When morning arrived, the rain had long stopped, yet the sky retained its cloudy gloom. A metal bar rattled the iron bars of each cell, waking up every slave bright and early. All the cells were unlocked for the slaves to step outside and complete the work assigned by the warden and his guards.
Rubbing her eyes, Penny woke up to see the door of the cell pulled open, giving her a slight relief. This was a good sign! Since the slaves were not stuck inside their cells the entire time, there was a thread of hope, and for one stuck at the bottom of a well, a thread of hope could be enough to pull her out. For now, she was still ignorant of her surroundings. It had become obvious that what she learned about this place when she was outside was insufficient and inaccurate. It was time to gather information!
Stepping outside of the cell, many other shabbily-dressed individuals walked past her listlessly. The light in their eyes had long dimmed replaced with hopelessness and defeat. They were obviously slaves.
"Where are we going?" she asked Caitlin who walked past her to follow the moving crowd. Penny hurried to walk beside her down the thin corridor.
"You will see."
Penny wished her cellmate could be a bit more informative in her replies. She was terse and left everything as a mystery to be revealed later which was not something one in her position was looking forward to. It was only after she looked at the other somber and silent slaves walking alongside them that she felt better about being paired with someone like Caitlin.
"That's the Warden. Make sure you never cross him. No matter what, avoid falling under his gaze," Caitlin nodded at someone standing in front of the slaves far ahead of them.
Penny searched through the crowd to find a man in uniform who appeared to be in his late-twenties, much too young to be the head of the slave establishment. His sharp, red eyes scanned the slaves as they walked past him causing them to shiver and tremble in fear.
Sensing another's gaze target him, he jerked his head in its direction, but Penny was quicker.
Just before their eyes could meet, she fixed her eyes ahead of her appearing as harmless and innocent as a little girl trapped within the slave establishment could. When unsure or uncertain, the wise decision would be to listen to those who were sure and certain. Penny took Caitlin's advice to heart. Having lived five or six years longer than Penny and in worse conditions, she seemed quite sure of herself.
The slaves stopped abruptly, nearly forcing her to crash into the person in front of her. Wondering what had happened, she suddenly heard one of the guards command them, "Strip!"
What?!
Penny's eyes bulged. Her head snapped left and right to see all the slaves around her begin shedding their clothes.
They were serious!
…
She was definitely not taking off her clothes in front of so many strangers! Wait, it did not matter she knew them! This dress was not coming off!
Stubborn, she stood still with no indication of removing her clothes when one of the guardsmen who had given the order noticed that she refused to take her clothes off.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Remove your clothes, slave," the guardsman who spoke was big and brawny. With a prickly beard covering his clenched jaw, he glared at the disobedient Penny.
Even after hearing his gruff demand directed at her, she was unyielding. Her inaction caught the attention of the stripping slaves surrounding her as they picked up their clothes off the ground. It was not just the slaves but also the two other guards who had been stationed nearby to ensure the slaves behaved accordingly while they enjoyed the show that was presented every morning.
"Remove your clothes," Caitlin whispered to Penny. Seeing the girl refuse the guard's order, Caitlin wondered whether she had cracked under the pressure. She had informed her to keep a low profile in front of the Warden, but instead, she immediately drew attention to herself by opposing the word of the guardsman now of all times.
Up til now, Penny had never bared herself to another, and she had no plans to start now, even if they tell her to.
The Warden who was spectating the scene quietly from the other side of the corridor raised his hand, silencing the guardsman before he could bark anymore orders. He gestured to the muscular guard who nodded his head in understanding.
"You stay here," the guardsman barked at Penny who was obviously a new addition to the slave establishment, "The rest of you step into the shower and clean yourselves up. We're only taking the presentable ones to the market tomorrow!" He placed his hand on Penny's shoulder to keep her from running into the shower with the rest of the slaves.
Penny kept a straight face not showing any sign of fear, but she was unsure how long she could maintain the facade. Internally, she was scared, so scared that she wanted to bolt from there if she was not being held in place by the muscular guard.
The remaining guards had followed the slaves to watch over them while she stood in place unaware of the Warden who approached her from behind with his personal guardsman. He inspected her intently with scarlet-colored eyes.
Suddenly, Penny heard the snap of someone's fingers, and the next moment she was being dragged by the guard and shoved into an adjacent room with no windows. A lantern burned on top of a table in the center of the room, but it was not bright enough to reveal the black walls that formed the room. Next to the lantern were several logbooks used for record-keeping and a stone statue heavy enough to keep the table from wobbling.
Stumbling forward, she barely stopped herself from falling onto the table. She turned around to speak only to see that the Warden had entered the room behind her. It was then that she shut up and wondered whether what she had done was foolish.
This was not her village where she could refuse or deliberate with the opposing party. This was the slave establishment! As this realization sunk in, she took a step away from the man who gave a nod to the guardsman. The door closed with a click.
The man towered over her. Penny was not short by any standard, but this Warden was four heads taller, maybe more. An old scar ran diagonally over his lips, his eyebrows thick and dark, his eyes glinting with malice that she failed to notice previously due to the distance between them.
Penny panicked inwardly.
Her cellmate had warned her to avoid this man, yet here she was. Locked in a dark room with the devil himself on her very first day here.
He drew closer to her. His every step seemed to echo with Penny's heartbeat that pulsed heavily out of fear. She withdrew backwards, skating her hand on the table's surface as she circled around to place the wooden piece of furniture in between them. Unable to think straight, her fingers brushed a cylindrical object which she picked up instinctively.
It was a writing quill.
Shoving the table onto the floor, the Warden finally cornered her with her back to the wall. His hand reached to touch her face. Frightened, Penny swiped the quill across his palm, tearing the skin and making him flinch, but the man did not retreat. His bleeding hand shot straight for her neck, slamming her back against the wall.
Dropping the quill on the ground, she felt the air slowly escape from her lungs as the Warden squeezed tighter.
The Warden brought his mouth to her ear, "I have met many just like you. And each time, I have relished breaking them until they were proper slaves."
"L-let me go…!" She desperately scratched and pulled on his hand, failing to tear it away from her throat. The man did not budge in the slightest. Just when she thought she had loosened his grip on her, he pulled her forward before slamming her against the wall a second time with inhuman force.
She released a loud gasp, barely retaining her consciousness.
"Disobedient slaves must be taught their place. Do you think you are better than the others here? Well, you're not," the man taunted her. He stared at her before releasing her, allowing her a second to gasp for air.
"Strip."
She was rubbing her neck when she heard him. "Do you think you are better than the others outside, that I will strip for you after refusing them? Well, you're not." As soon as she had finished her sentence, she knew the consequences would be painful.
The Warden slapped her across the face so hard that she heard a ringing in her ears. She fell to her knees, a teardrop coming out from the side that was slapped.
But what the Warden did not realize was that Penny had set her eyes on another object that had rolled near them when he had shoved the table across the room. Giving her a second to recollect herself, the Warden examined the injury on his hand, giving Penny the perfect opportunity to strike.
She grasped onto the stone statue and slammed it across his head as hard as she could, shattering the statue into pieces.
Once again, he remained unmoved.
He was caught off guard this time, failing to predict a second strike from her. Staring at her with mockery-filled eyes, he laughed. His laughter rang loudly in the closed room, leaving Penny confused and more frightened than before.
"You really did it this time. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a feisty one like you. The more you disobey, the more fun we will have!"
She gulped.
There was no escaping right now, and she knew it. No matter how many times she hit him, the man would still stand there unfazed. His hand made its way to the back of her head and pulled her hair up, making her yelp in pain as she was lifted off the floor.
"You are quite brave. Hitting me, not once, but twice. You need to be taught to follow the rules, and rule number one is 'always obey what I say.'"