Roman Lands

Arcadius was briskly woken up by a ice-cold splash of water over his head. His hands and feet were chained to the inner walls of a large slave ship. There were numerous other slaves chained alongside with him. They groaned and sighed and could find no rest. The young Greek boy shivered in cold and his teeth clattered. Cold sea water seeped inside from air ventilation slits on the sides of the ship that kept him awake. Arcadius's mind was numb and his entire body ached from head to toe. He couldn't remember how or why he had ended up as a slave and was headed to a Roman city named Ostia Antica, but he felt a white-hot anger towards the Romans who had dragged him into this mess...

In his beautiful ludus (Patrician luxury villa with a built-in gladiator training field) in Ostia Antica, Publius was in his study managing his financial records. His face tensed-up with worry looking at the troublesome numbers of debt and mounting expenses. He got up, poured himself some honied wine and drank. He stared out a window overlooking the Mediterranean. Tomorrow, he would visit the dreaded slave market to purchase new slaves to train as gladiators. Many of his most recent gladiators who had fought in the arena had died humiliating deaths at the hands of his rivals' gladiators. And, as a result, had costed him greater expense than revenue. There was a knock to his door. One of his slaves came in and informed him that a visitor had come to his ludus...

Publius walked towards the front of his villa and saw (to his unpleasant surprise) Lucius Bantius, a debt collector sent by men to whom Publius owed money, standing in the center corridor. Publius put on a fake smile and greeted him.
"Salve, Lucius! What a pleasant suprise! What brings such a fine and eloquent gentleman to the House of Vala again..."
Lucius returned the greeting half-heartedly, with a dry expression. "Publius, with no intention to dishearten you in anyway, I've been sent to tell you that my employers are growing rather... impatient to hear back from you on the several purchases you had made several months ago. I'm sure a man of your status and fame is not experiencing any... difficulties in coming to terms with the contract?"
Publius smiled through his teeth.
"Difficulties? By Jupiter's grace no, no, and no. In fact, I was just at the moment to return the favors!"
Lucius stared at him coldly. "Well good. Here are the updated totals and interest fees." He handed Publius a rolled-up parchment.
"Good day." Lucius said, and left briskly.

Publius unrolled the parchment and looked at the contents with a mortified expression on his face.
"Damn it!" He yelled angrily. "What have I done to displease the gods that they singled me out to watch me squirm in pain and misery?" He paced back and forth the common room and drank wine to try and ease his nerves. Publius knew well that the debts his household was experiencing was because the gladiators under his possession were losing almost all the arena matches. A large trade caravan loaded with wine and honey that he sent to Rome was attacked and pillaged by bandits. And on top of that, he had heard news that several of the flax farms that he owned in northern Africa had experienced a bad harvest due to draught.
"Doctore (gladiator drill-master)! Where is my Doctore?!" He yelled at his servants.

Doctore showed up to Publius's office. Doctore was a retired gladiator who was also a slave of the House of Vala. He had fought in many gladiator matches and survived them all. Now, he taught and trained other gladiators so that they might have a better chance at surviving.
"Dominus." Doctore addressed Publius as he stood straight with his legs at shoulder length and his chin raised slightly.
Publius stared at him coldly with a disapproving look on his face. "Are you training my gladiators to better accept death in the arena and humiliate me in front of an audience?"
Doctore stood still firmly and didn't say a word. His lips moved slightly, as if about to say something in his defense, but stopped.
Publius continued to threaten Doctore with harsh words. "You had better turn those wet dogs into killing machines or I'll be pissing on your crucified corpse! Another season of the arena matches begins in less than a month! Get to it!"

Aurelia stood outside of her caretakers study, holding her hands at her sides. She had come to inform Publius of hear-say that another slave ship would be in tomorrow, as she normally found out of these things. What was happening was she was pushing wight off the balls of her feet and on again, shuddering lightly at the harsh treatment of the slave. She decided eventually it would be best to go, as she had no idea of the time in which he would be done with his rant, and she knew he would be angry still and take it out on her. She said greetings to the slaves as she passed, and covered her eyes at the gladiator training field, mostly out of habit. She slid into her room, looking over the rich tan sheets of the bed and the small amount of parchment on her wooden desk. She walked over to the desk, picking up the hand-mirror there. She did this often, as a way to cope with the loss. She looked over her face, which was slightly more makeup covered than she would have liked, but she was expected to be different now. Her hair was done up so high it hurt, and that was newer too "I suppose I should be happy, as I am technically a Patrician now, I am sort of adopted. Why don't I feel happy then?" She asked the mirror, blinking a few times before she set it down on the desk, and she got up and- fixing her hair into a tighter bun on her head, pulling a few strands of the light brown mass to hand loosely down to her shoulder blades. She stepped back out of her room, suddenly bored and sad with it- the sight of herself in a mirror always brought memories, ones she no longer welcomed.

It was a beautiful day, the sun glistening onto the busy market below. Cows bellowed and chickens crowed as they were sold and traded, transferring from one cage to another. Vendors sold their fruits and jewelry, calling prices and battling for the best. It was the art stall that caught the young males attention.

“Keep moving!” The slave handler growled, pulling Nikolas forward, catching him in the daze.

“Careful!” His companion growled, laying a gentle hand on the blondes shoulder. “Mark up his pretty face, and less we shall get for him.” He cackled in an accent ridden croak.

“Very true,” The other grinned looking back to the young lad.

Nikolas didn't speak, but kept his eyes toward the road. This wasn't any different than the other towns.. Who was going to even look at him? He wasn't built for house-work, nor field work, and was often looked at by those who wanted women. When their eyes came to the fact he was male, they moved on to find other products. Soon they arrived in the bustle of the docks, where a stage was set for Slaves.

"You know the drill," He assured himself in a hushed tone before going obediently through the process of being numbered and displayed on the platform.

Arcadius was hauled off the ship with several other slaves on the harbors of Ostia Antica. A couple of the slaves had died during the arduous trip. Arcadius felt exhausted, powerless, and, a murderous hatred towards the Romans. He and the other slaves were dragged to the slave market in chains. Arcadius noticed a blonde-haired boy about his age among the other slaves who were already there.
"Hey you." Arcadius said to him. "This is my first time being dragged, beaten, and spat on by the Romans. Whats the worst thing that can happen to us from here?"

Nikolas blinked lightly as he was spoken to, and looked toward the young man whom adressed him. Seeing his handlers busy with a potential buyer, he made the move to answer.

"Well," His started, his voice almost as androgynous as his features, "If you behave, nothing will happen. But, if you decide to continue to be as rude as a mule well..." He took this moment to look over the male. "You could become a field slave, or a gladiator, maybe. It all depends on whom you appeal to." He gave a light shrug, only to have his attention turned adrubtly by the hands of a rather large male. Standing perfectly still, he allowed himself to be patted down. The male turned out not to be as interested as he thought he was and he left, leaving behind two very disgruntled handlers.

Slowly, Nikolas let the breath back out.

"See? Appeal."

The coarse brush slid across the tiled floor of the corridor, spreading a small sheen of water upon the surface, and the decorative mosaic which marked the division. Viverra, the gallic slave, knelt upon the floor, attempting to clean off any dirt and scuffs left by footprints. The mosaics were costly and impressive. Allowing them to get choked with dirt would certainly not impress the master of the house...not that he sounded impressed at that point anyway.

The gaul brushed some of her dark, unruly hair from her face as she cast a glance up in the direction of the office hearing the yells issuing from inside.She was feeling the sort of guilty mixture of interest and relief that one got from listening to someone getting shouted at, and being free from the possibility of blame. She moved in closer to the door, concentrating on one of the mosaic corners in order to give her a good excuse to eavesdrop. It was the same general problem though.

It was not going to be long until a new consignment of gladiators ended up at the ludus. Poor bastards. She'd like to say that she wasn't interested in the whole sordid business and that Publius dealt in...but in reality she anticipated the arrival of others at the property whenever it took place...perhaps it was morbid curiosity. Gods knew most of them would be dead by the end of the season. Her owner's fighters seemed to suffer defeat after humiliating defeat. Perhaps he had angered the gods...or in a more practical sense, perhaps his trainer or the slaves that had been chosen were not up to par.
Whichever it was, she did not envy the men who were chosen.

Viverra was far from happy with her lot in life. Going from a free woman to a domestic slave, having to bow and scrape and be subservient to roman degenerates. Regardless though, she was grateful to have landed work as an ancilla. It was a role that meant she was less likely to die from injury, from disease, and it meant that as long as she stayed in such a role she was safe from prostitution. The idea of that, being pawed at by lecherous old men, made her skin crawl. Slavery was far from an ideal state of being, but as slavery went, it could be far worse. In a way she felt a duty to be sympathetic towards the gladiators, in a sense that they were individuals often with similar pasts to her own....except with worse luck. Such was the will of the gods, she supposed...though evidently those gods has a strange sense of humour.

Rorius walked along the path briskly, shoes brushing the elaborate roadwork of the Roman empire. He had always admired the roads, so complex and well done. Made travel much easier than over countryside, especially with the weight he was carrying. The last of his legion... He had walked a long way. Feet sore, every muscle begging for a break, the soldier decided now was a good time for a break. Settling down at the side of the roadway, Rory (as he liked to be called) dropped his weighty pack on the grass and knelt next to it before sitting and fishing out some meager food, a crusty loaf made for travel. It was a good thing he was near a city, he was about to run out of supplies. The roads were beginning to become wider and intersected more frequently, ergo more traffic, ergo city. Only made sense.

After sitting awhile and eating the bread, stretching stiff muscles and closing his eyes a moment, Rory stood stiffly and retrieved his pack. He stepped back onto the road and continued on his way, hoping he could reach wherever he was headed before nightfall.

Aurelia avoided the study, but she walked though the corridors. Truthfully, she was dreadfully bored. She could go to the baths or even just to the market, but (even though she loved slaves as people and not just things) that was a job for slaves, or if the need arose, the master of the house. That was when he needed more slaves, and also the time she would beg to go. She would love to take the inheritance (which was a heavy sum, even if she was only allotted a small part to use, in all) and buy lavish things to give as gifts or keep for herself. So she decided to play a game. The only problem was that she ha no one to play with. Until she remembered of the countless slaves in the house, and the fact that some of them would have to play with her. She walked into a small corridor, and spotted a slave there, one she liked and knew the name of "Viverra!" She called, at first thinking that she could possibly not be too busy for a game- though that only lasted until she saw that the slave was cleaning.

"Oh, I shall leave you to that, then...." Aurelia sighed. Maybe the market wasn't just a place for slaves to go for food or the master for slaves. If no one could play with her here, she distinguished that maybe there might be fun to be found there. She slipped back into her room for only a moment to grab a small handful of coins and put them into a small fold of her clothing. She walked into the street quickly, enjoying the feel of the sun on her pale skin as she walked toward the market. She carefully avoided the crowd, going around and near the stalls to avoid it. She slipped over to a small jewlery stand, and began to look over the wares, picking up the bands of different gems and putting them on her arms with a smile before she sat them back down. The only problem was the fact that it was right next to the slave-selling area of the market, and it was fairly busy. She sat down a silver hairpiece she was holding and turned to look at the platform. Might as well tell Publius of the stronger-looking slaves, as he already was in dire need of new gladiators, after the last death, or the one before, or before. The gladiators kept dieing. She moved her way closer to the platforms and looked for the ones that may not be on display until the next day- weather not appealing enough or strong. She spotted a few, more sasificly a blonde haired skinny, fiminine boy, and a stronger looking male he was talking to. She wondered what they could have been talking about, though she felt it rude to step up and ask, though she could make it seem like she was interested in them. the few coins I brought could probably buy the skrawny one she thought, and giggled to herself as she started toward the two.

"Tastes like horse manure any which way you chew it?" Arcadius grumbled. He noticed a wealthy-looking Roman girl approach but only looked at her with contempt as if saying "piss off". He didn't like the feeling of being on display as if he was a zoo animal.

(OOC: Go ahead and buy Nikolas if you want Aurelia. lol.)
Vala had gone to see the slaves on display at the market accompanied by his personal body-guard. He hated the bustling markets where assassins could be anywhere with a hidden dagger. There were so many people that Vala was unaware that Aurelia was in the crowd after she had left the villa without telling him. Vala's eyes gazed on the lot of slaves, then rested on Arcadius.
"You boy!" Vala called out to him. "What are you good for?"
Arcadius looked at him. Then said, "I can fight. Well. I can win almost any man in hand-to-hand combat. Even men twice my size."
The crowd erupted into mocking laughter. Vala just shook his head in a disapprovingly way. "Pathetic Greeks." He said to himself.
By the end of the day, Vala had purchased a couple slaves, all men, who looked physically fit to fight in the arenas and returned to his villa.

Gods, he's just what I need! Coisis exclaimed internally, the basket of olives nearly slipping from his grasp. A glimmer in his eyes was all that resounded of his reaction as his registered Nikolas' figure in the distance. His locks shimmered with all of the gold his clients would be willing to give for him. Perhaps he might be interested? Coisis' mind came to rest on the notion. As a former slave who had gone through a similar course of events, he would never force any into prostitution. Nevertheless, it could be a surprisingly lucrative prospect, especially for those with the right qualities.

He had been looking at olives at the market to press for olive oil for the baths, before he had been distracted, at least. He rolled a plump olive in his hand and brought it to his nose to smell. He then set the basket down, nodding sternly to the seller. He would be back. Draping his cloth over him, he began to weave through boisterous waves of crowds, each of which gathered around a particular vendor. Upon reaching the slave platforms, he slipped like a knife through the crowds, sliding skillfully past colorful sleeves and glittering trinkets to the front.

He himself, a man not known to need any ostentation to ameliorate his value, wore a simple and subdued garb and a few jeweled pieces, albeit of good caliber. He quickly glanced Arcadius, who he had seen talking with the fair-haired boy prior and was now talking to a potential buyer, a patrician whom he was not familiar with. He seems feisty. Perhaps not very malleable... Coisis pondered, chuckling to himself. His eyes shot back to Nikolas, and a slight smirk couldn't help but form on his lips. He would simply watch, melding into the crowd, and see how much the crowd value Nikolas first. He caught another set of eyes gazing at Nikolas who seemed not only particularly wishful, but to his horror, also having the potential to buy. His heart leapt inside. Although still maintaining a pleasant smile, the edges on the coins in his hands bit into his palm as his grasped them white-knuckled. He carefully approached the interested lady.
"Well, would you have a look at that one!" He commented casually, pointing at Nikolas.

Nikolas stared at the two potential buyers in a calmed mixture of curiosity and respect. The woman, however, frightened him a bit. Even back in Greece, it was the women in his family that often scared him the most, and by Hades choice, the reason he was in this mess in the first place. Glancing over to the male, the fear seemed to subside.

Males were easy to deal with. As long as you did as they asked, they were kept pretty sated. He would pay no mind to conversation, or make any move to put in input.

“Well, would you have a look at that one!”

This immediately caught his handlers attention. Quickly, the shorter of the two came forward, calloused hands rubbing together in anticipation of a business deal.

“Hello there sir,” He addressed, taking no interest in the young lady at all. The brunette was not his, and had no promise of gaining the pair any money. “You wouldn't happen to be interested in my Little Flower, now would you?”

Aurelia looked over to the man who had spoken "Hm? Oh yes, nice" She smiled, before turning back to Nikolas, trying to ignore the other man- the market was a dangerous place, and she was frightful of everyone who approached her. It had been silly of her to come without alerting someone in the house and "And what might you be good for dear? I really can't spend money on a slave I can't use... after all, I am good with my money" She sighed lightly and ran a hand though her hair before she looked over Nikolas "Wonder how much you'll be worth." She giggled and looked over to the handler, raising her eyebrows in question.

The handler smiled to the young lady, before looking up to Nikolas.

“Go on boy, tell the nice people what you can do.” He quipped, giving the poor boy a stern look. Slowly Nikolas began to shrink back before straightening himself.

“I um,” He gently licked his pinked lips, trying to find his voice again. “I-I'm no good at fighting ma'am, but I do know my way around a home...” His mixed eyes glanced to the male, giving him a slightly hopeful look before returning to their place on his handler.

The Taller came forward, shoving his companion out of the way at the mention of the price. Looking between the two, his eyes took in everything. Clothes, hair, and the way they carried themselves. Smirking lightly, the Handler held out his hands.

“He's a decent little house-worker, but his skills...” He shrugged, looking to the male in particular. “He's rather beautiful for a boy his age, isn't he?”

Just work that price right up there.

"Beauty means nothing if the amount of beauty amounts to equal strength. But, a house worker would be nice, though I already have a few-stronger-ones" She smiled and stepped forward, toward the handler. "As I said before, how much?" She looked at him dead in the eyes, even if that showed a little disrespect. She didn't mean disrespect.
Aurelia smirked lightly "I assure you, I am slightly interested in another slave. Though I would rather you not beat around the bush, so to speak. Price, however, is an issue I would like to get out of the way, first." She said "And there are plenty of other things I could be spending my late fathers money on, some precious jewels, perhaps." She said, glaring at the handler. "Then again, you do have other people interested, so maybe my money doesn't matter." She reached into a pouch in her clothing and pulled out one aureus. She twisted it in her palm and though her fingers quickly.

"Father, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to visit the market. There is word traveling around Rome that a ship of slaves is to be docking and I would enjoy seeing what they have to offer."

Vita pressed her hands together before her, her blue eyes fluttering slightly with the look that won her everything from her father. He couldn't possibly resist her big blue eyes, or the fact that she was his only daughter and child. She watched as he leaned back in his chair and studied her for several moments. After a few minutes had passed, he sighed and rubbed his temples.

"As you wish, Vita. But try not to spend too much money, my dear," he groaned a little, closing his eyes. Vita smiled and clapped her hands a little, giving her father a joyful look.

"Oh thank you father!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and landing a kiss on his weathered cheek. He turned his face and gave his daughter a stern look, his expression showing there was no way she would get out of whatever it was that he was going to say.

"You must take one of the guards with you, and by the Gods, do not leave his sight this time," he ordered. "If you do, you will not be allowed off of the premises for one month." With that stern warning, he turned back to the papers he had previously been looking through and put her out of his mind for the time being.

Vita bowed to her father and backed from the room, just as a few of his friends - who were also Praetors - were escorted to the study by one of their many maids. Vita bowed to the Praetors, who in turn bowed to her, and she straightened only when she was outside of the room.

She made her way to her bedroom and quickly pulled her baby blue cloak around her shoulders, leaving the hood down, and tied it around her neck. It fell to the bottom of her skirts and floated a bit when she moved to grab her purse. She called for one of their guards and smiled up at him, her smile widening when she saw the hesitant look on his face, seeing as he knew exactly what his Boss's daughter was like.

"We will be traveling to the marketplace to see the slaves that are being brought into it. Ready the carriage so that if I do indeed buy any, we can bring him or her home immediately," she ordered. With a curt nod, he left, and she followed slowly after him, reaching the front of the large estate's home just as the carriage was being rolled up. She allowed the guard the help her into it, and sat down to enjoy the sun on her peach skin. The guard climbed up after her, and then they were off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh! Look at that one, Valerius!" Vita exclaimed, pointing at a young slave with blond hair. He had a small build but he had to be worth something none-the-less.

She quickened her steps and paused next to a young girl, glancing at her, and then at the man beside her. They were both obviously interested in him, but as was she, and she was never one to back down from anything, let alone the prospect of buying a slave. Even if she didn't think of them like that.

She stepped forward and caught the jaw of the blond man, studying his features. She turned his head from side to side, looked at his teeth, then touched his hair. If she did buy him, he had to be perfect or else her father would pitch a fit. She had heard him answering the young girl on what he could do, and she figured she could put him to use in her house.

Grabbing one of his arms, she held it up, despite the ties that bound him. "Flex," she ordered. She studied the muscles that were there then lowered that arm, grabbed the other, then lowered it. She tugged up his shirt to look for any scarring that was hidden, then dropped the shirt. She stepped back and tapped her chin with her nail, before pulling out her money pouch and drawing it open. She removed four aureus and held them up between four fingers. "Four aureus for him," she offered, the golden coins glinting in the sunlight.

Nikolas made no move to struggle or squirm against the female as he was looked over. His teeth were in fine shape, his body unscathed. His handlers had done well to keep him in peek condition, beautiful as the flower he was named for, or so they would say.

When he was let go, the fear that had been kept at a reasonable shade in his eyes seemed to spark. Now there were two of them interested in him. Two women making such a fuss! Looking to Arcadius, he gave him a look that pleaded for help.

The Tall one grinned, the gold seeming to glint in his eyes as the young lady brought out four of the golden coins, blatantly ignoring the first girls babblings.

“And you, kind sir?” He asked, turning to Lucious, waiting to see just how high he could turn this profit. It was amazing how much attention their blonde was getting; if they had seen this, they wouldn't have put the other two up for sale later instead of now. But, with Nikolas being so popular, it kept the shorter one busy with trying to sell the others.

“I um,” He gently licked his pinked lips, trying to find his voice again. “I-I'm no good at fighting ma'am, but I do know my way around a home...”


Coisis blinked as the boy looked toward him. His eyes slid over to the Handler. "Yes, despite his frailty, he seems quite--suitable--" Coisis' comment was rather vigorous, in an attempt to float atop the waves of the crowd's bantering. He approached ever so slightly. This might be more of a difficulty than he had wanted. Coisis glanced at the woman as she glared impatiently at the Handler, drawing out an aureus in her palm.

Suddenly, from the clamor of the crowd came yet another woman, bringing Coisis to another sigh. She seemed much more direct than he, going up to him and inspecting him for herself. Damn them. What do all these women want with a frail boy? Coisis kept a serene look as his eyes lurked through various slaves. He began thinking to himself.

He quietly approached Nikolas for himself, his eyes falling languidly into a comfortable smile. His fingers swept across Nikolas' skin delicately, as if he were handling delicate cloth. He had to arrive in good condition, after all. Coisis too began inspecting muscles and ligaments he had memorized from massaging at the baths, looking for injury or tautness. Coisis was delighted by how deliciously Nikolas gave in to his touch. I'm sure they would enjoy that he snickered.

"Charming. Are you flexible?" he whispered as his fingers ran smoothly through Nikolas' golden locks, looking for lice and fleas, of course. He conveyed his comments quietly, only being meant for Nikolas' ears. He took a moment to pause, gazing into Nikolas' dichromatic eyes. Yes, he is a very distinct individual. he thought to himself. Frowning in sympathy, he gave one last comment: "You survived the journey quite well." He pulled away.

"Forgive me, my lady. I will offer five. He would do a good service to his fellow citizens," Coisis' serenity cracked into a wicked grin as he couldn't help but chuckle slightly. He hated to be abrasive, until he thought of the prospects.

"Seems your very popular, boy. I only brought a handful of the coins though, and I do intend to buy other things. Though, I was always one for the challenge....... I offer six, for him." She smiled, but made no move to touch the man. The others had done that enough, and they seemed pleased. She looked over the man in question quickly, then looked over to the other buyers "Though, I would like to offer a choice. If he," She pointed to Nikolas quickly "Would rather go to another" She swept her hand around to the other prospected buyers "Then I shall withdraw my offer. The money may be something you handlers only care for, but I do think a choice is necessary" She said, pulling out the coins from the fold one by one, counting them in a stack on top of her hand. She hadn't really thought of how many coins she had grabbed before, but apparently it was a large handful, as the fold in her clothing was still littered with coins.

The taller handler grinned in anticipation. Looking between the offered gold coins, he looked to Nikolas. The boy had been one of his better behaved males, and deserved a choice. Or so he thought. Pulling his comrade to the side, the two chattered for a while.

“She says he can choose.”

“Well, didn't he have issues or someving?”

“You're right...”

“We can't give an issued slave to young lady, that would be bad for reputation.”

“Good point, my friend.”

“I can show them the others?”

“Do what you will.” The taller one shooed off the smaller male and returned with a soft grin. “Nikolas,” he smiled, looking over to the blonde. “Whom would you like to go with?”

Nikolas stumbled, caught quite off guard by the offered choice.

“W-Well,” He started, searching his mind for the right words to say. “I-I think I would be more comfortable going with S-Sir.” He said, his voice trembling for the fear of a strike from either of the girls. “I-I don't do well with girls... “

The handler nodded as if giving the final decision and grabbed the male by the binds before leading him to Coisis and holding out his hand, waiting for the payment.

Vita watched the exchange without stepping between the bidding. She toyed with the coins in her hand, eyeing the boy with her glimmering blue eyes, her expression thoughtful. When he spoke of going with the man, she seemed surprised, but then she shook her head a little and smiled. She stepped forward and took the slave's hand in hers, seeming to ignore all proper ways to address and treat a slave, and instead opened his hand and pressed the four golden coins into his palm. She offered him an understand smile and went on her toes, her lips near his ear.

"If you ever need anything, find some way to either reached Praetor Imbrex's home, or find a slave that can fetch me. My name is Vita," she whispered, too low for anyone but them to hear. She went back down and stepped back, motioning with her hand for the man to pay for the boy, then turned away, her cape floating in the breeze.

"Come Valerius, let us see what other slaves there are," she said, nodding at him. They traveled along the line of slaves, then back up, repeating this several times, before she finally stopped before a young man with dark hair and a well-built body, who stood directly beside the blond man from before. She repeated the same motions as she had with the blond man to look over this one, then stepped back and studied him.

"What is your name, where did you come from, what rank were you as a gladiator before, how old are you, and what can you do?" she asked, her eyes looking him up and down at this point. She once more reached into her pouch and removed three aureus, fingering them just as she had done before.