Skin Deep

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Enjoy

As the carriage took off Thomas began to scrutinize the young woman in front of him, he was now able to see the details he could not have seen from afar and cursed himself mentally as he realised she held a substantial exotic allure, something he deeply detested that. For he had yet to meet a women of his own kind who held the same amount of charm she did.

As Thomas admired Jendayi, Jendayi had also taken her fair share at taking in the man in front of her. She had seen many fair skin men now, the ones when she was captured, and those who worked in the auction house, and ignorantly she had judged all white men on the basis of those she had seen.

She would not class the men she had seen as handsome, so therefore she assumed all white men would look the same, but she could now see how misguided she had been before.

The man before her was obviously of much higher standards than those she had seen before. He was wearing a grey starch coat that went up to his knees, and sleek black trousers. His jet black hair reached the bottom of his ear lobes and framed his heart shaped head perfectly. His lips were thin and pink with a permanent smirk etched onto them, his nose whilst small was very defined and a pair of ocean blue eyes stared straight at her.

He was ravishing.

“Are you listening girl?” Thomas asked, amused by the girl’s infatuation with him, but yet slightly annoyed at the utter disrespect she was showing him- he showed neither emotion.

Jendayi shivered at the sound of his voice, it was deep and gruff but yet soothing and sensual. Jendayi wanted to reply saying yes, but she had in fact, not been listening to a word he had said, to busy letting her eyes roam about his body.

Not knowing what to say she hung her head in shame.

Thomas suddenly had a itching sensation to lift her head up, but held himself back in fear that he would send her the wrong message, he wanted her to fear and obey him not be infatuated by him.

“Look at me.” He demanded she immediately did so; he nodded in appreciation glad that he at least had an obedient slave.

“When we get back to my home, you will be shown your work and living space.” He began.

He noticed her eyes twinkle a little in appreciation, most likely glad that she would be working with her kind and not in his bed.

He forced himself to scoff, why would he want to ever sleep with a coon he thought to himself, feeling a regain of power that he lost in her presence and enjoyed the short feeling. Thomas decided that the only way he would be able to shut himself off completely from the girl was to be as harsh to her as he was to the other slaves.

“It was not by my free will that I purchased you, I will let you know now I detest your race, stay away from me and you won’t be leaving my home on the back of a waggon, understood?” said Thomas, forcefully spitting out every word in a bid to sound harsher.

Jendayi threw her head back up in surprise; he had been so nice to her only a minute ago, why the sudden change? She thought.

But what could she expect - she thought with a frown, he was just like the rest of them; they all resented her for the colour of her skin and the family she was born into – neither of which she was ashamed of. Jendayi simply could not comprehend the ignorance some of these fair men had. Could they not see the beauty in all things different she wondered?

As her frown deepened she looked into the eyes of her new ‘owner’, and watched as his eyes slowly softened and was captivated by the gentleness that she knew he held somewhat deep inside- she was no longer offended by his harsh words.

“You do not mean what you say.” She whispered softly, her head cocking to the side in confusion.

Thomas was taken back by the sudden comment.

“I beg your pardon?” he inquired, unable to comprehend her boldness.

“Your eyes, they are filled with other emotions,” Jendayi began, her voice becoming a little stronger. She waited mere moments to see if he would react, but he did nothing except gawk at her.

“I’ve seen many eyes filled with hatred, disgust, resentment.” She continued, her eyes falling to the ground as she spoke, “I’ve seen the emotion and felt it burn through the skin on my back. You do not mean what you say.” She finished, raising her head to meet Thomas’ eyes.

Thomas was appalled at how could she see right through his façade. He was beginning to regret ever buying this slave; she was going to be trouble, he could just tell.

Unable to respond to her question, he resorted to the only thing he knew best – violence.

A high pitched crackle ran through the air as Jendayi’s head violently cocked to the side.

“Do not ever speak unless asked, and do not show so much disrespect you insolent bitch!” Thomas yelped, his lips formed into a tight snarl.

He turned to look out the window as tears began to form in the Jendayi’s eyes, knowing that any reserve he had would crumble if he looked at her. God – Thomas thought, why had he changed so much in a few hours, he would have never felt remorse a day ago.

Guilt began entering his stomach as he heard her pained sobs, he growled loudly in annoyance and Jendayi placed a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop the sounds from exiting her mouth. She couldn’t believe he had hit her, she had only asked a question; she didn’t know that it was wrong.

Jendayi turned to look outside the opposite window, her face still stinging from the impact of the slap, but her mind now fascinated by the scenery outside.

The rain which had ceased a long time ago had begun again; Jendayi believed it was the sky crying with her. Her mother always told her that if she were to be alone, she would always have the earth, the soil on the ground, the rain in the sky; it was something that could never leave her. Her stomach churned as thoughts of her mother entered her mind and a new painful rack of sobs sounded through her.

She had never been away from her mother for so long, and not knowing whether or not she was alive pained her even more. She had noticed that in the auction houses they only sold young does and bucks and she never saw any older people, no more than the age of 50 for men and 40 for women, and for that reason she feared her mother may be in a worse position than herself.

Thomas watched as the girl clasped her hands together and bowed her head on top of them in what looked like prayer and muttered words in a language he could not understand. He had been taught to never let the slaves have a faith, because it gave them hope and hope led to rebellions, but he couldn’t bear to take something else away from the girl, so left her to whatever she was doing.

The greenery around them thinned until all that was left was the grassy plains that signified the end of the journey. Both Thomas and Jendayi lifted their heads as the road got bumpier.

Jendayi was the first to notice the people surrounding them; they were shackled at the ankles with enough room between them to walk, and held farming equipment in their hands. They were slaves.

Jendayi looked out of the window in amazement, she had never seen so many of her people grouped together in one place, and for that she was glad. Obviously she didn’t want them to be in this position as much as she didn’t want herself to be in this position, but she was glad that she wouldn’t have to suffer on her own.

 The carriage came to a stop and Thomas flew out, desperate to get as far away from Jendayi as possible. He walked up the cobblestone stairs of his home and disappeared through the front door and in a lavish carriage parked against the doorstep of his home, sat the young women who had turned his world upside down in mere hours.