Chapter 7: Butterfly
"Stop right there!" Guards and taskmasters, angry to have been awakened from their slumber, rush at the trembling girls. They wade into the murky river, violently splashing up water as they approach the scene before them. A few Hebrew slaves watch from the bankside, cautiously curious as to what has just transpired.
The men jerk to a halt when they see Mistress Rabiah, clothed in her familiar green gown, face down in the now crimson water. Her body is still, silent, bobbing with the gentle tides; and her greying dark hair has been freed from its tight bun, and is fanned out around her head. They look up to see Erith, whimpering and clutching her injured arm, tears streaming down her face. And then there is Nadia, breathing heavily, wild eyed and covered in blood. Both sisters seem to be completely frozen, although it is uncertain if it is because of horror, fear, or satisfaction.
There is a long silence as the men take in the macabre scene before them.
Then there is chaos. Shouts echo through the midnight air as two guards seize Nadia and Erith, and the largest of the taskmasters lifts up Rabiah. Several men rush to the manor to rouse Kek. The ferocious, albeit weakened Nadia springs back into action, thrashing about, screaming "Let me explain! It's not what it looks like!" at the top of her lungs. Another guard comes to help restrain her, the troublemaking girl that they knew all too well. Erith's whimpers turn to pitiful wails, and she goes limp in her captor's arms. The infuriated guards drag the girls to the shore.
The taskmaster lays Rabiah down on the riverbank, and puts two fingers to her neck, feeling for a sign of life. He cringes at the knife lodged just beneath her left breast, but his feelings quickly turn from horror to disgusted rage. Rabiah has no pulse.
"She's dead." He grimly announces. The Hebrew onlookers gasp, although their hearts do a secret, guilty little dance of glee.
"These girls are murderesses!" shouts a guard.
"No!" shrieks Nadia, "she fell on the knife! I swear!" She struggles in the iron grip of the two guards, but one of them slams his fist across her face. The young woman yelps in pain.
"We shall see," he growls, "what Master Kek thinks of your lies. You and your sister are surely sentenced to die."
Upon hearing this, Erith erupts into another wave of sobs.
Nadia once again pleads with the men. "If I must die, so be it; but please, please don't hurt my sister!" Another smack is delivered to her face, and the salty taste of blood floods Nadia's mouth.
By now, Kek has arrived on the scene, his guards at his side. A small smirk flits across his lips when he sees the lifeless body of his long-resented wife, but he quickly returns to a somber expression.
"Sir, I regret to inform you that your wife is dead. We found these two Hebrews standing beside her body, and they await your sentence."
Kek glances over the bloodstained, fuming Nadia, but his gaze wanders over to the quivering Erith. He smiles when he sees her, remembering their meeting the night before, but Erith quickly looks down when she sees him.
"The taller of the two," he says, motioning to Nadia, "she appears to have been…more involved."
Nadia glares at him, rage burning in her eyes. "Master," she says, her voice low, "you wife tried to murder my sister. She had a knife, I pushed her down, and she fell."
A sarcastic smirk appears across the master's face. "A likely story."
"I know that I am doomed to die," says Nadia, "but I beg of you, spare Erith. She did nothing wrong."
Erith's tender heart drops, and although small and weak, she makes a sudden jerk and frees herself from the guard's grip. Hysterical, she throws herself at Kek's feet. "Don't hurt Nadia, please!" she wails as she wraps her trembling hands in the hem of Kek's robe. "Please!"
Kek looks down at the distraught girl with tears running down her sweet young face. She was so beautiful when she cried…
He could kill Nadia, he had every right to, but considering the obvious loyalty between the two sisters, he was left with another appealing option; one that would surely make him appear gentler in the eyes of Erith, and one that would hurt Nadia even more than the blade of a sword.
He sighs. "Very well. The Hebrews may live…but," he points to Nadia, "I never want to see the older girl again. She now belongs to the gentlemen restraining her, you may do as you please with her. Take her away!"
The guards, shocked and confused at the usually cold Kek's sudden "mercy", begin to drag Nadia away. She struggles, despite her wounds, she squirms, and her limbs go flailing. "Don't take me away, please! I need to stay with my sister!" shrieks the older Hebrew girl. She jerks her head around to face her master. "Damn you Kek!"
He laughs. "Such disrespect, although I might expect it from this one. Silence her before I…change my mind." One of the guards pulls out a scarf, and gags Nadia. The other pulls off the rope around his waist and ties her hands together. The only sound she makes after that are angry, muffled shouts as she is pulled off into the night.
The sobbing Erith reaches for her sister. "Nadia please don't go! Don't leave me!" she cries. She starts to get up, but Kek grabs her wrist, tightening his ring-clad fingers around it. The girl looks up at him with puzzled, teary eyes.
"She must go, my dear," he says, his deep voice smooth, "but you are staying with me."
As they drag the enraged young woman out of Kek's estate and into the streets, the two guards argue as to what they are going to do with her.
"I sure as hell don't want her, she's an ugly creature with a bad temper to boot." Scoffs the first guard.
"We could just kill her and be done with her." The second guard suggests as the Hebrew drags her knees in an unsuccessful attempt to halt their journey.
"No," says the first guard, "as much as I hate to say it, it would be a waste. We should just sell her as quickly as possible, that way she's off our hands and we make a profit. We'll split the money and call it good. Deal?"
"Deal," the second guard nods in agreement, "but who would buy her? She's a crazy bitch covered in her mistress's blood."
"We'll clean her up, make up a story, and sell her to the palace. They won't pay much for a girl like her, but hey, it's still money."
And so one guard hurries home and back, bringing an old tunic with him. After swearing to her that they'll kill her if she tries to run, they drag the reluctant Nadia to the river and lead her into the water, dunking her under, scrubbing the blood off of her. They lead her out of the water, then rip off her stained dress and Nadia doesn't even blush. There is no shame in her veins, only a boiling hatred, and plans to escape once inside the palace and out of sight. The guards quickly redress her in the shapeless, itchy tunic and drag her back into the streets, towards the palace.
Magnificent stone columns greet the trio, and even the dark of the night, the royal palace is strikingly beautiful. Palm trees rustle in the nighttime wind, and the clever moon plays tricks upon the eyes, mischievously casting light in odd places, giving the illusion that the mighty building is eerily glowing.
They are let in without too much fuss by the bored night-shift guards, and manage to concoct a story about who they were and who she was. A bargain transpires in the shadows of the stunning architecture. Under hushed voices, coins are exchanged, and the unhappy and bound Hebrew girl is passed through several sets of hands. Her eyes dart across the darkened faces of her captors, trying her best to analyze them, to assess their danger. Nervous, she chews on her gag, yearning more than ever to breathe free again.
I must be brave she thinks to herself, despite her skipping heart.
Finally, she is shoved into the hands of the jailer, a short, gruff middle-aged man. He sighs upon seeing her and shakes his head, then first puts proper shackles on her wrists. "You belong to us now, you're staying down here for the rest of the night, in the morning everything will be sorted out." He then removes her gag. Nadia glares at him.
"I'm not staying here, I have had enough misery for tonight." She snarls through gritted teeth.
The jailer sighs again and leads her to her cell. "You'd better get used to it, that's the way things run around here." He stops at the door, opens it, and pulls her in. "And you shouldn't try any little plans to escape." He says as he shackles her to the wall, which Nadia attempts to pull away from. "Look, I don't want to see anything bad happen to you, so you'd better get your attitude under control young lady." He turns to leave. "I'll see you in the morning."
And Nadia is all alone.
She yanks at her chains in a desperate attempt to free herself, to no avail. After several minutes of this, she falls to her back, frustrated. She is painfully reminded of the agony in her shoulder, of her smashed nose and face, of the pains from where Rabiah kicked her. But most of all, of the pain in her heart.
Her beloved Erith was alone without her, out there in the cruel world. They might never see each other again. That alone breaks Nadia's spirit and invades her conscience. She hugs her knees to her chest and rocks back in forth, in an attempt to ease her physical pain and her mental state of anguish.
Nadia was never one to feel sorry for herself. Although hot-headed and tough, she had a sensitivity about her, although she seldom showed it. She usually gritted her teeth and plowed through the trials and tribulations that her difficult life threw at her. But here, in the darkened and lonely prison cell, cast off from all she has held dear, she feels…fearful, unsure of her fate. She hasn't truly felt these emotions since the death of her mother, nine years ago, and now she only wants the same thing – for her mother to hold her, to make everything alright.
She slowly pulls herself up into a sitting position and closes her eyes. In a small, scared voice, so unlike her usual husky one, she begins to sing.
Mother, are you there? I'm all alone again.
Mother, please I'm scared, I want to hold your hand.
Remember all our dreams? Remember all our plans?
I'm more fragile than I seem, I know you understand.
You went through such pain, your life was undone.
You lived as a slave, you lost your poor son.
Still you loved us so much, your heart was so pure.
You flew far away, away from this world.
I remember that day, I think I was eight.
It was the last time, I saw your sweet face.
We never said goodbye, it happened so soon.
I ran to your side, and sobbed over you.
But it was too late, you were already gone.
I held Erith close, I sang her your song.
She barely remembers you, it tears me apart.
She looks so much like you, and has your kind heart.
Daddy isn't the same, since you've been gone.
He won't say a word, he's always alone.
I wish that he loved me, and loved Erith too.
But he always ignores us, we remind him of you…
Mother, I'll always be strong, I'll always stand tall.
I'll take care of Erith, we'll get through it all.
But Mother I miss you, I need you tonight.
I wish you could hold me, and make everything right.
Because Mother, I dream,
Mother, I try.
Mother, I scream,
Mother, I cry.
Mother, I love,
Mother, I live.
Mother, I hope,
Mother, I give.
All that I do, I do just for you.
You were taken away, and I'll never know why.
But Mother, I'll always be your butterfly…
And with that, for the first time in far too long, Nadia buries her bruised, battered face in her hands and sobs.