Chapter 2:

"Sir! The other Englishman has awaken!"

Decens had given up trying to communicate with the long-haired Englishman when he heard the howl of rage coming from one of the other prisoners. The Roman slave-dealer stood and glared at Lucius, his apprentice.

"So I noticed!" he snapped. "Get him some water, bread, anything; just for Mercury's sake, shut him up!" Lucius nodded vigorously and ran off. Decens sighed. He did enjoy his job; it let him see different places and meet new people; however, it did stress him out a lot.

He glanced over to Lucius when the roaring abruptly ceased. The young Englishman sat on the deck, eyes blank, blood dripping from his wrists where the chains had cut into them. Lucius hovered uncertainly nearby with a bowl of water in his hands.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure, sir," Lucius said. "He just stopped and sat down. Maybe the man we brought in with him knows something about it."

Decens nodded. "Good idea. Get me a translator; he doesn't speak our language."

He walked back over to Alexander, who was looking around fearfully. After a moment's thought, he undid the Englishman's chains and helped him to his feet. As he led Alexander over to the small blonde, Decens wondered if he'd make a mistake in taking these two onboard.

Of course, they would fetch a very good price at the forum in Rome. Both looked strong enough to be trained as gladiators.

As soon as Xander caught sight of Spike, he jerked away from Decens and gathered the blonde into his arms. Rocking slowly back and forth, he could feel Spike's violent trembling. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here, it's okay, it's alright," Xander whispered. He had never seen his lover like this, and it scared him. If Spike could be broken so easily, what could he do against their captors? He frowned and buried his face in his lover's wavy hair.

"You needed my services, dominus?" Decens looked away from the two men to face Cato, a young slave whose parents had been Greek. Cato had been born into slavery, and had developed a talent for learning foreign languages. Decens had instantly bought him once the young man had come of age.

"Aye. We just brought these two in from Britain, and they don't speak Latin," Decens replied. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something off about the two men, the small, blue-eyed one in particular. At first, he had thought that the smaller one would only be good as a secretary or a cook, but once the Roman had seen the splintered wood around the chains, he instantly knew that the Englishman would become a prized gladiator.

Decens turned his attention back to Cato. "The larger one is Alexander; ask him what the other is called." The young slave nodded and repeated his master's question to Alexander.

Alexander kissed the top of the blonde's head before answering. Cato frowned and said something else, then smirked when the other slave answered.

"What?" Decens asked impatiently. I didn't tell him to start up a goddamn conversation! "Did you get the other one's name?" the Roman asked through gritted teeth when Cato didn't answer.

"My apologies, dominus," Cato said, lowering his gaze. "His name is just very unusual, and I was curious. He is called 'Spike.'"

Decens nodded once and, dismissing Cato, called Lucius over. They would be arriving in Ostia shortly, and the slave-dealer wanted the slaves rested for the trip from Ostia to Rome. After all, a worn-out slave would never sell...

~*~*~*~

"What did he say, Will?" Xander asked quietly to the blonde in his arms. He was really starting to regret not paying attention in high school.

Spike stirred, and one blue eye peered up at Xander. "He wants us to sleep. Gonna be a long hike tomorrow," he mumbled. Xander nodded and leaned back against the wall, adjusting Spike on his lap until both men were comfortable.

By now, he had figured out what had happened. What confused him was how Spike came to be human again. The deep, shuddering breaths and the pounding heartbeat Xander could feel against his chest didn't feel right; he was so used to his lover being dead. He hadn't realized that he had slowly been tightening his hold on Spike until the ex-vampire let out a tiny squeak of discomfort.

"Sorry, baby," Xander whispered, rubbing Spike's back gently. The Brit nodded and kissed the younger man's collarbone; unable to purr, Spike settled for humming a quiet tune.

"Go to sleep, luv. You're thinking too much." Spike shifted so that they were lying side by side on the deck, Xander's head on the Brit's chest. "We'll be fine. Red an' the others'll find some way to reverse the spell. For now, just sleep."

tbc...

Author's Note: Again, sorry about the short chapter. My pen died right in the last paragraph, and, being the obsessive-compulsive person that I am, could not write more as I did not have another red pen. Don't worry though. I've got about six more right now.

ANOTHER NOTE: heh, sorry. I am looking for someone to beta-read this fic. The prologue and the first two chapters have been beta'd, but starting this chapter, I do not have a beta reader. If you are interested, please email me or leave your email in a review so I can get back to you. Thanks.