by Nhys Glover
I opened the door and strode from the room. We both looked sleep-tousled. Maybe we should tidy ourselves up before we went to break our fast.
But Elenia seemed unprepared to take us anywhere but the dining room.
The room she directed us to was on the lower floor and open to the inner courtyard. The curved arches that separated the room from the outside were elegant, ornately carved and spoke of wealth.
In the centre of the room sat a low table. On to this a large slave was placing platters of food. The table was a mere foot off the floor and cushions were arranged around it. This was the way the caravaners had eaten, though in their case they had not used a table but placed a mat on the floor.
I was preparing to lower Accalia to a cushion when Maleka gasped. She was already seated and had food in front of her, though she had not started to eat.
I looked up to find her face was a picture of horror. “Oh no! Your wife bleeds. She has lost her babe!”
Confused, I set Accalia down and looked into her face. I saw horror and embarrassment written there. Then some long ago memory surfaced. Women bled monthly. It was a sign of their fertility. When she was with child the bleeding stopped.
I had told Maleka that Accalia was with child. Bleeding would prove my words a lie.
But wait, hadn’t Maleka said she’d lost the babe?
“It must have been the hardships I have endured that made it happen,” Accalia said, meeting my gaze and willing me to go along with her. “I am so sorry, Orion.”
I drew her in for a hug, as if comforting her. I was completely out of my depth. What did I know about women’s issues? My life had been almost completely male since I was eight years old. The short contact with whores and Accalia gave me little to go on.
“How far gone were you?” Maleka asked gently.
“Not long. Not much more than two months. I assumed I was with child when I missed my courses and my breasts grew tender. I may have been mistaken. Maybe I was just late,” Accalia improvised. At least she knew about pregnancy because of her healing work.
“I rushed in to tell you because it was what we both wanted,” Accalia said to me, contrite. “Then they took me.”
“And worry and hardship can interfere with regular cycles. You may be right. You may not have been pregnant. But either way, that blood tells us you are not with child now. Come, I will help you get cleaned up.”
I went to lift Accalia again but Maleka shooed me away. “It is not far and this is better left to women. Sit, eat. We will return shortly.”
And though my body screamed at me to disregard the woman and not let Accalia out of my sight, I knew I couldn’t stay with her. There were things that were women’s concerns alone.
I had managed to swallow two bites from the pomegranate I had made much of cutting up into too-small pieces by the time Accalia returned. She still hobbled because her feet were bandaged and sore, but she looked fresh and more herself. I rubbed at the sleep-dust in my own eyes and ran fingers through my hair.
Accalia smiled half-heartedly at me as she lowered herself to the cushion beside me.
“Are you all right?” she asked, for the benefit of the women present.
Along with Maleka and her daughter, the heavily pregnant granddaughter was now present, reclining more than sitting on the floor because of her huge belly. I had barely even registered her entering the room, my focus had all been on listening for Accalia’s return.
“I’m sorry,” the young woman said to Accalia in perfect Latin. “I know how disappointed you must be. It has taken me over a year to fall pregnant. There were times I was sure I must be with child but was proven wrong. The last time I waited before saying anything, because I could not bear to see the disappointment on my husband’s face again. That time I was with child. So... it will happen. Give it time.”
Accalia smiled and nodded, then glanced at me. I took it as encouragement to speak. “I am in no hurry to be a father. Just being a husband is good enough for me for now.”
All the women in the room nodded and beamed at me. I had said the right thing. I wasn’t sure how I had done so, but I had. Women were such odd creatures.
After the meal, we moved into the large living area next door. This too was open to the courtyard. It was a little like the Roman atrium and the sound of the fountain was a pleasing feature. The air was fresh and smelled only slightly of the volcanic springs.
“I want to go out to see what’s happening,” I told Accalia, once she was settled and Maleka was preparing to reapply fresh poultices to her feet.
Accalia seemed ready to argue, but Maleka interrupted. “Go as you are. These Parthians will not be looking for a Northman, will they? You can say you are a trader from the north. We get them here occasionally. I may have a roman tunic somewhere. You would look less odd wearing that than you do in one of our robes.”
Accalia subsided. I knew she was worried for me, but Maleka was right. Not even the other bowmen would recognise me as I was now. I had more to worry about than just the Parthians, I remembered. I had run away from a fight. My employers would have my hide if they found me.
For the rest of the day I wandered the markets as if I were a trader looking for the perfect contacts. As I did so, I asked absently about the raid the day before and whether there was any exciting news from it.
I was told the robbers were successfully repelled, but that a cowardly man and woman had run to safety before that outcome was achieved. A band of Parthians had ridden in looking for the couple, but no one knew what happened to them. It was like they vanished into thin air. The Parthians, a rough lot and not to be trusted, were still looking. They claimed the woman was their slave and the bowman had stolen her, but some people didn’t believe their tale. True or not, it made for an exciting story. Raids were all too common, but women escaping the clutches of Parthians? Now that was new and interesting.
I caught sight of the bastards looking for Accalia briefly. They were questioning every stall holder in the marketplace. I slipped away before they saw me, though I wouldn’t have drawn their attention. Or I didn’t think so. But it was wiser not to make my presence too noticeable. I was still an oddity in this place. And oddities were talked about.
When I returned to Accalia I was hot and dusty. The streets, though cobbled, seemed to wear the dust of the desert as readily as the land beyond the walls did. And though I saw plenty of fountains and wells, the overall impression of the city was one of dryness and heat.
This was still February. What must this place be like in the middle of summer? Impossibly hot, I guessed.
I sat in the living room and enjoyed the women fussing over me. A goblet of good wine was presented to me and, though I was used to only watered wine or the brewed spirits handed around at the ludus before contests, I made much of appreciating the drink.
And it was good. Light, sweet and fresh to the palate. By the time I reached the bottom of the goblet I was feeling more mellow and relaxed.
“No problems?” Maleka had asked as I drank.
I’d shaken my head. “You were right. A Northman dressed as a Roman was a distinctive disguise. I didn’t have to bother with my poor Greek very often either. People took one look at me and spoke Latin.”
“We have been part of the Roman empire since the late Republic, though for the most part we are left to govern ourselves. The wall you see around the city was built for us by the Romans, to better protect our burgeoning markets. Most people are happy to be part of the empire. It has made us wealthy. Before, we were just another oasis for the occasional caravan who took the risk of crossing our desert.”
“The Judaeans are not as happy,” Accalia said tentatively.
“Ah, those Jews are a prickly bunch. They think themselves superior to everyone because they have the one true god, while the rest of us worship false gods. I have heard about this Jehovah, and I do not like the sound of him. A jealous and vindictive god, if you ask me. Now Bel... Bel is a much easier god to serve.”<
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As talk of gods consumed the conversation, I sat quietly drinking in the bounty that was Accalia. I had gone so long without sight of her that it was like my eyes couldn’t get enough of her now. Every expression that crossed her face, every gesture, seemed rare and beautiful. I wanted to soak them all in, though they were all so familiar to me already that it seemed superfluous.
Once darkness had fallen, the women started moving. “If you take your wife to bathe again, I will then reapply the poultices. The healing is going better than I expected. This might be the last time it is required.”
Gods, I had to bathe Accalia again? I wasn’t sure my inner strength was up to that. Yet if I tried to get out of it, these women would see through our fabrications. A young husband should be anxious to bathe his damaged wife. A loving man should be falling all over himself trying to do what he could for her, especially now she had lost, or thought she had lost, her babe.
I lifted Accalia easily into my arms and headed for the bathing room. Elenia followed us with fresh towels and garments. Once the door was closed on us, I tried to work out what to do. Nerves made my hands shake and my temper rise.
“Stand at the door if you must. I can bathe myself well enough,” Accalia snapped irritably.
I did as she said, facing the door. I heard her pull off her gown and then something I took to be the sound of her peeling off the bandages. When she cried out in pain, I was at her side in an instant. She had tried to walk on her wounded, still-healing feet, without the protection of the bandages. I knew it would be too much for her.
Somehow, she looked more beautiful today than she had yesterday. Her nakedness called to me like a siren’s song. I wanted her so much my chest hurt with it. Not to mention my balls and cock. Gods, she was a goddess. I could worship her every day of my life!
The scowl she threw my way as I came to her only made me idolise her more. She was no milk and honey goddess, she was burning spirits and spices. A fitting mate for a gladiator.
With an amused chuckle, I swung her up and stepped into the water, sandals, tunic and all. I plopped her down into the water, grinning like a lunatic.
She stared up at me with a startled expression on her beautiful, if still bruised face. “You are really smiling! Do you know how rare that is? Be careful, Orion. Someone might mistakenly think you are happy.”
I reeled back a little as I considered her words. My face did feel as if it was being stretched in unusual ways. But smiling wasn’t that uncommon for me. Was it? No. I just rarely had anything to amuse me. Other than Accalia, of course. And life was supposed to be serious. If you took it for granted, that was when the sword would fall.
My expression must have changed, because Accalia came to me and plastered her wet, naked body against mine. “I am sorry. I did not mean to make fun of you or to stop you enjoying yourself. At my expense, I know. But I would not take that from you. I am sorry.”
I wrapped my arms around her slippery, warm flesh, my cock straining beneath my tunic. She felt it then, and moved back a little, looking up uncertainly into my eyes.
“What? You don’t think I’m going to be aroused by a naked woman clinging to me? I’m a man. That’s what happens. I thought Asterius taught you that much.”
“When is the last time you had a woman?” she asked me. No, challenged me.
I shrugged and looked away. “A long time. Too long, I suppose.”
“Why? There are women available to you in the ludus, are there not?”
I shrugged again. “Women distract a gladiator from his task.”
She shook her head, her expression bemused. “You had women for years in the barracks. I know you did. That was no different.”
“Of course it was. We never faced death in the barracks. Well, not once Lucullus was gone.”
I hadn’t meant to mention the mad doctores who’d nearly killed Typhon. It brought back memories of her when she was a girl of twelve standing up for us, healing Typhon when our old physician’s hands wouldn’t allow him to perform the intricacies of internal stitching. Gods, she had been magnificent back then. She was magnificent now.
“Talos told me that you all loved me. That you said you missed me.”
I growled, wishing I’d never opened my mouth when the others were sharing their feelings like women. It had been a mistake. And I felt betrayed. Talos had no right to share that with Accalia.
“I may have. We all care about you,” I admitted, keeping my voice disinterested. But her naked body pressed against mine was driving me mad, little by little.
Was she intentionally trying to push me over the edge? Was that it? She knew my vulnerability and wanted to use it against me?
I took her shoulders in my hands, intent on pushing her away. But I couldn’t do it. My muscles tightened in readiness, but then fought me when I tried to make them act. It was demoralising. I was a weak little worm.
She lifted herself up onto her tiptoes, the move obviously painful on her still healing feet, and kissed my lips. It was too much!
I lifted her up and kissed her properly. A deep, hungry kiss that had been too long in coming. Accalia let out a little gasp, wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and clung on, opening her mouth to my sudden and violent invasion.
Madness claimed me. There was no other word for it. I was mad for her. Desperate for her. My blood boiled in my veins for her.
My hands cupped her bare butt and pulled her up higher so I could delve deeper into her mouth. Had anything tasted so good before? Had any woman felt so right in my arms before?
I felt her dragging at my hair, and I took it for a signal to give her breath. She gasped and panted as I broke the kiss and then buried her head in my neck in the very next instant. Her mouth kissed, licked, and bit its way down from my chin to the crux of my neck, and then up again to suckle on my earlobe. My legs almost gave way beneath me.
I pushed her away enough to throw off my tunic and then my loincloth. When I came back to her I was as naked as she was in the waist-deep water.
Before I thought better of it, I scooped her up again. I was amazed to find her wrapping her legs around me so, as I kissed her, her core lay against my throbbing cock. I briefly wondered about her bleeding. Was it a good idea to do what we were doing when she bled?
I lifted my head from her, and met her lust-dazed eyes. Had those storm-clouds ever looked more lovely? I knew they hadn’t. And this lust was all for me.
“You bleed,” I said between pants as my hands sought to learn every curve and crevice of her body.
“Does that concern you?” she panted back, claiming my mouth in yet another hungry kiss.
“Is it like an open wound? Will it hurt you if we go further?”
She laughed, light and sweet, like the wine I’d consumed not long ago. She was making me drunk like that wine would have done had I drunk much more of it.
“The women tell me there is less likelihood of a babe being born if the joining happens when a woman bleeds. It is not an open wound. I cannot be hurt. Though the first time does hurt, they say.”
That pulled me up hard. First time. Of course, she was a virgin. And she had to stay one. This was wrong! I began to pull away, willing my control to return.
“Orion, do not pull away. Do not stop. Do you not understand? I will never marry. My virginity does not need to be saved for anyone anymore. It would have gone to a Parthian prince or his obnoxious lackey. It still might, if we do not get away. I do not want them to have it. I want you to be my first. If the worst happens, then at least I will have had this... with you.”
I understood. Or I thought I did. She still feared she might fall into the Parthian’s hands. Her greatest fear had been the pain being raped as a virgin would have brought. I didn’t want to have her this way, as a means of protecting herself from the worst, but I understood it. I understood it too well. I understood what it was to be raped.
I forced the sick memory away and claimed her mouth again, drowning those memories in t
he sweet oblivion of the senses. It didn’t matter why she wanted this, it just mattered that she did. And if it wouldn’t hurt her to join with me when she bled, then I didn’t care about a little blood. Gods, I bathed in the stuff every day of my life.
Pulling her core back from where it sat crushed against me, I used my fingers to delve between her soft flesh until I found the hard little pea I knew was the female equivalent to a cock. I rubbed at it, feeling her writhe with pleasure in my arms.
“Gods, oh gods!” she cried as I circled the small mound. My cock reacted as if it was what I was touching. Her every moan and jerk could have been mine.
When I felt her reaching for her first climax, I pressed into her body with my fingers. I wanted to feel this first one clamp around me, even if it was not the part of me that desired it most. If it had been my cock inside her, I’d have come the moment I felt her inner muscles contract. But I wanted to last. I wanted to hold onto this torturous pleasure for as long as I could. I was too close. Way too close.
She was tight, and I had to stretch her channel. I did so as I pushed her closer to the edge. When she started coming, I thrust two fingers deep inside her and rode out the climax with her.
For a moment afterwards she relaxed in my arms, exhausted. Then her mouth began to lick and nip at my skin, as her hands roved along the tightly coiled muscles of my arms.
“Rest for a moment,” I said gruffly, though it was not what I wanted.
My cocked ached to be inside her. I wanted that tightness around me. I wanted her splintering apart while I joined her in bliss.
“I want you. I want you, Orion. Please,” she said, her voice throaty and low, unlike anything I’d ever heard from her.
“I won’t let them have you. You don’t have to fear them anymore. You don’t have to do this.”
She kissed my mouth, sending her tongue into it in a predator move that had my fingers digging into her butt and dragging her against me once more. When she came up for air she seemed mad with desire.
“I know you will not. But I still want you. I need you, Orion. Gods, how can I be any plainer. Do I have to order you to take me? Is that what it will take?” she gasped out in frustration.