The Memorial

A shard of earthenware found in Leicester (Ratas in Roman Britain) has scratched upon it the words "VERUCUNDA ACTRESS . LUCIUS GLADIATOR". A love story in four words. I have tried to write the backstory to this inscription.

"Lucius I really do love you." Veracunda said as they walked along a narrow alley on their way from the ampitheatreii to the inn where they were lodging. She felt warm and protected walking by the side of this giant of a man.

"I feel the same way about you." Lucius replied. Smiling to himself, he was sure that this lithe bodied little actress was going to give herself to him. His comrades, the other gladiators of his familiaiii had exchanged many nudges and winks when he had begun to talk to the new girl with long dark hair.

The amphitheatres of Britannica were too small to justify their own gladiators, clowns, and other performers. For much of the time the army used the ampitheatres as training areas to conduct weapons drills. Itinerant troupes of gladiators, performers, beastmen and the animals travelled a circuit from one venue to another, as they travelled together it was inevitable that liaisons should develop.

Septimus the wily manager and owner of the performers tragoedus and comoedus, recognising the drives of human nature neither encouraged nor discouraged such relationships. However he had one rule, any actress who got pregnant would be aborted. It was not that he was an especially cruel master, he was simply a prudent businessman good actresses took him time to train, and he could not afford to loose his investment. Although Veracunda had only recently become a member of the troupe, she already knew of the rule, her former master Gropius who was Septimus's brother had the same rule.

At the inn they ate a light meal and drank some wine. The innkeeper Graccius an old gladiator who treated them as honoured guests, as Lucius was entertaining a lady he personally served their table. The inn was a shrine to the games, the walls decorated with murals of gladiatorial fight scenes, man against man, man against women, women against women and men against beasts. In a niche stood an altar to Nemesis.iv The centre piece of this gladiatorial décor was taken by Graccius's Rudisv, the wooden gladius he had been given on his liberty and retirement.

Lucius pointed at the Rudis. "Two more fights and I will get mine."vi

"Get what?" Asked Verecunda, she had been gazing into this handsome giant's sparkling blue eyes. Even the pale scar that ran along his jawbone only served to accentuate his rugged handsomeness.

"My Rudis! Two more fights and I will have fulfilled my term of servitude, I will be a libertus. Oh I have to serve Antonius Severus my master, the lanistavii as a doctoreviii, but there will be no more real fights, I'll only be training others in the gladiator's skills." The muscles of his forearm rippled as he lifted the wine goblet to his lips.

"So after you have fought your two fights I'll never see you again?" She asked, thinking - I wonder if he realises he'll be lucky to survive those fights. She had seen it before, the gladiator had become valueless to the lanista. If one was required to die, the lanista would try to ensure that it would be him.

"I wanted to talk about that."

"Oh!"

"After I am freed would you marry me? I have money saved, we could get an inn like this, there's good money to be made running an inn."ix

The romantic fool, he really is in love with me. But what does he mean by purchase. "You may be free, but I shall not be. Don't forget I am the property of Septimus."

"I could purchase you from Septimus."

"If he sells me to you, then I shall be your slave, I am obedient I shall do as you command."

He gave the answer she had hoped he would. "No I will not purchase you to be my slave - I will purchase your manumissionx. I shall pay Septimus to free you, you will never belong to me that way. You will be a Libertina!"

"If you do that, I will marry you and then you will still be my master."xi

"I have yet to meet an obedient wife."

She laughed, both knew gladiators accumulated the bulk of their fortune by servicing bored matronae, the wives of merchants, bureaucrats and senior army officersxii. Their husbands were the men who often patronised actresses. "Nor I a faithful husband." She said dryly.

"Veracunda I promise you, when you are my wife I shall be that exception."

The man is serious. "And I a virtuous wife to my faithful husband." She knew it was inevitable that having exchanged these pledges he would expect her to sleep with him. It was not that she doubted his sincerity, but she doubted his ability to survive those last two engagements in the arena. In her head she could hear the crowd chanting, "habet, hoc habet!"xiii The roar of approval as his blood drained onto the sand. His body dragged away by Charronxiv and his assistants through the Porta Libertinasxv. At least he would not be fed to the beasts, he had the money to pay for a proper funeral.

A group of gladiators and bestariixvi gave a drunken roar, when together they rose from the table and walked to the side door. Climbing the steep stairway to his chamber, she was glad to note that he was still sure footed.

The attic chamber was cramped, he could not even stand upright. She went to the bed and under a pillow tucked the small saccusxvii she always carried. The bed was not the most luxurious bed she had slept in, nor was it the meanest. "The chamber is a bit small but at least the bed coverings are clean."

"Antonius does not pay for our lodgings, he would have us lie by the beasts."

"Yet you can afford a chamber to yourself - you must have made a lot of money."

"I win a fight, I get a purse. I have won a lot of fights."

He takes care not to mention the gifts he has received from grateful rich matronae. She began to lift her tunica. "Let me." He said. He was standing behind her, he took hold of the coarse garment's hem. Slowly he lifted the garment, feasting his eyes upon her body as it was gradually revealed. Her legs he noted were straight and pleasingly shaped. Her buttocks rounded and firm. Her back arched as she lifted her arms allowing him to remove the garment.

Clad only in pants and breastband, she turned to face him. "My turn." She lifted his tunic pulling it over his head, to reveal his muscular and scarred body. One jagged scar ran across his right ribs. "You've won every fight?"

"Well no not quite every fight, but I have always fought well. When I got this I was entered missus that day - the crowd liked my style, my life was spared by the turn of their thumbs."

She trailed her fingers across his rippling chest muscles that gleamed in the lamp-light. "The lamplight shines on your muscles like the silvery path of the moonlight on windblown water."

"That's the oil."

"Do you always oil your body."

"After we fight we bathe, then the unctoriaxviii gives us a massage, as he does so he oils our bodies. - It's the gladiator's way."

"It makes your body very sexy."

"It is meant to enhance our looks."

Her eyes returned to the scar. "Until your body is marred by the sword."

"That was misfortune, since then the gods have smiled upon me I have not received so much as a scratch."

"Let us hope your good fortune continues to be with you through your next two contests. I could not bear to see you die."

"Do not worry my little one, I will win. With you in my life I have everything to live for."

Was he really so simple, did he not realise how few fighters lived to retire. He seemed almost a child, who had all the good looks and no brains. "Now let's see your weapon." She said pulling at the knot of his cingula, as the material fell away his hard cock sprang up. "My you are a big boy, as hard and straight as a hastaxix. Lucius I hope you are able use him as skilfully as you do your other weapons."

"I have had no complaints." He responded whilst unwinding her breastband. "You too are pretty good my little beauty." Even as he spoke he was loosening the ties of her pants, they fell to the floor, revealing her depilated pudenda. "Oh so beautiful ... oh my Venus." He said rubbing his horny hand over her smooth mons. He feasted his eyes upon her, her breasts were not perfect. Without the support of the band they drooped, but they were not ugly, not like the empty sacks he had seen hanging from some of the wizened matrons who had been entertained by him. In the cold air he watched her nipples grow hard. He fastened his lips on her breast.

As he suckled tingling tremors ran down her body from her breast where his mouth was to where his hand manipulated her pudenda. As always long before she reached the heights of an orgasm, her juices began flowing copiously. Between her legs she could feel her labia becoming lubricated. Now her erect clitoris was crying out to be touched. "If I am your Venus, you are my handsome man, you are my Adonis." She groaned at the pleasurable feelings his massage was causing, somewhere deep within her she could feel a warm churning sensation. She caught hold of his hand. "Come on take me to bed, its too cold to stand here."

In bed she grasped his cock, measuring it with her hand. Truly it was a wondrous size in proportion to the rest of his body. A cock which truly put to shame those men of power she so often had slept with, men with long skinny cocks, men who had short stumpy cocks. Men who often had been unable to sustain an erection without her stimulating them with oral sex, it really was no wonder that their wives patronised real men, like gladiators.

As she toyed with his prick, his palm still kneaded her mons while his fingers had began to explore her slick slit, now two of his fingers began to open her vagina. He turned getting between her legs. "No Lucius!" She said as he began to present the tip of his cock to her vagina. "Not that way. Not tonight. I want to save that for when we are married."

Bemused he stopped. "Are you a virgin?"

"Don't be silly. But I don't want you to get me pregnant, not until we are both free."

"In less than a month you will be free. The day after tomorrow I fight here in Ratasxx and then when we get to Eburacoxxi I shall enter the arena for the final time. Then I will be able to purchase your freedom."

I believe he will if he lives, but if he dies before then. I have to give him a good reason, I can't say he may die. "And I do not want to see that old skinflint Septimus inflating my worth and increasing the price you have to pay."

"Why should your value be inflated?"

"If you were to get me pregnant he would be entitled to charge not only my value, but that of the child as well."

"Are you saying I cannot make love to you?"

"No I am asking you to take me the other way."

"Other way!" He echoed.

By all the gods the man's a brainless innocent. "Lucius I have two portals down there, the one you were about to enter and another one."

"You mean your ass - what do you take me for a Greek? No never I am not one of them." He expostulated, thumping his ham like fist into the pillow by her head he rolled back onto the bed beside her.

"Lucius I did not mean to imply you were a Greek or worse. I simply want to make love to you in the best way possible."

"Best way! What are you saying woman. What you ask me to do is not natural, not natural between a man and a woman. It's the way of two men, the way of the Greeks."

Yes the way of two men, I bet for all his protestations he knows all about that, everyone knows or has heard the rumours of the goings on in the Ludusxxii. The big men who love men. The rich men, (and not all of them natives of Greece) who visit the Ludus and pay gladiators to have sex with them. Inwardly she gave a knowing smile, realising Lucius had a guilty conscience. Should she offer him a blow-job, she thought not, he was probably one of those men who thought it disgusting to put one's mouth in contact with another persons genitals. If she made the offer he would think her a meretrice, there would be no chance of him purchasing her freedom. "Lucius I promise you that sex with a woman in the way I want is very different to sex with a man."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Lucius if you love me, really love me you will do as I ask. Do you love me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Lie there let me do everything." She reached under the pillow, from her bag she took the small flask of olive oil. She tipped some of the oil into the palm of her hand. He gasped when she rubbed her oil covered hand over his erect cock. Reaching between her legs she lubricated her anus.

She got up and straddled his hips. "Now my love you are about to have the ride of your life, and all you have to do is relax." When she bent forward her breasts brushed his depilated chest, sliding on the slickness of his oiled body. Her lips met his, aggressively her tongue forced its way between his teeth, roughly forcing his lips apart their teeth clashing. Surprised by a kiss of a sort he had never before encountered he did nothing as her tongue explored his mouth. Then he began to respond, his arms encircled her pulling her close to him. His tongue curling around her tongue pushing into her mouth, their tongue duelled seeking out each others' mouths.

She wriggled free of his encircling arms. "Close your eyes." He did not comply. "Lucius close your eyes." Her voice was more urgent this time.

She was exasperated, his eyes remained open. "Lucius are we to fight or make love? Trust me close your eyes. I am not going to hurt you I just want you to feel everything without the distraction of seeing. Please trust me."

When he had closed his eyes. She squatted over him, reaching between her legs she grasped his erect cock adjusting their relative positions until the head butted against her puckered anus.

He was aware of the sensation as the tight ring of muscle dragged slowly over his sensitive glans. When the engorged head was nearly embedded in her, she lifted her body slightly dragging the ring back across his tingling nerve endings. Then slowly she lowered herself he felt the ring of muscle snap tight around his cockstem when the head was fully inside her.

Then when it appeared to him that she had taken all his cockstem into her body, she rose slightly and then dropped driving herself further onto her. Even though it had been her own action that forced her body hard down over his cock, she gasped as the final fractions of an inch punched into her.

After the pain came the pleasure she could feel all his cock. He felt as if his cock was enveloped by a well fitting, warm, moist, pulsating glove. As her anal sphincter muscles reacted to the foreign body they pulsated delivering a most delightful massage to his cock. His balls felt tight and heavy he knew any moment he would cum.

She could feel his cock twitch as the spunk boiled from his balls, working her muscles she milked the spunk from him in jets that spattered her bowel in hot sticky gobbets. The tight band of her sphincter muscle around the base of his cock prevented it from going soft, as the blood was unable to drain from it. She sat there gripping him. "Lucius that was fantastic. Did you not enjoy it?"

"It was good but now I've cum."

"So we wait until you are ready to go again. Surely an Adonis such as you has more than one cum in him."

"Yes but usually ..."

"I know it goes soft and falls out. But this way it won't, I promise soon it will stir into life again and meanwhile it still feels pretty good. Come on Lucius admit it you enjoyed that didn't you."

"Yes I enjoyed it." He tried not to show how much, yet he was intrigued. "How by Jupiter do you do it. Do you know I think it is getting hard again already."

She could feel his rapidly swelling cock stretching her sphincter, blindly pushing against her insides. She could feel the muscles inside her which were beginning once again to react to his cock.

He had seen in the arena a trinquixxiii who had been set to fight with a giant python. The trinqui, a criminal of some sort was doomed to die. The fight was deliberately one sided, the trinqui fighting with no weapons. The python had wrapped itself around the man and slowly squeezed the life out of him. The way her body squeezed his cock made him imagine a sinuous python within her was coiled around his cock squeezing it in a most delightful way.

Knowing that this second time around he would not cum so quickly, she began to move her body. Lifting herself slightly at the same time turning her hips, she rose and fell upon his spear as if it was a screw. In need of sating she took his hand and guided his fingers to her clitoris, he responded playing lightly with it, his other hand moved instinctively to her right breast.

When he felt the fluid flowing from her onto his pubic hair, he pressed his finger hard against her hard bud. She cried out as a wave of ecstatic pain washed over her when he twisted her nipple, before she had time to recover from the shock she was cumming again. Her clitoris throbbed, pain and pleasure were indistinguishable as he squeezed it between his scissored fingers. No longer was she in control, now it was Lucius who was moving his hips driving his rampant cock deep into her bowel.

Suddenly she was toppling, the same sensation as when she tumbled in the arena, but she was not falling. Still impaled in her he was turning her, now she was on her back, she hooked her legs over his shoulder. Now his abdomen was slamming into her abdomen, their pubic bones smashing together. With his arms he parted her legs her labia opened, his coarse pubic hair brushing against her most sensitive parts. On each downward stroke some part of his body squashed her erect clitoris.

Her mind and her body was no longer in her control. She was his to do with as he wanted. The only thing she was aware of was that she was cumming. "Don't stop keep doing me. Lucius you lovable brute just give it to me. Don't dare stop ... Please Lucius ... Please!" Her fists drummed on his shoulder blades, then her nails dug into his skin and she raked his back.

Then his body stopped moving. He went rigid. She felt his cum pumping into her like a pulsing enema. He slammed into her pushing his gushing cock even deeper. When she felt him move as if to pull out she held him with her sphincter. "Don't pull out stay in me Lucius please just keep still."

"By all the gods I've never met a woman like you are you totally insatiable." He gasped.

"You satisfied my needs long ago, but I just want more and more of you. I want you to still be inside me when the dawn breaks."

"You will wear me away to a shadow."

"No never, a little thing like me wear away a big strong man like you - I think not! Anyway I think I can feel the first signs of life returning to your cock." Gently she twitched her muscles so they caressed rather than squeezed his flaccid cock, immediately she felt it began to harden. "Not yet my strong lover, you must learn to be patient, wait until you are ready or you will fall out." She said when he tentatively tried to move. "Tell you what if we are careful we could turn over, I'll go on top so you can lie back and enjoy it."

"That's a good idea." He answered. He felt as if it was an act of surrender to have her on top, at the same time his leg muscles ached. He wanted to say to her, no more I need to sleep, but pride would not let him do so, rather an honourable defeat in the arena, than to have it be known that he had conceded defeat in bed to a mere woman. He had hoped when they turned he would fall from her, but her strong and well trained anal messages frustrated his hopes.

Once again she was seated in her saddle holding him in her, carefully she used the muscles of her sphinter and her rectum to massage his cock, gently at first increasing the intensity as she felt him growing harder and swelling within her. As she worked her muscles she induced a series of gentle orgasms, which were subdued by her concentration upon his cock's state of arousal.