#scorpus/tenax

[tenwhiteandalusians]

so no one was going to tell me if i got literally one episode further tenax drops that he’s the one who saved scorpus from his mom’s pimp AND that he’s intimately familiar with scorpus’ dick when he was younger. guys. guys.

[kinard-buckley]

Those About to Die as Text Posts 1/?

[foudreika]

You can't convince me this is not Tenax and Scorpus coded 😭

[notsuch]

I have a normal amount of feelings about Scorpus and Tenax,,,

A sucker for smart best friend and chaotic dumb ass best friend.

[justinewt]

Pugna Inter Fratres - THOSE ABOUT TO DIE REWRITE Chapter Five

[THOSE ABOUT TO DIE MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter (08/30/2024)

Summary: Being reunited with her brothers was the best gift Aldea could have ever asked for. Some tensions here and there rose amongst them after things didn't turn the way they expected, especially between Elia and Fonsoa. They disagreed over the way to handle things after something happened to their horses and Andria and Aldea were kind of in the middle of it, but the latter would soon move on from that after that - though momentarily - after the arrival of two numidian women in her home.

Words: 6.9k

Warnings: title means "fight between brothers" // Those about to die spoilers (episode 2 "Trust None"), fluff

The moon was higher in the sky when they reached Aldea’s house. No one was standing outside the front door. Tenax must have dismissed Dacia and Noro already. She and Scorpus climbed a flight of stairs, his toga slightly slipping off his head as he began pounding on the door. Aldea joined her hand at her waist, looking around, waiting for Tenax to come open the door and they finally heard the lock slide open on the other side. They leaned back in surprise when they came to face with Tenax brandishing a butcher knife. He realized it was just Scorpus and Aldea and he lowered the blade, stepping away from the door.

“By the Gods. What are you doing?” The charioteer walked in, looking at his friend as the latter put away the knife. Aldea followed Scorpus inside. The door creaked as she pushed it behind her, and she quickly went in the bedroom to put her cloak away and combed through her hair with her fingers, proceeding to braid them for the night as she glanced at the two men.

“What do you want?” Scorpus pulled out something to show him and she heard a thud as he placed it on the table. Tenax shrugged. “What’s this?”

“One cotter pin, cut halfway through. My racing partner is dead, and I would be if I hadn’t switched rigs.” Tenax walked towards him, picking up the cotter pin to take a closer look. “Was this one of your fixes? Scorpus loses, you collect big. I break a few bones or my neck to make it look real.”

He frowned, putting down the pin, “No, of course it’s not. I told you; I have much bigger plans for the both of us than a few more rigged races.”

“Then find out who sabotaged my rig and kill them.” Tenax acquiesced, letting out a quiet sigh. Aldea slowly approached them upon hearing Scorpus pick up something else from the table, noting how it apparently looked a lot like his horse Incitatus with a chuckle. She saw her husband took a little gold horse figurine from the driver’s hands and dismissing him, telling him to take his winnings on his way out. “Aldea.” He gave her a nod and as he put one foot on the landing, he turned towards Tenax, pointing at him. “Don’t take me for granted.”

“I don’t.” He replied with a tight smile before locking the door and turning to Aldea, shooting up his eyebrows, spreading his arms open in despondence, urging her to explain herself and she knew he wanted to know where she had been and why she was coming home so late. And yet, she still asked a stupid question as if she hadn’t understood. She didn’t think before speaking. “Well?”

“What?”

“Where have you been?”

“I told you. My brothers are in Rome, so Nica took me to them. We attended the race, and I spoke with them before Scorpus offered to walk me home.” She got closer to him and slid her fingers over the collar of his tunic, locking eyes with him. There was a bright smile stretching her lips. “I never thought I’d see them again, and they’re here, in Rome. I can see them everyday now.”

“That’s great, Aldea. I just want to make sure that you’re safe.” He placed a gentle hand on her stomach, and she put her hand on top.

“I am as safe with my brothers as with Dacia and Noro. And Gavros and Scorpus were there too. I'm alway well surrounded.” Their faces had gotten close to the point of being mere inches apart, the tip of their noses rubbed together. They shared a tender kiss, and she went to bed while he left the apartment, having to take care of Scorpus’ sabotaged-rig problem. She slept soundly that night, with no nightmare, dreaming of her youth. She was around 6, compelling a then 8-year-old Fonsoa to play mom and dad with toddler Elia. He had always been such a sweet, angel-looking boy, even more so then with his big eyes, staring at her and following her and Fonsoa everywhere. In the early years of her brother’s life, it was more of an innocent game for her, but she realized over time that ever since he was born, even though she was only 4 then, she had always taken her role very seriously and loved taking care of him. There were only two things she truly loved doing, caring for her baby brother and being with their horses. She was happy with living this life forever.

The memory she relieved in her dream changed, it was a few years later, Elia and she were laughing bubbly, rolling in the tall grass to go down the hill and she woke up. She felt as though she was on cloud nine as she took her time to get out bed and put on her stola and cloak. Those memories put her in a state of absolute peace of mind. She was so used to Tenax being gone the whole night that she didn’t even notice he still wasn’t home, and she left for the Circus Maximus, to meet with her brothers at the stable. It wasn’t the afternoon yet, she would have some more time to spend with the three of them before they had to show the horses to Scorpus later on, and she would be with them then too. She didn’t have to work today as there wasn’t any races or fights, and in any case, if she didn’t want to work one day, Tenax wouldn’t actually care. He only let her work because she wanted to keep herself busy. If she felt like spending the day at home or at the bath or the theatre, she could.

She arrived at the Circus during hora undecimal, about half an hour before noon and they walked together to Tenax’s tavern to eat together. They got quite a few glances as they exchanged in Spanish the whole time, speaking at a fast pace too, as they asked their sister about her life in Rome, how she came to know Tenax – whom they still had yet to meet – and she told them the whole story. She told them how she followed this young sailor she thought she was in love with and got stuck on a merchant’s ship and was sold as a slave upon arriving in Rome, bought by Tenax and made a freedwoman a couple months later. She said the merchant never returned to Rome, keeping it to herself that Tenax had the later killed because of what he had done to Aldea. They would get scared for her, knowing Tenax’s doing, and she would have to reveal details she wanted to keep secret. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to know that she was forced to have intercourse by and with the merchant for over a week and that he broke her collarbone because she tried to fight back. She wasn’t hiding the latter under a cloak for nothing.

“You were sold as a slave?” Elia reacted instantly when Aldea said it, raising his eyebrow in a mix of utter shock, worry and anger.

“It’s okay now, I’m free. Tenax lets me work and do basically anything I want. He only asks me to be careful where I go. Rome can be dangerous.” She took a sip of her wine, looking down at her plate. “But he has over a dozen men working for him, and I know that he asked them to keep an eye out for me so I’m safe anywhere I go.”

“He seems to be a good husband.” Andria noted while Elia squinted his eyes, slightly frowning. He still doubted that whoever was her husband was a good enough husband for his sister and it made her smile amusedly. She gave her older brother a nod. Tenax proved to be a good husband indeed. She went on to tell them about their time as a married couple and it was enough for Fonsoa and Andria to hear that she was happy and well treated, or they wouldn’t have let her go back to Tenax, maybe even dragging her back home to Baetica if she needed to be saved from her marriage, but there was no need, and they could see that. Even Elia understood she was happy in her relationship. And now she had her family with her. It felt as though life was smiling on her once again. Ever since she became her own woman again at the end of summer 75 CE, four years ago, almost only good things happened to her; she eventually got into a relationship with Tenax, they got married and now she was expecting a child, and she was reunited with her brothers. She let it slip, during the conversation, that she was pregnant and the shock on Elia's face, his eyebrows raised as high as possible and his wide eyes, made her burst out laughing. He let his cutlery fall on the table, clattering against the wood.

“What— estás realmente embarazada?” He exclaimed, asking her if she was actually pregnant, grabbing her arm. Fonsoa and Andria chuckled, proceeding to congratulate their sister. Fonsoa, sat next to her, giving her a broad, proud smile, putting his hand on her back.

“Your child will be blessed to have you as a mother.”

“You were a natural.” Andria added, a soft smile on his face.

“You see, Elia, we’ll become uncles. You need to grow up.” He teased him, stretching his arm behind Aldea to push his brother’s shoulder with a chuckle. Elia dodged his hand, leaning to the side and let out a groan, annoyed to het pushed around by his brother. Fonsoa gently squeezed Aldea’s shoulder, insisting that she will be a great mother, and they finished their meal. A few minutes later, during hora quartadecima, a couple hours after they started eating, they met with Gavros at the Blue faction’s stable and prepped the horses for the try out on the tracks. They geared up four of their dozen Andalusians, attaching them to a rig and Andria warmed them up, making them run for a round in the arena. Fonsoa leaned against the door, his arms crossed while Elia, his hands on his hips, was growing impatient and aggravated by Scorpus’ delay. He still wasn’t there, and they had been waiting for what felt like an eternity. Aldea looked at the sun, up in the sky, indicating it must have been hora sedecim, and if she wasn’t home by the next hour, she thought that Tenax was going to wonder what she was doing out there that was making her so busy that she was missing dinner.

“Where is he?” Having to wait so much made Elia snappy. Gavros put his hand on his shoulder, assuring the driver was coming and he did a few seconds later. Scorpus appeared behind them as the chariot was approaching and Andria brought the horses to a halt.

“They’re small, your Andalusians.” He walked past Andria and stepped on the rig.

“It is not their size that makes horses fast. And no whip. They run better without it.” Scorpus still picked up his whip and Elia glared at him as the charioteer drove away. The horses went gradually faster and within seconds they were full on galloping. They saw Scorpus give a few snaps with the whip but eventually putting it away and instead only snapping the reins, his dark curls blown in the wind. Elia’s angry face gave way to a cheerful smile.

“They’re fast.” Gavros noted. After a full drive around the spina, Scorpus slowed down the horses and got off the rig, letting out a sigh of relief. He was clearly more than satisfied with the beasts and immidietaly made an offer to the brothers.

“Twenty thousand serteces for the ten. But… the three of you stay on as stable hands to get the most out of them.” Elia’s smile faded after getting excited at the price he had proposed. While Fonsoa and Andria agreed to it, he didn’t seem that excited anymore and looked upset.

“We agreed to go back!” Aldea’s head twitched. She didn’t know they were supposed to go home. They hadn’t told her yet.

“Elia. Look around. Do you really want to go back?” Andria asked.

“Yes!”

“We’re in Circus Maximus, and this is Scorpus, he’s trying to buy your horses and hire us. And we got out sister back.” Fonsoa stepped towards his brother. Aldea held her arms, crossed over her chest and kind of looked around, seeing Fimbria watching them in the distance. He crossed her gaze as he was leaving and she squinted her eyes, wondering why he had been staring at them. Elia kept on arguin, insisting Scorpus wanted to trap them in Rome, which he called “a sewer of a city” and the high price offered to them for their horses didn’t seem to make him budge.

“I will take the money, but we agreed to come here, sell the horses, find our sister and go back! We found Aldea, we can go back.” She bit her lips, listening to him. She would have gone back with them in a heartbeat if she hadn’t met and fallen in love with Tenax, and she was married now, it wouldn’t feel right to simply ditch him after years together.

“We could really be someone here. Make a name for ourselves.” Andria tried to convince him to change his mind. Elia shook his head, briskly licking his lips. “Horses, as many as you want.”

“I have all the horses I want, back in Baetica.”

“Boys. Scorpus is waiting.” He rose his voice, drawing attention to him. Andria gave him a nod, briefly turning back to his brothers, proposing to vote on the matter. Fonsoa was in, of course but Elia, unable to stay put, restless, refused to vote and walked away, nudging Fonsoa as he left. The latter called out his name and took a few steps after him but stopped himself and turned back to Andria.

“I’ll go talk to him.” Fonsoa softly grabbed his sister’s arm.

“He’ll be fine. He’ll come around.”

“We have a deal.” Andria then declared to Scorpus. The latter extended his hand towards him.

“The little shit stays as well, yes?” Andria acquiesced, giving his hand a firm shake. As he was leaving, he looked over his shoulder at Aldea. He was going to see Tenax at their home and waited for her to decide whether she was coming with him. Fonsoa comfortingly rubbed her back, reassuring her about Elia. She gave her brothers a hug and walked back to the Suburra with Scorpus. He jumped up the stairs and pushed the front door open. It had been left unlocked and he directly went inside. Aldea closed the door behind them. He had basically run down the street and was out of breath.

“I have just driven… the fastest horses in my life.” Tenax glanced over at them, sitting in the kitchen at the dinner table while Claudia served him something to drink. He tilted his head, looking at Aldea as she made her way to the table and sat across from her husband before the plate set up for her. Claudia gave her some food.

“Are you sure?” Scorpus leaned on the table and sighed.

“They’re the horses of Aldea’s brothers… they fly with the wings of Pegasus. So, I bought them. Well, with your money.”

“So you’re in?”

“Of course, I’m in.” Aldea followed him with her eyes, not really knowing what they were talking about as Scorpus walked behind her and grabbed a piece of bread from a bowl. Tenax looked aside, leaning his elbow on the table, bringing his hand to his face, thoughtful. Scorpus eventually left, leaving the couple together to finish eating.

“You were with your brothers?”

“Yes. I spent the day with them. I’ll go see if they’re at their place after. I need to check on Elia. He wasn’t too happy about having to stay in Rome.”

“Elia, that’s your…”

“My little brother. I hope he’ll come around… I’ll try to convince him to stay. He doesn’t like Rome, to say the least.” She sighed through her nose, chewing on her food. Tenax didn’t say much else on the matter of her brother being unhappy in the city. She knew he didn’t want her to leave, but he loved her and no matter how reluctant he would be, he would let her go if she chose to go back, but put down her fork and held his hand, hopefully letting him know she wasn’t planning on leaving. She was set on convincing her brother to stay. She wasn’t about to let go of the boy she raised and watched grow into the handsome young man he was today. “What were you talking about, with Scorpus?”

“Come. I have something to show you.” He stood up, wrapping his fingers around her hand and slightly pulling her towards him. She got up in turn and he led her to the bedroom. After pressing on one of the tiles on the wall, he pushed the hidden door open with his shoulder and briefly let go of her hand to go fetch something in the criss-cross shelves at the back of the small, secret room where he kept all his most valuable items and property titles. There were hundreds of those in those shelves, but Aldea knew about all this and had known for a while so she was a little puzzled what he might have to show her. He grabbed a tube and turned to her with an excited smile.

“What’s this?” Unscrewing one of the ends, he showed a scroll inside.

“500 shares of the Blue Faction.”

“500—” She was shocked. they grabbed onto each other’s shoulder. “What? How did you get your hands on 500 shares of the Blue Faction?”

“Rufus made a round bet at yesterday's race, betting his wife's shares on Scorpus to win in the last to second round.”

“Oh, that’s why he pulled back in the middle of the race and stayed behind until the last round? I knew there was something like this going on but, well,” She chuckled in disebelief. “I didn’t know this was what was at stake. What will you do with it now?”

“I’ll sell it to the highest bidder, and with the money, Scorpus and I can start our own faction.”

“That’s great news.” She caressed his cheek, the tip of her finger brushing of his beard’s hair, and she softly pressed her lips on his. He then closed the secret door and they both left home. She headed for her brother’s place, a couple streets away, while he headed for the Esquiline Hill to go negotiate with Consul Marsus over the 500 shares. They weren’t the lead owners of the blue faction, and he knew they would want to have this advantage over the woman who he and his wife had lost the position to, Caltonia. By buying those shares, they could retrieve their position as lead owners and he was going to use this fact to get the consul to buy those shares, giving him enough money to fund his ambitions. He would still need to get approval from the Aedile Ludi, who was no other than the emperor’s youngest son, Domitian. She wasn’t too worried about it. Her husband could be cunning and had a certain way with words, he would probably get Domitian to approve a fifth faction by the time the next race came around.

Aldea went to see if her brothers could be found in the room, they were renting but the housekeeper apologizes to her and told her she hadn’t seen them come back yet. Aldea returned to her apartment and Tenax returned in the first hour of the night. She wasn’t going to wander around town, pregnant and on her own so she would wait for either of her brothers – she hoped it would be Elia – to come to her instead.

“So? How did it go?” She asked, as Tenax walked in the room. He went straight to grabbing her face and kissing her, letting her know it did go as well as hoped.

“I sold the shares to Consul Marsu, nine thousand serterces.”

“And Domitian? What did he say?” His fingers sipped into her hair, his thumb caressing her cheek.

“I piqued his curiosity. I told him he would have half ownership over the faction, in secret, and that a river of money awaits us.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll approve your faction. He needs money. He’s been spending the empire’s fortune in every single betting tavern across town. With all the money he’d earn from this, he wouldn’t have to care about his debts anymore.”

“Yes.” He kissed her again, more strongly, as he was thrilled by the thought of finally being able to set his plan in motion and get his own faction. It would get them more money and allow him to sit next to his very own faction’s banner and be somewhat at the same level as the patricians that owned the other four. She didn’t share his ambitions, as she had no such ambitions to begin with, but she supported him in his endeavors and he needed and wanted this, to elevate himself socially, though he would probably not say it in so many words. After all he had been through at the hands of the powerful patricians of the roman empire, it felt, to me, as being a rightful revenge and she would be by his side throughout it. That was one reasons, if not the main one, as to why she couldn’t leave. It felt wrong to abandon and give up on him after the life they had built together, and all they had shared. And they were expecting a child. She couldn’t possibly deprive him of his child, and right to be a father.

She moved away from him, approaching the window as she heard quick steps outside their house. She saw the old woman who watched over Tenax’s property where her brothers were staying. The housekeeper was about to walk through the front door until Aldea called out to her, making her look up.

“You wanted to know when your brothers came home.” Aldea gave her a nod and left, after telling Tenax she wouldn’t be long. She walked to the other insula and as she entered, she could hear them argue in the distance. Because of how clear their voices sounded; she guessed their door was opened. She slowly walked up the stairs.

“Elia, how many times do I have to say it? It’s not forever. We’ll all go back together soon.” Andria tried to calm him down.

“When, exactly? A—After you’re grooms instead of stable hands? After you start driving?”

“Give it a chance. One fortnight, then decide.”

“No.” He was quick with his answer. His mind was still very much made up and he was dead set on leaving Rome. He felt betrayed and lied to, and he told them as much. “You’ve lied to me. Both of you. You never intended to go home. Did you? We said, we come here, sell our horses, find Aldea and go back home.”

“Elia…” She heard Fosnoa sigh. “We sold our horses, and found Aldea. You've been talking about finding her every hour of the day for years. We found her.”

“Yes, and I’m sure she wants to go home too.” She quietly sighed, her hand on the railing as she paused in her tracks.

“Elia, she has built a life here.” Andria said. “She’s married and happy, and she’s with child. You can’t expect her to leave it all behind? Don’t you want to stay here, be close to her?”

“You can’t say that’s not all you’ve wanted, ever since you were a child.”

“Take good care of Ferox.” Elia ignored Fonsoa, turning away from him as he finished packing his things, but he must have seen movement from the corner of his eyes because he turned his head and saw Aldea coming up the stairs. She saw him, mouthing her name and he looked down at his bag, almost shameful of the fact he was getting ready to leave.

“Elia.” She spoke softly, but he avoided looking directly at her, darting glances her way.

“You never intended to go home.” It almost sounded like an accusation. She sighed.

“I never expected I could go home one day. And I met people here, in Rome, that made me love my life here. Elia… please look at me.” She put her hand on his back, and he finally made eye contact with her.

“Do you know how much father’s missed you?” Fonsoa spoke his name, but it didn’t stop Elia from speaking. “First he lost… our mother, and then you. Do you know how much your disappearance destroyed him?”

“Elia. Enough.” Fonsoa rose his voice again, grasping his shoulder, and this time, Elia shut his mouth and went quiet, slightly flaring up his nostrils and shaking his head, freeing his shoulder from Fonsoa with an abrupt shrug. Aldea could see on his face that he felt awful for being mean to her but also that how much he felt hurt and let down by his siblings overshadowed the love he had for them, and especially for his sister.

“Please, Elia. Sleep on it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He wouldn’t look at her and she couldn’t the hurt in her eyes before she turned on her heels and left. As she walked down the stairs, she locked eyes with Fonsoa, still standing in the middle of their room and his eyes told her he was sorry about this. She gave him a soft smile and went back to her home. Tenax opened. He had been waiting for her to go to bed. Seeing she looked down, he stared at her worriedly, caressing her cheek. She took his hand and kissed it. She just wanted to go sleep it off, hoping Elia would at least stay in Rome for the night, or even better, change his mind altogether. The day had started off well and did not end on a high note.

Tenax and Aldea woke up the next morning, got dressed, ate some breakfast quickly and then left, heading together for the Esquiline Hill, hoping to find Scorpus there. But he wasn’t home and so began a search of the neighborhood to find their friend. Aldea stayed on the other side of the street while Tenax went to check if he was in the brothel he frequented but again, he came out of there alone and shrugged, exchanging a glance with his wife. They kept looking and found him at a tailor’s shop, looking at colorful pieces of fabric. Tenax ordered the tailor to get out and he snatched the fabric away from Scorpus after he drapped himself with it and threw it back on the table at the center of the room. Aldea, her hands joined by her waist, waited right by the entrance and could hear them even though Tenax was careful to speak quietly.

“Is this what you call discreet?”

“Word will get out, once we get Domitian’s approval.

“If… we get approval. Come. He’s meeting us at the stables to look at the Andalusians.” Scorpus smirked at the news, patting his shoulder on his way out. As he walked past Aldea, he, as Scorpus does, gave her a flirty look and smile and she shook her head amusedly. Looking back at Tenax as he followed him, Aldea saw his eyes briefly widen in annoyance. They then heade towards the stables of the Circus Maximus and got there about a dozen minutes later. The Blue faction stables’ doors were opened ajar, and they were unpleasantly surprised by what they saw inside. Elia was crouched next to Ferox, Fonsoa and Andria standing nearby. In all the other stalls, the horses were lying on the straw, barely breathing and lethargic. Aldea looked at them in worry while Tenax swore through his gritted teeth.

“Gavros went to get a physician.” Elia told them.

“Why didn’t someone tell me?” They turned around upon hearing Felix’s voice behind them. The young boy came running towards them.

“Domitian, he’s here! Outside!”

Tenax sighed heavily, “As I said… Fuck!” He turned to the brothers. “All right. I’ll divert him. Aldea, I want you out of here.” She wasn’t going to argue with him. He had other other fish to fry – bigger fish. She followed him outside and walked to a piller against which she leaned, seeing him talk with Domitian from the corner of her eyes. He tried to slow him down, to give everyone in the stables, just a little more time to find a quick solution to keep up appearances. On her way out, she heard Scorpus tell everyone to close the stalls’ curtains so they would find a short-term solution. Domitian wasn’t buying whatever Tenax was telling him to keep him out of the stables and he walked inside. She saw Felix come out and Aldea approached but when Domitian turned back to left, she stepped aside, hiding behind the large door. Plebieans bowed as the emperor’s son walked past, followed by Tenax and Scorpus. Before he turned to the other two, all three had their back to her so she slipped inside to go to her brothers. Fonsoa held out his arm, placing his hand on her back, drawing her towards him. Gavros arrived with thr physician and the man with the white beard knelt near the horse, holding a small flame to his eye to take a closer look.

“Augendus, the best there is.” Gavros spoke. “He was once veterinaries for the Greens.”

“You were right, Gavros. Most definitely nightshade.”

“What can you do for them?”

“Bury them.” He shrugged, shaking his head and looked up at Tenax.

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“There’s little you can do. A magnus might say put crows in their stalls for three nights… and use bells to call out the Orci spirits from their livers.” Tenax smirked in disbelief.

“I’m not gonna bet my life on that one. Do what you can.” He then took a step towards the Corsi brothers, glaring and poiting a threatening finger at them. Elia stood up. “No one has seen this. If you tell a single fucking person, you will die in ways you cannot imagine. Do you understand?” Aldea stayed silent as he addressed her brothers. It wasn’t her place to speak, even less to cut him off. She shouldn’t even be in there and was mainly allowed to be present because of her link to the six men inside. Even simpler than that, as his wife, she stayed out of his business, and this was business. The fact it involved her family didn’t matter. she wasn't going to undermine his credibility by speaking when she should remain quiet. “Don't believe my threats to be empty just because you are my wife's brothers. Remember… the only person you have to fear more than Domitian… is me.”

“We understand, sir. We have seen nothing here.” Andria acquiesced. She could tell he was intimidated and took Tenax’s words very seriously, and he was right to do so. A faint smile appeared on his face, like a ray of sunshine managing to break through the clouds momentarily. This was as much a friendly “nice to meet you” smile as it was a threatening “if something happened to Aldea, I’ll kill you” kind of smile. He then motioned for Scorpus and Gavros to follow him outside and left the Corsi in the stables. The poor horses groaned at their feet. Leading his sister along with him, Fonsoa called to his brothers to go talk in private in a stall a little further in the stable.

“All right, little brother, you win. This is getting too dangerous. I say we play along until dark and then slip out of the city.” Aldea frowned, slightly shaking her head. She held her arms, looking around. Elia took his eyes off the ground and glanced at his brother.

“To go where?” Andria asked.

“Anywhere other than here. Home?”

“I’m not gonna leave our horses to die.” Elia argued.

“Now he wants to stay?” Fonsoa smirked in disbelief.

“We have reared these horses since they were foals.” He insisted. “I love them. And I’m not going to leave them behind.”

“The Emperor’s son has seen us.” Andria added. “How far would we get if we run? We have no option. Fonsoa, you said it yourself last night… we can’t expect Aldea to leave the city either. She’s married and with child. I say, we throw in with Scorpus and Tenax.”

“It will be fine if you listen to what Tenax says, Fonsoa.” Aldea then spoke, following Andria as the later walked away. She looked over her shoulder when she heard something slam against wood. Elia was still in the stall, with Fonsoa following in his siblings’ footsteps. She sighed through her nose, quietly. He had been shoved by Fonsoa into the wall of the horse’s stall. She watched her brother walk past her and turned back, going straight to Elia.

“I’m fine.” He said under his breath as she grabbed his shoulder and made him look at her, putting her finger under his chin to lift his head. He softly pushed her hand away and she took a step back to give him some space and sighed before walking to the door where Andria was peeking out, looking at Scorpus, Tenax and Gavros. She arrived as Tenax pointed at her brother, ordering him to keep someone safe and since Scorpus led him away with him, pretending to go fetch some fresh horses, she understood he had sent Andria with Scorpus to go get something. She crossed eyes with her husband after he sent Gavros to get guards to stand.

“Where is my brother going with Scorpus?” Tenax looked around, bringing her towards the wall.

“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, I need to deal with this. I want you to go home.” She stared at him for a few seconds before nodding with a sigh. He saw she wasn’t really pleased to leave so he gave her a comforting look and she walked away. Before she even left the area of the circus, she glanced behind her, thinking of her two brothers and she was surprised to see Fonsoa, carrying a sack, leaving the stables. He didn’t notice her right away, staring into space angrily. She stopped in her tracks and waited for him to look at her which he eventually did as he came closer. He came to a halt.

“Where’s Elia?” At her question, he looked away with an annoyed snort and kept on walking. She called his name and walked with a brisk step to keep up with him. Seeing her struggle, he apologized and slowed down his pace. “Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I’m not spending another night in this city.”

“Fonsoa…” He turned to her, stopping suddenly and grabbed her shoulder.

“You’ve been living with this man for four years? We’ve been here for two days and it’s already getting dangerous. He threatened us.”

“I told you; everyone will be fine as long as you keep this situation to yourself. His threats weren’t empty, but he won’t harm you. He has to be like this. Life in Rome is quite unforgiving.” She tried to explain but he shook his head.

“No. I won't let this be my life, or yours, or my nephew's.”

“You can’t make me leave.” She argued with a scoff, leaning back, starign at him in incredulity.

“Aldea, this man is dangerous.”

“I’m the one living with him, Fonsoa. I know him. I get to say if he’s dangerous. Please, just trust me when I tell you that he’s not.”  She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with him in the middle of the street and switched to Spanish mid-sentence. They argued all the way home until they stopped by the front door of Aldea’s insula. She looked desperate to convince her brother to change his mind and tired to fight with him.

He sighed, apologizing, “Lo siento, Aldea.”

“Please, reconsider.”

“I’ll see you later.” He gave her a kiss on her temple, and she watched him as he walked away and stood there until he disappeared from her sight, and only then did she enter the insula and get into the apartment where she got to cooking to keep herself busy while Tenax wasn’t home. Claudia came out of her room and proceeded to help her cook, cutting the foodstuffs together in the kitchen by the candlelight. Not long after, the two women stopped when the door suddenly opened, and a young Numidian woman was pushed into the room. Aldea looked at her, squinting her eyes in confusion. Tenax came in after her, closing the door behind her. He asked Claudia and Aldea to leave them and the Spaniard didn’t move for a couple seconds while the housekeeper went back in her room, but after a second look from Tenax, she walked past him and the young woman, glancing at her from the corner of her eyes and she closed the doors behind her, leaving them slightly ajar, peeking out. Tenax stretched out his hand towards the chair, asking the girl to sit but she glared at him, somehow reminding Aldea of herself when she first stepped in his home.

“I said sit.” He pointed at the chair again, with his index finger, the light making his signet ring shine.

“After you take me, sooner or later you will fall asleep, and when you do, I will slit your throat.”

“You’re going to still my throat?” He nodded his head, and she could feel him shoot up his eyebrows in skepticism. The girl gasped as he took a step towards her and grabbed her by the throat. Aldea carefully pushed the door, so as not to make any noise, though she wouldn’t have been punished if he saw she was listening – he expected she would and knew she was – and she approached her ear from the opening as Tenax lowered his voice, speaking closer to the girl.

“I own you. You are my slave.” Aldea frowned, not understanding why he would buy a slave, after not doing so ever since he bought her. He didn’t actually need a slave then; she didn’t know why he would need a slave now. “I can do whatever I want with you.” Someone started pounding on the door. The loud knocking interrupted him and Aldea grabbed the doors handles and opened them entirely, stepping outside of the bedroom as he pulled out his dagger before unlocking the front door and came face to face with another Numidian woman, standing on the landing. Tenax exhaled, seemingly exasperated. “You don’t give up.”

“I’m her mother.” He sighed, inviting her in with a gesture. She rushed towards her daughter, and they threw themselves into each other’s arms. Tenax glanced over his shoulder upon feeling Aldea come up from behind her. The look she gave him was asking for an explanation, but he responded with a wave of the hand, meaning he would deal with her later and he turned to the newcomer as he put away his blade.

“I already told you. She’s not for sale.”

“Everything is for sale. At the right price.”

“Not her.” She stood before her daughter, as if shielding her while Aldea watched Tenax from behind, puzzled by what was going on.

“Why did you buy her?”

“I need to know things about the person who bought your other daughter.” Aldea joined her hands at her waist, nodding to herself, now understanding why he bought a slave out of nowhere.

“I see. You seek to use this daughter as a go-between to my other daughter to spy on your enemy. I have an alternative.”

“I’m listening.”

“I will be your go-between.” She offered. Her daughter parted her lips, about to protest but her mother continued. “But you don’t touch her. And when this is over, whatever it is, you allow me to buy her… at your cost.”

Tenax scoffed, taking a few steps in the woman’s direction, “No. When all this is done, I will consider selling her to you for whatever price I like.”

“I need lodging.” He smiled, amused and chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at Aldea and showed the room at the back of the flat.

“You can stay with your daughter for a couple of nights.” He stressed the last few words and turned around, slipping his hand from Aldea’s shoulder to her back as he led her to bedroom with him. They would finally have some time to talk, just the two of them. Aldea had a lot of things to ask him to clarify the situation. The last thing they heard before he closed the doors behind them was the woman telling them her name, Cala.

[To be continued…]  

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter (SOON)

Published (08/20/2024) by Andrea

[rav9n-16]

Would anyone be willing to do one on the wonderful series that just came out "Those about to die " ? PLS 🙏🏻✨️

There are so few !!😫

[labeteenmoi]

Kings of the Subura

Part 5

Fandom: Those About To Die

Pairing: Tenax x OC

Warnings: Violence mentions, sexual mentions, rape mentions

Summary: auctions are open

Note : tagging @somebirdortheother , @pckji and @darkrose33 , next part will be the last!

Remember your place.

Those words had kept taunting her mind for the last two days since Tenax had spoken them. She couldn’t help feeling disappointed but yet kept fighting it, preferring furor over heartache. The trust he had raised in Briga had caved in instantly, the hope of regaining control of her life with him had vanished too. She knew better than this, her resentment was more against herself than anyone else.

In her core, she had always felt he was different. He had been kind, patient and supportive, in his own way. He had shown her that she had more strength and cleverness than she thought, and taught her how to use it in the ruthlessness of Rome. 

He had admired her and even worshiped her she would dare say, in the intimacy of his chamber. She may have called it love if she knew what it was. 

Alas, bliss was not on Fate’s plans.

After their first night together, others had followed. Not quite as the first one, not with the forbidden taste of blood and intoxicating sweetness of revenge, but still memorable and intense. Each time Tenax would touch her, the same exquisite shiver would run through her, always feeling like the first time. Briga would revel in that abandonment sentiment as if she could finally breathe. Every time was a discovery of sensations, of pleasure like she hadn’t suspected existed. 

Confiding in him, she had opened up more about her past with her four older brothers and how they had forged her character with their playful mercilessness, earning her the name of Briga since she was a child, as in Brigantès, the God of war. How they had died at sea with her father. How her mother had followed from disease, leaving her to care for herself before she could have her married. How she had made a living on her own and earned the respect of her peers in her village with her hard work, only to see her life crushed by perverted Roman soldiers who, one after another, had abused her trust. 

She had told him that in Ostia where she had arrived, she had been abused too. The Commander of the military camp had protected her from some drunk soldiers only to have her chained in his tent, repeatedly beaten and raped until he got tired of her screams, insults and spits, and sent her to Rome to be sold as a slave.

Tenax had listened and, with his attentive silence, had allowed her tears to run, only drying them with a tender brush of his hand on her cheeks when all the sorrow had drained.

There was an undeniable bond growing between them and, just as much, her status as a slave seemed ever more futile. 

So she thought, until Scorpus came along again.

 

Another day where Tenax had matters to handle in the Subura and Briga had been taken along. At the end of the day, she was resting at a table in the tavern, sipping on a cup of wine while Tenax was dealing with his books in the far back of the premises. 

The place was as calm as a tavern can be on a regular evening, a monotonous ruckus only disrupted by Scorpus at the other side of the room, seated at a table with a woman, sometimes surrounded by admirers, being loud and looking at Briga, obviously trying to catch her attention. 

They had crossed paths since their steamy meeting at the brothel but she somehow managed to avoid being alone with him at any time since then. Scorpus knew something had happened between her and Tenax, for some reason she could sense it by the way he had suspiciously looked at them after their first night together, and after that, by the restrained resentment in his eyes every time he looked at his friend. 

Unwilling to discuss any related or unrelated matter with him in the tavern, she overtly ignored him as long as she could, but, distracted by the liquor, she accidently crossed his glance. Scorpus stood up on the spot and, ignoring the conversations around him, joined Briga and sitted without being invited across the table with a confident smirk. Briga threw him a cold stare over a discreet annoyed sigh. 

“Tenax didn't tell you it's rude to stare at people like this ?” Scorpus questioned after a moment of intense gauging.

Briga remained unmoved as she knew how: “No. He asks me to do it all the time.”

He sneered slightly.

“Even when he fucks you ?” he let out with an ounce of aggressivity.

She smirked in return at the pettiness, slowly taking a sip before retorting teasingly: “Not when we fuck, no. I couldn’t remain so quiet, even if I tried…”

With a disdainful grin, Scorpus let out: “You're pretty mouthy for a slave… I bet that's what he likes about you…”

“And you don't, so all is well.” she said coldly.

“Oh, I like your mouth too, I'd just like it better shut by my cock.” he asserted.

Briga sensed the conversation was taking a turn, Scorpus was drunk, as usual, and getting cocky; the wine aiding too, she felt compelled to somehow provoke him. She straightened up in her chair, leaning her torso gently over the table in a flirtatious manner:

“Would you, now ?”

Scorpus leaned over the table as well, his lips straightening in a wider satisfied smile at her playing along :“Very much” 

“How much ?”

His smile faded instantly under a confused frown: “What ?”

“How much would you pay to see that happen?” Briga articulated.

The charioteer scoffed with disdain: “I'll never pay a slave to fuck !”

Her eyes narrowed with anger for a second; that cursed word, she couldn't bear it and he knew it, but she knew how to push his buttons as well. 

“I'm not yours to dispose of as you please, so it’s not me you’re actually paying. Even a charioteer should know that.” she ironically stated in a calm voice, recoiling in her chair.

He hissed, biting his lips with an irate pout, recoiling in his chair in turn. 

“Tenax is an old friend, you know… All I need to do is ask, and he'll hand you over to me.” he retorted imprudently after a moment of reflection.

“Mmm…” Briga nodded slightly with a light smirk, “He’s such a generous person, isn't he?” she ironically alleged. 

Scorpus tilted his head with an annoyed smile, her satisfied expression getting on his nerves. Of course he knew Tenax was far from selfless and, to his displeasure, she knew it too. He couldn’t believe he was being dominated by a mere slave who seemed way more cunning than he would have thought. Not only did she resist him but she even dared negotiate as if she was in any way at his same level. 

As she suddenly looked intensely to the side, he looked the same way and saw Tenax, speaking to one of his men. Coming back to Briga, she was now staring at him with a defiant air on her face and tilted her head in Tenax’s direction, openly daring him to go see her master. 

The corners of Scorpus’ mouth twitched in a furious expression as he stood up, abruptly recoiling his chair before storming out of the tavern without bothering to call for the whore he had left behind at his table.

Briga took a deep breath and resumed sipping on her cup in peace under Tenax’s interrogative glare that the ruckus had alerted. Seeing his friend visibly frustrated by Briga grew a smile on his face. He didn’t even bother to be curious about their conversation, otherwise he would have probably suspected that Scorpus’s repeated attempts at seducing Briga were more than just a fling. 

Briga’s resistance, which made Tenax so proud, only further fueled Scorpus’s obsession over her. The great Scorpus had been rejected by women before, but he wasn’t that great then. Now, things were different, and if it still happened that a woman would not succumb to his charms, he just disdainfully ignored it with a wave of his hand, he only had to bend down to pick up another willing one just as beautiful. Even patrician women fell for him after all, how could Briga act so shamelessly above her status and refuse herself to him, even humiliating him in the process? That cursed woman with her disrespectful disdain and yet he craved possessing her beyond explanation.

 

It’s with this same wavering state of mind that he caught up on her days later, coming out of the stables alone, probably running some kind of errands for her master. His head covered so as not to attract attention from the people around him, he followed her discreetly until reaching a corner of the gallery outside the Circus Maximus leading to Tenax’s tavern. There he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her diligently against a wall, hidden from the direct sight of passersby.

Briga huffed in surprise under the shock of her back against the wall before hurriedly trying to identify her assailant under the hooded cape that kept firmly holding her arms. 

Her eyes opened wide, they softened slightly when recognizing Scorpus. He kept her still with the weight of his body against her, so awfully close. His look appeared blurred, as if unable to focus on one point as it happens when one’s mind is fogged by liquor, consistent with the smell of wine emanating from him.

Breathing heavily, his facial features seemed to hesitate between anger and resignation as Briga silently waited to know his purpose with a cold stare .

“How much?” he finally heaved, looking away from her face as an admission of helplessness.

At first caught off guard, Briga lingered on her silent stare until he finally looked her in the eye with a sore face. She hadn’t planned to have her provocations taken seriously by him, even less to have him surrender to her demands.

“Ten thousand sesterces…” she declared without emotion in her tone, “to please me with your mouth only.”

The charioteer suddenly burst into a loud nervous laugh. Her desire to embarrass him was definitely bottomless.

“Are you fucking out of your mind, slave?! I… err…” he broke off with a heavy sigh, biting his lip and shaking his head angrily. 

As if an idea had struck him at once, Scorpus froze and ogled her with a mischievous smile.

“What if I just fuck you right here, right now?” he taunted, pushing her harder against the wall.

Briga grimaced at the pressing body on her, turning her face away from his warm erratic breaths.

”So the great Scorpus needs to force himself on women, like the pig he really is.” she nagged dryly, trying to control her nerves.

”You’re just a slave, I can do whatever I want to you…” Scorpus heaved near her ear, rolling his crotch against her in a lewd manner.

With gritted teeth, Briga gave a try at pulling her arms from his grip but he clinged even harder. With anyone else, she would have insisted, pushed harder, screamed or even bite, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to see Scorpus as a dangerous man despite his behavior. Arrogant and stupid, but not dangerous. A softness in his smiley eyes perhaps, or the inner struggles he tried to drown under gallons of wine somewhat tickled a kind of tenderness in her, she couldn't and wouldn’t say in any way.

She took a chance at following her instinct and let go of her resistance: ”Go ahead then charioteer, do what you have to do.” she hissed coldly at him.

With a grin, Corpus lowered his head and nibbled greedily at the thin skin on her neck, letting go of her arms to grab her breasts and squeeze them over the fabric of her dress. She didn't fight it, struggling to keep her breaths under control with her knuckles tightly shut while he leaned harder against her. For a second he seemed to waver, suddenly remaining still. 

“Damn you…” he panted heavily, resuming his groping and sucking on her neck in between raucous breaths. But as his exhales became louder and shorter, the pressure of his body felt lighter and his hands hesitant. 

“FUCK !” he suddenly bellowed, raising his head with a fuming look. With his jaw clenched he recoiled abruptly, avoiding meeting her stare before quickly walking away, frantically rubbing his eyes and growling.

With the wall for only support, Briga took some time to catch her breath. She wasn't so sure anymore she would get rid of his advances so easily, his perseverance was becoming somewhat worrying. She had thought the presumptuous amount she had requested would exasperate him for good, but even that didn't seem to repel him completely. The only thought that reassured her at that moment was the certainty that Tenax would never bargain her as a piece of meat. 

 

***

Claudia had been sent away with an eagerness she and Briga had rarely seen. Only Briga suspected the reason: Tenax had carefully scrutinized her every move that day as she went about her daily tasks, brushing past her whenever the opportunity presented itself, smiling mischievously at her when he did. Even if it was race day at the Circus, he had decided they would stay home. He wanted her and when the light of day started finally coming off, he decided he couldn’t wait any longer.

After dismissing the servant, he had called for Briga from his bedroom, inviting her to proceed to the scarlet tainted bathroom with an overtly equivocal smile, where he had embraced her hastily against the hot stone walls. Exploring her curves with his hands over her clothes, he had devoured the base of her neck with his kisses under her delighted gasps. Reaching for the bottom of her skirt, he had lifted it up until he could reach her bare legs underneath, caressing along her thighs to her crotch. He had then slid his hand under the loincloth, gently rolling the tender flesh of her labia under his fingers. When he had felt the moisture escape, he had inserted his fingers into the slit and felt Briga's grip tighten on his back.

As usual, the expression of her pleasure always increased his own. Always so restrained at the beginning, her moans intensified with the increasing rhythm of his fingers penetrating her. Watching her lose control had become Tenax’s favorite view, and at it he was, admiring her eyelids quiver frantically over her incredible eyes and her lips being bitten in a vain attempt to hold back her whimpers, when someone knocked on the door.

They held their voices and moves, unsure first of what they had heard, but the knocking resumed, soon followed by a childish voice calling for Tenax.

They both sulked while puting their clothes back in place and Tenax came to the door.

“What?” harshly let out Tenax while opening it to a young boy. Briga recognized one of the orphans her master took care of.

The poor kid looked mortified for an instant until Tenax put on a vague sorrowful expression as an apology for his rudeness.

“Tenax,” the boy started, “Lady Antonia is asking for you.”

“Antonia Servilia?” asked a worried Tenax with a sudden bad feeling crawling under his skin.

“Yes, huh, she came by the tavern after the race. She wants to see you at her house right now…”

This did not bode well.

“Something happened?” Tenax kept on questioning with a rising nervousness.

“Well, err… Scorpus lost the race…” the boy added, timidly eyeing at Briga who had joined them.

Tenax looked uneasy, lost in his thoughts for a second. It was never a good omen to be summoned by powerful owners of a faction, even the more when there was money loss involved.

“Alright, I’ll go now.” he said, “You can go.”

“Huh…” the boy hesitated, stomping on his feet with anxious looks at the slave who seemed to share Tenax’s concern from her frowned look, “She wants to see her too…” he whispered.

The puzzlement in Tenax’s expression deepened as he looked at Briga, adding more to her trouble.

 

***

The Aquiline mount was a beautiful place like Briga had never seen in Rome. So different from the Subura and even more striking at this dusk. The streets were clean and bright and still full of life as if no danger lurked in the dark corners.

That was where the influential and rich people of Rome lived, and the house of Antonia Servilia and her husband, Marsus Servilius, was the definition of opulence.

They were made waiting in a richly decorated and lighted living room, almost as vast as the entire apartment of Tenax. She could see her master was trying to keep his composure, restraining from pacing back and forth during their wait. He thought he knew what this meeting would be about until Briga had been mentioned; the question of how she could have anything to do with Scorpus' defeat wouldn’t stop harassing his mind.

A gracious curly red-haired woman finally arrived, tall and distinguished, her white veiled dress floating around her in soft rustles as she walked towards Tenax with her chin held high and an arrogant smirk on her face.

“I hope you were not too busy, Tenax?” Antonia inquired upon her entry with evident sarcasm.

Showing a polite smile, Tenax bowed slightly his head at her : “Of course not, Antonia. You summoned me?”

“So, here she is…” resumed the mistress of the house going towards Briga, overtly ignoring Tenax, “the cause of our predicament.”

She smiled but there was no mistaking it for kindness by the scornful tone she had used.

“Predicament ?...” hastily questioned Tenax feigning ignorance, wary of how Briga was reacting to Antonia’s approach. To his relief, the patrician woman finally turned to him.

“Oh… you weren’t at the race today, that’s right, you haven’t seen it.” she retorted with irony, “Scorpus made a fool of himself today!”

Tenax pouted smugly: “Well… he has lost in the past already, I”m sure he will get over it…”

“He did not just lose, he didn’t finish it at all!” cut off Antonia with a rising anger in her voice.

At Tenax’s decomposing expression, she kept on: “He was completely drunk, he couldn’t even keep a straight line on the tracks before collapsing in his chariot!”

He suspired deeply at the information while rolling his eyes, clearly thinking “Damn, Scorpus…”

“He mentioned your slave's name among his incoherent and drunken ramblings, asking why she keeps on resisting him!” she kept on, turning back to Briga and tilting her head to the side with a cold smile. “Now, why does YOUR slave, Tenax, get in the way of OUR victory?”

As Tenax was reflecting on how to come out of the situation, Antonia slowly advanced further towards Briga who had kept still, holding her hands in front of her, looking at the woman with the most emotionless face she could put on. But as she came closer, planting herself in front of the slave, Briga felt a tension build up in her shoulders.

“Hmm… I really don’t see what’s to be so obsessed about…” let out softly the Roman woman, reaching for Briga’s chin and inspecting her face with an unveiled disdain.

“Don’t touch me.” coldly spit out the slave, harshly moving her head away from Antonia’s grip with an angry look.

Antonia opened her eyes wide with outraged disbelief and swiftly slapped Briga across the face in a sonorous blow. Tenax let out an uncontrolled gasp before watching Briga’s face turn into an expression of primal fury and her body tensing, about to snatch at the woman who recoiled with a fearful look. 

In a swift movement, Tenax interposed himself between them and addressed Briga with a strained face and an icy tone: “Go wait for me outside…”

The furious gaze of her master revolted her as first effect, but she complied nonetheless, unwilling to put him in an even more difficult situation, but the Gods be witness, she was dying to rip this woman to shreds.

“I beg your pardon, Antonia.” Tenax bowed slightly at the woman, trying to regain her aplomb while watching Briga leave the room with an undisguised relief.

“You better tame that beast, Tenax, or I will!” she scolded, frantically straightening and fixing her dress which didn't need it.

“I’m sure a little frustration won’t kill Scorpus, he’s a grown man.” lightly declared Tenax, eager to steer the conversation away from his slave’s behavior.

“I couldn’t care less about Scorpus’s ego!” she hissed back with a furious look, “I care about what his little craving for that girl will cost us! You are going to fix this, Tenax.”

He looked at her with a hardly dissimulated wariness in his blue eyes, holding his breath in anticipation of what the Roman woman would demand of him.

“Put your slave in Scorpus’s bed before the next race. If he’s still useless by then, I’ll make sure he won’t be a burden to our faction anymore, nor to any other faction for that matter...” Antonia demanded in a threatening voice, turning back and imperiously leaving the room without waiting for an answer.

 

Now they were both furious, and none of them uttered a word while walking back to the Subura, carefully avoiding each other’s gaze. Tenax led Briga to the tavern where only a few drunk men lingered, the rest having deserted the place to go and sleep off the rest of the night. Ignoring his handymen guarding the place, he promptly went directly to the back side of the betting counter, the most isolated part of his establishment, and stopped, his hands on his sides with his head low, waiting to feel Briga’s presence behind him.

“You can’t act like that with these people.” he started, breathing deeply to maintain a calm trône. At her silence, feeling her angry stare tickling his back, he turned around and faced her with eyes darting with anger. “You hear me? Patricians aren’t to be fooled around, even less when they’re faction owners AND senators like Antonia’s husband! These are powerful, dangerous people that will ALWAYS have their way!” he ended up almost yelling.

Tenax could literally see the anger inflating inside of Briga’s eyes, and he should have stopped, he knew only too well how unable to think she was at the moment and yet, all kinds of fears were clashing inside him at that moment, he was unable to control himself.

“You can’t overpower them so stupidly when you’re nothing. Remember your place!” he let out ragingly and out of breath.

The change in Briga’s eyes from anger to deceit was instantaneous, her jaw dropped as if she had been hit in the stomach. That is how she had received his words at the moment, physically reflecting the decomposition her mind was going through.

Tenax fleetingly grimaced in remorse at this expression he had never seen on her face before, but it was too late, he couldn’t unsay what had hurt her. 

Briga felt betrayed, again, and that was not an unfamiliar feeling for her, except she had carefully watched their relationship evolve with suspicion and awareness this time. And she had let go of her doubts, she had acquired the certainty that he was the man who would never think of her as a lesser person for they were so similar in their resilience. But she had been wrong. Whatever she did, or said, or think, she was a slave, and that seemed to be now the root of who she really was for Tenax and all the likes of him. Everything else was mere decoration. 

With a resigned pout, he called for Dacia:

“Take her home, I have to find Scorpus.” he ordered dryly, imperiously looking down on Briga who had put back on her cold mask with the neutral look she used to have before they had become close. 

Before Dacia could agree, Briga retorted sharply: “Yes, master.”

Tenax froze, almost in shock at her words. Never had she resigned herself at acknowledging him as her master, nor had he ever really expected it from her despite what he had demanded of her the day they had met. She had said it in such a direct manner, as if these were common words in her mouth. He knew it was in reaction to his own demeaning words that did not match his thoughts at all, and he really hoped she didn’t mean it either.

This was not the time, however, to dwell on the subject, and he made no protest at her cold, silent departure.

 

***

Silence was all he found when coming home after his mildly successful search: Scorpus was found dead drunk in the training room of the charioteers, snoring so loud he could be heard from outside, and completely unresponsive to Tenax attempts at waking him up.

Dacia’s guarding presence near Tenax’s apartment ensured him that Briga had not gone anywhere, and yet, upon entering it, the sounding emptiness of the place struck him deeply. Although everything was in its place, the air felt dry and the darkness heavier than usual.

His first instinct was to go see Briga that he foolishly thought would be waiting for him in his chamber; after all, that’s where she had spent all her latest nights, but she wasn’t there. So he went towards her room, suddenly seized by a hint of panic at the thought of finding it empty too. Opening the door in precipitation, he let out a relieved sigh when seeing her there, laying on her bed.

There was no way to say if she was sleeping or faking it from the door, all he could see under the faint night gleam was her back gently rising and falling at every breath she took.

But there he stood for a moment, pondering if he should approach or just let all the hurtful words fade into the night. He chose the latter, unsure on how to address Antonia’s demand with Briga or even with himself for the moment being, which would just add more bitterness upon an already draining evening.

That was a decision Tenax would regret for the next couple of days.

Briga had come out the next day acting more distant than ever. Like in her first wild days beside him, she would just disappear from his sight every time she wasn’t needed, and when addressed to, she would comply without showing any emotion and a mechanical “yes, master” was all she would ever say.

But time was running, the next race was two days ahead and she still didn’t seem any more forgiving. Perhaps it was better that way, if he really thought about it in an incongruous burst of divine optimism. The prospect of pushing her into the arms of another man made him nauseous, even more so knowing what she had endured in the past, but the man in question was Scorpus and somehow it reassured him, he was his friend and despite all his bad habits and manners, he was not a wicked man. But he also thought that Scorpus was no match for Briga, and should she refuse to submit to him, he was the one in danger in every turn of évents. He and Tenax’s ambition for the future for that matter, and having Briga defiantly acting like the obedient slave she wasn’t, was probably the best time to see things happen as they should.

He almost laughed at himself for such silly thoughts. His life would probably be a lot easier if he didn't have feelings for that woman. How could he ever demand this of her, how could he come up with an alternate plan in such little time?

The Gods, should he ever pray to them, had decided to ease things for him somehow. In a trickster way however, as they should.

The day before the race, a messenger knocked on Tenax’s door, bringing a summon from Scorpus addressed to him and Briga for that evening. Tenax did not have the opportunity to meet with him in the meantime and was planning on finding him to try and talk some sense into him. 

Although still not believing he would succeed there either; he knew too well the stubbornness and pride of the charioteer, but he did not know what else to do. And out of the blue came this message, as if the odds had finally turned in his favor. 

The timing seemed too good to be true and that strongly tickled Tenax’s suspicion that something was unraveling.

[crossbackpoke-check]

do you guys um. mods asleep anyone on the dash want to read 1.5k of roman history (tatd) fic i would be christening (haha) the tag for. and also help brainstorm with me to make it more than a scene but not an entire Plot 🙏

[honeybuzzbear]

LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO WRITE AGAINST MY HERMES FROM THOSE ABOUT TO DIE, OR TO DO SOME KIND OF ACHILLES X PATROCLUS / SERVANT X KING / SPOIL OF WAR TYPE PLOT WITH THE FACE CLAIM!

I just think he's neat, you know. I already have a few characters with the FC but would like to develop some proper plots with him.

If interested, send me DM or interact!

18+ only.

[sharing-my-stories]

Excerpt from my Those about to die FF

Tenax let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head before he turned away to leave. Just before he was stepping up the stairs again, he stopped in his tracks and turned one last time to Scorpus. “Do you know a woman by the name of Lydia?”, he asked loudly into the silence of the Dungeon.

Scorpus head flung to him immediately and looked at Tenax perplexed. “What?” he asked, obviously confused, and stepped up to the metal bars again. Tenax raised an eyebrow, as Scorpus reacted so directly to his simple question. “I'm supposed to tell you, that she's here.”, Tenax answered and also stepped closer to the barrier keeping the two men apart. “Where is she?”, Scorpus asked with his thick accent and his hand grabbed one of the bars, looking at Tenax intensely.

Tenax thought about it for a second and once again, he was able to turn the situation to his advantage. “Ride for the golds, and I'll tell you, my friend.”, Tenax spoke with a small smirk on his lips. Scorpus pressed his lips together and left out an annoyed huff before he nodded. “Fine! Scorpus rides for the Golds, and you'll tell Scorpus where she is and never call Scorpus a friend again!”, the driver said through the bars.

[tenwhiteandalusians]

the last twist of the knife

scorpus/tenax, 2.4k // @tenwhiteandalusians

“Convince me, then,” Scorpus says. Hands thrown open, a blank slate laid on the table. As if there is any argument Tenax has not already made, every assurance and its paired rebuttal a team of horses they’ve whipped to death around the curves of their cyclical reasoning. “That you are worth the risk. That your words are not empty. If I say yes, if I will race for you, where will you get this money you say we need, the approval and the respect? How will we succeed? And why?”

[kinard-buckley]

Those About to Die as Text Posts 2/?

[geralts-yenn]

How is there practically no fanfiction for Those About To Die?

I mean, yeah, the show isn't the best, but...

The whole show is nothing else but beautiful people fucking or trying to kill each other. It's AO3 in a nutshell.

My husband even said "This show is like one of your horny books" 😂

How is there no one wanting to give the pretty little twink a better story than ending up as crocodile dung?

No one here who wants to explain that Scorpus wouldn't have been a miserable drunk asshole if he would have been dicked down by Xenon?

Not one person interested in Tenax kneeling for Cala?

I'm a little disappointed here

[justinewt]

Familia Ante Omnia - THOSE ABOUT TO DIE REWRITE Chapter 9

[THOSE ABOUT TO DIE MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: With Ursus gone from their lives and no longer lurking in the shadows, they could take a breath and relax. They spent a good few weeks. Aldea's belly grew as time went on, time she spent with her brothers. She enjoyed having them again and being able to see them everyday. She was getting used to their presence but this peace was disturbed when one man's ego took over his reason.

Words: 4.1k

Warnings: title means "Family over all" // Those about to die spoilers (episode 8 "All or Nothing"), angst, grief, mention of blood

Aldea rolled on her back. Her belly had grown significantly bigger, being now just a couple days away from her 8th month of pregnancy. She had become quite the insomniac the past few weeks and didn’t get much sleep. She would be able to sleep for a couple hours, then wake up, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling and thinking, thinking and thinking to the point of falling asleep again and this time sleeping until first light and waking up as Tenax would get out of bed. She was always in some sort of discomfort with the coming and going back pain, the leg cramps and the heartburn, along with feeling her baby moving around and kicking so she didn’t go back and forth between their insula and the Circus Maximus as much as a month or so ago and Tenax wanted her to rest as much as possible so she obliged because she really didn’t have the energy to go run around anyway but still, sometimes she went out for a walk, to stretch her legs, sometimes going to Circus Maximus when Andria and Scorpus would race. She wanted to be there for her brother, and seeing Elia and Fonsoa was always a pleasure as well. The three young men were always asking her if she was feeling okay and Elia was asking her questions about how she was feeling every other minute, and she often dismissed his worries with a chuckle and a smile and a rub on the shoulder. She would be fine if she was with her brothers and her pregnancy was not going to be stopping her from supporting her friend and brother on the tracks.

Aldea opened her eyes and squinted them as daylight penetrated the room. She hadn’t even realized that she had fallen asleep again after waking up in the middle of the night and she glanced over at the window as she sat up in the bed, listening to the drums announcing today’s race, which had most likely been the one thing to pull her out of her slumber.

“Is there a race today?” She asked, as if it wasn’t obvious but she was still kind of sleepy and yawned, closing her eyes and covering her mouth with her hand.

“Yes.” He had a slight smirk, amused, looking at her with a soft gaze as he put on his toga and tightened his belt. Aldea quickly got out of bed and with one hand supporting her lower back, she made her way towards the dresser to get her clothes. When he insisted, she needed to rest, she looked at him over her shoulder.

“If there’s a race, then my brother is racing. And if my brother is racing, then I will be watching the race. Simple as that.” She shrugged, and he let it go. There was no convincing her not to come. He knew being there for her brother was very important for her. They left the insula, walking to the Circus. They held onto each other’s arms and Tenax walked stiffly because of his leg. He didn’t need clutches anymore, but it was still a little difficult so he used a cane. It would get better in the months to come, she was sure of it, just as her shoulder got better and it didn’t hurt anymore, despite the bone being broken, like his. He forced himself to try and walk faster, to get to the Circus quicker but Aldea pulled back on his arm, telling him to take it easy. They would get there in time, there was no need to rush, the race had just been announced to the city. Right now, plebeians were probably just arriving to the arena and getting their tickets. Cala must have been taking all the bets too as she was already gone when the couple had woken up earlier.

They went straight to the entrance, and she walked by his side, as she had been doing at every race since the first time they walked together in front of the patricians after the Golden faction’s debut on the tracks. Aldea wasn’t intimidated by those people anymore and stood proud anytime she encountered them. Tenax and Aldea sat on their seats, with their faction’s banners on each side of them. The Gold of the wall hangings nicely brought out the lightly tanned color of her southern Spaniard's complexion, just as the golden jewelry she had been gifted by Tenax did, the coins necklace around her neck, and recently, the fine snake bracelet at her wrist. There was a certain glow about her that arrived since she passed the mid-point of her pregnancy. According to Tenax, she was more beautiful than ever before. His hand resting on hers on the arms of their chairs and her other hand on her round stomach, they watched as the crowd cheered loudly when Titus appeared on the imperial platform.

“I, Titus Caesat Vespasianus…” he spoke, loud and clear. “Give you this day’s games, on building civic baths! Already two months under construction. And I announce that I am giving our belived Rome… an heir!”

The drivers then paraded around the spina on their chariots, waving to the crowd. As they passed by the White faction’s booth, Andria looked over to his sister, waving his hand higher and she chuckled with a big smile, waving back happily. She felt such a sense of pride, thinking of what her brother was accomplishing in Rome. She could feel he was going to become an as successful charioteer as Scorpus’ was and she was so excited for him. Passus exclaimed, getting the drivers ready before they were unleashed onto the tracks and he let the white cloth fall to the ground, starting the race. Aldea eyes were glued to her brother’s back – she knew where he was on the tracks at any given time at any round. Andria’s horses looked like they were literally flying. Right at the beginning of the race, a shipwreck happened, putting Xenon and one of the Whites’ drivers out of the game. She let out a heavy sigh, holding Tenax’s hand tighter, relieved that it wasn’t her brother or Scorpus in that accident, especially so early on. When she then heard the crowd chanting Andria’s name, she looked around and smiled. He was making a name for himself. That was her big brother’s name that people were chanting in the arena – her beloved hermano mayor. Her eyes wouldn’t leave him.

She frowned slightly, squinting her eyes, confused as to why Scorpus was started to pull his reins to his left, towards the spina. She leaned forward. It was even more puzzling because he kept leaning to the side, pulling his reins inwards, because Andria was in between him and the spina and if the famous driver kept doing this, he was going to box the Spaniard in and trap him. But she couldn’t believe he would deliberately do this, until she saw the look on Andria’s face as the latter looked at Scorpus, his face straining as his lips mouthed his name before his rig rolled over the debris of the previous shipwreck and Andria went flying off the chariot. She let out a strangled cry, shouting her brother’s name. She instantly let go of Tenax’s hand as she jerked to her feet, her heart sank, and her stomach dropped. Aldea’s chest was heaving quickly, and she turned on her heels, ignoring Tenax as he called her name, and ignoring Cala who was standing to the side of their seats, walking past her without a glance and going as fast as possible, her hand to her stomach as she whimpered, unable to take deep and full breath. She prayed to herself, mumbling in Spanish on her way, hoping Andria would be fine. She didn’t even realize she had tears in her eyes until she began wondering why her vision was getting blurry and she couldn’t see where she was going anymore, but she was so used to going to see her brothers, she knew she was almost there. She even began running.

When she reached them, she could hear Andria’s labored breathing and weak and faint voice. She rushed to his side and stifled a cry as he set his half-closed eyes on Aldea, the corner of his lips stretching softly at the sight of her. He lifted his hand towards her, and she bent over, taking his hand and bringing it to her cheek, feeling his thumb caress her skin.

“You look so much— like our mother…” He parted his lips, swallowing harshly, and he looked at their brothers, “Take care of each other… Take care— take care of our sister…” His breathing quietened and they witnessed the life leaving his eyes and his limbs softened. His thumb stopped moving against her skin, his hand almost falling off her face if she wasn’t holding it up with hers and she gasped, choking on her tears, as her brothers weeped uncontrollably. Elia called out to him faintly. Aldea sobbed. She wouldn’t let go of his hand, her tears rolling down her cheeks and falling on his fingers. She sniffed, wiping her tears and turned her head, looking over her shoulder as Elia stepped towards the doors leading to the tracks. She realized the race had just ended and Scorpus had stopped his horses by the doors, proudly waving at the crowd cheering for him. He had won. The only thing that crossed Aldea’s mind was that he had won, at the cost of her brother’s life. He killed Andria. He killed him and she because she knew Scorpus well, she knew why he did it. He killed Andria because his inflated ego couldn’t take seeing people cheer for someone other than him. Her brother was good driver, a fresh face in Rome, and it was taking the spotlight off him. She gave him a death stare, glaring at him, as she watched him proudly getting off his rig. The moment he stepped through the doors, taking off his helmet, Elia threw a punch at his face, making him lose his balance, catching himself on the wall. He grabbed his clothes, shaking him up and shouting, confronting him with what he had done.

“You fucking scum! You killed him.”

He pushed him away, forcing him to let go off him, “he chose his line.”

“No, it was you. You pulled to the left.” He was restless and Gavros and Fonsoa held him back, keeping him from lashing out on Scorpus again. Aldea stood behing him, pressing her lips against each other to keep them from quivering, her eyes slightly red and shining from the tears. Fonsoa made his little brother face him, urging him to tell him what he saw. “He pushed Andria into the wreck. He boxed him in!”

Scorpus pointed at Elia, pissed, but never as angry as either of the Spaniards in front of him, “Touch Scorpus again, I’ll have your head.”

“And I yours for killing my brother!” Tenax walked around them, stepping in front of Elia, putting his hand on the latter’s shoulder.

“Andria is dead. It was an accident.” Aldea lips relaxed but not in relief and rather in disappointment as she stared at her husband without even blinking. It was no accident. They were sitting next to each other up there on the stands. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t see exactly what she saw – that Scorpus killed Andria. She had been watching her brother like a hawk and she knew Elia wasn’t exaggerating. He frowned, shaking his head. Tenax met Aldea’s intense gaze, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, his hands joined, one on top of the other on the pommel of his cane.

“I offer my condolences.” Scorpus said, quietly, drawing Aldea’s stare to him. “It was a… tragic accident.”

“No, you lie!” Elia was walking back to Andria’s body and turned back, shouting. Fonsoa stopped him, his head down.

“Ours is a dangerous game.” Scorpus argued. “Your brother knew that.”

Aldea flared her nostrils, glaring at Scorpus. He met her eyes and looked at her sideways, taking a step back when she spit at his feet, “Que te jodan— maldito gilipollas.” her voice shaking from the anger and frustration, and she yelled, “Me cago en tu puta madre y en tus muertos.”

“Aldea.” Fonsoa spoke her name, rather firmly, because of the profanities she was throwing left and right at Scorpus’s face, who was looking at her having no idea what she was even saying, but he was smart enough to understand she was insulting him pretty badly.  

“No me des sermones, Fonsoa. Andria— Andria está muerta… because of him.” She urged him not to lecture her and stifled a sob, pointing an accusing finger at Scorpus, “Andria is dead because of him.” She saw, from the corner of her eyes, Scorpus shaking his head and parting his lips but Tenax stepped in, trying to grab her arm but she smacked his hand away, breathing sharply, her eyes getting teary again and she shook her head, backing away from him, speaking quietly, “do not touch me.”

“No, Aldea…” Fonsoa looked her before glancing over at Elia, “He’s right.”

He turned back to them, his eyebrows pulled together in a concerned frown, “you don’t believe us.”

“I just didn’t see what you say you saw.”

“He forced Andria into the shipwreck! He boxed him in!”

“No.” Scorpus stood his grounds and shook his head, refuting Elia’s every accusation. Aldea was watching Tenax and saw the latter look at Scorpus from the corner of his eyes. She frowned. She knew he was lying, backing his friend when he knew what he had done. She felt betrayed. She couldn’t think straight, she couldn’t understand why he would let Scorpus get away with this. She wished he was on her side – on their side – and support her and her brothers but it wasn’t what had happened. She was disgusted and looked at him in a different light, maybe it was the anger and the grief that were causing an inner turmoil.

“Aldea saw it too.”

“Neither of you can be sure.” Fonsoa insisted. Elia tilted his head forward, clenching his jaw, before looking at Scorpus and Tenax.

“I will have nothing more to doo with you… or this Gold faction.” Aldea couldn’t even look at Fonsoa and she followed Elia, kneeling with him by Andria’s body. Hearing the crowd cheer in the background made her stomach turn as she looked at Andria’s face, covered in blood. Her eyes filled with tears in mere seconds, and she pressed her forehead against Elia’s shoulder.

Tenax approached and sighed, “Elia, Aldea… it wasn’t Scorpus, it was a shipwreck. It happens…”

“You are just as bad as he is.”

“Maldito mentiroso.” Aldea mumbled and stood up, stepping towards Tenax, getting up close, shaking her head, looking into his eyes, “why do you lie…”

“It was an accident, Aldea.” They spoke to each other in hushed tones.

“Repeating something will not make it any more true.” He finally crossed her gaze and for half a second, she thought he was going to take back what he had said and if he did, she knew she would have forgiven him, but he said absolutely nothing and she shook her head subtly, in disappointment. He held out his hand to her, wanting to touch the hand she had on her stomach, but she backed away from him, again, “I said, do not touch me.” She was bitter and angry and wanted to be as far from him as she could. Never had she felt like this about him, and it was breaking her, heart, as though someone was tearing it to pieces with their bare hands.

“Aldea.” She lifted her head, looking at Elia. “No vas a volver con ese hombre. No es un marido digno de ti.” She couldn’t help but sob more. He was telling her things she didn’t want to hear, things she didn’t want to be true. She loved Tenax and it made her s ad to hear her brother say those words, telling her how she wasn’t going back to that man, basically that he wouldn’t let her, and that he wasn’t a husband worthy of her. She loved Tenax so much and didn’t want it to be true. She was all over the place and felt so conflicted. On one side she desperately needed him in this moment of great loss, but on the other side, she would rather be on the other side of the world than in the same vincinity as him. She couldn’t look at her husband’s face as he disappeared from her field of vision, the sound of his cane tapping on the ground fading as he walked away. Elia gently grabbed his sister’s shoulders and pulled her up along with him. “And you, brother? On what side are you on?”

He looked up at them with a sad look on his face but stayed quiet. Later that day, at nightfall, they met outside the city wall, on the Esquiline hill, to bury their brother. Insects were chirping, and the flames of the candles crackled as they lowered Andria’s body into the grave they dug. Elia had his arm around Aldea’s shoulder, their heads low.

“May the winds take you to Elysium, where the Gods will it… we will meet again.”

“Nos volveremos a encontrar—” She repeated his words, slowly, under her breath and cut herself off as she whimpered, breathing sharply. Elia drew her closer to him, cradling her head with her hand. She was the only one audibly crying but she couldn’t help it. Her brothers had always been her entire world since she was a little girl. They were her best friends, her protectors, the only three people she knew she could rely on no matter what and losing either of them made this entire world of hers crumble. She left the funeral with Elia, and they walked back to the Suburra. He brought her to the insula where he shared a room with Andria and Fonsoa and angrily began to pack his things.

“Aldea, you do not go back to that man. You will stay here, with Fonsoa, and I will come and get you to go back to Baetica. I’m done with this hell of a city.”

“What are you going to do?” She instantly got worried.

“No se preocupe. Don’t worry about it. I have something to do, and then we can go home. Fuck those Romans. You will find a good husband— a good Spaniard.” She lowered her head with a sigh and sat down on the opposite bed, looking up when she saw Fonsoa step in the doorway. They glanced at each other as he addressed their brother.

“We used to chase you by the river Baetis when you were young, now I do so again?”

“We’re no longer playing children’s games.”

“The last thing Andria would have wanted is that we are divided.” He grabbed his arm, stopping Elia as he picked up his bag. He threw it over his shoulder.

“So come with us.”

“Us? You mean you want to drag our pregnant sister back to Baetica? Elia!” He rose his voice as the latter walked past him and rushed down the stairs and went after him, calling out to him. “You would deprive a boy of his father? And if I were to walk away with you, what of Salena and the boy?” Aldea slowly walked out of the room, watching them from the top floor.

“Says the man who never walked past a brothel with a few coind in his pockets?”

“That was before.”

“And this is now!” He yelled in his face and Fonsoa grunted, gritting his teeth, following him downstairs.

“I can’t turn my back on her.” They stopped in their tracks.

“Go on. What else?”

“Scorpus and Tenax offered me a second driver with the Gold faction.”

“This city has twisted you in such a way that you would drive with the man who killed our brother.”

“Says you alone.” He hit Elia’s chest.

“Y yo. I saw it all too. I tried to tell you, Fonsoa.” She slowly walked down the stairs as they looked up at her. Elia breathed fitfully, staring at him.

“Scorpus has taken two brothers from me. Take care of Aldea until I can come back for her.”

“Elia!” He grunted, slammed his fist against the wall and rushing after Elia as he exited the insula through the front door. Aldea sighed. This was the worst day of her life. She didn’t even look forward to going home. She didn’t know what she wanted, and she felt lost, and alone but she would rather feel like that than face Tenax, for now. As she was going back to the room, she stood in the middle of it, looking at the two beds, imagining her brothers coming in there as they first arrived in Rome, excited and happy to be here. Fonsoa joined her, waving towards the bed on her left, the one she had sat on a moment ago.

“That was Andria’s bed. You can take this one.” He gently squeezed her shoulders, and she stepped away and lied on the bed as he blew out the candles, plunging the room in the dark. She hadn’t had such a bad night in a long time. After weeks of everything going well and getting used to having all three of her brothers back, it was all taken away from her abruptly, again. Spending years without them, but knowing that they were alive in Hispania, proved to be way easier than knowing that she would never get to see Andria ever again. She cried. So much so that Fonsoa came to sit with her on the bed and held her and comforted her for over an hour until she eventually managed to fall asleep. The next day, she woke up with the worst headache she ever had in her life. Fonsoa gently rubbed her back, telling her he was gonna go get something at her place, maybe Claudia, her housekeeper would have something to ease her pain. He returned, a little less than an hour later, with a cup which he covered with a piece of cloth.

“She prepared some willow bark tree tea. She said it would help.”

“Thank you.” He helped her sat up and she took the cup in her hands, bringing it to her lips. After drinking it, she put the cup aside and he left her to rest. She slept, she had no idea how long, but she did, unlike the previous night. She woke up when someone lightly knocked on the door.

“Aldea?” Elia called her name, and she stood up quickly and went to open the door for him. He was panting as if he had been running.

“What’s going on?”

“I know who can back us up.”

“Back you up – as a woman, my voice wouldn’t count in court anyway. But who would that be?”

“Xenon.” He exclaimed. “He was on the tracks. He saw everything.”

“Okay. Let’s go then.” He took her wrist and dragged her along with him, rushing down the stairs and speedwalking through the streets, all the way to the Esquiline hill where Xenon’s home was, as well as Scorpus, but the latter didn’t interest either of them. Half a dozen people were gathered, standing here and there in the small courtyard in front of the house. They arrived just as Scorpus stepped out.

“It’s a… terrible thing. Xenon… is dead. A loss for all of us.” The driver walked past the two Spaniards, glancing at them but only when everyone had deserted the courtyard and went inside, did he turn to them and stare back at them. They held his gaze, glaring at him. He wasn’t even trying to lie to them anymore. He probably felt untouchable now. A woman, who could never testify against him, despite having seen the whole thing, and a young man, Spanish, and a mere stable hand.

“What will you do now?” She wondered.

“I will go find Gavros. I can do what I sought to do now. Kill Scorpus.”

“Kill—” She looked over one shoulder and the other, fearing someone might have heard, but they were alone. “How are you even going to do that?”

He sighed, “Right now, Gavros and I will go to the Blue. I will drive for them.”

“And how are you going to take revenge on Scorpus by driving for the Blue?”

“I can defeat him on the tracks. Aldea, go rest. I will come fetch you when all this is done.” She watched him walk away and she breathed out through her nose. She prayed nothing happened to Elia, her little brother, her baby brother. She wouldn’t survive losing another one of her brothers, or both of them.

[To be continued…]  

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Published (09/21/2024) by Andrea

[maverickscorner]

Faber suae fortunae

Or Maider's love story towards freedom.

Chapter 5

Maider took a sip of watered-down wine with a thirsty demeanor.

She had been singing at regular intervals throughout the day. It was dinner time, and thus time to go home. At the end of her shift, Cala and Audra had placed some spicy meatballs in front of her – which she had understood were called "Isicia Omentata" – and some bread, and she, ravenous, devoured everything under the amused gazes of the two women.

Now, she was watching Cala and Tenax tally up the day's earnings out of the corner of her eye, with particular interest in any differences compared to previous days, which had essentially been without musical entertainment.

The final calculations left them speechless.

–Damn– said Tenax.

–Yes, I know– Cala followed.

They briefly glanced at Maider, then went back to their conversation.

–A 30% increase hasn't been seen since Scorpus was racing.

–I know, Tenax. The girl has talent.

Maider took another sip of wine.

–The girl can hear you.

They met each other’s gaze.

–I enjoyed singing in front of so many people. I didn’t think I was that good, but I must say I outdid myself. I know many more songs, even in Latin. I’d like to keep performing.

Aura came closer to her with a friendly demeanor.

–You’re very good, Maider. This success is well deserved.

Maider smiled at her gratefully.

–However…– Tenax said.

They all turned toward him.

–You must be aware, Maider, that your talent is extraordinary. If you continue to perform, your name will spread from mouth to mouth. Your fame could become dangerous.

–You promised to protect me– she said, looking at him sternly –Or does that promise no longer hold?

He slammed his fist on the table.

–Watch your mouth. My promises are made in blood. You are my slave, and as long as it is within my power, I will always watch over you.

–When will it no longer be within your power?– Maider asked, shivering.

Tenax sighed.

–I’ll be honest with you. If your name grows, it will be impossible for me to keep you bound to me. I’ll have to set you free, let you go. And then I won’t be able to guarantee your protection.

Maider stood up, pacing the room.

–As much as I want freedom, now is not the time. I need a protector, and… as much as it pains me to admit it, I trust you. And I like Cala and Aura. Oh, and the children too.

A childish laugh was heard from behind a curtain.

Tenax sighed again.

–Shouldn't you be in bed by now?

There was a sound of hurried footsteps retreating. Then silence.

–All right. As long as you’re bringing in these profits, you are a valuable asset, Maider. My asset. And as such, you will be protected. Now let’s go home. Cala, you close up.

Tenax passed by Maider without giving her a glance. The girl looked at him, disappointed. She met Cala’s gaze.

-I know, dear, he has… quite direct methods. But I think that was his way of thanking you and telling you he’ll keep you safe. He appreciates you, in his own way.

Maider gave her a half-smile.

–Thank you, Cala. See you tomorrow.

Cala and Aura bid her farewell, and Maider followed Tenax out.

***

It was summer, and it still wasn’t dark.

Maider observed the pink sky over Rome, following her master down the road towards home.

Tenax, for his part, was lost in his thoughts.

He had lied to Maider.

He considered her an extraordinary singer, and as soon as he freed her, she would be hired by the most popular Roman families, who would make her the most famous artist in the city. At that point, she wouldn’t need his protection anymore, but she would have theirs. God, she could even hire her own personal guards.

The truth was that Tenax didn’t want to part from her.

He had seen the magnetic way her voice drew people in, and for a moment, a very brief moment, he had imagined himself lying on her lap in a meadow, while she sang tenderly to him in a foreign language, stroked his hair, and called him Quintus.

Fortunately, he had quickly snapped out of that terrible vision, but he had to slap himself particularly hard, leaving his cheek flushed.

For the gods' sake, he was Tenax! He had been for twenty years and still was now. He was Aedile Ludi and would soon become an advisor to Domitian, who adored his bloody ideas for the games.

–Panem et circenses, Tenax, remember. Give the people what they want, and they won’t want our heads when we impose a high price to pay.

That’s what the emperor had told him that morning. For some time, Domitian had looked at him in a way that transcended the chemistry between emperor and official. It almost seemed as if he desired him.

Tenax shuddered. He didn’t like being looked at that way. It was the same way his master had looked at him for so many years as a child. His father.

–I noticed you didn’t eat at the tavern. Will you eat at home?

Maider’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He was tremendously grateful for it.

–Yes, I like eating at home– he told her -Claudia is an excellent cook. And with this heat, I relax in the peristilium. The water is always pleasantly cool.

–You’re right, it’s really hot. But never as hot as in Jerusalem. There, in the summer, it’s really scorching. Sometimes with the Ben-Hur, we’d go near Jaffa and swim in the sea. God, I love swimming in the sea. Have you ever done that?

Tenax’s expression hardened. But then he met her gaze and softened.

–When I was little. Now, in Rome, we use the thermae. And if you have a large enough villa, you have an indoor pool.

–I see.

They passed over the hill and continued straight. The house was in sight, about fifteen meters away.

–Did you know I can swim?– Maider said.

Tenax gave her a tight-lipped smile. A spontaneous smile.

–Is there anything you can’t do?

–Uh, housework.

Tenax laughed, but then quickly composed himself.

How long had it been since he last laughed?

I mean a spontaneous, amused laugh, not a condescending or sadistic one.

Damn, he hadn’t laughed in a lifetime.

He looked at Maider as one looks at something very strange or something very beautiful. She blushed and looked away.

–We’re here.

Tenax knocked three times on the door, and Claudia opened it for them. They said their goodnights, and each went to their rooms. A million questions swirling in their minds.

***

–Tenax? Hey, Tenax?

Tenax snapped out of it. He was at Domitian’s court, presenting the plans for the upcoming games. Venationes, or hunts, in labyrinths, reminiscent of the Minotaur myth. First, they would throw slaves or prisoners into the arena. Then the hunters would kill the beasts.

–Forgive me, emperor. I was saying that a rhinoceros recently arrived from Africa. It’s very large and very fierce. We believe it will provide more than an adequate spectacle.

–Excellent, excellent. I can’t wait to see this plan in action.

Tenax gave a tight-lipped smile. Around them, dancers had begun to perform to the music.

–Thank you, emperor. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my duties.

–Of course, dear. Are you sure you don’t want to stay? I’ve heard that at your old tavern, you have a new artist, but my musicians are also quite good…

Tenax shivered. He met Domitian’s lascivious gaze and bowed his head, choosing his words carefully.

–Thank you, Caesar. Unfortunately, my obligations today prevent me from staying. I won’t miss the next one.

Domitian seemed satisfied and let him go.

–Very well, very well. I’ll hold you to that, Tenax.

Tenax bowed his head again and walked away.

As soon as he was far enough, he allowed himself to breathe again.

He cursed himself for thinking he could control Domitian.

Damn it, it seemed like Domitian would do anything to control him.

Tenax wouldn’t allow it.

Once outside the palace, he headed to the tavern at a brisk pace.

***

It was evening.

Maider had sung another song from her repertoire, and Tenax had noticed with both pleasure and apprehension that the crowd at the tavern continued to grow.

She had repeated the previous day’s song, and everyone had burst into a joyful dance, singing at the top of their lungs, betting, and drinking.

Now she and Tenax, having left Cala and Aura to close the tavern, were heading home.

He seemed more tense than the night before. Not that he had been relaxed the previous night, but she could see him immersed in tense thoughts. Some unknown force pushed her to try to calm him.

She liked it when those big blue eyes of his relaxed and allowed themselves to smile.

–Uh, how did it go with the emperor?

Wrong question. Tenax tensed more than ever.

-Fine.

-Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. Do you… do you have any passions?

Tenax stopped.

-What?

She tried to explain herself.

-Uh, yeah, do you like doing anything, or reading anything, or watching anything?

Tenax blinked a couple of times.

-I like money.

-And is that your passion?

Tenax resumed walking.

-Perhaps. Yes.

Maider fell silent.

-Again, I didn’t mean to be intrusive. I was just trying to make our walks home more interesting.

-They’re already interesting. Look at the monuments, the buildings.

-The monuments speak of a greatness built on the backs of slaves. You speak of a greatness you built with your own hands.

Tenax stopped again, looking at her with an expression that deeply affected Maider. A surprised and... vulnerable look.

Tenax sighed.

-Even my greatness, if it truly is such, was built on the backs of slaves.

Maider didn’t understand, but she remained silent.

Tenax continued walking.

He was referring, as always, to a slave he knew well. His old self.

He was referring to Quintus.

***

It was two in the morning.

Maider couldn’t sleep; it was terribly hot. And then, she had too many thoughts in her head. No matter how hard she tried, what she had done to survive on that damned ship, with that damn officer, kept haunting her thoughts and dreams.

She dreamt of being there, in that cabin, dirty, forced by her own self to be seductive in order to survive that physical and mental ordeal.

Days had passed, yet Maider felt dirtier and more like a whore than ever. A woman her father and the Ben-Hur family would have rejected. Perhaps even stoned.

What would Tenax, Cala, and the others think if they knew the truth?

Would they look at her the same way, or with disgust?

She really didn't know.

And yet, she couldn't sleep.

She left her room, intending to find some cool air, and found Tenax soaking in the peristilium pool.

Tenax, who had been keeping his eyes half-closed, heard her arrival and snapped out of it. He was relieved to remember he was wearing light short trousers.

-Maider?

-Tenax, good evening. I couldn’t sleep because of the heat, so I thought I’d pour a jug of water over myself to cool off. That’s the whole story.

-I see.

A moment of silence. Maider kept staring at the pool. Tenax understood.

-Oh, do you want to… swim?

-I don’t want to disturb you.

-No, no, the pool is big. You can stay on the other side, if you like.

-Really?

-Yes. But don’t…

While Tenax was saying yes, Maider had remained in her linen tunic, taken a running start, and had literally dived into the pool.

Tenax was hit by a wave of water.

They both resurfaced.

Tenax looked at her with wide blue eyes, while she laughed amused. When he saw his expression, she pressed her lips into a thin line.

-MAIDER!- Tenax shouted, wiping his face with his hand -HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?

She raised her hands.

-It seemed fun, and I was hot!

-I ALMOST DROWNED!

-I bet you would not. The water's not so deep.

Tenax had a bewildered expression.

Maider let out a giggle.

-Come on, you have to admit it was fun…

Tenax looked up at the sky, and seeing her laugh, finally smiled.

-You’re completely crazy.

Hearing the commotion, Claudia burst into the room, holding a pan.

-TENAX! Is everything all right?! I heard noises, and I’m… Oh.

Maider burst out laughing. Tenax sank into the water, wishing the gods would put an end to his suffering.

***

Hi! It's Eli-Maverick. You would expext to find Maider's story on another account (@sharingmystoriesetc), but it was me all the time. It's time for me to take courage and publish on my main profile. Hope you like this chapter, I loved writing that. Let me know in the comments what you think. Thank you.

[labeteenmoi]

Kings of the Subura

Part 6 (last)

Fandom: Those about to Die

Pairing: Tenax x OC / Scorpus x OC

Warnings: lots of sex, mostly

Summary: where we learn that appearances may be deceiving and also what the title means

Notes: tagging @darkrose33 @pckji @somebirdortheother if they're still up to it. Thanks for keeping up with this story, that's a wrap and what am I going to do with my life now that it's over? Lol! It's been a pleasure for me to write this, don't hesitate to leave a word in the comments, a thought or whatever you fancy ;)

Hope you enjoy!

Back to the Aquiline mount, where Scorpus had his own villa, Tenax had brought Briga who had slightly manifested an emotion when informed of their destination. She suspected to know the purpose of it and almost came out of her silent treatment to beg Tenax not to go. But at that point, if the man she used to trust agreed to lend her to Scorpus, she would at least be certain of what to do afterwards.

Scorpus opened the door himself, looking surprisingly sober and almost calm if it wasn’t for that hint of nervousness pointing at the twitching corner of his lips. He addressed a polite smile at Tenax, inviting him in, and a fleeting look at Briga when she passed him by with suspicion in her eyes.

He led them to the main living room, tidy and tastefully decorated without too much ostentation, not what Briga would have imagined him to live in.

“So…” started Scorpus, joining his hands in front of him as to give himself courage,”Ten thousand is the deal.”

Tenax refrained from looking puzzled and looked at Briga who nervously bit her lip with her eyes on the ground. There was no need for any other confession of guilt from her, she visibly knew what it was all about.

As he was trying to figure out what the terms of such deal could be, Briga took a breath and stated firmly:

“Yes. But no hands and no cock in any of my holes.”

Her sudden rawness took them both aback for an instant.

“Err… I know, with my mouth only…” retorted Scorpus in a low voice with a resigned sigh and his face turning slightly red.

Now Tenax understood the content of the vivid conversations he had vaguely witnessed and realized he should have inquired about it, even if he wouldn’t have opposed any decision. He was the one who had taught her to bargain on men’s lustful interest for her, that was obviously what she had done, but he guessed she wasn’t expecting to succeed to such an extent.

Ten thousand sesterces was far above the price of any slave, and he was willing to pay this amount for mere foreplay with her. It seemed they both had underestimated Scorpus’s enticement for Briga.

That was just the beginning, Tenax now figured that Scorpus would not settle at just that, but that was a problem for another day. For now, despite how reticent he was about the whole idea, it would most probably solve all his problems at once without even having to intervene himself.

“Here is the money,” declared Scorpus pointing to a leather bag on the console near them. “Join me in my room,” he demanded at Briga with a little more aplomb.

Tenax and his slave remained quiet for a few seconds before turning to each other.

“There’s an opportunity here...” let out Briga with a hint of irony in her voice, but her eyes betrayed a form of plea.

Tenax didn't fully grasp the meaning of her words but he understood the request in her look and cursed himself for what he was about to do, for it was too late to turn back now:

“Just… get it done.” he managed to utter with a dry throat, his heart racing in his chest.

Her expression became hard and imperious, in contrast with the submissive tone she used when replying: “Yes, master.”

Tenax was the one receiving it like a blow this time, to his own surprise. He realized then what was truly happening and it just occurred to him that he never thought she would actually obey. In a corner of his mind, he had the crazy idea that she would run away.

She did not run, she simply turned around and followed Scorpus's path, and in doing so, she hoped that it was hurting him as much as she was.

Briga entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her. A few oil lamps were dotted around the wall, giving the room a dimmer light than the previous room. There was a set of luxurious furniture that matched the bed, way wider than Tenax's, and covered with purple silky sheets, giving the whole room a warm atmosphere.

She saw Scorpus pouring himself a drink from a jar in the back of the room that he swallowed whole at once. Firmly setting his cup down on the dresser with a clink, he turned around with a much more determined face than before.

Tilting his head to the side, he looked at Briga with an indecipherable expression.

“Take your clothes off,” he demanded in a smooth voice.

He seemed to have regained some assurance, leaving her speechless for a moment, but eventually Briga protested: “That is not what was agreed.”

Scorpus came forward at a slow pace, crossing the room towards her.

“I'm a man of my word, Briga, and nothing was said about keeping your clothes on.”

Damn , she thought.

“I've paid what you asked, now you have to fulfill your part.” he added, a smirk growing on his lips.

She could not turn back now and surely she wouldn't let Scorpus be the most trustful one in the room, so she complied with an irate expression and, under his overtly satisfied gaze, undid the ties of her dress and made the strings fall from her shoulders. The weight of the skirt did the rest and made it all slide over her body until falling at her feet.

Scorpus ogled her carefully from head to toes for a moment, clearly enjoying the view of her bare chest and certainly bragging internally at her submission.

“This too” he added, looking at the loincloth she still had on, “I can't do what you asked for otherwise.”

Again, she stalled for a moment but ended up taking it down. The charioteer lingered his gaze upon her before leaning his face in, close enough to kiss her. She instinctively recoiled her head with distrustful eyes.

He smirked again with malice: “It's only my mouth, as you said. You didn't specify where I could put it or not…”

She grinned bitterly in return, he was cleverer than she had anticipated, turning her terms against her. She took a long sigh and put on a resigned pout, letting him proceed.

His lips touched her closed mouth in a soft peck. She had no intention of actively participating whatsoever, she wasn't completely consented to it after all, but he forced the entry of her mouth with his tongue, a greedy humming emanating from his throat, making her taste the spicy sensation from the wine he had that lingered on his tongue. Briga tried to retreat from this invasion but he clasped his arms around her, holding her head firmly as he increased his kisses intensity.

Slowly, he took her to the bed, making her grab his arms so as not to lose balance, and let her mouth go only to make her sit on the edge. Standing tall above her, he reveled with a triumphant smile in having her looking at him from her position below, naked and submitted. He knew the reality to be far from it but at that moment that's what it looked like to him, her mildly embarrassed expression adding to his fantasy.

He took off his tunic, exposing his tanned muscular torso and the bulge over his crotch and licked his lips lasciviously at the light that shone in her sudden troubled eyes. The memory of his sweaty body in that incandescent room at the brothel had arisen in Briga’s mind and did not leave her unmoved, striking the first blow to the shield of reluctance she had raised within since finding herself alone with the charioteer.

Advancing nearer and looking down on the slave, Scorpus inserted a leg in between her knees and made her spread her legs. Reaching for her face, he leaned over and kissed her harder than before, feeling the breach in her resistance.

Under his assault, Briga felt pushed back and laid on the silky sheets, unwillingly offering her breasts to his touch and licks. Her body reacted to his caresses more than she wished it had, her heart beating faster and a distinctive heat rising under her skin. Scorpus teased it even more, running his mouth down her stomach and drawing wet circles on her skin with his tongue, gently sucking and nibbling at the tender skin, his beard softly tickling her while approaching her crotch.

Lips locked shut, Briga fought the urge to whimper but, when he reached her pussy, hovering his lips over it with hot breaths, she felt her will shrivel. With one long lick along her slit, he made her give in to the shivers that ripped a raucous moan from her throat. It took only a few more gentle licks and suctions on the sensitive flesh of her labia to understand that all resistance was futile.

No matter how hard it was for her to admit it, Scorpus was good at it, dedicated and delicate. He seemed to have resigned himself to only pleasure her and had decided to give his best nonetheless. Entranced and moaning as if receiving as much as he was giving, he slided Briga up on the bed with his arms around her folded legs, the smooth texture of the sheets aiding, allowing him to lay on the bed and at least grind his painfully erect cock against the mattress for a little relief.

Laying her whole body on the bed now, Briga breathlessly cried when he dove his tongue in her hole, and grabbed his soft dark hair for good measure of encouragement. Emboldened by her demonstrative gesture, he grabbed one of her hands and put it on her dripping sex, guiding her fingers around the slit and pressing on it while he licked her. When she reacted noisily to it, he pushed her own fingers back and forth inside of her. The nerve of that man had no limits, using her to do what he could not.

He knew what he was doing when he fleetingly pressed his tongue on her butthole. All kinds of shivers ran through her body, making her cry his name shamelessly, feeling her pleasure on the edge. He groaned loudly, compulsively grabbing her skin as if out of control, pushing his crotch as hard as he could to achieve the relief he could not hold anymore, when she released a scaldent flow of juices from her pussy, trapping his head between her thighs in tensed jerks as she came too.

Scorpus let out a few breathless “ fucks” with his final jerks, his forehead resting on her lower abdomen, finishing ruining the cleanness of his underwear.

Sitting back, he wiped with the back of his hand his mouth and his beard stained with Briga's intimate fluids while observing her body lasciviously lying in front of him and her legs spread, offering him a breathtaking view of her glistening sex. Her still heavy breathing lifted her chest in a rhythm that gradually calmed down. He smiled, satisfied: "What a mess you made me put here... My pants and my sheets!" he teased her.

Putting himself back on all fours, he slowly advanced over her until having Briga completely beneath him. She was looking absently at the ceiling before meeting his stare as he stood over her.

“I told you you would love it,” he murmured with a slight smirk, “next time I'll fuck you properly.”

Briga came to her senses, looking him intently in the eyes, and with a slight smirk retorted: “This is going to cost you, charioteer.”

Scorpus scoffed amusingly, biting his lip: “Oh, I can afford it, slave ! But you'll be the one asking for more now that you know why they call me the Great Scorpus !”

She retained an amused smile in return. It's true she had been quite amazed by the way he had fulfilled his part, despite not being what he wanted in the first place, but that, she would keep it to herself.

Starting to lift herself up on the bed, Briga tried to push Scorpus back but felt his limbs trapping her slightly under him and looked up a his smiley face leaning over hers with an interrogative air.

“One last thing,” he said, “Kiss me.”

She feigned annoyance before eventually pecking his lips.

Scorpus shook his head slowly with a hint of deception clipping his lips.

“No, not like this. Kiss me like you kiss Tenax.”

Had he known that she would rather bite him than kiss him lately, he would surely reconsider.

“I don't kiss Tenax.” she retorted coldly.

“Don't you take me for a fool now, woman. I've seen how you two look at each other...” he let out, almost sounding offended. “You owe me that at least, for the way you treated me…” he concluded with an innocent pout.

He had a point, not because she felt bad, but he did have a lovely side, she actually felt she owed him more for turning her humiliating scheme against her. He wasn't the selfish lover she thought he was after all.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh for good measure before locking her eyes on his. Gulping, she eventually leveled up her chin and reached for his mouth in a soft brush of her lips first, soon pressing more. Scorpus lowered his head, giving her the opportunity to deepen the kiss, and so she did, inserting her tongue in his mouth in delicate undulations. He smelled and tasted of her, just like Tenax after the first time he had shown her how good it can feel to be touched.

With that memory on her mind, she came out of Scorpus’ room. The time she had taken to put her dress back on had let her skin cool down and the redness of her face fade away. Tenax, on the other side, had reached quite the opposite point, looking embarrassed and somehow mortified, pacing in the living room. Briga glared at him coldly while he seemed to be awaiting some kind of sign with a hint of guilt in his eyes. But she remained silent and cold and walked out the door.

***

A bitter anger had built up in him all along their walk to his apartment. Briga had remained shut but her look never weakened when he looked for it, there was no trace of shame whatsoever, only resentment. Tenax did blame himself now, but what was he to do? He still didn't see how to get out of this situation without sacrificing something he cared about, whether it would be money, Scorpus’ life or Briga’s trust. He wasn't so sure now which loss would be the easier to recover from.

As they reached his place, Briga directly took the direction of her room.

“Wait.” demanded Tenax, as calmly as he could, making her stop in the corridor. She took a few breaths before turning back on her tracks to him.

Instead of going on, he stalled, lighting an oil lamp in the entry and placing on the table the heavy little leather bag containing Scorpus' payment while Briga awaited with a suspicious look.

The wavering flame reflected in his eyes, revealing their serious expression.

“Did he hurt you ?” he finally let out.

“No.” simply retorted Briga, clearly unwilling to elaborate.

“Did I ?” he questioned back without delay.

Briga kept silent for an instant, wondering if this was an apology introduction of some sort, but she wasn't sure he had felt sorry enough in any case.

“Does it matter ?” she answered with tainted irony.

Tenax snorted lightly, visibly trying to keep his calm with a long controlled breath slowly rising his chest.

“I told you, these people are powerful, dangerous. With a snap of their fingers, they can destroy everything I’ve built…” he started explaining, talking slowly but one could sense a rising anger in his tone. “...and everything I’m planning. Without Scorpus and the Patricians tolerance for my business, I’m fucked!”

“I'm sure you had lots of good reasons…” she retaliated, speaking just as slow, “Who am I to reproach?”

“Enough with that!” he cut her dryly, raising his voice a notch.

“I’m glad I could be of use to you…” Briga kept on, feigning to ignore his increasing anger.

“I didn’t have a choice, Briga! YOU left me no choice, you shouldn’t have played with him!” he almost shouted, a visible tension building in his shoulders as he started to approach her.

A disgusted pout deformed her lips at the pettiness he was displaying, but Briga kept on teasing him with her faked submissiveness, somewhat enjoying making him irate: “I’m a poor learner, master, couldn’t trick him like you taught me…”

“STOP IT!” he yelled in her face, keeping his fists clenched against his body so as not to grab her harshly. “Enough of this master nonsense! It’s not you…”

There were too many intricate feelings at the same time running through her, her face could not pick one at a time and they all materialized in succession in the space of a second: resentment, satisfaction, doubt, hope. As her features finally softened at Tenax’s pleading look, she questioned softly: “You don’t want me to act like a slave, Tenax?”

Shaking his head, he took the time of a sigh before answering: “You were never a slave to me, Briga.”

That’s what she had come to think after spending so much time with that man and she was relieved to hear him say it. A short term relief however, soon replaced with a bitter feeling that made her tight lips tremble at the thought of what she was planning to do.

But not yet.

Reaching for his face, she cupped his cheeks in her hands, closing the gap between their bodies: “I know. I’m no one’s property.” she whispered, her warm breath on his parted lips that quivered under her touch. His body seemed to melt in her arms, the tension leaving his muscles along with the thirst he had been increasingly feeling from having her so distant from him.

“I’m sorry…” he blew softly.

“It’s the Rome rules, I know…” she cut him off, seemingly forgiving with resilience in her eyes, bringing his face closer and pressing her chest on him.

“Don’t leav…”

Briga silenced him with a kiss, taking in the air from his mouth and the words she wanted to be left unspoken. There was no doubt she would not have changed her mind regardless of anything he could have said to keep her with him, but she refused to see him beg, that was beneath the man he was. She knew that much, they were so much alike, that’s how he knew she would leave anyway.

But for now, she wanted to revel in the reassuring arms of the man who had saved her, engrave in her memory the scent and taste of the one who showed her how to survive and thrive. She owed him that much, even if he had chosen his ambition over her.

Their longing for each other was freely set out in the kisses deepening and their arms clasping around their backs frantically. Blindly reaching the bed, they got rid of their clothes in quick and swift gestures before laying on the mattress, filling the room with breathless moans and grunts, with the slapping of their hands on their bodies in eager caresses and the rustling of their blazing skin against each other.

Rolling over each other in turns, Briga took the upper hand and clasped her body on him, pinning Tenax to the mattress, devouring his lips, neck and chest with kisses before sliding his swollen sex inside of her. Abruptly grabbing her thighs in surprise at her movement, his whole body tensed in a breathless rattle. Taking a rest, Briga enjoyed the moment with delight, teasing his cock with contractures of her pussy, she felt it throb in return.

Tenax bit his lips with a grin at the boldness and tried to lift his chest up, but she pushed him down firmly and started pounding on him. Slowly first, feeling every inch of his length inside her tight walls as she went up and down, then faster, increasing her pace as the pleasure grew more intense and their hands more frantic on each other.

So she rode him until they both came into each other's arms, panting and sweating, falling over on the bed out of breath. Sleep quickly took them, relieving their exhausted bodies and confused minds for a moment that both wished would have lasted longer.

***

Tenax had grown used to the view of Briga’s bare back slowly rising with every sleeping breath she took under the pale beams of light of the morning. Her skin looked like velvet, so appealing to the touch that he couldn’t help succumbing, ending up waking her up despite his genuine unwillingness to do so.

That was probably the first thought he would have for a while when waking up alone, just as he was the next day. Unsurprised but still denying what he knew had happened, he rushed into the kitchen and then in her room, only to find these rooms just as deserted.

Hearing the front door open, a cold shiver ran down his skin as he turned around and almost scared poor Claudia with his haste to look around. From the disappointment in his eyes, she had understood that Briga had left, leaving as the only trace of her stay fifty sesterces on the table from the money that Scorpus had paid, and an empty space in their hearts

Tenax smiled at the coins and the irony of her message. Fifty sesterces was the price set for her by the slaver at the market and that he had bid only at twenty. She had been so kind in repaying him with, as a bonus, the added value he had saved. A clever way to tell him he made a good deal perhaps. He could well imagine the mischievous smirk she must have had when leaving the coins. That’s when her words struck him, the opportunity she had talked about at Scorpus’s villa, before he made her go with him, was for him to show what kind of man he was, what rules he was willing to break for her. He had failed her.

***

A few dull days went by where Tenax would handle his affairs, keeping his mind occupied so as not to think of her. No one around him really dared asking where Briga was. He thought they might be afraid to hear that he had to get rid of her for some reason; Tenax had a grim reputation after all, but he didn’t realize what they were seeing when looking at him: his sorrow.

He focused, he worked, he moved, he talked, but in the little moments when he didn’t, he looked absent-minded and sad, as if he had lost what made him smile.

Only Scorpus was too preoccupied with himself to bother caring about Tenax’s state of mind.

“What… What do you mean, she’s gone?” the charioteer had asked with great disbelief, “Where is she?”

“She stole the money you gave and ran away in the middle of the night, Scorpus. She could be anywhere by now but… not in Rome anymore, that’s a certainty.”

“How would you know? Have you… Send someone to find her, Tenax! You can’t let her go like that, you…” Scorpus was hardly containing himself, visibly angered by Tenax’s lack of combativeness.

“Sure, Scorpus, and what if they find her? Huh? You think she’ll just nicely come back knowing what awaits her here?” Tenax retorted with a rising annoyance.

Of course Tenax had thought of it. He had even acted for that purpose, but only to know if she was fine, he would never dare hoping to bring her back. He supposed that she would go back to Lusitania, wondering whether she had deliberately omitted to specify the name or precise location of her village during their conversations, so Ostia was an obvious first step in her journey. That’s where he sent a trusted handyman, but he never found her. No surprises there, Briga now knew how to lay low.

However, during the time she was supposedly there, word was that the Commander of the local military camp had been found dead in his tent, naked and gutted with his own sword, no trace of the murderer.

Tenax had chuckled when hearing it, feeling it was like a farewell blink she had sent him, or perhaps a thankful gesture for what he had done for her, maybe just a need for closure. He wouldn’t overthink it because all he came back to was the last night she had given him and all doubts just faded away. She would be fine.

But he wasn’t about to tell Scorpus, he would have been able to send someone on his own to look after her and just create an enormous mess as he usually did.

Scorpus angrily bit his lip, shaking his head with a heavy sigh: “... Fuck…”

But after a second of reflection, he had looked Tenax in the eye with sudden distrust : “You… You released her, didn’t you? You gave her her freedom so she could take off, you bastard!”

“I… would never.” Tenax sighed with actual sincerity.

Owning her was the only way to keep her, he had always known. Like she had said, she had never really belonged to him, she had never accepted the rules of this city, no matter how good she could have become at navigating them.

Unless he had told her that his ambition was not for himself only anymore, that he had plans for the future, great plans, for them both. That was Tenax’s only regret. He couldn’t help thinking it might have changed something, it might have made her stay.

The hardest part now was to let go of the silly dream that, with her, they could have become the kings of the Subura.