Chapter 3
My First Master
I woke up on a cold, hard floor. I struggled to remember where I was, and why I was here. My eyes adjusted to the light, and I realised that I was in a cell. It all came flooding back to me. The men in the suits at the end of Avenue Road, my mother answering the door as they followed me back to my house. I could remember the money on the floor, where my mother had dropped it, and Charlie crumpling when he saw my drawing of the snow. I stood up, and felt a dull ache in the small of my back. I groaned. I looked around the cell, there were no windows, and the walls were wet and covered in moss. Bars covered one wall, and a trader sat outside guarding me, playing cards at an old worn table. He turned when he heard me move.
“Ah, awake are we?” He smirked, “Sam!” Another trader, who I recognised as the shorter stranger came around the corner.
“Ah, I see our little princess is awake.”
He turned to the other trader.
“We are going to market today. Get her ready, and have her hands bound, she’s gunna fetch a fair sum.”
The trader nodded and Sam, the shorter stranger, left. The other trader pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket, then thought better of it and pushed a hand through the gap in the bars.
“Take off your shoes,” he commanded. I slipped them off obediently. He took them from me, and walked over to a fire. He threw them in, carelessly. They smouldered and shrivelled, giving off a putrid scent. The trader pulled out the keys again, and pushed one into the lock. He entered my cell carrying a piece of thick rope. I thought about running, but realised my chances of escaping were pretty slim. He bound my hands, and grabbed my hair, dragging me out of the cell. I wanted to scream in agony, but I knew how traders worked, the more you scream, the more they hurt you. So I gritted my teeth, and tried to ignore the pain.
I was dragged up a flight of stairs, and out into an ordinary looking house. I realised that I must have been in a converted cellar. A line of girls, some my age and others older where all standing, tied to one long piece of rope that was held by Sam. I was tied onto the far end and was given a push, sending me crashing into a small skinny girl who was tied in front of me. The rope tugged at my wrists and we were led out of the house.
We were paraded down the street before the glares of the richer children, and the jeers of some of the passing men. A couple of people looked at me as though I was something in a shop window, which, in a way, I was now. We soon reached the town square and we were stopped by a podium. The trader who had guarded me stood up on the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, gather round. We have a good batch of young slave girls for auction today!” A few people, who were passing through, stopped to watch and a small crowd soon formed.
“Ok,” said the trader. “Let’s get straight to it. Lot one,” the small girl in front of me was untied from the rope, and brought up on the stage by the tall stranger. She looked terrified. The tall stranger pushed her down onto her knees.
“Do I hear 5 pounds?” Asked the tall stranger, a portly man raised his hand.
“5 pounds.”
“6 pounds.”
“7 pounds and sixpence.”
“10 pounds!”
“10 pounds, is that the final bid? Do I hear higher than 10 pounds? 10 pounds, going once, going twice. Sold, to the man at the front there.” The trader indicated the portly man. The man stepped forward, counted out the money, handed it over, and dragged the girl away. I felt so sorry for her.
The auction continued in this fashion, with numerous girls getting sold and dragged away. There was one girl, who was so small and weak looking, that no-one wanted her. For the crime of being useless, she was publically flogged, and sent off to hang the next day. I prayed for the girl, and for myself, hoping that I wouldn’t meet the same fate. A few more girls were sold, and then it was my turn.
“And today, our prize lot.” I was pulled up onto the podium, and pushed to the floor like all the others. I saw one man at the back of the crowd, raise his head in interest.
“Do I hear 10 pounds?” The tall stranger asked. The man at the back of the crowd raised his hand.
“10 pounds”
“12 pounds.”
“15 pounds.”
“16 pounds and a shilling.”
“18 pounds.”
“20 pounds! Do I hear higher than 20 pounds? 20 pounds, going once, going twice....”
“25 pounds! Do I hear higher than 25 pounds? No? Going once, going twice. Sold, to the man at the back.” The man, who had seemed so interested in me at the outset, pushed through the crowd and pulled out a sack of coins, he handed them to the trader, whose eyes gleamed.
The man took the length of rope that was tied to my wrists, and led me away. He took me through the crowd, and into a back alley, where he pushed me against a stone wall, roughly.
“You obey me, do you understand?” He shook me roughly when I didn’t respond. I nodded. “You will have a bed and food, but you earn them. Should you disobey me, I will beat some sense into you, and remove your privileges. Oh, and you will call me master.” He shook me around as he said this, rubbing my back up against the brick, tearing my dress. “Compared to most, I am a saint. You should think yourself lucky,” he stated, letting me go and dropping me to the floor. I didn’t think he was better than any of the men who had attended the auction today, buying girls as slaves.
My master took up the rope and tugged at it, dragging me along the floor and scraping my knee. I stood up and followed. I choked back tears, but a few wet drops trickled down my face and landed in the dust, where I left them, along with my previous, happier life.
