Their forced march felt like it took an hour, but in reality it was only about half that. At one point the malnourished brunette slave at the front of the procession stumbled and the guards swooped in to yank her back to her feet.
“You’ll pay extra for that, cunt!” One shouted at her, loud enough for Ariana to hear.
Another guard shouted at the two slaves behind her, repeating the threat, lest any of them should falter.
Ariana looked at the petite blonde slave in front of her, straining against the heavy load on her shoulders, sweat cascading down her nude back.
Ariana’s mind was a boiling concoction of feelings dominated by dread and shame, but in that moment, guilt rose up to the top of her roiling torment and made her want to cry out and beg for mercy and an end to this.
But her time as a slave had taught her well that that would only make things worse. Forgetting her place was what landed them all in this death march in the first place.
I am going to die she thought with horrifying and surreal clarity. I am going to be put to death.
Ariana looked at the poor slaves struggling in front of her and over their bowed heads and the ominous crossbeams on their shoulders she saw something rising above the crowds of cheering onlookers; a large wooden stage, over two meters off the ground, centered in the largest city square, with raised seats and balconies in the surrounding buildings.
The stage upon which the entire city could watch the execution unfold. Ariana felt her body freeze in terror. She ceased walking and let out a gasp.
A guard cracked his whip just behind her and she yelped in fright.
“March!” He shouted.
Ariana shook like a leaf in the wind as the massive crowd parted and her and the others made their way towards a wooden staircase on the side of the stage, to ascend it and reach the end of their lives.
Ariana heard one of the girls sobbing behind her, it did not sound like Ana or Kalla. She imagined it was Vayla but it may have been Holly, the former priestess who had crucified so many of her fellow slaves in Master Verlin’s courtyard.
Ariana was halted as the guards flanked the three slave girls bearing crossbeams and escorted up the stairs to the stage, lest any of them lose balance and fall.
Then Ariana was given the order to “March” once again.
As she ascended the stairs, her eyes swept over the area where she would be crucified. On the center of the large stage were three thick wooden pillars laid down and attached to the stage at the base so they could be rotated upright, clearly by mechanisms underneath the stage.
The three slave girls bearing the crossbeams were being maneuvered to straddle these and then be laid back so the crossbeams could be affixed to the vertical shafts. There was a large wooden wheel on the stage, its spokes parallel to the stage, near where their stairs brought them up onto the platform.
At the far end was a comfortable looking throne of gold and plush cloths. High Priestess Anjela sat upon it. She must have been carried by a carriage over here while they were marched nude through the city streets. Next to her stood a muscular, bald man with some short, dark stubble on his rugged jawline. He was completely nude, and his cock was huge, his long shaft dangling down to nearly his knees.
Near the throne where the High Priestess sat, a naked girl knelt, her hands bound behind her back, a collar like the one around Ariana’s neck chaining her to a small stake in the stage a little bit behind her. She was skinny and had big, frightened eyes and perky little breasts that were rising and falling nervously. She looked to be around Ana’s age, her dirty blond hair framing her young face.
Another innocent person I have doomed? Ariana wondered with dread and shame.
Ariana was marched near the front of the stage, towards the High Priestess, so that Ana, Kalla, Holly, and Vayla were lined up behind her.
Guards came to them and removed the collars from their necks and the chain connecting them. Then they were summarily turned to face the crowd and pushed down onto their knees.
Ariana’s heart stopped for a moment. There she was, nude, kneeling upon a stage for all to see, looking out at the cheering crowd of thousands, uncovered and powerless, bereft of all dignity and hope.
She turned and saw Ana and Kalla, who knelt stunned and humiliated and afraid like her. Holly had her chin held up, clearly trying to be stoic, but her trembling lips and watering eyes betrayed her shame and terror. Beyond her, Vayla had tears streaming down her face, her expression horrified and grief-stricken.
The crowd quieted as the High Priestess stood up to address them…