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A Roman Love Story

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Chapter 34

Marius felt his heart jump when he received the message of Aulus, telling him to return to the main villa. He might see Amabilia again soon. Before he could leave though, Verius called him to his quarters.

“Have you considered what you are going to tell Aulus, my son?” he asked.

“Why not tell him the truth? That I care about the girl.”

“The girl is the slave of Domitia, right? And since Aulus is the dominus, ultimately she is his slave.”

“Maybe I can buy her from him?” tried Marius, but Verius shook his head.

“It doesn’t work like that. And you know it. Consider this,” he tried to explain to his son. “You go into the cella vinaria (wine cellar) of your father, open an amphora and drink some of his best wine. Or worse yet, you open one of the dolia defossa (ceramic container) and spoil the fermenting wine in there. Would your father say ‘I don’t mind, you are my son after all’? Or would he be angry and ask compensation and possibly give you punishment?”

Marius fell silent and sighed.

“I didn’t spoil the girl,” he said softly.

“That’s what you think. Did you ever ask Domitia or Aulus what plans they had with the girl?”

Marius shook his head.

“The girl is their property and you behaved like she was yours to do with as you pleased.”

“But I love her!” groaned the young man while he squirmed in his seat. His loins ached for the girl, even now.

“You lusted after her and you still do. Lust is not the same as love. Besides, how can you love someone who isn’t free and in possession of herself to decide if she can return that love?”

Marius sighed. Rationally he understood what his father was saying but everything inside him rebelled and he wanted to scream and break something.

“Close your eyes and calm yourself, little pup,” said his father sternly but with affection. He felt for the boy as it was clear he was suffering from inner turmoil.

“What should I do?” groaned the boy with his head in his hands.

“You should go to Aulus and ask for forgiveness and offer compensation,” offered Verius as advice. “It’s the only way to demonstrate you have enough sense of responsibility.”

Marius thought about this for a moment.

“What kind of compensation would suffice?” he asked.

“That’s hard to say. I do not know how much damage is done. That’s for Aulus to decide. But you can expect he will task you with work to earn back what was lost.”

Marius nodded slowly and sat up.

“Thank you father, I will do that. I had not considered this, forgive me my foolishness.”

“There’s no need to ask my forgiveness, go to Aulus.”

“I will,” Marius replied as he got up.

“Just wait a day or two,” added his father. “I hear a legatus is arriving at the house of Aulus, to investigate the matter with the runaway slave. There’s no need to make the legatus aware of any other problems in our familia. Go to Aulus once that is dealt with.”
 
Chapter 35

The legatus arrived and was welcomed like a king. Maidens threw flowers, young boys carried dishes with food and there was wine for the legatus to wash away the dust from his mouth. Aulus invited him to the triclinium where food was laid out and a girl was ready to wash the traveler’s feet. There was also more wine to enjoy.

Quintus Paccius Flaccus was much older than Aulus had expected. Instead of a young son or possibly nephew of old Gaius Africanus, it was his brother. Which also meant that he had a lot more authority than Aulus had expected. The brother of a past consul, that was someone to handle with care. Too bad Domitia had not been able to give him this information earlier.

The man was about the same age as Aulus, but twice as round and balder. He loved wine, so much was clear from the greed with which he drank several goblets, even while his feet were washed and his clothes were cleaned of the dust of the road.

The two men finally lied down and ate while they talked about the affairs of the household and how the house of Lucianus was faring. Aulus gave a summary to show things were mostly going according to wishes and he assured the legatus that the laws of the empire were firmly upheld, as well as traditions. Quintus was pleased to hear that. After those formalities he quickly came to the point of his business though.

“The runaway slave,” he said. “It’s a problem.”

“Runaway slaves are always a problem,” acclaimed Aulus.

“Well, in case in particular, since we cannot find any household missing a slave,” explained Quintus.

“Maybe they are ashamed to come forward?” suggested Aulus.

“Possibly,” said Quintus while finishing his fourth goblet of wine. A young boy quickly offered a refill. The man thanked him with a gesture of his hand. His face was already showing signs of an inner glow at work as it grew slightly red around the nose. The man had a big nose and, as Domitia had predicted, also large ears sticking out from the side of his head. They were also turning red now but Aulus tried not to look at them.

“Would you hide it when a slave ran away?” asked Quintus with raised eyebrows.

“No, I would not. We adhere to the old tradition of crucifixion. All the slaves in my household would be crucified if a slave ran away and they all know this.”

“Even your gladiators?” asked Quintus, eyebrows still raised in surprise. Many households did not stick to this old tradition, he knew. Aulus Lucianus was clearly an advocate of the old ways and he quite liked that.

Aulus had a pained expression on his face. “That depends,” he sighed. “It would be very costly to crucify them all. Maybe just one to show I make no real exception.”

“But you would make an exception as most would live, right?”

“I am not wealthy enough,” admitted Aulus. “Especially now we had three mediocre years for wine and olives with failing harvests. It’s too dry.” The draught had been a problem for a couple of years now and each year there was less rain it seemed. The gods were testing the empire, so much was certain, because this wasn’t the only region suffering.

“I understand,” said Quintus. “I admire that you stick to old ways, but you seem pragmatic enough not to cling to them too rigidly. That’s only sensible.”

Aulus thanked him for the compliment and then they ate as several new dishes were offered.

“There is also another problem,” said Quintus after a while. “We are missing a certain courier, one that matches the description of your runaway slave. And it appears the possessions of this slave match the ones the courier had.”

“I think the slave killed the courier and stole his belongings,” explained Aulus.

“Do you have proof of that?” asked Quintus.

“No, but there’s no proof the other way around,” replied Aulus. “Don’t forget, this man was hiding in my forest and he attacked my son for no reason. Which courier would do that?”

Quintus nodded.

“By the way, how is your son, is he alright?” And he looked around as if wondering why the son was not here to join them for the meal.

“My son is fine. He suffered no ill effects from the blow to the head. He is at my brother’s household, resting and recovering.”

“Wish him well from me,” smiled Quintus. Aulus bowed his head and thanked him, saying that he would do that. At this point he was glad Marius wasn’t here as the legatus would ask some difficult questions as the young man was of course the prime witness to all this. At the same time he did wonder why the boy had not come when he had ordered for his return. He sensed Verius might be behind this.
 
Chapter 36

Quintus was staring out of the window. It was close to nightfall, the sky was steel grey with a hint of red at the horizon. The courtyard was lit by torches. A girl was busy with some geese that had escaped from the pen.

“I want this to go away as much as you do,” he said to Aulus, who came to him with another goblet of wine. They had checked on the corpse of the ‘runaway slave’, but it had already decomposed too much to identify anything. All they could say for certain was that it was a human corpse of a man.

“What do you have in mind?” asked Aulus. They sipped from the wine, while Quintus kept looking at the girl below, who was now washing herself at the fountain.

“The courier belonged to the proconsul,” said Quintus. “You should offer payment for his loss, even though it’s uncertain if this corpse is that of the courier.”

“How much are we talking about?” asked Aulus, who didn’t quite like the idea.

“If you offer him three thousand dinarii, the matter will be considered closed,” answered Quintus. The girl down below had pulled up her dress and was washing her legs. It was a very attractive sight.

“What?” exclaimed Aulus, “That much? A male slave costs only five hundred. This is six times as much!”

“But a courier is not a slave,” said Quintus while pursing his lips and smiling as he watched the girl cleaning her crotch. “Is this a problem for you?”

Aulus puffed his cheeks and shrugged. “It’s… a huge sum. I would have to sell some slaves to be able to pay such an amount.”

“A shame,” said Quintus. Then he pointed out of the window. “How much for that wench?”

Aulus looked and recognized Amabilia down below. He saw an opportunity. Female slaves were much more expensive and this little one was special.

“Three thousand,” he said. Quintus looked at him with raised eyebrows and a smirk on his lips.

“Three thousand? Now there is a coincidence.”

Aulus shrugged and said “The girl is pretty, well educated and she’s a virgin. She’s worth that much.”

Quintus looked at her again and shook his head. “Outrageous. I’ll pay one thousand and I get to try her out tonight.”

“Fifteen hundred,” said Aulus. “And you help me convince the proconsul to accept the same for his courier to close the matter.”

“Deal.” Quintus grinned and licked his lips. This was a bargain. A virgin this pretty could easily do two thousand in Rome.

Gaius received instructions from Aulus to go and ask Domitia to borrow one of her white dresses. After that he was supposed to fetch Amabilia, fit her in the white dress, make sure her hair was pretty and to cover her in flowers. This girl could save the family from disgrace and bankruptcy.
 
Wragg said:
The economical impact of crucifixion upon slave owners. Something else I'd never really pondered...
Click to expand...
It's a bitch. A male slave costs around 500 dinarri, a female from 500 to 2000. And considering the amount of women that are being crucified on this forum, I feel sorry for Imagemaker and understand the need for contributions all too well. ;)
 
Chapter 37

Amabilia was quivering as she entered the guestroom where the legatus was expecting her. Gaius had advised her to relax and simply comply with anything the legatus wanted of her.

“Just be a good obedient little slave,” had Gaius said right before she entered and he had slapped her on the butt as she stepped into the room, after which he closed the door behind her.

Quintus Paccius Flaccus was lying on his bench wearing only his tunica and peeling an apple with a small knife. He had rings on every finger, showing how wealthy he was. In comparison, Aulus never did wear any rings. Amabilia felt impressed and wondered if she should kneel. She was also impressed with his massive presence. He was corpulent, something he hid during the day under his official breast plate. He was tall, broad shouldered and he had massive legs. Compared to him she felt like a little frail bird.

“Ah, there she is,” smiled Quintus as soon as she entered and the door had closed. “Do come here,” he added while beckoning her closer with his hand. He had dropped the apple and the knife on the table and as she did walk up to him, he very softly clapped his hands in appreciation.

“There’s a sight for sore eyes,” he smiled and he reached out of her hand as she came up near his bench.

“Turn around he said,” directing her hand and letting go of her as she did. She felt his eyes on her, everywhere, and she shivered. When she did face him again, he told her to hold out her arms, then reach for the sky and finally put her hands on her back. Every movement she made, caused her white dress to fall differently around her body and he drank it all in.

“Do lift up your dress,” he then said. She frowned a little bit and looked uncertain.

“Come, lift it up,” he said again, reaching out for the hem of her dress and lift it a little. She bit her underlip and after bending a little, she took the lower part of her dress and did pull it up, over her knees, then up her thighs and as he kept gesturing to pull it up higher, she finally did pull it up to her stomach, revealing her lower body to him. Gaius had not presented her with any undergarments, so she was now actually presenting her sex to the man.

“Very nice, lovely,” the man said, again reaching out for her, stroking his fingers over her thigh and then up to her stomach and brushing his fingertips briefly over the patch of hair that covered her pubic area. She jerked a little but kept standing upright, trying to fix her eyes on the opposite wall behind the man.

“You are shy, aren’t you?” he said with a smirk. He grunted a little as he rolled over and got up from the bench. He was breathing heavily as he walked around her to the table to fetch himself another goblet of wine. Looking back at her, he noticed she was still facing the bench and he gestured at her to face him.

“Do keep that dress pulled up like that,” he added. Next he walked around her again while he kept looking at her as she turned to keep facing him. Her face was blushing as she kept showing him her little patch of pubic delight. He moved in closer and looked down on her.

“Stick out your tongue,” he said.

“Sir?” she asked puzzled. He briefly stuck his own tongue out as an example and she copied that. With a smile he looked at her face, mouth open, tongue out, while her hands were still holding up her dress at the front.

“I should order a marble statue with this pose,” he said while he placed his hands on the sides of her head and turned her head this way and that way while inspecting her mouth, teeth, nose and ears. Amabilia trembled as she was inspected like that. He was even more massive now he was standing so close in front of her. His stomach was round as a barrel, his arms as big as tree trunks and his hands were big enough to maybe fit around her head together. He was also more than a head taller than she was, so he was very intimidating to her.

“Take off your dress,” he said while stepping back to have a look at her full body from head to toes. She complied while her blush now spread down her neck to her chest. Holding the dress in her hand at her side, understanding she should not cover herself, she revealed her body to the man. He nodded slowly and licked his lips as he drank in her shape. The curves of her waist and hips was just perfect. Her breasts were perky, with big sensitive areola and tiny pins for nipples. Gravity had not yet found her body and he checked to see if her feet were touching the ground. They were, but looking at her small feet, he wondered how she could stand and walk on such delicate tootsies.

“Take off your sandals,” he said while he himself sat down in the chair that was placed in the middle of the room. The girl bent over and unfastened the leather straps of her sandals. He greatly enjoyed the sight of her arched back and the flexing of her hips, as well as the delicate bending of her knees as she pulled the sandals one by one from her feet. She was still clinging to her dress in her hand and he gestured at her to drop it. Then he made her turn around a few times so he could watch her from all sides.

Amabilia turned around, her bare feet stepping carefully on the cold marble floor. She kept shivering and felt her nipples hardening from both the cold and the stress she was experiencing. The inspection and open admiration of her naked body, made her feel so violated. And she dreaded where this was heading. As she turned back to face him, after having let him admire her buttocks and back, she did notice how he had shifted to the front of his seat, pulled up his tunica and was openly stroking himself. His penis was hiden by both his belly and his hand, but the glimpses she got of it, told her he had a very small penis, but huge balls. Again she shivered and she gave a small whimper when he beckoned her closer with his free hand.

“Come, get on your knees,” he said as she approached. He held his penis between his fingers so she could see it was growing larger with a big swollen purple head.

“You probably never licked and sucked on a cock before, but it is nothing to fear,” he said as she knelt down in front of him. “Just make sure you only use your tongue and lips,” he said with a smile on his face and reaching out for her hair to guide her bending forward to his crotch.

The man’s crotch was very aromatic and as Amabilia was guided in, she soon discovered he also had a very strong taste. To reach his penis, she had to rest her face well against his barrel-like belly and reach in between the folds of his flesh to find his penis where it was probably hidden most of the time. She felt disgusted and retched involuntarily, which made him chuckle.

“You’ll get used to it,” he assured her and he shifted a little to make himself more accessible. By placing his hands on her head he pushed her down to take all of his cock in her mouth. He clearly enjoyed the sensation of her warm mouth as he grew a lot larger and harder now, quickly filling her mouth completely. It made her choke and gag, but she tried to hang on and take it, knowing she had absolutely no choice in the matter. Using her tongue and mouth she even tried to speed things up, hoping it would be finished soon.

“It’s almost as if you know what you’re doing,” panted the man. For a virgin she was really doing a wonderful job sucking his dick. He pulled her up by her hair and looked in her panting bright red face.

“Have you sucked dick before?” he asked, becoming a little suspicious. She coughed and his question filled her with fear. She tried not to think about that time with Aulus of the numerous times with Marius. Best not talk about that, as she had no idea what kind of consequences that would have. So she shook her head.

“No sir,” she said softly, hoping he would believe her.
 
Chapter 38

“You’re a natural,” panted Quintus, happy with the discovery the girl was pleasing him so well.

“Let’s see what other skills you have,” he said and after pulling her up he brought her over to the couch.

“Lie down and press your breasts together with your hands,” he said and as she complied, he knelt down over her with his huge ass in her face. He stuffed his penis between her breasts and started fucking her. Each time he moved backwards, his ass was coming very close to her face and that was his intention.

“Lick my balls,” he panted while her took her legs and spread them wide. “You can lick my anus as well,” said Quintus. The poor girl whimpered but did as she was instructed, by lifting up her head and licking his balls and anus. She gagged violently because of the smell and foul taste, but she remained obedient. His ass was huge and each time her face was met with his cheeks, she was smothered. She yelped when he pulled her bottom upward and started kissing her slit. It was sudden and a very intense sensation. His cock sliding between her small breasts against her chest was also an intense feeling. But the most difficult was the repeated bumping of his balls against her chin and his ass against her mouth and nose.

Mabilia gasped when he pulled her slit wide open and kissed her clitoris. She shuddered all over, feeling her body tremble with the intensity of that sensation. He then licked around the inside of her vaginal opening, but suddenly stopped.

“Faex! (Shit!)” he called out, “What is this, you lupa (slut)?”

He drove two fingers into her vagina and dug around inside her.

“You are no virgin,” he called out and surprised by his discovery he pulled back and sat on her face, smothering her by catching her mouth and nose between his ass cheeks. The girl started whimpering and her body jerked. He kept one leg in a tight grip, pulling her right knee up under his arm, while he jammed three fingers of his other hand into her slit.

“Moucha putida (dirty slut),” he called out panting, “does Lucianus know you are a whore? He said you were a virgin. He sold you to me as a virgin.”

She hardly registered what he was saying as she was struggling for air. He pulled his fingers out of her and began to slap her cunt with his flat hand. The wet slapping sounds were almost louder than her muffled cries for air. She flailed and shook all over, being smothered and assaulted at the same time.

“If he doesn’t know, he is really baceolus (dumb). But if he knew, deodamnatus (goddamned), he is really mundus excrementi (a pile of shit).” In anger he made a fist and punched the poor girl on her twat, making her scream. But her screams and cries were completely muffled and she was completely out of air by now, smothered as she still was by his ass. Her arms flailed about and her right hand hit the table, wiping stuff on the ground, until her fingers suddenly caught the handle of the small knife Quintus had used earlier to peel his apple. She didn’t think at all, she was only struggling for dear life and in her struggling, her hand clutched the knife while she struck him, trying to push him off her. Quintus gave a loud scream when the knife got buried in his right ass cheek.
 
Wragg said:
Oh heck.... why do I get the distinct feeling that might not be the last loud scream that we hear in this story? :eek:
Click to expand...
It wasn't the first scream in this story and certainly won't be the last. ;)
 
Chapter 39

Aulus was standing in front of the window, hands on his back. Domitia sat in a chair, her hands in her lap. The room was barely lit and the house was quiet. It was very late and the house had been in turmoil the whole evening. Tragedy had struck the house and the family. And Domitia was well aware of her part in all this.

“I apologize, I should have told you,” she said.

“You should not have done it in the first place,” replied Aulus, referring to the deflowering of Amabilia, which his wife had just confessed. “But I am not without fault here. I should have checked the girl before I sold her to Quintus. Or I should not have agreed to sell her at all.”

“It was a wise move to sell her,” answered Domitia, “as that would have solved a lot of problems at the same time, including the infatuation of our son.” She had deflowered the girl with the intention to have her sold off and now it had completely backfired.

“It was too easy,” said Aulus, “There have been too many random incidents lately that all come together it seems. It’s almost as if the gods are working against us, having sent us on this path.”

“What can we do?” asked Domitia.

“I have of course spoken with Quintus. His injury is very unfortunate but it is a clean cut and I expect it will heal well. He is furious of course and has demanded compensation.”

“How much?” asked Domitia.

“The price of four slaves,” replied Aulus. “Female slaves that is. He also wants to bring the matter with the runaway slave to court. It’s enough to make me want to kill him, but that’s not an option. The asshole has too many powerful friends and family.”

Domitia cursed and stood up.

“I can ask my uncle to take interest in the matter. He knows many people of influence.”

“That will help, “Aulus nodded. “But it’s not the outcome of the court case I am worried about. They can’t prove it was a courier and we can’t prove it was a runaway slave. So it will likely be dismissed. The biggest problem is money as such a court case costs a lot.”

“How are we going to deal with that?”

“We will have to make sacrifices,” said Aulus, “both of us. Think of it as payment for our mistakes.”

“You mean…” Domitia grew a little pale.

“Yes, I will have to sell the gladiators, all five of them.”

Domitia pursed her lips together, went back to her chair and sat down. She sighed as she knew there was no other option. The estate was barely holding on as it was, with all the draught. And this affair with the runaway slave and the legatus might be the end of them. Sacrifices had to be made, indeed.

“And what about the girl?” she asked.

“She’ll be crucified.”

Domitia looked at him. He did not seem upset.

“Were you in love with her?” she asked.

“No, I wasn’t even aware of her existence until Gaius brought her to me that day I asked for Julia. It was purely coincidence.”

“It was also coincidence she was in the kitchen that same day when Marius came back from his encounter with the runaway slave,” said Domitia.

“Too many coincidences,” replied Aulus.

“We’ll have to make the crucifixion very special if we want to win back the favour of the gods,” sighed Domitia.

“It will have to be a full ritual,” answered Aulus, “ancient rites and all. I have sent someone to Cassinum to fetch a priest. A traditional one.” He looked at Domitia, to see her reaction. She was raised in the city and when they married, she had been unaccustomed to life in the province. Old traditions were usually scorned by her. Not this time though. She knew the danger the family was in and this time she stood fully by his side. Even when she didn’t fully understand what the ancient rituals entailed.

“How is the girl,” he asked. He had left it to his wife to take care of her.

“She is undamaged and contained. I had her locked up in the cellar and a slave is watching her all the time.” She had given Livia this tasked as she was the most loyal of her servants and she knew the girl well enough by now. Aulus nodded and was content. He looked back out of the window, gazing into the night. The land looked peaceful under the stars.

“Tomorrow morning the legatus will return to the city.”

“On horseback?” asked Domitia.

“No,” chuckled Aulus, “his ass could not stand that. I am lending him my carriage.”

“He should be comfortable then,” smirked Domitia, “but maybe we should give him some extra cushions.” They both laughed, not because it was a laughing matter as such, but they both pictured the heavy man complaining and wailing about his sore ass, as he had been doing for most of the evening. If this wasn’t such a serious matter, they would have laughed even harder.

“Anyways,” resumed Aulus, “I’ll tell the girl of her destiny when the legatus is gone. No need to leave her in uncertainty while most of the house will already know by then.”

“Who did you tell?” asked Domitia.

“The staff knows. I have already instructed them to start preparations first thing in the morning. We’ll crucify the girl in two days from now.”

“Do you plan to inform Marius?” she asked.

“Of course. As the filius familias he needs to attend the ceremony and partake in the ritual.”
 
Doragon said:
Chapter 39

Aulus was standing in front of the window, hands on his back. Domitia sat in a chair, her hands in her lap. The room was barely lit and the house was quiet. It was very late and the house had been in turmoil the whole evening. Tragedy had struck the house and the family. And Domitia was well aware of her part in all this.

“I apologize, I should have told you,” she said.

“You should not have done it in the first place,” replied Aulus, referring to the deflowering of Amabilia, which his wife had just confessed. “But I am not without fault here. I should have checked the girl before I sold her to Quintus. Or I should not have agreed to sell her at all.”

“It was a wise move to sell her,” answered Domitia, “as that would have solved a lot of problems at the same time, including the infatuation of our son.” She had deflowered the girl with the intention to have her sold off and now it had completely backfired.

“It was too easy,” said Aulus, “There have been too many random incidents lately that all come together it seems. It’s almost as if the gods are working against us, having sent us on this path.”

“What can we do?” asked Domitia.

“I have of course spoken with Quintus. His injury is very unfortunate but it is a clean cut and I expect it will heal well. He is furious of course and has demanded compensation.”

“How much?” asked Domitia.

“The price of four slaves,” replied Aulus. “Female slaves that is. He also wants to bring the matter with the runaway slave to court. It’s enough to make me want to kill him, but that’s not an option. The asshole has too many powerful friends and family.”

Domitia cursed and stood up.

“I can ask my uncle to take interest in the matter. He knows many people of influence.”

“That will help, “Aulus nodded. “But it’s not the outcome of the court case I am worried about. They can’t prove it was a courier and we can’t prove it was a runaway slave. So it will likely be dismissed. The biggest problem is money as such a court case costs a lot.”

“How are we going to deal with that?”

“We will have to make sacrifices,” said Aulus, “both of us. Think of it as payment for our mistakes.”

“You mean…” Domitia grew a little pale.

“Yes, I will have to sell the gladiators, all five of them.”

Domitia pursed her lips together, went back to her chair and sat down. She sighed as she knew there was no other option. The estate was barely holding on as it was, with all the draught. And this affair with the runaway slave and the legatus might be the end of them. Sacrifices had to be made, indeed.

“And what about the girl?” she asked.

“She’ll be crucified.”

Domitia looked at him. He did not seem upset.

“Were you in love with her?” she asked.

“No, I wasn’t even aware of her existence until Gaius brought her to me that day I asked for Julia. It was purely coincidence.”

“It was also coincidence she was in the kitchen that same day when Marius came back from his encounter with the runaway slave,” said Domitia.

“Too many coincidences,” replied Aulus.

“We’ll have to make the crucifixion very special if we want to win back the favour of the gods,” sighed Domitia.

“It will have to be a full ritual,” answered Aulus, “ancient rites and all. I have sent someone to Cassinum to fetch a priest. A traditional one.” He looked at Domitia, to see her reaction. She was raised in the city and when they married, she had been unaccustomed to life in the province. Old traditions were usually scorned by her. Not this time though. She knew the danger the family was in and this time she stood fully by his side. Even when she didn’t fully understand what the ancient rituals entailed.

“How is the girl,” he asked. He had left it to his wife to take care of her.

“She is undamaged and contained. I had her locked up in the cellar and a slave is watching her all the time.” She had given Livia this tasked as she was the most loyal of her servants and she knew the girl well enough by now. Aulus nodded and was content. He looked back out of the window, gazing into the night. The land looked peaceful under the stars.

“Tomorrow morning the legatus will return to the city.”

“On horseback?” asked Domitia.

“No,” chuckled Aulus, “his ass could not stand that. I am lending him my carriage.”

“He should be comfortable then,” smirked Domitia, “but maybe we should give him some extra cushions.” They both laughed, not because it was a laughing matter as such, but they both pictured the heavy man complaining and wailing about his sore ass, as he had been doing for most of the evening. If this wasn’t such a serious matter, they would have laughed even harder.

“Anyways,” resumed Aulus, “I’ll tell the girl of her destiny when the legatus is gone. No need to leave her in uncertainty while most of the house will already know by then.”

“Who did you tell?” asked Domitia.

“The staff knows. I have already instructed them to start preparations first thing in the morning. We’ll crucify the girl in two days from now.”

“Do you plan to inform Marius?” she asked.

“Of course. As the filius familias he needs to attend the ceremony and partake in the ritual.”
Click to expand...
I look forward to the rest, how will Marcus react to know his beloved crucified ?
 
Chapter 40

Amabilia had not slept much that night. At first she had tried convincing anyone who listened that she was innocent, that she had no idea where the knife came from. She truly didn’t remember picking up the knife, holding it, wielding it. She had been barely conscious when Quintus had finally rolled off her and had started shouting murder. Three slaves had overwhelmed her after that, as if she was an extremely violent and dangerous criminal, while she was naked, gasping for air and barely able to stand on her own two feet. They had dragged her away and she had been tossed into this little room with the wooden bed with a straw sack on it. Livia had joined her soon after, having taken a roughly woven dress with her that was no where near the quality of her normal slave clothes. Despite that it was torn and dirty, Amabilia had put it on as it was better than being naked.

During the night Livia had sat on a chair to block the door, trying to ignore the girl. She had to listen several times to the story of what had happened, as Amabilia kept trying to convince her of her innocence. The older woman had not replied.

“You have to believe me, I have no idea where that knife came from!” exclaimed Amabilia again, well into the late hours of night. She had repeated that sentence dozens of times already.

“Go to sleep, save your energy,” Livia finally replied. That was all she responded.

“What will happen to me now?” whimpered the girl while she curled up on the bed. But Livia didn’t reply any further.

As soon as the legatus had left, Aulus went to the locked up girl to inform her about her fate. When he entered he was greeted by Livia, who stood up and bowed before him. Amabilia threw herself off the bed and unto the floor before him, trembling and begging him for mercy.

“Please dominus, I didn’t know what I was doing,” she wailed.

“Shut up,” said the dominus, ”you are not to speak until spoken to.”

Livia quickly reacted by dragging the girl up on her knees, arms held back and her head bowed to face the ground at the master’s feet.

“It would be best if you didn’t speak at all,” hissed the woman.

Aulus folded his arms and looked down at the girl. What a waste, he thought. She was beyond pretty and she could have had a long life, giving lots of men pleasure. But now that was all spoiled as there was no excuse for what she did.

“It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that you attacked a guest of my house, a legatus of the Roman Empire on top of that. For this there can only be one punishment: death by crucifixion.”

Amabilia froze, her breathing stopped and tears leapt to her eyes. Aulus bent down and put a hand under her chin to make her look up. He noticed the tears in her eyes and the trembling of her lower lip. He didn’t want to comfort her, at least not yet. He first needed to deliver the bad news to her in all its gruesomeness.

“In a few days you will be nailed to the cross with your wrists and feet and you will hang there until you die. This will be extremely painful. But that is not all. We will make sure you will bleed, you will be naked for all to see and you will suffer while you die slowly. Your death is going to be horrific.”

The poor girl was shaking real bad and her breathing was laboured and filled with sobs. Big tears fell from her wide open eyes and ran down her cheeks. Aulus nodded slowly, seeing her anguish. The girl was devastated, as it should be. But now he needed to repair some of the mental damage, as she needed to endure everything with at least some dignity. Before he spoke again, he squatted down in front of the girl, while still keeping his hand under her chin. This time he spoke softer and with more warmth.

“Your service to this family has been greatly appreciated,” he said. “Under normal circumstances we would have been happy to have you in our household for the rest of your life. This is sadly cut short due to circumstances none of us could have seen coming. I believe you when you say you didn’t intend this all to happen. Maybe it was some god guiding your hand. But that doesn’t alter the fact that punishment is needed and you need to die. However,” he stopped there for a moment, letting his words sink in. The girl blinked and tried to control her sobbing as she listened.

“You can still serve this family in the days to come. I want you to give everything you have before you die. Do you understand? In front of you are a few days of absolute service, equal to a life’s worth of servitude. It will be sacred. Your sacrifice will be remembered always and we expect the gods themselves to take pity on you and bless our familia.”

Amabilia blinked. She did not understand, could not comprehend what he was saying. Did he ask for her obedience after having told her she would die horribly? Would she ever be disobedient? It was impossible for her to disobey or even consider such a thing. How could he doubt that? She tried to breath in order to say something in return, but it was hard and her voice sounded hoarse and filled with sobs.

“I have always obeyed,” she almost choked. “I … will gladly die for this family.” She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as she added with a pitched cry “but I want to live! Please…”

Even Aulus was moved and he once more felt regret for having to do this. Damned that legatus, the fucking asshole was costing him a very fine slave.

“There is no choice,” he said softly while releasing her chin. She bowed her head and sobbed openly. He kept squatting in front of the girl as he continued.

“Rest assured we will do everything we can to make your sacrifice count. We will not crucify any other slave, like I had originally planned. We will also make your sacrifice into a full religious ritual. All the pain you will suffer will be like calling out to the gods themselves. The more pain you will suffer, the louder this call will be. But remember, the gods despise weakness. You have to be strong for this, or it will all be meaningless. Do you understand?”

Amabilia tried to understand. She felt like she had a fever. The room was spinning around her. She didn’t understand what was in store for her, or why. But she knew, instinctively what to say. She trembled fiercely as she lifted up her head and while weeping openly, she spoke in between sobs.

“I will… do anything… you ask of me.”

Aulus felt moved and extended his arms, taking the shaking girl into a hug. The girl broke and wept so hard, her body could not be stopped shaking. He held her for a while, kissed her on her head and then finally he said “Don’t fear death, for it is a release of all the pain to come and it will come only once.”

Amabilia didn’t quite understand this yet, but the words would be with her a lot in the coming days and she would cling to them as a last comfort.

“Will… will I see Marius … before… before I go?” she whimpered softly.

Aulus sighed. Maybe the girl did love his son after all. But was this a good thing or an extra complication?

“Marius will be there,” he replied, “and you will see him before the end.”
 
Chapter 41

The old priest looked at Aulus with wet and bloodshot eyes. Just like his lower lip his lower eyelids were also hanging down, making him look like his whole face was constantly drooling. He reminded Aulus a bit of one of his hounds.

“You do realize these rituals are highly frowned upon nowadays?” asked Gracchus with a raspy voice. The way he moved his head on his hunched upper body, made him also appear as a vulture.

“Yes, I am aware of that, but it is not forbidden by law,” replied Aulus. "At least not yet."

“All the same, I suggest keeping certain parts hidden from view,” said Gracchus. “The less people witness the more sacred parts of the ritual, the less questions will be asked and the fewer objections will be raised later on.”

“Fine,” said Aulus with a sigh. He would have preferred to have the complete ritual performed in public, but people were getting softer these days. Especially when it came to acts of fornication in public.

“What do you suggest then,” he asked the old priest.

“Well, let’s have the insemination part done in the stables, away from curious eyes. How many men of your household do you want to take part in the ritual?”

“My son,” replied Aulus, “my five gladiators and maybe two of my liberti.”

“That’s only a few,” said the old priest while sticking out his lower lip in a little disdain. “And you really should consider taking part in this ritual yourself, as pater familias. To bless your seed is to bless the whole family.”

“I know,” said Aulus, “but my son will take my place.” It was the least he could do for Marius, who was likely going to be very upset about all this. He hoped it would comfort the young man a little if he could have a first go at the girl.

“Fine,” said Gracchus, while folding his bony hands in front of him. “Eight people will be the minimum,” he added. “And which animals will take part in the ritual? Goats, dogs, maybe a horse?”

Aulus shook his head. “No, we will dispense with the bestialities.”

Gracchus gasped. “But dominus, how can there be a real ritual of fertility and prosperity when the animals are not taking part in this?”

“I dislike women having sex with animals,” said Aulus, “It will not happen.”

“Ah,” said the old man while holding up his bony finger, “but they don’t need to copulate, we only need their seed. I have an instrument we can use instead.”

“Good,” said Aulus, glad the matter was settled. He waved his hand to indicate he did not need to see the instrument right now, which clearly disappointed the old man who was rummaging through his sack of instruments, devices and holy artefacts.

“As for the public part,” said the priest then, and he got a scourge out of his bag. It was a nasty looking flogger with metal tips on each leather strip. “We need to draw blood and cause tremendous pain if we want to get the attention of the gods.”

“Yes I know, I have seen these rituals before,” replied Aulus, “but I have one request. Only scourge her backside, not the front.”

“Why not the front?” asked the old man, not hiding his surprise and disappointment. “Especially the flaying of the breasts, being so sensitive, really calls out to the gods.”

“I want her to look as pretty as possible while she is on the cross,” explained Aulus. “Her back can be a bloody mess, but her front needs to be immaculate.”

The priest looked unhappy and sighed dramatically.

“I do not know why you insist on a traditional execution when you change so much,” he sighed.

“Just do as your told, old man. I pay you well for your services.”

“Of course my lord,” the old man bowed his head. He took out one of his magic amulets and kissed it while making a holy pledge. “It will be done as you instruct.”
 
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