Note: This is a work of fiction and any resemblance of any characters to any persons, real or fictitious, is purely coincidental and unintentional.
Note 2: This work includes themes of a graphic sexual nature and involves person who, although entirely fictional, are all above the legal age of consent. This story is set in the slightly historical, but primarily imagined world of Ancient Rome, however, no offense is intended to any persons or cultures if I have mis-portrayed any historical, factual, or cultural aspects of the setting; the setting is used solely for its exotic and romantic attributes. If you find anything in this work objectionable or offensive, please move on to other content.
Note 3: This work is my own personal intellectual property. Copyright © 2017 Audrey07. All rights reserved.
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Chapter 2: The Arrival
The ship was loaded by sundown, but the captain had to wait until late in the night to shove off as the tides were unfavorable for the passage. Cassia had fallen asleep in her cabin, but was awakened by the shouts of the crew as they worked to get the vessel underway. Once the sails were raised and the ship was headed toward the mouth of the harbor, it fell silent again, save for the gentle lapping of the ripples against the hull, and the rhythmic slap of the oars as four dozen men pulled in perfect, practiced unison.
The soft sounds and the slightest rocking motion quickly lulled Cassia back into a half slumber. But when the ship passed the final jetty and slipped out into the open water, the seas and winds rose. The ship, pulled by it's enormous, square sail, lurched and stalled into the opposing waves. Cassia was nearly knocked from her bunk when the ship's prow free-fell off the back of a rolling breaker into a deep trough between the waves, and then lurched back upward again. Great plumes of frothy spray slapped the small porthole above her berth. Cassia, having never before been to sea, was terrified. She sat up and cried out.
Across the cabin, Athalia was cowering and looking green. But Ligeia, the Greek beauty, had been to sea many times, traveling with her former master all over the furthest reaches of the Empire. She giggled at Athalia, and then went to sit on the edge of Cassia's berth. She ran her hand over Cassia's back to sooth her and told her that this was all normal, they were going to be fine. It didn't seem to be helping. Cassia was practically shaking with fear.
Finally, Cassia turned to Ligeia and held up her arms for an embrace. Ligeia folder her petite master to her bosom and gently caressed her head. Without speaking, Cassia lifted up Ligeia's tunic and cupped her hand under her handmaiden's breast. She then lowered her head and took the breast into her mouth. "Domina," whispered the handmaiden, "This is not a good time. Everyone can hear everything on this ship."
Cassia looked up at her handmaiden with frightened, pleading eyes. "Do just this for me," she said, "It gives me comfort."
"It is her way," said Athalia, still cowering in the corner. "She kept her wet nurse until she was twelve."
Ligeia sighed and laid Cassia down on her berth, then lay slightly above her, offering her breasts to the girl. Cassia resumed. She took the nipple into her mouth and lovingly stroked the side of the great, milky-white breast with the tips of her fingers. She pulled at the nipple with her lips and held it in place with her tongue, forming a strong suction. She began to nurse at the girl's breast as if she were a child, though no milk flowed. Ligeia lovingly ran her fingers through Cassia's hair. With each lurch and crash of the ship, Cassia suckled harder, and soon, she had wrapped her arms around the Greek handmaiden as if holding on for safety. But, after a while, they both relaxed and soon, both fell into a deep sleep.
They awoke a few hours later when the strong morning sun sent a blasting beam of daylight through the porthole. Athalia was up first, and she went to the porthole to see if she could spot land. Quickly she called to her mistress. "Domina! Come, you must see this!" she said, excitedly.
Ligeia and Cassia stirred. They were both still groggy and had to extract their limbs from around one another. Each stretched and moaned, their bodies stiff from sharing the same berth. With a protracted yawn, Cassia got up and went to the window. The motion of the ship had calmed considerably since the night, but still Cassia was somewhat unsteady on her feet. Ligeia had to catch her arm to keep her from tumbling sideways. Steadied, Cassia put her face to the porthole and squinted into the bright sunlight. Then, her jaw hung slack and her breath caught in her throat.
Looming high above them were the great, soaring cliffs of Capri. Seabirds circled and played on the updrafts only half-way up the side of the sheer rock face. Here and there, atop each impossibly high rock promontory, a tiny forest of a few trees and thick vegetation sprouted. Higher up, on the top of the cliff, a line of dark green trees was broken by the stark white stucco walls of houses that seemed to be perched in the very sky. At the base of these cliffs, the water was a deep, turquoise blue. It was the most beautiful sight Cassia had ever seen.
The women crowded around the porthole and stared in awe and wonder as the island slipped past. Before long, they came to a low spot on the island toward the middle of its length. There, a small fishing village appeared to have been clawed out of the very rock of the island. There was a stone pile jetty, and the ship's oarsmen pulled the ship into the flat, calm water of the protected harbor, and alongside the quay. There were a dozen other ships in port, and more arriving as each of the loyal senators made their way to the emperor's retreat. The quay itself was overcrowded, with the crews of many ships trying to unload, passengers trying to disembark and servants desperately rushing to and fro. It was a writhing mass of shouting, shoving and chaos. And oppressive heat.
Emperor Tiberius's sprawling palace, the Villa Jovi, was perched atop a series of high cliffs on the northeastern corner of the Island. Cassia's father, the Senator, would be staying in the palace compound as a guest of the Emperor, but he had arranged for his daughter and her entourage to be secreted away at a villa he had rented in the small winemaking village of Anacapri on the other end of the island. If there was to be civil war and it went badly for Tiberius, those loyal to him would be at risk. The senator wanted to ensure that his family was hidden away from harm in secret.
Cassia and her handmaidens would be safe, but virtually imprisoned. They ruminated on this on the long coach ride up the steep road to Anacapri. So preoccupied were they by their dilemma that they failed to notice the incredible vistas as their coach wound up the climbing switchbacks that were, in some places, carved into the very face of the cliff. The views from hundreds of feet up were breathtaking. Below, the sea was impossibly blue and dotted with the stark white sails of the fishing fleet. Away to the East, Vesuvius towered over the mainland skyline. Meanwhile, every available slope was stepped with trellised vineyards.