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

This story is intended for ADULTS ONLY

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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!
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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)