Wild Cat Ch. 02

Author's Note: This is not a stroke story, so I'm sorry if that's what you expect. Later in the narrative I will have sexual activity, but non-consent is something that disgusts me, so I refuse to write about it. Also, this isn't intended to be historically accurate in anyway, but it is set in Ancient Egypt before the North and South joined. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it.

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Juniper's hand caressed her cousin's hair mindlessly to the rhythm of the rocking cart. The three carts had rested at dawn and they were given water, but it hadn't been enough. Juniper had managed to keep alert for a while, but every now and then she nodded off. The deep breathing of her cousin was both reassuring and worrying. Juniper's once-blue dress was now stained with blood and dirt, and rent in several places where the men had dragged her to the cart. They had no shelter inside the cage, and dawn had been hours ago.

Now the six women and three children lay in a tumbled heap on the floor of the cart. They were headed north, which Juniper could tell easily. She worried for her cousin, she hadn't woken for the water and the wound on her temple had ceased seeping blood. She still breathed, but she was unaware of anything. They couldn't rouse her. The babe inside still moved, Juniper could see it through the thin cloth of her dress.

She looked across at the other two carts, one ahead and one behind. They also contained women and children, mainly female. In all she only could see about thirty captive from the raid. She wondered where the men were, where her brother's guard were and why they hadn't protected her father. Anger boiled up inside her, but she quelled it quickly, knowing she couldn't afford to expel her energy right now. She resumed the stroking of her cousin's hair.

At midday the men stopped, threw blankets over the tops of the cart, affording them little reprieve from the worst of the sun's heat, and then lay down beneath the carts to sleep. There were guards still prowling and the dogs occasionally leapt at the cages if a limb was exposed through the bars. After the worst of the heat had passed, they woke and readied themselves to move off. This time there seemed to be more commotion.

The men shouted to each other, and some of the women from the carts were shifted to others. Juniper's cousin was slapped into consciousness and dragged to the third cart. Three girls in their early womanhood were thrust into the cart in her cousin's place. They cowered in the back, while Juniper growled at the man who had brought them. She watched as her cousin settled blindly among some older women. Then the third cart moved off, heading towards the east, where the land was more fallow and there were farms all year round. As the cart jerked into movement, Juniper knew if she had enough moisture in her body she would cry.

They slept a little in the afternoon, and the carts' progress north was slower than before due to the afternoon heat. As dusk approached, Juniper saw a mirage on the horizon. It was moon rise before they came to the city. Juniper stared in fascination at the sights, she'd never seen houses made from stone. The young girls huddled together and hid their faces at the people teeming on the streets. Juniper watched old men courting young girls who were lewd in their actions. She saw old women begging on the streets or selling rags and scraps of metal for coins.

They turned into a large courtyard, which was almost empty save a few old mangy cats padding through the darkness. Around the edges Juniper could see wooden fences, sectioning off small areas. She had no idea what this place might be.

The men hitched up the carts and threw the blankets over them, again crawling between the wheels to sleep.

Dawn rose with a haze of human stench hanging over the squat sandstone buildings. The two carts were given plenty of water to drink, and then to wash themselves lightly, before being backed into a pen. The men seemed to be bargaining with a fat man about something, when one of them gestured to Juniper. The man cast her a sly look and nodded to one of the raiders. He opened the rear cart, advancing in slowly as Juniper backed away snarling. The man made a grab for her but she moved out of the way, almost hitting one of blades which had been thrust into the cart to deter the others from aiding her. She felt the man's hand close around the top of her arm and she twisted to release his grip, but he dragged her from the cage.

Once they were stood before the fat man she stopped struggling and shrank back from his touch. The raiders spoke in a language Juniper had never heard and the man nodded.

"You are fire demon?" He said with a heavy accent. She snarled and snapped her teeth, but turned her face from him. He muttered to one of the men, who answered encouragingly. Their attention turned back to her. "You understand this tongue, yes? Your father was very wily to bed a fire demoness and have her produce a child. Such a beautiful child." He attempted to hold her chin, but she yanked her face away. "I know who will pay a high price for you." He nodded to the men, who released her into the grips of the fat man's guards.

Juniper let out a blood curdling scream as men with dark skin hauled her away, picking her up off her feet. She watched as the other women in the cart reached out for her and called her name. She tore at the grip of the men who held her, but only received a shake in return. She was thrown into a small room which smelt of earth and had no light. The man slammed the door behind her, and she threw herself against it, pounding it with her fists and feet.

When her throat was ragged with screaming and her hand bloodied from the rough wooden door, she slid into a corner and watched the light increase as the sun rose.

Time didn't seem to pass, muffled noise rose to an incomprehensible murmur outside, yet she couldn't make out any individual sounds. There was a crowd, which increased as the day wore on. Finally in mid-morning the door opened. Juniper shuffled back into the furthest corner to fool them into thinking she wasn't there. Three women stood in the doorway, clothed in black from head to toe. Juniper could only see their eyes.

They cooed softly as they slowly approached Juniper. One held up a lantern and set it into a recess in the wall, sending soft light over the small room. They shut the door behind them, and Juniper heard a bar being shifted over it. The shortest woman set down a bucket of sweet smelling water, and produced a brush from her dress. The one who had the lantern also had a white coarse linen dress over her arm. The third, the tallest, approached Juniper softly with her arms outstretched, as if Juniper was a dangerous dog they were trying to gain the trust of.

"I am Fatima, and this is Galla and Leah." She murmured, dropping to her knees in the damp mud floor. "What is your name?" Juniper's eyes darted from one woman to the next. With a gesture from Fatima, the other two also dropped to their knees.

"I am named Juniper." Fatima inclined her head slightly. "Where am I? Where are my family?"

"They have likely already been sold-"

"Sold?" Juniper exclaimed.

"Yes, sold. Fresh slaves rarely stay long here, as they are the hardiest and have not yet developed bad habits from previous owners." Juniper was silent as she attempted to process this information. She had guessed it already, but to have it confirmed broke her heart. "We are here to get you ready, you are to be sold to the most high of customers."

"No, I won't let you sell me." Juniper's chin jutted out in defiance and she readied herself to fight.

"Now then, if you do that was will have to strip and bind you, and you will go out in front of the crowd in nothing but what you were born with. Although baring your fair body may get my master a better price." Fatima tilted her head in question. Juniper huddled into herself and thought it over.

"I won't fight you then. May I wash my hair?" Juniper saw Fatima's eyes smile behind her veil. "We shall do that for you, but first we must get you out of that horrible dress." They worked together to undo the ties of the once-regal dress and the last of the pins from her hair. The copper tresses fell around her face in coarse, tangled locks. When she was completely nude, they poured some of the cool water over her, crushing lavender sprigs into her hair. Juniper began to cry as Leah held up the ruined dress and tutted.

"It was my coronation dress." The tears came freely as she sobbed. The women shared a look as they busied themselves with rough sponges on Juniper's skin.

"Your coronation?" Fatima challenged. Juniper nodded mournfully. "You are a princess?" Juniper nodded again and hiccupped, allowing the women to finish their ablutions. Her hair was rung out as best they could and then brushed with the horse-hair brush Juniper had seen. Soon it feel to her waist, glimmering in the lantern light. The linen dress was slipped over her and the women stood back to admire their work. Juniper didn't see their faces, nor did she understand their words as they spoke in their own language to one another. She had ceased to care.

They knocked twice on the door, and it was opened outwards. They exchanged a few words with the guard outside, who disappeared.

"Come forward, Juniper. They're almost ready for you." Fatima gestured to the young girl, and wiped the tears from her face away. "Imagine it's your coronation, you're going to your throne and these are your people. You are a princess, remember, so act like one." The guard returned, reaching to grab her arm. Juniper just looked at him with disdain, and whatever he saw in her eyes made him falter.

She stepped forward into the sun, holding her head high. The linen dress only came to her mid-thigh, exposing all her leg, but it was no worse than what she wore to ride horses. Her hair gleamed in the high sun, and the glare blinded her at first but as her eyes grew accustomed, she saw where she had to go. Without bonds or someone to guide her, she walked with pride and dignity to the plinth. As she came into the arena in the centre of the crowd, a hush fell over the courtyard.

Juniper looked half-heartedly for faces she knew, wanting to see them, yet knowing if she did so, she would lose her facade. The guard trailing at her shoulder motioned for her to walk once around the yard, and she did so with grace, always keeping her head high. The heat soon dried her thick hair, revealing the true brightness. Once she'd made her turn around the yard, she approached the stairs to the platform. The plinth was high enough that she could see out to the other side of the yard, beyond all the people milling around. She recognised the three girls who had been in the cattle cart with her instantly. They were bound around the wrists and necks, tied to each other and then to the rear of a cart. As she watched, the cart pulled away, the new owner having paid for his newest addition to the household. Juniper shut her eyes, the image Fatima had created for her crumbled away as she heard the roar of the crowd begin bidding for her.