Clavius laughed, loud. “What?! He gifted you his fuck boy? The famous Kyle...”
His eyes grazed over the young slave and Marius’ brows furrowed. “Famous?”
Clavius clasped his shoulder. “You’re so young and so innocent... of course, he’s famous. Famous for his skills in bed. I am amazed Lucius let him go but then again... he might be growing old…” He laughed again and watched Marius, the thirty-year-old man all of a sudden unsure, already fed up, and Clavius bumped his shoulder with his fist. “Ok, take first this leash off him, he’ll look better, less like some sort of parakeet, and dress him up for fuck’s sake... he is almost naked. You want him to survive in the camp? Then hide his ass.” He laughed again, leading them to the blacksmith.
The collar had been welded on the slave’s neck and the blacksmith sighed, grim. “I’ll have to hammer it off, but heat it first...”
Marius looked at him. “There’s no other way?”
The blacksmith shook his head. “It’s been put on forever, as I can tell.” He pulled the tight collar from the slave’s neck. “See? He has burn scars. Must have hurt like a bitch when they put it on.”
Marius blanched but held tight. “Just do your best.”
The blacksmith nodded and talked to Kyle. “You’ll have to be very still, boy. I don’t want to smash your skull in.”
The slave just nodded, pale as a sheet.
They lay his head on the anvil and Marius soothed him, gently holding his arms. “Just lay still. Don’t move.” He could see the panic in his eyes, the blacksmith lifting the red-hot iron rod, putting it on the collar, waiting for it to heat. Then he took his hammer and struck down, a loud clank, but the collar held, Kyle’s body jerking slightly. Marius held him tighter, his teeth clenched. The blacksmith heated the collar again and hit harder, the metal splitting in two, revealing the slave’s neck marred by scars, the skin chaffed raw in places.
Marius hissed, jerking the slave up by his arms, not even thinking as he pulled him into an embrace, feeling him tremble. “Shhh, it’s going to be fine...”Marius looked at his skin, a sudden anger flooding him. He turned to Clavius. “Get the medicine man.”
Clavius nodded and left, Marius gently pulling the slave by his hand. He followed, numb, his face blank. They got to where Marius’ tent had stood, but it had already been folded for the last stretch of their journey and Marius made him sit on a stump, waiting for the medicine man. The young soldier arrived and eyed the wounds, taking salve out of his bag, gently applying it all around the slave’s neck.
He addressed Marius then. “The burn scars are old, those will stay, but for the others, there’s a good chance they will heal and fade.”
Marius nodded, grim, and looked down at Kyle, the young man just sitting, blank, maybe in shock. Marius knew what it meant for a slave to be pulled out of his usual lifestyle, even if it had been hell. New master, new rules, new life, the vast unknown. The comfort of torture gone, facing new ones maybe.
He waited until Clavius came back, carrying some clothes. “Here... make him change, or put these on top of his... gown? He can’t stay barefoot either, for fuck’s sake.” He also handed him a pair of sandals, shaking his head slowly.
Marius nodded, handing the clothes and sandals to Kyle. “Put these on.”
“Yes, dominus.” Numb, his hands trembling, he dressed, and Marius sighed, his frustration rising. Of all things, he was now stuck with him.
Clavius looked at him. “Just sell him at the nearest town.”
Kyle’s shoulders stiffened, his breath short, but he didn’t dare look up and Marius watched him, pondering his friend’s words. “No... Lucius might come to Rome. I can’t insult him by selling his gift straight away.” He turned to Kyle. “You’ll travel on the cart with my belongings. There’s no way you can walk until Rome.”
Rome. The word echoed in Kyle’s head, this word which had meant so much hate, maybe in another life, too far, buried deep in his soul. He tried not to shake, to control his emotions, as he’d been trained, but it was all too much, the collar missing from his neck, feeling the wind on his skin, being clothed properly, and leaving...
He sighed, his breath shaky, and let Marius guide him to the cart, patting the top of his items. “Climb up and sit.” He gave him then a pouch of water and some bread. “Eat and drink.”
“Yes, dominus.”
Marius watched him carefully, looking for signs of him caving in, knowing how fast a slave could turn into a desperate wretch of a human being, but Kyle seemed just shaken.All the better. He went to his horse, the army rising, leaving. Rome soon, he thought, and his mind was on his home, empty save for his father’s slaves checking on it from time to time.I need to build up a household...He pulled a face, tired of it already.At least, I have Kyle.Not that he would be of any use in the household, he probably spent his days in Lucius’ bed or being fucked senseless...
Marius rode to the front, leaving the cart and Kyle, and the slave watched him go, his heart clenching, his old home fading in the distance, this place he abhorred... but it had meant safety so far, routine, even if it had been torture from the start. He knew what to expect; it was ingrained in him, and now... he had no idea and Marius leaving left him anxious. He didn’t dare look around and the soldier leading the cart didn’t talk to him, so he watched the landscape go by, musing that he hadn’t even been tied down. He could have fled, but there was nowhere to go, so he just sat on the cart, bathing in anguish.
Dusk was falling when they mounted a hill and then Rome sprawled at their feet, and Kyle's eyes grew wide.
It was huge... bigger than what he had imagined, lights being lit everywhere, stone houses and walls, the noise steadily rising. He sat very still when they entered the city walls; the army marching to their quarters and the cart veering towards hills surrounding the city, out of the larger roads. He spotted Marius’ horse leading the way until they stopped in front of a wall with a large door. Marius got off and opened the door wide, leading his horse in, followed by the cart and Clavius.
Home...how he had longed to be here and now... the empty house didn’t tempt him. Clavius and Marius tended to the horses. His father had kept the house stocked but hadn’t left any slaves.
Kyle climbed down from the cart and looked at the huge villa, the first courtyard facing an entrance door and Marius gestured at him to follow. “Come, Kyle. This is your home now.”
They walked around; the door leading to a large atrium, other doors leading to rooms, the private bath, more rooms on a top floor, a large terrace overlooking Rome, the lights bright against the dark evening sky.
He took it all in and Marius faced him, his eyes dark. “Look at me.” He raised his head and Marius cupped his chin, forcing his gaze into his eyes. “That’s better.” He felt the slave tremble, his lower lips quivering, and Marius didn’t let go. “This is difficult for you? To look at me?”
