The Traitor's Son Chapters 79-82
By Zelamir, adapted by Pueros

This story is intended for ADULTS ONLY

* * *

Herewith are the next chapters of the saga of Marius, son of
the traitor, Sejanus. The original story was by Zelamir but,
with the author's permission, has been adapted and rewritten
for Nialos by Pueros.

The rewrite conforms to Pueros' own style and the text has
been substantially expanded, with significant additions and
changes also made to subplots. For example, recent chapters,
including these episodes, are all the work of the adapter.
However, the main thread of Zelamir's original story has
been maintained, namely what ultimately happens to young
Marius.

Pueros hopes that his rewrite does Zelamir's original story
justice!

* * *


Chapter LXXIX

"I thought that you disapproved of your uncle's sadism,
Lord," commented Titus. "I do," Drusus answered, "but you
want me to disguise my disgust of his tastes. What better
way is there than by providing him with a young boy tart
who'll attempt spectacularly dangerous feats for him, whilst
all the time Tiberius is willing the slut not to defy death
but instead to fail?"

"There'd be nothing more delicious for Tiberius," Drusus
suggested, whilst gesturing to Marius, who was still sitting
at his feet and listening, "than watching a pretty whore
like this fall to an agonising fiery death. The fact that
the boy was a gift from me should truly help to disguise my
disgust."

"Only, Lord," Titus remarked, "if your face or overall
behaviour do not give your own act away." "Well," Drusus
replied, whilst managing a grim smile, "I'll therefore
simply have to become a consummate actor whilst on Capri!"

"Anyway, I'll have less conscience for this young tart,"
Drusus confessed, "than for some other victims of Tiberius'
sadism. This slut is just a slave and therefore dispensable,
although I dislike the waste. The ones I really feel sorry
for are the free boys, especially from the upper classes,
whom you procure or others supply for the Emperor's perverse
pleasures."

"Well, Lord," Titus commented in defence of his procurement
activities, "the Emperor does enjoy variety. Having some
sons from the upper classes, whose families seek his favour
because they have fallen on very bad times, perhaps after
somehow upsetting him, or are simply exceedingly ambitious,
forming part of his large retinue of boy catamites pleases
him enormously."

"Tiberius likes the contrast, Lord," Titus explained,
"between these boys and the born slaves. The former sons of
the upper classes often start their new lives by complaining
snootily in their posh voices that they shouldn't be
expected to perform such demeaning roles."

"They invariably complain that they're not slaves but Romans
of the highest rank, Lord," Titus continued, "and therefore
shouldn't be treated by Tiberius as mere catamites. However,
most are inevitably soon cowed if not beaten into reluctant
but compliant acceptance of their fate. The Emperor enjoys
observing their moral and psychological collapse into
obedient whores."

"Born slaves are accustomed to obedience and demeaning
roles, Lord," Titus added nonchalantly, "but a boy of free
background, after eventually accepting the ruination of his
status, experiences much more mental trauma when serving
Tiberius, particularly sexually. The Emperor thoroughly
enjoys their deep personal discomfort, which has actually
led some to suicide, normally by throwing themselves off
Capri's tall coastal cliffs."

"Well, at least this boy," Drusus remarked, whilst referring
to Marius and again ruffling his golden hair, "should not
suffer similar suicidal trauma. He's just a slave, who'll
probably be no worse off with my uncle than he would be
here. In fact, he'll probably be better off on Capri when
you consider that he's scheduled to perform over the flames
again tomorrow and, if he survives, the youth I quarrelled
with tonight will be after him once more."

"As you well know, Titus," Drusus continued, "my uncle's
easily bored. I suppose that he'll only want to see this
tart's death-defying act once and not repeatedly like the
slut could probably expect here. The young whore's chances
of survival, at least from dancing dangerously, should
therefore be greater on Capri unless Tiberius decides to
sabotage the boy's prospects, as he often does with other
similar performers."

Marius, who had been listening to this conversation about
him, remained remarkably unconcerned about what was being
said about his status and prospects. After all, fate was
apparently allowing him to escape the 'House of Ganymede'
and Maccius' clutches and Drusus might be right in
suggesting that he now stood a better chance of survival on
Capri.

Marius was unfazed by the likely challenges ahead, even
facing the man who had ordered the destruction of his
family, namely the Emperor Tiberius. The boy recognised that
the gods had enabled him to survive many anguishing
difficulties so far. He now sincerely believed that the
deities could not be so cruel that they were planning for
him to meet his demise on Capri but instead, having allowed
him to live until the present, surely had a far better
destiny in mind for him.

"How much should I be prepared to pay for the boy, Lord?"
asked Titus. "Whatever is necessary," Drusus answered, "but
that shouldn't be too high a sum for two reasons."

"First," Drusus explained, "the boy appears now to be a
dispensable item for the brothel's owners and so his value
here must have diminished considerably of late. Second,
advise our host that I'm prepared to pay a fair price but no
more and he would displease me a lot if he proved
unreasonable with his quotation. I'm somehow sure that he
would not want to make the Emperor's senior nephew unhappy!"

Drusus subsequently stood up again from his couch and,
having decided to make no further use of the amenities
available in the 'House of Ganymede', including the sexual
services of the many pretty boys offered to him by Fabius
for free, he strode off and out of the brothel. His mind was
too worried and focused on how to regain and retain his
uncle's favour to continue to seek solace with the available
young prostitutes.

Drusus left Titus behind to conduct the bargaining with
Fabius for Marius' purchase.


Chapter LXXX

Marius was sitting on the foredeck of the stumpy sailing
ship, which he believed was about to make the short passage
from Naples to Capri. The last few days had for him been
rather strange.

Fabius had quickly agreed to sell Marius to Titus, who was
buying on behalf of Drusus, for a fair market price. This
was far less than that for which the boy had been originally
purchased but truly reflected the current value for a well-
used young prostitute such as him in the currently bloated
trading conditions, given the recent influx of fresh slaves
from Germania.

Despite the lucratively popular spectacle that Marius'
dangerous act on the horizontal bar had suddenly become,
Fabius, as Drusus had assumed, did not want to displease
Tiberius' nephew by seeking to haggle a higher valuation.
The brothel owner wanted to keep on the right side of the
man who might soon become the next Emperor. The boy had
anyway easily more than repaid his original enormous
purchase price whilst working in the 'House of Ganymede'.

Marius had subsequently that same night left the 'House of
Ganymede' for ever and been taken to Titus' town house,
thankfully for his modesty dressed in a short sleeveless
tunic found by Fabius for him at his buyer's insistence.
Despite the fact that his purchaser was a well-known rake
and Tiberius' 'Comptroller of Pleasures', the man clearly
did not want tongues wagging about him taking a naked young
prostitute home with him.

Marius had subsequently been placed in the charge of Titus'
domestic steward, who treated him decently, perhaps because
he knew that the boy was destined for Imperial service,
which might lead anywhere, including to the Emperor's favour
and subsequent freedom and influence. Despite the
unlikeliness of the scenario, the very cautious senior
household servant was taking no chances that a powerful
courtier, whom he had once maltreated, might someday return
to seek revenge.

Marius was allocated a small but relatively comfortable
windowless basement cell in the slave-quarters of Titus'
town house in which to sleep. On the next morning, after a
reasonable breakfast and after bathing and grooming, he had
been given a new white sleeveless tunic of better quality to
wear, which was nevertheless still very short, extending to
just below his groin.

Over the next few days, with Titus apparently absent,
Marius' relative good treatment continued. The boy was also
not allocated any household duties, with the steward
seemingly not knowing precisely what to do with him during
his stay other than to ensure his welfare. The 12 year-old
therefore had a lot of time on his hands, which he asked to
spend reading some of the books in his host's small library.

Despite being surprised to discover that such a slaveboy, a
former prostitute, was both literate and interested in
reading Titus' books, the steward granted the request. He
appreciated that his absent master never read anything from
his library, keeping the relevant works only for show.

Marius rather enjoyed his leisure at Titus' house. However,
the boy's break from service as a slave was all too brief.

Suddenly one evening Marius was bundled without any
explanation into the back of a covered cart, where he was to
spend most of the next few days, including sleeping, under
the supervision of two rather muted wagoners, as the vehicle
trundled slowly southwards along the Via Latina. Stops at
some dowdy inns on the way afforded the only opportunities
to eat and wash, usually using water from wells.

Then one morning Marius awoke to the shape of Mount Vesuvius
in the distance and that evening the cart reached Naples.
The wagon had subsequently been taken to the docks and the
transported human goods, namely Marius, were loaded aboard
the stumpy sailing ship.

Apart from one man ordering him to stay on the foredeck,
whilst keeping out of everyone else's way, nobody had spoken
to him. The boy therefore could not confirm where he was
being taken or why but presumed to Capri in order to perform
his dangerous act on the horizontal bar for the Emperor.

For some time, Marius stood peering over the ship's rail,
watching other carts being unloaded on the quayside and a
wide variety of cargos being brought aboard. However, such
activity eventually died down and the boy settled himself in
a sitting position on the deck, with his back against a
side-rail, and began to slumber, only to be roused by the
sound of shrill cries for help and men's voices cursing.

Marius now noticed that two burly adult slaves were dragging
aboard another boy about the same age as him, also onto the
foredeck. The struggling child's tunic was torn half off his
shoulders and blood was running down his face.

One of the men eventually managed to hold the resisting boy,
who was kicking, screaming and shouting, down in a sitting
position, whilst the other chained him by an ankle to a
metal ring firmly embedded in the foredeck. "There, the brat
should be secure there," the latter subsequently commented,
after standing again, satisfying himself as to the accuracy
of his remarks and kicking the child nastily in the ribs for
the trouble that he had given them, being rewarded with a
pained squeal in response.

"A night on the open deck might tame him," the man next
suggested, oblivious to the boy's continued vociferous
shouting in protestation and testing of the efficiency of
his manacling. The other burly adult laughed and they then
disappeared from the scene together.

Having discovered that his chaining to the deck was
resolutely sound, the boy, himself apparently oblivious to
the nearby presence of Marius, perhaps because of the tears
filling his eyes, rolled over onto his side and curled into
a ball. He also began to sob loudly.

Marius felt that he could not just watch the other boy's
misery and so crept over to him and sympathetically gently
touched one thin shaking shoulder. However, the other 12
year-old jerked away from him, apparently too angry or
distressed to receive comfort from anyone.

With his attempts at comforting the boy rejected, Marius
returned to the place where he had just been sitting. The
stumpy sailing ship sailed from port shortly afterwards.


Chapter LXXXI

Once the evening sun had set, the temperature on the
foredeck fell sharply.  Marius lay on the bare planks
listening to the waves slapping against the side of the
ship, as she slid slowly through the water, moved on by the
lightest of winds. Above him the stars shone brightly with
the cold unfeeling beauty of the heavens.

From the opposite side of the deck, Marius could hear the
other boy sobbing steadily. He was himself cold and he
assumed that the other child would be too.

Marius concluded that they should both be warmer if they lay
together. He also thought that the situation might be less
lonely for them both and, rather naughtily, possibly more
fun as well. He had not only learnt a lot about being a good
boy prostitute over the previous months in the 'House of
Ganymede' but also his pubescent sexual appetite had been
seriously awakened.

Consequent to his conclusion about the sense in seeking
mutual warmth and his desire for companionship of either the
platonic or sexual kind, Marius crawled over to the other
boy and gently wriggled up tight against his back. "We'll
both be warmer like this," he whispered in explanation.

The other boy, however, became angered. "Get off me!" he
commanded furiously, whilst his sobbing suddenly ceased and
he drove his elbow harshly into Marius' stomach.

"How dare you touch me," the boy went on to complain
snootily in a posh accent, "for I'm not dirt like you, you
filthy slave brat. Leave me alone!"

Marius did not argue. He was not only somewhat breathless
from the elbow into his stomach and in no mood for a
dispute. He was also really in no position, as a slave, to
impose himself on a boy of apparently still free standing,
although, given his current predicament, this status was
seemingly unlikely to last for long.

Marius therefore simply let go of the boy and moved away to
return to his former position. As a result, the subsequent
night unnecessarily proved lonely, cold and miserable for
both of them, interspersed by only fitful amounts of sleep.


Chapter LXXXII

Fortunately, the temperature rose quickly on the advent of
morning and soon Marius was happily warming himself in the
rising sun's rays and feeling well enough to wonder if he
could risk leaving the foredeck to see if he could find
something to eat. By now, the other boy had stopped sobbing
and was, instead of lying in a ball, sitting upright and
motionless, with his head resting on his knees.

Marius heard footsteps approaching and he saw Drusus. The
boy still thought of the young man, who had saved him at
least from the nefarious attentions of Maccius, as his new
lord and master, even though he knew that he was destined to
be gifted into Tiberius' service.

Drusus approached the foredeck, with his eyes fastened on
the horizon ahead of the ship. The young man did not notice
the sitting boys but instead leant his elbows on the ship's
side-rail and stared thoughtfully ahead.

Drusus also began to munch an apple, which he had been
carrying. On seeing this sight, Marius' hungry stomach
rumbled and the young man, stirred slightly by the noise,
glanced down and around.

Drusus' eyes were somehow initially drawn not to the source
of the rumbling but momentarily to the hunched figure of the
other boy on the foredeck and a look of distaste crossed the
young man's face at the sad dishevelled sight. However, he
next saw Marius and his expression brightened.

"Well, boy," Drusus gently commented, "we do seem to have a
habit of meeting each other unexpectedly. I didn't know that
you were on this ship."

Marius began to scramble to his feet in order to stand
reverently before Drusus. However, the young man gestured to
him to remain still.

"I came here," Drusus advised, "to see if I could catch
sight of Capri, as the island should soon come into view,
though why I should be eager to see the place I do not
know." He subsequently paused for a moment and then
shrugged.

"You think I'm free, boy," Drusus added in remark, "don't
you? However, I'm not, for I am about to be just as much a
slave as you are already."

"I'll also be a slave to the same master, boy," Drusus
continued, "for you are to be gifted by me into Tiberius'
service but I'll simultaneously be as much at the servile
beck and call and mercy of the Emperor as you will be. I can
see the horrible little island of Capri being my appalling
prison as well as yours for as long as my wicked old uncle
lives or until we die!"

Despite Drusus' depressing words and obvious pessimism,
Marius did not currently share the young man's negative
attitude. The boy instead somehow remained optimistic that
the gods would allow him to survive Capri and Tiberius'
service for a much better future. He was also strangely
comforted that he might be sharing the possible dangers and
privations ahead with the Emperor's nephew, whom, ever since
his rescue from the 'House of Ganymede', he had begun to
hero worship.

"I tell you what, though, boy," Drusus suggested, whilst
evidently, from the smile suddenly appearing on his face,
lightening a bit in mood, "if ever I do leave Capri, I
predict that I shall do so as the new Emperor. Also, if such
a happy development materialises and you're still alive,
I'll take you with me for luck because you must have brought
such good fortune to me!"

Marius could not help but develop his own smile on hearing
this promise. Drusus, correctly appraising that the boy's
cute grin indicated that he was very happy at the prospect
of leaving Capri with him, rewarded him by tossing his
unfinished apple at him.

"Have the apple, boy," Drusus simultaneously commented, "as
the fruit will undoubtedly be needed more by you." The young
man subsequently turned on his heel and walked back to the
poop-deck, leaving Marius, who had not spoken once, munching
eagerly on his prize.

Marius then looked over at the huddled shape of the other
boy. With his knees pulled up to his chin, the hem of his
tunic had slipped up his thighs, revealing a band of paler
skin. The cloth and embroidery of the currently damaged and
dirty garment also indicated previous quality, suggesting
that the child emanated, at least originally, from a
privileged background.

Marius noticed the coloration differences of the boy's legs,
which was in stark contrast to his own evenly tanned body
and was further evidence of the pair's recent difference in
standing. A slaveboy prostitute like him had generally been
allowed little or no clothing, whereas the other's freedom
would have required the decent covering of clothing. Judging
by the quality of the latter, his standing had also been of
the upper Patrician or Equestrian classes, or at least of
rich Plebeian status.

Marius looked at his still unfinished apple and initially
hesitated in carrying through with the kind thought that had
suddenly entered his mind. After all, the other boy had
indicated in no uncertain terms on the previous evening that
he wanted nothing to do with him. However, the young slave's
better nature prevailed.

Marius therefore stood and walked over to the other boy to
proffer his apple and ask tentatively "Would you like some?"
"I don't take presents from slave brats," was, however, the
disappointingly rude and ungrateful answer, "and, when my
father finds me, he'll have you beaten for insolence!"

In reaction to this disappointing, rude and ungrateful
rebuttal, Marius just shrugged philosophically and returned
to his previous sitting position, from where he eventually
threw a chewed apple-core into the sea before dozing to
catch up on his fitful sleep of the night previously. The
boy was subsequently aroused by the sound of shod feet
approaching, which was a noise that he had come, like many
other slaves, to recognise as a potential danger-signal.
Accordingly, on awakening, he sat very still and quiet,
whilst trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Drusus' older companion in the 'House of Ganymede', Titus
had appeared on the foredeck, accompanied by the two adult
slaves who had dragged the other boy aboard ship on the
previous evening. Tiberius' 'Comptroller of Pleasures' had
obviously only just finished his breakfast for he was
patting his thick lips with a napkin.

Titus subsequently deliberately dropped the napkin on the
foredeck. Suddenly, a small almost naked boy, who only wore
the tiniest of loincloths, darted forward from behind his
master and snatched the cloth up before scuttling back
behind his owner.

"So, the brat gave you trouble last night, did he?" Titus
asked one of his adult slaves to confirm. "Yes, Lord," the
man replied, "by screaming and fighting us all the way
here!"

Marius immediately instinctively feared that Titus and his
slaves might somehow be referring to him, despite the clear
inconsistency with facts. False accusations sadistically
made just to see others suffer were, after all, not uncommon
in the Roman Empire, which was supposed to be civilised but
was also based on the often cruel suppression and treatment
of vanquished peoples and the enslaved. However, his worries
were quickly dissipated when the subject of the conversation
proved to be the other boy.

Now standing next to the other sitting boy and stirring him
contemptuously with his foot, Titus commented "He doesn't
look as if there's much screaming and fighting left in him
now." However, in reaction to the irritating toes poking him
and this remark, the child did nothing, which was in stark
contrast to his energetic resistance of the previous
evening.

In partial response to the boy's apparent current lack of
liveliness, Titus commanded his adult slaves to "Unchain the
brat and get him on his feet. I want to have a proper look
at him!"

One of the adult slaves subsequently compliantly knelt down
to unfasten the relevant chain securing the boy's ankle to
the deck.  The manacle soon fell away and at that moment the
child opportunistically lashed out with his foot, catching
the man full in the face and causing him to tumble onto his
back.

The boy then sprang to his feet and dashed down into the
well of the sailing ship. "Help me, help me," he
simultaneously screamed to no one in particular, "I'm the
free son of a Senator. I've been kidnapped.   Please help
me!"

One of the older sailors, who had been lounging in the well
of the sailing ship, immediately stepped forward, with his
arms spread wide and his face smiling. "All right, lad," the
man suggested in a friendly comforting manner, "come to me
and I'll see that you're safe from these nasty kidnappers!"

The boy, believing this promise from such a mature amiable
countenance, immediately ran trustingly into the sailor's
outstretched arms. The man subsequently grabbed and held him
in a far from friendly way and began to drag him back
towards Titus, whilst laughing heartily.

The boy, realising that he had been betrayed, again began to
struggle to escape by screaming and kicking but he could not
shake free of his captor. Meanwhile, the slave, who had
earlier been struck in the face by the child's foot, was by
now back on his feet and, with blood streaming from a nose
that appeared to have been knocked out of alignment, was
quickly approaching the young captive with his fists
menacingly clenched.

"Don't harm the brat," Titus commanded of his affronted and
injured slave, as well as of his other almost equally
aggrieved servant, "but instead just bring him here and hold
his arms tight for me." The two men knew better than not to
comply.

The two slaves therefore advanced to claim possession of the
boy from the sailor and, holding one of the child's arms
apiece between them, obediently brought him without real
harm to face Titus. Nevertheless, in obvious partial
retaliation, the men's grip was certainly more painfully
fierce than was actually necessary, causing their young
captive to whimper in genuine anguish as well as
trepidation.

Each slave had held one thin wrist, twisted the boy's arms
backwards and locked them there, whilst forcing him forwards
with their other hands clamped on his elbows. By the time of
the child's arrival before Titus, some tears in his eyes
were added to his whimpering.

Nevertheless, the boy at first began to beg again to be
allowed his freedom, as he finally realised that physical
struggling was futile. "Sir," he desperately pleaded of
Titus, "please let me go. My father will pay you well if you
return me safely to him. I promise you he will!"

Titus initially laughed heartily in response but eventually
ceased in order to tell the boy, whilst for the first time
revealing the child's name to the watching Marius, "I'm
afraid, young Quintus, that you are mistaken in several
ways. You've not been kidnapped, as your own father has
instead gifted you as a slave to our illustrious Emperor. In
return, your parent will gain an Imperial favour, which is
much needed because your Patrician Senatorial family has
recently been bankrupted by some very unwise investments."

Titus used the phrase 'Patrician Senatorial family' with
clear contempt. As an Imperial freedman, and therefore ex-
slave, he secretly possessed much disdain for a lot of the
Roman aristocracy. He particularly disliked those families
that would do anything, including offering the prettiest of
their youngest sons from a large brood to become Imperial
catamites, in order to save themselves from the likes of
Tiberius' political displeasure or from ruinous financial
straits, or just to help further their ambitions.

"I'm afraid for you, young Quintus," Titus advised, "that
your father, knowing the Emperor's tastes, was more than
happy to come to me and offer you to me to become one of
Tiberius' young slaves in return for a financially lucrative
state sinecure. His stance was undoubtedly helped, like most
others who make similar proposals, by the fact that you have
several other brothers who can carry on the family line."

Quintus' clear earlier confusion about his current status
had been caused by the fact that he had suddenly been
plucked without explanation from the garden in his, unknown
to him, heavily re-mortgaged luxury family residence by
Titus' two adult slaves. Although present in the house, his
parents and siblings and their own servants had mysteriously
not come to rescue him from the men's clutches, despite his
very loud shouting in protest.

Quintus had perhaps only naturally initially believed that
he was being kidnapped, despite the fact that someone in the
house surely should easily have heard his vociferous
protestations and come to his rescue. However, unknown to
him, his parents and siblings and their slaves had instead
been guiltily hiding, allowing the unhappy but much needed
event to occur unhindered.

Within the family, Quintus and what had happened to him
would simply be subsequently quickly forgotten, as if he had
never existed. The boy, who had been selected for Imperial
service because of his exceptional prettiness and for being
of the age favoured by Tiberius for his catamites, had been
sacrificed for the overall wellbeing of the rest of his
relations.

Having delivered his devastating explanation of Quintus'
appallingly suddenly changed status, Titus smiled down into
the boy's horror-stricken face to await a reaction, which
was not long in coming. "You're lying," was the anticipated
accusation.

"No, I'm not," Titus calmly replied, "and I can prove that
I'm not." He subsequently produced a scroll from a tunic
pocket, which he unrolled and showed to the appalled boy.

Quintus recognised his father's signature and seal at the
foot of the scroll. He also perceived from reading that the
document was a bill of sale, a certificate detailing the
reassignment of property from his parent to the Emperor in
return for a government post. Unfortunately for the boy, the
named transferred asset was himself.

"But my father can't do this!" Quintus next protested, on
reluctantly acknowledging the authenticity of the document.
However, even as he spoke these words, he knew that he was,
in fact, incorrect. Titus' response was therefore not only
expected by the boy but also immediately accepted by him as
being completely true.

"Oh, but he can, young Quintus," Titus retorted, "and I'm
disappointed that you either in your ignorance don't know
Roman law about a father's powers or refuse to accept the
relevant rights. Until he officially recants his claims over
a son or dies, he can do almost anything with his offspring,
even after they become adults, including having them
executed for perfidy affecting family honour or enslaved at
his whim. In your case, he has chosen the latter."

"You are to be gifted, young Quintus, to our illustrious
Emperor to be one of his slaveboys," Titus continued, "and
this is a development that you must quickly accept. The
alternative is to suffer the very serious consequences of
being rebellious, which will probably be fatal for you and
ruinous to your family."

"Surely, young Quintus," Titus concluded, in his attempt to
ensure that the boy now became acquiescent to his new
distressing situation, "you still have some regard for your
own life and family. Surely, as an honourable Roman, in
order to help the latter in straitened times, you'll also
want to be brave and unselfish enough to sacrifice your
previous privileged status in order to save that of your
kith and kin!"

Titus was well-versed in persuading boys like Quintus to
accept their fates, using a mix of 'carrot and stick'. He
did not want bothersome fresh slaves of previous free status
being presented to Tiberius, as the Emperor only liked such
boys if their wills had already been broken.

Tiberius might become, dangerously for Titus, seriously
displeased about being offered boys of previous free status
whose spirits had not already been crushed. The Emperor
might also order any troublesome catamites to be killed,
which would be a great waste of relatively rare and precious
resources.

The carrot comprised Titus' play on something that was very
important for Roman boys, especially those of upper-class
birth, namely their honour, with him suggesting, as now with
young Quintus, that they should be brave and selfless enough
to sacrifice themselves for the wellbeing of the rest of
their families. The stick arose from his quite genuine
threats of severe punishments and possibly worse if they
failed to succumb acquiescently to their fates. Such tactics
on the part of Tiberius' 'Comptroller of Pleasures' were
generally successful, with failures usually only manifested
by an occasional suicide amongst the Imperial catamites.

Titus was, of course, highly experienced in the sort of
critical situation that had now arisen with Quintus, with
the boy on the brink of either reluctantly accepting or
defiantly rejecting his planned destiny. The man therefore
easily recognised the meaning behind the sudden alteration
now in the child's demeanour.

Quintus' facial expression now changed from one of horror to
that of utter dejection. The boy's head additionally dropped
and, instead of further verbal protestations, he began once
more to sob, with his shoulders shaking and tears falling
onto the foredeck below.

"Now, young Quintus," Titus reprimanded, recognising that
the boy was on the brink of submissively accepting his fate,
"don't be such a baby in front of everyone here. Be a brave
Roman instead and show courage in the face of your new
status in life." "Your revised role also shouldn't be too
bad," the man also lied, "if you behave yourself and prove
to an obedient little slave."

Titus subsequently waited for his reprimand to work, which
usually happened when challenging a boy of privileged
background to behave like a brave Roman and not a baby.
There was to be no exception with Quintus, who soon stopped
sobbing, dried his tears, wiped his running nose and looked
back up at the man, whilst now clearly attempting to show
courageous self-control.

Titus smiled in a friendly manner back at Quintus before his
grin suddenly changed to one more resembling a lecherous
leer and announcing "Now let me see fully what sort of new
plaything I have obtained for the Emperor!" The man then
grabbed hold of the boy's already ripped tunic and with a
single sharp strong downwards tug tore the garment from his
young body.

Quintus, who had already somehow lost his sandals amidst his
struggles on the journey from Rome to Naples, was
subsequently too shocked to prevent Titus performing a
similar deed with his by now rather soiled loincloth
underwear. Consequently, the acutely ashamed boy was soon
standing completely naked on the ship's foredeck in full
view of many the sailors who currently had no duties to
perform, as the gentle breeze powered their vessel towards
Capri, and so had gathered nearby to watch the fun.

Quintus' early paralysing shock quickly passed, however,
and, having instinctively covered his suddenly exposed
genitals protectively with his hands, he resumed his
protestations. "You can't shame me like this," the boy
shouted in anger.

Quintus was rewarded by a harsh back-handed slap across his
face from Titus, who advised "Oh, but I can, boy. You must
remember that you are now no longer the free son of a
Patrician Senator but the slave property of the Emperor,
just like the other brat over there." The man gestured
towards Marius, who was still sitting quietly whilst
witnessing the dramatic scene along with the intrigued and
amused sailors.

Whilst Quintus rubbed his suddenly sore face in renewed
shock with one hand, with the other still protectively
covering his smooth genitals, Titus continued "And I'm
officially the Comptroller of the types of Imperial property
that you both represent. I am authorised to do whatever I
want with such of the Emperor's possessions, including
carefully examining them."

"You're now no better than one of Tiberius' animal pets,
young Quintus," Titus sinisterly added, "which can be beaten
for disobedience or even disposed of entirely if deemed
unsuitable. I could, for example, have you thrown off this
ship into the sea forthwith and no one would question my
action or bother about you disappearing and drowning in
Neptune's realm."

"Now, if you want to be something more than worthless
jetsam, young Quintus," Titus suggested, "I would place your
hands at your sides and let me continue to determine in an
intimate manner what sort of plaything I have obtained for
the Emperor." Everyone witnessing this scene, including the
two protagonists and the watching Marius, appreciated that
this was truly the defining moment for the boy's future.

If Quintus now obeyed Titus, he would clearly and publicly
be acknowledging his devastatingly dire diminution in status
from son of a Patrician Senator to slave chattel, which was
a standing no better than that of a domestic animal or other
personal belonging. The current situation therefore
represented the defining climax of his first meeting with
Tiberius' 'Comptroller of Pleasures', which had been
cleverly deliberately manufactured by the latter to destroy
any residual resistance within the boy towards his fate.

If Quintus now exposed his genitals for Titus to inspect, he
would be conceding his revised social ranking and the man's
total authority over him. Many of the witnesses' eyes
therefore focused on the boy's hands to see what they would
do.

Currently, Quintus' hands, both now returned to covering his
genitals, were nervously shaking, for he too was fully aware
of the significance of the moment.

(To be continued)

  
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