Slave Girl Ch. 01-11

"You don't have to make it that big." I say.

"Too late." The man says without even looking up.

"Hoh boy." I mutter. I might be the customer here but I felt like I was swept up in something beyond my control. "I don't know..."

"Sign the documents." I am told. "We are working past time as is."

"Right. Right." I dip the pen again...pause...then sign the sheets one after the other. The ink is barely dry when the two pieces of papyrus are scooped up.

"The deal is sealed. The slave is yours."

"Yeah." I say as I look at the parchment with my name signed on the bottom of it. That little voice inside of me wasn't quite so certain anymore. I could have been on the road by now had I not turned around. What was I doing here? I roll up the document and put it in my pack along side my new deed. "She needs clothes."

"You should get her some." The man says. "Not my problem."

"Right." I say, knowing I should have bargained for more. I was so bad at this. "You mentioned a chastity cage."

"It will cost you extra."

"I thought you said it was included!"

"That was at two hundred." He says. "For the reduced price there are no frills. Just the slave."

"Right." I say. "I see."

He pats my shoulder with a low chuckle. "You wouldn't want it anyways. Young stallion like you."

"I didn't buy her to be a pleasure slave!"

"Sure, sure. No need to explain to me."

I was about to protest when I hear a high grunt followed by a sickening sounding sizzle. The man tasked with branding the slave had finished his painting was now spreading the yellow paste over the soft pale skin of the back of the girl's left hand. As the paste touched the paint the flesh beneath began to redden and blister.

"Mmmm!" He girl hums through pursed lips as her face becomes a mask of excruciating pain. "MMMM!" Her free hand grips the side of the table and her jaw clenches tight as she does all she can to hold her cries in.

"Oh gods!" I exclaim. "Must you do this?"

"Yes." The man spreading the paste answers blankly. He continues his casual cruelty as tears begin to roll freely down the girls smooth cheeks.

"Mmmhmmmm!" She moans in agony as the sizzling intensifies and a wretched odor of sulfur and charred flesh wafts my direction. This gathers attention from some passers by who stop to watch the girl writhe and whimper. It was grotesque.

"What is taking so long?"

"It's her demon blood. This might take awhile to properly scar."

I look away. Unlike the gawkers who had gathered I had no stomach for this. The whimpering moans continue before at last she can bear the suffering no longer and lets out a wail of raw anguish. "AHHHH HAAAAH!!!"

There are murmurs and even laughter from those gathered. "Damn you all!" I growl as I start pushing a few of them away. "Get! Get away from here you bastards!"

The citizens look at me like a madman as they disperse. I was so angry at them yet I knew it was because of me she was suffering like this. I thought I was doing good but this was...unbearable! I never wanted to torture her. The girl's screams raise as the sizzling burn goes on and on and on. The man reapplies another layer of paste and another is forced to hold her still as the big detailed rose that I had drawn is seared indelibly into her flesh. Even the hardened slave master begins to cringe at the length and intensity of her suffering.

After what seemed an eternity the paste is wiped away with a wet cloth. "It's done."

I look to see the girl trembling like a leaf and cradling her left hand to her naked body, the angry red of the fresh brand seared into it. Her shackles and collar is removed and without another word the slave master and his crew collect their belongings and leave.

Her lithe body trembling, tears still wetting her cheeks, she whispers in a breathless shuddering voice. "Th-th-thank y-you M-master."

***

Chapter 3

Just like that...I was alone with her!

I look around as if somebody might step in and tell me what to do but with the screaming over the people go back about their business. Just leaving the square I see the man in the yellow robes and his group. As much as I disliked them I felt like I ought to call out to them, to ask them questions or have them give me direction, but after a few seconds they disappear from sight. I'd never been responsible for anybody but myself before. What was I supposed to do with a slave!?

I look back at the girl kneeling and leaned up against the platform she had been displayed upon. Long violet hair covers her face but I can see that her eyes are closed. Her breathing rapid and shallow as she collects herself from the torturous branding she had just endured. I stand frozen for a time. I had very little experience with either slaves or women in general beyond my family, especially ones as pretty as her. Strangely, her small horns and pointed ears only added to her allure, on her these demonic features did not look out of place. Though they were a visual reminder of her exotic nature. This was not the type of woman a common man like me ought to be messing around with. The fact she bore the curse of the Amazons set me on edge most of all. She looked harmless enough but, if the stories were true, ill fortune clung to this woman like pine pitch. Gods, what had I gotten myself into here?

Sensing me hovering nearby she swallows and says softly. "It's...v-very beautiful." Opening her eyes she looks down at the nasty red mark seared into the back of her hand. "The symbol. It's beautiful Master. Thank you for giving it to me. Thank you for choosing me."

"Uh...yeah." I say awkwardly. Her nudity made a difficult situation even more uncomfortable. Stepping forward I set my pack down and pull out my thick wool paenula. I offer her the traveling cloak. She takes it and gratefully slips into the over sized garment. On her my cloak looked like a billowing tent.

"Thank you again Master."

"You're...welcome." I say hesitantly. This was so surreal. Suddenly I was linked with this woman, this stranger, this demon blooded Amazon girl I'd only seen for the first time this very afternoon. I hadn't a clue as to how to act, what to say, or what to do. I blurt out. "I'm leaving the city. I don't live here."

"Very well." She stands and reaches to take my pack. "I will carry."

"No." I pull it back from her as if she were trying to steal it. "I've got it."

She nods with an impressive calm given the ordeal she'd just been through. I stand up and sling the pack over my shoulder. She looks up at me, on even ground she didn't even come up to my chin, and she says with just the hint of an accent that I did not recognize. "You are tall and built well."

I feel a blush warm my cheeks at the compliment. "M-my family is not wealthy but I've never wanted for food." The words felt foolish to say but I was at a loss. "Um...I...need to go now."

Turning from her I start back the way I came. Just behind me I hear her bare feet pad along the stones of the street. I wished she didn't follow but of course she had no choice. I walk in long swift strides, her shorter legs had to move twice as fast to keep up but she manages it. Secretly I hoped she'd either try to escape or simply just fall behind and get lost in the crowd. This grand city was an endless warren of narrow alleys packed with countless citizens and slaves. If there was anywhere an escaped slave could blend in and be anonymous this was the place. No such luck though. Once she catches up she stays directly behind me, following in my wake so that she could not be separated from me. Around us the masses pass by, some trying to hawk their wares but most hurrying along about their own business. It is all a blur to me, as I walk my mind races.

I'd signed a contract. It would soon be in the Empire records. Why hadn't I thought about that beforehand? Curse my slow and simple mind! And I had used my real name. Those men did not know me or my family. I was a first time visitor here in the capital. Only now do I realize that I could have signed anything on those documents and they would have been none the wiser. It would have been a crime but one unlikely to catch up to me. As it was I was now the legal owner of a slave that I didn't want and there was documentation to prove it. She was mine as fairly and legally as my deceased uncle's land.

"Master." Her dulcet voice interrupts my thoughts.

I reluctantly come to a stop and turn to look her direction, though my eyes carefully avoided hers. My worry and annoyance must have been evident on my face because she instinctively takes a half a step back from me as if she expected I might strike her.

"What?" I ask in a short clipped tone.

"I am sorry Master." She says. "You...appear vexed. I can see the tension you are holding in your shoulders." She motions off to the right. "There is a public bath just down there. It might ease your mind and body before the journey ahead. I can wash and massage..."

"A bath?" I cut her off. "Didn't you hear me back at the market? I spent all I had on you. I have nothing left for luxuries."

"It is a public bath. Only a few copper coins would get us both..." Her voice fades as she reads my cross expression. "You were being honest back there. You spent your last coin on me."

"I have no money. I have nothing. Nothing but my land and what I carry."

She steps closer and gently places her hand on mine. "And me."

I pull my hand away. "I am leaving the city." I say firmly, then after a tense pause add. "You don't have to follow. I won't pursue you." I spin and start on my way once more. Only a moment later I hear her bare feet hurry to catch up then follow behind.

By the time we reach the outskirts and I can at last see the green farms and hills stretching off to the South the sun is touching the horizon. Gone are the crowds and the noise and the smell and the claustrophobic streets. For the first time since the morning I am able to take a full deep breath. If I never saw Rome again I would consider it a great blessing.

"It is late." The slave says. By the tenor of her voice I sensed an unease rising in her. As my anxiety was easing with leaving the city, hers was growing. "Perhaps we could go back and find a place to rest. A fresh start in the morning would be good."

My gaze focuses out over the vast landscape. There was nothing in the world that could make me go back now. "The sky is clear. The moon will be bright tonight. I will continue well into the night."

"Yes Master." She replies uneasily. "I will follow."

I turn back to her. Looking down at her I say. "Run."

"Master?"

"Go." I motion back toward the city. "Escape. I won't stop you."

"Master...they'll kill me."

I sigh. "Then to the North. To the East. Disappear where they will never find you again. Go somewhere you where you can hide your curse. Just go."

She studies me a moment, trying to look into my eyes though I did not meet her gaze. Direct eye contact with attractive women was something I was never comfortable with. "Master, you say you have nothing but land and what you carry. I don't even have that. Even this cloak is not my own. This is all I have now." She shows me the rose shaped brand that I had designed on the back of her hand. "Master, I have nowhere to go."

"Friends? Family? A home?"

She shakes her head.

"Well...find a place!" I exclaim. "You cannot come with me."

"I am yours now. I belong with you. There is no other place for me."

"Belong with me?" I grab her hands, she grimaces as I inadvertently touch her burn. I quickly shift my grip to her fine fingers instead. Flipping her hands palms up I look at them and rub my calloused thumbs across them. They were as supple and tender as a fresh apple blossom. "How many weeds have you pulled? How many sheep have you milked? How much dough have you kneaded? Have these hands even worked one honest day? I am a farmer. Ceres is my goddess. I have no use for a soft city slave."

Her ears tilt down expressing her sadness as she looks at her smooth pale palms then slowly up to me. "Please."

"I am doing you a favor."

I go to argue more but she falls to her knees at my feet and beseeches me. "Please don't throw me away Master. I will learn. I will work. Please!"

"I'm not...throwing you away. I am freeing you."

"I do not wish be free."

"But I do." I state. "This was never supposed to happen. Now listen to your Master...and go!" I step back and wave her away as if she were a pesky insect. "Go! Now!"

There is a long quiet moment as I stand and she kneels, facing each other, on the darkening road. The crickets had begun their evening chorus.

"You are sentencing me to death." She says flatly.

"Not if you're clever."

"And you to fines, a lashing, and possibly even exile."

"Me?" I say. "Well...just don't tell them about me. You don't even know my name anyway."

"I know what you look like. I know you are a land owning farmer from the South who was in Rome on a specific day at a specific time. I know you had exactly one hundred and sixty pieces of silver and that you were not accustomed to having it, an inheritance perhaps? And, of course, I know where you purchased me and who from."

"Fuck!" I say. "Don't say those things then. Don't say anything. It's the least you can do for me."

She sighs at my naivete. "I won't have a choice Master. Besides..." She holds her branded hand up. "...this was made with magic. Those things you signed were possibly magical as well."

"Magic?" I whisper. Out in the country we had little beyond common hedge witches and herbalists, but in the cities true practitioners of magic were not uncommon.

"This mark I bear is more than skin deep. Eventually I will be discovered. They will find me and then they will torture and kill me." She says. "And then they will find you."

I stare at her as the words slowly sink in. Covering my face with my hands I moan. "Gods. What have I done?"

Her forehead touches my feet as she bows deeply. "You saved my life."

***

Chapter 4

In such a short time the woman's curse had already tarred me. She was the slave yet I felt like I was the one wearing chains. Chains of iron that shackled me to her. Yet chains I had forged with my own hands. I could curse the fates all I wanted but it was me who signed those papers.

I let out a long breath and look around at the calm countryside around us. It was so much easier to think out here. I look down at the girl bowing at my feet. "Stand."

"I am sorry you didn't realize what you were getting into Master. I am sorry you don't want me. I'm sorry..."

"Stop. Just stand up."

"I beg, don't beat me Master." She grips my ankles, her forehead still on top of my feet. "Have pity."

"I am not going to hurt you." I say softly. Bending down I take her by the arms. "Stand up. Please."

Her body relaxes to my gentle tone of voice. She gets to her feet, allowing me to help her. She looks ready to shield herself but she stands still as I mull over what to say.

"Like it or not...I guess we're stuck with each other." I say. "At least for now."

She nods. "Yes."

"There's nothing for it." I say. "The past is gone. I can learn from it but I cannot change it. Regret and anger won't help a damn thing. All we can do is get on with living."

"You're a Stoic?"

This makes me chuckle. "Just something my Dad used to say."

"He sounds like a wise man."

"He was." I say. "I share his name, Quintus, though most people just call me Quin. What's your name?"

She hesitates and I catch her glance down to the flower on her branded hand. "Rosa. My name is Rosa."

"Rosa?" I say dubiously. "It is not."

"It is now. My slave name is Rosa."

There is both a sense sadness and relief in the way she gave herself a new name, a new identity, right here on the spot. Her slave name she called it. Not her new name, her slave name. Insinuating that until now she had another name, a free name. The realization dawns on me that, while she had had to endure a slave market, all of this was as new to her as it was to me. It shook me deeply knowing that she had been a free woman until recently. I weigh up whether to press her on telling me her true name but I saw no point in it. I would allow her that dignity. If I really needed to know it I could read my letter of ownership to find out. If she wanted to be known as Rosa that was good enough for me. Besides, it suited her.

"Very well Rosa. Come along." Stepping to the side I invite her to walk along side of me. She steps forward and we are on our way. My steps are slower now to allow her to keep pace without so much effort. With the understanding established we quickly fall back into silence as we walk along the famous Regina viarum. As the light waned in the West we passed fewer and fewer travelers heading for the capital. I could sense my slave's wariness build as evening faded into the gloam of twilight. She had ever so subtly begun to walker closer to my side and her head would dart to face any small noise from the grass or bushes along the edges.

"I've heard there are bandits that roam the Appian way." She whispers as if worried that her voice might carry too far.

"Yeah." I admit. "But a penniless farmer boy and a slave girl are hardly a prime target."

"What about monsters?"

"Monsters?" I say. She truly had no clue what it was like out here. "Maybe when we're crossing the Appenines, but not this close to Rome."

We walk on at her slow pace for a time in silence. I catch her occasionally glancing back to the city receding behind us then around for any signs of trouble. Eventually she speaks again. "How long are we going to walk tonight?"

"A few hours." I peek over at her and I could see she was fatiguing.

"I'm okay." She assures me, sensing my thoughts.

My eyes lower to see her toes poking out from under the cloak with each tired step. If the soles of her feet were anything like her tender palms she would be feeling every grain and pebble she trod upon. "Your feet?"

"Fine Master Quin. I can keep up."

"Hmm." I slow to a stop and turn my pack so that I wore it to the front. Kneeling down I say. "Climb on my back."

"Climb...?" She looks at me as if I were daft. "You wish to carry me?"

"Yes."

"A master doesn't carry a slave."

"You are slow and I have a strong back. I want to put another few miles behind us before resting." I say.

"I'll walk faster Master Quin. You don't need to do that."

"Come on Rosa. No arguments."

Had she been less worn down by what had surely been a hell of a day she may have protested further. As it was she looked perplexed yet relieved. Coming around behind me she climbs up on my back and wraps her slender arms over my chest. I support her legs with my hands and get back to my feet. Compared to the fattened ewes I was accustomed to hoisting back on the family farm the petite Rosa was hardly an effort. Not having to gauge my steps to hers any longer I pick up the pace with long powerful strides.

Having her head resting on my shoulder I could feel her hair, as soft as goose down, brushing against my neck. I could smell her too. The day she'd just had involved long hours under the hot sun, hours of stress from praying that she found a buyer so that she could live another day, a long bout of excruciating pain, all followed immediately by a long hike. Layers of sweat had built up over the day and yet...she smelled nice. At least to this farmer's nose. Her warmth and weight were pleasant to feel as well. With her pressed tight against my back I could feel both of her small breasts pushing into me...as well as the bulge between her legs. It was such a damn shame that a beautiful woman like Rosa, through no fault of her own, had to be ruined by such a curse of heritage.

Quietly she holds tight to me as we go, seeming much less nervous now. I could feel her relax more with each step. With a smooth steady gait I make good time along the moonlit road of flat interlocking stones. It was maybe a mile later when I feel the body I was carrying gradually go limp. Rosa's head slumps to the side and one of her dull nubby horns jab into my jaw. Exhausted as she was my slave had nodded off on my back. Without missing a stride I lean forward a little more and center her weight so that she wouldn't fall. I had a goal in mind and it was just a bit further.