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"I love the name of honour more than I fear death."

-

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—•—

[Memories are in italics!]

—•—

A chatty fifteen minute walk later, Punz and Ponk had escorted the emperor to the front gates of Schlatt's Ludus.

Emperor George looked up at the large, pointed gates with a dejected sigh, turning to the guards which were stationed outside.

"Open the gates." George ordered, and the guards looked anxiously between each other.

"Our boss has said not to open the gates for anyone." One of the guards at the gate said.

This caused George to scowl. "I am Emperor George, and I command you to open this gate."

Both guards shook their heads.

"No can do, your highness," the same guard from before said. "You'll have to take it up with Schlatt if you wish to gain entry."

George groaned, and even though he thought about setting Ponk and Punz on the two other guards in fury, he thought better of it.

"Fine," George pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where can I find Schlatt?"

One of the guards pointed down the road. "The large house on the corner of this lane is his. He should still be awake, as he only left here a few moments ago."

Fuming, George stomped off, and Ponk thanked the other guards for their time. George trekked down the road, with Punz matching him stride for stride, and Ponk having to skip to keep up behind them.

"Who is this Schlatt guy anyway?" Punz asked, rolling his spear in his hands.

"The owner of the ludus that Dre— Nightmare is apart of," George replied. "And I need to speak with him urgently."

"Is this why you're searching for Nightmare?" Came Ponk's voice.

George nodded. "I need to get Schlatt to pardon Nightmare from the next games."

Ponk hummed in realisation. "Ohhh. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you need to convince this ludus owner to pardon a gladiator from fighting because he's your bodyguard?"

"Basically, yes."

"And, beforehand, even though you had said no, Nightmare went out and returned to his ludus anyway?"

"Yes."

"So when Schlatt came to the villa earlier today, that was to get Nightmare to come back? And now you don't have a bodyguard, even though you're the emperor, and could just pardon him yourself—?"

George stopped walking. "What did you just say?"

Ponk blinked. "What? About pardoning him yourself?"

"No, not that... well, that is useful to know, yes, but I'm talking about what you said before that."

"Oh, Schlatt coming to the villa earlier today?"

George, triumphant, continued walking. "So it was Schlatt that was talking to him today! I knew it!"

A few moments later, George found the large house that belonged to Schlatt. He pushed through the low front gate, walking briskly up the narrow path, lined with dying bushes of azaleas.

Punz knocked on the front door; three loud, powerful bangs that rattled the wood connected to the doors hinges.

After a minute, the door handle twisted, opening to reveal Schlatt, who had an expensive looking goblet in one hand, and a half-smoked cigar in the other.

"Can I help y—? Oh, your highness!" Schlatt stopped himself, dipping into a gracious bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

George grimaced, but gestured nonetheless to the two men beside him. "May we come in?"

"Of course. Please, enter, have a seat." Schlatt beckoned them inside, shutting the door before leading them into the living room, where he presented them with plush couches to sit on.

George eyed the ludus owner skeptically as he sat down opposite Schlatt. Ponk seated himself beside George, while Punz stood behind the couch protectively, hands gripping the back of it.

"Domine? What brings you here at..." Schlatt threw a glance out of his window, reading his sun dial. "Five minutes till midnight?"

George did not beat around the bush. "I don't want Nightmare to fight in the games tomorrow."

Schlatt took a puff of his cigar. "Don't you? Well that's too bad, your highness."

George scowled for the second time that evening. "I'm the emperor of the Roman Empire, meaning I have power over everyone, Schlatt, including you. So, I forbid you from sending Nightmare to fight in the games."

Schlatt laughed deeply. "I don't think you understand, domine, but we had a deal, remember?"

George remained silent.

"On the night that Nightmare fought blindfolded, was the night we made our deal. Do you not remember?"

Oh, George remembered alright. But he didn't remember it fondly.

Several weeks ago...

"So, what exactly are the terms you wish to discuss about this gladiators contract?" George asked, as he and Schlatt sat in the stands, watching Nightmare edge out into the arena.

"If Nightmare wins this fight, you get him as your bodyguard, but there will be a few conditions." Schlatt said.

"Like what?"

"Firstly, like any other guard, he will be bound to you in a contract, which means you have total control over everything he does," Schlatt proceeded. "You can pay him whatever, and whenever, but you need to provide him food and living arrangements because he is your personal bodyguard."

"That's easy enough."

"Secondly, and I think most importantly, if I require him to come back and fight for my ludus in any upcoming games, I am allowed to get him back."

George cocked an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having a bodyguard if you're just going to take him away again?"

Schlatt shook his head. "I can easily grant you another, but the point of this is for him to come back and fight for my ludus if I need him too. He will be returned to you if he survives."

"Charming," George rolled his eyes. "So, if you want him to fight, you just have to say so?"

"I would tell him that he has the choice, of course. But, he's a gladiator, so of course he doesn't have the choice. If he doesn't fight, I'll kill him," Schlatt laughed manically for a moment. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Okay... can I object to you taking him back to fight at all?"

Schlatt shook his head. "No. I respect you tremendously, your highness, but you have to allow gladiators to be gladiators. Does that make sense?"

George nodded stiffly, watching Sapnap and Nightmare clash aggressively below.

Schlatt clapped the emperor heartily on the back, smiling as it began to rain. "So, domine, do we have a deal?"

He extended a hand for George to shake, but the emperor looked at it confusedly for a short moment, thinking.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

Schlatt's eye twitched frustratedly, but only ever so slightly. "Of course!"

"If the occasion arises where he does have to go back and fight, it shall not be to the death, understand?"

Begrudgingly, and with an unknown emotion flashing in his eyes, Schlatt sighed and stuck out his hand again. "Deal."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Schlatt." George shook Schlatt's hand.

Pulling himself out of the memory, George felt himself slump in disappointment. Schlatt watched him with a coy smile, rolling his cigar between his thumb and forefinger; each bedazzled with rings of diamond and emerald.

"I..." George visibly crumpled; curling in on himself and hugging his arms around his middle, gripping the tough leather of Ponk's armour.

"I am sorry, your highness, truly," Schlatt attempted to sympathise. "But you must understand that I am just doing my job and, in the end, Nightmare is doing his."

George bit his tongue to force himself not to curse the ludus owner out. He calmed though when Ponk placed a gentle hand on his knee, and Punz gripped his shoulder carefully.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Schlatt asked, placing his now empty goblet on a side table.

Emperor George knew that there was nothing Schlatt could do for him. However, at least he could ask the ludus owner a favour.

—•—

Dream sat bleary-eyed in his cell; the one he had lived in for many years before. Despite the familiar coolness of the concrete slap, and the rough presence of straw beneath his feet, Dream found himself to be slightly unnerved. He had spent the past month or so living lavishly in the imperial villa, and he was beginning to miss the plushness of a feather mattress.

He glanced at his toilet; a rusty bucket in the corner of the room.

He grimaced. He also missed sophisticated indoor plumbing.

The silent gladiator kicked his legs too and fro from his position on the bed, skirting his heels along the smooth floor, brushing away strands of hay. He watched the long pieces flutter along the stone, slipping beneath the bars of his cell and spinning down the corridor beyond.

He was slightly jealous of those pieces of straw. They were free to slide beneath the metal bars and vanish into Rome like a whisper in the wind. Dream peered down at his ankles, where chains kept him at bay.

From his position of looking at his feet, Dream heard the jingling of keys and the stomping of heavy boots. He didn't raise his head when his cell door was unlocked and footsteps trailed inside. Only once the cell door was shut and locked, and the footsteps receded, did the blond gladiator look up.

"Hey."

"Hey." Dream replied as the person who had just entered the cell took a seat on the dusty floor, back to the bars.

"You look sad."

"I'm not sad," Dream replied honestly. "I'm just... nervous."

"Sapnap told me you didn't get nervous."

Dream laughed dryly. "Of course he told you that, Sam. But it's true— I don't get nervous before fights. I'm just nervous for... a different reason."

Sam, also known in the gladiator ring as the Warden, cocked an eyebrow, leaning his forearms against his bent knees. "Oh? What are you nervous about then?"

Dream shrugged. "I'm not sure why I'm nervous. I just have this funny feeling in my stomach."

A vulpine smile crept across Sam's features. "You wouldn't happen to be... missing someone, would you?"

"Missing someone?"

"You know, missing someone, like how you miss a friend after a long time. You don't happen to... miss the emperor, do you?"

Dream scoffed. "I've been away for a few hours. I'm pretty sure I don't miss him."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Sam."

Sam wasn't convinced, but dropped the subject anyway. He picked up a piece of particularly crunchy straw, squishing it between his fingers, reducing it to dust, watching it crumble back onto the floor.

"Circling back to the previous conversation, mentioning Sapnap," Dream began. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's not coming back to the ludus," Sam said. "He was pardoned, and now he's working as a bodyguard for some rich kid."

Dream gaped. "He's... not coming back? Not even for these games?"

Sam responded by shaking his head. "No. There's a lot of new fighters being brought in and besides, Schlatt only wanted you back."

Dream slumped on his bed, leaning his scarred back against the chilling surface of the stone wall. He flopped his head into his hands, drumming his fingers against the edge of his mask.

"Lucky son of a bitch," Dream said simply, words laced with humour. "He gets to continue living the high life while I'm in here, huh?"

Sam watched Dream with a careful eye, before deciding to speak again. His voice was appropriately hushed.

"Didn't you willingly come back here?"

"Schlatt said he'd kill me if I didn't."

"You know he wouldn't do that. Schlatt's an... alright guy."

"He's an asshole." Dream stated.

"Okay, rude," Came Schlatt's voice echoing against the walls of the narrow corridor. "I mean, you're not wrong, but it hurts a little."

Schlatt twirled his keys on his finger, before slotting one of them into the door and opening it, swinging it open. He then gestured a hand down the corridor, smiling slightly.

"Nightmare, you have some visitors."

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Hey homies, this is an authors note!

Punz is hot asf there I said it.

Lol decided to post this chapter earlier cause we hit 8k reads and I thought that was cool so uh thanks and here you go x

This chapters question/statement: preferred pronouns? <3

Until next time,

Blue :)