Erik heard the screams coming from the direction Taya had gone and grabbed his spear before running as fast as he could it the direction of the noise. The half made dress he had been working on, falling in the mud as he hasitly abandoned it. He stopped as he saw the bear standing over what was unmistakably Taya's body. After a moment of shock, he was overcome with a blinding rage and charged the bear.

The battle which followed would be remembered by the village for years to come, as Erik single handedly brought down the beast, despite being heavily wounded in the process. Erik's feat earned him a large amount of respect and his popularity increased drastically, although few understood exactly why he had taken on the bear alone. Eventually he decided to try and move on, marrying the daughter of one of the older hunters. They lived out the rest of their lives together in relative peace, although Erik rarely looked at his wife without thinking of Taya and how it should have been her. They may have only spent a couple of hours together but her smile and big brown eyes never faded from his memory.

The drums and flutes created a mesmerizing tune that floated through the incense filled air. The building was the local brothel in Pompeii, the one where men went when they wanted the utmost discretion for their indiscretions. Outside of the building women and men stood, half naked and calling out to passers-by trying to entice them into the building... for a price of course. One girl though stood quietly against the building, her bangles chiming together when she moved, her long brown hair tumbling down her back. Every so often she would give a smile to someone, but she remained silent and seemed to be waiting.

79 AD

The crowd cheered on the gladiators, thirsty for blood. The clash of metal on metal rang throughout the Colosseum as the two men fought for their lives in front of hundreds of people. Marcus didn't cheer with the crowd. In truth he was bored. The son of a rich merchant, he had seen more than his fair share of gladiatorial fights and he couldn't help but feel Rome did it better. He was his Father's heir and as a result his Father was starting to send him away to attend to business he was too busy to see to, he always missed the home comforts of the capital, but at least this time he was still in Italy.

A scream brought he back to reality from his thoughts of home. The sand of the arena was now splattered with blood and one of the two gladiators lay on the floor, his left arm laying a couple of feet further away. Marcus sighed and stood up to leave. He had lost 5 Aureus on the fight, by no means a modest sum. Leaving the Colosseum he stepped out onto the busy streets of Pompeii. The sound of drums and flutes could be heard in the distance and with little else to do, Marcus decided to see where the sounds were coming from. He had only been in Pompeii for two days and had yet to see much of it.

The day was already becoming warm and Laelia wanted nothing more than to go to the river and jump in to cool off, but she had "work" to do. Her madame was upset that Laelia hadn't taken a customer in three days, sure the girl made enough, but it wasn't enough. The money would never come fast enough for Laelia to pay all of her debts, so she figure why bother with trying to do as much as you can when she would be stuck here for the rest of her life. Pushing away from the building, her sheer silk toga fluttered against the form of her body and her gold bangles chimed together, Laelia sighed and wondered if she should take a customer today... Yes she would, but someone who was clean and not old enough to be her father. Those men repulsed the young woman.

Marcus made his way through the busy streets, pushing his way through the crowds, which had now been enlarged as more people had started to leave the Colosseum. As the music got louder, he could see where it was coming from. A brothel from the looks of it. Marcus had never been one to pay for the services provided by such a place, but still he decided to make a mental note of the building's location. It appeared to be a nice enough looking place, the dedicated brothels were always meant to be better than your average street whore, and for all he knew, one day he might fancy it. He'd still yet to find much else to do in Pompeii. As he walked past the brothel a girl outside caught his eye. With long brown hair, brown eyes and a rather revealing choice of attire, he found it hard to turn away.

There, that man. He was clean and well dressed, and about Laelia's age. She walked over to him, putting an extra sway in her hips as she approached him,
"Hello there," She purred laying a hand on his arm for a moment before taking a step back, his hand in her's,
"I'm Laelia... Want to come inside?" She asked, giving a slight tug,
"I have something nice to show you, I'm a good dancer, want to see?"

Marcus couldn't help but smile as the girl came over to him and took his hand.
"I suppose I do." He found himself saying. He was still a bit wary, this wasn't normally his sort of thing, but he wasn't lacking for time or money and there was something about Laelia.
"Lead the way then Laelia."

Smiling alluringly, Laelia drew Marcus into the building and through the people already inside. The smells and the smoke was more intense here, but it gave everything a headier feel. Farther in, Laelia finally stopped at an empty corner of the room where a lounge chair with wine and fruits was set. There was a sheer red silk curtain that could be drawn around the corner to make it more private, but Laelia left it open for now as she motioned towards the lounge,
"Your seat Master..." The girl raised an eyebrow towards her client in question.

Marcus let Laelia lead him through the Brothel. They were people everywhere engaged in all manner of activities. He took his seat as Laelia motioned for him to do so. This is already looking like it'll be more fun than the rest of the city, He thought to himself, already eager to see what was to come next. Laelia had an air of experience about her and Marcus couldn't help but wonder what she had planned for him.

Once the client was seated Laelia began swaying to the enchanting music, her lithe body bending and moving in an exotic way. her long hair flowing down her back like a dark river. her eyes closed as her dancing moved faster and more exciting until she fell to her knees at Marcus's feet. Smiling at him, her dark eyes danced with the light of the torches set around them. Breathing hard, Laelia met her client's eyes, feeling a strange pull In her chest.
"Would you like more companionship?" She asked, running her hand up Marcus's knee,
"It is more, but I'm worth it."

Marcus found himself saying yes to Laelia's question before he could even think about it. He knew that it was all really just a show, but he still couldn't shake his feelings towards Laelia.
"Money is of no concern." He said, not wanting the business side of what was unfurling to get in the way of enjoying it.
"I'm sure you're worth much more." He added, smiling into Laelia's deep brown eyes.

"I'm worth a lot," She said coyly, standing up and turning to the curtain. Drawing it around the corner it gave a small amount of privacy for the pair. Many of the others didn't care whether they performed in private or not, but Laelia had standards that she stood by. Looking over her shoulder now, she flashed a smile at the client,
"What is your name?" She asked, turning slowly and approaching the chair,
"I don't normally ask, but for some reason you seem familiar."

"Marcus." Marcus replied. Now that Laelia mentioned it, she also seemed familiar, maybe that was what had drawn him to her.
"It may sound strange but so do you. I only got here from the capital yesterday too." He said, getting somewhat distracted from Laelia's show.
"Have you ever been?" He asked.

Shaking her head as she began moving to the music again, Laelia shrugged,
"Maybe we hae met, in another life." She joked with a smile, going to the couch and sitting on Marcus's lap, her bare legs draped over his,
"Anyway let's begin this fine evening of entertainment. I promise you won't be disappointed."
((Feel free to skip to after or something. Sorry this is so short, I'm on vacation and this is the first chance I've had to reply."

((That's fine))

"That was incredible." Marcus said feeling extremely satisfied. In the heat of the moment he had completely forgotten Laelia was doing everything for money, she was good at making him forget that and he wondered if she had forgotten it too occasionally. At one point the pair had moved from their corner to one of the Brothel's many bedrooms, the centrepiece of which was a large four poster bed, covered in ornate carvings. He reached across to a table by the side of the bed, taking a handful of grapes from a bowl.

Laelia smiled dreamily, laying in the bed on her stomach. She liked Marcus, he was normal compared to others. She blinked when she realized that that had been the first moment that evening she had thought about anything other than her and Marcus. For a second she had forgotten she was a paid companion, and it had felt nice. Wanting to preserve the feelings for a little while longer, Laelia rolled onto her side and snuggled closer to Marcus so her head was on his chest,
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself... I was impressed by you. Keeping up with me isn't easy."

Marcus smiled at Laelia's compliment, holding her tighter as she snuggled into him. "Well thank you." He said, feeling quite pleased with himself. "Something just felt so right about it." He added, his thoughts drifting back to earlier in the evening. "You know, I'll be heading back to Rome in a week or so. You could come with me if you want...." He said, hoping. He imagined Laelia was probably no stranger to such offers, but he felt like he couldn't leave her without asking.

His offer was not unfamiliar to Laelia, many men had claimed love and declarations of desire for her to join them, but Laelia always turned them down. Why should she tie herself down to one man? She would be trading one debt for another. Taking a breath, she ran her fingers lightly down Marcus's chest. He felt so familiar to her, and yet they were strangers, how could this be?
"Marcus, I'm bound here until I can pay back the debts my father owes. That is the reason I am here." Closing her eyes, Laelia continued, sharing her past, something she had never done before,
"And why would you want me? I'm a paid companion, I'm dirty."

"Money's not an issue. My family has enough of it. I could help you pay off your debts." Marcus said, expecting money to come up. "Why wouldn't I want you?" He said, kissing the top of Laelia's head. In truth he wasn't entirely sure why he had made her the offer. There were hundreds of girls just like her in Rome and his Father would never approve anyway, but he still couldn't shake his feelings towards Laelia. Everything with her had felt so right, like they were meant to have been together.

"I can't ask you to do this Marcus," Lealia said, her voice quiet as she carefully chose each word. The idea of freedom was so foreign to the girl that it almost scared her. Biting her lip, she tilted her head back so that she could see Marcus's jaw line. It was strong, but the curve of his mouth softened his features. Reaching up she kissed him slowly before snuggling back down and closing her eyes, a yawn escaping her.
"Ask me again tomorrow, after this night has worn off and you remember I'm only a prostitute."