Awoken by the sound of thunder and rain, Penny tried her best to see past her heavy eyelids until she could barely make out the shape of metal bars in front of her. She blinked once, then twice before pushing her torso up from the wet floor. The little window in the wall allowed the rain to pass through and form a puddle in the room.
Confused as to where she was, she stood up and looked around. She was in an enclosed room with three walls made of stone, metal bars for the fourth wall, and a single-window with metal bars that prevented anyone from coming in or going out. The room was much smaller than her room at her aunt's place.
There was no light source in the room, but ahead of her, she noticed light spilling through the bars from a lantern that must have been placed on the ground.
Going to the railing, she searched for a way out. When she found a door, she pulled and pushed as hard as she could, but the iron gate was locked.
She tried to remember how she got here, but the last thing she could recall was hurrying back home only to run into Mr. Joseph on the way before being knocked out.
"Is anyone out there? Hellooo!" Penny shouted, not knowing whether she would prefer hearing a response or not. She wanted to know where she was and why they brought her here, but she knew none of the answers would ease her mind. "Hello! Anyon-"
"Stop screaming," came an annoyed voice from behind her, nearly making Penny jump in surprise. She had not expected another person was here as well. "Are you trying to put me in trouble?"
Penny's head jerked to a corner of the room where the frame of a woman emerged from the shadows.
The woman had fiery, red hair that had been tied into a braid similar to hers. Only Penny's hair was well-groomed and her dress wet, yet neat. In contrast, this woman's entire appearance could only be described as ragged, the color of her clothes a dirty, faded white. Aside from her hair, the strange woman was average looking in all aspects.
Penny looked around the room to ensure no one else was here before turning back to the woman for answers.
"Miss, where am I? There must be some misunderstand—" The woman's sudden and unrestrained laughter interrupted her.
"Miss? Miss!"
She sighed.
"How long has it been since someone addressed me in such a way…?"
The woman gauged the young girl who had been imprisoned alongside her. It had been a long time since the woman had company. The last one had been a boy that kept yapping until he was moved to another level.
"What's your name, girl?"
"It's Penelope…but most call me Penny."
The woman gestured to the room imprisoning them.
"I am Caitlin, and this beautiful place you see here belongs to the slave establishment. You are in one of the many cell rooms that are allotted to us slaves."
Penny frowned upon hearing this.
It was impossible. She was not a slave, so how could she be in the slave establishment? Did her kidnapper sell her off immediately after capturing her?
"Miss Caitlin, this is all a misunderstanding. You see, I am not supposed to be here." From what she knew, slaves were usually sold for money as a trade. It was one of the easiest and quickest means to make money. Though it would not make one rich, it did help the slave establishment keep running as a middle man along with receiving a sizable commission from the buyers.
The woman went to walk back to the darkened corner, and now that Penny's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she saw the woman lying on the ground.
"None of us are supposed to be here. At least, most of us aren't, but people can't be trusted. Going by your reaction, you don't know who sold you, do you?"
"I do!"
How could Penny forget that wretched man's face and name?
She was incensed.
Caitlin looked at her approvingly. For a little girl who had been thrown into the slave establishment without warning, she was a better spirit than the rest who entered this place. Either the girl was a sheltered child who was truly ignorant of what went on here, or she was trying to keep her own spirits up.
"It was a man with a scar on his face. His name was Mr. Jose—no, Joseph. He was supposed to buy a sack of vegetables from my family but because he was late to pick them up and it was raining, my uncle and aunt went to look for him."
"Let me finish your story for you. This uncle and aunt of yours didn't return even after a good time had passed, but the man whose name you think is Joseph arrived."
Even in the darkness, Penny discerned the blatantly bored look on Caitlin's face.
With a sigh, she continued, "What happened to you is not uncommon. Congratulations! You were sold by your relatives." Her satirical tone was unenthusiastic and detached.
"They would never do that!" Penny was deeply offended that the woman would accuse the relatives who had taken her in after her mother had passed away. "It was that man Joseph or whatever his name is who should be caught and hanged for bringing me here!"
How many girls and boys had cried out similar words, hoping their words could save them from this place? It was always the young ones who cried and wailed. Screaming for the same people who had sold them off, begging to be saved, promising to change their behaviors, sometimes lacing their words with curses.
This place had not affected Penny yet, but her spirit would be broken eventually, of this, Caitlin was certain. She would not waste her breath explaining further. Reality would hit her eventually even if she did not help it along.
"Miss Caitlin," Penny crawled over and sat next to her, "Is there a way to escape from here?"
When Penny asked this simple question, Caitlin began coughing uncontrollably before transitioning to laughter. With one hand holding her stomach and the other covering her eyes, a good ten seconds had passed before she could regain control of herself. She sat up straight, back against the wall, and cleared her throat, prompting Penny to lean in with anticipation.
"Do you think I'm here to enjoy the scenery? If I knew a way to leave, I would not still be here, rotting in this stinky, little shit hole."
Penny gave it some thought, undeterred by her response. She pressed her lips into a thin line and gave Caitlin a resolute look. "Is there an escape from here?"
The older woman stared hard at the little girl before returning a single nod.
"If you are asking about an exit, then, yes. Doesn't every building have an entrance? This one has a single door where they bring slaves in and out, usually with two guards stationed at the entrance."
Penny's shoulders slumped. This was the same thing as saying there was no escape.
That night, Penelope could not sleep. She pondered over her situation and the name of this place: the slave establishment—a place of slaves. Slaves! The very word filled her with dread, forcefully shutting her eyes.
She did not wish to be here and end up like this woman, whose back faced her as she slept on the cold, hard ground without a worry, having accepted this fate. No one wanted to be a slave!
Penny vaguely knew the slave establishment was located far away from her uncle and aunt. Her relatives did not have children of their own, so her aunt had taken her in to fill that void in their life which was why Penny refused to entertain the thought that they had sold her into slavery. At least, she tried for the first few hours, but, over time, Caitlin's words echoed over and over again in her head.
Penny was not a naive, little girl.
She had the ability to haggle with street vendors and, when necessary, she also had the ability to steal from them with none being the wiser. More importantly, she was usually very good at reading people. Due to her limited options for entertainment, she would pass time scrutinizing any passerby as they walked past the front of the little house her uncle and aunt owned.
Because of this skill, she had grown wary of Joseph before he even grabbed her wrist. But her Uncle and Aunt…
She had heard stories of how one's own family would sell their children to the slave establishment so that they could obtain a good amount of silver coins, but never had she expected her own family would do such a thing.
When did they plan for it?! Why didn't she notice!?
Penny stared at the opposite wall in anger.
The house was small, consisting of a kitchen, a hall and a storage room to keep the vegetables they harvested. She was always there with at least one of them. The walls were too thin to hide even their whispers, let alone their conspiracy of selling her off.
Was a little silver worth more than her freedom?
The anger that had peaked slowly came down as sadness and betrayal engulfed her.
Hugging her knees tightly, she looked up at the barred window that was so far up, she would be unable to reach it even if she stood on Caitlin's shoulders. It gave her a small glimpse of the outside sky.
She thought about her mother and missed her dearly. Her mother would never have sold her!
When she saw her dead mother being carried in a coffin to the village cemetery, Penny shed countless tears, wailing the entire time. Remembering now brought tears to the rim of her eyes, but not a single drop fell as she blinked them back.
Her mother raised her all alone. Her heartless father had left them one day when she was a baby, never to return.
Lost in her memories, Penny rested her chin on her knees. While staring off into space, she heard a scream outside. Startled and scared, she raised her head, eyebrows furrowing.
Getting up, she walked towards the iron bars without grabbing them.
The bars were old and rusted to the extent that they had turned patchy, orange in color. Red films from the bar of rods that looked peeled away from the many months and years that passed by.
Stepping a little closer, her heart trembled when another scream was heard. It was a shrill, painful cry that made her extremely uncomfortable. The woman had cried out as if she was being tortured in an excruciating manner.
"She's a slave..."
Turning around, she saw Caitlin had stopped sleeping on her side and was now lying on her back with her hands resting on top of her stomach. She frowned at her response before looking back at the empty corridor in front of her.
Penny could not help but ask in a whisper, "What are they doing to her?"
She squinted her eyes to see the end of the hall, but her vision was incapable of passing through the darkness. Based on the visibility of the night sky and the fact that no one had walked by to check on them, Penny assumed the hour was long past midnight. Why would someone be tortured at this hour?
"They're torturing the ones who misbehave. Slaves here are nothing less than animals raised by a farmer for the purpose of selling for a decent price. What you've heard about the slave establishment outside does not come close to scratching the surface," the woman's voice was solemn as a dispirited sigh left her lips. "You cannot imagine the things that go on in here…the slave traders here are much worse than those who brought us here. What you are hearing right now is a normal, daily thing. There is always one or two of us who are defiant and unyielding…" the woman paused to contemplate whether she should say the next part, "...it is always the new slaves that undergo the special treatment. So you think twice before you think about escaping, girl."
Penny narrowed her eyes this time, dejected from what she just learned. "What will happen if I get caught?" She held her breath waiting for Caitlin to answer. The screams that were heard from outside had filled up the silence in the little cell they were in.
"You will wish the thought had never entered your head in the first place."
Slavery in the four lands, especially here where the pureblooded vampires were in control, was a legal and thriving business. The entire industry took place in the presence of the law which was maintained by the Council.
When people went missing, the blame was often placed on the notorious black witches, rightfully so. They usually kidnapped men, women, and children for their witchcraft and other personal needs.
Even though her relatives had traded her, Penny had decided she would not stay here too long.
She would escape, and she would do it soon.
When morning arrived, the rain had long stopped, yet the sky retained its cloudy gloom. A metal bar rattled the iron bars of each cell, waking up every slave bright and early. All the cells were unlocked for the slaves to step outside and complete the work assigned by the warden and his guards.
Rubbing her eyes, Penny woke up to see the door of the cell pulled open, giving her a slight relief. This was a good sign! Since the slaves were not stuck inside their cells the entire time, there was a thread of hope, and for one stuck at the bottom of a well, a thread of hope could be enough to pull her out. For now, she was still ignorant of her surroundings. It had become obvious that what she learned about this place when she was outside was insufficient and inaccurate. It was time to gather information!
Stepping outside of the cell, many other shabbily-dressed individuals walked past her listlessly. The light in their eyes had long dimmed replaced with hopelessness and defeat. They were obviously slaves.
"Where are we going?" she asked Caitlin who walked past her to follow the moving crowd. Penny hurried to walk beside her down the thin corridor.
"You will see."
Penny wished her cellmate could be a bit more informative in her replies. She was terse and left everything as a mystery to be revealed later which was not something one in her position was looking forward to. It was only after she looked at the other somber and silent slaves walking alongside them that she felt better about being paired with someone like Caitlin.
"That's the Warden. Make sure you never cross him. No matter what, avoid falling under his gaze," Caitlin nodded at someone standing in front of the slaves far ahead of them.
Penny searched through the crowd to find a man in uniform who appeared to be in his late-twenties, much too young to be the head of the slave establishment. His sharp, red eyes scanned the slaves as they walked past him causing them to shiver and tremble in fear.
Sensing another's gaze target him, he jerked his head in its direction, but Penny was quicker.
Just before their eyes could meet, she fixed her eyes ahead of her appearing as harmless and innocent as a little girl trapped within the slave establishment could. When unsure or uncertain, the wise decision would be to listen to those who were sure and certain. Penny took Caitlin's advice to heart. Having lived five or six years longer than Penny and in worse conditions, she seemed quite sure of herself.
The slaves stopped abruptly, nearly forcing her to crash into the person in front of her. Wondering what had happened, she suddenly heard one of the guards command them, "Strip!"
What?!
Penny's eyes bulged. Her head snapped left and right to see all the slaves around her begin shedding their clothes.
They were serious!
…
She was definitely not taking off her clothes in front of so many strangers! Wait, it did not matter she knew them! This dress was not coming off!
Stubborn, she stood still with no indication of removing her clothes when one of the guardsmen who had given the order noticed that she refused to take her clothes off.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Remove your clothes, slave," the guardsman who spoke was big and brawny. With a prickly beard covering his clenched jaw, he glared at the disobedient Penny.
Even after hearing his gruff demand directed at her, she was unyielding. Her inaction caught the attention of the stripping slaves surrounding her as they picked up their clothes off the ground. It was not just the slaves but also the two other guards who had been stationed nearby to ensure the slaves behaved accordingly while they enjoyed the show that was presented every morning.
"Remove your clothes," Caitlin whispered to Penny. Seeing the girl refuse the guard's order, Caitlin wondered whether she had cracked under the pressure. She had informed her to keep a low profile in front of the Warden, but instead, she immediately drew attention to herself by opposing the word of the guardsman now of all times.
Up til now, Penny had never bared herself to another, and she had no plans to start now, even if they tell her to.
The Warden who was spectating the scene quietly from the other side of the corridor raised his hand, silencing the guardsman before he could bark anymore orders. He gestured to the muscular guard who nodded his head in understanding.
"You stay here," the guardsman barked at Penny who was obviously a new addition to the slave establishment, "The rest of you step into the shower and clean yourselves up. We're only taking the presentable ones to the market tomorrow!" He placed his hand on Penny's shoulder to keep her from running into the shower with the rest of the slaves.
Penny kept a straight face not showing any sign of fear, but she was unsure how long she could maintain the facade. Internally, she was scared, so scared that she wanted to bolt from there if she was not being held in place by the muscular guard.
The remaining guards had followed the slaves to watch over them while she stood in place unaware of the Warden who approached her from behind with his personal guardsman. He inspected her intently with scarlet-colored eyes.
Suddenly, Penny heard the snap of someone's fingers, and the next moment she was being dragged by the guard and shoved into an adjacent room with no windows. A lantern burned on top of a table in the center of the room, but it was not bright enough to reveal the black walls that formed the room. Next to the lantern were several logbooks used for record-keeping and a stone statue heavy enough to keep the table from wobbling.
Stumbling forward, she barely stopped herself from falling onto the table. She turned around to speak only to see that the Warden had entered the room behind her. It was then that she shut up and wondered whether what she had done was foolish.
This was not her village where she could refuse or deliberate with the opposing party. This was the slave establishment! As this realization sunk in, she took a step away from the man who gave a nod to the guardsman. The door closed with a click.
The man towered over her. Penny was not short by any standard, but this Warden was four heads taller, maybe more. An old scar ran diagonally over his lips, his eyebrows thick and dark, his eyes glinting with malice that she failed to notice previously due to the distance between them.
Penny panicked inwardly.
Her cellmate had warned her to avoid this man, yet here she was. Locked in a dark room with the devil himself on her very first day here.
He drew closer to her. His every step seemed to echo with Penny's heartbeat that pulsed heavily out of fear. She withdrew backwards, skating her hand on the table's surface as she circled around to place the wooden piece of furniture in between them. Unable to think straight, her fingers brushed a cylindrical object which she picked up instinctively.
It was a writing quill.
Shoving the table onto the floor, the Warden finally cornered her with her back to the wall. His hand reached to touch her face. Frightened, Penny swiped the quill across his palm, tearing the skin and making him flinch, but the man did not retreat. His bleeding hand shot straight for her neck, slamming her back against the wall.
Dropping the quill on the ground, she felt the air slowly escape from her lungs as the Warden squeezed tighter.
The Warden brought his mouth to her ear, "I have met many just like you. And each time, I have relished breaking them until they were proper slaves."
"L-let me go…!" She desperately scratched and pulled on his hand, failing to tear it away from her throat. The man did not budge in the slightest. Just when she thought she had loosened his grip on her, he pulled her forward before slamming her against the wall a second time with inhuman force.
She released a loud gasp, barely retaining her consciousness.
"Disobedient slaves must be taught their place. Do you think you are better than the others here? Well, you're not," the man taunted her. He stared at her before releasing her, allowing her a second to gasp for air.
"Strip."
She was rubbing her neck when she heard him. "Do you think you are better than the others outside, that I will strip for you after refusing them? Well, you're not." As soon as she had finished her sentence, she knew the consequences would be painful.
The Warden slapped her across the face so hard that she heard a ringing in her ears. She fell to her knees, a teardrop coming out from the side that was slapped.
But what the Warden did not realize was that Penny had set her eyes on another object that had rolled near them when he had shoved the table across the room. Giving her a second to recollect herself, the Warden examined the injury on his hand, giving Penny the perfect opportunity to strike.
She grasped onto the stone statue and slammed it across his head as hard as she could, shattering the statue into pieces.
Once again, he remained unmoved.
He was caught off guard this time, failing to predict a second strike from her. Staring at her with mockery-filled eyes, he laughed. His laughter rang loudly in the closed room, leaving Penny confused and more frightened than before.
"You really did it this time. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a feisty one like you. The more you disobey, the more fun we will have!"
She gulped.
There was no escaping right now, and she knew it. No matter how many times she hit him, the man would still stand there unfazed. His hand made its way to the back of her head and pulled her hair up, making her yelp in pain as she was lifted off the floor.
"You are quite brave. Hitting me, not once, but twice. You need to be taught to follow the rules, and rule number one is 'always obey what I say.'"