by Evans, Casey
A burning slice across his right bicep brought him back to the Arena. He saw the blood, his blood spray across her chest as he flexed and lunged at her with his spear. She easily parried and scored yet another slash just above his knee as she ducked under another of his poor timed lunges.
Where in Hades were the other fighters? His contingency plan was for two others, gladiators to enter the fray if she refused to submit. Where in the gods names were they?
Primo’s shield was taking a beating from her twin blades, and his left arm was going numb. It was only a matter of time before he would be unable to hold it up, or take anymore of her surprisingly strong attacks. The woman was an amazon!
Suddenly he heard the horns pealing and the crowd fell silent. She backed off and half turned to see what was happening. One of the gates opened and out came 2 gladiators ready for a fight. Now we will get some results he thought to himself, just before he charged!
* * *
Petronia
* * *
Petronia stepped back and glanced to her right. One of the gates had opened and two gladiators had just entered the Arena. She recognized them immediately despite their full helmets. It was the two Gaul’s. She couldn’t recall their names at the moment, but she knew their fighting styles. She knew their strengths and their weaknesses, from hours in the Ludis sparring with them. Funny their names escaped her. She had never taken them both on at the same time. This was going to be interesting.
They came at her at a run, unleashing a pair of spears wildly before drawing their gladius’. It was a clumsy attack, but it was enough to distract her from the fight with Primo. She felt it before she saw it. Suddenly a white hot rod pierced her side. If she thought it was painful then, it was nothing to the pain she experienced when he gave it a violent twist while pulling it back out. She gasped and nearly doubled over. Had the idiot twins chosen that moment to shuck their spears she’d have been skewered like a hog. For a brief moment her vision failed her as the pain steamrolled her brain. Out of instinct she kept her blades whirling around her like some kind of moving, steel fortress, and it kept her alive. Both gladius and spear bounced off her blades as she spun and attacked the brother nearest her. He was so shocked that when her gladius slipped between his ribs before coming to rest inside his heart, he just kept on moving. She left it there as she finished her revolution with an equally precise strike in the eye hole of the other brother’s helmet.
She ducked under Primo’s thrust, then spun back around. She was like a cyclone, spinning and snatching her gladius from brother one’s chest before leaving it in brother two’s chest as she completed a full circle. Both brothers collapsed behind her as she faced Primo once again. She was empty handed.
* * *
Primo
* * *
He took an involuntary step backwards. Even though she was empty handed, he knew he was witnessing a woman in her prime and doing the one thing she was any good at. He would have to submit to her if he wanted to save his own life. He dropped to his knees, letting his spear fall to the ground. He held up the customary two fingers to signify he was asking for mercy. Now it would be up to the Praetor to decide his fate. If he lived, and surely he would, the woman was going to pay tonight and every night for his humiliation today. She would be begging him for death and death would turn a blind eye to her plight.
He looked up as he held his hand in the air. The Praetor was standing with both his arms extended, thumbs held in a vertical position. He waited for what seemed an eternity before the thumbs slowly rotated upwards; he was saved! He was scarcely aware of the soldiers coming out and taking the girl away. He was already planning his revenge; and a sweet one it would be.
* * * * *
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Consequences
* * * * *
The first thing Petronia became aware of was pain; and entire body of soul ripping pain, and she wondered for a moment if she had lost the fight in the arena. Had that evil man succeeded in beating her? Without opening her eyes she began to run her hands systematically down her body checking for obvious wounds. She started and stopped at the top of her head. There was a long gash there. That would explain her waking just now in confusion. Just how long had she been out. She started to open her eyes but the light shot bolts of pain straight into her brain. She could dispense with seeing for now. She felt her face. It was intact, but puffy. So someone had worked her over with his fists…or a club or something. She was about to start on her body when strong hands grabbed her wrists, firmly, but with a gentle touch at the same time.
“Wha-”
“Hush.” Whispered a kind voice.
She tried to open her eyes again to see who the voice belonged to, but when she did, between the pain and her not being able to focus, she just couldn’t tell who was with her. She felt a hand let go of her wrist, then felt a cool wet cloth pressed to her lips. Water ran down her chin and a precious little down her throat.
“Drink.” Said the kind voice.
She swallowed and discovered that she was extremely thirsty.
“More,” she croaked.
The cloth touched her lips again and this time more water ran down her parched throat. She drank gratefully.
“Not too fast.”
“Thirsty.”
“I know, but if you drink too fast you’ll start vomiting again. You need to keep the medicine in your stomach. I’ll give you more water later.”
“Who?” She croaked again, barely able to form words. She had no idea who was taking care of her. She knew it wasn’t the house physician. This voice belonged to a woman or a much younger man; it was hard to tell.
“Don’t you know Petronia?” Said the kind voice.
Then it clicked. It was a boy….well a young man. It had to be Lucius; but where were they?
“Lucius,” she whispered.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“But where-”
“Don’t talk. You need to rest. We’re in an old hunter’s cabin, east of the Villa in the Kern Woods. I rescued you from Primo two days ago and we have been on the run since then.”
“…Find us…”
“No, nobody knows about it except my older brother and he’s…well, no one knows. We’re safe here.”
“But your father will look-”
Not for a week, he won’t. He thinks I am with my best mate from school. We can stay here five more days before he will even think about my being missing.”
“How lo-”
“How long? We’ve been here two three days now. This is the first time you have been awake. I have been really worried about you Petronia.”
She could hardly believe it. She was camped out in the woods hiding from Dominus. This would not end well. “If find us…kill me…”
“You would have been dead had I not gone looking for you.”
“I don’t remember…”
“Then that is good. Close your eyes, you must rest and give your body a chance to heal.”
Petronia murmured thanks, closed her eyes and was asleep almost instantaneously, but sleep brought neither peace nor rest. The moment her eyes closed, dreams took her in places she’d never gone before, but what she didn’t realize was that those dreams were not always a dream.
Petronia felt an explosion on the right side of her face and heard her screams echoing throughout Primo’s bed chambers. The pain was intense and debilitating. As blows rained down on her she was vaguely aware of someone straddling her chest and something pressing against her shut mouth.
“Open up bitch! Daddy’s got a popsicle for you.”
She tried to move her head to the side but strong hands gripped her hair on either side of her face holding her fast. Then she felt another pair of hands at her throat as they began to slowly cut off her oxygen supply. This was not good. She wondered, not for the last time, if she would survive Primo’s wrath. It was at a time like this that she questioned her resolve to being true to herself and wished she could hav
e forced herself to submit in the Arena. Had she done that she could have avoided all this.
At the last moment before darkness took her permanently, the hands fell from her throat and she was able to take a gasp of air. She opened her mouth for a second gulp of air only to have a filthy bulbous cock shoved halfway down her throat. Now, she told herself, this was the end. No glorious death in the Arena as befitted a Gladiatrix of her stature. No, she would die with a disgusting gargantuan cock spewing it’s filth on her parched tongue. She struggled, he pumped. She gasped for air, he gasped with pleasure. His thrusts became even more violent. And when he finally exploded, his seed filled Petronia’s mouth and sputtered back out as she coughed and fought for air. Finally the hands that were holding her head in position relaxed enough for her to turn her head to one side as she released a torrent of vomit onto the floor beside her head.
* * *
Lucius
* * *
“Petronia! Petronia wake up!” It’s over he called out to her. “Those men can’t hurt you anymore. You’re safe.”
He reached out with a tentative hand and brushed a strand of hair from her face. He wasn’t sure that his contact at this point wouldn’t elicit a strong response; especially if she was still caught up in the dream world that had claimed her and held her fast ever since he had rescued her from the beast, Primo. Encouraged, he rested a hand gently on her forehead before jerking it back in surprise. She was burning up!
He jumped up, grabbed his canteen and hurried down to the little brook not far from the cabin. There he filled it up with the cool water before plunging a small cloth in for cleaning. He found her unmoving when he returned. Fearing the worst, he placed the damp cloth on her forehead. Then he took a second one and began to wipe down her body as best he could without removing her tunic. He could do no more for now and had to content himself to wait for her fever to break.
* * *
Petronia
* * *
Petronia stirred finally as she felt a gentle hand on her forehead, caressing her tenderly. There was something in the touch that begged familiarity. She found herself enjoying it as fingers traced her jawline then flitted down her neck before coming to rest at the swelling of her youthful breasts. The fingers, encouraged by the soft involuntary moan that had escaped her lips, continued their exploration.
She nearly jumped when the fingers brushed her nipples, sending sparks of energy straight to her fogged out brain. As her unknown admirer explored her breasts she came out of her stupor and began to respond in kind.
Petronia gasped as a pair of dark, blood-red lips pressed against hers forcing them open with an exquisite pressure. As her lips parted, she felt a tongue flickering out to meet hers, and together they performed this erotic dance, twirling, slipping, sliding, and caressing each other sending thrills of pleasure between her legs. Hands grasped hers and stretched them up and out to the sides holding them fast as she felt the other’s body flatten against hers, pelvis’ grinding against hers. Just the pressure of her sex against the others was enough to send waves of orgasms making her whole body sing with pleasure.
Petronia opened her eyes to find another’s staring back into hers. They were like these twin pools of light intense, beautifully green and completely captivating. She kept hers open even as the other’s mouth found hers again and they renewed their sexual exploration of their hungry bodies. She could feel herself heating up with even more desire and with it came a longing to devour the other girl in the only way she knew how. She took control of the girl’s arms with her own, rolling her over in the process, never letting their mouths part. She drank the others saliva like a person dying from lack of water.
This time it was Petronia’s turn to explore the other, and with each tender kiss and caress her ears were filled with the other’s cries of pleasure. Each soft whisper of ecstasy that reached her ears sent thrills through her own body. Her mouth left trails of wet desire on the others burning skin as she approached the girl’s shaven mound. There she paused before entering that most intimate of places. She waited until a pair of hands found her head and pulled her in. Petronia reveled in the passion of the moment as she parted the other’s lips and slid her tongue into her passion slickened sex. She drank her fill of the girl’s fluid relishing in her sweet taste, and delighting in the control she exercised over the other’s body. It was as close as she would ever get to the afterlife in this life and she loved it.
* * *
Lucius
* * *
Lucius awoke with a start. His heart hammered in his chest as he wondered what had brought him out of a deep sleep. Without making a noise he felt for his gladius, but it wasn’t at side as was customary. As he listened for more sounds he reached down and slid his boot dagger from its sheath. He would not go down without a fight. He was just about to relax when a distinct sound of twigs snapping underfoot brought him up from the pallet where he had lain. He was on his feet in an instant, assuming a fighting stance and scanning the room in the darkness. He couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep. He had no idea what time it was but he should never have slept like this without setting up some sort of perimeter alarm system. She slid across the floor to where his sword was hanging from his belt draped on the only chair in the room. The door popped open and Lucius launched himself towards the opening striking it with his left shoulder. He heard a cry of surprise and the thud of a body hitting the ground.
Wasting no time, Lucius threw the door open and pounced on the figure laying on the ground. He stopped himself mid-strike. Laying on the floor, on her back, was his cousin Flavia. What in Hades was she doing out here and how did she even know about the place?
“Speak girl,” he commanded. She may be his cousin, but he had no idea where her loyalties lay. For all he knew, his father had sent her to find him and lead soldiers to him. “Are you alone?”
“Yes…well, me and my maid Secunda. But no one knows were here and we won’t be missed as long as we show up for brunch tomorrow.” She gave a low whistle and moments later her maid and body slave Flavia appeared holding a pair of satchels taken from their horse. “I brought food and medical supplies,” she said, extending the satchels to him.
Gratefully he received them and searched for the medical supplies. He found them and a suture kit was in with the standard bandages, dressings and ointments. He held up the suture kit to the moonlight.
“She needs this for her head I think, but I wouldn’t know how to use it.”
“Pardon Young Master, but I have some skill with suturing. I can close Mistresses head wound if it pleases you.”
“Pleases me! Why you’re a lifesaver!”
“But I cannot do it in this light. We’ll have to risk a fire or wait till the sun comes up.”
Lucius thought it over for a moment, then made his decision. “Let’s make a small fire. We’re pretty protected as long as we do it in here. I don’t think anyone would be able to see it unless they are very close.”
“Then I shall get to it right away Young Master.”
“No, you prepare yourself and I will make the fire.”
Forty minutes later the four of them were resting comfortably enjoying the warmth from the glowing embers. Lucius had the last watch which would take them up until dawn. Then he would have to make a hard decision. Should they stay put for the time being, or forge on ahead. And if and when they leave, where would they go; what would they do? He had not thought it through when he fled with Petronia, but now he would have to do some thinking. He took a stick from the fire and began to stir the coals as he made his decision.
* * * * *
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Tracker
* * * * *
Primo stood in front of Dominus waiting for the signal to speak. After a moment Dominus lifted up his head and regarded him silently. Primo took it as an invitation to plead his case.
“Dominus, it pains me greatly to not have my betrothed here at my side…”
Yeah
, I bet it does. With her gone who else you gonna have to beat on? He thought to himself. But instead he said: “So you wish me to send out soldiers to go find her and bring her back at a great expense and inconvenience. Am I right?”
“Oh no Dominus, I would not dream of disturb you over such a small matter-”
“Then what is it? Speak!”
Now Primo had the feeling he may be stepping over his bounds but it was too late to start. He was going to ask to go and take a couple gladiators as well as house guards with him but now he wasn’t so sure. He took deep breath and spoke.
“Dominus it pains be me deeply to be standing here without my betrothed here by my side. I do not wish to inconvenience you any more than necessary. I ask that I be given the freedom to search for my beloved on my own and perhaps a gladiator or three to help. I want to find her and bring her back to marry me.”
“You ask a lot Primo, however I am prepared to grant you your wish. I will have the necessary documents drafted giving you and two other gladiators of your choosing, three days to conclude your task or return empty handed. Does this satisfy you?”
“You are more than generous Dominus.”
“You must keep the papers on you at all times. If you lose them and fall into the wrong hands you would become the property of another. I will have the papers delivered to you tonight. At that time you may give a list to Doctore detailing what you would like by way of weapons armaments. He will return in the morning with your weapons as I see fit, and three days of rations as well. Is that all you require of your Dominus?”
“You are very generous Dominus. You have rendered me speechless. I will not fail you-”
“Speechless indeed; you border on talkativeness. Dismissed!”