The lady

Four

4.

Gwendolyn….

"Wake up" a hoarse voice called as someone shook me roughly. My eyes were painful as I struggled to open them, my whole body was in pain. I finally managed to open them and an old woman was standing glaring at me.

"The prince didn't buy you up so that you can sleep all the time" the old woman said. I couldn't understand what she was saying, i tried to recall what had happened.

……………………..

(Flashback)

As Stefan's wagon left, i felt as if my world was already unicorns and rainbows. I've always loved him, and always will. No matter what, i promised myself. The horses continued running as i laid my head on his chest. I couldn't conjure any words towards how i feel about Mae, except that, she was my saviour. My redeemer.

I decided to ask Stefan what his plans were, i knew he had lots of them about us, was he going to marry me, maybe we could have children, two or three maybe? It didn't matter as long as he was always by my side.

"Are we going to get married?" I asked, a smile tugging at my lips. I knew he was also smiling. Was he happy like i was?

"Yes" he muttered, I expected him to say something else, but he didn't. Maybe he was thinking too much about us, i should let him think. I slowly shut my eyes and slept.

…………….

"Thirty pieces of silver" a voice said, I thought I was dreaming. Then came Stefan's voice.

"Forty"

I slowly opened my eyes and found that my hands were tied with something. I tried to look around and realized that I wasn't in Stefan's wagon, but someone else. My heart lurched forward, what was going on, i tried moving but my feet were tied too so i stayed still wondering what Stefan had done. I could hear his voice outside as he bargained on something.

"The girl is healthy and beautiful, you'll probably sell her on twice as much money" Came Stefan voice again.

Girl? What girl?

The air suddenly became suffocating and i felt a pit on my stomach. Was Stefan selling me?

"Thirty five" came the traders voice. My head was going to burst.

"Stefan?" I yelled, my eyes welling with tears. "Please, don't do this to me"

There was silence, then came his voice, which sounded a bit nervous. "Okay I'll take thirty five" he said.

My world collapsed. And the pain writhed inside me as if a sword was being twisted inside my body. The tears cascaded down my cheeks as i begun sobbing. How can he do this to me.

End of flashback.

………………………..

"I'm sorry" I muttered getting of the bed. I was in a crammed room with only the bed and a small table. The old woman led the way out of the room as i followed her.

I had tried to escape from the trader who brought me from Stefan and he ended up beating me. He took me to the slave market and this same old woman bought me, she had given the highest bid worth hundred pieces of silver.

She led me out of the room, into a hallway. The walls were made of fine brick and sconces were hunged to illuminate the dark hallways. I inched my way through the hallway behind her as she led me into the kitchen and turned to face me, her wrinkles straining on her face. There was another girl in the kitchen who was busy and didn't even acknowledge our presence and from the look of things, she was also a servant, or slave, like me. A gnawing feeling radiated in my gut at the thought.

"From now henceforth, you belong to the prince, you and Mediva here, are incharge of preparing meals for the castle. And Don't take orders from anyone else apart from the prince, and me" She said and began walking away.

"I don't know who the prince is" I said, as a matter of fact. How could I take orders from him without knowing who he was.

I saw the girl staring furtively at me, with a shiny cheek. Was she smiling?

The old lady swirled around. "You'll know who he is when you see him" she snapped before leaving muttering to herself. I stood at the middle of the kitchen without any clue of what i was supposed to do. Mediva, was still busy with whatever she was doing.

"What I'm i supposed to do?" I suddenly asked, and she turned to face me and shrugged.

"I don't know, you can start with chopping the onions, or washing the utensils, or roasting the meat, it's your choice" she said before she continued with her work.

"I'm Gwen" i introduced myself.

"I don't care" she mumbled.

Why was she grumpy? She was just a slave like me, shouldn't we be friends. As if she was reading my mind, she added. "Just you know, I'm not a slave, so, you are under me. And this, is my territory"

"How did you know I'm a slave?"

"The branding in your arm?" She pointed out.

I had almost forgotten the pain i had felt form the branding when i woke up.

…………………..

Dispite her behaviour on the first day, Mediva was quite a good person. She said she was just trying to intimidate me just because she felt intimidated by my beauty. "Old miss Henrietta was jealous of you, she hates you with passion" she laughed when I asked her why miss Henrietta hate me so much. She had always treated me like a slave, which I was. But everyone else treated me differently. Even the prince treated me differently–he was so handsome and was going to get married to the Princess of Sarkathia, Princess Guinevere. Her visit was going to be in two weeks time and Henrietta overworked us, especially me.

I wasn't the only slave in the Castle, there was two others, a man, and a woman. The rest were all servants, and had high status than us.

There was something that was going on in the prince head, he was so kind to me that i felt akward around me. I even tried to make Henrietta to change my duties since I suspected that he had begun to have lustful eyes towards me, and I didn't like it.

TBC….