Capítulo 3: Captives in the cages
Music Recommendation: Ships are Coming- Trevor Morris
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Mrs. Flores quickly pushed her two young daughters behind her to hide and protect them from the eyes of these pirates. She and her husband tried to look brave, but their expressions gave away fear and worry.
"Who are you people?! You are not welcome here!" Mr. Flores firmly said, while standing between the three pirates and his family.
But just as the words left his lips, the pirate leader pushed him with force, and he almost fell on the ground before he found his balance. He pushed back the pirate with all his strength, but this only resulted in him being punched in the face.
"There are two girls in here," said one of the men, approaching where Mrs. Flores and the two young girls stood.
"Leave the woman and take the two girls," the pirate leader ordered his two men.
"NO!"
Mrs. Flores grabbed the closest utensil that her hand could grab and swung it in front of her, "Don't you dare come near us!" She threatened the two men, who stepped in front of her. When her eyes shifted to look at her husband, who was now pushed against the wall by the man with the scar, one of the men snatched Marianne from her.
"Mama!" Marianne screamed as the man caught her small wrist and dragged her out of the house.
"Let her go! She's an innocent child!" Mr. Flores shouted, while struggling to get away from the iron grip of the man with a braided beard.
Anastasia turned scared as she stood behind her mother. She clutched onto her mother's skirt, while they moved backwards until there was nowhere else to go.
"We will give you anything you want, but please spare my family! They are all that I have!" Mr. Flores pleaded to the men.
But the pirates didn't heed to his request. The third man, whose hands were free, slapped Mrs. Flores cheek with force, which had her crash against some of the utensils. Soon Anastasia was caught by the man and like her sister, she was dragged out of the house. The pirate leader raised his hand before landing a blow at Mr. Flores so that he wouldn't chase after them, leaving Mr. Flores unconscious on the floor.
"Don't take them away from us! Please don't do this!" Mrs. Flores sobbed, while torn between following the men and staying with her unconscious husband.
"MAMA!! PAPA!!" Marianne and Anastasia screamed for their parents, while their small bodies were hauled on the men's shoulders before being pushed inside the cage that was built on the cart.
"Papa help!" Anastasia shouted with tears like the other children caged with them. Some women who were captured and placed in the other caged cart shouted for help, and so did the children, crying for their families. But the families were taken care of by the pirates, who had pushed and injured them, before being threatened.
Soon the pirates started to move from the village, while keeping a few behind for an hour to ensure they weren't followed.
"Mary! Anna!"
The two young girls heard their parents shout for them, but they couldn't see them.
The two carriage carts filled with—young girls, young women and three young boys. Most of them clung to the grills, hoping to see their family. Hoping to be rescued. But no one came, and the carts were surrounded and guarded by the men, who had swords.
When one of the captured young girls continued to cry loudly, the men on the horses got annoyed. One of the men raised his sword and hit it on the iron grills of the cage,
"Shut up! I hear another sound and I will rip your head off your body," he warned in a voice that left fear in the minds of the young captives.
Marianne quickly stopped crying, wiping her eyes and cheeks before turning to her younger sister, who continued to sob softly. Anastasia turned to her sister with her light brown eyes filled with tears that continued to spill down her cheeks.
"Don't cry, Anna," Marianne whispered to her sister as she wiped her tears.
"Where are they taking us, Mary? I want to go home," Anastasia said with a sniffle. She wanted to go back to her house where their parents were.
Marianne shook her head, and the sisters hugged, "I don't know. But we'll see mama and papa."
"Promise?" Anastasia asked in a small voice.
"Promise," Marianne nodded, even though she was helpless like the others inside the cage.
The pirate with the scar loudly said to the captives, "Behave well and you will get to eat later. Behave badly, and you will be punished. We expect you to obey. The last thing we need is to damage the goods that need to be delivered," a dark chuckle escaped from his lips, as his eyes skimmed through the people in the cages.
Hours passed since the pirates had attacked and captured people from the village of Hawkshead. The pirates and the captives headed in the West direction until they reached the waters, where a galleon ship stood waiting for them.
"Aye! Bring them on the ship!" The pirate leader shouted. "Careful with the captives!"
Soon the horses and carriage carts were taken on the ship before setting sail in the water. The captives were taken to the lower deck, and their hands were tied in shackles. Marianne and Anastasia looked terrified, but it only worsened when the ship moved up and down. All they could hear was the sound of waves.
When it was time to feed the captives to keep them alive, but not enough to have them cry or shout. One of the pirates ordered the captives,
"Step forward and take the food!!"
Everyone came forward as they had been left unfed for long, and like others, Marianne and Anastasia's stomachs growled in hunger. But when the girls came to the front with their hands stretched forward, Anastasia was offered a small bowl of porridge that felt more like water, while her elder sister was offered a piece of bun.
"Keep moving!" The pirate who was serving glared at them, and it sent the two girls scurrying to the side.
"Let us split it," Marianne whispered to her sister, tearing the bread in half and offering one piece to her younger sister.
Anastasia was quick to eat the bread as she was hungry. Marianne took a sip from the hot watery porridge and realised this wouldn't be enough. She returned it to her sister, saying, "I am full, Anna. Here."
The young girl looked at her sister with questioning eyes, "But you are bigger than me. You need it more." She shook her head and pushed the bowl back to Marianne.
"How about we take a sip each then?" Marianne asked before raising the bowl to her lips without drinking and offering it to her sister.
Anastasia believing her sister was drinking the porridge, she ended up drinking the entire bowl without realising it.
Not far from them, a young girl around their age cried, "T—take me back to my parents, please… P—please, help me," she sobbed as she tugged on the pirate's shirt.
"Stop it," the pirate glared at the young girl.
Other people took courage from this and started to protest by saying, "We want to go home!"
"I miss them. Please take me back, I—I don't want to be here," the young girl begged for help, and tugged him with a little more force.
The man, seemingly lost his patience, raised his hand and smacked the girl hard enough to have her fall unconscious on the ground. A sudden eerie silence fell in there. The man then turned to look at the others with his eyes that were pulled slightly crossed. He ran his tongue at the front of his tooth as if something was stuck with a scowl on his face, and he said,
"If anyone complains next, you will be thrown into the sea. And mind you, it will swallow you," he threatened.
Capítulo 4: One having a better luck than the other?
Marianne and Anastasia sat next to each other, falling asleep and waking up now and then. They travelled through the sea for two days, scared and away from the home they knew, the only one they knew.
On the third afternoon, the pirate ship finally reached the hidden port and the anchor was lowered into the waters. Soon the captives were brought back to the land and were put inside the carriage cart. Dark clouds loomed above them, while they moved on the wet ground.
After an hour, the carriage carts abruptly stopped, and it woke Anastasia from her short sleep. It took her a few seconds to realise she wasn't back home but in unknown territory with her sister Marianne.
Anastasia's light brown eyes moved to look outside the cage, noticing the large blackish-grey wall next to the carriage cart. The place looked unfamiliar to her.
Suddenly one of the pirates, who had brought them to the place, opened the lock of the cage and ordered, "Everyone out of the cage. Now!"
A tall blond man stood at the side, his appearance polished as he had a clean face with no beard and wore a red and white uniform. He was one of the men, who worked in the palace and behind him stood six more men with similar uniforms. Beside him stood a woman, who was plump but wore a dress that was better than the people from the Hawkshead were fortunate enough to look upon until now.
"How many of them are in here?" Questioned the blond man as his eyes looked at the captives.
"There are sixteen of them. Six women, seven young girls and three boys," the pirate leader was the one to answer. "All of them are healthy and can be put for good use."
The polished-looking man turned to look at his subordinate. The subordinate nodded, and soon a pouch of gold coins was thrown to the pirate leader.
"Only twenty gold coins?" The pirate leader questioned when he counted the coin inside the pouch.
"There are four extra coins in there. Considering you brought young boys, we are being generous unless you don't want to make the trade," the blond guard replied seriously. At his words, the other guards behind him placed their hands on the swords.
The pirate leader chuckled, running his tongue over his golden tooth, and he smiled, "It was good doing business with you."
"Likewise," answered the guard, waving his hand at his subordinates, "Escort the men from here."
Once the stinky and shabby pirates left with their carriage cart, one of the captive women quickly fell on her knees in front of the blond guard. She begged,
"Please send us back to our homes, Sire! Those pirates captured us by force and brought us here against our will!"
The guard huffed before he said, "Your life is going to change for the better. You are now in the Kingdom of Versailles and will be serving the royal family of Blackthorns. Serve them well enough and you will be rewarded accordingly. It would be wise to forget where you come from, as from this moment onwards, this will be your home," his eyes moved to look at the slaves that had been brought in. Making sure they were all listening and he said, "If you fail to follow the orders and rules, you will be punished accordingly and it won't be something you would—"
One of the young women raised her voice, "We aren't slaves! We are free people! Send us back—"
The guard stepped forward and grabbed her neck, "Another word and your tongue will be ripped out of your mouth! We have paid a handsome some of money on you, and you are now the property of this palace. Madame Minerva," he raised his hand and the plump woman stepped forward whose hair tied into a bun. He then called one of the guards who stood nearby and ordered,
"Take the three boys to the base shed."
In the meantime, Madam Minerva looked at every girl there. She said, "When I point my fingers at you, you will step forward and stand on the left side. You," she began picking out young women and girls, who, one after another, stepped to the side, not knowing what was going to happen.
Finally Lady Minerva's eyes fell on Marianne and Anastasia, who hugged each other. It wasn't hard to pick as she noticed who was the pretty one as next to her stood the dull-looking child, who didn't seem to hold an appeal. The woman pointed at Marianne, "You there. The tall one with green eyes. Step to the side. Come on, I don't have all the time."
But the sisters had a bad feeling and continued to stick to each other.
Madame Minerva turned annoyed and raised her hand for one of the guards to step forward.
"No!" Marianne screamed when they tore her away from her sister.
"Mary!" Anastasia cried for her sister. Having more energy, she bit into the guard's hand, who was trying to separate her from her sister. "Mary!"
Another guard harshly gripped Anastasia's shoulders, who tried to stand next to her sister.
"Let go of her! Anna!" Marianne cried back, with their hands stretched forward and trying to reach the other to only grasp air.
Madame Minerva grabbed Marianne's lower face tightly and hushed her, "If you don't behave, she will be killed. You don't want blood on your hands, do you? It would be wise for you to follow what I am saying."
Marianne's eyes widened on hearing those words, and she turned to look at her sister, who continued to struggle to free herself. She quickly begged, "Please don't hurt her!"
Madame Minerva studied Marianne's face before she said, "What a pretty face you have there. I would feel bad if a mark was left on it." She then lowered her head to meet the girl's gaze and whispered, "Feel lucky to be picked by me. You wouldn't want to be where the others are. Follow me now." And she began to walk away from there.
Tears streamed down Anastasia's eyes as she watched her sister leave with the woman. She sobbed, "Mary! No! I want to be with my sister!!"
Four young women and three young girls including Anastasia were left behind, while the others were taken away. Soon the men in uniform left too, and another man appeared before them. He had a gaunt appearance and wore a black robe. He stared at the slaves who were left behind, and he said,
"I am Norrix Gilbert, in charge of the servants. You will address me as Mr. Gilbert. Seems like you all turned unlucky. The others will turn into courtesans, and live a better life, while the rest of you…" a creepy smile appeared on his lips, "You will be the servants of the palace. The lowest of low. Take them inside!" He ordered one of the trained servants.
"Take me to my sister! Where did you take Mary!"
Anastasia didn't stop fighting as she wanted to run to where her sister was, and when Norris saw this, his eyes narrowed at the impudent child. He walked to where she was and caught her face in a tight grip.
Norrix commented, "Plain as dough. You are destined to be a servant. It seems like you haven't understood what was said and need to be disciplined. Put her in the solitary room," he ordered the other servant. But the servant looked apprehensive as this one was only a young girl. "Have you turned deaf that you can't understand what I said?" He raised his eyebrows in question, and the young girl was dragged away from there and locked in the solitary room.
A young Anastasia was pushed into the solitary room, a room that was meant to be punishment quarters that were built underground. There was no window nor a person to listen to. Left under the mercy of darkness.
"MARY!" The young girl cried for her sister's help. "MAMA! PAPA!!"
Anastasia turned scared, unable to see anything and left in an eerie silence of darkness. She shouted in her small voice, "Let me out! Help! Mary!"
But no matter how much she yelled for help, no one came to her aid, as if she was left alone for good. She turned anxious, and she banged her small hands on the wall that she believed to be the door. The first two hours, she shouted. In the third hour, her throat turned hoarse and painful. She sobbed and cried, sniffling. She waited for someone to come, and when no one came to visit her in the first six hours, this had her shout for help again before she finally went quiet.
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