Notwithstanding the warm, comfortable quilts, Demos did not sleep well that night. He had heard the rumors of Glaucus' sexual appetite, and he heard him take Marcellus two more times that night. If there were more, he had slept .
Again, given Glaucus' reputation, after the initial shock of his active consort being treated like a passive whore, Demos could at least understand what was happening. What he did NOT understand, were the moans and groans, not of pain, but of pleasure, that came out of Marcellus while Glaucus was piercing him. He recalled how, when he made the sounds himself, Marcellus became more aggressive, and pierced him more deeply. That seemed to be happening with Glaucus too. Every moan seemed to result in a deeper, harder push - at least based on how the bed moved. At one point, Demos forced himself to look. Again, he saw Glaucus' now familiar body, ripped with muscles that rivaled Marcellus' . He knew that Glaucus had been a soldier - a very successful one - who had retired, but had come out of retirement to lead the campaign in the Materan war. Usually, in Demos' experience, retired military men let their bodies relax. Apparently, Glaucus didn't. Demos had heard that , in addition to defeating Marcellus, Glaucus had defeated his consort Flavius, who also had muscles, albeit of a different type. The old men had told him, when they were watching the baths, that Glaucus had never been defeated in hand to hand combat of any type
Demos heard the rooster, and he rose from the quilts. Glaucus was also up, parading his nakedness, his huge sword still erect and hard. Marcellus was also awaked, but he was ashamed to show his face to Demos. Glaucus was having none of that. He grabbed a handful of Marcellus' thick hair, pulling him to his feet.
"GET UP SLAVE. Tell this young man how much you enjoyed being taken in front of him." "I cannot do that My Lord." Glaucus laughed. "That is fine. I'm sure he knows it. Your groans would have told him that. Now that he knows, perhaps next time, I will gag you." Demos had never seen the look of defeat on Marcellus' face. He saw it now.
"COLLEPHERUS." Glaucus called out and the man was at the door. He was smiling, undoubtedly from his night 'training Eamon'. "Yes My Lord?" "Bring Marcellus back to the bed slave quarters. He should meet his countrymen. I'm sure they have much to talk about." "I will make it so My Lord." Collepherus paused "My Lord, I wish to thank you for the gift of the Hibernian last night. It was a pleasure to introduce him to his new duties He, too, is with the bed slaves." "Very good. So we have Ahmad, Eric, Eamon, Silvus, Antonio, and Marcellus for now. It will thin out for sure. " He smiled. "Perhaps I should have Marcellus decide which of them should remain as his replacement, and which should be sacrificed in gratitude to Mars."
Collepherus led Marcellus away. Marcellus had no doubt that he could kill Collepherus with his bare hands, but to what end? Demos was there with Glaucus, and that was not a fair match up, Also, Collepherus went nowhere without the two Nubian slaves that were his guard. Defeated, again, he dropped his head, and walked with the steward.
"I would speak with you Demos." Glaucus turned to the young man "I am at your service My Lord." "Please sit. " He pointed to one of the tables used by guests when they were relaxing after the baths. "Would you have morning wine, Demos?" "I would have only what you have, My Lord. And after you." Glaucus was pleased by the response. It might have been false, but it sounded true. "I must assume that your consort did not discuss his decision to go to war with you." "That is correct My Lord. Had he discussed it with me, it would have done no good . Marcellus is a headstrong , stubborn man." As he finished, a house slave brought food and watered wine for their breakfast. "Headstrong is a good word Demos. It is his stubbornness which led to his capture." "If I may My Lord. I only know that you captured him. I do not know HOW" Glaucus told the story. Demos laughed, involuntarily, when he spoke of the olive oil which threw off the horse's stride "That is Marcellus, My Lord. He believed himself invincible. " "I doubt he thinks that now, Demos. He has been brought down by the simplest of things. The olive oil." He paused "And one of the most complex. Love. His love for you." Demos said nothing. "Perhaps you do not understand just how much that man loves you Demos. He was ready to die, in sacrifice, until we brought you to the altar. Only then, did he agree to live in bondage. And as my consort, he would have had the easiest life a slave can in Rome. But he rejected that - because of his love for you." "Sometimes, My Lord, I believe love can be too strong. " Glaucus laughed. "Yes.. Yes. .You are young, but wise, Demos. It can be. It can be much too strong. " He paused, thinking of his Horatio, thinking of his own feelings for Marcellus and wondering if it was love or lust or something else. "Demos, I will speak to you not as a father figure to a son, but as a man to another man. Your consort's stubbornness will lead to his demise. His capture by me is part of it. Your displeasure with his decision, and the result of that, is another part of it. I fear for him in this war. The Gauls are clever. The olive oil trick was a simple one. They are much smarter than that." "I agree with My Lord. My understanding is that Clodius will be at his side in battle. Clodius will be able to mollify much of that. " "And what is to happen when he returns, Demos? " "My Lord, I consider myself lucky to awaken in the morning. I cannot allow myself to think of future. I am a slave."
Glaucus paused. He looked at the young man. "I have already spoken to Marcellus of what will happen when he returns. Has he spoken to you of it?" "A bit My Lord. He hasn't given me details." Glaucus told Demos about how Marcellus assumed that, with victory in Gaul, he would have sufficient booty to maintain a life as a free man when he came back. And he would have sufficient booty to secure Demos' freedom. "Victory is not assured, Demos. Nor is sufficient booty to live as he would like. And... " another pause "Nor should he have assumed that I would permit your purchase from my estate." Demos looked at Glaucus, with his deep soft eyes. "My Lord. Should Marcellus return, and should he have sufficient emolument from the war, is there something that I might do, to make my freedom possible?" Glaucus sensed another victory. "That remains to be seen Demos. I did not ask Marcellus to be my consort to humiliate him. I lust for him, and I enjoy his presence in my bed." He saw Demos wince at that. "We will have to see if one of the other Materans can supplant him in that regard. " "You will have to consider what you might offer to make your freedom more possible, Demos." He smiled. "You are an intelligent young man. I know you were captured at school, where you were a scholar of literature. " Demos blushed. He did not know that Glaucus knew of his background. "I have promised your Marcellus that no one would be permitted to approach you while he is away. " Demos paused for a minute. "But you could not promise him that I would not approach others." Glaucus smiled. "I knew you were clever. " He rose from the table. "please enjoy your breakfast, young man. I have duties to tend to, and I will see you again tonight. " A smile. "Perhaps tonight we will release your cage." Demos looked up "And that of Marcellus My Lord?" Glaucus laughed. "NO. That will not happen. And we will see what does."
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The bed slave chamber was as busy as it had ever been that morning. Silvus and Antonio had been brought there, and Eamon had been brought back by Collepherus. Eric was waiting for him and embraced him. "BROTHER. I am so glad to be with you." Eamon was sullen. "I was pierced last night Eric. For the first time. I was treated as merchandise." Eric looked at him. "Eamon, you must accept that you are. Please drop your ideas of freedom. We are not free. Ask yourself: did you enjoy what happened to you?" "I do not know. I have to consider it." "Was Collepherus cruel to you Eamon?" "NO. That is the part of it that I understand least. There was no question he was in charge. But he could not have been kinder. His kiss , Eric? It reminded me, dare I say, of mother's kisses before we went to bed." "You just do not understand how you can enjoy the attentions of a man, when you have been taught that it must be a woman." "That is so Eric. That is so." Eric went to his older brother "Eamon, there is no alternative. There is not. Or, to be more honest, the alternatives are not pleasant. We are slaves. We live at the pleasure of Glaucus. You and I could be in another home, abused, whipped, and beaten. I have seen it. I was loaned to another house for a night. I was never more happy than when I was brought back. We could be working on a trireme, wondering when our ship would be destroyed, and we would be drowned. Or we could be mining sulfur, in Magna Greca, and dying of the poisons. Consider your red hair a sign that the gods love you." Silvus, hearing this, laughed bitterly. "Red hair a sign that the gods love you. Or hate you. I have no red hair. Antonio has no red hair. And yet, here we are, to be treated as women. " He saw Marcellus being brought back. "As our fearless leader is. The heitara of the Lord of the Manner. " He laughed. "Do I see seed dripping down your leg, Marcellus? Like a whore leaving her client?" Antonio joined in the laughing. In fact, there was no seed on Marcellus' leg, and his anger rose. But he knew, they had reason to mock him. "Silvus. Antonio. Life has a funny way of bringing people together. " 'AND separating them, Marcellus. We have been away from our homes way longer than we should have. Or we should have died on the field, like MEN. Instead, we are here, to be treated as sex slaves. Perhaps that is what YOU desired, so that you could be with your precious Demos. Had I been in your shoes, I would have chosen death."
"We will see about that, Silvus" They turned. Glaucus was in the chamber. Ahmad , Eric and Marcellus immediately took the position of submission. With prompting from Eric, so did Eamon. "There are too many of you here, in the bed chamber, and we have no more need for slaves in the house. Marcellus shall be off to war. That leaves two Materans, where there was only one.." He paused. "To be honest, while neither of you is as handsome as your general, you are both handsome. But I find that I only need a Materan in bed occasionally, now that I have my Flavius." He smiled. "So I was intending to try both of you, to see who I preferred. The other would be turned over for sacrifice."
He walked in and circled the two Materans. "BUT slave Silvus, it seems you have volunteered for sacrifice. Is that what I understand?" There was silence in the chamber. A deep, deep silence. "YOUR ANSWER SLAVE SILVUS" Silvus had whitened at this point. He did not think his bragging would have been heard, or he would have been taken up on it. Before he could say anything, Antonio spoke "Silvus does not deserve to die. I offer myself. I would rather go to the gods than live as a slave."
Glaucus began to laugh. "You Materans! More handsome than any other men in Rome. And FAR more stupid. " He saw the look of anger on both of their faces, and Marcellus saw Antonio primed to throw a fist. He stopped it. "By your words, Antonio, you have instead, forced me into a position where the two of you WILL have to be tried, since both of you wish sacrifice, and I do not care to lose my investment so totally." He paused. "Marcellus, this will happen after you have left for war. I will let you know who remains, and who has joined Mars, via a messenger. It will happen soon. For now, though, as Marcellus will let you know, I am occupied with saying 'vale' to him. When that is done, and I have reunited with my consort, Flavius, I shall see who pleases me more. " He turned, and then turned back. "Keep in mind, Materans, that death is final. Piercing and servitude is not. You would do well to speak to Ahmad and Eric to determine what pleases me and what does not. Marcellus, I will expect you in quarters at the fall of darkness. "Yes My Lord. I will be there." As Glaucus walked out, the tension left the group. Antonio turned to him "He would DO that? He would sacrifice us?" Marcellus shook his head. "He has a pendulum altar on the estate. I was one swoop of the blade from joining Mars and the other gods. It was Demos' tears that caused me to submit."
Ahmad spoke up. "Glaucus is right. Death is final. And resistance only leads to more suffering. Marcellus can speak to you of that. " He looked at Marcellus with some contempt. "While I appreciate your fidelity to Demos, you had the opportunity to gain a lavish life for yourself, and turned it down. Glaucus is right. I have heard that Materans are considered hard headed. I did not know that meant stupid."
Silvus strode toward Ahmad, fully intending to do damage. Marcellus stopped him. "Ahmad speaks the truth. We are hot headed, and it has gotten us into trouble. I take responsibility for your capture, Silvus, Antonio. It was my stubbornness that put you in this place. And now, I can do nothing to make it better for you. Listen to those who know better, and take their advice."
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The night before, after Glaucus had arranged for items to be moved to the chambers where Demos lived, attendants brought Urban to the quarters. Flavius did not expect this.
'FATHER. FATHER. " Urban ran to Flavius' embrace.
"My son! How hard it is to know you are here, under these roofs, and I am unable to see you."
"We are seeing each other now Father. We have three days." Flavius kissed Urban on the top of his head. He switched to their language
"Ulrich. Are they treating you well?" "Very well father. I am kept busy between the garden, and the guest bath chamber. I am untouched by any. Demos is not happy that I am there. I believe he thinks I am a spy. But I am only watching father, listening, hoping to learn more, so that... perhaps, we can escape from here."
Franz smiled at him. "Ulrich, we will want to wait I think. Glaucus has advised me that he had identified the man who purchased your mother. He is trying to reach him, to see if perhaps she is alive, and perhaps she can be returned." He winced as he continued. "He asked me what I would have as a gift for accepting his consortship, and that is what I asked. "
"Do you believe he is doing it Father?" Franz shook his head yes. "Glaucus is a stern, disciplined man. But he is not a liar. A trickster, yes, but not a liar. I believe him. I had not given him your mother's name, but he learned it. And he knew details of the capture of our family, that could have only come from people who were there. "
Ulrich paused. "Father, do you enjoy being his consort?" Franz reddened. "I must tell you the truth Ulrich. I thought that I would accept, in order to guarantee your safety, and mine. Nothing more. And I would endure the rest. But... I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy Glaucus' attentions. " He reddened further. "I love your mother, and our love brought forth you. You are not a boy any longer Ulrich, so you must hear this. Your mother treated our coupling as an obligation, not as something to be enjoyed. With Glaucus, it is all about pleasure. He has found ways to excite me I had never thought of."
Ulrich shook his head. "I understand Father. Portius was more concerned about his own pleasure than anyone else's, but occasionally, he would find something that, to be honest, almost made my sword break the cage. " "Has he had you, my son?" "No father, and of that I am honest. Glaucus has not put a finger on me. Nor Demos. From what I could learn, if you are not part of the group of bed slaves, he leaves you untouched. " He paused. "There are slaves who envy the position of the bed slaves. They find Glaucus an attractive man."
"He IS an attractive man son. And attentive." "I hope he continues to make you happy Father. This life has not been easy for us. " Ulrich then took a risk. There was no question in his mind that there were spies, observing them in Glaucus' chambers, and it was possible that at least one other slave spoke and understood their language, but he spoke "the berries in the garden are doing well, father. They could use your hand, but my humble ones are doing the best they can." Flavius put a finger to his lips. He whispered "Glaucus likes to appear generous. I will ask him for an opportunity to return to the garden. " He smiled. "For now, my son, perhaps you can let your father defeat you at a game of kick ball?" Ulrich smiled. "Nothing would please me more Father. Shall we go to the field?"
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Night approached, and Collepherus appeared at the bed slave quarters to bring Marcellus to Glaucus' substitute chamber. Collepherus turned to Silvus and Antonio. "Slaves, be advised. The cage is the kindest way to keep your drives in line. There are other means, such as hot iron gelding. Should you cause more trouble, I will advise Lord Glaucus to consider it. " The Materan army was horsemen, so each of Silvus and Antonio knew what hot iron gelding was. It was done to horses to keep them docile. They both knew that the mortality rate was high. They nodded in acknowledgement, as Marcellus was brought away.
When he got to the chamber, Glaucus was there already. "EXCELLLENT. Marcellus, we are going to begin with something tonight that is new to you. " He pointed to a chair. "Please sit, and assume bondage position." Marcellus did what he was told, wondering what wicked scheme Glaucus had planned tonight. After Glaucus had bound him, he came forward and smiled.
"You will be pierced tonight Marcellus, twice. " The smile on his face grew larger. "But not by one man. By two." He clapped his hands. 'BRING OUT DEMOS."
The young man came forward. He assumed the submissive position.
"MOVE FORWARD DEMOS. AS CLOSE TO MARCELLUS AS YOU CAN GET." "Yes My Lord." When Demos was in position, Glaucus opened his cage. Demos had been caged for so long, his young and thin penis sprang to life immediately. "Marcellus, you have fed your consort more than once. It is time that he fed you. Open your mouth." "NO. DO NOT MAKE HIM DO THAT MY LORD. PLEASE . THAT IS MY ROLE" Glaucus smiled, and placed his hands on Marcellus' shoulders. "Marcellus is very talented at sword swallowing, as I can attest. He will now swallow yours. OPEN YOUR MOUTH SLAVE. Fearful of what would happen if he didn't, Marcellus answered, meekly. "Yes My Lord," and opened his mouth. DO NOT MAKE ME PUSH YOUR SWORD INTO HIM DEMOS. " Tears formed in the young man's eyes, but he fed Marcellus his sword. Marcellus knew what he had to do, and he formed a seal around the sword. Demos, not used to this, immediately moaned. "pull your sword back Demos and then forward as if you were cutting a log." Demos looked at him in confusion As a scholar's son, he had never cut a log of wood. Marcellus understood what was happening and pulled his head back and forth. "Very well. There is more than one way to achieve a goal." That goal was accomplished very quickly. As the passive one, Demos rarely had opportunity to use his sword. Now that he did, he couldn't control it. He cried out and his seed spilled into Marcellus' mouth. Glaucus laughed. "How does it taste, slave, as compared to mine?" Marcellus could not help himself. "Sweeter My Lord. Like nectar. There isn't any bitterness or rust in it." Glaucus laughed heartily. "What a fine answer ! Sweet seed. Perhaps before you leave us Marcellus, you will have Demos pierce your rear." He saw the look of horror on their faces. "Tonight, though, the only piercing shall be done by me."
He began with tying Marcellus to the bed, face up, and tying Demos to the chair, to watch. Marcellus had tied up Demos occasionally, when they were free. Seeing his active taken like this repelled him at first, and then... when Glaucus dropped his tunic completely, Demos found his still uncaged cock rising. The moaning by Marcelus was something he remembered later than night. They had forgotten to re-cage his cock, and as he lay, trying to sleep, thoughts of Glaucus and Marcellus, and those sounds took over his mind. He found his hand sliding down to his sword, and for the second time, in less than 4 hours, Demos spilled seed. He had not done that since before Marcellus had claimed him. He smiled.