Slave Girl Ch. 01-11

Chapter 1

"Please buy me." The girl's voice pleaded as yet another man passed by her without even giving her a glance. "Ma'am, please consider me." She says to a woman not much older than her and is promptly ignored. She redirects her attention to a middle aged couple passing by the other direction. "Please choose me. I am a hard worker." Like the last man the husband walks on as if he hadn't heard her though the wife scowls at her in disgust. Eager for any attention at all the girl seizes onto the scowl. "I can sew. I can cook. I can clean. Please Ma'am, please choose..." The wife spits on the slave as the pair pass by.

The girl closes her eyes and lets out a dispirited sigh. She looked so small and fragile knelt there at the edge of the platform, hands on knees and bowed forward, among the bustling crowd around her. She wipes the spit from her bare leg as she fights back tears. Time was running out for her, I could hear it in the desperation of her voice. Though a bit malnourished she was easily the youngest and healthiest looking among the four slaves remaining. The other three, who shunned her just as much as the gathered citizens, were either maimed or well past their prime yet even these attracted much more interest than the despondent girl.

I say girl due to her petite build and high, soft, innocent sounding voice but she was absolutely a woman. Small pouting breasts, a softly curving shape, pleasingly wide hips, smooth and surprisingly fair skin for being under the summer sun all these hours, she was a woman through and through. Certainly older than me by a few years. She looked to be in her mid twenties but the subtle point to her ears, the nubs of two tiny horns at the edge of her hairline, the vibrant magenta eyes, and the deep violet fading to purplish pink hair revealed a dash of demon in her heritage. She could be as old as fifty, it would be difficult to tell. While it didn't help it wasn't her distant demon blood that had left her here among the dregs of the slave market. It was a much closer member of her lineage, likely one of her parents, that was to blame.

There, between her smooth shapely legs, was the evidence of her half-Amazon parentage. Small as she was she is a far cry from those mighty warriors so many tales are told about, but her male genitals on her female form revealed her to be a progeny of one among that distant race of women. They were among the Empire's most ancient and bitter enemies. In our mythology they are a cursed race and anything associated with them is considered profane and untouchable. Unlike the other slaves she isn't even given the dignity of a loin cloth, the heavy iron collar around her neck was the only thing she wore.

I overheard others saying that it was law that an Amazon slave must be sold naked so that sellers could not trick buyers into purchasing one unaware. If she were a pure human woman she would have easily been bid up into the thousands. Even with her demon blood she would have went early and for a high price. But that penis changed everything. Had she been any older or any uglier she would have surely been disposed of well before ever making it to market. But despite her taboo nature she was young, healthy, and attractive so that gave her at least some modicum of value...or so the auctioneer believed. It didn't seem to be panning out that way.

The tall gaunt man in the yellow toga who ran this market comes back around to the girl and spreads his arms in a flourish. "Come now good citizens." He says in a naturally booming voice. "This girl is young and strong. Industrious and servile. Two hundred dinarii is a steal. A lifetime of service for such a small investment. You would be a fool not to take her."

"Feed her to the lions!" Someone calls out.

He looks around the crowd searching for any sign of a buyer, his eyes skipping right past me. I was not well to do and I was from the country, both facts quite evident in my rugged simple attire. He continues. "While clearly not suitable for a citizen she could be used as a pleasure slave for the rest of your stock. If you are worried about her around your daughters she can be fitted with a chastity cage at no extra cost." He says. "Castration, of course, is not an option with her kind but I assure you the chastity cage is permanent and impregnable."

The girl looks up, scanning the gathering for even a glimmer of interest. There was none. Only hard glares of hatred and suspicion. In her desperation she even begins searching the poor, the youth, and the other slaves in the crowd. With nobody willing to bid for her perhaps she was just looking for a little pity or empathy among this hostile crowd. For the first time her gaze meets mine. In her magenta gaze I see barely concealed terror. She was so scared and I then knew for certain that this was it for her. This auction was her one and only opportunity to find a master or mistress and the day was drawing near its end. I felt for her despite her unholy nature. Gods knew how she'd come to find herself in this situation but given the bleak future someone like her would face in this unfriendly city perhaps it was for the best that she be put out of her misery now.

"Please." The girl whispers. It takes me a moment to realize she was speaking to me! I look to my left and right but nobody else was paying any attention. Her gaze was definitely locked on me. "Choose me. Please."

The auctioneer notices the exchange. With nobody else biting he makes one last pitch. "You there, boy." He points his cane my way.

"M-me?" I receive a few dirty looks from those around me who believed I was actually interested in purchasing her.

"You have an eye for a bargain young man. A shrewd dealer, I can see it in your eye."

"No sir. I-I-I was just looking. I am not from Rome and I just wanted to..."

"Two hundred dinarii for decades of loyal service. You could travel to every corner of the Empire and never find a better deal than this." He presses. "You look to be a farmer. A noble profession but so much work. This slave would earn her value back in a year with her labor alone." He leans forward and narrows his eyes. "Are you married young man?" The insinuation in his voice is impossible to miss.

"No!" I exclaim. "I mean, no, not yet."

"Well then, perhaps..." The corner of his wide mouth curls into a suggestive grin. There are gasps of disgust and scoffing derision from those listening. After allowing the lewd insinuation to hang in the air just long enough he continues on in a most innocent tone. "...this girl could be a nanny for when you do find a bride and you have children. Having that sort of help would be a boon for any hard working parent. Owning a slave shows wisdom, ambition, and high status. It would make your prospects that much better. This would be an investment in your future."

"I...I'm sorry. I only have a hundred and sixty. I cannot afford her." I thought that would end this awkward interaction but I realize it was exactly the wrong thing to say when I see his sharp eyes light up.

"You, my shrewd friend, drive a hard bargain!" He clicks his cane into the platform they were on. "But since I so value the work of those who till the soil so that the rest of us may eat...one sixty would be acceptable."

The girl's face brightens with hope. "Oh! Thank the gods!"

"No! No!" I wave my hands. "This money is for a cow..."

"A cow?" He says incredulously. "I like cream and cheese as much as anyone, but they cannot compare to the years of toil a good slave can provide." He straightens up and says with a firm finality. "You are a tough one young man. Very smart. One fifty. That is as low as I can go."

"But...But I..."

The slave's wide magenta eyes stare into mine. She saw me as a savior instead of the simple country tourist that I was. She didn't seem to understand that I couldn't. I just couldn't. I mean legally I could as a free man of the Empire, but I was no slaveholder. The money in my pouch was all that I had to start my new life. More money than I'd ever had before and I'd held it for less than an hour before passing by this market. I was only in Rome to settle my uncle's affairs and receive my inheritance. Besides...she had Amazon blood! I couldn't invite such folly into my life.

And yet...the way she looked at me. The way he looked at me. I knew this was it for her. Her last chance. Like the Emperor deciding whether to show mercy to a fallen gladiator her fate was entirely in my hands. I never wanted to be in this situation, I never should have been in this situation, yet here I was. Back home they all warned me to be careful in the big city but I never thought simply stopping and gawking could get me into trouble. This decision was just too big for a farmboy like me.

"I...can't." I say at last. "I can't."

My heart bleeds as I watch all hope drain from the girl's beautiful face. Slowly her gaze drops to stare at the earth and her body slumps, all the vivacious vitality in her gone in the blink of those lovely eyes. The man in the yellow toga is disappointed but quickly moves on to another slave to make one last appeal to the crowd before closing up for the day. Those around me assure me that I had made the right decision and even curse the auctioneer for trying to take advantage of a naive country bumpkin like me.

My head down I walk from the slave market feeling absolutely wretched and regretting deeply the curiosity that made me stop and look. I never imagined that one hundred and sixty pieces of silver would weigh so much.

***

Chapter 2

I needed to get out of this city! The size and grandeur of the capital was simply overwhelming. I thought Paestum was impressive but Rome absolutely dwarfed it in every conceivable way. I heard the stories but I never imagined such a place as this could really exist. There was too much...everything. Too many people, too much noise, too many smells. How could people live like this? The endless crowded streets and nonstop bustle of Rome was not for me. Everyone here was loud and rude and in a hurry, everyone hustling for a coin or two in whatever conniving way they could. I needed to get back to the country where I understood the quiet slow rhythms of that life.

I had done my business here and all I wanted to do now is go find my new home and start my new life. I had my money and a scroll from a magistrate confirming the transfer of ownership of my deceased uncle's land to me. It had been an unexpected boon to say the least as my mother hadn't seen her brother in over twenty years when the news came of his passing and the bequeathing of his money and property to the nephew he had never met. There was talk of selling the land and reinvesting the money in the family farm but my mother would not hear of it. She said that this was a blessing that I dare not turn my back on for fear of angering the fates. The whole family had gathered for a great feast to see me off. They were sad to see me go but as eager as I was that I make the most of this opportunity.

I should have been excited. I should have been happy. I had money in my pouch and a piece of land to call my own. It was all I ever dreamed of. Yet try as I might to focus on the journey in front of me that scene at the slave market played over and over in my mind. With every blink of my eyes I saw that girl's face. I saw her fear, her desperation, and that momentary spark of hope...followed by the grim realization of her fate. All around her bowed and exposed body only the hard uncaring faces of these city dwellers. Why oh why did I ever decide to stop and watch!? Why did SHE have to be there today of all days? Why did she look at me and beg me to choose her? Couldn't she see by my humble attire that I was no slave buyer. Why, why, why?

The silver coins held tight in a leather pouch rubbed against my hip on the inside of my tunic. I could feel the weight of every one of those one hundred and sixty dinarii in both my body and my soul. I had been so delighted when I received the money just a short time ago, yet now it hung on me like an anchor. It was mine yet hadn't earned this money. I had done nothing to deserve it. These coins had found their way to me by serendipity. Purely because a man with no heirs, a man I never met, just happened to be related to my mother.

Each step I took was slower and more hesitant than the last. This money could be the seed of a bright future...or it could save a woman's life right here and now. One option was one part of a pleasant dream and the other a hard reality happening now on the streets of Rome. I find myself stopping and immediately get knocked into from behind.

"Watch it!" An angry voice gripes as a man pushes past me.

I stand there on the street, my hand clutching the bag of coin, as people flow around me on either side. The difference a cow would make for me was significant but not momentous. I could get by without one. The money was nice and would make things easier but it was the land that truly mattered. If the fates had a hand in me receiving this inheritance perhaps they had placed that girl in the auction today as well. Mom always told me that when things got really difficult to listen to the voice inside of me and that the gods would take care of the rest.

I let out a sigh and pat the purse. "This probably wasn't what you had in mind Uncle Paullus but...easy come, easy go."

I turn and head back toward the market walking double time to try to get back before they left. My heart sinks as I enter the square to see the auctioneer and slaves gone from the platform. Scanning the crowd I soon spot the familiar yellow toga off to the side. He was speaking among a small group of his men. Between this group and a nearby wall was the girl, shackled and by herself. They had even been able to sell the old ones before calling it a day. Her head is bent forward and her blank eyes stared into the earth. It was the look of one making terms with their own death.

Knowing what I must do I take a deep breath and approach.

The tall man spots me as I get near. It takes a few moments but by the time I am approaching a look of recognition comes over him.

"The farmer boy." He says.

"Yes sir." I say. As I speak the girl catches my voice and her pointed ears flick. Her head snaps up to look at me. I spare her a glance but no more. "Uh...I was wondering..."

"Didn't want that cow after all?" The man smiles a greasy smile that makes my skin crawl. "She's still for sale. Yes. Had you waited another few minutes though...let's just say you cut it very close young man." He pats my shoulder and pulls me in so close I could smell the fig on his breath. "I understand. You didn't want to buy her with all those witnesses. I don't blame you."

I could sense the slave staring at me off to my left but I don't look her way. I just wanted to have this over with and be out of here.

"I have the money." I say. "I'm not sure how this all works."

"If you have the money...it just works." He quips with a chuckle. "Though there are a few legalities to attend to. And since I'll have to keep my people here longer...I'll have to ask for a hundred and sixty now. You understand."

"But...but that's all I have."

"But you do have it." He retorts. "I'm afraid the price is firm." His thin creepy grin widens.

"I...okay, I guess that makes sense." I pull the pouch from my tunic. I feel its weight one last time and wonder when I'd ever have this much money all at once again then, after a moment's hesitation, pass it over to him.

He feels it with a satisfied look. Opening it he looks inside then passes it over to one of his men who starts to count the coins inside.

Another of his people, a balding rotund man, produces a wax tablet and stylus and hands it to me. "If you have a family symbol for your slaves and livestock put it here." The man says. "Otherwise we'll just brand her with the standard mark of..."

"No!" I say. "Branding won't be necessary. Thank you."

"You really are a bumpkin, aren't you?" He says as I bristle at the insult, true as it was.

"Well, you see, I...I plan on freeing her as soon as..."

I don't even finish my sentence before I am surrounded by gales of bellowing laughter. "Oh dear boy." The slave master says. "She's Amazon. She'll never be free. Not as long as she's in the Empire. She's yours for life or until you sell her."

Another of them mutters under their breath. "Good luck with that."

"Oh. I didn't...oh no." I was getting the sense that not only were these men happy to be rid of her, she wasn't nearly the bargain the auctioneer made her out to be. I suspected I could have gotten her much cheaper had I held out. It was far too late for that though.

Impatiently the man with the tablet pushes it toward me. "You have a symbol or no? We can do it on her cheek, forehead, or the back of her hand. Your choice."

Forced into a decision I answer. "Uh, back of her hand definitely." Out of the corner of my eye I notice her instinctively rub the back of her left hand. "Are you sure it's necessary."

"Yes, by law. Amazons must be marked as slaves." He says. "And if you somehow manage to...I mean, if you decide to sell her on you must sell her naked. The penalties are severe for selling one under false pretense."

"Right." I look at the tablet for a time and think. I was going to release her regardless of what these men said. I try to think of a brand that might be easy to disguise. Inspired by the color of her eyes I take the tablet and stylus I draw the flower of a wild rose and pass it back. A good tattoo could probably disguise that symbol. "Something like this."

His bushy eyebrows raise. "This is your symbol?" He says with obvious amusement.

"Yes." I say, my patience drawing short. "I am a land owner. That is the symbol of my farm. Do you have a problem with that?"

My annoyance only amused him more. "No. This is fine." He says. "The size and detail though..." He then shrugs. "...but you're the customer."

"Is there a problem...?" I start to ask before another of the men interrupts me. They certainly were in a hurry to conclude this deal.

"Sign here, here, and here." Three sheets are produced for me to sign, one of parchment and the other two of papyrus. "One for you, one for the seller, and one for our good Emperor."

"Legal documents?" I say. "I didn't think...oh boy."

"You aren't buying a cow here boy." The yellow robed man says. "Don't worry. Claudius here is a registered advocate. This is all nice and legal."

I take some time to read over the documents. The writing on each one wasn't just written by the same hand they were absolutely identical. Even the blotches were the same. Real magic was involved here. Yet another reason this city put me ill at ease. I skim the text but I am quickly lost in the intricacies of the obfuscating language. Each simple statement seemed to take four sentences of technical jargon to spell out.

"The boy can read." One of them says. "I'm impressed."

I look up at them. "I should have my own advocate."

"If you want this slave you don't have time." He glances toward the silver being counted. The man counting looks up and give his boss the thumbs up. "Or the money if what you told me was true."

"Can we wait until morning so that I can..."

"No. If you want the girl you take her now."

"Right." I sigh. Taking the reed pen provided and dip it in the ink. "No tricks?"

"No tricks." I am assured, it does little to ease my worries.

I look over at the girl who had her hand laid flat on small table. Her face is tense and set to endure pain. The man who I'd given the wax tablet to was painting the symbol I had drawn in perfect detail on the back of the slave's hand. The size was the same as what I had sketched meaning it took up the entirety of the space from wrist to knuckle and all the way across. The size and unnecessary details of the drawing would no doubt combine to produce a lot of extra pain as compared to a simpler symbol. Beside her hand is a stone bowl with some sort of gray-yellow paste inside of it.