Miss Edwards found herself dressed in an elegant white dress and making her way out onto the streets. She truly hated leaving the rich gardens behind her, however tomorrow was the Blood Oath ceremony, and currently she only had one that she wished to be Bound. She almost found herself curling her lip at the thought of Tyler. Sure he was good at cleaning, however he was easily replaceable, and that attitude! She couldn't stand his face, constantly creased with a frown. It didn't do to have such a displeasing face mar her perfect household. Today he should be either cleaning something of hers of helping the other two with the preparations for the Blood Oath ceremony. He of course was an easy choice, though until tonight he wouldn't know he was chosen. None of them would until tonight, when the final preparation were set out. She'd given strict instructions to both Jason and Evangeline regarding the preparation and was almost looking forward to the night.
She continued her pace down to the slave markets. She needed a girl to get rid off, one that hopefully would be caught easily or at the very least be annoying so that she could rid the world of another useless servant. As she finally arrived, she found herself in the middle of a bid. A small delicate looking girl was on the platform, evidently needing a bath and new clothes, while people started the bids. Angela took the girls appearance in. Terrified green eyes, long dark hair and thin, weak looking frame. It was a shame really that the bidding was already taking place. She would probably not make it five miles away, making her a nice easy catch.
Miss Edwards let her eyes rove over to the rest of the slave groups. Just behind the girl was a Native American girl, how also had a fragile appearance. The girl looked slightly familiar, and Miss Edwards had the distinct feeling she'd seen the girl at the slave market many times before. In fact the more she looked at her, she was certain this was the case. The girl must constantly be being resold, which evidently showed she was not worth much. Seeing this was the case, Angela quickly decided she would be joining Tyler. She looked weak making her an easy target and seeing no one wanted her, wasn't much good as a servant. A slight smile passed over Miss Edwards features, it was an easy choice, meaning she would be out of this filthy market place and in the safety of her own home soon enough.
She fingered the gold wrist band waiting in one of the volumous pockets of her dress. Once bought a slave instantly had to be labelled so that escape was less possible and it would be easy to return them to their masters. She herself made all her slaves where a simple silver wrist band, like a cuff. A simple A.E was carved into each one ensuring she would not loose any of her servants.
She'd purposefully bought a small size, deciding that whoever she chose must be weak. Evidently she'd been right. Now all that was left to do was wait until the green eyed brat was sold, so she could purchase the one behind her.
Jason glanced over his mistress's instructions. He was feeling distinctly uncomfortable about being asked to prepare the elements for tonight. The more tasks his mistress gave him, the more worried he was about the choosing tonight. He most definitely wouldn't be Bound, but in his opinion being a Hunter was far worse. After all failure would result in torture and then death, and success would label him a murderer. He felt sick, and immediately turned his thoughts back to the list. What he had to prepare wasn't helping anything.
He'd been ordered to deliver the kitchen staffs instructions on the feast. It seems Miss Edwards would be celebrating getting rid of her least favourite slaves tonight. This, however was not what was bothering him. Further down the list was strict instructions on where to find the brand and how to stoke the fire down in the cellar. The reminder of the brand made his scalp prickle with unease. The night before the Blood Oath ceremony, both Bound were to be branded with the specifically designed brand. It was a long piece of metal, with a small iron "x" soldered to the end. On the eve of the Blood Oath ceremony, the brand was placed in the fire until white, before being carefully placed on each of the Bound's left side of the neck.
Jason shivered involuntarily. This was another reason not to be a Hunter. In his household it was customary for the Hunters to execute the branding in front of the Master. The male Hunter to brand the female Bound and vice versa. He still couldn't rid himself of the sounds of the last celebrations Bound as the brand was applied to their necks. Both had been found a week later…
Jason refused to think of what happened after that. He continued looking down through the instructions while fingering the gold wrist band. He hated the thing. It was a constant reminder that there was no more freedom. Every time he considered taking it off, however, his back would ache with the slight reminiscence of his last escape attempt. The result had been a large, pink scar diagonally down his back. His muscled back had been laid open by a sword by Miss Edwards instructions. She had witnessed it, making sure it was executed to her standards. Just before she'd left she'd made sure to remind Jason why he had received it, and warn him in her silky voice that it was best to not try again. She left then, giving instruction to beat him senseless. After that he hadn't dared try again. He found himself fingering the tip of the scar in his left shoulder with his fingers, before sighing slightly and striding down the hallway.
The only upside to his current predicament was the presence of Evangeline. Truly he was completely smitten by her. He couldn't help it. He found her quite simply stunning ,and liked the presence of her company. Seeing that Miss Edwards had implied he was to get help, Jason had quickly decided who that would be. As he was passing in the hallway, he noticed Tyler. The sight of the boy gave Jason a quick stab of fear for him. Tyler currently wasn't a favourite with Miss Edwards, which wasn't much of a secret...and with the ceremony looming...Jason shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought.
He gave Tyler a quick nod in acknowledgement before continuing down the hall. While he wasn't strictly allowed to speak to the other slaves, Jason, with his current position, was allowed a few leniency's. Even so, it was always good to be on the safe side with Miss Edwards. It wasn't uncommon for other slaves to attempt to climb higher up the ladder with a few unnecessary tales. Especially today. Feeling heavy, Jason finally managed to find Evangeline. He found his face lighting up slightly at the sight of her, but forced himself to control it.
"Miss Edwards left us a few instructions" was all he said, though his eyes told different stories. He handed her the list allowing her to read it for herself.
The growing number of people in the market place made Arya feel sick with apprehension. She'd already watched a dozen or so people sold, and she could feel the line in front of her grow steadily shorter. Her hands were bound awkwardly behind her back, and feet were shackled together to minimize the possibility of escape. Her throat was raw from the lack of moisture and her stomach felt hollow and empty. Everyone around her seemed different. She stood out like a sore thumb amongst the locals, her pale skin standing in stark contrast to the darker tones around her. One of the slave masters grabbed a club and hit her harshly on the back of the head. She let out a pained gasp, but shuffled forward slightly. The stocky young lad in front of her was forced forward and she watched as the crowd started to place bets on him. The whole process made Arya feel completely worthless as the bidding grew louder and soon a wooden placard was hung around his neck saying simply "sold".
The boy was quickly taken away and handed over to his new master. All of the bidding was like this. There was simply no way to escape. As soon as you were sold, your feet were unshackled and you were taken straight to your new master end of story. Something sharp dug into her back as she was forced forward and onto the rough platform. Her green eyes widened at the sight of so many people, and she found herself unconsciously stepping backwards before one of the men shoved her forward again. Her mouth went dry as the man selling her began to highlight her good features. All Arya managed to notice were the words "serving girl" and "cooking" as the rest of the words went into a blur.
She was forced to stand there as the man continued to talk her up. Her tattered white dress was torn and dirty, her long black hair now tangled and unkempt. She could just imagine how many would want a half starved girl of sixteen, that obviously did not have much strength to her.
Seeing that he wasn't having much luck on swaying the crowd to buy her at more expensive price, he tried a different tact.
"...and of course after you use her for the serving and cooking, there's always the option for a cheaper bound slave."
Arya's face transformed into shock. She'd only heard of Bound servants briefly on the ship. They were simply described as the least favoured slaves that were up for the worst type of punishment. No one bothered enlightening her further. Surely they couldn't already decide to punish her already? She hadn't even been bought yet...she briefly wondered what exactly being Bound would entail, but quickly decided against the thought process. If it was worse than some of the other punishments listed, she didn't want to here about it.
Another pang of hunger hit her hard, and she swayed slightly, before one of the men gripped both her arms holding her steady it wouldn't do to have her collapse and only add to her undesirable features. She glanced behind her, finding the next person in line, waiting for her part to be over.
The girl behind her was obviously Native American, and very delicate looking. Truly she was rather beautiful to look at, her deep blue eyes and tanned skin giving a stunning contrast. Arya's head was suddenly wrenched around to face the crowd. Evidently the bidding was beginning. The girl behind her probably wouldn't have any trouble being sold.