Roma Victrix Read Free

still had to oversee their work. Life had been simpler when she was merely Gladiatrix Prima ; then there had only been training and the next fight to worry about. But things had changed. She got to her feet and moved to her balcony and gazed out at the temple compound. Her former owner, the lanista Lucius Balbus, had built this place to house the army of gladiatrices who had fought for Domitian’s birthday spectacle.
    In the four years since that bloody day, Lysandra had transformed it from ludus to temple. It had not been easy, and she knew well that only someone with her intelligence and endeavour could have accomplished so much in so short a time. But the fruits of her labours were spread out before her as she rested her palms on the cold stone of the balcony and surveyed her Deiopolis – her city of the gods.
    What was once wood, Lysandra had made stone. After her victory in the battle, she had been presented to the emperor himself and he had granted her a boon. She smiled as she recalled the moment.
    Domitian was a handsome man in his own way. Not broad and muscled like a warrior, he had a softer look to him, yet a seductively attractive one.
    â€˜Your strategy was well executed,’ he had said to her. ‘I salute you.’ She bowed, flattered despite the fact that it was true.
    They were in the magnificent palace of Sextus Julius Frontinus, Lysandra’s sponsor, the governor of Asia Minor and the editor of the spectacle. The old man was a little drunk and extremely pleased with the way things had gone. ‘She is a genius, Caesar,’ he enthused.
    Domitian smiled indulgently at him before turning his attention back to Lysandra. ‘Great performers should be rewarded,’ he said to her. ‘Ask of me a prize, and if it is within my power to grant it, I shall.’ He paused. ‘Within reason.’
    â€˜I wish only to ordain a temple in honour of the gods on the site of my ludus ,’ she replied. ‘Some of my women wish to return to their homes, some do not. They feel more free within my walls than without. And I feel it is my duty to provide for those that chose to fight.’
    Domitian arched an eyebrow. ‘ Chose ?’
    â€˜Yes, Caesar,’ Frontinus put in. ‘Lysandra and all those women who fought on her side today were freed slaves. They were here not because they were compelled but because they were asked.’
    â€˜And the ‘amazons’ you were fighting were not?’ The theme of the spectacle had been the ancient Battle of Athens where the Hellenes had defeated an Amazonian army; it was well known that Domitian was a student of history and the idea had delighted him.
    â€˜That is so, Caesar,’ Lysandra responded.
    â€˜Another reason for their defeat,’ Domitian observed. ‘The freed man – or woman – is superior to the slave. I grant your request, Achillia.’ He referred to her by her arena name. ‘And further, I will grant monies and craftsmen to aid you in your noble effort.’
    Frontinus shook his head. ‘You Spartans are a strange people, Lysandra. You could have asked for riches, slaves and a palace grander than my own. Are you sure there is nothing else? I will try, in my small way, to reward you as well. After all, your temple will be in my province, and you have served me well these past two years.’
    â€˜There is one thing, sir,’ she had said.
    â€˜Name it. It shall be yours.’ Frontinus was caught up in the mood of magnanimity.
    â€˜I would like to be exempt from taxation. Forever.’
    His expression had been a picture, and she recalled also the musical sound of Domitian’s laugh at the old man’s self-made predicament.
    Frontinus had sputtered for a few moments before seeing the funny side of it himself.
    Lysandra missed the old governor. A few months after the battle, he had been reassigned overseas, and in him she had lost a powerful sponsor and