by Andromeda -
As the time neared for the emperor to arrive, Ayanna took a step back to admire her work before the gladiators were all rushed back to the barracks to get cleaned up. When she heard cheering citizens, she knew that the emperor had entered the city. Leaving the rest of the minor work for the other slaves to finish, she hurried to go and get dressed herself.
Aurora and Cornelius were already waiting at the gates of the palace when they opened to reveal their father on his normal white stallion. Both children bowed to their sire as he approached, and lifted their heads so that he might embrace and kiss them. Aurora had her stomach sucked in, while also wearing a band of cloth wrapped tightly around her waist.
Her stomach was slowly starting to round itself. It was really nothing, but in her mind, it looked huge. After swearing to herself that she would not get rid of it, thoughts on how she would both hide and keep it still confused her. She wasn’t all the way sure yet on what to do, but she knew one thing: no one was going to take her child.
However, there was another issue she had not addressed: she had not yet told Artemus that she was carrying his child.
“Welcome home, Father,” Cornelius said after he had embraced the emperor. “I hope that your campaign was well?”
“Yes, it was,” the emperor said with a nod. “The Britons still are rebelling, but that will be crushed soon enough.”
“Come,” Cornelius said as he directed his father towards the palace. “We have all your favorite meals ready.”
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
He was led inside and soon laid upon his personal couch while the meal was served. The most important nobles, who could be summoned quickly, were in attendance and lounged about. Along the walls, freshly oiled to show off their powerful physique were the gladiators. It was Cornelius’ idea to have them on ‘display,' to show off the wealth and influence that the emperor held.
Ayanna and the other female slaves were dressed almost like air nymphs, in gowns of white with leaves of gold in their hair. They, too, had to show that they were rich items owned by the emperor.
She looked every now and then at Kaiser, who had his fists tightly balled in a way she knew only came from anger. She knew he hated this, to be displaced like an ‘item’ for all to see, and while she wished to go forward and comfort him, she knew she couldn’t. She had to tend to her duties at the imperial tables.
The emperor lounged and talked with his children, with Cornelius being strangely attentive to his father’s needs and wants. Ayanna had never seen him like this before, and it confused her on why he acted as if he was greatly interested. However, on the other side of the coin, she was glad he was acting to be so. Lately, he had been very attentive to her in ways that she did not like, so for something else to hold his attention was a welcomed change.
On the other side of the imperial couch, Aurelia laid next to her brother, eating, but her eyes were not upon the emperor. They were instead upon Kaiser and as her hungry blue orbs took him in, she smirked.
He had the body of a god, with stamina no doubt to match. She needed someone to make her brother jealous, as he had recently turned his attentions to a new slave girl in their household. While this normally did not annoy her, the fact that he had gotten the slave girl pregnant and continued to use her body did. She knew, of course, that she could not marry her brother, but the thought of another carrying his child angered her. Thus, she figured it was time for some revenge sex. From what she could tell, Kaiser seemed to be the perfect candidate.
Getting up from the couch, she walked lazily among the crowds, who were milling about until she reached the German. “You,” she said, “come with me.”
Kaiser looked to the other gladiators for help, but they shrugged. They did not know what to make of this. And Barack was away, talking to another slave, so Kaiser figured he had no other choice but to follow her.
She led him into one of the more private rooms before she turned to look at him. He stood like a statue as she circled him, looking him up and down and running her hands over his body.
“Yes,” she said slowly after several moments. “You will do nicely.”
“Might I…know what you wish of me, my lady?” he said, though the last two words burned like vinegar forced down his throat.
“You are going to have sex with me,” Aurelia said plainly. “Pure and simple. You are to give me pleasure and not stop until you are spilled seed. Understood?”
Kaiser blanched. “Um…my lady…I do not think this is wise.”
“You will do as I ordered, slave,” Aurelia said, the voice of one who was used to getting what she wanted coming out. “And you will do it now. So, untie your loincloth.”
Kaiser was at a standstill within himself, as he did not truly know what to do. He had always hated Romans and what this woman had asked him to do…he would rather see his own manhood cut off than stuck within a Roman. Yet, he knew that he had no choice. If he refused, she no doubt would force him to do what she wished, then scream rape when he was finished. None would believe him. None.
And then…there was Ayanna.
He had been saving himself for her and wished to be her first in all ways, as she had told him that she had never lain with a man before. He did not want to go with her with the scent of a Roman upon him, but just like before, he had no choice.
Taking a deep breath, he did as Aurelia had ordered and slowly untied his loincloth. Her eyes widened when she saw his size and then she smirked. Her brother was going to be jealous when he found out.
When she pulled up her dress and opened her legs, Kaiser had to close his eyes and grid his unwilling loins to do the task. He got through it, thinking of Ayanna, thinking of her smile and laugh, but even when it was finished, he felt a deep shame upon himself.
As he sat in the baths after the deed, as he was unable to return to the party, he felt a powerful dishonor on his body and soul. He had been used for that woman’s own petty pleasure and to make a lover no doubt jealous. He had been used. Once again, the true evilness of Rome was revealed, and he saw this place for what it was.
Though he was given good food, good clothes and a place to lay his head, this place was nothing more than a cage. A gilded cage at best, but a cage nonetheless. He felt disgusted with himself. He felt dirty. He felt nasty. He felt…unworthy of the woman who held his heart.
Chapter Sixteen
A shadow loomed over Kaiser as he had begun to eat his evening meal, and when he looked up, he saw that it was Ayanna.
“Hi, Kaiser,” Ayanna said. “How…have you been?”
The terrible night had happened less than a month ago, and it was clear to all that Kaiser had become cold towards Ayanna. He wouldn’t talk to her much, only saying the necessary words if needed. He refused to have her as a sparring partner, though he loved to do so in the past. He refused to even touch her, to look at her, to even be in her presence unless necessary.
“I’m fine,” he said simply before he turned from her.
Ayanna gently grabbed his arm, but he yanked himself free, a gesture that clearly hurt her. “I…I’m sorry…,” she whispered.
“Don’t…don’t touch me,” he said tightly. “Not…not again.”
She looked at him will clear hurt upon her face. “W…what?”
Kaiser looked away and then sighed heavily before he turned back to face her. “I can’t…I can’t do this anymore.”
“Do…what anymore?” she asked, dreading what she hoped he wouldn’t say.
“I don’t love you,” he said bluntly. “And I don’t ever want to see you again.”
His words cut through her body and soul as if she had been stabbed. She never thought a man could ever say such a thing to her before, to make her feel as if she was nothing. Now it seemed the impossible became possible.
“You…you don’t mean that…?” she asked, almost pleading. “Please tell me that this is just a joke.”
“It’s not,” he said sharply. “I don’t now, and never did like yo
u. You were just a passing fancy.”
He felt as if he was being torn apart by horses to say such things to her. Never did he think he would say such a thing to a woman, but he had to do it. He wasn’t worthy of her, he was dirty; she was pure and untouched. There was no way he could be the man she deserved. Not only that, but she would hate him. If she found out what he had done, she would hate him; he knew it. She would blame him for not being man enough to stop that woman from forcing herself upon him. She would view him as weak, and she needed a strong man.
“So, I tell you this,” he said slowly, though he felt his heart shattering with every word. “Forget you even knew me. As I shall do with you.”
As he turned around and left, he could hear her sobbing, a sound that shattered his heart. He had never really heard her cry before, and to know that he was the cause of her pain and suffering, made him feel even worse.
✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Aurora looked at herself in the mirror, yet when she turned around, she saw that Ayanna was not at her usual spot.
“Ayanna?” she called out.
No answer.
Aurora stood to her feet and walked out of the chambers and headed to the slaves’ quarters, where she knew Ayanna could normally be found. But when she searched around for her friend, she found no one.
“You there,” Aurora said when she saw Damali. “Where is Ayanna?”
“She went out to the gardens, my lady,” Damali answered. “And never returned.”
Aurora frowned and nodded. Turning on her heel, she went to the gardens to search for her friend. At first, she found nothing, but the sounds of soft sobbing drew her to a darkened part of the gardens, and it was there that she found Ayanna.
“Ayanna?” she said gently. “Are you alright?”
Ayanna rubbed her eyes, red and swollen from the constant crying she had been doing non-stop for hours. “Oh,” she sniffed. “Hi, Aurora. I’m sorry, am I late to help you prepare for bed?”
“No,” Aurora said as she shook her head. “You are fine. I just wished to find you. You worried me.”
“I…I’m sorry,” Ayanna sighed. “Just needed a moment to myself.”
“What is the matter?” Aurora asked. “You seem very upset.”
Unable to stop herself, Ayanna told Aurora all that Kaiser had said, how he had been acting towards her and more.
“And the thing is,” Ayanna said, unable to stop herself from crying again. “He told me…that he loved me. But quickly followed up with hateful words. To make matters worse…, I think I love him, too, but after what he said…”
Aurora frowned, her mind trying to work over what was the matter here. “Leave this to me,” she said. “I am going to handle this.”
Ayanna grabbed her arm. “Please, no. I don’t want to cause any trouble. I just…want to forget about it, the same way he said to do.”
Aurora nodded. “Alright, I promise you that I will not cause any trouble.”
When she left the gardens, she immediately had a guard bring Kaiser to her chambers for an interrogation. The German stood as still as a statue with his eyes lowered, unable to look her in the eye.
Aurora tapped her foot angrily a moment before she spoke. “You have about three seconds to explain to me why you broke Ayanna’s heart. Or else I will have you executed.”
Kaiser looked at her in shock. He didn’t know that she would do such a thing, but the hard look she gave him, told him she was serious. He didn’t want to tell her the whole truth, so he told her a false one. “I…I have done something that makes me unworthy of Ayanna. She could never forgive me if she found out what it was.”
“Did you betray her love?” Aurora asked. “Did you find pleasure in another body?”
What Kaiser went through was anything but pleasureful, and he sadly shook his head. “No,” he said softly.
Aurora nodded. “Then go talk to her. You are in danger of losing a great woman, and I know you love her. She feels the same way. Whatever happened cannot be strong enough to break you apart.”
Kaiser wanted to disagree, but he knew that deep down, she was right. “Yes, my lady.”
“Good,” Aurora said. “If you are looking for her, she is in the gardens. I suggest you go talk to her.”
Kaiser left her chambers quickly and went to locate Ayanna. He found her in a dark part of the gardens that was hard to be seen, but easy for her to see who approached. When she saw him, she stood up and tried to leave, but he grabbed her arms, pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers in a powerful kiss.
A warm bubbling sensation spread throughout Ayanna’s body at his touch, and she tangled her fingers in his hair to pull him closer as their lips and tongues moved in the all familiar dance that was their kiss. After a moment, however, she slowly broke the kiss to look at him.
“I am confused,” she said. “You…you said that you did not love me…”
“I lied,” he said. “Ayanna…, I have done something terrible and I will drop down to my knees for forgiveness.”
Ayanna looked at him in confusion. “What is the matter? What’s wrong?”
Hanging his head, Kaiser told her all that had happened with Aurelia, and what she made him do. When he had finished, Ayanna was silent as she was inwardly fuming.
How dare she, she thought to herself. How dare this…this…this incest-loving whore, force herself upon Kaiser.
Kaiser took her silence the wrong way, and swallowed, dropping to his knees. “I understand if you do not wish to see me again, after all that I’ve done…”
Ayanna shook her head and knelt next to him. “No,” she said gently. “No…you are wrong. I cannot blame you for this. You are perfectly innocent in all this. That woman she…she assaulted you, as you were unable to defend yourself or refuse her advances. For you to come to me, to speak to me, I couldn’t be prouder. It has shown that you are stronger than I thought. I could not imagine another man to give my heart and soul to.”
Kaiser looked her into the eyes with shock and confusion. “What…what do you mean?”
Ayanna stood up and slowly pulled at the strings of her gown until it began to loosen. “That I am ready…but only if you are, too…”
Kaiser looked into her eyes and slowly stood up. Taking her hands in his, he reached down and cupped a breast, before he smiled shyly. “I am,” he whispered.
✯✯✯✯✯✯
He laid her out gently on the grass, his empress-to-be exposed to him, and only him, a hand running along her figure slowly. They both were bare, laying on a bed made from their clothes under the stars and moon, the only witnesses to their love and passion they were going to share this night. His exploring fingers curled against her sex, tracing out her womanhood gently, giving the line of her folds a loving press.
Leaning down, Kaiser began to give her breasts, her belly, and her mound soft kisses as he traveled further down. His lips then fell to her sex, pressing softly to her outer lips, holding against them, before he gave another, and then a long, firm flicking lick along her folds.
Then another…
And another…
Ayanna moaned deeply, her back arching as she spread her legs for him, a smile curving on her lips. He kissed her soft inner thighs, inching in towards one side of her sex before moving to the other thigh, inching back in again. He was teasing her, hands moving under her rear to prop her up, thumbs sliding underneath to pull apart her flower. His tongue touching along the edge, just at the tip of her pink, running the outline slowly, his eyes lidded, mostly closed. He was memorizing her body, painting it with his tongue, learning her form just as he learned when they had fought.
She was delicious, too.
Her body responded, gently rocking against his lips as she felt him trying to understand her body, trying to learn her body. On her inner thigh, she did have an almost star-shaped birthmark that when he kissed it, made her thighs quiver. She didn't care that they might be heard. All she cared for and all she wished was to stay li
ke this.
His tongue pressed against her entrance lightly, flicking across it gently, up to her love pearl, then back down, then back up, pulling away to try and pin down her petals with that muscle, then back to her little nub, then to the other petal. His tongue did not linger long, always moving to another part of her sex. He pressed the birthmark with his thumb, though, once or twice, giving it a firm, full kiss before he moved back up her body.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered to her with a smile. “I will try and be gentle with you.”
“I’m alright,” she whispered back.
He grinned softly, lifting off her, hands placed at her sides, his rod rubbing against her lower lips, back and forth, lubricating himself with her nectar. He teased her, the tip of his manhood nudging at her sex now, ready to slide into her. One of his hands shifted from holding himself up, instead sweeping under her, pulling her up against him, the woman hanging in his grasp.
His hips moved forward, and he pushed into her nice and slow, steady and easy. He felt her virginal wall break, and she stiffened, but he kissed her gently to ease whatever pain she might be feeling. When she felt comfortable, he slid into her very core, the tip rubbing her cervix. Her back arched over his hand, her head mere inches from the ground.
If cast in marble they would have made an elegant statue, two lovers held together too intricately. His lips fell just at the top of her cleavage, moving to softly touch each breast, his manhood slipping in and out of her little love tunnel. The soft sounds of their flesh meeting, the only sounds besides her soft moaning. He had never been this gentle with her, or anyone else.
She sighed, her eyes closing as her hands slid to hold onto his shoulders. Slowly, she moved her body with him, their bodies moved in this sacred, sensual dance that they only knew too well. One hand slid down and intertwined with his large one and gripped it tightly, as if to show him that she was there, that she wanted them to be connected in all ways. His flesh worshiped hers, his lips taking their slow time to run along her skin, the fingers upon her face, caressing, stroking.