Silk and Sand – Chapter 3

Dunking her head under the water, Kahlan was finished with her bath, and felt clean for the first time since she had woke up in that dark cold cell. As they filed out of the pool, each walking up the marble steps one at a time, they were greeted by the maidservants, who handed them flaxen robes. Kahlan stepped out behind Alissia, and pulled the robe over her body as quickly as possible, not liking the leering looks that some of the guards were giving her. Alissia took it differently, seeming to relish the lascivious looks the men gave her. She slipped her robe on as slow and suggestively as possible, making sure to give the men a good show. Kahlan took a deep breath and shook her head, utterly perplexed by this woman.

After departing the pool, they were ushered into a corridor and ordered to line up against the wall. It was like waiting in a queue at some food stall. Alissia was in front of her and was jabbering away about how some the new girls, the ones who were not worth a lot—unlike Kahlan and the other virgins—would be getting some "entertainment" tonight. As they proceeded down the corridor, moving one at a time, Kahlan was growing increasingly worried, since she did not recognize any of the guards. What if none of them knew that she was to be "saved" for a rich client?

They reached the front of the queue in no time. The guards standing at the threshold of the doorway eyed Alissia with lustful stares. She pouted her lips at them and parted her robes ever so slightly, giving them a glimpse at her bosom. "So, which one of you boys have what it takes to satisfy me tonight?" she asked, smirking.

The closest guard stepped forward and took her arm in his big hand and led her away. Alissia looked over her shoulder and gave Kahlan a big grin and winked. Kahlan shuddered, stepping forward, looking through the doorway into the outer room, where even more queues were being formed. It appeared that they were being separated into categories, by attractiveness and by hair color. All the blondes were in one line, all the brunettes in another, and it was the same with those with either black or red hair. Kahlan noticed only one queue with women with different hair color, and by the way they were all fidgeting and trembling, Kahlan guessed that they were the virgins.

As she stepped through the threshold, Kahlan lowered her eyes, taking Alissia's advice about not glaring at the men. She did not want to attract any attention onto herself. It was clear that some of the women were not separated out into categories and were instead being ushered into an adjacent room, where they serviced the guards. Alissia had disappeared behind the curtain leading to that room, and Kahlan could barely make out the soft groans and moans that came from there. She did not want to be taken to that room. She preferred to be placed in the queue with the other virgins.

"Look here!" one of the guards said. "This one's pretty…"

"Pretty!" scoffed the other. "You wouldn't know pretty if it came up and bit your arse! This one's a goddess! Since you don't know beauty worth you're spit, I think I'll entertain this lady tonight."

Kahlan trembled when she felt the man's fingers wrap around her arm, and he began to lead her away towards the curtained room where the groans and moans were coming from. She closed her eyes and suppressed the cry that wanted to come out. She had been hoping that one of these guards would recognize her from when Betto had inspected them, since the Master of the House knew she was a virgin, not to mention he seemed to believe she was quite valuable. Alissia had told her as such. But then Kahlan began to worry that Betto had lied to them when he had told them that they would have a period of adjustment, and that his idea of adjustment was to have them broken by the guards.

"Esser! Stop! Release her!" came a commanding voice.

The strong hand around her arm let go. Kahlan trembled slightly and hugged herself, daring to look up. From the shadows in the outer room, where the women were being sorted, Necor, the fair-haired guard, stepped forward. His cerulean eyes looked over her, holding the same sorrowful look that they had held before, when she had been inspected by Betto.

"Sir?" the guard Esser, who had been leading her away, questioned, looking worried.

"How many times have I told you, Esser," Necor said, glowering at the man. "The virgins are not to be touched. We save them for the clients, as the Master commands."

Esser gave a nod. "I was unaware she was a virgin, sure she looks afraid and terrified, but I thought that was just because she was new. And… and required some breaking in."

Necor scowled and pointed to Kahlan's chest. She looked down and noticed that the flaxen robe she was wearing had a black "X" embroidered above the right breast. "You know very well that we mark the pure ones," Necor said. "We keep an eye on them from the moment they are purchased. And we make sure that they all wear the X on their chests to distinguish them from the others." He let out a frustrated breath. "Perhaps you should go back to being a guard at the Pit."

"No, please, sir, I like it here," Esser protested, quickly stepping away from Kahlan, as if to distance himself from her. "I will be more observant, I promise!"

Necor gave Esser a hard glare and then looked over at the man's comrade. "Make sure he does, Helios, or you'll be joining him back at the Pit."

Helios nodded. "You can trust me, Necor."

With a nod, Necor came over and grabbed Kahlan's arm. His hold on her was gentler than the other guards. He directed her to the queue on the far side of the room with the other girls wearing flaxen robes with an X on the right breast. Sighing with relief, she shuffled across the room and joined the other virgins. They all looked at her with big eyes, all communicating that she had just been very lucky. Kahlan nodded in agreement and hugged herself.

Slowly, with Necor's supervision, the guards finished sorting them out. Then they were told to line up single file in their respected queues to await their room assignments. Necor stood in the center of the room, his hands clasped behind his back, observing the entire process.

"You… you were lucky," Kahlan blinked and looked up to see the blonde haired woman, standing next to her in the line, staring at her with big green eyes.

"He seems to be the most kind out of all the guards," Kahlan responded, clutching her robe tighter around her shivering frame. She almost smiled. "It's a good thing he seems to be their commander."

"Yes," the woman nodded. "From what I gathered from some of the others in the pool, he is the only one who does not partake in the benefits of working here."

Kahlan knitted her eyebrows together.

"Yes, I know, sounds odd… for a man to work in a whorehouse and not indulge himself…," the woman paused and averted her eyes for a moment as the queue moved forward. She looked back. "I'm Cameron, by the way."

"Kaya," Kahlan responded, nodding her head.

"I… I just thought I should introduce myself, seeing how we came in together," Cameron replied.

"We… we were purchased at the same time?" her mind began to reel with possibilities; maybe this woman knew what became of Richard. Kahlan knew it was probably giving herself false hope, but she could not accept that Richard might already be dead. She would not believe that until she saw it… and it was something she never wanted to see, so she had to hope. Thinking and hoping he was alive and well was the only thing that would give her comfort and the strength she needed to survive in this place.

"Yes," Cameron answered. "The same slave trader sold us to Betto in the market place. You were unconscious the entire time, but even then, Betto seemed to see your beauty."

Kahlan shivered. "I wish he hadn't."

"I… I know what you mean," Cameron nodded.

"Next!" came a guard's gruff voice.

Cameron turned around and took a step forward to stand before a podium. The guard standing behind it looked bored. He dipped the quill into the inkwell and looked up at her. "Name?" he questioned.

"Cameron."

He nodded, then looked down at the ledger before him and made a note. Glancing back up at her, he began to list off her features. "Blonde hair… green eyes," he mumbled as he wrote in the ledger. His eyes skimmed her body. "Small breasts… shapely hips… virgin." He turned his head and gave a nod to another guard, who was standing at the opening behind him. He raised his hand and gestured to Cameron. She looked over her shouldered at Kahlan and gave a quick nod of her head.

"I hope to see you again, Kaya," she said hurriedly, before stepping away to go through the opening.

"Next!"

Kahlan stepped forward and took a deep breath, determined to remain calm and collected. She was the Mother Confessor after all, and no matter what her present circumstances were, she was going to maintain her dignity.

"Name?" the guard questioned.

"Kaya," Kahlan answered in a firm voice, keeping up the fiction.

The guard nodded and wrote down the name. She listened as the guard listed off her features: Her blue eyes, full breasts, hips, and long legs. He paused with her hair, seeming to have difficulty on whether to label it black or dark brown. He eventually settled on dark brown. "You may go," he said looking up at her, as if startled she was still there.

Kahlan gave a nod and walked towards the door behind the guard. The guard at the door opened the curtain and gestured Kahlan inside. It led to a dimly lit hall and she spotted Cameron at the other end, being led away by another guard. Not knowing what to do, Kahlan stood there and waited. A side door opened and Kahlan held her breath when she saw Necor emerge. He stopped and looked at her, his eyes boring into hers. Hesitating for a moment, he inhaled through his nostrils, and then stepped over.

"Follow me," he ordered.

Kahlan nodded, and followed. They walked to the end of the hallway, which turned into a spiral staircase that led down into the ground. It was too narrow to walk side-by-side, so he had her walk in front of him. He placed his hand on her arm, but the manner in which he did so was not salacious or lecherous. By the tone of his voice, Kahlan thought he was just concerned that she might slip on the smoothed stone steps. She was grateful, because at one point, she did almost slip. He caught her, his hands wrapping around her thin waist. He gave a soft smile, and then placed her back down on her feet. They continued in silence for a while, now with him in front and her behind him.

"I… I'm sorry," he said softly, looking over his shoulder as they continued down the narrow steps. "I… I did not mean to put the idea of sending you to the Pit in the Master's mind."

Kahlan gulped, unsure whether or not to respond. "I… I noticed that before," Kahlan choked out. "You call him Master, while the others call him Betto."

Necor glanced over his shoulder at her and gave a quick nod before turning back to the stairs. "Yes… I was once a slave in this House," he replied, leaving it at that. "I'm called Necor."

"Yes, I know, I heard him call you that. I… I'm Kaya," she decided that for the moment it was best to maintain that fiction, especially after that was the name she had been using with everyone else. No matter how kind Necor was, he was still a guard and she was still a prisoner.

"Kaya… that's a pretty name," Necor said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kaya… though I just wish it was under better circumstances." He forced out a chuckle, but then lowered his brow, seeming to think better of it.

Kahlan allowed some time to pass before she spoke again. "How long were you…?" her voice trailed off.

"A slave?" Necor finished her question. "Since I was born. I was born into it, if you will. I've been with Betto for most of it. I'm the only slave that Betto has ever freed. He made me the head guard because I'm the only one he can trust. You see... the others are loyal because of coin, whereas I'm loyal because I was bred to have no other choice. And for some reason that makes him trust me more than the others."

"They must resent you, don't they?" Kahlan questioned. "I mean, having to take orders from a former slave."

Necor nodded. "Yes… but they fear me more than they resent me." His voice trailed off and he looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "You are different from the rest," he commented. "You don't seem as timid or afraid as the others. You act very peculiar for a slave."

"Because I'm not," Kahlan asserted. "No one should be a slave."

"Doesn't change the fact that there is slavery throughout all the territories," Necor interjected.

Their conversation ceased and they walked in silence, passing a number of openings before coming to a stop at an oak door. Necor opened it and ushered Kahlan inside. They entered a hallway with doors at regular intervals. As they walked past, Kahlan spotted the guard who had been escorting Cameron step away from a door, tucking in his shirt as he walked past them. Necor gave him a glare before continuing. When they reached that door, Necor paused and stopped. He asked her to wait.

Kahlan nodded, besides there was nowhere she could go. Necor took out an iron ring with a collection of keys on it. He rifled through them until he came up with a key that looked to be a skeleton key. He stuck it in the bolt and unlocked the door. Opening it, he stepped inside. Kahlan could hear soft weeping, which ceased the moment Necor walked in. Stepping closer to the door, Kahlan listened.

"Are you okay? What did he do?" she heard Necor ask.

"He forced me to take him into my mouth and swallow when he released," Kahlan heard Cameron whimper.

"Shh," came Necor's reassuring voice. Kahlan peeked her head around the door and watched as the fair-haired guard knelt down beside the trembling girl, wrapping his arms around her, soothing her. "It's all right. I'll make sure he's punished. Now, get some rest."

Cameron sniffled. "Why?" was all the girl managed to squeak out.

"The Master promised three days of peace… and you girls deserve that," Necor replied, caressing her head like an older brother. He helped her into the bed and tucked her in. "Now, get some rest, and do not worry about him."

Cameron nodded and laid her head against the pillow. Before Necor stood and turned around, Kahlan stepped back and looked away, pretending not to have been eavesdropping. Necor reappeared and closed the door, locking it. He looked over his shoulder at Kahlan.

"Yes?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow, making it clear to her that he knew that she had been eavesdropping.

"What will you do to that guard?" she asked.

"He'll get fifty lashes and then be reassigned to guard duty at the Pit," Necor said.

"You would do that for a whore?"

Necor looked at her for a moment, before gesturing for her to follow. "You forget… I was a slave," he said. "And… and my mother was a whore."

"Sorry," Kahlan said, lowering her head.

Stopping before the last door in the hall, Kahlan watched as he took out the keychain again and found the skeleton key. He unlocked the door and directed her inside. She slipped past him and entered her quarters. When he followed her and closed the door, Kahlan held her breath, wondering if his entire display had been an act, something to lull her into a false sense of security. She prepared for an assault. When nothing happened, she exhaled slowly and turned around to look at him, taking note of his slumped shoulders and lowered head. That's when she heard the soft sounds of sobbing. Tentatively, Kahlan reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Necor stiffened, startled, and turned around. Kahlan found that she had been right; he had been crying. "Sorry," he sniffled, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "It's just that, if it where not for the dark hair, you are the spitting image of my sister."

"Oh…," was all she could say.

"I… I won't touch you, you don't have to worry about that," he said.

Kahlan nodded, believing him now, and seeing his interaction with Cameron in a whole new light. He must have been telling her the truth, when he told her that he had been a slave and his mother had been a whore. Perhaps she had been a whore in this very House.

Necor swallowed and straightened his back, raking in a deep breath. "You may not believe this, but I would kill Betto if I thought it were possible to do so without getting killed in the process. And if I could free all the other slaves."

"Other slaves?" she furrowed her brow. "But you're no longer a slave."

"In my heart, I still am," he told her. "My mother was a slave, my sister was a slave."

"And your father?" Kahlan asked.

"When my mother was purchased, Decius Betto, the Master's father, took a fancy to her," Necor said. "My sister and I were the result." He paused and took a deep breath. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. There is something about you that compels me to confess things to you."

Kahlan caught her breath, hoping he had not guessed who or what she was. She cleared her throat to give herself some time to think. "So… that would make Betto you're half-brother," Kahlan said, knitting her eyebrows together, slightly confused. "And you want him dead? Even after he freed you?"

"If he knew the truth behind my parentage, I would have been killed a long time ago," Necor asserted, shaking his head. "Besides, even though I am freed, and have more movements than I have had in the past, in a lot of ways, I am still a slave. No one else would employ an ex-slave, so I remain… and for wanting Betto dead… that's because of Licinia."

"Licinia?"

Necor paused and looked at her for a moment. His expression was one of stunned amazement that he was telling her all of this. Taking in a quick breath, he gave a nod. "My… my sister."

"Oh… I… I'm sorry," Kahlan felt true sympathy for the man's pain. She may not have her confessor powers right now, but she could still sense when people were lying, because that was something she had been trained to notice, not something she had been born with.

Necor gave another nod and raked his hand through his hair. "Master Decius was worried about Licinia and me, because we both had his fair hair and complexion. So, when I was old enough, he sent me to the Pit, hoping I would die in the arena. He wanted me to die at someone else's hands, because he could not bring himself to do so to his own flesh and blood, even if I was a slave and son of a whore. Meanwhile, Licinia was blossoming into womanhood, and young master Gaius was taking a liking to her."

He paused and swallowed hard before continuing. "He… he forced himself on her, and when she tried to fight back, he… he struck her and choked her as he took her. He was so wrapped up in his own pleasure that he failed to notice that he had snapped her neck while he was having his way with her. I was unaware what had happened, being in the Pit, but when Master Decius died, Betto must have felt some guilt about her death, because he had me taken out of the Pit and brought here to be his personal bodyguard. It took me some time, but I eventually learned the truth from the old Master's personal slave."

Necor sucked in a breath. "I was furious, learning that the man I had served so faithfully had been the one to kill my sister," he continued his story. "But by then, I had Paullina to think of. I could not act while she is still in harm's way."

"Paullina?" Kahlan asked.

"Slaves cannot legally marry," Necor explained. "But she is as close to a wife as a man like me can have. Though, I must share her with the master's clients."

"Then she is a whore?"

"A slave!" Necor snapped, then softened. "Sorry… it is not easy. But we manage, knowing that our bodies may be owned by others, but our hearts are not."

Kahlan nodded, understanding the real reason why Necor had stayed in the employment of Betto after he had been freed. It was to look after the woman he loved. This also showed more about his character and why he treated all the women differently than the other guards.

"Slavery," Kahlan shook her head in disgust. "If the Midlands Council took a more proactive role in the defense of its citizens there would be no slavery."

Necor looked at her like she was crazy. "The Midlands Council has no authority here, Kaya," he said. "They might have, a long time ago, but not now."

Kahlan's heart sank. If this was true, then she was truly lost. Turning around, she hugged herself. "Thank you for your kindness, Necor, and for confiding in me, when you had no reason to," she said.

"Pay it no mind, Kaya, it… it was nice to get it off my chest, so to speak," Necor replied, smilingly softly.

"If… if you don't mind. I would like to get some sleep now."

Necor nodded. "Of course, Kaya," he said. "If you ever need something, don't hesitate to ask for me." He paused and chuckled sadly. "After all, it is my duty to protect the Master's merchandise."

When he left, locking the door behind him, Kahlan slumped down on the bed and stared forlornly at the wall. She did not know if she could sleep, but she took some comfort in the knowledge that there was someone like Necor here who she could rely on for support. Alissia and Cameron may be necessary friends amongst the other working girls, but Necor was the true ally here, that much Kahlan was sure of.