Willowfall Captured, 2024

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I'm going to post here a reformatted and illustrated version of my story "Willowfall Captured". The illustrations (which mostly come in the later chapters) are derived from Andyman's collection.
There are 12 chapters. I'll post each one as a PDF attachment, with an extract in the body of the post.

Chapter 1:
We were on patrol at the northern edge of our sector when Sextus went down. We were ambling along in the middle of the road because things had been quiet in the city since we started killing all the men we could find. The arrow hissed over my head, and when I turned around Sextus was flopping around on the ground with blood squirting out of his neck. Silvanus and I dragged him to the nearest doorway but when we got there he was not breathing....

 

[thecuriousone]

Actually, it looks more like the first chapter of a promising story.... but I guess that's only the beginning.

 

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Chapter 2:
Our outpost was in the middle of a small street lined with shops, now looted. Mithras knows why the C.O. thought we had to be there. The girl looked in horror at the sight before her. Maybe shehad been in the habit of shopping in this neighborhood. Now almost every storefront had a victim decorating its front. The bodies of shopkeepers twisted slowly, hanging from their own trade signs. And their wives? Well, let’s just say we had to find our own entertainment around there...

 

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Chapter 3, "Not a Whore"
Willowfall was weeping by now. With her hands tied behind her back she was completely naked and open to me. She could no longer rise on the balls of her feet, and her legs were shaking. It looked as if just standing up was becoming difficult. I stroked back the long black hair which had stuck to her cheeks. She choked back her rising sobs and turned her face away...

 

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Chapter 4: Ravishing
I wandered back to the outpost to get some water, while the crack of cane on flesh, and Willowfall’s cries of anguish, echoed down the street. Gallus was channeling Sextus’s shouts of laughter and encouragement.
“Look at that wriggling butt! I thought she said she wasn’t a whore!” ...

 

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Chapter 5: Injudicial Punishment

“Please, I want to die like a soldier,” she told me.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” I said.
“I don’t want to die like a slave. Not up there in front of everyone.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much: these guys know what they’re doing,” I said. She didn’t seem to appreciate the joke...

 

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Chapter 6: Peoples Choice

“What about here, then?” I asked Willowfall, pointing at the space between the two crosses. “You’d have these two to talk to when the crowd goes away. Or if you want your own space you could be on the other side of the road.”
“No,” croaked Willowfall. Her hands were shaking, and the color had drained from her face...

 

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Chapter 7, "Up with Princess Willowfall", part a

Behind the chanting mob I saw a group of soldiers hurrying towards us along the road from the army camp. I recognized several of the troops as members of our company. One of the legionnaires we had talked to in the forum must have sent word that Sextus had been killed and his murderess was about to be crucified outside the main gate...

 

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Chapter 7, "Up with Princess Willowfall", part b

Fannia warmed to her task. This was the bitch who had taken her beloved Sextus, robbing her of her best opportunity yet to move up in life from camp-follower to veteran’s wife. She aimed higher...