The Lycian Prince 27-28

The two naked boys asked for water, and both that and the remainder of the galley captain’s meal quickly disappeared, forcing the man to go for more. He locked the door behind him, telling the boys that it was not to keep them in but to prevent others from entering. He explained that he did not want his crew to see them in their current condition. He did not add that their bums would be far from safe if the crew did discover the new cargo like that, or the fact that he could not let the give-away Imperial brands be noticed until he found out what was going on. The captain returned with a large pail and some bread and cheese. Whilst the boys were rapidly consuming the fresh rations, the man opened a cupboard and pulled out a couple of his oldest but clean tunics. The garments would be far too big for the lads but he thought that they would excuse their ridiculous appearances in return for the cover and warmth afforded. The captain then waited patiently for the boys to finish their second course before asking them the obvious, what brought them here and without clothing? Anthonius was grateful for the captain’s kindness and thought that he could detect genuine goodness in the adult’s eyes. Anthonius had also perceived that the man had recognised his brandmarks, so he told him the truth.

The captain digested the news in silence for a long time before declaring “Then, you must sail with me. The ship heads for my homeport of Tarraco in Hispania the day after tomorrow. There’s a hold already loaded where you can hide, although it would be too uncomfortable to do so for too long. Therefore, once we’re a day or so out into the Mare Internum, I’ll tell the crew that I’ve found a couple of stowaways. You’ll have to work your passage then, and work hard, to justify my decision not to throw you into the sea, but you’ll do so under my close supervision. I don’t trust many of the crew and quite a few will think that your duties should include servicing their cocks.” Looking especially at Anthonius, the captain continued “It’s essential that none see those eagles you have on your thighs. I also hope that the Praetorians search for you doesn’t reach Ostia before we sail. There’ll undoubtedly be a large reward for your recapture and none of the crew would hesitate to inform on you as soon as we reach Hispania. You’ll then be in chains on the next boat back and I would probably be with you. However, if we get away before the guards arrive, we won’t be returning here for a while, by which time the search and talk of it will have stopped. I don’t think that any of the crew will then be putting two and two together! ” Anthonius recognised that the captain’s offer was the boys’ best chance of escaping Diocletian’s wrath and agreed to the strategy, despite lingering worries about the man’s true motives for helping them. Why, for example, did he himself not succumb to the temptation of the prize on their heads?

The captain checked that his crew had not yet returned from their drunken reveries in Ostia’s many taverns and led the boys to the hold. “You’ll be safe here,” he said, “the crew will be too busy curing their hangovers and filling the other holds to revisit this one. I’ll return with some food in the morning.” Looking at the boys dressed ridiculously in immensely baggy tunics that reached down almost to their ankles, the captain laughed and added “I’ll also buy some clothing that fits!” He placed the refilled pitcher on the floor, said “Sweet dreams” and left. Anthonius and Armillatus huddled together for warmth and were soon asleep in each other’s arms despite their dangers.

Meanwhile in Rome, Casperius and Lysus were congratulating themselves on the perfect execution of Niachiarus’ plan. They considered that it did not matter too much that the two boys had escaped the Emperor’s fury for now. They would soon be found with such a large reward on their heads and half the Praetorians and the garrison of Rome searching for them. After all, how could two naked boys, one clearly displaying Imperial ownership, disappear permanently without trace? Even if they did, the conspirators’ main objective had been achieved. However, if the Emperor ever got his hands on Anthonius and Armillatus again, the poor boys would soon be suffering horribly and that would be a very pleasant end to their plot.

They were especially pleased at how well they had managed to time Diocletian’s return to his bedchamber. Whilst Lysus had been watching the boys’ antics through carefully hidden spy-holes, with Niachiarus at his side waiting to deliver the message that would bring their plan to fruition, the major domo was occupying the Emperor by showing him some new erotic art that had been purchased to decorate the walls outside the pleasure chamber. The Nubian soon interrupted them to advise that Anthonius and Armillatus were missing, although it had been reported that they had last been seen opening the door of the Imperial bedchamber. Diocletian never did bother finding out who had made the report, although a compliant boy companion had been lined up for the role as a precaution.

The galley captain was as good as his word with breakfast and later fresh tunics, although without undergarments. They were a little large to allow for growth, in good plebeian thrifty fashion. Throughout the day, the boys could hear the crew as they went about their business but always elsewhere on the ship. The day was long and boring, especially as the boys felt it too dangerous to move or whisper to each other much, and it seemed that an eternity had passed before the captain returned with their dinner. However, as dusk came, the man’s prophecy that no-one would invade their privacy proved wrong. Two men entered and the boys, hidden safely from view, gathered from the men’s hushed voices that one was quite young whilst the other sounded much older. Anthonius and Armillatus quickly discovered what the men were about as they heard belts and garments being discarded, followed by the clear sound of lusts being satisfied. From murmured comments and groans, it appeared that the elder was sodomising the younger whilst at the same time masturbating him. The boys required great restraint to prevent themselves from tittering aloud. However, their attitude changed once the men’s passions had been sated and the lovers engaged in a brief post-coital conversation whilst redressing, for the boys were the only topic. Soldiers were already now searching for them in Ostia!

Once the men had gone, Anthonius decided that he had to distract Armillatus from the clear fright and panic his friend had suffered. He concluded that, as the ship was now quiet with most of the crew probably back ashore, the best way to calm Armillatus was to initiate the full consummation of their friendship. They would finish off what they had started on the Emperor’s bed the previous day. After two hours of sublime pleasure, the two boys finally slept, and peacefully too.

The galley captain continued to keep his word and brought breakfast again. He told the boys of the bad news of which they were already aware and tried to reassure them that they could still remain secure by staying hidden. The voyage would be much less pleasant but at least they should save their skins. The ship sailed on the morning tide. Anthonius now firmly believed that Armillatus would be safe under the captain’s protection and the men’s talk of the previous night only reinforced his determination to do what he felt he must. As the galley moved away from the quayside, Anthonius told a horrified Armillatus of his plan and resisted his friend’s desperate pleas to change his mind. He reassured Armillatus that the captain would prove a good protector and bade tender farewells, kissing his friend with passion. Somehow Anthonius managed to wriggle out of Armillatus’ resistant grip, quickly strip himself of his own tunic and place it in his right hand. The now naked boy then speedily slipped through a nearby porthole into the harbour waters, still cold from the winter months. He knew Armillatus could not follow because the boy could not swim, being terrified of deep water.

The galley captain was sorry to learn of Anthonius’ departure but not too much so. He could not risk the sudden appearance of two boys now the crew knew that the Imperial army were looking for two similar lads, with a large fortune to anyone providing information leading to their arrests. Anthonius’ brands would also have been very difficult to hide for long. However, Armillatus had no such markings and the sudden appearance of a solitary new captain’s cabin boy would not arouse too much suspicion. He could also protect the one boy better from the lecherous attentions of the crew by making it clear that any pleasures to be derived from the lad’s orifices were exclusively his, not that the man had any such intentions. Anthonius’ appraisal of the captain had been correct, for the man did have inner goodness, although this was not the prime motivation for risking his life and foregoing riches. The captain had just lost his only son to a fatal fever and his wife could bear no more children. The man had hoped that the two boys would accept adoption. The family could relocate their home to his wife’s remote home village deep in the Hispanian countryside, where the boys would never be found unless Anthonius’ brands were seen and recognised. However, this was not now a problem as there would just be one adopted son.

The journey to Tarraco passed peacefully with none of the crew suspecting the new cabin boy’s true identity or risking the captain’s displeasure by interfering with the pretty lad. Armillatus did accept adoption and later rewarded his kind new parents with retirement in great luxury for the happiness of his remaining childhood. There was only one blot and that was concern over Anthonius and it would be twenty years before he came to learn fully about his friend’s fate. Meanwhile, Armillatus was determined to overcome his innate timidity so that he could emulate his friend’s selfless bravery, which had now twice saved his life. He began by learning to swim.

Anthonius had chosen the right cabin door after all.

Chapter 28 – Rescue (Hist, m/b, anal, oral, mast)

Anthonius had waited deliberately until the ship had sailed because he knew that then Armillatus could not follow, knowing his friend’s inability to swim and fear of deep water. Anthonius had not wanted to leave Armillatus but he thought that his friend was now secure, that in the circumstances he himself was only a liability to the boy’s continued safety and that, anyway, there was another to rescue. Anthonius reasoned correctly that, if he and Armillatus did disappear, Diocletian would eventually turn his rage on Sura, knowing that the boy was as much his friend as the one with whom he had escaped. Anthonius could not now do much to prevent the Emperor from turning on Lycia, for which he felt very guilty, but at least he could save Sura, having failed him previously. He loved Armillatus but, knowing the boy’s limitations, he recognised that the lad would only have been a hindrance and danger to them all if he had joined in the escapade.

Anthonius had swum to a quiet part of the quayside, where there were some steps leading down to the water’s edge. He attracted little attention because the sight of boys swimming in the harbour was not unusual, as many were beggars trying to encourage passengers on the arriving and departing boats to throw some coins to them. The shivering Anthonius quickly put on his wet tunic before climbing the steps to prevent anyone noticing his distinctive bodily markings and adornments. The soppy garment only added to his chill. The boy moved a short distance along the quay towards a large group of crates and hid amongst them until darkness fell. As he lay there, his body quickly became warm again as the sun beat down.

Anthonius emerged from his place of concealment after dusk and carefully proceeded down the quay towards the town. He hoped that one boy walking alone would not attract too much attention but he was wrong. He reached the promenade and advanced along it for at its end began the road to Rome. Halfway along, Anthonius looked behind and saw that he was being followed at a distance by two soldiers. The boy did not know whether they were just innocently going about their business or were tailing him. He dared not run for that really would gain their attention if they suspected him. He therefore decided to turn off the promenade into a side thoroughfare to see whether they continued the pursuit. Anthonius realised his mistake as soon as he turned the corner for the street was crowded with people. He guessed correctly, from the many busy taverns on both sides as he walked up, that he had entered Ostia’s main pleasure quarter. He also noticed that there were clearly other places of entertainment, outside a number of which stood scantily clad women, girls and boys inviting passers-by to enter. There was a lot of additional activity going on in the dark side-alleys, presumably where clients, mainly sex-starved sailors far from home who could not afford the brothel prices, were entertained by cheaper prostitutes. It suddenly dawned on him that there would only be one reason why a pretty boy would be walking this route alone at this time of night. He looked behind to see that, not only had the soldiers turned into the street, they had also gained much ground on him, as if they had run to the corner.

Anthonius had ignored the lecherous shouts aimed at him as he progressed along the thoroughfare but now chose to listen to the next. Four men walked from the opposite direction towards him and, as they neared, one of them said “Well, what have we here, a nice tasty piece of boy flesh. How much do you charge?” Anthonius looked around and saw the soldiers closing. “One sesterce” he answered. The men stopped directly in front of the boy and the original questioner responded “I hope that’s for all four of us.” Anthonius said that it was and headed for a nearby alley with the men following, all delighted at obtaining a boy so cheaply for the going rate was indeed one sesterce each. Passionate noises revealed that there were obviously others in the dark lane but the gloom prevented them from being seen. “Right, off with the tunic,” the men’s spokesperson continued, “and bend over. We’ll take you two at a time.”

Anthonius was not sure what he meant by this but complied by casting his tunic to the ground nearby and bending over whilst still facing down the alley, hoping that the darkness and his posture would hide his brands. The boy waited in trepidation and shame for the men to assume their starting positions. He had only ever had anal and oral sex with four people previously, disagreeably with Diocletian and the obese Arab and pleasantly with the young soldier in Germania and, the previous night, with Armillatus. He was suddenly and quickly going to double the number in the most inauspicious of circumstances and with some rather nasty brutish people.

One of the men came to Anthonius’ front and the other positioned himself at the boy’s rear. The latter fondled Anthonius’ hardening cock, saying “Very nice!” As the men, stinking of ale, pulled their undergarments down, Anthonius now fully appreciated what they had meant about ‘two at a time’. The boy soon had a dirty sweaty erection in his mouth and a large penis pressed against his sphincter. The front man held Anthonius harshly by the hair and moved the boy’s head on and off his rigid cock, slowly at first but gradually increasing tempo. Anthonius almost gagged several times as the cockhead was thrust deep down his throat. The back man had gripped the tops of Anthonius’ legs to aid his own thrusts, the earliest of which were extremely painful but the boy’s mouth was too occupied to utter a cry. Anthonius was eventually being shaken violently in two parts of his anatomy as the men gradually rose to climax. However, there was one consolation for the boy. He had seen through his legs that the soldiers had paused at the entrance to the lane, seemed satisfied with what they were seeing and departed back towards the harbour.

The men came almost simultaneously and a large amount of hot sperm poured into Anthonius at both ends. Both men held the boy rigidly in place as they enjoyed their orgasms and the lad was almost choking when they finally released him and withdrew. However, there was another task to perform for the back man. He came round to Anthonius’ front and told him to clean his mess off the softening cock. As the boy had not had an enema for a couple of days, he had to lick off more than he was accustomed. The other two men now took their turn. They had not waited patiently for they had continuously barracked the first couple to encourage them to finish quickly so that they too could enjoy the whore. Anthonius eventually found that servicing the second pair was a remarkably similar experience to the first.

Once Anthonius had cleaned the second back man’s cock, he began to stand up but received a rebuke from the spokesman. “What do you think you’re doing whore, it’s turn about time!” The boy sadly knew instantly what this meant and, because he could not afford trouble, resumed his original stance. When Anthonius had finally completed his second tour of duty, the men walked away laughing. They left no money. Their spokesman instead said “You must be new to this business whore. Always get your wages first!”

Anthonius stood, semen drooling from the sides of his mouth and down his bumcrack to his inner thighs. He looked behind, tears in his eyes but, to his disgust, with his own throbbing erection. The boy observed that there was a small queue of what appeared to be more customers. He quickly gathered his tunic and ran with it in his hand into the deeper recesses of the alley. Anthonius eventually stopped when he reached an intersection and saw that no-one was following. He was about to put on his tunic but his hard cock was demanding attention. The boy withdrew to a doorway and started to masturbate but something within him was telling him not to be so shy, and it lured him back into the middle of the intersection where moonlight filtered through. It was there, excitedly bathed in the silvery moonlight, that he quickly brought himself to climax and spurted his seed over the ground.

Anthonius gradually worked his way through the myriad of small lanes, avoiding any that were crowded, until he finally reached the road to Rome. This was the busiest avenue in the Empire for along the wide cobbled way passed, from its main port, most of the supplies upon which the capital relied for existence. There was a large amount of traffic even at this late hour. Anthonius, aided by the light of the full moon that had helped bring him to earlier ecstasy, therefore shadowed it by walking along amongst the trees and bushes on the righthandside. This meant that he faced the oncoming traffic for the Romans always drove their wagons and rode their horses on the left.

After an hour and a half, Anthonius had entered the outskirts of the great city and now chose some quieter streets by which to reach the Imperial palace, carefully running between places of cover in order to avoid being spotted by any passers-by. However, these thoroughfares were largely deserted and he came to the back of the palace within another half-hour. He located the gate through which the wagon, that had been the saviour of him and his friend a few days before, had left for Ostia. It was still open because the work of the palace never stopped. However, it was much easier to transcend the inner yard at this hour, in the middle of the night, because there were far fewer servants and slaves on duty. Anthonius, by keeping to the shadows as he quickly ran between wagons and crates, successfully reached the servants’ quarters without detection. The boy found these quiet too, although he did have to pretend once that he was a young slave on some errand when he turned a corner and could not avoid passing some servants coming the other way.

Anthonius eventually came to the place where the Emperor’s bath water was prepared. It would be empty for some hours as Diocletian rose late. The boy entered the lukewarm water channel and gingerly made for the sluice-gate on the other side of which the Emperor undoubtedly slept with another of his boys. Anthonius perceived snoring on the other side and remembered how he had often been kept awake in the Imperial bed, with Diocletian’s loud noises preventing him from sleeping almost as much as his sore mouth and bum. The boy carefully prised the gate open, allowing the water to flow into the bath on the far side only very slowly and virtually silently.

Anthonius had to wait patiently for a while until the gate was open wide enough to squeeze through. Disaster threatened when the lad did so for he almost lost balance. However, he managed to retrieve the situation and lower his legs quietly into the bath water. The bedchamber was, at this time of night, illuminated only by a single wall-torch. Through the shadows cast, Anthonius saw Diocletian, who would surely kill him if he were captured, on the bed with a boy. He cautiously extracted himself from the bath and tip-toed towards the bed for he had to make certain that the boy was not Sura. The boy was not and so Anthonius made for the door, which creaked slightly when he opened it. Fortunately, no-one stirred. Anthonius crept outside, across the empty pleasure chamber and through the door opposite. The boy gingerly made his way along a couple of passageways towards Sura’s own tiny quarters. Detection now would be fatal for the Praetorian night guard would not be far away. As he finally stood in front of Sura’s door, Anthonius prayed to his gods for his friend to be within, not imprisoned somewhere. The boy opened the door, stepped inside and whispered “Sura” into the blackness.

“Welcome back, Anthonius” said Niachiarus, “I’ve been expecting you.” The boy turned to flee but as he re-opened the door a huge Praetorian was standing outside and grabbed him firmly. The Nubian emerged from the blackness of Sura’s room to express his true feelings for his former charge. The eunuch punched Anthonius in the balls.

(To be continued in Chapter 29 – ‘Inquisition’)