Vibianus approached the Emperor slowly and with a bowed head. He was a middle aged man, though still physically strong, denoting his military background. He had been assigned to lead the Commodus' personal escort ever since the late Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Philosopher, had died, as a reward to the loyalty he had shown to him at those difficult early times in Germania. The Emperor was watching the fire in complete and contemplative immobility; he coughed slightly to let him know about his presence.

“Yes, Vibianus”, he said, “What tidings do you have for me?”

“We have the girl, Your Highness,” he replied.

“What girl, Vibianus?”

“Senator Claudius' daughter, Your Highness.”

“Well done. Bring her to me,” Commodus said.

Ever since he had learned the Senator was gathering a group of noblemen who opposed to his rule, he had ordered the collection of intelligence about his movements. But the Senator and his conspirator comrades had grown careful; information had become difficult to obtain. However, as strong clues of an imminent operation had been obtained, Commodus thought that, at a certain moment, bribing and infiltrating among the conspirators' servitude, the modern, sophisticated practices his chief of spies had become fond of, were not enough anymore, and that the situation justified the use of some old and traditional methods. After all, you could learn about the intentions of a senator and his ring of conspirators through spying, and possibly torturing some servants, but to make a formal accusation, you had to have something else. Like the confession of his daughter, for instance.

II

The girl was brought to the hall by two men, while Vibianus watched from a safe distance. Not a good idea to steal a show from the Emperor. Commodus walked around her. She was dressed in a white, ankle-length tunic, exposing her back, upper chest and shoulders, tall and well built. Perhaps in ten or twenty years, if she lived that long, she would become one of those imposing Roman matrons. She had the big frame typical of them; but at her young age, possibly just over twenty, she had long legs, generous hips and shoulders, and nice ample breasts. She was also pretty, having a rounded face with big honey eyes, full lips and that aquiline nose so common in pure-blood Italians. Her long, chestnut hair was tied with a lace to the back of her head. She was not restrained, nor had violence been exerted on her by any means, other than her actual abduction from the marketplace.

“Dear Aecia”, the Emperor began, “we need you make a vital contribution to the State.” The girl looked at him incredulously. She was obliged to answer.

“Your Highness, say what you want from me.”

Commodus looked at her for a while, scrutinizing her.

“We know your father and elder brother are gathering a group of conspirators against me, their God and Emperor. We need you to point that out before the Senate, so we can judge and punish them”, he said. The girl looked astonished.

“Your Highness, that is surely a lie! They are faithful subjects of Your Highness!” But to Commodus it sounded like a faked surprise; probably, it was.

“Dear Aecia”, he said, in a tone that might have been described as condescending, “We have indubitable evidence of that, and what’s more, that you have been present, if not actively, in some meetings at the family villa up-country”.

“Your Highness, that IS a lie! I have never witnessed any meeting other than social or formal dinners my father…” but Commodus, moving his head, made a sign to her with his hand to shut up. He sighed, and clapped his hands. Immediately, two guards brought another girl into the hall. This was a younger one, possibly under twenty, blond and slim. She was wearing a short, knee length tunic of coarse material, and her face was dirty and noticeably distressed; some dry blood could still be seen in her lips. She wasn't restrained, but the two men hold her by the arms; her footing was infirm, and her feet were bruised. Aecia recognized her immediately; she was one of her private servants, a Celt slave girl from the Po Valley. She also realized she had been tortured.

“Your Highness, what have you done to this girl?” she said, genuinely alarmed. She tried to rush up to her, but a guard interposed in the way.

“So you recognize your slave, dear Aecia?” said Commodus smiling, “Let’s hear what she has to say,” and he snapped his fingers. One of the guards pulled the girl’s arm, and she started speaking.

“I have seen… many times during the last month… Milady Aecia attending the meetings of her father’s friends… at the villa. I have been serving beverages and… overheard some of the conversations there… it was clear that they were planning to murder the Emperor,” she said, looking at the floor and breathing with some difficulty.

“Your Highness, that’s not true! Your men have forced her to say lies and therefore make you believe in all that!” Aecia said, but Commodus smiled.

“What you say is partly true, Aecia. She wouldn't speak quite voluntarily, indeed… fierce and loyal nature that of these savages, I know them well enough.” He made a pause, as if lost in remembrance.

“But we know what she said in the end to be the truth. Now, to take a Senator and his high class conspirators’ comrades to the Senate to judge; even the Emperor needs something more than gossip and a slave girl witness. We need you”.

“Your Highness, I could not lie and condemn my own father and brother!” she protested.

“Well, dear Aecia, at this point, we could forget the “lying” part… we both know the accusations are true. I fully appreciate your loyalty to your family, but your loyalty to your Emperor should come first. Can we reach an agreement?”

Aecia was silent.

“I shall take it as a provisional “yes”. See, if you denounce your father and your elder brother...your duty to the Empire, I should add...your middle brother and your younger sister, and of course yourself, will be declared innocent. Your middle brother...Lucius, isn't his name?...will inherit the family property. Exception made of some goods which will be confiscated as… compensation for expenses…and we'll find a good husband for you. Looking at you, that wouldn't be so difficult,” he said matter-of-factly, walking around the girl. She swallowed.

“I cannot betray my family,” she said slowly. The Emperor made a gesture of disappointment. He went up to her and slid his fingers down her naked shoulder. She looked at him in surprise.

“Then, my dear Aecia, we'll have to do the things we have done to your slave on your body… awful things… do not think I wholly regret that." He snapped his fingers again, and the guard stripped the Celt. She had a slim, muscular body with long, thin legs. She had been thoroughly lashed, bruises and marks (both from a bullwhip and from the “flagrum”, the Roman traditional multi-tongued whip with small metal pieces tied to the tongues) were all over her body, as well as racked, as showed by bruised her legs and arms. Her fingers had been broken and there were some small burn marks here and there. But Aecia was prepared for the sight and looked unimpressed.

“You can have me tortured if you wish, Your Highness, but I shall never betray my family. I am a Roman lady,” she said, and Commodus could not but make a gesture of acknowledgement of her bravery.

“Brave words, my lady,” he said. “But said before any device touched your skin and tore your flesh. We shall see once they do.” He made a gesture, and the guards took the Celt girl; as they carried her away, she shouted.

“Forgive me, Milady!” but they beat her in the head to silence her. Commodus looked at her for a while.

“Still determined to remain silent, dear Aecia?” but she looked away.

“Tie her to the column,” he said to Vibianus. He made a gesture to the guards and they took her to the nearest column, passed an arm each side and tied her by the wrists at the other side. The column was wide enough for her hands not to join. Conveniently, there was a metal lamp attachment to which they secured the rope, elevating her arms a little. Vibianus understood the Emperor’s intentions. He tore the back of the tunic until almost to her hip and opened the sides, leaving her back and lumbar area naked. He then clapped, and a man came carrying a bullwhip. Better to be prepared for his Emperor’s sudden wishes. Commodus assented with a slight movement of the head, Vibianus transmitted the command and the man started whipping Aecia. The whip was relatively light, and she stood the first strokes immutably; however, as the effect started to build up, her back got reddened and bruises started showing. She started sweating, and contorting slightly at every stroke, her legs failing a little. She repressed her screams clenching her teeth, though the pain was evident. Commodus gave a signal to stop; then another for the girl to be untied and brought in front of him again.

“So, dear Aecia, that was but a preliminary dose of what awaits you, if you refuse to confess. An able man could make things last for, maybe, two or three full days, and we have some of the best. Do you stand by your words?” he said, and while saying so, he went up to her and delicately slid the torn tunic down her right shoulder, exposing a full breast with a round, brown nipple; he caressed it lightly with the back of his fingers. She was covered in sweat, her skin shining and her breath quickened.

“I shall never confess” she said.

“Good” he said, with an almost theatrical sign of carelessness. “Take her.”

The guards took her by the arms and carried her out of the hall; she kept looking over her shoulder straight into his face until they disappeared into the corridor. Vibianus bowed and started coming after them, when the Emperor called.

“Vibianus!” he went up to him. Commodus passed his arm over his shoulder and spoke low, almost to his ear.

“Be very careful, my dear Vibianus… do you understand?” he assented, bowed again and went out.

III

Commodus went down to the dungeons after supper. Contrary to common gossip, he didn't like going down there, though he was the least squeamish person in the palace. Most probably he considered all that activity simply a waste of time, preferring to operate his considerable power of analysis on information already obtained, rather than actually extracting it, but for some exceptions; this was one of these. He was led into the final corridor, and he could already hear the screams; he could tell the girl was being racked, and that she had been subjected to the torment for some time, judging for the guttural and spent sound of her screaming. When he appeared on the doorstep of the torture chamber, he could see that was the case.

Aecia, naked exception made of a small loincloth over her private parts, was spread on the rack, being intermittently stretched to the point of screaming in pain. His men knew the mechanics of interrogation by the rack, which was based on consecutive stretching, releasing, questioning and stretching again. As he entered the chamber, Vibianus, who was overseeing the procedure, made a signal to the men to stop; they immediately loosened the screws a little. The girl relaxed; her breathing was heavy and she was moaning continuously as she tried to move her limbs to release some of the pain. Commodus approached the rack. The air was stiff and cold, but the girl was covered in sweat from the pain and tension; her body gleamed in the lamplight. The Emperor reached out a hand and lightly passed it from the ropes to her right foot, then along her long leg. He touched with his fingertips the loincloth, and then passed them over her hips and her belly, which was moving up and down spasmodically as she tried to recover her breath. His fingers went up the bottom of her right breast and juggled around her nipple. He said, reflectively:

“Your body is not made for this, Aecia… why do you allow it to be ravaged in such a way?” he said reflectively, but the girl didn't answer; she just moved her head from side to side and moaned. Commodus took her by the chin and started caressing her lips with his thumb, going inside her mouth; she had perfect teeth.

“Will you confess what you know about your father’s conspiracy, dear?” but she denied, slowly moving her head. Vibianus discreetly showed the Emperor a thumbscrew; he imperceptibly nodded and went on caressing Aecia’s face.

“Save yourself from further suffering, lovely Aecia… just tell me what you heard from your father and his friends."

The screw was already being tightened around her left thumb with a metallic sound.

“I… I can't…” she said in a low voice; she moaned and then started screaming as the screw bit into her thumb. The Emperor looked at the man operating the screw and he immediately stopped turning it. He went low almost to her ear and said:

“Do it. You are protecting the rest of your family,” but she started sobbing, while saying “No…” so low as to seem she was just moving her lips. Commodus looked again at the man; the girl screamed pitch high as the screw tore into her flesh, then her scream went down to a guttural howl as the man loosened it. The process was repeated several times, the man tightening the screw almost to the point of breaking the finger, then expertly releasing just before the pain was too unbearable and Aecia would pass away. Commodus, still holding her chin, shook her head.

“Will you tell your Emperor everything… as a good Roman citizen?”

“I… will not… betray… my family,” she said, breathing heavily in between words, seemingly with her last bit of strength, and, looking aside, she sighed and moaned loudly. Commodus made a slight sign to the man, and he took the thumbscrew out of Aecia’s hand. Her thumb was bloody and torn, but not broken. Then he took station at the rack’s wheel; at a sign of the Emperor, he started cranking it up. The girl started moaning. The man stopped and showed Commodus a cylindrical log; he assented and the man inserted it between the rack’s table and her lower back, arching and raising it several inches, adding to the girl’s pain. Her moaning increased. Another crank of the wheel, and she first clenched her teeth against the pain, then screamed. The operator then eased the wheel a bit for Commodus to question her again.

He had never stepped back, virtually breathing the girl’s breath, and now he started caressing both her breasts, which had gone flat against her ribcage, extending the palm of his right hand in the middle of her chest to reach each one alternatively, squeezing lightly her nipples in turn. He felt the girl’s frantic breathing and the quickened beats of her heart for a while.

“Dear Aecia, why do not surrender? You have been up to your name already. No one will accuse you of cowardice, no one. Talk now, dear Aecia.”

But the girl spat in his face. Commodus stepped back; clean the spit on his face with his fingers and licked them. He smiled.

“Brave to the end, eh?” he said calmly, and he signaled the operator to crank the wheel up again. As the girl started screaming, Vibianus could not help but admire his Emperor. He was as cold as the winter in Germania; he was positively delighted at the girl’s resistance and refused to get annoyed or even frustrated at her provocations. A lesser man would have had her killed in anger, uselessly. The girl was now stretched to the point of injury. Her ribcage and hip bones, even more with the log at her lower back, were projected upwards, while her belly moved frantically up and down trying to catch her breath. She gnashed her teeth and moaned loudly and continually; the pain must have been excruciating. Yet, no joint had been torn. Commodus looked up to the operator of the wheel, who immediately loosened the screw a bit.

“My dear, if we go on stretching your body like this, your joints will give. Your elbows first, probably fairly soon,” and he caressed the right one, the closest to him. “Then your shoulders,” and he did the same. Then he run his hand down her chest and abdomen. “Then… your hips…” he put the palm of his hand on her right hipbone, and lightly sneaked the point of his fingers below the wet loincloth. He then went up her body again to her abdomen, followed her breast down the ribcage, and made his fingers walk her lower back, lifted from the rack’s table by the tension and the log. “Finally, your spine… but that doesn't have to happen necessarily today…maybe tomorrow…even the day after.” He took the girl by the chin, forcing her to look at him. “Do you want that death, dear Aecia? Talk to me before your beautiful body is broken apart.”

“I… can't… I… can't… Your Highness… have mercy… by all the gods in the Hill,” the girl pleaded in whispers, weeping, among sobs and sighs. Commodus looked at the operator, who tightened the wheel again, going further up. Expertly, he did it in stages, tightening and loosening a bit, but always beyond the last point. Aecia screamed all the way, and moved her head sideways violently in agony; suddenly, her right elbow made a snapping sound and she screamed even louder, her mouth and eyes open wide, gradually turning into a guttural howl. Commodus made a sign to the operator to ease the wheel, to prevent her from passing away. He again shook the girl’s chin.

“Aecia, we shall get your father anyhow. If you do not talk, we'll frame him and your brother also, and probably we shall kill the rest of your family and burn their villa as well. Do you understand, beautiful Aecia?” but the girl started sobbing and coughing; she moved her head in an unequivocal negative sign.

“Have… mercy…Your Highness…”, she said, moving her lips in an almost silent whisper.

Commodus stood up suddenly, as if all of a sudden losing interest in the whole matter.

“Very well,” he said. And the, addressing to Vibianus, “Proceed,” he left the chamber, oblivious to the whispering of Aecia. “No… no…Your Highness… no…” As he went up the corridor and up the stairs, the screaming resumed behind him.

IV

As always, Vibianus approached the Emperor slowly and with a bowed head. Commodus was sitting eating grapes, as calm as he could have ever been, but you could not be sure with him. He could go from an almost contemplative immobility to a fiery rage without any warning. Exception made of the nature of the news one brought to him, especially bad ones, like this.

“Your Highness, the girl... has died.” Vibianus had thought for long how to introduce the subject; however, as he spoke, he realized he had taken a bad approach.

“Er... she was found dead, so to speak,” he corrected himself clumsily. The Emperor turned his head and looked at him.

“What girl, Vibianus?” he couldn't be sure if he was really in the dark or if he was teasing him, so he was careful.

“Senator Claudius' daughter, Your Highness.” He could not repress a sense of deja vu.

“Ah,” the Emperor said. Then he very calmly put the grapes back on the plate and got up. He took Vibianus by the shoulders and they began to walk together. He started caressing the hilt of the legionary dagger he always wore, a gift from the officers of the 2nd Legio Germanica.

“Found dead, you say,” he said, in a very low voice, almost in a whisper.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he promptly replied. Better not to give details that were not asked for.

“Hadn't I told you to be careful... exceedingly careful?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“So... how could that happen, dear Vibianus?”

“Er... we WERE careful, Your Highness. We left her to rest in her cell. The torture had been too hard on her, and we were planning to resume at dawn, when she got a bit recovered.” He stopped.

“Very wise, playing on the safe side,” again that teasing, “Then... what happened?”

“She managed to strangle herself with the ropes she had been tied, Your Highness.”

“Unexpectedly,” the Emperor said, as almost a passing comment, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes, Your Highness; it wasn't our fault,” Vibianus dared put an excuse. Commodus looked at him.

“And who let her unattended and unguarded in her cell, Vibianus?” He was still caressing the hilt.

“Your Highness, she was unconscious and very weak from the torture. She couldn't move her limbs, so that we would carry her to the torture room in a litter, if need be; we couldn't expect she would be able to do that.” Vibianus was sweating in fear; but Commodus stayed calm. Probably he was well ahead of the problem, already thinking a way around. When he entered that mode, you could nearly always be safe; he didn't care about the mishap, but delighted himself on his considerable ingenuity in finding a solution.

“Never underestimate a young lady, especially if she is beautiful and from a noble family, Vibianus.” He also had a habit of indulging himself in his sense of humor. Vibianus now could feel almost safe.

“How will we now know about the Senator's whereabouts, Vibianus?” Now it was a delicate moment, because he had to say something, neither too stupid as to enrage him, nor too ingenious, so that the Emperor would have the feeling that he was the one who solved the problem.

“Er... the Senator has another daughter,” he said.

“No, my dear Vibianus, she is twelve years old... I know she is… quite developed, physically, so to speak, for her age, but twelve years old anyway... I can bear, even be proud of, being called a sadist, but a pervert.. it's different...”

“Of course, Your Highness,” but he was sure that his own display of potential ruthlessness had been appreciated.

“I'll tell you what we'll do,” the Emperor made a pause. The man was all ears, honestly.

“Get another girl, a look-alike of her, and bring her to me.”

“A look-alike?” Vibianus asked, puzzled.

“Yes, Vibianus!” No, do not let him lose his temper now, Vibianus thought.

“I know it will not be easy, she was a beautiful girl, but do your best! Should I do it all myself?”

Vibianus was on the verge of panic, but the Emperor calmed down.

“Pick four or five girls from the slave market, same age, same height and body, same eye, skin and hair colour, by Jove, and bring them to me, Vibianus. Do that.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He tried to break away, but the Emperor wouldn't let him loose. He was still staring at him in the face, his fingers on the dagger's pommel. Then, suddenly, he let go. Vibianus bowed and got out of there as quickly as his legs could carry him.

V

The Emperor entered the room to inspect the girls. Vibianus had sent two men who had passed the whole morning at the slave market; he knew going himself would have been a giveaway. They had brought him over a dozen girls, from which he had selected four. He had had them cleaned, and dressed more or less as Aecia had been on the fateful morning she had been kidnapped. Commodus scrutinized them carefully, walking around them once and again. One was too evidently Greek, with too dark hair and eyes; he dismissed her. Another was very similar to Aecia in size, but her skin was too tanned; a true Roman lady spent most of her time indoors, so their skin (though naturally darker than those livid Celts) lacked any tanning. He dismissed them, and kept the other two.

“Get naked,” he said, and the girls immediately obliged. One was surely Lebanese, just a bit shorter than Aecia had been, and undoubtedly slimmer, but beautiful: she had long dark hair, big round eyes and full lips, with well shaped legs. The other was Italian, about the same size and look as Aecia. Vibianus wondered why the Emperor had kept the first girl, but he said:

“Vibianus, you have done well. Sent this girl to my room,” and smiled. Vibianus understood and mirrored the smile. The Emperor then addressed the second girl.

“What is your name and where are you from, slave?”

“Callista, Your Highness; I come from Apulia,” bowing slightly. Commodus made a sign of disapproval, and signaled Vibianus to get closer to him. He whispered at his ear.

“Her voice... is too different a pitch... much higher.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What do you think we could do?”

“Cut her tongue first?” Commodus repressed a laugh.

“No, Vibianus; we have spent a lot of money on her, I wouldn't like to damage her so soon” He thought for a moment.

“We'll gag her.”

“Gag her?”

“Yes, Vibianus, gag her. Find a piece of cloth and tie it at the back of her head. She should bite into it, you know, like the military surgeons do with their patients. She will be able to moan, scream and mumble things, but her voice will not be recognizable. That will add drama.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Vibianus honestly admired the ingenuity of his master.

“Have her raped by three of four men in the floor of a cell. That will give her a properly dirty and battered look. After that, have her lashed with a light whip, just to mark her body. Then, when the Senator comes, put her to the rack.” That was too much information for Vibianus, but he could only ask:

“The Senator, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Vibianus, invite Senator Claudius to come here at early evening.” All of a sudden, all the pieces went together for Vibianus. He was awed.

“Yes, Your Highness.” And he left the room.

VI

Vibianus was waiting outside the Emperor chamber with two men, when he heard him clapping his hands. He entered the chamber and saw Senator Claudius visibly distressed with a reddened face, while Commodus kept the jovial expression he usually had when playing cat and mouse with someone.

“Vibianus, lead us to the interrogation chamber, please. After you, Senator.”

The group started going down to the dungeons. When they emerged from the descending stairs into the corridor connecting the cells, the muffled screams of a girl could be heard. The Senator looked increasingly distressed and tried to turn to the Emperor, but he made a sign to keep shut with hand and lips. They stopped at a closed wooden door; the screams were more and more unnerving. The Emperor said:

“Vibianus, open the vision trap”. He slid a small metal panel on the door; the screams became more audible. Commodus peeped through the open panel for a long while, smiling; the screams were more and more acute. Then, he stood aside and signaled the Senator to take a look. The Senator looked through the vision port and was abashed. He saw, under the flickering light of several lamps and torches, a girl being ruthlessly stretched in a rack, on the other side of the chamber; several men walked around the rack and in front of the hatch, obscuring the vision. He couldn't be sure, but her naked body looked covered in sweat and dirt; what was worse, though he could only see parts of her body, whip marks looked to be all over it, over her breasts, abdomen and thighs. The girl was gagged with a piece of cloth tied over her mouth, and she bit into it in pain, shaking her head violently as she screamed. He tried to address the Emperor, but he pointed the visor, in an unequivocal sign to keep on looking. To his horror, one of the men took a pair of pincers and started working on the girl's breasts, squeezing and pulling; the girl yelled and contorted in pain. Commodus suddenly shut up the visor, and with a movement of his head led the way upstairs. The Senator was weeping silently, looking to the floor. Vibianus left them at the room from where they had started their descent.

VII

Next day, Commodus was comfortably having some bread, onions and olives as breakfast when Vibianus was allowed into the chamber. The Emperor had just washed himself after his early morning session of swordplay; though he had never been in real combat, he was quite an expert with both gladius and spatha. He made the usual morning report and waited for comments or instructions.

“Tell the treasurer to free the girl, the one we had tortured, I mean. Prepare the documents for her manumission. She has suffered a lot and has performed a great service to the Empire. Quite involuntarily, I must add, but nonetheless painful. Ah! Tell him to put her in a pension list; she has suffered more than many a legionary.” Commodus pointed to a piece of paper.

“So we have the full confession of Senator Claudius,” Vibianus said. “Your Highness wants me to detain him?” Commodus smiled.

“Not yet, Vibianus, just keep him under surveillance so that he doesn't escape. You see, if we take him to the Senate now, he will argue the confession was taken from him under duress, which, of course, is much the case.”

“So we have not gained anything, Your Highness?”

“On the contrary, we have gained much. Now we have something. We'll have much more in the evening. You see, my dear sister is one of the names in the Senator's list.” Vibianus was flabbergasted.

“Your Highness, you are not thinking of questioning your sister?” He couldn't prevent asking, but regretted it almost immediately. But the Emperor was in a good mood; he smiled again.

“Of course not, Vibianus; I see you would do anything for my security! But my dear sister has a son...” This time, Vibianus was appalled, but kept silent; however, something must have been shown in his look, so the Emperor laughed.

“My dear Vibianus, what I said about being considered a pervert? Fear not; I shall not ask such a heavy action from you. She loves her son, and I love my nephew; the slightest threaten against him will loosen her tongue completely. She'll sing like a nightingale.” He offered Vibianus a cup of wine. He drank it gleefully. Commodus dismissed him with a movement of the hand; but before he left the room, he said:

“The other girl, the Phoenician, was good. It was a good idea of yours to bring her, Vibianus: always mindful of your Emperor needs”