Chapter 5

DAHLIA :

I hate having to dress up like a man. Once again, my clothes were torn and the servants who saved me gave me new ones. The cotton shirt was too loose, the pants too big and the boots too uncomfortable.

“Full-blown tempest, howling winds, crashing waves, lightning and thunder, this was the tale of the unbreakable gemstone that disappeared centuries ago,” I whispered to myself looking around me. I was back to being a slave again. The most surprising thing that happened to me was the recovery I faced; all my burnt skin healed and I felt good again. I thought about it since I opened my eyes, feeling alive. Was it because of him? The arrow he shot at me was the only thing that could have saved me. What was he playing at? That man was crazy.

I made sure to not swallow the mad man’s pills previously because I didn’t need fake happiness. I saw how the slaves who died experienced stages of happiness. It was until the day of the hunt that the effects dissipated making them live the horror that was denied to them for days, and the most annoying thing was to pretend to be like them. The guards laughed at us and told us to live the moment. I didn’t know if it was cruel or merciful; to let them perfectly live their last moments before killing them horribly.

The door slammed allowing five men to enter the cell where they kept the newly acquired slaves. I stared at them feeling empty inside. It was high keeping my level of dopamine high. I wasn’t over the fact that the life I knew was turned upside down in the lapse of a few days. The adventure I sought so badly was forced in my life in a matter of a short time, not even a year. The slave-dealer came in shortly. He looked around then nodded, satisfied with the outcome; he had a few high-quality slaves.

The slave-dealer was the same man that sold me to the mad scientist. A cold wave traversed me remembering what he made of us. To not recognize me, I acted like a mute, not answering except for nodding or shaking my head and it was convenient for them, I wouldn’t object to my existence. Remembering how I got caught again, I stuttered a curse under my breath. Why in the hell did those servants sell me again? I could have been free; they acted all kind and caring until some men grabbed me by force pulling me to the slave house. I was wise enough to wait until the best opportunity presented itself in front of me to escape. Furthermore, I met two slaves here who were planning to escape and we would stage our escape plan perfectly after working on it for days. However, would I be fine outside? My first experience outside was a disaster.

The best outcome was if I couldn’t escape was to be sold to someone kind. I could have food and a ceiling to sleep under and not worry about the cost of anything; I could merely work until dawn and not feel anything.

There were other slaves in the same cell as me. There were children and weak women; people who couldn’t protect themselves. I bet the elderlies were killed since they didn’t bring any profit. I sighed and averted my eyes on the familiar man I came to despise. He gauged the worth of everyone in the cell then grouped them in two. Apparently, he wanted to group us into different sections. I heard this place was built like a fortress, almost no one escaped successfully. The man turned to a crying child, examining her like an object.

“Take this one to the first cell; she would fetch a good price.”

One of the men standing at the door grabbed her arm and pulled her outside, disappearing behind a corner. The slave-dealer kept us for a month before meeting us again, sending all kinds of tutors to teach us how to seduce a man and how to be good in bed. Even children didn’t escape the cruelty. This was the world sister Dina warned me about. I took a beating each time I defended a child from being molested. I couldn’t accept it no matter how hard I tried to calm myself. Children needed to play not to learn how to love a man.

Punishments came in the form of starvation and isolation in cold cells. The beating was hardly given since it would degrade the quality of their products. I was beaten because I couldn’t stay still and fought with everything I got. Yet, I couldn’t win.

It was at one of the starvation days that I met a succubus and an elf in disguise. As usual, I was thrown into the isolation cell and since there was only one with less danger, I had to get in with them. I blushed seeing them kissing but I was welcomed like one of them. They even taught me how to talk the normal language and it was the first kindness I experienced outside. I couldn’t consider the arrow shot one.

I was deep in my thoughts when the slave dealer stood in front of me, he chuckled. His eyes were undressing me, wanting more. I spat on his boots as he started touching me, as the mad man. Were they siblings? I had a heavy metal ball chained to me as I failed to escape once and a collar to seal any magic I could use. His hand raised my head turning it to each side then he smiled. I focused more on my bare hands to keep my body steady.

“How old are you?”

“Would it matter to you since your men raped even children?” The memory of one time when I failed to protect a child haunted me. She died raped in front of me; I couldn’t do anything. The guards in the room scuffed earning a dark gaze from the slave dealer. Their laughter soon faded remembering I was mute but I talked. They didn’t say anything and I was grateful for that.

“You are magnificent like a crystal chandelier. You might be the finest of all the products I hunted until now. I wonder how you taste under those pants of yours,” he licked his lips and commanded his men to send me to his office.

I bit my lower lip, containing a scream as the pain crawled in my flesh. Upon arriving at this prison of slaves, I learnt the worse thing for a woman was to be part of a harem, especially a sex slave. My eyes wandered to the women in the cell as they looked at me with pity. I swallowed understanding my current situation.

“I can walk by myself! Don’t pull me like a rag under my feet!” I grabbed my hair, easing the pain I experienced from pulling me that way. I stood up like a cat who stepped on his tail. But the guard touched my arm feeling the skin that was burnt a month ago. I flinched and slapped his hand. “Don’t touch me!”

“It’s better if you shut up woman. We are kind to the ones who please us.”

I took refuge in a corner after they locked me in a luxurious office. I acted like a poor girl caught in a trap since they asked for me to show them myself this way. They could be looking from anywhere. Better safe than sorry. The walls had many animal heads hung like a trophy. I felt like they stared at me and punched them. They got on my nerve and he got on my nerve. That man who shot the arrow at me did too. I sauntered the room, searching for any way to escape.

The only available window was shut closed with an iron bar. As his undergoing work delayed him, I searched the documents in his office to get to anything I could negotiate with. In the end, I let my body fall on the green soft chair in front of the desk. It was pointless struggling in these situations, a perfect waste of energy.

“I see you finished your little parade,” the slave dealer said then locked the door behind him. I opened my eyes wide from shock since when was he here? I knew what was going to happen. My breathing accelerated and I instinctively raised my fists in front of my chest. However, I felt frozen. I had the urge to run away. “You are indeed the best thing for the auction,” he walked at ease, his stomach all in front of him like a pregnant woman. “I wonder how much they are willing to pay for you; the star of the show; the fierce one; the clever one the untamed. You will be shocked to know how many were like you and accepted their fates in the end.”

As he came closer, I threw a punch he dodged. Seeing myself gain the upper hand, I felt happy. He couldn’t touch me as I dodged and landed punches in his stomach and chest. As his face shifted to annoyance, he pulled a device I never saw then pushed a button. An electric shock made me fall to my knees in pain. I had such a close relationship with thunder and lightning that they liked my flesh. Many failures and struggling… Each time I attempted to escape, it was in vain. Also, my struggling… Was I born to be a slave?