Speak
Chapter 1

Scarlet pushed her legs up against the wooden side of her pin, doing her best to stretch. With a small groan, she gave up and bent knees; sending pain throughout her body. The 3 by 4 animal pin she was locked in gave her 5’5 body barely any space to move. Straw littered the ground, as a bed, a place to go to the bathroom, a place to sit; it made her body itch. It didn’t help that her feet and wrist were chained, and after wearing them for so long her wrist were raw and bloody. The straw just made it worse. She was sore, bloody, dirty and hungry. Sighing, she pushed some greasy strands of hair from her face.

“Scar, psst, scar- are you okay?”

Sitting up, Scarlet lifted her hands. She paused, and listened, before giving two solid knocks on the wooden wall.

“Good, so am I.”

Scarlet gave a small smile, leaning her head on the wall. One the other side, in one of the other 34 pins, was her best friend Renee. She had been in the woods with Scarlet on the faithful day that she was kidnapped. They had taken Renee, only because she had fought for Scarlet’s freedom.

Kidnapping wasn’t rare, it was quite normal. They were traded through the Slave Trade, along with other beings who didn’t pay back a debt, sold themselves or were forced into it. There was much bad in the world just as there was good. Good people ended up doing deals with bad people- and they paid for it in the end. Scarlet’s mother, her single mother who raised her on her own, always told her not to use her powers- ever. But being the 18 year old rebellious girl she was, she did. Her mother, so good, told her not to use her powers. She, herself, did and because of it was taken from her wholesome world into the dark Slave Trade market.

With a small huff of air, she looked up to the ceiling of the wooden train cart.

“Yeah, I’m right with ya Scar. This sucks.”

It was moments such as this, where she was locked away and alone; that she could speak. Renee was only a piece of wood away- yet because she wasn’t able to sign, mouth words or even write a note, she had no way of communicating with her friend.

Stumbling out of the train car, Scarlet’s bare feet shuffled along with everyone else who was in her chain-group. The sun blared down from the sky, blinding her. Her whole body was sore, and her legs shook from being unused and bent. She had been locked away in her pin for… she didn’t even know. She had lost track of the days. She knew it had to be at least a few weeks.

The Handlers screamed at everyone, as the moved from the dirt area outside the car to a blocked off area behind a plain, wooden stage. There were other chain-together groups, and people mumbled softly to each other.

“I just heard some others talking, they’re saying we’re in Voirol!”

Renee’s breath was hot against Scarlet’s ear, and she turned to face her.

‘How do you know?’

Renee shook her head, a held a hand out. That meant she didn’t understand what Scarlet had mouthed to her. Which wasn’t uncommon, and being Scarlet’s hands were bonded together; she had no other option. Reaching out Scarlet spelt out each letter, one by one, on Renee’s palm using her fingers.

‘T-h-a-t’s a 5 w-e-e-k t-r-i-p f-r-o-m T-o-b-u-s.’

“It also means we’re basically on the other side of the world… We’re never going back.”

Renee casted her eyes away, as she swallowed back a lump in her throat. Scarlet looked to her friend chained beside her, but did nothing to comfort her. It was her fault they were chained, thousands of miles from their home land and about to be sold off as slaves for the rest of their lives.

“Alright, come along you rats- move it!”

One of the slave Handlers came over to Scarlet’s group, picking up the end of the chain. He pulled on it, and the guy attached at the very front stumbled forward, nearly falling. Counting, Scarlet saw she was fourth in line, and Renee was fifth. There was only seven to each group, so she figured they were on the end of the group.

They were lead from behind the stage, and out to face the crowd. Though Scarlet wanted to freeze on sight at all the people standing at the auction, she was forced to keep moving. She had a hard time getting up the stairs, her feet fumbling. When she did, she stopped behind the guy chained in front of her. When the last few people of their group reached the stage, the Handler screamed at them to face the crowd; raising his whip with a threat.

Scarlet turned to the crowd and felt her stomach drop. She was between wanting to cry, and be sick to her stomach. The feeling didn’t die as she watched the first three people in front of her auctioned off. The first and last guy went to the same man, who seemed to be a farmer of some sort. The girl between them went to a male also, though Scarlet had high doubts that the poor child would not be working in the fields. She was much too pretty for that.

When it came her turn, some random Handler unhooked her ankle chains from the chain line, and pushed her forward into the Auctioneer’s arms. She was quick to pull her body away, and tugged on the sack-dress that hung off her frame.

“Now, this here folks, may look like some scrawny, stupid, girl- but let me tell you there is more to her then meets the eyes. This here is a Blessed human! She may not speak, but her gift makes up for all words that can be said. Now, Blessed human, show the crowd what powers you possess!”

Scarlet stood frozen, unable to move as her stomach did flips inside of her.

“Girl- Obey him!”

From the corner of her eye, Scarlet could see one of the head Handlers marching from the corner of the stage. He wasn’t the head Handler from the train, so she figured he must be a local. When he reached her, her forcefully grabbed her chin- causing Scarlet to release a gasp. His hard blue eyes met her, as his grip grew tighter.

“Do as he says. Now.”

Releasing her, she swallowed and slowly nodded her head. His hand hit the full left side of her face, and was so forceful, she fell to the stage. A few in the crowd laugh, others got silent, most started to whisper.

“When a superior talks to you, you are to answer promptly and properly!”

Scarlet shook her head and attempted to sign; but another smack to her face forced back down to the stage.

“Wrong answer-”

“Wait- please, let me explain, no stop!”

“Answer me!”

When Scarlet didn’t, he hit her again.

“She can’t speak-”

“Answer me!”

He hit her again, her mouth letting out breaths-of cries.

“I can interpret for her, I-”

Renee was cut off a smack to her face from another Handler, only he had a wooden reed on hand and it cut her cheek. The Handler, having lost his temper, sheathed a sword from its place on his waist.

“I shall teach you to be so distrustful!”

“No!”

No one paid mind to Renee as she cried out for her friend, but the whole crowd gasped at Scarlet. The Handler had lifted his sword, with the intention to cut off some sort of body part from Scarlet. But as he was mid-swing, the sword was ripped from his hands and he was pushed back and lifted off the stage.

The whole crowd went silent as Scarlet held her hands up in front of her face. Her left, held the Handler in the air, and her right held the sword where it had stopped in mid swing.

Dropping her left and flinging her right, the Handler landed on the stage and the sword went for the crowd. No one was hurt, though a few did duck and scream in fright.

“Well, folks, there you go! Is this stupid mute Blessed or what?! Can I get 200?”

“200!”

“300!”

“2,000 gold!”

The crowd let out a gasp.

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Another gasped came from the crowd. Meanwhile Scarlet stood back up, her left eye swollen shut and her whole body throbbing. She listened with a plain face as her price went up to 10,000 gold, 15,000 gold. And when it seemed like she was about to be sold for 17,500 gold; a clear, demanding voice calmly stated ‘1 million gold’. Everyone in the crowd gasped and looked around for the owner of the voice. The crowd then parted as five men walked through the crowd. They were all finely dressed, and had their eyes covered by sunglasses.

“My, oh my! Is anyone willing to up that bid? No? Going once… Twice… Sold- to our mighty King! Congratulations your majesty, though just as warning she’s not that bright. She doesn’t speak!”

The crowd laughed lightly as the joke, but when the man in the middle of the group- of whom Scarlett guessed to be the king, didn’t laugh everyone was quick to be silent once more.

“A-hm, right then, onto the next! We got us here a real, natural beauty folks!”

As the Auctioneer went off on how wonderful of a woman Renee was, Scarlet was moved down from the stage. She was taken straight to their King, and was released of her chains by his order. Before she could show him some sign of respect and of thanks; he called out-

“50,000 gold for the girl!”

“…Going once…twice… sold- once more to our mighty King!”

This time around, the auctioneer kept his jokes to himself as Renee was led over to the small group and he went on to the next trade. As Scarlet, Renee was freed from her chain, hugging her friend after giving the King a bow of respect and thanks.

“I have all I came for, let’s go.”

He led them, two men to both of his sides formed an arrow shape as Renee and Scarlet walked in the middle of it. They were lead to one of those fancy black limo that were limos yet still short enough to be a car. The King climbed into the front passenger seat, one guard took to the driver’s seat as the last two were sat in the back with Scarlet and Renee. They drove though the town, passing different homes and building that were mushed together side-by-side. The car was then taken up a winding road before pulling in between opening gates. Both girls looked out of the window, awe struck. A small ‘wow’ even escaped Renee’s lips, and Scarlett nodded her head slightly agreeing with her friend. The road and surrounding grounds were beautiful- to say the least. It was all colorful and perfectly manicured, down to the blades of grass and the grave road.

When the car stopped, they were in front of a huge- no, it was not a huge home, it was a mansion. Spanning two stories fully across, it even looked to have a third and fourth floor in the middle. A servant was right at the passenger door, opening it for the King. A few others waited a few off, and he turned their gaze to them.

“Make sure the two girls in the back are properly taken care of. They are mine now.”

And he was gone. Poof, like magic, Scarlet and Renee were alone. A servant opened their door and the four men who escorted them there left after the King. A small, young girl came up, giving a nod.

“Hello, please follow me.”

The large wooden door slammed shut behind Scarlet like a bomb to her heart. Turning to face it, she turned back to the room. It was bare, and cold. Obviously meant to be a dungeon of some sort from ages before, the only light came through the small barred window on the locked door.

Running up to the door, Scarlet hit her hands on it a few times, sliding against it as her head begun to spin. Closing her one good eye, she focused on her breathing as she slipped into the darkness.

When she opened her eyes again, Scarlet was no longer in the dark, damp room- but lying on a bed, in an all white room. Looking around, she noticed that fact that she was hooked up to different machines, and had an IV in hand and a catheter below. With eyebrows drawn down, she looked around the room. It looked to be a mixture between an extremely nice hospital room and an extremely nice nurse’s room. Along one full wall and half of another; were cabinets, shelves, tons of counter space and a good sized sink. The door stopped it, and on the other side of it was a small love seat, with two separate arm chairs and a low coffee table in the middle of it all.

Scarlet let out a small gasp, her eyebrows rising as she saw Renee, on a small twin sized bed that seemed to fold down out of the wall. She was sound asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling. She wore a comfortable looking uniform of black skin-tight pants and a button down collared shirt. On top of it all, she was clean and her face held a slight pink hue to it.

Scarlet looked around her bed, and found nothing she could throw to wake her friend up. But what she did notice was that her body was fully clean, her curly brown hair was clean, and she wore a soft, long hospital dress. She also noticed that the left side of her face seemed to be healing nicely, with her eye opening fully.

I must have been out for at least a few days- the wound was bad.

Along with her healing face, she noticed her wrists were properly wrapped. A quick peak under covers revealed the same for her ankles. Turning her eyes back to Renee, she too had wraps on her wrists and ankles.

When Scarlet came to the conclusion she had nothing she could throw at her friend, she resorted to plan b- snapping and clapping. After a few snaps and no result, Scarlet only needed to clap twice before her friend sat up in a daze.

“Huh-what-wha- Scar? Scarlet! You’re awake!”

I nodded my head, as she stood. Heading to the door, she pressed a button on a small pad next to it, before moving next to her friend. With her hands free, Scarlet was free to sign and talk with her friend.

‘What happened to me?’

“You passed out, the little beat down that Hander gave you was worst then it looked. You’ve been out for a few days, but nothing major has happened.”

‘What happened with you? You look lovely.’

“Aw, thanks, the King showed me to my new room- which is amazing, and told me get cleaned up. There’s a closet filled with different clothes that could last me a year and the bathroom is granite! Then, when I was called for a meeting with him, he told me what my duty as his slave would be- to interpret for you!”

‘What?’

“Yeah, he paid easily 45,000 more gold for me then he could of- just to speak for you! Literally!”

Scarlet nodded her head, and before she could ask another question, the door opened. A woman dressed in matching navy blue scrubs strolled in with a smile on her face. It was clear she was nurse. With a clipboard in hand, she came over to Scarlet, smiling.

“Alas it’s so good to you up miss; you had quite the knock to the face.”

Hanging the clipboard on the wall behind her bed, the nurse grabbed a fresh pair of gloves from a box- which also hung off the wall.

“Let’s take a look and see how you’re healing- and miss Renee you’re next after her.”

“Yes ma’am Dr. Cartson.”

Ah, so she is a doctor, not a nurse. Scarlet thought to herself.

“Now miss Scarlet, this may hurt just a bit, but even it’s too much for you just tell me. I’ll get you fixed up with some nice pain killers.”

The gentle pressure on her on face made Scarlet twitch, but it was nothing horribly painful. The only bad part was when the doctor lifted her eye lid to look inside.

“Alas your face seems to be healing perfectly miss. Now let’s take a look at those wrist and ankles and give them some fresh bandages.”

Looking down to her now bare wrist, they were pink and covered in ugly brown scabs. The doctor put some funky smelling salve on them rewrapping them afterwards. She repeated the process on her ankles and Renee.

“Now girl, you should only need the bandage for maybe another week at the most. I’ll come and visit to make sure all is well with them. Alas we wouldn’t want the King to have another fit, now would we?”

Scarlet looked to Renee, her eyebrows haven fallen again.

‘What does she mean?’

Dr. Cartson watched as Scarlet’s hands fluttered about, before turning to her gaze to Renee.

“What was she saying?”

“She was wondering what you mean by that.”

Dr. Cartson peeled off her gloves as she nodded her head as she tossed them in the trash. She strolled back over to the bed.

“Oh, well miss, when our mighty King discovered that Renee and you have been taken to the dungeon of all places-he had a huge fit! He blew up though, when it was discovered you had passed out from you injures. We thought he was going to destroy the castle- again! Ahaha, but alas, all was well once you came into my care.” Scarlet’s handles flew around again, and Dr. Cartson understood none of it.

“Scar is wondering why the King got so mad, we are only slaves.”

“Because, miss, once you come under the hand of our King- you are treated with the best. The King wants his whole land taken care of and that includes the servants of his home. You two shouldn’t have been taken to the dungeon, you should have been brought straight to me to be seen to. But, alas, a mistake took place and was paid for.”

“Scarlet asked ‘paid for?’”

“Oh yes, the little female servant it was she who took you to the cells, and thus she was the one to pay?”

“Um, Scar, slow down- okay, ‘how was it paid, did she get hurt, is she okay, surly the King was kind on such a young girl.’ Whoa, Scar, relax.” It was clear as day on Scarlet’s face that she was very distraught of the young girl getting some cruel punishment. She was only a child, maybe 16 at the oldest.

“Oh no, alas, the King treats each case rightly as it should be. She comminuted a capital punishment by disobeying a direct order from the King. So she was forced to pay for her deed.”

Scarlet begun to ask what the punishment was as Dr. Cartson turned towards one of the cabinets. Instead of relaying the message on, Renee brought a finger across her throat. With a silent gasp, one of Scarlet’s hands covered her mouth and the other her throat. The rumble of Scarlet’s stomach caused Dr. Cartson to turn from where she was working.

“Alas, I bet you’re hungry, I’ll have lunch sent down right after I give you some pain relief.”

As she strolled over, she pushed a small metal table. Stopping next to the bed, the doctor brushed away her blonde bangs from her forehead.

Clearly she’s human; she does not have the colorings of any other creature.

Lifting the needle up to the light, the doctor pushed back her bangs once more before bending back down. Opening a small side tube on her IV, the doctor stuck the needle in and pushed the pale blue liquid into Scarlet’s body.

“There we go.”

She pulled the needle out, re capping it, and placing it on the table. Moving it away again, she was quick to clean the mess up. Grabbing the clipboard from the wall, she opened the door that was opposite of Scarlet’s bed.

“Lunch shall be in soon. Good day misses.”

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