The Slave Princess

Author's Notes: Hey everyone! I don't really have too much to say this time, but thanks to the two people who reviewed :) That makes me very happy!
xVampyrx: I'm glad you're enjoying the story :) That really is quite the coincidence! You'll see the name Kaytala come up later on in the story, too.
Anyway, here's a bit of a twist that I doubt any of you were expecting. Enjoy and please don't forget to review!

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Chapter 4: A New Owner

The morning was announced when the massive iron door clanged open and a group of men walked purposely down the hall, opening the cells and herding the men out. They were chained and brought outside.

Nyrobi rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked over at Nevi. She was staring out of the cell, fear and worry clear on her face. Nyrobi forced herself to look away and examine the cell. It looked pretty solid. Stone separated her from the world on all sides except where the iron bars kept them in the cell. She stood up slowly, her muscles still sore from not being used. She put her hand on the wall and winced as pain shot through her wrist. Slowly, she moved toward the bars to inspect them more thoroughly. She shook each one but found no weaknesses in them. Next, she tried the door but it was locked. The hinges were old and rusted so she didn’t have much hope of being able to remove the door that way. Perhaps they could break the door down if they had some sort of weapon… She looked around the cell but could find nothing that might work as a weapon.

Nevi looked up at her thoughtfully. “The bars are solid. I’ve already tried… What are you looking for?”

The other women in the cell were also watching her. It did not seem that they spoke the same language since their expressions held bewilderment rather than thought. Nyrobi ignored them and continued to look for something that might help them escape. “I’m looking for a tool. Something that could get these hinges off… any ideas?”

Nevi stood up and looked around the cell as well. There wasn’t much in the cell at all. Aside from dirt and a bit of water on the floor, there really wasn’t much at their disposal. The rope that had bound Nyrobi’s wrists was still in the cell, but she couldn’t see how that would be of any help at all.

She gave up on that plan for now and continued to search the cell for weaknesses. Before she’d gotten very far, though, afternoon had come. The doors opened again and the men walked in. Nyrobi moved to Nevi’s side and unconsciously put her arms around the woman.

“We can try to fight back… When they try to put chains on us. We’ll fight and escape then.” Nyrobi’s voice was shaking as she spoke and she knew her plan had little hope of actually working.

Nevi stroked her matted hair softly and kissed Nyrobi’s forehead. Nyrobi looked up to her lover’s eyes. There was so much love and reassurance in them. Even though neither of them believed they could escape now, Nevi was giving Nyrobi as much love as she could possibly give in that moment. Nyrobi felt tears rising to her eyes again and they burned a hot path down her dirt-covered cheeks.

“If… we cannot escape. I hope you know that I will never stop loving you. Until I am old and dying, you will still be my yana, Nyrobi.” At that, Nevi leaned in to kiss Nyrobi.

Nyrobi kissed her back, her lips pressed against her lover’s. This wasn’t a happy kiss… it was a kiss goodbye. Her heart broke into a million little pieces when Nevi pulled away. Their cell door had clanged open and the men were moving in on them.

Nyrobi tried to fight back but her efforts were futile. The men simply beat her into submission and threw her into the hall where she was chained and pushed out of the building.

The light nearly blinded Nyrobi and she had to shut her eyes against the harsh sunlight. Once her eyes had adjusted, she opened them and glanced around for Nevi. She was two people behind her and shielding her eyes from the bright light. Before Nyrobi had a chance to do anything else, she was pushed forward by the men and led to the auction block. The women were lined up by the stairs and one at a time they went onto the block where men bid on them. When the men stopped bidding, the woman went to the last man to bid and disappeared.

Some of the women were older and more homely and generally there wasn’t as much bidding on them. It seemed the men were bidding on pleasure slaves more than working slaves. Nyrobi clenched her jaw at this, hatred burning its way into her soul.

Soon, it was her turn and when at first she did not make a move to walk up the stairs, she was shoved up them. She nearly fell but caught herself and maintained her composure as she walked up to the auction block. A man stood nearby, clearly to keep her in line. Nyrobi glared at him before casting a cold look out at the crowd.

There were a few cheers from the men close up who were eying her hungrily. Her mind shot back to the night in the jungle when the man had violated her. These men were giving her the same look. Anger coursed through her and she wanted to kill every single one of these men. The auctioneer did a little speech and Nyrobi did not know what he said, then the bidding began. All of this was in a language she did not speak.

At first, the bids were casual and many people were placing bids, but in the end it was between three men.

The first was a portly man in the front row. He had a moustache and was balding around the top of his head. He was dressed finely and probably just stepping into his late years. The thought of him touching her made her nauseous, but he fell out of the bidding when he reached his limit and the bidding continued. He looked disappointed but clearly didn’t care all that much.

The other two men were both a fair bit younger. One looked to be reaching middle age but was still in quite good physical condition. His hair was long and hang loosely around his shoulders. He was not dressed as extravagantly as the older man, but he was still dressed quite well and looked very wealthy. It was clear what he wanted her for. Her body was clearly on display for the crowd and she was well aware of her lack of clothing as this man stared upon her. Desire was written in his eyes and it made her hate him all the more.

The other man looked to be in his mid twenties. His dark hair was cut short but was the sort that was naturally messy and looked good no matter what. He had matching dark eyes, deep set in a strong face. He was dressed like a soldier and seemed more interested in practicality than showing off his wealth. Unlike the other two men, his expression was hard to read.

The two continued to bid more and more. The older man was beginning to get frustrated but the younger man remained calm throughout the bidding. Finally, the older man gave up, though and the younger man was called up to pay for his merchandise.

Nyrobi sent a panicked look at Nevi. This was their last chance to do anything and when the man came toward her to bring her with him, she backed away from him.

He frowned in confusion and tried again but once more she backed away toward the stairs and Nevi. Nevi was behind her desperately trying to get to Nyrobi but being held back by the guards. The guard on the block was moving toward her as well.

“Nyrobi!” She heard Nevi cry from behind her and Nyrobi turned and sent her a pained look. There was nothing they could do! Nevi was being hauled away by one of the guards and Nyrobi cried out and tried to go after her but was held back by the guard. A collar was put around her neck and she tried to fight off the men but she was not strong enough. She wept with frustration and a lead was put around her collar and handed to the man who had bought her.

He held an interesting expression. It was almost as if he pitied her. He spoke surprisingly softly and walked over to her, not using the lead at all. His large hand was placed in the small of her back and he gave her a gentle push down the stairs and to his coach.

Nyrobi did not stop weeping the entire walk and once she was sitting in the coach, she put her face in her hands and wept even harder. Was that the last she was ever to see of her yana?

The man sat across from her and remained silent, letting her cry herself out. The ride was long and eventually Nyrobi could cry no more tears. From then on, she just stared. Her world felt so empty. How was she to know what was to happen to her from now on? And to Nevi and the others? Nyrobi was completely alone for the first time in her entire life.

After a long time, Nyrobi dared a look at the man across from her. He wasn’t looking at her. He was watching out the window as the land passed by. The land was dry. She hadn’t even noticed this. How long had they been travelling for? It was mostly rocks and dust on this road. In the distance she could see hills… or were they mountains? She couldn’t tell.

At last, she noticed the man looking at her with his cold, unreadable expression. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to tear him apart for what he had torn her from. Everything in her told her to destroy this man but she could not. She was still bound by the ropes and lead with its horrible collar.

He pointed to himself and spoke “Darius.” Then he pointed to her and indicated that she should tell him her name.

“Nyrobi.” Her voice came out scratchy and raw. At least they were able to communicate somewhat.

He smiled slightly that she had caught on. He didn’t have much else he could say that she would understand so he remained silent for the rest of the journey. When they reached their destination, Darius got out and offered a hand to her to help her get out as well.

Nyrobi did not take the offered hand and jumped down on her own, stumbling but still managing to stay on her feet. He once again put his hand on her back and steered her toward the mansion. She went without fighting. There really wasn’t much point now. She didn’t care what happened to her now. Her life had been taken away from her and replaced with goddess only knows.

Once inside, Darius called over a woman. She was, no doubt, a servant of sorts and he gave her orders to take Nyrobi to her quarters and get her cleaned up and well rested.

Nyrobi’s room was surprisingly large. There was a big, luxurious bed for her to sleep in as well as a large bathing room attached to it. A bath had already been prepared for her and her tattered clothing was removed and thrown away, along with the collar and lead.

The water was warm but not burning. Her muscles relaxed easily as she soaked in the water. She hadn’t felt clean in… she couldn’t remember how long. Blood had dried and caked onto her hair from when she’d been hit and her wrists finally got cleaned of infection. Almost all of her cuts were infected now and cleaning them out, though it hurt, certainly felt good.

Finally, she felt clean enough to step out of the bath and other maids came over to help her clean up. They brushed her long, fiery hair out for her and dressed her in soft, concealing clothing. She actually almost felt comfortable!

Once all that was done, she was allowed to go over to the massive bed and get some rest. Her exhaustion was all the way to her bones and she was asleep before she hit the pillows.

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A/N: There you go, another chapter's up! I've been writing my fingers off and have up to chapter 9 completed. I've got a rough idea of what is going to happen but nothing is set in stone yet so feel free to make suggestions of what should happen and what you want to see more of. This is practice for me so I'm issuing a challenge to you readers to challenge me! Suggest something that would push me out of my comfort zone and I'll try my best to deliver :P Next chapter should be up... probably Friday night. Enjoy and please don't forget to review!