Unconditionally (Spartacus FANFIC -- Gannicus/Caesar/OC)

Chapter III

"Jana! Jana! Wake up you have over slept! Dominus is already preparing to leave for the market." I heard Naevia's soft voice fill my ears.

"Oh no..." I said pulling myself out of bed and rushing to gather my clothes to be ready in time. "I cannot believe I over slept... Dominus will be furious!"

I looked over at Naevia whom had a cheeky grin on her lips, "I didn't over sleep did I?" I asked her as she started to giggle. "No, but at least now you will have time to bathe and eat before you leave. Wouldn't want Gannicus to think you are unprepared for his game." She teased me as I rolled my eyes.

"You jest, it is not nice." I told her as she smiled to me, "I think it's sweet actually. That you find some sort of beauty, comfort in a beast, I had always thought Melitta was so lucky to have been gifted to Oenomaus, he is really such a kind man." She told me as I smiled.

"She is lucky. Not all men are beasts Naevia... you and Diona would have gotten along really well with my three older brothers, well maybe they where all such jokers. Never took anything with a serious tone."

"Much like Gannicus." She teased again, "You never talk about you life before the Villa..." she reminded me.

"It is of a time long since past, a time I will never experience again, with a family that no longer exists. The you and the other slaves are my family now." I told her as she smile softly.

"To which I am ever grateful for, you and Diona have always been as sisters to me." She told me with a grin, "However, bath and food... we must hurry, I can already hear Melitta—"

"Girls hurry up, Dominus will not want to be late for the market!" We heard Melitta call to us causing us both to laugh. "It is almost like she can hear through walls." I joked as we both made our way to the baths to clean up before we ate.

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I sat in the cart much like I had the night previous when Gannicus and I left the arena to return back to the Villa. My beige tunic lined with black trim, I wanted to stand out as little as humanely possible to Tullius and his man Vettius. I wanted no more part in their games to publicly humiliate any member of the house of Batiatus.

"I like the white and light blue on you much better. Brings out your eyes, you seem so keen on hiding behind your mop of brown hair." Gannicus' teased me as he entered the cart.

"Charming." I threw back at him.

"At last! The girl defends herself." He smirked at me before letting out a sigh, "Are you nervous?" I asked him as he looked over towards me.

"Nervous? Not at all, if I were to die today I would have preferred it to be in the arena. However today is not the day I die, you will no be a witness to my death Jana." He told me as I shook my head.

"Do you treat everything as a joke or just your life?" I asked him as he roared with laughter. "Just this match, it is no doubt a joke on it's own." He grinned to me as I again shook my head.

"Are you scared for me Jana? Worried I will die today?" He asked me.

"I am worried of your death as I would worry of any of the Ludus' men's deaths." I lied; I was worried he would fall today in the market place. Yet here he was treating it as if it where just a game or training practice. I felt most of the men in and around Capua took things far more lightly than they perhaps should.

"Where is good Vettius?" Dominus groaned loudly as he looked about the meeting place once we had finally arrived. "Is he among you?" He called out to the large crowd that had begun to gather.