Kaila determinedly looked at a soldier. He was not watching her, but had his back turned. She looked at the sword in his sheath. How can I grab it without him noticing?
“Hello darling, what are you doing?” Callidora said, dress flowing down the steps with a guard close by her side. She got to the bottom, and he walked back to the top. “What are you doing up there?” Callidora asked, now at the bottom, whereas Kaila was in the middle of the steps. “Oh, um, I was thinking about using the restroom… but, uh, didn’t-”
Callidora raised a suspicious eyebrow before motioning for Kaila to come downstairs. Kaila followed helplessly.
“What shenanigans are you up to?” Callidora said, sitting in her bed. She grabbed a mirror and inspected her face.
“Well, I was thinking…” Kaila started, lowering her voice so no soldier could hear. “Maybe we should escape!”
Callidora only grunted, as ladylike as possible. “Oh trust me, we’ve all tried. Even I.”
Kaila’s eyes widened. “I was told you were ok with being here, is that not true?”
“Well now I am… but, well, are you ready for a sad backstory to a now heartless and dramatic character?” Callidora laughed.
Kaila blinked. “Sure…”
“Well, of course, my story begins like all others. I was pure and innocent, believing the best in everyone. I was pretty tough, however. Anyways, my family owned a farm, and when my father tried to fight off some robbers, he was killed. My mother was heartbroken, but you would be mistaken to believe she was a delicate little flower. She was kind, and wouldn’t dream of killing a fly, but would defend her loved ones at all costs. Well, we farmed and farmed, but one year we couldn’t pay the taxes. I realized that I couldn’t farm to make enough to make means end, and I didn’t really have any other skills. I did have the looks though, and so I sold myself into slavery to Adrian. He agreed to pay for me to give him love, and the deal was sealed. My mother was mortified that I had done such a thing, but he let me see her occasionally, and I gave her the sufficient funds to continue on with life. She refused to take the money, but she was rather sick and old, so couldn’t put up much of a fight. Eventually, she died. I was heartbroken. Without my mother to care for, I didn’t want to sacrifice my dignity for money. However, Adrian would not let me go, as I was his property. It was then that I tried to escape. While I was strong, and could aim as good as Aviana, I couldn’t take down many male soldiers. I did shake things up for a bit, but with a few threats and bribes from Adrian, I finally accepted my fate. I was Adrian’s first woman slave, but not his last. He grew to love having many, and even though Lucida showed some signs of displeasure, he kept on with it. He even married someone, but she was only for political reasons.”
Kaila’s jaw dropped. “Does everyone here have such a sad story?”
Callidora put down the mirror. “If you look deep inside everyone, they will all have hurt deep down in them.” Callidora smiled. “My mother always taught me to try and heal everyone’s wounds, but in the end, I had more wounds than I could heal myself.”
~ ~ ~
“Bardo!” Sethe called out.
“What, Sethe?” He said from the ocean, trying to grab floating pieces of wood.
“What should we pick to eat?”
Bardo frowned. “You know, I don’t actually know. Try looking for some berries maybe.”
~
Octavia and Sethe handed out some berries. They weren’t that good, but at least they were something. As they ate, the men talked about how to get off.
“I know that another ship is coming a few weeks from now.” A crewman named Lucian said.
“That is true,” Bardo nodded. “With the little amount of wood we found intact, I doubt we could rebuild the ship faster than that ship could come.”
Octavia looked absently into the fire.
“Are you ok?” Josiah whispered to Octavia.
“Remember… what I had wanted to tell Sethe before the boat shipwrecked?”
“Yes…”
“Well, what I was going to tell her was…” Octavia paused. “Well, I’m p-pregnant.”
Josiah’s jaw didn’t just drop, it also fell off his face. Well, it at least looked like it had.
“Is everything alright?” Bardo questioned.
“I-I-I’m a father!” Josiah said, gaining confidence and happiness as he spoke the words. Sethe screamed.
“WHAT’S WRONG?” Bardo quickly went to Sethe’s side.
“Are you deaf?” She asked. “I mean… uh, didn’t you hear? Octavia’s going to have a BABY!” She smiled widely at him.
Bardo sighed. “You sounded more like you were dying than being excited for the announcement.” He turned to Octavia and Josiah, who were currently kissing. “Congratulations… oh, well I guess they don’t care about any of us.”
Everyone laughed and began congratulating Octavia and Josiah, even though they barely knew them.
