Author note: I created an original character for the role of Nasir's dominus: Marcus Claudius Septimius, a rich silk merchant living in Neapolis. I also altered the timeline so that Nasir only spent five years as a slave, instead of most of his life. In my timeline, he was captured and sold into slavery at the age of 12.
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In the house of senator Albinius in Rome, Kerovas peeked into his domina's room and Flaminia smiled at seeing him. "Ah, Kerovas, come in", she said, putting her lapislazuli earrings on, "I'm nearly ready". He smiled back, admiring her with the quiet pride of an older brother, "This dress suits you", he commented, gesturing to the blue flowing gown that softly hugged her curves. "Glad to hear it, but even if it made me look like whore, I still couldn't change it: father chose it".
"Ah". "Yes", she sighed, her good humor vanishing, then she stood, "Well, no reason to linger here. Let's go". He offered her his arm and she took it gratefully, but as they walked side by side along the corridor, she suddenly stopped. "Flaminia? What's wrong?", he asked her, worried.
"I can't do it", she whispered, holding onto him as her eyes filled with tears, "I can't marry him, I can't…Give myself to him!", she looked up at him and he felt his heart clench in pity at seeing the despair in her gaze, "Help me!".
"Sister, you know I would do anything for you, but I fear that…", he trailed off as inspiration hit him, "I think I have idea". "I'm listening". "After marriage, make sure to get him drunk. Then blow out the torches in your bedroom, so that he won't be able to see anything". "He will find me anyway", she said, disgust dripping from her voice, but Kerovas grinned.
"Who said it will be you to join him in bed? Send him a whore: stone drunk and in complete darkness, he will never notice". The young woman mulled over it for a moment, then smiled with relief, "Yes, that is good plan. Gratitude, brother", she hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, "I knew I could count on you". "Always".
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The marriage was celebrated in front of many senators and some of the noblest families of the republic also attended to the ceremony, a fact that lifted Flaminia's spirit a good deal, since the bonds she would forge now would come in handy later to help Batiatus rise in status.
She spent the biggest part of the day sinking her fangs into the flesh of as many influential people as possible, be them nobles, senators or simply lazy idiots with a full purse and her enchanting smiles and silver tongue won their interest and in many cases, also what passed for friendship among those of their kind.
All the while, behind her friendly and cheerful facade, she was weighting their status and riches to assess how useful they could be to her schemes. Kerovas, who knew her like the back of his own hand, noticed the calculating, predatory look in her eyes and shuddered: ever since the Syrian recruit entered the picture, his little sister had become increasingly ruthless in the pursuit of her goal to free him and he didn't like it one bit.
She met his eyes and her smile turned warm and genuine as she approached him, "You should not look so glum, brother", she whispered, "It's marriage, not funeral". "At least you seem to be in good spirits, sister".
"Why shouldn't I be? I gained many influential friends today. And an equally influential son-in-law", she added, shooting a quick look at Ilithyia's husband, legatus Gaius Claudius Glaber, a handsome young man whose cold blue eyes reminded her of a ferocious bird of prey, "I need you to provide me with...Means...To survive the night", she added, discretely passing Kerovas a heavy coin purse.
"And what will be of the woman afterwards?", he asked, a hint of reproach in his voice. "Same thing that happened to the other one". "Then I won't...". "You will", she hissed, her lips twisting in a snarl, "I need your help and you promised I could always count on you. Or was it a lie?". "It wasn't, but you're asking me to...". "I'm asking you to help me avoid being raped", she cut him off.
That word felt like a punch to the guts and he realized he had no choice, "All right. I will bring her to your room after sunset". She relaxed and smiled softly, "Good. Gratitude, brother. And now I'll go back to finding some more steps for our ladder", she excused herself, going back to entertaining the guests.
Thanks to a stroke of good luck, among the guests was also Marcus Claudius Septimius, an old and wealthy silk merchant from Neapolis accompanied by his body slave Tiberius, a young man of less than average height with dark eyes, olive skin and long dark hair and when Flaminia's eyes fell on him, she immediately noticed he was a Syrian like her beloved.
"Say, Tiberius, where were you born?", she asked, giving him a real kind smile. "I was born in Syria, domina", he answered in perfect Latin, "But I have been living in Neapolis for the last five years". "I see. Do you recall anything about your early years?".
Marcus scoffed, "What does it matter?", he asked sharply, then remembered who he was talking to and hastily added, "Apologies, but I do not think personal history of slave is interesting subject for woman such as you". She narrowed her eyes and gave him the glare of his lifetime, "And yet, it is of interest to me. Or do you claim to know my mind better than myself?", she hissed. "No, no, of course not, apologies".
"Good", she then turned back to 'Tiberius' and smiled again, "So, do you have any memories of your life before Neapolis?". The young man hesitated, unsure of how much he was allowed to say, "I remember having an older brother who took care of me, domina". Her heart skipped a beat, "What is his name?". "It is Ashur, domina".
She sent a silent prayer of thanks to Mars and barely managed to conceal her joy at hearing that name, "Ashur. It has quite pleasant sound to it", she said, then turned to the merchant, "You know, good Marcus, I have been looking for new house slave lately, but all those who have been shown to me did not convince me, their minds were too slow for my tastes. Young Tiberius, on the other hand, seems quite intelligent and speaks our language perfectly. I would like to purchase him".
The merchant frowned, "Apologies, but I do not wish to part with him", he stated. Her fake friendly smile turned into a dangerous smirk, "I fear you misunderstood meaning, good Marcus: it was not question. I want this young man and I will have him. Or are you refusing to do business with my family?". 'Tiberius' shot a worried look at this dominus, it was clear that he feared what this woman could have in store for him.
For his part, Marcus clenched his teeth in frustration and rage: he had grown quite fond of his body slave/sex toy and he did not want to hand him over, but he knew full well that he had no choice. Refusing would mean being on the bad side of senator Albinius' wife and so, indirectly, being also on senator Albinius' bad side, a position that nobody wanted to find themselves in.
"So, good, Marcus, what is price for young Tiberius?", Flaminia asked, her eyes shining with a sadistic light as she delighted in his anger and humiliation. "Ten denarii", the old man finally answered. "And ten denarii it is", she took the money out of the coin purse at her belt and handed it to him, "Now let us write down contract to make purchase official, shall we? Oh and Tiberius, what is your birth name, do you remember it?". "I...Yes, it was Nasir, domina, but...".
"Then Nasir is what I will call you from now on", she said, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling softly, "Fear not, Nasir, I have no ill intentions towards you. I give you my word that I will protect you from harm and take care of you the best I can". He saw only warmth and kindness in her eyes as she looked at him and that reassured him enough to smile back, "Gratitude, domina".
"You will like living in Capua, I am sure of it. Now, do you see that tall, dark-skinned man by the door?", she asked, pointing towards her bodyguard, who was about to leave for his 'secret mission', "His name is Kerovas and he's my satelles. Inform him that you are now part of my house and he will help you get anything you need". "Yes, domina, gratitude".
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When night came, senator Albinius closed the door to the nuptial room with an eager smile, "Now, my beautiful wife, it is time for you to became mine", he said. "Of course, but first, we must celebrate this blessed day with some wine, don't you agree?", Flaminia smiled back and poured him a goblet of strong wine, to which she had previously mixed all of the opium contained in the vial she had been gifted by Gaia.
Her eyes shone cruelly, as she silently sent a prayer of thanks to Mars for her friend's unhealthy habits: such an amount of that substance, combined with the alcohol, was guaranteed to send the old lecher into delirium quickly, just as she wanted.
The senator accepted the wine and drank it slowly, savouring every drop, "Delicious. As I am sure your flesh will be", he added, stroking her arm, but she stepped away to blow the torches out. "You will not be disappointed, husband", she promised, "But I am shy and I prefer for us to become one in the darkness, if you do not mind". "Well, I would rather gaze upon your naked body, but I suppose I can grant your request for this night".
"Gratitude", she smiled to herself and taking advantage of the complete darkness in the room, she opened the door a fraction and let the prostitute in, "Let us not speak anymore, dear husband: let us allow our bodies to do the talking, what say you?". Albinius was more than happy to agree, "As you wish, wife. Come here".
She unceremoniously shoved the other woman forward and slipped out of the door, locking it behind herself with a feeling of triumph: she had escaped his clutches and he would be so drunk and dizzy that he would not realize having been tricked. And next morning, she would leave for Capua to take care of her father's business in the city for him, so she would be safe from her husband's disgusting attentions.
All was going well.