Agron-the German ex-Gladiator Rebel:

Agron still felt the fury inside him.  He couldn't escape it.  It had been months since he and his fellow rebels had caused the downfall of the house of Batiatus and escaped into the countryside.  In the interim, he had spent sleepless nights reliving the nightmare of his brother, Duro's death, during their revolt.  He had spent the days trying to assuage his feelings of guilt and his hatred of the Romans by killing as many of the hated enemy as was possible.  It had not been enough.  Now their small force had moved away from the city of Capua.  They headed South in search of Naevia, lover of the fucking Gaul,Crixus.  He was the one brother gladiator who irritated Agron like a thorn buried too deep to remove from the skin.  Their secondary goal was to invade as many vulnerable outlying villas as they could, and free the slaves found there in hopes of building up their army.  That part of Spartacus's plans was more favorable to Agron than searching for a woman he truly believed was forever lost to this world.  At each villa, Agron had more opportunities to separate Romans from their lives.

This night they found themselves high on a hill overlooking one such villa.  It was obviously the home of someone of importance and riches.  The buildings were vast with large orchards behind them.  There was no doubt there would be guards on duty, but this would be of little consequence to their small band of warriors.  They had faced worse in the past months.  They also had the element of surprise in their favor.  There had been no signs that anyone knew where the rebels had gone, nor that they were in this part of the region.  This was but one of several villas with owners that may have knowledge of Naevia's fate.  For that reason, the residents below were about to meet their fate.  Agron eagerly awaited the chance to shed more Roman blood.  And shed blood, they did. 

The battle for control of the villa ended quickly and with far less resistance than the rebels had expected.  Every Roman guard in the villa lay dead by the time the fight was over.  They made certain not to kill the owner of the villa, the only other Roman in residence since the man was without child or spouse.  He would be the only one who would have full knowledge of Naevia and her fate.  Slaves were herded like frightened sheep into the main courtyard so their worth could be evaluated.  None would be put to death, but Spartacus had no desire to force them into joining the rebellion.  They would all be given a choice in determining their fate.  Word of Spartacus and his rebels had spread even into the countryside, despite attempts to suppress such news to keep other slaves from forming ideas of their own.  Once the Dominus of the villa was brought out, demanding to know who was offering to free his slaves, fear turned to excitement knowing these were the fabled gladiators who had broken free from bondage.

There was but one slave who felt neither fear nor joy at word of the identity of their liberators.  But no one suspected his true feelings.  Not at that moment...not even at the moment his slave collar was ripped from his throat by the great leader himself.  First, Spartacus and Agron spent their time in discussion of what to do next while waiting for Crixus to question the Roman about Naevia.  Agron's concern was that Crixus was chasing a ghost...a woman who would be nothing like what he held to memory after her ordeal caused by the exposure of their love affair.  Agron's desire was to discontinue freeing mere house slaves in favor of searching for true warriors...ones who had been enslaved, in order to swell their ranks with experienced fighting men.  As far as he was concerned the house slaves were of little worth.  Agron had spent his entire adult life as a fighting man, starting years before being captured by the Romans and forced into slavery and later trained as a gladiator.  He had little patience for those unlike himself. 

Agron stood by with an exasperated expression on his face as Spartacus patiently explained that he saw all men and women of worth, proving his point by offering swords to several of the bewildered slaves.  It was plain to see that none of them were comfortable with the heavy weapons in their hands, but this didn't deter Spartacus.  He assured Agron that intensive training would bring about miracles.  Agron grumbled, but he had sworn his loyalty to Spartacus and he was a man of his word, if nothing else.  The rest of the evening was spent gathering all weapons and bounty of worth to take with them when they moved on to the next villa.  When Spartacus and the others finally retired for the night, Agron bedded down in a room adjacent to the one occupied by Spartacus.  He prayed the gods would give him a dreamless night for a change.  He had enjoyed few of those since the loss of Duro.  As he took to his bed, Agron felt a deep sense of emptiness.   Once again he had seen the ground wet with Roman blood, and yet there was still no peace within his heart.  Agron feared there never would be in this lifetime.

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Nasir-the Syrian ex-Slave:

Nasir grabbed a ripe plum from the bowl on the table and bit into it, juices escaping from the corner of his mouth.  His closest friend, Chadara reached up and swiped the moisture away, causing the young man to pull away from her.  They were close friends, but nothing more.  Sometimes her bold attempts to capture his attentions bothered Nasir, but he would not offend her for the world.  They were both favorites of their Dominus and it was a position they valued.  Nasir not only had no desire to risk their status, but the truth was that he didn't find his friend appealing.  It wasn't that she was unattractive...far from it, or her position would not be so favorable to their Dominus...it was simply that he was aware he felt no attraction to any of the females.  There were, however, a couple of the male slaves he favored, although he never pursued any possibilities.  None were worth his risking his life for.

The one male he did not find appealing in any way was his Dominus.  He hated the man for the rough way he was always treated by him.  It wasn't so bad when the man asked Nasir to fuck him from behind as a way of gaining extra pleasure when fucking a woman, usually Chadara of late.  It was not so pleasant when the Roman preferred a tighter entrance, and went after him while Chadara played with ass and balls or lay still while the bastard sucked her breasts.  His Dominus cared nothing for Nasir's comfort and seldom made his invasion smooth or painless.  But Nasir knew no other kind of life.  He had been a member of this household since early childhood when he was sold to the father of his present Dominus as bed warmer for his aged feet during the night.  Upon the old man's death, Nasir was old enough to enter the kitchen as server to the new master.  A couple of years later, Nasir's attractive appearance led to his high position as body slave to the Dominus, and he quickly learned and accepted his new duties.  Thus it had been for two more years...until this night.

Several hours passed when both Chadara and Nasir were called to the bedchamber of their Dominus.  The couple knew what it meant when both were called at the same time.  The man had rid himself of business associates who had been at the villa for several days and was obviously in a mood to celebrate.  Nasir was not only body slave, but also handled much of the household affairs.  Despite his youth, he had been given an unusual amount of education by the old master and shown a marked proclivity towards numbers and organization.  Because of this, Nasir was aware that his Dominus had secured an excellent business transaction during their visit.  They hurried to join him.  They knew his temper when kept waiting.

Chadara was the first to disrobe, stretching out on the soft bed of her master.  Nasir had been ordered to wait in the corner, a sure sign that tonight would be Chadara's turn to be fucked while Nasir waited to add the finishing touches.  The Roman was full of wine from seeing his guests off, so it took some time for him to be aroused.  Sweat poured off his face and body, falling like loathsome rain on the woman below him.  Long minutes passed before Nasir, still partially dressed, heard his Master order him to insert his cock so that he could orgasm.  Nasir was about to approach to do his duty when a disturbance was heard from outside the room.  All became chaos from that moment on.  Seconds after retrieving his robe and donning it, two burly men entered the room and overpowered the Roman.  Chadara grabbed her discarded clothing and all three were pushed forward out of the room.  They were led to the main courtyard.

As they exited the building, they overheard one of the men quietly, yet forcefully calming everyone down, making the slaves an offer of freedom if they chose it.  Nasir heard his Dominus demanding to know who was making such an offer to his slaves, but was not impressed when the man spoke his name...Spartacus.  Nasir's well ordered life was being threatened.  That was all he saw when he looked around at all the men standing guard at doorways and surrounding the slaves.  Most, including the few women, looked fierce and ready to kill at a moment's notice.  The most dangerous ones stood next to their leader, bodies covered in shed blood and a look on their faces that was hard to define.  Nasir had the feeling they were the most important men under Spartacus's leadership and that they were the ones to be most feared.  There was a look of anger on their faces that wasn't as clearly etched on the face of Spartacus.

One of the two men that Nasir noticed was the one who addressed his Dominus first.  His tone of voice was quiet, and yet deadly.  As several of the rebels dragged the Roman away, followed by that same rebel, Nasir felt his world crumbling.  Something in the way that rebel spoke told him that their Dominus would soon lie among the dead.  When that happened, Nasir knew his life was over.  Even if they let him live as promised, he had nowhere to go.  Everyone knew that if a master was murdered in a household, all the slaves of that house would face a fate worse than death, if not death itself, even those totally innocent of any wrongdoing.  Well then, thought Nasir to himself, perhaps his only chance of survival would be to take the life of this Spartacus.  That would make him a hero in the eyes of the Romans and maybe give him the chance to find another household to serve.  It was either that or sleep this night knowing his life was over.

Nasir waited his chance.  It had taken some time for the rebels and nervous slaves to settle down for the night.  Nasir was allowed to retire to the small alcove connected to his master's bedchamber, which was his private room.  It had made it convenient for the Master to demand Nasir's presence whenever he liked.  When he peeked through the curtain separating their two rooms, he was not surprised to see that Spartacus himself claimed the room of the Dominus.  He also saw that the man was not alone.  Now was his opportunity.  He clutched the knife he had stolen from the kitchen firmly in his hand and waited for the couple to begin making love.  Nasir could barely breathe.  He had never taken, or even attempted to take, another life before.  But one thing he was certain of, he could do it.  His future depended on it.

Nasir crouched low when he saw Spartacus take up position on top of the woman.  His back was now bare and exposed.  Nasir knew the moment had come.  He launched his attack.  His timing was unfortunate.  The woman saw him coming and called out.  Spartacus had reflexes that the gods would envy.  In an instant, Nasir found himself flat on his back with Spartacus on top of him, that same blade now aimed at his face.  Death was now moments away, but Nasir had spirit.

"You've already killed me once.  Do not hesitate to revisit the deed," he hissed.

Nasir heard the woman protesting that Spartacus offered him freedom.  Nasir felt no such freedom.  He accused Spartacus of simply taking his Master's place.

"What would your Master do now, if he stood so assaulted?" asked Spartacus.

"He would see me dead!" Nasir admitted in anger.

"Yes, he would," Spartacus declared.

Spartacus pulled the young man up and called for his men. 

Several came running, including the two men Nasir noticed earlier.  Two others grabbed hold of Nasir and held tightly to both arms.  Spartacus explained what had happened to the two men Nasir recognized as being of important rank.  Nasir stood defiant as he listened to them argue over his fate.  The one who had taken away his Dominus earlier was eager to end Nasir's life for the offence.  The other seemed surprised to be in agreement with the first one, by the words he spoke about 'the fucking Gaul'.  Only Spartacus seemed willing to give Nasir another chance.  Some part of Nasir respected the leader, yet he was not so easily swayed by the kind gesture.  He stared with daggers in his eyes at all three men.  Then the one called 'Gaul' made a promise to end Nasir's life if he made such an attempt again...this just before backhanding the young Syrian and leaving the room.   Nasir's fate was now in the hands of Spartacus and the tall gladiator at his side.

"And how do you propose we train this wild little dog?" asked the tall one.

"As Batiatus and Doctore trained me," Spartacus answered.

With a hint of irony, the tall one responded, "And that turned out so well!"

He was no doubt referring to how Spartacus used his excellent training to escape the ludus and wreck havoc on the Roman countryside.

Nasir no longer had a clue as to what the future held for him.  But there was one thing he was now certain of.  Spartacus was not the devil he had first thought him to be.  He knew that the leader could have easily dispatched him without losing a moment's sleep if he had so desired.  His second-in-commands obviously would have approved of such a move.  But this Spartacus saw worth in him.  Nasir felt himself growing more willing to give the man a chance to prove he was to be trusted.  It was a new feeling for Nasir.  He had never laid trust in anyone but himself before now.  He would steer clear of the Gaul and the tall one, but he would listen to Spartacus.  At least that was how he thought as he finally laid his head down to sleep on his first night of freedom.

To be continued.............