Pax Romana: The Next Day

Livia made her way back home. Her mother’s Royal guards had escorted her back, using a road that was made for the giants. The bricks that paved the road were reinforced with a powerful ore that could be found only in the Spice caves, which was also used to create much of the Empress’s palace, and the walls that surrounded it. The bricks were nearly indestructible, and could survive giantesses walking on them repeatedly with little cracking. Normal civilians were technically not supposed to cross the road, which cut straight through the middle of the city. Instead, they were supposed to go underground, through tunnels that crept under the road. But with the constant quaking, the tunnels were prone to caving in. Dozens of people crossed the giant’s road, rules and safety be damned.

Her presence in the city was supposed to be a secret, but it’s hard to keep people from realizing when a gigantic, stark-naked woman is walking down a city street in bright daylight. Crowds soon gathered, and Livia did her best to look dignified, even though she was visibly embarrassed. Her cheeks were red, and she was all too aware of her nakedness. She tried at first to cover her breasts with her hand, but her breasts had grown huge the night before, and now a single hand was now scarcely sufficient.

The head of her guards, a female soldier who stood thirty feet tall, now barely came up to Livia’s knee. Noting Livia’s unease, the guard captain gave Livia an inquisitive look and drew her spear. “Shall I?” It took Livia a moment before she realized what the guard captain meant. The guard captain was asking if they should enforce the punishment for gazing upon a naked goddess, a crime that could be punished by death. “No,” Livia replied. “That’s not the kind of goddess I want to be.”

Livia smiled back at the ecstatic crowds, putting on a wide grin that she hoped would cover up her nervousness, and set her eyes high on the horizon. These tiles didn’t crack under her feet; the redstone truly was all but unbreakable. The men, however, would give way under her far more easily.

Tiny being stared up at her, little men that now seemed like so much less than they had just a day before. Livia did her best not to look down, but she could just barely make out some people below her. They were drunkenly running about, zigging and zagging and crossing just in front of her. These men were tempting fate, and doing it of their own avail. To stop and wait for them would make her look weak. She made the decision to continue at her current pace.

Livia could just barely feel the first one, popping under her foot like a ripe cherry. The sensation was overwhelming. Power coursed through her veins as she felt the tiny man squished like jelly beneath her. Thick crimson blood coated her heel. Livia tried to ignore the sensation, and the pleasure that came with it. She continued along at the same pace, and more men found their way under her bare feet, mashed between her soles and the stones below.

Livia maintained her regal pace, her eyes staying focused on her palace in the distance. As more men were crushed under her, however, it became difficult for her to focus. With every few steps, another man was crushed beneath her, and her attention was brought once more to the sensations of her heel. As she made her way closer to the palace, and the crowds thinned, Livia felt almost disappointed.

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It didn’t take long before Livia had arrived at the palace gates, gates she could now scarcely fit underneath. With her new height, she could cover ground much faster than she was used to, walking miles in a minute with little effort. Once the palace gates had closed behind her, she dismissed her guards and staff.

How many men Livia had stepped on, she didn’t know. Not too many, she told herself, perhaps a few dozen. Or was it more? By the end of it, at any rate, her soles were stained a deep red.

Back in the palace, she had little time to think about her new predicament. She had to be fitted for new clothes. Livia was far too big now to fit into her old clothes, so the slaves made other preparations. Her mother had a dinner planned for that very night, and so one of her mother’s servants came to greet her, and usher her to complete the preparations.

Her mother's’ servant was an older woman, or seemed to be; Livia didn’t inquire. She stood perhaps ten feet tall, high enough that she towered over the slaves that followed her around. Yet even at this height, she was like a child’s toy compared to Livia. A single errant step, and Livia could have crushed her.

The servant was impressed at Livia’s size. She had grown more than any of them anticipated/ The servant did her best to fit into one of her mother’s old dresses, which they tailored for Livia. Yet even with skilled tailoring, the dress was still sizes too small. The dress rode high on Livia’s hips, and scarcely managed to cover her now considerable bust. Yet it was better than nothing, and dressed in ill-fitting clothes, Livia made her way to the throne room.

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The Royal Guards seemed smaller than Livia remembered, though Cybele was still imposing. Cybele sat in her throne, looking displeased. She bided her time, absent-mindedly ripping the limbs off of an ambassador who must have displeased her. As Livia entered, though, she dropped the torso onto the floor and stood up in disbelief.

“They guards told me you had grown big…” The ground shook as Cybele made her way over to Livia. To Livia’s amazement, her mother now stood barely a head taller than her now.

Cybele made her way around Livia, marveling at her daughter’s growth. “After your first time using the Spice… incredible. The dress you’re wearing used to be mine… It fit me not ten years ago. And that body… You’re growing almost as fast as your grandmother did. And the Spice was purer back then…

‘The guards told me about the state of your temple. It sounds like you enjoyed your offerings. Not a single one alive... I was worried all this time that you would be too squeamish...

Cybele eyed her daughter. “Perhaps you misjudged me. Clearly Juno’s spirit favors me. More, I dare say, than it seems to have favored my sister.” Livia could barely hold back a smirk. “Julia, that little runt? She barely grew at all. You should have seen the look over her face, when she saw how much I’ve grown… She ran off like a child.”

Cybele shook her head. She burned with buried anger. “You presume to know my design? You think that just because you didn’t act like a coward for once in your life, you somehow deserve to be the heir to my throne?” Cybele stared coldly into the distance. “I will select no heir, not yet. I’m postponing the decision until a suitable heir can be determined.”

“Look at me!” said Livia. “Julia isn’t half my height! If she didn’t grow on her Coronation, she’s doomed to be a runt! Do you want Scarlett and Camilla to tower over the next Empress?

‘Mother, you must see it! Julia has been using the Spice for years. That’s why she grew at such a young age, and it’s the only reason she was ever bigger than me. You always said the one who grows largest on the Coronation was blessed by Juno. Well here I am. Do as you promised, and make me the heir to Juno’s throne!”

Cybele stood up from her throne and stared down at Livia. As much as Livia had grown, her mother was still a head taller, perhaps more. Her face had the look of someone who had just tasted acid. “Do not suppose that you can order me around, child. Whatever I decide will be law, when I decide it. One night proves little. If you want me to consider you as Empress, prove that you are worthy. My heir will not have the weak stomach and soft heart of a lamb. Now, leave me. We have an important dinner coming up, and I must see that the proper preparations are being made...”

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Livia lied down in the courtyard outside her room, considering her options as slaves attended to her. How could she show her strength? Her mother was still unconvinced, even after everything that had happened at her Coronation. She had to convince her mother that she could be ruthless. But could she, without becoming a monster like her sister? Perhaps there was another way. If she could simply grow, so large that she could tower over the both of them… But she was hesitant to use the Spice again, after everything that happened the night before.

The same courtyard seemed so different now. So much smaller. The eunuch slaves that fanned and massaged her seemed like mere toys now. And her bedroom… Livia couldn’t even fit through the doorway anymore. Not that she tried; it was made out of Redstone, and she didn’t want to end up stuck halfway through the entrance. Her mother’s dress even felt to tight, as if she was growing by the minute.

Livia had asked around for her mentor, an old learned slave, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, she summoned her new High Priestess, Anastasia. Within moments, she appeared, towering over the slaves even as she was dwarfed by Livia. Anastasia bowed before Livia, still dressed in the same revealing ceremonial gown as before. “Your beauty, how may I serve you?”

Livia greeted Anastasia, and began to explain the situation. She tried not to worry about the slaves overhearing her; most of the Eunuchs were foreigners who spoke little Latin, and the rest had their tongues removed long ago. “Anastasia, I wanted to ask your counsel. My mother… She refuses to… to... ”

“...to choose an heir? Do you worry she may choose your sister?”

“Yes! She sees mercy as weakness. She wants me to be as uncaring as my sister is…”

“And you ask me for advice?” Livia nodded in response.

Anastasia made her way over to Livia. She walked along Livia’s body, caressing Livia’s leg as she went. To her surprise, Livia shivered in pleasure.

“My goddess, the Empress respects strength above all, and mercy is anathema to strength. In her philosophy, I mean... You must show her you understand your place the the world, and take pleasure in it. A goddess should take whatever she wants, if it… pleases her.” With that, Anastasia knelt down next to a slave, who was fanning Livia.

“Your mother is having a dinner with the Duchess of Athens. I imagine she plans to discuss policy, but she’s also interested in how you’ll react to the dinner itself. And do you know what dinner will be?”

“Dinner… Them?” Livia said, looking down at the slaves.

“After a fashion.They won’t be common slaves, these ones should be specially prepared to eat. They’ve been prepared by the finest chefs in the Empire…

‘Livia, your feasting at the Coronation was truly impressive… but soon you must show you can do the same, without the aid of The Spice. To impress your mother, you must show her you can eat men as she does. With enjoyment, and without hesitation.”

“Is there any other way?”

“What you do is your choice, your grace. But if you want to win her favor, you must show her you have overcome your squeamishness. Now, most of the time, it’s considered proper to swallow them, although there are exceptions...”

“But… I’ve never done such a thing… Except for last night, I mean, and I hardly remember…”

“Then perhaps, if it pleases you, you should start now,” said Anastasia. “This one is handsome enough, and he looks clean.”

“What? I… no…” Livia said to herself. Could she even do such a thing, without the Spice?

“Go ahead,” Anastasia said, “take him.”

Livia looked at the man. A Eunuch. he looked normal enough. A good slave, from what she could tell. He was still relatively young and handsome, though he was starting to get a bit of a gut, as Eunuchs often did. After hesitating for a moment, Livia carefully picked up the little man. Although he briefly flinched, he made no attempt to resist. He kept his gaze downcast, an uneasy look on his face.

“Go ahead,” Anastasia said. “If it is your will, of course.”

Livia could hardly believe this was happening, it all seemed so unreal. The man was before her. And she was to eat him… It seemed like such a bizarre thing for her to do. Livia had scarcely noticed the men beneath her feet earlier that day, but this was different. To devour someone was so much more… intimate. And even at her height, an entire person seemed impossibly large. And yet, she had managed the night before… Could she do it? Could she force herself now?

Raising the man to her mouth, Livia closed her eyes. She slid him into her mouth. He fit, just barely. She could feel his body against her tongue. The skin was surprisingly salty with sweat; she nearly recoiled. But then she overcame her hesitation. His flesh was smooth, and soft. And there was something so enticing about the way his legs wriggled about in fear…

Slowly, she closed her lips around him. Her wet lips wrapped around his upper body. The little man struggled to fight his way out, trying to squeeze through the soft walls of her lips, but the thick wet membranes pressed too tightly together. With a single, intuitive motion, Livia slid the tip of her tongue along the front of the man’s body, sliding him down the length of her tongue.

Unable to wait any longer, Livia swallowed. He slid down her throat, gliding down the slick wetness of her tongue. She realized in that instant how big he was; far bigger than any piece of food she would normally eat. And yet somehow he slid right down into her throat without any discomfort. In fact, swallowing him produced a powerful sensation of pleasure in Livia. As his body slid tightly through her throat, she felt a brief moment of ecstasy. Livia shuddered as he writher and squirmed down the chute of her esophagus, orgasmic pleasure overtaking her.

So that was it. In a moment, Livia understood why her mother and the others had such voracious appetites. It felt incredible, like nothing else Livia could remember feeling before. The Coronation Night was a blur, but this? This was crisp. This was real. This was amazing. And she wanted more, as wrong as she knew it was.Livia hadn’t even been hungry before she devoured that man, but now she felt something else; a different kind of hunger, a strange urge. The frightened slaves that cowered below her suddenly looked delicious. Even Anastasia, large as she was, looked incredible. Maybe Livia couldn’t swallow Anna in one gulp, but still, Anna’s soft curves were so delectable. Her beautiful body looked utterly delicious. And she belonged to Livia. All Livia had to do was grab her, and--

“LIvia, you’ve done wonderfully.” Livia snapped back to reality. Anastasia was staring up at her, dressed in her blue fineries. “For most it’s an acquired taste to swallow men sober, without the aid of the red spice. But you took quite naturally to it. You’re ready for the dinner.”

Next time: Primae Mensae