From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   [another reminder - graphic violence and sex .... rated R, maybe a Hard R]   
      
                                   Chapter Three   
      
                                       As Slaves   
      
      
   Gabrielle was led by the two slaves, following the Domina, but turned in a   
   different direction from her bath.   
      
   “Where are we going?” Gabrielle asked.   
      
   “To the quarters of the house slaves,” she was told.   
      
   “I don’t understand why you let yourselves stay as slaves….” she   
   started to   
   say, and was slapped across the face for her words, and she was shocked at   
   the act.   
      
   “You would do well to mind your tongue!  Dominus and Domina have eyes and   
   ears everywhere. You speak of escape today, and tomorrow you are standing   
   before all of us and your tongue is cut out, or your throat is cut as a   
   warning to the rest of us!”   
      
   When they arrived, Gabrielle’s clothes were quickly stripped from her and   
   taken away. Then she was told to step down into the bath – set at floor   
   level and filled with cold water, which she expected it to be. As she got in   
   and sat on a small bench, another girl got in with her, and began dolloping   
   a handful of a thick, soapy liquid onto her hair, and began to wash   
   Gabrielle’s hair.   
      
   “I can do this myself,” Gabrielle complained, but didn’t stop her. Next   
   she   
   was told to stand up and then was scrubbed from head to toe with more of the   
   soapy liquid and a rough, cleansing rag. Having her breasts, crotch and   
   buttocks washed for her was embarrassing, but she was now afraid to   
   complain.  Next, several buckets of  water was dumped on her, rinsing the   
   lather from her. She was handed a large linen towel, she dried herself, and   
   put on the knee-length, sleeveless tunic they all wore.   
      
   “Sit, eat,” Gabrielle was instructed, and she sat at a small table on a   
   wooden bench and began to pick at the bread, cheese, grapes and melons.   
      
   After she had eaten her fill, she asked, “What happens to me now?”   
      
   The one who had slapped her, sat opposite her.  “My name is Phaedra. I am   
   the overseer of the household as it pertains to the women slaves here. And   
   when Domina sends word to me, whatever her wishes, I obey. And Domina will   
   send for you, in her own good time.  You must remember the rules. The   
   first – do not look directly into her or Dominus’s eyes. It is considered   
   as   
   a sign of defiance. Look only at her mouth unless she instructs you to look   
   into her eyes.”   
      
   Gabrielle nodded, then in a low voice said, “Does no one wish to be free?”   
      
   “Look around you – we are well fed, not living on the streets begging for   
   sustenance and subject to the harshness of weather, and at the mercy of   
   thugs, or worse. Our clothing are not rags. And for the most part, we are   
   treated with indifference, so long as we do as we are told.”   
      
   “You said there were rules. What else do I need to know?”   
      
   “You are young and pretty. Dominus will one day decide you will be his   
   favorite until he tires of you, or another strikes his fancy.”   
      
   “What does that mean?”   
      
   “It means that he will expect you to serve him. Not only when it comes to   
   fetching his wine or food, or preparing his bath, but sexually as well. He   
   has a strong appetite for fornication, and when he bends you over a table,   
   or pushes you to your knees, he will expect to do be compliant. And it will   
   happen frequently.”   
      
   “Domina does not care?”   
      
   “So long as it isn’t flaunted or taken to extreme excess, well,  they both   
   have their private liaisons. It is just one of many ‘secrets’ of the House   
   of Batiatus that is known, but never mentioned.”   
      
   Gabrielle nodded thoughtfully.   
      
   “But for now,” Phaedra continued, “there is much you can do. And you can   
   start by empting the bath tub, scrubbing it with white sand, and refilling   
   it. Antea will be your companion until you are familiar with the ways of the   
   household.”   
      
   Gabrielle looked up at one of the older women she had seen, older and very   
   tired looking. Phaedra left them alone as Gabrielle and Antea began emptying   
   the tub with the same buckets that were used to rinse her earlier.   
      
   _________________________   
      
   Xena was taken almost back the way she and Gabrielle had come, but then   
   veered off in a different direction. Soon they came to the quarters the   
   gladiators called home. The entire front was made of iron strips half a   
   hand’s   
   width wide, forming a lattice from top to bottom and side to side, with   
   spaces smaller than a man’s head. The door was unlocked by a guard, and   
   after the door was closed and relocked, the chains around Xena’s wrists were   
   removed.   
      
   Standing before her was perhaps the blackest man she had ever seen, darker   
   even than Marcus. His chest was scarred from obvious battle, he was lean yet   
   muscular, and he was taller by a hand than Xena. As she looked him over, he   
   was doing the same to her.   
      
   Finally, he spoke. “So you are the infamous Xena we have all heard so much   
   about. I am Doctore. I will be training you to fight in the arena as Dominus   
   has ordered. If you cooperate, keep your tongue to yourself and train as you   
   should, you will find I am a fair, if strict, instructor. If you are   
   argumentative, contrary or confrontational – well, we have ways of dealing   
   with such problems.”   
      
   Doctore gave Xena rags, in her opinion, to wear, and was told to remove her   
   clothes and to use the rags to bind her breasts and to create a suitable   
   garment to cover her lower half.   
      
   “The others will think you are for their pleasures,” Doctore said as he led   
   her to the quarters  of the gladiator hopefuls. “I expect you will resist,   
   and if your reputation is accurate, will probably put down as many as it   
   will take. But be warned! If you cause injuries that prevent any of them   
   from training, I am told your companion will suffer for it. Am I   
    understood?”   
      
   “Perfectly,” Xena replied. She knew she would have to bide her time until   
   the opportunity arose for her and Gabrielle to make their escape.   
      
   And as Doctore predicted, as soon as Xena walked into the dining area, more   
   than half of them began to make verbal advances. And after quieting them   
   down, Doctore said, “This is Xena. She is not a harlot slave. She will be   
   training with the rest of you to fight in the arena. And for those of you   
   who don’t know her reputation as a warrior – well, you would be wise to   
   listen to those who have heard of her, or perhaps have even seen her in   
   action.”   
      
   And without another word Doctore turned and walked away, leaving Xena   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)