If they were looking to get a certain kind of reaction from us, they didn't get it. The situation had quickly become something I didn't anticipate, but I definitely wasn't going to start kissing their asses.
The group left and I brought Flavia's smoothie to her. It was impossible to decipher if her lack of reaction was because she was a gladiator who faced far worse, or if the rumors were true and she was secretly a patrician herself.
"What just happened? Also, I can't believe he watched the fight and walked away with that conclusion."
She shrugged. "People like to daydream. But his friend made it real. He's nervous—I could see it in his face."
"Even if she accepts the challenge, four months is not a lot of time.” I bit my lip. “I've seen gladiators out for over half a year with that kind of injury."
“Caelum said it won't. But it won't matter."
“Wait, what do you mean?"
"He never had to fight for his life before."
“Right. That makes sense.” I fidgeted with the glass in my hands. "You know, I've always wanted to know, Flavia...out of all the gladiator types to fight as, what made you choose to be a murmillo?"
But instead of answering, she just stared out to where my eyes couldn't follow. Something in them made my chest feel hollow.
I cleared my throat and set the drink down, trying to change the subject. "Here. The Janus."
Flavia picked up the drink, taking a sip. "I just picked whatever I thought would be the most difficult for me—" Her eyes widened and shock filled her expression. "What is this?"
Grinning, I put my hands on my hips. "Something from Solis. Half of this is something called chocolate, and the other half is hazelnut."
I was secretly proud of the name I gave the drink, in honor of the dual-faced god. It could be made with either of the main ingredients alone, or combined together like how I made it for Flavia. She didn't answer me again, closing her eyes to savor the taste. I left her to enjoy it and returned to my counter to make Felix his smoothie. Today was the Bacchus, made with grapes and plums.
Things had slowed down for the afternoon and no new customers had walked in since those patrician sons. It was a good time for a break. I nearly just set out the wax tablet again with the notice, until I remembered being ambushed by Horatius. Instead, I swung the entrance gate shut and locked it. Getting some kind of announcement banner for outside was another task on the list of things to do.
I made my way through the ludus's compound and slowed when I found my father, not wanting to interrupt his focus. He was in the middle of demonstrating a technique. Using the edge of his shield, he could twist his opponent's blade and force their hand to release its grip...or break their wrist. It was a skill he had come up with on his own during his days in the arena.
The gladiators began to practice the move clumsily, and Felix moved among them to explain and correct forms. When he caught sight of me, his beard shifted around his sudden smile. He wove his way through the group.
"Somehow, I never realized it when you trained me growing up," I said when he got closer. "But you're a natural teacher. They're really lucky to have you."
"About time you realized," he groused. But his eyes crinkled. "For someone who wanted to be a gladiator, you never wanted to train."
"Don't remind me," I sighed. He'd spent a lot of time training me with what apparently every citizen should know, although he instructed me to only use it as a last resort. Although the last part had made me suspicious it was more than just basic skills. But I used to get so mad that I wasn't instantly great by just having Felix as a father. "You deserved a much better student than me."
At that moment, I spied Ignatius among the practicing gladiators. He did a pretty good job of executing the move and he glanced up to see if Felix had noticed. His face soured when he saw me and snapped his head away.
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"You were my favorite student," Felix said, taking the cup from my hand. "Oh. Reminds me of wine."
"Of course you'd say I was."
"Maximilia. You were never an easy student. You questioned everything and never just followed along blindly to study every move of my demonstration."
"Uh, this sounds like the opposite of a favorite student..."
"It meant that you made everything you were taught your own.” He ruffled my hair. “The skills are part of you, not just mimicked or even flawlessly practiced."
My cheeks burned under his praise and I scratched my head, looking away. But I felt a little sad. Part of me knew that if I hadn't become his daughter and learned the hidden sides of Felix, I would've been like everyone else, holding him up as an idol and nothing else.
He nudged me. "Want to help me demonstrate the next technique?"
"Oh, gods no. You know I haven't kept up my training since I started working on this smoothie bar idea a few months ago. The last thing I need to do is mess up and embarrass you. And myself."
"Nonsense. We can say it was an example of what not to do."
He said it with such a straight face that I burst out laughing. "Oh, Father. I love you." I wrapped him in a fierce hug and he patted my back, bemused. Another flurry of giggles escaped me and I wiped my eyes. “ I've got to go find Prax now, though.”
Someone pointed me to her room in the barracks. She was lying in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I knocked on the doorframe and she lifted her head.
"Max?"
I stepped inside. "How's your leg?"
She flopped her head back down. "Ugh. Caelum can be scary sometimes. Said if I don't listen to him, he's never going to treat me again."
"I'm sure he's just giving you a hard time."
"No. He means it—I've seen it. So I'm being a good patient to make sure it doesn't reopen. But there's only so much training I can do without my leg right now."
I bit my lip. "The misery now just means you'll recover faster, right? And speaking of which..."
Praxedes sat up quickly, her eyes pleading to be released from her boredom. "What?"
"Well, so it happens that the magistrate's son and his friend challenged you to a wrestling match in four months' time. And I think his horse is on the line."
She threw her head back to laugh, clapping her hands together and shaking them. "Of course they did."
I tilted my head. "This sort of thing happen often?"
"Of course it does!"
"So, what are you going to do?" I asked curiously. "Are you going to answer the challenge?"
"What do you think? Of course I am! Although wrestling is hardly my strongest skill, to be honest."
"You're not afraid of losing?"
"Even if I do, I'll only need to remind them that it's my name people chant. It's my name that shakes the amphitheater." She flicked her long black hair. "It'll either make them so mad they storm off or sign up to be a gladiator themselves just to prove me wrong."
I rubbed my chin, a habit I learned from Felix. "What's the reason you'd take it, then?"
"Do you know how fine that horse must be? For someone like him to have it? I don’t need to remind you, my lovely fan, that I fight as an esques, too." She winked at me. "And it'll be nice to have my own horse that isn't shared with other fighters here."
"I guess that makes sense. Oh." I straightened. "You should've seen it, Prax. Flavia picked the guy up and held him up high like he was a bratty little kid."
She gasped. "No she didn't. Flavia?"
"Flavia,’ I repeated, nodding my head. “And he tried to act tough after, but he definitely squealed in surprise."
A sly smile crossed her sharp face. "That girl always has something surprising up her sleeve."
"Want me to bring you something next time? People are going crazy over you and Corvus's smoothie order."
"Really? I can't even remember what I got."
“The Aeon. Cantaloupe, mint, yogurt, and honey."
Praxedes rubbed her hands together. "Oh, right. That was so good. Also, I'm so mad at you!”
"Wait. Why?" I exclaimed in absolute confusion.
"You and Felix have spoiled me for the taste of good food!" She threw herself back on the bed. "How am I supposed to live and eat simply again? I'm going to have to take on the Colosseum death games just to be able to eat like that every day for the rest of my life."
Snickering, I patted her head. "Don't worry. It won't be the last time Felix throws a feast for the ludus. It won't take much for me to convince him." I began walking towards the door, but paused when another question came to me. "What's the deal with your brother and fried fish? Every time I've seen him, I swear he's mentioned it."
"Oh that? That's just how he is. He gets so obsessed with something until he gets sick of it and moves onto the next thing. In a couple of weeks, he'll say he can't even stand the smell of it anymore. Besides fighting, I haven't seen him stay committed to anything for long."
You know the drill
