Zelamir

adapted by Pueros

The Traitor's Son

Chapters 56-77

Chapter LVI

"Ah, the lovely Narcissus," the Senator declared, whilst indirectly informing Marius that his companion was well known to the man, presumably through previous services rendered on a number of occasions, "I see that you have been chosen to accompany the young virgin for his deflowering!" "I have indeed, Sir," the older boy responded.

"I also see, lovely Narcissus," the Senator continued, in the posh aristocratic accent of the Roman upper classes, "that you've brought your flute so that the young virgin can dance to your music for me before I enjoy his orifices." "I have indeed, Sir," the older boy again responded.

"Good," the Senator commented before adjusting his stare towards Marius. "Come closer, young virgin," the naked man subsequently commanded of the boy, whilst continuing to rub his own cock with one hand and gesturing to the side of the bed with the other, "so that I can acquire a better view of you."

Marius reluctantly complied, afraid that the 'better view' might rapidly result in his own death. The boy soon found himself at the place where the Senator had gestured him to go, namely at the side of the bed.

The Senator then stared intensely at Marius' face, with the scared boy worried that another glimmer of recognition would soon appear in the man's eyes, albeit undoubtedly one that was far less friendly than that afforded to Narcissus. However, his fears were not immediately realised.

The Senator instead began to glance slowly down Marius' front, which was still covered by his tunic. The man's eyes eventually examined the boy's bare feet before returning to linger on the young prostitute's groin area, which was only just protected by his garment.

"Put your hands on your head, young virgin," the Senator next instructed, "and turn sideways to your left." Marius again obeyed, causing the hem of his tunic to rise a little, whilst the man's eyes continued to feast on his dressed form, apparently still without recognising the boy's identity.

Afterwards, Marius was ordered to present the covered rear of his body for the Senator's visual scrutiny, followed by displaying his right profile before again facing the man. The boy subsequently with relief continued to detect no recognition in the client's eyes, only clear lust.

"What's your name, young virgin?" the Senator subsequently asked. "Cycnus, Sir," Marius answered, now glad that he had been given a slave pseudonym, which he hoped would continue to disguise his identity.

Marius' hopes, however, appeared crushed when the Senator subsequently commented "You resemble a boy I once knew, Cycnus, and your accent is rather posh for a slave." "What's your background?" the man then worryingly asked.

Marius had fortunately anticipated such a question and had prepared an answer. "Before I joined the 'House of Ganymede', Sir," the boy therefore replied with his rehearsed explanation, "my old Master used me as a companion for his young son, with whom I was educated until he sadly died and his father sold me. I suppose my accent comes from enjoying that privilege for a time."

The scenario that Marius described was not uncommon. Being companions of the sons of the rich and sharing their tutors also had the benefit of producing literate and numerate adult slaves, who could act as clerks and secretaries.

Marius was next expecting the Senator to ask about the name of his fictional old master. However, the man fortunately appeared to lose interest in both that subject and the notion that he had somewhere seen the boy previously.

The Senator's interest was instead diverted to something that quickly became apparent to Marius. The man's lusts had overcome any desire to discover more about the boy's background and he now commanded the supposed young virgin to remove his tunic.

Marius complied, whilst quietly breathing a sigh of relief that the Senator was not going to continue with his questioning but was instead seemingly intent on satiating his lusts. The boy was not looking forward to helping the man to do so but doing so was preferable to being strangled in the Memertine Prison.

Marius also wondered how much of his apparent escape from being recognised was due to his slave status and makeup. He guessed that the Senator might not even conceive the possibility that the younger son of Sejanus was still alive and now a prostitute, thereby causing him not to make a connection, despite believing that the boy resembled another whom he once knew. He also presumed that the rouge and kohl on his face must have additionally substantially helped his salvation.

Marius therefore changed his opinion of the makeup. Having his profession identified and consequently being the recipient of ribald comments and insults from passers-by on the way to the tenement now appeared to have been a small price to pay for his survival.

Marius lifted his tunic over his head and discreetly cast the garment onto the apartment's wooden floorboards. The boy subsequently stood before the Senator covered only by his minuscule black thong.

The sight of Marius' almost naked body, sparkling in the bright sunlight streaming through the large window as a result of the sweet-smelling unguent previously smeared onto his form by Narcissus, clearly appeared to delight the Senator because his erection visibly quivered and expanded further. However, the boy felt rather differently, being somewhat ashamed of his gilded nipples, which he believed was the bit of makeup that made him look most effeminate.

Marius was next instructed to place his hands on his head again and turn round slowly before the Senator, so that the man could once more gain a close and comprehensive visual sight of him from all perspectives. Whilst subsequently obeying, the boy could somehow almost feel the lecherous adult eyes feasting on his form.

Such a feeling caused the return of a tingling sensation to Marius' groin and he again experienced an embarrassing ballooning of his minuscule black thong. This debasing phenomenon was clearly noticeable by the time that the boy had completed another circle before the intrigued and obviously libidinous Senator, who smiled at the sight.

"I see, Cycnus," the Senator next commented, "that you appear to be looking forward to losing your virginity by being fucked for the first time by me. You've clearly found your true vocation in life!"

Marius' face blushed in shame. The boy's mind was certainly not looking forward to the humiliation and pain of being sodomised once more. However, given the embarrassing visible penile evidence, his unruly cock appeared to support the Senator's remarks, although he was, of course, not being deflowered for the first time because Nicias had already enjoyed that particular privilege.

"I do like the sight of boys sluttishly adorned with makeup and oils," the Senator also commented, "as the applications make you look very girlish, which is perhaps very appropriate for someone about to be penetrated by a manly cock!" Marius' worst fears about appearing effeminate seemed to him to be confirmed by this remark, and his facial blush intensified in reaction. However, the lascivious client obviously relished such a response because he laughed at the sight.

The Senator subsequently turned towards Narcissus and commanded "You may begin to play your flute whilst young Cycnus here entertains me with a dance." Despite the acute abashment felt by the younger, both boys were soon complying with the man's order.

Narcissus sat discreetly in a corner of the room, competently playing his flute whilst Marius, despite his shame, danced as erotically as possible for the entertainment of the Senator. The younger boy even managed to display a smile, as taught, whilst he gyrated.

Meanwhile, as the Senator looked on entranced at the performance of Marius, who to him was 'Cycnus', he continued to rub his own cock, albeit carefully. The man, thoroughly entertained by the boy's erotic dance, did not want to orgasm prematurely, as he wanted to preserve his sperm for the supposed deflowering impregnation of the younger prostitute.

The Senator, however, almost encountered orgasmic disaster when, at the appropriate musical crescendo played on Narcissus' flute, Marius pulled at the little bows at the sides of the waist-cord, which retained his minuscule thong in place. The boy's sole tiny garment naturally reacted by succumbing to gravity and beginning to fall before being discreetly cast to one side by the previous young wearer, who subsequently danced in the nude, with his fully revealed erection wobbling energetically around as he did so.

In response to the sight, the Senator almost climaxed. The man was only rescued from this currently unwanted development by immediately extracting his fingers from his own much bigger erection and removing his vision for the moment from Marius' marvellous gyrating form to the ceiling.

The Senator's remedy for delaying his climax worked and he was soon able to restore his intrigued gaze to Marius. However, the man did not return his fingers to his own cock because his erection now no longer needed manual stimulus to remain impressively hard and upstanding, as the sight of the beautiful naked gyrating boy was enough to ensure the prolonged maintenance of the phenomenon.

Marius' dance was a replica of the one that he had performed prior to the auctioning of his genuine virginity in the 'House of Ganymede'. Consequently, the boy concluded his performance as then, namely, in line with a last musical crescendo from Narcissus' flute, with a spectacular back summersault, which returned him to his feet, with his sparkling naked body standing in a spreadeagled pose.

As before in the 'House of Ganymede', this final action naturally needed the most skill and was also the most likely to go wrong. However, also as before, Marius performed the concluding routine perfectly.

Unlike as before, Marius was rewarded for the perfection of his dance with a little applause from his audience of one. The Senator would certainly not have even considered such a reaction if he had been a customer in the 'House of Ganymede', as doing so in public in respect of a slave would have been deemed unseemly. However, doing so now, whilst privately only in the presence of the young dancer and his musical accompanist, involved no such issue of decorum.

Marius' smile even managed to evolve from the false to the genuine in response. He was proud to have induced the applause. However, the grin was soon wiped off his face when the Senator subsequently commanded the boy to join him on the bed.

Narcissus then began to play a slower tune on his flute, one that was suitable to accompany not a dancer but some lovemaking. Marius simultaneously reluctantly obeyed the Senator's command, knowing that he was approaching not only the man but also further sexual humiliation and pain.

After Marius had eventually taken up the required position, lying face-up alongside the Senator on the bed, the man placed one arm under his head and subsequently lent across him. The boy was then subjected to a prolonged kiss, whilst the adult's free hand roamed around his young anatomy, finally lingering at the young prostitute's still-aroused genitals.

Not long afterwards, the Senator's mouth left Marius' lips to venture downwards. The boy's cheeks, chin, neck, chest and belly were subsequently afforded copious kisses before the man's oral attentions finally concentrated on the young prostitute's sexual organs, which were now more aroused than ever because of such delicately sensuous treatment.

Marius could not help but gasp in sudden delight, as his hard cock was gently licked and sucked. The boy also emitted the same when the Senator's mouth and tongue provided his scrotum with similar attention.

The Senator's gentle oral attentions to Marius' genitals persisted relentlessly for some time until the boy, whose glazed eyes had long since closed amidst mounting enjoyment, firmly grasped the bedcover at either side of him with his hands. He then uttered an even louder gasp of delight, as a pulsing orgasmic darkness again descended on his young mind.

For another brief period of time, Marius once more somehow felt himself to be free of all his troubles, with all his humiliations and sufferings forgotten, and instead enjoyed an instant of pure concentrated pleasure. The boy was happily experiencing the second dry sexual climax of his young life.

Marius' ecstatic mind subsequently took several moments to return from the resultant climactic high to realisation that the Senator's licking and sucking had stopped. The boy then opened his eyes to discover the man leering downwards at him.

"I see that you're not too young to enjoy an orgasm, Cycnus," the now smirking Senator next contentedly announced. The man had recognised the telltale signs of a pre-pubescent boy's climax, as he had frequently similarly induced the same in other young prostitutes.

"It's a pity, though," the Senator continued, "that you're still of too tender years to ejaculate. I enjoy the taste of boyish cum!"

"Now, to reward me for providing you with such enjoyment," the Senator added, "you can pleasure me similarly until my manly member is ready to deflower you!"

Chapter LVII

As well as appearing distressed, Marius' face also no longer looked beautiful but instead resembled that of some ugly mythological beast. The boy had been crying comprehensively because of his recent reintroduction to debasing and excruciating sodomy and the tears that were still flowing had caused the kohl rimming his eyes to run.

Accordingly, Marius' face was streaked with dark lines, which Narcissus had considerately attempted to wipe away after the Senator had finished with the pair of them. However, the older boy had eventually abandoned his efforts because the younger was unable to stop shedding tears, which ruined the cleaning efforts. A trickle of blood also ran down one of the 11 year-old's legs, indicative that the recent act of sodomy had again caused damage.

"I suppose there's no harm in granting your wish," the blond German slave answered in reply to the aged porter's request. He was eager for the old man to acquire his promised pleasure as rapidly as possible and so, if Narcissus being naked would help to speed matters, he was content to allow the solicitation. Consequently, he subsequently commanded the older of the two young prostitutes to "Strip for the Citizen, boy!"

Narcissus stood up to comply and removed both his tunic and thong to reveal his naked body to the aged porter. The boy was subsequently rewarded for obediently stripping naked by a comment from the man of "Hmmm, he has a lovely body!"

The aged porter also reached out to fondle Narcissus' current flaccid genitals with one hand and to stroke his bottom gently with the other. In response, the boy not only felt obliged to remain standing whilst the old man enjoyed this pleasure but also did not stay without an erection for long.

The aged porter's manhandling ensured the revival of Narcissus' cock to full hardness and might even have resulted in further ejaculation if the blond slave not become impatient and intervened. "I'm afraid that we haven't much time, Citizen," the German commented before asking in request "and so can the boy pleasure you without further ado?"

"Of course he can," the aged porter replied, whilst now displaying a broad smirk on his crinkled face and extricating his hands from the young prostitute's private parts to use them instead to raise his rather grubby tunic and shed his similarly squalid loincloth underwear. Narcissus simultaneously sank to his knees again to await the unveiling of the object that he was now to pleasure orally.

Narcissus did not welcome eventual sight of the object concerned because the aged porter's revealed cock appeared as crinkled as his face and as grubby as his clothing, with the same sort of unpleasant smell too. However, the penis could not be considered to be withered because, despite the obvious imperfections, the shaft was already proudly erect, presumably in excitement at seeing the boy naked and fondling his privates, as well as at the imminent prospect of a good oral servicing.

Fortunately, Narcissus had serviced worse cocks in his time as a boy prostitute and was accustomed to such a distasteful chore as performing fellatio on the aged porter. Consequently, the boy soon obediently leaned his head forward to lick and suck the old man's penis with his usual expertise.

Narcissus was quickly rewarded, and the aged porter was rapidly proved correct in his forecast that he would ejaculate speedily in reaction to such oral attention, by the production of semen for the boy to swallow. For an old man, the amount of spurted sperm was actually considerable but the proficient young prostitute did not spill a drop.

In response to being so pleasured, the aged porter subsequently tapped the top of Narcissus' head gently and said "Thank you, boy, as that was very good!" Such gratitude and praise were a change for the young prostitute because he rarely encountered similar appreciation and compliments when servicing clients in the 'House of Ganymede'.

Consequently, as Narcissus stood again and swiftly redressed, he felt a tinge of happiness at being of service to the aged porter and some satisfaction at having completed his unpleasant chore well. The boy then rejoined Marius and the blond German slave and all three finally left the tenement to return to the 'House of Ganymede'.

Because Marius was barely able to walk, given the maintained agonised stress to his bottom resulting from a certain Senator's recent act of sodomy, both the blond German slave and Narcissus were forced to hold one of the boy's arms apiece to help him. As a result, subsequent progress back to the 'House of Ganymede' was much slower than when they had travelled in the opposite direction.

As Marius walked with his companions back to the boy brothel, which was currently both his home and workplace, his young mind was only focused on the enduring pain in his backside. However, this mental condition did have a fortunate side. The situation encouraged him temporarily to forget the grievous danger that he had been in when with the Senator and made him barely aware of the return of ribald comments and insults from passers-by.

Such comments and insults were often now accompanied by much amused laughter at the state of Marius' apparently monstrous kohl-lined face.

Chapter LVIII

Marius' subsequent remarkable and rapid recuperation was such that amazingly Felicia allowed herself the lucrative luxury of selling the boy's so-called virginity twice more over the next week to rich clients whom she knew enjoyed such discerning pleasures. However, these customers, like the Senator, did so only as furtively as possible, which meant never frequenting the brothel and thereby never publicly revealing their tastes.

Marius was therefore forced to venture onto the streets of Rome again to supposedly be deflowered for the first time ever by two more clients. However, on these occasions, he was only accompanied by the burly blond German slave, as neither customer wanted him to dance. Narcissus' presence as a flautist was therefore not needed.

Nor, fortunately for Marius' dignity, did the clients require him to wear makeup, which made identification of him as a boy prostitute by passer-by thankfully very rare. Only anyone who somehow knew the escorting blond German slave's role in life would make the connection.

Apart from the fact that neither of Marius' next clients liked makeup on the boys from whom they gained their sexual pleasures, there was also a practical consideration for the lack of such bodily embellishment. Unlike with the Senator, the customers were to enjoy themselves with the so-called young virgin in their own homes whilst their families were elsewhere.

The arrival at the clients' homes of a boy, who was attired in a simple tunic and was without garish makeup, would appear unremarkable to anyone. The household slaves could also be relied upon to be very discreet if they did not want to incur the ire of their masters.

The first of Marius' next two clients was a rich member of the equestrian class, whose money mainly came from owning a factory that manufactured the fish sauce that Romans so adored and with which they therefore covered much of their food. The second was a wealthy foreign merchant from the East, who was an importer of spices and had lived in the Imperial capital for many years.

Both of these next clients were more than content, like Nicias, to enjoy the boy without much foreplay, apart from fondling him intimately and having him perform preliminary fellatio in return before finally sodomising him. However, the awkward gait with which a tearful Marius later returned to the 'House of Ganymede' indicated that the men's pleasures were still causing him anal distress.

Nevertheless, Marius thankfully did not need any more anal stitching. However, after servicing the foreign merchant, Felicia also judged that the further retailing of the boy's virginity would be inappropriate.

Felicia formed her judgement after again gently fingering and carefully examining Marius' sphincter and rectum. For this embarrassing intimate inspection, the boy was once more forced to bend over naked immediately in front of his mistress.

After concluding her examination, Felicia had declared to her husband, Fabius, "We'll never succeed in attempting to describe this brat as a virgin again. His hole's finally become noticeably more pliable and less tight. As a result, he'll probably soon begin to react differently to being sodomised, with pleasure replacing pain."

"Even if we teach him," Felicia continued, "to react as if he was experiencing pain rather than pleasure, I'm sure that any of our clients, who like deflowering young boys, will know the difference and that this particular one is no longer a virgin. We don't want to lose our reputation for honest high-class dealing, and so we'll just have to accept that that aspect of this brat's career is now finished and instead place him amongst the other ordinary whores."

"It's a pity," Felicia next commented, "because the fees we were earning for selling the brat's virginity were very lucrative." She could have added that the receipts were also enough to justify the price originally paid for Marius by Fabius. However, she had absolutely no intention of flattering her husband in any way.

"We should, though," Felicia went on to suggest, "still obtain reasonable fees from him for the immediate future. After all, our brothel's clients will know that he's only just been deflowered and so to many of them he'll be almost as good as a real virgin. He'll also be fresh territory for them to explore, at least until his ripeness fades."

Felicia subsequently turned to the attendant Narcissus and commanded him to take Marius, whom she of course called 'Cycnus', to the baths and prepare him for his next role, which he was to start immediately in order to earn back more of the original price paid for him. After the two boys then departed, Fabius asked his wife "What are you going to do about what the Major Domo told you?"

"You mean about discovering Cycnus masturbating Narcissus?" Felicia answered by asking her own question. In reaction to Fabius' positive nod, she added with a smirk "Nothing for the moment, as I believe that they should be punished together or, more pertinently, they should punish each other. However, the present time is not appropriate."

"What do you mean?" a puzzled Fabius next enquired. "I believe that first we should earn more fees from Cycnus before allowing his body to be damaged by punishment," Felicia replied.

"No," Fabius corrected, "I wasn't asking about the timing. I was instead wondering what you meant by suggesting that 'they should punish each other'."

"You'll see, husband!" Felicia mysteriously was only prepared to respond.

Chapter LIX

The restriction of Marius' availability to only a full night rate, as opposed to making him hireable at an hourly charge, existed because, having just lost his virginity, he was not yet considered ready to accommodate more than one client per day. The brothel took pride in presenting customers with lively boys, not ones whose performance could be adversely affected because their still relatively tight rectums reacted badly to a recent act of sodomy.

The substantial charge for a night with Marius was also advertised, which deterred many clients from making use of the chance to enjoy him. Although most of the brothel's customers were rich, many were also rather parsimonious and would forego the opportunity in favour of indulging when the price came down, which inevitably happened over time as a result of prolonged usage.

Anyone who did hire Marius for the night would not necessarily take him to bed for all of that time, either in the alcove or, more commonly for anyone motivated and rich enough to want to afford him, in one of the brothel's opulent guestrooms. For much of the period, the boy appreciated that he might just instead attend on the client, serving him with food and wine, or recline besides him on his dining couch, whilst the customer ate and fondled him until ready for private intimacy.

Time progressed and Marius had still not been hired by anyone. This situation had arisen despite the fact that the busiest part of the evening had descended on the 'House of Ganymede' and many patrons, passing his alcove on their way to the main entertainment area, ogled him with clear interest. Some customers also discussed with their companions, often obscenely, the boy's particularly delicious attributes and likely performance in bed, causing him to blush regularly.

During this period, Marius encountered a strange conflicting combination of emotions. He was ashamed at being publicly displayed to prostitute himself, whilst attired only in his minuscule thong and being intimately ogled and obscenely discussed. Contrarily, and despite the degradation of his role, he was also rather embarrassed that no client had yet chosen him, as if there were something wrong with him. He additionally again experienced some perverse excitement, particularly in his groin, which was causing his sole tiny garment to balloon once more, presumably at the prospect of imminently indulging in more sexual activity.

In further contrast, Marius felt some mounting relief that he might escape the whole of the night without a client. After all, such a customer would surely only mainly bring him further humiliation and hurt.

This mounting relief was shattered when finally a middle- aged and very ugly client did hire Marius for the night and the boy was not looking forward to the experience because the customer was even fatter than Scyrax. The patron's bulk was such that his torso was virtually spherical. The man's size also caused him to sweat a lot, which made his odour very unpleasant.

The fat client additionally proved to possess a rather effeminate voice and bearing. "Oh, look, darling," he had said to a handsome young man in his company, whilst referring to Marius, "isn't he particularly pretty and I see that he's a newcomer who's only been fucked once, so he'll be nice and fresh."

"Hmmm, he's a bit expensive," the fat client went on to comment, whilst reading the wax tablet, "but I'm due a treat." The obese customer subsequently gestured to one of the adult slaves assigned to supervise the hiring of the young boy prostitutes and told him "I'll have this one, dear, plus a proper bedroom to enjoy him in. I refuse to experience my pleasures in these silly alcoves."

"First, though," the fat client continued, "the boy can attend me at table because I'm famished and my tummy's rumbling. I want my dinner!"

Without further ado, the fat client waddled off in the direction of the entertainment area along with the young man in his company, leaving the now worried and still motionless Marius behind. Meanwhile, the adult slave made a note of the agreed transaction on his own wax tablet, for later addition to the obese customer's ultimate bill. He subsequently removed a little round leather tag, which was embossed with the number XII and had been hanging with others from hooks on the nearby wall, and told the boy "When the patron's ready, take him to guestroom 12."

The adult slave then placed the tag in a little bag attached to the belt of his tunic. The removal of the one embossed with the number XII from the hooks on the wall would ensure that no one else would attempt to use or disturb the activities in that particular guestroom overnight.

"Now, off with you," the adult slave finally commanded of Marius, "and attend the patron at his dining table as he's requested. Also, remember to be a good boy to him in every way. He's one of our richest clients and is never parsimonious when spending his money here. The Master and Mistress would be deeply unhappy if you displeased him, and you know what that would mean!"

Marius again instinctively clenched his bumcheeks, being indeed fully aware of 'what that would mean', namely a beating, with his bottom probably being a primary target. However, the boy also compliantly scampered off after the fat client in order to attend him at table.

Marius eventually arrived at the perimeter of the entertainment area, where the currently busy and crowded couches and associated low tables of the patrons surrounded the open space where Marius had recently danced before having the privilege of depriving him of his virginity auctioned. However, the brothel's retinue of skilful scantily-clad boy acrobats was currently performing there, to the usual essential disinterest of the clientele.

Marius successfully sought out the fat client's large couch, big enough for two, and table, both of which he was sharing with the young man in his company, and stood before the reclining pair. The boy knew better than to talk without permission, having instead been taught that, in such circumstances, he was simply to await instructions, which were soon forthcoming.

A dinner of several courses had already been presented on the table for the fat client and his guest. For such an important customer, service from the brothel's kitchen was always very quick.

Marius was instructed to pass to the fat client and his guest regular titbits from the varied and plentiful fare on offer, plus copious goblets of wine to swill the food down. The boy was also required to hold napkins for whenever they wished to use them.

The fat client proved, like his guest, not to be a gluttonous eater in terms of the rapidity at which he consumed the fare, which surprised Marius. The obese customer instead only liked to accept his food in little morsels. However, he continued to do so long after the young man in his company had finished, proving that his petite manner was no barrier to devouring ultimately a considerable amount.

Meanwhile, as the dinner progressed, the entertainment changed from acrobats to erotic dancers and subsequently to two naked 14 year-old boys making love to each other on a raised dais temporarily set-up for the purpose. This latter performance proved much more popular amongst the clientele than the preceding ones, especially when two acts of sodomy were successfully completed, followed by two of fellatio. The young prostitutes subsequently bowed and ran from the platform, with some sperm dribbling down both of their chins and inside legs, which was visible evidence that the show had not been pretence.

Another pretty but currently rather frightened-looking boy, attired only in the brothel's common black thong, next appeared on the dais in the company of Fabius. This young prostitute was a couple of years younger than the previous pair.

"Young Creon here has been naughty," Fabius subsequently announced, without bothering to reveal the boy's supposed crime, "and is to be punished. The privilege is, of course, to be auctioned as usual. Will anyone care to proffer the first bid?"

Many adult hands immediately sprung into the air and hectic bidding for the privilege of punishing the poor boy was soon underway. The popularity of such an honour was also quickly proved by the very substantial amount that eventually won the auction.

"And how, Sir," Fabius then asked of the winner of the auction, "would you like to punish the boy, namely here in public or in private and by what method?" "I'm happy to chastise him in full view of my friends," the relevant client answered, whilst standing up from his couch to cheering from many other customers, who were very pleased with his kind consideration.

"I'm also just happy to keep things simple," added the man, who was in his mid-30s and was advancing speedily towards the dais, "and so I'll just flog the brat with the belt of my tunic!" His chosen method of punishment brought some fresh cheering.

Fabius, however, intervened by saying "There's no need to remove your belt, Sir, as I'm sure that we can find a spare one with which to flog the boy." He subsequently signalled to an adult slave, who quickly produced the necessary implement.

Not long afterwards, after the boy had been instructed to stand with his back towards his flagellator's friends, with his hands on his head, the sound of a belt hitting young flesh harshly resounded around the brothel, accompanied by shrieks and whimpering from the young prostitute. Marius found the whole scenario weird because, whilst the poor 12 year-old was being flogged, probably only for committing a very minor misdemeanour, many of the happy watchers continued their dining and conversations.

Marius also wondered how long might pass before he too was the subject of such painful entertainment. The boy was naturally grateful that the Major Domo had apparently not informed on him and Narcissus in respect of the masturbation incident, presumably in return for secretly finally having his way with the older boy.

Otherwise, Marius believed that he and Narcissus would surely by now have earned verbal chastisement from Fabius and Felicia, as well as physical punishment. However, the boy also thought that, given the seemingly minor incidents for which young prostitutes were often unfairly severely disciplined, he was unlikely to avoid such correction for the entirety of his time in the 'House of Ganymede'.

Marius' assessment was, of course and unfortunately for him, to prove to be entirely correct.

Chapter LX

Such retreat was possibly also motivated by a desire to be out of reach of the cruel client's belt as much as by the force of the blows, albeit probably only subliminally because, of course, the movement proved ultimately useless and only increased his anguish. The still-attendant Fabius invariably grabbed the boy's hair harshly and equally vehemently pulled him rearwards, back into the sadistic customer's range, with the brothel-keeper's action increasing the young penitent's humiliation and hurt.

As common within the 'House of Ganymede', punishment did not necessarily have to fit the crime and in this case no client actually knew what the poor boy's supposed misdemeanour was because Fabius had not disclosed the fact. As was normal, such information was immaterial.

The brothel's owners had simply decided that the young prostitute deserved physical chastisement and that was enough. As the sadistic customer had bought the privilege of inflicting such correction at considerable cost, he could do so as much as he wanted and in any way. The only parameters were the usual rules about recuperation periods, which if extended beyond a week would cause him extra expense, and permanent damage.

After much personal exertion, the cruel client eventually decided to cease flogging the boy's rear, having created many broad red stripes, some of which were already darkening in hue, on the sobbing young prostitute's back, bottom and legs. The delighted sadistic customer next invited the naked 12 year-old to turn around.

From the look of shocked horror on the boy's face, caused by the cruel client's next statement, Marius correctly judged that the young prostitute had assumed that his ordeal was finally over. However, the smirking sadistic customer instead announced, to cheering from many of the watching patrons, "I'll now flog your front, brat!"

"You'll be flogged too, boy," Marius then heard his own client for the night declare, in his rather effeminate voice, "if you don't pass me another goblet of wine!" The young prostitute had been dangerously distracted from his duties by the so-called entertainment being perpetrated on the dais. However, his fear of also being subjected to punishment because of his neglect was not the main reason why he now concentrated on his tasks for the obese customer and did not return his gaze to events on the platform.

Marius instead could simply no longer bear the sight of the poor boy being flogged even more, this time on the front of his naked body. However, there was nothing that he could do about his ears being assailed by further sounds of leather striking vulnerable young flesh and the 12 year-old victim's continued loud sobbing, interspersed by the occasional shriek when he was again hit.

Marius also heard many other sounds and, glancing around, he could easily espy the sources. Not all of the eyes of others were focused on the poor child being literally belted. The 'House of Ganymede' was by now very busy and crowded.

Marius noticed that a lot of the clients reclining on their couches were ignoring the action on the dais in favour of concentrating on dining, indulging in conversation with their friends or neighbours or fondling boy servers or hired young prostitutes. He additionally saw in the distance that many of the alcoves at the sides of the hallway leading up to the entertainment area had their curtains closed, indicating that intimate activities were taking place within.

These now curtained alcoves even included the one that Marius had vacated because his fat client was prepared to pay extra to enjoy him in a large and more opulent and private guestroom overnight. Another boy had presumably been quickly allocated to the facility. Fabius and Felicia were obviously brothel-keepers who did not like waste in the pursuit of maximum profits.

The sound of leather striking vulnerable young flesh, and the associated occasional shrieks, eventually ceased, and that of sobbing finally became quieter and quieter until ending altogether after the poor well-beaten boy was taken away to begin his lengthy recuperation from his comprehensive flogging. Meanwhile, the thoroughly satisfied flagellator returned to his couch to receive congratulations for a good show from his friends, whilst the dais was removed and young acrobats again appeared to provide the entertainment.

As was common with the acrobats, most clients averted their eyes from the show to concentrate on their meals, conversations or boys. Felicia, who was as usual keeping watch on proceedings and had again observed the customers' disappointing reaction, once more suggested to her husband that they needed to make the acts more interesting for the patrons and they started to discuss how they might achieve such an aim.

Marius did not hear this discussion, which would eventually transform his life.

Chapter LXI

Marius had wondered what was the relationship between the pair, as their previous conversation, overheard by the boy, had been banal and had revealed nothing of note. He pondered whether they might be lovers like Scyrax and Maccius, with the younger man actually involved not out of affection but because of self-interest.

After all, the fat client was obviously very rich and Marius could not envisage the young man actually truly loving such an obese, ugly, smelly and effeminate person. The boy therefore concluded that the guest must have entered the relationship purely for financial reasons.

As Marius reluctantly led the way to guestroom number XII, he also now began to wonder whether both the fat client and the young man were intending to enjoy him overnight. The implication behind the obese customer's invite and his guest's acceptance suggested that this would be the case.

Such had been Marius' subliminal indoctrination into life in the 'House of Ganymede' that he did not now initially even consider the implication of this development for himself, namely that for the first time he would be required to service a twosome. In a reaction that would have pleased Fabius and Felicia, the boy instead contemplated whether he was duty-bound to report the situation later to the adult slave, who was keeping the details of the fat client's bill, so that the final account could be surcharged.

Guestroom XII proved to be one of the biggest and most opulent in the 'House of Ganymede', being deemed the most appropriate for such an importantly rich customer as the fat client. The facility was dominated by a huge bed, whilst obscene frescoes decorated not only the walls but also the ceiling. Appropriately, the paintings depicted beautiful boys being debauched by men endowed with huge phalluses and by similarly well-equipped mythical monsters.

"You can help me to disrobe, boy," the fat client advised Marius on arrival in the guestroom, "as I don't believe that young Gaius here will need any assistance." The obese customer's assertion soon proved correct because the young man speedily shed his tunic, loincloth underwear and sandals to lie naked on the bed. This development naturally confirmed to the boy that he was now to be of sexual service overnight to a twosome and the worrying implications of this scenario finally began to dawn in his mind.

Marius began to worry about what the pair would require of him. The boy had only ever been with his previous four clients for relatively short periods. Each had just sodomised him once, although the latter three had forced him to ready their cocks for the act through oral ministrations not leading to climax. He had also been given a few days after each assignment to recover.

Currently, however, Marius was assigned to the fat client and now young Gaius too for the whole night and they might want multiple pleasures. The prospects of being sodomised more than once and performing fellatio to climax for the first time seriously worried the boy.

Marius knew that his sphincter and rectum, although looser than before, remained relatively tight and so sodomy was still likely to hurt a lot. The boy worried that such pain, if maintained afterwards as had happened previously, might adversely affect his later performance, which might lead to a complaint about him and punishment.

Similarly, never actually having performed fellatio before to ultimate climax, Marius worried about his ability to do the deed without gagging or without successfully swallowing the ejaculate, which might also lead to a complaint about him and punishment. Whilst the boy helped the fat client to disrobe as commanded, his concerns were compounded by the horrible stench emitted from the obese customer's blubbery rotund body.

Marius wondered how he could possibly overcome his revulsion to service such a gross man to the fat client's satisfaction.

Chapter LXII

"Was everything to your satisfaction, Sir?" asked the adult slave, who had been keeping details of the fat client's bill. Marius, who was again walking awkwardly, although not as badly as after servicing his previous four clients, and had escorted the obese customer and Gaius back to the brothel's hallway, took a deep breath as he awaited the answer. The boy was worried that the reply might be a punishable "No!"

Fortunately, the fat client responded, whilst smiling contentedly and looking at Marius, who had returned to wearing his minuscule black thong, "Yes, everything was fine. Now, do you want me to pay extra for allowing my darling Gaius to share my pleasures?"

Marius was very happy to hear this latter query, as the question eradicated a predicament. The boy had been unsure whether he should advise the adult slave of Gaius' participation in the overnight proceedings in case a surcharge was applicable. He might be punished if so informing was considered inappropriate for and impertinent towards such an important patron. Conversely, he might be similarly chastised if the opposite was the correct action but he failed to say anything, thereby depriving his owners of some income.

The adult slave smiled and answered "No, Sir, there's no extra charge for such a respected patron as you!" "Thank you, then," the fat client replied, whilst extracting from a purse attached to his belt the necessary payment in gold coins required to settle his very large bill and handing them over to the servant.

Having settled the bill, the fat client subsequently handed the adult slave another coin as a tip. "Thank you, again," the obese customer then said before waddling out of the brothel, accompanied by Gaius.

As Marius watched the pair depart, he realised that he had never discovered the fat client's name, nor had the patron found the same about the boy. The young prostitute recalled the close intimacies of the night before, as well as those with his previous two external customers, whose own appellations he had not known, and wondered whether most future similar liaisons would be as anonymous.

Marius' dilemma about whether he should have advised the adult slave about Gaius' participation in the overnight proceedings in guestroom XII, if the fat client had not done so, was also not really solved. The boy was still unsure whether a surcharge should have been applicable, as the servant might just have waived the cost in respect of a patron with whom he had considerable dealings in the past in return for the anticipated tip, which might actually have been a bribe.

Marius' consideration of his earlier predicament was subsequently interrupted when the adult slave asked "What are you waiting for? Go eat and sleep because I want you back here, rested and freshly groomed, by mid-afternoon. I'll then be allocating you alcove number VIII!"

Marius' hope that his sore rectum and throat might be given longer to recover from the hectic overnight sexual activities, in which he had been the star performer, were shattered by the adult slave's command. However, he nevertheless obeyed without demur, realising that he appeared finally to be a true boy prostitute, most of whose waking hours in future would be spent servicing clients or at least waiting to do so.

Marius' only consolation, as he walked away from the adult slave, was the fact that his gait was rapidly reducing in awkwardness, as the pain in his backside similarly speedily receded. This development served both as confirmation that he was swiftly becoming accustomed to being the subject of sodomy and as hopeful reassurance that he should be repaired enough to perform his next shift satisfactorily.

Chapter LXIII

"Your hole's a little sore," Felicia added to confirm Marius' earlier conviction, "but only enough to give you some further anguish when you're fucked again, which many clients anyway like to see in new boys. The damage is insufficient for you not to do your duties regularly and well, which means that you truly are now one of the ordinary whores, capable of servicing our clientele in numbers daily!"

"Right, put your thong on, Cycnus" Felicia subsequently commanded. After Marius had obediently complied, the boy was then sent on his way to alcove VIII when his mistress turned him round, slapped his cute bare bottom and ordered "Off you go to earn more of your keep!"

Not long afterwards, Marius was again on display outside an alcove, this one numbered VIII. On this occasion, the clay tablet fixed to the wall next to him advertised him as 'Cycnus, 11 years old, fresh, available at hourly rate'. The relevant charge was still expensive compared with that for many of the other young prostitutes because, despite clearly no longer being a virgin, the boy was still new to the brothel and therefore a novelty for most clients.

Because of Marius' availability at an hourly rate, on this evening he did not have long to wait for the first of several clients to buy his services. All of them elected to enjoy him in the alcove and over many subsequent hours, the boy was involved in the usual sex acts with the customers, namely being kissed and intimately fondled, as well as the customary subjection to sodomy and performance of fellatio.

Felicia had been proved correct when she had stated that Marius would still experience anal anguish when being sodomised. However, having already been so abused by six clients previously, some more than once when he had been with them, his rectal discomfort was certainly lessening. This situation was evidenced by the fact that, on this evening, the boy managed not to shriek or sob, although sometimes a little dampness did develop in his lovely blue eyes as a result of both shame and pain.

Marius was also strangely grateful for his experience of the previous night with the fat client and his young friend, Gaius. The boy's time with them had afforded him valuable practice in respect of certain activities, which meant that he could now perform the deeds more competently and so avoid complaints and resultant punishments.

Over the course of the previous night, Gaius had sodomised Marius twice using the most common methods. First, the boy had leaned his back on a pillow, whilst holding his own legs in the air, and the young man had entered him from the front. Second, the juvenile prostitute had rested on the bed in a kneeling and bent over pose, whilst he was penetrated from the rear. However, because of the corpulent bulk of the older fat client, the 11 year-old had been compelled to do all of the relevant necessary work for the obese customer, which proved useful experience on this next evening when another patron required the same technique.

The now naked Marius had first been forced to crouch astride and facing the fat client with his tender young sphincter hovering over the obese customer's rather short and stubby hairy cock. Such an achievement was difficult because of the man's wide girth.

Marius had subsequently slowly lowered himself onto the cock, which he had earlier orally brought to full erection, despite his acute literal distaste for the chore because of the hirsute and odorous environment inhabited by the fat client's genitalia. The eventual entry of the penis into the boy had been painful, especially because of the width of the shaft. However, the lack of height made final full penetration less galling.

Marius had then essentially sodomised himself by raising himself up from and lowering himself back down onto the fat client's erection. The boy originally did so very gingerly but later, after he had become more accustomed to and less pained by the invader, more agilely and with increasing momentum until he could feel the man's ejaculate spurt into his insides.

Thankfully for Marius, the fat client was content, unlike his sexually hungrier younger friend, with just this solitary act of sodomy, plus one of full fellatio, which over the course of the night was an art that the boy also learnt to perform successfully but only after an initial mishap. His first-ever productive licking and sucking of a penile shaft had caused him to choke back out of his throat much of what had just been deposited there by Gaius.

Fortunately for Marius, Gaius proved considerate rather than angry at this result. "Haven't you done this before, boy," the post-orgasmic young man quietly and perceptively asked at the sight of him coughing sperm out of his mouth back onto the donator's belly.

"I…have…Sir," Marius answered stutteringly, whilst still spilling semen and fearing punishment for his incompetence, " but…. only…. to…. create…. an…. erection…. in…. readiness…. for…. other…. pleasures!" However, in reaction, instead of the threat or actuality of painful physical chastisement, Gaius subsequently simply gently patted the boy's neatly trimmed golden shock of hair and commented to his older fat friend, who was lying next to him naked on the bed, "He's truly fresh, darling!"

"None of Felicia's whores would be so incompetent," the fat client added in contribution, "if they weren't so new and innocent. I do like enjoying the boys when they're so fresh!" The obese customer subsequently also patted the boy's hair, just as the young prostitute puked up the last instalment of cum back onto Gaius' stomach.

To Marius, the patting of his hair appeared to be an act of forgiveness, which the gesture later proved to be. Consequently, the boy actually gratefully then put greater devotion into his sexual activities with both the fat client and his younger friend, giving the pair immense competent pleasure in the process, which helped to ensure no subsequent punishable complaints.

Marius' mind also noted the reference to Felicia in the fat client's last remark. The absence of any mention of Fabius confirmed in the boy's mind where the real power in the 'House of Ganymede' lay.

The sequence of the overnight sexual activities comprised self-sodomy by Marius on the fat client's erection, followed by Gaius productively enjoying the boy's anus and mouth twice. These were intermingled by much manual and oral foreplay on the part of the trio, plus some conversation between the two patrons and sleep. The obese customer, whose libido was clearly not as strong as that of his young friend, finally enjoyed his second orgasm through successful fellatio just before dawn. During these latter processes, no more sperm was puked from Marius' now competent lips.

After the next night shift, Marius again ate in the morning before retiring to bed. By now, the boy already knew that he had again been allocated alcove number VIII for the next evening.

Marius subsequently encountered the usual mix of emotions when he was once more displayed on the next evening outside alcove number VIII. However, all of these were quickly overwhelmed by dread when his first client of the night approached.

"Hello, Marius," the smirking youth concerned greeted the boy. "I've bought your services for an hour," he added, "but I assure you, after I later complain about your competence, I'll be enjoying you for much longer!"

Marius was currently staring in horror at Maccius.

Chapter LXIV

"I'll, of course, now fuck you as aggressively and therefore as agonisingly for you as I can and you can subsequently suck me off," Maccius added, "before I complain to Felicia about your surly ineptitude. I'll then demand the right to punish you myself because, as you know from previous sad experience, dear Marius, I simply love hurting beautiful young boys, especially you!"

The horrified Marius would naturally have loved to thwart Maccius' announced amoral ambitions towards him. However, as both he and the evil youth well knew, or otherwise the latter would not have disclosed his nefarious intentions in advance, there was nothing that the boy could do to prevent such wicked scheming from coming to fruition.

Marius could not abandon a client or protest that a complaint from a patron was false or he would probably incur even worse punishment than Maccius planned to inflict. After all, one of the primary maxims influencing the operations of the `House of Ganymede' was that the customer was always right, even if, as Felicia often said, he was actually wrong.

Consequently, Maccius' accusations of punishable surly ineptitude would undoubtedly be accepted as true, even if there were strong suspicions that they were false. The boy therefore simply had to accept his unfortunate immediate fate as stoically and bravely as possible.

"Now remove your thong, dear Marius," Maccius commanded, as he brought the boy to the alcove's waiting bunk and whilst he too began to undress. The young prostitute reluctantly complied to reveal the rather embarrassing sight of an unruly little cock, which was already erect.

"Hmmm, you're clearly excited at the prospect of what I'm about to do to you, dear Marius," Maccius commented in reaction to the sight of the pubescent erection and as he pulled his own tunic over his head. The evil smirking youth subsequently also uttered a further remark, of the sort that had occasionally been directed at the boy by others since his advent as a young prostitute in the `House of Ganymede'.

Whilst stepping out of his sandals and removing his loincloth underwear, Maccius suggested "You've really found your true vocation in life. I always thought that you were a little sluttish whore, dear Marius, and your undisciplined cock is proving me correct!"

As Maccius now stood naked before the similarly nude Marius, with the evil youth's penis as erect as that of the boy, albeit, of course, in greater dimensions, he reached out to reinforce his point by flicking the young prostitute's cockhead, which duly wobbled in reaction. The 11 year-old's face also blushed in shamed response.

Maccius subsequently lay face-up on the bunk, spread his legs and instructed Marius to kneel between them. The evil youth then ordered the boy to service his erection orally.

Marius had believed on several previous occasions that his life had reached a nadir that could not possibly be later matched, only for him to be proved incorrect when an even worse experience materialised. The boy now considered that servicing the wicked Maccius sexually and subsequently again being punished by the evil youth, having done nothing wrong, was yet another lowest point in his existence.

Marius abhorred the prospect of being used for Maccius' enjoyment in terms of both the evil youth's sexual and sadism tastes. The very idea of providing him with such pleasures seriously affronted, if not virtually destroyed, what little dignity and pride the boy had left.

Nevertheless, Marius reluctantly again obeyed Maccius' latest command and was soon kneeling as instructed to service the evil youth's cock with his rosy lips. He also performed the desperately unwanted chore with a competence that caused his wicked client, who was now gently stroking the boy's golden locks, to repeat his earlier comment of "You've really found your true vocation in life!" However, on this occasion, the remark was made in a tone of voice akin to a happy sigh, as the young prostitute continued to lick and suck an erection with highly pleasurable proficiency.

As the act of fellatio proceeded further, Maccius also asked, in a similar satisfied vocal tone, "How do you think that I should fuck you, dear Marius, to provide me with the greatest pleasure and you with the opposite?" However, the boy did not reply. Not only were his lips already fully occupied but also he realised that the evil youth's question was only rhetorical, uttered whilst he mulled over the answer in his own cruel mind.

In the end, after Marius had almost brought Maccius to orgasm through his oral attentions, the evil youth sodomised him when he was in a pose similar to that forcibly adopted when Nicias had deflowered him. This required the young prostitute to assume a sitting position, whilst his legs were in the air so that he could be penetrated from the front. As with the 11 year-old's first ever client, his latest liked to see the faces of the boys whom he was hopefully humiliating and hurting.

Maccius also proved that he liked to spit at the faces of such boys to add his own phlegm to the tears that he was helping to create. With Marius, he indulged in this nasty habit on virtually every occasion that he thrust his substantial erection into the young prostitute.

As promised, Maccius pursued his pleasure with as much aggression as he could muster. As the evil youth had hoped, this assault with an offensive weapon, namely his large erection, did indeed induce anguish in the boy, as was evidenced by the latter's pained groans and tearful sobbing.

As Maccius energetically continued his assault, he could not help but laugh at the boy's plight, as evidenced by these facial responses, and between thrusts and associated spitting comment "Perhaps….you've not….after all….really found….your true….vocation….in life….dear Marius!" The evil youth just managed to utter this remark before he embedded his erection deep inside the young prostitute and ejaculated copiously.

A still hurting and tearful Marius, now with his face also littered with phlegm, was subsequently instructed to clean Maccius' softening cock orally and to continue to provide such attention until the evil youth eventually ejaculated down his throat too.

Chapter LXV

Maccius uttered this command whilst he used rope to tie Marius' spreadeagled limbs to the four posts of the bunk on which he had just sodomised, and been the recipient of fellatio from, the boy. The evil youth, as he knew that he would, had just been given permission by Felicia to punish the young prostitute for alleged surly ineptitude in bed.

Felicia had been suspicious of the allegations, as none of the previous clients of Marius, whom she knew as `Cycnus', had made any complaints about the young prostitute's sexual aptitude. She also fully appreciated that Maccius was a sadist who enjoyed hurting young boys. However, she had agreed for two reasons to the evil youth's demand to punish the 11 year-old.

First, Felicia was dutifully following the maxim that `the customer is always right'. Second, the nature of the damage to be inflicted by Maccius would not, the evil youth promised, be visible or long-lasting and the boy would be able to resume his duties as soon as he had finished with him.

Marius had overheard this promise but, as he was tied face- up to the bunk in the alcove, he remained unsure what form his imminent punishment at the wicked hands of Maccius would take. However, the boy's ignorance did not last long.

After completing his firm binding of the boy to the bunk, Maccius stood up and surveyed the, for him, very pleasant scene that he had created. The evil youth's cruel eyes feasted on the spreadeagled naked form of Marius, who was now helplessly at his mercy and was clearly very frightened.

Marius' crying had ceased but his face still showed signs of dried tears, as well as phlegm. On appraising this sight, Maccius happily looked forward to causing the boy soon to sob copiously once more.

Maccius' gaze next ventured down towards Marius' groin, where the boy's little penis was rather incongruously, given his predicament, still hard. The sight encouraged the evil youth to comment, whilst again flicking the young prostitute's cockhead, "Let's see if this is still erect after I've inflicted great pain on you, as such a phenomenon will provide us with a further insight into your character!"

"Now, you must be wondering, dear Marius," Maccius went on to suggest, "how I intend to inflict this great pain. Well, lovely boy, I'll be using this!"

To Marius' utter horror, Maccius subsequently withdrew from a tunic pocket a long, very sharp and shiny needle.

Chapter LXVI

As the evil youth's right hand brought the needle ever closer to Marius' left nipple, the boy began begging, in a quaking voice, "P...P...Please...d...d...don't...d...d...do this, M...M...Maccius!" However, such an entreaty was like wonderful music to the wicked 16 year-old.

"Oh, but doing this will give me pleasure, dear Marius," the smirking Maccius replied, as he sat next to the naked, spreadeagled and firmly bound boy on the bed, "and isn't that your job, providing enjoyment for clients like me?" The young prostitute's eyes subsequently widened in horror when the evil youth next introduced his needle to the 11 year- old's rosy left nipple by gently pressing, without penetration, the tip against the side.

"Now, don't be so cowardly, dear Marius," the evil youth added, "and accept your punishment bravely without too much screaming, which might disturb other customers, or I'll suggest to Felicia that you deserve a thrashing too." "B...b...but...c...c...can't you...j...j...just b...b...beat me...M...M...Maccius...i...i...instead of u...u...using the n...n...needle?" the petrified boy stammered in response.

"No, I can't, dear Marius," Maccius answered, "for two reasons. First, I promised Felicia that I wouldn't mark you. Second, I've already beaten you and now I want to hurt you in a different way!"

"I recommend that you be quiet now, dear Marius," Maccius also suggested, "because you must know that your speaking without permission is punishable. However, as I'm already going to hurt you a lot, I won't report your misdemeanour unless you continue." In reaction, the boy bit his trembling lip to try to prevent himself from disobeying, whilst his terrified eyes focused on the needle, which was still pressing gently but ominously against the side of his left nipple.

Having succeeded in restoring the boy to quietude, Maccius also now focused his own eyes on the needle. The evil youth additionally advised his distressed young victim "Now, dear Marius, I prose to push the tip right through your sweet rosy nipple. Afterwards, I'll do the same to the other one before turning my attention to your scrotum and the undersides of your finger- and toe- nails!"

Marius was, of course, not pleased to learn about Maccius' cruel intentions.

Chapter LXVII

Despite the fact that alcove number VIII, where Marius was being tortured behind closed curtains by Maccius, was a fair distance away, the boy's first scream could be heard above the sound of the flutes and lyres providing the musical accompaniment for the dancers. The next few shrieks, each at intervals of a few minutes, were similarly voluminous. However, no one took much notice because such noises were not uncommon in the 'House of Ganymede', where sadistic as well as ordinary pederastic tastes were catered for, much to the unhappiness of the young prostitutes.

The sound of screams did eventually die away though, which caused the man with whom Scyrax was conversing to ask "Do you think young Maccius has finished?" In answer, the fat merchant suggested, after consuming another grape, "Probably not, as it seems to me to be too soon. The lovely boy likes to prolong his pleasures as much as possible. I think that instead poor Marius is probably now in such a traumatised state that he's incapable of making much noise anymore."

The fact that Maccius did not reappear at Scryrax's couch for another half-hour subsequently seemed to confirm the fat merchant's assessment.

Chapter LXVIII

Maccius had pledged to leave Marius without noticeable markings resulting from his recent punishment, as well as in a condition to resume his prostitution duties immediately. However, the boy's failure to follow the evil youth quickly out of the alcove suggested to Felicia that his promise might not have been kept.

Felicia, of course, had no regard for Marius' welfare. She was only concerned with rapidly returning a valuable young source of income to profitable duty.

Felicia discovered Marius still lying naked on the bunk, to which he was, however, no longer tied. The release from bondage of the now quietly sobbing boy's limbs enabled one hand to cover his currently seriously agonised genitals and the other to do the same with one of his similarly distressed nipples. He had instinctively adopted this belated protective posture despite the pain also being experienced under his fingernails, which was matched by similar feelings affecting his toes.

"What did Maccius do to you, Cycnus?" Felicia asked of Marius, whilst attempting to assess the damage and, more importantly to her, the time that would be needed before the boy was capable of returning to work.

"N...N...Needle...M...M...Mistress," was all that the currently agonised young prostitute could manage to stutter in reply.

"Let me see, Cycnus," Felicia subsequently commanded, "so put your hands at your sides." Marius reluctantly and therefore slowly complied.

Felicia next closely examined Marius' nipples, genitals and finger- and toe- nails, which she knew from experience would be the favoured targets for Maccius' nefarious needle. She then could not help but smile in admiration, as she realised that the evil youth's promise about not leaving noticeable marks of his wicked work had been met.

The puncture holes inflicted by the needle to Marius' nipples and scrotum were barely discernible and Felicia might not have recognised their presence if some little droplets of drying blood had not given some of them away. Those under the boy's nails were naturally invisible.

Felicia also realised that Maccius' promise of leaving Marius in a state in which he could resume his duties speedily should also be met as long as the evil youth had not perpetrated a certain act. She therefore asked next of the boy "Did he puncture your balls, Cycnus?"

Felicia appreciated that such torture might necessitate considerable time for recovery. However, Marius stuttered in answer "N...N...No...M...M...Mistress."

Maccius had, in fact, punctured Marius' scrotum in several places but had deliberately carefully avoided doing the same to the young balls within in order to comply with his promise to Felicia. The evil youth would, of course, have preferred to harm the boy's testicles but he did not want to lose any credit with the brothel's proprietors.

Maccius therefore just contented himself with threatening Marius' balls with puncturing by the needle. On several occasions, the greatly horrified and pained boy had felt the sharp tip press intimidatingly against a testicle but the evil youth had thankfully subsequently never carried through with his apparent cruel intent.

As a result of Marius' latest answer, Felicia recognised that Maccius had indeed kept his second promise. The boy should be quite capable of swiftly returning to work, with his current distress probably more due to the shock caused by recent events rather than residual excruciation.

Felicia, who did not like malingerers amongst her boy prostitutes, only productive young whores, therefore subsequently instructed Marius to "Stop sniggering and being such a baby, Cycnus, because, if your balls weren't hurt, there's nothing really wrong with you now. So, stand up, wipe the bloodspots off you and resume your duties, or I'll fetch a needle myself and do what Maccius didn't!"

Despite his mental trauma, Felicia's admonishment and threat were sufficient to encourage Marius to obey in, given the circumstances, a remarkably quick manner. The boy was soon standing outside the alcove, whose curtains were now open, awaiting his next client, or rather clients because he now encountered another twosome whilst the anguish felt by his nipples, genitals, fingers and toes gradually receded.

Marius' sole experience of catering for a twosome previously had not involved servicing both clients at the same time. Both a certain obese customer and his younger friend, Gaius, had taken their pleasures separately. However, the latest duo was different.

Marius soon found himself kneeling on all fours on the bunk in the alcove, with one manly cock in his mouth and another thrusting in and out of his rectum. Some tears also returned to the boy's sensuous eyes but not because of pain.

Marius currently felt little physical anguish from now performing fellatio and being sodomised, which was evidence that the manly cocks being serviced were not particularly big and that his orifices were anyway becoming more accustomed to the duties. In fact, a more influential present sensation was the liking his prostate was beginning to feel at being frequently tickled by an erection, which caused his own penis to throb.

The man sodomising him also started to rub Marius' own penis, which rapidly caused another pulsing orgasmic darkness again to descend on his young mind as he climaxed once more. The boy's tears began to form shortly after he had recovered from this orgasm.

The tears had resulted not from pain but from shame, as Marius recognised that he now not only had become a really professional boy prostitute but also was perversely finally truly beginning to enjoy the role.

Chapter LXIX

Consequently, Felicia deemed that the time was right to allow Marius' body to be damaged by having him and Narcissus punished for the sex act espied by the Major Domo, about whose revelation to her in respect of the issue the boys were still ignorant. The older, though, did wonder why the senior adult slave had not yet taken up his offer of sexual services in return for maintained silence.

The boys' ignorance was ended when they were summoned one day to see Felicia and she told them about the Major Domo's revelation. The shock felt by Marius and Narcissus was compounded by the delay of over two months before their mistress had decided to do something about the matter. The two young prostitutes had innocently and incorrectly thought that the incident had been forgiven and probably forgotten by the senior adult slave.

"You must remember, boys," Felicia had told Marius and Narcissus in admonishment, "that your bodies are not yours. They belong to Fabius and me, and to the clients for the periods for which they hire you. You have no right to play with your genitals either solitarily or mutually without permission and this is a fact that I must ensure you'll never forget for as long as you're privileged to be here."

"You'll therefore be publicly punished tonight to ensure that the lesson's learnt, boys," Felicia announced to the horror of both Marius and Narcissus, "and the man who'll supervise the chastisement has already been identified. The honour will not be auctioned because he likes my idea for the appropriate penance and has agreed to pay a fee acceptable to me for the privilege."

"You see, boys," Felicia worryingly added, "the man concerned has a rather discerning and refined streak of cruelty in his character!"

Chapter LXX

Marius and Narcissus were attired in just the normal minuscule black thongs, with the latter boy unusually not sporting makeup. Fabius and Felicia clearly did not want the imminent entertainment spoilt through a young face made to look ridiculous by tears causing the kohl rimming eyes to run.

The lack of makeup also enabled the genuine fear and anguish in the eyes of both Marius and Narcissus to be more noticeable, which the majority of brothel patrons liked to see. Facial expressions of immense trepidation and excruciation on boys were what the many sadists amongst the clientele most enjoyed.

Despite his dread, Marius noticed in horror that Maccius was again present, sharing as normal a large couch with Scyrax. The boy immediately wondered whether the evil youth would be the client who would soon be punishing him and Narcissus.

Maccius certainly fitted Felicia's brief portrait of the relevant client, not least when the evil youth had tortured Marius with a needle. She had described today's privileged customer as possessing "a rather discerning and refined streak of cruelty in his character!"

Maccius would certainly have thoroughly enjoyed receiving the honour of supervising the chastisement of Marius and Narcissus. However, the evil youth had not been afforded the opportunity to do so. Felicia had instead chosen an old crony of hers, who was a regular client and good payer. She liked to reward such customers with the occasional treat that did not go to auction and she had known that he would like her idea for punishing this particular pair of boys, as well as paying reasonably well for the privilege.

Marius was relieved when, after announcing to client cheering that the two scared boys now on the dais were to be physically punished, Fabius invited the customer concerned to advance to the platform to supervise the deed. The boy's assuagement was felt despite the fact that the brothel-owner had on this occasion actually announced the crime for which the two young prostitutes had been accused and condemned.

The announcement caused much loud ribald hilarity amongst the clientele, as well as the faces of Marius and Narcissus to blush vividly in embarrassment. The pervading amusement also helped to quell any disappointment amongst the customers relating to the fact that the right to supervise the imminent punishment was not to be auctioned. This situation was additionally assisted by the disclosure of who would do the deed because the man concerned was popular amongst his peers, not least because of his renowned hospitality in paying the brothel bills of the many sycophants who sought his company.

Marius' relief stemmed from the fact that the client chosen to punish him and Narcissus looked rather old and fragile, someone who was now physically incapable of wielding the likes of a cane or whip too harshly. The boy therefore began to hope that the imminent penance might not be too painful, which was an observation shared by his co-penitent.

The old man, whose hair was silvery white, could only walk slowly to the dais, which appeared to confirm to Marius that he might be incapable of beating him harshly. However, conversely, the boy did notice, as he came gradually closer, that the client did have the same sort of wicked look in his eyes as was often borne by the evil Maccius.

The old man eventually climbed gingerly onto the dais and Fabius gracefully stepped aside to allow the client literally to take centre stage. The aged customer subsequently proved that he had much more strength in his voice than was apparently possessed by his frail frame.

"Ah, young Narcissus, it's truly sad that it befalls me to punish you," the old man initially smirkingly commented loudly so that the intrigued watching clientele could overhear, and whilst glancing at the unhappy boy concerned, "because we've had so many joyous times together over recent years!" The aged customer's remark, uttered with clear sarcasm in the highly cultured accent of the Roman patrician class, was met with further knowing laughter emerging from the many observers of the scene.

Marius also immediately realised what the old man meant by the phrase 'many joyous times together over recent years' in relation to a boy prostitute of long standing in the 'House of Ganymede'. Most of the brothel's patrons would undoubtedly have enjoyed the highly attractive Narcissus at some time or other.

Marius additionally correctly judged that the old man did not really consider supervising Narcissus' imminent punishment to be sad. The aged customer was instead clearly relishing the opportunity.

The old man subsequently turned towards Marius, whilst still displaying his smirk. "I believe that your name is Cycnus," the aged customer then advised, "but I don't think we've met before. Alas, my body is wearing rapidly and no longer needs as much sexual enjoyment as it once did. Nor is it very capable these days of garnering such pleasure for otherwise I'm sure that I'd have spent a lot of time by now with such a pretty boy as you!" More knowing laughter emerged from the spectators in reaction to these latest remarks but it was of a softer and more sympathetic tone than previously.

"Now, naughty boys," the old man next ordered, as his brief opening comments ended, "enough of idle chat because we don't want to keep the watching clientele waiting too long for action. Instead, remove those thongs of yours. I want you both completely naked for your imminent punishment."

On hearing this order, the watching Maccius suggested to Scyrax "I bet Marius reveals an erection when he removes his thong. The little whore's cock definitely likes the prospect and actuality of pain. The brat's penis remained rock-hard throughout my torturing of him with a needle, including when I pierced his scrotum."

"I told the brat earlier," Maccius informed Scyrax, "that his cock's reaction to his torture would give us both an insight into his inherent character. Well, when I eventually left him, untied but still sobbing, his penis was still hard. I therefore told him that he was a sluttish masochist who deserved a Master who would inflict extreme pain on him regularly, someone like me in fact!"

"But you'd eventually kill him, dearest," Scyrax commented, "and that would be a waste of such a pretty boy, whom Felicia tells me has become a very competent whore." "Yes, I probably would finally cause the slut's death," Maccius admitted nonchalantly in reply, "but with such a masochist I'm sure that we'd both have such a lovely time reaching that denouement that I'm sure we'd both consider the exercise worthwhile!"

"I don't believe Marius would agree, dearest," Scyrax responded, "regardless of his cock's reaction to pain. Such a phenomenon is, after all, not unusual. You know that many of the boys of my household, whom I'm compelled to beat in order to ensure discipline, become hard in the process, with some even ejaculating and so earning extra punishment for their perversion. Crucified criminals and escaped slaves also generally become erect and often cum whilst nailed to the cross!"

"But young Marius is such an exceptionally delightful specimen of boyhood," the wicked Maccius announced, "which is something that I'd take great pleasure in destroying. Perhaps, when the brat's finally served his purpose here, you might buy him back cheaply from Fabius and Felicia for me so that I can do just that. You know that I'd be very very very grateful to you if you did that!" The evil youth revealed what he meant by his last comment when he adjusted his position on the couch in order to kiss Scyrax unashamedly in a comprehensive and lingering manner.

For his own mental state when next considering his future, Marius was fortunate that he could not overhear Scyrax's eventual positive reply to Maccius' suggestion. The boy was instead simultaneously concentrating his mind on the present and lowering and stepping out of his thong.

The shamed Marius subsequently proved Maccius' penile conjecture to be correct when he subsequently revealed a little cock that was apparently standing proudly erect and masochistically looking forward to his imminent humiliating and painful public punishment.

Chapter LXXI

Marius' bare bottom was covered in striped bruises of various darkening hues after his curvaceous buttocks had been the recent recipients of a harsh, accurate and comprehensive beating. The boy was not consoled by the fact that the person who had delivered the flogging with a hard leather crop was similarly suffering next to him.

The old man had not beaten Marius and Narcissus himself because the boys had actually proved correct in their assumption that he was no longer physically capably of flogging them severely. The aged customer had instead supervised them in hitting each other but not before he had first encouraged them to masturbate each other to orgasm, much to the further delight of the many spectators.

"As you like masturbating each other so much, boys," the old man had announced, which was actually incorrect because the original activity between them had been one-way, "you can do so now but with your Master's permission and in front of us all." "The last to orgasm," the aged customer had subsequently added to please the other clientele even more, "will endure extra chastisement. However, that doesn't mean that you can under-perform in respect of rubbing the other's cock because I'll notice and your punishment will increase still further!"

By now Marius and Narcissus had already shed their minuscule thongs as commanded to stand completely naked on the dais, with their hands at their sides, fully knowing that hiding their genitals from view was forbidden. In instinctive reaction to the old man's latest instruction, they subsequently could not prevent their eyes immediately straying to the other boy's groin and the subject of their imminent challenge.

Marius' cock had remained unruly and erect. However, Narcissus' originally flaccid penis was also perversely now beginning to grow in apparent eager anticipation at being imminently masturbated.

"Stand close to each other and grip the other's cock!" the old man next instructed not long afterwards. After the deeply humiliated Marius and Narcissus had reluctantly complied, the aged customer then ordered "Rub!"

Both Marius and Narcissus immediately obeyed with proficiency, being wary of the threat of extra punishment if they proved indolent in their task. The resultant effect was temporarily but powerfully and rather quickly to change the boys' perspective of their current predicament.

Despite accompanying raucous laughter and ribald commentary from the spectators, the boys' immense shame at their public nudity and indulgence in mutual masturbation, plus their intense fear of an imminent beating, were rapidly overwhelmed by the lovely experience of swiftly approaching climax. Another pulsing orgasmic darkness soon again descended on Marius' young mind, just as he felt ejaculate splash onto his nude form. The younger boy did not see Narcissus actually spurt his semen because by now he had closed his eyes in acute ecstasy, nor did he hear the loud cheering and obscene remarks from the watching crowd because he was mentally too preoccupied with his sadly too brief pleasure.

Marius' mind did, however, eventually recover from the highly enjoyable sexual high achieved to discover that his hand had instinctively released Narcissus' ecstatic cock in order to grip his own. The older boy had also done the same.

Marius additionally heard the old man advise the spectators "Well, although Cycnus didn't cum, presumably because he's too young, his cockhead did ooze some clear fluid at about the same time as Narcissus ejaculated rather copiously. The boys' other reactions suggested simultaneous orgasms, so I declare a draw!"

Marius and Narcissus naturally hoped that climaxing simultaneously would earn no extra chastisement. However, the boys' aspirations were quickly dashed with the old man's next announcement.

The old man announced "We were intending that each boy would flog the other's bottom alternately twelve times with the hard leather crop now held in Fabius' hands, with the loser in the masturbation race earning another dozen." This declaration immediately tempted both Marius and Narcissus to glance at their master, who was indeed now carrying the mentioned implement, which had been well used over the years, having beaten many young prostitutes, mainly at clients' hands.

"However," the old man continued to the consternation of Marius and Narcissus, "as the masturbation race was tied, we'll divide the extra punishment in two. Both boys will therefore receive eighteen blows of the crop across their bare bottoms from each other." "If either of them inflicts a weak or inaccurate hit in my judgement," the aged customer worryingly added, "he'll have to repeat the strike and receive an extra one himself."

"I have a gold coin," the old man went on to inform, "which I shall now toss. If the obverse side with the Emperor's head is later uppermost, I decree that Cycnus will receive the first blow. However, if the reverse wins, Narcissus will receive the privilege!" The younger boy was not to know at the time but his current fate being linked to Tiberius was premonitory.

As the coin subsequently flew into the air, Marius' now very troubled mind did not really care what side of the gold coin would be uppermost when the money landed back into the old man's palm. The boy's mental processes were instead only focused on the fact that his bottom was to be imminently badly beaten again, on this occasion six more times than Scyrax had permitted Maccius.

Marius remembered the acute agony caused to his body by Maccius' cruel beating and was certainly not looking forward to an even longer repetition. The boy also wondered how, amidst his flogging at Narcissus' hands and the resultant excruciation, he could manage to inflict similar on the older boy with the necessary force and accuracy required to avoid further punishment.

Marius sincerely believed that such a feat was beyond him. The boy therefore worried that his own torment could prove endless.

"Ah, our illustrious Emperor Tiberius peers back at me," the old man next announced after completely the tossing of his gold coin, "and therefore Cycnus will first receive a blow from the crop across his cute bottom." Facing towards the nominated initial young victim, the aged customer subsequently commanded "So, boy, assume the necessary position. Turn round, place your feet wide apart and bend over to grab either your shins or ankles, whichever of those appears to provide you with the better stability."

"Stability will be important, Cycnus," the old man went on to advise, "because, if you lose your balance and fall in reaction to a blow from the crop, you'll receive another. The same will happen if you do not then stand up, turn to face Narcissus and thank him for the hit, whilst simultaneously enumerating the strike."

"Let me give you an example," the old man helpfully continued, "of what I mean, Cycnus. After each blow successfully endured, you will stand to turn to face the other boy and say to him, before receiving the crop from him, 'Thank for the first hit, Narcissus!'"

"You will then accept the crop, Cycnus," the old man concluded, "and Narcissus will adopt your former bent-over posture to receive his just punishment in accordance with the same rules. Now, do you both understand what is required?"

The old man then glanced from boy to boy to await his answer. Both Marius and Narcissus managed in reply to squeak a nervous "Yes... Sir!"

"Then Cycnus," the old man finally commanded, "adopt the necessary position." Marius reluctantly complied to the accompaniment of chortling from the spectators. Despite his trepidation, the boy recognised from experience that Maccius' chuckling had been the loudest.

As Marius later recovered in pain in the brothel dormitory, he thankfully recalled that he had somehow failed to keep his balance only in respect of two early blows from the crop, which had been rather effectively handled by Narcissus, despite the 14 year-old's own anguish. Fear had also helped to ensure that the younger boy, despite his personal mounting excruciation and tears, reciprocated quite forcefully and accurately, in line with the areas of the buttocks suggested as targets by the old man.

Marius was also just penalised three times because the old man was dissatisfied with certain blows that the younger boy had delivered on the older's bottom. He therefore only received a trio of extra hits for such alleged incompetence. However, Narcissus, of course, suffered likewise because the original strikes to his increasingly anguished buttocks had to be repeated.

Narcissus fortunately proved more competent at retaining positional stability and delivering blows, perhaps because he was maturer, being three years older, and more accustomed to being beaten. He was not penalised at all for losing balance and he and Marius were only punished extra for one hit that dissatisfied the old man.

Consequently, Marius' bottom received 24 blows from the crop, whilst Narcissus' was hit 22 times. The younger boy's punishment therefore did not thankfully prove endless but nevertheless the number of strokes inflicted were twice as many as delivered by Maccius in Scyrax's house.

One difference on this occasion was, of course, that Marius was not imminently being sent to the slave market for hopefully lucrative sale. This time, the boy's buttocks could be damaged more severely for the profitable entertainment of the patrons of the 'House of Ganymede', as he would be allowed more time to recover and anyway did not have to be repaired fully before returning to duty. Many clients liked sodomising the bottom of a young prostitute, which was still bearing the fading stripes of a recent comprehensive beating.

In his current agony, Marius had been largely oblivious to the spectators' resumed raucous laughter and ribald commentary, as well as cruel cheering, that lasted throughout the entertainment, which he and Narcissus were providing for the brothel's crowd of watching clients. His lack of observation had continued when he and the older boy were later returned by the escorting Felicia to their dormitory, in a very slow and rather dizzily staggering manner.

Marius was therefore spared the shame of hearing Maccius loudly sneer to Scyrax "Look, despite his earlier orgasm, the little slut's erection has returned during his flogging. What a true whore!"

Felicia had subsequently commanded the two still agonised and tearstained boys to lie face-down on adjacent straw mattresses, whilst she applied effective and expensive herbal salve to their colourfully very sore and bruised bottoms. She considered the cost of the remedy to be worthwhile if such ointment, as it usually did, enabled her young prostitutes to return to productive duty more quickly.

As Narcissus recuperated on his mattress, he appreciated that he had occasionally received similar bad beatings in the past. Such sad experiences were simply part of the life of a young prostitute in the 'House of Ganymede'. However, he had never been required previously to flog another boy simultaneously.

Narcissus' secret sadistic ambition had, of course, been to beat another boy someday. However, his recent experience, which had proved very humiliating and painful for both himself and Marius, or 'Cycnus' as he knew the younger boy, was not what he had in mind. He had found the experience most distressfully unpleasant.

The hours passed in the dormitory and Marius and Narcissus continued to recuperate face-down on their straw mattresses. Whilst doing so, they began to whisper to each other between bouts of fitful sleep, which were usually interrupted by yet more painful pangs affecting their nude bodies, disturbing nightmares featuring their recent punishment or the noises inherent in a still busy brothel.

For the trouble that Narcissus had caused, he felt obliged to offer to Marius his apologies, which were accepted. The boys subsequently talked a lot about their feelings whilst punishing each other and realised that, despite the age differential, they had virtually experienced the same emotions of humiliation, shame and pain. They also recalled that they had reacted similarly too, with loud anguished yelps as blows had hit, which interrupted ongoing sobs and tears.

"I should have shown more bravery than you, though, Cycnus," Narcissus once commented during this whispered conversation, "because I'm older and more accustomed to being humiliated and punished. I instead acted cowardly!"

"No you didn't, Narcissus," Marius maturely retorted, "because no one can become accustomed to such humiliations and punishments. You're just human like me and will in such circumstances react in the same way!"

Narcissus was somehow comforted by Marius' words. However, such succour did not last for long, although not because of the pain still searing his body.

Narcissus' returned discomfort was caused by the smirking Major Domo, who suddenly appeared in the dormitory and made straight for the recuperating pair. The man subsequently looked down at the older boy.

"The offer of your body in return for remaining silent about what you and Cycnus were up to was tempting, Narcissus" the Major Domo then told the older boy, "but I felt on reflection that I could not betray our Mistress' trust and so I informed on you. However, you're now only suffering the first result. The second is that, because of your lack of self-discipline, Felicia is reconsidering your continued presence in the 'House of Ganymede'. She's thinking of soon selling you on to a lower-class brothel for whatever price she can achieve."

"The third, Narcissus," the Major Domo added, "is that she's rewarded me for my loyalty in informing on you, despite your tempting offer, by allowing me to have you whenever I want whilst you're still here. After you've recovered from your beating and before you're eventually sold, you can therefore look forward to pleasuring me regularly!"

Having delivered this alarming message, the Major Domo left the dormitory with as much suddenness as he had arrived and soon afterwards Marius heard sobbing return to the normally very pretty face of a now inconsolable Narcissus.

Chapter LXXII

Nevertheless, Marius found deeply distressing the sudden disappearance of Narcissus from the 'House of Ganymede'. The event had occurred about four weeks after they had been humiliatingly compelled to beat each other publicly, during which period the older boy had been forced to service the very happy Major Domo sexually on many occasions.

No announcement was made about the long-serving Narcissus' departure, or any attempt allowed to permit him first to say farewells to anyone. After all, he and his fellow young prostitutes were not human beings but instead commodities to be traded however and whenever their owners' decreed.

Marius made discreet enquiries about Narcissus' fate amongst his fellow young prostitutes. However, this action produced little information.

One young prostitute did advise that he had seen Narcissus leave the 'House of Ganymede' one morning with the adult German slave but he had at the time thought little of this because the pair could have been going anywhere, such as to an external client. However, the fact that the older boy had not been seen since suggested to Marius that he had been sold, either at slave market or directly to a customer or, as the Major Domo had hinted four weeks earlier, to a lower class of brothel.

Marius appreciated that Narcissus had his faults. The younger boy had perceptively recognised the selfish and sadistic streak in the older boy, which had sometimes caused him to inform Felicia about other prostitutes' misdemeanours, which invariably led to their punishment. However, he could understand such an attitude.

After all, Narcissus' background might have been very unpleasant, causing mental scarring. Certainly, his lengthy service in the 'House of Ganymede', despite being an up- market boy brothel, would have encompassed many disagreeable happenings, even if he had become accustomed and begun to enjoy some of the sex.

Selfishness could also arise from being a slave. Many of such servile status sought only to live as pleasantly as possible from day to day, even at the expense of others, knowing that their existences could alter in a moment at the whim of their masters.

Even if slaves had nice masters, the death of the latter could change their circumstances dramatically. The heirs, if there were any, could be far nastier or sell them on to other owners who were or gave them functions that were distinctly worse than previously occupied.

Despite Narcissus' faults, Marius had come to like him and consider him a budding friend, especially after their mutual punishment. They had subsequently noticeably become talkatively close when circumstances permitted.

Narcissus had also never treated Marius less than helpfully, apart from when they had been forced to beat each other. The two boys had additionally shared a lot together, albeit, as that punishment proved, not always enjoyably.

Despite his curiosity and unhappiness in relation to Narcissus' sudden disappearance from the 'House of Ganymede', Marius, of course, dared not enquire about the older boy's fate either with Fabius or Felicia or the Major Domo and the other adult slaves. He rightly feared being slapped or being subjected to even worse for speaking without permission and being too nosy about the brothel's affairs.

Consequently, Marius just had to accept the presumption that Narcissus had been sold and the younger boy began to wonder whether he would ever discover the fate of the older or whether they would ever meet again. Such solemn considerations also caused him to shed privately a few more tears when resting on his dormitory mattress because they additionally often brought other sombre thoughts.

For example, Marius wondered what Pannychis and Sulis were now enduring, or whether Dictys and Nisus had been recaptured and crucified or sent to be the fodder of the beasts in the arena yet.

Chapter LXXIII

As well as Marius' twelfth birthday, which, of course, passed unknown to anyone but the boy himself, the months gradually brought a reduction in the young prostitute's status within the 'House of Ganymede'. From being an extremely desirable virgin and subsequent very attractive and favoured fresh face and body in the brothel, frequent use by many clients for a comprehensive range of sexual services had eventually made him increasingly less popular.

Marius still had regular clients, who were particularly attracted to his features and maintained sexual proficiency, even if these attributes were becoming less novel. Nevertheless, the overall number of customers seeking his services markedly declined, as patrons were tempted away to newer and fresher boys, who arrived regularly in the 'House of Ganymede'.

Fabius and Felicia fully appreciated that a high turnover of young prostitutes in such a high-class boy brothel as the 'House of Ganymede' was essential to keep their patrons content. Marius was aware of this policy from noticing many examples of newcomers and out-goers, with Narcissus an obvious example of the latter, and so he wondered how long he too would last before being sold on.

Marius did not relish the idea of being moved on to a lower class of brothel. He correctly believed that life there would be even worse than in the 'House of Ganymede', where he was at least accommodated and fed well. The boy therefore hoped that he would instead be bought by one of the nicer of his regular clients, as occasionally occurred, although he dare not mention his wish to any of them.

By now, Marius was an accomplished boy prostitute and knew it, maintaining a good level of service for both good and bad clients. His young mind experienced a mix of emotions about such recognition of what he had become.

Marius was ashamed that his current role in life was prostitution. However, the boy believed that performing such a function was better than being raped and strangled like his older brother and sister, even if only for the fact that the situation might somehow afford him the opportunity eventually to secure revenge and retrieve a much more honourable status.

Conversely to his shame, Marius also could not help but take some pride in servicing his nicer clients well. The boy's daily routine was considerably boosted when the occasional considerate customer afforded him some praise or left a tip in thanks, even if the gift was only a morsel of food from his dinner table.

Marius additionally had to confess shamefully that, on an ever-increasing number of occasions, he was enjoying the sex involved in his work. Although the boy did not yet ejaculate semen, more and more clear liquid oozed from his cock whenever he climaxed, which was becoming more frequent and pleasurable. Such orgasms resulted either from clients' direct attentions, such as performing fellatio on or masturbating his penis, or from delicious tickling of his prostate through the more considerate acts of sodomy.

Marius' enjoyment was assisted by the fact that his rear orifice had become so flexible through use that only a particularly large or ruthless invader caused hurt rather than pleasure. His own still-smooth genitals had also noticeably increased pleasantly in size and he correctly believed that such a development was not just attributable to the natural growth of a pubescent boy like him. He rightly thought that the number of times that his sexual organs had been played with by the hands and mouths of many men was an additional important contributory factor.

There were, of course, still unpleasant experiences. Marius had never learnt to enjoy performing fellatio and swallowing the resultant product, although, like Narcissus and many other young prostitutes in the 'House of Ganymede' before him, fear of punishment and a strange sense of professionalism encouraged the boy to perform the deed competently.

Some of the unpleasant experiences were, of course, also deliberately manufactured by clients because many of them were not only pederasts but also sadists. Quite a number of customers would try to sodomise Marius as harshly and hurtfully as possible and, even if they failed to achieve their aim because of the readiness of his rear orifice now to accept such attempted maltreatment, the boy would often guilefully play along by faking pained moans.

Other cruel clients would try in effect to sodomise Marius' mouth and throat rather than passively accept fellatio. Such attempts generally did succeed in causing the boy genuine distress, sometimes including bad bruising to his oral orifice. Swallowing semen in such circumstances was additionally difficult and the young prostitute was consequently beaten on several occasions by supposedly dissatisfied customers, who had complained to Felicia about him spilling their precious ejaculate. However, the patrons concerned had invariably sadistically wanted him to be clumsy in order to set up the punishment scenario.

The worst experiences of all for Marius occurred when coming across clients who were as intensely sadistic as Maccius. Although such customers were fortunately few in number, the times spent with them by the boy always lingered long in his memory.

Marius could recall one client who hired young prostitutes just to beat them, although fortunately the customer concerned liked to do so to a particular boy only once. His victims often wondered how the man gained his sexual gratification because he never did so in their presence, not even by masturbating himself.

Another especially cruel client did masturbate himself, over the prone naked bodies of his hired young prostitutes. However, as Marius could testify as a reliable witness, the customer did so only after affixing extremely severe and therefore very painful wooden pegs to some of his juvenile victims' most tender and vulnerable body parts, such as their nipples and genitals. The man invariably flicked these small but nasty implements whilst stroking his own cock to climax and enjoying the clear simultaneous agony experienced by the boys.

Yet another cruel client liked using even more painful implements. In Marius' recall, the dildos involved were invariably black, presumably to contrast nicely with the flesh of a white boy such as him, and generally bigger than most of the cocks that he was now accustomed to receiving in his rectum.

The sadistic implements therefore did hurt Marius when being wielded ruthlessly by the client, although generally not as much as the customer thought because the boy was now astute enough to fake much of his distress. As the young prostitute fully appreciated, to do otherwise was only to invite harsher treatment, perhaps from an even bigger dildo.

The exception to this scenario was when the customer, who appeared to prefer cheaper wooden dildos to those made from expensive ivory, used a large implement mottled with little nodules. The latter might have been small but the agony they induced in Marius' rectum was quite genuine, as suggested by the blood inevitably spilt as a result of the wicked device's use.

Coincidentally, Marius happened to be lying on his front on a bed in one of the boy brothel's alcoves, servicing the client who liked dildos, when elsewhere Fabius and Felicia were discussing the boy's future. The customer had just rammed a large black wooden dildo fully into the young prostitute, whilst simultaneously spilling the product of his own masturbation over his victim's bottom, when the 12 year-old's owners reached a conclusion about his immediate future.

Felicia had just commented to Fabius about a forthcoming major festival in Rome. "As usual," she remarked, "lots of provincials will be coming to the city for the festivities, with many men conveniently leaving their families at home. I want to attract as many as possible of the rich pederasts amongst them to visit our establishment. We'll therefore not only have to advertise but also provide exceptional entertainment above the norm in order to tempt the custom."

"I've decided to use Cycnus for the purpose," Felicia went on to advise, whilst as common confronting her husband with a fait accompli, reinforcing where the real power in the 'House of Ganymede' resided. "The brat's not only an exceptionally pretty and proficient whore," she explained, "but also proving very good at acrobatics."

"For advertising purposes," Felicia informed, "we'll send him out naked, under the usual supervision of our German slave, round the places where the revellers will mainly congregate and at the busiest periods. We'll have a sign dangling from the boy's neck promoting the 'House of Ganymede'. Anyone who wants to fondle the brat will be allowed to do so briefly but, if they want any more, they'll have to book some time with him here."

"With Cycnus' popularity for ordinary sex amongst our regular customers declining, however," Felicia related, whilst deliberately not complimenting her husband on the fact that the boy had amazingly recouped his original enormous purchase price many times over, "I recently decided that the time's right to make him multi-skilled. I consequently instructed the Major Domo to assess what he'd be like for the acrobatics' team."

"The Major Domo has just reported back," Felicia continued, "that Cycnus has excellent natural talent, sufficiently so to be an exciting act on his own. However, you know how indifferent much of our clientele is towards acrobatics."

"I've therefore concluded," Felicia informed, "that any act given by Cycnus should encompass danger to excite our clientele, and not just any old hazard but genuine life- threatening peril, which will also be advertised on the sign round his neck when he parades naked through Rome!"

Chapter LXIV

As a free boy, Marius had possessed a natural agility and physical confidence that now, as a young slave prostitute, was to serve him well, assisted by long hours of practice and occasional vigorous applications of a light stinging whip by his trainer for any lapses in concentration or skill. The boy so developed and honed his acrobatics' expertise that he was soon proficiently performing a short but hectic public tumbling act on his own.

Wearing only the customary minuscule black thong, Marius would undertake a routine of cartwheels, back-flips and handstands, invariably, given the late evening scheduling of his act, as torchlight glistened on his oiled and sweating body. Uncommonly for an acrobatics' act, many clients' eyes amongst the crowded array of reclining customers frequenting the 'House of Ganymede' at the brothel's busiest time would be focused on the energetic and skilful action. Such attention was testament to the fact that, despite the recent reduction in usage of the boy's body for direct sex, his exceptionally lovely form, whilst being paraded in a hectic burnished whirl of activity, was still of some interest to the majority of patrons.

Nevertheless, as usual, no appreciative applause or other sign of praise for Marius' act ever emerged at the conclusion of his performance. Rewarding in such a manner a young slave prostitute for his skills was simply never considered by any of the clients. However, the boy inevitably subsequently left the brothel's entertainment area with a contented sense of achievement at a job well done.

Marius' contentment would have been far less if he had known what Fabius and Felicia, and his acrobatics' trainer, had planned for him. The boy's tumbling was essentially actually just preliminary preparation for a much more spectacular act, one that would be life-threatening if performed inadequately.

Marius' instruction was soon expanded to include tumbling whilst delicately balanced on a long but very narrow horizontal wooden bar, suspended at each end on very heavy and sturdy metal supports. Urged on by his trainer, and motivated by frequent applications of the man's light whip across his bare bottom following any lapses in concentration or skill, the boy quickly exhibited a great sense of balance and gained proficiency in this activity too. He only very rarely fell off and then generally only when attempting something different or particularly spectacular.

Marius saw nothing sinister or frightening in his act, especially as he had quickly learnt how to fall off the horizontal bar without hurting himself, apart from feeling the trainer's light whip sting his bare bottom for his errors. The boy considered the new dimension to his performance to be simply an enhancement of the entertainment.

A regular pride in his act also emerged, especially after Marius skilfully managed to conclude each training session with a successful back-flip from the horizontal bar to stand on his feet on the floor. Such achievement was accomplished despite his body aching from fatigue and his flesh smarting from the frequent flicks of his coach's stinging light whip. The boy would even grin and wriggle in delight if the man or other onlookers praised him.

Marius was to give his first public performance of his revised act on the evening of the first day of the latest of Rome's many festivals, when the city was crowded with not only its own populace but also provincials flooding in to enjoy the celebrations. The boy's initial inkling that there might be something more to the entertainment that he was to provide than he was currently aware came when, after morning ablutions, he was summoned to see Felicia.

The freshly washed and groomed Marius was greeted by the smiling and seated Felicia with the words "Ah, Cycnus, our star tonight. I'm really looking forward to watching your new act and I want to make sure that many others want to do so too. Remove your thong!"

Marius had by now stood naked before Felicia on too many occasions to be concerned or embarrassed by her command to strip naked in front of her. Consequently, the boy quickly complied with her order and lowered and stepped out of his minuscule thong to reveal, as was common in such situations, a little cock that was already semi-erect.

"I see that you're feeling lively again today, Cycnus," Felicia commented in reaction to noticing Marius' still expanding cock, "which is good because it's what our clients like." As with stripping, the boy was now too inured to such remarks to be concerned or embarrassed. However, what the woman said and did next would radically change that situation.

Felicia picked up from the floor at the side of her chair a small square piece of wood, light in both colour and weight and with edges about a foot long, which was suspended from a short piece of cord, attached through holes drilled into two corners. The woman subsequently happily showed Marius the previously hidden writing on one side of what was obviously a sign.

The wording declared in Latin:-

Marius was a highly intelligent boy and immediately perceived correctly in horror who would shortly be wearing the sign and in what state and where. The boy realised that he would soon be paraded round the streets of Rome whilst naked and sporting the advertisement.

If such a realisation was not bad enough, Marius also began to worry seriously about the phrases on the sign suggesting that his acrobatics act tonight would be 'very dangerous' and 'death-defying'.

Chapter LXXV

Marius was, of course, unable to question Felicia about the worrying phrases because to do so would be to break two of the boy brothel's main prohibitions, namely that he should not speak without permission or enquire about or query his owners' plans for him. As a young slave, the boy's duty was instead just to accept whatever fate, or rather his master and mistress, had schemed for him.

Consequently, as the naked Marius subsequently left the 'House of Ganymede' under the usual supervision of the burly German adult slave and whilst sporting the demeaning sign dangling from his neck, he remained unaware what the worrying phrases implied. However, such ignorance was quickly forgotten for now, as he rapidly encountered the teeming narrow streets and wider avenues of festival-time Rome when completely nude and advertising his place of work, a boy brothel.

Marius' acute shame and discomfort was not helped by the fact that his bare body had again been effeminately decorated with makeup, with kohl rimming his eyes, rouge on his lips and cheeks and gilding on his nipples. The boy's naked form had also been oiled once more so that he glistened under the overhead sun, whilst his golden hair was adorned by a flowery laurel.

Marius' humiliation was compounded by the maintenance of an erection, which wobbled as he walked behind the German slave. The latter guided him at a distance by a long chain linked to an iron slave-collar, similar to the type that had been originally used to lead him and two other new acquisitions from the slave-market to the 'House of Ganymede'. The boy's hands were also unusually tightly manacled behind his back.

The reason for the unusual distance at which the German slave guided Marius by the linking chain, and for the manacled hands, quickly became apparent. Any festival-attending passers-by, who looked like prospective new customers for the 'House of Ganymede' and who wanted to fondle the naked boy, would be allowed briefly to do so without inhibition.

The German slave would temporarily stop if any such prospective customers showed interest in Marius and stand at a distance whilst they intimately visually and manually examined the boy. Meanwhile, the manacling of the young prostitute's hands prevented him from interfering by instinctively attempting to protect any of his private parts

Few Romans of the Patrician or Equestrian classes would want to be seen intimately inspecting a boy prostitute in such a public manner, as they had their family reputations to consider. However, wealth was not just confined to those of such status. There were rich Plebeians too, as well as both resident and visiting foreigners.

Even rich Plebeians, and some foreigners, often had coarser attitudes to those of the Roman Patrician and Equestrian classes and were therefore not averse to examining intimately some of the young goods that the 'House of Ganymede' had on offer. Their crudity sometimes extended to ribald comments when proceeding with their brief inspections.

Marius' face inevitably blushed intensely whenever his progress through the teeming thoroughfares of Rome was temporary stopped to allow such prospective customers briefly to examine him. The very public nature of the intimate inspections, when his aroused genitals and cute curvaceous bottom were invariably the main objects of attention, compounded his disgrace, especially when other people stopped to watch and shout contemptuous insults.

The fact that many other boys, including slaves, as well as girls and women, took time to observe Marius' debasing predicament and often express their own rude scorn greatly added to his unhappiness. However, as was unfortunately common, the boy's cock proved resiliently different, remaining defiantly hard in apparent enjoyment of his shame, even frequently tingling and being brought close to climax when being fondled.

When Marius eventually saw the 'House of Ganymede' again, after being led naked for many hours round Rome's busiest festival-time thoroughfares, he had never previously been so pleased to be entering the boy brothel. However, his appreciation of the event was to be short-lived.

Chapter XLVI

Marius was, as usual before a performance, both excited and nervous, more so on this occasion because he was about to make his public debut on the horizontal bar. The boy's thrill arose from the genuine enjoyment and stimulation that his agile and sleek young body gained from acrobatic activity, particularly when indulged faultlessly, and his uneasiness from concern that he might make mistakes, which would not only be embarrassing but also undoubtedly lead to derision and punishment.

Marius was still naked, as he was now to perform in the nude. Such a situation was due to considerations of not only aesthetics but also safety. Disaster could result if his customary thong somehow slipped during his imminent hectic and precarious act.

Marius was still decorated with makeup and his naked body glistening with applied oil. However, since his recent humiliating appearance in the thoroughfares of Rome, such adornment, plus his grooming, had been carefully refreshed. The boy's hands were additionally coated with a special resin that gave them extra grip

Marius heard the relevant piece of music from the boy flautist that should herald his arrival in the entertainment area and, despite his nerves, he immediately ran into the public arena towards the waiting horizontal bar. The boy's trainer was, as usual, standing alongside the apparatus, at one end whilst holding a whip in his hand.

Unusually, however, the trainer's whip was not light but heavy, designed not just to sting without much damage but instead to inflict a much more serious blow. Equally peculiarly, the man also held a small lit oil lamp in his other hand. However, Marius was too preoccupied with his imminent act to pay too much notice to such subtle differences in his coach's equipment, or the fact that the Major Domo, with a similar brutal scourge, occupied a position at the other end of the horizontal bar. The boy just presumed that such deployment was meant to aid effect rather than be of any practical use.

The 'House of Ganymede' was exceptionally crowded on this night. Marius was not too presumptive to assume that all of the extra clients had been drawn to the brothel by his earlier nude advertising stint. Many of the provincials present would be past customers at festival-time, whilst others would have been enticed to the establishment by acquaintances who knew of the place.

What Marius did not know was that some of the extra clients had been lured to the 'House of Ganymede' on hearing the news of the precise act that they boy was about to give, of which the actual young performer was still unaware, albeit not for much longer. Some of these customers were also not there just to view a successful activity because many wanted to witness disastrous failure.

Marius ran to the end of the horizontal bar where his trainer was stationed. In apparent response to a raising of the man's sinister whip, which the boy presumed was also for effect rather than genuine menace, the young prostitute subsequently took a deep breath, issued a short silent prayer to the gods and launched himself into the air with his arms raised.

Marius also launched himself at the horizontal bar and, after a spectacular high side-summersault by his gleaming well-oiled body and limbs, his feet subsequently successfully landed on the end of the apparatus, with some early unsteadiness of balance quickly remedied, which earned an admiring gasp from the crowd of spectators. This noise was then repeated even more loudly, with the boy also uttering such a sound but not in approval from him but in horror.

The trainer had stooped and touched the burning wick of his oil lamp on the marble floor. As the man had subsequently quickly stepped backwards, a sheet of flames had immediately leapt upwards.

In terror, Marius felt heat from the flames beginning to scorch his bare legs. The boy then noticed that the floor beneath the horizontal bar and for a considerable area around him, which had been secretly and invisibly to him coated with highly inflammable oil, appeared to be alight.

Marius turned, intending to jump off the end of the horizontal bar but he now observed his trainer standing there, with his heavy whip raised menacingly in his hand. The boy twisted round but he saw that the Major Domo was similarly barring his way with readied scourge in the other direction.

Marius subsequently briefly hesitated, as he attempted to decide what to do. A rapid decision was then aided when his sweet rosy lips were stimulated into uttering a loud pained howl after his trainer flicked him on the side of one bare thigh with the tip of his cruel whip.

"Come on, boy, ignore the flames and dance on the bar like you've been taught," the trainer next shouted, whilst lifting his whip in readiness to strike again, "for your success in doing so will be the only way you'll survive!" Marius realised that another blow of the scourge, landing squarely across his shoulders, would knock him off balance. Whilst he might be able to recover his footing after just one, the boy also recognised that more cuts delivered in the same manner would sometime inevitably send him tumbling from the horizontal bar into the flames below him.

These flames had fallen back somewhat from the first vigorous upwards blaze. They were now burning with a steady glow but the heat they gave out was still considerable and Marius appreciated that he would not survive a fall into them without being horribly burnt or killed.

Marius also knew that no one would come to rescue him from his current terror and the prospect of his horrible injury or death, rolling and screaming in agony among the flames. The boy's current extremely precarious situation simply served to entertain the brothel's clients, whilst forming an exciting hors- d'oeuvre to the pleasures of their nights ahead.

"Dance," the trainer shouted again in urgent command, whilst once more flicking his whip painfully at Marius' vulnerable flank, "for my next strike, if needed, will be much harder and could send you to your doom!" His order was immediately echoed by the increasingly impatient spectators.

"Dance," shouted many clients, some whilst beating wine cups and jugs on their tables, "dance, dance!" At the same time, the trainer drew his whip back behind his head, threatening the promised potentially fatal blow.

Marius therefore repeated his earlier actions, but with even greater sincerity. The boy took a deep breath, issued a short silent prayer to the gods and launched himself into the air with his arms raised, albeit this time not at the horizontal bar but on it.

Despite Marius' terror, he somehow managed to complete a forward summersault on the horizontal bar, earning another loud gasp from the spectators, who also continued their repetitive chant of 'Dance, dance, dance……..!" In reaction to this early success and to the confidence gained, as well as to the prolonged verbal encouragement from clients, not all of whom wanted to see him survive, and the menacingly raised whips of the trainer and Major Domo, the boy was stimulated into next attempting a perilous back-flip.

Further success and increased confidence subsequently brought an amazing series of other flips, cartwheels and handstands to the accompaniment of appreciative chants and roars from the crowd of spectators. Marius' remarkable accomplishment was attained despite the intense heat from the flames below and around him, which not only frightened him intensely but also caused his body and limbs, including most dangerously his hands, to sweat profusely.

As Marius' highly energetic and thankfully so-far skilful routine proceeded remorselessly to continued loud chants and roars, his blood thundered in his head, whilst sweat poured off his naked body and his arms and legs eventually began to ache with increasing exhaustion. The boy's world had become narrowed to the horizontal bar on which he stood, by virtue of either his hands or feet, the square of flames beneath and the threatening whips that drove him on.

Marius was also tiring fast, as his 'dance' on the horizontal bar was exceedingly hectic and fatiguing. The boy knew he could not go on much longer, as the strength was rapidly waning from his young arms and legs.

Marius had, because of his increasing tiredness, almost missed his footing once. The boy realised that such potentially fatal incidents would only become more common because of his weariness and that sometime soon he would not have the strength to recover the situation, and then the flames below would claim him.

Fortunately, Marius now heard the crack of the trainer's whip. The boy appreciated, from his instruction and the facts that the scourge had not simultaneously been aimed at his naked body and the wielder had stepped away from the end of the horizontal bar, that he was being allowed to conclude his act.

Marius needed no second invitation and, with another spectacular summersault leapt off the end of the horizontal bar to land in safety and successfully motionless on his feet close to his trainer. The end of his act was met with a mixture of cheers and groans from the crowd of spectators.

Some spectators had unusually been so impressed with an acrobatics' act, particularly Marius' display of exceptional bravery and skill, that they broke convention by cheering and even applauding. However, other more cruel clients groaned and jeered in disappointment that they had been robbed of the pleasure of watching the boy roast.

"Gentleman," Fabius, who had walked forward from the perimeter to the centre of the entertainment area, subsequently shouted over the din, "as you can see, Cycnus lives to perform again. Surely, you must come once more tomorrow to see if he survives a second night whilst performing an even longer act!"

Fabius subsequently turned away from the spectators to glance with a smirk at the exhausted and profusely sweating Marius. The boy displayed clear understandable fear in his sensuous blue eyes for he appreciated that he had somehow survived his debut public performance amidst the appallingly dangerous flames but for how long would his luck last?

It appeared to Marius that his owners now not only considered him entirely dispensable but also were additionally happily ready to see his act soon conclude spectacularly, albeit permanently and horribly for him.

Chapter LXXVII

Despite his current exhausted and shocked state, Marius' duties for the evening were, of course, not yet over. The naked boy knew that he now had to parade himself amongst the crowd of spectators, who were relining or sitting on their couches, and offer himself to any client who wanted sex with him.

Although Marius was not as popular as he had once been with regulars, there were many new clients in the 'House of Ganymede' that night to whom he would be a nice fresh boy. Even those who had already enjoyed him on a frequent basis and had become tired of him might seek to become intimately reacquainted with him for one more time, stimulated by the bravery and skill that he had just displayed on the horizontal bar. After all, the young prostitute might not be so lucky on the next day.

Marius reluctantly advanced towards the waiting throng, and the many clearly lecherous eyes scanning his lovely naked but currently sweaty body. However, the boy was not now to discover how his popularity as a sex partner had suddenly been boosted by his recent highly dangerous acrobatics act. The reason for this development began when he discerned an all too familiar menacing voice. As adult slaves extinguished the already dying flames behind him with large heavy cloths, he heard someone sinisterly referring to him.

"Look, darling, it's little Mariullus," the ominous voice said, "who was one of the boys of my friend, Scyrax. I've always enjoyed having some fun with him."

Marius had inadvertently headed straight for a couch upon which Maccius was reclining, adjacent to a divan occupied by a young man whom the boy had never seen before. This other person shared the evil youth's epicene blond hair and cold reptilian eyes.

The main consolation in the humiliating and often anguishing life that Marius had led over recent months was the fact that he had not encountered Maccius again since the day on which the evil youth had enjoyed sex with him and subsequently tortured him with a needle. The boy had constantly dreaded a re-enactment.

Marius had also considered Maccius' failure to reappear as odd, given that the evil youth obviously thoroughly enjoyed humiliating and hurting him. The boy to learn the reason later, from an unexpected source.

Maccius had, in fact, been travelling with Scyrax, who had decided to go to Germania, where he had heard about a failed tribal uprising against Roman rule and many resultant captives. The prospect of cheaply acquiring many local blond blue-eyed boys without having to deal with expensive middlemen had spurred the fat merchant into such unusual but potentially very lucrative action.

Scyrax was not to be disappointed with his expedition. He brought back to Rome many exceedingly pretty examples of freshly enslaved Germanian boyhood, who were currently being trained for their new roles in life in the harsh environment of his house.

Maccius had also not been disappointed with the expedition. As Scyrax had bought so many virgin boys so cheaply, the fat merchant had felt able to gift one very choice specimen to the evil youth.

Consequently, the boy concerned had barely survived the long journey to Rome, albeit not because of the discomfort and hazards of the trip. Maccius had instead thoroughly enjoyed painfully deflowering the child and subsequently regularly beating and torturing him.

The boy was still alive and was now a slave serving Maccius in particular in the household of the evil youth's patrician parents. However, for how long his survival would last was indeterminable.

"Mariullus, sweetest," Maccius shouted, "come to us, dear child. I've been so looking forward to seeing you again!"

On observing Marius' horrified hesitation in obeying, and clear signs that the boy was about to go anywhere except towards Maccius' couch, the evil youth added "Now, you mustn't run away, sweetest. I'm sure that you can have so much fun with my friend and me!"

Marius looked round desperately for an escape route but saw Fabius standing nearby, watching him. The boy fully appreciated that a young prostitute who refused the overtures of a client was certain to be soundly flogged.

Consequently, Marius reluctantly approached Maccius' couch in dread. "Sweetest," the evil youth subsequently commanded once the boy had arrived beside him and whilst patting the empty surface of the divan by him, "do come and sit here."

Marius complied with continued reluctance and dread, whilst Maccius went on to comment "We saw your performance on the horizontal bar, sweetest. The act was so exciting. You were so brave and so determined not to fall in the flames and be burnt."

"I have to confess, though," Maccius advised, "that I was just a little disappointed that you didn't fall, sweetest. I'm sure that you'd scream so melodiously and you'd look so pretty throwing yourself about amidst the flames whilst you burnt. Still, there's always tomorrow and we'll absolutely have to be here to see what happens."

"Do you think you'll survive tomorrow, sweetest?" Maccius subsequently cruelly asked but Marius did not reply. The boy not only did not want to play along with the evil youth's verbal teasing but also genuinely did not know the answer to the question. However, given that Fabius had announced that his next performance on the horizontal bar would be longer than his first, he was worryingly pessimistic.

"Well, you seem to have mislaid your ability to speak, sweetest," Maccius next remarked. Addressing his friend, the evil youth subsequently declared "Mariullus has lost his tongue. We must do something to help him recover it."

Returning to questioning Marius, Maccius proceeded to enquire, whilst tenderly stroking the boy's bare back, "Have you any idea, sweetest, how much the burning of your delicate flesh will hurt when you do eventually fall into the flames?" However, the young prostitute, whose skin had erupted in goosepimples as a result of the evil youth's creepy touch, again did not respond.

"Ah, the sweet child still will not reply," Maccius therefore commented to his friend, "perhaps because he doesn't know the answer. I therefore think that together we should find out!"

"Darling," Maccius then requested of his friend, "please hold my little Mariullus still. I want to show him how much fire hurts."

"Let's see," Maccius sadistically and sinisterly added, "how much the boy enjoys the flame from the oil-lamp on our table when applied to one of those lovely little rosy nipples of his!"

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