Backstage, Meredith watched with undisguised awe as the scale, which had Zeres on one side and bags and bags of gold on the other side, slowly equalized. Her new owner was no joke. He had indeed paid Zeres his weight in gold. It was both shocking and admirable. She had several thoughts running through her head, ranging from how foolish it was for Ezekiel to travel with all that gold to how strong the scale must have been to put up with Zeres' weight coupled with the bags of gold.
When the payment was settled and done, Ezekiel, who had been silently watching the whole thing, finally stood up from his wooden seat. His eyes found his new slave at the corner of the room, and she was so entirely focused on Zeres as he packed his gold that she didn't even realize when he came to stand next to her.
"Should I sell you back to Zeres?" The sound of his voice startled her as she jumped. "You seem rather interested in him."
Meredith pressed her lips together, feeling a sudden shortage of air as her new owner invaded her space. She was still finding it hard to come to terms with the truth that she was now a slave—a piece of property that had been sold to the man standing next to her.
The thought of running away suddenly crossed her mind, and she began to nurture it. She never wanted to be sold as a slave, and now that she was one, she could not remain so. All she had to do was run—far away from this man, Zeres, and her parents. Then no one would ever try to make her a slave again.
A loud clank drew her attention, and she looked up at her new owner, who now had a long chain in his hand. As confusion made its way to her face, Ezekiel explained, "Zeres gave me this. Said I should chain you with it so you don't run away." He shrugged.
Meredith was beside herself with shock. A chain? Just when she thought of running away? She watched as Ezekiel bent down to lock the chain around her ankles. The chain was long enough to let her walk, but that was it. If she made an attempt to run, she would end up falling flat on her face.
"I'm sure you wouldn't try to run away, but Zeres insisted I use it. He says slaves are unpredictable," said Ezekiel as he finished locking the chains. He stood up and met her shocked and angered eyes, and of everything he thought to do, he raised his hand and patted her head. "Don't try to run away, slave. I paid a large amount to have you. I own you now, and I hate losing my things."
Gone was the man who smiled as he gave away his gold coins for a slave. The man before her was a slave owner. He wasn't just telling her—he was warning her, and his eyes held promises that it wouldn't end well for her if she tried or even thought of running away.
Meredith gulped, withdrawing her eyes from his and looking down at the chain that bound her legs. She was a slave now, bound and owned by her master. It was a hard pill to swallow.
"Hungry?" Ezekiel asked, still patting her hair. "You look weak. When last did you eat?"
Her last meal was the porridge at her parents' house on the night they decided to sell her. Since then, not even a drop of water had touched her tongue, but Meredith stubbornly shook her head. "I'm fine."
Ezekiel nodded. "We depart immediately. Velmorea is a long ride from here, and we have wasted enough time already. The carriage is waiting outside." With that, the Lord began to walk away, leaving Meredith to follow behind him. And follow she did, albeit with much difficulty thanks to the chains.
Under the inky black sky and bright moon, a magnificent carriage stood, with two horses to pull it and two coachmen to guide it. Meredith had never been in a carriage before, as all her movement was done on foot, but she had always dreamt of entering one—especially on those nights when her feet were sore from walking for many hours. Entering this magnificent carriage would have been a dream come true for her.
She watched a coachman open the door for Ezekiel to climb in, but before she could follow him, the carriage door was shut, and she stood there, staring blankly at the wooden door.
"The Lord wants you to ride outside," came the coachman's simple explanation, which still managed to confuse Meredith greatly. How was she supposed to ride outside when there was no seat? Or would she be riding with the coachmen?
Her question was soon answered when the other coachman came with a rope, bound her hands, and tied the ends of the rope to the back of the carriage. There was no seat for her. She was going to walk the distance from Dintletown to Velmorea while being tied to the carriage.
Meredith watched them without question. After all, she was now a slave. From what little she had heard about slaves, they were subjected to the worst kinds of treatment known to mankind. The fortunate slaves died quickly, while the unfortunate ones lived long only to be tortured longer.
She could only pray that she was one of the fortunate slaves.
With tears streaming down her face, Meredith began to move with the carriage along the smooth and rocky paths. Each time the horses moved, she was pulled and dragged, and a few times she even fell—but she stood up immediately, because if she didn't, she would be dragged like a rag doll. The only luck she had was that the carriage was moving at a comfortable speed that her chains would allow. She didn't know if that was done to make it easier for her or to add to her misery.
A familiar emotion began to brew in her chest again—the same emotion she felt on that stage when her dress was ripped. It was hatred. She had felt it for her parents then, and now she felt it for her master. She hated her parents who sold her, and she hated the man who bought her and had her tied to the back of his carriage.
But there was nothing she could do with this hatred except allow it to strengthen her arms and legs for now.