Chained To Him [Editing]

Chapter Four

Jayde awoke to a boot prodding her ribs, turning her onto her back. Her hands were shackled in front of her, attached to a long chain that connected the shackles of her comrades. They had been forced to sleep on the cobbled stone of the marketplace, although most were now awake. She watched warily as a soldier removed her shackles from the line and hauled her to her feet. Some of her soldiers were already standing in a crowd of ten or so, all women. Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted an older woman in Imperial garb handling Kariyah's face, looking her over. The woman seemed gentle enough, but Jayde knew instantly what was happening. There was no other reason they would be separated from the rest.

"You're a pretty one," the older woman smiled as the soldier dragged her towards the other women. Kariyah fought fiercely against the soldiers restraining her, only stilling slightly when the Imperial woman slapped her sharply across the face. "Feisty though. That will have to be fixed." Kariyah spat upon her without a moment's hesitation, but the woman only smiled. "Do you know who I am, Aésad whore? I am your future. Either you obey me now or you endure a few months of suffering before returning to me broken."

"Better to suffer than to obey," she hissed.

"My name is Madam Maigi. From the moment the Empire entered this town, you became a slave. As a slave, you don't have any privileges or respect. These soldiers have marched days, do you know what that does to a man? I could give you to them, if I wanted." She leaned forward and stroked Kariyah's cheek. Jayde watched as her comrade's face paled. "But you are strong and beautiful, and I am willing to offer you a place as a pleasure slave in Lord Greywood's palace, where you would earn at least some stature for your skills." Kariyah turned desperately to Jayde, tears in her eyes.

"You bitch," Jayde snarled, attempting to lunge forwards out of the grasp of her soldiers. Maigi's face darkened. 

"I am surprised to find so many uncivilized women here," she mused, walked swiftly to Jayde. "Might I assume that you would refuse my offer as well?"

She seethed beneath her anger, and answered through gritted teeth. "We are soldiers. We will never be slaves."

"I see." Maigi glanced at Kariyah. "And do you believe that as well? Your other friends have already accepted my offer." Kariyah nodded slowly, but Jayde could tell that she was terrified. "Then you will be sent with the women I refused and the men to do manual labor in the fields. But I warn you, I will not be there to protect you from the wandering hands of the guards. You will have the life of the lowest kind of slave. Expect to be treated that way." She smiled at both of them before turning away. "Perhaps I will see you again, and you will treat me with more respect." With that she motioned for her soldiers to lead her chosen slaves away, and Kariyah and Jayde were left with the remainder of the Aésad soldiers, who had now been roused from the cold ground. They were connected once again to the long chain and led out of the cobbled square, towards the fields at the edge of town. Soldiers guarded the edges of two large, unused fields, their swords at the ready. As Jayde and her comrades were detached, they were guided to either of the two fields and instructed to haul the large rocks bursting from the soil to a pile at the edge of the road. Before long, they were joined by other Imperial slaves who had been imported from Eszti D'or. These slaves were more experienced at obedience than the Aésads, and felt the whip far less than the others. Jayde, contented that she would not be raped by whichever new lord took over Aésadel, set to work with more energy than she thought she could put forward, and thus avoided punishment for the rest of the day. The soldiers guarding the slaves frequently called insults or cruel jokes at their watches, but they never responded. Jayde followed their example and fought to ignore the jeers that came her way.

At night she was herded with the other slaves to an old storage building next to the field that had been fitted with new metal bars across the windows. She huddled with Kariyah in a little square of moonlight by the wall, staring longingly into the night. Dozens of Imperial soldiers wandered the streets—drinking, celebrating, singing songs around the blazing bonfires at the edge of the road. Jayde looked towards town and wondered how the rest of the citizens were managing with the new occupation. She hoped the soldiers would be gentle with them, but knew otherwise. It would be difficult for them to adjust to this new way of life, and they would not be treated as well as citizens in Eszti D'or. 

Jayde glanced at an Imperial slave beside her, who seemed peaceful enough, resting his head against the stone wall.

"Excuse me," she whispered, careful not to alert the guards. The slave glanced up at her and narrowed his eyes. "What is your name?"

"Bailish," he murmured back warily. "And yours?"

She hesitated, wondering if she should say her real name in case the commanding soldier who spoke with her earlier came looking for her again. "Layla." She wondered why he looked at her with such scorn. "What's happening?"

He shrugged. "They're going to bring settlers from Eszti D'or so we have to clear more fields to plant more food."

"Who has taken over governing?"

"The Emperor has assigned Lord Greywood to the region. I believe his commander is Raoul. You would have met him earlier." Bailish looked curiously at her. "I am surprised you were not taken for Lord Greywood's newest slaves. You seem pretty enough."

Jayde bristled, but reminded herself that he meant no harm. "I refused." He gaped for a moment before shaking his head slowly.

"I am sorry, then. May the gods guide you."

"Why do you say this?"

"You have volunteered yourself for the lowest tier of slave. The women never last long here. They are too frequently raped or beaten to death when they don't comply. The men are merely whipped." Bailish gave her a pitying smile. "You and your friend should try to lay low. Work as hard as you can and stay out of trouble." Jayde nodded in thanks before glancing at Kariyah, who huddled next her, her eyes glazed as she stared at the floor. 

"Don't worry," she whispered. "We're going to be okay." She ran her fingers through Kariyah's hair which was already gritty with field dust. Resting her head against her friends', she drifted into a disturbed slumber. 

*****

The next six weeks followed much like the first day, and Jayde felt her body growing sinewy and tough with each day of labor. She quickly became rail thin like the rest of the slaves, as they were only given enough at each meal to prevent them from passing out from hunger. In this time she had only met the whip twice, and Kariyah five times. Derik had faired much worse, and his face was clouded with bruises. They only spoke at night, and only at a whisper, although sometimes they were separated in two buildings. Jayde worked alongside Bailish and Kariyah most days, and together they worked harder than most of the other slaves. 

The streets were still crowded with soldiers, although Aésadel now seemed less like a conquered town, and more like a different place entirely. New citizens from Eszti D'or flocked the streets and marketplace, and Aésadel was once again a cheery place. Most of the original citizens stayed in their homes as much as possible. Jayde had seen several beaten at the whim of a soldier. They could never belong in the new population, but they could not leave. It was so strange to look into the city and see where her life should be, only to find that she was a slave, and her city was no longer her own. At times she became so angry at the Empire that she considered killing one of her guards, even knowing what would happen to her if she did. But she still held on to the hope that Luther would return. Perhaps the Imperial slaves would riot with them, and they could take back the town. They would still be drastically outnumbered. It was all she could do to count on that scrap of hope. Otherwise, what point was there in surviving?

The past week tried Jayde's patience more than the others. The slaves had worked almost to the edge of the field, where most of the guards were concentrated. There, Kariyah had caught the attention of three of the soldiers. Mostly they would just jeer at her, but occasionally one would wander his hands across her back or slap the back of her thigh. Jayde wanted to kill them like she had never wanted to kill anyone before. The most she could do was purposefully drop a boulder to avert the guards' attention to her. They would rough her up a bit before returning to their posts, leaving Kariyah to quiver in anger at Jayde's sacrifice. 

Jayde had taken to obscuring her face with mud as Bailish had advised. Kariyah also tried this, but the soldiers had already noticed her, and knew that she was trying to hide herself. One day one of the soldiers used water from his canteen to clean her face. Then, he whipped her for trying to fool him. Jayde knew that it was only a matter of time before something far worse happened to her friend, but she was helpless in the face of the inevitable. Kariyah knew it too, and continued her work with a blank face and a solemn determination.