Zelamir

adapted by Pueros

The Traitor's Son

Chapters 41-55

Chapter XLI

Marius was now the property of the bearded man and the boy immediately began to wonder whom he might be. His relief immediately tempered somewhat when he next started to realise that his purchaser might have bought him for a wife or daughter, or might not even be his new owner but might instead be his or her agent.

Such a possibility reawakened Marius' fears that the purchaser, or his new owner if different, who might still might be female, might share the nefarious plans for the freshly bought young slave's immature testicles with the woman who had failed to secure him. This recognition subsequently quickly eradicated the boy's early rather premature euphoric optimism about his sale, which was instead replaced by the rapid return of fear about his future prospects in general, and for his balls in particular.

Marius, however, was determined not to exhibit his fresh fears in front of the bearded man, who had just bought him and to whom he was now led by the auctioneer's slave. The latter did so by gently grabbing the boy's arm and guiding him off the auction block and the platform.

The still naked Marius eventually found himself standing immediately in front of the bearded man, towards whom, despite his fears, he smiled shyly in an effort to establish an early rapport before respectfully kneeling as he had been taught to do. However, the boy received no similarly friendly response in return but was instead initially ignored.

The bearded man instead next concentrated on doling out to the auctioneer's slave from a large leather purse the enormous sum in gold coinage that was now due for Marius' purchase. Still ignoring any further confrontation with the boy, he subsequently summoned another adult servant to his side.

This blond German, who was also bearded but possessed long hair as was common with his barbarian race, was even bigger and more frightening than the slave belonging to the auctioneer. His master subsequently nodded to him that he should take care of the still respectfully kneeling Marius.

The slave obeyed by lifting Marius up by the arm and then holding him tightly, whilst the boy's buyer proceeded to watch the remainder of the auction, which lasted another few hours. During this time, the new young purchase attempted to catch the blond German's attention and affinity by smiling at him as well on several occasions. However, his action was to no avail, as the man just concentrated on the sale of the residual offerings too, whilst maintaining a secure grip on his master's fresh property.

About two-thirds of an hour after Marius' purchase, the German found each of his strong hands gripping a new young purchase. The other freshly bought boy concerned was also exceedingly pretty, having flaxen hair and a rather peaches and cream complexion that suggested that he originated from the most northerly limits of the Roman Empire.

Marius' regular smiles also failed to attain any affinity with this boy too. The child just looked sadly at the floor throughout the remaining auction, during which the bearded man bought a third young male slave, who seemed a rather exotic creature, possessing olive skin and eyes and straight jet-black hair.

The German slave subsequently affixed heavy iron collars, linked by short lengths of chain, to the slim necks of the three recently bought boys but worryingly no clothing. Marius therefore immediately appreciated that his earlier fear that he might now be paraded completely naked around the busy crowded streets of Rome on his way to his new owner's house was unfortunately about to be realised.

In response to such disturbing recognition, Marius' unruly cock, which by now, having no longer been the subject of much attention since his own sale, had finally returned to flaccidity, began again to grow perversely. Deep redness also returned to the boy's face.

The only compensation for Marius appeared to be that, despite his purchaser's initial early lack of further interest in his fresh property, which extended to not being thoughtful enough to provide them with some clothing to hide their shameful nudity, he seemed to be very rich. This fact was evident to the boy from not only the fact that the bearded man had just bought a trio of extremely expensive young slaves but also his clothing and jewellery.

The bearded man wore a clearly expensive dark blue tunic, decoratively embroidered with silver thread. Gold rings glittered on several of his fingers and a heavy medallion of the same precious metal hung from a chain around his neck.

To Marius, the bearded man's obvious wealth suggested that he would own a big house with a large retinue of servants, which might mean that the boy's future might not be too unpleasant, as long as his new owner did not want to convert him into a eunuch. He hoped instead that he would just be a slave performing menial but not overly onerous duties in rather pleasant surrounds.

The bearded man finally afforded his new property some further visual attention, whilst he watched his German slave fasten the iron collars onto his still naked purchases and subsequently tie a rope to a ring at the front of the collar of the lead boy. He then proceeded to exit the market quickly, with the muscular servant following at a similarly sharp pace, leading his trio of young nude charges to their immediate destinies.

Chapter XLII

If Marius advanced too quickly, he collided with the back of the boy in front of him. However, if he moved too slowly, he received a painful jerk to his iron collar.

Fortunately, Marius speedily mastered the necessary technique to avoid such calamities. Unfortunately, the boy did so just in time to endure the intense shame engendered by entering the busy crowded Roman streets immediately surrounding the emporium in complete nudity.

Marius' face again blushed deeply, as he and the other two naked boys, humiliatingly attached to each other by the chains linking the debasing iron collars, were led into the first street outside the emporium, where the bearded man who had just bought them left them in the charge of his German slave before rushing off on business elsewhere. The boy's unruly cock subsequently substantially added to his thorough sense of acute degradation when the mischievous penis once more perversely hardened and, as a result of his trotting, wobbled up and down.

Despite the deeply degrading nature of many of the humiliations that Marius had recently endured, he now considered his current predicament to be another nadir. Appearing and being intimately inspected by a lot of prospective buyers whilst naked in the public market had been bad enough. However, he believed that now being paraded around the busy crowded streets of Rome in a similarly unclothed state to be even worse. His attitude was partly ascribable to the fact that he and the other two nude boys, to whom he was linked both physically by chains and in respect of their immediate destinies, was the subject of much amused and lewd attention from passers-by.

The lewdness endured by Marius, whilst he had been led to the emporium by Alseus in the modicum of cover provided by his skimpy loincloth, was minor in comparison to what he and the other two naked boys now suffered. The situation was undoubtedly exacerbated by the fact that the child at the back of the nude trio was still sporting an apparently proud wobbling erection, which was the subject of much ribald pointing and comment, with the most shaming emanating from other children.

As Alseus had encountered, the slave leading the naked trio was even offered money by some passers-by, on this occasion more numerous, to be allowed to spend a bit of time with his young charges. However, as with Scyrax's black African eunuch, the blond German ignored such entreaties, most of which were anyway more joking than serious.

Unlike with Alseus, the blond German made little effort to protect his young charges from the gropes of passers-by, other than by attempting to maintain a speedy pace along the busy streets. Consequently, the boys were frequently fondled, especially when their progress was slowed and even occasionally halted because of the narrowness of the crowded thoroughfares, which was often made worse by the presence of vendors.

Marius' vulnerable curvaceous bottom was the most regular target of such fondling, although some hands did breech his own manual defences to grope his aroused genitals, with such outrageous behaviour generally accompanied by yet more ribald remarks. He was handicapped in protecting himself by his iron collar and the chain linking him to the boy in front of him, which encouraged him to look only ahead at the other child's bare neck and shoulders.

As a result of the unwanted verbal and physical attentions of passers-by, which included being assaulted by little missiles thrown by other laughing children, such as small stones and discarded rotting fruit, Marius and his two similarly naked young companions were mightily relieved when the streets that they were being forced to traverse eventually became wider and quieter. The boy subsequently correctly perceived, as the thoroughfares then later metamorphosed into broad grand avenues, lined by trees, statuary and great houses, that the German slave had led them to one of Rome's most prosperous quarters, where the main inhabitants were the very rich.

Marius initially believed that his earlier assumption that the bearded man who had bought him was so wealthy that he would possess a big home and household later appeared correct when the German slave led his three young charges off the main road and up a quiet lane to heavy double gates set in a high stone wall. Beyond this imposing entrance were large well-kept gardens, in the middle of which stood a magnificent villa-like building.

A broad flight of marble stairs led up from the front garden to the house's massive portico. Half way up these steps stood a statue of an eagle, much bigger than life-size. The bird's beak curiously clamped about the body of a beautiful naked boy, whose bare form was partly shrouded by his aquiline captor's great wings.

As Marius and his companions were guided through the gates and up the path leading to the marble steps, the boy noticed writing on the plinth on which this statue stood. After he had approached even closer, he saw that the words were engraved in gold letters that read 'The House Of Ganymede', and, despite his tender years and relative innocence about such matters, he suddenly recognised in shock to what sort of place he was being taken.

With a feeling of deep despair, Marius now appreciated that he had not been bought by a millionaire Patrician or even by a rich Equestrian. The boy was not so naïve that he could not guess instead what was the bearded man's real status.

Marius realised in horror that he was now the property of the keeper of a highly select boy brothel.

Chapter XLIII

The German slave was soon striding up the flight of marble steps leading to the porticoed entrance of the house, dragging the three suddenly very reluctant naked boys in his charge with him. Each member of the nude trio had now realised in horror to what type of establishment they were being taken.

After the young disconcerted trio had stumbled up the steps after the German slave and through an open double doorway, they found themselves in a long and vast hall, in which the excellence of the wall paintings and frescoes and floor mosaics was only matched by their obscenity. The decorations reminded Marius of those in Scyrax's house. In early scenes, beautiful boys, nude or nearly so, whose flimsy clothing if any did not hide their excitement, frolicked with each other or with monstrously well-endowed men.

As the young trio was guided further along the hallway, the subjects of humiliation and cruelty became more explicitly prominent. Mammals, birds and reptiles, and strange frightening mythical creatures combining the features of such animals, began to appear, interacting with now clearly shamed, terrified and hurting boys.

Cyclops, one-eyed giants that fed on human flesh, eventually leered from the walls, devouring boys. The mythological Atreus also appeared, shown preparing his dish of forbidden meats, comprising the body parts of the five young sons of his brother and rival, Thyestes.

Alcoves were set along the sides of the hall, which were sufficiently big to contain an ornate chair and simpler bunk bed. All were also adorned with entrance curtains, most of which were currently looped back but were ready to be lowered if the brothel's clients felt the need for privacy.

By now, the time was early evening and so the brothel was not busy. The establishment's main activities took place later after sunset, although it did pride itself on offering a 24-hour service.

At one end of the hallway in a wider square area, a very pretty boy, attired only in a very sparse black thong, which contrasted nicely with his oiled creamy skin, was sitting cross-legged to one side. He was playing the lyre and singing a song, whose obscene words belied the sweet clear purity of his voice.

In the centre of the square area, which was surrounded by many tables and chairs, another dozen near-naked exceptionally gorgeous boys danced erotically but rather languidly, obviously conserving their energies for later in the night. The only clients present here were a group of four men, drinking and chatting together quietly. They appeared initially to be more interested in their wine and conversation than in anything else until they noticed the German slave arriving, leading three more youngsters.

"How much for one of those little beauties, German?" one of the men subsequently called out. "To rent or buy, Lord, for, if the latter, the price might be a little too high for you?" the German answered with rather sourly, as he hustled the boys onward.

Beyond the hall, there was a large garden, surrounded by a colonnade from part of which doors and passages led off into the rear interior of the villa. The German slave now led the boys to one of several fountains also present.

The German slave subsequently produced a cloth from his tunic pocket and dampened it. He then paid each boy in turn careful attention, rubbing away any grime that had accumulated on their naked bodies during their long embarrassing walk from Rome's emporium. He found as usual that most of the dirt present was dust from the streets and the remains of the rotten fruit that had humiliatingly been thrown at his three young charges by other children on their way to their disturbing new home.

Having cleaned up the boys as best as he could in the circumstances, the German slave subsequently led them to one of the doors and knocked. A woman's voice from within the room beyond called out "Come in!"

Chapter XLIV

Marius subsequently noticed, reclining on a couch at the far end of a large lofty well-furnished chamber, a richly dressed woman, whose fingers glittered with gold rings embedded with precious gems. Beside her on a low stool sat the bearded man who had successfully bid for the three boys at the slave market.

Marius immediately wondered how the bearded man had arrived first in the room. The boy had thought that his purchaser had left them at the emporium to go on other business but his presence now suggested otherwise and that he had instead rushed off to hire a fast litter to return to the brothel, as walking was obviously beneath him.

"Bring them closer," the woman next commanded, "and remove those collars from them. How can I have a look at them when they're crowded together like that?" Amusement and impatience blended in her voice.

The German slave quickly complied with the command of the woman, whom he appeared to fear. Judging by this reaction, and the rather supplicant seating of the bearded man, whom Marius correctly guessed was probably her husband, the boy also perceptively judged who was the real power within the brothel.

Despite Marius' recognition that he was indeed now in the effective ownership of a woman, he no longer worried about castration. Nothing that he had observed so far in the brothel, including those boy prostitutes whom he had seen, indicated that there was any place for eunuchs here.

Marius' mind, however, did now momentarily go back to the recent auction in the emporium when he noticed the look of unbridled horror on the face of the boy eventually bought by a certain woman with a penchant for creating juvenile eunuchs. The young slave concerned had obviously also appreciated from overhearing comments what his sad fate would be if purchased by the female.

Marius realised that the boy must have wished that the woman's bid for Scyrax's market offering had won, which was only a natural desire. However, the female had been outbid in that auction and so she had turned her attention to her second choice, who had been unlucky because on this occasion she had succeeded in securing a purchase.

Marius momentarily wondered how long the poor boy concerned would retain his balls. He sagely guessed that the young slave would not do so for long.

Marius' brief mental diversion towards other matters was now dissipated when the woman who did effectively own him indulged in her desire to examine the newcomers to her highly select and expensive brothel. One by one, the three fresh gorgeous boys were paraded before her and she happily discovered that each was nicely different in their own delectable way. The little beauty from the North, with the flaxen hair and peaches and cream complexion, was first, followed by the exotic child from the East with olive skin and eyes, and a straight jet-black head covering.

Marius, with his oiled honey-coloured skin and dusty golden hair, was last but by no means least. The woman actually afforded this particularly delicious boy her longest attention.

As each boy was brought forward by the German slave, the bearded man seated beside his wife murmured the reasons why he had bought the child. This information included some reference to their backgrounds, which he had garnered from the auctioneer, and the price that he had paid.

The woman listened, as she carefully visually and physically examined with professional expertise each boy, in the same humiliating intimate manner as they had been recently inspected at market and whilst she assessed the potential of each naked body. As she did so, she invariably exclaimed that her husband had paid too much, which for the first two young slaves was actually untrue. She simply liked to keep her spouse subserviently in place by regularly berating him.

The husband had actually paid close to market value for the two near-virginal boys, at a time when prices were soaring for such nice merchandise. His wife, knowing this, would therefore, after her examinations and unjustified admonitions, simply utter a sharp order that despatched the young slaves to start earning their new owners a profit.

The woman also bemoaned the high turnover of boys at the select and therefore expensive end of her industry, with her young prostitutes rarely lasting more than a year in her brothel. Her clients generally liked relatively fresh and unsullied juvenile whores to play with and so those who had lost their early popularity were usually sold on to cheaper, less choosy and less lavish establishments, of which there were plenty in Rome.

The woman's aim in the interim was to make a lucrative profit from the boys whilst she still owned them, with the prices charged for their rental to clients and later obtained at market for their resale hopefully combining to outweigh the costs of original purchase and subsequent upkeep. She invariably succeeded and her entrepreneurial expertise had allowed her to move significantly upmarket over the years, from an original very seedy boy brothel in one of Rome's poorest and most disreputable quarters to her present highly profitable facility at the elite end of the lucrative industry. Most of her discerning customers were amongst the most prominent and wealthiest men in the Imperial capital, who paid well for their pleasures.

Marius' cost, however, was significantly bigger than that of the other two children bought at the same time as him. Indeed, his price was higher than that of any other young slave purchased to act as a juvenile prostitute in the 'House of Ganymede', which was named after Zeus' boy love and cup-bearer, whom the paramount god had originally abducted whilst in the form of an eagle and subsequently raped.

"What?" the formidable woman exclaimed in genuine affront, whilst also throwing up her hands in shock, on discovering Marius' substantial cost. "Surely you must be joking for no brat's worth that much," she added in disgust, "even one who's obviously ripe to have sex with a man!" She was, of course, referring in this statement to the boy's humiliatingly maintained erection, which she was particularly delighted to see whilst now examining him.

"Are you mad, Fabius?" the woman went on to rant, thereby providing Marius with the name of his purchaser. "You were buying a boy not a thoroughbred horse," she continued in anger, "and how are we to make our livings if you pay that sort of price for a brat. Do you want to ruin us? I'll obviously have to go to the market myself next time to prevent such calamity!"

"But Felicia," Fabius protested rather quietly and weakly in the face of his formidable wife's fury, whilst providing Marius with her name too, "he's a virgin. In these inflationary times you have to pay a lot extra for that!"

"He's a virgin!" Felicia repeated, whilst noticeably calming, for she did appreciate the value of such rare commodities in current market conditions. She knew many exceedingly rich patrons of her select brothel who would pay an immense amount of money to deprive a beautiful young boy of such an attribute.

"I'll check your assertion," Felicia next announced, "because I know how foolish you can be in believing an auctioneer's sales talk and assuring yourself that what he says is true!" She was again actually being insultingly dishonest because her husband rarely proved to be inept in his purchases.

Felicia was instead intent on again criticising Fabius unfairly, both for fun and reinforcement of her own bullying status in their relationship. Despite the superficially male-dominated nature of Roman society, such feminine supremacy in domestic situations was common.

Meanwhile, Marius was oblivious to this discussion about him because, after intimately visually and manually examining the upper front part of his anatomy, Felicia's eyes and hands had eventually ventured down to his still shamefully aroused genitals, which she was inspecting and fingering with her usual careful expertise. The boy's mind was instead completely fixated with the fact that he was once more being brought inexorably towards his first sexual climax.

Marius' first-ever orgasm was, however, again frustratingly averted when Felicia ended her intimate attentions towards his genitals, having privately satisfied herself that the boy was sufficiently mature to orgasm and so please those of her clients who liked to see such an attribute in her young prostitutes. She naturally had no intention to boost her husband's morale by advising him that she was pleased to observe such a quality in his expensive purchase.

Marius' mental distraction was also terminated when Felicia smacked him across the face. "I've just told you to turn round, boy, so that I can check that you're a virgin," she subsequently raged, "and you must always immediately obey commands in the 'House of Ganymede' with efficiency or be severely punished. Do you understand?"

Marius, whose sexual mental distraction had caused him not to hear Felicia's first command, immediately answered "Yes, Mistress!" He also compliantly began to obey her repeated order.

Marius was an intelligent boy. He had by now been through the relevant process many times and therefore did not need to be told what to do next.

Marius turned round in front of Felicia and, after spreading his legs, bent forward to present his curvaceous bottom for examination. Yet another finger subsequently gently probed his sphincter to ascertain the virginity of the pink anal orifice and in response his little erection inevitably visibly quivered.

In the public arena of the slave market, the intimate attention afforded to Marius by Felicia would, of course, have been scandalous. However, in the privacy of her own home, especially given its nature and her profession, such attention was not only acceptable but also common, as she liked to maintain a close overview on her boy prostitutes.

"You're right, as the brat is a virgin," Felicia next commented grudgingly to Fabius, "and he seems to be sexually eager enough as well. However, we'll have to work the brat hard if we are to secure a decent return on our outlay on him!"

Felicia subsequently paused briefly in thought before declaring "First, we'll teach him to dance nicely and erotically for our customers when they're at the most numerous and in the most drunken state. The rich show-offs amongst them will therefore then be in their most generous condition."

"Then," Felicia added, whilst still gently fingering Marius' sphincter and causing the boy's hard cock to wobble visibly, "we'll auction the brat's virginity to the highest bidder!"

Chapter XLV

Felicia shouted "Narcissus!" A boy of fourteen, whose attractive face was heavily made-up, with his cheeks rouged and eyes rimmed with kohl, and whose nipples were gilded, subsequently stepped forward from a corner of the room in which he had been standing discreetly in the shadows unseen by the new arrivals.

Narcissus, who was only wearing the minuscule black thong common to all of the boys in the brothel, plus the usual name tag around his neck, had served the longest in the establishment because he was his mistress' favourite. Felicia had not yet wanted to sell him on for two reasons. First, she found him to be a suitably efficient and reverent attendant minion, fetching and carrying and conveying messages in accordance with her slightest whim. He was also as good at sexually servicing her as he was with the brothel's male clients.

Narcissus was aptly named because he both knew and was exceptionally proud of the fact that he was very beautiful. The boy also revelled in being Felicia's favourite because the situation afforded him all sorts of privileges.

Such privileges included lighter prostitution duties because Narcissus mainly acted as Felicia's menial. He was also regularly given the authority by her to supervise, with permission to report punishable misdemeanours, other boys, which his inherent sadism rather enjoyed.

Narcissus' only regrets at his situation in the brothel were twofold, if the very facts of being a slave and prostitute were ignored, which were anyway not really factors in his mind. After all, he had been born into slavery and knew no other existence, and being a whore in such a high-class establishment as the 'House of Ganymede' was actually a better life than many of his lowly status experienced elsewhere. He could easily have had even more cruel owners or far worse living conditions and work to perform.

Narcissus' first regret was that he preferred to have intimate relations with the brothel's male clients than with Felicia, given his inherent prevailing homosexuality and her rather unattractive ageing appearance. However, the boy did manage somehow to hide his disgust and satisfy her whenever required or otherwise he would not have remained her favourite for long and would now undoubtedly instead be a young prostitute in a much less pleasant environment. His achievement was helped by the fact that the woman rarely demanded coitus, preferring her clitoris instead to be tickled orally.

Narcissus' second regret was his disappointment not to be granted authority actually to punish other boys personally and thereby gratify his inherent sadism. He had to satisfy himself instead with watching clients doing so.

Felicia was very happy to maximise her financial returns by granting those of her customers with sadistic inclinations, in return for a minimum up-front fee, the privilege of punishing relevant boys either privately or publicly according to the customers' tastes. She even sometimes auctioned the treat as part of the brothel's nightly entertainment when the place was most crowded and raucous.

Felicia, of course, favoured the punishment itself also forming part of the nightly entertainment in order to please the wider clientele. However, she also recognised a customer's right to hurt a boy in privacy instead if he so wanted.

Felicia naturally demanded that clients did not inflict permanent damage on the boys whom they were punishing on her behalf. However, beyond that simple requirement, she allowed the customers full leeway in deciding how to chastise the relevant young prostitute, as long as one other condition was met.

This other condition was that the fee originally paid compensated for any subsequent length of time required for the relevant boys to repair before they were able to resume normal brothel duties. The minimum payment allowed for a week of recuperation but, if this was likely to be extended because of the severity of the damage inflicted, a surcharge would be applicable.

If, despite Felicia's proscription against permanent damage being inflicted, such injuries were nevertheless sustained, the customers concerned were expected to repay the original full purchase price of the relevant boys. They subsequently had a choice of taking the ruined young prostitutes home and keeping them in their households or alternatively reselling them themselves or allowing the brothel to do so on their behalf.

The bulk of the brothel's clients tended to observe the establishment's stipulations in these matters, rarely arguing if they were surcharged for punishing boys so severely that they would not be able to return to prostitution duties for over a week. After all, most customers were very rich and the money meant little to them unless they were particularly parsimonious. The majority also wished to retain their memberships, which might be threatened if they argued with the owners.

In fact, only the memberships of genuine nuisances, who threatened the harmony of the brothel and the enjoyment of the rest of the clientele, were occasionally revoked and the men concerned were invariably of minor significance. The foibles of anyone of major status in Roman society were diplomatically overlooked by everyone, including the owners, who also waived the likes of surcharges in respect of such important patrons. After all, what did one badly hurt or even permanently damaged boy matter if the whole future of the brothel could be endangered if such a person became displeased with the place.

Fortunately, only a few permanently damaged boys had had to be disposed of at a loss because of the injuries inflicted by such a man and none had been for a couple of years. Significantly, though, they had been punished by the same person, a sadistic pederast by the name of Lucius Vitellius, whose importance related to the facts that he was a senior Senator, recent former Consul and an old crony of the Emperor Tiberius.

Lucius Vitellius was even rumoured to have given his own son, Aulus, to Tiberius to play with sexually on the island of Capri in order to help secure career advancement. Fortunately for the boys of the brothel, his tactic appeared to have worked because the Emperor had appointed him not only as a Consul but also later to be Governor of Syria, which was why he had not recently damaged a young prostitute in Rome.

The need for the punishment to fit the crime in the brothel was never considered and boys could suffer appallingly at a client's sadistic hands for even a very minor misdemeanour. The establishment's proprietors did not consider such a situation iniquitous for three reasons.

First, justice did not apply to slaves in the Roman Empire, as their owners could do anything with them according to their whim. Second, the harshness of the practice actually appeared to encourage discipline and performance in the boys. Third and most important, the brothel was a service that prided in satisfying comprehensively the tastes, including the sadistic elements, of all of the clientele.

Some clients even became so fascinated by certain boys that they actually bought them undamaged from the brothel, usually towards the end of their service when their price would be lowest. Felicia never experienced any tinge of regretful conscience whatsoever when the young prostitutes concerned were purchased by customers whom she knew to be particularly sadistic pederasts, who might even end up killing their new property.

The boys concerned were, after all, in Felicia's mind, mere slaves, namely sub-humans who were nothing more than chattels, to be used, abused and disposed of in whatever manner their owners wanted, just as if they were animal livestock. Torturing and killing such creatures in any way for no good reason was entirely lawful under Roman jurisprudence.

Narcissus bowed reverently in front of Felicia, who commanded "Take these three new brats to the Major Domo." "Tell him," she instructed, whilst pointing not at Marius but at the other two fresh arrivals, "to bathe them, check their skills and straightaway allocate them appropriate duties to earn their prices and keep!"

"However," Felicia next ordered, whilst now pointing at Marius, "tell the Major Domo that this one's a virgin, who's to be readied to dance at an auction at which the privilege of deflowering him will be sold. Add that the brat's to perform soon and well to obtain the best price quickly or else the both of them will suffer!"

"Also," Felicia added, "tell the Major Domo that when this brat's ready I don't want him tarted up like you, Narcissus, you filthy little whore." She was, of course, proving, by this latter description of her minion, that even her most favoured boy was, like her long-suffering husband, not immune to her regular insults.

"I instead want," Felicia concluded, "our latest young virgin to be presented just like he is now, without make-up, as that should add to the hopefully lucrative appreciation of his unsullied purity!"

Chapter XLVI

A more prolonged dance or a group routine, necessitating co- ordination with others, would, of course, have required greater instruction. However, such tuition was not needed for Marius' first public appearance in the brothel.

The Major Domo, who, with other adult slaves subservient to him, supervised the daily activities of the brothel's young prostitutes, was pleased how quickly Marius had picked up the relevant basics. Such rudimentaries included, at a particular musical crescendo, the speedy simultaneous unfastening of the two little bows on the side cords of the virginal boy's new minuscule black thong, which allowed the subsequent rapidly discreet shedding of the sparse garment so that he could conclude his performance completely naked.

The Major Domo was unsure whether Marius' quick attainment of efficiency was as a result of the boy being a natural dancer and whore or the fact that the senior adult slave carried a light whip. This implement stung badly, but without leaving a mark that lasted, and was used to encourage attention to, and quick proficient absorption of, instruction.

The Major Domo actually did not ponder the reason for Marius' quick attainment of efficiency for long. The answer was in reality largely irrelevant to him as long as his duty was successfully concluded.

The Major's Domo's job was just to ensure that newcomers like Marius were rapidly converted into efficient prostitutes, capable of fulfilling the roles that the formidable Felicia allocated to them. In the case of this particular fresh intake, his initial task to ready the boy to dance and lose his virginity had been completed to his mistress' liking because she had watched his final rehearsal.

Despite Marius' embarrassment at having to dance and strip so erotically, this final rehearsal went well and Felicia actually applauded, albeit only very briefly. The boy's efficiency, especially in respect of shedding his thong, might have been helped by the fact the woman had already intimately seen him naked and by the maintained presence of the light whip in the Major Domo's hand, which fortunately had needed to be used only rarely on him.

Alternatively, Marius even considered, in line with the Major Domo's thoughts, that perhaps he simply was just a natural whore. After all, his unruly cock invariably became hard whenever he performed and he also felt some pride in successfully concluding a dance, whilst finally standing still and completely naked, in a spreadeagled pose as instructed and with his penis throbbing as not taught.

By now, Marius had, of course, not just learnt about erotic dancing. He had also discovered more about life in the select boy brothel called the 'House of Ganymede'.

Fabius and Felicia provided boys of a wide age range for their discerning clients, from young infants to older teenagers, but the most numerous were between 11 and 14 years old, which reflected the customers' main tastes. The private amenities for the young prostitutes were not unlike those provided in Scyrax's house, namely basic dormitory, baths and dining hall, although all were much bigger than those to which Marius had previously become accustomed because of the greater numbers using them.

The brothel was prosperous and well frequented by rich clients and their guests and so the number of young prostitutes required to serve them was very high. Some men even virtually used the establishment as their homes, as they stayed the nights with their chosen boys and used the luxurious bathing and dining facilities provided for the customers. There was even a laundry service.

Boys fell primarily into three categories, namely prostitutes, entertainers, comprising musicians, dancers and acrobats, and servers. The latter, as the job title implies, attended upon the clients whilst they wined and dined, bathed or otherwise relaxed.

No boy was, however, safe from the sexual attentions of clients if they particularly fancied someone. An entertainer or server would simply be excused their normal duties, and perhaps if necessary be temporarily replaced by an unused prostitute, in order to provide the requisite service to the lustful customer.

A rotation system also operated in order to keep boys fresh. As a result, they might at particular times be prostitutes, whilst at others, when deemed appropriate that they should temporarily rest from such duties, act as servers or, if they possessed the necessary talent, entertainers.

Most of the boys slept through much of daylight because they were mainly required to work in the evenings and overnight, which was why Marius had observed little activity on his arrival in the brothel. When on duty, the bulk of the young prostitutes assembled in two areas.

Some of the young prostitutes stood in the entrances to the alcoves in the hallway, advertising their wares, namely their virtually naked bodies, until chosen by clients strolling past. They would subsequently be enjoyed at the standard rate, with the minimum charge being for an hour although many customers had finished with them inside that time. The relevant charge was calculated, collected and recorded on wax tablets by adult slaves using water clocks, who were under the overall supervision of the Major Domo. Fabius and Felicia also inevitably hovered to ensure that no fiddling of the books was taking place.

Others of the young prostitutes lingered, under the supervision of adult slaves, against the surrounding walls of the square entertainment area at the head of the hallway, waiting for clients to select them. Relevant customers subsequently had a choice of where to indulge in sex.

Cheapskates seeking to acquire their pleasure at the lower standard rate than applied when using an alcove, or those who simply gained a thrill from, or did not care about, relatively public sexual activity, might seek a quiet spot in the likes of the gardens or baths. Alternatively, others willing to spend more, even lavishly by enjoying a boy for a whole night, could hire not only the young prostitute but also one of a selection of ornate bedrooms.

Some rich clients liked to hire, despite the greater cost, more than one young prostitute in order to indulge in the likes of a threesome or to watch the boys have sex with each other before joining in. A few were also rather strange impotent voyeurs, who simply enjoyed being mere spectators, whilst one Senator was notorious for not touching the pair whom he had rented but instead masturbating whilst they made love.

Like in Scyrax's house, such circumstances represented the only times when boys were allowed to have sex with each other, apart from the fairly regular occasions when such activities formed part of the nightly public entertainment. Fabius and Felicia liked to encourage their clients to become particularly randy by such erotic displays in order to enhance business because not everyone frequented the brothel to enjoy a young prostitute.

Some men simply visited the brothel to bathe or dine with friends and associates and voyeuristically enjoy the entertainment. Fabius and Felicia liked to tempt them to spend more by also gaining expensive pleasure from their young prostitutes and often the spectacle of two beautiful boys having sex with each other in public accomplished the deed.

Unlike in Scyrax's house, for the majority of the young prostitutes in the brothel, the prohibition from having intimate relations privately with each other was not a major problem, even if they really fancied others. The boys generally had a surfeit of sex and did not want any more.

Marius was currently something of an exception. Being a virginal newcomer to supposedly the world's oldest profession, he had not only never had sex with another person but also not yet enjoyed an orgasm. The boy's rather bewildered mind could not currently determine whether he was looking forward to the relevant experiences, as the eager anticipation regularly and humiliatingly exhibited physically by his unruly cock was counterbalanced by mental shame and fear.

The previous evenness of this counterbalance was, however, now threatened by Felicia. After she had watched Marius perform his last dance rehearsal, she approached and addressed the now once more naked boy, who knew better than to hide his exposed aroused genitals from her view.

"Well, boy," Felicia commented, whilst looking up and down the front of Marius' naked form, on which his cute belly displayed signs of heavy breathing after his hectic dance, "I'm in agreement with the Major Domo's opinion." "That was a very good final dress rehearsal, or," she subsequently quipped before laughing at her own joke, "should I say undress rehearsal?"

After Felicia's laughter eventually subsided, she explained to Marius, who was, of course, even more embarrassed and blushing from being the subject of such a quip, what she precisely meant by being 'in agreement with the Major Domo's opinion'. "You're ready, in more ways than one," she happily declared, "to start earning money for your mistress!"

Marius briefly considered the significance of Felicia's failure to add 'and master' to the end of her last comment. However, such contemplation was quickly dispelled by a return of acute humiliation when she instead indicated what she meant by 'in more ways than one' by reaching out with one of her well-manicured fingernails to flick the boy's embarrassing erection upwards.

"We'll therefore have to give you a suitable name," Felicia went on to announce, "in readiness for your introduction to our clientele." Marius immediately wanted to say that he already possessed an appellation, one that had been confided to her on his arrival in the brothel by her husband. However, the boy desisted from doing so for three reasons.

First, Marius appreciated that he was not allowed to speak without permission. Doing so now would probably earn the boy a stinging strike from Felicia's hand or the Major Domo's whip.

Second, the boy recalled that one of the privileges of being a slave owner was the ability to call his or her human property anything they wanted, including changing names from the originals if so desired. Local custom also meant that most such appellations were Greek and 'Marius' was very much Roman.

Third, Marius hoped that a new name would help him to protect his real identity from being guessed by those of the brothel's clientele who might previously have known him or his late parents and siblings. Such recognition might be aided by some of the rather attractive physical features common to his family.

Felicia, who had anyway quickly forgotten Marius' real name, considering the appellation irrelevant, contemplated his new title for a few moments, whilst still looking him up and down, until she heard the cackling of some of the swans that often frequented the largest of the ponds in the outside gardens. She subsequently suddenly declared "We'll call you Cycnus, after the character in Greek mythology!"

Marius was not entirely pleased to hear his new name. He did not like the idea of being associated with swans. The boy, who had received a good early education from a tutor, was also dubious about Cycnus' mythological reputation, which varied from good to bad, depending upon which variation of his story was accepted.

"Now, Cycnus," Felicia continued, whilst her face became rather serious, "I want you to dance well tonight and afterwards display yourself to best effect so that depriving you of your virginity will earn me a good price. I also want you to behave and be brave when you are actually being deflowered."

"I've noticed on your bottom," Felicia added, by way of explaining her need for Marius to display bravery as well as good behaviour, "the now barely discernible fading signs of a recent caning. However, what you're going to experience tonight when you finally lose your anal innocence will probably hurt even more. In fact, I suggest that the pain will be worse than any you've ever previously encountered."

Marius was not, of course, comforted by such words but rather the opposite. Consequently, a few fearful tears suddenly appeared in his lovely blue eyes, as a sense that he was helpless to prevent the recurrence of agony returning to his body, plus a remembrance of the bitter excruciating bite of the cane cracking across his tender bottom, returned.

"You'll probably be badly hurt tonight, Cycnus," Felicia cruelly remarked on seeing the tears appear in Marius' eyes, "whatever you do and so you'll just have to accept and become accustomed to that fact. I'm telling you, as I do with all virgins, so that you can prepare for the suffering because, if you don't behave and be brave when being deflowered but instead fight what is happening, you'll later endure more pain by being severely punished for being disobedient and cowardly!"

Felicia's words were, of course, not intended to stop Marius crying or even screaming in agony whilst being deflowered, as the clients perpetrating such a deed invariably liked seeing such a reaction, which thereby added to their own costly enjoyment. In fact, such a pained tearful response was one of the main reasons why, for them, sodomising a virgin was so sadistically pleasurable and worth the considerable expense. The other pleasant factors were the knowledge that where they were venturing had never previously been penetrated, being evidenced by the delightful tightness of the orifices concerned, and that their manly cocks were excruciatingly depriving the boys involved of their previous innocence and purity.

Felicia's words were instead intended to ensure that, despite their anguish, tears and shrieks, young virgins remained compliant throughout the deflowering process and did not attempt to fight or flee their destiny. Such unwanted happenings were bad for the reputation of the 'House of Ganymede', as well as for her purse because fees would have to be returned and probably some form of compensation would have to be offered to the relevant angered and disappointed clients.

"Beginning to snivel now won't do you any good," Felicia remorselessly continued, "but is only likely later to affect your public and private performances adversely, thereby making punishment for ineptitude more inevitable. So, stop immediately, whilst I instruct you in another matter."

"Being a virgin," Felicia went on to relate, as she observed Marius bravely attempting to cheer and wipe his damp eyes, "you'll also never have previously licked and sucked a man's cock to climax. However, being one of Scyrax's boys, you'll undoubtedly have been visually taught the relevant techniques, which, in case you don't know, are collectively termed 'fellatio'."

"Well," Felicia next warned, "despite your lack of personal practical experience, I don't want tonight's client, if he also requires the performance of fellatio, perhaps as an aperitif before or dessert after the main sodomy course, later complaining to me that you were poor at the practice. Regardless of how big or obnoxiously hairy or smelly a man's cock is, I want you to use your mouth and tongue to provide the shaft with your fullest expert attention and, if you're required to swallow semen, make sure that you do so. I do not want to hear about you spilling sperm or gagging or being sick, or you'll be punished afterwards!"

"Do you understand me, Cycnus?" Felicia subsequently asked. "Yes, Mistress," Marius answered, although his apprehension about the events to come made his voice so weak that he was barely audible.

"Good!" Felicia finally commented in conclusion before, after giving Marius' amazingly still maintained erection another humiliating flick, turning on her heels and, without saying another word, departing.

Chapter XLVII

"What brings you here tonight, Maccius?" an acquaintance asked a few hours after Felicia's audience with Marius. "I'm here with Scyrax as a guest of the house," the evil patrician youth answered, whilst sipping from a goblet full of the finest Falernian wine.

"The virginity of a boy supplied by Scyrax is to be auctioned tonight," Maccius added, "and Fabius and Felicia kindly thought that we might like to see what price it fetches." In fact, the wicked youth was, not uncommonly, again lying.

Scyrax rarely ventured into the 'House of Ganymede' because his parsimonious nature disliked the prices charged for the food, drink, young prostitutes and other facilities, especially when he had plenty of boys and a good cook and wine cellar at home to provide him with his pleasures. However, Maccius had persuaded him on this special occasion to seek an invite from Felicia as a treat for him.

Having happily learnt from Scyrax to whom Marius had been sold, Maccius, who was sadistically delighted that the boy had not found a better home, was determined to be around when the young new prostitute's virginity was finally forfeited. He cruelly and correctly believed that, by making his own presence at the preliminary well-advertised event known, he would be compounding the child's misery.

"Where's Scyrax?" the acquaintance next asked, whilst looking around to attempt to spot the fat merchant amongst the crowd of drinkers and diners occupying most of the many couches surrounding the brothel's entertainment amenity or simply standing to talk. Few appeared to be watching the troupe of scantily-clad boy acrobats currently performing in the central area.

"Felicia has been so happy with the boys that Fabius has recently bought from Scyrax via the slave market," Maccius replied, "that she's given him a complimentary brat, obtained from another supplier but nevertheless still nice, to play with in one of the alcoves. The slut's actually pleasantly pretty, with flaxen hair and a rather peaches and cream complexion that suggests that he originates from the most northerly limits of our Empire!"

"Don't worry," Maccius added, whilst gesturing to an adjacent unoccupied divan, "Scyrax won't take too long before returning to his couch after having his fun with the brat, as I'm afraid that his foreplay is becoming increasingly impatient and therefore shortened. Meanwhile, I hope that he doesn't first crush the slut under his bulk, as I'm sure that he won't like to have to pay the undoubtedly substantial costs of replacement."

Both Maccius and his almost equally sadistic acquaintance laughed at the thought of Scyrax mounting a boy and crushing him with his weight. However, their mutual amusement was curtailed when the fat man himself reappeared in the distance, looking rather flushed but satisfied after his recent very hectic and, for him, pleasant activity.

Simultaneously, the young acrobats, attired only in the usual skimpy black thongs, finished their act rather spectacularly. They first climbed on top of each other in a pyramid-like formation, which subsequently dissolved into a neatly choreographed tumble of boys, who finally stood in a spreadeagled posture evenly around the entertainment square, hopefully awaiting applause. However, as usual no such reaction occurred.

The few spectators of the boys' polished performance instead just resumed conversations with those reclining on neighbouring couches, which the majority of clients had already been doing whilst completely ignoring the spectacular entertainment. This indifference to such acts was common and had often stimulated Felicia into suggesting to her husband that "We'll have to come up with more interesting acrobatics to keep our customers happy!"

After the young acrobats had run off from the entertainment area, again disappointed that their best efforts had drawn little interest and no acclimation from the brothel's clientele, the mentioned husband next appeared. Fabius announced "Gentlemen, as previously advertised, I now introduce you to a new boy to our establishment, one who's that rare commodity….a virgin!"

"Cycnus will first dance for us," Fabius declared, "and then we'll auction the privilege of deflowering him. I believe that many of you will find good reason to bid!"

Fabius subsequently could not immediately understand the sight and sound of Maccius laughing loudly in reaction to his announcement. In fact, the youth was doing so in response to discovering that Marius had been renamed as Cycnus.

Fabius was, however, delighted that he had managed to attract almost every client's attention, for most of their eyes were upon him and a virtual silence had descended on the entertainment area. As a result, he was happily assured that, as usual, the imminent loss of a beautiful young boy's virginity interested the customers much more than acrobatics.

Fabius assumed correctly that such attention and silence would continue to prevail during Cycnus' dance and the later sale of his virginity. Even those clients, who did not intend for whatever reason to bid, were generally fascinated by the sight of a beautiful boy gyrating erotically before them in the knowledge that his purity was imminently to be painfully forfeited, as well as intrigued by the subsequent auction process.

Meanwhile, Marius was standing under the close supervision of the Major Domo behind a closed door to the side of the entertainment area. Nevertheless, the boy, who had recently been carefully bathed and groomed, including subjection to anal enemas and bodily oiling, could hear not only Fabius' announcement but also Maccius' loud laughter.

Marius, who was sporting a tag around his neck that indicated that his name was Cycnus, could now recognise Maccius' sinister laughter anywhere. The boy was already very nervous and afraid about humiliatingly dancing and stripping for the first time in public and the imminent and undoubtedly shameful and painful subsequent loss of his virginity. However, the knowledge that the evil youth was present in the brothel made his mental sense of degradation and trepidation much worse.

Nevertheless, Marius' cock as usual reacted differently. Already aroused, the boy's penis hardened still further, causing his minuscule black thong to balloon demeaningly outwards a little more.

Marius' fears were compounded by the thought that Maccius might bid to be the client who won the privilege of deflowering him. The notion that the evil youth might be the customer who deprived him of his virginity was almost too much for him to bear and, despite the warmth of the evening, his delightful boyish body shivered in reaction to perceiving the possibility.

Marius' reaction would have been even worse if he had known what Maccius was simultaneously attempting to do. The scheming impecunious patrician youth was currently trying to encourage the much wealthier but plebeian Scyrax to fund him in bidding for the privilege of deflowering the boy.

The miserly Scyrax was, of course, attempting to deny Maccius funds, especially as the boy concerned once belonged to him and so the idea of paying to deprive him of his virginity appeared to him to be incongruously stupid. The parsimonious fat man also realised that the cost would be substantial and therefore not of the kind that he would like to subsidise.

Maccius, however, was not easily defeated by Scyrax's arguments, especially in matters of such importance. The scheming youth also knew well that he could usually win the infatuated fat man over to meeting his needs in return for a promise of later sexual delights.

"I'll be very, very nice to you later," Maccius ultimately promised Scyrax, whilst seductively fluttering his long eyelashes. Consequently, the fat man's resistance dissolved.

"Alright, I'll support your bidding," Scyrax finally conceded, "but don't go too high." "I won't, dearest," Maccius lied, as the evil scheming youth, who had been plotting this moment ever since he had heard about Marius' fate, had every intention of being the person who deflowered the boy.

Maccius was still consumed with a nefarious desire to hurt Marius in particular. The evil youth therefore proposed to gain immense pleasure from maximising the boy's agony and abashment when deflowering him. He also looked forward to punishing him severely afterwards, as he would complain, fairly or not, about the young prostitute's performance to Felicia and seek from her in recompense the granting of the opportunity to inflict appropriate chastisement personally.

"I therefore introduce Cycnus!" Fabius shouted from the centre of the entertainment area and a door to his side opened to reveal Marius. On seeing the large crowded chamber, full of reclining men whose lecherous eyes were fixed on him, the boy subsequently momentarily hesitated to enter, especially as he noticed Maccius' face amongst the throng, smirkingly pervaded by cruelty and lust. However, his rather natural and common reaction for a newcomer was overcome by a gentle shove from the Major Domo who was standing behind him.

The thought of the Major Domo's whip or worse then encouraged Marius, whose minuscule thong was still ballooning, to run to the centre of the entertainment area, which had been quickly vacated by Fabius, and, to a lyre accompaniment, begin his erotic dance routine. Despite his nervousness and shame, and the knowledge that Maccius was present amongst the many clearly intrigued and lecherous spectators, the boy somehow started flawlessly, whilst the sudden intrusion of discreet whispering could soon be heard above the music.

Many of the clients were whispering to neighbours about Marius' undoubted charms. On overhearing some of these conversations, the attendant Fabius and Felicia smiled at each other. They now appreciated that the boy's virginity would indeed fetch a very high price, given the crowded house, the exceptionally complimentary comments about the goods on offer and the abundance of exceedingly wealthy customers present.

The smile that Marius displayed whilst he danced was, however, not impulsive but forced, as he had been taught to exhibit such a facial expression throughout his act. The boy's natural façade would have instead showed deep displeasure and dread because, as he performed, his sensuous blue eyes rarely strayed from Maccius.

Marius somehow knew from Maccius' own smirking facial expression that the evil youth would be the person who would soon be deflowering him and the boy was sure that he would relish doing so very savagely.

Chapter XLVIII

Marius would subsequently be dancing completely naked, with his debasing arousal evident for all to see, undoubtedly flopping around in tandem with his gyrations. The boy's mind was naturally not looking forward to such a denouement to his performance, whereas his unruly cock was as usual perversely indicating otherwise.

Despite the personally disgraceful circumstances, made even worse and more sinister by the nearby lurking and evilly smirking presence of the wickedly sadistic Maccius, Marius nevertheless continued to dance to virtual perfection. Such performance was a testament to his quickly acquired skills at the art and his bravery in very trying times.

Marius' immaculate performance was not even deflected by the eventual arrival of the musical crescendo. The boy's sole garment was instead rapidly and skilfully shed with correct discretion and decorum to allow him to dance devoid of any cover whatsoever. The only item that he now wore was, dangling from his neck by way of a thin leather cord, was the tag of the same material, upon which was embossed the new name given to him by Felicia, namely Cycnus.

Because of Marius' energetic actions, this tag had already been flopping around, regularly returning to his chest with a barely discernible slap. Such hectic jerking was now humiliatingly shared by the boy's little erection, which wobbled enthusiastically as he concluded his dance.

Marius concluded his performance, in line with the last musical crescendo from the boy lyre player, with a spectacular back summersault, which returned him to his feet, with his naked body standing in a spreadeagled pose. This final action naturally needed the most skill and was also the most likely to go wrong. However, the new recruit to the 'House of Ganymede' managed to finish with the same perfection that he had somehow produced for the rest of his dance.

There was, of course, no subsequent applause to recognise the perfection of Marius' performance, as the type of clientele who frequented the brothel did not afford such audible praise to the young prostitutes. The boys were, after all, amongst the lowest echelons of Roman slaves, being merely servile scum, who existed only to satisfy the sexual desires of superiors. However, a noticeable hum did resound around the cavernous hall, which was indicative of low laudable comments being whispered between many of the lecherously admiring watchers.

Fabius subsequently stepped forward again to stand alongside the heavily-breathing Marius. "Cycnus has now danced for us," the brothel-keeper then announced, whilst placing an arm around the boy's shoulders, "and I'm sure that we all found our young virgin's performance delightful."

"Next, as promised," Fabius declared, "we'll auction the privilege of deflowering Cycnus. As stated previously, I believe that many of you will find good reason to bid for the pleasure of depriving the boy of his virginity."

Fabius was already reassured, from the reaction to Marius' debut appearance and dance, as well as from the clear lechery displayed on many men's faces, that his belief was not mistaken. He could therefore look forward to extracting a big initial price for hiring out the boy's sexual services for the first time.

Fabius also happily reckoned that, although Marius would no longer be subsequently virginal, he could still expect further large fees in future until the boy's fresh charms eventually faded for many of the clientele. He consequently would then have to sell the child on to a less reputable brothel.

Without further ado because he appreciated that a lot of the customers present were more than ready to bid for the privilege of deflowering Marius, Fabius began the auction of the boy's virginity. Bids subsequently did not take long to reach substantial sums.

Most worrying for Marius was the fact that the still smirking Maccius remained in the auction process despite Scyrax's clear unhappiness at the amounts now being bid. The ashamed and frightened boy again somehow knew that the evil youth would be the person who would soon be deflowering him and he was sure that he would relish doing so very savagely.

Nevertheless, despite his certainty and a deeply blushing face, the naked Marius continued to sport, for all to see, a visibly throbbing erection.

Chapter XLIX

The watching Felicia was finally similarly satisfied with Fabius' speculative investment. However, she also had no intention of appraising her husband of this fact but would instead continue to nag him about his extravagance in order to keep him under her thumb.

Narcissus now appeared on the scene. The boy had been charged by Felicia to lead Marius to, and prepare him for, his immediate fate.

Marius felt Narcissus' hand close about his, and he subsequently found himself being hurried from the hall. "Come on, little one," the older bigger boy simultaneously commanded in a quiet whisper.

Narcissus eventually squeezed Marius' smaller hand after they had exited the hall and suggested "Don't worry, as it's not too bad. We've all been through it. You'll survive it."

Marius was, of course, fully aware of what Narcissus meant by the word 'it', namely his imminent deflowering. He therefore queried "But won't it hurt as much as the Mistress says?"

"There's no point in lying to you, little one," Narcissus replied gently, "as the first man who had me when I came here as a virgin was the cruel Nicias, who has a particularly big cock of which he's very proud. He likes his boys to be quite young and previously relatively pure and he has plenty of money to buy what he wants. I can still remember the savage agony of it."

"It was like being split open," Narcissus advised, "by a great post rammed into my bottom. The first time it will definitely hurt you and you'll undoubtedly bleed and scream while your initial client takes his pleasure."

"Indeed a virgin's suffering is generally a key aspect of the pleasure for the type of client who likes to deflower boys," Narcissus continued, "and is why he's prepared to spend so much for the privilege." "The second time you're sodomised by a customer," he added, "will almost be as bad but in the end you'll probably be the same as most of us other whores, not only accustomed to but also addictively desperate for the feel of a man's cock inside you. It'll be what you live for!"

As Narcissus now spoke, he was leading his younger charge across the spacious rear garden of the brothel. The fountain sprays reflected all the colour of the rainbow in the evening sunlight of approaching dusk, which was reflected in the surrounding long placid pools of still water, where fat goldfish nosed among the lilies. The boys also passed exotic flowering shrubs and cages of singing birds. To Marius, who was about to be agonisingly and humiliatingly deflowered, the setting just seemed too incongruously pleasant in which to suffer such pain and shame.

Narcissus eventually led Marius to a small secluded pavilion, which was slightly raised above the level of the garden, with two steps running the full length of the side facing them. Slender columns supported a red tiled roof above and behind the pillars was a narrow arcade and then large double-doors.

Narcissus, still holding the now quaking hand of the naked Marius tightly, swung these doors open and led inside the younger boy, who was surprised to discover that in the relatively small chamber within there were no brilliant but obscene frescoes or mosaics. The walls were instead just plain white marble and the floor was patterned only with slabs of the same material interspersed in a chequered pattern with black ones.

The furnishings of the chamber were as simple and sparse as the décor. There was rather naturally, given the purpose of the room, a double-bed, plus a couch, stool and a large wooden chest, all of which, though, appeared sturdier than was normal. Mysteriously, there was also a highly polished mirror-like metal disc, bigger than the largest platter Marius had ever seen, set flush in the centre of the marble floor.

The overall impression was of an austere, cold and somehow sinister place. The sparse décor appeared to suggest to Marius' frightened but clever mind that the debauchery practised here was so depraved that not even Roman artists were prepared to portray the relevant scenes in fresco or mosaic. Alternatively, the scared but intelligent boy thought that perhaps the practitioners of the various vices were so imaginative and skilled in the exercise of their immorality that they needed no pictures to arouse their lusts or stimulate their imaginations.

Marius visibly shivered at such contemplation and the noticing Narcissus placed a comforting arm about his shoulder and hugged him. "It will hurt, little one," he subsequently said, "but that'll also pass. Now, I must ready you to receive your first client."

Despite being a sadist, who liked to see other boys suffering, as well as wishing that he could physically hurt them too, Narcissus was currently being dutifully pleasant to Marius because he appreciated that he might be blamed if the newcomer failed to act properly during his imminent deflowering. He knew that his present job was to prepare him both physically and mentally for his impending excruciating and debasing loss of virginity, hence the attempts to soothe his natural concerns.

Also despite his sadism, Narcissus did possess some compassion in his rather complex character. Consequently, he could not stop himself from feeling somewhat sorry for the younger boy in spite of the fact that he was only about to endure what all of the other young prostitutes had already suffered, either in the brothel or previously elsewhere.

Narcissus' complex character additionally included some decent perceptive ability. His compassion towards Marius had mainly arisen because he had perspicaciously come to the belief that the younger boy appeared to be completely out of place in the brothel.

Marius might now just be a slave. However, his accent and general demeanour somehow suggested to the perceptive Narcissus that the newcomer emanated from completely different and much better circumstances.

Narcissus appreciated that some higher-class families did fall on very hard times, either through financial or political mistakes. He could imagine how some of the children could end up being enslaved.

Narcissus, though, overcame his slight compassion for Marius' predicament by appreciating that the younger boy's background no longer really mattered. The newcomer was now just a slave and a prostitute and that was all that really currently counted.

Narcissus' slight compassion was also overcome by realising that his own present duty was to prepare Marius to begin to learn and perform his new role efficiently and thereby earn his price and keep. If either failed in their tasks, both would probably be punished.

Marius was naturally only a little comforted by Narcissus' efforts to soothe his concerns. After all, the older boy had confessed that the imminent loss of virginity would be very painful, whilst the new younger prostitute's worries were compounded by knowing the identity of the person who would undoubtedly be deflowering him savagely.

Narcissus now released Marius' hand in order to walk over to the wooden chest. The older boy subsequently raised the heavy unlocked lid.

Marius did not, however, stay put. Curiosity instead tempted him to follow Narcissus.

Consequently, Marius was soon looking down into the wooden chest too. The boy then discovered in horror that inside were various jars and phials, stacked on a tray at one end with some cloths. There was also an open box containing a jumble of chains, locks, ropes, leather ties and metal rings. Beside these were a neatly-arranged variety of canes and other scourges, from simple leather straps to many- tailed martinets, given extra bite with tiny leaden weights.

Additionally, there was an array of phalluses of various sizes, colours and materials, including shiny woods and ivory. Some were mottled with cruel little knobbles. Marius recognised what the objects were and their uses from some of the sexual demonstrations that he had been forced to observe in Scyrax's house.

Finally noticing that Marius had quietly approached to stand alongside him and that the newcomer was glancing in obvious horror at the contents of the wooden chest, Narcissus silently cursed himself. He had not wanted to reveal anything to the younger boy that might increase his apprehension at what was to come, which might result in poor performance and later punishment for the pair of them.

"It would have been better if you had not looked in there, little one," Narcissus commented, whilst removing one of the earthenware jars from the wooden chest. He subsequently sat himself on the couch.

Narcissus next gestured to Marius to come to him. After the younger and still amazingly erect boy had complied, he took him by his wrist and drew him gently facedown across his knees.

Marius now experienced Narcissus' cool bare thighs against his own naked body. He additionally felt something hard pressing up from within the older boy's minuscule black thong onto his stomach and realised that the 14 year-old was also aroused.

Putting a palm on the back of Marius' neck, Narcissus next pushed the younger boy's head down, thereby forcing his rump up into the air. He subsequently rested his other hand on the curve of the 11 year-old's bottom.

"Place your legs apart, little one," Narcissus subsequently ordered softly. Marius again obeyed and then tensed as he felt the tip of the older boy's forefinger, coated with cool lubricant from the jar, brush along the lips of his virginal sphincter.

As Narcissus increased the pressure, Marius began to moan softly, whilst the forefinger carefully entered his body. The older boy then worked away patiently and silently for a time, gently greasing the newcomer in readiness for the ordeal to come.

During the early part of this period, the only sounds in the chamber were Narcissus' own heavier-than-normal breathing, which resulted from a desire to enjoy the forbidden fruit currently across his knees, but denied to him unless he favoured being later punitively converted into a eunuch, and Marius' occasional whimpers of excitement. The younger boy could again not prevent himself from revealing that he shamefully enjoyed his currently virginal anus being played with in such a gentle manner, and also once more felt that he was being inexorably drawn to his first sexual climax.

Before Narcissus concluded his careful and skilled work, he remarked "You're lucky that it's the house policy to grease virgins in readiness for deflowering. Some particularly cruel clients would prefer that we didn't perform such preparation, wanting to enjoy their pleasure without such lubrication."

"Felicia, however, considers that a lack of greasing," Narcissus continued, "could cause too much damage to a virgin, especially one as young and as anally tight as you. You could be ruined for anyone else!"

Narcissus, of course, did not add that Felicia had no concern for the welfare of her virgins. She just wanted to protect her investments so that they could earn her plenty of cash in the future.

Although Felicia laid down respected rules about requiring compensation if boys were permanently damaged, she did not like to invoke them too often, particularly if clients might not realise that, by deflowering an ungreased young virgin, they could inflict enduring harm. Having customers inadvertently overspending in such a way might eventually lose their custom, as well as have a detrimental effect on the reputation of her brothel.

Felicia believed clients who ruined boys through excessive punishment or torture to be different cases, as they knew fully what they were perpetrating and so should be prepared to pay the requisite hefty compensation. However, customers merely deflowering a virgin would surely be surprised to have to do so. She considered that, by insisting on greasing the boys concerned, disappointing some patrons' desires to perform without lubrication was preferable to increasing the dangers of unfortunate costly mishaps.

Being an experienced brothel-keeper, Felicia was naturally aware that some damage to the tight anuses of virgins like Marius would generally happen regardless of the amount of grease applied, especially if the manly deflowering cocks were particularly big. However, the lubrication ensured that, so far invariably to her knowledge in her brothels, unrepairable harm never occurred, with subsequent application of salve and perhaps a few stitches, along with some rest, usually working quickly to enable the boys concerned to return rapidly to duty.

Eventually satisfied that Marius was sufficiently greased for the imminent purpose, Narcissus carefully tipped the younger boy back onto his feet. He subsequently extracted one of the cloths from the wooden chest and carefully began to rub the younger boy's naked body with it.

"I'm just removing the old perfumed oil on your body, little one," Narcissus advised, "as it's been a little bit contaminated from your sweating during your recent dance. I'll then rub some fresh stuff on, as we want you to be in perfect condition to meet your first client!"

Narcissus next proceeded to do exactly as he had advised, taking particular delight in rubbing and freshly oiling Marius' aroused genitals, including his firm erection, and bottom. The older boy's enjoyment was evidenced by the fact that the already extant bulge in his minuscule black thong visibly expanded.

Marius' cock also actually visibly stiffened even more in reaction to the relevant delicate attention, causing Narcissus to comment "I see that you really are ready, little one, for your first man!" The already blushing face of the younger boy deepened in hue on hearing the remark.

"Your first man won't be long now," Narcissus eventually added on concluding his final preparation of Marius' now literally lustrous body before instructing "so kneel on the metal disc on the floor and spread your knees wide apart, as you must never hide anything from him. Face the doors and also clasp your hands behind your neck and reverently bow your head. He'll want to see not only exactly what he is paying for but also that you're totally submissive to his needs. Don't look up or otherwise move until he tells you to do so, and similarly never speak unless he permits!"

As Narcissus watched, Marius did as he was told, whilst now perceptively aware that the polished metal in the middle of the floor acted as a mirror and that, positioned as he would be, there would be no cranny of his body that was not open to inspection. The very notion increased the boy's already acute sense of degradation but nevertheless his cock again quivered in seeming perverse excitement.

As Marius subsequently knelt in fear and shame on the disc as instructed, with his unruly cock still rigid, he did not have to wait long to hear the sound of the footsteps of two men approaching the pavilion. A strange tingling sensation then pervaded the whole of the boy's naked form, with the most intense feeling concentrated on his already aroused groin.

Marius had recognised that those approaching the pavilion were men and not fellow boy prostitutes because they were clearly shod. The boy subsequently presumed that the recent winner of the auction for his virginity was about to arrive and wondered whether he might be planning to share his imminent pleasure with a friend.

Marius next heard the sounds of the double-doors of the pavilion opening and footsteps on the marble floor. The strange tingling sensation pervading the boy's naked form then intensified still further, whilst his little erection shamelessly began to rise upwards from the horizontal and a little droplet of clear fluid appeared at his cockhead.

"There he is ready for you, Sir, just as promised. A lovely boy ripe for the plucking and another young attendant slave to serve you in any way that you wish, if indeed you want him to remain!" As instructed, Marius obediently did not look up but he recognised the voice as that of Fabius.

"Yes, the other slave can remain but you can leave me now," a harsher and more imperative voice replied to Fabius. Marius then began to tremble on hearing the, to him, very sinister vocal tones.

Chapter L

Marius next heard the booted footsteps of someone moving slowly round the room. The boy immediately realised that his first-ever client was carefully but silently examining his naked body from all angles.

As the person circled Marius, he suddenly laughed, although, to the perceptive kneeling boy, not directly at him, as the chuckling appeared to be directed away from him. This assumption subsequently looked correct when the client next asked a question that seemed to be directed at Narcissus.

"I've been with you before, whore, haven't I?" the person asked. Marius was still not entirely sure whether the query was addressed at him but nevertheless kept silent, having weighed the likely odds and despite the fact that he risked being punished for failing to answer a question targeted at him.

Marius was in an awkward situation because he also risked punishment for speaking without permission if he answered a question not targeted at him. He was therefore gambling that his assumption was correct and his risk was rewarded when Narcissus replied to the enquiry, in the slightly uncertain tones of a boy whose voice was on the point of breaking.

"Yes, Sir," Narcissus answered, "you have been with me before because you were the first person to have me."

"Really, I don't recall deflowering you," the client advised casually, "perhaps because I've taken away the virginity of many whores like you. However, no doubt you do remember and will continue to do so for the rest of your miserable life, and so will this slut too and very soon!"

The client subsequently resumed his slow stroll around the naked, kneeling and still embarrassingly aroused Marius. He clearly wanted to continue to feast on the sight of the beautiful young nude from all angles, including using the mirrored metal to gain views of the boy's undersides.

"Now," the client eventually commanded of Narcissus after he had finally completed his intimate and lengthy visual inspection, "help me undress so that I can indeed provide this whore with an experience that he'll never forget!" Marius, still reverently looking at the floor immediately in front of him, subsequently heard the rustling of clothing being shed and then the customer asking of the older boy "Do you remember that?"

"Yes, Sir," Narcissus replied, with a clear tremble in his voice, as if the object concerned brought back bad memories. "Well, don't just stand there just looking at it, whore. Kneel and suck it. I've paid enough for the time I'll now spend in this pavilion and I want full value for my money, and we'll start with you preparing my cock in readiness to deflower the other slut!"

Marius next heard a series of moist sucking sounds, accompanied by increasingly noisy panting. There was subsequently a moment's silence.

Suddenly, a hand was then twisted in Marius' silky golden hair and he was jerked to his feet. The boy now found himself staring up into the face of a well-built fierce- looking middle-aged man who towered over him.

Marius' only consolation for what was about to happen to him was the fact that Maccius had not won the auction to deflower him. Scyrax had eventually called a halt to the youth's bidding, which had reached enormous proportions, but not before a vociferous argument had taken place between them.

Scyrax could have afforded the sum that finally won another client the opportunity to deflower Marius but the parsimonious merchant in high-class boy flesh was not prepared to do so, even for Maccius, and especially as he had been the previous owner of the young slave. As a result, the youth had stormed in anger out of the 'House of Ganymede', with his fat admirer rushing after him in order to attempt to soothe and console him.

The client who had won the auction to deflower Marius was Nicias, about whom Narcissus had appraised him earlier. He could still recall the older boy's words.

"There's no point in lying to you, little one," Narcissus had previously informed him gently, "as the first man who had me when I came here as a virgin was the cruel Nicias, who has a particularly big cock of which he's very proud. He likes his boys to be quite young and previously relatively pure and he has plenty of money to buy what he wants. I can still remember the savage agony of it."

"It was like being split open," Narcissus had advised, "by a great post rammed into my bottom. The first time it will definitely hurt you and you'll undoubtedly bleed and scream whilst your initial client takes his pleasure."

"Indeed a virgin's suffering is generally a key aspect of the pleasure for the type of client who likes to deflower boys," Narcissus had continued, "and is why he's prepared to spend so much for the privilege." The customer willing to incur such great cost in respect of Marius was now looking down into the tremulous young slave's fearful blue eyes, with a sinisterly cruel and lecherous smirk on his own face.

Marius could not next prevent himself from looking downwards from Nicias' head, crowned by red hair, across the adult's chest, which was matted with a similar hirsute covering, to the naked man's groin in order to gain his first sight of the implement that would imminently deflower him. On finally observing the cock in question, the boy gasped.

Marius now appreciated that Narcissus had not been exaggerating when describing Nicias' cock. If anything, the older boy had been understating the penis' enormity.

Sticking horizontally outwards from a thick bed of red hair that virtually hid Nicias' large and heavy scrotum from view, was a very long and broad manly phallus, of the type exaggerated in many of the obscene frescoes and mosaics located elsewhere in the 'House of Ganymede'. However, this one was amazingly real.

Narcissus had obviously done well in orally preparing the monstrous shaft for what was to come because Nicias' cock throbbed excitedly, and also glistened as a result of being caked with some of the older boy's spittle. The owner of the huge cock also now looked down proudly at his penis and, whilst his sinister smirk broadened, commented to Marius "I notice from your gasp, whore, that you appear to admire the tool with which I'll now deflower you!"

As Nicias' remark was not a question, Marius remained silent. The boy, whose terror at his situation was now more profound than ever after perceiving the size of the man's cock, was anyway probably incapable of speech at that moment, because of shock and a resultant acute drying of his nervous throat.

Marius' shock intensified further when Nicias next unexpectedly cupped the boy's chin in his hand to encourage his young and very pretty face to look back up at his own much older and uglier version. The man then bent to kiss the child passionately on his rosy lips.

Marius subsequently experienced Nicias' tongue dart between his forcefully parted lips and snake into his mouth. The boy felt disgusted but knew that he dare not exhibit such an emotion or attempt to resist.

Then, just as suddenly and unexpectedly, Nicias straightened and, after placing his strong manly hand on Marius' bare chest, pushed the naked boy harshly rearwards across the room towards the nearby couch. The surprised child collided with the divan and fell back to sit on the cushioned furniture.

Nicias next arrived quickly alongside and commanded of Marius "Stay sitting, whore, but lift your knees up until they're either side of your head and hold them there. I'll deflower you whilst you're in that posture because I want to see the agony on your face when I enter you!"

After he had spoken, Nicias, now impatient to enjoy his pleasure, did not wait for the hesitant Marius to comply with his command but instead grabbed the boy's ankles and pulled them upwards, simultaneously tipping the child's bottom in the same direction. The experienced Narcissus did not need any order to assist and darted to the back of the couch, where he lent forward to receive the younger slave's uplifted legs from the man.

Marius did not dare to resist this disturbing development. He was anyway pretty powerless to do so, given the combined strengths of Nicias and Narcissus.

Nicias next released Marius, who was now retained resolutely in his degrading position by Narcissus' grip on his uplifted ankles, which were currently either side of the younger boy's head. They were also spaced wide apart by the older slave, who through extensive experience appreciated that such a pose would expose the virginal sphincter to fullest effect.

Narcissus also realised that such exposure would be best for all concerned. Nicias now had good sight of the target for his huge rampant cock, which might help Marius to suffer less, whilst for the older boy, holding a pair of ankles, the whole imminent discomforting process might consequently conclude more rapidly.

Narcissus' sadism might encourage him to like to see other boys hurt. However, the current situation brought back too many personal bad memories for him to enjoy the scene.

The clear sight of Marius' pink virginal sphincter, apparently blinking back in tandem with the boy's heavier- than-normal breathing, stimulated Nicias into aiming and advancing his massive erection towards the inviting aperture. As the throbbing cock subsequently came closer and closer to the target, the boy's sensuous blue eyes became damp, as he recognised that both agony and loss of innocence were imminent.

Marius soon felt Nicias' hard cockhead touching his sphincter and beginning to press, gently at first but subsequently more remorselessly when some resistance was encountered. For a few moments, the boy's anal defences actually held but eventually the pressure became too much and they collapsed before the man's determined assault.

Marius then howled as acute agony tore through him. Nicias' resolute cock had excruciatingly finally swept past the modicum of resistance displayed by the boy's sphincter to enter the previously virginal tight rectum beyond.

Through tearful eyes and despite his intense anguish, Marius stared up into Nicias' cruel face, which was currently bright red, being suffused with blood as he put as much energy as he could into deriving maximum sadistic enjoyment from this, for him, sublime moment. To the man, nothing was more pleasurable than first penetrating a virginal boy, seeing the young victim's agonised reaction and knowing that he was responsible both for that and the degrading ruination of his previous purity.

Nicias bared his teeth amidst a ferocious grin, as he slowly but relentlessly advanced his cock into Marius. He was rewarded for his efforts as he drove ever deeper by scream after scream wrenched from the lungs of the boy, whose head was vigorously nodding from side to side, as if silently begging 'No!'

Nicias revelled in the screams and at the sight of Marius' agonised and now tearful face, as the effectual torture of the boy's young body proceeded, and eventually his own cruel eyes became glazed, such was his pleasure. He subsequently barely noticed that he had finally gradually driven the full length of his cock into the child, who, however, could now feel the man's copious pubic bush pressing against his own bottom and so knew that he could be penetrated no further.

Nevertheless, Marius' torture had not yet finished. After eventually discovering that his pubic hair was resting against the boy's flesh, Nicias carefully withdrew his cock almost out of the anguished rectum before, accompanied by a further broadening of his smirk, he ruthlessly rammed his mammoth erection to the hilt back into the child.

In reaction, Marius' renewed screaming was initially louder than ever, whilst Nicias proceeded to repeat his partial withdrawals and fresh thrusts, sodomising the boy with savage energy and enthusiasm. The man's enjoyment was such that, as he was pleasured, he grunted in ecstasy and simultaneously some spittle began to drool from his mouth onto his young victim.

Nicias' act of sodomy eventually acquired a far from gentle but nevertheless steady rhythm, whilst Marius' screaming gradually lessened because his ravaged rectum finally became more accustomed to the monstrous invader. As a consequence, the boy's pain, whilst not disappearing, became less acute allowing his shrieks to change into quieter yelps whenever he suffered another harsh forward thrust of the man's cock.

Nicias had originally intended to take his time in deflowering Marius. He wanted the boy to feel the agony affecting his innards for a lengthy period but, not unusually, the man could not control or resist his inexorable advance to climax.

Consequently, Nicias now launched, with a concluding grunt of deep satisfaction, one final thrust forward deep into Marius' insides, after which he left his cock in place. The boy subsequently felt the flow of several spurts of manly sperm impregnating him and truly denoting his loss of virginity. Then something strange happened to him.

A dark pulsing orgasmic darkness descended on Marius' mind, overwhelming for the moment the piercing agony that had previously consumed his young body. For a brief period of time, the boy somehow felt himself to be free of all his troubles, with all his humiliations and sufferings forgotten, and instead enjoyed an instant of pure concentrated pleasure.

Unfortunately, the moment passed all too quickly and Marius found himself lying on his side on the couch, whilst a warm dampness trickled from his bottom and wave upon wave of searing pain wracked his body. The boy was barely conscious of movement about him but did feel a hand grasping his chin and turning his face to the light.

Marius next saw, amidst the tears still blurring his vision, Nicias gloatingly smiling down at him, examining the outward facial signs of the shame and excruciation that he had just caused the boy. The relevant evidence included damp blotched cheeks, mucus and saliva dribbling respectively from the child's nose and mouth and blood trickling down his chin, from where he had bitten through his lower lip.

Nicias laughed heartily at the sight and subsequently turned away. "You can suck my cock clean of my residual semen and the whore's rectal blood, as the slut appears to be in no condition to do so properly," the man then commanded of Narcissus, "and later help me to redress!"

Not long afterwards, Marius heard Nicias' freshly re-shod footsteps retreat from the pavilion and fade into the distance. Narcissus next came to sit on the couch and cradle the younger boy's head on his thighs, whilst stroking his hair and murmuring words of comfort.

"There, there, little one," Narcissus recommended, "you can stop crying now, as it's all over. The pain will gradually go away!"

Unfortunately for Marius, Narcissus was to prove incorrect in his assumption, after more footsteps and another murmur of adult voices was next heard. The younger boy's tears initially prevented him from recognising the two shapes that had suddenly appeared in the pavilion. However, his ignorance did not last long.

"Move the brat out of here," Felicia soon shouted, "as he's bleeding too much. He'll mess the place up and I have other customers waiting to use the facility. Take him to my rooms, where I'll check him and probably have to repair him!"

As a result of this order, Narcissus lifted Marius up and carried him outside and eventually to the prescribed destination, where he placed him on another couch, this time lying facedown with a cushion under his hips. The older boy knew full well what in particular Felicia would be keen to check.

Marius rested motionless for a while, definitely not wanting to be lying the other way up on his agonised bottom, until ultimately Narcissus' hands pulled his legs apart. Feminine fingers subsequently began to probe the younger boy's distressing soreness.

Felicia was conducting the intimate examination whilst kneeling and holding a needle and a length of silk thread in her other hand. "As usual," she eventually confirmed, "after Nicias has enjoyed a virgin, the boy needs stitches to repair an anal tear."

Marius then experienced worse pain than he had ever suffered previously, including during his recent ignominious deflowering.

Chapter LI

"I've just removed the brat's anal stitch," Felicia continued, "and, as you can see for yourself, the repair is good and there'll soon be no evidence at all that Nicias had torn his sphincter." The woman subsequently smacked Marius' bottom lightly with the back of a hand, not in a gesture of chastisement but to encourage the currently completely naked boy, who was bending over immediately in front of her, to advance towards her husband.

Evidence for what Felicia had just been doing was present in another hand, namely the tweezers that she had used to extract, after first cutting with a tiny pair of scissors, the thread that had formed the stitch. Other proof was visible on the boy's face, down which some tears flowed, as a result of the brief but acute pain and the total humiliation that had accompanied the withdrawal of the filament.

Nevertheless, despite his anguish, Marius was sufficiently mentally aware, without receiving direct orders, of what his next duty was to be, after briefly standing upright in order to walk to Fabius. The boy was soon again bending over, with his legs spread apart, immediately in front of an adult in order to present his bottom for examination. He was rewarded by the gentle prising apart of his bumcheeks so that the man's eyes could feast on the sight of his recently painfully ravished but apparently now almost fully mended pink sphincter.

"A brat of his age, having been fucked only once, even by an instrument as big as that of Nicias," Felicia added, "will also still have a nicely tight rectum that'll pleasure any man. To make the illusion of his virginity even more real, the act will also inevitably again give the boy a lot of genuine grief during penetration, which will undoubtedly add to the client's enjoyment!"

"But many of our clients will be aware that the brat's virginity has already been auctioned and lost," Fabius persisted in protesting, whilst also slapping Marius' bottom gently to indicate that he had finished his intimate inspection of the boy's sphincter so that he could now stand upright once more. "Those that don't know," the man went on to suggest, "will be told by the others."

"Ah, but what makes you think that I'll sell the brat's so- called virginity in the same public way inside the brothel as last time?" Felicia conspiratorially responded, whilst now displaying a look of contentment on her scheming face at having outwitted her husband yet again. She subsequently paused for a bit, whilst her proposed plan finally dawned in Fabius' less devious mind. The fact that her spouse's facial expression gradually changed from one of puzzlement to similar satisfaction then proved to her that he had finally grasped what she intended and had approved.

"Yes, husband," Felicia therefore advised, "we'll sell the brat's so-called virginity privately. You know that we have several rich but discerning clients who do not like to visit our establishment, generally to maintain a false façade of possessing uppermost morality, either for family or political reasons."

"They're hypocrites," Fabius retorted, exhibiting his dislike of such men, "as they like to enjoy their pleasures with beautiful young boys, whilst publicly displaying disgusted disdain for such liaisons. They claim to possess utter adherence to the finest Roman probity, whilst secretly practising the opposite!"

"But they're rich and often powerful hypocrites," Felicia calmly reminded Fabius, "whose money is as good as anyone else's and whose influence has, in return for our renowned discretion, often assisted us. I recall a certain important Senator, who not only pays us well for our private services but also helps, indirectly through his contacts, to ensure that the brothel never has any bother from the authorities, even though he never visits."

"Such hypocrites therefore deserve our discreet attention like any other client," Felicia added, "including the opportunity to deprive a brat like this of his so-called virginity if we can adequately hide the fact that he's already been deflowered. The boy himself is not going to reveal that he's already been fucked because he won't like the painful result!"

Marius visibly flinched on hearing Felicia's threat, being fully aware that she meant that he would be severely punished for being indiscreet. However, the woman ignored him and continued to speak to her husband as if the boy was not present.

"The money we receive will not be as great as when we auctioned the brat," Felicia advised, "but it'll be much more than if we now just make such depreciated goods available to our normal brothel clientele. The customer concerned will undoubtedly also feel obliged towards us, which could be useful if we wanted a favour from him in the future!"

Fabius considered his wife's words and countenance for a moment before perceptively suggesting "You already have someone in mind, don't you?" "Yes, husband," Felicia confirmed before appraising her spouse of the important Senator's name.

In reaction, Marius face blushed and became alarmed because he recognised the name as being that of an old fawning colleague of his late father. The boy assumed correctly that the Senator must have astutely changed affiliations at the last moment to avoid being slaughtered along with other allies of Sejanus in the wake of the downfall of Emperor Tiberius' former chief lieutenant, about which he had overheard Crastus talk.

Marius immediately worried that the Senator would recognise him because the man had occasionally visited Sejanus when the boy had been around. He would also have seen his late older brother on a more regular basis, as he had resided mainly in Rome as opposed to living on the family's country estate.

Marius appreciated that he and his older brother had looked rather alike, despite the age differential. The boy also recalled that the Senator appeared to like their appearance because he remembered the lecherous glint in the man's eyes whenever they had been present in his company.

Marius consequently feared that a private sexual liaison with the Senator would not only lead to further humiliating and painful so-called deflowering but also execution as the traitor's son.

Chapter LII

The Priapus in Marius' nightmare had, however, been physically unlike the god depicted in the brothel's frescoes and mosaics. The god was still ugly but possessed a shock of red hair on not only his head but also all over his strong body, including his crotch.

In his nightmare, Marius was sitting helplessly with his legs held wide apart in the air on either side of his head by some unseen divine force, with his bottom presented like some kind of sacrifice to the approaching Priapus' erect phallus. The boy wanted to run away but the same power that resolutely retained his ankles in place appeared to be somehow preventing any movement and he could only watch as the huge advancing cock came closer and closer.

As Priapus and his huge phallus finally came nearby, Marius looked up at the face of the god. He subsequently did not espy the deity's façade as depicted in the frescoes and mosaics but instead saw that of the smirking Nicias, whose massive cockhead then began to press remorselessly against the boy's virginal sphincter.

In his nightmare, Marius started to scream, as overwhelming pain overcame his helpless body and Priapus accepted the proffered virgin sacrifice. In reality, he was actually groaning in his sleep sufficiently for the boy prostitute occupying the adjacent straw mattress in the brothel dormitory to be awoken and to shake his loud neighbour in complaint at the disturbance of his slumber.

Consequently Marius also awoke, to find his naked body awash with sweat. The night was not particularly warm and so the boy correctly concluded that his condition was as a result of his disturbed nightmare rather than the temperature.

"You woke me with your groaning," complained the neighbouring boy prostitute, who was a couple of years older and whose similarly nude body, apart from his head, was protected by the old but clean blanket that covered most of him and his straw mattress. "I'm sorry," Marius responded, "but I was suffering a bad nightmare."

"That's not uncommon," the other young prostitute commented, "as we all suffer so much here. However, you'll have to attempt to be quiet when you endure nightmares or you might not only receive complaints from the other boys but also be beaten by them. You see, gaining a decent sleep is essential to us all because, if we're not lively when we do whatever duties are assigned to us, we'll earn punishment."

"I'll try to be quiet in future," Marius meekly answered. "Good," the other boy replied before returning his head to his straw mattress and quickly to sleep.

Marius, however, did not immediately replicate his neighbour's action. He instead glanced round the large shadowy dormitory, in which all of the brothel's boy prostitutes possessed a straw mattress with blanket, even if some actually spent nights sleeping elsewhere with clients.

All of the boy prostitutes slept naked, having handed in their black thongs for washing when finishing their daily duties and eating their only meal. They would subsequently find other ones to fit them from the pile of freshly laundered garments after bathing and grooming before the beginning of their tasks on the next day. However, because of the nature of their profession, most did not appear in their dormitories until well after midnight, with some even arriving after dawn.

The supervising Major Domo and the adult slaves under his command, at least one of whom was always on duty throughout the day and night, would note on wax tablets the times that individual boy prostitutes retired to the dormitory. They would subsequently generally allow their young charges to sleep for exactly eight hours, although more was permitted if longer recuperation from what they had been subjected to on the day previously was considered necessary.

The Major Domo and his assistants were as aware as the young prostitutes of the need for a good sleep, particularly as the adult slave supervisors were liable to be whipped by Fabius, usually at Felicia's behest, if any of their charges were presented for duty in an unsatisfactory condition. Lethargic drowsiness was not considered by the brothel's owners to be a suitable state in which to present their boys to their discerning clients.

As a consequence of the accepted need for a minimum of a sleep lasting eight hours and of the common timing of their duties, many of the boy prostitutes would not be awoken until almost midday or even later. After bathing in the large communal bath, which for slaves did not, of course, possess the luxury of hot water, subsequent grooming was generally conducted in pairs.

Boys would help each other with their daily enemas, to trim and comb their hair and to apply any head-garlands and makeup that their anticipated duties might necessitate. They would finally inspect each other carefully to ensure that their physiques were perfect for the day ahead, not wanting to be responsible for any blemish or both would be liable to distressful punishment.

None of the boys ate breakfast. Their sole meal of the day, comprising only basic fare, albeit decent, was provided in the communal dining hall after their duties were concluded.

This scheduling was designed to maximise the effect of the young prostitutes' enemas on rising on the next day, as clean rectums were required for certain potential duties ahead. However, healthy growing boys were consequently generally hungry throughout the period allocated for their tasks and usually attempted furtively to acquire something to help satiate at least part of their appetite.

Some of the boys took the chance of attempting slyly to steal some morsels of food from the dishes on or being delivered to the tables of those clients who dined in the brothel. The young servers were naturally best placed to try this. However, if detected by the customers, Fabius, Felicia, the Major Domo or his assistants, the punishment could be severe. Consequently, few actually risked the danger.

Most boys instead hoped to be rewarded with morsels of food by clients, the more considerate of whom were aware of the young prostitutes' desires for nourishment and did indeed tip them accordingly. Even if this situation was subsequently detected by Fabius, Felicia, the Major Domo or his assistants, punishment did not ensue because the patrons had initiated the deed and the owners and adult slaves of the brothel did not want to insult them by decrying in action their benevolence. They instead believed in the old Roman maxim that 'the customer is always right'.

Allowing eight hours for sleep, one for bathing and grooming and another for dining, the general period on duty for the young prostitutes was long, usually lasting more than half of the day. However, the boys were not always busy because a lot of time was spent standing or sitting around, waiting to be chosen by clients for sex, to serve customers with food and drink or to provide entertainment.

As Marius glanced around the dormitory, which was partly illuminated by wall-lamps, he noticed amidst the created shadows that the majority of the other mattresses were unoccupied. He therefore assumed correctly that the time would be not long after midnight, which was too early for most of his fellow boy prostitutes to have finished their duties.

Marius also assumed correctly that those boys, who were currently present with him in the dormitory, were of two kinds. There would be those who had been sent to bed prematurely because they were being assigned early morning tasks, as the brothel took pride in providing a 24-hour service. There would also be those who had been excused duty altogether because they were recuperating from injury.

Marius himself could have been classified on previous nights as the former kind but now he was of the latter type because the signs of his anal tear had disappeared and he had been assigned an early morning visit to a certain Senator. The boy was, of course, not looking forward to the trip, not only because he was due to be humiliatingly and painfully sodomised again but also because he might not return to the brothel alive.

Marius eventually stopped looking around the dormitory and instead once more rested his head on his mattress. By now the sweat on his naked body had dried and he began to feel the increasing chill of a relatively cold night. He therefore wrapped his solitary blanket more tightly around himself in order to retain more of his bodily warmth.

Marius next stared at the ceiling above, whilst now contemplating the meaning of his recent nightmare. The intelligent boy realised that the scary dream was an allegory referring to his recent anguishing deflowering by Nicias.

Such realisation caused Marius' mind to recall again the horrible event. He remembered Nicias crouching over him, with his manly hands resting for leverage on the back of the couch as he thrust his huge cock in and out of him, whilst the screaming boy's legs were held in the air by Narcissus.

Marius, however, also eventually recalled the pulsing orgasmic darkness that had descended on his mind, overwhelming for the moment the piercing agony that had previously consumed his young body. For a brief period of time, the boy had somehow felt himself to be free of all his troubles, with all his humiliations and sufferings forgotten, and instead enjoyed an instant of pure concentrated pleasure.

Marius now wondered if that moment had represented his first orgasm. There had, of course, been no visible product of the event, as any initial sexual climax enjoyed by a boy of his age would inevitably have been dry.

Marius therefore could not be sure that the moment had indeed represented his first orgasm. However, if the event did do so, he briefly pondered the strangeness of the occurrence happening amidst almost all-consuming shame and pain.

Before Marius closed his sensuous blue eyes and fell back into a deep sleep, despite his grave concerns about the day ahead, the boy also decided that, if the moment had represented his first orgasm, he wanted to enjoy many more of the same.

Chapter LIII

Marius had instead been awoken, amidst daylight streaming in through the dormitory windows, by a naked Narcissus, who was kneeling at his side. "Wake up, Cycnus," the older boy instructed in a whisper, "because I've been ordered by our Mistress to ready you for your assignment with the Senator."

Marius dutifully awoke fully and, in response to Narcissus' next command, whispered so as to avoid awaking the other young prostitutes currently sleeping in a now rather full dormitory, rose from under his blanket. The younger boy was then the subject of a titter from the older.

Marius was initially unsure of the cause of the titter but noticed that Narcissus' eyes were focused on his groin. The younger boy therefore looked downwards and saw that his little cock was again embarrassingly fully erect.

"I think, little one," Narcissus next whispered, whilst still smirking, "that you must have been enjoying an erotic dream just before I awoke you!" In reaction, Marius instantly recalled the relevant scene.

Marius had been dreaming that he was on the bed of the extremely handsome Apollo, the Olympian with locks and a lyre of gold, god of prophecy, healing and music. The deity was gently making love to him, causing the boy no pain but instead immense pleasure.

Apollo made love to accompanying sweet divine music, played on his golden lyre by a Muse, having earlier healed all of Marius' previous sufferings and promised to help the boy rise up from his troubles to assume a position of great respect and authority. Unfortunately, Narcissus' intervention had prevented the discovery of what this new status would be and instead the young prostitute was returned to sad reality.

Marius moved his hands towards his embarrassingly hard cock but Narcissus, who was not currently adorned with any makeup, suggested "Don't be ashamed of your erection, little one. We all regularly experience the phenomenon, which is a sign that you're maturing fast. Anyway, our clients like to see such liveliness in the boys here."

Marius reacted to Narcissus' words by gradually withdrawing his protective hands from shielding his aroused groin. He also suddenly began to feel quite proud rather than embarrassed by his little erection, which visibly wobbled up and down when the older boy led him into the baths adjacent to the dormitory.

As they proceeded, the curious Marius glanced at the naked Narcissus' own now exposed genitals. He found that those of the boy, who at 14 was three years older than him, were naturally bigger and comprised a nice slender uncut cock, which was currently interestingly semi-hard, with a pleasantly proportioned scrotum dangling underneath. The sexual organs themselves were completely devoid of hair but above was a small hirsute patch, whose light brown coloration matched that on top of the young prostitute's head.

Narcissus noticed Marius glancing with clear interest at his groin. The older boy therefore asked "Do you like what you see, little one?"

Marius quickly glanced away to look with blushing embarrassment at Narcissus' amused face. "I….I…." the younger boy subsequently started to stutter but an explanation as to why he had been focusing his eyes with clear interest on the older prostitute's groin would not emerge from his sweet rosy lips.

"There's no need to be embarrassed at your interest, little one," Narcissus instead remarked, "as I'm equally fascinated by your delightful body. Why do you think that my own cock is semi-hard and still growing?"

This question immediately tempted Marius to focus his eyes on Narcissus' groin once more and he was rewarded by the sight of a young penis rapidly becoming as erect as his own. "You see, little one, I'm very attracted to your body, like I am to those of most other boys here," the older prostitute unashamedly explained, "and I would love to make love to your form. My cock would definitely thoroughly enjoy venturing where Nicias' recently did!"

"Alas, little one, such a development is forbidden," Narcissus advised, "unless Fabius or Felicia or clients order such a show for entertainment. Perhaps we'll be lucky and someone will but sadly until that time our relationship will have to remain platonic. I'd rather not be whipped severely for molesting you, and anyway I consider that the product of my cock is the preserve of my clients."

"If I didn't cum when a client wanted me to because I'd just furtively pleasured myself with you," Narcissus informed, "I could be the subject of a complaint and therefore punishment. Despite the associated frustrations, I therefore generally store up my seed to give customers the delight of releasing my sperm if they so desire. However, the gaps between can sometimes be prolonged because my duties for our Mistress mean that I don't serve as many patrons as other boys and so occasionally I do use my own hand to provide relief."

Narcissus' further words again caused a speedy alteration in Marius' attitude, which once more swiftly changed from embarrassment to curious interest and tempted him to ask, with a little awe noticeable in his voice, "You really spurt cum? How much?"

"Yes," Narcissus patiently confirmed, as they reached the baths, which were currently empty of anyone else at this generally very quiet time of the morning, "I really do produce semen. As for the amount, why don't you find out?"

"What do you mean?" Marius enquired in confusion. "Rub my cock and you'll soon find out the answer to all of your questions," Narcissus replied with blatant enthusiasm.

Marius' confusion immediately dissipated. As part of his training, the boy had been provided with graphic demonstrations of solo and mutual masturbation in Scyrax's house.

"But I thought that you said that sex between boys was forbidden unless permission was granted by our Master or Mistress or the clients," Marius subsequently protested, whilst returning his stare to his companion's face, "and you follow this rule to avoid a whipping. You also normally like to save your cum for the clients." "I usually do," Narcissus responded, whilst his now thoroughly erect cock visibly quivered in eager anticipation of being imminently rubbed to climax by the beautiful younger boy, "but I think that we can make this an exception."

"There's no one else around in the baths at this early hour," Narcissus went on to explain, "and there won't be for a while yet. I'm also not harming you by molesting you but rather the reverse and you can see my need, which won't be gratified for a while by a client because, for reasons I'll clarify later, I'm to spend most of the day with you."

"I assure you, little one, that my need won't take long to satisfy now," the clearly keen Narcissus added, "and so there's no real danger in yourself discovering the answer to your own questions!" Without verbally replying but in other reaction to the older boy's explanation, Marius' right hand was suddenly tempted to begin to reach out slowly towards the proffered cock.

Slightly frustrated by Marius' timid slowness, Narcissus requested "Go on, grab my cock, as it won't bite you!" The hint of an accusation of cowardice in the older boy's solicitation immediately caused the younger to comply.

Consequently, standing immediately adjacent to the cold bath into which both would soon plunge in order to wash, Marius next started to rub Narcissus' erection, which, as promised, quickly demonstrated delight at his touch and its acute need by rapidly succumbing to sweet climax. The resultant quantity of semen produced by the orgasmic older boy, whose brown eyes had closed in exquisite ecstasy, subsequently became speedily apparent to the younger because he had forgotten to stand aside.

Marius' lovely naked body, still standing in front of the equally nude Narcissus, was therefore comprehensively splashed by the spurting sperm of the orgasmic older boy. Several accumulations of creamy cum soon formed on the younger prostitute's chest and belly before slowly running downwards in a few white lines towards his legs and groin.

"That was a pleasant show!" commented a voice from nearby. The suddenly alarmed Marius and, with quickly re-opened eyes, Narcissus instantly turned towards the source of the remark to find the Major Domo standing there.

Marius had momentarily forgotten his intense concerns about the day ahead. His curiosity had caused him to enjoy masturbating Narcissus almost as much as the recipient of his manual ministrations.

Now, to add to his troubles, Marius had to contemplate suffering punishment for having unauthorised sex with another boy prostitute if he somehow survived his impending visit to a certain Senator.

Chapter LIV

Narcissus' penile reaction was, however, not just due to satiation. Shock at the unexpected sudden appearance of the Major Domo to witness the recent literally climactic events had aided his cock's rapid return to flaccidity.

Meanwhile, Marius' maintained erection appeared contrarily to revel masochistically in the situation of having been caught in the act of masturbating Narcissus to a very fruitful conclusion, the visible evidence for which was currently dribbling slowly down his young naked body. As the boy's curvaceous buttocks clenched in worried anticipation of an imminent beating, his cock visibly conversely and perversely quivered at the prospect.

Marius' peculiar reaction again caused his young intelligent mind briefly to consider what type of boy he really was, namely the son of a free Roman, who had risen high before tumbling to destruction, or a slut who had truly found his proper role in life. He questioned whether he was actually born to be abused and to suffer, whilst somehow gaining some strange thrill from such sad experiences. However, his momentary reflection on the nature of his persona was brought to an end when the Major Domo addressed further words to him and Narcissus.

"I shall, of course, have to report what I've just witnessed to the Master and Mistress," the Major Domo announced, whilst now displaying a cruel smirk. "I venture to suggest," he added, "that neither will be pleased to discover that you're not preserving your sexual needs for the clients of this establishment and they'll therefore surely demand retribution from the pair of you!"

Marius was next amazed at Narcissus' reaction to the Major Domo's announcement. The older naked boy advanced towards the man and fell to his knees before him.

"Please... Sir," Narcissus subsequently begged in a quaking voice, "please... don't report us. I'll... do anything... for you... if you don't!"

"What could you possibly offer me, brat," the still cruelly smirking Major Domo asked, "to cause me to want to ignore my duty to the Master and Mistress?" "Myself!" Narcissus shamelessly answered.

The Major Domo and the adult male slaves under his supervision were, unlike their equivalents in Scyrax's household, not eunuchs. They therefore still experienced the sexual temptations of any normal men.

Given the immense boyish pulchritude pervading the environment in which the slaves worked, they were rather naturally attracted to many of their young charges. Fabius and Felicia were, of course, aware of this and managed the situation in two main ways.

First, the adult slaves were threatened with severe punishment if they molested any of the boys in their charge without the permission of either Fabius or Felicia. The brothel owners even went to the extreme, as a warning to the others, of having one man, who had ignored their prohibition, whipped and castrated before being sold. Such an example proved a sound deterrent.

Second, the adult slaves were occasionally given permission to enjoy some of the boys as a reward for good service and to keep temptations temperate. However, only some of the already well-used young prostitutes were offered for the purpose, with the rest reserved exclusively for the clientele.

Although Narcissus had been in the brothel for a long time, being the favourite of Felicia, he had so far managed to escape being offered for the entertainment of the adult slaves. The astute boy was also perceptively aware that this situation had annoyed the Major Domo, whom he had known from lecherous looks had always fancied him since his arrival in the 'House of Ganymede'.

Narcissus' current offer was consequently founded on the fact that he was aware that the Major Domo would like to enjoy his young favours. The latter attributes were, of course, by now professionally highly skilled.

Narcissus also appreciated the danger for the Major Domo if he accepted but was caught. Accordingly, the boy followed up his proposition by promising, with much less nervous quivering in his voice, "You can have me in secret... and I'll never tell!"

Narcissus' debasing offer was not just down to cowardly fright at the prospect of punishment for encouraging Marius to masturbate him. The boy was far more worried about losing Felicia's current favour, which might, given his long service, propel him out of the 'House of Ganymede' to an unpleasant life in a much less distinguished brothel.

Narcissus' offer was additionally stimulated by the fact that what he was proffering would cost him little. After all, allowing his body to be used as a man's sex toy was his current function in life, a role that he had been doing for years and was something in respect of which he had become not only accustomed but also expert.

The Major Domo briefly contemplated Narcissus' offer with clear interest evident on his face, not least from a salacious licking of his lips with his own tongue. The man then replied "I'll consider your proposal and give you my response when you return from your errand today."

"Now, carry on properly with your duties as I earlier ordered," the Major Domo instructed, "and ready this brat for his mission!" The man, who next turned dismissively and walked away, was, of course, referring in this latter command to Marius.

Anticipating that the Major Domo would ultimately accept his offer, and thereby raising optimistic hopes that his recent misdemeanour would not be reported to Fabius and Felicia, Narcissus instantly sprang to his feet to begin to comply with the man's instruction with belated urgency. He did so by jumping into the large cold bath, whilst ordering the boy whom he called 'Cycnus' to follow suit.

Seeing the pristinely white teeth of Narcissus, who was soon standing with the surface of the cold water reaching his belly, start to chatter in reaction to his plunge, Marius was naturally reluctant to follow suit. He was now no longer a stranger to such ablutions but the older boy's response indicated that the liquid, which for cleanliness constantly flowed through the bath via pipes, was chillier than usual.

"Come... little... one," Narcissus therefore commanded in reaction to Marius' hesitation, with his renewed stuttering now resulting from chill rather than fear, "don't... be... a…coward. Jump... in!"

Marius, resenting the implication that he might be cowardly, finally obeyed Narcissus.

Chapter LV

Marius was destined for not only further undoubtedly humiliating and painful supposed deflowering by a Senator, who had once been a crony of his late father, but also possibly death, if the man guessed his true identity. Whilst walking towards his fate, the boy could therefore not help but occasionally instinctively feel his neck because he appreciated that strangulation for someone of his original high status would probably be the chosen method to dispose of him.

After all, strangulation was the method of elimination not only chosen by Crastus to kill Marius' older brother and sister but also preferred for the formal execution of citizens. The boy's only consolation was the thought that his executioner would not need to rape him first to prevent an act of desecration by killing a virgin, although the man might still do so simply because he fancied doing so.

For his walk to his next client, Marius was actually now attired in a simple but clean short-sleeved creamy-white woollen tunic, extending to just below his groin, which was in contrast to the complete nudity in which he had first arrived at the brothel. Underneath, instead of the usual loincloth underwear of the free and most of the enslaved, he wore nothing but the customary minuscule black thong common to the boy prostitutes in the 'House of Ganymede', which was currently hidden by his outer garment.

Nevertheless, Marius' current professional status was evident to anyone who noticed by the makeup adorning his face. After supervising bathing, mutual enemas, teeth scrubbing, by fingers smeared with herbal dental paste, and grooming, Narcissus had taken great delight in decorating the younger prostitute in the same way in which he was usually presented, as instructed by Felicia via the Major Domo. The mistress knew that the prospective Senatorial client liked his boys to be so embellished.

Narcissus consequently happily heavily rouged Marius' cheeks and lips and rimmed his eyes with kohl. Currently invisible because of the covering tunic was the fact that the younger boy's nipples had also been gilded, whilst his whole body had been lightly oiled with a pleasantly sweet-smelling unguent, which would cause his eventually exposed form to glisten.

Marius had subsequently been instructed to adorn Narcissus similarly, under the close supervision of the latter. The older boy, who had come to like sporting makeup if neatly applied, which he proudly believed made him more alluring, scrutinised the younger slave's efforts with the help of a hand-mirror of polished metal.

Marius was far less content with his makeup, which not only indicated his new shameful status in life but also, in his opinion, made him look embarrassingly effeminate. His unhappiness was compounded by the imminent prospect of walking through Rome to his next client's residence in such a state, thereby inevitably exposing himself to the contemptuous ridicule of many of those whom he passed, as well as probably some unwanted approaches from lechers. However, the boy realised that he had no choice in respect of the matter.

Marius therefore hoped that his walk would not be long. The boy's aspiration was boosted by the thought that, as the 'House of Ganymede was located in one of the more affluent areas of Rome, with many Senatorial residences in the vicinity, his next client might not live far away.

Marius' conjecture was actually correct. Unfortunately, the boy had neglected the notion that a Senator would not want an obvious boy prostitute to be seen visiting his house.

Marius' walk proved as humiliating as he had originally feared, with much lewd commentary and abuse being cast in his direction by passers-by. The intensely shamed boy's only consolations were twofold. First, not all of the crude remarks and insults were aimed at him because the similarly attired and adorned Narcissus, who carried a flute in one hand, accompanied him. Second, both young prostitutes were escorted by the burly blond German slave, who had originally taken him from the slave-market to the brothel and who currently kept unwanted lechers at bay.

Marius' walk also sadly proved much longer than the boy had originally hoped because he was not led to a nearly opulent Senatorial residence. He was instead taken the lengthy distance to one of Rome's most decrepit and notorious plebeian districts, the Subura, which in the worst parts was full of dark narrow dirty streets and alleys, appalling tenements and disreputable businesses, shops, inns and brothels.

The Senator, who was to be Marius' next client, furtively maintained an apartment in one of the better tenements on the near fringe of the Subura, specifically to enjoy his sexual passions in discreet secrecy. The burly blond German slave had delivered boys to the client there many times previously and so knew the way.

Marius experienced a mix of emotions, as the German eventually led him into the tenement. The boy was relieved that, because of the building's location on the near fringe of the Subura, they had not ventured far into the busy and congested plebeian quarter, where his humiliations in the narrow crowded streets would undoubtedly have been much greater and worse than previously experienced. He was also grateful that the lewd remarks and insults from passers-by now ceased, at least until he returned to the 'House of Ganymede', if indeed he ever did.

The idea of returning to the 'House of Ganymede' was actually a prospect to which Marius now looked forward, despite his shameful function in the brothel. The development would mean that not only his impending undoubtedly again degrading and agonising further so-called deflowering was over but also the Senator had failed to recognise him as the traitor's son.

The obverse of such a feeling, about the prospect of returning to the 'House of Ganymede', related to the deep fear that, if the Senator did recognise Marius, the boy would surely not be destined subsequently for the brothel. He would most likely be sent to the Mamertine Prison for quiet strangulation and disposal of his body, probably via the great sewer, the 'Cloaca Maxima', that ran through the place to the River Tiber for that specific purpose.

As usual in the better tenements, a porter, funded by a surcharge on all tenants' rents, was on guard duty at the main door to prevent undesirables gaining entrance. The quality of such a sentinel generally varied with that of the building, although all invariably sought tips from most of the non-residents that they allowed to pass.

The aged porter on duty at this particular tenement, which was at the upper range of such places in the Subura, was, unlike many of those in similar but less reputable buildings, dutifully watchful and sober. He also did not challenge the arriving trio.

The fact that a certain unescorted Senator had quietly arrived earlier to take up discreet temporary residence in his apartment had alerted the porter about whom should appear shortly afterwards. The facts that he knew the German slave from previous similar visits and had, as usual, already been heavily tipped to keep his mouth shut, and be otherwise co-operative about the goings-on, also encouraged him to allow the trio to pass essentially unhindered.

Nevertheless, the porter did allow himself the luxury of not only closely eyeing the two passing boys in the German slave's company but also to reach out in the narrow confines of the corridor to place his hand under the nearer young prostitute's short tunic and pinch his bottom. As a result, Marius squealed briefly, mainly in shock than pain.

"If you have a chance later, boy," the porter subsequently commented to the startled Marius, who glanced behind to sulk at the perpetrator of the pinch, "perhaps you might like to spend a little time with me to make an old man happy!" The boy did not answer the lewd suggestion but the German slave stopped his advance and that of the young prostitutes up the corridor towards some stairs to do so.

"I think that the boy's probably out of your price range, Citizen," the German slave politely suggested. "You're certainly right," the porter answered, "but can't an old legionary veteran be granted a 'freebie'?"

"I'm afraid that the boy's anus is too fresh and valuable to allow such pleasure, Citizen," the German slave replied. "I understand," the porter responded, whilst looking somewhat disappointed, "but what about his mouth?"

"I think that after the boy's next client has done with him, Citizen," the German slave answered, "he won't be in any condition to suck you properly. You see, he's a virgin who's about to be deflowered!"

The German slave felt duty-bound to maintain the deception about Marius' virginity in case the aged porter reported back to the Senator, who, after all, regularly tipped him handsomely. In reaction, the old man glanced again at Marius, this time with more sympathy than lust or disappointment evident on his crinkled face. However, his stare did not last too long because he next turned his visual attention to Narcissus and asked "What about the other older boy instead?"

The German briefly contemplated the aged porter's old face, which returned to displaying an air of sad despondency at the initial rejection. The slave then belied his barbarian race's reputation for merciless fierceness by smiling and saying "Alright, he'll suck you off later but only if you don't take too long to cum. The time of the boys of the 'House of Ganymede' is precious and my Master and Mistress would not be pleased if I dallied here too long!"

The aged porter's face lit up in delight and he promised "Don't worry, as a man of my age can't restrain his passion for long. You'd think that it might be the opposite for someone of my years but I'm sure that the feel of the boy's lips and tongue pleasuring my cock will quickly release my seed down his throat!"

Marius was naturally relieved that, if he somehow survived the forthcoming encounter with the Senator alive, he would not have to follow-up by performing fellatio for the first time ever on the aged porter. The boy not only would surely be the worse for wear after suffering sodomy for the second undoubtedly very painful time but also did not relish the prospect of licking and sucking a veteran cock to ejaculating into his mouth.

In contrast to Marius, Narcissus was more nonchalant. The older boy was much more accustomed to fellatio, having performed the act over the years on many cocks of various ages and dimensions. Doing so unnecessarily for nothing was not particularly welcome but, even though he was currently Felicia's favourite, he would not tell her about the unauthorised episode, which might land the German slave into trouble or might not, depending on the mistress' attitude and mood.

Felicia might consider the German's act of compassion for a veteran legionary acceptable. Meanwhile, the fierce barbarian adult slave might subsequently bear Narcissus a potentially dangerous resentment for informing on him and attempting to land him in trouble.

Narcissus therefore resigned himself to complying discreetly with the German slave's decision, whilst putting the undesired experience down to the sort of duty expected of a prostitute like him. The semen that he would swallow would simply add to the great quantities already consumed over previous years.

Having reached his agreement with the aged porter, the German slave turned to Marius and Narcissus and commanded "Come on, let's perform our duty. We don't want to keep an important man waiting for his pleasure!"

Marius would, of course, have liked to keep his next client waiting forever for his pleasure. However, the very frightened and reluctant boy soon found himself standing outside the door of the Senator's first-floor apartment.

The German slave knocked on the door. In response, a voice from within the apartment on the other side shouted "Send them in!"

Marius recognised the voice from the Senator's visits to his late father. Such recall only caused the boy to quake in fright on immediately believing with certainty that the man could not possibly fail to recognise him.

Marius' right hand again instinctively reached for his lithe neck, whilst he once more considered the imminent possibility of speedy transference to the Mamertime Prison. Nevertheless, accepting that fleeing from the scene would be equally potentially fatal for a runaway slave, the boy allowed the German to open the door and push him into the apartment on the other side, with Narcissus needing no such forceful encouragement to enter alongside him.

Marius now saw that the room immediately within the door, which was illuminated by bright sunlight streaming in from a window whose wooden shutters had been opened, was big but sparsely furnished. There was only a table, chair and large double-bed, on top of which the ugly Senator he remembered sat, with his back resting against a pillow.

The Senator was alone and already naked. The rather hairy middle-aged man was also playing with his hirsute cock, which consequently was erect.

The Senator looked at Marius and the intensely afraid boy immediately believed that he spotted a glimmer of recognition in the man's eyes.

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