After what seemed like a very long time, even though it was probably only a minute or so, Patrocles broke the deep kiss that he had shared with Cariad, leaving them both a little weak kneed and breathless.   His right hand slid slowly down the side of her cheek from where he had held her face, traced down her throat and across her breast with the backs of his fingers sliding over the slightly distended nipple.  As he moved to cup her breast fully and tilted his face to continue his onslaught on her senses by kissing her even more passionately he heard a voice from outside the window.  He stopped suddenly, his hand resting on her swollen nipple forgotten; his head turned towards the balcony of the bed chamber as he strained to hear.<br/><br/><em><strong>Stop!  Desist now. Stand apart and drop all weapons, I am moving to the sands. Do as requested and you shall not be punished.</strong></em><br/><br/><em>Gods… what was she doing?  Moving to the sands… without him along side of her?  What if the gladiators who fought below did not listen, she was unknown to them.</em><br/><br/>He moved quickly away from the slave girl, who leaned against the wall where he left her, a dazed look of confusion registering on her face.  He moved quickly to the edge of the balcony and looked down onto the sands below.  The two of them had moved down into the villa and were now one floor below the living area where the main balcony was, so as he looked down he guessed the sands to be only 10 or 12 feet below them.  He stood to the side of the balcony, partially occluded by a pillar and drew his gladius from its sheath.  If things went badly he could easily vault the rail and be on the sands with his sword in hand before even any of the house guards could reach them.  He bent his knees, placed a hand on the rail and prepared to jump.<br/><br/>But as he watched it was unnecessary.  The female dropped her weapon and assumed a less threatening stance, as did the roman soldier?  Both were breathing hard and looked somewhat battered, but the woman appeared to have taken the worst of it.  Blood welled from a gash on her thigh and ran down her leg.  Still, she looked formidable, even wounded.  The other house guards moved to flank Livia as she ordered the whip to be given back to the soldier.  She must not believe him to be any type of threat or she would not rearm him.  That left only the woman, who was unarmed and surrounded by not only the soldier, but also several house guards with spears in hand.  Patrocles stood easy and re-sheathed his sword as he passed back into the bed chamber.  He addressed Cariad with soft tones,<br/><br/>Ah Cariad, alas that I cannot finish what I started on the now.  Later, a time will present itself that you show know the feel of a champion in your bed and know of the pleasure that a real man may bring to a woman… but not today.  Return to the house servants, and make yourself busy with overseeing them.  I will finish my search and make my report.  You shall be summoned when you are needed again.  Thank you…<br/><br/>As the girl left he felt a deep pang of regret at not being able to seize the opportunity that she presented, but he knew it for the best.  If he were gone long enough to truly enjoy himself Domina would miss him and wonder at what had taken him so long.  Additionally, he knew that she was heated from the sun and the day's events and would likely be in want of his services in the near future. It would not be wise to smell of another woman’s sex when he went to her.  While he was not limited to only Domina’s summons, he did have to petition her for permission when he sought to fulfill his carnal desires with others.  The only other time he had not sought permission he had been summoned almost immediately afterwards and his lack of performance was less than satisfying to Domina.  She had punished him severely for that failure and he had been very careful not to place himself into any situation where he might be called upon again and not be able to rise to the occasion.  He watched as Cariad finally turned the corner and he sat down on the bed to gather his thoughts for a minute more.  It was then that he spied something on the floor, under and behind the dresser he saw something small and green.  Carefully he inspected and picked up the object.  A smile crossed his face and he slipped it into the small leather pouch he had tied to the inside of his war skirt.  Then he left the room and completed the search of the premises making sure to note any and all entrances and exits to and from the villa, the state of each room, the furnishings, and the state of the house slaves when he found their quarters.<br/><br/>Lastly he inspected the ludus’ gladiatorial quarters and training area.  He noted that the medicus’ chambers seemed to be picked over but in a hurry.  There were many things he would have expected to see there that were missing, still many more that if the medicus had planned to leave he would have thought to have taken with him.  Perhaps, he had left under duress or without permission.  Still, the supplies that were there would prove useful if they were to assume control of this ludus and stay here instead of in the complex that they were in now.  He used a wax tablet and made scratches in the soft wax with a stylus to list the small inventory.  It was uncommon for soldiers, let alone gladiators, to be able to read and write but it was a skill he had trained in as a child by an itinerant monk who claimed a belief in a crucified God... but it had never been lost to him.<br/><br/>In addition to the medicus’ empty chambers he also noted the Doctore’s chambers, still complete with all of his personal belongings.  The doctor had been killed earlier today by the previous Dominus… Patrocles knew that much.  He rifled through the belongings, pocketed several small purses of coins and strapped on the doctore’s sword belt in addition to his own.  The gladius was well crafted and the leather of its sheath was supple and well worn.  Patrocles tried the sword and it was well balanced, the wooden handle fitting almost perfectly into Patrocles’ own hand.  He would of course present it to Domina, but in the mean time he fancied it for himself.  He also lifted the trainer’s whip from a hook on the wall and carried it on his own belt as he made his way from the gladiatorial areas and ensured that the doors were locked behind him.  It would not go well if he were to have left behind weapons in an area where they could have fallen into the wrong hands, so he was more than justified in carrying them now.<br/><br/>Having finished his inspection he returned to the balcony to make his report to the Domina and found that the group had moved to the study.  He quickly moved to follow them and upon his arrival he found that Domina was just returning to the study after moving the old man into the house.  The setting sun shown through the open doors to the balcony, dipping behind her and illuminating her in silhouette.  The light made her face all but glow with radiant streaks of reds and orange as if she were a goddess of fire herself.  He approached with confidence so as to avoid the appearance that he skulking in the hallway behind her.<br/><br/>Excuse me, Domina, I return with your report.<br/><br/>Before he could be acknowledged, however, she walked into the study and closed the door behind her without giving the appearance of seeing or hearing him; leaving him in the hallway alone.  Without breaking stride he continued to walk down the passage and the coming to a stop he assumed a position outside the closed doorway awaiting her acknowledgement or summons, which ever came first.<br/>