"I am sorry, mistress," she sobbed.

The man who was obviously the leader of the party inspected us closely and I could see by the look in his face that he recognized who I was. Satisfied that he had the right person he casually sliced open Lucia's stomach with his knife. The men holding her let go and she fell, mewling weakly as her entrails spilled onto the floor.

I stared frozen in shock at such casual cruelty unable to resist as my arms were bound behind me and a rope put around my neck. While I was being restrained the other soldiers had roughly ripped Giulia's clothes from her body and thrown her to the floor where they pinned her spread-eagled by her wrist and ankles. Her slender young body seemed tiny in the midst of the four large men who held her down. Her small firm breasts, topped with rose coloured nipples, shook as her body twisted against the grip of her captors. A fifth man knelt between her legs his large penis, erect and throbbing, already free from his britches. As he plunged into her I was dragged away; her shrill hopeless screams followed me down the corridor.

I am Adelina Placidia, the niece of Emperor Valentinian and with my husband I ruled the city of Aquileia. I am in my twenty fourth year and I believe considered an attractive woman. My body is quite feminine, with large breasts, a narrow waist and full round hips.

When the soldiers found us I was wearing the clothes that I had been in the night before, a floor length green gown, close fitting and with short sleeves. I have long black hair, which as is expected in a lady is normally carefully tied up and covered, however the rough treatment from the soldiers when they had found me had pulled it loose and now it fell down around my shoulders.

Soldiers ran through the palace, looting or destroying everything in their path. As we proceeded through the one of the courtyards a half naked woman burst out of a doorway a little ahead of us closely pursued by two soldiers. She ran in blind panic in our direction before suddenly seeing my captors. She stopped, crying out in dismay and looking around for another route but the pursuing soldiers were already upon her. Laughing they ripped the remains of her clothes from her body and taking her upper body and legs carried her screaming and kicking back into room that they had come from.

We left the palace and started down the road to the central square of the city. It was a lovely day, clear and cloudless with just a touch of a cooling autumn wind in the air. The barbarity of the conquering Huns, visible everywhere as I was dragged through the streets, stood in stark contrast to the natural beauty of the day. Hun soldiers ransacked buildings, pulling loot from them before setting them on fire. Corpses littered the streets, while scenes of rape and torture were everywhere. As we passed the church I was shocked to see that the heathens did not even respect the house of God! A group of people had sought sanctuary there and the Huns had recently found them. The bodies of the men lay scattered on the ground, the girls and younger women had been gathered together in front of the church where they were being stripped and bound to be taken as booty by the soldiers. Another group of soldiers had tied a naked woman to the oaken door in the porch and were using her as a target for their bows. The woman's limbs were already peppered with shafts but she had not struck anywhere vital and she remained alive. Further arrows landed as we walked by, driving through her flesh and into the wood behind. Each shaft elicited a further cry of pain from the living target.

After many more such sights of wanton cruelty we reached the square in the middle of the city where I was marched over to a pavilion erected at one end. Seated on chair that I was shocked to see was my late husband's throne, was the leader of the Huns. His dress, though a bit grander than that of the other soldiers was not much different but he had an air of authority that clearly marked him as a powerful man. His face was the same as most of the Huns, bearded with brown skin a flat nose and eyes so dark that they appeared black. I could detect not the slightest sign of humanity in the expressionless, weather beaten visage. There was no doubt in my mind that this was Attila himself.

I was pushed to my knees so that I knelt before him. The soldier holding me grabbed my hair and twisted my head up so that the seated man could see me. He looked at me for a few seconds then without taking his eyes from mine questioned the captain in his own language. Seemingly satisfied with the answers, Attila beckoned to the side and a collared woman came and knelt at his feet. He spoke to her briefly before the woman turned to me and spoke in accented Latin.

"My master wants to know if you are Adelina Placidia?"

I thought about how to respond for a brief time but having seen how the common people were treated I decided admitting who I was would be better.

"Yes. I am Countess Adelina Placidia, the niece of the emperor, my uncle will pay you well to have me back unharmed. I beg you to treat me well. You will be well rewarded." I wanted to say more but the guard holding me pushed my head down roughly to the floor, clearly indicating I should not speak further.

The slave turned to Attila and said only two words obviously just confirming my identity. I was lifted to my feet and my bonds released but only so that my clothes could be pulled from me and my naked body could be displayed to Attila. In humiliation at being exhibited in this way I tried to cover myself with my arms but the soldiers roughly pulled them away. If Attila had any feelings either of pity or even lust for my body it was impossible to tell. With a wave of his hand he dismissed us.

I was pulled to the front of the pavilion where a wooden frame had been set up to which I was bound by my wrists and ankles so that I stood spread-eagled looking out onto the square. I was still naked and my position left me exposed so that all could see me. I was mortified with shame.

In the centre of the square a group of men in black uniforms where preparing what looked like various implements of torture or execution; poles and frames with strategically placed rings to tie people to, braziers full of glowing coals, racks of whips and knives. On one side a large wooden enclosure had been constructed in which a number of women had been placed. The captives seemed to be aged from their early teens to their thirties and had all been stripped naked and had their arms bound behind their backs. They stood, moaning and weeping, helplessly watching the preparation in the square with obvious trepidation. While the preparations continued soldiers brought more women who were also pushed into the enclosure until it was completely full.

At the side of the enclosure a set of posts were set up and three women were dragged over to them. The camp dogs, long legged hounds with shaggy fur, gathered, yelping excitedly as the women were bound on all fours to the posts. The second the men walked away the dogs leapt forward, fighting each other for the chance to be first. Soon a dog had mounted each of the women, their front paws curved under the women's belly while they stood on their hind legs and frenziedly pumped their hips back and forth. The cries of the women mixed with the excited yelps of the dogs. When one of the dogs finished, he was quickly replaced by another from the growing pack of waiting animals.

Suddenly, and most unexpectedly I heard the sound of the church bell ringing out. What could it mean, I thought, hoping that it was some sign of a rescue, a message from God to protect his people from these heathens. But instead it seemed to be signal that the preparations were finished, as soldiers began to pour into the square until they were four or five deep around the periphery. The leader of the black clad men waved to the guards standing by the enclosure indicating that he was ready to begin. The guard opened the enclosure door, and pulled out the prisoner nearest to him, a slender teenager with long blonde hair. The girl kicked and struggled against the guard but he simply put her over his shoulder and carried her over to the waiting man. The crowd cheered, delighted that the entertainment was about to begin.

At the instructions of the black clad man the guard dumped the girl on the ground next to a fire pit filled with hotly glowing embers. Beside the pit was a square iron grate which stood on short legs about one foot off the ground. Towards one end of the grate a foot long wooden rod with a bulbous tulip shaped top had been fixed. Two of the men pulled the girl's legs apart while a third lifted her on to the grate and placed her directly over the rod so that its tip pressed against her anus. As the man released her the girl's weight drove her down on to the rod.

"No. What are you doing? Please stop. No, please please. Ahhh! God help me!" she screamed as the rough wood stretched her anus wide and the bulb drove deep into her rectum.

When she was securely impaled, the torturers bound each ankle to opposite edges of the grate, stretching her legs wide apart. They completed her restraints by pulling her wrists in front of her and tying them to the leading edge of the grate. This held her immobile, seated with her legs so wide apart that they almost made a straight line and leaning steeply forward so that the tips of her young breasts were only a few inches above the iron grate.

The girl continued to weep and plead with her captors as she was restrained and her cries became ever more hysterical as two of the torturers picked up the grate and carried it over to the fire pit. They placed it so that the girl sat directly over the centre of the fire. The position in which she had been bound held her completely exposed to the scorching heat of the embers. As her flesh was roasted she shrieked in agony, a high pitched ululation that went on and on without a break.

As soon as the first victim was in place, while her cries still filled the square, the lead torturer indicated that the next victim should be brought over. The women in the enclosure having seen what had happened to the first girl wailed in terror as the guard opened the door to select another. Those at the front desperately pushed back against the packed bodies behind them as they tried to avoid the guard's grasp. However there was nowhere to escape and he quickly secured one of the women. She was perhaps in her late twenties with dark hair, a full round body and large, pendulous breasts. She sobbed and pleaded as she was dragged over to the waiting torturers. The torturers bound her standing to a post, her arms pulled behind it, and her ankles tied to the base. A torturer placed a knife point against her skin just below the centre of her rib cage. With a single practised motion he slit open her abdomen from the sternum to the top of the pubic bone. The woman gasped in agony, her body convulsing and her mouth gaping wide in a soundless scream. The torturer slowly pulled her intestines out through the slit so that they piled up at the woman's feet. When he had finished he cauterized the edges of the cut with a hot iron to stop the worst of the bleeding. Leaving her still gasping in gruesome pain the tortures moved on to the next victim.

This was a young dark haired girl with a slender unripe body who wept piteously in panicked terror as she was carried into the middle of the square. There she was held down while two men pulled her legs wide apart and a sharply pointed stake was pushed into her vagina. When the stake had penetrated a foot or so it was lifted up and set vertically in a hole in the ground, holding her impaled and writhing in agony six feet in the air.

As the next woman was pulled from the enclosure I was stunned to see that it was my sweet Giulia! Though I had had little hope for her in the circumstances that I had last seen her, I wished she could be spared a fate such as this. I watched in horror after witnessing the tortures of the last three and fearing what would become of her. Giula was carried over to a frame made up of two uprights with a cross beam. The barbarians suspended Giulia spread-eagled upside down with her ankles tied apart to the cross beam and her wrists to the base of each upright. The frame was positioned such that it was directly facing me and I could see every detail of her body. Her long red hair fell to the ground and I could see mottled bruises on her pale, delicate skin from her earlier violation. Her wide smiling mouth and the elegant features of her face were distorted with terror. Her small firm breasts were pulled flat by her stretched position making little circles on her chest. Giulia is a few years younger than me and I have always treated her as my little sister. To see her in such a position was truly heart rendering. Suddenly she saw me and our eyes met.

"My lady. Help me! Please," she begged. "PLEASE. What are they going to do to me? Please help me."

"Stop!" I screamed. "Leave her alone."

The same torturer who had slit open the woman before approached Giulia holding a curved skinning knife. In contrast to the excitedly cheering soldiers he was calm, seemingly indifferent to the suffering he was causing. He started with an incision around each ankle then made a vertical cut down the inside of each leg from the ankle to groin.

"Please," sobbed Giulia. "Please, my lady, make them stop."

Starting from the these cuts he began to peel the skin from Giulia's legs. Her pleadings broke down into mindless shrieks of agony, each of her harrowing cries cutting me to the core. I sobbed, tears welling from eyes. Oh my poor Giulia! How could God let this happen? I screamed and ranted, pulling frantically at the ropes that bound me.

The skin was stripped from both her legs and left to hang beside her body from her hips. Next the torturer went behind her and extended the cuts in her legs to her buttocks and then down her back. He peeled her skin starting from the cut in the back around to the front so that it came off from her torso. After he had treated her arms in a similar fashion he pulled the skin from these too. Finally he peeled her scalp from her skull and the skin from her face so that he could remove her entire skin in a single piece. When he had finished Giulia was still alive, her lidless eyes staring madly her hideously mutilated face. She was left hanging in agony while the next victim was pulled from the enclosure.

And so it went on for the rest of the day. I could not count how many there were in the enclosure at the start. One hundred? Perhaps more. There was no mercy shown for any of them. No matter how young they were or how much they begged. Girls and women, burnt, whipped, impaled. All executed in the most gruesome and painful ways. And all the time the soldiers cheered in gleeful enjoyment at the unspeakable suffering of those being tortured. The women in the enclosure, naked and bound, could do nothing but watch in helpless horror as those before them were tortured, each knowing that their turn would come. There was no escape and soon they too would be suffer a hideous death. And with them my own fear grew. When all the other women had been tortured would it be my turn? What special horrors had they saved for me? I tried to tell myself that I would be strong, maintain my dignity and not show weakness in front of these heathen savages. But I knew I could not. Terror griped my soul. I knew I would beg and plead just as the common women had done.

As the sun approached the roofs at the west end of the square, the final victim, a buxom woman in her late twenties with a shoulder length mane of yellow hair, was pulled sobbing hysterically from the enclosure. While one man held her head still from behind another used a red hot iron to burn out her eyes. Then oil was poured over her body until it was completely coated.

"No! Please. I beg. What are you doing?" she whimpered.

She was pushed into an open area where she stumbled blindly about to the jeers of the watching soldiers. As she approached the edge of the circle one of the tortures pressed a burning stick to her stomach. The oil caught fire and the flames leapt up turning her into a human torch. The heavy oil stuck to her skin burning her mercilessly. Screaming, she lurched wildly about in the circle. When by chance she stumbled towards an edge a soldier would use a stick to push her back into the center. Eventually she fell to the ground mewling and writhing in agony for a few more minutes before mercifully she died.

I was shaking in terror, expecting that they would now come to collect me. But to my relief the soldiers started clearing up the square, pilling the dead bodies, and those who still lived, on to a cart before dragging them off for disposal.

When it was clear that the session was over I thanked God. Was it wrong of me to feel relief after so many of my people had died so horribly? I didn't know. I was just happy that at least for the moment I was spared. As the tension drained from me I slumped, feeling so weak that I could barely stand. I hung my head, my eyes closed though this could not keep the images of what I had witnessed filling my mind.

Sometime later fresh cries of terror pulled me from stupor. I looked up to see that ten more women had been brought out and were now being chained to roasting spits next to the fire pit. The pit had been tended and the flames had died down leaving only brightly glowing embers. Each woman was bound with her back to the spit by her neck, arms, hips and ankles so that she was held completely immobile. There was no doubt as to what was going to happen to them and the women were all trembling and sobbing in terror as the preparations proceeded. Pairs of uprights were placed around the pit and the spits were then lifted onto these so that the women were suspended over the embers. In a short while the women's pleading and cries of terror had become mindless shrieks of agony as they were slowly roasted.

Two camp boys were given the task of manning the spits, one turned them regularly so that the women were cooked evenly, the other basted their flesh with oil to keep the meat succulent and add flavour. The boys would also often pour water onto the women's heads and into their mouths to keep them cool. This kept the victims alive and conscious to prolong their suffering as much as possible. The screams of the women continued into evening, fading slowly as they grew weaker.

Further entertainment was also being prepared for the troops. At intervals in the square short stakes were set and by each of these a straw mattress was placed. More women were brought out with one being chained to each of stakes by her neck until there was about thirty of them in the square. As each woman was being prepared the nearest soldiers gathered in a group, waiting impatiently for the her to be available. As soon as she was they fell on her, some holding her while one of them raped her. When he had finished they changed places so that the next in line could use her. The women were raped in every conceivable way, in the vagina, in the anus, in mouth; sometimes by multiple men at once. They had no rest. As one group was finishing another group gathered around. Even after the initial surge had died down, there was a constant stream of soldiers coming up to take their turn. If any woman expired from the rough treatment her body was dragged away to be quickly replaced with a fresh victim.

In the gathering darkness the city square was like a scene of Hell; the glowing embers of the fires illuminated the women roasting on the spits while the pale bodies of those being raped stood out against their dark, demon like attackers. And over all of it was the endless screams and cries of anguish.

As the dinner was being served to the troops one of the guards released my bonds. I had been standing for many hours and immediately collapsed in exhaustion. I was brought food and water. Some part of me knew I should not accept it; it would only make me stronger and prolong whatever suffering they had planned for me but I was starving and could not control myself and wolfed it all down. When I had finished a man brought a thick carpet over and laid it on the ground. A rope was tied around my neck and fixed to a post close the carpet and my hands were bound behind my back. I had regained a little strength from my rest and food but was helpless against the hardened fighters and was soon firmly restrained. When they had finished the men went to join the others at the feast leaving me alone. In a few minutes Attila himself came to where I was bound. He looked down at my dispassionately for a few moments then discarded his top and pulled his britches down. Although his face showed no emotion my helpless naked body obviously excited him as his penis stood hard and erect. His body was stocky and thickly muscled, his dark skin bore many scars from his life of fighting.

He fell to his knees between my legs and pulled me towards him, His hard muscled body lay heavily on me, pinning me down. My arms, bound behind my back, were trapped awkwardly underneath me. I felt his penis pressing against my vagina. I lay unmoving under him, I felt weak and powerless against his strength, my will to resist broken.

His flat black eyes bore into mine, showing no emotion. My pain was nothing to him, I was just another vanquished woman being forced to submit to his will. He would take me with or without my consent. He found the entry and pushed down with his hips. I felt a tearing physical pain as he pushed into my dry body and helpless defeat as even the most personal parts of my body were conquered and defiled. I surrendered in shame and despair, lying limply under him as he pounded into my body. He pushed himself up on his toes driving painfully deep inside me and then he groaned and I felt him ejaculate. He waited for a short while as he continued to stare into my eyes affirming his conquest, not only of the city but my body and soul as well. Then he stood up and picked up his clothes. As he walked off he, with a flick of hand he indicated to his officers that he was finished with me and that they could take their turn.

The first of them came over to me, a large, heavy set man, grinning in anticipation. He crossed his arms and grabbed my ankles then lifted me up and uncrossed them flipping my body over so that I lay face down. He fell heavily on my back and drove into me from behind. As he slammed his hips into mine it drove all the air from my lungs leaving me gasping for breath while my breasts we crushed painfully against the ground. There was no let up in the fury of his assault as he pounded into me with all his strength. After he came he lay heavily on me for a short while, panting loudly in my ear, before climbing to his feet. But for me there was no rest. Even as I was trying to recover my breath I was flipped over and another man entered me. While he was inside me he mauled my breasts with his hands. When he had finished there was another, and after him another and then another. They raped my vagina, they turned me over and raped my anus, they held my head and raped my mouth. They raped me and raped me and raped me with out break or respite until I could do nothing but moan weakly at each new assault. When eventually it stopped I fell into and exhausted nightmare filled stupor.

I woke in the morning, shivering and cold, still tied naked on the carpet. My body hurt all over especially my vagina and anus, which throbbed horribly. Dried semen coated my thighs and more was stuck on my face, breasts and in my hair. The taste of it filled my mouth. Dark bruises marked my skin especially on breasts and thighs. I groaned weakly as I struggled to sit up.

My guards saw that I had woken and I was given some food and water but otherwise left alone with my misery. I could see that the Huns were preparing to leave as they packed their equipment and the booty stolen from the city onto horse drawn carts. The booty of course included the human spoils. Behind each cart was tied strings of naked women, their arms bound and linked together by ropes around their necks, destined for the slave markets of the east. Some sobbed or begged but most sat in silent acceptance of their fate.

The women who had been left to entertain the troops were still chained to the stakes, their bodies looked much like mine, bruised and covered in semen. Some lay strewn in whatever position their attackers had last left them, others curled up into balls. A soldier walked over to the first of them and casually drove his spear into her stomach. The woman let out a groan of agony, clutching her abdomen and kicking weakly. The wound was fatal but would not allow the woman to die quickly, rather it ensured her a slow lingering death. Leaving the woman squirming on the ground the soldier walked over to the next one and repeated the process.

Some soldiers entered the square with a group of women already stripped and bound, however these were not taken to area by the carts but lead towards the exit of the square from which a long avenue, lined with magnificent elm trees, lead to the main gate of the city. When the party reached the first of the trees one of the women was pulled from the line. She was made to stand with her back against the tree and a soldier held each arm over her head against the side of the trunk. When she saw the third soldier approach with a mallet and nails she began to sob and beg. The third soldier placed a nail against the woman's left wrist and with a few good strikes of the mallet drove the nail through the wrist and into the trunk of the tree. The woman screamed in agony as the nail went through her flesh. The man with the mallet calmly moved to the other side of the tree and repeated the process with her other wrist. With the arms secured the other soldiers could now let go and catch the woman's kicking legs instead. These were held to each side of the trunk so that nails could be driven through the ankles. The woman sobbed and cried in pain as her weight pulled cruelly on the nails in her wrists. The group of women, now weeping in terror as they realised what would happen to them, was pulled on to the next tree. There another of them was crucified in a similar fashion. The party moved all the way down the avenue until a sobbing, naked woman hung from each tree.

Just as they finished two guards came over to me and released me from the rope around my neck. So, my turn had come, I thought. I was sure that whatever method they planned to end my life it would not be quick or painless.

Still bound and naked, filthy from his abuse and that of his men, I was pushed to the floor in front of Attila. Two men held me down, one at me shoulders and one my ankles. I then saw a third approaching with a heated iron. On its tip, glowing a bright orange, was the sign they used to mark their animals.

"No! Please!" I cried.

He firmly pressed the iron into the side of my right buttock. First I heard the sizzling of my own flesh then the terrible pain hit me, like nothing I had ever felt before. I shrieked like a little girl, all thoughts of dignity driven from me by the searing agony. He must have held the iron against my flesh for only a few seconds but to me it seemed like forever. Finally he pulled it away and I lay sobbing on the ground.

The men holding me down pulled me to my knees and forced my head to the floor at Attila's feet. I waited trembling as he started speaking, sure that he was issuing instructions for my execution.

"I have a message for the Emperor. You will give it to him. I will return next spring to take what is mine. I have laid waste to his cities and taken his women as my slaves. I have ravished the body of his brother's daughter and marked her as my property. If he does not want the rest of his empire to suffer the same fate he will hand me Honoria and the dowry I am due. Bear witness to the Emperor what happened here. Tell him of the suffering of those who defy me." he said, through his translator.

They were not going to kill me. I felt a sense of relief but also of exhaustion. I would live always with the burden of the last day on my soul.

While the main army left the city with its booty and slaves to the east I was taken by a small party of soldiers west to the nearest city of Padua. We approached the city after nightfall, when the gates had been closed. I was bound hand and foot and gagged so I could not cry out and dumped naked on the road outside the gate.

Epilogue

It is three months since the fall of Aquileia. My body is healing but my mind is beset by the images of what I have seen and endured. I sit alone in a small room in the house of my father in Rome. There is a guard outside my door as I am not trusted; I have been used by our enemies and yet I was neither a enslaved nor killed. The mark of his ownership is burned on my flesh. Perhaps I willingly surrendered to Attila's embrace, betraying my husband and country to save myself, they think. Shame haunts me always. Perhaps they are right, perhaps I could have fought harder or taken my own life. My husband is dead and no man would want me now. I sought to become a nun and join the church to devote the rest of my life to God but they would not accept me. I have been defiled by the godless barbarians and am unworthy. I am so worthless that even God rejects me.

My breasts are tender and heavy and this morning I was sick. I know that I am with child from one of the unknown soldiers that raped me that night. I would take my own life but I do not have the means and even though God has rejected me I cannot go against his laws. I must live with this evil growing inside me. I am filled with despair.