Whew...what a day...
Just a short addition! I think I will focus on posting shorter chapters but try and do one everyday since it seems to be easier to rewrite this way. I am not an expert an Roman history so any references are purposely vague! You will find out the exact time period in the next chapter! Of course any comments are entirely welcome!
Ch.3
Cliona’s head snapped back as she was roughly awakened by the rough hemp constricting her throat. Lung’s burning and with ineffective gurgling coming from her throat, she desperately attempted to bring her hands to her throat; only to find her wrists painfully bound high on her back with a now taught rope running from her wrists up and around her neck to form a tight noose. On her belly, with wrists and ankles bound helplessly, and with her head wrenched back, the upside down view through her bleary eyes revealed the now familiar reason for her lack of breath.
The Roman bastard had delighted in greeting her in this fashion every morning for the last few miserable weeks, and she was starting to regret the contentious attitude she had adopted. Her resistance had done nothing except earn her the hated bindings, including the insidious noose which was currently pulled tightly upward in his strong fist.
The morning ritual proceeded like it had every day since her capture. With a hob-nailed boot painfully placed in the small of her bare back and choking her with the noose, not to mention practically dislocating her shoulders, he chuckled as she glared at him. But after only a few seconds her hateful glare returned to panic as the air ran out and she started to struggle. Hatefully resigning herself to another day in captivity, Cliona finally dropped her eyes and gave in. The guard laughed at her weakness and finally allowed her to struggle to her knees. Since her escape attempt the guards stopped bothering to untie her at any time and just used the noose running down her back as a kind of leash.
Ladling a small amount of thin gruel into a bowl, the guard handed it to one of the many other naked girls huddled around the supply wagons of the convoy headed south. Unlike Cliona however, most of the other captives were contrite and accepting of their impending slavery to Rome. The girl was free of bindings and was used to feeding Cliona her small breakfast by now. Cursing her lack of height for the thousandth time in her life, she sullenly parted her lips so the girl could reach down and pour her breakfast into her mouth. The small bowl was empty all too soon however, and with her belly still growling, the guard snatched the bowl and waved Cliona’s breakfast companion away. The guard pressed his flask to her chapped lips and she managed to get a few gulps of water down before that too was pulled away.
The routine went on predictably as an iron collar with a short length of chain attached to the wagon was locked around her neck. Sure that she was secure, the guard called a comrade over to help hold her ankles down while they were untied and quickly joined again by a pair of shackles. Cliona ruefully remembered the first and only time the guard, thinking she was just a weak little girl, had tried to secure her by himself and without collaring her first. The fleshy smack of his testicles being crushed by her foot before she fled still brought a slight smile to her face. It was too bad she had woefully overestimated her ability to run with her hands tied behind her back however. It was only a few minutes before she was dragged back to camp with a bloody lip and bruises that were just now starting to fade. That pain was nothing compared to the whipping she received in front of the other terrified captives. Cliona was proud she had not screamed throughout the ordeal however!
Grabbing a fistful of her cropped red hair, the guard wrenched Cliona to her feet. He was a large man and towered over her imposingly as she winced in pain. She grunted as his rough hand palmed her cunt cruelly, forcing her on to tip toes to ease the pain. “It finally stopped raining for one fucking night, I hope you like eating road dust you little barbarian cunt!” he said in Latin as he stared down at her. He didn’t know that she could understand him, but Cliona thought that he probably would not care any way. With a last flourish he grasped her nipples and twisted them until she finally whimpered in agony and tried to turn away. With a final shooting pain he let them go and turned away laughing as he mounted his horse and started to give the order to get the wagon train moving.
Seething from humiliation, Cliona could only stand like an animal as she waited for the long wagon train in front of her to move so she could shuffle behind it. Hanging her head to hide the shame of shedding tears, she thought back on how she had gotten here and who she had left behind….