The Queen's Tales

Chapter 23: The Slave Trade

Chloe grabbed her staff from her back and began swinging it at the men dared approach her. Edmund fought with his sword in hand while Lucy brandished her dagger, although it had clearly been a while since she'd last used it.

The four were in the heat of battle when a loud....girlish scream stopped everything. A man walked in, shutting the door behind him, with Chloe's dagger to Eustace's throat.

"Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again...I'd say you should drop your weapons," the man threatened.

"Like a girl!?" Eustace realized.

"NOW!" The man wedged the blade a bit harder against his throat.

Reluctantly; Lucy, Chloe and Caspian put their weapons on the ground while Edmund groaned, "Eustace..." before his sword clanged to the ground.

"Put 'em in irons!" The men approached, grabbing each of them and forcing their hands behind their backs, "Let's bring these three to market," he indicated to Eustace, Lucy and Chloe, "Send those two to the dungeons."

"No!" Chloe tried to wrench herself free without using her ability. If they were going to try to sell her, it would only be worse if they saw what she was capable of.

Caspian was fighting against his chains, "Listen to me, you insolent fool! I am your king!"

A scream ripped through Chloe's throat when she saw one of the men punch Edmund across the face, "EDMUND!"

"You're gonna pay for that!" The boy snapped, unable to nurse his forming bruise.

A new voice pipped up as he approached the struggling group, "Actually...someone else is going to pay...for all of you."

They started dragging away the girls and Eustace. Chloe and Lucy were both screaming for Edmund who watched angrily as his sister and girlfriend were taken away from him, "Don't show them anything Chloe!" Caspian yelled after his best friend, also knowing how much worse it would be if she did any sort of magic around those men.

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The slave traders held Lucy, Chloe, and Edmund with the other slaves to be sold. It wasn't until morning that they noticed there were a few other Narnians in chains, including a faun and a dwarf. They placed chains around their wrists and a big one around their neck, making it nearly impossible to move. Chloe sat between Lucy and Eustace, the three of them watched as men came down the line, picking a few of the slaves and dragging them into a cart.

One of the women they selected started screaming as they drove off. A man and little girl ran after the cart, the woman's husband and daughter, calling for her, "Don't worry! I will find you!" The man screamed when he'd tripped on the floor and the cart kept moving forward.

The three of them watched as they dragged the slaves onto a long boat and pushed them into the ocean. As the boat drifted with no one rowing, the sky seemed to darken, "What's happening?" Lucy whispered, but no one answered as everyone watched the shadow go over the water. In the darkness, a green mist appeared over the water, slowly making its way toward the boat.

The smoke enveloped the people in the boat, for a moment there were screams...until they vanished without a trace. The moment they were gone, the darkness overhead retreated back to wherever it came from, the green smoke melting away. Chloe was shocked, and scared...she lightly grabbed Lucy's hands, more than anything praying Reep was on his way with a search party.

Some of the grimy men approached smiling down at the three of them sinisterly, "Time to go," they unclasped them from the wall and led them to a platform in the center of town where they were to be auctioned off.