Watching a simple guard gather his weapon left Aulus with a nauseous feeling in his stomach. The hired hand had no idea what he held in his possession.  For one thing the weapon had been personally crafted by the young soldier, so it became uneasy for him to see it in the hands of another.  The only gratitude that Aulus would bear was the fact that the weapon had been somewhat disarmed.  The whip had a way of acting on its own, and unless the master was strong and capable, even the weapon could bite its’ current if not brief master.  Fortunately having downgraded the weapon the weapon would not get the opportunity; at most it may have wrapped itself around him.  The guard had poorly shoveled the weapon and without properly holding the threads, the weapon would unravel and find itself a helpless victim to coil around.<br/><br/>The woman whom had stopped the two combatant’s engagement was much like any other Roman female he came across, especially those who descend from aristocracy and wealth.  Beautiful skin, beautiful hair, a servant by her side, lovely attire, and overall stunning beauty to bring make the tallest of giants fall to their knees.  The reaction however was different for Aulus.  Aulus had limited experience with women save for the encounter with Lilianna and currently the rough form of interaction between him and the pride of this Ludus (Ryann).  This left him in a state of attention like if a superior officer was passing by to inspect their stock of raw recruits.  When she ordered the guard to return his weapon a wave of relief crashed at him leaving him more relaxed knowing that which he crafted would be returned to his possession.  The guard was true to her orders as he presented to him the coiled whip.  Aulus would only need a seconds of pause before his hand reached out for the weapon.  Traces of red marks could be seen all over his hands and arms, like scars of the past each wound signifying a time when this whip would not bow to its master.<br/><strong><br/>"Much has happened, Manius has fled. Taking what servants and gladiators as were loyal to him. His wife ... dead. His guest ... dead. I would see no other deaths in this house, this day. The gladiators remaining are mine now and will be cared for my way and not as you have been until now."</strong><br/><br/>The lady whom seemed to now declare herself owner of this Ludus seemed much more attentive to those surrounding her.  With her in charge of this ludus now, it would mean that she would now carry the burden of his purpose. Originally his mission had been to deliver a message from Pompey Magnus himself.  Now that Livia was in charge she would have to bear the responsibility of having to answer to General Pompey’s request.  In addition he also seeked employment, which made things a little more complicating.  Antonious was said to have known the former owners of this ludus, however with them gone or even dead for that matter he would have to start fresh in trying to persuade this women to take him in so to have both benefit from such a transaction.  For her she would have new hired muscle, with an incredibly unique fighting form, and he would finally be able to gather the denarii to offer his parents a proper funeral not to mention finally complete the orders set by his master Pompey.<br/><br/><strong>"You were a guest, come with me. I would hear what dealings you had with Manius before you leave"</strong><br/><br/>Aulus complied with Livia’s request asking him to follow her.  He had to admit he was slightly surprised the way she handled her newly acquired stock, but anyone familiar with the events as of late would say that much blood and drama had been spilled.  So perhaps it was best for everyone to be sent off and allowed the opportunity to relax and recuperate from the events today.  When she was finally over with her orders to her stock, Aulus paid one last glance towards the female gladiator, recalling all the fighting that had taken place.  From the looks of it Aulus had done only mild damage to her body; nothing but a few mild cuts and some bruising.  Aulus’ arms however began to reveal finally the extent of that woman’s powerful kick.  Bruising had already begun to discolor the front of his forearms, and with the nice slice to the neck and the cuts to his arms he certainly was not damaged lightly.  Such wounds however carried no burden to Aulus since the pain was nullified by his will alone, and despite resistance via pain whenever he moved his arms, he continued to fight it showing no sign of pain.<br/><br/>Following the young Domina up the balcony stairs, Antonious was the first to rush to Aulus seeing now that he was out of harm’s way.  “Aulus, by Jupiter are you okay?  I’ve never seen anything like that…..but I have to admit it was one of the most spectacular fights I’ve ever seen….”  Antonious was hysterical with words making sure that the person he had been entrusted to take care of was not badly harmed.  Antonious would already have a hard time stomaching the cuts on his neck and arms and the bruising which left him a little queasy. “In due time my friend Antonious.  For the moment however we are requested by the owner here.”  Finally after so many hours waiting, both behind a gate to the estate itself and into the inner villa they would finally be given their audience despite however that they would now be graced by a new owner, one that Antonious had no clue about.<br/><br/>Not much time would pass when the guests and owner had moved to the study of this villa.  Perhaps one of the better places to conduct business of this matter.  The information that Aulus carried was for the owners of this Ludus alone and the less guests the better for a degree of secrecy was necessary in order to hide this information from those who could possibly exploit it.  When the Domina’s servant approached them with something to quench their thirst once more the young lad looked to the woman, “Do you perhaps have any water?”  Ever the noble Aulus trading the intoxicating wine for the purified water.<br/>