The Life of a Slave

The sun slowly dropped into the horizon, melting with the earth, giving relief after another hot summer day. Night crept over the desert, bringing cool air and a beautiful sky full of glittering stars. The sand cooled noticeably under feet and bodies as tents were pitched and beds spread onto the ground. The animals were tied down, dinner began to cook and babies were put to bed.

The chieftain of the nomadic tribe sat smoking his pipe in front of his tent, casually surveying the goings on. Women knelt beside fires, children ran around under foot and men chose who would take turns as night watchman. One of the chieftain's nephews, a young warrior named Jameth, was standing with a group of cousins and friends when one of the slave girls walked by with an armload of firewood.

"You there, slave girl!" Jameth called out to the young pretty one. She turned to face him, but kept her head bowed.
"When you are done with that, go to my tent. I could use some entertainment before I go on watch."
The girl started to nod, but then a woman spoke up.
"My daughter is not yet old enough to share a man's bed, Jameth."

The warrior looked up and was faced with Ari Sela, the chieftain's favorite concubine. She was a woman of great power in the tribe, even though she was only a slave. He studied the woman carefully, unsure if she told the truth. Finally he nodded and waved both women away. The girl hurried to finish her chore and then ducked into her family's tent, her mother right behind her.
"Kalle, I told you to stay away from men like Jameth, they won't accept these lies forever."
The girl sighed.
"I try Mother, but sometimes they seek me out."

Ari nodded and for a moment seemed like she would say something else, but then turned and left her child alone. Kalle sat down in her corner of the tent and let out a deep sigh. Truth be told, she was old enough, by tribe standards, to sleep with a man, or even to wed, but she was a slave and not allowed to marry. Most slave women were used for pleasure on occasion, and if children were a result, then that created more slaves.

Kalle glanced outside to the night sky and wished upon the stars like she did every night. She wished for the same thing that she had wanted since she was a child. She wished that all the slaves of the world could be free.

It was hard to believe that there were no slaves on Elanon once. The magic center of the universe used to be a free land. Separated into seven kingdoms, it used to be the most peaceful planet ever inhabited. But the great ruling houses of each country began to have problems about three thousand years ago. The seven rulers once worked together to protect the planet and keep it peaceful, but even they started to fight. The councils were broken apart and wars were waged. Kings became dictators who took advice and orders from no one and did as they pleased. Payed servants were turned into slaves who were treated worse than dogs and slowly, everything that had been worked so hard for in the generations of the past went wrong.

Kalle had heard the stories many times. Her favorites were the ones about the Universe Children and the great sorceress Corapera. They were the greatest rulers the planet had ever known and they were the ones who had brought Elanon to greatness all those years ago. Kalle also liked to hear about the elves, her ancestors, and about how her mother found her in the desert. She knew she was not born a slave, but she was adopted by one. Her birth parents abandoned her in the desert when she was born, because they could tell she possessed magic. They left her for the coyotes and probably never thought of her again. But the nomadic Tu'sai tribe happened to pass by and the half starved babe was picked up by a young slave woman. Ari had recently given birth to her own child, a boy named Tris and she raised the two as brother and sister even after Kalle knew the truth.

Ari had not given Kalle a name when she found her, but instead let the girl choose her own name. In the ancient language of her ancestors, Kalle meant strength and she gave herself that name when she was only seven. She called Ari and Tris family because they were all she had, all she had known, and she rarely thought of her birth parents. But then there were times when she wondered about her real family. She knew they were decendent of the elves, but where had they come from? There were no elves in the South, especially not in the desert. And exactly why had they abandoned her? Magic was fairly common in Elanonians these days, and almost expected in elves. Maybe they just didn't want a child, or they had too many already and not enough to feed them. Or maybe they knew something about her power that she didn't; like why she could read the thoughts of any adult, but not a single child. Perhaps they knew why she could speak any known language without having been taught, or why her hair turned silver in the summer and brown in the winter, or even what the strangely shaped birthmark on her shoulder meant. There were many questions she wanted to ask the woman who gave her life, but for now, she kept her thoughts to herself and obeyed any order she was given. That was the life of a slave.



Thanks for reading. Please remember to rate and/ or review.