A Roman Love Story

[Doragon]

Chapter 21

Julia had expected and hoped that she would be taken back to one of the cells to mate with the victor. But most slaves present wanted to see Felix take his prize, except for Braxus, who tried to intervene, though without much result. Julia ended up completely naked in the centre of the practice grounds and she shivered as she was told to bend over while Felix approached with his weapon drawn. His penis was immense now it was erect. The sun gave it a shine that made it resemble ebony in both colour and hardness.

Again Braxus intervened by telling Regalus to at least grant the woman some lubrication. He wished he hadn’t because now the woman was ordered to turn around and take the sword in her mouth first. It was something she could do by bending only a little, since the Nubian was so tall compared to her, she might have been able to suck on him while standing straight.

Felix enjoyed himself very much, watching and feeling the woman suck on his cock, but she was way too careful for his taste. He placed his hands on either side of her head and held her while he started to fuck her mouth, thrusting his cock deep into her throat. He didn’t care about her retching and coughing, on the contrary, it made him enjoy this even more. And her flailing arms and pushing hands did nothing to keep him at bay.

When Julia suffered a particularly fierce blow of the black sword in her throat, she toppled over while coughing loudly, desperately trying to get air in her lungs. Felix didn’t wait though and reached down to grab her by the hips and lift her up. She felt like a doll as she was lifted in a folded posture. Then she screamed as the Nubian lanced her slit with his weapon, driving his cock as deep into her as her sheath could envelop. And while still holding her up in front of him, he started to fuck her, driving his cock into her repeatedly. The woman shook and flailed like a rag doll.

The men around applauded and cheered. Some female slaves also had joined to watch the spectacle and though they at first clasped hands in front of their mouths in shock, they too started cheering, calling to Julia to hang in there and take it like a nymph raped by Jupiter himself. Julia did try to hang in there and though crying in agony, she had to admit she had never been fucked as thorough as this by anyone in her life.

Felix was not only known for his size, he was also famous for his stamina. After fucking her from behind for a while, he turned her over and continued to fuck her slit while she hung down backwards with her hands in the sand and he legs dangling on either side of the giant. The more aroused he got, the fiercer he stabbed into the woman and soon it was apparent that he was doing real damage as blood was dripping into the sand.

“Finish!” called Regalus finally, “don’t toy with your prey.”

Felix nodded and grinned. Then he stabbed deep into the woman and held still, his penis throbbing and twitching while he got close to his climax. When it came it felt to Julia like she was filled with scalding hot liquid, filling her cranny to the brim. With a shudder and a gasp she fell on the sand after he let go of her. Two women rushed up to her to offer assistance and Braxus offered carrying her to a quieter place for rest and treatment. In time it would become clear if the impregnation had worked, but at this point nobody cared about that. Felix was hailed as a champion in the arena, but Julia was praised as well for her endurance. It was the stuff that legends were made of.

 

[Loinclothslave]

I just knew a sex scene with Felix would be brutally hot and he didn’t disappoint! Cagey fighting too, feigning injury like that, he’s very cunning! And now Julia is dripping!

Great episodes @Doragon , thank you.

 

[Doragon]

I just knew a sex scene with Felix would be brutally hot and he didn’t disappoint! Cagey fighting too, feigning injury like that, he’s very cunning! And now Julia is dripping!

Great episodes @Doragon , thank you.

Thank you for the compliment. It is as you say: Felix didn't disappoint. Sometimes a scene like this can hang for days and as a writer you are lost, not quite knowing where to take it. Until you let go and then the scene writes itself, the characters decide what happens. I am always so happy when there's this flow.

 

[Loinclothslave]

Thank you for the compliment. It is as you say: Felix didn't disappoint. Sometimes a scene like this can hang for days and as a writer you are lost, not quite knowing where to take it. Until you let go and then the scene writes itself, the characters decide what happens. I am always so happy when there's this flow.

I’m working on something now, actually. Was supposed to be a one chapter vignette but has taken on a life of its own… still early draft but it’s grown to at least 5 chapters and I’m only halfway through…

 

[Doragon]

I’m working on something now, actually. Was supposed to be a one chapter vignette but has taken on a life of its own… still early draft but it’s grown to at least 5 chapters and I’m only halfway through…

Nice, I can't wait to read it.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 22

The two young lovers arrived back in the villa in the early evening and they pretended not to notice each other. Marius had wanted to walk her back to the villa while holding her hand, but Amabilia was still scared about repercussions and had persuaded the young master to pretend nothing had happened. There was enough distraction though to make them come home unnoticed: the prisoner had died. There was some discussion about what to do. According to Canus the body needed to be burned right away, since he was nothing but a slave and a runaway slave even. But there were also voices that claimed it would be better to give the man a proper burial, since there was so much unclear.

“Do you doubt this was a runaway slave?” asked Canus to the men who had protested against the cremations.

“No, of course not sir,” said one of the free workmen. “But has the matter been solved yet? Is there enough proof?”

Canus shrugged as he knew they had a point, but it was unusual to do so. He looked at the filius familias, what his judgement would be. Marius had listened to the arguments and saw merits in both views. But he also knew the dominus had gone to the city to speak about the matter and there had not been a final judgement in the case.

“I say we put the body in an old sack and keep it in a dark cool place. A messenger should be sent to the dominus immediately, asking for his blessing and decision on what to do.”

Marius considered his decision to be the wisest, but many thought he had only postponed the issue and didn’t take responsibility over the matter. Nobody however spoke up against him and Canus supported his choice. A messenger was dispatched to Cassinum and the body was stored in a cellar.

Later that evening saw Marius being alone in his quarters, celebrating the day in solitude. He drank wine, ate grapes and smiled continuously when he thought about his victory over the young beautiful maiden. He had expected a much longer courtship to be needed, but the girl had surrendered almost immediately. It made him feel very content with himself. Which was only strengthened by the successful decision he had made about the corps of the prisoner. He was certain Aulus would agree with his decision.

In the meantime Amabilia felt like she was walking on air or floating without her feet touching the ground. To be loved in such a way and by the adopted son of the dominus of all people, it was something she could not even have dreamed of. Thinking about him gave her a tingling feeling inside, as if her abdomen was filled with butterflies. The image of his eyes and smiling face was constantly in her mind. So much so, she didn’t even worry about the domina anymore and what would happen when the mistress of the house returned. She simply could not imagine not being safe in the arms of Marius.

It was to be expected that the young girl had trouble sleeping that night. She went out into the courtyard while everybody was asleep and walking around she ended up in the stables. For a moment she looked at the pole she had been tied to during her punishment. It seemed to her like this was a long time ago and part of another life. It had also been an important moment in the development of her love. From pain arose such joy, very strange. She turned away and focused on one of the horses. She rubbed his nose while she smiled at the magnificent beast. ‘I am in love,’ she whispered and the horse looked at her with one of his big brown eyes. Then she kissed the stallion on the nose and smiled as she went back out in the courtyard, not noticing she was curiously observed by the stable boy who kept watch over the horses at night. The girl had gone mad, so much was clear to him.

Marius also couldn’t sleep and as he was standing near the window to look at the stars and the moon, he suddenly noticed the lovely girl down below coming out of the stables. He smiled and whistled at her. When she looked up he gestured at her to come up to his quarters.

Moments later Amabilia entered the private room of Marius. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had her sandals in her hands, having ran up the stairs on bare feet to be as silent as possible. Marius closed the door behind her while he took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She dropped the sandals and wrapped herself in his arms, kissing him back with equal passion. Then he picked her up and carried her to the bed, where he pushed her dress up and made her pull up her legs. After freeing his cock, he quickly assaulted her bum and pushed his shaft deep into her anus, after which he fucked her. The girl was caught beneath him with her legs pulled up and his body pressing her down on the bed. His large erection kept caressing her inside her anus while she enveloped him in a loving embrace. Her moaning was ecstatic while he covered her beautiful face with kisses.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 23

The two young lovers didn’t sleep at all that night. They kept caressing each other and several times Marius showed his young and tireless libido by getting erections until it started to hurt. He fucked the young girl in her anus and mouth several times. In between he licked her to ecstatic heights until finally both of them succumbed to fatigue and satisfaction, but still they didn’t sleep. Neither of them wanted to miss a single moment of being together.

“I will love you always,” sighed Marius.

“Until you meet a young lady with a large fortune,” teased Amabilia.

“I don’t care about fortune or ladies, I care only about you,” he assured her. Amabilia of course loved hearing that and she felt very fortunate to be so loved. But it was also something she found hard to believe.

“But you will be the dominus,” she interjected. “The entire familia will be depending on you. How can you not desire a more suitable partner in life?”

“Oh silly girl,” laughed Marius, “are you pleading for me to marry someone else? Even when I don’t love that other woman? No, as far as I am concerned, we will stay together always.” He simply could not imagine ever meeting a girl who he wanted to fuck more.

“Here, let me show you something.” He got out of bed and opened a chest. Inside were various trophies and souvenirs he had acquired on trips to various large cities in the Roman world.

“Come stand here,” he said while he helped Amabilia up from the bed. She was still naked of course and in his eyes she was absolutely breath taking.

“Put this on your head,” he said, handing her an Egyptian headdress he had bought somewhere long time ago. The girl made cooing sounds as she took the headdress in her hands and carefully fitted it on her head. Marius fell silent and went on one knee while he adored her.

(Louis Joseph Raphael Collin - Scène à l'antique)

“My princess,” he said. The girl tried to imitate a princess by holding her arms out in blessing and smiling at him.

“My servant,” she replied. Then both of them laughed and they made love one final time, until the sun finally arose in the east.

Amabilia sneaked back to the dormitory and crept in her bed, believing she had been unseen. She wasn’t of course, but nobody had stopped her to ask where she had been and so she had a chance to sleep an hour or so, until somebody poked her to wake up and go to work. She quickly went to the kitchen, took some food and water with her and went out to the fields to dance and dream all day with the geese. And of course sleep a few hours in the tall grass.

Marius slept all morning and didn’t awake until noon. He got up, washed himself and went to the kitchen while feeling in a really good mood. But when he came to the kitchen to demand some food, he noticed the household in disarray. Everybody was hurrying, preparing food, cleaning stairs and hallways and running around tidying up the house to unusual standards. Soon he learned that a messenger had come to inform them of the return of the domina later that day. And though that was good news as such, the young man also regretted that news. The return of his adoptive mother would mean he had less time to spend with Amabilia. And they also had to be more careful because it was unlikely the domina would be very pleased if the love affair came out.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 24

Domitia Polla Lucianus returned to the villa in her carriage late in the afternoon. She was pleased to see her return had been expected and the house had been properly prepared to receive her. She went up to the dining room upstairs and ordered for a meal, while the house servants were received one by one to tell her about everything that had happened during her absence. Most of the things had gone well, except for a few more accidents happening than usual. A slave needed to be punished for breaking a wine jar and another for letting a few chickens escape, but those were minor incidents and she knew they were handled well by the staff.

She was less pleased to hear about the affair with Julia and the gladiators. The slave who told her did make it clear that this had been done by orders of Aulus and not on Julia’s own initiative, but Domitia had a secret that nobody knew about. That also made it difficult to act on the Julia affair, since she usually pretended she wasn’t very interested in the gladiators. The fact that one of them was her secret lover, made things complicated.

The thing that upset Domitia much more, was the gossip about Marius, her adopted son, and her former chambermaid, Amabilia. Could the girl really be this stupid, to first fuck the master of the house and in his absence turn to his son? Alright, the girl had not been deflowered by Aulus, but was she really stupid enough to think oral sex was no sex? The girl had the nerve to fuck her husband and now also her son! Domitia was furious and this was something she didn’t leave to the staff to handle, she was going to handle this herself.

First she called her son to her private quarters. Marius was curious why his adoptive mother had summoned him. He had been in the courtyard when she arrived and he had greeted her with all the formalities that were needed, even a kiss on the cheek. As for the situation in the villa, had the slaves not informed her already?

“Domina,” he said, “I assure you, we did everything we could to keep the runaway slave alive.” He assumed that was the matter she wanted to discuss with him. It wasn’t.

“I don’t care about a runaway slave,” she said, “even though he attacked and hurt you. The man was punished and your father will deal with the legal matters.”

“Yes mater,” said Marius with a slight bow of his head, “I just assumed…”

“You assume too much!” she interrupted him and then she got up and came standing in front of the young man. He was taller than she was, but her aura made her twice as large.

“How dare you,” she hissed at him. “Do you have any idea what a mess you are in?”

“Wha…” he started but again she interrupted him.

“Shut up. Do you have any idea what this girl is doing to us? Seducing you to get a better status? She thinks too much of herself!”

“Mater,” he now interrupted her, “Is this about Amabilia? You are wrong!”

“Yes this is about Amabilia and I am not wrong. I have eyes to see and ears to listen. Are you denying you are seeing this girl?”

“Yes, I mean no, I am not denying that I am spending time with her, but…”

“And you fuck her?”

“Mater!” But his face betrayed him.

“You are putting everything on the line! Imagine the shame if this comes out!”

“Shame? I am the son of the dominus, I can be with any slave girl I want.”

“Not yet. Besides, this one is dangerous!” Domitia exclaimed. “She has seduced you!”

“No, I seduced her!”

“She. Seduced. You. After first having seduced Aulus!” Domitia poked him in the chest with her fingers to emphasize her every word. Marius blinked as he tried to understand what was happening.

“Mater, she was only obeying orders that time with pater. And you had her punished for that. I saw it all, I was there for the punishment.”

“And while being punished she still seduced you? The girl is evil!”

“You raised her!” he exclaimed. Domitia slapped him in the face.

“Are you saying I made her like this?”

“But she is kind, sweet and innocent,” he replied with a hand on his cheek. He was blushing in anger as he felt ashamed by her treatment. He wasn’t a child anymore!

“Demons can be very kind, sweet and innocent looking,” she said while she walked back to her seat and poured herself a goblet of wine. “You must put her out of your mind,” she continued while sipping from the wine. “I will deal with the girl.”

“No!” shouted Marius, now furious as well. “I am my own man, I am not a child anymore and this girl is my girl!”

Domitia fell silent and slowly walked back towards him, while looking him straight in the eyes.

“As long as you are under my roof,” she said calmly, “and as long as Aulus is still alive and dominus of this household, you will do as I tell you.” The calmness of her voice did not hide the steel in her words. She could not be denied.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 25

Marius put his sack on the back of his horse and while he adjusted his cape, he got on the horse and rode out of the gate. It was evening, a little after sunset. He had been instructed to leave the house for a while and go back to his first father, Verius Lucianus. It felt like failure, almost as if he had been demoted from being filius familias. But the tears in his eyes were not about that. It was the humiliation he had to endure. He should be able to choose himself who he loved or not. Not have his mother decide for him. How dare she deny him the pleasures he had with the girl.

He halted his horse as he clearly heard geese a little off the road. Was Amabilia only just now returning? Quickly he steered his horse off the road towards the sound and in the setting light of day he saw the girl amidst her geese making for the villa. She stopped as soon as she saw him and ran up to him. As soon as he got off the horse, they fell into each other’s arms and kissed each other passionately.

“Are you alright,” he asked, a little out of breath. “Why are you so late?”

“I fell asleep in the grass,” she chuckled and tried to kiss him again. “It’s so good to see you, my lord,” she added with passion. Marius held off the kiss though this time and instead looked her in the eyes in the waning light of day.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a bit worried about his hesitation.

“Domitia is back,” he replied, “And she found out about us.”

Amabilia grew pale and blinked.

“How?” she whispered. “We were so careful.”

“Slaves have seen us and they told Domitia. I kind of expected that and thought it would not be a problem.”

“Is… is it a problem?” stammered the girl, growing even more pale.

Marius sighed and nodded. Amabilia felt a shiver running down her spine and she tried to pull back from him, but he reached out and drew her into a tight hug.

“I am so sorry,” he said softly and kissed her on her hair.

“What do we do now?” she said with trembling voice. Marius kept silent for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her warm body against him. It felt so good, he was getting an erection. In despair he held the girl away from him at arm’s length and looked once more into her eyes.

“Let’s go away together,” he said, “we’ll run away. I have gold. We can go to Greece or something and start our own little household there. I can start a school and you…”

He stopped because Amabilia had gone from being a statue to being in clear agony. She gasped while pulling away from him.

“Nooo,” she whimpered, “that’s impossible! I am a slave and I can never run away!”

“Why not?” asked Marius.

“Don’t you see?” she exclaimed, “They’d crucify all of them, all the other slaves!”

“Fuck them,” said Marius cruel, “we’d survive and be together. Isn’t our love worth all that?”

Amabilia cried out as if he had stabbed her through the heart and she fell to her knees while embracing herself.

“Noo,” she wept, “they’d kill the children too. Women, men, children, all of them.”

Marius fell silent. He understood why she was upset over the possible death of slaves – she was herself a slave. But he didn’t understand why she could not rejoice in them surviving, in their love surviving.

“I can’t go,” whispered the girl after a long silence. “I will face punishment if I have to.”

She looked up at him and added “I can face any punishment if you are with me.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“Domitia has sent me away for a while. I won’t be here when she punishes you.”

She sobbed in response and looked at him with tears in her eyes and despair on her face.

“But will I see you again?” she whimpered.

He nodded.

“I promise to come back for you,” he said softly and sank down on his knees in front of her. He took her face in his hands and started kissing her wet cheeks and crying eyes. She was so beautiful and sweet, he could see no evil in this pure and innocent girl. And seeing her crying made him lust even more after her.

“I want to fuck you,” he said, his penis being so hard that it hurt. She sighed in response and shook her head. But he reached out to her dress and started to pull it up over her legs.

“Please,” she whispered, “not now.”

“I need you,” he groaned, “come, it may take some time before I can fuck you again.”

The girl gave in to him and let him undress her. Then she went down on hands and knees and let him penetrate her anus from behind. He fucked her slowly and with passion and tears were now also in his eyes. Was this the final time he had his penis inside this beautiful girl?

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 26

Amabilia didn’t reach the villa before nightfall and in darkness she put the geese back in their pen, hoping she had all of them. As she approached the courtyard, she felt liquid running down her thigh from her ass. The same liquid she also still tasted in her mouth. Marius had fucked her anally and orally. And though she had reached no orgasm herself, she had been very pleased with the satisfaction she had been able to offer her love, her master.

The girl quickly crossed the courtyard on her way to the washing trough, but she was intercepted by one of the house slaves.

“Domina has been waiting for you,” said the woman, who was named Livia. She was one of the older house slaves and fiercely loyal to Domitia.

“I’ll come,” said Amabilia softly, “but please let me wash myself first.”

Livia then slapped her.

“When the mistress calls, you come right away,” she said and she started to drag the crying girl along by her arm.

“Well now, you’ve been busy while I was away,” said Domitia when the girl was standing in front of her. Livia stood behind Amabilia, but nobody else was present. The girl blinked and shivered.

“Was your punishment not severe enough? Or did you perhaps enjoy it?” asked the domina of the house with a somewhat relaxed attitude. Amabilia could sense very well that the relaxed pose was only outward. She knew her mistress well enough to recognized the almost volcanic anger inside the older woman. And she was scared to death.

Amabilia suddenly threw herself onto the floor, arms outstretched and no longer able to hold in her tears.

“Forgive me mistress, I intended no harm,” she whimpered.

Domitia scoffed and gave a gesture at Livia to pull the girl back on her feet. When Amabilia was standing again, she looked at the girl with her wet stained cheeks and told her to undress. The girl blinked, glanced at Livia and seeing there was no support for her there, she pulled her dress over her head and used her hands to cover her naked body as much as possible. Livia however pulled her hands down to reveal her true form.

“So young and already such a whore,” said Domitia cruel, making the girl weep even harder. Amabilia’s shoulders shook under her sobbing, causing her perky breasts to quiver. There were still some bruises on those small titties, but it was clear to Domitia the girl had learned nothing from her punishment some days ago. Again she gestured at Livia, who stepped behind Ambilia and quickly drew her hand between the girl’s legs to feel at her vulva and swipe her bottom. The poor girl almost fell, but kept her balance while she wailed under the all too intrusive intimate inspection.

“She’s still a virgin at the front,” said Livia, “but not at the back.” And she held her hand up to show the wetness she had scooped up from between Amabilia’s buttocks. Domitia looked at the wet fingers with raised eyebrows.

“It’s semen, domina,” added Livia, to exclude any misunderstanding.

“Who did you fuck this time?” asked Domitia with barely contained anger in her voice.

Amabilia wept and at first didn’t answer, but when Livia slapped her again, she whimpered that Marius had been with her in the field.

“So instead of going to the villa of Verius, like I ordered, he went to find you and fuck you, right? I find that hard to believe.”

“That’s not what happened,” cried Amabilia, “I mean, it happened, but… he …” she realized she had no explanation that would help her and she again fell on her knees. “Please mistress,” she then tried, “we love each other and…”

“Shut up!” hissed Domitia, “don’t say another word, you lying little harlot.”

The two women bound the weeping girl down on a bench with her legs and arms spread wide to both ends of the bench, while her head and ass stuck out over the front and back. Domitia then looked down on the immobilized girl, seeing her stomach and tits trembling because of her sobs. There was some rope left from binding the girl and she curled it into a noose. At the same time she gestured at Livia.

“Go fetch him,” she said. Livia bowed and went away, needing no further instructions.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 27

“Have I not been kind to you?” asked Domitia as she leaned over the frightened girl while holding the bundle of rope in both hands.

“Yes domina,” whimpered Amabilia while shaking in fear.

“I gave you everything, I chose you to be my personal servant and this is how you repay me,” said Domitia calmly. She then struck the poor girl hard on her chest with the rope, making the girl wail in pain.

“Shut up,” hissed Domitia, “I swear, if you cry so loud the whole domus can hear you, I will have your tongue cut out of your cock sucking mouth and have it shoved it up your ass.”

Amabilia shut her mouth in terror and after that she only gave muffled moans when the rope hit her breasts several times in a row.

Livia came back, bringing a giant man with her. Amabilia looked at him in terror. He was huge and his skin was as dark as ebony. She recognized him as one of the gladiators, who she only saw on rare occasions. But why was he here? And where was the guard?

Domitia walked up to the tall man and looked at him from head to toe.

“You’ve been naughty as well,” she said.

“How have I been naughty?” the Nubian chuckled. And he quickly added a “domina” to his words with a slight bow of his head. Domitia trailed a finger over his broad pectorials, down his stomach and then over his subligaculum.

“I have been hearing stories about you having sex with one of the slave girls.” She looked him in the eyes again.

“In public,” she added. He understood she was referring to the situation with Julia.

“Oh that was nothing, domina. It was only one time and I only have eyes for you,” he said, still smiling but not as broad as before. Was he in trouble?

“I don’t understand why you even got an erection if she was nothing to you?” asked Domitia soft while she leaned in against him and held her mouth close to his chest. Felix felt an erection coming on right now and swallowed.

“It was by orders of the dominus,” he answered, trying to avoid giving an explanation for his obvious arousal with other women. He got aroused all the time, especially when seeing a woman naked. Like this girl on the bench, and he couldn’t avoid glancing sideways at the girl, which made his penis even harder.

Domitia noticed of course and put a hand on his loincloth. Upon feeling the hard penis under the garment, she dug her fingers in and squeezed hard, making sure she had cupped not only his shaft but also his testicles.

“I should punish you for that,” she said, making him grunt with her hard squeezing hand.

“You are in luck that I really love your cock, or I would have it cut off.”

Felix nodded, no longer smiling at this point.

“Yes domina,” he answered. He knew she really loved his cock, which is why he got regularly called to her quarters at night. He also kind of knew he should keep his cock exclusive for her, but that was a really impossible thing to do, especially when girls were thrown into his lap by the dominus.

“I have a task for you today,” said Domitia while she stepped away from the man and walked over to Amabilia, who was still tied to the bench and who listened to the conversation with a blush that reached from her face down to her breasts. Domitia leaned down over Amabilia and held her head up with her hands while looking into her eyes. The girl looked at her mistress, seeing her upside down but still recognizing her steel grey eyes and cruel mouth.

“Let’s make you into a woman,” said the domina to the trembling girl.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 28

“Take this girl’s virginity,” said Domitia to the Nubian slave while she walked over to the table to pick up a long stick. “But keep your cock in your subligaculum,” she added while walking back to him and holding out the stick.

“Use this instead,” she said. Felix looked at it with raised eyebrows.

“It used to be my father’s vitis,” she explained. Since he was a slave, he had never held a vitis in his hands before, but he knew what it was and how it was regarded. Domitia’s father had been a centurion of some renown, even the slaves knew that.

The Vitis was a stick that centurions used to enforce discipline. The practice was known as castigato.



The cane was made of a twirling piece of vine wood, usually 0,9 meter long and often adorned with a metal handle or leather knob. Tacitus mentioned that one of the centurions received the nickname Cedo Alteram (“give me another”), because of the continuous breaking of his sticks.



This vitis had a handle consisting of two leather straps and a metal plate in between that read ‘Poena Virtus Est’ (translate ‘punishment is virtue’). When Domitia held it in her hand, her fingers could only just close around it. The other end was much thinner and as the woman looked at it, she smiled and turned it over in her hands. She then handed the thinnest end to Felix and said “Push the handle in her cunt and fuck her with it.”

“Why not use my cock?” asked Felix.

“Your cock is supposed to be mine and mine alone,” said Domitia while she closely watched how he reacted to that. “You will fuck me after she’s lost her flower to the sacred vitis.”

Amabilia wailed, her eyes as large as disks as she got sight of the large stick that was going to torment her.

“Gag her,” said Domitia to Livia and the servant immediately took a piece of cloth to stuff Amabilia’s mouth with. Felix then knelt down at the bottom of the young girl and he smiled. According to his cruel nature, this was going to be lots of fun.

“No lubricant?” he asked while reaching out for the thin slit of the young girl. Not that he was concerned for the girl, he loved to be cruel. He just wanted to make sure this was what the mistress wanted.

“Stick it in her ass first,” said Domitia, “there’s enough lubricant in there.”

Amabilia felt as miserable as she could ever be, being spread open like that for this man who frightened her in any normal situation. And now he was even holding an instrument of torture beyond all her nightmares. She gasped when she felt something hard pressing between her buttocks against her sensitive anus. She tried clenching her butt, but since her legs were widely spread she could do nothing to prevent the stick from targeting her anus. There was a fierce pain in her ass when her back passage was forced open. The leather tipped stick pushed past her sphincter, deep into her rectum. It was only a little bit wider than the penis of Marius had been, but it was inflexible, cruelly rough and unforgiving. The girl gave a muffled scream of pain when the stick pushed in deeper, much deeper than Marius had ever managed to push. And then the handle of the stick also began to move around in her ass, churning and wiggling like it was digging out a hole.

“That’s enough,” said Domitia. “Now take her front sheath.”

Felix pulled the stick out of the girl’s anus and noticed it was covered in a mixture of semen and excrement. Interesting, he thought, this virgin had butt sex a little while ago. Now he understood what the mistress had meant when she said her ass was well lubricated.

With a grin he spread the girl’s labia and pressed the dirty leather tip of the handle in between. The girl gasped and stiffened up, trying to arch her back and move out of the way. But there was nowhere to go and Felix flexed his muscles and shoved the stick straight into the tiny hole. Her virginity was ripped from her body in one shove.

Amabilia convulsed and jerked hard at the ropes holding her in place. The pain was immense and overwhelming her completely, sending her into shock. She gargled and wailed, then shivered all over as the stick pushed even deeper. The pain was beyond anything the girl had ever experienced and she convulsed and screamed. The Nubian grinned cruelly while he stirred the stick in the poor girl’s vagina, before giving it another shove and pushing it even deeper. Amabilia jerked and arched her back and gave a loud muffled cry in anguish, until she suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 29

Domitia saw with satisfaction how the entire handle of the vitis had been shoved into the girl’s front portal. There’s a deflowering for you, she thought.

“Well done,” she complimented Felix. “leave it inside her and come here.” She dropped her dress to the ground and appeared in front of him with her naked body on full display. She was well rounded, with heavy breasts and clear signs of her age, but still a very attractive woman. Stepping closer to him she reached out and began to unwrap his loincloth, revealing his massive ebony cock at full attention. She smiled, being very pleased to see that.

Domitia ordered Livia to throw water on Amabilia’s face to wake her up. The girl came around with gasps and muffled cries.

“Stop your blabbering,” said Domitia, “you’re a woman now and fit to be a whore. So we’ll put that whoring mouth of you to good use.”

Livia pulled the cloth out of Amabilia’s mouth and held a metal ring in front of her face. The girl had to open her mouth and the ring was placed behind her teeth, keeping her mouth wide open. A strap was tied behind her head to keep it in place. The domina then put her legs on either side of the girl and rubbed her slit all over her face. Amabilia coughed and cried as she felt the thick wet vulva of her mistress rubbing all over her face. Domitia then waved Felix to approach.

“Fuck my ass and vagina alternatively, but in between wet your cock in her mouth.”

Felix grinned. This was also going to be fun.

Amabilia watched with watering eyes how the immense cock of the gladiator came near to her face, only to disappear into the wet slit of her mistress. Domina groaned and gasped as the lance was forced almost entirely inside of her, stretching her sex to the limit. When Felix began to thrust and fuck the mistress, his large balls slapped against the chin of the whimpering girl who closed her eyes in despair, trying not to see the copulation right in front of her face.

“Don’t you dare come before me,” groaned Domitia, who was squirming in lust under the assault of the immense black cock.

“Yes domina,” grunted the Nubian and he pulled back out and helped by Livia he shoved his penis through the ring into Amabilia’s wide open mouth. The girl gagged as she tasted the cock of the gladiator mixed with the juices of her mistress. And her mouth filled quickly as the lance got pushed right into the back, pressing hard against her uvula. The girl convulsed and arched her back when the large crown of the immense cock pushed beyond the constricting entrance to her throat since he was quite too long to fit in her mouth alone. And as she struggled to keep breathing, he also began to pump his cock into her tight orifice, fucking her throat as if it was a pussy.

“My ass, put it in my ass,” panted Domitia while she pressed her heavy body down on the girl to suppress her writhing movements. The gladiator nodded and panted himself, pulling his cock from the coughing mouth of the girl beneath and he unceremoniously pressed his lance between the fat buttocks of the domina. She groaned and grunted when the thick cock pushed into her, but she clearly loved it as she pushed her butt backwards to meet the man’s thrusts.

“Fuck me, by the gods, fuck me harder!” grunted the domina, while the slave girl under her was still coughing and gasping for air. Felix battered his cock all the way into the back passage of the mistress, slapping his balls hard against her slit. He was by now at the peak of his arousal and found it hard to stop himself from coming. But the domina was not yet ready. Like usual she took a long time to finish and she hated it when he came first.

“Switch,” grunted the woman, while she leaned forward and pressed her mouth on the bloody slit of the slave girl under her. With one hand she also grabbed the vitis which was still stuck inside the girl’s deflowered pussy.

“You wanted sex?” she spat at the girl in between kisses on her clitoris, “Take this!” She pulled the vitis back a little, only to stab it back into the tight vagina of the girl, while at the same time kissing and licking her clitoris.

Amabilia screamed in pure agony but her screams were smothered by the return of the large cock, which was shoved back into her mouth. In pure panic she jerked hard at the ropes holding her in place while she was fucked harshly in both her vagina and her throat. The gladiator pumped his entire length into the girl’s mouth and gullet, causing his balls to slap against her face.

Felix was panting hard and sweat was dripping from his brows as he had such a hard time holding in his orgasm while at the same time continue fucking as hard and deep as he could. His hands clutched the hips of the domina, fingers digging in despair in her flesh. Of all three holes, the constricting throat of the slave girl was the hardest to deal with, as it stimulated his cock beyond belief. But he knew that if he came this early, he would likely lose his balls.

“Switch,” panted the mistress after a few more moments and Felix gladly pulled his twitching and throbbing cock out of the girl’s choking mouth. Back he went for the vagina of his mistress and as he pushed into her warm and wet folds, he sighed with relief – this felt way less intense and it almost felt like he could take a small break. But Domitia was making it hard for him after all, because suddenly she began to convulse, her vagina squeezing tight and her body milking his cock while she was having a massive orgasm. She usually was never this fast, but apparently the torture of the slave girl excited her to such extent, she could no longer contain herself.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 30

Felix noticed domina was not done, as she pulled herself off his throbbing and aching cock and climbed down to kneel between the legs of the slave girl taking the vitis in both her hands. Amabilia was at this point reeling, the room spinning around her, gasping in despair.

“So you were dreaming of becoming a domina yourself, weren’t you?” hissed Domitia, letting her anger take over completely. The arrogance of the girl was a stab towards the gods themselves. The domina had been taken over by a kind of frenzy that could easily kill the girl. Livia noticed how her mistress was putting her weight against the vitis, trying to force it in much deeper and impaling the girl. Blood was oozing from Amabilia’s vagina and she quickly went over to her mistress, laying her hands on Domitia’s hands.

“Domina,” said Livia calmly, “you are killing the girl.”

Domitia looked up at her servant and then looked down at Amabilia’s bleeding vagina. Then she nodded and pulled the stick out of the girl. As it came out, blood splattered unto the floor.

“You are right,” panted the domina. “Death is too easy for her.” She sat down while dropping the stick on the floor and as she rubbed her hands over her heated face, she saw Felix still standing there, his large cock throbbing in front of him. She was still extremely horny and drove two fingers inside her pussy to bring her arousal up to speed again. Then she climbed back on top of the slave girl, this time lying on her back with her ass pressed against Amabilia’s chin.

“Fuck me,” she ordered the Nubian as he towered over her and using her hand she guided his massive cock back into her vagina.

Felix looked down on the naked body of his mistress now fully displayed in front of him. Her large breasts were sagging sideways and trembling with every movement she made. He pushed his penis deep into her slit and when he felt her inner obstruction with three quarters of his penis inside her, he began to pump his cock in her vagina with ever faster motions. Domitia groaned and closed her eyes while she used her fingers to flick her large clitoris to make her arousal spike a second time. When she was really close, she ordered the slave to come and fill her with his seed. Felix exploded as soon as he was finally allowed to release and his orgasm was so intense, he almost lost his balance as he felt the blood draining from his head. Domitia also came, grunting loud as she convulsed with her second orgasm. She wrapped her legs around the man and held him until both their orgasms finally diminished. Then she let go of him and pushed him away, while she got up and pressed her leaking vagina over Amabilia’s mouth. With a grin she looked down on the red and swollen face of the slave girl while she pressed the semen out of her vagina and into the girl’s mouth.

“Drink up, bitch,” she laughed.

Amabilia retched as her mouth filled with semen, which had nowhere to go but down her gullet, where part of it was swallowed and some of it shot out of her nose.

“Oh, she loves it, doesn’t she?” laughed Domitia. “Well, there’s going to be a lot more of that in your miserable life.”

The domina got up and walked around the retching and coughing girl.

“Now it’s time to punish the naughty boy,” she said while picking up the vitis. Felix watched her with apprehension. Domina told him to lie down on top of the slave girl.

“Stuff that cock of yours into her mouth and put your mouth on her bleeding slit,” ordered Domitia while she walked around him and took position behind him. Felix looked over his shoulder, seeing how the domina held the vitis stick loosely against her shoulder. He expected she would strike him with it, but he shrugged as he knew it would not bother him too much to be struck on the back a few times. He lied down on top of Amabilia and helped by Livia he stuffed his half erect cock through the ring in the girl’s gasping mouth. He almost immediately felt his penis growing again as the constructing warm mouth folded around his cock and as he grew longer, he also began pushing into her tight throat again. The girl coughed and convulsed but had no way to escape his penetration.

“Next time you fuck some other girl than me, remember this,” said Domitia as she pressed the handle of the vitis stick between his buttocks against his anus. He grunted angrily and growled when his anus got penetrated by the slick but unforgiving wooden handle. It hurt bad and he had to suppress the urge to lash out in anger. He did control himself though and instead pulled himself away from the penetrating stick by pushing himself forward. By doing that he drove his cock deep into Amabilia’s thoat. The slave girl tried desperately to turn her face away, but Livia held her tight so she could not escape the penetrating cock.

Much to the surprise of the gladiator he grew harder. Despite the pain in his ass, where the stick was stretching his sphincter and even drawing blood, the sensation of the tight constricting throat of the slave girl around his cock was stronger. Even when the domina began to move the stick in and out of his rectum, did he feel getting more aroused and it helped that his anus adjusted and it grew less painful at some point. As he moved in reaction to the moving stick, his penis was soon sliding in and out of the poor girl’s throat and that felt so good, he reached full erection again. With a grunt he began to fuck the girl’s mouth and throat, with his balls slapping against the closed eyes of the choking slave girl, while Domitia fucked his anus with the stick.

“If you ever fuck another girl again without my presence and consent, I’m going to cut off your balls and turn you into a cock sleeve for the rest of your life,” said the mistress of the house while she stabbed her father’s vitis into the gladiators ass. Felix grunted and continued pumping his cock balls deep into Amabilia’s throat. The slave girl was close to losing consciousness because of the pain in her expanded throat and the lack of air. When Felix finally came and squirted his load deep into her throat, she finally passed out.

Felix pulled his cock back and a gulf of semen erupted from Amabilia’s open mouth. Domitia had pulled the stick from his anus and he stumbled back, barely catching himself from falling down. His orgasm had been painful this time and he was panting like he just had a most intense workout. The domina however pulled him against her and she kissed him deeply.

“Don’t disappoint me again,” she whispered at him after that kiss and with a slap on his butt she sent him off. Livia in the meantime had begun taking care of Amabilia, making sure she was breathing again and then releasing her from the bench.

“Bring her to your room to take care of her,” said Domitia to Livia, “and don’t tell anybody about what has happened here.”

“Of course domina,” said Livia obediently bowing her head. She knew how to keep silent about what happened privately in her mistress’ quarters.

 

[Wragg]

“If you ever fuck another girl again without my presence and consent, I’m going to cut off your balls and turn you into a cock sleeve for the rest of your life,”

No need to mince your words, Domitia, please feel free to say what you think!

 

[Doragon]

No need to mince your words, Domitia, please feel free to say what you think!

Since her father was a centurion, she probably picked up a lot of bad language from legionnaires. Not very ladylike, although with Romans it's quite normal to be blunt and tactless, especially in private quarters.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 31

Marius was sulking in the garden of his father’s villa, when his old teacher Sullius joined him.

“Plagued by pathos?” asked the old man as he sat down and adjusted his toga. Marius sighed and nodded.

“Why does love hurt so much?” asked the young man.

“What is pain?” asked Sullius in return. “What does a cut in the skin, hunger and love have in common?” Marius looked at him and thought for a moment.

“Damage?” he tried.

“No,” replied the old teacher, “what they have in common is that something is missing. A piece of skin, nourishment and the loved one.”

Marius nodded as he understood what the old teacher was saying.

“I am missing her,” he sighed, “like a terrible hunger.”

“Where does it hurt?” asked the teacher, “In your stomach?”

Marius shook his head.

“This cannot be remedied by eating. It aches in my chest and… well, in my cock.”

“Then fill the emptiness around your cock by stroking it. And fill the hole in your chest with beauty and distraction. Read a good scroll, watch some art and write a poem.”

Marius chuckled.

“I doubt that will help much,” but he appreciated that his old teacher had made him laugh. He wasn’t one for writing and reading also never brought him much joy. He loved art though, but mostly paintings of heroic sceneries or statues of beautiful women. He looked at the naked marble girl in the courtyard and smiled. Looking at her was a welcome distraction, he had to admit. Looking at the softness of the white marble shaped like a naked girl, he could feel his cock twitch.

“I will try,” he added.

“Are you sure that’s all though?” asked the teacher.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, don’t you also have other feelings for the girl besides longing? Don’t you feel sorry for her?”

Marius frowned and thought for a moment.

“I do feel some pity for her,” he said, “after all, she’s missing me. I have no doubt her sheath feels empty now.”

“What kind of pathos would you call that?” continued the teacher.

“I don’t know. Sympathy perhaps?”

The old man nodded and looked at the young filius familias.

“Not empathy?”

Marius shook his head and scowled. “You mean what those Christian cultists are preaching?”

The teacher nodded.

“Do you expect her to be punished?”

“Probably,” answered the young man with a shrug.

“And how does that make her feel?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. If she feels anything else but longing for me, I hope she understands she has little choice in the matter. Besides, if I would suffer her pain along with her, both of us would suffer and none would be any wiser for it.”

“So you don’t feel remorse, guilt, pity for her perhaps?”

“What is this?” exclaimed the young patrician. “What are you getting at? That it’s all my fault? It’s not my fault. Or hers. And it will pass. Everything will be alright and she’ll feel better when she has my cock inside of her again.”

“And if it’s not going to be alright?” asked the old man.

“Well, that’s up to the gods, isn’t it?” shrugged Marius. There was only so much he could do. “I’ll take it up with Aulus of course, but he’s not home right now, so I can’t change this and I do not feel guilt about something I cannot change.”

“That sounds a bit fatalistic, doesn’t it?”

Marius looked at the old man.

“I am not fatalistic, I am realistic. If I could set this right by killing someone, I’d get my sword right now. But sometimes things are what they are and that’s it really.”

“So it’s up to the gods?”

“Not entirely, but they certainly have a way of moving things.”

“Is this punishment by the gods then?”

“No,” exclaimed the young man, “I don’t see it as punishment at all. It’s… a challenge. We’ll survive and we’ll get stronger because of it.”

“And if you don’t meet the challenge?”

Marius shrugged.

“People die all the time.”

Sullius nodded with content as the answers were given like a true Roman, with the right amount of anger. It was good to see the boy wasn’t depressed. He would fight if he could and accept fate as it came. Things happened and you didn’t linger on it too much. You just had to pull through and go on, without remorse or guilt. A little sympathy was justified of course, but no empathy. Those Christians really had a terrible outlook on life – they wanted everybody to suffer all the time, without any true victory. He was pleased to see that the heir of the familia was not infected by some slave girl’s worldview. Because even if the girl was not Christian, and he had checked, she still had a slave outlook on life, which made her almost Christian.

“Just don’t linger too long on your pathos,” he said while he tapped on the knee of the young man and got up.

“The emotion is worse than what causes it. The cause is only natural and logical, even if we do not see it. Accept it and deal only with the effects that you can control. The pathos grows stronger if you feed it, but dissipates when you ignore it. Just find something to take your mind off things.”

He got up and bowed his head a little in respect. Marius bowed his head back at the teacher and thanked him for his wise words. He would go and find some distractions to ease his mind and heart. And probably ask his father if he could use one of the slave girls to have sex with.

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 32

Two days went by and though Amabilia had been quite feverish during that time, while her internal wounds slowly healed, she recovered the third day. At least she recovered enough to take up her duty as goose herder. Livia had made sure there was not a lot of gossip about Amabilia’s absence during those two days of recovery, but if the girl stayed away too long, gossip would become boundless. Of course the other slaves inquired with the girl where she had been, but she just shrugged and pointed at her throat. Since she still had no voice, she could get away with pretending to have had a cold. Of course they believed that as it was quite common in this time of year to catch something. Cornelia had a solution for it and gave the girl a sack with honey tea and citrus fruits to take with her on her goose keeping business.

Julia in the meantime had suffered the wrath of Domitia for having fucked with Felix the gladiator. But the domina had been unusually mild by giving her only twenty lashes on the backside. And this was for a made up mistake of having dropped a jar of wine, which Julia had not done. Domitia could of course not openly punish Julia for having had sex with the gladiator, since it was a secret she had been seeing the gladiator herself. Some in the household were suspecting something though.
As Julia was recovering from her punishment, she thought about Amabilia and how something was clearly wrong with the girl. She hoped the young slave girl was alright.

The girl of course was far from alright. She took the geese in another direction, far from the villa and the road, making sure she didn’t meet anybody by accident. She wept all the way and hugged herself in utter misery. She wept for Marius, for Julia, but also for her mistress, who seemed to have lost herself. She also wept for the dominus, who in her mind was also suffering from all this. And finally she wept for herself, feeling how her life had become utterly worthless. At some point she fell down in the grass and wept in despair, trying to figure out ways to end her life, but also discovering she lacked the courage to do that. She looked up at the sky, wondering if some god was watching her. Or maybe the gods ignored her like the worthless slave girl she was. She realized her life wasn’t her own to do with as she pleased, not even take it prematurely. She had always been a slave and she had no choice in the matter. She had to live through it all and eat the sour grapes. She finally got up, dried her tears and accepted her fate. A slave was meant to suffer and she could do that well. She also could enjoy the little things given to her, the small blessings that made life bearable. Like geese, flowers, grass and clouds in the sky. To keep her mind occupied she now only tended to the geese, who were after all just like her.

Felix tried to pick up things as they were before, but training was much harder now as all the other gladiators kept teasing him. They had no idea what had really transpired in the chambers of the mistress, but they assumed he had been used as a stallion once more and now they called him ‘puer fututus‘ (which means both ‘fuckboy’ and ‘fucked boy’) all the time. It made him angry and a couple of times he lost his temper at which point he assaulted somebody. That in turn only brought him punishments and more than a few times he received lashes on his back from Legalus, who always struck hard, even when completely drunk.

By the end of the third day after the return of the domina, the dominus Aulus Lucianus returned to the villa. It had not been announced and there had been no preparations. He arrived in the evening with his servant Gaius and a few armed men. He went straight to his quarters to rest. Only one matter managed to get by Gaius, who stopped any other report from getting through at this point, which was the matter of the corpse of the runaway slave, which was still stored and starting to smell really bad. Aulus ordered to keep it in storage a little further and he added the command to prepare the house for the arrival of a legatus in the days ahead. This brought the household in enough uproar to forget about anything else.

 

[Wragg]

“Then fill the emptiness around your cock by stroking it. And fill the hole in your chest with beauty and distraction. Read a good scroll, watch some art and write a poem.”

Well... that's good advice for a happy life!

 

[Doragon]

Chapter 33

The next day Aulus and Domitia both lied down in the triclinium (dining room) on the benches and they talked about the household. The dominus had listened to reports all morning, but he had refused to listen to gossip from slaves. Some things had come to his attention anyways, but Domitia had no way of knowing what her husband had heard about recent events. And she herself didn’t volunteer to give any information or complain about anything. She played the obedient housewife.

“When the legatus comes,” said Aulus, while picking grapes from a tray, “we have to make sure he feels very much at ease. We have to bring him the best food and drinks.”

“Who is it?” asked Domitia with interest.

“Quintus Paccius Flaccus,” answered Aulus.

“Is he family of Gaius Paccius Africanus?” asked Domitia curious.

“I think so, why do you ask? Have you known him?”

“Gaius was consul, I believe nine years ago, but I only met him when he was still a young man who served with my father.”

Aulus was often amazed at how many people Domitia had known in her life and how well she could remember names.

“Anything we should know and consider?” asked Aulus, trusting his wife to come up with details about anybody who had any official status.

“He probably has very large ears,” she grinned, considering the name ‘Flaccus’ (flap-eared), “so don’t stare too much. And as a member of the Paccius family he probably likes to feel powerful. I doubt he has fine tastes, he is probably a military man. Just give him anything he wants and it will be fine. ”

Aulus nodded as that was good advice. His wife could be a bitch and cause serious trouble, but in political matters she was indispensable. But there were some things he needed to set straight.

“I hear you’ve been busy while I was away,” he said while taking a sip of wine.

“Nothing you should worry about,” she tried to deflect.

“I do not know the full details and I do not wish to know. But why is Marius not here?” He looked at his wife for a response. Domitia pursed her lips and shrugged.

“He needed a time out. He was hanging out with one of the slave girls, a little too much for my taste. The servants were gossiping about that. I told him to clear his mind and heart.”

Aulus nodded and kind of approved.

“I will summon him and have a talk with him,” he said. “As for gossip, there are also rumours about you. Do you need a time out as well?”

Domitia shook her head but looked a little flushed. “Nothing to worry about,” she said a bit too hasty. Aulus looked at her and shook his head.

“I don’t know which one it was, but your business with the gladiator stops. I also wish you stop harassing the female slaves.”

Domitia grew red in the face and stared at her husband in anger. What was he insinuating? And who was he to lecture her on how to behave with the slaves? Didn’t he fuck any girl he could get his hands on?

“If a girl misbehaves, she needs to be punished,” she said with barely contained anger.

Aulus noticed how this was upsetting her and he looked her in the eyes.

“Don’t argue,” he said, “I do not want this to continue. Am I making myself clear?”

“But…” she started again, almost sitting up. But Aulus sat up first and he interrupted her.

“Don’t think for a moment you are free to do anything you like,” he said and this time there was an ominous undertone in his voice, that made her shut up.

“You think your heritage makes you more powerful than me,” he continued and as she tried to interrupt, he held up his hand to make her remain quiet.

“Don’t forget,” he said, “your father is dead, bless his spirit. Your family has far less political power than you think.”

“I have helped you many times,” she managed to interject and give some proof of her family’s influence. But again he held up his hand.

“You forget that my family has been around since the days of the early republic. I am of a very old lineage, true Roman blood.”

Domitia blinked and blushed as she knew what he was implying. That her family was of obscure origin and that she should feel fortunate that this old aristocratic man had deemed her fit enough to marry him. It made her blood boil, but at the same time she felt a cold hand around her heart. He might very well be right.

“If you ever take action against me and the family,” said Aulus after a short pause, “I will divorce you in public, on the forum of Cassinum, while giving full disclosure of all the heinous deeds you have performed while living under my roof. Including your adventures with gladiators, sons of rich families, common slaves and even animals.”

Domitia froze and held a hand in front of her mouth. She was stunned and stared at her husband with big eyes. He in turn lied down and seemed to ignore her reaction. He ate a few more grapes and only looked up when she responded.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she whispered.

“I would dare and I will do it,” he said, “unless you start behaving like a good aristocratic housewife.”

“And you?” she asked softly, “will you start behaving like a good aristocratic husband then?”

“I have always behaved like a good aristocratic husband,” he replied, “but I refuse to take on political jobs for your ambition. These lands are all I care about and I hope my family will continue to care for it for many generations to come.”

“You will always remain small,” she scowled. Oh, how she hated how provincial he was sometimes. If only she had found a man with more ambition. But now she was too old for that. And she knew it. This was the best she had and could get.

“Sell the girls,” she said while also lying down again.

“Which girls,” he asked.

“My former private slave Amabilia and that whore Julia,” she said while adding in her mind ‘the ones that you loved to fuck behind my back’.

“Maybe I’ll sell one of the gladiators as well,” he shrugged, looking up at his wife to see if this hit a nerve. If so, she managed to hide it from him.

“It’s time to send a message to the slaves that those who don’t fit in, should go. The slaves are too complacent lately. So maybe I should sell some of them.”

“There’s a rumour going around amongst the slaves,” said Domitia, to avoid talking about selling a gladiator, fearing it might be Felix, “that you might decide holding a crucifixion ritual soon.”

“I might,” he replied while chewing on a grape and spitting out the seeds. “It’s been long overdue and since we caught that runaway slave, or at least, that’s what I still believe it was, a clear message should be sent to all our slaves that running away will not do.”

Domitia knew how the family had never liked keeping a large force of guards. Better keep the slaves in fear and obedient, than having to watch and chain them all the time. She also knew this tradition was older than the Spartacus rebellion and the house of Lucianus was one of the few that still held it in high honour. Maybe because of the fact it was one of the few houses that had not suffered any runaway slaves during that horrible episode of the rebellion.

The traditional punishment for running away was very severe. All the slaves would be crucified, if one slave ran away. Even the children. And to remind the slaves about this, the family held a crucifixion ritual once every few years.

“Any idea yet on who to crucify?” she asked while now also eating some grapes. She was calming down and was accepting the judgment of her husband. She was a strong woman, but she did love a strong man. And Aulus was such a strong man.

“Well, don’t worry, I won’t nail a gladiator to the tree,” he said, “those were all way too expensive.”

“If it’s a cheap slave you are looking for, why not take Dionysios. He’s old, always drunk and absolutely worthless.” Aulus shook his head.

“No, he served both my father and my grandfather well. He should be made a free man and maybe I will during the ritual. Show both brutality and clemency at the same time.”

“A child then?” suggested Domitia. But again Aulus shook his head.

“Crucifying a child upsets them too much. No, I think I will pick a young man. Or a young woman. Someone who they don’t expect and someone that’s like them, so they can picture themselves at the cross.”

Domitia smiled. This was why she loved her husband. He knew how to manipulate people like no other. And she forgave him his threats and accusations. Not that she would behave from now on. She simply would have to be more careful from now on.