Selah has been captured by a fugitive mob and sent to the New Frontiers Brothel. At New Frontiers Brothel women can be purchased to serve an indentured servitude to the single men who need companionship, and to the families with disabilities or lack...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
April 1, 1865
Selah had forgotten about the tedious life of travel after she was kept at the brothel for so long. She forgot that her days consisted of nothing but listening to the rhythm of hooves hitting the ground. While she was awake, sometimes Selah would eavesdrop on the conversations the men were having. She learned her owner's name was Noah and that they would be traveling for at least another month. They hardly talked to her about anything. if it wasn't Noah being completely annoyed by her or Samuel laughing and pointing out the things he thought funny about her mannerisms. Internally, she was fed up with being stuck in the back every day.
That day when the wagon came to stop and Noah and Sam stated they needed to gather supplies for camping out for the night. Selah tried to offer to help them. hoping to escape the confines of the back of the wagon. Sam unsurprisingly laughed in her face. He grabbed her right arm and dangled it in the air.
"What are you gonna do with these things Selah? Carry twigs for the fire?" it was the first time Samuel said her name since he asked her a few nights ago. It surprised her how friendly he sounded when he said it, like he'd known her for years. Selah pulled her arm back inspecting and rubbing her wrist. She had the smallest smile on her face hearing her name for the first time in so long. It made her feel human, like she wasn't property of someone else.
When she lifted her gaze she saw Noah's unpleased expression and realized any hopes of following them would not be taken seriously.
"No. You'll stay right here. You better be in that same spot when we get back, do you hear me?" Noah demanded, looking in her eyes for a second too long like before. He was always capable of making her feel like a silly weak little girl, like she was some problem he was forced to deal with and not one that he chose to buy. She hated it, she felt bored and useless, but she knew it could be much worse.
"Yes, sir." she sighed, not looking at him.
"Alright, we'll be back. Don't get in any trouble, we won't be able to hear you." with that he picked up his axe and headed for the forest with Samuel lazily trotting behind.
..............
When the men were out of sight Selah hopped off the edge of the cart. She began pacing, she didn't realize her actions were kicking up dirt. When she stopped and looked down she saw her cream colored dress was filthy. She quit pacing and she lay face up on the ground to stare at the sky.
When she was back at home her and her sister would constantly imagine what shapes the clouds were making. It was a never ending game, one they could play all day, because the sky never ended. She always found that comforting. Knowing that everyone in the world could look up and see different pieces of the same sky, connecting them all to something much bigger. The sky was God's greatest artwork.
She looked at a cloud shaped like a flower and thought of her mother, then a cloud in the shape of a horse that her little brother would've loved, and a cloud shaped like a beautiful ball gown she knew her sister would love. For the first time in so long Selah felt a little bit of peace. She felt like her family was in the clouds, and if she were strong enough and tall enough she could manage to get up there to be with them again.
........................
Selah hadn't realized she fell asleep until the sound of lumber falling near her woke her up. She pulled herself off of the ground to wipe the grass off her skirts, trying to adjust herself. She didn't know her hair looked like a full on hay stack until Samuel pointed it out.
Selah had to use the back of a silver pan to see her reflection and attempt to remove the debris. When she got nearly all of it out she took her wooden brush and ran it through her tangled hair.
She was so wrapped up in herself she didn't notice Noah staring at her yards away. He stopped stacking wood a few moments when he noticed her battling with her hair. She set down the brush and ran her fingers through her puffed out hair. He was unable to tear his gaze away.
Her long brunette hair framed her face in such an appealing way, and the sunlight shining created a halo affect around her. She had an oval shaped face and her eyes were a bright hazel color. Her nose was small and she had bow-like, pouty lips. She was a slender, rather petite woman with a small bust and slightly rounded hips. Her striking unblemished skin was the color of cinnamon and amber. Noah had never seen a woman like her before, she was completely unique in her beauty. He was tormented and enraptured by her.
Sam came up behind Noah and clapped him on his back to acknowledge that he caught him staring. Noah straightened up and grabbed another piece of wood and returned to his task. He briefly looked to see if she had noticed him staring, but she was still squinting at her reflection trying to tame her hair into a braid.
He was relieved he wasn't caught. He wouldn't know how to react to her catching him ogling her. Though he never said outright that he didn't purchase her for sexual purposes, he figured after two months of him being standoffish towards her, she had come to understand by now that was not what she was meant to do.
He did notice that Selah felt much more comfortable being around Samuel than she did around him. Understandably though, Noah kept her at a distance for a reason. Samuel had nothing to lose, his personality made him incredibly annoying more often than not, but it was easy to feel comfortable in his presence.
........................
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
