The Paga Diaries (27)

 

27.  Lady Filomena

“Next prisoner please,” the Magistrate said to the Prosecutor.
I watched as the city guardsmen went to the two women still locked in the coffle. They removed the ankle shackle from the Free Woman who had plush but dirty slippers on her feet.  She wore a veil covering her face and robes concealing her figure.  The robe had a hood that covered her hair.  The handcuffs were removed from her hands, which were behind her back.  The other woman wore a light tunic, was barefoot, and wore a collar, clearly a slave. The coffle shackle was removed from her ankle but her hands remained braceleted behind her back. They were brought before Julian Lepidus, the Magistrate.
The Prosecutor said, “Please state your name, caste and Home Stone for the Record.”
“I am Lady Filomena Viducia Barbietia, a scribe, and Argentum is my Home Stone.”
“The woman standing next to you is your slave?” the Prosecutor asked.
“Yes Sir, Dira.”
“Kneel Dira,” the Prosecutor said, and Dira went to the ground keeping her knees together, kneeling in tower position.
The Prosecutor then said, “Lady Filomena Viducia Barbietia, you are charged with breach of contract with the City of Argentum for the delivery of war materials, which is a form of treason whenever the City is engaged in war.”
Lady Filomena gasped, as well as did many others in the attending crowd.
“How do you plead?”
“Not guilty Sir,” Lady Filomena replied emphatically.
The Prosecutor turned and went to the table behind him, where a man in blue, an assistant scribe, had papers arranged on the table. The assistant handed him a paper that was wrapped into a scroll. The Prosecutor unwrapped the scroll and brought it over to Lady Filomena and asked her, “Are you familiar with the signatures on this contract?”
“Yes Sir,” she said.
“Whose signatures are they?” he asked.
“One is mine and the other is the signature of Marden Stelcis, my Free Companion,” she answered.
“Marden Stelcis is to be charged with breach of contract as well. Do you know where he is?”
“No Sir, I do not know where he is,” she said.
“When was the last time that you saw him?”
“It was prior to the last passage hand; it has been almost a month since I have seen him,” she answered.
“Have you been in correspondence with him or received any messages from him or anyone acting on his behalf?”
“No Sir,” she said.
“The contract that you signed states that Marden Stelcis and yourself were to deliver fifty new tharlarion war saddles to the city of Argentum, within sixty days of being paid the deposit, which was half of the total money to be paid, the other half to be paid upon final delivery.  To date, no saddles have been delivered. Do you dispute anything that I have stated so far?”
“No Sir,” she said.
“After the sixty-day period passed and the saddles were not delivered, a City courier delivered an ultimatum, which was signed by Marden Stelcis. The ultimatum demanded the saddles be delivered immediately or a delivery extension request be submitted.  The City has not received a delivery extension request. Where you aware of the ultimatum that was sent by courier?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Are you able to explain why the saddles were not delivered on schedule or why an extension request was not submitted?”
“No Sir, I don’t know why the extension request was not submitted. Marden said he was going to do it, but then said he wanted to just finish making the saddles and deliver them. We have completed seventeen so far. He said it would be okay if they were a little late. I believed him. We ran into problems obtaining materials. There is a shortage of several items that we need, to complete the remaining saddles. We never meant to break the contract or defraud the government. And we certainly never thought being late would be considered treason! We love our city and are very loyal to our Home Stone!  Please Sir, grant us a little more time.”
“The two of you make the saddles?” asked the Prosecutor.
“No Sir, we obtain the various materials and hire leather workers to assemble them,” she answered.
“Do you understand why the City considers this a breach of contract?”
“Yes Sir. We should have asked for more time,” she said.
“Do you have anything more to add before the Magistrate rules?”
“I beg for more time Sir. I know that I can complete the remaining saddles without Marden. I have obtained almost all of the materials needed to finish. Please have mercy on me, I don’t know where Marden is or why he left. I think he went in search of materials, and am afraid that something happened to him. We are not criminals. Please have leniency on me and allow me more time. I never meant to breach the contract and I am loyal to my Home Stone,” she pleaded, falling to her knees.
“While you have been detained awaiting this hearing, your personal property has been inventoried and assessed.  You do not own your place of residence. Your net worth does not equal the initial contract deposit that you were given. Are you able to repay the initial deposit for the contract?”
“No Sir, I don’t have it now, but I can finish the saddles and complete the contract,” she answered.
“Is Dira the only slave that you own and is there any other property, other than what was at your residence?”
“No Sir, she is the only slave, and other than furnishings, there is nothing else. But I promise to make good on the agreement! I will get those saddles made, I just need a little more time!” she exclaimed.
“The Magistrate will now rule,” the Prosecutor said and looked toward Julian.
“Citizens of Argentum, this is a serious charge, requiring immediate attention and resolution. We are at war and the effort to sustain our forces, supplying them with the equipment they need, is vital to winning this war. When our City makes a binding agreement to contract for the procurement of instruments of war, that contract cannot be ignored. There is a need for these saddles and it has not been met.  A notice to comply was sent, yet no extension was requested. Your Free Companion is missing, presumed to be evading justice. Breaching a military procurement contract is currently an act of treason, as we are at war. There are consequences and anyone who decides to ignore the contract, like you did, must face them. Lady Filomena Viducia Barbietia, you stand convicted of breach of contract and treason. Your slave, residential possessions and any other property you own is to be immediately confiscated. You are hereby sentenced to fifty lashes of the whip and execution as a Free Woman, or, you may submit yourself to slavery becoming the property of the City of Argentum.”
Lady Filomena’s jaw dropped and her mouth remained open in shock at what she had heard.  She was speechless, and her head shook back and forth in disbelief, her eyes wide open.
“Lady Filomena, do you choose execution or submission into slavery?” Julian asked.
“I, I, I am nnot a criminal, I haven’t done anything wrong. I can pay the money back. I, I need time,” she stuttered.
“Lady Filomena, make a decision now or it will be made for you,” Julian said.
“Oh no, I can’t do this. I don’t want to die. I can’t be a slave. I have honor. I would rather die as a Free Woman than live as a slave.”  I heard murmurs from the crowd, approvals from the women.
“Captain Atticus, administer the first part of the sentence please,” Julian said. A guard went to each side of her and taking her arms, led her to the massive wooden stock. They put her wrists through the holes in the sides of the pillory.  They pulled the hood of her robe back from her head, exposing braided auburn hair, set into elaborate tresses.  Her head was then guided into the large central hole.  The heavy upper wooden arm swung down and was secured, locking her in place.
Her head now hanging down in the pillory, a guard came in front of her, and reached for her face, grabbing her veil. He pulled it away in a jerking motion, and dropped what appeared to be two separate veils onto the ground.  Her face was still veiled!  I was astounded that she was wearing three veils.  Why would a woman need more than one?  The guard reached again to the remaining veil and jerked it away.
Behind her, another guard leaned over her back, as she was now bent at the waist to accommodate her position in the stock, and he used large shears to cut into her outer robe.  He went to her neck and just below the hood, began cutting down the middle of her back and stopped at her waist.  He then cut along her waist, on both sides of the cut down her back.  He finished by making another cut above her shoulders.  He moved the cut material away and the robe fell down along both sides of her body, with the long sleeves still intact on her arms.  He repeated the cuts through another layer of clothing and then another, before coming to a thin, cream colored, delicate layer of fabric, like something that is called a slip on Earth.  When he cut through this last delicate layer, her back was fully exposed, from the top of her shoulders to her waist.  The skin on her back was very white, contrasting with the pillory and everything around her.
One of the guards picked up a whip.  It was a different whip than what had been previously used on the man condemned for the illegal enslavement of the former Lady Temione.  That whip had been a large heavy strand of braided leather and was probably now blood soaked.  On Earth it would have been called a bull whip, and it had shredded the back of the condemned man.  I had found it very difficult to watch the fifty stroke lashing, it seemed overly excessive for someone condemned, especially when the victim had lost consciousness more than once during the beating.
The whip currently in the hand of the guard looked familiar.  It had five broad leather straps attached to a handle.  The straps were over two feet long and the handle was long, eighteen inches or more, large enough to hold and wield with two hands.  I had been strongly encouraged to use one identical to it on Lina, at Mirus’s house. 
Lady Filomena was now babbling, and even if I had a good grasp of the language, I don’t think I would have found her words to be intelligible.  The guard stood to her side and raised the whip up, before swinging it down hard upon her back.  The sound of impact was that of a loud slap.  Lady Filomena screamed.  Another lash landed and then another, and Lady Filomena screamed louder.  Her back became an angry red.  Her babbling stopped and she began to beg.
“Please stop!”  Another lash and she screamed.  “I didn’t do anything wrong!”  Another lash and scream.  “I beg for death!”  Another lash and scream.  “Please stop, I beg you!”  Again, another lash and scream.  The guard had delivered a dozen strokes or more, before pausing and walking around to her other side.  She begged during this pause, pleading rapidly before the next stroke fell.  The beating resumed from her other side.  “Please kill me now!” Another lash and scream. “Why?” Another lash and scream. “I submit, I submit, please stop!” Lash and scream. “I am a slave, I beg mercy!” Another lash and scream.  “I submit as a slave, I am a slave!” she exclaimed.
“Hold!” the Magistrate shouted, and then said, “Lady Filomena Viducia Barbietia, you have just stated twice that you submit and are a slave.  Do you wish to change your sentencing decision from execution to submission into slavery?”
“Yes Sir. I can’t take fifty lashes. I can’t take any more lashes.  Please kill me now, I beg mercy. Please, I will do anything to make this stop!” she exclaimed.
“Lady Filomena, you will endure the remaining lashes before you are executed tomorrow, unless you wish to change your sentencing decision. I will ask you one final time, are you submitting yourself as a slave, avoiding the sentence pronounced upon you as a Free Woman?”
“Yes, I submit myself as a slave!” she cried out and began to sob.
“I am amending your sentence. Your submission into slavery is accepted and noted. You are no longer Lady Filomena Viducia Barbietia, but now a nameless slave, property of Argentum. You will address all free men as Master and all free women as Mistress. Do you understand?”
“Yes Sir,” she answered.
Julian nodded at the guard who wielded the whip, and he lashed down on her back once more.
“Oouuh! Please!”
“I will repeat myself, you will address all free men as Master. Do you understand?” he asked again.
“Ye, yes, Master!” she exclaimed.
“Good. Instant and unquestioning obedience is now expected of you. Do you understand?”
“Yes Master,” she replied.
“The lashes you have received were as a Free Woman.  As a slave, you will receive five more lashes as a demonstration that you are now under discipline and subject to the whip,” Julian said and nodded to the guard, who continued the whipping.
“Please no, Master, I beg mercy, I know I am a slave!” she pleaded.
 The whipping continued and after the fifth stroke Julian said, “Remove the rest of her clothing and mark her thigh with a kef.”
Her ruined clothing was removed from her while she was in the pillory.  I looked at the faces in the crowd who were now staring intently, many of the men smiling. I heard several men say, “fire crotch”, a word I had heard a couple times before, when men spoke of red-haired women.  Filomena had a reddish triangle of hair, below her belly, that was a little difficult to see from my angle and the posture she was in.  She had an attractive figure, nice curves with ample breasts, now exposed and hanging below her bent over body.  I started to get aroused seeing her displayed this way.  I thought to myself, what is wrong with me, I should be feeling compassion now, and not lust.  The poor woman had just been lashed hard, her back a burst of red streaks, and all I can think of is how I would put her to use, locked in the stock.

A guard put a small rope around her left knee and used it to lift it up high, which raised her foot from the ground.  Her knee was pulled towards the vertical wooden support timber where the rope was secured to one of the metal rings.  Most of her weight was now supported by her right leg.  Her whole body began to tremble, except for her left thigh which was now mostly immobilized.
The iron worker took one of the branding irons from the brazier and stepped towards her left side.  The tip of it glowed bright orange.  With his left hand he reached down and went around the front of her thigh and grabbed it firmly from the inside.  She jerked a bit, surprised by the touch of a strange man, so close to her intimate area.  Holding her steady with his left hand, he used his right hand to bring the hot tip of the iron onto her upper thigh.  I saw the faintest wisp of smoke curl up when the brand contacted her flesh, marking her forever as a slave.  She screamed.  She lost control of her bladder and urine pooled on the stone floor below her.
“The sentence has now been administered. The marked slave, formerly known as Filomena, and the slave known as Dira, will now be auctioned to the public by the City of Argentum,” Julian announced to the crowd.  The guards removed the heavy wooden upper arm of the pillory, releasing Filomena from it.  She was compliant as her hands were tied together behind her back, before being led away from the stock.  She stood in a state of shock, her eyes to the ground, unable to face the crowd while waiting for the auction to begin. 
The scribe who had been at the side table stood up, grabbed the five bladed whip and walked towards her.  He turned and addressed the crowd saying, “The first auction will be for the former Filomena, with the bidding to start at one silver tarsk.”  There were no bids at first.  “She is healthy, has nice curves. She is intelligent and a skilled scribe,” he said loudly.  Was the initial bid price too high for a new untrained slave?  She was told to get on all fours.  A man to my left yelled out a bid for one silver tarsk.  She was then made to kneel in nadu.  The auctioneer scribe used the whip to push her knees wider as she knelt.  Her movements were clumsy, and slow, but her body was attractive.  Her head hung low, bent at the neck.  She had no interest in facing the crowd.  The auctioneer placed the whip under her chin and told her to keep her head up.  I was becoming aroused by the scene and the thought of owning her, training her, excited me.  Other men began to bid, her price now one silver and three copper tarsks.
Bids were coming in slow, with bidders only offering a single copper tarsk to the previous bid.  The auctioneer was becoming impatient, ready to move on.  I heard a man say five coppers.  On impulse, I yelled out, “Two silvers!” The crowd got quiet and people turned to look at me, the man who had outbid everyone so far with an obviously exaggerated bid.  A brief second went by and the scribe turned to me and said, “Sold, for two silver tarsks!”