Servus
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: none
Characters: Neal, Peter, Jones
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort, exhaustion, injuries, Roman AU, slavery
Author's Notes: This story fills the ‘Strapped to a moving vehicle’ square on my H/C Bingo card.
Servus means slave.
Word Count: ~ 1950
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: A slave is bought.
Chapter can also be found on AO3
Neal is tired and done for the day. This country is cold and damp and he fears he will never feel warm again. Even the furs he is wearing over his uniform do little against the ice cold wind that seems to blow right through him. His garrison is returning from yet another battle and Neal is looking forward to being back in their camp, where there will be warm water and hot food. After days at the battle field he is actually looking forward to some luxury.
Getting the smell of blood and death out of his clothes and skin just sounds about heavenly. He is not a real soldier, he never was. He is a brilliant strategist, or so he has been told, but he doesn´t like the bloodshed.
He studies his horse and realizes it also needs a good brushing. When his dog Janus barks, he looks down.
‘Yeah boy, I know, we are almost there, bear with me. I promise you a nice bone with meat.’
Neal can see they are catching up on some travelers. They have a cart so they are probably on their way to the market.
Closing the distance between them, Neal can see that a man is stumbling behind the cart. Neal is just about to take a turn to go towards their camp, when he sees the man tripping and falling. Since the man is tied to the cart, he is dragged behind it. He doesn´t even make a sound while he is being dragged behind the cart.
‘STOP!’ Neal shouts towards the man on the cart. He does and Neal is almost simultaneously next to it, dismounting his horse.
‘Good afternoon, Centurion, how can I help you?’
‘Your slave fell, he was being dragged behind the cart.’
‘What is it to you?’
Neal raises his eyebrows and the man can see that this was not the correct answer.
‘Why would you waist a good slave?’
‘If you think he is a good slave, why don´t you buy him so I can go on with my day. He only has been causing me trouble. If you’re not buying him, I will be on my way, maybe I can get to the market before it closes.’
Neal looks at the slave who is still on the ground, looking down. He is filthy and the drag behind the car also didn´t help, but he looks healthy enough.
‘Name your price.’
‘I must warn you, he doesn´t have much skills. Maybe he can warm your bed.’
Neal can see the slave cringe.
‘You are talking to a senior officer of the Imperial Cavalry, so I would watch that mouth.’
The man gives Neal a hesitant smile.
‘I didn´t mean to offend you, Centurion. I will make you a good deal.’
After some haggling the man continues his way and Neal kneels next to the slave who is still looking down. He touches the slave´s shoulder and the man flinches.
‘I´m not going to hurt you. Can you stand up?’
The man slowly gets up and Neal can see the man´s front is covered with bleeding scrapes from being dragged over the dirt road. He can also see that he has bashed his knee, because it is bleeding and already swelling.
Neal puts his hand under the slave´s chin and raises it.
‘Please look at me.’
The slave slowly raises his gaze until he meets Neal´s eyes.
‘My name is Neal, what is yours?’
‘Peter.’
‘Well Peter, I just bought you, so I guess you are my responsibility now.’
He gives Peter a warm smile.
‘I have a lot of skills sir, I…’
‘I am sure you do, but if I am being honest, I am hungry and I want to go back to camp and get clean, and I think you want the same. You can enlighten me when we are warm and fed.’
Peter nods, being clean sounds good, food even better, it has been some time since he last had a decent meal. Janus now comes closer to sniff him and a smile appears on Peter´s face.
‘It this your dog?’
‘Yes, his name is Janus.’
‘After the god with two faces?’
Neal nods.
‘He is very friendly until we get into battle. Then he is fierce.’
Peter pets Janus.
‘OK, let me see your knee.’
‘I´m fine.’
‘No you are not.’
Peter hesitantly raises his leg and hisses when Neal touches some sore spots.
‘OK, you can´t walk anymore.’ Neal straightens out.
‘No, wait, I can walk.’ Peter sounds anxious.
‘No you can´t, you will damage your knee.’
‘I´m fine.’
Neal calls his horse and gives Peter a boost before quickly mounting behind Peter.
He realizes Peter releases a breath he has been holding.
‘What did you think was going to happen?’ Neal asks while he spurs on his horse.
‘Honestly?’
‘I prefer it when my slaves tell me the truth.’
‘I thought you were going to kill me. Nobody wants a worthless slave, let alone a cripple one.’
‘You are not worthless. No man is.’
Peter turns around in disbelieve.
‘You really believe that.’
‘Yes, I do. I own several slaves and they all have their worth.’
The steady cadence of the horse lulls Peter asleep. It probably is the exhaustion of having to walk for miles tied to a cart that has him fall asleep against Neal, who has to do his best to stay in the saddle with Peter leaning into him. Peter doesn´t wake up until they finally reach the camp.
Neal is welcomed by his men and he asks some assistance to help Peter down from the horse. Peter wants to put weight on his leg, but it buckles under him. Luckily two soldiers steady him.
‘Can you please escort him to my quarters and give him some food and water? Claude, can you take care of Janus and my horse?’
Claude nods and takes the reigns from Neal and calls Janus.
Neal stops at the water well and washes most of the dirt from his face and hands before reporting to the camp Prefect.
* * *
When Neal returns, he is ready to collapse on his bed, but he really needs food and a bath. Maybe he can ask Clinton to get him some food while he baths. He enters and finds Peter kneeling on the floor.
‘Peter? What are you doing?’
‘Waiting for you Master.’
‘Have you eaten?’
‘No Master, a slave doesn´t eat before it´s Master.’
‘Well, my slaves do. When I tell you to eat and drink, I expect you to obey me, understood?’
‘Yes Master.’
‘Now get up of the floor, you hurt your knee, kneeling doesn´t make it better, you do understand that, don´t you? Did a physician look at it?’
‘No Master, I´m fine.’
‘Clinton!’
A dark man enters. Neal can see Peter studying the man, maybe he has never seen an African person before.’
‘Clinton, this is Peter, I just bought him. Peter, Clinton is also one of my slaves.’
The men nod at each other.
‘Clinton, can you get me something to eat?’
‘Of course, boss, anything in particular?’
‘No, anything will do.’
Clinton leaves and Neal guides Peter to a chair and sits him down. Clinton returns with a plate of grilled wild boar and a jar of wine.
‘I will go make you a bath, OK Neal?’
Neal nods. He puts everything on the table and hands Peter a piece before devouring his own piece.
‘Eat! You want some wine?’
Peter shakes his head.
‘Have you ever had wine?’
Peter shakes his head again.
‘Well, the water is not good, so please drink some wine, tomorrow I will see if I can find some ale for you.’
‘Thank you.’
Peter drinks from the cup and the combination of wine, the warmth of the fire place and the day´s events have Peter reeling in place.
‘You will sleep with Clinton on the matrass, it is big enough for two big fellows like you.’
Peter looks at the hay filled matrass. A coverlet is flung over it and to Peter it looks like the most comfortable place on Earth right now.
‘Go to sleep, you must be exhausted.’
Peter simply nods and lays down. He is asleep within seconds.
* * *
The next morning, Peter wakes to the sound of men talking and the noise of the camp waking up. He blinks open his eyes and he can see Janus lift his head and looking for him before putting his head back down.
He eyes roam over the room and he can see Neal´s cot is empty. He is wondering what he should do when Neal enters. Janus jumps up and welcomes his master.
‘Good morning Master.’
‘Good morning Peter. How are you feeling?’
‘I´m fine, Master.’
He can see Neal´s eyes rolling.
‘Hungry?’
A rumble announces itself before Peter can answer and Neal smiles.
‘Let´s get some breakfast.’
Peter is more than happy to follow Neal for food, but when he puts weight on his leg, he can´t withhold a groan. Neal turns around in alarm.
‘I want you to sit down. I’m sorry, I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to have you checked out.’
‘Master, I´m OK, it will heal.’
Neal looks upset, and Peter wonders how he can make his Master happy. Neal assures Peter he hasn´t done anything wrong. He promises to be back soon.
When he re-enters, he is carrying a bowl and is accompanied by a young man. He is clearly a slave but turns out to be a physician. He examines Peter´s cuts and bruises, dabbing some tincture on some of them. Next he checks Peter´s knee. He looks disturbed and tells Neal it is sprained and he should not put weight on it. But he also worries about an infection in one of the deeper cuts.
The man explains Peter he needs to get some supplies and leaves. Peter takes the moment to eat so Neal won´t be mad. And once he starts eating he realizes how hungry he is. He quickly finished the food before the physician returns. The man brought some jars and cloth with him and quickly washes the wound with some water and oil. When he is done, he opens a jar and a sharp smell comes out of it. He pours the vinegar over the wound and then applies some honey before bandaging the wound.
‘That should do it. I will be back tomorrow to check on the wound.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Oh and needless to say, no kneeling, OK?’
‘Of course.’
The physician leaves and he can hear Neal and the man talk outside. A couple of minutes later Neal enters.
‘The physician said you will be as good as new as long as you let your knee heal.’
‘Yes, he said the same to me. Thank you for taking care of me.’
He can see Neal is a bit surprised, but he doesn´t respond to the remark.
‘So now that you are my slave, why don´t you tell me what your skills are so I can see where I can use you. Can you read?’
‘Yes Master, I can, I am also very good in Calculus.’
Neal looks surprised but smiles.
‘Well Good. I can always use a slave that is educated. We expect to go home in two weeks. Hopefully you will be healed by that time and we can go home.
‘It will be my honor to serve you.’
‘Thank you Peter, I am glad I bought you. Now rest.’
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: none
Characters: Neal, Peter, Jones
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: hurt/comfort, exhaustion, injuries, Roman AU, slavery
Author's Notes: This story fills the ‘Strapped to a moving vehicle’ square on my H/C Bingo card.
Servus means slave.
Word Count: ~ 1950
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: A slave is bought.
Chapter can also be found on AO3
Neal is tired and done for the day. This country is cold and damp and he fears he will never feel warm again. Even the furs he is wearing over his uniform do little against the ice cold wind that seems to blow right through him. His garrison is returning from yet another battle and Neal is looking forward to being back in their camp, where there will be warm water and hot food. After days at the battle field he is actually looking forward to some luxury.
Getting the smell of blood and death out of his clothes and skin just sounds about heavenly. He is not a real soldier, he never was. He is a brilliant strategist, or so he has been told, but he doesn´t like the bloodshed.
He studies his horse and realizes it also needs a good brushing. When his dog Janus barks, he looks down.
‘Yeah boy, I know, we are almost there, bear with me. I promise you a nice bone with meat.’
Neal can see they are catching up on some travelers. They have a cart so they are probably on their way to the market.
Closing the distance between them, Neal can see that a man is stumbling behind the cart. Neal is just about to take a turn to go towards their camp, when he sees the man tripping and falling. Since the man is tied to the cart, he is dragged behind it. He doesn´t even make a sound while he is being dragged behind the cart.
‘STOP!’ Neal shouts towards the man on the cart. He does and Neal is almost simultaneously next to it, dismounting his horse.
‘Good afternoon, Centurion, how can I help you?’
‘Your slave fell, he was being dragged behind the cart.’
‘What is it to you?’
Neal raises his eyebrows and the man can see that this was not the correct answer.
‘Why would you waist a good slave?’
‘If you think he is a good slave, why don´t you buy him so I can go on with my day. He only has been causing me trouble. If you’re not buying him, I will be on my way, maybe I can get to the market before it closes.’
Neal looks at the slave who is still on the ground, looking down. He is filthy and the drag behind the car also didn´t help, but he looks healthy enough.
‘Name your price.’
‘I must warn you, he doesn´t have much skills. Maybe he can warm your bed.’
Neal can see the slave cringe.
‘You are talking to a senior officer of the Imperial Cavalry, so I would watch that mouth.’
The man gives Neal a hesitant smile.
‘I didn´t mean to offend you, Centurion. I will make you a good deal.’
After some haggling the man continues his way and Neal kneels next to the slave who is still looking down. He touches the slave´s shoulder and the man flinches.
‘I´m not going to hurt you. Can you stand up?’
The man slowly gets up and Neal can see the man´s front is covered with bleeding scrapes from being dragged over the dirt road. He can also see that he has bashed his knee, because it is bleeding and already swelling.
Neal puts his hand under the slave´s chin and raises it.
‘Please look at me.’
The slave slowly raises his gaze until he meets Neal´s eyes.
‘My name is Neal, what is yours?’
‘Peter.’
‘Well Peter, I just bought you, so I guess you are my responsibility now.’
He gives Peter a warm smile.
‘I have a lot of skills sir, I…’
‘I am sure you do, but if I am being honest, I am hungry and I want to go back to camp and get clean, and I think you want the same. You can enlighten me when we are warm and fed.’
Peter nods, being clean sounds good, food even better, it has been some time since he last had a decent meal. Janus now comes closer to sniff him and a smile appears on Peter´s face.
‘It this your dog?’
‘Yes, his name is Janus.’
‘After the god with two faces?’
Neal nods.
‘He is very friendly until we get into battle. Then he is fierce.’
Peter pets Janus.
‘OK, let me see your knee.’
‘I´m fine.’
‘No you are not.’
Peter hesitantly raises his leg and hisses when Neal touches some sore spots.
‘OK, you can´t walk anymore.’ Neal straightens out.
‘No, wait, I can walk.’ Peter sounds anxious.
‘No you can´t, you will damage your knee.’
‘I´m fine.’
Neal calls his horse and gives Peter a boost before quickly mounting behind Peter.
He realizes Peter releases a breath he has been holding.
‘What did you think was going to happen?’ Neal asks while he spurs on his horse.
‘Honestly?’
‘I prefer it when my slaves tell me the truth.’
‘I thought you were going to kill me. Nobody wants a worthless slave, let alone a cripple one.’
‘You are not worthless. No man is.’
Peter turns around in disbelieve.
‘You really believe that.’
‘Yes, I do. I own several slaves and they all have their worth.’
The steady cadence of the horse lulls Peter asleep. It probably is the exhaustion of having to walk for miles tied to a cart that has him fall asleep against Neal, who has to do his best to stay in the saddle with Peter leaning into him. Peter doesn´t wake up until they finally reach the camp.
Neal is welcomed by his men and he asks some assistance to help Peter down from the horse. Peter wants to put weight on his leg, but it buckles under him. Luckily two soldiers steady him.
‘Can you please escort him to my quarters and give him some food and water? Claude, can you take care of Janus and my horse?’
Claude nods and takes the reigns from Neal and calls Janus.
Neal stops at the water well and washes most of the dirt from his face and hands before reporting to the camp Prefect.
* * *
When Neal returns, he is ready to collapse on his bed, but he really needs food and a bath. Maybe he can ask Clinton to get him some food while he baths. He enters and finds Peter kneeling on the floor.
‘Peter? What are you doing?’
‘Waiting for you Master.’
‘Have you eaten?’
‘No Master, a slave doesn´t eat before it´s Master.’
‘Well, my slaves do. When I tell you to eat and drink, I expect you to obey me, understood?’
‘Yes Master.’
‘Now get up of the floor, you hurt your knee, kneeling doesn´t make it better, you do understand that, don´t you? Did a physician look at it?’
‘No Master, I´m fine.’
‘Clinton!’
A dark man enters. Neal can see Peter studying the man, maybe he has never seen an African person before.’
‘Clinton, this is Peter, I just bought him. Peter, Clinton is also one of my slaves.’
The men nod at each other.
‘Clinton, can you get me something to eat?’
‘Of course, boss, anything in particular?’
‘No, anything will do.’
Clinton leaves and Neal guides Peter to a chair and sits him down. Clinton returns with a plate of grilled wild boar and a jar of wine.
‘I will go make you a bath, OK Neal?’
Neal nods. He puts everything on the table and hands Peter a piece before devouring his own piece.
‘Eat! You want some wine?’
Peter shakes his head.
‘Have you ever had wine?’
Peter shakes his head again.
‘Well, the water is not good, so please drink some wine, tomorrow I will see if I can find some ale for you.’
‘Thank you.’
Peter drinks from the cup and the combination of wine, the warmth of the fire place and the day´s events have Peter reeling in place.
‘You will sleep with Clinton on the matrass, it is big enough for two big fellows like you.’
Peter looks at the hay filled matrass. A coverlet is flung over it and to Peter it looks like the most comfortable place on Earth right now.
‘Go to sleep, you must be exhausted.’
Peter simply nods and lays down. He is asleep within seconds.
* * *
The next morning, Peter wakes to the sound of men talking and the noise of the camp waking up. He blinks open his eyes and he can see Janus lift his head and looking for him before putting his head back down.
He eyes roam over the room and he can see Neal´s cot is empty. He is wondering what he should do when Neal enters. Janus jumps up and welcomes his master.
‘Good morning Master.’
‘Good morning Peter. How are you feeling?’
‘I´m fine, Master.’
He can see Neal´s eyes rolling.
‘Hungry?’
A rumble announces itself before Peter can answer and Neal smiles.
‘Let´s get some breakfast.’
Peter is more than happy to follow Neal for food, but when he puts weight on his leg, he can´t withhold a groan. Neal turns around in alarm.
‘I want you to sit down. I’m sorry, I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to have you checked out.’
‘Master, I´m OK, it will heal.’
Neal looks upset, and Peter wonders how he can make his Master happy. Neal assures Peter he hasn´t done anything wrong. He promises to be back soon.
When he re-enters, he is carrying a bowl and is accompanied by a young man. He is clearly a slave but turns out to be a physician. He examines Peter´s cuts and bruises, dabbing some tincture on some of them. Next he checks Peter´s knee. He looks disturbed and tells Neal it is sprained and he should not put weight on it. But he also worries about an infection in one of the deeper cuts.
The man explains Peter he needs to get some supplies and leaves. Peter takes the moment to eat so Neal won´t be mad. And once he starts eating he realizes how hungry he is. He quickly finished the food before the physician returns. The man brought some jars and cloth with him and quickly washes the wound with some water and oil. When he is done, he opens a jar and a sharp smell comes out of it. He pours the vinegar over the wound and then applies some honey before bandaging the wound.
‘That should do it. I will be back tomorrow to check on the wound.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Oh and needless to say, no kneeling, OK?’
‘Of course.’
The physician leaves and he can hear Neal and the man talk outside. A couple of minutes later Neal enters.
‘The physician said you will be as good as new as long as you let your knee heal.’
‘Yes, he said the same to me. Thank you for taking care of me.’
He can see Neal is a bit surprised, but he doesn´t respond to the remark.
‘So now that you are my slave, why don´t you tell me what your skills are so I can see where I can use you. Can you read?’
‘Yes Master, I can, I am also very good in Calculus.’
Neal looks surprised but smiles.
‘Well Good. I can always use a slave that is educated. We expect to go home in two weeks. Hopefully you will be healed by that time and we can go home.
‘It will be my honor to serve you.’
‘Thank you Peter, I am glad I bought you. Now rest.’