Roman Enslavement

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Notes:Gratia agere te--thank you, vercundus--bashful, mei qualitas--my

Roman Enslavement, Part 18

The sunlight was deepening into gold, the shadows slanting in the back garden, when Lupus and his father returned late that afternoon. Rentic had told Mozelle what was expected, and Mozelle met the two men at the fronor. or. She had brought a basin of water. Kneeling, she reached for the ties of Lupus\'s sandals, but her master pulled back, indicating his father. \"Head of house first.\"

Lucius waited as the woman took off his sandals then quickly, but efficiently, washed the dust from his feet and lower legs, then dried them. Then she started on his son\'s ablutions. He watched critically to see if there was any extra slowness, any added tenderness. He honestly couldn\'t say. *And I wonder if I would want that. A young master and a female slave--it\'s almost certain that there will be intimacies. The problem is when the intimacies go too far. His mother is worried that he\'ll get her with child, and that would be awkward. If he does, I suppose we\'d have to emancipate the child. If Lupus didn\'t want to give them mother up, then we\'d have to find a decent family to foster the child. Oh, well. No worrworrying about it till it happens. In the meantime, Lupus is old enough to be married now. There are plenty of likely choices out there. I\'ll have to discuss it with Dramilla.*

When Mozelle finished cleaning Lupus\'s feet, she stood up. Before she could bend down, he picked up the basin of now dingy water and handed it to her. //\"Gratia agera te.\"//

//\"AgerE,\"// Lupus corrected. She nodded, and carried the water back to the kitchen.

As Lucius and Lupus walked to the family quarters, Lucius commented, //\"So, she\'s learning our language, is she?\"

//\"And not doing too badly. I think she\'s finally realized that this is her home now.\"//

//\"Mm, well, if she accepts her station, things will be a lot easier on her.\" He shook his head. \"Those slaves who go through their life with no thought but to be set free are sad creatures. I knew one old man who worked his entire life, saving the few coppers he was given, or that his master allowed him to earn for himself, working outside the household. Very generous man, his master. Never required him to hand over more than half of what he earned. Anyway, we worked and saved for over forty years, never spending a bit to buy the little luxuries that would have made his life more pleasant. He finally had enough to buy himself. His master was as good as hird--rd--he let the slave buy his freedom. Well, of course, by then the old man was scarcely anything but a drain on the household. Off he went, into the world, with nothing but the robe on his back, his sandles, and a handful of coppers. He was killed about a month later when he tried to steal food from a senator\'s slave who was walking home from market. The old fool could have died warm, well fed, and cared for.\"//

Lupus made no reply, but he nodded as he followed his father.

*****

That night Malanda shooed Mozelle out of the kitchen, telling her to go help her master change for dinner. *Makes sense, I guess. After all, no air conditioning, especially no air filters, no asphalt or cement means dust, dust, dust. Fresh clothes WOULD be a benefit. Hmm. Maybe a little more than the foot washing would be in order? There\'s a few minutes till they serve.*

She carried another basin of water back to Lupus\'s room. He was sitting at his table, studying a parchment when she came in. He looked up, studied her, and smiled. //\"Another wash?\"// She set the basin down on the table, shrugging. He reached out and ran a finger slowly up the inside of her forearm. //\"Mozelle, do you think I need another wash before I change?\"//

*This MIGHT have been a mistake. Sheesh, try to anticipate what they want you to do and put your foot right in it. Oh, hell, might as well try to snark my way out of it.*

She wrinkled her nose ever so slightly, and made an infintesimal waving motion with her hand. She was relieved when Lupus laughed and stood, holding out his arms so she could undo his belt.

As she stripped the tunic over his head she thought, *When I was a kid, ignoring my Barbie doll, I never dreamed that I would have a living Ken doll some day.* The tunic was laid aside, and Lupus stood patiently, waiting for her to begin washing him. She took up the wet cloth and started to wipe him down. When she got to his waist and started to skim down his hips instead of moving into the groin area, she thought, *But then, Ken dolls are never anatomically correct.*

Lupus allowed her to continue, his expression amused. When she started to drop the cloth back in the basin, he caught her wrist. With his free hand he grazed his fingers through his pubic hair, brought them to his nose, and sniffed pointedly, then raised an eyebrow at her. He released her, and without a word she re-wet the cloth and scrubbed it through his pubic hair, then wiped his genitals, quickly and gently.

Again he caught her wrist. This time he removed the cloth and formed her fingers around the length of his cock. She stayed very still. He said, //\"Are you still shy, Mozelle?\"// She looked puzzled. \"Vercundus?\" A blush was rising in her cheeks. //\"Yes, bashful. Come.\"//

He led her over and sat on the bed, pulling her down to sit beside him. Then he again pressed her hand to his firming flesh and moved it slowly. //\"You have to get over that, Mozelle. It can be charming in a young slave, just starting out, but it is inappropriate for a mature body slave.\"//

\"It isn\'t like I can help it,\" she whispered. \"It\'s how I am. Mei qualitas.\"

//\"Your nature, eh?\"// He slipped his arm around her waist and lay back on the bed, pulling her down with him. //\"Perhaps your surface nature, but you showed me a different, deeper one last night, didn\'t you?\"//

Cupid and Venus stood in the corner of the room, watching as Lupus guided Mozelle to stroke his awakening cock, while he used his mouth to give her throat a leisurely exploration. Venus was nodding her approval, smiling, but Cupid was shaking his head. She pouted. //\"What? Look, son,\"// she waved at the couple. //\"They\'re getting along swimmingly.\"//

//\"Mom, will you look at her eyes? She\'s not about to bolt, but she\'s DEFINITELY too nervous to be enjoying that.\"//

//\"Well, hit her with a Passion Dart, then. I\'m sure you just need to get her rolling and her hormones will take over. She\'s a healthy girl.\"//

//\"Mom, they\'re about to call them in to dinner. You\'ve been sexually frustrated before, haven\'t you?\"// She gave him a look. He sighed. //\"I know it isn\'t a regular thing with you, and I\'ll never tell, but come on.\"//

She shrugged. //\"Well, there has been a time or two.\"//

//\"Would you really wish that on those two?\"//

She sighed. //\"Oh, I suppose not.\"//

//\"Then no Passion Dart till they\'re ready to go to bed.\"// Not too hopefully he said, //\"Maybe by then they won\'t need it. But you know, Mom, I\'m not really sure them having a relationship is good for either one of them.\"//

There was a tap on the door, and Lupus propped himself up on his elbow, scowling. //\"WHAT?\"//

Rentic\'s deferential voice said, //\"Master Lupus, your parents are going into the dining room.\"//

Lupus looked down at the woman who was lying beside him, looking up with guarded eyes. He grunted in impatience. //\"Very well. I\'m coming.\"// He stroked Mozelle\'s throat, saying, //\"Later tonight. Now we have to do our duties.\"//

They got up, and Mozelle began to help him into a fresh tunic. Venus said, //\"All right, what do you mean not good for them?\"//

Cupid leaned his shoulder against the wall, flexing his wings out of the way. //\"Look, I know that there has to be a certain amount of pain and tragedy associated with love--that\'s just how the world is made. It doesn\'t mean I like inflicting it, or I don\'t avoid it where I can.\"//

//\"What on earth would be wrong with the two of them finding a little happiness together?\"//

//\"Nothing, if there was ever a chance that something would come of it. The most she could ever be to him is a concubine.\"//

//\"Many men fall in love with their concubines. They have lives with them as close and committed as any marriage.\"//

The two were leaving the room, and the God and Goddess followed. Cupid said quietly, //\"But the point is that they usually HAVE a marriage. Their wife stands at their side before the world. The mistress hangs back in the shadows, often with their children gathered about her, and the most she can hope for is to be set free upon his death, and she must pray that the executors of his estate will abide by whatever he wishes to leave them, or they may very well starve in the street. She comes from another place and time, and she can see that, Mother. Why can\'t you?\"//

Venus found herself speechless. She hadn\'t thought of that. Oh, she knew that such things happened, but she was the Goddess of Love and Passion, and hadn\'t reaconsconsidered that it WAS Love AND Passion. Love without passion was not whole, but Passion without Love could be empty, and she saw now, even harmful.

//\"All right, son--no more aphrodisiacs. Lupus will just have to do his own wooing from now on, and I WILL strengthen my petitions to Jupiter. I\'m not sure if she\'ll actually fall in love with him, but she\'s bound to come to care for him. She\'s not the sort who can have sex with someone without feeling something for them. And the longer she stays, the stronger it grows, the harder it will be for her to leave. But Cupid,\" she stroked her son\'s arm. \"I know that Lupus is seeing her only as a pleasant, desirable bedpartner right now, and he might never be able to completely get past the fact that she\'s a slave, he isn\'t callous. He\'s becoming very fond of her. If they are together much longer, he\'s going to hurt when she leaves.\"//

Mozelle once again sesideside a reclining Lupus, feeding him. Dramilla and Lucius made no comment, but they both watched the interplay between their son and the female slave. She was a little less stiff than she had been before, though she was still far from the seductive, playful manner many slaves would have assumed in her position. The parents weren\'t sure how they felt about this, while they wanted their son to be happy, and enjoy the adulthood gift they had given him.

Dramilla thought, *Cooler or hotter, either would be preferable. If she was more aloof I\'d know she was just feeling the proper respect and affection of a loyal slave. Any more familiar, and I\'d know it was just the infatuation of a slave for a handsome, charming master. But this... It\'s like she feels a deeper attraction to him, but she\'s fighting it. And Lupus...* She frowned as her son, while speaking to his father about the day\'s business, idly caressed the woman\'s throat. Mozelle\'s eyes were distant, but she leaned minutely into his touch. *Right now he\'s thinking of her as more of a pet than anything else. His father is right--we need to focus his attention on a suitable mate before he can become more attached.* //\"Lucius, refresh my memory. When the Malum family attended our last party, they didn\'t bring their daughter, did they?\"//

Lucius smiled inwardly. //\"No, Celeste was indisposed that night. It\'s a shame, too. She\'s just started coming out into society, and Graccus said she was terribly disappointed.\"//

//\"That\'s just really too bad.\"// Dramilla said casually. //\"I believe I\'ll have her and her mother... Yes, and some of the other matrons and their daughters over in the next day or so for a little get together. Nothing elaborate--just wine and cakes. The dear things get so little opportunity to go out. Will you be able to spare Lupus for a few hours to help me entertain them.\"//

//\"Yes, I think I can manage without him.\"//

Lupus, who had laid his head in Mozelle\'s lap, lifted it to groan and give his parent\'s a pleading look. //\"Please, not that! Not a flock of chattering, giggling little girls.\"//

//\"Lupus, mind your manners!\"// his mother scolded. //\"Besides, these girls are the ones from whom you will eventually select your bride. It\'s time you got to know some of them. You haven\'t seen any of them for several years now, and you might be surprised. They\'ve grown into young women.\"//

Lupus sighflopflopping back. He drew Mozelle\'s hand up to touch his hair, and she obligingly began to stroke it. //\"Oh, all right. But there\'s no hurry, is there? Most men wait till they are almost thirty to marry.\"//

//\"Most of the nobility, Lupus,\"// his father informed him. //\"They can afford to wait, plan, make family alliances to build dynasties. We\'re not of that class. It would be better if you married soon, and to some girl who\'s family would benefit us in some way. I\'ll keep my eyes open for a suitable match.\"//

Mozelle listened to this exchange, understanding most of it by now. *Damn, arranged marriages? I mean, I KNEW they happened, but I always thought of it from the woman\'s point of view. It never really struck me that there might be a guy on the receiving end, too. And he doesn\'t seem all that upset by the idea. He\'s pretty accepting. Wonder what would happen if Mom and Dad tried to fix him up with a wealthy, connected girl who had a face that would look at home on a fourth head for Cerebus?*

Then she thought, *Crap! Wait a minute, what happens to ME if he gets married? Do I revert to the family household? Do I become slave to him AND her? He wouldn\'t sleep with me anymore after he got married, would he? I dunno, this time period seems to have a flexible attitude about fidelity, especially where it concerns someone who\'s not a full citizen. That would be just what I\'d need--being the mistress of a guy with a jealous wife, who had control over me. Ouch!* An even more disturbing thought came to her. *What if she DIDN\'T object? God, I don\'t think I could stand to be viewed as a convenient marital aid, for her to push him off on me when she wasn\'t in the mood.*

She shrugged mentally. *He doesn\'t even really know any girls here. Nothing is likely to happen for months, if not years. No sense in worrying myself sick over it. It isn\'t as if I could do anything about it, anyway.*

Lupus reached up to push a grape into Mozelle\'s mouth, then held out his palm for the seed. //\"I just don\'t understand why you\'re both suddenly so interested in my love life.\"//

//\"I just want to see my grandchildren soon, while I\'m young enough to enjoy them,\"// said Lucian. As his son, still not sitting up, slid his arms around Mozelle\'s waist, his eyes narrowed, and he thought, *My LEGITIMATE grandchildren.*