As The Pilum Turns
Gaius Cispius Indus shifted the paluda mentum draping his silver armor one more
time as he surveyed the mute clutch of his people. He hardly was surprised at
the lack of reaction from his initial call, yet standing under inclement skies
only to be ignored was not his idea of a fun time. Standing a few paces away
stood the naked bellatrix audetque viris concurrere virgo. The battlefield
general knew better than most that such a female warrior, and this one
supposedly a maiden, who dared to join in battle with men was distasteful to his
society. No doubt that same distaste explained why none of his legionaires
volunteered for the contest. "I'll fight her. And to show all what virility
really means, I'll do so with one hand tied behind my back!" Indus considered
the owner of the deep growl and saw Dexius Vassus step forward. A fine soldier,
Indus reflected. He would rightfully put shame to this wanton female. He nodded
to the attendants.
Ignoring the deluge, two male servants stood alongside Vassus in the center of
the muddy centuriation where all public assemblies were held, rain or shine. One
took the plumed helmet bearing the trefoil design of the same regiment that
successfully ambushed the female warrior as she led a retinue of Volscians,
killing her party and bringing her as the sole survivor here to Vada Sabata
along the shores of the Thyrennian Sea. Another accepted the waterproof wool
cape, copper breast-plate and under tunic. The soldier pushed away one of the
solicitous hands from the segmented armor belt girthing his trunk.
Indus watched as the man undressed to the bracchae reaching down to the stout
legs and his hob nailed boots. Casting a view skyward revealed more drenching
gray. The maiden already stood drenched. Wearing only a rectangular loincloth
tied at each corner, water covered every inch. Drops began to land on Vassus.
Chest hairs glistened as the attendants dutifully tied his massive right arm
behind his back. Indus was pleased; both contestants' muscles bulged. Indus
scanned the motley crowd gathered as they covered themselves. Shawls were pulled
tighter. Capes drawn closer. In his mind, Indus knew that as impressive as
Vassus appeared, all were transfixed on the female; attonitis inhians anmis,
gaping at her, minds stunned. He sat under an awning.
Camilla forgot all about the rain. All she thought of was the surprise. Her
fault. The dux femina, female ruler and general, had failed. The voice and
commotion brought her focus back to present time. She appraised her next
opponent. As he was undressed the bearded soldier looked all the more
impressive. Still, the hardened maiden had fought stronger and won. This time
would prove no exception. Digging her toes into the muddy terrain, she tensed
for the next battle.
The larger man proved fastest. He bent to the ground. Scooping up a handful of
mud, he slung it into Camilla's eyes. He charged as she stumbled backward. A
punch was thrown. Camilla blindly grabbed the fist and twisted. Cheers erupted
as Vassus flipped in the air and landed on his back. Muddy ropes freely swung
where Camilla's light brown hair had previously been held under her helmet. She
wiped her face clean in time to catch another flying fist. This time she ducked
and upper-cut Vassus under his chin.
Indus sipped from a goblet filled with fine Falernian wine as he joined with
others in rooting on the contestants. He took time to view the assembled ring.
Darkly clothed shapes no longer huddled. Many raised their fists in exclaim as
the fight continued. He stroked the hand of the lovely Paulina Domina standing
under the awning next to him. His favorite mistress was looked especially
pleasing this stormy day. She answered the stroke of his hand with a slight kiss
from her own lovely lips. He tipped his goblet to hers and peered into her eyes,
but her focus was on the match. Clearly, it excited.
Camilla felt good to be active again. Aside from the initial blindness by the
dirty trick Vassus employed, she knew she was doing well. The barrel-chested man
was tiring. With a spin, she yelled and launched a flying kick. Before she could
recover her balance, her feet slipped in the mud. One leg flew skyward and the
other straight out. Camilla felt herself fall and lost her breath as ribs hit
the soggy ground.
Vassus growled like a bear. His eyes grew enormously as he pounced. Fingers from
his free hand wrapped around the female's throat. He squeezed.
The crowd sensed victory as the two rolled. They saw the massive arm of Vassus
choke the prone dura virgo, whose muddied arms and legs flailed. Muscles in the
bearded man's naked back bulged as he applied more pressure to the hard maiden.
One of her heels kicked at his lower back while the other sought purchase in the
wet soil. Suddenly, they saw Vassus stop. A female elbow flew up into his face.
A naked knee kicked up into his groin. The two flipped again. The female warrior
landed on top. Spectators could only see her white teeth snarl from the muddy
face. Arms circled Vassus' neck. Another growl was heard, one less masculine. A
cracking noise followed. And then there was silence. Both contestants lay still.
The audience stood stunned.
Camilla slowly moved her fingers through the muck. With some effort, she rose to
her feet. She faced where she knew Gaius Cispius Indus stood, only this time the
commander had already moved. Behind her lay the body in breeches.
From the elevated tribunal the magistrate pro tem gazed about until his
attention focused on the naked female warrior and the prostrate body of one of
his men next to her feet. Taking another sip of wine, he spoke in even tones
chosen for their ring of authority and to mask his own disappointment at the
contest's outcome. "Well...We already know you are a female who is general to
and who rules the enemy," he sipped more wine The clouds above appeared to be
parting. "Now it seems that we all," he swept his hand around the gathered,
"have seen you, the enemy commit another capital crime. Therefore, I sentence
you," he paused to smile thinly at the wet female below, "to be tortured and
crucified like a common slave!"
Camilla screamed in anger as she heard the words and rushed the tribunal. She
never heard the approach from behind of the soldiers with the staff. Her world
went black as the wood smacked into the nape of her neck and she fell to the
mud.
***
She had seen the construction to the right of the palace steps. Now she was a
part of it. Camilla tried to move her arms. They were tied behind her. Around
the angled tree branch that now was her bed. Before her, two smaller posts rose.
Atop each, her two ankles were tied. Her knees came just to about her chest.
Between the gap separating her thighs, she saw the smiling face of Indus. Her
torso twisted more, but she was held fast. He stepped closer. She looked up. For
the moment, at least, the rain had ceased. She and the construction were a part
of the low wooden platform. Noonday sun glinted from the silver helmet as it
rose with the two steps to the top of the platform. The cheekpieces bore a
trefoil design identical to those on the helmet worn by Vassus, only these
emblems were done in gold. Lurking behind the fancy gear Camilla knew were the
maliciously dark eyes of Indus.
The commander examined his foe and also felt his own lusts stirred by her naked
charms. "Comfy, are we?"
Camilla silently eyed what appeared to her in her position as a giant looming
above. Her tied wrists wiggled, yet found no purchase. The bark of the limb she
laid upon scraped and her spread legs made vulnerability seem all too great, yet
she tried to ignore these obvious discomforts.
Indus nodded to a legionnaire standing nearby with drawn gladius. The man needed
hardly any encouragement. He bounded up onto the platform and stood at
attention, the short sword in his right hand. Indus caught the flash of alarm
from the duro maiden. "Fear not, hard maiden. My man Alloisius is not about to
sever your womanhood with his knife. Just that," his fingers glided over a
raised leg. The skin was to his liking. "You being from royal Etruscan stock you
have not only proved yourself a worthy opponent, but taken care of more, shall
we say "feminine" things?"
Focusing on what he said she knew was a mistake, though being so displayed she
was glad she had shaven. Everywhere, that is except...She felt the blade snip
the tied corners of her loin cloth. Looking down, she saw the muddy rag pulled
away and her own mass of dark brown curls closely forming a triangle. Arms
jerked the wrists. They remained fast. Camilla concentrated on her breathing.
Already her stomach was speeding as her chest pumped.
"Just a little personal grooming...SLAVE." Indus motioned for the soldier to
begin. The man jumped down to the ground, sliced a bladeful of mud from the
ground and clambered back up onto the platform. Indus watched over the man's
shoulder as he slathered the rich emulsification over the genitals. Bare skin
appeared as the steel made its first swath. "Closer my man." He patted the
soldier's back as Camilla's thighs jerked with the next swath. A rash of white
appeared in its wake.
Stepping back down off of the slightly raised wood, Indus adjusted his
breast-plate. Yawning back at him from between the two posts was a mouth that
was truly feminine. "I want you to meet more of my men in a setting different
than on the battlefield."
Camilla fought the cords that held her steadfast to the angled limb. She heard
Indus make his remark. Her neck corded as she raised her head to look in his
direction. She let her head settle back down on the wood and sighed. Rape was to
be expected, but what she saw standing to the left of Indus was a long lie of
his army. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as the first soldier appeared. He, too,
towered above. Standing between her raised legs the man reach down. Camilla felt
rough fingers paw at her breast. The penetration came next.
More locals appeared as the sun shone brighter. Glittering jewels worn by the
partrician or well-off equestrian classes sparkled with standing puddles of
water. They watched from afar as more pedestrian groups with their drab
outerwear swelled the circle around the platform to watch the rape of the dux
femina. Insults hurled with mocking. Laughter greeted the occasional stout or
older soldier who took his turn. The female general was taunted as she lay used
as a common slave. Thick ones, short ones, long ones, all sizes of genetalia
were stroked, then rammed between the thighs. Some of the men even came outside,
landing their gism in gobs that trickled and then held on the woman's trunk.
Appreciative onlookers grew in numbers as the skies cleared and word spread.
Camilla entwined her fingers as they flipped her over and wrapped her arms
around the tree. She felt cords retie her wrists and her calves bent up with the
ankles securely tied to the posts. Bark rubbed her sternum raw. She felt like an
enormous tree frog. A vow of silence was followed during the rapes. She felt cum
oozing. The burning thrust into her maiden ass caused her eyes to water. She
hung her head off the side of the limb as the male behind pumped into her. He
finished, at last. Another took his place. This time, it went easier.
Paulina Domina fingered the gold encrusted brooch and seductively slid a yellow
shoe up the inside of Indus' leg as she watched the female nude tied to the
angled limb. Her lover bent close to her ear. What she whispered surprised him.
She and her friends could make use of the slave girl's hair. He had thought it
too muddy, until he realized it could be washed and dried. Female vanity! All
this for hair pieces. He told Paulina to be patient and resumed his command.
"That is enough. Bring the lictor."
The last soldier slapped the maiden's ass as he shot his load in the air. Gobs
fell onto the muscled back. A middle-aged man wearing a short brown tunic
approached. Partially bald and a grizzled chin did not seem to slow his
progress. Climbing the steps all could see the flagellum tightly clenched in his
right fist.
At his commander's direction, he stepped to the side of the perched female and
swung. The three leather straps tipped with lead weights whistled. The hushed
crowd heard them drum against the back as they hit. Red welts immediately
appeared and seemed to grow brighter as more sunshine cleared away the storm
clouds. A cross-hatched pattern sprung over the clenched flesh as the whipping
continued. A signal was given. Hands came to untie and turn over the hard
maiden. Her feet and hands were again secured..
Camilla seethed. She felt torn and scraped, yet something inside of her remained
coherent. If she was to be tortured, she would be handled as the royalty she was
and not some common slave. Gritting her teeth, she arched her back and thrust
her chest up as high as she could.
Seeing the female's defiance only mad the lictor madder. Cursing, he ordered his
other flagellum, the one with chips of bone tipping each lash. Grabbing it from
an orderly, he violently swung down at the raised breasts. Missing teeth showed
in his cruel smile as three lines of red bubbled into crimson. Blood flowed. He
swung again, this time at the raised thighs and was pleased to see a similar
reaction.
"That's quite enough." The commander finished his wine and stepped closer to the
platform. "Save her, lictor. She has quite a bit more to do yet."
***
Indus spoke in a voice so low that only she could hear. Her toes felt the earth
drying. At last freed from the platform, Camilla stood tall with arms at her
sides. Over each of Indus' shoulders stood two armed centurions. Body language
alone told her that the two were just itching for an excuse to defend their
commander. Two female nurses ran up and set down the trays they carried.
"Correct me if I am wrong," the silver browband of Indus' helmet sparkled in the
afternoon sun. "Were you not soundly defeated on the battlefield, arrested and
now stand here?"
Camilla detected a gleam from the hidden dark eyes. She steadily replied as one
of the nurses applied soothing ointment to her chafed wrists while another
combed out her brown hair, pulled it back over her ears and looped a band around
the tail.
"You are correct, you know you are Indus." She knew that she was being toyed
with. Fingers gently applied the ointment to the welts on her back. From the
corner of her eye she saw rustling in the growing crowd ringing where they
stood. Camilla turned her attention back to Indus. He being a foot taller, she
looked up into the darkness that was not helmeted.
Indus felt the breast with fingers of his right hand. The solid warmth and
smoothness stirred his lust. His thumb lightly pushed the nipple one way and
then the other. He surprised his satisfied smile as he saw it react. A diagonal
line from the flagellum sliced over the top of the breast. He used a cloth to
dab away the dribbled blood. Indus used the same linen to wipe mud clear from
the high cheek-bones and the full lips. The contrast of soft feminity and
muscles harder than the best of his men appealed.
"Then you will also agree that I am correct in saying you are a murderess and
slave, yes?"
"No, Indus. I disagree. I am a ruler and warrior. I demand to be treated as
such." Camilla's muscles tensed. Her emerald eyes did not blink as she spoke.
She felt fingers soothing her nether lips with the ointment, as well, but did
not falter in glaring back at Indus.
He let the warm breast free. Its pale brown circle surrounding the hard nipple
shriveled under his touch. He cleared his throat and shooed the nurses away. He
tossed aside the soiled cloth and stared down at the hard maiden. His voice
remained quiet but chilled in tone. "You know that it is well within my power to
spare you further indignities, don't you?"
Camilla's mind flashed through her barbabarous treatment. Another voice inside
of her reminded her of her station. Her stomach clenched. "I said, Indus, I am
not your slave and am not a murderess."
Indus grimly smiled. "I think it best that you reassess your attitude." He
pivoted away and waved to his men.
The standard, or aquila, with its bronze eagle's spread wings bobbed as it was
carried closer. Camilla stood in place as Indus and the men with him strode off.
From the corner of an eye she saw two soldiers carrying the tree limb away from
the platform. They carried the limb in her direction. Camilla prepared herself
for the seven-foot sapling that was to be her patibulum. Voices from the throng
murmured at the activity. It seemed to her that half were bare-headed and half
veiled, men and women alike were here to watch.
A large hand pushed the back of her head forward. Her chin touched her chest.
Other hands pulled her arms back and over the limb. It rested on her shoulders.
The bark felt familiar. Camilla felt splintery twine secure her wrists to the
wood. And then the soldiers let the full weight of the beam rest on her. She
gasped as her torso bent forward. Were it not for powerful leg muscles, momentum
would have let her fall.
Camilla felt a hand swat her right ass cheek. Toes that had been enjoying the
warming temperatures stumbled forward. She tried to look up, but the back of the
tree against her head made that impossible. Staggering, she felt guided by the
ends of the beam. Her field of vision now included only muddy ground. There were
exceptions as sometimes colored shoes or hairy legs appeared. Occasionally, a
building's foundation showed. The dux femina bent under the weight like any
beast of burden.
Sounds of those around continued as progress changed the landscape from urban to
rural. Pebbles replaced muddy streets. Humidity rose as clouds from above made
way for direct solar. Following a short rise, the procession stopped. Soldiers
lifted the limb from the condemned's back. The maiden fell to her hands and
knees as the weight was lifted.
Camilla's head swum. Legs trembled. Lungs panted for air. Catching her wind, she
took bearings. A few yards away hung the edge of a cliff. The promontorium she
was on overlooked the quarry. Half a mile away lurked the city walls. Coughing,
Camilla saw figures gathered around. Colored shapes dressed in off-white, brown,
reds and blues. Their dark faces all turned at her. Dizzying clouds above were
few. Sun warmed. How she had come this far, she did not know. Sweat dripped to
the ground. Nausea coupled with exhaustion urged the maiden to lie on the soil,
but she did not. Male hands helped Camilla to rise to teeter on her feet.
***
The throng parted as Indus made his way to where the hard maiden stood. Eyes
matched his direction. This duro virgo made a worthy enemy, but the magnificent
specimen, standing now drenched in sweat, was his..
"Not many men could have done the same as you just did...My compliments." Any
response was answered by trembling muscles and heaving chest. "You deserve
something as an award." Indus snapped his fingers and a flagon appeared. "Do not
be wary." She accepted the container in both hands whose fingers showed both
toil and hardship. "It is merely water and its coolness will refresh."
Camilla gulped from the flagon. Indus was right. The water tasted clean and
cool. For a moment the thought cross her to spit out another mouthful at Indus,
but wanted the refreshment so much, she merely drank.
The commander watched as the Amazonian-like beauty eagerly swallowed the water.
Below him a nurse was re-applying ointment to cuts left b y the scourge on the
maiden's legs. He pushed the nurse aside and stepped closer. One last time,
Indus cupped a breast and softly fondled it. The maiden emptied the flagon and
looked back with hands at her sides. She did not resist his touch. Indus kept
fondling. Lids covered the emerald eyes. The marvelous body slightly swayed. Her
lips parted.
Indus determined that he would ask questions already asked, even though their
answers were now moot. His hand slipped down the maiden's torso, over mighty
muscles and between the legs. Murmurs wetly escaped the parted lips. There was
more than one way to skin a cat, and using his seductive skills with this one
was out of the question. No matter that she seduced in her own way. This one he
wanted harshly broken. Both spirit and body. He knew just what to do, and would
have fun doing so.
"If it is printed, then it must be true, right?"
Camilla opened her eyes. The bright sun hurt. Her escape to another place as
Indus fondled her was broken with his spoken words. Too good to last, escapism
vanished and present horrors returned. Squinting, she followed his raised arm to
a dark upright. Some two-feet from the top a titulus was being nailed Crude
letters carved into the plaque read "SLAVE" and "MURDERESS".
The sight shocked. Anger shouted from her throat. Legs made to run but male
hands quickly grabbed her wrists. Indus stood before her, that evil grin
showing. He dabbed her face with another cloth and tucked stray hairs behind
each ear. She fought the arms holding her, but they began to drag her toward the
upright. Her feet kicked to no avail. Kicking and cursing, bare feet sought grip
in the rocky terrain.
The action spurned the crowd. More taunts and jeers arose. Few paid attention to
last minute carpentry work done on the upright and crossbeam. A short rail was
nailed to the upright about three-feet above the ground and final chips flew
from a notch chiseled in the heavy limb carried by the maiden. It would match a
similar one near the top of the upright. Preparations seemed to finish as she
was laid on her back and arms spread along the wood.
Fear first spoke to Camilla as she lay pinned by the soldiers' hands and knees.
Brushing her nose with his whiskers leered the lictor's smelly face. Rank garlic
and beer reeked. Camilla strained arms and legs. Hard abdominals writhed. Hips
twisted. Despite her contortions, hands held fast. She rapidly blinked in hopes
of ridding herself of the stinging sweat that burned her eyes. Blood raced
through her veins. The lictor's face moved away. She could see more dark faces
of the helmeted soldiers holding her down. Above, the sky spun. The shadow of
whom she recognized as Indus appeared. It towered over her.
"You must admit, the sign does say slave and murderess." His voice rose so that
more could hear his proclamation. "I therefore sentence this convicted criminal
to...death."
Camilla's veins popped as she bitterly yelled. Had she cared to notice, she
might have felt the first prick of the spike as it was set upon her upturned
wrist.
***
The upright was not the tallest. Few knew that its shortness was deliberate by
Indus' intent. Size, however, did not matter. Hammering brought out the first
sounds of a victim from the female. Her long arms spiked to the limb, she along
with the beam were stood. Soldiers used braces to lift. In the process, female
legs kicked as they arose some two-feet off of the rocky soil. Almost
immediately, ankles found the rail. Knees bent and lower shins rested smaller
crossbeam for support. The lictor stepped behind and hammered two more spikes,
this time into the sole of each foot.
"Don't you look your loveliest..." Indus clasped hands behind his back.
Imperially, the commander inspected the crucified. Anguish, he detected, already
marked her more feminine features. Furrows roiled the smooth brow, clenched
white teeth bared. "And just for you, my latest little invention..."
Camilla chanced to open her eyes. Pain colored every inch of her being. Through
slits she saw Indus standing below. Behind him a small table was set. On it sat
two clear containers atop each other. Cramps threatened sanity. A feverish sweat
poured from every pore. Her rump slid to an edge of the upright as she shifted
in a futile search for surcease. Through a torturous curtain she saw Indus move.
He and the table seemed to dance.
"These are for you" He kicked the short pile of flat stones near his feet.
Despite her obvious torture, he knew he had the female's ear. "And, this as
well." He accepted the modified pilum, or javelin.
The wood shaft minus the usual blade at the end was some five to six-feet in
length. His thumb and forefinger touched as they gripped its girth. At one end
was affixed a small wooden wheel, only about the circumference of a man's palm.
Two-inches of the shaft protruded through the small axle hole. Sawed teeth
surrounded the wheel's perimeter. A dowel had been hammered through near the
shaft's other end.
Camilla didn't notice the slight breeze that had moved many a veil and tunica on
this first day of the Autumnal equinox. The only distractions she knew were
those created by Indus, the odd device he held and the small table. Another
spasm of fire ripped through her lower back. Thighs bulged. Again they lifted
her up slightly to ease the tension on her arms. Just as soon, she slid back
down.
"Now, I know you are wondering so please allow me to explain. On the table sits
a form of keeping time. The top container will be filled with sand. When the
sand totally empties into the lower barrel, you will be asked two questions."
Already water from the flagon seemed a distant history. Her throat scratched
dry. Mouth parched, she thirsted. Yet, Indus held her main attention as he
explained.
"Yes, of course you do! You already know the questions AND answers. Simply when
asked if you are a slave and murderess, you agree." He moved to the side and was
pleased to see her head track his direction. "Now, at first, you might not be so
eager to reply with the correct answers - you've already said as much.
So...until your answers are more truthful, a flat rock will be placed at the
foot of your upright. Atop it will be placed this shaft, and near the top of it,
well you can already see..."
All classes strained to listen as Gaius Cispius Indus spoke. Legendary for much,
his particular brand of cruelty was infamous. They watched him describe further
tortures to the bellatrix audetque, or female warrior, whose nude body glistened
in the sun as she hung.
"So...Perhaps the best way is simply to show you how everything works?" Indus
sweated under his armor. His helmet weighed heavily as well. The faster he
completed this exercise, the better. The flat rock he kicked thudded against the
upright. Placing one end of the pilum on it, he brought the shaft vertical. His
cheeks moved as a self-satisfied smile formed. The blunt end of the javelin
disappeared into the female. The small wheel remained just outside of the nether
lips.
Camilla sucked in more air as she felt the intrusion. Craning her neck back, she
gritted her teeth to rise again. She had to this time, for reasons other than
just getting a breath of air or relieving the pressure on her arms.
Indus signaled a soldier. The young man eagerly ran up and parted the thick lips
so that they just barely wrapped around the wheel.
"There we are." Indus used his friendliest tone. "Now let's see if you know he
answers, shall we? First of all...are you a slave?"
Camilla grimaced as her arms gave and she slipped back down. She felt the
fingers open her labia and wrap around the wheel. She then heard Indus. She
shook her head and spat down her answer.
Indus thinly smiled under the heavy helmet. This maiden was determined. But, he
was determined more. Grabbing both ends of the dowel, he lifted as a soldier
slid in another flat rock on top of the first. He used his grip to twist the
shaft. "Now fill the timer. She will be able to see when it time for more
questions."
Many wondered if Indus had gone mad with his latest. The condemned seemed to
break her courage. The maiden's body arched then rose as the javelin was lifted
and turned. Bright streams of red gushed down the inner thighs. Up and down
movements seemed to ape a sexual act, yet only served to further impale her on
the vertical device. She shook on the cross until at last exhausted and limply
hung by long extended wrists.
A few citizens' sleep was disturbed by the nocturnal screams. They sounded far
away, but chilling nonetheless. Passing squalls were paid little heed as the
annoyed restless drifted back to sleep. As for the rain, the showers would only
make the coming Fall day that much fresher.
Indus tossed and turned all night long. Shortly after dawn, he bade Paulina a
fond goodbye and marched out of the main gate at Vada Sabata toward the
promontory. Against the eastern sky he saw its silhouette. Over his shoulder as
he saluted the sentries lay the Gulf of Liguria, its waters placid in the early
hour. The morning sky cleared as the weather from the previous night passed over
them. It felt good to walk after the sleep-less night.
"You look pale, dux femina."
Camilla barely parted her swollen lids. She recognized the voice, and seeing the
familiar helmet with its plume and the cloak, she realized it was Indus. It was
the first time he had referred to her as a female ruler and female general.
Cracked lips and a parched throat prohibited her audible response.
Readily noticeable were the dark diagonal lines crossing the body, the small
black ponds at each wrist with the blackened tributaries leading from them
coursing over forearms, and the shallow rise and fall of the dark-centered
navel. Worst of all sat the pile of flagstone supporting the shaft. Six stones
now stacked atop each other. Easily half of the unfinished pilum was richly
stained a hue similar to the irregular lines.
Indus caught the flutter of eyelids as he spoke. He signaled a nearby soldier
for water and then lifted the tin cup to the female's lips. His practiced eye
also noticed the ridge protruding above the mons and just below the navel. He
estimated that this particular torture now had punctured her womb.
Camilla's teeth would not stop chattering. Cold was one thing, but not the sole
reason. In the gray dawn light, she saw the top container once more nearly empty
of sand, as the bottom one continued to fill. She had learned to make watching
the status of its contents her most important task.
"You have lost, dux femina. You are near death. I know that your mind is half
gone, but can you think of a single good reason why your womanhood should be
further destroyed before you die?"
In the crazed fog that remained of conscious thought, the words had merit.
Sometime during the night she had felt the shaft break through her cervical
wall. The pain was hard to imagine. Once more, her reddened eyes looked at what
little sand still remained in the top vase. A soldier already lifted another
stone from the other pile and dropped it at the upright base.
"By the gods. Looks like Question Time again. And so soon, too!"
"...waaaaait.....wwwait."
Indus craned his head skyward as he heard the small voice. "You did say to wait,
did you not?" Smiling, he shook the vase free of all remaining sand and turned
back to the condemned. "Very well. Tell me, so that I can hear...Are you a
slave?"
Camilla grimaced as new shards of agony pierced her back. Sighing and lowering
her head, she nodded. "...yes." The effort badly taxed remaining strength.
"Ahhh...So, you ARE a slave. Thought so." Indus loosened his tightly wrapped
cape. "And, Question Number Two...Are you a murderess?"
Hot tears shamed her grimy cheeks. Her whole face seemed to now shake with her
chattering teeth. Again, Camilla nodded and answered that she had, indeed,
murdered.
"Very well." Indus bent forward. Grabbing the part of the shaft not soaked by
her blood, he twisted it and pulled the javelin free. Some of the stones fell in
the process. He shook the shaft to free two broken halves of the thin wheel.
They too, dropped to the ground.
Camilla wailed incoherently. Her cries were so loud a flock of birds startled
from their feeding places in a nearby forest. Men on the ground jumped. Perverse
curiosity mingled with grudging respect drove Indus to stare at the hard maiden.
A torrent of rich blood spat out from the mangled organ. Convulsions rocked the
cross. Hyper-extended limbs and muscles exerted themselves. Veteran that he was,
Indus knew death throes when he saw them, but this female's were uniquely
satisfying.
Her fight continued for what seemed an eternity and then she slumped limply on
the cross.
Indus grabbed a normal javelin from a soldier. Inserting the tip of its blade
near the center chest between lower ribs, where he knew her heart to be, he gave
a decisive thrust. Thick gore oozed from the wound as he removed the pointed
end. Otherwise, the body hung stilled. The hard maiden, it seemed, had breathed
her last.
Orders were issued. The body was to be taken down and dismembered, pieces thrown
over the side into the quarry-Indus had no taste for such and planned not to
stay. The architect in him speculated that the dux femina's remains might
someday end up as an inconspicuous part of a city wall. Head hair was to be
saved, Paulina and her friends would get their extensions, and Paulina's
patience would be rewarded.
Patience was a reward in and of itself, Gaius Cispius Indus reflected as he
leisurely strolled back to the city. His patience with the hard maiden had also
been rewarded. At last, victory was his. A grand cause for celebration. The
commander whistled as he strolled, happy that he also possessed Patience.
Fini
