[Fiction] The Roman Slave Girl

[RainbowSky]

The Roman Slave Girl
Prologue

They came one night. The thieves. The robbers. The murderers. The looters. My father asked them how he could help. What we could offer. But they slit his throat. My mother had been laying out our precious belongings. Jewellery. Cutlery. Gold. Clothing. She offered them to them. And they slit her throat as well. I saw these happen from my viewpoint at the top of the stairs leading to my attic bedroom. Scared. Worried. Nervous. I quietly returned to my room and hid under my bed.

I could hear them moving around the house, yelling instructions in Latin. I knew enough Latin after 8 years in the country to understand enough. “Take everything of value,” they cried.

I’m not sure how long I hid. The noises went on for hours. People trampling in and out of the house. Discussions about the worth of items. The sound of the cart outside being loaded up. Then it went quiet. I held my breath in fear. Maybe they wouldn’t check up here.

But they did. Heavy footsteps came up the stairs and from my hiding spot I could see their boots walk around the room, inspecting my belongings. I clutched the necklace around my neck tightly. The footsteps stopped by the side of my bed and then a hand grabbed my ankle, pulling me out. I yelled out in fear.

“Got you now princess,” he hissed at me in Latin. He let go of my ankle and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. There was rope and a knife on the bed. I eyed the knife warily. I’d seen what that knife did to my parents. He saw my gaze. He smirked. “Oh, don’t worry about that. You are far too valuable to die.” Instead he grabbed the rope, tied my wrists together tightly and walked me down the stairs and out the house. He led me to the cart that was piled high with all our belongings. He thread the other end of the rope through a metal ring attached to the inside of the cart. He then walked away.

Words were exchanged in rapid Latin – too quick for me to understand or maybe just words I hadn’t learnt yet. Then the cart began to trundle forwards. My wrists were jerked forwards and I had struggled to keep up at first until I found the rhythm and speed.

Then, from behind me, I felt a swell of heat and the sound of breaking glass. I turned my head and saw my home in flames. I stumbled and fell to my knees but quicky scrambled back up. I turned away and followed behind the monsters to wherever I was to live from now on.

[TomUk98]

Sounds like the beginnings of a great story!

[RainbowSky]

One

I wake up in a cold dark cell. I struggle to sit up. My hands and ankles are in heavy chains and these are attached to the slightly slimy grey bricks. The events of the previous evening rush back to me and I begin to hyperventilate in fear and worry. I try to take a deep calming breath and think back to what my mother told me to do when I have a panic attack. “Ground yourself. Remind yourself of the facts of who you are,” she whispered in my mind.

My name is Eleni Sophia Flora Perridi. I am the daughter of a Grecian princess. I am from Greece but live in Rome. I have lived here eight years. I speak Latin and Greek. My parents are… dead and… that’s all I know for sure anymore.

Despite the shortness of known facts, I feel myself calming immediately. I sit up a little straighter, proud of my heritage and who I am. I smile fondly at the memories of my parents. I try to think of more facts.

We fled Greece nine years ago, after an assassin attempted to kill my mother. She is the sister of the current Greek Queen and the heir to the throne. I suppose I’m the heir now. Living in Rome wasn’t without its difficulties. They don’t like foreigners here and we were treated with suspicion for months. Yet our neighbours grew to like us. Perhaps it was the way my mother and father both spoke Latin fluently that put them at ease. Or maybe the way they contributed financially to the upkeep and improvements of public buildings. Or perhaps the way that we didn’t have servants or slaves working for us. We were just a normal family. Normal but rich and upper class. My father had spent the last few years working his way up the government as and aide to important people. That’s also how my father knew about the attack.

I took a deep breath to steady myself before thinking over the events of the last few hours.

There is a lot of people who don’t like the Greek. And despite my families’ best efforts still don’t. The fact my father was high up and important and annoyed people. “How can a Greek man outperform a Roman?” they’d cry. But he did. My father overheard a colleague discussing how “they will get what’s coming to them tonight,” and knew we were in danger. But he was a good man and believed they could be brought. He had come home and told my mother to find everything of value and lay it out in the dining room. He told me to hide. Within three hours of his return, when the sun had set and it was dark. They came. And they were not easily bought after all.

I feel tears rolling down my cheeks. My parents had been killed because they were Greek. I am Greek. “What’s going to happen to me?” I whisper quietly into the darkness. Silence echoes in response. I sigh and drift off into my own mind; memories of Greece and of my family here in Rome.

It felt like several hours before I heard heavy footsteps coming from outside the cell. I shook my head once, clearing it of any thoughts of the past. All that mattered now, was here and now. How was I going to handle this?

Tell them who I am? No, that was just give them motive to threaten the Queen.
Beg for release? Could work but could I really let all of my pride go and beg?
Promise to flee the country and never return? More probable.

The footsteps stopped and I squinted in the dark. A dark shadow seemed to be at my door. There was a jangle of keys and the door swung open. I opened my mouth to speak but quickly closed it again when the person entered the cell and began untying my chains from the wall. I was shocked. Maybe they were just going to put me on a ship and send me home already, without me needing to beg. The chains slid out from the wall hooks and the person gently tugged at them, indicating I should get up and follow.

I struggled to my feet and shuffled along down the corridor after him. It was pitch black even outside the cell – how did he know where he was going? He was walking quickly, but with my ankles chained it was hard to keep up as I could only really shuffle forwards. “Hello, sorry, but could you slow down?” I ask in careful Latin. There was no response but he did slow a little so I could keep up.

At the end of the corridor was a spiral staircase lined with brackets and flames flickering within. I could see now that the person who had collected me was a man. One I recognised from the previous night, but not the one who had found me in my room.

He led me up the stairs and along another corridor into a grand hall. Sitting at the top of a long table was him. The man who had killed my parents and who had taken me from my home. He smiled widely as I approached. “Eleni! So glad you could join me. Take a seat, enjoy some food. We have a lot to discuss.”

[kmacroxs]

So far, so good. When I saw your name listed as the author, I knew I would enjoy it.

[RainbowSky]

Two

“Eleni! So glad you could join me. Take a seat, enjoy some food. We have a lot to discuss,” the man cried. I eyed the seat warily and continued to stand. “Now, now, Eleni! I insist you sit,” he adds, his voice taking on a menacing tone.

“If it’s all the same Sir, I would like to stand,” I request. He slams his hands on the table, the sound echoing around the hall.

“It is not a request. Sit down!” he growls. I nervously look at the chair and before I even have time to move, the guard has swept me up and dumps me on the chair. He then ties the ends of the chains to the table leg. I can’t escape. He leaves the room.

There is an awkward silence as the man at the other end of the table looks me up and down. He then picks up and apple and begins to eat. “Eat Eleni. This is the only offer of food you are going to get for… hmmm… twenty-four hours or so. I promise it’s not poisonous.”

I reach forwards, the chains rattling as I grab a pear. I bite in and savour the sweetness. There is an awkward silence as we both munch on our fruit. I finish the pear and place and core back on the plate. As I wait for him to decide to inform me of why I am here, I look around the hall. The tall marble ceiling is covered with arches and curves. The mosaic floor is of an ocean scene. A pretty mermaid is just peeking out from under a chair leg.

There is a sigh at the other end of the hall and I look up expectantly. He is throwing an apple up and down in his hand. “I suppose you are wondering why you are here and most importantly why you are alive?” he asks. I nod meekly. “Very well. My name is Septimus Piso. And to be quite honest with you, your father owes myself and other members of society a considerable amount of money. Money which your family don’t have available.”

I open my mouth to protest this fact but he raises a finger. “Ah, no speaking. Not yet anyway. You can ask your questions afterwards.” I feel my blood boiling at the way he is speaking to me but chained to the table, I am not able to do anything but sit and listen. “Were you aware your father was a gambling man?” Septimus asked me. I shook my head. “Then allow me to expand a little. He was. At least once a week, we would gather at a house to place cards. And every time your father would bet a little too much and lose it all. Of course, at first it didn’t matter. You had all the money you’d brought from Greece with you but then it got to a point where your mother would have got suspicious. So he began betting with money he knew he couldn’t afford and leaving a lot of people aggravated and without their winnings. There were a lot of demands for payment until he eventually promised to pay it off within the week. And guess what he promised against.

You Eleni. He promised you. And the home you lived in and your possessions. If he didn’t pay within the week, we were allowed to take and sell whatever we could, including you princess.

Now, I’m not sure what he told you last night when he returned from home, but I’m pretty sure he had no intention of paying up and thought we would let him off. So he probably made up some excuse for you and your mother, knowing full well we would be coming as we had informed his so at lunch. It wasn’t a secret. It was a fact. So now Eleni, the question remains what do I do with you? Any questions?”

I took a moment to comprehend all that had been said. My father had… lied to us. We hadn’t been robbed because we were Greek, we’d been robbed for… what? Paying off his debts? I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. I couldn’t allow myself to believe these lies. Septimus was not my friend, why would he tell me the truth? My father though… I had to believe he was a good man, for my own sake than anything else. “What does happen to me?” I ask, my voice more steady than I expected.

Septimus grinned delighted at me. “I’m so pleased you asked. Now, I did think about keeping you for myself. Having you work here as a slave. But your Greek. And a princess. Not that I will share that little secret with anyone else. Oh, by the way, how does it feel to be the new heir?” He didn’t wait for a reply, which was probably good as my mind was reeling from the fact he knew the truth of my heritage. “So instead, I’m going to sell you. There is an auction this evening. All your possessions will be sold there as well as several slaves from various sellers for the rich to buy. And I’m sure that you will be the most valuable possession at the auction. You do lose all your rights though once your sold. You won’t really even be viewed as human, just a possession to be used by your masters and mistresses.”

I felt a shiver ran through my spine. I knew all about slavery. We had them in Greece as well, but I’d heard that the Romans were less… gracious with their slaves. That although I may have one role within a household, I was also at every whim of the family, including if they wanted… I shuddered slightly, pushing the thought from my head. I looked up and saw Septimus watching me closely. I tried to hide my worry.

“But before that, I have some things I need to learn and a decision to make about how to present you. So I need you to answer honestly Eleni. What languages do you speak?”

“Greek and Latin,” I managed to splutter out.

“Good, good. And education. What have you studied and learnt? Both here and in Greece,” he questioned.

I thought for a moment. This was a tougher question to answer. “I can read, speak and write both Latin and Greek. I studied literature. I studied dance, music and poetry in Greece. I learnt to play the flute and lyre. I also learnt how to cook, sew and look after a home. I also learnt maths and some politics, slightly. As an heir to the throne, there was a need for me to be kept up to date with the world and how to rule,” I responded delicately.

He glowered as if I education wasn’t important. “Yes, you had a great education due to luck and heritage. You’d make a good teacher though. Age?”

I hesitated for a moment. I knew the following would be seen as awful. “Eighteen,” I mumbled. He seemed very taken aback by that. “I know. Most marry at thirteen or fourteen. But we’d only just moved here and were still settling down. Besides, I don’t need to be married to rule.”

There was some grumbling from the other end of the table but Septimus didn’t say anything. He paused and looked at me. “Are you a virgin?” My eyes widened in shock but I nodded dumbfound that he would even ask that question. He nodded. “Then finally how to present you. Most slaves will be naked so potential owners can inspect them, so should I do the same? Or should I play up your Grecian side and dress you as a Greek? Or display you as a Roman? Hmm… I’ll have a think. In the meantime, enjoy your time in the cell Eleni.” With these words, the doors opened again and in walked the guard. He untied my chains and I reluctantly followed behind, knowing in a few hours what my fate would be.

A/N: Thank you for the lovely comments so far. I'm really enjoying writing this one so far. The Romans were my favourite period of history to learn about although not sure I'd be too keen to be a Roman. What do you think? How should Septimus dress Eleni? And who should buy her? A man? A woman? A family? What should her "main" role be in the household? (because let's face it we all know her secondary role already).

[lotusdriver81]

So far so good.

I'd like to see her dressed as a "grecian princess" but in an obvious revealing attire, it would be a shame to reveal her body so early on.

She should be bought by a family with male and female offspring of the parents (would give her some way of serving all of them)

Be nice if they eventually found out her heritage perhaps

Others might have some ideas too though.