Slave Girl Ch. 20-32

The road is close enough I can keep an eye on Rosa's violet horned head as she waits to greet passing travelers. Two groups pass by, one from each direction, but after a brief friendly conversation with each they politely decline the offer and head on their way. The third group however takes us up on our invitation. Hearing them approach I look and am surprised both by the number as well as the make up of the group. There were eleven of them in total, ten soldiers along with a an old bearded man in simple saffron robe with iron shackles around his wrists. Behind them followed three donkeys laden with supplies.

I stand up immediately to show respect and address the guard commander. "Hail good Captain!"

To my great surprise it is not the officer but the prisoner who steps forward to address me. He motions to me to be at ease, his gravely voice is warm and rich with a thick Eastern accent. "It is I who accepted your gracious hospitality young man. They must watch me however, will this make you uncomfortable?"

I flash a wary look to Rosa who says. "Master Ignatius hails from Antioch. He is being escorted to Rome for sentencing."

The man gives Rosa a humble smile. "Please, just Ignatius. I am master of nothing."

The untroubled expression of the soldiers tell me that this was not an unusual situation for them. The captain gives me a nod then motions his men to the other side of the clearing. As one they move to give us space and take rest in the shade of the trees.

I didn't know what to make of this. Though clearly a prisoner the soldiers did not look the least bit concerned that he might try to escape. While he had a sort of dignified presence about him he was not a large man and posed no threat that I could see. If the slaves could take two rain soaked travelers in at the risk of punishment I certainly wasn't going to turn away this old man even if he was a criminal.

"Please, sit." I say. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Bless you." He says. "I am sustained by the kindness of strangers. We've been on the road for many weeks and my escort are under orders not to feed me."

While slender the man hardly looked malnourished. He must come across such kindness often. I glance toward the soldiers who were setting down helmets and shields to stretch out on the mossy ground. I see a few look longingly at the roasting salmon but none request to partake. This was getting more peculiar by the moment.

"They're just going wait for you to eat?" I ask.

"Yes." He says. "My fierce leopards have become lambs as we've traveled. Pity for a condemned old man perhaps."

"Well we're happy to share." Rosa says.

"A meal of fish." He smiles as he looks to the fire. "How could I refuse such a clear sign from above." He kneels down close to the fire. "It is what my Savior ate after His resurrection."

"You're a Christian?" Rosa says with surprise.

"Yes." He nods and holds up his shackles. "That is my crime."

I had heard of the cult of Christ but knew very little about it beyond that it was a growing sect of Judaism. A week ago I might have been taken aback at speaking with a man who renounced the official gods but my experience with Rosa had helped open my mind and accept new things.

"I see." Rosa says in a strangely flat voice. She flashes me an odd look then subtly shifts away from our guest. Picking up her flute she gives it a spin and tells me. "I'm going to see if I can get few coins out of these soldiers, if that is okay with you Master."

"Yeah sure." I nod. "Tell them we have enough food to share as well."

"If you need me Master, I'll be right over here." With that Rosa excuses herself and heads off toward the soldiers. My eyes linger on her too long before I can tear them away.

"She is a charming slave." Ignatius says as he studies me intently. "You are a unique pair the two of you."

"Yes." I reply. "It's a unique story how I got her."

He smiles. "The best kind of story."

"Right." I start moving some of the cooked fish onto the fern leaves we had set out. "So you're a Christian. I don't believe I've met one before."

"Don't be so sure. We are forced to stay hidden, especially this near the heart of the Empire, but there are more of us than you might suspect."

Looking at his manacles I say. "I've heard tales that your cult are willing to die for your beliefs."

"They are true. I am no doubt bound for the Colosseum simply because of my faith." He confirms. "Rome is where I will die."

"Huh." He seemed weirdly at peace with his coming death. "But...why? Surely it's better live on."

"The Emperor killing me will be a sin that stains his soul. If I denied the truth in my heart the sin would be mine instead."

"I don't get you Ignatius. It seems such a foolish thing."

"Have you nothing in your life you are willing to die for?"

Without meaning to my eyes drift up to look across at my slave speaking with guard commander. I quickly look down again and shake my head. "I mean, I would defend my home and my family. But to die for the gods? I don't know."

"What if your gods were willing to die for you?" He says. "What if your gods loved you so much that they were willing to sacrifice themselves for you?"

I laugh and shake my head. "Why would the gods love me? I'm lucky if they notice me at all."

"My God loves me." Ignatius says with absolute conviction. There wasn't a shred of doubt in his confident tone. "My God died on the cross for my sins and was then reborn so that I could truly live."

"Died for your sins? I...I don't understand."

As I place the next three fish over the fire on their own spits Ignatius tells me about marvelous things. How there isn't many gods, but One. When I object he asks me questions about how one thing seemed to connect to another and then another and another. The way he puts things it becomes difficult to discern where one thing ended and another began. I begin to see how all things are connected and when looked at from afar each thing was really a facet of a perfect unified whole. And that was God. He asks how I can worship beings who might have power but suffer the same petty flaws of mortals. Were such beings worthy of faith? He asks if I would worship the guards simply because they had weapons and training that made them stronger than me. Everything, even the many conflicting gods of Rome and Egypt and the Celts, were simply a part of a larger truth.

The way he asked questions brought my own questions out more and more. To each one he had a direct answer. At times he seemed to pluck the questions straight from my mind to answer them before they are even asked. He then moves on to address questions I hadn't even thought of, pushing my horizons out into uncharted places. It all just made so much sense the way he was saying it. He was so wise and so insightful and so passionately certain of the things he said that I could sense I was in the presence of somebody very special.

He tells me about salvation. He tells of eternal life. He tell me about heaven and about how God rewarded those who lived a good and honest life regardless of their station or earthly accomplishments. Farmers and slaves and emperors alike entered through the gates to be judged as equals. He tells me about the love God had for me and common people like me. He tells me that God wants the best for me. He tells me about Jesus Christ. A real man who performed miracles! Jesus who defied the will of the Empire and was killed for it yet whose name had lived on among his faithful despite the great persecution they faced. Would so many sacrifice themselves for something that wasn't true?

"I go to Rome to be killed for the amusement of the masses because of the vain ego of one man. Not a god, a man." He says firmly. "My true judgment will only come from God himself."

"Aren't you scared?"

"No." He looks down to his body. "The Emperor will kill this shell but my everlasting spirit he cannot touch." He looks to the heavens. "My heavenly father waits of me."

"Your...father?" I say. "Your father is in heaven?"

"Yes."

"Is my father in heaven too?"

He tilts his head and looks into my desperate eyes. "He has passed on?"

"Yes. He was a soldier. He was...slain." I normally wouldn't tell a stranger this, yet Ignatius I knew I could trust. "He went away and I never saw him again. He died in a foreign land...without even a burial! His spirit is lost from...he..."

"Wipe your tears son." He whispers. "Don't let the soldiers see you cry."

I quickly swipe the single tear that was rolling down my cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Was your father a righteous man?"

"Yes! He was a good man. Such a good man. A brave man. A good father and husband."

"And you love him?"

"I love him so much!"

"You miss him?"

"Yes! Yes, more than anything."

"But he didn't give himself to Jesus?"

"No. It wasn't taught in my home. We didn't know about any of these things." I say. "Is he lost Ignatius?"

"God judges a man by his heart, he would not let a moral man go to hell." Ignatius assures me as he places a hand on my shoulder. "Since he hadn't the chance to hear the good word in life, as you have, he will be given a chance in death. Fear not Quintus."

"He is not lost?"

"No. He is in purgatory. He will find his way to heaven. You will see your father again Quin, if you accept God's love into your life."

My heart leapt with joy! I could see my Dad again! Jesus could help me find my Dad!

The fish, all cooked, lay on the leaves cooling, along with the sliced lemons, as I sit lost in thought at all Ignatius had told me. Across the clearing Rosa played her flute as the men sang along. I watched my beautiful slave perform. She had such life in her. She brought such happiness to everyone she met. She wasn't a curse, she was a blessing! Living proof of how wrong my beliefs had been. Why had I been taught lies all of my life? If they lied about Amazons, what other falsehoods did they force into me?

"Can...can an Amazon get into heaven?"

"Of course Quin. Salvation is open to all with a true heart." Ignatius leans in and looks to Rosa as well. "In my church God will bless any proper marriage of the faithful. Even that of slave and master or Amazon and Roman."

"Marriage?" I whisper. "Rosa could marry?"

"Not by earthly laws but in the eyes of God. Many of our flock are slaves Quintus. Our church spans through the Empire and far beyond. All with a soul are welcome in God's love. God doesn't care about riches or race or status, it is a true heart that really matters."

"A true heart." I echo.

He then sighs sadly and shakes his head. "Such a shame that she's a demon."

Chapter 30

I look at Ignatius puzzled. My Roman sensibilities could grasp having an issue with Rosa's Amazon half, but the demon part of her? While they weren't generally loved they had been a part of the Empire as long as there had been an Empire.

"A shame?" I say. "Why? What's wrong with demons?"

"Oh son, I've not yet told you about Satan. Lucifer." His eyes lock onto mine. "The serpent in God's glorious garden."

The mention of a serpent has me thinking of Rosa's long snaky tongue.

"The Greeks taught us that the angels and demons that walk among us were proto-humans, created to inhabit Olympus and Hades respectively. That they were cast too pure for free will and without free will their worship was hollow. So humans were created to inhabit the Earth, an alloy of above and below cooled in the mud of the mortal world."

"I have heard this." I say.

"The Greeks lied to us Quintus!" Ignatius leans in, a fervent fire flickering in his dark eyes. "In the time of Moses God sent angels, true angels, down from heaven to ready the world for the coming of His son. Like a farmer tilling and enriching their soil before the seeding. Do you understand Quintus?"

"Yes." I say. "They wanted us to be ready for Jesus."

"Very good!" He smiles. "You are a very bright young man. The angels came as messengers of God, giving us prophecies and signs toward our eventual salvation. They were beings of heaven, but they were not perfect for only God is perfect. A few succumbed to the temptations of wine and flesh and their offspring were the genesis of those who walk among us now that we call angels."

"But Rosa isn't an angel."

"No Quintus, Rosa is no angel. If only she were." He says grimly. "It would be so much easier."

I was enthralled by his wise words and his glowing gaze. The forest around me melts into the distance as I focus on the light in his eyes. I yearned to hear more from this great man. I wanted him to teach me the truth. "Easier?"

"With angels roaming the world the evil one, a fallen angel himself, was able to appear as one of them to the people of the time. As true angels beget mortal ones so the Devil sewed demons from his foul seed."

"Devil?"

"Evil incarnate. Through trickery and domination he leads man into sin and away from the love of God. He wants man trapped in the false goods of wealth, earthly power, and bodily delights." He says. "He is a great red scaled beast with black horns and a tongue of hellfire and a wickedly barbed tale."

The creature conjured in my imagination is more fearsome than any monster I'd ever heard of. "The Devil frightens me Ignatius!"

"As he should!" Ignatius says. "He leads good men off the path that in their heart they know to be right."

"He does?"

"Yes he does, and so does she." He points to my slave. "Satan's blood runs through her veins. His evil is in her."

"But...she...isn't evil."

"She is a deceiver." He says.

I think back to how effortlessly she had told Gaius half truths.

"Demons, like their master Satan, have a will to dominate." He says.

I think back to her binding me and how quickly she had me kissing her feet and calling her my Lady and obeying her every command.

"With the tongue of a serpent she will prey on your goodness. She will use your honor and sympathies to burrow her way into your heart."

I don't want to think these thoughts! I don't like them. I don't want to think about Rosa like this. Yet as I look into Ignatius' intense glowing gaze I cannot help but recall how she clung to me and called for me. She spoke of how she needed me. How she brought out every protective instinct inside of me. How she made me brave, but...perhaps this new courage was misplaced. Was it foolishness instead? Would it lead me into doom?

"With the cruel empty heart of a fiend she will prey on your weakness as well." He presses. "Any flaw exploited to find a way to worm into your soul."

Had she sensed my fear? My fear of being out alone for the first time? My fear of women? She held me and soothed me and told me we were going home. She assuaged every anxiety I had, almost too well. Was the home she spoke of hell?

"With Satan's help she will show you false miracles."

False miracles? Had it really been Silvanus that summoned those Pegasi?

"She will beguile you Quintus. She wants your soul. She will lead you down the road of temptation into sin."

I remember the ways she touched me that no other woman had, even though she knew we could not marry. I remember the wicked sexual pleasures she had brought out in me. I remember my unmanly mewling as she took control of me and made me cum for her.

"She will make you do and say things no virtuous man would and convince you it is holy."

The things I had already said! The things we'd already done! What would mother and father think of me?

"Or has she already captured you? Perhaps your soul is lost?"

"No." I whisper.

"Good!" He says. "That's good Quintus. Hold onto your soul. Give it to Jesus, not the Devil."

"She...she isn't...evil." I stammer as I wilt under his heavy gaze.

"She can be saved Quin. She can be exorcised and brought into God's love."

"Yes! I want to save her!"

"Of course you do son. You are a good man. Like your father before you who waits for you in heaven."

"Dad?"

"He wants you to do the right thing Quintus. Your father watches you from heaven at Jesus' side. He sees you even now."

"Dad! What...what do I have to do?"

"I will help you my son. You won't be alone."

"Help? How? How can we help her?"

"Her horns will be torn from her head never to return as they represent a crown of evil."

"Her...horns?"

"Her devil ears will be cut from her so that she can no longer hear Lucifer's forked tongue."

"Cut?"

"Her red eyes plucked so she cannot see Satan's secret signals."

"They...aren't...red." Every word is a challenge to speak.

"Her wicked tongue shall be removed so she will never be tempted to speak Lucifer's name."

"...no..." I whimper. I try to shrink from him but I cannot move.

"We will build a fire, a great bonfire, and cast her into it."

"Fire?"

"She will not burn but if the fire is hot enough it will purge Satan's blood from her through cleansing pain. She will renounce her dark master and submit to God's mercy."

"Pain?"

"Pain is only temporary. Salvation is forever." He leans closer, so close our noses nearly touch. I can actually feel heat coming from his illuminated eyes. "She can be yours! You can still marry her Quintus. You can marry the woman you love."

"Love?"

"Once purged she will be reborn! A simple chastity cage so that neither of you succumb to the sin of Sodom and you can marry your beautiful slave girl with the blessing of the Lord upon you both." Ignatius says with fearsome passion. "You can see your father again. You can have your wife. You will have eternal life. Give yourself to Christ!"

In my mind I see Rosa in the fire. Screaming. Calling out for mercy. Reaching for me. Crying in agony just as she had when those slavers branded her with my symbol. I can hear her scream! The memory of Rosa's agony cuts through it all.

"NO!!!" I cry out. As I shake my head it and pull away it is as if I was coming up for air from dark cold water. The world around me comes back into focus. I can hear Rosa's music again and the smell of burning fish comes into my nose. On my hands and knees I scramble back from the man. From his eyes a golden light shines as bright as the fire beside him. Was it magic or was it God!? "No! I won't do that to Rosa! I won't hurt her!"

Hearing her name Rosa turns to look. The music stops as she drops her flute and within seconds she is at my side. Kneeling down at my side she looks at my terrified face and caresses my cheeks. "Quin! Gods, you're so pale. What's wrong? What happened?"

With a trembling hand I point to the man in manacles.

Standing up Rosa turns to him. Holding me to her hip like a protective mother she interposes herself and hisses. "What are you telling him? What nonsense have you told him?" I cling to her leg, my head against her hip, as I struggle to collect myself. "What have you done to my boy!?

"Your boy?" Quintus stands and squares his shoulders. The guise of the harmless old man sloughs away to reveal the palpable power of his imperious charisma. "He's not yours yet...DEMON!" He spits the last word. "Tell her my son."

Across the clearing the soldiers are picking up their gear and heading our way.

"I...I won't hurt her." I gasp each word. "I won't hurt her. I won't hurt her."

"It is for her own good." Ignatius says. "You will be saving her."

"Leave!" Rosa shouts. "How dare you accept our food then do this! I didn't think that even a Christian could be so crass. Leave here. Leave us in peace. Go to Rome and feed the Emperor's lions you old fool."

The soldiers do nothing to break this up. Instead they file in behind the man in saffron robes clearly at the ready to his bidding. He might have worn the shackles but a prisoner he was not.

"They follow you." Rosa says with dawning realization. "You are their master."

"I told you before, I am master of nothing. They follow the Redeemer."