The Forbidden Drink - A Story In 4 Chapters

[Deleted member 16639]

Dear folks. This is my first story for the cruxforum. I took one of many fantasies that are in my head and wrote a story in german language. Then I had a translation program "translate" the whole thing. Oh my dear! It is not real English what came up. I had to correct the write word by word. Even then - I´m pretty sure - the write is full with mistakes. My English ist not so very good.
So please excuse my "Wronglish". I hope you will enjoy my first story. Because it is very long, I had to split it in four chapters. I will try to put every day one chapter online.
Yours
Sassi



The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 1

(for LittleSis)


The eighteen year old Kathrin visited the medieval market at the Porta Nigra. She attended almost every market, which took place at the landmark of her hometown Trier. Medieval markets pleased her very well. She loved to stroll between the stalls and look at all the beautiful things that were offered for sale by the dealers.
She walked through the right gate of the old Roman building. The Porta Nigra raised massive and dark into the sky. The name Black Gate was the right name for the building. Hundreds of years ago the stones might have been bright. Today they were dirty and dark. The building looked almost menacing.
The Romans had built it about two hundred years after Jesus' birth. At that time, Trier had been called Treverum and it had been the second largest city in the world to Rome.
The Romans ... Whenever Kathrin looked at the Porta Nigra, she had to think of the little fantasy story that did go around in her head, since she was a school girl. At age eleven, she had dreamed at night that she was a poor beggar girl in the time of the Romans. She had entered the palace of the roman prefect of Treverum and had stolen a loaf of bread. The guards had caught her and they brought her to the place beside the Porta Nigra and crucified her.
This dream went around for a long time in Kathrins head. Again and again she played in her head the little movie of the barefoot beggar girl in his ragged tunic, which was towed by brutal guards over the pavement lay to the large wooden cross. They took the ragged tunic away from Kathrin, layed her on the cross and than a roman soldier came with an hammer in one hand and four long nails in the other...

Kathrin shook hear head. It was the year 2014 and she was no longer a little schoolgirl and for sure crucifixions were not taken in the middle of a city. Crucifixions were allways done outside the town.
She turned to the market stalls. Soon Kathrin was captured from the atmosphere of the market. She looked at the costs of the things at the stands. She came to a stall at the very end of the market. A woman in an oriental robe offered elixirs of all kinds in small glass bottles. There were drinks against the loss of hair, medicine for stomach ache and healing potions for womens diseases. A bottle of green glas contained a love potion.
When Kathrin looked at that bottle, the stallholder smiled: "A little sip of that into the drink of a man, and he will fall in love with you, sweetie." Kathrin smiled. A funny idea, that kind of stuff for sale. Probably quite regular soda was in the bottles or herbal tea. The bottles were pretty. They were small and they had different colors. There were brown, green, blue and clear. "Three euros a bottle, sweetie," lured the market women. Something moved under her robe. Suddenly the head of a snake appeared in her neck. "Oh my god!" Kathrin said. She took a step back.
"Don´t worry, girl," the market woman said. "This is Lycca, my healing serpent. She does no harm to anyone." She smiled enigmatically. Kathrin noticed that her eyes had a strange color. They had the color of honey with a little bit violet like she knew from amethyst crystals. Colored contact lenses, she thought. The accessories can be ordered in the trade for cosplay.
The market woman stroked the snake. "Lycca is one of the last of its kind. Her venom has healing power." She sank her eyes in Kathrins: "Lyccas venom made me to a witch." Suddenly she smiled, as if nothing had happened: "Want to buy something? A little special to make your facial skin soft as a peach?" The woman chuckled: "Not that it would be necessary, girly." Kathrin studied the colorful bottles. She pointed to a bottle of clear glass, which stood in the back of the stall: "What is this?" "Oh that ..." The woman waved with her hand. "That's not for you, sweetie. And it is far too expensive. This is for very special customers." Kathrin looked at the bottle. The clear liquid in it was from the same color as the eyes of the market woman - a soft honey tone with a hint of amethyst. She grabbed the bottle and looked at it.

"Tempus Mutare" was standing on the label. "This elixir will cost one hundred euro, baby," whispered the woman market. "Pretty expensive for a beauty water", said Kathrin.
The shopkeeper smiled mysteriously. The snake peeking out of her neck. Kathrin was studied by cold reptile eyes. "No beauty water", said the woman market. She leaned forward and whispered: "It's an elixir that changes the time! The person who drinks it, will travel back in time." "Oh that's why it costs so much," said Kathrin. She grinned. This woman really gave a great show. "All right," said the snake owner. Suddenly she winced. "Gosh, I need to go Verena on the stand for lamp oil!" She looked Kathrin pleading: "Listen, honey, could you perhapsstay for a quarter of an hour on my stand? At the moment it is not much going on anyway, if someone comes along and wants to buy something:.. Each bottle three Euro."
"Okay," said Kathrin. The market woman stuffed the snake in her robe: ". Thanks, sweetie. I am very soon back here." She turned to go. "Don´t touch the time-elixir!": Then she turned around and went away.
"All right," said Kathrine and waved. "Your expensive special elixir will stay untouched like a virgin." She wachted the trader disappear between the market stands.
A few minutes went by. Kathrin was quiet alone at the market stall. No one came by to look at the display. It seemed as if the people ido not see the stall. They passed by without taking a look. "The good wife won´t make good money," she spoke to herself. "Your stand is in an unfavorable point. Nobody is buying something. Wrong place for your stall."
Kathrin squinted at the bottle of honey-colored elixir. "Tempus Mutare". "Change the time."
She grinned to herself. Travel to the past.
"It would be nice," she said softly. She looked around. She was all alone. The market trader was not there.
Suddenly it itched Kathrin to do it. She grabbed the bottle and opened it. A heavy sweet smell crept into her nose. Quickly she took a small sip. Then she closed bottle and placed it hastily back into place. Hopefully the dealer would not notice anything. But she had absolutely to had a taste of that stuff.The elixir tasted incredibly sweet. Something as that Kathrin had never drunk. Whatever was contained in the beverage, it rose quickly to Kathrins head. She felt light and weightless. "Wow! That´s harder than whiskey!" she murmured.
She registered, that her legs lost power and sie sunk down to the floor. Than she fell asleep.
(will be continued)

 

[Madiosi]

The language of the forum is English. It would be nice if you would post the story in German. I hope it's available in German. The online translators sometimes throw out strange text. Greetings
Madiosi


Die Sprache im Forum ist Englisch. Es wäre jedoch schön, wenn Du die Geschichte auch in Deutsch posten würdest. Ich hoffe, die gibt es auch auf Deutsch. Die Online Übersetzter werfen mitunter seltsamen Text aus. Liebe Grüße
Madiosi

 

[toxidomaskjr]

great great, amazing beginning.... just the kind of stories I love.... modern time innocent girls crucified in like common criminals in ancient rome time

 

[admihoek]

Dear folks. This is my first story for the cruxforum. I took one of many fantasies that are in my head and wrote a story in german language. Then I had a translation program "translate" the whole thing. Oh my dear! It is not real English what came up. I had to correct the write word by word. Even then - I´m pretty sure - the write is full with mistakes. My English ist not so very good.
So please excuse my "Wronglish". I hope you will enjoy my first story. Because it is very long, I had to split it in four chapters. I will try to put every day one chapter online.
Yours
Sassi
The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 1 (for LittleSis)


The eighteen year old Kathrin visited the medieval market at the Porta Nigra. She attended almost every market, which took place at the landmark of her hometown Trier. Medieval markets pleased her very well. She loved to stroll between the stalls and look at all the beautiful things that were offered for sale by the dealers.
She walked through the right gate of the old Roman building. The Porta Nigra raised massive and dark into the sky. The name Black Gate was the right name for the building. Hundreds of years ago the stones might have been bright. Today they were dirty and dark. The building looked almost menacing.
The Romans had built it about two hundred years after Jesus' birth. At that time, Trier had been called Treverum and it had been the second largest city in the world to Rome.
The Romans ... Whenever Kathrin looked at the Porta Nigra, she had to think of the little fantasy story that did go around in her head, since she was a school girl. At age eleven, she had dreamed at night that she was a poor beggar girl in the time of the Romans. She had entered the palace of the roman prefect of Treverum and had stolen a loaf of bread. The guards had caught her and they brought her to the place beside the Porta Nigra and crucified her.
This dream went around for a long time in Kathrins head. Again and again she played in her head the little movie of the barefoot beggar girl in his ragged tunic, which was towed by brutal guards over the pavement lay to the large wooden cross. They took the ragged tunic away from Kathrin, layed her on the cross and than a roman soldier came with an hammer in one hand and four long nails in the other...

Kathrin shook hear head. It was the year 2014 and she was no longer a little schoolgirl and for sure crucifixions were not taken in the middle of a city. Crucifixions were allways done outside the town.
She turned to the market stalls. Soon Kathrin was captured from the atmosphere of the market. She looked at the costs of the things at the stands. She came to a stall at the very end of the market. A woman in an oriental robe offered elixirs of all kinds in small glass bottles. There were drinks against the loss of hair, medicine for stomach ache and healing potions for womens diseases. A bottle of green glas contained a love potion.
When Kathrin looked at that bottle, the stallholder smiled: "A little sip of that into the drink of a man, and he will fall in love with you, sweetie." Kathrin smiled. A funny idea, that kind of stuff for sale. Probably quite regular soda was in the bottles or herbal tea. The bottles were pretty. They were small and they had different colors. There were brown, green, blue and clear. "Three euros a bottle, sweetie," lured the market women. Something moved under her robe. Suddenly the head of a snake appeared in her neck. "Oh my god!" Kathrin said. She took a step back.
"Don´t worry, girl," the market woman said. "This is Lycca, my healing serpent. She does no harm to anyone." She smiled enigmatically. Kathrin noticed that her eyes had a strange color. They had the color of honey with a little bit violet like she knew from amethyst crystals. Colored contact lenses, she thought. The accessories can be ordered in the trade for cosplay.
The market woman stroked the snake. "Lycca is one of the last of its kind. Her venom has healing power." She sank her eyes in Kathrins: "Lyccas venom made me to a witch." Suddenly she smiled, as if nothing had happened: "Want to buy something? A little special to make your facial skin soft as a peach?" The woman chuckled: "Not that it would be necessary, girly." Kathrin studied the colorful bottles. She pointed to a bottle of clear glass, which stood in the back of the stall: "What is this?" "Oh that ..." The woman waved with her hand. "That's not for you, sweetie. And it is far too expensive. This is for very special customers." Kathrin looked at the bottle. The clear liquid in it was from the same color as the eyes of the market woman - a soft honey tone with a hint of amethyst. She grabbed the bottle and looked at it.

"Tempus Mutare" was standing on the label. "This elixir will cost one hundred euro, baby," whispered the woman market. "Pretty expensive for a beauty water", said Kathrin.
The shopkeeper smiled mysteriously. The snake peeking out of her neck. Kathrin was studied by cold reptile eyes. "No beauty water", said the woman market. She leaned forward and whispered: "It's an elixir that changes the time! The person who drinks it, will travel back in time." "Oh that's why it costs so much," said Kathrin. She grinned. This woman really gave a great show. "All right," said the snake owner. Suddenly she winced. "Gosh, I need to go Verena on the stand for lamp oil!" She looked Kathrin pleading: "Listen, honey, could you perhapsstay for a quarter of an hour on my stand? At the moment it is not much going on anyway, if someone comes along and wants to buy something:.. Each bottle three Euro."
"Okay," said Kathrin. The market woman stuffed the snake in her robe: ". Thanks, sweetie. I am very soon back here." She turned to go. "Don´t touch the time-elixir!": Then she turned around and went away.
"All right," said Kathrine and waved. "Your expensive special elixir will stay untouched like a virgin." She wachted the trader disappear between the market stands.
A few minutes went by. Kathrin was quiet alone at the market stall. No one came by to look at the display. It seemed as if the people ido not see the stall. They passed by without taking a look. "The good wife won´t make good money," she spoke to herself. "Your stand is in an unfavorable point. Nobody is buying something. Wrong place for your stall."
Kathrin squinted at the bottle of honey-colored elixir. "Tempus Mutare". "Change the time."
She grinned to herself. Travel to the past.
"It would be nice," she said softly. She looked around. She was all alone. The market trader was not there.
Suddenly it itched Kathrin to do it. She grabbed the bottle and opened it. A heavy sweet smell crept into her nose. Quickly she took a small sip. Then she closed bottle and placed it hastily back into place. Hopefully the dealer would not notice anything. But she had absolutely to had a taste of that stuff.The elixir tasted incredibly sweet. Something as that Kathrin had never drunk. Whatever was contained in the beverage, it rose quickly to Kathrins head. She felt light and weightless. "Wow! That´s harder than whiskey!" she murmured.
She registered, that her legs lost power and sie sunk down to the floor. Than she fell asleep.
(will be continued)

of course we excuse you for your "Wronglish". It is great and if necessary we will help you you may pm me

 

[Deleted member 16639]

The language of the forum is English. It would be nice if you would post the story in German. I hope it's available in German. The online translators sometimes throw out strange text. Greetings
Madiosi


Die Sprache im Forum ist Englisch. Es wäre jedoch schön, wenn Du die Geschichte auch in Deutsch posten würdest. Ich hoffe, die gibt es auch auf Deutsch. Die Online Übersetzter werfen mitunter seltsamen Text aus. Liebe Grüße
Madiosi

If you give me your email I can send you the complete Story in german. (gib mir deine Email, dann schick ich dir die komplette Story. 17 Seiten lang)

 

[Deleted member 16639]

The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 2


Kathrin opened here eyes. She was lying on a cold stone floor.
She straightened up. Everything around her had changed. She was inside a building that was built of sandstone and marble. She wore only a poor, ragged tunic and she was barefoot. A loaf of bread was in her left arm.

Suddenly strong arms grabbed her and pulled her up. The bread fell to the ground and rolled away.
"Got you, dirty thief!"
Although the man did not speak German, Kathrin could understand every word he was saying.
"Thats it, dirty scum! You will never ever steal bread in the prefects palace! Guards? Take her with you!"

Two men in Roman uniform packed Kathrins arms and dragged her across the marble floor outside the building. Kathrin was so confused, she followed them without resistance.
They walked along a paved road. No car was parked there. There were only pedestrians. These wore strange clothes.

As in Rome, Kathrin taught.
Their captors dragged her to a large open space. They brought her to a Roman officer who sat on a chair drinking wine from a cup.
"Honorable Quintus Tullius, here is a thief. She has stolen bread in the palace of the prefect Antonius."

The Roman officer put down his cup. He watched Kathrin with ice cold eyes. No mercy was in this view: "Once again! A thieving german! That´s enough! I'll put an example! These barbarians must learn that they are not allowed to steal anything from a Roman!" He pointed at Kathrin: "Bring her outside the town gate! You know what you have to do!"

The two captors dragged Kathrin onto a large road. The road was paved. Right and left there were covered colonnades. People in Roman dress stood there and looked curiously at Kathrin. Many followed the two bailiffs and their young prisoner.

They came nearer and nearer to a big building. It was built of sandstone and it had two towers. Kathrin at the thing.
The Porta Nigra, she thought. The Porta Nigra how it looked at the time of the Romans. I really traveled in time. The potion of the market woman works!

She felt the smooth paving stones under her bare soles. She did not resist when their guards dragged her forward. "Out of town," the high Roman officer had ordered. They threw Kathrin out of the city. Kathrin travelled two millenias into the past and arrived in the city of Trier at the time of the Romans, only to be thrown out of the town because she was a little thief in a ragged tunic
What a shame!, she thought. I could take a look at the ancient Trier, but insted I´m thownd out of town. The Porta Nigra came closer. Meanwhile around one hundred people did follow Kathrin and her guards.
They went unter the Porta Nigra out of town.

"This way!" grumbled one of the captors and dragged Kathrin to a simple wooden building. Half a dozen legionaries were sitting outside and played a board game. When the guards arrived with Kathrin, they looked up.
"Centurion Quintus Tullius sends us," one of the guards said. "This dirty thief was caught while stealing in the palace of the prefect Antonius."

The legionaries left their game.
"Look at that," one said. "So young and already stealing at the prefects palace." He smiled and that smile did not look friendly: "We will ensure that you do it never again thief girl! Octavianus! Marcus! Quintus! In the shed! Sixtus, bring the tools!!"

Four of the Legionaries went to the wooden building.
Kathrin stood between the guards. She started to get nervous. She had assumed that they would throw her out of the city, but it looked like there would be more.
What will they do to me?, she wondered. Probably they will punish me. Confused thoughts were turning inside her head. How did the old Romans punish thieves?
Kathrin swallowed.
Lashes ... Whipping ...
Oh no!, she thought. Please do not!

The four legionnaires came out of the shed. As Kathrin saw what they brought, she broke in her knees. If the guards did noch hold her, she had be broken to the ground.
"No!" Kathrin stammered. "No! Please not this! Oh God! You can´t do that!"
Three of the legionaries carried a big wooden cross. Each one held one end of the horizontal patibulum and the third man, a big heavy guy carried the lower end of the upright stipes. The fourth legionnaire went after them. He held in one hand two hammers and in the other a bunch of nails. The nails were made of iron and they were long and thick.

Kathrin went rigid with fright. She felt panic rise up in her heart. This could not be true.
"No!" she screamed. "No. You can not do this!"
"Now you feel sorry that you have stolen from the prefect," snarled one of the captors. "Sorry, too late, baby. You´ll never steal anything."
Kathrin's heart beated hard against her ribs. That had to be a bad joke. These people could not kill her, just because she had stolen a piece of bread!
But the guards marched after the legionaries carrying the cross. Kathrin felt soft grass under her bare soles. Soon she would feel wood under the soles.

The cross was placed on the floor. The Stipes pointed to a hole in the meadow ground. The hole was edged rectangular and clothed with heavy wooden planks. The Legionaries would put the cross in this rectangular hole. Then it would stay upright without any wiggling. The crowd came forward and spread in a wide circle around the cross. They wanted not to miss anything. They stared at Kathrin.

"Don´t we want flogg her before she is getting nailed an the cross?" asked one of the legionaries. It was Sixtus, Kathrin remembered. "We could whip her skin to shreds."
"Forgot it," growled Marcus. "Our whip master Candidus has sprained his arm in a horse accident. He is not available."
"I can make it so," said Sixtus offered eagerly.
"You certainly do not!" cried Marcus and the others nodded in agreement. "Last time you did the job, you whipped that rebel too hard and he died away. We could only crucify a dead body! No, my dear! These little thief should be nailed alive to the cross, so that people hear her screaming. It should last pretty long. No flogging at all!"

Kathrin nearly fainted. She could not believe what she had heard. They wanted to do to her.
Oh God! Why did I drink from this damned elixir?? The dealer warned me! She had forbidden! Oh why didn´t I obey! Horrible fear came to her, strolling around her like an giant invisible lion. Her body started to tremble.

"Okay", said Sixtus: "No flogging." He came to Kathrin and grabbed her tunic: "Down with the shred" The two guards were holding Kathrin and the legionnaire pulled off the tunic from her body. Kathrin was standing without a shred of clothing on. She stood naked in front of the staring crowd. Besides the horrible fear she felt a deep shame.
Sixtus pointed to the cross on the ground: "Come on guys!"
The guards moved Kathrin forward.
She put her bare feet into the ground. She struggled against the guards.
"No!" she cried. "You can not do that! It was only a loaf of bread!"

"Thieves go on the cross!" Sixtus shouted. He picked up one of the two hammers from the ground and grabbed a nail. Marcus took the second hammer and another nail.
Kathrin fluttered between the two guards like a caged bird. She panicked.
"No!" she screamed as the men dragged her to the cross. "No! Stop! Please not! Please! I´am sorry that I have taken the bread!"

"You should have think it over before you did, you dirty little thief!" called Sixtus. "Well! You get what you deserve!" He made an imperious gesture: "Put her on the cross!" "No, no!" cried Kathrin. She struggled with all her strength, but muscles as hard as rocks put her down.

She was layed down and placed with her back on the cross. She felt the wood on her back and her buttocks. In the corner of her eye she saw one of the legionnaires bring a strange triangular wooden thing. She had no idea what it was.

They spread her arms with violence. The crowd moved closer. They wanted not to miss a single detail. Below at the stipes two legionaries held Kathrins ankles.
"No!" Kathrin howled. She writhed in a desperate attempt to escape, but there hands did hold her ankles like cuffs hard as iron.
Sixtus knelt beside her right hand; on the other hand, Marcus.

(will be continued)

 

[The Fallen Angel]

Very promising!!

 

[Eulalia]

Yes, I like this very much - the colourful detail in the market scene,
the lively dialogue with the strange market-woman,
and the believable brutality of the soldiers,
all building up a good feeling of tension and terror -
well done!

You've no need to worry about your English,
no-one will have any problem with it,
a few oddities just add character.

If you have, or can produce, a pdf of the German version,
there'd be no objection to attaching that to a reply on this thread,
then any of our German speakers can download it if they want to.​

 

[Wragg]

Sassi - what an incredible and exciting story! I can't wait for the next part!!!

Brilliant!

W

 

[Barbaria1]

Wonderful Sassi....can't wait for more.

 

[LittleSiss]

Sassi, I love it!
Thank You so much for the dedication. It was so sweet of you. It warmed my heart.

And again, it is so similar to a fantasy I had when I was younger.

Eul is so right, Sassi. The few "Wronglish" bits only add to the character of the story.

Es ist wirklich sehr klug !!! Ich kann nicht warten, um zu wissen, ob die Trank ist dauerhaft oder nicht.

(It's really very clever !!! I can not wait to know if the potion is permanent or not .)


PS: Tell me if I had anything "wrongish" in that, ok?

 

[Madiosi]

This is a wonderful story. 1000 thanks for this!

 

[thehangingtree]

Hardly a 'spectator'... Sassi is a writer!!!

Tree

 

[cxslave]

Welcome to CF and thank you for this wonderful story! Your english seems incredible to me! Can't wait for the next part!

 

[Hondoboot2]

Great story Sassi, very detailed, I can picture the scenes in my mind. Excellent first story!

Vielen Dank für die Buchung ( I hope this is "thank you for posting" in German, if not, sorry, that is what I wanted to say)

 

[Quiet Paul]

Very promising!!

Saadi this is tremendous. Such vivid and tense writing, amongst the best on here. I can't wait for the story to continue.

 

[Deleted member 16639]

The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 3


"Oh no! Oh no!" Kathrin whimpered. She watched Sixtus putting the nail on her wrist. He groped for a particular point in their wrist. On the other hand, she felt the same cold touch of metal. The nails examined the point at which they could best pierce her wrists.
"No!" Kathrin croaked. Her voice broke. She felt sick with fear. "No! Nnoooo!"
Sixtus raised the hammer. Kathrin pressed her eyelids together.

She heard a loud "click". Then a fiery pain exploded in her right wrist. "Click". Another hammer blow. Kathrin found her voice again. She cried. She screamed. She could feel how the hammer drove the nail piece by piece through her wrist. On the other hand also began the hammering.
On the right side the nail was beaten trough Kathrins wrist and now the "click" changed to a dull "tock", as the hammer drove the nail into the wood. Kathrin felt the vibrations in the wood on her back and her buttocks. Tock-Tock-Tock! She screamed. She howled. The pain was unspeakable. She writhed on the cross like a worm. Her back arched like a drawn bow. The pain was so cruel that she lost control of her bladder. She made herself wet.

The crowd began to yell: "Peeepeee! Peeeee!"
They shouted and laughed. "Peepeepeepeeee!"
Kathrin screamed and howled. She felt the cold iron went through her flesh and dug deeper and deeper into the wood of the patibulum.
Then her hands were nailed to the wood. Sixtus and Marcus stood up. Without haste they went towards Kathrins feet.

She lifted her head and stared wide-eyed at her legs. One of the other legionaries brought the weird wooden thing and put it on the stipes right under her feet. There it was nailed on the upright by Sixtus. "Hold her feet tight!" Sixtus said. "I do not want to be kicked by the wildcat when I nail her feet on the footrest."
The two legionaries, who held Kathrins ankles, reinforced their grip. They pressed Kathrins feet on the downward sloping wooden platform. Sixtus put a nail on Kathleen's left foot. Kathrin cried already, as he raised the hammer. As the nail was droven with three hammer blows through her foot, she screamed even louder, especially when the point of the nail penetrated the sensitive sole of the foot from the inside. More hard hammer blows. The nail went into the wood of the cross and fixed Kathrins foot.
Kathleen left foot was fixed and Sixtus nailed her left foot on the footrest. We looked at the man that he was used to this work. He moved quickly and efficiently. He knew his way in his profession. And he didn ´t ask if the victim was writhing in agonies of pain. He just did his job and it seemed he liked this job very well. Finally he stood up: "To the ropes, guys!"
Kathrin was sobbing loudly on the wooden cross. Under tears she saw the men putting two ropes at the outer ends of the patibulum. She suffered pain and she was scared to death. She was beside herself. The fear grew up inside her heard. Still she begged for mercy, although it was clear that it would grant her nothing.
Marcus and another legionnaire grabbed the ends of the ropes. Sixtus turned over Kathrin to heave with the cross in the air: "Up with the bird, folks! Bring her in the air."
The two Legionnaires pulled at the ropes.
The cross rose into the air. Kathrin felt how she was erected. The weight of her body began to pull at the four nails holding her on the cross. Now she felt very exactly that she was nailed on the wood.

As the cross stood almost vertically, Sixtus gave the stipes a hit from backside and the lower point of the stipes slid in the prefabricated hole in the ground. With a terrible blow, it fell into the holder. For a moment Kathrin couldn ´t breath, so monstrous was the pain. All she could do was to gasp in panic. Then she howled loudly and began to scream.

Nobody could stand this pain. Impossible!
"No, no!" she screamed. "Get me down! I can not stand it! Not a second longer! Take me down from the cross! Down! Down! Get me down!"
Her body writhed in ecstasies of pain. She cried and cried. She didn´t imagine that one could have such extreme pain. Her wrists and feet were burning like fire. The pain was indescribable. Kathrin straightened her knees in a desperate attempt to escape the awful pull on her arms, but the greater the pain in her feet. Only the nails in her feet gave her a kind of grip and this was bought with horrible pain.

Oh yes, the Romans knew how they had to punish people.
Kathrin saw down in the faces of the crowd not only curiosity and spiteful joy. She also discovered fear. Many small thief vowed at that moment never to steal from a Roman. Not when such a terrible punishment awaited him oder her.

Kathrin squirmed. Kathrin cried. Kathrin sobbed loudly. She was trembling all over.
Beside the indescribable pain came the fear. She knew that she wouldn´t com down from the cross alive. She knew that she had to die and that filled her heart with icy horror. She was scared to death.
Besides all these feelings she felt shame. She was ashamed, because she hung naked on the wood in front of all these foreign people.

Everyone could see her nakedess. Everyone stared at her. In the eyes of the men she saw partially undisguised lust. It attracted these men to see a naked girl on the cross. Women also watched with interest how Kathrin did dance on wood. In some eyes was hatred. "You get what you deserve, slut!" spoke those eyes. Especially older women had that look. They envied Kathrin youth and beauty.

My youth will taken away, thought Kathrin. You do not need to be jealous. Oh why did I not listen to the market woman! How could I be so stupid!
With a groan, she collapsed on the cross. Now she was hanging with all her weight on the wrists. Her legs almost did not support her body. She was trembling uncontrollably.

My dream, she thought. My secret dream had come true. Had it not for years and years this fantasy? I was a poor beggar girl, a little thief who was caught stealing something and than beeing crucified as a punishment.

But I never was scared to death in those fantasies, she thought, and the icy horror returned. I never had to fear death. In my fantasy I was only nailed for a few hours on the cross and then they released me.
Would they let her come down from the Cross? Kathrin did not think so. She had never heard about that. She had studied all about crucifixions in ancient Rome. She had read books and researched on the internet. A crucifixion did not lead to death. Small thieves or disobedient slaves were often crucified for a half or full day. But these people were tied with ropes. After a few hours on the cross, they howled and cried. They dit suffer very bad. After the punishment the were so exhausted that all rebellious thoughts were blown of and every thief swore never to steal again.

But a nailed crucifixion meant there was no mercy for the victim. Who was fixed with nails to the cross remained on the cross until he was dead.

The crowd down there knows, Kathrin thought. That is why they look so spiteful at me. They are pleased that I have to die. Oh God! This pain! I can´t take it anymore!
But she had to endure. The cross tortured her and she couldn´t do anything against it. She had to stand the pain.

The pain made her dance on the cross. She pushed herself up to avoid the pulling on her arms. This caused new pain and she writhed howling on the cross.
Down below the crowd was excited. The people did like what they saw. Kathrin offered an interesting spectacle for the onlookers.

A new problem came up. Kathrin felt for quite a while that her bladder filled. She knew what that meant. She had to do a pee. She holdet it. No! Not in front of all those foreigners!

"Let me down!" she pleaded with loud sobs. "Please let me go, I have suffered enough. I'll never steal again bread!"
Nobody cared about what she said. The legionaries had returned to their board game in front of the building. Occasionally one of them looked bored to Kathrin who did wind at the cross like a worm on a fishing hook.

The crowd did like Kathrins pleaying. The people liked to hear her beg and cry. They laughed as if they had heard a very good joke.

Kathrin was beside herself with pain. She never thought that pain could be that strong. The impossible ache filled her body completely.
And her bladder filled too. She felt the raising pressure betwenn her legs. Oh no!
I cannot do it in front of all these people, she thought. No! Not in front of all these onlookers!
She pressed her legs together. She writhed on the cross.
Not in front of all those people! Kathrin started to cry again, louder than before.
She suffered in pain. She gasped. She howled.
But she did not wanted to pee in front of these ugly people. No! Never!

 

[Barbaria1]

The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 3


"Oh no! Oh no!" Kathrin whimpered. She watched Sixtus putting the nail on her wrist. He groped for a particular point in their wrist. On the other hand, she felt the same cold touch of metal. The nails examined the point at which they could best pierce her wrists.
"No!" Kathrin croaked. Her voice broke. She felt sick with fear. "No! Nnoooo!"
Sixtus raised the hammer. Kathrin pressed her eyelids together.

She heard a loud "click". Then a fiery pain exploded in her right wrist. "Click". Another hammer blow. Kathrin found her voice again. She cried. She screamed. She could feel how the hammer drove the nail piece by piece through her wrist. On the other hand also began the hammering.
On the right side the nail was beaten trough Kathrins wrist and now the "click" changed to a dull "tock", as the hammer drove the nail into the wood. Kathrin felt the vibrations in the wood on her back and her buttocks. Tock-Tock-Tock! She screamed. She howled. The pain was unspeakable. She writhed on the cross like a worm. Her back arched like a drawn bow. The pain was so cruel that she lost control of her bladder. She made herself wet.

The crowd began to yell: "Peeepeee! Peeeee!"
They shouted and laughed. "Peepeepeepeeee!"
Kathrin screamed and howled. She felt the cold iron went through her flesh and dug deeper and deeper into the wood of the patibulum.
Then her hands were nailed to the wood. Sixtus and Marcus stood up. Without haste they went towards Kathrins feet.

She lifted her head and stared wide-eyed at her legs. One of the other legionaries brought the weird wooden thing and put it on the stipes right under her feet. There it was nailed on the upright by Sixtus. "Hold her feet tight!" Sixtus said. "I do not want to be kicked by the wildcat when I nail her feet on the footrest."
The two legionaries, who held Kathrins ankles, reinforced their grip. They pressed Kathrins feet on the downward sloping wooden platform. Sixtus put a nail on Kathleen's left foot. Kathrin cried already, as he raised the hammer. As the nail was droven with three hammer blows through her foot, she screamed even louder, especially when the point of the nail penetrated the sensitive sole of the foot from the inside. More hard hammer blows. The nail went into the wood of the cross and fixed Kathrins foot.
Kathleen left foot was fixed and Sixtus nailed her left foot on the footrest. We looked at the man that he was used to this work. He moved quickly and efficiently. He knew his way in his profession. And he didn ´t ask if the victim was writhing in agonies of pain. He just did his job and it seemed he liked this job very well. Finally he stood up: "To the ropes, guys!"
Kathrin was sobbing loudly on the wooden cross. Under tears she saw the men putting two ropes at the outer ends of the patibulum. She suffered pain and she was scared to death. She was beside herself. The fear grew up inside her heard. Still she begged for mercy, although it was clear that it would grant her nothing.
Marcus and another legionnaire grabbed the ends of the ropes. Sixtus turned over Kathrin to heave with the cross in the air: "Up with the bird, folks! Bring her in the air."
The two Legionnaires pulled at the ropes.
The cross rose into the air. Kathrin felt how she was erected. The weight of her body began to pull at the four nails holding her on the cross. Now she felt very exactly that she was nailed on the wood.

As the cross stood almost vertically, Sixtus gave the stipes a hit from backside and the lower point of the stipes slid in the prefabricated hole in the ground. With a terrible blow, it fell into the holder. For a moment Kathrin couldn ´t breath, so monstrous was the pain. All she could do was to gasp in panic. Then she howled loudly and began to scream.

Nobody could stand this pain. Impossible!
"No, no!" she screamed. "Get me down! I can not stand it! Not a second longer! Take me down from the cross! Down! Down! Get me down!"
Her body writhed in ecstasies of pain. She cried and cried. She didn´t imagine that one could have such extreme pain. Her wrists and feet were burning like fire. The pain was indescribable. Kathrin straightened her knees in a desperate attempt to escape the awful pull on her arms, but the greater the pain in her feet. Only the nails in her feet gave her a kind of grip and this was bought with horrible pain.

Oh yes, the Romans knew how they had to punish people.
Kathrin saw down in the faces of the crowd not only curiosity and spiteful joy. She also discovered fear. Many small thief vowed at that moment never to steal from a Roman. Not when such a terrible punishment awaited him oder her.

Kathrin squirmed. Kathrin cried. Kathrin sobbed loudly. She was trembling all over.
Beside the indescribable pain came the fear. She knew that she wouldn´t com down from the cross alive. She knew that she had to die and that filled her heart with icy horror. She was scared to death.
Besides all these feelings she felt shame. She was ashamed, because she hung naked on the wood in front of all these foreign people.

Everyone could see her nakedess. Everyone stared at her. In the eyes of the men she saw partially undisguised lust. It attracted these men to see a naked girl on the cross. Women also watched with interest how Kathrin did dance on wood. In some eyes was hatred. "You get what you deserve, slut!" spoke those eyes. Especially older women had that look. They envied Kathrin youth and beauty.

My youth will taken away, thought Kathrin. You do not need to be jealous. Oh why did I not listen to the market woman! How could I be so stupid!
With a groan, she collapsed on the cross. Now she was hanging with all her weight on the wrists. Her legs almost did not support her body. She was trembling uncontrollably.

My dream, she thought. My secret dream had come true. Had it not for years and years this fantasy? I was a poor beggar girl, a little thief who was caught stealing something and than beeing crucified as a punishment.

But I never was scared to death in those fantasies, she thought, and the icy horror returned. I never had to fear death. In my fantasy I was only nailed for a few hours on the cross and then they released me.
Would they let her come down from the Cross? Kathrin did not think so. She had never heard about that. She had studied all about crucifixions in ancient Rome. She had read books and researched on the internet. A crucifixion did not lead to death. Small thieves or disobedient slaves were often crucified for a half or full day. But these people were tied with ropes. After a few hours on the cross, they howled and cried. They dit suffer very bad. After the punishment the were so exhausted that all rebellious thoughts were blown of and every thief swore never to steal again.

But a nailed crucifixion meant there was no mercy for the victim. Who was fixed with nails to the cross remained on the cross until he was dead.

The crowd down there knows, Kathrin thought. That is why they look so spiteful at me. They are pleased that I have to die. Oh God! This pain! I can´t take it anymore!
But she had to endure. The cross tortured her and she couldn´t do anything against it. She had to stand the pain.

The pain made her dance on the cross. She pushed herself up to avoid the pulling on her arms. This caused new pain and she writhed howling on the cross.
Down below the crowd was excited. The people did like what they saw. Kathrin offered an interesting spectacle for the onlookers.

A new problem came up. Kathrin felt for quite a while that her bladder filled. She knew what that meant. She had to do a pee. She holdet it. No! Not in front of all those foreigners!

"Let me down!" she pleaded with loud sobs. "Please let me go, I have suffered enough. I'll never steal again bread!"
Nobody cared about what she said. The legionaries had returned to their board game in front of the building. Occasionally one of them looked bored to Kathrin who did wind at the cross like a worm on a fishing hook.

The crowd did like Kathrins pleaying. The people liked to hear her beg and cry. They laughed as if they had heard a very good joke.

Kathrin was beside herself with pain. She never thought that pain could be that strong. The impossible ache filled her body completely.
And her bladder filled too. She felt the raising pressure betwenn her legs. Oh no!
I cannot do it in front of all these people, she thought. No! Not in front of all these onlookers!
She pressed her legs together. She writhed on the cross.
Not in front of all those people! Kathrin started to cry again, louder than before.
She suffered in pain. She gasped. She howled.
But she did not wanted to pee in front of these ugly people. No! Never!

Intense...very intense....can really feel her anguish ....love your story Sassi!



... looking forward to the conclusion!

 

[Pia]

The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 3


"Oh no! Oh no!" Kathrin whimpered. She watched Sixtus putting the nail on her wrist. He groped for a particular point in their wrist. On the other hand, she felt the same cold touch of metal. The nails examined the point at which they could best pierce her wrists.
"No!" Kathrin croaked. Her voice broke. She felt sick with fear. "No! Nnoooo!"
Sixtus raised the hammer. Kathrin pressed her eyelids together.

She heard a loud "click". Then a fiery pain exploded in her right wrist. "Click". Another hammer blow. Kathrin found her voice again. She cried. She screamed. She could feel how the hammer drove the nail piece by piece through her wrist. On the other hand also began the hammering.
On the right side the nail was beaten trough Kathrins wrist and now the "click" changed to a dull "tock", as the hammer drove the nail into the wood. Kathrin felt the vibrations in the wood on her back and her buttocks. Tock-Tock-Tock! She screamed. She howled. The pain was unspeakable. She writhed on the cross like a worm. Her back arched like a drawn bow. The pain was so cruel that she lost control of her bladder. She made herself wet.

The crowd began to yell: "Peeepeee! Peeeee!"
They shouted and laughed. "Peepeepeepeeee!"
Kathrin screamed and howled. She felt the cold iron went through her flesh and dug deeper and deeper into the wood of the patibulum.
Then her hands were nailed to the wood. Sixtus and Marcus stood up. Without haste they went towards Kathrins feet.

She lifted her head and stared wide-eyed at her legs. One of the other legionaries brought the weird wooden thing and put it on the stipes right under her feet. There it was nailed on the upright by Sixtus. "Hold her feet tight!" Sixtus said. "I do not want to be kicked by the wildcat when I nail her feet on the footrest."
The two legionaries, who held Kathrins ankles, reinforced their grip. They pressed Kathrins feet on the downward sloping wooden platform. Sixtus put a nail on Kathleen's left foot. Kathrin cried already, as he raised the hammer. As the nail was droven with three hammer blows through her foot, she screamed even louder, especially when the point of the nail penetrated the sensitive sole of the foot from the inside. More hard hammer blows. The nail went into the wood of the cross and fixed Kathrins foot.
Kathleen left foot was fixed and Sixtus nailed her left foot on the footrest. We looked at the man that he was used to this work. He moved quickly and efficiently. He knew his way in his profession. And he didn ´t ask if the victim was writhing in agonies of pain. He just did his job and it seemed he liked this job very well. Finally he stood up: "To the ropes, guys!"
Kathrin was sobbing loudly on the wooden cross. Under tears she saw the men putting two ropes at the outer ends of the patibulum. She suffered pain and she was scared to death. She was beside herself. The fear grew up inside her heard. Still she begged for mercy, although it was clear that it would grant her nothing.
Marcus and another legionnaire grabbed the ends of the ropes. Sixtus turned over Kathrin to heave with the cross in the air: "Up with the bird, folks! Bring her in the air."
The two Legionnaires pulled at the ropes.
The cross rose into the air. Kathrin felt how she was erected. The weight of her body began to pull at the four nails holding her on the cross. Now she felt very exactly that she was nailed on the wood.

As the cross stood almost vertically, Sixtus gave the stipes a hit from backside and the lower point of the stipes slid in the prefabricated hole in the ground. With a terrible blow, it fell into the holder. For a moment Kathrin couldn ´t breath, so monstrous was the pain. All she could do was to gasp in panic. Then she howled loudly and began to scream.

Nobody could stand this pain. Impossible!
"No, no!" she screamed. "Get me down! I can not stand it! Not a second longer! Take me down from the cross! Down! Down! Get me down!"
Her body writhed in ecstasies of pain. She cried and cried. She didn´t imagine that one could have such extreme pain. Her wrists and feet were burning like fire. The pain was indescribable. Kathrin straightened her knees in a desperate attempt to escape the awful pull on her arms, but the greater the pain in her feet. Only the nails in her feet gave her a kind of grip and this was bought with horrible pain.

Oh yes, the Romans knew how they had to punish people.
Kathrin saw down in the faces of the crowd not only curiosity and spiteful joy. She also discovered fear. Many small thief vowed at that moment never to steal from a Roman. Not when such a terrible punishment awaited him oder her.

Kathrin squirmed. Kathrin cried. Kathrin sobbed loudly. She was trembling all over.
Beside the indescribable pain came the fear. She knew that she wouldn´t com down from the cross alive. She knew that she had to die and that filled her heart with icy horror. She was scared to death.
Besides all these feelings she felt shame. She was ashamed, because she hung naked on the wood in front of all these foreign people.

Everyone could see her nakedess. Everyone stared at her. In the eyes of the men she saw partially undisguised lust. It attracted these men to see a naked girl on the cross. Women also watched with interest how Kathrin did dance on wood. In some eyes was hatred. "You get what you deserve, slut!" spoke those eyes. Especially older women had that look. They envied Kathrin youth and beauty.

My youth will taken away, thought Kathrin. You do not need to be jealous. Oh why did I not listen to the market woman! How could I be so stupid!
With a groan, she collapsed on the cross. Now she was hanging with all her weight on the wrists. Her legs almost did not support her body. She was trembling uncontrollably.

My dream, she thought. My secret dream had come true. Had it not for years and years this fantasy? I was a poor beggar girl, a little thief who was caught stealing something and than beeing crucified as a punishment.

But I never was scared to death in those fantasies, she thought, and the icy horror returned. I never had to fear death. In my fantasy I was only nailed for a few hours on the cross and then they released me.
Would they let her come down from the Cross? Kathrin did not think so. She had never heard about that. She had studied all about crucifixions in ancient Rome. She had read books and researched on the internet. A crucifixion did not lead to death. Small thieves or disobedient slaves were often crucified for a half or full day. But these people were tied with ropes. After a few hours on the cross, they howled and cried. They dit suffer very bad. After the punishment the were so exhausted that all rebellious thoughts were blown of and every thief swore never to steal again.

But a nailed crucifixion meant there was no mercy for the victim. Who was fixed with nails to the cross remained on the cross until he was dead.

The crowd down there knows, Kathrin thought. That is why they look so spiteful at me. They are pleased that I have to die. Oh God! This pain! I can´t take it anymore!
But she had to endure. The cross tortured her and she couldn´t do anything against it. She had to stand the pain.

The pain made her dance on the cross. She pushed herself up to avoid the pulling on her arms. This caused new pain and she writhed howling on the cross.
Down below the crowd was excited. The people did like what they saw. Kathrin offered an interesting spectacle for the onlookers.

A new problem came up. Kathrin felt for quite a while that her bladder filled. She knew what that meant. She had to do a pee. She holdet it. No! Not in front of all those foreigners!

"Let me down!" she pleaded with loud sobs. "Please let me go, I have suffered enough. I'll never steal again bread!"
Nobody cared about what she said. The legionaries had returned to their board game in front of the building. Occasionally one of them looked bored to Kathrin who did wind at the cross like a worm on a fishing hook.

The crowd did like Kathrins pleaying. The people liked to hear her beg and cry. They laughed as if they had heard a very good joke.

Kathrin was beside herself with pain. She never thought that pain could be that strong. The impossible ache filled her body completely.
And her bladder filled too. She felt the raising pressure betwenn her legs. Oh no!
I cannot do it in front of all these people, she thought. No! Not in front of all these onlookers!
She pressed her legs together. She writhed on the cross.
Not in front of all those people! Kathrin started to cry again, louder than before.
She suffered in pain. She gasped. She howled.
But she did not wanted to pee in front of these ugly people. No! Never!

This really is stunning writing, and as Eul said, the occasional translation oddity somehow adds to the mood. I can't say how exciting it is to read.... I think so many of us have had this dream and you have made it feel so real... And your avatar is totally beautiful as well!

 

[xso]

The Forbidden Drink - Chapter 2


Kathrin opened here eyes. She was lying on a cold stone floor.
She straightened up. Everything around her had changed. She was inside a building that was built of sandstone and marble. She wore only a poor, ragged tunic and she was barefoot. A loaf of bread was in her left arm.

Suddenly strong arms grabbed her and pulled her up. The bread fell to the ground and rolled away.
"Got you, dirty thief!"
Although the man did not speak German, Kathrin could understand every word he was saying.
"Thats it, dirty scum! You will never ever steal bread in the prefects palace! Guards? Take her with you!"

Two men in Roman uniform packed Kathrins arms and dragged her across the marble floor outside the building. Kathrin was so confused, she followed them without resistance.
They walked along a paved road. No car was parked there. There were only pedestrians. These wore strange clothes.

As in Rome, Kathrin taught.
Their captors dragged her to a large open space. They brought her to a Roman officer who sat on a chair drinking wine from a cup.
"Honorable Quintus Tullius, here is a thief. She has stolen bread in the palace of the prefect Antonius."

The Roman officer put down his cup. He watched Kathrin with ice cold eyes. No mercy was in this view: "Once again! A thieving german! That´s enough! I'll put an example! These barbarians must learn that they are not allowed to steal anything from a Roman!" He pointed at Kathrin: "Bring her outside the town gate! You know what you have to do!"

The two captors dragged Kathrin onto a large road. The road was paved. Right and left there were covered colonnades. People in Roman dress stood there and looked curiously at Kathrin. Many followed the two bailiffs and their young prisoner.

They came nearer and nearer to a big building. It was built of sandstone and it had two towers. Kathrin at the thing.
The Porta Nigra, she thought. The Porta Nigra how it looked at the time of the Romans. I really traveled in time. The potion of the market woman works!

She felt the smooth paving stones under her bare soles. She did not resist when their guards dragged her forward. "Out of town," the high Roman officer had ordered. They threw Kathrin out of the city. Kathrin travelled two millenias into the past and arrived in the city of Trier at the time of the Romans, only to be thrown out of the town because she was a little thief in a ragged tunic
What a shame!, she thought. I could take a look at the ancient Trier, but insted I´m thownd out of town. The Porta Nigra came closer. Meanwhile around one hundred people did follow Kathrin and her guards.
They went unter the Porta Nigra out of town.

"This way!" grumbled one of the captors and dragged Kathrin to a simple wooden building. Half a dozen legionaries were sitting outside and played a board game. When the guards arrived with Kathrin, they looked up.
"Centurion Quintus Tullius sends us," one of the guards said. "This dirty thief was caught while stealing in the palace of the prefect Antonius."

The legionaries left their game.
"Look at that," one said. "So young and already stealing at the prefects palace." He smiled and that smile did not look friendly: "We will ensure that you do it never again thief girl! Octavianus! Marcus! Quintus! In the shed! Sixtus, bring the tools!!"

Four of the Legionaries went to the wooden building.
Kathrin stood between the guards. She started to get nervous. She had assumed that they would throw her out of the city, but it looked like there would be more.
What will they do to me?, she wondered. Probably they will punish me. Confused thoughts were turning inside her head. How did the old Romans punish thieves?
Kathrin swallowed.
Lashes ... Whipping ...
Oh no!, she thought. Please do not!

The four legionnaires came out of the shed. As Kathrin saw what they brought, she broke in her knees. If the guards did noch hold her, she had be broken to the ground.
"No!" Kathrin stammered. "No! Please not this! Oh God! You can´t do that!"
Three of the legionaries carried a big wooden cross. Each one held one end of the horizontal patibulum and the third man, a big heavy guy carried the lower end of the upright stipes. The fourth legionnaire went after them. He held in one hand two hammers and in the other a bunch of nails. The nails were made of iron and they were long and thick.

Kathrin went rigid with fright. She felt panic rise up in her heart. This could not be true.
"No!" she screamed. "No. You can not do this!"
"Now you feel sorry that you have stolen from the prefect," snarled one of the captors. "Sorry, too late, baby. You´ll never steal anything."
Kathrin's heart beated hard against her ribs. That had to be a bad joke. These people could not kill her, just because she had stolen a piece of bread!
But the guards marched after the legionaries carrying the cross. Kathrin felt soft grass under her bare soles. Soon she would feel wood under the soles.

The cross was placed on the floor. The Stipes pointed to a hole in the meadow ground. The hole was edged rectangular and clothed with heavy wooden planks. The Legionaries would put the cross in this rectangular hole. Then it would stay upright without any wiggling. The crowd came forward and spread in a wide circle around the cross. They wanted not to miss anything. They stared at Kathrin.

"Don´t we want flogg her before she is getting nailed an the cross?" asked one of the legionaries. It was Sixtus, Kathrin remembered. "We could whip her skin to shreds."
"Forgot it," growled Marcus. "Our whip master Candidus has sprained his arm in a horse accident. He is not available."
"I can make it so," said Sixtus offered eagerly.
"You certainly do not!" cried Marcus and the others nodded in agreement. "Last time you did the job, you whipped that rebel too hard and he died away. We could only crucify a dead body! No, my dear! These little thief should be nailed alive to the cross, so that people hear her screaming. It should last pretty long. No flogging at all!"

Kathrin nearly fainted. She could not believe what she had heard. They wanted to do to her.
Oh God! Why did I drink from this damned elixir?? The dealer warned me! She had forbidden! Oh why didn´t I obey! Horrible fear came to her, strolling around her like an giant invisible lion. Her body started to tremble.

"Okay", said Sixtus: "No flogging." He came to Kathrin and grabbed her tunic: "Down with the shred" The two guards were holding Kathrin and the legionnaire pulled off the tunic from her body. Kathrin was standing without a shred of clothing on. She stood naked in front of the staring crowd. Besides the horrible fear she felt a deep shame.
Sixtus pointed to the cross on the ground: "Come on guys!"
The guards moved Kathrin forward.
She put her bare feet into the ground. She struggled against the guards.
"No!" she cried. "You can not do that! It was only a loaf of bread!"

"Thieves go on the cross!" Sixtus shouted. He picked up one of the two hammers from the ground and grabbed a nail. Marcus took the second hammer and another nail.
Kathrin fluttered between the two guards like a caged bird. She panicked.
"No!" she screamed as the men dragged her to the cross. "No! Stop! Please not! Please! I´am sorry that I have taken the bread!"

"You should have think it over before you did, you dirty little thief!" called Sixtus. "Well! You get what you deserve!" He made an imperious gesture: "Put her on the cross!" "No, no!" cried Kathrin. She struggled with all her strength, but muscles as hard as rocks put her down.

She was layed down and placed with her back on the cross. She felt the wood on her back and her buttocks. In the corner of her eye she saw one of the legionnaires bring a strange triangular wooden thing. She had no idea what it was.

They spread her arms with violence. The crowd moved closer. They wanted not to miss a single detail. Below at the stipes two legionaries held Kathrins ankles.
"No!" Kathrin howled. She writhed in a desperate attempt to escape, but there hands did hold her ankles like cuffs hard as iron.
Sixtus knelt beside her right hand; on the other hand, Marcus.

(will be continued)

Cute story, thanks!