Roman Enslavement

All original and copyrighted

Roman Enslavement
Part Eight
Venus, lounging beside her scrying pool, gave a cat-like smile. That
had been a nice little interlude. The Goddess of Love and Sexual
Pleasure had a particular fondness for young men, and Lupus was as
fine a mortal as she'd run across in several milleniea. It was a
pleasure to see him enjoy himself so much.

She frowned. The girl was a problem, though. She'd started to feel
the pleasure, Venus was sure, but she fought it. Why? Lupus was
such a lovely young man, and he hadn't been harsh with her. She'd
been... Venus was frowning again, and she made a conscious effort to
smooth her features, even though, as a divinity, she could not get
wrinkles.

She was distant, that was it. It had been difficult to influence
her. The silly thing would have just skimmed Lupus quickly with the
cloth if Venus hadn't interferred, losing the opportunity to caress
that lovely, strong body.

There was something different about this mortal, and she wanted to
find out what it was. Who was the greatest gossip monger among the
gods and goddesses? Juno could sling mud with the best of them when
she wasn't in a noble mood. No, the best bet would be Dischordia.
She delighted in causing trouble, but she was usually accurate.

She located the other goddess supervising a street war between two
rival gangs of urchins. At stake was a rather skinny, pathetic dog,
which she had scheduled to bite whoever won. \"Cordie. Keeping
busy, I see."\

\"Small chores to large tasks."\ She nodded approval as one child
took a stick to another. \"I have a village being sacked on the
coast this afternoon, but I love the detail work as well as the
sweeping gestures."\

\"You're the most informed about the confusion of the mortals,
Cordie. I've run into one that really seems to have her head in a
whirl. I can't understand why she hasn't come to my attention
before, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about her."\

\"If it's detrimental, I can. Who is it?"\

\"It's a new slave belonging to a family that lives just up the
street here. I believe her name is Mozelle. She was bought as a
nursemaid, and this afternoon..."\

Dischordia's eyes lit up with unholy glee. \"What did he do to her?"\

Venus was taken aback. \"Not all that much. That's why I'm
curious. She was aroused by him, but she was nearly panicked by her
feelings. Ran away before the dear boy could help her to the final
relief."\

The Goddess of Mischief and Chaos scowled. \"You don't mean to say
she enjoyed it? Even a little? Damn!"\

\"Great Jupiter, Dischordia, what do you have against that poor
mortal woman? She seems totally inoffensive."\

\"Look, Vee, maybe they don't worship us in the twenty-first century,
but that doesn't give her leave to go lolling about on one of my
altars, like it was a futon."\

\"Twenty-first...? Cordie! You time travelled!"\

Shifting of feet. Grudgingly, \"A little."\

\"And you brought back a mortal? Oh, Cordie! Dad will not like
this."\

\"I was within my rights. If it's left on one of my altars, it's an
offering. And why shouldn't a virgin be offered up to me? Don't
they cause confusion enough in the world?"\

Venus's voice rose. \"A virgin? Cordie! You know very well that
they fall into the province of either Vesta, myself, or Diana."\

Dischordia grinned nastilly. \"Well, you ladies are welcome to try
to protect her, if you want. But I'm a long way from through with
her."\

\"I ought to just send her back at once."\

\"You can't."\ Discordia sounded smug. \"She can't be sent back,
Jupiter won't allow it. They've stopped believing in us, then. If she
goes back, they could come looking for us. With all that technical
magic, there's a chance they could find us."\

\"If she spoke about us, she'd most likely be locked away somewhere
with padded cor and and no sharp objects."\

\"Probably. But her age loves off-the-wall theories. They have
these things called tabloids. You'd love them, Vee. What isn't
wierdness is sex."\

\"Look, Cordie, I'm going to ask Dad about this. Don't you do
anything rotten to that woman till I have his answer."\

Dischordia stuck out her tongue. \"That could be centuries! You
know how preoccupied he gets. I'm not giving up my fun entirely."\

Venus sighed. \"Well, just don't endanger her physically. Keep her
alive, healthy, and out of the hands of danger."\

\"All right, all right. Sheesh. What, do we have a Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Mortals now?"\

\"Just remember."\ Venus left to begin the daunting task of
arranging a meeting with her father.

Dischordia thoughtfully tripped a man carrying a tray of fresh
pastries, and watched as the children broke off their war to scramble
for the windfall. They dodged the flailing, cursing vendor,
snatching up sweets and pelting away into the crowd. As a final
touch, she had the dog rip the man's pants open at the seat.

Her eyes narrowed. \"I won't hurt her. Physically. But you didn't
say a danm thing about mental anguish."\ Perking up, she popped off
with a good will to start the pillage of the village.