Thread: Et Servit Domina (Rania Lark x Broomhandle45)

The city had been planning the market for weeks. In combination with a tournament in the amphitheatre, the largest slave market of the year was scheduled to run in congruence with an entire fortnight of events. It was one of the best places for Masters and owners to find the most exclusive of slaves most of which would go for exorbitant amounts of money. The city was full of people, both free and slave. A large wooden stage was set up in the centre of the square in front of the amphitheatre for the sale of the most exclusive slaves. These were the slaves that only the wealthiest of nobles could afford. They were the best fighters and the best trained house slaves and they were deemed to fetch the highest price. But first, the inspections. Priscilla was lined up amongst about twenty other individuals, both male and female. All of the slaves in the line were dressed according to their gender. The males were dressed in a small leather loincloth across their hips, exposing their muscular chests as well as any battle scars they had suffered in the arenas. The more scars meant the more hardened the warrior and in return, the stronger. The women were dressed in short, linen dresses that moved straight down from their shoulders. A simple design, each woman's hair was pulled back into a braid that fell down their back, exposing the angles of their faces. Every slave was barefoot for the inspection as they each kept their eyes forward. Bowed heads were saved for the owners, not the inspections. Priscilla had been born into slavery. Her mother was a house slave that had been taken by her Master and gave birth by him. Denying the child, her Master refused to care for the infant, forcing Priscilla's mother to sell the baby into slavery. Priscilla started after her infancy as a kitchen slave. She kept the fire going as the cook prepared the meals. She also ensured the hearth was clean as she was small enough to get into all the nooks of the stone hearths. Eventually, she rose up from the kitchen to be a servant slave. She served wine and food to the guests of her Master when they banqueted together. However, her Master decided that in order to maintain his group of gladiators, he was more than willing to forego house slaves in order to maintain his arena prowess and Priscilla had been one of the first to be sold to the auction. Priscilla stood near the centre of the line of slaves, a large, muscular Nubian gladiator on her left and another woman on her right, this one a ginger haired, green eyed slave with brown freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks. Priscilla was unique as she had wavy, thick, golden blonde hair, pulled back in the same long braid that cascaded down the centre of her back. She also had eyes the pale blue of the shallow waters off the coast of Napoli. Her skin was white as alabaster stone and did not have any imperfections, despite her history as a kitchen slave. Her cheekbones sat high on her cheeks and her lips were full and pink, a sure sign of health. Though she was raised into slavery, Priscilla possessed a rebellious streak. She was notorious for speaking her mind, her mouth sometimes running away with her, leaving her thoughts behind as she spoke without permission. As she stood in the line, the orders being to stare straight ahead, Priscilla had started obeying the orders, but had found as time dragged on, that her idleness was getting the best of her. Turning her head, she looked up and down the line of people that were to be put on the stage for sale, her eyes remaining on each one for but a moment before moving on. Not one of the other slaves acknowledged her gaze with one of their own. They were the best of the best and it showed! Then the crowd erupted into jeers and quiet conversations as the auction began. The lower slaves were scattered about, some in chains, some merely hunched over as their heads bowed. They were the normal ones slaves that would go to the lesser nobles for training or simple tasks. And then a group of men and women gathered at the end of the line. Priscilla couldn't help but watch as a very small group gathered, their clothes of the finest quality, their jewels glinting in the sunlight. Their hair perfectly curled and coiffed atop their heads as they held themselves high. Priscilla had never seen so many looking so wealthy in one place before. Before she was found out about disobeying orders, she returned to her place staring straight ahead, awaiting the inspection.