I do not own Shadow and Bone.
Keira didn't know how long she had been on this Saints forsaken ship when she finally stirred. She smelled her surroundings before she saw them, the scent of unwashed bodies, dried blood, the smell of fish. As she forced her eyes open, she stared around in shock. Surrounding her was a mixture of young women her age, all chained together and looking miserable. She recognized some from Novyi Zem, but the others she wasn't sure of. A Suli girl? Ravkan? She found Ravkan hard to believe, but she also didn't know as much as she thought she did. As in she had let herself be excited by the idea of adventure and freedom and had gotten herself kidnapped by some gap-toothed old codger.
"Where-" She found her voice was hoarse and cleared her throat, trying again. "Where are they taking us?"
The girl who looked Suli blinked over with a dull look in her brown eyes. "Be sold at pleasure houses in Ketterdam, likely." She spoke in broken Kerch but the point was still made.
"What? They- They can't do that!" Keira began to struggle against her restraints, terror on her face.
"Oh, aye, we can. Indentures are perfectly legal in Ketterdam. And you came here of your own free will… On paper." The gap-toothed man said as he descended the stairs, a vicious grin on his face.
"You will not get away with this! When I get free, I-" Keira yelped as the man swung, landing a solid blow on her jaw. She found herself spitting blood as she stared up at him.
"We do as we damn well please, girly." He snapped. "Listen up! We'll be at the harbor soon. You all behave or we have our Heartrender kill you on the spot."
So they do have a Grisha! Keira thought with a jolt. But why would a member of the Second Army be all the way here, in Kerch? And working for a bunch of brutes? She furrowed her brow before grunting as the man unchained them, at least from the pole. He kept them bound together and guided the women up to the deck.
"Oh, Saints…" Keira's fear couldn't help but be replaced with awe as she saw the city of Ketterdam in the fast approaching distance. It was massive, unlike anything she had ever seen before. As the harbor came into view, she saw a handful of men and a single woman waiting. The moment they threw the gangplank down after docking, the group came up, staring at Keira and her unfortunate female companions.
"Miss, gentleman. The newest group." The gap-toothed man said with a grin. Keira could see the Grisha standing nearby, watching with his arms clasped behind his back, a blank look on his face.
"I will take those three." The woman with golden hair and hazel eyes nodded to the Suli girl and the two who looked Ravkan. The girls looked terrified as the woman gave a sickeningly sweet smile, two brutes coming forward and guiding them off the ship.
As Keira stared after them, she was barely aware of the others being taken until one of the men present nodded at her.
"We will take the Kaelish girl." He said in a gruff tone, seizing Keira by the arm and hauling her off.
"W-wait! This is a misunderstanding, just let me go home, I can explain-" The man struck her, Keira yelping in pain.
"Be quiet and only speak when spoken to." The man snapped as he returned to hauling her off down a busy Ketterdam street. "You can read?"
"Yes." Another slap.
"Yes sir." The man growled.
"Y-yes, sir." Keira managed, trying to hide the fact that she was trembling.
"Good, you'll work the tables at the Emerald Palace. You'll be given over to Amalia, but know that if you mess up, even slightly, or try to run, we will gut you alive." The man smiled.
Keira found herself unable to respond, just stumbling along as the man pulled her. She did make a face at the horrible building standing in front of her. It was a horrible green color with artificial trees, a gold and green front door. He pulled her inside and she found herself choking a bit at the smell. It smelled of sweat, whiskey, something she didn't even want to think about. The girls she saw around the gambling tables had unnatural red hair and wore green.
"Amalia! Fresh meat." The man called, shoving Keira forward, untying her hands.
A tall woman who may have had Kaelish in her blood glanced over, giving the man she was with a sweet smile before approaching. "Another one? The red is natural, at least, good. Less upkeep. Come along, dear." She turned and walked up a set of stairs just behind the counter, Keira tried to ignore the noises she heard occasionally from a room or two. "I am Amalia, you work for Pekka Rollins. Don't anger him or his Dime Lions unless you have a death wish. Just smile, look pretty and wear the dress. You might pay off your debt to him. Might." Amalia opened the door to what was practically a closet, with a small bed and dresser, a mirror propped up on the dresser.
"Get changed. You start now." Amalia stated before she turned, pausing. "And no crying." With that, she left, leaving the door open.
Keira hurried to close the door, she noticed it didn't have a lock. She stared numbly around, sinking to her knees. "Mama…" She whimpered, barely holding back the tears she felt stinging her eyes. "Please, Saints, I'm sorry…" She struggled to stand, fumbling with the dresser and her dirty clothing, jumping as a young woman with dark skin opened the door without knocking, setting a bucket of water and a washcloth down. "You'll wanna wash. Amalia hates her girls to be filthy." She said simply before hesitating. "It ain't so bad. We just serve food, really." She tried to give Keira a reassuring smile before she left, shutting the door behind her.
Keira stared after her, thinking to herself as she went to wipe her face off. How could it not be that bad? I'm in a country I don't know, this isn't how I wanted to arrive. I wanted to be free. Am I free? No, I'm in a cage again… She shuddered as she pulled on a green dress, trying to comb out her hair with her fingers.
She stared at her reflection for a long time before she turned and walked out to find Amalia waiting for her, nodding. "Good enough to start. Come."
It was from that moment that her life as an indentured "servant" to Pekka Rollins and the Dime Lions began. Amalia showed her how to smile and twitch her hips at the men to entice them into staying longer, how to serve the food and drink, to balance trays without dropping them. The gambling hall wasn't terrible, Keira would admit after a while. They were fed the extra food at the end of the night; though she found out the hard way that it was a first come, first serve situation. She found herself crying for home the first few nights, her puffy eyes in the morning giving Amalia reason to beat her. But Amalia wasn't terrible, according to the other girls.
"You should be grateful you aren't at the Menagerie." One said with a shudder.
"Why?" Keira found herself asking before she could stop herself, nibbling on a roll.
"It isn't pretty there." The girl answered before refusing to answer any other questions about the establishment.
Keira found she almost, almost, enjoyed her new work. Besides the occasional beatings, having to smile and be pretty for men who pawed at her or complimented her natural red hair as they gambled away their kruge, it could have been worse.
It couldn't get any worse, could it?