Sochi was tired. The day had been especially hot, especially for her who didm't have no palms. How she had managed to hold on and continue living was a mystery to people around her as slaves who had their hands cut off usually die in the first few months of been bought but she, she had been living with the Mintasomo family for more than two years. She checked the trolley again to confirm she had everything that her mistress had asked her to get, a tissue paper box, a mascara set and a new set of the latest series of all Vina line of makeup. The little mistress was in the courting stage with the son of Freman Group, which was the biggest group of companies in the state and everything had to go perfectly. She was expecting an engagement anytime soon, so every outing they had planned, she planned to look her very best. "Not like she could look better," Sochi muttered to herself, chuckling. Whatever it was that Dima put her mind into, she liked to get. She was not that beautiful but she lacked in beauty, she made up in power. She was ranked as the 6th most powerful woman in their nation in terms of hana powers. Tĥat was one of her father's secret weapons. Having a strong daughter meant he could have access to people who were rich but did not have much power. The chairman had used Dima's power to accumulate so much wealth and build his company from the ground up, now they ranked 3rd in the most powerful families in their city. The marriage between Dima and the Freman group son was actually match made so they gain more power.
Sochi finally got to the bronze and brown gates of the Mintasomo compound. Standing still so the system could scan her, she made a quick check of her appearances. Dima did not fancy her looking odd, she always wanted her looking neat and great. The contraption she had attached to her forearm in order to help her function were a reminder that what Dima wanted she gets, and Dima had promised that if Sochi behaved, the contraptions would be updated to more modern ones that could help her live a better life. The contraptions were a gift for helping the meeting between Dima and the Freman boy work smoothly or simply, they were a gift given to her because Dima had been in a good mood. When the system finished it's scan, the gates opened and Sochi walked in. "The little mistress called for you," a guard informed her. Sochi nodded and hastened her footstep. She was walking past the garage when she heard her name. "Come here, we have to leave now," Dima said, dragging her into a car. "Where are we going miss?" "Mother got news, I finally get to visit the underground mines again today" Dima said. Sochi looked at her with her eyes huge with shock. The underground mines was the place slaves were bought, the very same place Sochi lost her hands. "Driver, start the trip" Dima said and put on her shades.
The underground mines was just like Sochi remembered it, dark, dampy and glummy, but something about it seemed to make Dima happy. They walked to the auction area where a seat was given to Dima. She did not bother dressing in a disguise as other people did, rather she was fully bedazzled, showing off her wealth. Her dressing seemed to draw the attention of everyone, as it should, Sochi thought. "I want him," she said, pointing at a male slave who had his head bowed. Sochi raised her hand to make a bid but noticed that someone else had bidded. "He is spoken for," she whispered into Dima's ear. "That's bull, I want him" she said, standing up and walking towards the chief slaver. The man sized her up, looking her up, head to toe. "To what do I owe this visit?" he asked when Dima was within hearing range of his voice. "I know you do not know me," Dima said, running her fingers down the chief slaver's chest, "so I'll introduce myself." The chief slaver whistled, drawing the attention of the people around. "Someone we ought to know is here and would like to introduce herself," he said, and there was a bellow of laughter from his men around the arena. Dima laughed, "Sochi, if you would do the honors," she said. Sochi jerked, she had been listening to the men's cackle but Dima telling her to introduce her in the midst of slavers, she did not think it was a good idea. "Sochi", Dima called again, "Sochi". When she heard her name being called the third time, Sochi fell on her feet. DIma hissed. Whatever reason Sochi was acting this way, she would deal with it later, right now, she had bigger issues to deal with. "I am Dima Mintasomo, the heir of the Mintasomo group, carrier of flames and " "And fire. We know who you are, but that does not justify your insolence, girl," came the voice of one of the slavers. Dima smiled, she had expected some form of resistance from them but now, it seemed they were aiming for a fight. She tried to gauge the men there using her eyes, "no need to fight," she said after gauging it. It was obvoius the men could beat her if they put their backs into it, and she was outnumbered. "I have a deal to make with you guys. I want that guy," she said, pointing at the male slave she wanted, "and i am willing to pay any price to have him," she finished with a clap of her fan against her hands and a smile on her face. "He has been bought and by the laws of the slavers society we do not resell slaves. Unless you wish to go into combat for him," the chief slaver said. "Who will I be fighting?" Dima asked. "WE HAVE A CHALLENGER" a voice announced and Sochi felt the ground open up under her. The last thing she saw was Dima falling in alongside her into the earth.
Sochi didn't understand. They were already underground so how could they fall in again. The earth felt like it was rolling and they kept falling in with it. Their screams were loud and Sochi could feel Dima holding her tightly in fear. When they finally stopped falling, DIma threw a punch at Sochi. "Ouch" Sochi winced in pain. "Why did you not speak when I told you to?" Dima asked, stumping her foot. She was not done speaking when the earth seemed to be closing in on them. "We have to move," Sochi said, standing to her feet and walking in opposite direction of the growing earth. Dima, angry, followed behind shouting at Sochi. Sochi ignored her and kept walking, she noticed the earth form seemed to change as they walked further. Also it seemed to be getting hotter. Sochi stopped at a point that had two tunnel openings. Dima, angry and without looking, walked right into her back. "Why did you stop?" she asked. "Look, where do we go?" Sochi asked. "Easy," Dima responded with a wicked grin on her face, and pushed Sochi into one of the tunnels which closed up on her. "Not that one," Dima said, and walked into the other tunnnels.
When Sochi fell into the tunnel, she felt her forearm dig into the dirt. Pushing herself up, Sochi tried to take in her surroundings, rubbing her cloth with the contraptions, but no, it didn't feel like the contraptions. She could feel the cloth on her body, not with her forearm, rather with the dirt clogged onto her forearm. Sochi tried to shake off the dirt, but it couldn't be shaken off. She continued trying and was so focused she did not notice that she was no longer in a tunnel, rather she was in what seemed like a throne room and seated all around her were people cheering for her, or for a golden statue standing in front of her. When Sochi lifted her head, she saw them, the golden statue and the people. A bell rang somewhere and she could feel the golden statue looking at her. The bell rang again, but this time, she could see that a girl had been thrown into the room alongside her, it was Dima. The bell rang a third time and the golden statue raised its hands, with a sword in each one. It swung right at the both of them, aiming to kill, Sochi realized before leaping towards Dima to protect her from the statue's blow. The only thing on her mind was, as a slave, you give yourself for your master. The statue seemed to miss the first blow as Sochi had succeeded in shielding Dima with her body. Maybe, somehow, they would survive this, Sochi thought, but then, the statues started multiplying. "Do you have a weapon?" Sochi asked Dima. When she nodded, Sochi continued, "can you lend it to me, to have and to hold?"