Chapter Eight
With all the dignity she could muster, the stately raven haired girl drew a deep breath, and took her first steps into the ship’s mess. The captive’s pride would not be broken, even though she now wore the narrow ribbon banding her neck with the number “9” inscribed on the dull metal tag the size of a small coin that dangled from the front. She kept her chin held high, her lithe body softly swaying as the high heels she had been made to wear sank into the thick pile carpet with each step. But the tall woman never faltered, holding the tray before her, keeping her blue eyes fixed, unseeing, on some distant horizon, while her cheeks burned with profound humiliation.
A step behind and to her left, her slightly-built companion tottered precariously on her steepled heels with al
