Remember me (Peterick)

It starts in ancient Rome

Even when things are in the pits, they're the worst you possibly think they can get, they're unbearable, and hellish, things can always get worse. Even if you escape the hell, it's not permanent. The devil can just as easily reach out and pull you back down as you escaped.

On an only marginally happier note, the story doesn't start in hell. It starts in ancient Rome with a group of slaves; Peter, Patrick, Joseph and Andrew. For a group of young slaves, they were treated fairly well. The room they slept in at night was fairly light and roomy, little wooden beds against each wall for each of the four. They were allowed a meal a day and a slice of bread in the morning. All four were kept as healthy and as clean as a slave could be.

Patrick thought life was pretty good. He had his three friends with him, his cleaning duties and he was hardly ever punished. The four boys at least had fun together when they had nothing to do.

Patrick sang a lot, and since it entertained their master, no-one ever complained. Andy often joined in tapping out percussion on the nearest wall, or Joe's back, whatever was closest. Pete would usually be found beaming at Patrick to encourage him from across the room, always cheering him on.

The best part about their owner though? He was human. The whole of his family were human. Pete knew he'd had a close call when, at market, one of the city's vampire clans started to eye him up, but luckily, someone snapped him up before he could be brought and he met Patrick, Joe, and Andy, the four becoming fast friends.

It was common place for slaves to be brought by the vampires of Rome, used as thralls and walking blood bags until they became incapacitated and ended up more as a shell of a human shaped blood bag piled into rooms with replacements.  It was easier than going out hunting, just to have a stock supply kept in a room.

Things seemed good. The boy's master's young daughter doted on Andy, enthralled by his mean outward demeanour until he spoke, then enthralled by his soft spoken words and the love he had for everyone and everything. If anyone had to put her to bed in the evening, she'd always pout and whine until Andy was sent in to talk her to sleep. If anyone lost Andy, he'd usually be sitting in the child's room, his arm trapped under her body as he sat next to her bed, not wanting to move and wake her up. He'd always have a little dopy smile on his face when someone walked in, entertained by the fact that he'd found a place he was actually valued and loved by his friends and the kid.

Andy hadn't always had it so good. It was never terrible, but his first master did tend to beat Andy fairly liberally whenever he messed up. It felt good to be looked after. Pete's last master was the same. Joe and Patrick however, they didn't remember anything but the master they had together.

Joe was abandoned as a child, he never knew his parents very well, sold into slavery when he was ten. He assumed he'd probably blocked his memories out of his parents either way.

Patrick though, Patrick's mother was a slave, his father her master. They certainly weren't in love. Not wanting the bastard child around, his father let his mother raise Patrick until the age of ten, then sold him to the markets. He didn't remember anything of his mother or his first master/father, much like Joe, having blocked them out. Neither of the younger slaves cared all that much though, by then in their early twenties and happy to have each other and another two friends.