Chapter 4

After several days on the road, the boys came across a village at the edge of a dense forest. It was a quiet place, with small dwellings that were crudely but strongly built, and plenty of crops growing in the surrounding fields. The villagers, though cautious at first, soon welcomed the four boys – with their open, honest ways and their obvious physical skills – into the thriving community.

Kaelus, Aulus, Tarin and Lykos settled in quickly, grateful for the peace and security that had eluded them for so long. They worked alongside their fellow villagers, helping with farmwork and repairs. It was a simple but fulfilling life, far removed from the brutality of the arena, and all four boys soon grew to love it dearly.

But peace, it seemed, was not meant to last. Word reached the village of a band of barbarians that had been terrorising nearby settlements, looting, burning and leaving devastation in their wake. The villagers were terrified, knowing that they had few – if any – means to defend themselves against such a threat.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the boys gathered with the elders to discuss the impending danger.

‘We can help,’ Kaelus said, his voice steady. ‘We’ve fought for our lives in the arena – and out of it – and we’ve won. You have weapons here; we know how to use them. We can protect the village.’

The elders looked at him, uncertain but hopeful.

‘But you’re just boys,’ one of them said hesitantly, eyeing Aulus, who stood small and silent beside his brother.

‘We might be young,’ said Tarin, ‘but we’ve seen more battle than most men twice our age. We know what we’re doing.’

‘We’re fully trained gladiators,’ Lykos added. ‘We didn’t escape one nightmare just to walk into another. We’ll fight, and we’ll keep this place safe.’

The elders, moved by the boys’ courage, agreed to their proposal. Over the next few days, Kaelus, Tarin and Lykos prepared their new home for the inevitable attack. They trained the villagers in basic defence and set up barricades, while Aulus led the village children in laying a series of traps along the forest’s edge, where the invaders were expected to strike.

When the barbarians finally came, their numbers were greater than anticipated. The night was filled with the sound of clashing swords and cries of battle. Kaelus fought with the same relentless skill that had once thrilled the crowds in the arena, his muscular form a blur of motion as he took down one barbarian after another.

Tarin and Lykos also fought like lions, slaughtering more marauders than they could count. Aulus stayed back, helping the villagers take cover and tending to the wounded, but when two barbarians broke through the final line of defences, Aulus killed them both by cutting them down at the knees and then driving his sword through their hearts.

Slowly but surely, the tide of battle turned in favour of the villagers. The few remaining barbarians, battered and demoralised, retreated into the night, leaving behind their dead and wounded. The four boys carried out the grim task of dispatching those who were still alive but physically unable to leave the village, in a methodical succession of sword-thrusts and strangled cries.

As dawn broke, the villagers gathered around the boys, their faces filled with gratitude and admiration. They had saved the village, and in doing so they had found a new purpose for their gladiatorial skills.

‘You have done more for us than we could ever repay,’ said the chief elder. ‘This village is your home for as long as you wish to stay.’

Kaelus looked around at the faces of the people they had saved, then at his friends and his brother. For the first time in a long while, he felt a sense of belonging.

‘Thank you,’ he replied. ‘We’ll stay and help to rebuild. This is our home now.’

Several months later, as Tarin served his three housemates a nourishing breakfast of porridge and eggs, Kaelus posed Lykos a question that had been on his mind for some time.

‘Are you truly going to stay here?’ he asked. ‘Aulus and I have each other, Tarin has a real home for the first time in his life, but didn’t you want to try to clear your family’s name and ... well, and... ‘

‘Become a snotty rich kid again?’ Aulus finished, with a laugh.

Lykos smiled and said, ‘Everything I want in the world is here, at least for now. Why, do you want me to leave?’

‘I don’t,’ said Tarin, giving him an affectionate squeeze.

‘I suppose you can stick around if you like,’ Kaelus grinned.

And so the boys found peace and happiness in the village. It was not the life that any of them had once imagined, but it was one they could embrace, together.