Extract from Julia Florentia: Galley Slave
Down on the oar-deck the air grew hot and stifling as the chained captives labored for what seemed to them like an eternity. Julia pulled her oar endlessly to and fro until her arms shuddered with exertion. Her whole body glistened with sweat, as did the toiling forms of the naked women around her. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, trying to let her mind wander through the cool green gardens of her father's villa. Her blonde hair hung in slick, wet tangles over her face, while her throat tightened with a ferocious thirst.
Sidonius swaggered up and down the deck, glaring down at each pair of slaves as he passed. He brandished his whip and occasionally used it, lashing the back of any woman who seemed to be faltering under the strain. The whip crackled over Muzuli, laying a narrow welt across the ridge of her spine, because she dared to curse the interminable drumbeat. Her black skin gleamed wetly, like dark leather in a rainstorm, as she sweated in the heat and humidity. Sidonius gave her three more lashes, smirking as he flogged her, before turning his gaze upon Julia.
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