Slave to the Empire (Historical Erotic Romance Novella Book 1) (2 page)

The door opened and it wasn’t until Lucilla heard a girl’s voice that she realize
d that she had closed her eyes. Lucilla opened her eyes only to see a beautiful young woman, probably 16 or 17, waiting at the door with a smile.

“Hello,
Captain! It’s good to see you today.”

The
“Captain”, who had been Lucilla’s warden and had been dragging her along like a child for the last 30 minutes, gave a very deep and gracious bow.  Lucilla looked to him in confusion and then turned her gaze to the young woman.  She was very pretty and while her robes were beautiful and of high quality, the young girl was dressed very simply and not adorned with jewels like most in the higher class.

While she was openly assessing
the young girl, Lucilla felt the guard tug at her elbow firmly.

“Don’t be so insolent,
girl! Bow before the priestess,” the Captain murmured.

“Priestess…?” Lucilla quickly looked up at the
Captain and saw more than a hint of frustration.

“Yes, girl, she is a
n honorable Priestess of Vesta,” he said gruffly.  He eyed the priestess, who was gazing at him expectantly, and then added, “And she is to be respected by the likes of you and me.” And with that, she felt him pull back on her arm harder and forced her on her knees.

Satisfied by the display, the priestess
smiled sweetly and replied, “Oh Captain, there’s no need to be rough! The poor thing is probably frightened out of her mind!”

On her knees and staring at the ground, Lucilla was now completely confused.
The Vestal Virgins? Why was she here to see them? What would they want with her?  She knew who they were and knew that they were adored and worshipped throughout the entire Roman Empire.  They kept the sacred flame of Rome burning, therefore kept the Roman Empire’s heart burning.  They were good.  And the fact that she found herself at their doorstep brought her a huge amount of relief, although, she was still confused as to why she was abducted and taken to them.  She was way too old to be considered for the priestesshood.  They usually took girls from their homes when they were only 5 or 6 years old.

“Come, child, rise to your feet and look at me
.”

Lucilla felt t
he Captain’s hands help her back up to her feet. She didn’t realize how nervous she was or how unsteady she was on her feet until she unconsciously leaned onto the Captain for support when she met the priestess’s gaze.

The
Captain gave her a steady hand and let her lean against him without an argument.

The young priestess smiled warmly and said, “You must be so scared. And I imagine hungry too! I’m sure you have many questions, all of which will be answered soon enough, child.”

The young priestess then reached out her hand to Lucilla, beckoning her to following her through the doorway.  Most sane people would run quickly into her arms and rejoice in being saved, but Lucilla couldn’t shake the feeling that she was actually safer with the guard who had been her escort.

Lucilla quickly looked back up at the
Captain and he unintentionally looked down at her and met her gaze.  For a brief moment, she could have sworn she saw something flash in his eyes. Pity? Regret? His eyes weren’t cold or full of frustration like they were before. And with that, he gently pushed her towards the priestess.  Lucilla looked back to the beautiful priestess and reached for her hand.

The priestess took Lucilla’s hand and hugged her reassuringly, “
Captain, thank you so much for escorting her and for your services.”

She then gave Lucilla an appraising look
and said, “She is beautiful. We will take care of her.”

The
Captain, Lucilla’s guard, bowed deeply.  His eyes then fell briefly on Lucilla and he gave a quick nod to her and then walked away.

Lucilla wanted to call out to him and tell him to take her with him, to take her home...to help her, but the priestess shut the door as soon a
s she had Lucilla in the room.

Once in the room, Lucilla was mesmerized by what she saw.  The “room” actually appeared to be a sort of giant marble courtyard.  There was no roof so the late afternoon sun was shining down onto the floor like a giant sparkling mirror.  There was a fountain in the middle of the room and the splashing water sounded like music against the marble walls and floor. 

There were beautifully tall exotic plants and trees that Lucilla had never seen before surrounding the entire room.  But what had caught her eye the most were the great big cushions laying around the floor.  She was exhausted and would have loved nothing more than to sink into one of those cushions and sleep for a few weeks.

“Now, we must get you cleaned up
and fed, mustn’t we?”

Lucilla’s attention immediately snap
ped back to the priestess. Still unsure of why she was even there, Lucilla replied somewhat timidly, “Yes, thank you that would be lovely…but would you be able to tell me…what happened to me? Why am I here?”

The priestess replied warmly, “All in good time, my child. You will have all your answers soon enough.”

The priestess then led her to an adjoining room to the courtyard. The room was the most luxurious room Lucilla had ever seen. There were lounges with silk cushions, a large table with all sorts of delicious smelling food and a small bath at the center of the room.

The young priestess turned to Lucilla and off-handedly said, “I imagine you’re hungry…and in need of a bath, so please feel free to h
elp yourself to either.  The High Priestess will be here shortly, so please be presentable.”

“Presentable? But…I don’t understand. I just – “

“My child, now is not the time for questions. Listen, I must go now but please feel free to take advantage of the comforts of this room.” And with that the young priestess gave her a tightlipped smile and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Child?
It could be the fact that no one has given her any answers or perhaps because she was brutally abducted, but Lucilla was finding the young priestess more than a little irksome.  At 20, Lucilla was neither a child nor an old maid, but it was a bit off-putting to hear a 16 year old girl continually calling her ‘child’.  No matter how holy she might be.

Lucilla quietly surveyed the room once more and was instantly drawn to the table
of food again.  The grumbling in her stomach was telling her that the little bit of slime that she consumed earlier wasn’t nearly enough.  The bath would have to wait.  Lucilla walked straight for the table of food.

There were only fruits, meats and cheeses but it was more than enough and much better than the unidentifiable sludge that she ate in the dark.  There were plates and utensils for her to use, but Lu
cilla didn’t even blink twice before grabbing food with her fingers.  She was alone and had no one to impress and she certainly didn’t feel the need to impress her captors.

The food was delicious.  She could never afford fine meats and cheeses.  She and her mother always had to settle with what they could barter for, which generally were the lesser meats to say the least.  Lucilla was so focused on her feast that she didn’t even notice someone had joined her.

“Oh, you poor thing, have they starved you?”

Lucilla jumped at the unexpected voice and looked across the table.  What she saw was an incredibly beautiful
woman.  She had a priestess headband resting on her long dark hair and looked to be no older than 30, but her eyes indicated that she was older. She wore the simple Vestal Priestess robes, but still had a regal air about her.  Lucilla instantly averted her eyes down and bowed deeply before the High Priestess.

“My lady, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you walk in. Forgive me for my crude appearance”

The priestess laughed, “Oh don’t apologize, my dear.  You undoubtedly were hungry and who could fault you for sating your appetite? After all, that’s why we have this here for you!”

Luc
illa timidly raised her eyes to meet the high priestess’s gaze. “You are too kind, Priestess, but might I ask…why am I here, my lady?”

The priestess paused and looked at Luci
lla in the eye and then smiled. “Yes, I suppose you would be curious about that, wouldn’t you?”

Lucilla was so anxious for an answer that s
he couldn’t hold back her reply, “Yes! Please, tell me what is going on, my lady! Why have I been brought here? Am…am I to be initiated into…the priestesshood?”

The high priestess barked with laughter.

“Inducted into the priestesshood? You? At your age? Don’t be ridiculous, child!” The priestess continued to laugh.

Lucilla realized that she was
n’t the appropriate age for the Vestal Order, nor was she a virgin, but she couldn’t think of any other reason why the Vestal Virgins would want anything from her.  And she was starting to find these priestesses and their lack of answers more than a little irritating.

With a calm voice and with as much control as possible, Lucilla replied, “I see.  While I am honored and humbled that I was given the chance to meet not onl
y a Vestal Virgin, but the High Priestess, I’m still worried as to why I was taken from my stand in the market place.  I’m worried for my mother and I don’t know if…”

“Calm yourself. Silenc
e.” The High Priestess quietly walked across the room and paused in front of a mirror and then turned back to Lucilla.

“Come over here, child, please,”
the Priestess said gently.

Unsure of what the priestess wanted her to see, Lucilla slowly walked over to meet the Priestess in front of the mirror.

The High Priestess smiled and asked in what could only be described as a motherly tone, “Now, my dear, what do you see?”

Lucilla was taken aback and a bit puzzled by the question.

“I see a beautiful and large mirror.  A mirror like I’ve never seen before…”

The Priestess chuckled, “Yo
u are sweet, aren’t you? I mean, what do you see when you look in the mirror? Tell me what you see when you look at yourself.”

Lucilla quietly looked at her reflect
ion in the mirror.  What she saw horrified her.  Her tunic was in tatters and she must have lost her sash and shawl sometime between being brutally abducted and being forced to look at herself in a mirror that was worth more than her entire candle stand. She had dirt all over her face and her arms were covered in what she hoped was dry mud. With all the crawling she did in the cell, who knows what she was rolling around in.

Lucilla cleared her throat and tried to compose herself before she answered.  She wanted to regain a bit o
f her dignity before answering this ridiculous question.

“I see a very frightened person who has been stolen away from their family and home without a reason or explanation.  I see someone who is dirty and hungry…
and who has hair in tattered knots. I don’t recognize that person at all.”

The High Priestess smiled, “Good. That’s a start.  Shall I tell you what I see?”

Lucilla nodded quietly, hoping that this game would soon be over so she could finally get to the bottom of all this.

“I see a beautiful young woman
with luxurious long brown hair and alarmingly green eyes.  I see a face that is soft as she is still young, but striking as she is beginning to transform into the mature beauty that she is destined to be.”

Lucilla moved from one foot to the other in nervousness.  She wasn’t exp
ecting this response and she had never been complimented in such an open way before.

The High Priestess walke
d up behind her and gently placed her hands on Lucilla’s shoulders and continued, “I see someone who is tall and has a firm body, but still retains her softness and femininity in the most beautiful way.”

At this, Lu
cilla self-consciously attempted to cover the bare parts of her legs that her ripped dress was no longer concealing.  Lucilla was never afraid of a little bit of hard work, especially in light of her having to do both her and her mother’s share of the household work, but this resulted in her having a body that was more lean than overly soft.  This was something that she was generally proud of, but now she was feeling more than little uncomfortable about it.

The High Priestess chuckled, “No amount of dress will be able to cover what you hide underneath your clothes, my dear. And that’s exactly why you are here.”

Lucilla’s head immediately jerked up and she instantly forgot any concerns she had about covering her legs.  She shook her head in confusion.

“That’s why I’m here? I don’t understand. W
hat do my clothes have to do with why I was abducted?”

“It’s not your clothes that you got here, dear. It’s what you hide underneath them.”

Before Lucilla could question her further, the hands that were resting on her shoulders gently slid her chemise and tunic down her body.  Lucilla now stood completely naked and bare in front of the mirror as the High Priestess looked on in the mirror.

“My lady! What are you doing
! What is this!”