Fifty Lashes

POV: First Person

Quickly, one of the guards scrambled to the edge of the pit, procuring a thick, braided leather whip. He bowed his head deeply as he placed the heavy weapon into Roman’s outstretched hand.

Valeria remained on her knees in the dirt, but she tilted her face upward, her voice wobbling with an unchecked terror. "M-my King," she said quickly, the words tripping over her trembling li