Wild Cat

It was always northwards they travelled, putting endless days between Juniper and her family members. The chains around her wrists were made of the finest silver, and judging by the delicate patterns of leaves around the key holes, she guessed they were more for display then to actually prevent her escape. The four guards constantly flanking her would see to that.

Juniper sat alone inside a covered cart. She could see vague figures moving beyond the muslin and wooden mesh walls. There was a pleasant breeze now they'd left the city, which picked at the red robe draped around her. Once a price had been settled on her, she'd been clothed in fine cotton and placed inside this hand-held cart. She could see relatively well through the walls, but she was certain she could not be seen.

The four guards were topless, but had brass bracers on. When one had handed her water and bread, she'd noticed a similar pattern etched on their bracers as was on her cuffs. She guessed they also were the property of whomever now owned her. The thought made her stomach sink until she had to hang her head.

The cart had been pulled in turn by the men, but once they were out of the city, a donkey had been hitched between the poles; a docile, even-tempered thing which flicked its ears each time Juniper cooed at it. They had met up with others, men and women who carried goods on carts, until they stretched in a train of four carts, not including Juniper's, and around thirty adults and a few children milling around.

Just before midday Juniper felt them come to a rest, and her donkey was patted and given water. There was a knock on the opening of her little cart, in surprise she called out to enter.

"We have stopped to rest for a bit and relieve ourselves. You are welcome to move around until we move again, though you will be under supervision at all times." The voice was even and almost without accent in her own tongue. She pushed on the door and indeed found it unlocked. The guard who had called through the mesh stood back and quickly averted his eyes. "You mustn't wear just that, you must wear at least one of the robes." She had emerged in just the rough white shift given to her by the women in the market. Juniper turned and plucked out the thinnest robe from the tangle of material and swung it around her, fastening it at her waist. It came to just beneath her knee and was a faded vermillion. The guard nodded his approval and moved away.

Juniper first went to the front of the cart and made acquaintance with the donkey. She made sure it was pampered with praise and ear-scratching before moving on. After discretely relieving herself, she walked from one end of the caravan to the other, silently nodding to those who acknowledged her. Eventually the guard came to fetch her, gave her bread and water and refastened the chain back to the floor of her cart, shutting her into a dim twilight. "We will walk for a few more hours, and then we will rest while the worst of the heat passes. Although the land we are now going into is lush farmland, we intend to protect you for our master. If you attempt to escape, we cannot guarantee those who you encounter would also." The guard said chillingly as the donkey was coaxed into movement once more.

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Around dusk the guard rubbed the donkey's head and called out to the cart ahead. A reply was given just as Juniper felt the cart slow.

"Look to the east, slave girl." The guard called over his shoulder. Juniper did so, taking a few moments to understand what she saw.

It was a palace, she was sure. Oil fire cast an orange glow against white walls decorated with dark lines. The caravan turned to the east and Juniper saw that the road up to the building was lined with fine palm trees, swaying gently in the late night breeze. As they approached the line of pillars, servants scurried out to aid those unloading the carts. Rolls of materials were pulled in, and sacks of what Juniper assumed were seeds. Once the other carts were emptied and the people had disbanded to bed, her four guards lifted her cart from the wheels on to their shoulders, carrying her gracefully inside. She peered through the gaps in the wooden trellis at the murals of battles fought, painted in finite detail on the walls.

The men moved through to a space which was devoid of decoration, and the walls in some places were crumbling with age. Juniper assumed this was the servant's and slave's place. They put her down, the rocking of the cart making her stomach lurch, then vacated the area. For a few moments she was entirely alone in the room. Finally she heard some quiet noise as the curtains obscuring the far wall seemed to move of their own accord. Three figures stepped forward into the circle of light thrown out by the central fire. They were clothed in dark material also, only their hands were visible beneath the heavy robes. Opening the cart and unclasping Juniper's chains, they motioned for her to get out.

The robes were removed in silence until she again was in the white shift. The women dragged out a cool reed bath filled with sweet water and gestured for Juniper to step into it. They didn't insist on her removing the shift, so she didn't, but it was soon evident she couldn't cleanse the sand from her skin with it still on. She peeled the now-damp material as the women swabbed her thoroughly, even dunking her hair into the water and scrubbing it. Once they were satisfied with their ablutions, they stood back, gesturing for her to move forward. They lay a fine muslin robe around her shoulders and moved behind the heavy curtains Juniper had first thought they were part of.

In the next room the women shed their dark robes and Juniper was treated to three smiling faces. Two were dark haired and the third was blonde and young. She was short and a little plump, with rose-red lips and fair unblemished skin. The youngest of the dark haired women was simply beautiful, her fair features were that of the northern tribes, her hair fell straight to her waist. The eldest of the three had he hair piled atop her head. She had once been a great beauty, Juniper could see, and time had been kind to her. Now she was older she had a regal air and elegant features. She opened her arms in a welcoming gesture to Juniper.

"Welcome to our home. This is the harem of our Master the Lord Chamberlain Akmahnanet, who is bountiful in his praise. He likes beautiful, exotic concubines so his men have chosen well in you. His harem is home to sixty women, and here we may be ourselves, we may learn whatever we wish, and dress as we please. There is a delicate hierarchy which I'm sure you will come to understand with time, and until then we hope you enjoy it here. We are your new family." The speech brought smiles and giggles from the two younger girls. Juniper moved forward into the sharp turn which masked the room beyond. She took a step back when she saw what lay there. A huge room seemed to be filled with women in various states of undress, lounging around eating grapes and sat on large pillow and silk cushions. In the centre a few youthful women frolicked in a shallow pool which bubbled with a fountain.

On the walls hung curtains embroidered with images of men and women at play, writhing together naked. In some there was more than one woman, but in each depiction there was only one man, the same man. The women who had accompanied her moved forward into the room, brushing her shoulders as they passed. The blonde stopped to give Juniper a little shoved into the room.

"My name is Lace, and this is my good friend Alyssa. We'll show you around." Juniper was guided around by these two beauties and introduced to countless women of many ages and races. Juniper's new master, it seemed, had a wide taste in women. Finally they stopped in front of some women learning to dance. The lead was teaching them how to roll their hips sensually without moving their shoulders. It wasn't going well, and the teacher was getting more and more frustrated as her six nonplussed pupils kept failing.

"You do it with your feet, not just with your hips." Juniper said without thinking. The class turned to look at the new red head. The leader was less than impressed.

"What would you know? I learned this from the best concubines in the King's Palace, who learned it directly from the women of the Southern Tribes." The woman crossed her arms over her ample chest. Her eyes were wide set and almond-shaped, her hair was a luxurious deep brown.

"I'm a Princess of the Southern Tribes, and it's a fertility dance, not a seduction." Juniper's chin went a little higher in defiance of the woman's tone. "You use your feet."

"Well, if you think you can do any better, why don't you show us, Princess?" The woman threw Juniper a belt with small silver coins on, which jingled prettily each time it moved. Lace quickly brought Juniper a green and blue sheath dress which fell to her knees. It wasn't ideal, but in the circumstances it would have to do. Juniper tied the belt loosely on her hips and moved experimentally. Finally satisfied with the results, she nodded to the girl with the drums, who began a slow, sonorous beat.

Instantly juniper felt the sand of her home under her feet, she thought of her cousin, concussed and heavily pregnant somewhere, her brothers, lost or worse in the wild and then finally of her father, his body pinned to the chair as his life blood extinguished the embers at his feet. She felt the force of her situation course through her as she moved her body, her eyes tightly shut. The beat quickened and her feet followed it. She felt her body move in the wake of her heart beating. Her arms rose over her head, she swayed with the rhythm, twisting out her misery. The beat still climbed and she shifted over the floor. She thought of her cousin's labour and poured all her hope into that image, praying for the child to live and be healthy, for her cousin to recover. Only the beat existed in Juniper's world. She felt it through the soles of her feet, each pounding on the drum shot a bolt of movement into her heart. Until it ceased.

The room was silent. Juniper held her form, her breath coming fast and heavy. The sheath dress clung to her in the evening heat. She was aware of tears tracking down her cheeks and the room seemed to watch her. Or not her, but something close to her. She turned to her side to see an older man staring at her with a shrewd look on his face. He had a grey moustache which tapered into fine points on his cheeks. His hands were entwined behind his back and he stopped ever so slightly for this position.

"You are the new one, yes?" He said pointedly. Juniper nodded without looking around her. "I already have plans for you. Rest for now, you will travel again in a week." He turned on his heel and paced out of the room silently. After a few moments Juniper felt the room relax back into its norm and Lace drew up to Juniper's elbow.

"That was our master, you shouldn't disobey him. He seemed to like you though. Come on!" Lace was already tugging at Juniper's arm. "I have more to show you."