The Wall – 09
"You are under arrest," said the imposing guardsman from the Vigiles Urbani.
"In whose name?" Valeria demanded.
"In the name of Nepos," said the man, "Governor of Britannia."
Since her husband had come home to find her being raped by those men, Valeria had attempted on numerous occasions to explain how she had been the one wronged and how they came into the house uninvited and savagely assaulted her …
But all Aulus did was hold her, effectively, under house arrest. Locking the door of the small store room where Valeria had been forced to sleep this past night. But now, when the doors to their home had burst open and there stood her husband flanked by two armed and armoured legionaries, and an official from the town’s Vigiles cohort, it appeared that she was to be arrested!
“You need to go with them Valeria,” Aulus stated, simply and unambiguously, whilst standing, arms folded. His plan had worked a treat. He would be rid of this bitch and free to enjoy himself in the way that his brother did. Maybe he could even become Tiberius’s business partner now that the girl whom his sibling saw as a simple gold digger, had been removed.
Valeria had nowhere to go as she backed up two paces before reaching the edge of the large table that dominated the room.
“Please, no, do not do this. Why, you cannot …”
“Yes, they can my love. I caught you in the act, though what act I do not know. Was it adultery or prostitution? Either way I have the right to transfer the right to justice across to the Tribune, who in your case has had his authority overridden by the Governor himself. So yes, they can do this … and in the name of Nepos.”
Valeria fell to her knees sobbing only to be dragged back to her feet by the roots of her hair. As one of the guards produced a rope, a rough looking hemp, she shook her head and, with eyes downcast, said, “There is no need for that, I will come willingly …”
Aulus stood to one side as his wife passed by him without a glance. She reflected upon, how, at the tender age of only seventeen, she had been forced into betrothal with Aulus, her own father, a simple earthenware store trader, believing that it would secure her future along with that of her family’s. How wrong they had been.
It had been many months since she had allowed her husband to climb between her thighs, and now it had led to this.
The small retinue walked slowly to the front door of the small house and building that Aulus called home.
“Strip.” Came the simple, yet very clear order.
“What?” Valeria replied. “Here?”
The guard who had spoken nodded. “Orders from the Governor himself. You will walk naked to your cell.”
“Vincula publica, you will leave here as you came whore, with nothing!” She heard Aulus spit these words at her, as, left with no choice, Valeria yanked the dress over her head and tossed it to the floor.
“Do what you will.” Remarked the ill-fated girl. Brave words but she was as naked and vulnerable as a woman could be.
“Will I be permitted a pair of sandals?” she asked. “The streets are filthy.”
“Not as filthy as your sins, whore,” a vicious response from the attending guard, who then added, “Now move.”
The cobbles under her feet caused Valeria to stumble as she made her way into the street. The main thoroughfare of Coria was crowded with the busy activities of buying and selling, gossip and meetings, but as the naked beauty appeared a sudden silence fell and all eyes turned to follow her as she made her way down onto the road.
A breeze was blowing, curling around her thighs and making the exposed girl feel more defenceless than ever. She breathed in the scents of the street, bread and beer, fish and the stench of the drains.
Valeria felt a tear well around her eye and drip over onto her cheek. How had it come to this? Why was she being humiliated in this way? And she knew that to spend time in judicial captivity could only mean one thing … she had already been condemned!
To Be Continued ...
LILAH
VALERIA
... I know I said that I wouldn't be posting manipulations along with this story, but I couldn't resist reflecting upon the current state of our two girls ...