Abigail

7. The Masters

The sky was bright, the sea was calm, the air was a cool breeze, yet the courier walking towards a manor located at the peak of the hill on the island looked gloomy and worried.

“Apologies, drillmaster, sir….” The man said as he entered a large field located on the hill, just beneath the manor, towards the man standing just outside the shade of the pathway that leads to the manor.

The man called drillmaster was a tall man in his mid-fifties….

He was still looking fit with a properly toned body for his age…

His bare-chested, bronze-skinned body glistened under the sun…

He was shouting orders towards a group of men, sweating profusely as they tried to keep up with the rapid instructions shouted to them…

The sound of clashing training weapons, punches, and growls fills the field….

“Halt…!” shouted the drillmaster, which was quickly followed by sighs of relief from the men….

The drillmaster looked with disgust towards two of the men, collapsed from exhaustion….

They need to be trained harder.... He thought, and then turned his stern gaze towards the courier whose body trembled, felt like he was shrinking under the fiery sight of the man….

"I am sorry to disrupt the training, sir…. But I have pressing news to be delivered to our Master…." He said with a trembling, worried voice, closing to the man, who lowered his upper body, and hearing the news….

“Are you sure…?” The man asked with a stern voice, having no intention of delivering unchecked news to the master….

“Yes, Sir…. Our men called in and confirmed the fact." The man said….

The drillmaster looked at his exhausted trainee and said…

“Rest…. And leave those two….” He said towards the men who feel sorry for their colleagues who surely will face unpleasant punishment readied for them….

And as they walked towards the shower room, they see armed guards enter the fields and drag those two unconscious men towards a group of small concrete cubicles, with open bars at the side, that makes the cubicle saw like a small cage, stuffed them on each cage, slam shut and lock the bars at the side of the cage….

The rest of the men sighs, knowing that their colleagues surely will suffer unpleasantness since they probably will be released the next day by the drillmaster….

For them, weakness was not an option….

They have to be strong, or they will surely die….

****

The sound of the hard training echoes in the plush study room overseeing the field, and towards the beautiful scenery of the island….

Usually, the man who uses the studies would, in a while, come to the balcony and watch the progress of the training….

But today, he was absent from the routine…. The man, who was in his late forties, was busy working at his desk, reading and studying the document before him ….

The rapping at the door surely disturbed him, and he knew that it must be extremely important for someone to interrupt his work…

“Come in…!” He shouted and not long before the drillmaster entered the study room…

“Master…. We have some news….” He said with a hint of concern in his voice that made the man raise his head and look straight at the two men entering his study….

The drillmaster gave space to the courier to deliver the news….

“Master, our goods never reach their destination….” He said, with trembling voice, delivering the bad news while the quartermaster a studying the man behind the desk….

He looked a little out of shape…. He thought, more concerned about the condition of the man who also looked a little tired….

The drillmaster remembers the first time they met….

*****

It was before noon in the crowded market, the overlapping sound of traders filled the damp, putrid air of the dirty market.

There, alongside a mature man was a 16-year-old boy that walked casually throughout the market….

The putrid smell of the market seemed not to bother him at all, he was familiar with the smell, and his sight was no longer surprised at what the market had to offer….

The sound of bellowing livestock filled the market, along with the clucking sound of chickens, the quacking of the ducks and geese, the bleating of goats and sheep, and the barking of the shepherd's dogs….

Along with the sounds of the animal, the boy also hears the clanking sound of chains that attached to the shackles that bound the hands of dirty, tired, untidy bodies of human figures, with nothing but dirty loincloth to cover their most private parts, leaving their upper bodies exposed, both male and female….

Yes, the market also functions as a slave trade market….

And the boy seemed all too familiar with the sight of it, looking at those slaves walking slowly in their chains, with their heads down with defeat, shame, and fear….

Looking at those slaves displayed, as traders shouting to sell them….

Looking at prospective buyers, checking on them, as they would a livestock….

The boy can see the utter embarrassment of the female captives as their chain is held high, so their buyer can see their faces, forcefully opening their mouths to check on their teeth and gum….

And he could see that their embarrassment increased as their buyers fondled their exposed breasts, grasping them, checking on their firmness… He could see the females' bodies squirm at every touch of those hands on their skin…

And he can see how their dignity finally ripped off their bodies when the traders lifted their loincloth, revealing their most private parts for the buyers to examine….

He literally can see tears running down their cheeks as the fingers of the buyers rubbing, caressing, their most private parts, and some even have fingers prodding inside their womanhood, just to see if they were tight enough for the price they were sold for….

Those things don’t seem to bother the boy at all…. Their lives mean nothing to him, at all…. His eyes were looking towards the wooden cargo boat that had just berthed on the jetty, and the group of newly arrived batch of slaves off the boat…

And from the beginning his eyes set on one figure, chained and shackled, leading a group of pale, dirty captives….

****

The man in his mid-twenty gasps at the fresh air he finally breathed after about one week, he inhaled the damp odor of the lower deck of the rotten, wooden ship which had just finished berthing at the side of the jetty….

He raises his iron chain, shackled hands to block the blinding sun that hit his tall, scrawny features, he wears nothing but a dirty, torn, loincloth….

“Uggghhh…” He grunts as the rattan rod of the slaver struck his ribs…

“Move, you dirty animal….!” He shouted, lashing his back with half a centimeter of a rattan rod, leaving a bluish mark on his back, forcing him to walk along the creaking wooden bridge of the boat…. With the clanging sound of another iron chain shackled his feet….

The slaver kicked his foot and kicked the teen on his back, forcing him to stumble and fall to the muddy ground at the pier, bringing another five people consisting of two other male teens, and three females’ captives in their late teens, as their hands were tied together with the long chain to their shackled wrists….

Thundering laughter erupts from the crew of the boat, looking at those young captives, struggling to get up, bodies covered with the smelly, dirty mud that covers the pier….

“Keep walking!” Shouts the slaver, hitting his ribs once again, forcing him to keep walking, ignoring the other struggles…. The last male at the end of the chain was literally dragged because he was no longer able to keep up with the rest of the group….

The young man’s eyes were looking cautious and high alert as they entered the crowded market…

He wonders if it is better for him to stay shackled in the bowels of that rotten ship, than to smell the rotten, putrid odor of the market….

And what he saw, gave him the chills….

He saw more captives being displayed on the market, paraded like cattle….

He felt anger inside as he saw that, as captives, they were nothing but a mere item to be examined, checked, before then auctioned for open bidding….

But what angers him more is to see that, on the market, they have the same value as animal livestock…. He saw that some of the captives were placed either on the lot next to the cattle, or for some, they were placed on the same lot as the cattle….

He could see the fear and shame from the faces of some of the captives as they were cornered by the cattle on that crowded lot….

The overseer stopped them at one spot in the market as they were greeted by one slightly overweight man in a long tunic, wearing a cloak over it, a big belt around his protruding belly, leather sandals on his feet…

He had a chubby face, a short nose, with a beard and mustache, adding a menacing look as his icy gaze met them…

“What is this you are selling?! Hah…?! Just a pile of dump….!” He exclaims in disgust, spitting on the ground…

The young man was angry about the remarks coming from the trader….

I’m no dump….! I’m no slave…! He thought with anger in his heart…

He tries to lunge forward, but the shackle and chain stops him and slumps him to the ground…

“This one can’t even stand up straight!” the trader shouted angrily and kicked the man on his head….

“Ah, now, now, my friend…” Said the slaver, calming the angry trader….

“I know that this is not the best lot I will sell to you…. But surely you can see some worth in this lot…” He said…

“Ha….!” The trader exclaims in disgust “Worth? They don’t wort s**t!” He said, closing to the last teen on the row that was lying as if the life was leaving his skinny, body, his face was pale, his lips bluish….

“And this one…. You got to be kidding me…!” He said, angrily, raising his foot and stomping the head of the teen, cracking his skull open, and the blood instantly gushing out from the open wound seeing to the muddy ground…

The teen looks angrily as he saw his friend being killed in that horrible way… Killed like he was nothing but an alley rat….

He looked at the chain on the murdered teen, it was loose…. He knows that he has a chance…. And he took it….

“Yeaaahhhh!” He shouted as he jumped on his feet, pulling the chain free, and lunged towards the trader, making both of them fall to the ground….

“Run!” The young man shouted towards the rest of the captives, who were shocked by his action, as the teen pinned the trader on the ground, choking the man, clawing to get free, with the chain….

Thunk!

“You could try…” Said the slaver with a cold menacing tone that made the rest of the captives freeze with fear as they saw the teen struck with a leather club at the back of his head, making the teen slump to the ground….

“You little s**t!” shouts the trader, kicking the lying teen furiously while the slaver was standing next to the rest of the captives, with their heads bowed down, crying, sobbing, unable to watch how the trader beat their companion mercilessly, tapping his club, adding the terror to their souls…

The trader was about to stomp his feet on the beaten face of the teen when a beaming voice came behind them…

“How much for the boy…?!”

The trader, still angry, turned his body and snapped.

“He is not for sale! He is dead!”

And then he looked at the figure wearing a white tunic with a notable Toga Pretexta, where the offer came from, and he stepped back to the sight of the important man…

“Master Jacob…” He said, with his trembling voice, still filled with anger….

****

The man called Master Jacob was a man in his late fifties, he was one of the well-known people in the area….

He was the fifth generation of his family who originated as a homeowner that owned a good farm, and then increased and widened their business to trading, and the third generation added their family portfolio by establishing the school of training and fighting…

Surely their family has ups and downs, but they managed to stay at the top, increasing their influence in the area….

And Jacob managed to bring their family to a high stature…. In his cold-hand their family becomes powerful which owns a well-known training place, and one of notable merchants, also the advisor of the council that oversee the area….

Lucky for him, his son, Dorian, standing next to him, shows the same drive and interest as he was…. His boy learning fast and grasping all the lessons given to him….

And now, they were standing in front of the angry trader….

“Apologies, Master Jacob…. But like I said, this piece of dump is not for sale…. He put an attempt on my life…. And he has to pay” the trader said, trying so hard to keep his anger, with his fist trembling next to his body….

If the offer comes from an ordinary buyer, he might have to snap and drive them away with his fists, or his goons….

But not with Master Jacob…. Not with a man of power and stature….

Not with the man accompanied by four menacing bodyguards, already pulling their swords and axes from their sheaths, ready to protect their master with their lives…. Not even the trade’s goons are willing to clash with the guards of Master Jacob….

“Ah, Master Jacob, Omar, my friends, what seems to be the ruckus…?”

Both parties turned their heads towards the voice, and saw Julian, the law-and-order overseer of the area….

“Nothing to worry about, Julian… We’re just doing business….” Said Jacob calmly…

Julian turned his head towards Omar, who grinded his teeth and said….

“Apologies, Master Julian, this one is mine, and our law says that a slave makes an attempt on his master's life, has to be put to death by the hand of the master…. Isn’t it, Master Jacob….?” He said, eyeing Jacob, a hint of a smirk on the corner of his mouth…

Jacob sighed, looking at his boy and said…

“He is right, Dorian… Our law stated that this boy’s life belongs to the master…. And the master can take his life as the master deems fit…”

Omar smiled, feeling victorious, and ready to stomp the bleeding face of the young man, lying on the ground, when suddenly….

“Apologies, masters…." the boy interrupted.... "But tell me, slaver…. How much did the trader pay for the slave…?”

The question hangs in the air, while the traders' foot was inches away from crushing the young man’s skull…

All faces turned towards the teenager who asked casually…

The slaver is stunned for a while, then a snigger escapes his mouth, and then he quickly answers…

“No deal has been struck, Master Dorian….” He said, making Omar look at the slaver angrily….

“And it seems that you lost one of your merchandise before the deal was struck…” the boy continues, which makes Omar put his foot back on the ground, step back a little, looking angrily towards the boy, but can do nothing under the stern gaze of Julian, and the squad of the troop that accompanied him…

“Yes, Master Dorian…. It was unfortunate….” The slaver said, chuckling at the sight of the reddened trader, knowing that the boy struck him with the hard fact that could put him in trouble….

“It was unwise, Omar…. You did know the rules of taking the life of a slave that was not of our own without the consent of the owner, right…?” Said Julian, that makes Omar uncomfortable and cornered….

“Ah, my friends, come on…. Surely, we can work something out, right…?” said Jacob, wisely…

“Slaver, how much did you ask for this lot…?” He asked. That made the slaver grin, as he eyed the angry trader before telling Jacob the worth of the slaves.

“Well, I have no use for that one…” he said, pointing at the dead slave at the end of the chain, “And this is one damaged….” He said, gesturing to the beaten young man on the ground…

The smile quickly faded from the face of the slaver, thinking about the loss he had to accept, but then again, he had no power to object to the powerful man, so he could do nothing but to accept the money from Dorian….

But then Jacob said….

“Julian, isn’t it true that one has to compensate for killing' others' slave without consent,' triple of the original price if I’m not mistaken…?”

The slaver grinned widely as he received the money from Omar, whose face darkened with anger, but could do nothing but, under the supervision of Julian, pay the price for the dead slave, and the price difference caused by the damage he inflicted on the young man, now being dragged by the rest of the slaves, as they were ushered by the bodyguards of Jacob who, then shook hands with Julian, as they're parting goodbye…

The angry trader was furious, he kicked the dead slave like crazy, while the slaver laughed about the luck he had and went to a whorehouse at the market, and entertained himself and his crew with the extra money he got from the trader….

****

“I hope he meets our standard, Dorian. We pay quite a sum for this lot…. More than their actual worth…” His father said to him, more like a whisper with a stern voice that could make anyone hearing it feel the chill to their bones.

But Dorian just kept walking with his eyes straight forward and replied to his father…

“Oh, he will be, father, or I’ll see myself that he got the end he was hoping never came to him….”

Jacob tried to hide his smile at the stubbornness of his son…. He knew that his son rarely, almost never failed in his judgments, he had a good instinct, and he knew too well that his son would use any means to get his results done….

And they continue walking the market, having their quartermaster buy stock for their compound, and purchasing two more male captives for their fighting school….

*****

The young man was barely conscious as he was dragged across the dirty market, the sun hitting his beaten face….

He looked at the clear blue sky through his swollen, bloodshot eyes.... Towards the squawking sound from the seagulls..... His mind drifted, fuzzy, wanting to be free again as those seagulls were....

And then he blacked out….