IXILLIUS WAS SITTING at the table, drinking the second cup of wine Alex had poured, when Brasus returned. The Optio didn't knock before coming in this time, assuming he would find Ixillius in thought and not wanting to disturb his friend more than necessary. Brasus set the bag on the bench beside the washstand and removed the contents, noting that Ixillius cringed at the sound of the chains quietly clinking.
Ixillius filled the first cup from the wine that was left in the skein and set the cup at the edge of the table closest to where Brasus was folding up the bag.
"Nothing like strong wine to bolster your courage when you feel your balls crawling into your belly to hide," Brasus stated, then downed the full cup in a draught and set it back on the table.
Ixillius huffed a single laugh as a reply.
"Do you want me here for this?" Brasus asked, holding out the collar to his commander.
Ixillius downed the rest of wine, and then glared at the band of leather and bronze as if it was a snake.
"You had it plated," he commented.
His name had been stamped neatly into a small bronze plate with a chisel, and the plate affixed to the leather band. Brasus set the collar on the table, weary of holding it.
"It seemed fitting," was all he replied. They both regarded Alex for a moment.
"I should wake her. We're meant to be at the baths soon."
"All the property cleaned before counting so as not to offend the delicate senses of the accountant," Brasus said, mostly to himself.
***
Alex heard the two men talking, but stayed in the warm and fuzzy place between asleep and awake. The cot was a lot comfier than it had appeared, and it smelled better than her furs. The pile of furs she'd been living on needed an airing something fierce, and she noticed it a lot more as she started feeling better.
Eventually one of the stools squeaked and bootsteps crossed the floor to stop beside the cot, leather creaking as she guessed Ixillius knelt beside her. A hand gripped her shoulder lightly and shook gently.
"Alex," Ixillius said.
She cracked one eye open. Sleep was still pulling at her, but his serious expression roused her enough to sit up. The two men both looked like they were going to throw up, and neither one would look her in the eye.
Eventually, Ixillius held up a leather collar and pointed at a bronze plate tacked to it.
"Ixillius Traversi," he read out loud, tracing his name stamped into the plate with a finger, then held the collar out to her. "Ixillius proprius Alex," he said, carefully enunciating each word.
When she didn't take it immediately, he set it on the bed beside her. He looked around at Brasus, as if seeking support, but his second also seemed at a loss. Ixillius suddenly grabbed his cloak down from covering the window slit.
"Ixillius proprius pallium," he said to her, speaking clearly and slowly and holding the cloak in both hands in front of her. He set it aside and pulled his sword and sheath from his belt. "Ixillius proprius gladius," he said while holding the sword in both hands, then set it aside and picked up the collar. He held it against her throat, but didn't try to put it on her yet. "Ixillius proprius Alex," he said again.
They were both looking at her so intensely, but Alex was at a loss. She'd taken a minor in History at university, and she still remembered a lot of it – she did have a great memory when she wasn't delirious – and she'd already assumed that Ixillius had ownership of her based on her being female, in his room, and – as far as she was aware – they weren't married. Well aware of her broken rib, and unable to stop, she burst out laughing at the two of them so earnestly trying to gain her consent to being his slave.
Ixillius looked crestfallen and pulled the collar back against his stomach. Brasus looked downtrodden, leaving her laughing harder and trying desperately to hold her rib hard enough to ease the pain. Suddenly Brasus grabbed something off the bench by the washstand and threw it on the floor beside Ixillius.
"Roma propria Alex." Brasus said flatly, loud enough to be heard over her laughter, and pointed at what she now saw was a full set of shackles.
"No, no," she said, waving her free hand and trying to control the giggles still escaping, trying to get their attention back in a positive way. She covered her mouth and rocked back as another bout of laughter shook her in reaction to the anger she saw on Brasus's face. "Please, guys, no, I'm sorry." She wiped the tears from her eyes and sighed, still giggling. "I'm sorry," she said, pressing her hand onto Ixillius's shoulder. "You don't even know why this is funny and now you're getting offended."
Ixillius was still on one knee in front of her, his shoulder rigid under her palm. She didn't want to let go of her throbbing rib yet, so used her other hand to grab onto the collar. He looked surprised and frightened and hopeful all at the same time, so she just smiled back at him and shook her head at how crazy he was being. She probably seemed a lot crazier to them, though, she amended after seeing the looks on their faces.
"Ixillius proprius Alex," she parroted back to him.
A few chuckles escaped as she took the collar from him and studied it. The leather was well made and the tacks holding on the plate were folded out the sides so they wouldn't rub on her neck. The buckle was just a plain buckle, and she couldn't see a place for a lock or a leash on it like she would have expected. It looked like something the Goth crowd at her high school would have worn, except that it was brown and not black.
Alex tried to let go of her rib to open the buckle, but the pain made her wince after all the laughing so she pressed her palm back into it. She held the collar out to Ixillius and nodded for him to take it, tapping the buckle with her finger.
"Ixillius proprius Alex," she repeated.
***
Ixillius still knelt before her, unsure whether to be terrified or relieved. She held out the collar to him, tapping the buckle.
"Ixillius owns Alex," she said again, smiling at him like he was a child.
He cursed silently at the wine numbing his fingers as he took the collar back and clumsily opened the buckle. She lifted her chin invitingly as he held the collar up to her, but the spark of humor hadn't left her eyes yet and a smile still pulled at her mouth.
"I think she's going to kill me," he said to Brasus, then leaned forward and reached to wrap the collar around her neck. He felt his fingers fumbling to hook the buckle and cursed under his breath, willing his hands to work better.
He sat back once he was finished and looked at her. She used her free hand to pull some captured hair out from under the collar, then moved the leather band around as if getting it settled comfortably. He was unnerved that she still chuckled randomly, but his hands had stopped shaking now that it appeared the deed was half done.
She sighed and was able to remove her hand from her injured ribs, finally appearing to be serious about the situation. She looked down at his cloak and sword, lying beside him on the floor, then reached for his hands and curled her fingers into his. The understanding smile she'd given him earlier lit her features again, and he wondered how she would look with his babe at her breast.
"Ixillius owns Alex." She said it with a finality that startled and relieved him, and suddenly he felt like he could breathe freely again.
Pulling his fingers from her, he cautiously settled his hands on her shoulders. Her skin was warm, and she didn't shrink away from his hands at all.
"Ixillius owns Alex," he repeated back.
She chuckled and shook her head at him again, then yawned. She tilted sideways out from under his hands and lay back down, her hair spread across his pillow and his collar glinting at her throat as she pulled his blanket back up to her shoulders and closed her eyes.
Ixillius stood after a moment, lifting the shackles and carrying them back to the bench.
"That was... unexpected," Brasus stated, eyeing the sleeping woman as though she might suddenly lift off the bed and fly about the room. "When I gave you the advice to bed her, you'll remember I was quite drunk at the time?"