Slave Ship

Slave Ship

 
Imagine spending weeks in the cargo-hold, crammed with naked bodies, some living, some dead, until the crew removed the corpses to throw into the sea. Imagine being fed only small pieces of worm infested biscuits, rotten gruel, and ancient salted meat not fit for maggots, and only being given bracken water or urine to drink. If we refused to eat, we had our teeth knocked out, and were force-fed through a funnel. You are branded, and chained, forced to stand or kneel in your own waste and vomit, for there was no room to lie down...until enough of us had died to be thrown overboard. Not that we did lie down if we still had the strength to stand. The floor of the hold was too vile, but at least later I could kneel or sit to sleep. Those of us who were too tall had to kneel, for the roof of the hatch was low! We couldn't go to the bathroom without going on someone else. You aren't a person. You're property. Cargo. Nothing more. If you fought for your freedom if just to try to jump into the sea when you were brought on deck, you might have had a limb cut off for rebelling, not that I stood a chance, being a small woman. I'd also been dragged on deck a number of times to be raped, for I was a pretty one. Twice, I were raped by one who was chained behind me, but those men were killed before they were even finished with me, perhaps by the one who was behind them. I was in no state to notice, but it was one of the few things that made me happy, though I never found whom my vindicators were. 

 
 I might as well have been a sack of flour. I was ill, and festering. I wasn't sure I was going to make it across the Atlantic alive. I lost track of time long ago, so I had no idea how long I'd been here. I hadn't even been on deck, except for the times I was raped by the ranking crewmembers after having cold ocean water thrown on me to rinse me off the worst of the refuse that had been clinging to me.

 
 My name was Aisling Nolan. A poor young girl on the verge of womanhood who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time! I'd been kidnapped in Aberdeen, Scotland, and I was on a ship to work the sugar plantations of Barbados.

 
 *****

 
 I really thought I wasn’t going to make it. After more than half of us had died in my time out of time, I heard a call on us docking. I don't know if that was good news. I was told by the first mate as he ravished me and ripped me apart; that on the sugar plantations, if you didn't do was expected, you'd get whipped, and left naked in the tropical sun to finish your day's work. He said I was also going to be raped by the black overseers to have babies for my master. Lovely!

 
 I planned to kill every one of them. If I couldn't kill myself before it happened, anyway.

 
 *****

 
What I'd envisioned, and what actually happened were not the same. Yes, I had more water thrown on me along with the rest of us after we were hauled on deck, and I was handled rough as I was taken off the ship with my fellow slaves, not that this did much to really clean us off. It only got rid of the worst. We were still in chains as we were led off the ship. That part of my nightmare came to be as expected! What came next; was not.

 
 A few minutes after I was I was taken off the ship, 'the line' was stopped. A beautiful, young, longhaired, red-blond, well-dressed man pointed to me. He was holding some sort of cloth. He gave the captain some gold coins, and the ring around my neck was unlatched. I collapsed.

 
 I was violently brought to my feet by one of the ship’s yeoman, and the well-dressed man who’d bought me, said, "Leave her! She's mine." His accent was Irish. Would I be shown some sympathy?

 
 I guess so. The cloth the man was holding me was like a friar's robe. He helped put it on me, and then he picked me up to carry me to his horse...or pony, as I'd later find out the stallion was. "What's to happen to me?" I asked.

 
 "You'll get washed up, fed, and allowed to regain your strength. Well decide later."

 
 This wasn't as bad I'd feared but I still planned on killing myself as soon as I could.

 
 The man put me on his mount, and got up behind me. I passed out as he was talking  

 to me about his stallion. He'd handled me very gently.

 
 *****

 
 In a while I was awoken. I was on the grounds of a huge estate with many trees, and a grand house. The man behind me dismounted, and helped me down from Hesper, as his pony was called. It was a strange name I'd never heard of.

 
 I fell to the ground, and was too weak to stand, not that I could have walked very well after the long ride, never having been on a horse before. The man who bought me picked me up, and as he held me in his arms, he told another man of long, fiery hair, "Stefan! Can you groom Hesper for me? It looks like I'm going to be busy for a while." My own hair was red.

 
 Stefan scowled. "She's so little." Another Irish accent!

 
 "We'll take care of her. This one isn't for the fields." Whatever that meant!

 
 I was taken to a room on the ground floor with flattened, cobbled stone, a drainage grid in the floor, a strange, hollowed seat was by the wall, and there was a sink, a tub, a bench, and a mirror. There were bars of soap, and strange bottles of viscous liquids by the tub, and fancy perfume bottles, a brush, and a glass by the sink. I was led to the sink, and given a strange box with a brush of sorts inside, and a capped metal tube. "What's this?" I asked.

 
 "You put what's in the tube on the brush, and wash your teeth with it." He turned a lever on the sink, and water came out of it. I jumped back in shock, never having seen anything like this. "You then rinse your mouth out with water, after. Put the brush in the glass after you're done to use later."

 
 "What is that? How do you get the water like that?"

 
 "We call it indoor-plumbing. It has something to do with water pressure, and the levers are used to stop it, or the room would flood." He pointed at a strange seat, which was hollow in the middle. "That is where you sit to relieve yourself. The paper next to it is to clean up until you get another bath, and after..." he walked over to it, and pressed a lever, "you flush."

 
 I flinched at the noise. "I'd never seen this."

 
 "Toilet. Better than an outhouse. As for the water of the sink and tub, the lever on the right is cold water the lever on the left is hot."

 
 I smiled. "This is how the aristocrats live on Barbados?"

 
 "I'm the only one on the island with this technology," the man said. "I'm Vergil Xanon, by the way."

 
 "I'm Aisling Nolan. Back home, my master was rich, but he had nothing like this."

 
 "You were a house servant?" Vergil asked.

 
 "I was. Will I be the same, here?"

 
 "We'll see. Clean your teeth!"

 
 I looked at the long box the brush was in, and opened it. I opened the tube, and put some of what was in it on the brush. It smelled nice. Like mint. After I put the box down that had contained the brush, Vergil took it, and threw it into an empty basket by the sink. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the basket.

 
 "Garbage basket, for things you don't need anymore."

 
 I nodded. I took the brush to my teeth. It tasted almost sweet. It was pleasant.

 
 My teeth! They were yellow and brown, and I'd lost some of them. After I was finished cleaning them, they were white, when I looked into the mirror. My mouth was also pain free, and I saw white stubs at every space where I'd lost my teeth. "This tooth soap is sorcerous?" I asked.

 
 "Yes." Vergil went to the tub, and turned on the water. It came out fast, and it scared me. He tested the temperature, and adjusted the levers. "Take the robe off, and get in. The water is warm."

 
 "Are you going to rape me, too?"

 
 "Ye gods, NO!!!!!!!!!!! That was horrible, what was done to you and the others. More than half of you died on the voyage, as usual. I'd stop the slave trade if I could, but it's beyond me."

 
 I got out of the robe, and sat in the tub. I was so weak, I didn't know if I'd be able to get out of it again after I was finished. Vergil handed me the soap, and a washcloth which I have no idea where he got, from. The soap smelled very nice. Like some sort of flower, and I'd never seen anything like it. "Same," I said.

 
 "Clean yourself up as well as you can with the water running and the drain open, for now. " Vergil lifted one of the bottles. "This is for your hair."

 
 I nodded, and did as I was told. The liquid for my hair was thick, and it also smelled pleasant and foamed up a lot. I never dreamed anything like this could exist, and it was nice. "This is strange, but I like it," I said. 

 

Vergil barely paid attention to me, and seemed off in his own world as I had my bath. After a while, he came over, he turned the water off, and let what there was drain out. Then he hit another lever, poured another liquid into the tub, and turned the water on again. The water foamed, and was oily, but it smelled good. "Time to heal the wounds on your skin. You don't feel sick anymore either, right?" The tub filled, and the water wasn't drained.

 
 "No." I hadn't even noticed, until he mentioned it. "Are you a wise-man of the old knowledge?"

 
 "I am." When the water was almost to the top of the tub, he turned it off. "Let me get you some clothes." He left me, then.

 

This was bizarre. From the vilest circumstances a girl could be in, I was transferred into a place that was beyond the dreams of royalty. Did I still want to die? But what was in store for me?

 

Vergil had treated me with a respect I’d never know in my entire life. This estate was grander than anything I’d ever seen, and I had even ridden a horse, which I had never even dreamed of doing, even though I was unconscious for most of the trip. And on that horse, I was held in front of the handsomest man I’d ever seen in my life. An Irishman, on top of that, despite his odd, not very Irish name!

 

Vergil had said my skin would heal. I did feel good, now; under this hot, oiled, soapy, pleasantly scented water. I looked at my skin, and it was smooth, with no sores, and it looked paler than I’d remembered it. I also didn’t hurt from having been raped, anymore.

 

When Vergil came back, he was carrying a bag. He placed it carefully on the bench. “Are you about done?” he asked.

 

I suppose I was. “Yes.”

 

He came over to the tub, and pressed the lever to let the water go. “Stay there, and let’s rinse you off. Your hair, too! Hold your head under the faucet when I get the water right.”

 

“All right.” Again, I followed his request.

 

After I got out, he gave me a large towel to dry off, and then he went back to the bench. “We’ll eat after you dress. We don’t eat meat, here. Animals are our brothers and sister.”

 

I nodded, and I liked what he said. I never got much meat, anyway. I had considered it a treat, but it wasn’t food for the house servants. Unless it was the cook, that is, but that wasn’t my job! I’d been one of the cleaning drudges, and errand runners. At least I had clothes to wear, got enough to eat, and a roof over my head. That was more than most of my impoverished class had, and I was glad for it even though I received no salary. My life could have been much worse, for the time. As it had, after I was kidnapped for the slave ship. That was the ultimate nightmare.

 

I kept the towel wrapped around me, as Vergil motioned me toward the bench. I came to him, he reached into the bag, he scowled, and pulled out something I couldn’t believe. Black, satin silk, laced panties. I’d never seen anything like it. Underwear wasn’t part of my uniform. It wasn’t something the lower economic strata had access to, unless they made something of their own when they could; and that wasn’t common. It was considered a wasted effort. I myself had only two dresses and a bonnet. I didn’t even have any shoes, and always went barefoot.

 

The dress I’d been wearing was taken from me before I was loaded on the slave ship, and now I had nothing. My own body didn’t even belong to me. Vergil had bought it.

I put the panties on. “Would you like to look at yourself?” Vergil asked me, as he pointed to the mirror?

 

I looked at him, and then went to the mirror. I opened my towel, and I was stunned! I looked a bit more filled out than the last I time I saw myself. It made no sense, considering I’d been on the verge of either dying of starvation or my illnesses just earlier today. I was positively beautiful. I almost couldn’t believe what I saw. I looked so perfect. I had milky skin with a few freckles here and there, not that they looked bad. “What did you do to me?!”

 

Vergil chuckled. “Not much, really. I bought you, put you on my pony, brought you here, helped you to the ground, led you to this room, and you did the rest.”

 

“How can I look like this?”

 

“How can I answer that? You look like what you look like! Would you like to finish getting dressed?”

 

“All right.” After this, I wondered if I was going to be getting into a fancy gown. I wrapped the towel up around myself again, and walked back to the bench.

 

I went back to the bench, and Vergil handed me a very strange pair of black, soft shiny stockings that went all the way up to the waist, and were put on like pants. “These are odd,” I said.

 

“New style.”

 

I put them on. Next he handed me thick, leg hugging stocking that would go halfway up my calves. I took them, and put them on. This was so odd. Next, he handed me something I’d never seen before. “What is this, and how do I wear it?”

 

“It’s called a leotard top.” He took it, and held it up to himself. “You wear it like this, and you just step into it.”

 

I nodded, and took it back. It covered my breasts, was very low in the back, and it had shoulder straps, but it didn’t cover any part of my arms. I put the towel on the bench, and looked down at my form-fitting outfit. I had no idea if this was it. It wasn’t very modest, but it covered me. “Will I have shoes?”

 

He smiled at me. “You’ll have boots, like mine,” he said.

 

I scowled. “Men’s boots?” That was unheard of, for a lass to wear.

 

He winked, and pulled a set of black breeches from the bag. “Aye. Better for you, for now.”

 

I smiled. “You’re giving me men’s clothes?”

 

“Easier to ride in. We only have one kind of saddle here. We have women’s clothes for you too.”

 

I got into the breeches. “These fit so well. How did you do this?”

 

He shrugged. “I don’t make too many mistakes any more.” He pulled some brand new boots of the bag. “Stefan dresses kind of like this. These are practical clothes.”

 

“The red haired man who took your pony!”

 

“Aye. Want to look at yourself again?”

 

“In fact, I do,” I said. I went back to the mirror, and I really liked what I saw. “These clothes are pretty.”

 

“One more thing,” said Vergil, as he pulled a puffy sleeved, lacy white shirt from the bag. I had to pull it over my head, and tie some thick white strings around my neck to secure it. “If you like, I also bought some perfumes for you.”

 

I put it on, and went back to the mirror. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I then went back to the sink and sprayed one of the perfumes on my wrist. It smelled like some flowers I’d never smelled before. I loved it. I put some on my neck, and in my hair. “What am I?” I asked Vergil, when I walked back to him.

 

He cocked his head. “Hungry, I imagine. Let’s go to the dining room.”

 

*****

 

I was amazed at what I saw. There was a long table, and some people were already eating. There was a man with very black hair, and slanted eyes like I’d never seen before with the most beautiful, olive skinned, black haired woman I ever saw in my life. There was also a white man with glowing red eyes who looked just like Vergil, Stefan was there, and a beautiful black couple. I’d been threatened I’d have a black overseer who would act as a stud for me, but I’d never seen a black person before. All the slaves who were with me were kidnapped poor, children, or ‘criminal’ whites, whose only crime had been trying to survive.

 

The table was laden with all kinds of dishes which smelled heavenly, and which I’d never seen before. There were rich sauces, breads, teakettles, and pitchers of different coloured, fruity smelling liquids.

 

The white man who looked like Vergil said, “Why, hello; Aisling. I’m Keith, and welcome to our house. Help yourself to whatever you want.”

 

“Hello, everyone.” I just had to smile. “Is everyone Irish here?”

 

The slanted eyed man said, “By proxy. I’m Ronin, the lovely lady at my side is Deliah, the dear ones across from me are Tonya and Andre, and I believe you’ve already met Stefan.” Yes, he had an Irish accent, too.

Everyone waved at me.

 

I looked at the table. I have no idea where to start,” I said as I looked at Vergil.

 

He shrugged, and took a plate. He put rice on it, poured a thick green, soupy vegetable over it, spooned out some lentils in a yellow sauce, some battered, fried vegetable, and some other vegetables in a thick, yellow sauce. He put a thin piece of oily bread with bits of garlic and onion on it on my plate, and put it before me. Then he poured some tea into my cup, and a cloudy white liquid in my glass. He put the same things on his own plate, and I waited for him to come back before I started eating.

 

It was the best food I’d ever had in my life. I ended up having three platefuls, and a desert of what I was told was passionfruit mousse pie with whipped cream. I swear I still had room, but I didn’t eat any more.

 

“Are you strong enough for a ride, now?” asked Vergil, as we finished our meals.

 

I shrugged. “It seems I am, though I don’t know why. Hours ago, I was almost dead.”

 

Stefan coughed, and covered his mouth. He also seemed to be struggling not to laugh.

 

Vergil looked at him. “Steffy-poo! Be good, and I’ll pet your nose after we get back, all right?”

 

The whole table broke out in chuckles, along with me; considering what Vergil had said, though nonsensical, was rather funny.

 

Stefan nodded, laughing quite hard. “Thank you.”

 

I looked at Vergil. He smiled, and said, “It’s a private joke. You’ll find out all about it very soon.”

 

I shrugged. “All right. I think I’m going to like working here, but what is it I’ll be doing?”

 

“Now, just going for a ride. Take a break and recover from your horrid journey to this place. Stef, I think Shiva would be good for Aisling to ride.”

 

“If he’s willing, which I’m sure he will be, for the rubdown I’m going to give him after he’s done,” said Stefan.

 

“I’d verify with him,” said Vergil.

 

Stefan closed his eyes. “He’s game. I’ll go to the stables with you.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

I had no idea what anyone was talking about.

 

*****

 

Shiva was a beautiful grey pony with a black mane and tail, and black feathers. He also had a stripe going down his back, and a black nose. I almost couldn’t believe I’d be riding such a fine animal. A halter was put on him, along with a real light saddle. Vergil told me never to kick him, or handle him rough. I was warned if I did such a thing, I would end up being thrown, and possibly attacked. In fact, it was suggested that I just give him the lead, and let him do what he wanted with no input from me. He was smart enough to do that I was told, and I’d let him.

 

When we rode away from the house, we went to the back of it. There was a wide trail we took, in a heavily wooded forest. It was much cooler from when I’d been brought here. The trees also looked different. It was almost like back home in Aberdeen, but a little warmer. “I haven’t seen any plantations,” I said.

 

“There are none by this house,” said Vergil.

 

“And you’re not telling me what I’m supposed to do for you. Why you bought me! You paid a high price for me in gold! I saw it.”

 

“Let me tell you after we get home. It won’t be bad, but first tell me what you would like to do.”

 

“I don’t know. I never thought of it. I used to think only of survival. After my parents more or less sold me to Master Phillip Devon, I just had to finish the tasks they gave me. I mostly had to clean things, like scrub the floors, dishes, dust, and laundry. I was also sent to market, and delivered messages. When I was on my way to the market, I was abducted for the slave ship. It happened all the time.

 

“Working for the Devon estate was hard, but Master Devon was rather kind. I was well fed, and I got a small room with a pallet that I only had to share with one other servant lass. Mistress Sarah Devon liked me, too. She would sometimes feed me a pastry, but it was nothing like here,” I said. “I’ve never had clothes this good, and the bath I had with those soaps for my hair and body were something not even Mistress Devon had. Water had to be gotten from the well, and heated; and they only had baths during the warm months, maybe once every week or two. Usually everyone used washbasins, and I only had soap from lye and lard. It didn’t smell as good as yours.”

 

“I have an unfair advantage over the Devons, and I’ll tell you all about that in the same conversation we’ll have in as to what you are to me.” 

“You look young to have all this land.”

 

“I’m older than I look,” said Vergil.

 

“Do you have a wife?”

 

He laughed. “That wouldn’t be possible.”

 

Too bad! “Why does Keith have red glowing eyes, and is he your brother?”

 

The eyes aren’t natural, and we’re not related. Nothing about him is natural. He’s of the Sidhe. In fact, so am I.”

 

I nodded. “I think I’m beginning to understand. Am I still where I was, or in your land.”

 

He smiled, and rode closer to me. “You’re very perceptive, and very intelligent. You are in my native realm. I also have another name, but that will wait a little while.”

 

I closed my eyes, and smiled. “I think I owe you my life.”

 

“And to tell you the truth, I have no use for it.”

 

“Why did you take me? Why am I here, not that I have any complaints. This is a fortune too good to be true.”

 

“Aisling, you are supposed to be here. It is your destiny. You were to meet me when you were sixteen.”

 

“I didn’t even know how old I was, not that it ever mattered.”

 

“Let’s turn back home,” he said as he turned his pony.

 

Shiva followed Hesper’s moves. “All right,” I said. “Can you tell me why you said you’d pet Stefan’s nose?”

 

He sighed. “As you noted, Stefan has a very large nose, and he pretends to live for it. A lot of jokes are told about that nose, and he also has a lot of jokes pertaining to cannibalism; but don’t take him seriously. He’s somewhat of a prankster, and can be quite amusing.”

 

“Is Stefan one of your servants?”

 

“We work together. I wouldn’t call him a servant. You might be the same as he, in some respects. Occupationally.”

 

“What do you do?”

 

“Now? Mostly art. We play music, we paint and draw, and other things.”

 

“I’m no artist,” I said.

 

“Would you like to be?”

 

“I’ve never thought about it, but I suppose it’s not a bad thing to be.”

 

“It’s not. In fact, it’s a very good thing to be. I’ll train you well if you have a knack for it.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

*****

 

When we were almost home, the ground was different. The dirt trail became cobbled, and it was never like that. Also, the house was gone. In its place was a castle, and there was a moat around it. “What is this?” I asked.

 

Vergil extended a hand to me. “It’s my home, as it is. Not the illusion I had you see earlier.”

 

“This looks like where I came from. The trees, the cold, everything.”

 

“We’re close to where you came from. Just west of it, across the sea to the southwest of the isle of Eire.”

 

I took his hand, and the ponies stopped. I knew the legends. “You are Donn?”

 

He nodded. “Donn, son of Midir the Proud. Welcome to my home.”

 

I smiled, as I looked into his beautiful, wide, black eyes. “I died on the slave ship.”

 

“As you had to, to atone yourself to yourself when you were on the other side of your last experience.” He drew back his hand from me, and dismounted.

 

I also got off Shiva.

 

Donn opened his arms, and invited me into his embrace.

 

After we wrapped ourselves around each other, I came to know everything that happened and why in this life, my last life, and all others before it.

 

I also knew this had been my last, thank the gods!