I hated traveling through Rome's marketplace before dawn but I had little other choice.

Most of the slave traders had surely not woken from their wine-induced stupors yet. Except for Garius. He was always open for business and he knew exactly what I wanted.

By Juno! The stink was unbearable! Were we there yet? I felt my carriage be put down, very carefully.

I had four strong men carry me around everywhere and in return, they lived a very good life on my estate.

The concept of slavery was abhorrent to me but I had to play along to avoid attracting too much attention. My kind were not understood by the people that ruled this particular Empire.

"Welcome back," Garius said, giving me an elaborate bow. He knew never to use my name.

"Any new stock?" I asked, detesting the word. I always remembered the civilized times in these moments.

"I have just the thing!" he said, his eyes sparkling with greed. I paid very well and he knew it.

He brought out a young man who could only recently grow a beard. Long, grime-crusted hair covered his face.

"One of Emperor's men brought this one from the North," Garius said, lifting the boy's mop of hair. A beautiful pair of azure blue eyes stared back at me in defiance.

"Don't worry, a good whipping will set this one straight!" Garius snarled as he pulled the boy's hair further backward.

My skin crawled. I wondered how much whipping he had already received.

"I'll take him," I said, holding out my hand. Felix handed me my coin purse. Nobody dared rob my bodyguard, he could easily snap a person's neck with his bare hands.

Looking into the leather pouch, I mentally counted the gold pieces. I had come prepared to haggle but this place had already soured my mood.

"Have him prepared to leave by the end of the day," I said, handing Garius the whole bag. He felt its weight and smiled broadly.

***

The moment we arrived at my villa, I had the young man's restraints removed. I spoke to him in the common tongue but he did not reply.

Luckily, I had learned many idioms during my lifetime, so I tried a few words in each of the Northern dialects.

After four attempts, he suddenly cried, "You have my tongue!"

"I do," I said with my best smile. He needed to feel safe if he was going to trust me.

He pushed his hair out of his face and I caught another glimpse of his beautiful eyes. "I have some conquerer's tongue," he said softly.

"What is your name, young man?" I asked, reaching out to touch his arm comfortingly. He flinched away, a clear indicator of his previous treatment.

"Flos is my chain name," he grumbled.

Flower? What an odd name.

"What is your real name?" I asked with a smile. This caught his attention.

"Yann is my free name!" he said, this time with pride.

"Welcome to my home, Yann. You are free to be yourself here, except for when I have guests."

"Why is there such kindness for your new property?" he asked, cocking his head.

"People don't really own anything, especially not other people," I gave my usual reply.

"Your Roman is not real," he said puzzled.

"I am definitely no Roman but none can ever know! Therefore, I ask that you call me 'Dominus' at all times to avoid problems with the real Romans."

He thought about it for a moment and said, "I have understanding, Dominus."

"Excellent! Then let's get you cleaned up, shall we!"

***

I watched in wonder as the boy transformed before my eyes. Quirina had cut and washed his hair which came out a much lighter color without all the filth.

Titus was scraping the grime off his oil-covered body. The physique that came to the surface was like a Hellenic statue. The proportions were perfect!

I had learned to control myself a long time ago but Yann was a true specimen of male beauty.

Titus was known to indulge in a boy or two when he had too much wine and he was taking a little too much time with the cleaning process.

Oh, my. Was that a pang of... jealousy? I hadn't felt that in a very long time.

***

Yann had been assigned to the kitchen to help Quirina. After a few poignant questions, it appeared that he had prepared meals for his two younger siblings after his mother had died.

I did not want to think about what happened to his family when he was captured. Perhaps one day he would tell me the story.

Lost in a scroll about contemporary philosophy, I did not hear him enter my study.

"Forgiveness, Dominus. There is kindness to be returned," he said in a near whisper, as he put a bowl of soup on my table. It smelled utterly divine! What had he put in it?!

"You owe me nothing, Yann. I seek only to liberate as many as I am able before my time is up."

"Don't give untruths, Dominus! Your  body is equal of a cow!" He was grinning from ear to ear. Was that a compliment?

"Thank you for the soup, Yann," I said, dismissively. I really wanted to get back to my scroll. His barely covered torso was quite distracting.

"Dominus," he said with a bow.

***

Six moons had passed and it was finally Saturnalia, my absolute favorite holiday! Once a year, all of Rome's Masters would serve their slaves until everything broke down into a drunken mess!

In my villa, I was the only Master and everyone insisted that the rules of the outside world did not apply to me. I always loved a reason to celebrate, so they indulged me anyway.

Felix helped me cook, whilst Quirina assisted with setting up the table in the garden. There were twelve of us in total and I always had a gift for everyone as per the tradition of my homeland.

Yann was completely overwhelmed with his gift. I had given him a map of the Empire. I had told Yann that he could use it to find his way home once Rome crumbled. It was bound to happen soon, the signs were everywhere.

***

I was in my bed and my head was spinning slightly from the wine. I usually didn't drink this much but I enjoyed my party enormously this year.

Just as I closed my eyes, I felt a weight on my bed. I turned to find Yann's blue eyes staring back at me, exploring my face carefully.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"I came to give you your present," he said with a grin. His command of the common tongue had improved drastically since he first arrived.

Yann lifted the covers to show me his completely naked form.

"You are not a slave. You don't owe me anything," I said, trembling. I desperately wanted what he was offering but not if he thought it a duty.

"You told me that I am free to be myself here, except when there are guests. I see no guests, just a man who is as healthy as a cow."

"Yann, that's not very flattering," I sat upright.

"Hmmm. Then why don't I show you what I like to do with men. The Romans didn't call me 'flower' for nothing."

I had no time to argue as he dived under the covers.

My subconscious mind wanted to escape the pleasure because it believed that it didn't deserve it. Before I knew it, I had teleported to the other side of the room.

"What in the name of the gods just happened?" Yann breathed in awe.

"I can explain," I said, quickly getting to my feet.

"What are you?" he asked, crawling up against the wall. He was clearly scared but didn't understand why.

"There are many names for us," I said carefully. "Our true name, however, is Tel'rai. We are teachers from the previous Age."

He stared at me in total silence for the longest time, until he finally said, "What is it that you teach?"

"Magic," I replied with a shrug.