The Tattoo (formerly Unbreakable)

Bravery as Stupidity

Ellie had been Meriddion's personal slave and playmate from an early age. She was one of the only real friends that the young mistress had.

Ellie!" Meriddion was out of breath by the time she had found the older girl.

"Mary, what on earth are you doing?"

"I need your help, he-he's going to die if I don't help him and I can't- Ellie I can't."

"Can't what, Meriddion you need to calm down."

"They whipped him," was all that she said before Ellie walked away to gather what she needed to treat the wounds.

"Do you know how many?"

"Forty-five."

Ellie kept her head about her as her mistress led her into the clearing. She had treated many whip wounds in her time as a slave on the VanShay plantation, but the lashings were usually minimal and not distributed over old, unhealed wounds. This was evidently not what the slave on the pole now had endured.

"Get him flat on the ground," she told Meriddion as she began to set out the supplies she had brought.

Cautiously, Meriddion touched his limp hand, his head jerked up at the unexpected, gentle touch. His deep brown eyes were filled with fear.

"Don't worry, we're here to help. I just need to to know that I'm untying this, so it won't hold you anymore." He just nodded and grabbed onto the pole as she pulled at the knots. She took his hands and helped him onto his chest. His breathing was ragged.

"Get that shirt off of him."

Meriddion did as she was told and began to peel the bloody shirt off of the slave's back. He cried out as the fabric touched his tender wounds. Mary kept going until the material was on the ground and glanced down at the blood that covered her fingers.

"Help me clean the blood off," Ellie spoke while handing her mistress a cloth. Meriddion watched as the boy's eyes squeezed shut at the pain of contact. Shudders ran through his back each time one of the girls touched one of the openings in his flesh. Once they were done Ellie set herself applying a healing salve and bandaging each of the lashes. Mary tried to get his blood off of her hands, but only succeeded in removing some of it. Her skin remained stained red.

Ellie helped the slave sit up, he did so shakily and thanked her for her help. Meriddion caught sight of the slave's tattoo on his wrist.

Every slave had three links etched onto the skin of their right wrist, it was an implementation of the new world government. Meriddion didn't remember a time before the 'new world' as many called the current society. It was the outcome of the Great Revolution in which the lower classes had risen up against oppression, only to be further suppressed. Three generations later, few slaves remembered ever being free and few free folk questioned slavery. There always existed, of course, those who consider themselves abolitionists. Meriddion prided herself in being one, which was ironic, considering who her father was. He disdained her love of the slaves, and lacked love for his own daughter because of it.

She looked at the slave before her, taking the chance now to really look at him. He had dark black hair that fell below his ears but didn't touch his neck. It hid his eyes and framed his well structured jaw. He looked strong, muscles the product of years worth of manual labor. Meriddion's cheeks flushed when he caught her looking at him.

"Do you feel alright?"

He nodded.

"I've had worse without being fixed up after."

"What did you do to deserve that?"

"Saw a chance to run on the way here from the market, took it."

"You're new then?"

Again, he nodded.

"Most people would say that trying to run from your new master is pretty stupid."

He just shrugged, "stupid is not trying."

-Photo: Ellie