Marcus and the Slave - 6. Chapter 6

Marcus and the Slave chapter 6

Marcus, slipped on his tunic, the feeling of it cool on his sweat covered body, heading to the door of the store room, so recently locked, he opened it to allow the bright daylight to flood in. He was immediately met by Gracchus, who was guarding the door.

"Dominus, I returned to assist you but found the door locked. I did not want to disturb you. "

He noticed Koen, naked but unhurt, and felt the heat of anger rise. He saw the red marks from the flogging he had been given, some of which were fading already. Gracchus knew his Dominus. He knew his likes, this slave should have been punished till he bled, like the other, but here he stood nearly untouched.

"Dominus, shall I return the slave to his quarters?"

"No Gracchus, I have plans for him." Marcus was headed towards the villa, the naked Koen in tow.

Had he looked back he would have seen Gracchus glaring at Koen, he would have seen the hatred the man held for this slave.

As Marcus entered the villa slaves bowed but carried on their various tasks, he spoke to a passing slave

"Send me Lucius, and bring me a tunic for this slave."

The slave hurriedly left on his task, and Marcus entered his quarters. He turned to talk to the ever present Gracchus.

"Gracchus I want this slave moved to the house, he is to be trained by Lucius. Make arrangements with Mascius for the appropriate collar and tags."

Gracchus acknowledged his Dominus even though in doing this he was bidden to do as asked. He was clearly not happy, this slave could ruin his favoured position with the Dominus.

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Koen was in awe of the villa, he had never been inside it, the building proper that is. His eyes darted left and right as he followed his Dominus and Gracchus through it. He saw the various sculptures Marcus had collected, busts of family and gods, the freeze along one wall depicting a battle, naked barbarians fighting with centurions. These were wondrous things for a lowly barbarian. One other thing he noticed was the looks that he was receiving from Gracchus, he knew hatred when he saw it but had no idea why it was so.

He didn't quite know what had been said between Marcus and Gracchus. His grasp of Latin was improving, but was still limited. He followed some of it, understood that

Gracchus had been told of his new position. But that was more or less it, he was uncertain of the rest.

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Marcus continued through his quarters to his private bath, his one thought was now to get clean, he breathed in picking up on the light scent in the air, sandalwood, his favourite.

"Thank you Gracchus, you are dismissed, I will send for you when ready. Ah Lucius attend to me." said just as Lucius appeared in the doorway.

Lucius squeezed past the two imposing men, Gracchus he knew all too well the other he knew was a farm slave. He started to remove his tunic just in time to see Gracchus turn and leave, a look of thunder on his face. Marcus was moving around the bath to the bench removing his clothing as he went, the naked Koen in tow.

"Lucius, this is Koen, you are to instruct him in the ways of a house slave. Paying particular attention to the requirements of a body slave." then switching to Gaulish he spoke, "Koen you will listen to what Lucius tells you, you will spend your time with him when you are here in the house. If either upset me you both will be punished."

Both slaves replied to him with a simple "Yes Dominus". Trepidation was showing on both of their faces. With his speech completed Marcus entered the bath, the warmth slowly moving up his body as he sank deeper until the scented water covered his nipples. Lucius indicated that Koen and he should follow moving to either side of Marcus.

"Watch what I do and do the same."

Lucius started to wash Marcus with a sponge ensuring he was getting every part of his body. Koen followed his instructions and soon he was washing the body of his Dominus.

Marcus sat enjoying the attention, relaxing at the touch of both men, both very different.

Lucius light, delicate, gentle. Koen's firmer, steady, a hidden power, but with a surprising gentleness. Marcus enjoyed both touches, but preferred the firmer one, it reminded him of his time in the legion and the trust he and his fellow legionnaires had.

He leaned back a little allowing himself to be carried away on the memories of the past. Memories that made him smile; made him feel good. He drifted into a dreamlike state for some time, the hands of the two slaves washing him.

"Dominus, Dominus" He was snapped into reality on the second call.

"Yes Lucius?"

"Dominus it's time to oil you for the final cleansing, can you stand please."

He was very aware of his surroundings; his pleasure at his daydreaming was showing. Lucius left the pool and moved to a small table, lifting a bottle and some objects that resembled scythes, pouring some oil onto Marcus before starting to rub it in. He then passed the bottle to Koen to do the same. Soon Marcus was covered in a film of lightly scented oil, his body glistening. Lucius passed the scythe shaped strigil to Koen and then started to use the one in his hand to scrape the oil and the remaining dirt from Marcus's skin.

Marcus stood there enjoying the attention he was receiving, he was thinking of how to approach the further training of Koen. His time for thought was soon interrupted by Lucius speaking.

"Dominus, you can rinse now and we are done."

With this Marcus dipped down into the water and rinsed the last of the grime off of his now gleaming body. Lucius climbed from the bath to fetch a towel, when he returned Marcus climbed from the warmth of the bath and was aided into the garment.

Both slaves stood naked heads bowed as Marcus tied his robe and started to move round the bath.

"Dress and join me in my chambers, Lucius ensure Koen has garment to wear."

With that he left the two men standing dripping and naked.

"Let us get dressed, the Dominus doesn't like to be kept waiting for any length of time. Once we are done we will see to more clothing for you. Here put this on." Lucius handed Koen a tunic.

Both men smiled as Koen stood, the tunic pulled on. Tunics were mean to come to the knee. This one barely made mid-thigh, Lucius was pleased with the effect. It showed Koen off, all his best features being enhanced by the garment. They really needed to get him something that would fit, but time was short. The Dominus would be looking for them, so with this in mind he pulled Koen through to the private chambers where he knew Marcus would be waiting.

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Marcus had enjoyed his bath, the attention of these handsome men had lifted his spirits. The memories it had invoked still lingered, as he moved through his quarters to stare out on his gardens.

One memory in particular lingered strongest.

His mind drifted to the past, he remembered sitting in Gaul the rain pouring down, the air damp. He had been fighting the barbarians for 5 years now and had been away from his home in Rome for just over 6.. He heard little from his parents over the years and before leaving, he said his farewell to Glava. His lover from his youth and he would never hear from him again.

Sitting in this dull grey place was affecting him, he needed life and he needed to escape the monotony. 6 years in the legion had taken a toll on him, his body held scars of battle, his mind the images of friends lost. Outside the tent he could hear the noises of his men carousing, having fun. There was little time to enjoy oneself in the legion but when it came it was enjoyed to the full. Having heard some singing, he decided to go in search of the singers. All he needed was to sit in good company and enjoy himself.

As he left the relative dry of his accommodation he realised how heavy the rain was. In seconds he was soaked, but he carried on following the sound of the voices, deep rich, masculine, sing gaudy songs of love and battles. He approached the group waving them to stay in place.

This they did continuing the singing, and as Marcus joined in they sang more lustily. Soon they were passing a wine skin round each drinking from it, enough wine to relax but not to be a problem if called to arms, after all they were off duty.

Marcus watched the goings on sitting talking with this man and that. He spotted a young legionnaire staring at him. His name was Marcellus, he was, like all the men of Marcus's cohort young and fit. Marcus thought hard and recalled he hailed from Capulla; He was the son of a baker in the city. Marcus returned his stare, and saw colour rush to the young man’s cheeks.

He flirted with the young man, although it was frowned on to fraternise with the lower ranks. If one was careful you could get them into your bed and well, Marcus decided to take the chance.

Holding the gaze of the young man he inclined his head slightly. The young man returned the small and a nod, easily mistaken for his appreciation of the singing.

As the latest song came to a filthy and raucous end Marcus stood and bade the men a good night, reminding them they were on duty the next morning. He knew parade would be interesting. Moving through the tents back to his own tent, he heard the next song start up and the laughter. Smiling he decided would go a little easier on the men in the morning more than normal anyway.

His men were in good cheer, even after 5 years away from home. He stopped off on the way to answer the call of nature at the latrine, smirking as he thought of Marcellus, who as he was shaking dry appeared behind him.

They smiled and once finished headed off to Marcus's tent...

"Dominus, what would you like us to do." Lucius’ dream like voice entered Marcus’ mind. He was jarred back to the reality of the villa.

The thoughts of Marcellus and the love they had shared for a year before his death flying from him. He felt the pangs of regret and pain; he had never really loved since then.

Now he found comfort with his slaves.

"Thank you Lucius, I will work for a time, have cook prepare a light meal. Then I shall require your help preparing for bed."