[A/N]: Y'all... this is proof of the fact that I am the world's worst procrastinator. This story was supposed to be for NaNoWriMo... but that crashed and burned.

Anyway, I'll do the major explaining at the end of this first chapter so please enjoy my first long original fiction piece. And if you tell me to move it to FictionPress, I'll eat your babies. Much love, *heart.*

Chapter One: The Letter

Sic Semper Tyrannis

It was bitterly cold that afternoon and my tunic did little to protect me from the wind. I was running to deliver a letter all the way from New Rome itself back to the gladiators' commune.

The letter was printed on a stiff scroll stamped with the imperial seal. It wasn't very heavy at all, but for some reason, it weighed a ton in my hands.

They were all waiting for me at the gate, the gladiators. Most of them were twice my size and had more muscle than an ox, but I wasn't scared of any of them. They were like my big brothers, some like my second fathers.

My real father ran out to greet me, but remained silent as he took the letter from my hands and scanned the words. After a few long moments, his face paled.

"Hadrian," he said, his voice strained, "go inside and warm up." Although his tone was soft and kind, I could hear the firm command in it. He never did lose that centurion clip.

I nodded shortly and hurried inside as quickly as I could, and bumped straight into my sister, Claudia.

"Hadrian!" she exclaimed, taking in my shivering form and lack of warm clothing. "You're going to die from exposure one of these days." She was beginning to sound more and more like our mother.

"Claudia, I'll be fine. I just had to run across town to pick up a letter, that's all," I said, shrugging off her concern.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You ran all the way across town in just your tunic... in this weather?"

I pushed past her into the warmth. "It gets hot while I'm running," I explained innocently.

She rolled her eyes. "So that's why you're shivering, right?" she asked skeptically.

I was just about to snap back when Mother walked in the kitchen. "Claudia hush. The boy will do what he wants, regardless of the wise choice." She smiled and tossed me an apple. "Now go warm up young man, before you lose your toes."

I sat by the fire and took a bite of the apple. I could hear Mother and Claudia behind me gathering up dinner, and Julius in the next room reciting in Latin. He was absolutely determined to learn the language of our ancestors, the Romans, and the language used by all Imperial Officials. Julius wanted to be a Senator.

Of course who was I to tell him otherwise. Let him dream, father always said. The son of a gladiator, a deserter no less, becoming a Senator of the New Roman Empire? Impossible. No amount of reciting Latin could help him.

I, on the other hand, wanted exactly what I was destined for: a life in the Colosseum. Julius always detested our life in the commune. I loved it. I loved the clash of swords and armor, the way the men trained all year long, competed against each other twice a month, all for the glory of our Local Munera.

Father never won these Games, though we all knew he was more than capable. He had once been a centurion in the Imperial Legions, until he deserted. He had met a woman, a slave, while on short-term duty in the city of New Rome, and fallen in love with her. So they ran away together.

Claudia loved hearing the story, even if it had a sad ending. My father and his beautiful slave were caught, charged as traitors, and sent away to live here, in this small frozen town, far north of New Rome. My father was sentenced to a life as a gladiator, but his lover was not so fortunate; she was sentenced to execution.

But just days before her crucifixion, it was discovered that she was pregnant. The Imperial Official ruled that since the baby was innocent, the woman could not be executed until the child was out of her care.

Father did all he could to protect his beautiful slave and their precious child. They were hastily married and a space for them was cleared at the commune.

And so my parents became the first married couple to live in the commune, and the innocent child was spared.

But as touching as the story was, and despite the fact that I am alive because of it, I could never bring myself to sympathize with it. How could my father throw away his life as a centurion for a woman? The only thing I wanted more than to win the Munera was to be in the Imperial Legions. But because of my birth, I could never be anything more than a gladiator. I learned only one thing from that story: I would never throw my life away for a woman.

I was roused from my musing by the sound of my father coming through the door. When I turned to greet him, I was shocked by his expression. I'd never seen his face quite like that, so somber and sunken. I'd seen that look on the faces of defeated gladiators.

My mother pulled her close and looked deeply at him, but he refused to meet her gaze. I imagined she'd seen that face once before, when they were caught.

He shook his head and pushed past her into the back room. She followed hum and silenced a question from Julius.

Claudia cocked an eyebrow. "What do you think that was all about?" she asked.

Julius shrugged. "Could be anything. Who knows?" he said. "Maybe they've finally found someone willing to marry you."

Claudia threw something at him from across the room and narrowly missing her twin. "You know I can't marry," she said angrily and stomped back into the kitchen.

I turned to a laughing Julius and gave him a shove. "You shouldn't tease her like that," I scolded. Claudia was especially sensitive about her inability to marry.

Julius rolled his eyes and set down his Latin scroll. "Well we can't marry either," he said defensively.

"Yes, but neither of us really want to get married. Claudia is a fourteen year old girl. Of course she can't help but want to have a husband." As children of a gladiator and a former slave, we were prohibited by law from marriage.

Julius just shrugged but his eyes quickly got wide. "What do you think the letter is really about?" he asked.

I pondered it for a moment and grabbed the Latin scroll off the table. I studied the words, though I couldn't make sense of any of them. "What's this about?" I asked, not looking up.

Julius gave me a skeptical look, but when I glanced up, he answered, "It's about this man, Spartacus was his name. He led a rebellion, back in the days of Old Rome. I'm not even sure if this is authorized reading material. I found it in Father's trunk."

"How does it end?" I asked, staring back down at the scroll.

"I haven't finished translating it yet," he said quietly and softly took the scroll back from me.

His movement snapped me out of my thoughts and I grabbed my cloak from the wall, and pushed through the doorway. "I'm going to find out what the letter is about. Cover for me," I said before leaving quietly.

Out in the cold, the commune was eerily silent. All the doors were closed tight, but I roamed the covered pathways alone, my footsteps echoing loudly.

"Hadrian!" someone whispered and I whipped around. It was Alexander, peaking out his door. He was only seventeen, a second year gladiator. He was the son of an Imperial Official living in town, but he became a gladiator by choice, much against his father's wishes.

"Alexander," I returned, surprised to see him out.

He glanced around and rushed towards me, pulling his cloak tighter around his frame. "Hadrian," he said again, this time softer. He seemed winded, and though he was shivering, hid body was dripping with sweat. "Hadrian, this is awful!" he whispered.

"What? Tell me!" I begged, gripping his shoulders tightly.

Alexander's eyes welled up with tears and he took a quick breath in. "The letter... it said... I don't believe it, Hadrian, I just don't. But your father said it was signed by the Emperor Thaddeus himself!"

"Alexander just tell me!" I said urgently.

"It said... well it's a new set of rules for the Munera," he whispered.

My eyes widened at the implication. "Alexander..." I paused taking a deep breath before continuing. "What are the new rules?"

Alexander shut his eyes tight and a tear rolled down his cheek, rising and falling with the old scars on such a young face. His voice was shaking harshly as he said, "It's just one new rule." He paused for a moment and pressed his hand heavily onto my shoulder. "All fights in this year's Local Munera must be to the death."

[A/N]: Confused? Yeah me too. Don't worry, I'm here.

So there's this boy named Hadrian. And he's the main character. Duh.

His dad is a gladiator.

They live in a future society modeled after Rome, called the New Roman Empire.

The Munera are the gladiatorial games that are held in each town of the empire.

And don't worry, the rest will be explained in the next few chapters.

Thanks for reading, and please review.

Regards,

Camille Elisabeth