my engagement to Decimus was arranged.

My father had already been training and fighting as a gladiator for two years; the first year as Hadrien's warrior, and the second as a member of Maximus' army. My father had proven himself in the Emperor's arena, so he won the right to fight for his Emperor on the battlefield when he wasn't entertaining the masses.

During the Battle of the Brox, my father led a small group of men into battle despite the death of their commander earlier that day. He rallied the men to arms, refusing to give up their mission to take back the Brox from the large Galacian hoard that was holding it. My father came up with their battle plan and earned the respect of the men by leading them to a victory that was once considered a fool's errand.

Upon my father's return to the Capitol, he and his men were greeted by the city and the Emperor with a great celebration. Emperor Maximus rewarded him with the official position of High Commander. After a string of successful battles and earning the respect and love of the Emperor's entire army, as well as the people of Romallia, Maximus announced the engagement between Decimus and myself.

I had no say in the matter; in fact, I hadn't even met him yet. My brother and I stayed with Hadrien whenever my father was off to battle. And whenever he was in the arena, we sat amongst the masses as Hadrien was the only one invited into the Emperor's box during his champion's fights.

All I could say on Decimus' behalf was that he looked like a nice boy... but you can't really confirm something like that from a distance. I just hoped that my assumptions were right, because I was about to meet the boy face to face.

And as I was about to discover, I was to spend the rest of my life with him.

I will never forget the day the deal was struck.

My father was moments away from entering the arena to face another opponent. The crowd was roaring with excitement, and my brother and I were bouncing in our seats in anticipation to see our father win yet again. I had already wished him luck below the stadium in the gladiator's tunnel while Marcus saved us seats, but it turned out that my brother's efforts were fruitless as one of the Emperor's guards approached us with an invitation.

"Are you the Galeo children?"

We both looked up at the man towering above us, too stunned by his abrupt demeanour to respond.

He sighed impatiently. "Is the gladiator Augustus your father?"

My brother nodded.

"Come with me."

We obeyed. The guard led us away from the public viewing area and down a hallway that lead to the Emperor's box. My heart was racing as we passed the most beautiful and expensive looking pieces of furniture, curtains, decorations and architecture that I had ever seen. I would later discover that this hallway was nothing compared to the lush beauty of the Emperor's palace, but that's beside the point.

The guard parted a red curtain that led to the Emperor's private box. We were too stunned to move. The Emperor was standing by his throne staring down at us. He was smiling from ear to ear, a rare sight to see on a man who is constantly plagued by war.

He looked at the pair of us, and then turned to Hadrien who was tucked away in his own chair. "Are these Augustus' children, Hadrien?"

"They are, your excellence." Hadrien was also smiling, clearly trying to contain his excitement.

Maximus frowned as he examined us. "Well, we'll have to do something about their appearance. This simply won't do."

I took offense to this. "What's wrong with the way we look?"