After a week of an uncomfortable ride and barely having anything to eat, the carriage finally reached its destination; the kingdom of Zrika.
They passed through a market place and Dahlia could see all sorts of people carrying on with their daily lives; Having conversations, shopping, and even eating.
Despite knowing the carriage riding in their midst was carrying girls sold from other kingdoms, none of the people there batted an eyelid or spared a glance at them. Slavery had been so normalized that it was sickening.
The carriage passed the marketplace and rode up a hill where an intimidating tower stood at its top. The view of the tower and the positioning would scare any sane person away and yet that same place was where they were headed.
To get to the tower they had to pass through yet another forest that sent chills down Dahlia's spine. At that point, she wasn't sure how many more forests she could handle.
She was a lover of nature and trees but for some reason, all the trees they passed through rubbed her off the wrong way and didn't give her a sense of comfort like they would usually do.
A large black gate was opened for them and the carriage rode into the compound.
They were all told to remain inside for a few minutes before being called out. Being closest to the outside, Dahlia was one of the first girls to come out.
A posh-looking woman was standing before them, probably someone with a high official status. In comparison to them, she looked and dressed like the moon while they looked like the lowly peasants created for the sole purpose of worshipping her.
"Why do you all look so dirty?" The woman scrunched her nose at them as she spoke, feeling uncomfortable by their appearance and smell.
"There was no time for them to take a bath as we rode here." The man who was feeling Dahlia's body the previous time spoke.
He made it out to be a lack of time when in reality he bluntly denied them permission to clean themselves up but of course, there was no way he would tell the lady that.
"Even for slaves, you all look unclean. No one would want you serving them in this state." The woman once again spoke in her dignified accent while adjusting the blue shawl hanging loosely on her forearm. "Gretha dear, take them to go get cleaned up." She spoke to the other woman by her side who had been quiet the whole time.
"Of course, lady Lucy." Gretha said, "Girls, come with me."
Gretha had a calmer tone that didn't sound like she was looking down on them or felt disgusted by their presence so the girls felt more comfortable as they followed her into the tower.
"We'll have you all cleaned up soon," Gretha said.
She sounded like a big sister taking care of her younger sister and although it was far too soon to judge her character, Dahlia felt like they would have no problems with her.
The tower had an intricate design, they had to go through countless turns, rooms, and doors to get to where Gretha was taking them.
Navigating the tower without the help of someone who knew it inside out would be almost impossible and for this reason, escaping the place seemed hopeless, one would get lost rather than leave.
A wise choice for building a slave prison.
"Right this way," Gretha opened a door and led them into what looked like a bath room.
For a slave prison, the room exceeded Dahlia's expectations.
There were several bath buckets in the room with clean water and oils for the body.
"I'll leave you to take a bath and return in an hour. There are dresses for you to wear in the cabinet when you're done." Gretha waited for no reply and left as soon as she was done talking.
Each girl began undressing and took a bucket to wash themselves with. There was no sense of shame as they bared themselves before each other, the only thing that was on all their minds was finally getting clean after a week.
Although the bath wasn't what she was used to, Dahlia enjoyed the feel of water running against her skin and washing off all the dirt and sweat. You never know how much you love something until it's gone and that was what Dahlia felt about baths as silly as it sounded.
They all had their baths quickly and applied the oils to their body before getting dressed. The dresses Gertha was talking about were maid outfits and they all looked the same; brown ankle-length dresses with white aprons and sandals.
It was like they were wearing uniforms.
True to her words, Gertha returned after an hour, proving how time-conscious she was.
"Now that you're all clean, let's head down for dinner. This is the only time you'll have a ready-made meal, from tomorrow all your meals and chores will be done by each person." Gertha gave them an idea of what they should expect their new lives as slaves to be like.
They all followed her to what looked like a dining area where Lucy from earlier was sitting at the head of the table. This time, she didn't look down on them with disgust now that they were clean and more presentable.
"You smell much better now- still not the best but at the very least manageable." Lucy told them as soon as they took their sits, "Enjoy your first meal here, ladies, it'll probably be the only one you don't have to work for."
Unlike Gertha, something about Lucy made Dahlia really uncomfortable. She seemed very full of herself as she looked down on those below her. Although they were slaves, Dahlia thought they still had a right to be treated as human beings.
"We'll leave you be now, I can't have dinner at the same table as slaves," Lucy obnoxiously said as she stood up, "Gertha, let's go."
The two ladies left and the girls could finally touch their food. The first proper meal they were having in a week.
Initially, no one said a word but after a few minutes, one of the girls spoke up. "My name's Aya, what about you all?" She shyly asked.
There was a brief moment of silence before they each started saying their names.
"Carla."
"Opal."
"Darcy."
"Kaney."
"Dahlia."
That was the first time they looked at each other and spoke since they met that unfaithful night.
Although they couldn't get past saying their names due to the emotional stress they were all under, the tension around them had dissolved and they all connected with each other albeit in silence.