"And here we have this magnificent beauty. Someone you've never seen before!" A gruff voice chimed. I moaned and rolled over, my head sore from whatever previous impact came into contact with it. I heard the sound of metal as it clanged against the tile floors my body was sprawled out across.
"Where the heck am I?" I groaned and pressed the back of my palm against my forehead. "Ow!" I hissed. A flood of memories hit me. I was at home, then in the forest. Then the lady shoved me into danger. Cruel of her. She'll pay for her deed eventually, I hope.
But now, I was in a courtyard full of old smelly white men. Slave merchants and buyers, I presume. They were going to have to kill me if any of them think they could take me away so easily. I was going to start one heck of a riot and make my escape.
"Have you ever heard of such a beauty? Legend has it that she is one of the sirens, and this is why she has such dark skin. The salt in water is what keeps her hair in such a frizzy mess."
"Excuse me?" I snorted at the men who approached me. "I was born with my skin, and my hair, I don't come from any mythological creatures." I spat at the man who I encountered in the forest before. "You should really leave before he sells you any more people based on knock off stories."
"You filthy wench!" He snarled. "I apologize, good men. Sirens don't know how to watch their tongue. We were still trying to tame her."
"How much does she weigh? Does she have experience in bed?"
I whipped my head in the direction of the first fat man wearing in a brown leather coat and breeches.
The seller, the one from the forest, smiled at me and placed his hand underneath my chin and yanked me forward. "All sirens have experience sir. They're the killers of men."
"You complete dastard." I elbowed him in the torso. He grunted and slapped me in the face, knocking me back a few steps.
"Wench." He spat at me. "The bid starts at 150 pieces of silver for her."
"I'll pay you 1500 pieces, no bid." Another man from the crowd said. He was fat, and old, and was wearing a red bandana with a leather suit.
"Alrighty then!" The seller clapped his hands together. "You've got yourself a deal!"
"Like heck!" I yelled.
"Creatures like you should learn to keep your mouth shut."
"Idiots like you should be able to see when they're being scammed but I'm not complaining about you am I?" I retorted. The seller rammed his palm against my cheek, slapping me again. I winced and bit my tongue as the man who tossed his bag of coins to the merchant, gripped onto my forearm. He dragged me by my chains very harshly, and didn't let up when I tried pulling back.
This continued on for about another hour. My plans to escape was failing. Eventually, he led me to a huge wooden ship. A few other older hairy white men surrounded the ship, some talking leisurely or carrying crates and barrels on board.
"Mighty fine one ain't she?" One of them wiped his nose and snickered at me.
"Careful," another one sneered. "I heard that one is a savage creature."
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." I barked at them angrily. I shouldn't have. The man who was scammed into "buying" me, yanked me forward. I nearly stumbled onto him, but caught myself in time.
"You should stay silent until the captain arrives, love." I let out a scoff. "You should also be grateful that I saved you, miss." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal key. My eyes widened when I saw it. He dragged me onto the ship and unlocked the metal that bound my hands together gently.
"You.. what are you—,"
"Shush!" He put a finger to my mouth, and I almost gagged at the wretched smell. I'm sure he hasn't washed his hands, probably in weeks. "When the Captain arrives, you are to be quiet and carry yourself with grace. I fear he may not like you."
"I don't follow anyone's orders." I said, being brutally honest. I'd already been through one heck of a day so far. I was betrayed by a sweet old lady and sold by a scammer, and now it felt like this man was trying to show me off, to another man. Probably one who is just as ugly as he was.
"Listen up dogs," A deep and heavy voice boomed from behind. "Get ready to set sail. We shall arrive at the North in a week." I heard his footsteps clank against the wooden mast of the ship, inching closer and closer to us.
The footsteps stopped directly behind me. "Pierce. I presume you have some good news for me, regarding our previous arrangement."
"No sir." The man frowned. "However, I bought someone to help me compensate you." He pointed at me.
YOU ARE READING
Palace to Plunder (AMBW)
Short Story"Aye, I've never seen o' woman like 'er neither." The pirate replied. "Why is 'er skin so brown? I wasn't taught about women who look like this before." I spat at him. He threw his face back in disgust and released his hold on my wrist to wipe his...
