Buying Rebel

1.

Castiel hated the market place. He had the quaint belief that the purchase of labour ought to happen on equal bargaining grounds. A man chained against his will was in no position to freely offer his services, however much the merchants tried to convince the buyer otherwise. This was the third place he had visited that morning, the more places he saw, the more Castiel's stomach turned at the sight of the poor humans treated like chattel. Abbadon was the first so called merchant, she tried to offer Castiel a trainee gladiator, completely unsuited to Castiel's needs. Asmodeus was the second and the offers he made were salacious and deviant. Metatron was a smaller dealer, he kept the strange captives, the ones not obviously suited to any particular type of duty but somehow he found them interesting. Metatron considered himself a collector.

"I am looking for a carer, for my ward. She would need to be a decent cook and preferably able to read."

The second requirement was for Castiel's own benefit. His household already had efficient caretakers and he did as much around the property himself as he was able to find free time away from his duties in the Senate and his writing. Jack's carer would be spending more time in the villa with the family. If she was able to read and write, Castiel could seek her assistance with organising his work, and the conversations would be more interesting.

Metatron scratched his head, the bald patch gleaming with sweat. His beady eyes looked Castiel up and down, his fingers twitching as he performed the mental calculations. No doubt trying to work out who would interest Castiel and how much he might extort out of one of the wealthiest men in Rome.

"Ruby is a beautiful young lady, don't you think?" Metatron clapped his hand and in came a young woman with tribal tattoos and fire in her dark brown eyes. "A Brigand princess, educated and graceful."

She looked at Castiel with her chin up in the air and a faint smirk on her face.

"Perhaps, do you have anyone older? My ward is a young man who never knew his mother. He might prefer a more motherly companion?" Castiel said, nodding politely to acknowledge Ruby's presence. She walked out the door again, bowing shallow and grinning whimsically.

"I have just the woman, nay, lady you require," Metatron clapped again and a middle aged woman with porcelain skin, autumnal hair and glittering eyes entered. She was beautifully dressed in a magenta gown and more fair of face than any courtesan appearing at Asmodeus' fragrant boutique.

"Rowena is a pagan queen, a northern witch, her magic is her musical talents, her sharp tongue and her ceaseless appetite for hedonism. True to her Gaul heritage, she would make a fearsome and seductive companion for a gentleman. Your ward would like her too."

Castiel blushed as Rowena assessed him with sweeping glances and a coy smile as if it was him that was being put on display. He cleared his throat and muttered. "I might need to sleep on it."

"Don't sleep too long, handsome Roman," Rowena said in a lilting accent, her words melodic and fluent. "There are many who would like to acquire my services, but I do sense that you would treat me like the Queen I am."

"Uh..." Castiel was a well known orator in the Senate but even he was lost for words as Rowena bowed and winked at the same time.

She turned to leave the room but there was some disturbance in the hallways. Gadreel, Metatron's bodyguard, came running in on the heels of a man clutching a dagger. All Castiel could see of the intruder was wild long hair and a dirt covered face. He was filthy compared to the lavish sitting room, his clothes tattered hessian in contrast with the silk and scarlet robes worn by Metatron's retinue. He was cursing in Celtic which Castiel had a working command of.

"Where is my brother?" The man pointed his dagger at Metatron, speech transitioning into fluent Latin. "Did you sell him into the gladiator ring? You promised he would be kept with me, you promised we would go to the lions together. And on that day, the beasts will know not to mess the Winchesters."