POV Eliza

The first thing I remember is pain and hunger. I have no memory of the time before and in retrospect I'm very happy about it. I suspect my brain sealed and repressed this memory to protect myself.

I wake up in a dimly lit room. I'm lying on the floor under a musty blanket. I have severe pain all over my back as if from a beating. My stomach hurts from hunger. Around me I hear other people moaning or breathing uneasyly. They all seem to be sleeping. The room isn't particularly big and smells of musty, sweat and something metallic that I can't identify. In a corner next to the people there is a table, a chair and a large wooden barrel. There are two windows in the room that are closed with wooden shutters so that only a little light comes in. A door leads into the interior of the house. Surprisingly, I can still see my surroundings well.

I don't understand at all where I am and what happened. The last thing I remember is my two best friends. We met in the bookstore where I'm doing my apprenticeship. We wanted to watch a nice movie and then have a cozy meal. In addition to Mary, Ellen's older brother, Niles, was also there. What happened to end up here? Are the others here too? Is it the people I hear next to me? I have to check that.

I stand up with a groan and immediately notice that something is wrong. Have I shrunk or is the room bigger than I thought? I look down at myself and freeze. I'm skinny. I see that despite the rags I wear. I also have significantly longer hair than before. Instead of shoulder length, my hair reaches almost down to my hips. What's going on here? I go to the next person who is only a meter away from me. It's a girl of about 6 years old who I've never seen before. Still, she looks vaguely familiar to me. Why?

I walk further through the room and find four more girls, all around 5-8 years old. Everyone is skinny and only wears rags. I am completely confused and at a loss. Then the first people start to wake up and get up. None of them say anything, but from their actions I see a certain routine in their actions. They all stand next to the table and wait. One of them waves frantically at me and points to the place next to her. She probably wants me to join in.

As soon as I stood there, the only door in the room opened and a large, beefy man entered the room. His clothing is of good quality, but still unusual. Which medieval film is this from? Nobody wears anything like that these days. My confusion continues to increase. The man goes to the two windows and opens the wooden shutters. Hardly any light comes in from outside. It seems to be before sunrise. At least it's warm enough that I don't freeze. The man goes to the table and sits down. Then he looks at us.

“That's how I want to see it. Everyone is awake and no one is complaining. In addition, no one seems to have gotten sick. Here, your breakfast. You have half an hour to eat and wash. You know how it goes. When I come back, you'll be ready." <Man>

The man puts a bag on the table and leaves the room again. I look after him. Who is he and what does he want from me? Is that my kidnapper? But then why am I not tied up? Isn't he afraid that I'll just run away? I walk to a window and look out. I see a small alley and directly opposite another house wall. The architecture is unknown to me. Am I in some poor neighborhood in a foreign city? There is a smell in the air of rubbish and many other smells that I can't place. But I can't hear or smell the traffic. It's surprisingly quiet here.

"What are you doing here? We have to hurry up or we’ll get beaten again.” <Girl>

I turn around and see the others undressing and doing a makeshift wash at the wooden barrel. I see red welts on their backs like those from whiplashes. Some of them are bloody and scarred. Is this where my back pain comes from? One of the girls grabs my hand and pulls me towards the wooden barrel. I'm too stunned to act myself, so the others have to undress and wash me. Meanwhile the sun rises and I can see me better. Has my skin always been this dark and my hair this light? If I didn't know better I would say I have dark brown, almost black skin and white hair. What happened to me? I hold my head because I'm getting a headache from thinking so much and notice the next strange thing. My ears feel strange, as if they have become longer and narrower. Why?

“Hurry up, we don’t have time for that.” <Girl>

I shake my head and pinch myself. Maybe it's all just a shimmering dream and I'll wake up soon. But unfortunately I don't wake up. Instead, I am given a piece of dry bread. I look at it uncertainly, but then my stomach growls. I look around awkwardly, but no one responds. The others keep dipping their bread into the barrel we just washed with. It is the only source of water here. The bread is too hard to eat straight away, so they soak it first. I shake because it's unhygienic, but then my hunger wins. I do the same as the others and wolf down the tasteless bread.

I've just finished when the man comes back. It looks at us and speaks in a commanding tone.

“Very good, you’re still learning. You two are a team today and you two. You there take care of the new one. Show your best side and make me some serious money. Let's go and woe betide you if you run away. You know what that means.” <Man>

The man makes a gesture and points to his neck. I touch my neck and find some kind of choker. I didn't notice it before, but the others also have a choker like that. It looks like a ring, except it's around our necks. How do you take it on and off? When I try, I get a small electric shock and scream.

“I told you, you can’t take off your slave collar. You will receive damage every time you touch it with the intention of trying to take it off. But when I see you, I think of something else, huh.” <Man>

The man approaches me and looks deep into my eyes. His look scares me and I back away.

“Where is your headscarf? You know you're supposed to wear it every time you leave the house. That's a reward tonight. Where is her scarf? Who messed it up?” <Man>

One of the girls immediately runs to my sleeping place, which only consists of a blanket and some straw, and picks up a piece of cloth that is lying there. Then she brings it to the man and immediately backs away. The man snorts briefly and takes the cloth. Then he ties it around my head so that my ears are no longer visible. His handles are practiced, as if he has a lot of experience with them. He grabs a hooded cloak and puts it on me. Then he looks at me again and nods happily. 

“Come on, you rabble. Don’t give me any trouble, got it? And do never remove the cloak, you got me?” <Man>

Everyone nods and we leave the house. My thoughts are completely revolving around a term I just heard that completely shocked me. Slave? I?