EPISODE EIGHTEEN
TITLE: YUNA WAS VICTIMIZED.
Onida didn’t leave the room for the rest of the day.
She picked her food in the Old Rita room but she wasn’t in the room.
She waited for her and after a while, Rita returned to the room with Eleanor and was almost taken aback to see her there.
“What are you doing here?”She stuttered, feeling a little bit uneasy and Onida pointed to the hot steaming pot at the corner of the room.
“My food, I’m here to take it”She mumbled softly and Rita nodded.
She walked past her and quickly dishes her food, Onida collected the food and bowed respectfully.
“Thank you, I will enjoy the food”She genuflects before walking out of the room.
“You can join us”She suddenly blurted and Onida shook her head.
“Eating in the room is more comfortable than this place”
“You don’t like eating alone, And you lose some weight, You can’t serve the Master in a skinny state”She chided and Onida knelt down and place the food on the bare ground, She started eating ravenously and Rita stared at her for a while before adding some beef into her food, she bow in acknowledgment and continued eating her food.
Shortly, Eleanor also joined her on the floor and they all ate together.
“Were you a born slave?”Rita suddenly asked and Onida dropped her cutleries immediately.
“Rita…”Eleanor called and she glared at her.
“It’s just a question”Onida held her and nodded.
“I was curious, Your style and way of life doesn’t match with a born slave”
“I came from a noble family, I was a victim of war, I lost all my family in the war ten years ago”
“You served under Calian only?”Rita asked and she nodded.
“Calian never let me leave his sight ever since he killed my parents, I’m his property”
“Oh”She only mouthed before stuffing another beef into her mouth.
Onida ate the rest of the food in a sober mood, She never expected Rita to ask such questions even though she expected it.
Why doesn’t she care to know about her story?
They started treating her as a slave after all.
•
THE NEXT DAY
Onida woke up the following morning with a banging knock on her door. She was still very much asleep and tired.
Inching towards the door, the knock continued getting more harsh that she had to increase her pace.
She opened the door and the guard barged in immediately.
“What took you so long before opening the door? Your mates are in the mines working already!”He yelled at her and Onida was dumbfounded that an ordinary guard could talk to her harshly.
Even though he’s of a higher rank than her, she couldn’t just wrap it around her head. How could he be so rude and harsh?
“Apologies”She mumbled simply before walking back to the room and the guard dragged her back again.
“Where do you think you’re going?”He roared at her and she bowed.
“I need to take my bath before heading to the farm”She answered feebly and he took a deep sigh before letting her go, reluctantly.
“Margaret sent for you, Report to her room in a jiffy”He delivered the message before stomping out of the room.
Onida’s heart skipped a bit as she walked back to her bed.
Margaret sent for her already?
What is she planning to do with her this time around?
After taking a quick bath, she dressed up in her normal old straw clothes and stepped out of the room.
Surprisingly, the guard was still there.
“Let’s go”He snapped and led the way to Margaret’s room.
It was another section of the yard, Her room was in between Rita’s kitchen and Azazel chamber.
Rita was in charge of her food before but Azazel stopped her from tending to her.
Shortly, they got into the room and Margaret was nowhere to be found.
Margaret was surprised that her chamber could be this beautiful and organized. It was divided into two sections.
The first section was parted halfway in the room by a white expensive veil. She couldn’t see the other side but those at the end would surely see her.
This shows the uniqueness of the room.
Suddenly, The veil was drawn and Margaret could be seen sitting down on the high expensive bed.
She covered her face and body with a light wrapper.
If they could permit her to say, she looks very horrible and might be unable to step out of the room for the next six months.
Her whole body was bruised and reddish, She looked raged like a hurt dog.
Onida fell on her knees immediately and paid her respect.
“Greetings, My Lady”She greeted in the most polite manner and Margaret scoffed in anger.
“Are you trying to mock me now?”
“I will never do that, My Lady…”
“… The Master told me to attend to all your needs for the meantime”
“Really?”She asked in disbelief, laced in her voice and Onida nodded.
“What do you want me to do for you?”She asked again and Margaret took a deep breath as if she was trying to hold her anger.
“You were assigned some chores right? Go do that and come back for my laundry”She ordered.
Onida bowed before walking out of the room.
•
“Some strange men were seen parading round the market today, Some said they were Calian men”The first slave whispered to the group of people around her and they gasped in fear.
“Oh My!, Does that mean we will be captured soon?”One of the old women who had served her youthful years as a slave asked in distress again and one of them spoke up.
“Calian is an ally of the Duke, He will never turn his back against him”
“Oh, that’s true”She mumbled with a sigh of relief and fear again.
What difference does it make if she’s going to be under Calian again?
He’s surely worse than the Duke.
“What are you guys talking about?”Yuna asked as she walked closer to them and they dispersed immediately.
Ignoring her.
She sighed and stared into the space for a while.
The silent treatment has been going on for a while and it’s hurting her already.
The slaves surely didn’t know how much it hurt to see them being mistreated by her own parents.
Suddenly, she saw Leah coming back from the market and called her immediately.
The latter turned to her directions and stared at her for a while before taking her eyes back.
Yuna was slightly pissed off but there’s nothing she can do.
If she reports to her father now, he will punish them for defying her orders and that will make them hate her more.
Tears slipped down her face and she sank to her knees under the hot sun. She burst into tears and cried for a while.
Suddenly, she heard a loud thud at the back of the compound, Yuna turned to the direction and surprisingly, she couldn’t see anything.
She got scared for a while but summoned up courage to walk to the back of the house.
Taking a few, slow, measured steps, she got to the place and nothing dropped on the floor. She looked around the ground but couldn’t find anything.
“Maybe I misheard it”She shrugged and cleaned her eyes before walking back.
She heard footsteps walking closer to her but they were distant again.
No, they are not walking close to her, The few steps grew more faint and she turned to the direction.
She saw a man running to the other side of the bush and she yelled after him.
“Who are you?”she yelled but the latter didn’t stop.
“All these pranksters”She sucked on her teeth angrily before walking back to her chambers.