The Lycian Prince 44

Sura and the other pretty boys in their large underground open communal cell were having, literally, a hard time. Certain of the Coliseum’s gaolers, and their friends with similar tastes, were thoroughly enjoying having such a bounty under their control. The clothing of all the boys had been removed, for later sale, and their shame at their subsequent nudity was most intensely felt by the young eunuch, as everyone could now see the results of his emasculation. However, this did not stop one of the guards, a middle-aged bearded hairy man who never bathed and therefore smelt awful, from conducting his own form of adoption in relation to the lad because he fancied the novelty of enjoying a eunuch.

The gaoler removed the naked Sura from the cell and took him to the Coliseum custodians’ nearby barracks. He pulled his filthy lower garments down to his ankles and ordered the boy to suck his disgusting erection. The lad struggled to comply because of the stink and the man therefore grabbed his hair and smacked him several times brutally across the face. This finally encouraged the young eunuch to fulfil the most disagreeable task.

Sura was handed to a similarly foul associate to be sodomised. This man asked, almost breathlessly as he was ploughing the boy’s anus, “What’s it like, eunuch,…. to know that…. you’ll be torn apart…. by starving lions….in three days' time?" This was the first time that the lad had learnt of his imminent fate and the resultant tensing of his body, which included a tightening of his anus, caused the man to climax. Sura was then returned to the first abuser for further sodomy before being passed on to others. His experiences during this and the next two nights was not unusual for almost all attractive women and children were fodder for the lecherous guards and their acquaintances, some of whom had bribed their way to the various pleasures on offer.

Sebastian’s arrest was proving tragic not only for himself but also for many of his friends, not least Sura’s adoptive family for the Coliseum entertainments commenced whilst the captain was incarcerated in the dungeons of the Imperial palace and was therefore unavailable to attempt his rescues.

The father, in his mid-thirties, was to be the first into the arena and he was faced not with ferocious animals but with gladiators, although perhaps the latter could be considered a type of wild beast. He had been forced into the arena, along with nine other similarly aged men, by guards armed with whips and tridents. They found themselves surrounded by thousands of raucous spectators, baying for blood. Ten swords had been placed on the ground in the middle of the arena and the men were apparently expected to pick them up to attempt to save themselves against the ten professional fighters. Some did not, either because they were frozen in terror or because their consciences would not permit them to injure or kill others, and they were loudly booed by the crowd as they were rapidly and bloodily hacked to death. Sura’s adoptive father was not one of these for he believed that he had the right to try to defend himself. The watching throng cheered when his inadequate swordsmanship was rewarded with swift decapitation.

The mother, in her late twenties, entered shortly afterwards with fourteen other attractive females, all of whom had been amongst those regularly defiled over the previous few days. They were all naked, to the delight of most male spectators, and, to prevent them from running, their feet had been shackled together with a short chain. They were quickly followed into the arena by a group of fifteen very hungry large bears. The women were soon to provide the creatures with plenty of nourishment.

Sura shared his communal cell with about thirty other scared boys, including his adoptive brother, a comely younger lad with curly brown hair. Unfortunately, along with the other pretty boys amongst their number, most previously virgins, the 10 years old had lost his innocence, many times over, in the barracks during their brief stay in this terrible place.

After a few days in the cell, which had no facilities other than the hole in the ground that acted as the toilet, the unfed naked boys had become very dirty as well as very, very hungry. Therefore, when it was their turn to present themselves in the arena, the gaolers brought in tubs of cold water and ordered the lads to clean themselves. Throughout the day, the terrified youngsters had seen the occupants of nearby cells being led away and had subsequently been able to hear, despite the voluminous noise from the crowd, the screams frequently emanating from the arena. Most were crying as they were herded with the whips and tridents towards the entrance gate of the now very bloody amphitheatre.

They were greeted inside by loud cheers, particularly from those who had a taste for nice boys. However, the petrified lads could also now hear the roars of the ravenous lions located at another gate. When this was opened and the spectators’ jeering intensified, the horrified youngsters reacted in different ways. Some were frozen to their spots and soiled themselves. Others ran around the arena to try to avoid the jaws of the voracious beasts. Sura did neither. As he observed one of the animals jump onto his adoptive brother and another head directly for him, the young nude eunuch lowered himself onto his knees, placed his hands together and began to pray to his new God.

(To be continued in Chapter 45 – ‘Reunion’