Volume 1 Chapter 13

Manius woke in a great mood, knowing what direction Rhesus went. He hadn't felt this happy in years. He was giddy with the anticipation of a fresh new love interest, he captured slaves who were now fearfully awaiting punishment, and he knew what direction to go to find Rhesus.

His mood was further boosted when the slave he sent to follow Mintha and Calliope returned with the whereabouts of Mintha's home. He rewarded the slave with an extra ration of food, there was plenty anyways after buying the entire contents of the market cart that Calliope sold him.

However, Manius soon had a change in mood. A house slave entered his room to announce that Iulia's parents were waiting impatiently for him in the atrium.

He grimaced at the news, and it put him in a foul mood that this part of his life was still lingering.

"Good morning, mother and father of Iulia." He greeted them, walking across the atrium to where they were and giving them a big, warm, superficial embrace of comfort.

"It is not!" Iulia's mother broke the embrace, throwing her arms into the air. "It is not at all a good morning!" As she recomposed her clothing, a floor-length white tunic with gold-edged embroidery that was reserved for very special occasions.

"What issue do you have with me today?" He asked, now quite annoyed.

"It is the morning of your wife's funeral and you are not even bathed or dressed properly." Her father stated, adding "You are an incompetent little shit. Make yourself ready to say your goodbyes with respect."

At that moment, Manius imagined slitting both their throats and watching the blood pour down their bodies, and a slight smirk crept up around one of the corners of his mouth.

He snapped back to reality, and with ill temper he said "I'll be ready at once and will make my way there alone. Carry on without me." He instructed.

"We expect you there post haste." Her mother demanded, and they left.

Manius was now in a foul mood. He would make the house slaves pay for their incompetence for neither reminding him, nor preparing him for the funeral of his wife. He didn't care that she was dead in the least, in fact, he was glad of it. He was, however, angry about the embarrassment of not knowing of the funeral and being caught off guard by the parents of Iulia.

"Girl, get in here!" He spouted with a red face and elevated voice at one of the pubescent house slaves putting breakfast on the table.

"Yes, master." She came to him straight away.

"Why did I not know about this morning's arrangements?" He questioned, grabbing the girl by the front of her tunic and backhanding her across the face.

"Prepare my bath and prepare my funeral clothing!" He ordered.

"Yes, master," the frightened girl replied running off to do as she was ordered.

"Have the same slave as yesterday come to bathe me ." He yelled as she left the room.

Rhesus got into the bath and ordered the slave girl he violated the day before to get into the bath with him. This time she did as she was told and did not hesitate. It mattered not, as he was in a bad mood now. He violently consumed her body, adding more bruises to her soft pale skin, and then ordered her to wash him clean.

When she finished cleaning him, he got out and had the woman dry him, put scented oils on him, and then dress him. He adjusted a few creases and was satisfied with the way he looked.

He was not looking forward to the funeral, and at the same time, he was. When he arrived at the temple, he could see that Iulia's parents spared no expense. This made him flush with anger, as he knew his coin was being wasted on the dead bitch. There was a grand feast laid out for those coming to pay their respects. Fine tapestries were hung on the walls, expensive wine was being served. Iulia was wrapped up in fine Egyptian linens and pearls were placed in her earlobes and on a Tierra that was placed on her head. After some words were said and a moment of silence was observed, musicians and street performers entertained as people feasted. Rather than make a scene, he decided to just embrace the suck of it and move on.

"It's about time you arrived at the farewell of your wife." Iulia's father approached.

Manius ignored the remark, instead choosing to greet guests and accept their condolences while fabricating his grief.

"I have heard a rumor that you are already courting another woman?" Iulia's father angrily quizzed.

"I am. Unquestionably." Manius said smiling in defiance as he turned to face him.

"Your wife is not yet in the ground, you bastard." Her father spoke in a low, but angry tone.

"Well then, I'm sure you would be even less pleased to know I have copulated twice since her death. Once just this morning." He gloated, smiling, unable to hold in the pleasantries any longer. And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving her father speechless, and red-faced.

Manius stayed for the rest of the farewell, his anger easing as he spoke to a few noblemen and senators while eating and drinking wine. After all, this was the last he should have to deal with her parents, and he may as well enjoy the food and wine he was paying for. Besides, he still had his connection to Rhesus to keep his spirits up.

It was late afternoon when the celebration of life ended.

Manius was headed back to the villa to change clothes and head out on his horse towards Rhesus, who felt as if he were getting closer instead of farther away. He almost reached the villa when suddenly the connection he felt to Rhesus disappeared.

Manius was furious. He was a level that was beyond furious.

Without changing from his finest clothes, he stormed off in a fit of rage to the Ludus. He entered, grabbed a short sword, and stomped towards the deformed gladiator, and slaves shackled to the wall.

Without saying a word, he stuck the short sword into the belly of the gladiator and spilled his guts. The gladiator opened his mouth cracking dark dried blood from his cheeks that flaked off and fell, but no sound escaped. His eyes shot fully open making them look brilliantly white in contrast to the carnage on his face. Manius paced back and forth waiting for the man to die, not taking his eyes off him. The remaining slaves tried to cower the best they could. The women were crying and trying to look away.

The gladiator's eyes finally went void after several minutes.

Manius next moved on to the male house slave and slit his throat. Blooded sprayed from his neck all over Manius's best clothes. For this, Manius kicked the man in the gut with full force repeatedly until he died from the loss of blood spilling from his throat.

Next, he moved to the older of the two women. He gouged out her eyes with a dagger and forced her to swallow them. She was in such a state of shock she didn't move or make any noise. The younger slave screamed, making Manius turn his attention to her.

Before finishing killing the older slave, he moved on to the younger. He turned her around, pinned her to the wall with his body, lifted her tunic, and slipped himself inside her from behind while slitting her throat, he copulated as her body defiantly convulsed against him.

When the younger woman went limp, he turned his attention back to the older one, who was still in shock. "I'm just going to let you hang here from this wall and starve to death, next to three rotting corpses," he whispered in her ear, and with that, he left to return to his villa.

When he got there he bathed, changed clothes, and then decided to ride his horse to where Mintha lived. Since he couldn't find Rhesus at the moment, he decided to spy on her, and her family. He wanted to know if she would be easy to claim as his own.