The Transcended: My Lord

Chapter 2

The slaver stopped at two towns that day, picking up several more people to throw into the carriage. Meya stared at the others as the carriage moved over a rocky path, the sun low on the horizon.

"You know... if we helped one another, we could get out of these bonds and try and break free," she suggested softly. "We outnumber them. It would work."

Most of them didn't respond, and the ones who did only shook their heads.

Meya frowned. "You're all fine with this then? You don't care that you're going to be sold like cattle?"

"Don't get yourself worked up," a man said. "It's not that bad. I was a slave before."

Worked up? She was ready to rage at the man but suppressed the desire and instead turned to face him. "If you were a slave before, how did you end up here?"

He sighed. "My mistress and master got killed in a fire, along with some other servants. I've been on the road for a month now, looking for a new home."

Meya huffed. "Did you ever consider doing so as a free man?"

"You clearly aren't from around here." He gave her a woeful look. "I'm all alone. No kin, nobody. Out here, that makes you an outsider, and people are reluctant to offer work to outsiders."

Blanching, Meya asked, "You're telling me people here are sold into slavery for no other reason than being alone? It's not to pay off debts or as a punishment for thieves and the like?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. If I'd known that customs here were so different, I would've stayed far away.

"Don't worry, miss," a young boy said. "Really, it won't be so bad. My grandpa told me so when we discussed selling me."

"Your grandpa sold you?" Meya couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The boy nodded. "We were starving. This way, my grandpa will be able to survive, and I will too."

"It's not always good, though," a young woman said. "I fled from my mistress a few weeks ago. She used to beat me, even if I was doing my chores right." She sighed. "I tried to get far enough away, but someone in town ratted me out. I just hope my new owner will be nicer."

A cold chill ran up Meya's spine. "And you still don't want to try to escape?"

"Where would I go? I have no friends, no family—I'd be hunted down again the moment people spot me. I'd rather be a slave under someone's protection than face the world alone." Her voice trembled and she cast her eyes down. "The whole reason why I became a slave in the first place was because I was left all alone. I willingly went to that mean woman and offered her my servitude in exchange for a place to call home. I feared that if I didn't, I'd be taken and sold somewhere far away to someone unknown. At least now I had some control." Muttering, she added, "If only I'd known her outward niceness was but a façade."

Meya didn't know what to say. These people all sound so desperate. After a moment of silence, she decided to ask again. "Then maybe, if no one else here wants to escape, someone can help untie me so I can try, at least?"

"Don't," the woman said. "You won't get out of the carriage, and even if you do, they'll catch you again and beat you up."

"That's my problem then. Please, anyone?"

No one offered.

Disheartened, Meya hung her head and sighed deeply.

~⚜~

The next day was spent on the road. The slaver seemed satisfied with the number of captives as they passed a village without stopping. They made a few stops to allow people to relieve themselves, but aside from that, they appeared to be making haste to reach their final destination. The sun had already disappeared below the horizon when the carriage came to a halt.