The Songs of Loss, book one : Armanth

Chapter 7 - Sonia

Chapter 7 - Sonia

The three slaves had not seen Sonia or Priscius again. Magenta, the slave who had watched over them during the educator's absence, waited for what seemed like an eternity, never allowing any of the three captives in training to speak or move. The slightest failure to do so resulted in the discharge of the goad. She seemed to have no more mercy than her colleague, but she had retained the warning and the discharges were weak. Sonia was Magenta's superior, and she called her mistress, as she would have done to a free woman out of respect.

Magenta was Sonia's assistant and, unofficially, her scapegoat. The slave was in her thirties and belonged to Priscius, who had educated her himself since her fifteenth birthday. She was so named for the color of her eyes, which were bright pink, a rare trait exclusive to the peoples of the Imareth archipelagos. Before Sonia's arrival, Magenta had been the slave owner's sole educator; but the latter, in her capacity as Languiren, had easily dethroned her five years earlier. She was still one of Priscius' favorites, but she'd had a rough time of it when she'd been demoted to second-in-command of the household girls, which was nothing compared to her frustration and anger at Sonia's despicable tricks. Unlike Sonia, Magenta was not only unfailingly obedient, but almost military in the discipline she imposed on the captives-in-training, whereas Sonia seemed to disdain compliance with Priscius' orders, unless it served her interests or her job as educator.

More than two hours passed in painful torment for the three young women, an ordeal made all the more cruel by the fact that the slightest attempt to move was inevitably punished, and that, forced into immobility, they were also suffering from thirst. The more rebellious of the two sisters, still gagged, made several furious attempts at bravado, but to no avail. Finally, as the day drew to a close, one of Priscius' henchmen came to untie them. With a snarling bark, he chased Magenta away and meticulously proceeded to attach each girl's collar to the next, releasing them from the rings as he went. He treated them like cattle, ensuring their docility.

The older of the two Earth girls, decidedly stubborn, tried to fight him off and hit him hard. The backhand slap he gave her looked as if it might have stunned a buffalo, and she rolled to the ground, stunned. Lisa screamed in fear. As for Cénis, she held back a frightened scream with a snap of her jaws.

Lisa tried to stand up to help her elder sister. Cénis let out a "no! "She knew full well what would happen if the young woman intervened. Her principled contempt for the barbarian had just given way to the instinct to preserve a comrade from their fateful fate. Magenta, whom Priscius' assistant had swatted away like a fly, stood a few steps away and stepped back, observing the scene torn between fear and interest.

The eldest was suffocating, dazed. Above her, the man unhooked from his belt a flat whip, as long as two hands, made of smooth, stiff leather. He delivered a volley of blows, aiming at her thighs, back, buttocks and even the arm the young woman was holding out to protect herself from her tormentor. Shouting orders that Lisa could no more understand than her older sister, he forced her back to her place, almost crawling under the blows that scorched the air and slammed into her skin, making her blush. The young redheaded captive cried out in supplication, at the same time as her elder sister wept in pain. Cénis, livid and frozen, was retching, and Magenta had disappeared, opting for cautious flight, preferring not to find herself targeted too, taking with her the sting and her load of Loss-metal, unaware that she had just accomplished a gesture of great prudence as Lisa's terror grew.

Amidst the cries and daze of the three captives, Priscius' assistant completed his task before pulling on the rope attached to Cénis' collar to force her to follow, dragging along the other two, all three hands still tied behind their backs. Crossing the garden, he guided the trio, heedless of the stumbling footsteps and complaints of the slaves whose legs, after so long on their knees, were giving way. They were led into the cellars of the estate, where the cages were located.