I called out a flurry of orders. "Epona for Cassia! Felicitas for Otho! And wine for Tullius!"
The gold of the late afternoon sun bled into the evening. Chatter and laughter filled the courtyard, punctuated by the sounds clattering bones on wooden boards or stone tables. And also lots of groans or shouts of disbelief.
"So tell me what brought you to this idea," Ursus said. He leaned against the wall beside the bar.
I shrugged. "Sometimes people brought in games to play together while they drank in the courtyard. So I figured why not have a time for everyone to do that? Especially now that the days are growing longer."
"And expanding from the smoothies, I see." Grinning, he nodded at the amphorae of wine and mulsum, holding a glass of the honeyed wine himself. "You're a natural at good business, Maximilia."
I tried not to blush, turning instead to help the customer waiting at the bar. Dark, curling hair framed an inquisitive face, his complexion as bronzed as Ursus.
"You called for Otho?"
"Yeah! Your drink's ready!"
He peered into the glass in confusion. "Somehow I doubt this is mine. Maybe you made the wrong one by mistake?"
"You wanted the Felicitas, right? Strawberries, mint, and basil?"
Beside us, the gladiator's hazel eyes watched in silent amusement.
"Is it...supposed to be this green?" Otho tilted the glass to show me the drink and I squinted. Instead of a pale pink, the smoothie was a deep green. The color of the Epona, made from wheatgrass.
I sighed. "Sorry about that. It looks like someone took yours by mistake. And either didn't care or liked yours better. So I guess you've got good taste!" I winked, flashing a bright grin. "I'll make you another one. And bring you a piece of savillum for free."
The man blinked in surprise before returning a dazed smile. "Okay. "He returned to his seat with a lingering glance at me.
I ignored Ursus's chuckle as I remade the drink. It wasn't the first time someone wondered if my friendliness was flirting. I dropped off the smoothie with a piece of Saturnia's custard honey cake, smiling at the group and leaving before the man could say anything.
I skirted around a group of teenagers, slowing as I overheard something interesting.
"Wait, guys. Did you hear? They're going to allow travel between Schola and Aeterna soon."
"Seriously? I mean, I know they've let some ambassadors into the Forum, but really? We could actually go there?"
"For now, only if you're patricians..."
"...Like us." They both laughed the kind of laugh wealthy people had. Although, Saturnia would've elbowed me to say I was technically one of them because of Felix. "But I can't believe how fast this is happening compared to Solis. Gods, it must be worse than the underworld in there—shit! Hey, no cheating!"
It was the first game night. For a week, I'd put an announcement on the wax tablet, and it earned me a decent but boisterous crowd. My father had wanted to help keep an eye on things, and his reasoning was because of all the wine and potential gambling. But it fell on his own game night and I'd insisted he didn't cancel his plans.
So we compromised.
I looked over to see him with Meridius and another friend. They were playing terni lapilli at the moment, a game where they moved their pieces around the spokes of a wheel to get several in a row. The only reason he'd relaxed completely was because Ursus had offered to keep watch.
Who I suspected did it just because he was being nosey. Felix had never really brought any gladiators into our home before he stopped fighting, but once he did, he made it a rule that only retired ones would be welcome. It was just part of his way of protecting me.
This also gave us a chance to test out one of the ideas we'd discussed. Everyone had been surprised when the gladiator showed up to welcome them. It was a different kind of awed intimidation they'd given my Felix as he watched them with his scarred, stern face. I'd watched in amazement at the way Ursus handled the crowd effortlessly. They each had a brief turn to speak with him, and he had a great time signing plenty of papyrus sheets, tunics, and arms with ink. Even some bare chests.
I grinned to myself.
Ursus drew closer. "Well now. I'm dying to know what delights you, Max.
“I think…” I paused to giggle. “I think there's more than one person here tonight who won't be bathing for a very, very long time.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Throwing his head back, he roared with laughter. Most turned to stare at him curiously for a moment before returning to their games.
Suddenly, Ursus stopped to step in close. His hand rubbed his crooked nose and then his jaw as he looked down at me intently. "What do you say about coming to watch me fight in the Colosseum next week?"
I nearly spilled the drink I was pouring. I'd never been outside of Romachia, especially since Felix had never let me go with him whenever he had his death matches. My eyes darted over to my father. I wondered what he had to say about the idea.
I chewed on my lip. "I'll...have to think about it."
"You could always think of it as our very first date," he grinned. "And I'll make sure you can keep your eyes on me right near the front row."
I rolled my eyes, shoving him out of the way. Or at least attempted to, since it turned into me sliding away. The man was a boulder. "It wouldn't be a date, Ursus."
Just then, someone ran up and slapped some coins down. "Give me a double serving of beet juice."
I raised my brow. Only a handful of times since I'd opened Ludus Invictus had someone ordered it to be added to their drink. Less than I could count on one hand, to be exact.
“Uh, here.” I handed him the glass and he dashed back.
A small crowd had split around one of the tables and Ursus and I drifted closer. A man and a woman faced each other. There were four dice on the table, each only having four sides each, marked I, II, III, and VI. I realized they were playing tali, or knucklebones. Landing all four of the same number wasn't good. Called four vultures, it meant adding more to the winnings. On the other hand, getting one of each number was called the Venus and won the pile.
But there were no coins or jewels or other prized possession on the table between them.
Just the glass of beet juice.
"Well that's certainly some interesting stakes," I muttered.
I recognized the guy as one of the novicii. Publius, I think his name was. And he always got the Janus—chocolate and ground hazelnuts.
"Come on, Glaucia. You can do this," one of her friends urged her. Which didn't make much sense because the game was decided by chance. Or fate. I'd have to ask Quintus how that worked for something like this.
"Reminder,” the drink-fetcher said. “If you roll the vultures or the other person gets Venus, you drink the dirt juice."
They nodded in agreement and rolled. The die, made from deer antlers, clacked together. Nothing conclusive. Publius and Glaucia shared sighs of relief with some of the watchers, although others huffed in disappointment. Until at last. She cast the dice, two of them settling on VI. And then the third one stopped rolling at the same number.
Everyone held their breath as the last dice spun on a corner.
It landed on VI.
Publius hung his head. The crowd broke out into cheers, gathering close to shout at his punishment at him.
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
The novicii picked up the glass reluctantly, staring down at the contents. I shook my head in sympathy. The sooner he got it over with, the better it would be for him.
Grimacing, he threw it back. His face scrunched up as he emptied the glass. And after the last gulp, he set it down on the table and a shiver passed through his body, making him hunch over. His cheeks puffed for a moment, as if it were going to come back up.
"Pluto and Prosperina take me," he moaned, calling out to the gods of the underworld. "That was disgusting. I am never doing that again!"
The group slapped him on the back and dispersed. I glanced at the poor soul one last time before continuing to work. Eventually the night came to a close and Ursus rounded everyone up to leave.
"That went a lot better than I expected," I commented. "I'll take it as a good sign to run it once a month. I don't want to be there so much that I get sick of it, or be completely exhausted the next day.”
Felix and I were walking home after. I squinted up at the moon in the night sky to see the goddess Luna showing her full face tonight, always silent.
“Maximilia, you own the place. You can close for a day whenever you want.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I just want to be disciplined. Anyway, did you have fun?"
"You know the answer.”
“Right, right…everything your daughter does is wonderful.”
“No.” Felix glared at me. “You put spiders in all my clothes once because I yelled at you for sneaking away from your lessons.”
I'd forgotten about that.
“And when you refused to listen to me about that one boy—what was his face. Pupienus? Pepina?”
A wild laugh escaped me. “No, that was your nickname for him. You were right, though, about him trying to compensate for gods know what.”
“Of course I was.” His voice was gruff. “I know too many cowards who think being angry means being strong. The magistrate is one of them.”
“You know, you've never told me about whatever it is that happened.”
My father put a hand on my head to turn it his way. “Maximilia. I can tell you have something else on your mind.”
I chewed on my lip. It was something I'd been trying to figure out how to talk about it.
“Go on.”
Taking a deep breath, I met his gaze. "Ursus invited me to go to Capitoline Hill to watch the games at the Colosseum next week."
I'd known Felix long enough to catch the imperceptive pause in his breathing. A mixture of melancholy and fondness warred on his face as the mention of that arena, but he didn't answer. Our footsteps sounded softly against the stone.
"I just...I just don't want to do anything that would upset you," I said eventually.
“Upset me?” He stopped in his tracks. "Maximilia, why would it upset me?"
I shrugged. "Because I know how much you had worked to keep me from there. And it's where you'd killed people and nearly died yourself." My gaze shifted to the scar on his face.
He scratched at where it disappeared below his beard. "You are an adult and my permission is not needed. There will be little difference to the amphitheater here—just more of it." He resumed walking again with a nod of his head. "Besides, I hardly think it will make you suddenly jump into the arena."
I fell into step beside him.
"Do you want to go?"
"I never thought about it," I answered honestly. Although I'd encountered plenty of people from other provinces here, I'd never been outside of Romachia myself. I'd never needed to. Although, now that it has been brought up, the idea was a little exciting—as was the chance of coming across people from Schola.
"Although now…I think I do." I paused. "Whay about you? Would you ever want to go back?"
"It would be strange," he confessed. "That arena nearly took me from you, but I might not have found you without it. If you decide to go and want me with you, just say the word, little one."
Smiling, I shook my head. A giddiness spread through my limbs at my decision. “Alright.”
Monopoly is a classic, but I was always too nice and got taken advantage, but I never learned my lesson. What kind of player are you?
