The next morning, Avelina awoke with a heavy heart. She braided her hair and immediately set hands to purpose to distract herself from thinking of her Dominus. On her way up the steps into the atrium of the villa, she crossed paths with Frieda.
"It is a beautiful morning," Frieda said, simply. Avelina merely gave her a small smile, and attempted to continue up the steps, but Frieda blocked her way.
"I assumed you were still untouched, girl. I was unaware that you had such a bond with our Dominus," Frieda commented, glaring down at the younger girl.
"It is hardly a bond, Frieda," Avelina argued, trying to disguise the truth. "He owns me. If he wants to use me as a physical distraction, I can hardly refuse."
Frieda looked skeptical. "It is one thing for him to fuck you against a hard wall like you are an animal. It is entirely different when you are welcomed into his bed. Permitted to sleep in his arms."
Avelina swallowed, her heart aching. "Even still, he used me for his own pleasure."
"Used?" Frieda repeated. "Will these encounters no longer occur?"
Avelina shrugged, trying to appear detached. "He does not fasten me to obligation now."
"And that is what you considered it?" she pressed. "An obligation to your Dominus?"
"Of course, what other meaning would it have?" Avelina responded coolly.
Frieda smiled knowingly. "It is a difficult undertaking to attempt to impede sentiment from claiming the heart when a man holds you in his arms. Will you not hunger for the taste of his lips or the feel of his skin under your hands?"
Avelina struggled to keep the tears burning her eyes from slipping down her cheeks. "No, as I said, it was only a fleeting matter. A matter that is now resolved, to no longer trouble mind." With that, Avelina pushed past the other woman and made her way into the main entrance hall. As she approached, she heard voices, both angry and calm.
"This is an offensive stain upon the city of Capua!" cried a voice she immediately recognized. As she turned the corner, she saw Seppius conferring with an older man she was unfamiliar with. He was blond and dignified, with an air of smugness. "And one more harmful to my own family."
The blond man attempted to calm Seppius, placing his hands on his shoulders. This touch only seemed to fuel his anger more, and he pushed him off.
"I will collect every man in this city who has ever held a sword, and I will facilitate a quick capture and painful execution of Spartacus and his murderous band of rebels."
"A fine solution," praised the man. "I will do my best to assist you and avenge my dear friend Sextus."
Seppius set his jaw firmly and nodded. "Gratitude. I will raise query with my guards to see who will be a valued recruit."
"A most excellent start. I will call on you tomorrow to discuss further action." With that, the man left, leaving Seppius alone. Avelina hurriedly tried to conceal herself from view, but her sudden movement caused him to notice, and he turned his head to see her pressed against the wall.
"Are you to add eavesdropping to your list of talents?" he asked jeeringly, approaching her. Her heart sped up and pounded violently in her chest. She cursed herself for stopping to listen.
"I was not aware that I had any talents, Dominus," she responded, timidly, not meeting his eyes.
Seppius gave a cruel laugh. "I can summon a few to thought. Perhaps not regarding your spying eyes, but your mouth has divine capabilities." He said the last part with relish, wanting to shame her, and it achieved its intent. Her cheeks reddened immediately.
But when she finally looked into his eyes, it was not embarrassment that he saw reflected, but fury. "Then it is a talent that will be no longer enjoyed. Especially by you."
Anger flashed in his eyes. "What moves you to think you can speak to me in such a manner?" His voice became a deadly whisper, and Avelina felt as though she had just cornered an injured serpent, which was ready to strike. "You are my slave, and I will have what I want from you whenever I want it." He placed his hands on either side of her head, so that she was trapped in the cage created from his arms. "If I want to fuck you until you are raw and unable to move, then I will do so. If my wish is for you to get on your knees in front of me and suck my cock until it is void of any seed, then I will have it granted. And if I elect to spend an evening inviting every man of note in this city to have his way with you, then you will ensure that it is a spectacle, writhing and moaning like the whore that you are. Am I understood?"
His harsh words stung painfully, and Avelina was so shocked, she was deprived of her voice. Seppius, annoyed that she did not have another sharp remark for him, continued with his punishing tirade. "You are a slave. You have always been a slave to me, and other than that, you have no purpose. I was a fool to think you could be trusted with any form of privilege, when I should have known that all slaves are animals. You are filthy and worthless, and you mean nothing to me."
With these final words, something inside of her snapped. Instead of upsetting her, his decree of hate filled her with pure, unadulterated fury. The boy had manipulated her into feeling affection for him, and now he had ripped her heart out of her chest and was stamping on it with his sandals, and she could not take it. She would not live like this. Resigned to her fate, she brought her hand up and smacked his face with all the strength she could muster. His head whipped to the side and he turned back to look at her with bewilderment. Unable to speak from the surprise, he just stared at her for a moment.
"Are you not going to punish me?" she demanded, baiting him. "Choke me again? Or better yet, beat me? Perhaps the ultimate solution would be to send me to the mines, where I will be covered in dirt and raped by countless men, before finally being worked to death?" It was then that the tears started, and she pounded her fists against his chest, begging for a reaction. "Do it!" she screamed, pushing him. "If I mean nothing to you, then do it! Find another stupid girl to abate your desires and purge your home of my filth."
Seppius stood as still as a statue, completely taken aback by her outburst. He watched the tears pour down her face, noted the anguish in her eyes, and felt a rare emotion. He was ashamed of himself. This was a girl who had willingly given herself to him, providing him with endless comfort since the first moment he kissed her, and her sobs pierced his heart. The unexpected guilt he felt was enough to make him back down and he walked away from the sobbing girl, leaving her leaning against the wall for support. She watched him leave, dumbfounded. There was no retribution for laying her hands upon her Dominus? The exchange that transpired between them left her so dazed, she felt as though it had been a dream.