A/N: Sorry this one is a bit shorter! Thanks to my (single) reviewer! You rock!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. Yet. evil laughter
Chapter 2
The guard pulled me off the platform and into another tent to wait until the auction finished.
I may have waited in there for five minutes, or five hours. The time seemed to move in jumps and bursts as I tried to shut off my mind, which was making up dreadful scenarios about what it would be like to have that man as a master.
When the dark man came to get me, he also brought two other girls, a short, curvy brunette and a tall, muscular redhead. He grabbed my arm, and despite the stifling heat, I shivered.
We rode to our master's house in a covered litter, and although it was shaded, the curtains around us made it feel even hotter. Neither of the other girls would speak to me nor even make eye contact.
The carriage jarred to a stop, and the man came around and instructed us to get out. He didn't bother caution us against running. The hand he kept on the hilt of his sword said enough. He led us into a large hall and there we stood, waiting for something. The dark man came up to me and stood uncomfortably close.
"Soon it will be just the two of us, yes," he said with a smirk, and his hand on my arm began to move, traveling up my arm, to my neck, and heading down towards the neckline of the loose robe I was wearing. The whole time, I stood statue-still, not daring to move, knowing that I was now destined for a lifetime of such things.
"Greetings, Salam."
He jumped away from me, and stood at attention.
"Greetings, Master Kamal," he said quickly. "I is brought the latest purchases to you for your selection."
My stomach unclenched slightly. So this man, Salam, was not to be my master after all!
The master of the house stood before us on the steps, dressed in a tunic in rich shades of purples and red. Despite his lack of adornment- he wore only one gold armband- this man was clearly rich, possibly a noble. He scrutinized us carefully, then pointed at me.
"Her. The rest will not do."
Salam pushed me towards the master roughly. Behind me, I heard him mutter, "But he never chooses the blondes!"
I followed my new master up the stairs, and he indicated a room into which I was to enter. Once I was inside, a plump, matronly woman instructed me to bathe immediately. I followed her directions, and then re-entered the room.
Laid out on the bed was a gauzy golden tunic. I went to it immediately, for it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen in my life, having grown up on a ship.
"Tsk tsk, 'tis not yet time for that," the woman scolded as she redirected me to a chair. She painted my eyes with kohl and my cheeks with rouge, then went to work on brushing my hair.
"Odd, odd, very odd," she murmured to herself as she brushed. "He never picks the blondes."
My curiosity overcame my common sense at the point.
"You're the second person to say that. What does he have against blondes?" I asked.
I regretted it immediately. The woman's face darkened and twisted into a scowl.
"Your job here is not to ask questions. You are here to satisfy the master's every demand until he tires of you and moves onto the next girl. You are a slave, to be purchased and discarded on a whim. Do not go inquiring into things which do not concern you!"
I fell silent at once and let her finish readying me without a word.
