The old slave woman crept into her mistress' chambers, careful to close the door behind her so that it did not make a sound. She stood in the shadows, clutching in her hands a little rag doll, and watched as Messalina's breasts rose and fell in the slow rhythm of sleep. Messalina was a beautiful woman, and even through her hatred, the Greek slave could see that. Her features were delicate, exotic, with a hint of the East about them, though she belonged to one of the better families of Rome. Her lips were full and luscious, meant for kissing, and other things.
Her hair spilled out around her head in a rich black nimbus, highlighting the dusky pallor of her flesh. She had a long, graceful neck which led into the fullness of her rounded breasts. Through the light fabric of her gown, one could see her nipples, and the dark aureole surrounding them. During the night, Messalina had cast off her covers, and her gown had bunched up, revealing the gentle swell of her hip and the thick copse of hair between her legs. Under different circumstances Mila the slave woman might have found her very attractive. However it was not Eros that brought the old slave into her mistress' chambers, but Vengeance.
Mila's grandson had been a strong, happy young boy, very athletic and full of life, though he was, like all of his family, a slave. Working in the fields of the great manor had given him a muscular body, which had not gone unnoticed by the mistress of the house. Messalina had conspired to lure him into her bed, but the young boy was in love with another, and had not wanted to betray her. So he spurned his mistress, and incurred her wrath. Messalina accused him of attempting to rape her, and since she was a high-born citizen, and he but a slave, there was no question about who to believe.
They took the boy and beat him, then crucified him, as was the punishment for slaves in those days. Mila had watched her son die, and even watched the dogs and birds pick at his flesh, for the master of the house was a cruel man, and had not allowed the body to be taken down for burial. At that time, Mila swore vengeance on the haughty mistress who had caused the death of her beloved grandson. And since Mila had come from Thessaly, in Greece, the power to exact her vengeance was in her hands, though she was a slave, and was powerless in the eyes of her masters. Thessaly was the traditional home of witchcraft in Greece, where Medea and Circe had lived. It was thought that all Thessalian women were witches, and not without reason.