The Slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburcus

[Wragg]

“I didn’t… kill him. I didn’t… know … I’d be … crucified. We only… wanted to… get away.”

“You left Diana behind. You knew she’d be crucified.”

“I knew…I’d… be crucified.” Diana had been listening. “Even this… is better than…being… with him.”

I climbed down, and then I attended to Emil’s sign. Once I’d got the nail out of my teeth, I asked Diana, “So you were prepared to die on a cross so that Emil and Dilla could escape?”

“Yes,” she managed.

“I’m sorry… Diana.” I was sure Emil was sorry.

“Not your fault, Emil,” I offered. “I don’t think you had long to plan. Gnaeus set out as soon as he got the message from Tiburcus. It’s only a ten minute walk, and Tiburcus was dead when Gnaeus got there.”

“I heard him…” said Diana, as I climbed up her cross. ‘Take this… to Gnaeus…the carnifex,’ he said. I leaned on her patibulum and listened. She obviously wanted to talk. But she needed air. She howled as she forced herself up the cross. The whole cross swayed as she did so, and me with it. I dropped the sign and spat out the nail and got my hands under her armpits. For the first time since I’d crucified her, her weight was taken by something other than nails. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold her, though.

“Oh, wow,” she said. “That’s better! You’re still a scumbag, but thank you!”

“I can’t stay like this for long, though.”

“Can you… can you wrap your arms around me? It would be easier for you, and it’s nice to feel the warmth of another human being, even a scumbag.”



So, to the delight of the spectators, and the consternation of the soldier, that is what I did. The stipes was between us, yes, but my arms were right around her upper body, one hand on each breast.



“Are you supposed to be doing that, mate?” asked the soldier.

“If there’s something she needs to tell us, which there is, we have to take the weight for a while so she can breathe.”

“And it’s pure coincidence that you’ve got her by the tits?”

“If it was you, I’d have you by the tits. Now shut up and let her speak!”

“If you get me down, you know I’ll marry you?” asked Diana, her nipples hardening.

“Till death us do part,” I retorted. “About an hour, in other words. Plus a while to die on our crosses. An offer I can refuse.”

“Can I… tell you the… story? Instead… of her?” asked Dilla, hopefully.

“You had your chance, Dilla, and cosy though this is, I can’t stay here all day, and Diana is going to tell me what you did to Tiburcus.”

“I.. didn’t!” protested Dilla, but I still didn’t believe her.

“I wish you could stay,” murmured Diana. “Please?” She turned her head, inviting me to kiss her. “I bet you’ve got a hard-on.”

I had, as a matter of fact. But I didn’t kiss her. If I had, I’d probably have ripped out her nails with my teeth. Until that sentry stuck me with his sword.

“Diana, you have ten seconds to tell me what happened until I let go. One…. Two…. “

“Scumbag. Okay. So the stupid errand-boy went off as fast as his legs could carry him. I’d heard the row about that fucking dead rose, anything like that would send him into a rage. So when I heard him sending for the carnifex I raced out to the tool-shed to find Emil.

“’Emil’, I said, ‘that rose! He’s sent for the carnifex!’

“’What? Diana, it was a rose! He’s not going to crucify me over a rose!’

“’He is. He’s crucified slaves for less than that before. Run. I’ll distract him. Take Dilla and run for your lives!’

“So I went in there to Tiburcus’ room, slipped out of my robe, and started to rub his cock. But he was in a foul mood and he was having none of it. He told me to stop being a slut, and to go to my room, because he was expecting a visitor.

“I did up my robe, and went out into the garden. Emil and Dilla had gone, to my relief. But I knew that Tiburcus would know I’d warned them. He was getting tired of me, anyway, spending more time with prostitutes than me. So I picked up Emil’s spade, and smashed the brains out of that bastard. What difference did it make? I was heading for this cross in any case.”



I let go of her. She shrieked as she fell back onto her outstretched arms. I went back down my ladder, grabbed the sign and the nail, and climbed back up. I banged the sign ‘DIANA HOMICIDA’ into place without caring how much it hurt her. But she was writhing in agony, and I had a wild ride on my ladder, so I got myself back on Terra Firma as quickly as I could.

“Well, I guess I should thank you for your honesty, Diana. Why did you tell Gnaeus it was Dilla?”

She was still screaming and fighting her cross.

“WHY, DIANA?” I thundered.



“I was…scared… of THIS!!! I… can’t think… why….”

Gnaeus, and all he signified, was an imposing sight. She’d seen him and grabbed at the only chance, however slim, that she had of escaping crucifixion. And she’d lied to me, all that ‘you know I’ve never hurt anyone’ stuff, to try to coax me into freeing her. Maybe I didn’t blame her. And now, at last, she’d told me the truth.

And, like I said, good riddance to Tiburcus, I wondered if I might have taken a spade to his head if he’d been my master.

I went up to the legionary. “You can tell your centurion that it was her.”

“So I heard.”

“We got to the truth.”

“You looked as though you hated every second of it.”

“Yes. A bastard of a job, but somebody had to do it!” I grinned at him, and thumped him playfully on the shoulder. Gods, it was nice not to be a slave any more.

“Aulus…” Dilla’s voice.

“What, Dilla?”



“Get me down. Please?”

“I’m sorry, Dilla…”

“You know… I’m not… a murderess… now.”

“No, but I’m sorry. You’re still an escaped slave. For which the punishment is still crucifixion. But I could change your sign, if you like?”

“But you’re… not…. a slave… anymore. You could… get me.. down.”

I didn’t think she’d been listening to me, so I just looked at her.

“Slaves don’t… talk to… soldiers… like that.”

“Maybe not. I’ll come back and see you, Dilla. Tonight, before sundown.

“Aulus! Please!”

“See you later, Dilla.”

 

[Cella]

“I didn’t… kill him. I didn’t… know … I’d be … crucified. We only… wanted to… get away.”

“You left Diana behind. You knew she’d be crucified.”

“I knew…I’d… be crucified.” Diana had been listening. “Even this… is better than…being… with him.”

I climbed down, and then I attended to Emil’s sign. Once I’d got the nail out of my teeth, I asked Diana, “So you were prepared to die on a cross so that Emil and Dilla could escape?”

“Yes,” she managed.

“I’m sorry… Diana.” I was sure Emil was sorry.

“Not your fault, Emil,” I offered. “I don’t think you had long to plan. Gnaeus set out as soon as he got the message from Tiburcus. It’s only a ten minute walk, and Tiburcus was dead when Gnaeus got there.”

“I heard him…” said Diana, as I climbed up her cross. ‘Take this… to Gnaeus…the carnifex,’ he said. I leaned on her patibulum and listened. She obviously wanted to talk. But she needed air. She howled as she forced herself up the cross. The whole cross swayed as she did so, and me with it. I dropped the sign and spat out the nail and got my hands under her armpits. For the first time since I’d crucified her, her weight was taken by something other than nails. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold her, though.

“Oh, wow,” she said. “That’s better! You’re still a scumbag, but thank you!”

“I can’t stay like this for long, though.”

“Can you… can you wrap your arms around me? It would be easier for you, and it’s nice to feel the warmth of another human being, even a scumbag.”

View attachment 1570590

So, to the delight of the spectators, and the consternation of the soldier, that is what I did. The stipes was between us, yes, but my arms were right around her upper body, one hand on each breast.

View attachment 1570591

“Are you supposed to be doing that, mate?” asked the soldier.

“If there’s something she needs to tell us, which there is, we have to take the weight for a while so she can breathe.”

“And it’s pure coincidence that you’ve got her by the tits?”

“If it was you, I’d have you by the tits. Now shut up and let her speak!”

“If you get me down, you know I’ll marry you?” asked Diana, her nipples hardening.

“Till death us do part,” I retorted. “About an hour, in other words. Plus a while to die on our crosses. An offer I can refuse.”

“Can I… tell you the… story? Instead… of her?” asked Dilla, hopefully.

“You had your chance, Dilla, and cosy though this is, I can’t stay here all day, and Diana is going to tell me what you did to Tiburcus.”

“I.. didn’t!” protested Dilla, but I still didn’t believe her.

“I wish you could stay,” murmured Diana. “Please?” She turned her head, inviting me to kiss her. “I bet you’ve got a hard-on.”

I had, as a matter of fact. But I didn’t kiss her. If I had, I’d probably have ripped out her nails with my teeth. Until that sentry stuck me with his sword.

“Diana, you have ten seconds to tell me what happened until I let go. One…. Two…. “

“Scumbag. Okay. So the stupid errand-boy went off as fast as his legs could carry him. I’d heard the row about that fucking dead rose, anything like that would send him into a rage. So when I heard him sending for the carnifex I raced out to the tool-shed to find Emil.

“’Emil’, I said, ‘that rose! He’s sent for the carnifex!’

“’What? Diana, it was a rose! He’s not going to crucify me over a rose!’

“’He is. He’s crucified slaves for less than that before. Run. I’ll distract him. Take Dilla and run for your lives!’

“So I went in there to Tiburcus’ room, slipped out of my robe, and started to rub his cock. But he was in a foul mood and he was having none of it. He told me to stop being a slut, and to go to my room, because he was expecting a visitor.

“I did up my robe, and went out into the garden. Emil and Dilla had gone, to my relief. But I knew that Tiburcus would know I’d warned them. He was getting tired of me, anyway, spending more time with prostitutes than me. So I picked up Emil’s spade, and smashed the brains out of that bastard. What difference did it make? I was heading for this cross in any case.”

View attachment 1570592

I let go of her. She shrieked as she fell back onto her outstretched arms. I went back down my ladder, grabbed the sign and the nail, and climbed back up. I banged the sign ‘DIANA HOMICIDA’ into place without caring how much it hurt her. But she was writhing in agony, and I had a wild ride on my ladder, so I got myself back on Terra Firma as quickly as I could.

“Well, I guess I should thank you for your honesty, Diana. Why did you tell Gnaeus it was Dilla?”

She was still screaming and fighting her cross.

“WHY, DIANA?” I thundered.

View attachment 1570593

“I was…scared… of THIS!!! I… can’t think… why….”

Gnaeus, and all he signified, was an imposing sight. She’d seen him and grabbed at the only chance, however slim, that she had of escaping crucifixion. And she’d lied to me, all that ‘you know I’ve never hurt anyone’ stuff, to try to coax me into freeing her. Maybe I didn’t blame her. And now, at last, she’d told me the truth.

And, like I said, good riddance to Tiburcus, I wondered if I might have taken a spade to his head if he’d been my master.

I went up to the legionary. “You can tell your centurion that it was her.”

“So I heard.”

“We got to the truth.”

“You looked as though you hated every second of it.”

“Yes. A bastard of a job, but somebody had to do it!” I grinned at him, and thumped him playfully on the shoulder. Gods, it was nice not to be a slave any more.

“Aulus…” Dilla’s voice.

“What, Dilla?”

View attachment 1570594

“Get me down. Please?”

“I’m sorry, Dilla…”

“You know… I’m not… a murderess… now.”

“No, but I’m sorry. You’re still an escaped slave. For which the punishment is still crucifixion. But I could change your sign, if you like?”

“But you’re… not…. a slave… anymore. You could… get me.. down.”

I didn’t think she’d been listening to me, so I just looked at her.

“Slaves don’t… talk to… soldiers… like that.”

“Maybe not. I’ll come back and see you, Dilla. Tonight, before sundown.

“Aulus! Please!”

“See you later, Dilla.”

"Hey, wait! Aulus! Aulus! Come back! I want my tits held too! Please! This hurts so much. I need to be held!"

 

[Wragg]

Gnaeus and Lukas left that afternoon. I watched them go with mixed feelings. I looked around the place. My place. There were fifteen or so patibuli awaiting use, and two or three spare stipes. Gunter was about, but I wasn’t up for any more work until I had some decent help. I gave him the afternoon off, to celebrate, maybe.

That evening, I returned to the execution ground. The spectators were long gone. The afternoon had brought showers which had driven them back to the city. Even the soldier had drifted off back to the barracks.

I looked up at the crosses. Hours of torture were now etched into their faces, but the slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburcus were still very much alive.
In the past, on Gnaeus’ orders, I’d given them water, morning and evening. A kindness? Or cruelty, prolonging their lives?

I’d wondered about not doing so, but Diana made up my mind for me.



“Aulus.. Aulus… water… must have … water.”

I’d brought water with me, so up went the ladder again, and I clambered up beside Diana. She’d been up for a little while longer than the others, her need may have been a little bit greater. She gulped from my flask.

“Thanks… hold me… again… Aulus?”

I didn’t, but I gently said. “I don’t blame you for killing that bastard. I’m sorry it’s ended like this for you, Diana. You deserved better.”

“I didn’t.. want you… to think… Dilla… had done it.”

Dilla twisted her head, painfully. “Thank you…. Diana… I’m…thirsty..too…Aulus!”

“And… me!” Emil had been listening. So I went to him next, and he, too, drank well. But I carried plenty in my flask.

I carried my ladder over to Dilla, and climbed.


She gulped until water ran down her chin.

“This… will last longer… if I drink?”

“Maybe”, I said, “but you don’t have to be thirsty.”

“You could… still… strangle me?”

“You don’t have to be strangled, either.’”

She considered this, as I gave her a little more water.

“She’s… got… bigger tits… than me!” Dilla announced.

That stopped me. “What?”

“I need… to… breathe!”

She began that arduous fight up her cross for a decent lungful of air. I saw what she wanted. She thought I’d only helped Diana because I fancied her. I dropped my flask, which thumped without damage onto the earth below, and got her under the arms as I had Diana before.

“Ohhhhh!” She gasped in great draughts of air.

“There’s nothing wrong with your breasts, Dilla. They are just fine.”

“They aren’t much use now. I’ll never have children. Never enjoy sex.”

“I doubt if Tiburcus gave you much time off. And if he’d got you pregnant you’d have come up here sooner.” Crucifixion was an all-too-effective birth control method among the slave population.

“Yeah… Diana had it worse than me. I’m glad he’s dead.”

“I’m going to have to let you down soon. I’m not supposed to do this.” In all my life, I’d never done it. But to give her a few minutes respite from the endless torture of the nails didn’t seem so unreasonable.

“Oh, please, just a little longer. You do know what a terrible way to die this is?”

“I’ve seen a lot of crucifixions.”

“Every single fucking minute is hell. Every single fucking minute seems to last an hour. How long have I been up here?”

“About seven hours.”

“And you said three days? Please, Aulus.. you can’t leave me here for three days. Just for running away? I wish I had killed that bastard with my own hands.”

I looked across at Diana and Emil, who were both watching and listening.

“Even now, with you holding me up instead of the nails, it’s still agony. I just… wish I could make you understand… how…. terrible… this ..is.”



Her voice faded. Her head dropped. Just for a second I thought she’d died in my arms. Then I heard -and felt - her breathing heavily.

All day long she’d fought her cross. Now, in the warmth of my embrace, she’d gone to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. Diana smiled. “Now you’re stuck!”

I was, too. I held her there, fast asleep, for maybe five minutes after which my arms were aching, my shoulders were aching, my feet hurt like hell with my weight and hers borne on the rung of the ladder.

I gritted my teeth, and resolved to stay put for as long as I could stand it. Because, unlike Dilla, I could end the pain when I wanted to. Head back down the ladder and go to the alehouse and the whorehouse, if I wanted to.

But five minutes more was my limit. By then everything was shrieking in protest, and if I didn’t get off that ladder I’d fall off.

As gently as I could, I lowered Dilla down her cross, but she awoke instantly.”

“Wha.. AAAARGH! NO! NO!”

“I’m sorry Dilla…”

As with Diana earlier, it was as if I’d crucified her afresh. Except that she’d gone from the comfort of sleep to the hell of the cross in an instant.

“What’s… what’s happening? Where am I? Aaargh!”

“Dilla…” Diana was calling her. “Dilla? It’s me, Diana! I’m here, Dilla.”

“Diana?”



“You’re on….a cross… Dilla. We’ve been…. crucified.”

Understanding returned for Dilla. Along with waves of pain. “I thought it….was a …. bad dream.”

“It was….my… fault, Dilla. I’m… so…sorry.”

“No, it was mine…” said Emil. “I let.. that rose… die.”

I was back on the ground now. “I counted up this afternoon. I personally have crucified, over the past ten years or so, sixteen of the slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburicus. Today, the three of you made that nineteen.



“Do the maths – that’s an average life expectancy in his service of six months. You’ve all done better than that.

“But Diana – you lived with him for nearly three years. You, by a significant margin, are the longest surviving of his slaves.

“I’m sorry, you were all doomed from the moment he bought you. Whoever’s fault this is, it isn’t yours. But you might have saved another nineteen lives today! You should have an award, not a cross.”

“Thank you, Aulus.” Diana fought her way up her cross yet again. “That’ll… be a…. great comfort…. while we… wait… three days… to die.”

And Dilla just looked at me. There was sorrow, pain, and fear in that look. But maybe still hope. Sometimes hope was the last thing to die. I gazed back at her.

“Good night, Dilla,” I said. “I will come back.” I nodded, and left.

 

[Wragg]

View attachment Dillas drink.mp4

 

[malins]

“I’m going to have to let you down soon. I’m not supposed to do this.” In all my life, I’d never done it. But to give her a few minutes respite from the endless torture of the nails didn’t seem so unreasonable.
...
“Even now, with you holding me up instead of the nails, it’s still agony. I just… wish I could make you understand… how…. terrible… this ..is.”
...
All day long she’d fought her cross. Now, in the warmth of my embrace, she’d gone to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. Diana smiled. “Now you’re stuck!”
I was, too. I held her there, fast asleep, for maybe fiv

A wonderful scene, onlookers will never know how much such moments of recognition, support & warmth mean to a crucifixa and how much a difference they make!

 

[phlebas]

View attachment 1571084

Wow, now that is an interesting animation, well done Wragg for taking the risk and very effective it is too.
This is always such an intimate moment, when the victim is allowed to drink, helpless, dependent on the kindness of another person. She can do nothing but receive the precious liquid with gratitude and what little dignity she can muster.

 

[Wragg]

Even at over sixty years of age, she still had fantastic breasts, my wife.



I looked at her as she slept. She hadn’t had an easy life, eking out an existence in these alpine meadows.

I could still remember every minute of that day and that night, over thirty years ago. The crucifixion of the Slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburcus, following his murder. Diana’s confession of the murder. Me, holding Dilla while she slept. Me, falling utterly, hopelessly, and ridiculously in love with her at exactly that moment. What do you do when you love someone who you’ve nailed to a cross?

Now, all these years later, I was still holding her while she slept. I was still utterly, hopelessly, and ridiculously in love with her.

Nobody had taken the slightest notice of me driving our horse and cart about late at night. The sentry on the gate hadn’t even been curious when I told him I was going to the next village to collect timber, and would stay there overnight.

It was dark at that time, the moon was just past full and had yet to rise. I heard them, moaning, on their crosses.

I stopped the cart and tied the horse to a convenient stipes. But it wasn’t until I had the ladder against her cross that Dilla noticed me.

“What… what’s happening?”



“Dilla, it’s me, Aulus.”

“You’ve come… to get me… down?”

“I have, Dilla. I’ve come to get you down.”

“Ohhhh, gods, thank you!”

I had ropes and I had bandages, yards of them. I wrapped rope around her chest, under her shoulders, and then over the patibulum. She helped me, pushing herself up and I tied her so she was supported. Then, carefully but quickly, using my hammer as a lever, I pulled her nails out.
The dead don’t care when you pull nails out. The living do, and Dilla’s screams made my blood run cold, but it had to be done. Yet the screams caused no interest from the city. Screams from the execution ground, even at night, are not out of the ordinary.

“Are you.. just… taking her?” Diana was now fully aware of what was happening.

“No, that wouldn’t be kind, Diana.”



I lowered Dilla into the cart, wrapped her wrists and heels in bandages, coccooned her in a blanket and then, seeing no sign of interest from the city, I did the same for Diana and Emil.

I did my first aid as quickly as I could, and I shushed them when they tried to speak, because then my priority was to put the greatest possible distance between me and the city. So I just prayed that they’d be okay and I headed east, away from the city, and towards the mountains that I’d known as a child. I remembered that the Romans rarely went there. Even in the dark, I knew my way there.

For a while there was silence behind me, then a noise, and Dilla came up to sit beside me.



“I knew you’d come.”

“Really? I didn’t know it myself. Not till I came to you yesterday evening. But then I knew I couldn’t leave you there for three days to die.”

“You came for me?”

“Yes. I came for you, Dilla. Diana did actually murder Tiburcus, and knew the risks. Emil ran, and he knew the risks. But you were just a victim of circumstance. And…” My voice trailed off.

“And?” she prompted.

“And I’m so very sorry, Dilla, for what I did to you.”

“So you fucking well should be. But maybe I’d take this over being strangled.”

She sat there in silence for a bit. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home.”

“What, to your workshop?”

“No, to the farm where I grew up. We’ll be safe there.” The moon was up now; though its light was diffused in the cloud, I could just see her. “Are you well enough to sit up? You’ve had a… difficult day.”

That did, at least, make her laugh. “I hope I never have another one that bad.”

“You will if the Romans catch us. And I’ll not be rescuing you – I’ll be on another cross.”

“They won’t catch us. I trust you.”

“You trust the man who helped nail you to a cross?”

“I trust the man who got me down. Are you going to marry Diana, then?”

“What?”

“She said she’d marry you if you got her down.”

“I shan’t hold her to that. She’s lovely, but she’s not my type.”

“Good. Because Emil is hopelessly in love with her. Who is your type?”

“I find myself becoming exceptionally fond of very attractive dark-haired girls who have incredible hope and courage. Even while they are on a cross.”

“That’s a bit hard for you, isn’t it? When it’s you that helped put her there.”

“You’re right, Dilla. But you asked why I came, and that’s the truth.”

She said nothing. She stayed where she was, but nothing more was said all night.

Before the sun rose, we were on the track that led to the farm. Gradually, it grew light. No spectacular sunrise under the clouds, but enough to see some tatty huts and mountains and a lake beyond.



“It’s beautiful,” said Dilla.



Now there really was enough light to see her. “It is, with you here.”



That did it. The emotion broke over her in a flood. All she’d been through, the raising and dashing of her hopes, and now she had hope again. She’d expected to see this dawn from a cross, instead she was sitting on a cart looking at the mountains of the land that would one day be the Salzkammergut. She threw her arms around me and sobbed. I stroked her hair. It seemed the right thing to do.

The sound brought an elderly woman out of the nearest hut. She was about the same age as Zelda. She came over, armed with a broom.

“Who are you and what do you want? There’s nothing here for you! Just me and my husband! Be off with you!”

I looked at her over Dilla’s shoulder. “Hello, Mother.”

She dropped her broom in shock. “Axro? Axrotallus? Can that really be you? I thought you were dead! Garos! Garos! It’s Axro! Our son!”



I disentangled myself from Dilla, got down and hugged my mother. “I went fishing and found myself being sold into slavery in Juvavum. But I was freed yesterday, and here I am today!”

By now Diana and Emil had awoken, and were sitting up, wrapped in their blankets.

“But who are these people?”

I introduced them. “They spent yesterday nailed to crosses, can we stay here while they recover? Please? As soon as they are well we can move on.”

My father had appeared. “You’ll do no such thing, son. This is your home and here you can stay!”

 

[Loxuru]

Wow! Such an unexpected twist in the story!
A variation on the Pygmalion theme? Sculptor falls in love with sculpture, somuch the latter becomes alive! Here : executioner falls in love with crucified victim, she resurrects?

 

[thecuriousone]

Even at over sixty years of age, she still had fantastic breasts, my wife.

View attachment 1571418

I looked at her as she slept. She hadn’t had an easy life, eking out an existence in these alpine meadows.

I could still remember every minute of that day and that night, over thirty years ago. The crucifixion of the Slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburcus, following his murder. Diana’s confession of the murder. Me, holding Dilla while she slept. Me, falling utterly, hopelessly, and ridiculously in love with her at exactly that moment. What do you do when you love someone who you’ve nailed to a cross?

Now, all these years later, I was still holding her while she slept. I was still utterly, hopelessly, and ridiculously in love with her.

Nobody had taken the slightest notice of me driving our horse and cart about late at night. The sentry on the gate hadn’t even been curious when I told him I was going to the next village to collect timber, and would stay there overnight.

It was dark at that time, the moon was just past full and had yet to rise. I heard them, moaning, on their crosses.

I stopped the cart and tied the horse to a convenient stipes. But it wasn’t until I had the ladder against her cross that Dilla noticed me.

“What… what’s happening?”

View attachment 1571419

“Dilla, it’s me, Aulus.”

“You’ve come… to get me… down?”

“I have, Dilla. I’ve come to get you down.”

“Ohhhh, gods, thank you!”

I had ropes and I had bandages, yards of them. I wrapped rope around her chest, under her shoulders, and then over the patibulum. She helped me, pushing herself up and I tied her so she was supported. Then, carefully but quickly, using my hammer as a lever, I pulled her nails out.
The dead don’t care when you pull nails out. The living do, and Dilla’s screams made my blood run cold, but it had to be done. Yet the screams caused no interest from the city. Screams from the execution ground, even at night, are not out of the ordinary.

“Are you.. just… taking her?” Diana was now fully aware of what was happening.

“No, that wouldn’t be kind, Diana.”

View attachment 1571420

I lowered Dilla into the cart, wrapped her wrists and heels in bandages, coccooned her in a blanket and then, seeing no sign of interest from the city, I did the same for Diana and Emil.

I did my first aid as quickly as I could, and I shushed them when they tried to speak, because then my priority was to put the greatest possible distance between me and the city. So I just prayed that they’d be okay and I headed east, away from the city, and towards the mountains that I’d known as a child. I remembered that the Romans rarely went there. Even in the dark, I knew my way there.

For a while there was silence behind me, then a noise, and Dilla came up to sit beside me.

View attachment 1571421

“I knew you’d come.”

“Really? I didn’t know it myself. Not till I came to you yesterday evening. But then I knew I couldn’t leave you there for three days to die.”

“You came for me?”

“Yes. I came for you, Dilla. Diana did actually murder Tiburcus, and knew the risks. Emil ran, and he knew the risks. But you were just a victim of circumstance. And…” My voice trailed off.

“And?” she prompted.

“And I’m so very sorry, Dilla, for what I did to you.”

“So you fucking well should be. But maybe I’d take this over being strangled.”

She sat there in silence for a bit. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home.”

“What, to your workshop?”

“No, to the farm where I grew up. We’ll be safe there.” The moon was up now; though its light was diffused in the cloud, I could just see her. “Are you well enough to sit up? You’ve had a… difficult day.”

That did, at least, make her laugh. “I hope I never have another one that bad.”

“You will if the Romans catch us. And I’ll not be rescuing you – I’ll be on another cross.”

“They won’t catch us. I trust you.”

“You trust the man who helped nail you to a cross?”

“I trust the man who got me down. Are you going to marry Diana, then?”

“What?”

“She said she’d marry you if you got her down.”

“I shan’t hold her to that. She’s lovely, but she’s not my type.”

“Good. Because Emil is hopelessly in love with her. Who is your type?”

“I find myself becoming exceptionally fond of very attractive dark-haired girls who have incredible hope and courage. Even while they are on a cross.”

“That’s a bit hard for you, isn’t it? When it’s you that helped put her there.”

“You’re right, Dilla. But you asked why I came, and that’s the truth.”

She said nothing. She stayed where she was, but nothing more was said all night.

Before the sun rose, we were on the track that led to the farm. Gradually, it grew light. No spectacular sunrise under the clouds, but enough to see some tatty huts and mountains and a lake beyond.

View attachment 1571422

“It’s beautiful,” said Dilla.

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Now there really was enough light to see her. “It is, with you here.”

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That did it. The emotion broke over her in a flood. All she’d been through, the raising and dashing of her hopes, and now she had hope again. She’d expected to see this dawn from a cross, instead she was sitting on a cart looking at the mountains of the land that would one day be the Salzkammergut. She threw her arms around me and sobbed. I stroked her hair. It seemed the right thing to do.

The sound brought an elderly woman out of the nearest hut. She was about the same age as Zelda. She came over, armed with a broom.

“Who are you and what do you want? There’s nothing here for you! Just me and my husband! Be off with you!”

I looked at her over Dilla’s shoulder. “Hello, Mother.”

She dropped her broom in shock. “Axro? Axrotallus? Can that really be you? I thought you were dead! Garos! Garos! It’s Axro! Our son!”

View attachment 1571425

I disentangled myself from Dilla, got down and hugged my mother. “I went fishing and found myself being sold into slavery in Juvavum. But I was freed yesterday, and here I am today!”

By now Diana and Emil had awoken, and were sitting up, wrapped in their blankets.

“But who are these people?”

I introduced them. “They spent yesterday nailed to crosses, can we stay here while they recover? Please? As soon as they are well we can move on.”

My father had appeared. “You’ll do no such thing, son. This is your home and here you can stay!”

It is almost christmas time so I forgive your feelgood ending
Nice twist

 

[Sonner]

It's a nice change of pace to see an ending where the victim is taken down and survives, I like that very much

 

[Wragg]

There's some more water yet to flow under this bridge, I don't think we're quite at the 'happy ever after' stage yet.

But you never know, the mountain air might do them good!

 

[Loxuru]

There's some more water yet to flow under this bridge, I don't think we're quite at the 'happy ever after' stage yet.

But you never know, the mountain air might do them good!

Reading ahead : "The Sound of Music", crux version, is coming up!

 

[SirMGBZ]

Reading ahead : "The Sound of Music", crux version, is coming up!

“The hills are alive, with the sound of screaming.”

 

[Loinclothslave]

Jeez @Wragg - this is a complete cruxforums classic! And still something more to come? You really are extraordinary! When you hinted that you had some AI manips in the works I wasn’t expecting an epic masterpiece. Perhaps I should have? Really loving it!

 

[Wragg]

Reading ahead : "The Sound of Music", crux version, is coming up!

What do we do with someone like Loxuru?

 

[jimsac]

So I did what I had to do. I unfastened her robe, and pulled it off her arms.

View attachment 1563793
Underneath she was bare breasted, but she wore a loincloth.

I pulled it away, and admired her for a few moments before peering at her loincloth gingerly, but it must have been clean on this morning, because it was still clean, despite what she’d been through.

View attachment 1563794

I waved it at Gunter, and he approached. He looked at Diana, and spoke to Diana in his own language. But whatever he said, it meant nothing to Diana, who looked at me. “What did he say?”

I shrugged, but made a gesture to Gunter to indicate that I didn’t want her standing chatting to us, but laying down, and together we lifted off her feet and placed her, carefully enough, onto her cross.

View attachment 1563795
Lukas was fetching some nails, so I began to draw out her left arm, but I looked up and saw a familiar figure approaching. “Hold on Lukas,” I said, “Zelda is here.”

View attachment 1563796

He stopped. He knew Zelda. We all wanted Zelda to be there for us if we were crucified, so we allowed her to bring a cup of her mildly drugged wine to those we were about to nail to unforgiving wood. More importantly we knew that Gnaeus tolerated her, so we could too. Nobody knew how old Zelda was, nor how she always knew when we were about our business, She just seemed to materialise at the vital moment.

Diana, of course, knew nothing about Zelda. I pushed her up into a sitting position. “Drink that,” I said, “It’ll ease the pain.”

She took the pewter cup. “Thank you.” She took a sip. “Yuk. It’s bitter.”

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“Drink it or tip it onto the ground,” I said. “Your choice.”

She gulped it down and handed the cup back. I nodded to Zelda and then pulled Diana back down.

View attachment 1563798

She looked up into my eyes. “You know I have never hurt anyone?”

I looked down and saw sheer terror in her eyes, as she felt the tip of the nail on her wrist. Now did not seem to be the time for detective work.

“Yes,” I said. “I know.”

These are awesome! I need to cum!!

 

[Wragg]

My mother made a wonderful nurse, and she had Dilla and Emil up and walking, albeit lamely, after about six weeks. Diana was more of a problem – her right heel had been smashed by the nail and it seemed as though she would always need a stick at least to walk painfully.

I tried to do my bit, helping where I could, but if I’d expected overwhelming gratitude from any of them I was sorely disappointed. After that initial outburst of emotion as we arrived, Dilla didn’t speak to me, except for grunted thanks when I gave her something to eat or drink.

After about three weeks, when I’d brought in some broth that my mother had made, Dilla grunted as usual, Emil accepted his meal without comment, but Diana spoke.

“Are you expecting our thanks for getting us down, Aulus?”

“Would you rather I’d left you there?” I countered, glad at least to be breaking the ice.

“Maybe I would. I wake up at night screaming, seeing your face as you hold me down, feeling that incredible, indescribable pain in my wrist. How can I live, after what I’ve been through? How can any of us live?”

Emil was watching in silence. Dilla was weeping freely.

Diana pressed on. “Maybe it would have been better if you’d done what Dilla asked you to do in the first place, and just climbed up and strangled us. Because I will never be able to walk properly, and I will never, ever, get over what you did to me that day.”

“Okay, Diana, I get that. I really do. But you need to get this. When I met you, I too, was a slave. My master said, ‘crucify this woman’ and that is what I had to do. Or else he would have crucified me. And you hit your master with a spade! What the fuck did you expect?”

“I deserved it, did I?”

“No, but you yourself said that you knew what was coming. But now – look! You’re not dead, you’re sitting here eating broth. But me – you do realise that the Romans could come through that door in the next moment and I’ll be right up there on my cross within a day. No, I don’t expect anything from you, but I do expect you to realise how far I have stuck my fucking neck out for you!”

“We’ll be crucified again, I know we will!” wailed Dilla.

“No, Dilla. You will not. You will never ever even see another cross, let alone experience one. I give you my word.”

“How can you promise that?” Diana was derisive.

“Because I have made plans. There’s a tripwire across the approach that will set off such an avalanche of rock and iron that it would wake the dead. If he hears that, my father will lead you all to a place where no Roman will ever find you. I will go and explain to the Romans that you are all hundreds of miles away safely in the care of a Teuton tribe, and if I have to go and hang naked on a cross I will do so knowing that all of you, but especially you, Dilla, are safe.”

There was a very, very long silence.

“Why?” Eventually Diana broke the silence.

“Because Tibericus was the most evil, pernicious bastard that ever trod this earth! How you went three years without clobbering him with a spade I will never understand. I meant what I told you on your crosses – you deserved a medal, not a cross. So I came and I got you down. And I don’t give a toss whether you say ‘thank you’ or ‘sod you’ – I did the right thing, and whenever or however I die I shall do so knowing that.”



This time Diana was straight back at me. “Well, good for you. Hero Aulus. A man with a clear conscience. You stripped me naked, and you held me down while your mate nailed me to a cross. You stood it up and left me hanging there for fucking hours for all and sundry to watch me hanging naked and in absolute agony. If your conscience is clear then it FUCKING WELL SHOULDN’T BE!!! Get out of my sight, Aulus, please! Every time I see you it reminds me of that day!”

I did as she asked. Turned on my heel and left. After that day, either my mother or my father took them food, I did not darken their doorway. Nor did I blame any of them, but my heart ached for Dilla.

I saw them from a distance, of course, especially after they were well enough to be up and about. It became increasingly obvious that Emil’s feelings for Diana were totally reciprocated, until one evening, returning from a day in the fields, I went past their hut to the sounds of deep passion within, and Dilla was sitting outside doing some mending while the fading light permitted her to. If she saw me in the gloom she didn’t acknowledge me.

I went to my hut, put some logs on the fire, undressed to my loincloth and washed off the day’s dirt. Then I sat on a low bench by the fire eating some bread and drinking some ale that my mother had left for me.

There was a sound in the doorway. I looked up.

It was Dilla.

“Hello, Dilla.” I said.

“Aulus, can we talk?”

“Of course… hang on, I’ll put some clothes on.”

“It’s okay, you were dressed like that when I first saw you.”

I moved along my bench and she sat down beside me. “What Diana said. Nightmares. I see you in my nightmares, too.”

I started to speak, but she put a finger on my lips. “Hear me out. Diana and Emil… well, you heard them.”

I could still hear them, in fact. In the distance, Diana seemed to be enjoying her evening.

“That would never have happened without you. She will come to forgive you.”

“I’m not so sure. But have you come to talk about Diana, Dilla? What about you? Do you hate me as she does?”

“You did the same to me as you did to her. Except… you held me while I slept. And you came for me. You told me you came for me. Did you mean that?”

I knew, in my heart of hearts, that I would have left Diana to die. And Emil. If it had not been for Dilla, I would not have come. “Yes, Dilla, I came for you.”

“I looked down at you from my cross, that evening, and…. I wished we could have met under different circumstances. I saw you were a good man, doing a horrible thing.”

I sat, looking at her, holding my breath, feeling a goodbye coming.

She was quiet for a few moments, evidently still struggling to come to a decision. “Why did you come and get me?”

I’d given her my reasons on the way here that night. That wasn’t what she was asking. So I simply said, “Because I love you, Dilla.”

There were tears in her eyes. “You do, don’t you? And this is utterly, utterly ridiculous, but I love you too.”

That brought tears to my own eyes. I’d concluded that I would just have to carry that Dilla-shaped void in my heart for the rest of my life, and that I thoroughly deserved it.

She moved, and sat on my lap, and she kissed me as I have never been kissed in my life. I stroked her hair and held her. Was this really happening?

After some minutes she sat back a bit and looked at me. “This time, Aulus, I should be quite happy for you to undress me.”



She was wearing that same pale blue chiton, and I lifted it over her head exactly as I had done those weeks ago, although this time I found no loincloth beneath it.



She took my loincloth off, and then she lay on the rug in front of the fire. Gods, she looked good by the light of the flames. Except... the way she looked reminded me of how she had looked while waiting for Gnaeus to hit the nail. Severely apprehensive. Remembering how she must have been used by Tibercus that was maybe not surprising. I gently caressed her breasts and her nipples with my tongue, kissed my way down her abdomen, and then sought her clitoris with my tongue.

“Wha.. what are you doing? Aulus? Oh…. Ohh… GODS!”



Her dry cunt flooded with fluid. I had a feeling that she might never have experienced cunnilingus, but now her clitoris was throbbing beneath my tongue, and she was making some extraordinary sounds. I slipped a finger up unto her vagina and caressed that while giving neither my tongue nor her clit a moment to rest. With my free hand I reached up to her breast.

Suddenly I felt her pulsing around my finger, and a jet of fluid hit my face as she shrieked in ecstasy.

I kissed her, then, and stroked her hair, but she was my no means finished, and she reached down and pulled me inside her with an urgency that I’d never previously experienced. She arched her back as I slid into her, everything was still engorged around my penis. She grew increasingly excited as I thrust back and forth, and then



“OHHHH GODDDS! I LOVE YOU, AULUS!”

And once again, she was pulsing around me, only this time I could relax and I, too, cried out as I came.

By now my parents, Emil, Diana and anyone else within a radius of about a mile must have known what we were doing, but I didn't care. We cuddled for a bit, but we were by no means sated, and we made love in front of the fire until it died down, and then we made love in my bed until we were totally exhausted, and we slept in each other’s arms.



And when the cock crowed and awoke us next morning we started all over again.

 

[Loxuru]

“Because I have made plans. There’s a tripwire across the approach that will set off such an avalanche of rock and iron that it would wake the dead. If he hears that, my father will lead you all to a place where no Roman will ever find you.

Clever precaution!

By now my parents, Emil, Diana and anyone else within a radius of about a mile must have known what we were doing, but I didn't care.

Not so clever! In mountainous regions like the Alps, echoes carry very far! Suppose the Romans have heard you too!

What do we do with someone like Loxuru?

Euh.. dunno!? Ideas anyone? Buy him a drink?

 

[Wragg]

It was hardly surprising that she was soon pregnant, a fact that made me even more jittery about the Romans. Now I had much to lose, and I wasn’t quite so sanguine at the prospect of being crucified. I checked my tripwire several times daily. Once a travelling tinker set it off, nearly causing me a heart attack, but for the duration of her pregnancy no Romans came. Nor Robertus – I recognised that he was no fool, and could easily have hunted me down.

But Dilla gave birth to a healthy baby boy, about two weeks before Diana had a girl, and I realised with surprise that a year had passed since that day on the execution ground outside Juvavum, and we were still free. Emil and I worked hard on the farm, and we worked well together, but he never spoke to me about that day, and Diana restricted herself to monosyllables, and always referred to me as ‘Scumbag.’ Until one day she and I were watching as Dilla cradled Diana’s daughter and Emil cradled his nephew, and Diana turned to me and said, “One day, you know, I’ll tell my daughter that she owes her existence to a reformed scumbag. So I should thank you, Aulus, for making this happen. And Dilla loves you, and I am happy for you both. But never will I forget that you are the scumbag who crucified me, and neither should you.”

I rewarded her for that with a peck on the cheek. “One thing I’ll never do, Diana, is forget it.”

“And if you ever kiss me again, I will slap you!”

And at that very moment there came an almighty crash as my tripwire triggered.

They all did as they were told, and vanished like mist on a windy day, but the farm did not look as if I lived here alone. I grabbed a sword and went along the track to see who was coming, and my heart sank.


It was Robertus.

There was no sign of any Romans, but I was sure they were there, among the trees.

“Aulus! Good to see you!”

“Hello, Robertus.” I responded. I couldn’t even begin to pretend that I was pleased to see him.

He looked at the farm. “And how are the slaves of Atticus Lucius Tiburcus? Recovered from their crucifixions?”

“I wouldn’t know, they went off with a Teuton tribe. I live here with my mother and father.”

“Did they indeed? And has your mother recently presented you with a baby? She must be an extraordinary woman.”

My son was bawling lustily in the distance. I could imagine Dilla’s desperate efforts to silence him.

“Oh, no that’s my nephew. My sister’s baby. My mother is looking after him.”

“Aulus, I am a patient man, but less so when I am being lied to. Is he yours? Or Aemillius’?”

“Mine.” I admitted.

“And Aedilia is his mother?”

“Yes.” As I say, Robertus is not an idiot.

“Congratulations.” He bent down and adjusted his shoe, which was probably a pre arranged signal. As I’d expected, Romans erupted from the trees. I had a sword, I could have killed him before they got to me, but what was the point?”

“Listen, Robertus – Dilla did nothing. She hid up a tree, at her brother’s instigation. She never deserved crucifixion!”

“I know.”

“She never touched Atti… what do you mean, you ‘know’?”

“Diana hit Tiburcus with a spade. I heard.”

“Thank you, Robertus.” The Centurion had arrived, and had deployed his decime of troops. “I’ll take it from here. This is Aulus?”

“It is.” Robertus looked relieved.

“Aulus, you are wanted for aiding and abetting the escape of a criminal. You are under arrest. Your sword, please?”

I gave it to him. What was the point of resisting? I allowed a soldier to tie my wrists behind me.

“One question, Robertus,” I said. “Why now? Why not a year ago?”

“Because we hadn’t got the faintest idea where you had gone. Then the slave trader who picked you up originally came to Juvavum and he was able to tell us where he’d found you. This is the nearest farm.”

“Thank you Robertus.” The centurion was impatient. “I’ll ask the questions from here on.” He punched me in the stomach. “To save yourself more of that, just tell us where we can find the slaves of Atticus Lucius Tibercus.”

I recovered my breath. “And I will save you more trouble. There are dozens of trails through those trees. Dozens of places where they could have gone. Your pitifully incompetent troops could search for a month and not find them – and I have no idea which of those trails they will have taken. You have me, let that be enough.”

That got me a punch to the face. I crashed heavily to the ground, unable to save myself with my arms behind me. He added a kick to the ribs for good measure. Did I mention my low opinion of the Roman military? He was doing very little to improve it.

I was saved from further punishment from a hue and cry from across the farmyard.

“Sir! We have the murderess!”

My heart sank. Two soldiers came into view, dragging Diana along with them. She was protesting furiously, until one spun her to face him and shook her. "Shut up, bitch!"



“Good work men. But where are the others?”

“Vanished into the forest, I’m afraid, sir.”

“Shit. You!” He addressed Diana. “Where have they gone?”

“Are you deaf?” She asked. “He just told you. Into the forest.”

He punched her, and she collapsed beside me. “Where in the forest, bitch?”

She looked up at him. “Read my lips, carefully. Into… the… forest! Got it? Now you know as much as I know.”

His boot hit her in the ribs, but the fact that Diana was now taking the brunt of his frustration didn’t cheer me up much.



For an hour they searched. In the meantime they set fire to the farm. I watched as all my parent’s hard work went up in smoke. In the end, to my immense relief, the centurion called it quits.

“Sound the recall,” he ordered. “We have Aulus, and we have Diana. The others are merely escaped slaves. Good luck to them. Let’s get these two back to Juvavum for their crucifixions.

I groaned. I hadn’t expected to escape the cross, but that word always caused visceral fear.

They tied Diana over a horse – there was no way she could walk back to Juvavum. I was tied to it and I had to follow along on foot.

It took all that day and most of the night, during which I got nothing but filthy water from a roadside ditch to drink. But dysentery was the least of my worries. Once in Juvavum Diana and I got to share a cell for a few hours.



“Well, scumbag. Is your conscience still clear?”

“I’m sorry you’re here, Diana.”

“Yes, well. You crippled me, didn’t you? It kind of limited my opportunity to escape.”

I kept silent.

“Anyway, Dilla wants me to tell you that she loves you. The gods only know what she sees in you, but there. I’ve passed the message. Oh, and her period is overdue.”

“What?”

But at that moment some soldiers came and took her, leaving me to digest this news. I had everything to live for, but only a few long and agonising hours to live.

In the distance I heard her screaming. After an hour or so the door opened and she was thrown back in. I couldn’t see her in the gloom but she stank of stale semen.

Then the first light of an unwelcome dawn illuminated the sky outside the cell window. I knew the timings well enough. Within the hour the cell door was opened and a man stood there, accompanied by two slaves. The man was wearing a red tunic. So were the slaves, but it was obvious who was who.

“Aulus and Diana, you are to be taken outside the city and there you will be crucified for your crimes against the Roman Empire. He placed a sign around my neck, ‘AULUS SEDITIO’. Sedition. Of course. A freed slave was a Roman citizen and shouldn’t be crucified. Except for sedition. I remember being faintly surprised at the number of crimes that counted as sedition.

Diana got what looked like my original ‘DIANA HOMICIDA’.

We went outside. They tried their level best to make Diana carry a patibulum but she couldn’t even walk without a stick, never mind carry a cross.

So the carnifex, whatever his name was, sent the slaves on ahead and I followed Diana with the carnifex. He did give her an old piece of wood to use as a walking aid.

It took a while. I didn’t care if it took all day. Nobody spoke, except the gaggle of spectators who yelled insults at us – particularly Diana. I didn’t need direction from the jail to the execution ground.



Eventually we passed through the city gate and there it was, just as I remembered it. The execution ground. I’d seen it hundreds of times, but this time it was like a kick in my stomach.

 

[Loxuru]

Well! That does not look good! Couldn't Robertus simply have minded his own business?
At least, in the orginal "Sound of Music", the von Trapp family managed to stay out of the Nazi's hands!