Chapter 10: July 18th, 64 AD

Months and months went by as if they were nothing. The great vila of the Caesar dominated the city of Antium that was thirty-five miles from Rome itself.

Spiculus awoke from his bed as his eyes looked at the room he slept in. He lived under the roof of Nero, who by this time had been his personal and favorite toy to watch in battle. For Spiculus, this life was better than anything he ever saw and better than the dark draft internal passageways of the arena.

The bed was spacious and comfortable. He almost felt like he slept on a bed of feathers. Marble ... so much marble everywhere; it simply just dominated the building itself. So much beauty, people came and helped him at every whim, there was nothing to feel wrong about it.

Of course, there was always the cost in the end. He and Renias never even took a scratch in the battles. While it was true that Spiculus’s popularity was more so than Renias, she did not care too much about it. She wanted the attention of course, but she knew Spiculus was happy in the end.

Spiculus’s hands naturally went to the warm source of heat near him in the large room that they had together. Light flooded the room, and he could obviously see the warm body of human flesh that he slept with every night since they lived under the palace.

Renias felt the warm hand of her mate as she smiled. This was heaven to her, even for a goddess. She had everything she wanted and more. Even if it was something temporary, it was something she wanted in the end.

“Mmmm...” Renias stirred as Spiculus felt the warm smoothness of her naked back under the blankets. He was never tired of feeling her warm skin.

Spiculus was never tired of her. He felt attached to her like a magnet. In combat, in bed, together in sex and love, they might not have been married, but in the end, it never mattered.

Nonetheless ... there was something insidious that was happening. The palace had some eerie feeling to it that Spiculus had grown accustomed to. Perhaps it wasn’t the palace at all but what was happening to the place.

“Spiculus...” Renias continued to stir. He lay down on the bed as he slept naked in the bed, running his hand from the top of her hair and down her back. His hand eventually found its way to the crack of her ass as he smiled.

She turned her head as they looked at each other and smiled. She kept a look of content as if the world did not matter except them being together.

“Good morning,” he told her.

“Mmmm ... it is a good morning,” she replied as she flipped to her side and got as close to him as possible. He felt the warmth of her body as she nuzzled to him. “You put a lot into me last night. You mortal men just can’t help yourselves, can you?”

“As I recall, it was you that pushed me a lot last night. I think we overslept again, thanks to you.”

She smiled again and nodded. “Then, it was a wonderful night indeed.”

“How are you doing?”

There was a look of concern in her face. “We need to ensure that we get the privacy that we can,” as she lowered her voice to a whisper to ensure no one, but he could overhear. “I need to be able to revert back to my form. Being in this palace, I don’t want anyone to know my true identity. I want to be able to take you in my coils and us to make love every night as nature intended. Your goddess demands it.”

“You have been handling it pretty well, though...”

“I still get a few minutes to revert back to my form, but it is taking a breather for me. I want to be in my form way more often. You know why I only stay in my form for a short bit in a palace filled with attendants that would freak out the moment they saw my true form.”

“Well... , “ he said as his finger ran down from her chest to her belly button. “It does not stop me from enjoying you. I like this form of you.”

“Hmmm, don’t get used to it, my mate. Besides, there were a couple of nights that I beg to differ. Your body knows what it prefers.”

He looked at the curtains where the sunlight tried to flow in. Her eyes followed his eyes.

“It’s been so many months now...” She recalled. “We enjoy the palace, treated like royalty, get the occasional fights in the arena, and then return back to this.”

“I love it,” he said without hesitation.

“I can’t deny it either,” as she wrapped her hands around his head and hair. “I have everything I want. I didn’t even have to do much either. I get to fight too.”

“They still cheer my name, but they barely do it with yours. They still treat you as my underling in the fights.”

Her eyes looked at his hairless chest. “It is true. I always hear your name, but in the end, I get to fight. I am with you, I teach you, and you teach me, we bed each other, and I am treated as a goddess in all but name. I am happy.”

Spiculus took the back of his hand and caressed her cheek. She kissed his hand as she closed her eyes.

“There is something though that bothers me,” she told him.

“What is it?”

“We have been living with a ruler ... a ruler that has displayed ... problems.”

Spiculus shrugged a little bit as he went and held her hand. “What problems? He seems alright.”

“I have lived a very long time Spiculus. I have seen my share of leaders of mortal men. Us gods have not been perfect, but neither are you, humans. I am gravely concerned with Nero.”

He shook his head on the pillow, looking at her. “I am not convinced. As a person that fights in the arenas, it is not my position to question the leader of Rome and his antics.”

“You never question his moves or motives, and that is your biggest problem. He enjoys having our company. He has much respect for you, yet you don’t say anything. I am nothing in this but just a witness. There is madness in him, my young champion.”

“I never see you protest, though...”

“To most men, it is obvious. Even if I win the arenas, they see me as just a woman. I am a lower life form. Your theaters have no women, and you mortal men are more likely to have sex with each other than with your own women. I am thankful that you are always with me, but ... well, that is what I am.”

“You are way more than that to me.”

There was a smile on her face as she kissed his forehead. “It is just the way life works. Maybe in the years to come, maybe in a hundred years, maybe in a thousand years, things will improve. That is, the gift you humans have is improving yourselves. You have so much potential in what you can become that it can put the gods to shame. I look forward to that day. For now, I enjoy the fights and help make sure your crops grow.”

“Heh, I am pretty sure that they noticed all the flowers and gardens are growing here. Maybe you should just reveal yourself and be done with it?”

“Mmmm, no. I want to be what people see me. I am so tired of being worshipped all the time. I actually don’t mind being looked weaker than I look sometimes. It allows me to to ... surprise people and enjoy the moment of seeing that happen. Besides us, Egyptian gods, Greek gods, and Roman gods have a sort of agreement of not getting too much in the spotlight and let you humans run your own course. We are in good relations, and if we all showed up dancing around in front of you humans, then it would only piss the heavens up. You humans must learn to live without us, and in the end, I get to live a quiet life with humans like you. In the end, I have what I want, and nothing else truly matters.”

“I see.”

Before he could say anything more, there was a knock on the door. Spiculus already had the lavish blankets wrapped around them as covered their naked forms.

“Come in!” Spiculus yelled out.

The door opened up as a young woman appeared and stepped into the room. She spoke in a light voice as she looked at Spiculus and Renias.

“Champion Spiculus, Lady Renias, pardon my arrival,” the young blonde woman spoke. “The Caesar has breakfast made and is waiting to see you two.”

“Of course, thank you,” he replied and beckoned her to leave. She bowed slightly and left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Ugh ... can’t keep Nero waiting, can we?” he looked at Renias.

“Well, it’s not like we can’t keep at it all day together, can we? Even you need your nourishment. Your goddess commands it; let us get something to eat.”

“Heh,” Spiculus smiled, looking at her smirk look. “I guess I have no choice now, do I?”

The dining hall was large and beautiful. Fit for a Caesar to eat in. It consisted of marble tables with the most elegant tableware. There were comfortable seats and a guard for the leader of Rome in the far end of the hallway. The hall consisted of a rectangular table and allowed guests to sit beside to look to their leader that sat at the end.

Nero sat down on his reclined bed as he ate his breakfast. Spiculus and Renias sat on similar bed recliners by the table. As custom for some meals of the time, lying down near level with the table was sometimes a more preferred style of eating rather than sitting on hard chairs. Why sit on a chair when you can lie down and eat? Even stories with Jesus Christ also implied that he and his followers did similar things by lying on chair like beds that surrounded a table in taverns and inns. It provided a level of comfort and allowed people to relax and talk comfortably long after the meal was finished.

For Nero, however, his meals could be extended and lavish. Known for having very lengthy meals that sometimes lasted twelve hours in a day, all they turned into was simply a day of lying around, eat when you felt comfortable, hell even had sex when times came. Stories spread especially as of this time of the Caesar’s exploits of how comfortable he made his life. In the end, it was merely making him a fat man to the public known to overindulge himself amongst the many exploits that he was taking advantage of.

“Ah, my favorite champion and lady, Renias,” Nero said as he munched on a set of grapes. Juice ran down his beard as he watched the two of them lay down near each other as they began to overlook the meal before the massive table. “Do you enjoy my villa here in Antium?”

“It is a wonderful place great Caesar,” Spiculus said.

“Did you enjoy my music last night?” Nero asked him.

Spiculus was not in the habit of showing disgust. He remembered the music playing of Nero’s fiddle. It was something he was doing in the last few years to spur the crowds. Spiculus had heard better, to be honest, especially by now with the months of luxury he and Renias had. However, showing disgust towards the leader of the Roman Empire was never wise, and word was always there that showing any displeasure towards the leader’s work was something that put you on the chopping block instead.

“Your music is beautiful,” Renias commented, trying to ensure that her voice was heard.

Nero put his hand to his chest in acceptance.

“Your music is great,” Spiculus answered shortly after her.

“I enjoyed the great fight yesterday,” Nero bellowed. “I think that was the largest amount of animals that were ever slain yesterday. I can’t wait till the Coliseum is complete, and we can have the greatest matches that Rome has ever seen. The public will love your fights far and wide.”

“We enjoy the fights, great Nero,” Renias replied.

Spiculus took a good look at the table. It was filled with every piece of food imaginable. Eggs, cheese, bread made from barley, porridge, assorted vegetables such as various colored carrots, asparagus, endives, olives, radishes, turnips, onions, assorted fruits such as grapes, apples, along with oysters and other fish the table had it all. The prize of the meal consisted of fowl that was actually made from pork and sow’s stuffed womb. It was Nero’s favorite dish.

Spiculus, while he was used to living a life of luxury by now, was still used to eating bread that he ate when he was a slave. Renias played the role of the entertained human by drinking the red wine that was served by the serving boy.

“Let me ask you something, Spiculus,” Nero asked him. “Have you enjoyed your stay here?”

“Yes I have, the food is wonderful, and we are treated well by your wonderful array of attendants,” he replied.

Nero had this devious like smile on his face as he took a glass of wine and drank it before he set it down on the table.

“Your fighting is like artwork,” Nero said. “Much like my music and songs, it can make the children cry with joy.”

Spiculus once again was severely inclined to disagree. His singing sounded like people were getting tortured. He disguised his disagreements as he smiled and nodded.

“That jump spin you make Renias,” Nero added as he looked at her. “Such beauty and grace. The stabbing blow you make as you use your sword before the beast falls, ha...”

“I enjoy making you happy great Caesar,” Renias replied to him.

“Shame ... you two are so happy to see you two so engaged with each other. I would have asked you to the bed-chamber if you two weren’t already having so much fun with each other.”

“She is an amazing woman,” Spiculus commented as he took his cup and drank it.

“I can already tell during the orgy. Your lovemaking with her is like fire. Of course, it is hard for me to notice to strongly with everyone else on me.”

Spiculus looked at Renias as he thought about the moments that Nero described. Orgies were something that happened during the time periods. Not obviously with each other, but for couples that engaged with each other separately in the same room. He thought of the times he and Renias were involved with sex while Nero would be in the same place with his woman or even on occasion men. Even Nero made his passes towards Spiculus, which the champion happily declined. Renias was a very comfortable excuse to turn down the Caesar’s interests. Whatever the case was, the orgy was a form of public display that was often the free tell of enjoyment of the Roman people.

“Shame...” Nero said. “I imagine your sword is powerful in the arena and in the bed-chamber. How do you handle it, Renias?”

“I have plenty of experience with his sword,” she happily replied. “I know how to sheathe it; his curved blade is the best with the flesh.”

“Ah ... said so well, my lady,” Nero commented as he put his hand to his chest. “Perhaps you could ... teach me some things that you know on your practice with the fights?”

“If I am to do so, it will be with the great champion Spiculus only. There I will show everything that needs to be done.”

There was a short pause as Nero took his hands and clapped them together. A serving woman brought a pitcher of wine and began to pour it into his cup. Nero’s hand went to the ass of the woman as he felt her up a little bit before she finished and returned back to the far table to await further orders. Spiculus noted that there was a slight amount of fear in the woman’s face as she kept herself composed.

Spiculus went and grabbed some of the pork on the table as he munched on it. Nero continued to stuff his face as Renias ate some of the various foods on the table. The scene remained comfortable for a couple of minutes as they ate. Nero eventually broke the silence once again.

“The next fight will be tomorrow. Are you two ready for four gladiators?” he asked.

“We are ready for anything,” Spiculus replied.

“For the glory, great Caesar, and for Rome,” Renias replied as well.

“Splendid!” he replied happily.

Spiculus seemed happy that the Caesar was delighted.

“So that brings in a new matter that I want to discuss,” Nero told him. “I have a gift for you or, in this case, something that you will enjoy as well, Renias. The small palace near the arena. The owner recently passed away. The palace is yours, Spiculus, to live and enjoy.”

Spiculus’s eyes widened, and even Renias nodded her head in approval.

“It is a gift,” Nero held his hand to point to him. “A gift for the best fighter that ever lived in Rome.”

“That palace...” Renias said. “You know more about it than I do, Spiculus.”

“Yes,” Spiculus remarked. “It is a fine palace. It consists of five guest rooms, a massive bedroom, and an indoor pool. I was there once before I was sent to the arena to be trained as a gladiator.”

“Why did they have you there?”

“Well ... there was...” he was interrupted as Nero said a few words to him.

“Are you happy with the gift?” he asked him.

“Of course we are great, Caesar,” Spiculus answered. “It is a fine gift.”

Renias nodded her head in approval and smiled.

“If you are displeased, then I am sure that I can accommodate your needs. Speaking of which...” Nero took his right hand and snapped his fingers hard as the sound echoed in the room. “In order to maintain such a large home as that, you need to have the right amount of help.”

Renias watched as three men and two women walked into the room. The five people wore simple white clothes. They had a relatively darker complexion of the skin and looked reminiscent of people that came from Egypt or North Africa. Spiculus looked at the five strictly. They reminded him of the people he came from.

“What is this?” he asked Nero, turning his head to face them again.

“My finest slaves, five of them to help maintain your home. I helped break them in myself. They are quite able at their jobs, I assure you.”

Renias looked down a little bit as a small frown developed on her face. She tried to hide her displeasure as she looked at Spiculus.

Spiculus looked at the five individuals. One of the women had long hair and a face that almost rivaled Renias’s own face in beauty. The other woman was an older woman in her forties. There was a small grin that appeared on the champion’s face as he looked at the five longer and longer.

“What do you think?” Nero asked Spiculus.

“I think they are fine gifts indeed great Caesar,” he responded.

Renias grimaced a little bit as she heard him say that.

“Excellent, I will make sure that when you move into your new home that they will be transported to there,” Nero paused for a little bit as he snapped his fingers again and waved the slaves to leave the room.

The slaves bowed their heads as they left the dining hall and out of the room.

“Now, if you excuse me,” Nero commented. “I need to go and use the restroom.”

With that, Nero got off the reclined chair and onto the tiles below him. His elegant tunic trailed him as he walked out of the room, leaving just Renias, Spiculus, and the serving waitress in the dining room.

“You have a desire to have the slaves?” Renias asked Spiculus quietly to ensure the attendant didn’t overhear.

Spiculus smiled and looked at her. “Of course I do.”

“Why?” she asked as she frowned at him.

He gave a questioning look towards her. “Because I can, why are you giving me that look?”

“There is no need for them. You know me better than you realize. There is no need to have slaves for our new home.”

“What? Do you have something against having slaves?”

Renias shifted herself on the chair as she peered into him. “You, above all others, should know better coming from a background of slavery of what it means to be an enslaver.”

Spiculus gave a confused look at her. “That doesn’t mean that we can’t have slaves.”

“Shame ... I know many deities and mythical creatures that would be happy to clean the home for you. I even told you that I could summon them easily, and they would do the job, yet here you are taking in slaves with ease. You are endorsing the very thing that made you a slave in the first place.”

Spiculus shrugged. “I don’t see the problem with this. That is how the world works, eat, or be eaten. You should know that especially after being with me long enough and where you ... we come from.”

Renias gave a deep sigh. “It is true that Egypt has had a haphazard history when it comes to slavery. I have had my share of slaves in the past that worshipped me and treated me like the goddess that I was ... however,” she took a cup of wine, sipped it, and put it back on the table. “Those were thousands of years ago. You begin to realize what you become over a period of time when the whip starts to swing, and you see the people suffer from it. When the men, women, and children scream as the lash rips into their skin that you are not a human being anymore.”

Spiculus thought about his past. He thought up the things that happened to him. He seemed unfazed by her stories despite what she said. He remembered what had happened to him while he was a slave, but to him, he felt correct in his words. It was a world where one must control the other with simplicity and impunity.

“I think it is wonderful that the Caesar is giving us a home and slaves for all our fighting,” he told her.

“I think a home is beautiful to be given but not when it comes to the slaves. Think hard on this, Spiculus. Is that what you truly want?”

“Of course,” he shrugged. “I want them all.”

“Hmmm... , “ she shook her head. “There is little to convince you not ... ah...” her eyes widened. “Of course...”

“What?”

“I saw your eyes as you looked at the young slave woman that is going to be given to us. I see where your eyes went to the moment you looked at the five slaves. Your eyes focused harder on the young woman. Yes, I saw it. Don’t deny me what you wanted.”

“What? No ... no I do not,” he tried to diffuse her.

She chuckled a little bit. “You know you should have made that more clear to me. I have had my share of women in the past. Sobek ... we have experimented quite a few times with you humans together. Mortal men, mortal women, both of you are outstanding in bed when pressed to it. You wanted her didn’t you?”

“No,” he replied as he felt confounded. “You know that you are the one meant for me.”

There was the devious smile that appeared on her face. “Of course, the perfect answer ... the answer to make you so innocent, my dear mate. It is the desire you humans ever came into existence. It is the desire of the one male to have as many women as possible. My dear Spiculus, why didn’t you tell me sooner that you wanted to fuck her?”

“Because you are the woman for me, the answer is obvious, Renias.”

“That is, of course, true, but it is also my goal to make sure my mate is more than happy. I think it is time that we break in that woman. You want to have slaves? Perhaps we should make sure we get as many of the females as possible. Forget those men unless you wish to fuck them too?”

“No, no, no.”

She took her cup as she sat it down on the table. “I think ... I think I am going to make my mate happy today. Let’s take that woman and bring her to the bedroom. If she suits us well, then we take her. You want the other slaves, then so be it. Be the slave owner that you want to be like all the men in Rome. But if you want a harem, then that would make more sense to me. I would almost understand it.”

“You want to have sex with her?” he asked.

“No, I want to help you have sex with her. I want to be there as you test her out. I will be there the entire time.”

“I prefer y...”

She waved her hand at him. “My goal is to be with you just as much as you want to be with me. I have more power than your little finger ever has. You, mortals, are insignificant compared to me, but I have chosen you as my mate. I want to see you happy,” she lifted her finger and pointed at him. “There is one catch though that...”

“Ugh... , “ a familiar voice replied as he entered inside the room. It was Nero that interrupted the conversation as they looked at him. Nero went and had a seat where he sat before as he resumed eating.

“Great Caesar,” Renias called out to him. “I have a request from you.”

“Lady Renias, you have but to ask.”

“We...” She looked at Spiculus. “Would like to have the young slave woman come to our bed-chamber. We need to make sure she is suitable to our likings.”

Nero gave a devious smile. “Mmmm, of course. I like your thinking. Shame, I would have liked watching the both of you test her out in the orgy planned for tonight.”

“If she is good enough, then we will do just that, but my young champion needs to see if she is suitable or not.”

Spiculus remained quiet, but a smile developed on his face as he thought more and more on it. Perhaps Renias was right after all?

The bed-chamber of Renias and Spiculus was like it was the early morning. The bedsheets were already taken care of and changed out by the attendants of the palace. Renenutet had been keeping her appearance as Renias for a little while. It was dangerous for her to revert anywhere except in Spiculus’s view. Even in the bed-chamber, the doors were never locked so that anyone could walk in. Some nights in the villa, she had to take risks and revert back for a few minutes during the night to allow her body to readjust and recharge again before changing back to her human form again.

Both Renias and Spiculus sat in bed, wearing nothing underneath the bedsheets. They awaited the arrival of the slave woman whose name they still did not know yet. Renias would look at Spiculus and notice his attention was away from her.

“You don’t have to do this, you know?” he told her. “I prefer you.”

“Of course you do, but I see a little bit of preference to have another woman too. I see it in your eyes. Don’t try to deny it.”

“She was pretty ... I won’t deny that. In the end, you are the one meant for me. That is what I want you to understand.”

“You have made that perfectly clear young champion,” she told him. “Did it ever occur to you that I would feel as much joy watching you have sex with her in front of me? Sometimes there are advantages of being a nonhuman as myself to enjoy the acts of sexual pleasure you mortals have. It’s like an art. Why else do I enjoy the orgies here? I get to watch sex in different angles and views. Our sex has been wonderful.”

“I am just happy that you are not engaged with sex with that ... man,” he said, referring to Nero.

“Of course not. We have sex together if he wants to watch us have sex together in the same room, that is one thing. If he wants to fuck another woman while he watches us, that is one thing, but his body will never touch mine. I am disgusted with that man anyway. He is ... there are problems with his personality. Things that make me uncomfortable.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. “I have not seen many problems with him. He is our leader, after all, or at least with me, he is. I don’t know about you.”

She lowered her voice down. It could barely be heard from beyond the door anyway, but she wanted to be careful. “I don’t care if he was leading me or not; it is the stories that I have heard about Nero over time while being in the palace or here. We have been with him off and on for the last several months doing fights for the arenas for his joy.”

“I don’t hear you complain about it. If anything, you enjoy it.”

“I do enjoy the fights. I enjoy getting recognition for the achievement of winning a fight. No one can even get close to hitting me.”

Spiculus thought about it for a moment. “Actually, I do recall you getting hit once two months ago, but everyone was watching me. His blade, what was his name? ... Fuck I can’t remember it, he stabbed and got you on the leg.”

“How many times do I have to say that? He barely got me. He only nicked me.”

“Yeah, but if that were a real wound, you would be dripping blood on the dirt. I have seen enough hits during my time, whatever the case was, barely anyone noticed it. My point being though, you don’t complain about the fights.”

She waved her hand “I was trying to say that I have heard rumors spread around by the attendants that work in his palace and the villa here. The rumors about Nero are ... disturbing. I can see the fear in their eyes when they talk to him. If I were mortal, I would stay away from him.”

“And what rumors are that?”

Her gaze showed intensity, as she explained. “For one, there were rumors that he had his stepbrother Britannicus poisoned so he could take the throne. Nero was adopted after all. Then five years ago, he made sure to have his mother Agrippina killed off to cover the tracks.”

“You are worrying about nothing. Besides, he has eliminated capital punishment and spoken out for the slaves.”

“He is speaking out for the slaves because he knows that you were one. That is why. He likes you and wants you to be happy, at least to his own gains, of course.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean that you are a political treasure to have. Having you around him makes him look more highly to the public. His popularity is ... so so to society before you came in. You were undefeated in battle even before I ever showed up. I am simply following your wake. It is obvious that you are more looked at than I ever was. I am simply the woman that is with Spiculus. His music ... his singing ... he is doing that because he is losing popularity to his people.”

“Yeah, his music is ... well, it’s something to be improved upon.”

“He has had people killed the moment anyone voices anything against it. He sings like a squealing pig about to be killed by the lion. The meals we eat here. He has had his cooks killed because they couldn’t get it right.”