The Alpha Emperor's Courtesan

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Courtesan.

I didn’t even have time for the word to sink in before I was shoved hard in the back by one of the soldiers who had known me only by that dehumanizing word ‘barbarian’ in all the time we had been traveling together.

I was led in a different direction to the others, who had been designated the role of slave, and I tried not to think about what was going to happen to me now that that overbearing woman with the bracelets and elaborate hairstyle had decided my fate was to live the life of a courtesan.

I didn’t know a lot about Rome, but the things I did know made me sure that I was not going to have a good life serving the brutish men who had taken me from my home and slaughtered my tribe.

I expected to be taken through those bustling streets and abandoned in a seedy place filled with lecherous men whom I didn’t even understand. I thought that is what a courtesan was - a polite word for a prostitute that made it seem less unsavory.

I was wrong.

I was led past rows of buildings unlike anything I had ever seen and vendors selling exotic foods and clothing that were beyond my imagination, but I had no time to stop and stare in wonder until we reached a huge open plaza, which was at the very heart of the city.

This was the Forum - a huge plaza surrounded by the most important buildings in the city. It was where people from the most affluent and influential families in the empire mingled with others who were barely more than slaves.

I was overwhelmed by a lot of things that day, but I remember in particular the sounds of people shouting over each other to get the attention of anyone passing by was jarring to me. I didn’t know what they were saying, but as they called out at the top of their lungs, it all sounded like the ravings of a bunch of lunatics.

These were the people who considered me a barbarian, and they stood shouting at strangers and trying to grab their attention like it was reasonable behavior.

When we finally stopped, it was in the shadow of an enormous arch carved from cold white stone with images of people so realistic that I was left in awe.

Whoever, or whatever, we were waiting for had not yet arrived, and the soldier was looking around in frustration as I took in the sights of the Forum and tried to make sense of what was going on.

A gaggle of young women hurried past us, talking excitedly among themselves as they bustled towards something in their little group.

I watched them, curious at what was so exciting to the women my age who called this city home, and I knew immediately what they were so animated about.

A tall, muscular man in magnificent, shining armor was walking calmly through the Forum as if his presence was not causing a stir. The girls stopped him - he allowed them to stop him - and he smiled as one of them handed him some unknown trinket.

This city and its culture were completely new to me, but it was an act I recognized well enough; the girl had spotted him, and given him a token that was supposed to bring good luck and to leave an impression on the handsome man she was staring up at with doe-eyed wonder.

The man had a deep olive complexion, and his dark hair was cropped short. He looked different enough from the majority of people here that I guessed he had probably not been born in this city, either. And yet, he seemed happy, and he was admired by everyone who had seen him walking through the Forum. There were more people gathered around him now, and he was smiling broadly and soaking up the attention and admiration of his fans.

“Gladiator…”

One of the five words I knew so far. It was obvious from looking at him that he was a member of that profession, and the soldier looked at me with surprise etched across his features.

His expression softened softly - he hadn’t even seen me as a human, but I was staring at that man with as much admiration in my eyes as those young Roman women, and I had uttered a word that was familiar to him. It made me into something other than a savage; I had potential.

I hoped that the spark in his eyes might lead him to take pity on me. I was going to be dragged to a whorehouse to live in misery, but maybe I could be something more than that if I was willing to learn and to embrace their culture.

He repeated the word, nodding a confirmation, and then said another word that I think may have been the name of the man.

I took a chance, pointed to myself, and said my own name.

“Talia.”

The soldier wasn’t interested. He ignored me and cast his eyes around the Forum again in search of whoever it was we were supposed to meet here.

The gladiator, and his admirers, were gone long before the soldier finally pulled me away from the arch towards a woman who I found completely terrifying.

This must be the Madame of the brothel. She was a beautiful woman, and I was surprised that she was a similar age to my mother. Her clothing was fine; she wore jewelry, her hair was styled in braids which were coiled around and held in place on her head.

She had pale skin, blue eyes, and dusty brown hair flecked with gray.

Her voice was commanding, and the soldier looked sheepish as she stared at me disapprovingly.

Was she telling him I was not good enough to work as a prostitute in this city?

I would probably never know, but she took out a little bag that had been concealed in one of the folds of her dress and rifled through it, producing two gold coins.

The soldier said something. She laughed coldly and pressed the two gold coins into his hand.

He shook his head and took me firmly by the upper arm with one hand as he held the gold coins out to her with the other.

They were bartering. They were striking a deal, and she was looking at me now with pursed lips and narrowed eyes as she decided whether I, the daughter of a noble and fierce chieftain, was worth any more of those little coins she had in her bag.

She begrudgingly reached into the bag, pulled out one more coin - smaller and silver - and pressed it into the soldier’s hand as he relinquished his grip on me and pushed me towards the woman.

That was my worth; two pieces of gold, and one piece of silver, which she had clearly been unhappy about paying on top of her original offer to the soldier.

I told myself as I walked close beside her that whatever value she had ascribed to me was not my true worth as a person. I would prove that to her, and to everyone else I had encountered; that was my mission.