The Roman Tax Collector - (F/F)

[DoubleDDelta]

The Roman Tax Collector — Part I

Tullia Consus - The Tax Collector
Laurentia - The Collateral
Vilneas - The Debtor

In the Era of Augustus, all was to be taxed. Every field, fallow or cultivated, every vineyard, every workshop, all was to be inventoried and taxed. With the Roman Legions out in the wilds of Gaul fighting, the bureaucracy of Rome needed men to index the land and collect the taxes.

But it was not always men.

Tullia Consus was incredibly beautiful, as if blessed by Venus. It was said that during her birth, a bright red star screamed across sky, a sure sign to her parents that she was blessed by the gods. As she developed, they were happy to be proven right: Tullia grew tall, with long dark hair and olive skin, her breasts and ass becoming the envy of every woman and the obsession of every man in their village. But her father was a tax collector, the hand of the Roman Empire in their backwater, and so no one dared cross him. She entertained the favor and the attention from the men she met, gratefully accepting their gifts and patronage but rejecting their advances. Tullia sometimes caught herself looking at the women of the village, following their curves and dreaming of what lay underneath their cloaks. But she had pushed those feelings away, deep within herself, and never explored them.

At 20, she was expected to be married, and so she left, taking what little belonged to her and traveling far across the empire, settling into a town south of Rome, and began work in the way of her father: as a tax collector.

Vilneas, a farmer, had land but little sense to use it. He had wanted to be a legionnaire, but had been rejected from the army, and so had staked a claim on his family’s land, to grow grapes for wine. The soil was rocky, and the grapes did not take. But his holding was large, as were his taxes. Tullia would come and demand payment, and with each season he had less and less to pay with.

It was a clear warm day when Tullia returned, guiding her oxen pulled cart along the dusty road beside the farm. Roman taxes could be paid in money or in goods, and many farmers or laborers in this part of the empire opted to hand over sacks of grain or woven clothing in lieu of payment. Tullia, learning the lessons of her father, always brought along a cart for such payments.
She approached Vilneas and greeted him as he labored over a stretch of vines.

“Vilneas, how’s the harvest,” she asked.

“Growing poorly,” he greeted. “At least half of my vines are barren. I turn the soil, but all I dredge up is more clay. And I have nothing else.”

Tullia surveyed the horizon. “Why not sell the land and move closer to the coast, where the vines will grow easier?”

“Sell to whom?” Vilneas asked. “My brother has long moved far from here, and my son talks only about the Legion, not about farming.”

“Vilneas, I have come to collect the taxes you owe to Rome. 100 Denarius, and I shall leave you to your vines,” Tullia said. Vilneas was typically one to barter.

“I cannot pay, tell Rome I cannot pay,” Vilneas said, turning and spreading his arms wide. “I have nothing. No livestock, no wine, just a departing son and a good for nothing daughter. There is nothing you may take.”

“Rome will not accept my empty hands,” Tullia argued. “If you cannot pay and you cannot barter, then I must take you with me, to work off the debt yourself.”

Vilneas’s face turned pale as he heard Tullia’s words. “No, I will not. I cannot. Anything but that.”

The silence was thick and heavy as the two faced each other, thinking. Tullia knew that indentured servitude was sometimes the way, but usually a farmer or a merchant always had one more thing they could give up before they were forced into it. It was just about timing, and it looked like Vilneas was approaching that point.

But then he called out for his daughter.

“Laurentia!” Vilneas called into the house. “She can serve until my debt is paid.”

“She cannot…” Tullia began, trailing off as Laurentia came out of the house.

Laurentia was beautiful in a way that Tullia did not think she had ever conceived of before. Laurentia had long flowing hair, almost to the small of her back, and it seemed so fine as to shimmer when she moved. Even wearing nothing more than a rough spun tunic, one could see her perky breasts poking out of the material, the curves of her body outlined by the fabric. She had small wrists and hands, almost dainty, not the type that a farmer’s daughter would have after twenty years of difficult work turning the soil.

Tullia immediately felt a heat within her, close to the stomach, that slowly spread throughout her body.

“Yes father?” Laurentia called, her voice high and sweet. She spoke quietly, although it carried quite clearly across the yard.

“You are to go with this woman,” Vilneas ordered, gesturing to Tullia. “You must do whatever she tells you. This I command.”

“Father, I will not,” Laurentia replied, her voice defiant, her hands on her hips. “You can’t use me to get out of your debts. I will not serve in your place.”

Laurentia was wrong. As an unmarried daughter, she had little authority to disobey her father, and Tullia couldn’t take her eyes off Laurentia.

She’s just like me, Tullia realized. She wants to escape, she doesn’t want the life her father wants her to have. I can help her, she thought as the heat within her reached a crescendo. I just have to make it look good.

As Laurentia argued with her father, Tullia returned to her cart, quickly searching through the small pile of bartered goods. Pushing aside an amphora of wine, she found what she was looking for: a spool of braided rope. Cutting off two 20 foot pieces, Tullia walked back to the pair and addressed Vilneas.

“Rome will accept her service as payment for your debt,” Tullia replied, a smile on her face. “Please, come with me,” she said to Laurentia, grabbing her wrist.

“No!” Laurentia yelled, yanking her arm away from Tullia.

“So, the hard way,” Tullia muttered, before using her weight to shove Laurentia back into the dried clay wall of Vilneas’s house. Tullia then grasped Laurentia’s upper arms, spinning her around so she faced the dried earth, before pushing her face into the clay.

“Mmmmhhhmmm” Luarentia’s shout was muffled by being shoved into the wall by Tullia, who quickly ran her hands down Laurentia’s arms to her small wrists, using her grip to force Laurentia’s wrists up behind her back into a reverse prayer position. Using her weight and her position, Tullia quickly wrapped one of the ropes around her wrists, pulling it achingly tight and tying it off, keeping the knots far enough away from Laurentia’s fingers so she had no hope of untying the ropes.

Laurentia started squirming and thrashing around, trying her best to rid herself of the ropes, to little effect. Tullia again took her by the arms, guiding her over to the cart. Sitting Laurentia down on it, Tullia took the second rope and tied Laurentia’s ankles, crossing them over each other and wrapping the rope again around them tightly before tying it off, the knot sitting just above her heel.

“I’ll kill you,” Laurentia threatened.

“I’m trying to help you,” Tullia whispered. “Just keep quiet.” Tullia took the small blade she had used before and sliced off a strip of Laurentia’s tunic, forcing it between her teeth to gag her. Laurentia only glared at Tullia as she carefully laid Laurentia down between the rest of the barter in her cart, carefully camouflaging her body.

The heat that Tullia felt inside of her did not dissipate, but rather increased like adding logs to a fire. Tullia could feel herself getting excited and aroused as she lead the ox cart away from Vilneas’s farm. All she could think about was the beautiful bound woman who was now her prisoner.

**First Post! How’d I do?**
—DDelta

[Caesar73]

I have to say I´m intrigued Since antiquity is one of the historic periods I like the most, especially all things Roman, you have me here. Interessting Entry, so Laurentia must work of the debt of the father - and Tullia Consus has obviously taken an interest in Laurentia. Carry on!

[NotSeen]

Oh, this is goood! What a way to start posting on the forum. I'm very interested to see where this is heading.

[Caesar73]

I'm very interested to see where this is heading.

Me too

[GreyLord]

Good beginning. You have my interest.

[Beaumains]

A great start. Very creative! An unconventional setting for a tug, and two interesting main characters. I wonder whether Laurentia keeps defiant or will enjoy her time with the tax collector. Thanks a lot for posting.

[FabianStr2016]

My God, what a story! A unique one in a great writing style. Keep up the great work!

[JulieG]

Truly excellent first post.

[DoubleDDelta]

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. Please let me know what else you’d like to see in the story, as it’s rather open ended at this moment. Thanks!

[DoubleDDelta]

Part II

It was dark when Tullia returned to her house. It was small, one story, but there was an attached yard and small barn for her oxen. She led the ox and cart into the yard, unhitching the ox and leading him over to the barn. After feeding the ox a small pail of mullet and some water, Tullia left him to rest and returned to her cart, slowly unpacking the goods given to her by the townspeople in lieu of money. She did this slowly, avoiding Laurentia’s form in the darkness, savoring the moment where she would take the woman into her home.

Eventually, everything that could be packed away was packed away, leaving only Laurentia, bound hand and foot, lying on her stomach on the cart. She didn’t move, either out of fear or exhaustion, Tullia was not sure. As soon as Tullia’s fingertips brushed against her leg to pick her up and carry her inside, however, Laurentia started squirming and writhing, screaming through her gag.

“Mmmmmmm!!!! Mhhhhhmmmm!” Laurentia screamed. While Tullia’s gag was little more than a basic cleave, the fabric of Laurentia’s tunic was thick, and the cut off strip effectively silenced her.

With a grunt, Tullia lifted Laurentia up over her shoulder like carrying a sack of grain, and hefted her inside. Tullia’s house was simple, as she was not rich. Augustus had done away with the easy path to great wealth for a tax collector, but Tullia did have a main atrium, which served as a kitchen as well, and a cubiculum, the main bedroom. With Laurentia still struggling, Tullia laid her down on the floor of the atrium and wandered over to the other side of the room.

There she gathered tinder and some small pieces of wood for a fire, as well as a bottle of wine. She lit a fire in the middle of the room, carefully stoking it before taking a large swig from the bottle of wine and more carefully examing Laurentia’s ropes. She had managed to loosen the rope around her ankles, but her wrists were still tightly secured behind her back, in the reserve prayer position. Tullia untied the rope around Laurentia’s ankles, then dragged her over to one of the small columns that held up the roof of the atrium, before tying her to it with the ankle rope. Laurentia struggled, but Tullia looped the rope twice around her body and the column, above and below Laurentia’s beautiful breasts, pulling in the slack each time so the rope was as tight as possible. Tullia looked down at Laurentia, who just stared back up at her with anger and fury.

“All the things I could do to you,” Tullia mused, brushing a few strands of Laurentia’s hair out of her face. She slipped two fingers in between the gag and Laurentia’s cheek. “If I take this out, will you scream?”

After a moment’s thinking, Laurentia shook her head no. Slowly, Tullia untied the gag, pulling it from between Laurentia’s teeth. She moved her jaw around, trying to relax it from the long time it had been forced open.

Finally, Laurentia spoke. “Who are you?”

“My name is Tullia Consus. I’m a tax collector, and I believe that we may be something of the same,” Tullia replied.

“I don’t kidnap young women. Why have you tied me up? Am I to be sold into slavery?” Laurentia’s voice was quaking.

“Nothing like that,” Tullia replied. “You wanted to get away from your father, right? You wanted to escape him, what he wanted. I did the same thing. My father wanted me to marry. A senator’s son. I had no interest in that life, and I wanted to get away. So I ran.”

“And this is your way of helping me? Tying me up like an animal and keeping me in your home? Yes, I wanted to run away. I was going to travel south, and get passage to Egypt. My father is a poor farmer, my brother is to join the legions, there is no future there. I want something of my own,” Laurentia replied. “Can you untie me?”

Tullia considered. “Technically, you’re a debt payment to an official by a taxpayer. I’d be happy to let you go, but you’d owe me a hundred denarii.”

“I can pay you once I have my own farm,” Laurentia replied. “These knots are tight. Please. I won’t leave.”

“I’m not sure I can trust that,” Tullia replied. But looking in Laurentia’s eyes softened her, and soon Tullia was untying Laurentia, loosening the rope around her chest and her wrists.

Laurentia sat back against the column, rubbing her wrists. She took a moment to get her strength back, then punched Tullia square in the face.

Tullia, who had been in a squatting position, was knocked back, and Laurentia leapt up from the floor and on top of her, trying to hold Tullia down.

But Tullia was much stronger than Laurentia, and slowly was able to push her back, and break out of the struggle.

The two women faced each other.

“You’ve misjudged me,” Tullia said, something close to a smile on her face. “I’m much stronger than you are, and now I know you’re just going to try to escape. I was actually going to let you go, you know.”

“No, you weren’t,” Laurentia replied, sizing up Tullia. She lunged, but Tullia was ready, and her grasping hands met only empty air as Tullia sidestepped and grabbed Laurentia’s arm as she moved past.

Tullia, now holding Laurentia’s left wrist, twisted it up behind her back until Laurentia cried out in pain. Tullia took full advantage of her position, pushing Laurentia to her knees and shifting her grasp on Laurentia’s wrist to her other arm. With this hold, Tullia brought the inside of her elbow around Laurentia’s neck, tightening her hold and making Laurentia totally helpless.

“Now, let’s make sure you can’t escape,” said Tullia, reaching for the ropes with her free hand.

[NotSeen]

Uh oh. Doesn't look terribly good for Laurentia. I do, though, share her pessimism about Tullia letting her go... well, she certainly isn't going to do that now!

[Caesar73]

Good second part. I like the accuracy of the historic background, your attention to details. There is something developing between the Teax Collector and her prey. It will be very interessting to see, how the relationship will develop between the two. And Tullia is right: The two may be not so different after all.

[Beaumains]

I doubt this story is compeltely historically accurate, but I couldn't care less. The details, including the names, are a nice touch, pulling me inside the story.

[GreyLord]

Who could not enjoy two women having a cat fight and occasionally one tying up the other. Do keep it up. Well written and enjoyable.

[JulieG]

Love this story. excellent second part.

[FabianStr2016]

Recall enjoy this story so far!

[Nainur]

Interesting story so far! Good job!

[TomYi]

I'm enjoying the tale so far (what colour is Laurentia's hair, btw?)

Your details are nice, and your grammar is great. Those things go a long way towards making a story palatable for me.

As for recommendations, I'm not sure myself. All I know is that I don't much care for scenes of nonconsensual sex.