Queen of Darkness

Chapter 2 - The beginning

Chapter 2 - The Beginning

Once I showed Alex around, we settled down in the living area. Alex sat comfortably on one of the couches sipping on a glass of bourbon. I stood slightly behind him next to the wall-to-wall window, overlooking the city below. The recorder set up on the coffee table. We agreed that I was going to tell him all he needed to know, without any interruptions. We already lost too much time and we needed to make up for it somehow.

Me:" Like I mentioned yesterday... I was born in 1716 into slavery. I was born on a cotton plantation. Slavery was very much a part of that era. My mother was a house maid and was responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of the plantation house. One of a few house maids I might add, the houses were large and cleaning without today's appliances was an endless task.

The reason why she had it easier than most of the other slaves, if you could call that easier, was due to her history. Her grandmother, my great grandmother, a slave that was used by her master for sexual relations then became pregnant with my grandmother as a result thereof.

You have to understand, In those years it was frowned upon to have sex with a slave and yet most men did it never-the-less, They just made sure not to get caught.

Slaves were nothing more than possessions and possessions were owned, used than disposed of. If slaves stepped out of line or tried to run away they were beaten, sometimes severely and sometimes for no apparent reason... sometimes just for amusement.

Slaves who tried to run away were hanged or maimed, there were no consequences for treating slaves badly, no one really cared. It was not a crime to kill a slave up until 1723 and even once it became a criminal offence, it still happened.

Children born to slaves from their white masters were of mixed race and were classified as Mulatto's, but they were still slaves, even if their father was white and even if they in turn were lighter in complexion. These white fathers would never admit to having a child with a slave and would never treat these offspring any different to other slaves, some even went out of their way to get rid of them so that there would be no evidence of what they've done, but mostly they were just another possession. The more slaves you had the richer you were. Slaves could be traded and sold. The strong one's could do hard labour and free labour was how they made money.

My grandmother was born a Mulatto and sold off when she was fourteen. In turn she also became pregnant from her white Master and had yet another Mulatto off-spring... my mother. My grandmother was already lighter in complexion being a Mulatto and having a daughter with her master ensured my mother was also light in complexion. A never ending cycle of white masters impregnating Mulatto slaves making more Mulatto bastards.
My mother's biological father died and left all his inheritance to his only son, Master Michael.

Master Michael was one of a very few good white men in an era where slaves were nothing, he wasn't particularly fond of enslaving people or punishing slaves. And knowing my mother was in fact his half-sister even though that fact was not permitted to be spoken about, he had kindness towards my mother and made her one of the maids in the plantation house to spare her from more strenuous work.

His only other sibling, an older sister, Lady Eleanor married and lived on the next plantation over. The plantation still belonged to Master Michael but because she was his only sibling he allowed her and her husband to live there. Her husband Master Frederick was a fierce and horrid man and needless to say their son, Master Nolan was just as terrible, if not worse. Master Nolan was only 10 years older than me and I grew up with him taunting the slave children, bullying and tormenting us and we couldn't do anything but let him.

My father was also a slave but not a local one. He was what they called an Hm... Yes not much of a name but that's what they called Egyptian slaves. He was bought and brought to the plantation for his strength, and he was Master Michael's most expensive slave and therefore one of his most prized possessions. Unlike local slaves he had a much larger frame, pitch back straight hair, olive skin tone and green eyes. He could also read, write and do math, which was uncommon for a slave and because of how much he cost, and his strength and abilities, He was put in charge of all the other slaves and assisted Master Michael in daily tasks. He was Master Michael's Personal Slave which allowed him to go places and be places other slaves were not allowed to go. I guess you could call him Master Michael's butler in today's terms.