Chapter: Connection
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Gloomy sky and cold, raw weather.
The atmosphere was perfect description for the young woman being dragged to an unknown area with chains around her wrist and ankles. Being manhandled in a rough manner with inappropriate words thrown down upon her.
Everything was unknown to the eye.
The people, the culture, the buildings and the land was all unknown to her. Yet, she knew about the land due to words and history back in her homeland of America.
She did not know how it happened, but one moment she was on a ship with her uncle and the next minute, an East India Company ship had captured her uncle's ship, which was a known ship that helped trading ships a safe passage from pirates.
There had been words exchanged and the next moment, they were fighting. She was captured and brought aboard the foreign ship that she did not know what her outcome will be. Locked in a brig for a while, ignoring sailors that came with curiosity to take a peek at her. A few shooting her disgusting words that no one should ever say to a woman.
The port into England, she was dragged off with a few of her uncle's men. They were separated. All she heard from the men that were dragging her was the word auction. The last time that she heard about an auction, it was back in her homeland. Auction of horses and properties.
When she was dragged into a room filled with rows of various men of all ages, she tried to not show any sort of panic. The auctioneer was auctioning off properties, horses and then ships.
"Before we end, we got word of a last bidding."
The men were boosting in conversation about what they got, but their voices lowered until they were silent when she was shoved forward. The rattling of the chains scraped across the wood floors of the auction room.
"The bidding will start with the highest bid and continue on. It will end when the tip of the candle vanished." The auctioneer stated as he put a new candle in a holder on his desk.
"What's this?" Someone shouted.
"A servant."
Her eyes widen as her eyes stayed on the ground, not wanting to look up as she did not want anyone to see the fear that glisten within her eyes.
"Young woman that appears around mid to late twenties. On a ship, seen to be able to do hard maintenance." The auctioneer began to explain a brief description about her.
There was a few chuckles that went about the room, showing they were not thinking appropriately.
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Lingering in the background, away from the eyes of everyone was a man that came back from disappearance of ten years. A man that already got everyone around buzzing with gossips about his past reputation. His father left behind a reputation and also, he left behind an island that he brought that was gaining the attention of the East India Company.
The man in the back of the room was known as James K. Delaney.
The sight of the woman dragged in front of all the men eyes brought many whispers. Many were of curious while other whispers were ones that made him to cringe.
The auctioneer kept a straightforward face as he explained about the woman, mentioning about working on a ship. That brought a spark of interest within James.
"Word is she is from America. Yet the intriguing aspect of her is she is half-Irish and half-Native American."
That brought an uproar amongst a good half of the men in the room.
When one of the guard holding the woman's chain made her to lift her head up due to someone's request, slowly the woman did so.
Underneath the messy, tangled dark brown hair with natural red highlights, the palest green eyes anyone had ever seen were shown once she opened her eyes. A soft face of an attractive woman had been hidden underneath her mid-back length hair.
Gasp and awe echo through the room.
That was when the bidding started as the auctioneer saw the immediate interest in the customers greedy eyes.
Prices kept going up and the candle was almost to the end.
James watched as men were throwing out money, some he knew did not even have that amount on them. It appeared that this woman lured these men in like bait. But James could understand why.
An alluring air hovered around the woman that drew many to gravitate to her. Those pale green eyes were unique and uncommon. Very rare gems her eyes were.
Those pale green eyes flicker up from the ground to make perfect connection with his eyes.
It was that moment that James felt a bubbling feeling well up from the tips of his toes, shot up his body and out he blurted out a price that topped everyone just as the candle tip came to the end.
The sound of the auctioneer announcing the closure of the bid made many to groan with annoyance and frustration. Many glared at James as he made way down the aisle, ignoring the glares and insults thrown in his way. His main focus was on the woman that he bid for and won unconsciously.
When James came to stand before her, he did not know a reason for his actions. It simply happened and he could not explain what had happened. His actions made him to question whether it was meant to be for a reason that he had yet to realize.
"Take these shackles off of her." James stated slowly, but firmly. His eyes flicker to the guard standing by.
With a huff of being commanded, the guard unlocked the shackles off the woman and pulled the chains away.
Throwing a bag filled with a hefty amount onto the desk that the auctioneer stood, James led the woman out of the building. He kept walking down the sidewalk, but stopped to glance behind him where the woman was staring around her surroundings with uncertainty.
It was as if James looked at a reflection of himself when he first came back home. So many years passed, things changed. But he returned home on his free will. This woman was taken and brought to another continent to be sold off.
"Keep up." James told her, turning on the heel of his boots to begin walking again.
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The arrival at the house Brace greeted James on his return, but stopped in his spot to stare at the woman that came into the house behind James with her arms crossed protectively over her chest.
"Bringing in strays?"
"She is our guest."
The woman stared at James with a small incline of her dark eyebrows, showing a surprise gesture that he called her his guest instead of servant.
"What is your name?"
She did not speak as she stared and then looked away from the two men with a blank expression.
"She has not spoken throughout our walk here. Set up a bath. She needs to clean up." James said and walked away, heading toward the staircase of the home.
Brace let out a sigh with a shake of his head. He made way up the stairs to go draw a bath as James requested. He could not understand what goes on through James head most of the times, but he knew that James always had a crazy reason behind his actions.
By the time that he drawn the bath and made way back downstairs, Brace was surprised to see that the woman did not run off. Instead, she stood in the same spot in the foyer. The image was a sad one to Brace. He stared at a woman that was alone in an unknown surrounding.
"Come. The bath had been drawn."
With a small step forward then another, the steps became longer as Brace led the young woman up the stairs and through the long hallways until the two stood before a door. With a small push of the door, it open up to reveal a newly cleaned bathroom.
Steam arising out of the tub to show how hot the water was within.
"I laid out one of James' old shirts for the late lady of the house items are still stored away. Call if you need anything."
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When the door clicked behind her, she made way to the bath and dipped her left hand into the hot water. A sigh of relief escaped her as the warmth spread through her cold body. Only wearing a flimsy thin long sleeve blouse, pants and worn down boots, the warm water in the bath felt glorious. Her outfit did not bring her any warmth in this weather.
Stripping out of the clothes and tossed off to the side to create a small heap of clothes.
Carefully and slowly, she lowered her body into the hot water. A few times she pulled up as the water was too hot to dunk straight in. Adjusting to the temperature, she was lowered fully in with another relief sigh escaping her.
Clenching the edge of the bath and slowly she let go as she dipped her arms underneath the water. She lowered herself down into the bathtub until the water consumed her underneath the surface.
Under the water, frozen in her place and she held her breath. At the feeling of pressure in her chest from running out of air hit her, she raised herself back above the surface to take in a long, steady inhale of air.
Using the oils and soap that laid nearby the bathtub to scrub the grime off her skin until her skin was a light pinkish red in color. The challenging task was her long hair that was tangled in knots. It was a task with some painful tugs here and there, but she got through it and she was able to wash her hair.
With everything washed, the water was becoming cool. She pushed herself out of the bathtub to grab hold of the towel to dry herself off before she slipped on a button up shirt.
The man known as Brace told her it was one of James' old shirts. Seeing how James was a bulky man in a physical muscle structure and taller than her, the shirt was large on her slender frame.
Leaving the bathroom and into the hallway, the voices downstairs made her to make her way in that direction. Heels first then toes, her steps were silent as she walked down the woods stairs until she got back onto the main floor.
Slowly, she made her way to a doorway that led into a dining area where Brace was going back and forth with James. The two stood on either side of the long dining room table.
"You brought her as a servant."
"She is our guest."
"How do you know she is to be trusted?"
"Her eyes." James stated in a simple tone while pouring himself a glass.
"James, we don't even know her name for godsakes. She probably doesn't even speak English."
"Nayla."
Both men whirled around to stare at her stepping into the dining room with her arms crossed over her chest. Her pale green eyes flicker between the two.
"My name is Nayla Mercer. I do understand you two perfectly clear." Nayla said softly with a small tilt of her head as she observed the two.
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The two men stood there speechless as they did not hear her come into the room and the fact that she spoke to them in a soft gentle voice had made her even more alluring.
Knowing the name of the woman, Nayla Mercer, James stared at her with wide eyes. He let his eyes flicker over her to take her in all cleaned up and in one of his shirts.
Skin soft and a light tan color. Dark brown hair still wet from her bathing, but untangled and hanging loose. Those pale green eyes that were radiant as she eyed Brace and he. James eyes did flicker down to her wrist where it appeared she had tattoos.
"Brace."
"James."
"I know. I have two favors to ask."
"I am listening." James perked up, especially as she stared directly at him with a calm expression.
"I wish to know what happen to my uncle and the items that were on me, I wish to have them back. Think you could manage that?"
James tongue slithered out to lick the bottom of his lip as he held himself back from saying anything in reply to the last part of her comment. His eyes glanced to Brace where the older man blinked rapidly as he could not believe that the woman demanded James favors.
"Fine."
"James." Brace went to say more, but James walked away.
James came to pause beside Nayla and stared down at her with sharp eyes.
"Do not think you can command me."
Slowly, those long dark eyelashes flicker up as Nayla tilted her head up just a tad to let her pale green eyes to flicker up to make connection with his own.
"Do not assume I am just a woman that cannot handle herself against men like you." Nayla replied with a challenging look and she looked away to stare at Brace fixing the food on the table.
A deep exhale escape out of James nose before he walked away to leave the house. The front door slamming shut behind him.
"Do not get on his bad side, Ms. Mercer."
"Please call me, Nayla."
"I warned you."
"And warn me you shall." Nayla replied, ignoring Brace staring at her with concern as she moved closer to the table to make herself a plate to eat.
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Hi Everyone,
I have decided to start a new series.
I want to apologize ahead of time if I get any sort of information wrong throughout the story.
Disclaimer for this chapter and the future chapters: I do not own anything about the tv series Taboo. However, I do own my original characters, Nayla and her uncle.
Enjoy. Please Review.
Thank You!