Chapter 1 – The Cellar
Ariella awoke from her sleep to hear and smell the new girl vomiting in a corner. Ariella's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. Most of the women had already turned out their lamps except for a few in the opposite corner. The cellar dungeon was dark and damp, but thankfully it kept cool despite all the women living in that small space. They all slept on simple pallets on the ground, with their own water basins and oil lamps beside them. Various vegetables and barrels of ale were also housed in the cellar, but the women were far too afraid to risk sneaking a bite or sip. A smelly bucket rested in the very back of the room for them to relieve themselves in. Of course, it was kept as far away from the heavy wooden door as possible to keep potential buyers from being subjected to its stench.
It really was not as filthy as one would expect from such a greedy sex slave dealer. The Master wanted the women to appear clean and well taken cared for. They had to wash their faces regularly, and their soiled clothes were collected by a washerwoman frequently. Ari's Master was known for having some of the cleanest slaves, and he did not take his reputation lightly. The weather had just started to turn cold, and the buying season was starting.
The last time the Master took his women to the bathhouse, Ari had noticed the frigid air. She had also noticed more and more women start to come and go. May, the oldest woman there, had explained the buying season that day at the bathhouse, "Aye, the nights become chilly as the planting and harvesting comes to an end. The farmers start to spend more time inside, and they began to think how lovely it would be to have a wench to cook a hot meal and bring them ale. We'll not see the likes of many of ye for much longer."
Jaquie had only been captive with the women for about 5 days, but she had arrived in ill health. Ari dragged herself over to the pallet where Jaquie was lying and tilted the barrel. Jaquie vomited easily into the barrel and looked at Ari with gratefulness. The sick girl collapsed her head back on the pallet and started to breathe heavily. Ari only hoped that she had time to recover before she was purchased. A young virgin such as Jaquie would be gone almost immediately.
The soft pattern of Jaquie's breathing was broken by the familiar heavy footsteps leading down the stairs. All the women began to stir and started smoothing out their hair to appear their best. Ari had remained on the market for longer than average for a girl of her age, mainly because of the high price the master demanded for her. Many men had the intentions of taking her for their own, but in the end they always settled on something cheaper. No matter what they offered, it was never enough for the Master. It did not take a soothsayer to see that he was attempting to keep Ariella around for as long as possible.
The Master purchased Ari almost one year ago, intending to capitalize on her exotic appearance. The Master thought of her as a conversation piece, almost like a fine piece of furniture. Some poor farmer would love to show his new slave off, his friends would think him refined and sophisticated. Foreign slaves were not all too common yet. Until recently, slavery had been reserved for the royals.
Ari had always been slightly curvy with a round bottom and ample breasts, but the diet fed to her this last year had diminished her curves and given her a tired appearance. Her porcelain skin looked ghostly white against her raven black hair and dark eyes. Her hair had grown very long, but it was still shiny despite the constant humidity she was subjected to. Ariella had beautiful dark almond eyes, which could only be described as being sorrowful all the time. When she was living in her small village, she had been tan from the bright sun of the tropics. Most of the other women were older, traded in by other owners when they had grown tired of them. Ari was in her early twenties, but even that was too old to fetch a top price at market.
When Ari was certain that the footsteps would soon be entering the cold, dimly lit cellar, she got to her knees to help Jaquie up. The women knew the price for failing to form a line when the Master entered. Ari panicked when Jaquie went limp in her arms. She splashed a little water in Jaquie's face, but by that time it was too late. She heard the rusted lock on the door click, and a beam of bright light entered the room. By the men's voices she heard, she knew that there was a potential buyer. This meant a certain beating if she did not form rank with the others. On the floor, Jaquie began to whimper and tears welled in her eyes.
"Don't worry Jaq. He won't beat us too hard. He wouldn't dare leave bruises during buying season," Ari whispered.
Jaquie did not say a word. She only turned her frightened eyes to the door and tried to rise to her feet.
The door swung open and the voices entered the room. The Master bragged "I have a young one just in, a pure virgin. You can see for yourself!"
"How old? I'm not in the mood to placate children," was the uninterested reply from the Stranger.
"Well, what are you looking for then? Are you the sort that wants to breed or are you looking for a servant?"
"I'll know when I see her."
The voices were now well in the room. She felt the Masters eyes looking at her, and Ari worked up the courage to plead with her eyes. She pushed her chest out to make herself look more sexual. She hated to use her body to try and lessen her punishment, but she had learned how to manipulate the Master in this last year. She felt the Master's beady and cruel eyes scan the two girls over, and braced herself for what was to come.
