General Tullius sat on the floor in his favorite spot in his tent. Gaius, the slave who had served him since Tullius was a boy, dug his fingers into Tullius' tight, tense shoulders. It was painful, but relaxing, and Tullius moaned. "You must relax, Lord Tullius. You tighten up like some maiden waiting for her new husband." He laughed. So did Tullius. "I am far from my maiden days, Gaius. Were you not there the first time?" Indeed I was. Claudia was her name, if memory serves me." Tullius smiled: memory ALWAYS served Gaius. He forgot nothing. "But my Lord, to be serious, you are always tense like this. There is no reason. None. Especially not after today's victory. And then... "Ah yes, we were lucky today and we will sacrifice to the gods. I am tense Gaius, because the favor of the gods is fickle. OUCH!" Gaius had just driven a well placed index finger into a sensitive spot on Tullius' shoulder blade. "ONE SHOULD NOT SPEAK BADLY OF THE GODS MY LORD. EVER. " Tullius laughed. "My apologies old friend. I just think of those men - those Greeks - who fought so hard, and gave their lives. We are annihilating them, and soon... very soon... We will capture the camp of Antikitos. " He laughed again. "He will have to change his name from Antikitos (unbeaten) to Doulos (slave)." "All the more reason to sacrifice quickly, My Lord. He did not secure that name lightly. Tullius sighed. Gaius did not need to say anything, but he knew Gaius remembered almost as well as he did: Tullius himself had a reputation as a fierce, unremitting warrior. He fought as hard as any of his soldiers, and there was ALWAYS a price on his head amongst the enemy: to take down Tullius would mean your name would glow in glory for eternity. Many had felt Tullius' sword in attempts to fell him. He had suffered defeat only once. Or three times. Antikitos. He was the one. The first time when Tullius had recently joined the Roman army. He was part of a Centuria of 80 men , suddenly surrounded by Greek soldiers. He had attempted to escape and felt the strong body of a Greek soldier fall on him. "ROMAN COWARD" he yelled, as he rolled Tullius onto his back. He pushed his sword to Tullius' throat. "Better to DIE than to be known as a coward among your fellow soldiers." The blare of a Roman trumpet, indicating reinforcements, saved him from death at Antikitos (called "Kitos" by all) hand. Then three years later, a much more equal combat: Romans against Greeks. They paired off, and sword fighting began. Tullius recognized the man opposite him as Kitos. "YOU WILL NOT GET A SECOND CHANCE, GREEK!" Tullius yelled, to see Kitos smile. "You have given me that second chance, Roman. Your anger. Your lust for vengeance... it WEAKENS you." With one thrust, he had Tullius' sword. The Roman was defenseless. Kitos grinned. "You are too handsome to kill, Roman. But we shall meet again. And the sword I shall have for you then, will not be of the metal variety. FATHER BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN ROMAN!" He turned, mounted a horse, and rode away. The fight that day was a draw. Tullius did not speak of what had happened to anyone but Gaius. Gaius was concerned. "You must try to forget him Tullius. He has planted a seed in you that will be difficult to uproot." "What seed is that, Gaius?" "The seed of the most challenging weed to eradicate: the weed of vanity." Those seeds had already found fertile soil in Tullius. He had grown into a strapping, handsome man: tall for a Roman, with a muscular chest which he kept clean shaven, a small, well kept beard (kept by Gaius), dark curly hair, and a reputation for having, as one woman (and two men), had said "the stamina of a military mule" and as more than one woman (and many more men) had said "the appetite of fire." With all that stamina, and all that appetite, it would puzzle the stranger as to why he had fathered no children. Gaius, however, knew better. From the first day he found Tullius trying to get a blond slave boy to present his ass to him, it was clear: Tullius preferred men. He did. And he did not grow out of that preference. Nor did he grow out of his preference for slim, blond men, preferably Greek. At the end of any successful campaign, he would inspect the captives: choosing one, or sometimes two young men (and occasionally a woman), to "warm his bed" as he put it, for the night. By the next night, he either sent them back to the other captured slaves, or offered them as sacrifice to the war gods. "Lord Tullius, we MUST make sacrifice. Keep in mind we are in Greek territory and one battle does not guarantee victory. The gods grow impatient." Gaius pointed to the sky. "See the gray clouds? Those are from Jupiter. He is warning us." Tullius laughed. "You are superstitious Gaius. There is time. The men are tired. The priests are tired. We will sacrifice an extra oxen tomorrow. " Gaius mumbled something but left the tent to wander about the camp. While he was gone, Justus came to his camp. He led a bound struggling young blond man with him. Whether by choice or by necessity, Tullius did not know: there was a horse bit in the young man's mouth. "Lord Tullius, please excuse me. I do not wish to intrude, but I thought you would be pleased. This is one of the captives from today's battle. I know it is late, and the battle was hard, but... " Tullius smiled. "It has been some time since my bed was kept warm. I thank you Justus. " "I would warn you My Lord. This one has more fire than Vesuvius. DAMN YOU BOY." The blond had just put his foot down on Justus', hard. "He has been bound for four hours and has not calmed down." Tullius, who had been relaxed from his massage at the hands of Gaius, now felt his own calm departing. "You may leave him with me, Justus. Indeed, an evening of pleasure will be sweet. That is for sure. " Justus bowed, leaving the young man with Tullius. Tullius went up to him. One hand went to the young man's bicep: firm, hard. This was no peasant soldier. He held the man's chin: the soft beard of a youngster: not more than 22. "The best age," Tullius thought. "I will begin with removing the bit, since you are far from a horse, my beautiful boy." He released the bit expecting a thank you. Instead, he received a wad of saliva that missed his face but landed on his chest. Slowly, he wiped it off. He smiled. "I should save this to make you more pliable for the evening slave." The blond looked at him with fire in his eyes. "You should instead shove your finger up your own ass, for it to be ready to receive MY cock." Tullius laughed. "OH? And is your cock substantial?" "Were I not bound, you would only know from it piercing your famous ass, LORD TULLIUS." Tullius reached out and took the man's cock in his hand. He immediately felt a piercing and two drops of blood came from his fingers as he withdrew. The captive laughed. "As we teach children in a CIVILIZED nation, one should not put one's hands where they don't belong, LORD TULLIUS. Had you asked for permission, perhaps I would have warned you." "And perhaps not?" The man smiled. "Perhaps not all Romans lack intelligence as we are taught." "And what are you taught? What are you taught of how we defeat you regularly?" "That it is brute force and sheer numbers, and nothing else. What is the saying: 'in a battle of wits a Roman is only half armed?" Tullius laughed. "Well said. I happen to agree with you." "You will not win my affection by agreeing with me." "Well, how would I do that? " "You would start by unbinding me. Surely a man of your stature and nature would not be fearful of a young Greek lad." Tullius thought about this for a minute. This one was MUCH more clever than the slaves he had bedded down in the past. There was something about him.... (And had Gaius, with his prodigious memory, been there, he would have known immediately. The birthmark, on the man's left shoulder, revealed him as the son of 'Kitos. ) "I will release you, but you will tell me something first: you know my name, I do not know yours." "Do you usually care about the names of your slaves?" "Usually not. However, you intrigue me. Both with your beauty and your wit." "I am still not flattered, LORD TULLIUS. However, I am known as "Arkos". "Arkos? I do not know that name." Arkos laughed. "It is a short form of a longer name. Had you studied your Greek, instead of your swordsmanship, you would have recognized it as the root of "dominator." Tullius laughed. "You do not seem to be much of a dominator to me Arkos." Arkos smiled. "There is more than meets the eye, Lord Tullius. Keep your promise to untie me, and you will perhaps learn that I live up to my name." "I did make that promise. I would remind you that you are unarmed, and there are sentries stationed outside of the tent." "I am well aware of that Lord Tullius." As the bonds were removed, Arkos moved his wrists to the front of his body and massaged them . "I thank you for that Lord Tullius. You did not need to do that. Again, you show you are not a typical Roman: you have kept your word." Tullius smiled. "I am going to keep another word." He pointed to his bedding. "Take your place Arkos. I will have my pleasure tonight." Arkos smiled. "You will have your pleasure, LORD TULLIUS, but not the way you thought. You will take position first. " Tullius laughed. "You will have to win that right." "So be it." Tullius saw the fire flash in Arkos' eyes. He could not see the images that were going through Arkos' mind: all the times he had seen Tullius on the battlefield, how often he had dreamed about what it might be like to have Tullius as his bed servant. Nor did he know how often Arkos had wondered what his father would do if he ever found Arkos in bed with the man he could have had, more than once. Now, though, he saw what he thought was a cocky young man, more confident in his abilities than he should be. In ten minutes time, he was thinking something else. Arkos had clearly been trained in all of the sports involved in hand to hand fighting. His wrestling was superb, and he was quick. He soon had Tullius in a hold that Tullius knew he could not escape. "You will give me your ass tonight, LORD TULLIUS. For the night, the Lord will be the slave, and the slave shall be the LORD. " He pulled at the hold, and Tullius' abdomen strained even more. "Yes. Yes. You are right. You are the victor. I am taken by you." And he was. That night, Tullius learned that there were men who were as gifted as he were. Arkos used his cock as an expert: he evoked sounds, and physical feelings from Tullius that he hadn't felt since his days in training, when he was assigned to that beautiful man Philipus. Philipus had taken him at least once a day, sometimes twice, and rarely three times. When Tullius had gone to his father complaining, his father had only laughed. "Think of learning to be sexually submissive as part of your training for war, Tully. It will serve you well." As his father walked off, Tullius heard him mutter "it serves some more than others." Notwithstanding what happened during their love making, Arkos slept in his arms the way his lovers: the ones Tullius kept for more than a night had. His smooth chest rubbed up against Tullius' hairy one, he caressed Tullius' hair and intertwined his legs with his. He even whispered "I had always dreamt that I would sleep with the most beautiful of all Romans. Now I have. Apollo must be jealous."
Apollo was. The failure of the army to sacrifice angered the gods. As the Greek army struck with a surprise attack that night, Apollo, Jupiter, and Venus all made sure that the augurs were for the Greeks. Venus had seen to keeping Mars away from his favored Romans, by binding him in one of her seductive nets that kept him aroused, but helpless. Tullius was awakened by the cries of the sentries. "TO YOUR POSTS. TO YOUR POSTS. THE GREEKS ADVANCE." Tullius attempted to get up and was pulled back to the ground by Arkos. "Where would you go, Tullius? " He laughed as Tullius struggled in his grip. "You are going nowhere general. You will be coming with me and my fellows. But you will leave behind the Lord. ALL HAIL SLAVE TULLIUS." Tullius had been undone by the young man. He struggled but it did no good, as Arkos took the restraints that had been used to bring HIM to Tullius, and bound the general. "The bit gag will be useful. " Arkos shoved it in Tullius' mouth and tied it. Then he left the tent. "TO ARMS MY BROTHERS. THE GENERAL LIES BOUND IN THIS TENT. "Arkos. The secret one," Gaius whispered, as he was pushed into a cart with other prisoners. Tullius was led out, and a collar and lead were placed on him. Arkos was provided with a horse. "YOU WILL WALK TULLIUS. AS OF NOW, YOU ARE MY SLAVE."
The forced march back to the Greek encampment took until early morning. Tullius was tired and dusty as they arrived. Arkos handed the horse to a stable boy, and pulled the leash. "COME. My father thinks I am a poor hunter. When he sees the game I have bagged, he will change his mind." 'Kito's attendant entered his Master's chambers. "My Lord, I would not interrupt your musings were it not of import. Of course, you will examine the defeated Romans in due course, but your son, your Arkos, wishes to show you his booty from the raid. "Then let him enter. Perhaps he did not embarrass himself this time. "ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE KING, SLAVE!" Arkos yelled, pulling Tullius down with him. "First my Lord, then my Father, I bring you greetings from a successful campaign, and I present to you...my captive. RAISE YOUR HEAD SLAVE." When Tullius did so, Arkos saw the smile play across 'Kito. "Well done my son. Is he a gift to me?" Arkos hadn't played this out. "Would My Lord accept such a gift?" "Indeed, I would. I would have to consider: treat General Tullius as a slave, sacrifice him in thanksgiving to the gods, or... " he smiled. "have him warm my bed. Or our bed. " Arkos knew that his father would not have Tullius sacrificed, or turned to the general slave population. What remained were the two options for sexual slavery his father laid out. Or the third one: to turn the Roman into HIS sex slave.