Something has gone wrong. Very wrong! Five of the Sailor Soldiers are in...Ancient Rome?!
And Rini has been enslaved!
Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, DiC, and Cloverway, in that
order. I make no money by this. More's the pity.
All other characters _not_ taken from History are mine, and you must ask permission to
use them, if you can find a way of using them outside this.
_This_ is emphasis. *This* is thought.
Kudos to the movie Gladiator, which was the inspiration for this.
And now, Scorpinac Fanfic Productions presents:
******************************************************************************
Sailor Moon
Roman Legends
by Scorpinac
Chapter 2: Rome
After what felt like half an hour to an hour later, they road up to the Caravan, where a few
bright fires had been lit back up, and for the first time Rini laid eyes on the lead carts. They were
full fledge wagons! One had a bright crimson tarp, and the other was in sapphire. Cephiro
brought the horse to a halt near them, and turned to a scraggly man with balding white hair and a
silver beard and mustache.
"Fernadus, _what_ is going on?" Cephiro demanded. *So that's Fernadus. The one who
has my brooch!* Rini thought.
"I think you already know, sir. Those two stole Pherinias's keys and took off. Two of
the others tried to, as well, but we caught them coming out of their cage," Fernadus explained.
"The other two have already been disciplined for their actions."
"I should hope so," Cephiro said. "REGINAS! Find Cavinus and tell him I have the
runaways! And prepare for standard discipline next to their cart!" A dark haired man with
piercing coal black eyes and a thin mustache nodded and dashed down the train. Cephiro hopped
off the horse and grabbed his bags.
"Gerfius, Korminian, get them off and take them down to their cart, I'll be there shortly.
Terrian, take care of my horse, he needs some water and rest," Cephiro barked a few more
orders, then hopped up into the red tarpped wagon. Two dark looking men came up and untied
them from the horse and got them off and back onto the ground. Then a third came up and
walked the horse off to the wagons and began tending it.
The first two took them by their free hands and took them back down the caravan towards
the cart they'd been riding in. Rini quickly counted the carts as they passed them. Their escape
attempt had caused quite the stir, and several fires had been relit. By the time she saw their cart
again, she'd counted twenty seven carts ahead of it. And there looked to be about five more
behind it. That was thirty-three altogether, plus the two lead wagons, making thirty-five.
Nearby many of the slavers were assembling, some emerging from the woods with dogs.
Thank god they'd gone through the river, masking their scent on the other side! About four feet
from their cart two poles had been put in the ground and another across them, like a spit. Galea
and Felicia were under the cross pole, their hands tied to it. Their togas had been pulled down to
reveal their tops, part of them dangling on the chain holding them together. They looked really
bad, not to mention passed out. Another spit set up was being positioned, and it didn't take a
rocket scientist to figure out who was going to be tied to that one!
Pherinias came up, looking even nastier than usual.
"You two have caused us a lot of trouble! Consider yourselves lucky Cephiro isn't having
you beheaded!" he yelled at them. Just then Cavinus came up behind him.
"Pherinias, back down! None of us are feeling very happy right now, so cool it," he said,
and the two moved away. The others finished the new "spit", and Rini and Salina were walked
forward until they were under it. The slavers then pulled their arms through their togas' sleeves
and raised their hands, then tied them to the crossbar above them.
"Now we wait for the boss man," the one called Gerfius grunted.
"Ought to be paid overtime for all this," Korminian said as they walked over to the others.
A few minutes later Cephiro came up, the guy called Terrian behind him carrying a plush chair.
Cephiro walked over to Cavinus and the others and stared angrily.
"Mind telling me _exactly_ what happened?" he inquired.
"Pherinias, from the top, please," Cavinus turned on the cart driver.
"Pinky squirted me in the face with their water skin. While I was gagging on it, Red stole
my keys, and when we were shutting down for the night they made a break for it," Pherinias said.
"I'm sorry sir, it's my fault for not checking sooner."
"Indeed," Cephiro said, and punched Pherinias in the jaw, sending the man to the ground.
"Next time, you die," he added. He then turned to Rini and Salina. "Anything to say before
punishment is carried out?"
"It was all my idea! Punish me, not Salina!" Rini cried, desperate to spare her friend.
"No! It was my idea! Punish me!" Salina snapped, thinking the same thing.
"We already got a full confession out of the other two when they were flogged. The plan
was Pinky's, but Red was _more_ than willing to cooperate," Cavinus said.
"I see. Your willingness to sacrifice yourselves for each other is admirable. CHAIR!"
Cephiro commented, then turned and walked back a few steps. Terrian instantly walked up and
set the chair down facing the spit, and Cephiro took his seat. "Six lashes," he said.
Rini felt her blood freeze as two burly men came up and snapped a pair of large whips in
their hands. Oh, god, what were they going to do?
"Which one?" Cavinus asked. Cephiro glanced at him.
"Both of them," he answered, and the two burly men moved around behind the girls as he
turned his attention back to them. Rini felt herself break into a cold sweat. "ONE!" Cephiro
snapped, and suddenly a loud CRACK! rang in her ears as a sudden horrid pain lit up her back
from something thin and sharp slapping across her bared skin. Despite her attempt not to give the
slavers any pleasure out of this, Rini's eyes teared up and she let out a scream of anguish and
pain. She barely registered Salina's scream, caused by the same thing.
"TWO!" CRACK!
"THREE!" CRACK!
"FOUR!" CRACK!
"FIVE!" CRACK!
"SIX!" CRACK! Rini tried desperately to hold her tongue, but the pain was just too
much. When it finally ended, her face was streaked in her tears of pain. Cephiro stood up and
walked forward. "Try again, and next time you'll get twice as many," he told them in a voice that
said it was no threat, but a promise. He snapped his fingers and Terrian grabbed the chair, and
the two started to walk away. Then Cephiro stopped, and turned back.
"By the way, I've sold that little trinket of yours," he said. Rini's head snapped up. *No!
Not my brooch!* she thought. "Querian paid me four hundred and fifty gold for it, a hundred for
the clay, a hundred for the crystal in the front, and two hundred and fifty for the diamond inside.
We found it when his daughter popped it open by accident. You really should have mentioned it
earlier," he continued, then chuckled evilly as he walked away. All Rini could do was cry even
more.
She wasn't sure when sheer exhaustion overcame pain, only that it did.
* * *
When she awoke, it was to the jostling of the cart. She found herself laying on her front in
her and Salina's cage, Salina laying right beside her. It felt and looked like midmorning, and their
toga sleeves had been pulled back over their shoulders. Her back felt like it was on fire, but had
settled some since the actual flogging. Not much, but some.
"Why didn't they wake us for breakfast?" Salina asked groggily.
"You weren't even untied from the poles till morning. Pherinias said you were all to go
hungry until dinner," Calvinus said.
"No food until tonight. Figures," Rini moaned and lied her head back down on the straw.
Salina did like wise. A quick glance showed Galea and Felicia were in the same boat, so to speak.
"Did they do anything about our backs, or did they just throw us in here?"
"Paulius and another one cleaned them and placed bandages on them before putting your
togas back and returning you to the cages," Dalia told them. "He said it's standard procedure for
this kind of discipline."
"At least they won't get infected," Rini said. After a few hours, the caravan reached the
village of Ferrio. It was a simple marketing town with three or four big farms on the outskirts.
Rini forced herself up on her hands to take a good look around before her protesting back made
her lay back down again. They stopped just outside the town, and lunch was served. True to his
word, Pherinias didn't give anything to Rini, Salina, Galea, and Felicia, though they were allowed
to relieve themselves, despite the protestations of their wounds. After he left, Dalia, Jorus,
Fredamus, and Calvinus quietly gave them some of theirs.
Meanwhile, the slavers purchased some extra goods and food from the villagers, stocking
up on supplies to last them till Rome. After an hour all purchases were finalized and everything
was being loaded. Rini considered the idea of making another escape attempt, but the pain in her
back dissuaded her. It was getting better, but not very fast.
When dinner came around, Rini quietly ate her meal. None of them spoke, really, and
Pherinias glowered at them meanly. Though he never said it, he now hated them with a passion
beyond words.
* * *
The following nine days became a steady routine. Breakfast at daybreak, lunch and
relieving of bodily functions at midday, dinner at evening, and fair paced travel in between all. On
two occasions the slavers took an extra long stop to let them bathe, which Rini found rather
embarrassing since it was under constant watchful guard, yet refreshing at the same time. As a
side effect, her hair had fallen out of it's normal style, and she opted to just wear it loose since she
couldn't get her hands on any ties.
At nightfall every day Paulius would have Pherinias open the cages so he could check their
wounds, and redress them as needed. The grey eyed, pony tailed, medium brown haired Paulius
was arguably the kindest one of the slavers, but Rini didn't trust him any more than any of the
other slavers because of it.
The caravan passed two more villages, though they didn't stop at them. Cephiro went
into the third village briefly, to check with his contacts there, but there was no need to stop the
whole caravan for it.
As the days passed their backs healed, and the pain slowly subsided. By the fifth day after
the failed escape attempt, they were able to sit up comfortably again, and Rini's bruise had come
and gone. By the eighth the pain was almost negligible.
Finally, twelve days after her capture, two hours after breakfast on that day, the caravan
pulled up to Rome. . .
* * *
For Serena, the next four days on the Rex farm passed slowly. Excruciatingly slowly!
They were good people, she gave them that. Vivian and Delia even bought her an additional five
outfits and a bag to carry her belongings in, and Delia even let her keep the dress she'd loaned
her, and despite the odd fit, Serena accepted. And Georgio had gone out of his way to try and
make her feel more comfortable the whole time.
But she couldn't get her mind off of Rini! Was she okay? Was she eating enough? Was
she being cleaned? How were they treating her? Had she been hurt? Were they beating on her?
Serena thought she just might go mad if she didn't learn any of the answers.
On the sixth morning of her stay in Ancient Rome, Rex prepared a wagon, and she packed
up her few belongings in this time and got aboard. It was the same wagon the family had been in
when they'd found her. Serena had learned they were coming back from a visit to some relatives
in the next village over at the time.
Outside it looked like a plush wagon, with a well kept brown tarp displaying their middle
class status, as befitted their fairly prosperous farm. But some of their income came from some
well made sculpture by Vivian, who was teaching the art to Delia. Inside it had two small beds
and a cot hooked up to the frame of the tarp, a small storage chest, about three feet wide by one
foot long by two feet deep, and two small chairs for sitting. All in all, it was quite nice, if a little
cramped. Serena placed her bag next to the chest and sat in one of the chairs. A few moments
later Georgio boarded with a bag of his own, and Rex put in his own bag then went up front.
Georgio placed both bags next to hers, then turned with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" Serena asked.
"I got Father's permission to come along. He says it's time for me to see the market in
Rome anyway, as I could be in charge of the farm full time any day now," Georgio explained to
her.
"Uh, huh. And who'll be looking after your mother, sister, and brother?" Serena inquired.
"Mikhail's old enough to take care of them, and all of the families around here look after
each other anyway. And they have the sl...servants. They'll be fine," Georgio said. "Besides,
I really want to be with you, Serena."
"Want to be with me, or want to see my naked body?" Serena said with heavy sarcasm, letting
the servat comment go - no point. What few times she'd used their family bath, she'd made sure that
Georgio wasn't anywhere around. Mikhail had peeped once, but a quick smack had quickly discouraged him.
But she still felt sure Georgio wanted another look no matter the price.
"To be with you! Just to be with you, Serena," Georgio insisted. Rex then popped his
head in from the drivers seat.
"Serena, would you like to ride up here for a while?" he asked.
"Sure," Serena replied, and went up to the front and slipped into the seat next to Rex.
Rex took the reigns and snapped the horses into motion, and they were off. From the side,
Vivian, Delia, and Mikhail watched them, and they all called out good byes to each other, and the
girls and young boy wished Serena luck in her quest.
After a few moments they rode out of town, and Rex spoke to the young woman currently
in his charge.
"You know, my son Georgio likes you," he said. "He's told me if your current husband
doesn't return from the war in Germania, he'd like to help raise your daughter with you." She
could swear Rex was smiling.
"He said he wants to what?" Serena said with clear irritation in her voice.
"He knows as long as your Darien lives he can't have you, but should your man not
survive, he'd like you to consider him as an alternative," Rex said. Serena had told them about
Darien, but had been careful to paint him as a Roman miner who'd been drafted into service with
the Roman Legions and a loyal follower of the Caesar. She'd also explained why she and Rini
had been on the road that day with a severe lack of belongings as having lost most of everything,
even their house, to a band of robbers the day before, and were traveling to some relatives of their
own in another province just to the north.
Fortunately she'd picked up in idle conversation that the current guy using the name
Caesar was someone named Marcus Aurelius, so she wouldn't have had to guess if asked if she
knew. Which was fortunate because her sum knowledge of Roman Emperors came from having
to read and do a book report on "I, Claudius" in eighth grade, and that was only about the five
guys who immediately followed the original Caesar, Julius. And Julius was such a highly
"quoted" person that she'd be amazed if anyone didn't eventually learn about him and his famous
"Et tu, Brute?" upon that fateful "Ides of March" in Forty-Four B.C.!
"My daughter has been stolen by slave traders, my husband is in the middle of a war, I've
lost my home and most of my belongings to crooks, and _he's_ proposing to me?! I don't believe
this!" Serena snapped in irritation. Seeing her nude breasts must have totally fried the poor kid's
brain! "You haven't actually agreed to this, have you?!"
"Georgio's sixteen now, old enough to make his own decisions. And between you and
me, I think he could have chosen worse," Rex smiled.
"I'll have to think about it," Serena replied. For the next two days they kept each other
somewhat entertained, and Georgio was a real gentleman the whole while, trying to fill her every
need! Half the time Rex would have Georgio sit with him holding a crossbow, and he did so
showing with no uncertainty that he was ready and able to use the weapon. And on the third day
of their journey they came to the village of Ferrio.
They were passing through when Serena saw a six year old girl in a yellow, very fancy
dress with long auburn hair and dark green eyes at a vegetable stand with a man in very brightly
colored robes and a black cloak with deep black hair cut close to his head and very light stubble
on his chin and upper lip. His eyes were a piercing blue that made your blood freeze with their
coldness. But what really drew Serena's attention to them was what she saw the little girl
wearing in the middle of her dress as she turned: RINI'S BROOCH!
"STOP THE CART!!" she screamed, and Rex was so startled he pulled on the reigns
rather hard, causing the horses to neigh in protest. As soon as the cart was halted, Serena dove
off and dashed forward. Georgio emerged from behind the seat to see what was up, holding the
crossbow at his side, while Rex hopped down and calmed the horses.
Serena dashed blindly up to the girl and spun her around. The girl was surprised by the
action, but Serena just looked closely at the decoration on the front of her dress. It was definitely
Rini's brooch! Before she could grab it, however, the man with the girl pushed her away. His
hands were adorned in several fancy rings.
"How dare you lay hands my precious Julia!! Are you alright, my dear?" he said in anger,
then turned to his girl.
"That brooch, on her chest, where did you get it?!" Serena demanded as she got back up,
undeterred.
"Daddy bought it from Uncle Saphro a week ago," the girl answered.
"Cephiro. And it was only six days," the man corrected his daughter's pronunciation.
"Yes, I paid him four hundred and fifty gold for it. Well worth it for that diamond inside it. Only
the very best and unique treasures for my little girl!" he continued in an arrogantly boastful
attitude. It didn't even shake her.
"That belongs to _my_ daughter, Rini, and I want it back!" she demanded. Rex had
calmed his horses by this point, and come over to see what was up, catching the last comment. At
that point the girl looked Serena over and spotted _her_ brooch.
"Hey, she has another one like mine! Buy it for me, daddy!" she said, pointing to the item
in question. Her father glanced at it briefly.
"I'll give you seven hundred for it, twice what I paid Cephiro for the other one," he
offered.
"WHAT?!" Serena barked.
"Terrarium Aurelius Querian! Why am I not surprised! He and Barvus Cephiro go back a
long way," Rex said, identifying the arrogant collector.
"Watch your tongue, farmer!" Querian snapped.
"Just return the jewelry. It's obviously important to Serena and her child," Rex snapped
back. He hadn't failed to notice how Serena kept constant tabs on her own brooch.
"If it's so important, then where is her child?" Querian asked, trying to throw Serena off
guard.
"Cephiro has her," Serena replied immediately.
"Wow, she must'a done somethin' real bad for you ta sell her to Uncle Saphro," Julia said
offhandedly. "I'm never bad, so Daddy'll never sell me."
"I didn't sell her, he stole her!" Serena snapped. Querian didn't seem to listen.
"Regardless, the trinket is ours now," he stated huffily.
"Querian, it is stolen goods. You know it, I know it, just return the darn thing!" Rex said
as his own anger began to flair up.
"Make me," Querian sneered. Something in Serena snapped from the pressure, and she
grabbed the pompous ass by his cape's collar and rammed him forcefully into the vegetable stand.
The act was so sudden he hadn't even had time to pull the short sword he had hidden and
sheathed in his cape!
"Listen, you overbearing ass! My husband's in the middle of a war zone, my child is being
held as a slave, my home and belongings have been stolen or torched by bandits, and I am _not_
in a good mood! You're either gonna give back the brooch or your precious Julia is gonna
become a very rich _orphan_! GOT IT?!!" she screamed at him with all the anger that she felt,
and felt more than ready and willing to follow through on her threat!
Querian just stared with a frightened expression on his face, and Serena dropped him in a
huff. She then turned and grabbed her daughter's brooch off the little girl's chest and stomped
back toward the wagon.
"Come on. Let's go," she said as she moved forward. Rex just grinned at Querian and
returned to his cart. Georgio smiled as he helped Serena back up into her seat and then hopped
around to the rear and jumped into the wagon. Rex climbed back into the driver's seat, took the
reigns, and snapped the horses back into motion.
As the wagon pulled out, Serena felt a renewed sense of hope well up in her. She had
regained Rini's brooch, a definite step in the right direction! All that was left was to regain Rini
herself.
Meanwhile, Julia began whining about losing her "favoritest of my favorite jewelries!"
Querian just fumed quietly. Not only had he lost a really well crafted piece of craftsmanship, but
he was also out a valuable diamond as well! Try as he might, he'd been unable to remove the
valued stone from the trinket as yet, and Julia had _insisted_ on wearing it _today_!
Suddenly everyone around began laughing loudly, and he blinked.
"What's so funny?!" he barked, trying to regain his pride.
"She must have scared you real good, huh, Querian?" a salesman nearby smirked as he
chuckled. Querian saw anger red, then glanced down his person, and fumed all the more when he
saw just how badly the young woman had managed to humiliate him. He'd been so taken aback
by her enraged outburst and attack on his person that. . .he'd wet himself.
* * *
The next eight and a half days went by quietly. Serena, Rex, and Georgio enjoyed each
other's company greatly, but Serena's mind was always with Rini, praying for her safety and
speedy return. She also prayed quietly for the others in her own time to find them soon, and get
them both home. Surely Trista had noticed their shift in time by now. Why hadn't the Guardian
of the Time Gate retrieved them yet?
But all in all, it was a pleasant enough journey. They passed through two other villages,
and Serena watched carefully for any sign of her daughter's presence. But there was no sign of
her in either village. Serena, in fact, learned that Cephiro and Cavinus's Slave Caravan trotted
right by the two villages without stopping, though Cephiro did come into the third village by
himself for a little while.
Finally, just before lunch on her seventeenth day in Ancient Rome, they reached the city of
Rome itself. . .
* * *
As the caravan pulled into the city, Cephiro emerged from the front of his wagon to speak
with his driver.
"Take us straight to the main warehouse, Septimus. There'll be no stopping," he said.
"Right away, sir," Septimus replied. He carefully steered through the city, aiming for the
large four story complex co-owned by Cephiro and Cavinus.
* * *
As the caravan moved through the city, Rini watched the buildings as they went by. They
ranged from two to six stories in height, composed of what looked like marble columns and
blocks of various shades of green and grey, sometimes with a splash of something else. Others
appeared to be made of simple brown sandstones.
The people were just as varied, status denoted primarily by the fanciness and upkeep of
their clothes, which ranged from ratty and tabby up to refined and elegant. The colors were just
as diversified, with reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples, oranges, whites, blacks, greys, browns,
pinks, turquoises, and many, many more! Some wore sashes as further denotation of their
personal status.
Then she noticed a large circular building just off in the distance. It was humongous! It
had to be at least eight or nine stories high, the biggest building in the city! It kinda looked
familiar, too, like she'd seen it in a picture. But that would mean it would still have to be around
in the late twentieth century, and from what she knew, not many buildings from this period were
destined to survive that long. Not in one piece anyway.
That thought made her think of something, and she rose a hand to block part of the
building from her sight, hiding a hunk of wall in a diagonal pattern from ground to ceiling. Now
she knew she recognized it! She knew exactly what it was!
"Wow! That's the Colosseum!" Rini exclaimed. Salina, who was napping next to her,
stirred and rubbed her eyes.
"Huh? What?" she asked.
"That over there! It's the Colosseum!" Rini repeated, pointing it out. Salina looked over,
and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow! I never realized it was so big!" she said as she watched it pull away from their line
of sight. The caravan continued to move through the city, until about half an hour later when they
stopped in front of a large four story building about ninety feet long and sixty feet wide. From the
outside it looked to be made of more of the usual polished marble that filled nearly half the city.
It had a small opening along one side, big enough to allow passage for two people side-by-side up
to about six or seven feet tall. The first two floors had small windows with bars on them. The
top two had large spacious windows, a couple of them fitted with drapes. On one side at the top
was what looked like a sign, but the wording was in Latin.
The men started moving around frantically, like ants scattering outward from an anthill,
joined by about five or six dozen that were walking around the place already. Pherinias and
Paulius jumped down and joined the fray.
"What do you suppose they're all doing?" Rini asked.
"I don't know. Could be anything," Salina replied.
"I doubt it's good for any of us," Jorus said.
* * *
As everyone began scattering around, Cephiro watched with satisfaction, carrying a small
armload of papers under his right arm. He gazed admiringly at his sign: CEPHIRO'S AND
CAVINUS'S SLAVES -- FOR SALE OR TRADE.
"Okay people, as soon as the slaves are unloaded from your carts take them out back and
unhitch the horses! Then put them in the stables and see that they're properly taken care of!" he
barked. He didn't really need to say it per se, but it helped motivation. He then selected five men
at random. "I want you to move the wagons now, okay." Next he turned to Reginas. "Reginas,
you're on cart key collection."
They all quickly nodded and hopped to it. Cephiro then turned to Cavinus, who was
seeing to the unloading of the first cart.
"Cavinus, when you're done here, meet me in my office. I'm going to check the paper
work," he told his right hand man. He then turned and went inside. He went immediately to the
stairwell and ascended to the third level. This level was simple, a kitchen where food was
prepared for the slaves and men, a moderate meeting area where the men in his employ picked up
their pay, a dining area for the men, and Fernadus's office in the southeast corner, complete with
a window giving a stunning view of the Colosseum. Fernadus had told him many times how
grateful he was for that view. The men, including Fernadus, had their own apartments and
personal quarters throughout the city.
He then continued his ascent to the top floor. Here everything was very wealthily
decorated. To the north were his private quarters and the dining area. To the southwest lied
Cavinus's quarters, as befitted a man of true responsibility, and in the southeast lay their private
offices. The two offices were side by side, his in the actual corner, Cavinus's just to the left.
Between the dining area and the offices was a sitting area for entertaining guests.
The floor was decorated with six expensive sculptures, five paintings, and three fine
tapestries. The furniture was made from the best wood lined with the finest leathers. The sheets
in the sleeping quarters were woven from the most expensive satins and the blankets from the
warmest wools. He'd spared no expense in making this floor livable.
As he passed through the sitting area toward his office, a four year-old boy with near
white-blond hair circling his face and bright brown eyes in an expensive red toga came running up
with a big smile on his lips.
"Daddy! You're home!" he squealed and dove into Cephiro's arms. Cephiro quickly
tossed his papers into a nearby chair and crushed his young son in a bear hug.
"Hello, Timotheos. How's Daddy's little boy?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Did you get lots of good wares this time?" Timotheos replied
"Oh, yes. A total of two hundred and twenty two new lots. In fact, I'd like to show you
the latest acquisition. She's worth a fortune!" Cephiro told him.
"Oh? And why's that, Love?" a female voice asked. Cephiro looked up to see a woman
in a beautiful green dress with flowing brunette hair down to her shoulders and lovely hazel eyes
standing just across the room from him. He walked over to her with their son.
"Well, Decima, how many people do you know that have naturally pink hair?" he asked
his wife.
"Pink? And it's natural for her?" Decima asked, her eyes widening.
"We washed it twice. Didn't even change in the slightest," he confirmed.
"Wow! When can I see her?" Timotheos asked.
"Later, after she's been moved into the building. Right now Daddy has to go over some
paperwork, so why don't you run along and play, okay?" he told his son as he lowered the boy to
the floor.
"Okay," Timotheos said, and dashed back toward the private quarters section. Cephiro
turned and stole a hug with his wife.
"Miss me, Sweetheart?" he asked.
"As always, Love," Decima said as she hugged back. "And you?"
"You always pull me home by dragging on my heart," Cephiro replied. "You are my job,
and this 'career' of mine is but a simple chore." He leaned in and snatched a kiss from her lips.
"Sweet talker. Much more of that and I may melt," she said as they continued to smooch.
Cephiro then pulled back slightly.
"I do need to tend to my paper work, though, my dear," he said. "Double check figures
and all that."
"Just make sure you're in bed early tonight. I have a welcome home present," she said as
she ran a finger over his chest. He grinned, and she let go and headed back toward their quarters.
He turned and went back to the chair and retrieved the papers, then continued to his office and
went in.
In the office sat a desk with a simple plush chair in the center, and to the left of the door
was a standing cupboard five and a half feet tall, four feet wide, and two feet deep, very ornate in
design with a picture of the great battle fought by Hercules and his ever present companion Iolas
against the terrible Hydra painted across the front. In the center was a simple key lock made out
of gold. The key lay next to the ink jar upon his desk. Within the cupboard sat ten shelves
spaced a half a foot apart each, each filled with three or four stacks of paper.
He took the stack in his hand and laid them upon his desk, then took his seat and began to
rifle through them, taking the feather pen from the ink jar to make hand notes as needed. *Hoo,
boy. This could take the better part of the day.*
* * *
As Rini and Salina watched from their cage, the carts ahead of them were emptied of the
slaves they carried, who were then lead into the building. After they were taken inside, their cart
was taken off somewhere, and the driver handed his set of keys to Reginas. The process was then
repeated with the next cart. After about an hour or so the slavers reached the cart two ahead of
theirs.
"Not long now," Rini said.
"What do you suppose will happen to us inside?" Salina asked.
"Could be anything, but I'm thinking transfer to another cage," Rini answered.
"Well, it can't be any worse than being in here," Salina said. Just then the next cart left,
and the one just ahead of them began to unload.
"So, think there's even the slightest chance of making a break for it into the city when
they take us out of here?" Rini asked.
"Do not even try it, child," a rather calm voice said to them, and they turned their heads to
see Paulius lowering the sideboard on their side of the cart. Behind them another slaver was
lowering the opposite sideboard.
"Wh...what do you mean?" Rini asked. She still didn't trust this guy, but he wasn't the
nasty jerk wad Pherinias was.
"Even if you managed to get away into the city, as soon as someone saw the medallions
sewn to your clothes, you would be brought right back to us. And you already know what
Cephiro has decreed your punishment to be if you try to escape again," Paulius explained.
"What do the medallions have to do with it?" Salina asked as she looked at hers. Rini had
wondered what was with the little metal disk with the Greek letters on it herself.
"Those letters are Barvus Cephiro's Sigil. It means you are his property until someone
buys you from him," Paulius said. "It is known throughout the city. You'd be back before the
sun had gone down. So just behave."
"So that's what it is," Rini said. Just then the cart ahead of them moved off into the
distance, and Pherinias came up and unlocked Fredamus and Calvinus's cage, then moved and
unlocked Dalia and Jorus's. While two other slavers got the four out, Pherinias moved around
and came up to Rini and Salina's cage.
"You know," he said as he stared at them nastily, "I used to live on a farm before I came
to work for Cephiro. I killed many chickens with my bare hands. Just took their little heads, and
twisted!" As he spoke he rose his hand and imitated the action, wrapping it around the head of a
chicken, then jerked his hand as if placing the death blow. "I wonder how well it would work on
a pair of little girls, with red and pink hair."
"Pherinias, you know what Cephiro will do to you," Paulius warned. Pherinias turned to
his fellow slaver with a glint of taunting in his eye.
"And who's going to tell him?" he asked.
"I will," Paulius said sternly.
"Not if you're dead," Pherinias replied with an evil leer.
"PHERINIAS!! Get those slaves out of their cages so we can get them inside!" Reginas
called. "Don't make me bring Cephiro down here! You know how much he _loves_ to be
interrupted in the middle of his paperwork!"
"Just unlocking now, Reginas," Pherinias said as he turned away from Paulius and back to
the cage. "Another time, dearies," he sneered at Rini and Salina as he unlocked the door. He
then went over and unlocked Galea and Felicia's cage, then went over and handed the keys to
Reginas, who dropped them into a small wooden box at his side.
Paulius opened up the cage completely and helped the two girls out to the ground while
another slaver got Galea and Felicia out of their cage. They were then ushered toward the door
where Fredamus, Calvinus, Dalia, and Jorus were being taken inside. A few moments later they
passed through the door.
Inside, the floor was divided down the middle by a single stone wall that ended six feet
from the wall that held the door they'd passed through, with five further sub-dividers every twelve
feet down the ninety foot length of the building that came out ten feet on either side, and one that
sat at the end of the divider. Right across from those on the walls of the building itself were
further dividers equally spaced out and long. This left two ten foot wide open aisles down the
building between them. All the dividers went from the floor to the ceiling, and between them
were steel bars with a steel bar door in them: a series of cells for holding the slaves till further
notice, seven per aisle, twenty eight in all.
Near the door filling the first six feet of space from the wall was what amounted to a
guard station. In the remaining ten feet between the cells and the guard station was a flight of
stairs leading up.
Paulius lead them over to the guard station door and opened it, showing a single man
behind a desk working on some papers. Rini couldn't see the rest. The new guy was bald, clean
shaven, had a pointy nose, and dark red-brown eyes. The man was writing something while
talking to the slaves from the previous cart. He then handed a paper to one of the slavers and
flipped another over onto a small pile on the corner of his desk, and the group was lead out.
Paulius then lead them up to the man.
"Lots six hundred and two to six hundred and nine from Cart Twenty-Eight," Paulius said.
*Six hundred. So that's what DC stands for.* Rini thought. The man dipped his feather pen into
an ink jar and wrote something down on a fresh piece of paper. He then looked at Fredamus and
Calvinus.
"Your name, age, and lot number," he said gruffly.
"Warrium Calvinus, five, uh.." Calvinus said, then blinked. Paulius lifted his wrist and
glanced at his manacle.
"Six hundred two," he finished. The man at the desk dipped his pen again and sketched
something down, then turned to Fredamus, who took a quick glance at the numerals on his and
Calvinus's manacles before turning back to the man.
"Delian Fredamus, six, six hundred and three," he said. The man again sketched
something down and turned to Dalia and Jorus. Dalia quickly glanced over her and Jorus's
manacles, then spoke.
"Dalia and Jorus Ferrorium, he's five and I'm six, he's six hundred and four and I'm six
hundred and five," she said, and the man again did the sketching down thing, then looked at
Salina and Rini.
"Salina Errenius, eight, six hundred and six," Salina said. Rini only gave it a moment of
thought before choosing her family name.
"Rini Shields, eight, six hundred and seven," she said, and the man again scribbled
something down. He then looked at Galea and Felicia.
"Galea Delorium, seven, six hundred and eight," Galea said.
"Felicia Renorius, seven, six hundred and nine," Felicia followed up. The man sketched
down the numbers on his sheet, then wrote something on a second, smaller piece of paper after
dipping his pen back in the ink jar again for a moment. He then turned back to Paulius.
"Cells Thirty-Five and Thirty-Six on the second floor," he said, handing him the second
paper, then flipped the first onto the pile to the side. Paulius then lead them back out of the
station and up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, Rini saw it was set up exactly like
the first. They moved over to the second story guard station, and Paulius handed the small sheet
to a guard standing just outside it's door.
"These are to go to Cells Thirty-Five and Thirty-Six," Paulius told him, and the guard
glanced over the sheet, then went into the station. A moment later he came out and handed two
keys to Paulius, who took them.
They were marched forward down the first aisle. As they walked, Rini glanced at the sub-
dividers, and saw each was about four inches thick. At the fourth row down, Paulius turned and
opened the cell on the right first with one of the two keys, and Fredamus, Calvinus, Dalia, and
Jorus were sent inside. Paulius then locked the cell again, and turned and opened the cell
opposite it, the one on the outside wall. Rini, Salina, Galea, and Felicia were sent inside, and
Paulius closed and locked the cell again.
"They should be bringing a meal down soon, so just relax," Paulius said soothingly, then
left with the other slavers. Rini glanced around the cell. The floor was covered in more hay, and
two small beds with white sheets and brown wool blankets lay on either side of the room, just big
enough to hold two people each. In the center of the wall was a window, three feet high by three
feet wide, with three iron bars in it. Against the wall sat four small pots, and two small tables sat
next to the beds. For a moment, Rini wondered what they had pots for, then remembered that the
first basic toilets used in medieval castles were still not to be invented for another thousand years
or so -- those were what they would have to use! Rini and Salina moved over to the bed on the
left and sat down, and Felicia and Galea took a seat on the bed on the right.
"So," Galea said, "Now what?"
"Frankly," Rini replied, "I just don't know."
* * *
Cavinus oversaw the unloading of each cart, one at a time. He noticed when Pherinias and
Paulius traded heated words, but was too far away to hear them. It wouldn't surprise him to learn
it had to do with their pink-haired slave girl and the one she was currently chained to. He'd heard
over the last several days how Pherinias had grown to hate them for having made a fool of him
that night.
When the final cart was trotted off around to the back of the building, he stepped inside
himself. He waited outside the first story guard station briefly, while the last of the new wares
were processed. When they were lead out by their guards and taken upstairs, he went in. The
man at the desk was writing something down on a clean piece of paper.
"That's the last of them, Hedamus," he said. "What's the lot range?"
"Well, the lots in aisle one are marked four hundred and eighty to five hundred and thirty-
five. Aisle two has lots five hundred and thirty-six to five hundred and ninety-one. Aisle three on
floor two is lots five hundred and ninety-two to six hundred and forty-seven. And aisle four up
there has lots six hundred and forty-eight to seven hundred and three," Hedamus replied without
looking up.
Cavinus nodded. They'd sold many slaves in the past fifteen years of their partnership.
He and Cephiro had long ago decided to assign lot numbers in ascension from the top number on
the last group taken, starting over from one after reaching a thousand. The business was growing
with every year, and so a secondary storehouse, three stories high, was being built in order to
accommodate the increase in merchandise. It would be ready for actual use the following year.
"So, all the paper work ready to bury me alive?" he asked.
"Just finishing the last notes for you now," Hedamus said as he continued writing. A
moment later he signed the page and returned the pen to it's jar. He then gathered up the papers
in the corners, straightened them up, put the page he'd just finished on top, then handed them to
Cavinus.
"Thank you, Hedamus," Cavinus said, and turned to leave. Hedamus just nodded as he
left. Cavinus glanced over the notes, nothing particulary pertinent. Just the usual behavior spots,
noting potential trouble makers to be kept watched. He did note that Pinky wasn't in the list. He
then sifted through some of the sheets and fished out the one for Cart Twenty-Eight as he walked
up the first flight of stairs and turned to ascend the second.
It took him only a moment to spot the pink-haired wonder. Basic description had been
taken for each slave in the file entries, as recorded by Hedamus when they passed through him.
She'd been placed on the second floor in Cell Thirty-Six. He blinked as he read her name. *Rini
Shields? What sort of name is that?* he thought. He then shifted the papers back in order as he
reached the third floor landing. He turned and went in to Fernadus's office, where the old man
was going over some financial papers.
"How'd we do this trip?" he asked.
"Oh, very well. We bought within the expected boundaries, and what items and few
wares we sold on the road aided in balancing the travel purse nicely," Fernadus said as he looked
up to Cavinus. "Of course, not having to pay anything for that last girl helped immensely. And
when we sell her, she should provide us with a very tidy profit above the expense of keeping her
till then."
"How soon can you have it all summed up?" Cavinus inquired.
"Oh, I should have the reports on your desks in about an hour or so. No worries there,
Cavinus," Fernadus replied.
"Good. See that you do," he replied, and left the office. He then went up the last flight of
stairs to the fourth floor, and immediately placed his papers on the sitting room table before
turning and kneeling down to receive a hug from the two girls dashing at him. His eight year old
had strawberry blond hair in two pigtails, brown eyes, and a face full of freckles. Her two year
old sister had ash blond hair in a tiny ponytail and light grey eyes and the cutest dimples. He
embraced them both warmly. The elder girl wore a blue dress with gold linings, and the younger
wore a pink one.
"How are my girls?" he asked.
"We missed you, Daddy," the elder girl said.
"Well, Lelia, I'm home now, and I should be staying for awhile this time," he told her.
"I missed you, too, Dada," the younger quipped.
"I know, Zea. I missed both of you two," he told her.
"Dada, Timotheos says his Dada says you gots a girl with pink hair today. Can I see her?"
Zea asked.
"Maybe later, honey. Daddy has some work to do first," he replied
"Is her hair really pink?" Lelia asked.
"As pink as Zea's dress," Cavinus confirmed. Just then Oriana, his wife, came up. She
wore her beautiful red and gold dress with the emerald lining today. Her hair was orange-red and
worn straight, ending at her mid-back, and her eyes were tan brown.
"Girls, go play with Timotheos. I wish to speak to your father alone," Oriana said. Lelia
obediently took her sister's hand and lead her away to the personal quarters area. Cavinus rose to
his feet and approached his wife. She looked at him sternly.
"How old is she?" Oriana asked.
"Pinky? Eight," he replied, maintaining his temper. *Here we go again,* he thought.
"Another child? How many of them this time aside of her? How many have you robbed
of their freedom?" Oriana asked, her voice low and clenching on obvious anger.
"About thirty. Maybe less, maybe more," he answered.
"Thirty? And you can just look away from it? Like it's not happening?" she asked.
"She's worth a fortune, Oriana. The color's natural, it'll fetch hundreds," Cavinus stated
fervently.
"And are the other children worth that?" she snapped.
"Cumulatively, yes. One girl was sold to us by her own father for a measly fifty gold.
Fifty! We can sell her for almost three times that on open market alone," Cavinus answered.
"Her _father_?! And you sat back and let him?" she said, unbelieving.
"You never get this way about the adults! And we take more of them than we ever do of
the children," Cavinus retorted.
"There is a difference between enslaving a grown man or woman who's libel to go to
prison anyway or is rotting on the streets and enslaving a child!" Oriana snapped.
"Half of them _were_ rotting on the street! It's the same difference! Die there, die here,
it's the same bloody thing!" Cavinus snapped back.
"No, it's not! The pink haired one, did you buy her from her father, too?! Was she on the
street?!" Oriana accused.
"Might as well have been. Picked her up on the traveling road. All she and her mother
had on them were the clothes on their backs. And the clay trinket Pinky was wearing on her odd
dress," Cavinus said.
"Her mother? Did you enslave her, too?"
"No. We left her by the side of the road."
"And she just stood there and watched?"
"Not much she could do unconscious."
"You just took her?!" By this point the conversation was getting loud, and a new voice
clearing itself suddenly interrupted. They turned to see Cephiro in his office door.
"Are you quite finished with the repartee?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. Quite finished," Cavinus said, sparing his wife a glance. He then walked back
to the sitting room table and retrieved his papers, then headed into Cephiro's office after his
partner, who had already returned to his desk.
"Tell me good news," Cephiro said as he picked up a paper from the center pile on his
desk. Two smaller piles had formed to either side of it, sorted by immediate importance. The
ones that would have to be handled within a few days were on the left, and the ones he had more
time for were on the right. Cephiro took his pen and jotted down some more notes on the current
paper and dropped it on the right pile.
"The new slaves are all inside and processed. Aridimus says construction on Storehouse
Two is coming along fine. And Fernadus says our finances are currently balanced," Cavinus
reported. "I have the Lot Records ready for filing."
"Good. I want a summary report before nightfall. Fernadus's report?" Cephiro asked.
"Should be up within the hour, Cephiro," Cavinus said. "And the special project?"
"All important contacts within the twelve primary provinces are ready to support us at a
moment's notice. I don't think anyone believes Commodus will be Caesar for very long,"
Cephiro replied. "Then it's just a matter of securing our position with those old fools in the
Senate and arranging the removal of Lucius, preferably quickly and cleanly."
"Of course," Cavinus said. "Becoming master of all men on Earth is never an easy thing,
after all."
"But when done well," Cephiro grinned at his partner, "it can be most...satisfying."
* * *
The rest of the day went rather slowly. Lunch came and actually consisted of a fuller
piece of corn on the cob, a medium sized piece of chicken, and even some potatoes! Dinner was
more of the same, and Rini and the others ate what was offered. They chatted a bit to fill some of
the time, and came up with a simplistic guessing game.
As night fell and they tucked in, Rini gazed out of the window at the city beyond. Torches
and fires were being lit up, and against the waning twilight, it looked rather beautiful. She just
wished she didn't have to see it through iron bars. After awhile, she laid down her head and
drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Cephiro was going back over the papers of immediate priority when he heard the shuffling
on the stairs. He glanced up, and saw Hedamus appear on the landing, looking extremely anxious
about something.
He rose from his desk and walked out as Cavinus emerged from his own office. Hedamus
walked over agitatedly.
"I just got word from Aridimus. He arrives in three days time," Hedamus said.
"Who?" Cephiro asked.
"The Caesar Commodus! He's coming back to Rome!" Hedamus exclaimed.
"Commodus! Already?! He was only summoned away five weeks ago! What about the
war in Germania?" Cavinus asked.
"Over! It was won the day Marcus Aurelius died. Commodus and Lucilla come home in
triumphant parade in only four days!" Hedamus said. "Several soldiers have already arrived to
prepare the way for them!"
"Cephiro, this could be hazardous. If he learns..." Cavinus said turning to his friend.
"I doubt he will. He seems to care little for his people," Cephiro replied. "Does it matter?
Die here, die in Germania, he'll still be just as deceased."
"If you think so," Cavinus conceded.
"Hedamus, you may return to your duties," Cephiro dismissed the guard. The man bowed
and left down the stairs. "Cavinus, I've reviewed your report," Cephiro said as he turned and
went back to his desk.
"And?" Cavinus asked. It hadn't really taken him long to put together a quick summary
of the slave records. He did it enough times that he could probably even pull it off in his sleep if
he absolutely had to.
"I'm going to place lots four hundred and eighty to five hundred and twenty on direct
market. Lots five hundred and eighty-nine to six hundred nineteen will be sold through the
auction the day after tomorrow. I believe that'll include our little pink-haired sprite, will it not?"
Cephiro said as he took his pen and wrote on the page in front of him.
"Yes, she's lot six hundred and seven," Cavinus replied. "Are you sure, though? I'm not
sure that one flogging broke her spirit any, just slowed her down."
"Do you really believe she can even hope to escape now?" Cephiro answered.
"You're probably right."
******************************************************************************
Things are not looking good for Rini at all! Be here next time for chapter 3: Auction.
Comments? Praises? Flames? (Go ahead! Try it! I got a bunch of hungry Cub Scouts here with
HOT DOGS!!) E-mail me at Scorpinac@sa-tech.com!
And Rini has been enslaved!
Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, DiC, and Cloverway, in that
order. I make no money by this. More's the pity.
All other characters _not_ taken from History are mine, and you must ask permission to
use them, if you can find a way of using them outside this.
_This_ is emphasis. *This* is thought.
Kudos to the movie Gladiator, which was the inspiration for this.
And now, Scorpinac Fanfic Productions presents:
******************************************************************************
Sailor Moon
Roman Legends
by Scorpinac
Chapter 2: Rome
After what felt like half an hour to an hour later, they road up to the Caravan, where a few
bright fires had been lit back up, and for the first time Rini laid eyes on the lead carts. They were
full fledge wagons! One had a bright crimson tarp, and the other was in sapphire. Cephiro
brought the horse to a halt near them, and turned to a scraggly man with balding white hair and a
silver beard and mustache.
"Fernadus, _what_ is going on?" Cephiro demanded. *So that's Fernadus. The one who
has my brooch!* Rini thought.
"I think you already know, sir. Those two stole Pherinias's keys and took off. Two of
the others tried to, as well, but we caught them coming out of their cage," Fernadus explained.
"The other two have already been disciplined for their actions."
"I should hope so," Cephiro said. "REGINAS! Find Cavinus and tell him I have the
runaways! And prepare for standard discipline next to their cart!" A dark haired man with
piercing coal black eyes and a thin mustache nodded and dashed down the train. Cephiro hopped
off the horse and grabbed his bags.
"Gerfius, Korminian, get them off and take them down to their cart, I'll be there shortly.
Terrian, take care of my horse, he needs some water and rest," Cephiro barked a few more
orders, then hopped up into the red tarpped wagon. Two dark looking men came up and untied
them from the horse and got them off and back onto the ground. Then a third came up and
walked the horse off to the wagons and began tending it.
The first two took them by their free hands and took them back down the caravan towards
the cart they'd been riding in. Rini quickly counted the carts as they passed them. Their escape
attempt had caused quite the stir, and several fires had been relit. By the time she saw their cart
again, she'd counted twenty seven carts ahead of it. And there looked to be about five more
behind it. That was thirty-three altogether, plus the two lead wagons, making thirty-five.
Nearby many of the slavers were assembling, some emerging from the woods with dogs.
Thank god they'd gone through the river, masking their scent on the other side! About four feet
from their cart two poles had been put in the ground and another across them, like a spit. Galea
and Felicia were under the cross pole, their hands tied to it. Their togas had been pulled down to
reveal their tops, part of them dangling on the chain holding them together. They looked really
bad, not to mention passed out. Another spit set up was being positioned, and it didn't take a
rocket scientist to figure out who was going to be tied to that one!
Pherinias came up, looking even nastier than usual.
"You two have caused us a lot of trouble! Consider yourselves lucky Cephiro isn't having
you beheaded!" he yelled at them. Just then Cavinus came up behind him.
"Pherinias, back down! None of us are feeling very happy right now, so cool it," he said,
and the two moved away. The others finished the new "spit", and Rini and Salina were walked
forward until they were under it. The slavers then pulled their arms through their togas' sleeves
and raised their hands, then tied them to the crossbar above them.
"Now we wait for the boss man," the one called Gerfius grunted.
"Ought to be paid overtime for all this," Korminian said as they walked over to the others.
A few minutes later Cephiro came up, the guy called Terrian behind him carrying a plush chair.
Cephiro walked over to Cavinus and the others and stared angrily.
"Mind telling me _exactly_ what happened?" he inquired.
"Pherinias, from the top, please," Cavinus turned on the cart driver.
"Pinky squirted me in the face with their water skin. While I was gagging on it, Red stole
my keys, and when we were shutting down for the night they made a break for it," Pherinias said.
"I'm sorry sir, it's my fault for not checking sooner."
"Indeed," Cephiro said, and punched Pherinias in the jaw, sending the man to the ground.
"Next time, you die," he added. He then turned to Rini and Salina. "Anything to say before
punishment is carried out?"
"It was all my idea! Punish me, not Salina!" Rini cried, desperate to spare her friend.
"No! It was my idea! Punish me!" Salina snapped, thinking the same thing.
"We already got a full confession out of the other two when they were flogged. The plan
was Pinky's, but Red was _more_ than willing to cooperate," Cavinus said.
"I see. Your willingness to sacrifice yourselves for each other is admirable. CHAIR!"
Cephiro commented, then turned and walked back a few steps. Terrian instantly walked up and
set the chair down facing the spit, and Cephiro took his seat. "Six lashes," he said.
Rini felt her blood freeze as two burly men came up and snapped a pair of large whips in
their hands. Oh, god, what were they going to do?
"Which one?" Cavinus asked. Cephiro glanced at him.
"Both of them," he answered, and the two burly men moved around behind the girls as he
turned his attention back to them. Rini felt herself break into a cold sweat. "ONE!" Cephiro
snapped, and suddenly a loud CRACK! rang in her ears as a sudden horrid pain lit up her back
from something thin and sharp slapping across her bared skin. Despite her attempt not to give the
slavers any pleasure out of this, Rini's eyes teared up and she let out a scream of anguish and
pain. She barely registered Salina's scream, caused by the same thing.
"TWO!" CRACK!
"THREE!" CRACK!
"FOUR!" CRACK!
"FIVE!" CRACK!
"SIX!" CRACK! Rini tried desperately to hold her tongue, but the pain was just too
much. When it finally ended, her face was streaked in her tears of pain. Cephiro stood up and
walked forward. "Try again, and next time you'll get twice as many," he told them in a voice that
said it was no threat, but a promise. He snapped his fingers and Terrian grabbed the chair, and
the two started to walk away. Then Cephiro stopped, and turned back.
"By the way, I've sold that little trinket of yours," he said. Rini's head snapped up. *No!
Not my brooch!* she thought. "Querian paid me four hundred and fifty gold for it, a hundred for
the clay, a hundred for the crystal in the front, and two hundred and fifty for the diamond inside.
We found it when his daughter popped it open by accident. You really should have mentioned it
earlier," he continued, then chuckled evilly as he walked away. All Rini could do was cry even
more.
She wasn't sure when sheer exhaustion overcame pain, only that it did.
* * *
When she awoke, it was to the jostling of the cart. She found herself laying on her front in
her and Salina's cage, Salina laying right beside her. It felt and looked like midmorning, and their
toga sleeves had been pulled back over their shoulders. Her back felt like it was on fire, but had
settled some since the actual flogging. Not much, but some.
"Why didn't they wake us for breakfast?" Salina asked groggily.
"You weren't even untied from the poles till morning. Pherinias said you were all to go
hungry until dinner," Calvinus said.
"No food until tonight. Figures," Rini moaned and lied her head back down on the straw.
Salina did like wise. A quick glance showed Galea and Felicia were in the same boat, so to speak.
"Did they do anything about our backs, or did they just throw us in here?"
"Paulius and another one cleaned them and placed bandages on them before putting your
togas back and returning you to the cages," Dalia told them. "He said it's standard procedure for
this kind of discipline."
"At least they won't get infected," Rini said. After a few hours, the caravan reached the
village of Ferrio. It was a simple marketing town with three or four big farms on the outskirts.
Rini forced herself up on her hands to take a good look around before her protesting back made
her lay back down again. They stopped just outside the town, and lunch was served. True to his
word, Pherinias didn't give anything to Rini, Salina, Galea, and Felicia, though they were allowed
to relieve themselves, despite the protestations of their wounds. After he left, Dalia, Jorus,
Fredamus, and Calvinus quietly gave them some of theirs.
Meanwhile, the slavers purchased some extra goods and food from the villagers, stocking
up on supplies to last them till Rome. After an hour all purchases were finalized and everything
was being loaded. Rini considered the idea of making another escape attempt, but the pain in her
back dissuaded her. It was getting better, but not very fast.
When dinner came around, Rini quietly ate her meal. None of them spoke, really, and
Pherinias glowered at them meanly. Though he never said it, he now hated them with a passion
beyond words.
* * *
The following nine days became a steady routine. Breakfast at daybreak, lunch and
relieving of bodily functions at midday, dinner at evening, and fair paced travel in between all. On
two occasions the slavers took an extra long stop to let them bathe, which Rini found rather
embarrassing since it was under constant watchful guard, yet refreshing at the same time. As a
side effect, her hair had fallen out of it's normal style, and she opted to just wear it loose since she
couldn't get her hands on any ties.
At nightfall every day Paulius would have Pherinias open the cages so he could check their
wounds, and redress them as needed. The grey eyed, pony tailed, medium brown haired Paulius
was arguably the kindest one of the slavers, but Rini didn't trust him any more than any of the
other slavers because of it.
The caravan passed two more villages, though they didn't stop at them. Cephiro went
into the third village briefly, to check with his contacts there, but there was no need to stop the
whole caravan for it.
As the days passed their backs healed, and the pain slowly subsided. By the fifth day after
the failed escape attempt, they were able to sit up comfortably again, and Rini's bruise had come
and gone. By the eighth the pain was almost negligible.
Finally, twelve days after her capture, two hours after breakfast on that day, the caravan
pulled up to Rome. . .
* * *
For Serena, the next four days on the Rex farm passed slowly. Excruciatingly slowly!
They were good people, she gave them that. Vivian and Delia even bought her an additional five
outfits and a bag to carry her belongings in, and Delia even let her keep the dress she'd loaned
her, and despite the odd fit, Serena accepted. And Georgio had gone out of his way to try and
make her feel more comfortable the whole time.
But she couldn't get her mind off of Rini! Was she okay? Was she eating enough? Was
she being cleaned? How were they treating her? Had she been hurt? Were they beating on her?
Serena thought she just might go mad if she didn't learn any of the answers.
On the sixth morning of her stay in Ancient Rome, Rex prepared a wagon, and she packed
up her few belongings in this time and got aboard. It was the same wagon the family had been in
when they'd found her. Serena had learned they were coming back from a visit to some relatives
in the next village over at the time.
Outside it looked like a plush wagon, with a well kept brown tarp displaying their middle
class status, as befitted their fairly prosperous farm. But some of their income came from some
well made sculpture by Vivian, who was teaching the art to Delia. Inside it had two small beds
and a cot hooked up to the frame of the tarp, a small storage chest, about three feet wide by one
foot long by two feet deep, and two small chairs for sitting. All in all, it was quite nice, if a little
cramped. Serena placed her bag next to the chest and sat in one of the chairs. A few moments
later Georgio boarded with a bag of his own, and Rex put in his own bag then went up front.
Georgio placed both bags next to hers, then turned with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" Serena asked.
"I got Father's permission to come along. He says it's time for me to see the market in
Rome anyway, as I could be in charge of the farm full time any day now," Georgio explained to
her.
"Uh, huh. And who'll be looking after your mother, sister, and brother?" Serena inquired.
"Mikhail's old enough to take care of them, and all of the families around here look after
each other anyway. And they have the sl...servants. They'll be fine," Georgio said. "Besides,
I really want to be with you, Serena."
"Want to be with me, or want to see my naked body?" Serena said with heavy sarcasm, letting
the servat comment go - no point. What few times she'd used their family bath, she'd made sure that
Georgio wasn't anywhere around. Mikhail had peeped once, but a quick smack had quickly discouraged him.
But she still felt sure Georgio wanted another look no matter the price.
"To be with you! Just to be with you, Serena," Georgio insisted. Rex then popped his
head in from the drivers seat.
"Serena, would you like to ride up here for a while?" he asked.
"Sure," Serena replied, and went up to the front and slipped into the seat next to Rex.
Rex took the reigns and snapped the horses into motion, and they were off. From the side,
Vivian, Delia, and Mikhail watched them, and they all called out good byes to each other, and the
girls and young boy wished Serena luck in her quest.
After a few moments they rode out of town, and Rex spoke to the young woman currently
in his charge.
"You know, my son Georgio likes you," he said. "He's told me if your current husband
doesn't return from the war in Germania, he'd like to help raise your daughter with you." She
could swear Rex was smiling.
"He said he wants to what?" Serena said with clear irritation in her voice.
"He knows as long as your Darien lives he can't have you, but should your man not
survive, he'd like you to consider him as an alternative," Rex said. Serena had told them about
Darien, but had been careful to paint him as a Roman miner who'd been drafted into service with
the Roman Legions and a loyal follower of the Caesar. She'd also explained why she and Rini
had been on the road that day with a severe lack of belongings as having lost most of everything,
even their house, to a band of robbers the day before, and were traveling to some relatives of their
own in another province just to the north.
Fortunately she'd picked up in idle conversation that the current guy using the name
Caesar was someone named Marcus Aurelius, so she wouldn't have had to guess if asked if she
knew. Which was fortunate because her sum knowledge of Roman Emperors came from having
to read and do a book report on "I, Claudius" in eighth grade, and that was only about the five
guys who immediately followed the original Caesar, Julius. And Julius was such a highly
"quoted" person that she'd be amazed if anyone didn't eventually learn about him and his famous
"Et tu, Brute?" upon that fateful "Ides of March" in Forty-Four B.C.!
"My daughter has been stolen by slave traders, my husband is in the middle of a war, I've
lost my home and most of my belongings to crooks, and _he's_ proposing to me?! I don't believe
this!" Serena snapped in irritation. Seeing her nude breasts must have totally fried the poor kid's
brain! "You haven't actually agreed to this, have you?!"
"Georgio's sixteen now, old enough to make his own decisions. And between you and
me, I think he could have chosen worse," Rex smiled.
"I'll have to think about it," Serena replied. For the next two days they kept each other
somewhat entertained, and Georgio was a real gentleman the whole while, trying to fill her every
need! Half the time Rex would have Georgio sit with him holding a crossbow, and he did so
showing with no uncertainty that he was ready and able to use the weapon. And on the third day
of their journey they came to the village of Ferrio.
They were passing through when Serena saw a six year old girl in a yellow, very fancy
dress with long auburn hair and dark green eyes at a vegetable stand with a man in very brightly
colored robes and a black cloak with deep black hair cut close to his head and very light stubble
on his chin and upper lip. His eyes were a piercing blue that made your blood freeze with their
coldness. But what really drew Serena's attention to them was what she saw the little girl
wearing in the middle of her dress as she turned: RINI'S BROOCH!
"STOP THE CART!!" she screamed, and Rex was so startled he pulled on the reigns
rather hard, causing the horses to neigh in protest. As soon as the cart was halted, Serena dove
off and dashed forward. Georgio emerged from behind the seat to see what was up, holding the
crossbow at his side, while Rex hopped down and calmed the horses.
Serena dashed blindly up to the girl and spun her around. The girl was surprised by the
action, but Serena just looked closely at the decoration on the front of her dress. It was definitely
Rini's brooch! Before she could grab it, however, the man with the girl pushed her away. His
hands were adorned in several fancy rings.
"How dare you lay hands my precious Julia!! Are you alright, my dear?" he said in anger,
then turned to his girl.
"That brooch, on her chest, where did you get it?!" Serena demanded as she got back up,
undeterred.
"Daddy bought it from Uncle Saphro a week ago," the girl answered.
"Cephiro. And it was only six days," the man corrected his daughter's pronunciation.
"Yes, I paid him four hundred and fifty gold for it. Well worth it for that diamond inside it. Only
the very best and unique treasures for my little girl!" he continued in an arrogantly boastful
attitude. It didn't even shake her.
"That belongs to _my_ daughter, Rini, and I want it back!" she demanded. Rex had
calmed his horses by this point, and come over to see what was up, catching the last comment. At
that point the girl looked Serena over and spotted _her_ brooch.
"Hey, she has another one like mine! Buy it for me, daddy!" she said, pointing to the item
in question. Her father glanced at it briefly.
"I'll give you seven hundred for it, twice what I paid Cephiro for the other one," he
offered.
"WHAT?!" Serena barked.
"Terrarium Aurelius Querian! Why am I not surprised! He and Barvus Cephiro go back a
long way," Rex said, identifying the arrogant collector.
"Watch your tongue, farmer!" Querian snapped.
"Just return the jewelry. It's obviously important to Serena and her child," Rex snapped
back. He hadn't failed to notice how Serena kept constant tabs on her own brooch.
"If it's so important, then where is her child?" Querian asked, trying to throw Serena off
guard.
"Cephiro has her," Serena replied immediately.
"Wow, she must'a done somethin' real bad for you ta sell her to Uncle Saphro," Julia said
offhandedly. "I'm never bad, so Daddy'll never sell me."
"I didn't sell her, he stole her!" Serena snapped. Querian didn't seem to listen.
"Regardless, the trinket is ours now," he stated huffily.
"Querian, it is stolen goods. You know it, I know it, just return the darn thing!" Rex said
as his own anger began to flair up.
"Make me," Querian sneered. Something in Serena snapped from the pressure, and she
grabbed the pompous ass by his cape's collar and rammed him forcefully into the vegetable stand.
The act was so sudden he hadn't even had time to pull the short sword he had hidden and
sheathed in his cape!
"Listen, you overbearing ass! My husband's in the middle of a war zone, my child is being
held as a slave, my home and belongings have been stolen or torched by bandits, and I am _not_
in a good mood! You're either gonna give back the brooch or your precious Julia is gonna
become a very rich _orphan_! GOT IT?!!" she screamed at him with all the anger that she felt,
and felt more than ready and willing to follow through on her threat!
Querian just stared with a frightened expression on his face, and Serena dropped him in a
huff. She then turned and grabbed her daughter's brooch off the little girl's chest and stomped
back toward the wagon.
"Come on. Let's go," she said as she moved forward. Rex just grinned at Querian and
returned to his cart. Georgio smiled as he helped Serena back up into her seat and then hopped
around to the rear and jumped into the wagon. Rex climbed back into the driver's seat, took the
reigns, and snapped the horses back into motion.
As the wagon pulled out, Serena felt a renewed sense of hope well up in her. She had
regained Rini's brooch, a definite step in the right direction! All that was left was to regain Rini
herself.
Meanwhile, Julia began whining about losing her "favoritest of my favorite jewelries!"
Querian just fumed quietly. Not only had he lost a really well crafted piece of craftsmanship, but
he was also out a valuable diamond as well! Try as he might, he'd been unable to remove the
valued stone from the trinket as yet, and Julia had _insisted_ on wearing it _today_!
Suddenly everyone around began laughing loudly, and he blinked.
"What's so funny?!" he barked, trying to regain his pride.
"She must have scared you real good, huh, Querian?" a salesman nearby smirked as he
chuckled. Querian saw anger red, then glanced down his person, and fumed all the more when he
saw just how badly the young woman had managed to humiliate him. He'd been so taken aback
by her enraged outburst and attack on his person that. . .he'd wet himself.
* * *
The next eight and a half days went by quietly. Serena, Rex, and Georgio enjoyed each
other's company greatly, but Serena's mind was always with Rini, praying for her safety and
speedy return. She also prayed quietly for the others in her own time to find them soon, and get
them both home. Surely Trista had noticed their shift in time by now. Why hadn't the Guardian
of the Time Gate retrieved them yet?
But all in all, it was a pleasant enough journey. They passed through two other villages,
and Serena watched carefully for any sign of her daughter's presence. But there was no sign of
her in either village. Serena, in fact, learned that Cephiro and Cavinus's Slave Caravan trotted
right by the two villages without stopping, though Cephiro did come into the third village by
himself for a little while.
Finally, just before lunch on her seventeenth day in Ancient Rome, they reached the city of
Rome itself. . .
* * *
As the caravan pulled into the city, Cephiro emerged from the front of his wagon to speak
with his driver.
"Take us straight to the main warehouse, Septimus. There'll be no stopping," he said.
"Right away, sir," Septimus replied. He carefully steered through the city, aiming for the
large four story complex co-owned by Cephiro and Cavinus.
* * *
As the caravan moved through the city, Rini watched the buildings as they went by. They
ranged from two to six stories in height, composed of what looked like marble columns and
blocks of various shades of green and grey, sometimes with a splash of something else. Others
appeared to be made of simple brown sandstones.
The people were just as varied, status denoted primarily by the fanciness and upkeep of
their clothes, which ranged from ratty and tabby up to refined and elegant. The colors were just
as diversified, with reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples, oranges, whites, blacks, greys, browns,
pinks, turquoises, and many, many more! Some wore sashes as further denotation of their
personal status.
Then she noticed a large circular building just off in the distance. It was humongous! It
had to be at least eight or nine stories high, the biggest building in the city! It kinda looked
familiar, too, like she'd seen it in a picture. But that would mean it would still have to be around
in the late twentieth century, and from what she knew, not many buildings from this period were
destined to survive that long. Not in one piece anyway.
That thought made her think of something, and she rose a hand to block part of the
building from her sight, hiding a hunk of wall in a diagonal pattern from ground to ceiling. Now
she knew she recognized it! She knew exactly what it was!
"Wow! That's the Colosseum!" Rini exclaimed. Salina, who was napping next to her,
stirred and rubbed her eyes.
"Huh? What?" she asked.
"That over there! It's the Colosseum!" Rini repeated, pointing it out. Salina looked over,
and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow! I never realized it was so big!" she said as she watched it pull away from their line
of sight. The caravan continued to move through the city, until about half an hour later when they
stopped in front of a large four story building about ninety feet long and sixty feet wide. From the
outside it looked to be made of more of the usual polished marble that filled nearly half the city.
It had a small opening along one side, big enough to allow passage for two people side-by-side up
to about six or seven feet tall. The first two floors had small windows with bars on them. The
top two had large spacious windows, a couple of them fitted with drapes. On one side at the top
was what looked like a sign, but the wording was in Latin.
The men started moving around frantically, like ants scattering outward from an anthill,
joined by about five or six dozen that were walking around the place already. Pherinias and
Paulius jumped down and joined the fray.
"What do you suppose they're all doing?" Rini asked.
"I don't know. Could be anything," Salina replied.
"I doubt it's good for any of us," Jorus said.
* * *
As everyone began scattering around, Cephiro watched with satisfaction, carrying a small
armload of papers under his right arm. He gazed admiringly at his sign: CEPHIRO'S AND
CAVINUS'S SLAVES -- FOR SALE OR TRADE.
"Okay people, as soon as the slaves are unloaded from your carts take them out back and
unhitch the horses! Then put them in the stables and see that they're properly taken care of!" he
barked. He didn't really need to say it per se, but it helped motivation. He then selected five men
at random. "I want you to move the wagons now, okay." Next he turned to Reginas. "Reginas,
you're on cart key collection."
They all quickly nodded and hopped to it. Cephiro then turned to Cavinus, who was
seeing to the unloading of the first cart.
"Cavinus, when you're done here, meet me in my office. I'm going to check the paper
work," he told his right hand man. He then turned and went inside. He went immediately to the
stairwell and ascended to the third level. This level was simple, a kitchen where food was
prepared for the slaves and men, a moderate meeting area where the men in his employ picked up
their pay, a dining area for the men, and Fernadus's office in the southeast corner, complete with
a window giving a stunning view of the Colosseum. Fernadus had told him many times how
grateful he was for that view. The men, including Fernadus, had their own apartments and
personal quarters throughout the city.
He then continued his ascent to the top floor. Here everything was very wealthily
decorated. To the north were his private quarters and the dining area. To the southwest lied
Cavinus's quarters, as befitted a man of true responsibility, and in the southeast lay their private
offices. The two offices were side by side, his in the actual corner, Cavinus's just to the left.
Between the dining area and the offices was a sitting area for entertaining guests.
The floor was decorated with six expensive sculptures, five paintings, and three fine
tapestries. The furniture was made from the best wood lined with the finest leathers. The sheets
in the sleeping quarters were woven from the most expensive satins and the blankets from the
warmest wools. He'd spared no expense in making this floor livable.
As he passed through the sitting area toward his office, a four year-old boy with near
white-blond hair circling his face and bright brown eyes in an expensive red toga came running up
with a big smile on his lips.
"Daddy! You're home!" he squealed and dove into Cephiro's arms. Cephiro quickly
tossed his papers into a nearby chair and crushed his young son in a bear hug.
"Hello, Timotheos. How's Daddy's little boy?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Did you get lots of good wares this time?" Timotheos replied
"Oh, yes. A total of two hundred and twenty two new lots. In fact, I'd like to show you
the latest acquisition. She's worth a fortune!" Cephiro told him.
"Oh? And why's that, Love?" a female voice asked. Cephiro looked up to see a woman
in a beautiful green dress with flowing brunette hair down to her shoulders and lovely hazel eyes
standing just across the room from him. He walked over to her with their son.
"Well, Decima, how many people do you know that have naturally pink hair?" he asked
his wife.
"Pink? And it's natural for her?" Decima asked, her eyes widening.
"We washed it twice. Didn't even change in the slightest," he confirmed.
"Wow! When can I see her?" Timotheos asked.
"Later, after she's been moved into the building. Right now Daddy has to go over some
paperwork, so why don't you run along and play, okay?" he told his son as he lowered the boy to
the floor.
"Okay," Timotheos said, and dashed back toward the private quarters section. Cephiro
turned and stole a hug with his wife.
"Miss me, Sweetheart?" he asked.
"As always, Love," Decima said as she hugged back. "And you?"
"You always pull me home by dragging on my heart," Cephiro replied. "You are my job,
and this 'career' of mine is but a simple chore." He leaned in and snatched a kiss from her lips.
"Sweet talker. Much more of that and I may melt," she said as they continued to smooch.
Cephiro then pulled back slightly.
"I do need to tend to my paper work, though, my dear," he said. "Double check figures
and all that."
"Just make sure you're in bed early tonight. I have a welcome home present," she said as
she ran a finger over his chest. He grinned, and she let go and headed back toward their quarters.
He turned and went back to the chair and retrieved the papers, then continued to his office and
went in.
In the office sat a desk with a simple plush chair in the center, and to the left of the door
was a standing cupboard five and a half feet tall, four feet wide, and two feet deep, very ornate in
design with a picture of the great battle fought by Hercules and his ever present companion Iolas
against the terrible Hydra painted across the front. In the center was a simple key lock made out
of gold. The key lay next to the ink jar upon his desk. Within the cupboard sat ten shelves
spaced a half a foot apart each, each filled with three or four stacks of paper.
He took the stack in his hand and laid them upon his desk, then took his seat and began to
rifle through them, taking the feather pen from the ink jar to make hand notes as needed. *Hoo,
boy. This could take the better part of the day.*
* * *
As Rini and Salina watched from their cage, the carts ahead of them were emptied of the
slaves they carried, who were then lead into the building. After they were taken inside, their cart
was taken off somewhere, and the driver handed his set of keys to Reginas. The process was then
repeated with the next cart. After about an hour or so the slavers reached the cart two ahead of
theirs.
"Not long now," Rini said.
"What do you suppose will happen to us inside?" Salina asked.
"Could be anything, but I'm thinking transfer to another cage," Rini answered.
"Well, it can't be any worse than being in here," Salina said. Just then the next cart left,
and the one just ahead of them began to unload.
"So, think there's even the slightest chance of making a break for it into the city when
they take us out of here?" Rini asked.
"Do not even try it, child," a rather calm voice said to them, and they turned their heads to
see Paulius lowering the sideboard on their side of the cart. Behind them another slaver was
lowering the opposite sideboard.
"Wh...what do you mean?" Rini asked. She still didn't trust this guy, but he wasn't the
nasty jerk wad Pherinias was.
"Even if you managed to get away into the city, as soon as someone saw the medallions
sewn to your clothes, you would be brought right back to us. And you already know what
Cephiro has decreed your punishment to be if you try to escape again," Paulius explained.
"What do the medallions have to do with it?" Salina asked as she looked at hers. Rini had
wondered what was with the little metal disk with the Greek letters on it herself.
"Those letters are Barvus Cephiro's Sigil. It means you are his property until someone
buys you from him," Paulius said. "It is known throughout the city. You'd be back before the
sun had gone down. So just behave."
"So that's what it is," Rini said. Just then the cart ahead of them moved off into the
distance, and Pherinias came up and unlocked Fredamus and Calvinus's cage, then moved and
unlocked Dalia and Jorus's. While two other slavers got the four out, Pherinias moved around
and came up to Rini and Salina's cage.
"You know," he said as he stared at them nastily, "I used to live on a farm before I came
to work for Cephiro. I killed many chickens with my bare hands. Just took their little heads, and
twisted!" As he spoke he rose his hand and imitated the action, wrapping it around the head of a
chicken, then jerked his hand as if placing the death blow. "I wonder how well it would work on
a pair of little girls, with red and pink hair."
"Pherinias, you know what Cephiro will do to you," Paulius warned. Pherinias turned to
his fellow slaver with a glint of taunting in his eye.
"And who's going to tell him?" he asked.
"I will," Paulius said sternly.
"Not if you're dead," Pherinias replied with an evil leer.
"PHERINIAS!! Get those slaves out of their cages so we can get them inside!" Reginas
called. "Don't make me bring Cephiro down here! You know how much he _loves_ to be
interrupted in the middle of his paperwork!"
"Just unlocking now, Reginas," Pherinias said as he turned away from Paulius and back to
the cage. "Another time, dearies," he sneered at Rini and Salina as he unlocked the door. He
then went over and unlocked Galea and Felicia's cage, then went over and handed the keys to
Reginas, who dropped them into a small wooden box at his side.
Paulius opened up the cage completely and helped the two girls out to the ground while
another slaver got Galea and Felicia out of their cage. They were then ushered toward the door
where Fredamus, Calvinus, Dalia, and Jorus were being taken inside. A few moments later they
passed through the door.
Inside, the floor was divided down the middle by a single stone wall that ended six feet
from the wall that held the door they'd passed through, with five further sub-dividers every twelve
feet down the ninety foot length of the building that came out ten feet on either side, and one that
sat at the end of the divider. Right across from those on the walls of the building itself were
further dividers equally spaced out and long. This left two ten foot wide open aisles down the
building between them. All the dividers went from the floor to the ceiling, and between them
were steel bars with a steel bar door in them: a series of cells for holding the slaves till further
notice, seven per aisle, twenty eight in all.
Near the door filling the first six feet of space from the wall was what amounted to a
guard station. In the remaining ten feet between the cells and the guard station was a flight of
stairs leading up.
Paulius lead them over to the guard station door and opened it, showing a single man
behind a desk working on some papers. Rini couldn't see the rest. The new guy was bald, clean
shaven, had a pointy nose, and dark red-brown eyes. The man was writing something while
talking to the slaves from the previous cart. He then handed a paper to one of the slavers and
flipped another over onto a small pile on the corner of his desk, and the group was lead out.
Paulius then lead them up to the man.
"Lots six hundred and two to six hundred and nine from Cart Twenty-Eight," Paulius said.
*Six hundred. So that's what DC stands for.* Rini thought. The man dipped his feather pen into
an ink jar and wrote something down on a fresh piece of paper. He then looked at Fredamus and
Calvinus.
"Your name, age, and lot number," he said gruffly.
"Warrium Calvinus, five, uh.." Calvinus said, then blinked. Paulius lifted his wrist and
glanced at his manacle.
"Six hundred two," he finished. The man at the desk dipped his pen again and sketched
something down, then turned to Fredamus, who took a quick glance at the numerals on his and
Calvinus's manacles before turning back to the man.
"Delian Fredamus, six, six hundred and three," he said. The man again sketched
something down and turned to Dalia and Jorus. Dalia quickly glanced over her and Jorus's
manacles, then spoke.
"Dalia and Jorus Ferrorium, he's five and I'm six, he's six hundred and four and I'm six
hundred and five," she said, and the man again did the sketching down thing, then looked at
Salina and Rini.
"Salina Errenius, eight, six hundred and six," Salina said. Rini only gave it a moment of
thought before choosing her family name.
"Rini Shields, eight, six hundred and seven," she said, and the man again scribbled
something down. He then looked at Galea and Felicia.
"Galea Delorium, seven, six hundred and eight," Galea said.
"Felicia Renorius, seven, six hundred and nine," Felicia followed up. The man sketched
down the numbers on his sheet, then wrote something on a second, smaller piece of paper after
dipping his pen back in the ink jar again for a moment. He then turned back to Paulius.
"Cells Thirty-Five and Thirty-Six on the second floor," he said, handing him the second
paper, then flipped the first onto the pile to the side. Paulius then lead them back out of the
station and up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, Rini saw it was set up exactly like
the first. They moved over to the second story guard station, and Paulius handed the small sheet
to a guard standing just outside it's door.
"These are to go to Cells Thirty-Five and Thirty-Six," Paulius told him, and the guard
glanced over the sheet, then went into the station. A moment later he came out and handed two
keys to Paulius, who took them.
They were marched forward down the first aisle. As they walked, Rini glanced at the sub-
dividers, and saw each was about four inches thick. At the fourth row down, Paulius turned and
opened the cell on the right first with one of the two keys, and Fredamus, Calvinus, Dalia, and
Jorus were sent inside. Paulius then locked the cell again, and turned and opened the cell
opposite it, the one on the outside wall. Rini, Salina, Galea, and Felicia were sent inside, and
Paulius closed and locked the cell again.
"They should be bringing a meal down soon, so just relax," Paulius said soothingly, then
left with the other slavers. Rini glanced around the cell. The floor was covered in more hay, and
two small beds with white sheets and brown wool blankets lay on either side of the room, just big
enough to hold two people each. In the center of the wall was a window, three feet high by three
feet wide, with three iron bars in it. Against the wall sat four small pots, and two small tables sat
next to the beds. For a moment, Rini wondered what they had pots for, then remembered that the
first basic toilets used in medieval castles were still not to be invented for another thousand years
or so -- those were what they would have to use! Rini and Salina moved over to the bed on the
left and sat down, and Felicia and Galea took a seat on the bed on the right.
"So," Galea said, "Now what?"
"Frankly," Rini replied, "I just don't know."
* * *
Cavinus oversaw the unloading of each cart, one at a time. He noticed when Pherinias and
Paulius traded heated words, but was too far away to hear them. It wouldn't surprise him to learn
it had to do with their pink-haired slave girl and the one she was currently chained to. He'd heard
over the last several days how Pherinias had grown to hate them for having made a fool of him
that night.
When the final cart was trotted off around to the back of the building, he stepped inside
himself. He waited outside the first story guard station briefly, while the last of the new wares
were processed. When they were lead out by their guards and taken upstairs, he went in. The
man at the desk was writing something down on a clean piece of paper.
"That's the last of them, Hedamus," he said. "What's the lot range?"
"Well, the lots in aisle one are marked four hundred and eighty to five hundred and thirty-
five. Aisle two has lots five hundred and thirty-six to five hundred and ninety-one. Aisle three on
floor two is lots five hundred and ninety-two to six hundred and forty-seven. And aisle four up
there has lots six hundred and forty-eight to seven hundred and three," Hedamus replied without
looking up.
Cavinus nodded. They'd sold many slaves in the past fifteen years of their partnership.
He and Cephiro had long ago decided to assign lot numbers in ascension from the top number on
the last group taken, starting over from one after reaching a thousand. The business was growing
with every year, and so a secondary storehouse, three stories high, was being built in order to
accommodate the increase in merchandise. It would be ready for actual use the following year.
"So, all the paper work ready to bury me alive?" he asked.
"Just finishing the last notes for you now," Hedamus said as he continued writing. A
moment later he signed the page and returned the pen to it's jar. He then gathered up the papers
in the corners, straightened them up, put the page he'd just finished on top, then handed them to
Cavinus.
"Thank you, Hedamus," Cavinus said, and turned to leave. Hedamus just nodded as he
left. Cavinus glanced over the notes, nothing particulary pertinent. Just the usual behavior spots,
noting potential trouble makers to be kept watched. He did note that Pinky wasn't in the list. He
then sifted through some of the sheets and fished out the one for Cart Twenty-Eight as he walked
up the first flight of stairs and turned to ascend the second.
It took him only a moment to spot the pink-haired wonder. Basic description had been
taken for each slave in the file entries, as recorded by Hedamus when they passed through him.
She'd been placed on the second floor in Cell Thirty-Six. He blinked as he read her name. *Rini
Shields? What sort of name is that?* he thought. He then shifted the papers back in order as he
reached the third floor landing. He turned and went in to Fernadus's office, where the old man
was going over some financial papers.
"How'd we do this trip?" he asked.
"Oh, very well. We bought within the expected boundaries, and what items and few
wares we sold on the road aided in balancing the travel purse nicely," Fernadus said as he looked
up to Cavinus. "Of course, not having to pay anything for that last girl helped immensely. And
when we sell her, she should provide us with a very tidy profit above the expense of keeping her
till then."
"How soon can you have it all summed up?" Cavinus inquired.
"Oh, I should have the reports on your desks in about an hour or so. No worries there,
Cavinus," Fernadus replied.
"Good. See that you do," he replied, and left the office. He then went up the last flight of
stairs to the fourth floor, and immediately placed his papers on the sitting room table before
turning and kneeling down to receive a hug from the two girls dashing at him. His eight year old
had strawberry blond hair in two pigtails, brown eyes, and a face full of freckles. Her two year
old sister had ash blond hair in a tiny ponytail and light grey eyes and the cutest dimples. He
embraced them both warmly. The elder girl wore a blue dress with gold linings, and the younger
wore a pink one.
"How are my girls?" he asked.
"We missed you, Daddy," the elder girl said.
"Well, Lelia, I'm home now, and I should be staying for awhile this time," he told her.
"I missed you, too, Dada," the younger quipped.
"I know, Zea. I missed both of you two," he told her.
"Dada, Timotheos says his Dada says you gots a girl with pink hair today. Can I see her?"
Zea asked.
"Maybe later, honey. Daddy has some work to do first," he replied
"Is her hair really pink?" Lelia asked.
"As pink as Zea's dress," Cavinus confirmed. Just then Oriana, his wife, came up. She
wore her beautiful red and gold dress with the emerald lining today. Her hair was orange-red and
worn straight, ending at her mid-back, and her eyes were tan brown.
"Girls, go play with Timotheos. I wish to speak to your father alone," Oriana said. Lelia
obediently took her sister's hand and lead her away to the personal quarters area. Cavinus rose to
his feet and approached his wife. She looked at him sternly.
"How old is she?" Oriana asked.
"Pinky? Eight," he replied, maintaining his temper. *Here we go again,* he thought.
"Another child? How many of them this time aside of her? How many have you robbed
of their freedom?" Oriana asked, her voice low and clenching on obvious anger.
"About thirty. Maybe less, maybe more," he answered.
"Thirty? And you can just look away from it? Like it's not happening?" she asked.
"She's worth a fortune, Oriana. The color's natural, it'll fetch hundreds," Cavinus stated
fervently.
"And are the other children worth that?" she snapped.
"Cumulatively, yes. One girl was sold to us by her own father for a measly fifty gold.
Fifty! We can sell her for almost three times that on open market alone," Cavinus answered.
"Her _father_?! And you sat back and let him?" she said, unbelieving.
"You never get this way about the adults! And we take more of them than we ever do of
the children," Cavinus retorted.
"There is a difference between enslaving a grown man or woman who's libel to go to
prison anyway or is rotting on the streets and enslaving a child!" Oriana snapped.
"Half of them _were_ rotting on the street! It's the same difference! Die there, die here,
it's the same bloody thing!" Cavinus snapped back.
"No, it's not! The pink haired one, did you buy her from her father, too?! Was she on the
street?!" Oriana accused.
"Might as well have been. Picked her up on the traveling road. All she and her mother
had on them were the clothes on their backs. And the clay trinket Pinky was wearing on her odd
dress," Cavinus said.
"Her mother? Did you enslave her, too?"
"No. We left her by the side of the road."
"And she just stood there and watched?"
"Not much she could do unconscious."
"You just took her?!" By this point the conversation was getting loud, and a new voice
clearing itself suddenly interrupted. They turned to see Cephiro in his office door.
"Are you quite finished with the repartee?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. Quite finished," Cavinus said, sparing his wife a glance. He then walked back
to the sitting room table and retrieved his papers, then headed into Cephiro's office after his
partner, who had already returned to his desk.
"Tell me good news," Cephiro said as he picked up a paper from the center pile on his
desk. Two smaller piles had formed to either side of it, sorted by immediate importance. The
ones that would have to be handled within a few days were on the left, and the ones he had more
time for were on the right. Cephiro took his pen and jotted down some more notes on the current
paper and dropped it on the right pile.
"The new slaves are all inside and processed. Aridimus says construction on Storehouse
Two is coming along fine. And Fernadus says our finances are currently balanced," Cavinus
reported. "I have the Lot Records ready for filing."
"Good. I want a summary report before nightfall. Fernadus's report?" Cephiro asked.
"Should be up within the hour, Cephiro," Cavinus said. "And the special project?"
"All important contacts within the twelve primary provinces are ready to support us at a
moment's notice. I don't think anyone believes Commodus will be Caesar for very long,"
Cephiro replied. "Then it's just a matter of securing our position with those old fools in the
Senate and arranging the removal of Lucius, preferably quickly and cleanly."
"Of course," Cavinus said. "Becoming master of all men on Earth is never an easy thing,
after all."
"But when done well," Cephiro grinned at his partner, "it can be most...satisfying."
* * *
The rest of the day went rather slowly. Lunch came and actually consisted of a fuller
piece of corn on the cob, a medium sized piece of chicken, and even some potatoes! Dinner was
more of the same, and Rini and the others ate what was offered. They chatted a bit to fill some of
the time, and came up with a simplistic guessing game.
As night fell and they tucked in, Rini gazed out of the window at the city beyond. Torches
and fires were being lit up, and against the waning twilight, it looked rather beautiful. She just
wished she didn't have to see it through iron bars. After awhile, she laid down her head and
drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Cephiro was going back over the papers of immediate priority when he heard the shuffling
on the stairs. He glanced up, and saw Hedamus appear on the landing, looking extremely anxious
about something.
He rose from his desk and walked out as Cavinus emerged from his own office. Hedamus
walked over agitatedly.
"I just got word from Aridimus. He arrives in three days time," Hedamus said.
"Who?" Cephiro asked.
"The Caesar Commodus! He's coming back to Rome!" Hedamus exclaimed.
"Commodus! Already?! He was only summoned away five weeks ago! What about the
war in Germania?" Cavinus asked.
"Over! It was won the day Marcus Aurelius died. Commodus and Lucilla come home in
triumphant parade in only four days!" Hedamus said. "Several soldiers have already arrived to
prepare the way for them!"
"Cephiro, this could be hazardous. If he learns..." Cavinus said turning to his friend.
"I doubt he will. He seems to care little for his people," Cephiro replied. "Does it matter?
Die here, die in Germania, he'll still be just as deceased."
"If you think so," Cavinus conceded.
"Hedamus, you may return to your duties," Cephiro dismissed the guard. The man bowed
and left down the stairs. "Cavinus, I've reviewed your report," Cephiro said as he turned and
went back to his desk.
"And?" Cavinus asked. It hadn't really taken him long to put together a quick summary
of the slave records. He did it enough times that he could probably even pull it off in his sleep if
he absolutely had to.
"I'm going to place lots four hundred and eighty to five hundred and twenty on direct
market. Lots five hundred and eighty-nine to six hundred nineteen will be sold through the
auction the day after tomorrow. I believe that'll include our little pink-haired sprite, will it not?"
Cephiro said as he took his pen and wrote on the page in front of him.
"Yes, she's lot six hundred and seven," Cavinus replied. "Are you sure, though? I'm not
sure that one flogging broke her spirit any, just slowed her down."
"Do you really believe she can even hope to escape now?" Cephiro answered.
"You're probably right."
******************************************************************************
Things are not looking good for Rini at all! Be here next time for chapter 3: Auction.
Comments? Praises? Flames? (Go ahead! Try it! I got a bunch of hungry Cub Scouts here with
HOT DOGS!!) E-mail me at Scorpinac@sa-tech.com!
