Thanks for your patience! Homework and readings for class have been killing me! But you'll be happy to know that instead of reading tonight, I decided to work on the story. :-) Enjoy!
It had been two days since Elos had left Elizabeth locked in her little cell, and since then she hadn't seen a soul. After the initial shock wore off, she'd tried to call for help. She'd even demanded to speak to the person in charge. No matter what she did, she was steadfastly ignored.
As Elos had predicted, she hadn't been given anything to eat since the soup he had given her three days earlier. She tried to think of other things in order to keep her mind off the hunger, but that didn't seem to be helping much either.
At first she had been sure John would come for her. She knew his policy on leaving people behind. He didn't, pure and simple. However, it had been four days since she'd been taken through the stargate, and she still had no indication that they were even looking for her.
There was one thought that she refused to allow into her consciousness. What if he didn't see the address? The idea that they may not have any idea where to even start looking for her filled her with complete and paralyzing terror. She pushed the offending thoughts away. She had to believe that help would come if she were ever to make it through this situation. She knew John would never stop looking for her.
Elizabeth was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of a key turning in the lock outside her door. Not wanting to give the appearance of weakness, she climbed to her feet. She swayed unsteadily for a moment due to lack of food and water, but recovered quickly and turned to face the door.
She was expecting Elos, but two unfamiliar men walked through the door instead. One was tall and slightly balding with cruel eyes. The other was shorter than the first, but still stood higher than Elizabeth. He was more muscular and his face held a blank expression devoid of any emotion. In his hands he held a metal chain with a small lock on one end.
The first man grinned wickedly and started toward Elizabeth. "Well well, little girl, aren't we excited? Today's a big day for you…Market Day!" He chuckled a little, and his tone reminded Elizabeth vividly of her obnoxious childhood neighbor whenever he wanted to do something particularly unkind to their elderly neighbor's puppy.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and put up the unshakeable mask of Dr.Weir. "I demand to know what you plan to do with me," she said with such confidence that the man stopped and cocked his head to the side.
"What do we plan to do with you?" he smiled, his voice slightly mocking. "We're gonna sell you, sweetheart." His gaze swept over her body, and Elizabeth fought a revolted shiver. "And judging from the look of ya, we ought to do pretty well, too."
With that, he gestured to his partner who came forward with the chain. The taller man took the locking end and reached for the collar around Elizabeth's neck. When she flinched away from him, he stopped and smirked at her.
"You're gonna have to learn not to do that, beautiful, or you won't last very long here." Without warning, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head backward. She gasped in pain, and he locked the chain to a small metal loop on the collar.
Still holding fast to her hair, his other hand came up to cup her chin, and he leaned in close enough for her to catch the smell of stale alcohol on his breath. She tried to ignore the throbbing at the back of her head and hide her fear as she locked her stare with his.
His voice was low and threatening as he growled, "Don't forget what you are now, sweetheart. Slaves don't make demands. They follow them." He ran a finger down the side of her face before abruptly letting go of her hair and pushing her toward the door. "Now be a good girl and don't embarrass me out there."
Elizabeth had never felt more humiliated. She would never have imagined that at any point during her life she would be standing on a raised platform, bound hand and foot, being auctioned off to the highest bidder. She closed her eyes and fought to keep her features and body language neutral so as not to show the shame, revulsion, and fear she felt raging within her.
She had figured out very quickly why the locals preferred this particular style of dress for their slaves. A man in the crowd below who had been interested in the woman sold right before Elizabeth stated that he wouldn't place a bid unless he could "see" the merchandise…she shuddered slightly remembering that term.
An attendant had immediately stepped forward to untie the knots at each shoulder of the woman's dress. It had fallen to her ankles and she had stood there utterly exposed before the crowd gathered below. The man had scrutinized her body before smiling and making the winning bid. Elizabeth's stomach still turned as the event replayed itself in her mind and she thought about how easily the same could happen to her.
Tuning back in to the circus around her, she realized that there were two main buyers interested in her. The first was tall with shoulder-length dark hair and a lustful grin on his face, but Elizabeth's blood ran cold when she saw his eyes. Cold and hard, she knew her time on this world would not be made easier by this man.
Her heart sinking, she glanced at the other prospective buyer. What she saw there surprised her. He reminded her vaguely of the great-uncle she'd met only once as a child. He was moving past middle age, but was still impressively built. His features were hardened, but it was the kind of roughness that comes from a life of hard work. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth was set in a grim line. Almost as though he doesn't like doing this at all, she thought.
Suddenly, a loud crack of wood on stone interrupted her thoughts, making her jump. She belatedly recognized it as the signal that the auction was over.
Her stomach dropped as she was led back to her cell, and the shock began to set in.
She had just been sold as a slave.
