Slavery In Time

But Alas, It Was Only Calm for A While...

2 months later; Fatou has finally entered her third trimester and is now 8 months pregnant.

2 months after François's death, things seemed to have become a lot more peaceful. Céline found the money her late husband had stashed from Cotton Harvester and Sugar Cane Collector sales and had given it all to me. She promised me that if more money comes in, she would give it to me right away. She also allowed both of us to reside in the house. She would actually feed us real food and prepare fresh clothes for us; we even got some new gowns shortly after François's death, which looked the same as our older gowns, but this time, we chose our own colors. I close blue, while Fatou chose green. Boy, was she a nice lady.

Fatou had grown a lot bigger as time passed, and she was only a month away from her big day. Her grammar was also miles better than when we met. She rarely uses poor grammar, now. I really wanted to renovate the cottage we stayed in now, but Fatou wanted to wait until her child was born to do so. I really couldn't wait that long, but I could really use her help, even if that means waiting until she's more mobile again.

We both were sitting on a bed in a guest room. I noticed a strange look on her face, but I couldn't really decipher what it was. It almost looked like guilt, or regret.

"Why the long face, Fatou?", I asked softly.

She placed a hand on her stomach, rubbing it a bit. "This child...it belongs to François...", she mumbled.

"And...?", I asked, confused.

"He's dead. What will I do with my child, now? What if I can't take care of it?", she asked, louder this time.

My face became serious. I cupped her cheeks into my hand and turned her head to face me. "First of all, that child is yours and yours only. It may have his genes, but that fool could never be a good role model for your child. Second of all, before we escape, I'll get Céline to teach you the fundamentals of caring for a child, since she has one herself.", I explained.

A faint smile took over Fatou's face. "Actually, I think we should stay.", she said.

"What!?", I exclaimed incredulously. "Look, François may be dead, but that doesn't make this place any safer. This is a plantation, after all. Before we know it, another slave owner might pop up out of nowhere." I feel like I might've been overthinking things a bit. With Céline and Brie around, this place feels almost like Heaven.

Then Fatou lies her head over one of my shoulders. "Jayde...", she whispered, then silence.

"...promise you won't leave me."

I felt bad. We formed a strong bond for the past couple of months, but eventually I had to go back to my own timeline after her child was born. I didn't really want to tell her in fear of hurting her, but it had to be done.

I wrapped an arm around her hip. "No. I have to go eventually. You can take care of yourself, and besides, you'll still have Céline and Brie to keep you company.", I explained.

Fatou raised a brow. "I thought we were escaping?", she asked.

I sighed. "I wanted to at first, but at this point, there's no reason to. François is gone; I know I said another owner might pop up, but what are the chances?", I continued.

Right after I asked, I overhear what sounded like Céline exclaim from downstairs in the house.

I quickly grabbed Fatou's hand and we bolted out of the cottage and into the house. When we entered, the look on Céline's face was a bit concerning, to say the least.

"What's wrong?", I asked frantically.

"Oh, this is bad news! Very bad news!", she cried.

"What's bad news, Céline?", I asked.

"Oh, dear. François's father is taking over the plantation. He has heard about his demise and wants to replace him. He sent me a letter to confirm this.", she responded, sounding oddly calmer than usual. She held an older-looking Brie tight in her free arm and wiped away a single tear with the other. I placed a comforting hand over her shoulder and tried to console her.

"Don't worry, Céline. As long as I'm here, he won't lay a single hand on any of us.", I explained with a small smile, unsure if it would actually be possible to protect the four of them.

Céline placed Brie gently onto the ground and let her scurry off elsewhere. Her back was now facing me, a look of somber taking over her face. Fatou and I both tried to make eye contact with the widow once more.

"What ails you, Céline? Please tell us.", Fatou asked, concerned.

Céline held back a stubborn tear before wrapping both arms around our shoulders, slowly leading us to her room and setting us on her bed, with her sitting in between us. She bit her lip at the uncomfortable silence in the room.

"François's dad, Beauregard...he doesn't like me. Never did. He was always hateful towards women. He thinks they're weak. He owned slaves, too, but always gave his female ones worse punishment.", she paused for a moment to take a deep breath.

"He raped a poor young woman and she birthed François. Wasn't a slave, just an ordinary French woman. He claimed custody of François simply because he thought she couldn't take care of him as a woman. They never wed. Once François grew up, he ran away and resided here too get away from his dad, however somehow, he inherited his dad's hateful ways."

Céline paused abruptly to wipe a few tears heading down her face. Both Fatou and I developed pity for the poor widow.

"François and I met as teenagers, before he left to the United States. We bonded well, and he had a lust for me. Once he moved, we started writing letters back and forth to each other. We seemed to love each other.

"François eventually returned to France to introduce me to Beauregard. We had dinner and talked. I thought he was nice at first, but then that fateful night was when I realized I was terribly wrong—", almost immediately, she was sniffling, trying her best to not break down. I wanted to ask her if she would tell us the story of that "fateful night", but I don't want to rust her reliving what would've been a very traumatizing encounter.

"It was way when I was around 18 or 19. I was but a young, scared woman...", I was surprised when she's jolly started telling her story before I could ask her to do so. Fatou and I listened attentively as Céline regained her posture and told her story.

To be continued...