Marius studied his grim face and nudged him. “Hey... I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Kyle rose, picking up the bucket of fish food. “I need to work. Breakfast should be served soon.”
Their eyes flew to the archway, the children running in, Brandan chasing Bri, laughing. They stopped short when they saw Marius, but then Bri smiled and tugged Brandan along. They kneeled next to his couch, holding hands, chuckling.
Marius had not seen them since his return and he sat up, smiling. “Get up and show me how you’ve grown.”
They did, smiling shyly, but Bri couldn’t contain her happiness and flew into his arms. “You’re back, dominus!”
Marius laughed, almost thrown backwards on the couch. “Yes...”, he pushed her away, looking her over, noticing how she had grown. She was turning twelve soon, and her face had become sharper, her body slenderer, shedding the soft curves of childhood.
His eyes drifted to Brandan, who stood still, but fearless. He had filled up, but his body was still lean, almost athletic, and Marius gestured him closer, the boy not losing eye contact with him, a small smile on his lips. He reached for Bri’s hand, and they faced him, glowing.
“How is your Latin, Brandan?”
The boy smiled. “I think almost as good as my Celtic.”
He spoke with a flawless accent, and Marius smirked. “You have a smart mouth.”
Brandan just bowed, and Marius could not decide whether he was being respectful or mocking him.
“So, kids, what are you up to?”
Bri beamed. “We came to feed the fish with Kyle. Then, we’ll help weed the garden and do the laundry, and maybe help in the kitchen.”
“Always together?”
Bri looked at Brandan. “Yes, always, dominus.”
“Like a good brother and sister.”
Brandan looked at him. “More like a good couple.”
Marius froze, his words caught, and Kyle playfully ruffled Brandan’s hair. “You have to grow a bit for that.”
He smiled at him. “Bri and I want to be together when we grow up.” They faced each other and Marius’ heart wrenched.
Kyle shoved the bucket into their hands. “Come on, lovebirds, time to feed the fish.”
They left, laughing and Marius rose, bitter. “So much for not wanting to breed slaves.”
Kyle shrugged. “They’re kids... they’ll grow out of it... or not... and they can’t ‘breed’, yet.” Frankly, what did you expect? They are locked up here. There’s not much choice, you know...”
Marius looked at him. “I heard the girls were on your back too?”
Kyle pulled a face. “They still are... Lis more than Thais. She’s shy and almost always with domina.”
“Have you ever been with a woman?”
The question was out before he could think about it, and a shadow crossed Kyle’s face. “Yes... not too many times, though.”
“When?”
“During my training...”—he sighed, knowing that Marius would want more — “I had to learn how to please women, it was part of the package, though Lucius didn’t like them at all... so, it was just during my time there that I had to bed them...”
“Had to?”
Kyle smiled bitterly. “Well, yes... it’s not exactly like you have a choice.”
