The Lord's Redemption

New owner

The room backstage was lit with candles, and Meredith watched as Zeres, full of smiles, climbed onto one side of the scale while bags and bags of gold coins were placed on the other. Many thoughts ran through her mind at that moment. She thought it was absurd that her new owner traveled with so much gold. She also thought it was foolish to give all that gold to Zeres for a slave. She wondered how long it would take before the scale gave in to Zeres’ weight and the weight of the bags of gold coins.

Her new owner, the noble Lord that he was, sat cross-legged in front of the scale, watching the whole show with an amused smile. He observed as Zeres struggled to remain stable while his side of the scale rose with the weight of the gold, and he smiled when the men struggled to keep the gold from falling each time they placed a new bag.

After a very long time, the scale was balanced, and their little exercise ended. The Lord had truly paid Zeres his weight in gold! The slave merchant hurriedly packed his gold away with the help of his men, while, as usual, the Lord watched with keen interest.

Seconds later, Ezekiel finally moved and got up from his seat. His eyes immediately found the one who had, in fact, been staring at him the whole time. That stare, which he thought would burn holes in his back, was what had him smiling the entire time, and now he was eager to see the owner of those eyes.

Meredith stood there, locked in place under Ezekiel's gaze. She had not expected him to look and catch her staring, so she did not know what to do or how to react. She simply stared back. But when he began to walk towards her, her feet began to move. Unfortunately, she was already near a wall, and unless she had some extraordinary ability that would allow her to walk through walls, she was stuck.

He finally reached her, his smile—which Meredith was beginning to find unnerving—still playing on his lips. “Meredith, was it?”

She nodded slowly, still finding it hard to withdraw her gaze from his.

“We will depart immediately. It's a four-day journey back to Velmorea, and I long to leave Dintletown. The carriage is outside. Let's go.”

Meredith was surprised, to say the least. With the way he had approached her, that smile on his face, she had expected something else—anything else—but a discussion about departure. Even now, he was walking away from her without checking to see if she was following.

“Wait.”

Ezekiel stopped walking and turned to face her, his smile dropping when he realized that she was still by the wall despite his clear instruction. He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her to say whatever it was that was costing him his precious time.

Seeing the palpable impatience on his face, Meredith quickly walked forward and stood before him. She was suddenly reminded of her father when she stood next to Ezekiel. The height difference was so similar. In short, she was practically a dwarf standing beside the very tall Ezekiel.

She cleared her throat. “It is foolish to pay so much for a mere slave,” she began, watching as the unnerving smile made its way back to Ezekiel's face. He now looked at her with interest, as though waiting for her next words.

“What I mean is, you lost so much just to buy a slave. It wasn't a very wise choice, and it must be a great loss to you.” She paused to read his expression, and seeing the continued interest in his eyes, she went on. “I will work hard to pay you back, and in return, you have to let me go.”

Both of Ezekiel's eyebrows lifted in surprise, amused by the deluded girl before him. If he were not in a sour mood due to the change in his schedule, he might have doubled over laughing.

“First of all, Meredith, you do not tell me how to spend my gold,” he said slowly, pinning her with his gaze. “And secondly, what makes you think that you will be able to pay me back?”

Meredith pressed her lips together, stubbornness evident in her eyes. He was just like her parents. They did not believe she could make her own money, and Ezekiel was no different. “I will work hard. Very hard.”

The stubbornness in her eyes told him one thing—that it was about more than just paying him back. “There is a limit to self-deception, Meredith. A hundred years of hard work would not be enough to repay me, so give it up.”

Ezekiel had said nothing but the truth, but Meredith was not going to accept it. She had never wanted to be a slave, and now that she was one, she did not intend to remain so.

“Instead of thinking about the impossible, why not focus on the problems you can handle first—like those two peeking out of your dress?” Ezekiel said, pointing to the exposed area of her chest with a suggestive look in his eyes.

Meredith flushed and immediately crossed her arms over her chest. She had forgotten that her dress had been torn and had been foolish enough to stand exposed under Ezekiel's gaze.

“How old are you?”

The sudden question threw her off guard. “I am a little over Sixteen.”

Ezekiel nodded.

“I’ll be in the carriage. Waste one more second of my time, and I will sell you back to Zeres.”

Meredith gulped as she watched Ezekiel leave the room. Then she broke into a run after him. Her life had already been made difficult; she did not want to add to her problems by going through the hellish experience of being displayed like an object by the slave merchant. If there was anything she could tell from the look on his face, Ezekiel was not joking.