House of Phineas

Copyright © D.J. Manly, 2010
All Rights Reserved, Total-E-Ntwined Limited, T/A Total-E-Bound.

Excerpt From: House of Phineas

Gold…House of Phineas

I opened my eyes and looked around. Gone were the rustic brick walls and the musty dampness. My head rested on a pillow and I was lying prone on a comfortable day bed, a sheet of satin under me.

I had no idea how long I’d been here or how I got to this place. The breeze blew back a haze of white curtains in the distance and suddenly a man walked through them. He wore a toga and had a short cropped beard. “So, how are you, Gold?”

I glanced down at my wounds and noticed they had begun to heal. “I…where am I?”

“You are at the House of Phineas. We’ve been watching you closely. You will soon be fit again.” He brought me some liquid in a silver flask. “Drink,” he urged.

I lifted my head, drank and sputtered a little. I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand.

“You can sit up. Move around a little. It will be a good thing.”

“How long have I been here?”

“More than a fortnight. You had a fever. You slipped in and out of it.”

I wiped a hand over the stubble on my face.

“Today you will take a bath and the slaves will shave you. I will have food brought.”

I threw my legs over the side of the day bed. I was still wearing the raggedy loin cloth I’d had on in the arena. I wasn’t shackled. Dizziness seized me for a moment but I fought it.

The doctor watched me. I stood on my own and walked a few steps, stumbled, placed a hand on the wall and continued.

“You may wander around. Explore a little,” the man told me. “You are free to go where you please.”

I looked up in surprise.

Suddenly a naked slave girl walked in with a tray of food. There was cheese, meats, and grapes. I reached over and grabbed some of the grapes in my hand and ate hungrily.

“Easy,” the doctor told me. “You need to go slow.”

I nodded, and began to actually chew the food.

The slave girl smiled shyly at me as she waited patiently for me to devour what was left on the platter.

I walked through the curtains after I’d finished. A soldier stood guard in the hallway. He glanced at me then away as I continued down the corridor. The house was enormous, far larger than Simeon’s, the walls hung with elaborate tapestries. I arrived at the front and looked out the door. My eyes grew large. In the distance, there stood an enormous structure, off in the field. Even from this far, I could hear the shouting, the cracking of the whips, the clacking of the swords. I breathed in the fragrant breeze. It called to me, magnolias and apple blossoms.

“You like it?” a voice asked.

I turned suddenly to see Phineas standing there.

I lowered my head. “Yes, master.”

He laughed slightly. “I love the sound of that, you calling me master.” He reached out and touched my biceps. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Gold.”

“Yes, master,” I said. I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“You are anxious, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

He smiled. His hand continued its exploration, moving across my chest, and touching the scars. “I’m anxious too, to see you fight, to…” he pressed his lips to my chest, “have you in my bed.”

He stepped away as if it was a chore. He licked his lips. “You may make use of the house as you like,” he said. “You are my guest.”

Guest? “Guests get to leave.”

He looked at me sharply. “I’m sure you regret that.”

I didn’t reply.

“I will give you a lot of freedom. I will pamper you like none other,” he said. “But I will not tolerate disrespect or disobedience. Is that clear?”

I nodded.