Disclaimer:This fanfiction is based in the era of the Roman Empire to give you all some context. Some practices from this empire may be present in this story. I created a new Empire for this story. The Gotham Empire, totally original right? Wrong! I can't claim DC Universe, or
the Known World like many have done before *cough* Alexander the Great *cough* Napoleon *cough* Your face :B
Rated T: Man-handling and death.
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The Changing of a Heart
By: Fanficer21
Chapter 5
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Morning came too quickly for Robin when he was kicked awake. Hands grabbed his arms and yanked him off the floor, roughly standing him up. He saw that Wally and his parents had the same treatment. They were roughly hauled out of the building and into a small one in the back where steam poured out of the open windows. John, Robin, and Wally were shoved into one end. While Mary was shoved into the other. Not sure what was happening, Robin tried to say something to his father, but squeaked when someone grabbed his shoulders and tore his clothes off before dumping scalding hot water on him and scrubbed him down harshly until his skin felt raw, he felt completely violated. John and Wally had the same treatment done to them at the same time. Robin was then pulled backwards and a large piece of cloth was wrapped around his waist like a towel. He was then pushed out of the building and onto a platform where his mother was currently standing. She too was covered in a towel like cloth. A sign laid around her neck that said '5,000 denarii (approx. 200 gold aureus).'
Robin barely heard the man asking him questions as he stared at the sign his mother bore. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. He want to pinch himself to make sure it was just a dream, but he knew that wouldn't work. The sound of stumbling feet broke his thoughts when John and Wally were shoved onto platform. He looked at them, unable to speak until he felt a rope being laid across his neck. Looking down he saw his sign. '1,500 denarii (approx. 60 gold aureus).'
Everyone was pushed towards the edge of the platform when more captives were brought out. John and Mary, being the closest to the edge looked down and cringed at the distance between them and the ground. In front of them were what looked like hundreds of well dressed men and women in togas and elegant dresses, as well as what Robin thought were their slaves in plain tunics or dresses. He looked at this feet as they analyzed him and the others, making him feel exposed. He hated their scrutinizing looks. He was quickly broken from his thoughts when he heard multiple foot steps as people walked up the large ramp followed by the gasps of multiple captives being inpected.
Feet suddenly appeared in Robin's vision followed by a firm hand grabbing his chin and jerking his head upwards to look into the eyes of an older man. His head was turned from side to side, before his mouth was forced open to which Robin tried to bite the man's hand as he scowled. However, said man just let him go and pushed him backwards with a grunt. "Nice job!" Wally elbowed his arm with a smirk causing Robin to smirk too. Robin watched as a few people surveyed his parents. They felt his father's muscles, his jaw, knees, and feet. His mother had people feeling her up, making Robin's and John's blood boil as they ground their teeth and narrowed their eyes. Robin, about to shout and attack the people, was suddenly grabbed by another person with an even stronger grip than the previous man. He let out a pained moan when the man grabbed his hair and yanked his head to face him. Said man had black hair, black eyes, and a creepy look to him which made Robin shiver slightly. Seeing this, the man let a grin spread across his face.
"My, my, you're a pretty one!" He said while turning Robin's face side to side, then looking at the rest of his body. "Your skinny, perfect! And not a bad price either!" The man grinned before letting go of Robin's face and held up a bag of coins, shaking it to attract the attention of the
auctioneers. Robin jerked his head to look at his parents with scared eyes. Eyes also wide with fear, they jumped out of their inspectors' reach and moved to grab their son when an auctioneer came to stand beside the man who just gave him the money.
"No!" John and Mary yelled grabbing hold of their son. Wally tried to break free of the people looking him over, but they were too strong. He resorted to shouting awkwardly from his pried open mouth. "Move back filth!" This one's mine now!" The man yelled as he grabbed a bunch of Robin's hair and pulled him out of his parent's grasp with a cry of pain. They tried to take Robin back, but the man quickly put his foot on John's stomach and forcefully shoved him backward towards the edge. John toppled over and fell into Mary. A few people tried to grab them to stop them from falling, Robin included. But the last thing Robin saw before they fell over the edge were his parents' wide eyes and his mother's voice whispering "Robin".
"No!" Robin shouted as he fought to get out of the man's grasp, but stopped when he heard a sickening 'crunch'. Tears fell from his eyes and his legs grew weak before he fell onto his knees. The man's hand suddenly left his hair. He slowly crawled to the edge where he hesitantly looked down at the sight before him. Hands flying to his mouth, he let out a muffled wail seeing his mother and father laying in a pile of jumbled limps, blood surrounding their heads. Wally was at his side in an instant, wrapping his arms around the sobbing boy.
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"Time to go boy!"
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To Be Continued...
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Now things start to get interesting!
