The upcoming tournament

Although Moremi was almost passed out in her trauma, she could still faintly hear the voice that spoke. Her eyes forced open when she overheard the report and briefly, relief washed over her.

The warden frowned and gritted his teeth at those words.

The captain, of all times...had decided now would be better to speak with him?

His hungry eyes hovered above Moremi as she attempted to turn around, trying to wriggle herself out of his grip but he held her in place.

"Tell the captain I'm busy." He said, his voice thick with desire.

Returning his gaze to the girl, he dragged her closer to himself once more.

He might as well finish what he started anyway.

But the person behind the door was adamant. Knocking again, he shouted, "I think it's urgent, Warden Nathan. Lord Louis is with him and you know how impatience he gets. Suspend whatever shit you're doing and get your ass to the quarters," he stated and vanished from there.

The warden groaned, hearing Lord Louis's name. Louis owned this slave establishment which explained why his name carried weight.

His eyes fell to Moremi, her body trembling, her hair a mess and her skin marked and raw.

"Count your miserable self lucky," he sneered at her, his voice low and cold. "If it weren't for that bastard…"

He pushed her away from his hold to see her hit the ground. She heaved for breath when she could finally feel her consciousness slip in.

Her body curled, horrified, her back still to the wall with her arms wrapped over her chest, covering her bare body as tears streamed down her face.

She watched as he yanked his trousers back up, re-buckling with deliberate slowness before arranging himself and walking over to the door, unlocking it, then kicking it open.

He grabbed his whip and coat he had left outside, throwing it over his shoulder before pausing and sparing her one last glance, "If I come back," he warned, "you better be exactly where I left you."

Then he slammed shut the door behind him.

A sobbing Moremi sat frozen as she tried to cover a handful of her nakedness. She ran to the pieces of her dress that laid on the ground, tattered, trying to find any part that was still wearable, but there was none.

Suddenly, the door bust open again, scaring her to death as she looked over to see a black woman, buff in size, gazing at her with little to no expression.

Moremi instinctively covered her body, a wave of shame clouding her.

"W-who are you?" She asked in confusion. It was a dark-skinned lady like her, just that her clothing was different. She wore a tunic, a white people's dress code Moremi had taken note of since she got here.

The woman didn't say a word as she stepped inside but there was a flicker of something in her eyes. She held a cloth in hand— it was a gown worn by slaves. Shoving it over to her to see her grasp it for coverage, she finally opened her mouth,

"Head to the stream immediately and wash yourself. Then head back to the confinement room. Don't say i didn't tell you." She muttered and the next second, she was out of there.

Moremi pinched her brows, finding it strange. The woman's accent sounded clipped like the white men's. Was the woman trying to help her?

It didn't matter.

She stood up right after and did as she was told, finding the stream and washing herself before putting on the plain gown she had been given.

Fortunately for her, she had met no one around. She went back to the room she was brought from in the morning. There were a few slaves inside and Moremi was thankful for that. She didn't want to be alone by the time anyone came looking.

Far away from the horror other slaves were facing, Moremi slept like a baby inside the building.

_______

"Captain George, you sent for me." Nathan, the warden from earlier had reached the quarters, met with George and Lord Louis.

He gave a curt bow to Lord Louis, his face grim, wondering what the important occasion was for the lord to summon him.

"You came late." Lord Louis looked annoyed, holding a cigarette in his right hand as his face reddened.

"I apologize, my lord. These slaves can be a handful." He replied with head low, like he was truly sorry, but deep down, he was cursing at him for ruining his good time.

Louis didn't beat around the bush. To him, these traders were vermin—necessary, but undeserving of his time.

"Prince Rhain has summoned his amusements for tomorrow's spectacle," Louis muttered, dragging on his cigarette. "Apparently, starvation makes them more... spirited."

George and Nathan locked eyes with each other before Nathan gathered the courage to ask, "How many of them, my lord?"

"At least, a hundred. He hasn't fed his pets in seven days." He answered and Nathan's eyes balled.

"A hundred?" He looked to George.

"But my lord..." George was the one to speak next as Lord Louis turned to him.

"Donating a hundred slaves from our establishment is going to wreck the business." He explained, parting his mouth in shock.

"You think i don't know that?" Lord Louis questioned, sounding irritated. "Of course, i know what would happen if we release that much slaves from the establishment but prince Rhain is insistent. The asshole wants all hundred from us. Says we have the most... entertaining." He spat with annoyance before turning back to Nathan.

"Gather a hundred slaves. Men. Women. Children. Whatever the hell we have left. Make sure to target the ones we don't need." He ordered before rubbing his chin in thought, "I'd try speaking with the king after the tournament for a bargain. We'll be heading to the castle tommorow. " he buttressed in final and didn't wait for them to speak or protest before he stood and left the room.

Captain George and Nathan now remained, staring at each other in silence.

They knew what the upcoming tournament meant for the castle, especially prince Rhain. He valued his amusement more that anything. If they failed to comply, he was not only going to make sure they lost a hundred slaves from their establishment...he would make certain they had no establishment at all.

"Get all the slaves we brought to Valencia last night. They should be up to a hundred." George told Nathan and he immediately nodded.