Chapter Twelve: Slave
A/N: Okay, can I just say that I absolutely HATE Umm Madaura. She is literally the definition of a cheating bitch. This cunt purposefully put Sin up against Masrur. Don't understand how Ja'far did not kill this bitch for the OBVIOUS cheating! :C Also, enjoy a Tora flashback!
Tettia's eyes were wide and her jaw was dropped. A seven-year-old Masrur was wielding a gigantic sword, which hardly seemed fair considering the regular sword that Sinbad was wielding. "THAT'S SO FUCKING UNFAIR!" she screamed, resisting the urge to jump into arena and assist Sinbad.
"Sin!" exclaimed Ja'far, also finding it slightly unfair that Sinbad was being attacked by a giant-sword-wielding seven-year-old. Masrur swung his sword at Sinbad again, their boss just barely able to dodge it. "He's fast…!" gasped Ja'far.
Tora said, through gritted teeth, "No shit, Killjoy! He's like Tet, but he's a gotdamn full-blooded Fanalis! Gah!" The purplenette gripped the divider in front of her. Even though that was her future husband down there fighting Sinbad, right now, Masrur was the enemy. One who had an unfair advantage compared to Sinbad. Got-fucking-dammit! I am feeling the same rage now that I felt back when I was five and witnessed this, thought the purplenette as she growled. Memories came flooding back to her. (Cue the flashback!)
The five-year-old Tora clenched the ledge in front of her so hard, her hands started cramping. Sinbad was having some notable difficulty dodging the slave boy's swings. "FUCK THIS BULLSHIT! THIS STUPID FUCKING MATCH WAS RIGGED BY THAT CUNT MAADER!" she screamed at the top of her lunges.
Ja'far looked over at the young, seething spitfire. "Tora… calm down! I don't need you making a scene! And Rurumu would kill me if you died here because you spoke out of line," he said, trying to calm his adoptive sister down.
If looks could kill, the ex-assassin would have been dead on the spot. There was an angry, unstoppable fire burning behind Tora's pinkish-red orbs. The young purplenette was intensely gnashing her teeth; feral, angry growls coming from her throat. "Killjoy — I don't give a FUCK right now! I want to beat the shit out of that brat slave boy AND that whore Maader! This is obviouslywhat she had planned from the get-go," sneered Tora.
"Even if that is true, there is nothing we can do. This is something only Sin can do," answered Ja'far, calmly.
Tora flailed her arms in the air, angrily pointing out that Sinbad was losing. "HE IS ABOUT TO FUCKING LOSE! JA'FAR! THAT MOTHERFUCKER SAVED MY LIFE! I'M NOT ABOUT TO SIT AROUND AND WATCH HIM BECOME THAT CUNT'S SLAVE!" she retorted. As she and Ja'far turned their attention back to the match, they witnessed the slave boy punch Sinbad in the stomach — which resulted in Sinbad's loss. Tora's eyes widened in horror, that was what she feared.
Sinbad's loss.
That was when Tora's vision turned blood-red as she screamed a blood-curdling scream and tried to jump into the arena, to kill the slave boy. After she killed him, she would kill the witch behind Sinbad's loss. "NOOOOOO! THAT'S IT! BOY! I AM COMING TO END YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE LIFE!" she screamed threateningly, her eyes narrowed to a dangerous point as she stared at the redhead slave. Then, she casted her eyes up at Umm Madaura — the sleazy scumbag who just wanted Sinbad to be her slave — and screamed, "I'M COMING FOR YOUR HEAD AFTER I FINISH THE BOY OFF, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF DEMONIC, INBRED TRASH!"
The ex-assassin had to act fast, he instantly wrapped his ropes around the purplenette's body, leaving her unable to move. Tora's body was shaking with an unstoppable fury that coursed through her bloodstream. "TORA!" he shouted, trying to bring her out of her rage.
Trashing around, Tora tried to rip Ja'far's ropes off of her. "Let me GO, Killjoy! I am not going to let Captain Moron become her slave like that! I owe him my life, the least I can do is spare him that fucking fate," she exclaimed, almost crying.
"There is nothing we can do, Tora. Sin agreed to this stupid match and he lost. We have no power to help him," answered the white-haired boy.
"No! There has to be something I can do! I-I… I'll take his place! I'm more valuable than he is," cried Tora. The rage in her body died out and was replaced with sadness. "I-… I was going to be a slave anyways! B… before he saved me! Let me take his fucking place! PLEASE! I-… I can handle it!" She fell to the ground, tears pouring from her eyes as she sobbed, "I can't fucking lose anybody else! Not like I fucking lost Momma and Daddy!"
Ja'far looked at her, as she laid on the ground. He had never known that Sinbad had saved Tora from the life of being a slave. "I don't think that will work, Tora. Sin was the one who's freedom was on the line, not yours. I doubt she will take you instead of him…" There was nothing the ex-assassin could do to stop his adoptive sister's sobbing. It stung his heart.
"Sinbad has lost consciousness… which means the winner is… the Mariadel Company's gladiator, Masrur!"
Tears streaked down the purplenette's face as she remembered that day in vivid detail. And here she was, again. About to watch the same thing happen for the second time. Tora's heart was heavy; so heavy that it hurt for her to breath. When her pinkish-red eyes caught the damage to the arena, her heart became impossibly heavier. Sinbad's loss was almost upon them.
Masrur dropped his oversized sword. Here it comes… thought the purplenette. As the young Masrur bawled his hand into a fist and took the ending swing at Sinbad, Tora squeezed her eyes shut. The tears stinging her eyes. She could not watch Sinbad lose for the second time — the first time was enough to last Tora several lifetimes.
However, instead of the loud painful, breathless gasp of a man, Tora heard the loud gasp of a woman.
"WHAT?!" she screamed as her eyes shot open. In the middle of the arena her crimson-haired best friend stood — having taken the punch for Sinbad. Unfortunately, Masrur's punch was so powerful, it brought both of them down in one fell-swoop. The two of them fell to the ground, limp. "TETTIA!" screamed Tora. This time was so much worse for Tora. Not only had Sinbad lost, but Tettia had gotten involved. That involvement would probably lead to Tora's best friend also becoming Umm Madaura's slave — especially since Tettia was half Fanalis. "No, no, no…" gasped Tora, starting to hyperventilate. She waved her hands in front of her body, trying to calm herself down.
"Sinbad and the woman who jumped into the arena have both lost consciousness… which means the winner is… the Mariadel Company's gladiator, Masrur!" exclaimed Umm Madaura's right-hand man.
Tettia and Sinbad were removed from the arena, Umm Madaura smiling evilly. She had not anticipated on a Fanalis going down with Sinbad. "No matter, looks like I now have two new slaves for my collection. And one is another Fanalis, what luck on my end," she said with a dark grin.
Tora and Ja'far were inside the place when Umm Madaura saw them. "Oh… you two are… the child and young woman who are friends with Sinbad and that Fanalis — Tettia, right — girl, aren't you? What are you two doing in a place like this?" she asked.
Sneering, Tora said, "You fucking pig! You rigged that gotdamn match!"
"Exactly! This match! It was a trap after all, wasn't it?!" exclaimed Ja'far. The two were stopped by guards, so they could not get any closer to the scumbag woman, which was good because Tora was set on killing the demonic-looking woman.
"Give me my best friend back before I fucking slit your throat!" she snarled darkly.
Feigning a smile, Umm Madaura said, "Huh? Whatever do you two mean?"
Ja'far grew irritated and shouted, "There's no way Sin could lose that easily! You arranged all of it, didn't you?!"
"And there's no fucking way that Tet would lose that easily UNLESS she was going up against another Fanalis!" shouted Tora as she gnashed her teeth.
"Of course not. You saw it, didn't you? They both had a fair chance. I may have chosen a rather special gladiator, but isn't that fair when facing a Dungeon Capturer?" asked the slave-owner in response to Ja'far.
Tora growled, "You fucking cunt!"
"But…" said Ja'far.
"If you're that determined to contest it, boy, why don't you ask him yourself? As for you, miss, why don't you say goodbye to your valuable best friend?" Umm Madaura spoke. Ja'far looked puzzled, "Huh?" Tora growled out more curses. Signaling for someone, the dark-haired woman said, "Bring them here."
The two prizes that Umm Madaura had won stumbled forward, being almost dragged by a man. Both Tettia and Sinbad had a neck-shackle that they were pulled by, their hands were bound, and the shackle-and-ball chains attached to their feet, and both of their eyes were dull. Eyes dull due to the fact that they were still recovering from their finishing blow.
Gasping, Ja'far said, with wide eyes, "This… can't be… Sin… Tet…"
Tora looked at Tettia, eyes filled with utter horror and sadness. "T-Tet…" she whispered, her voice choking up.
"If he lost, he would become my slave. That's the contract we made. He accepted those terms and fought the match. I still have the contract. For a merchant, a contract is something binding… isn't that right, Sinbad? Right, Tettia?" she asked her two newest slaves, clutching onto their neck chains.
"…Ja'far… stop… It's just like… she said… I…" Sinbad looked over at Tettia, then continued, "We… lost…"
Unable to accept the fact that Tettia had been taken as collateral, Tora was set on trying to free the half-Fanalis. "The deal was only Sinbad would become your slave, bitch! Let Tettia go!" exclaimed Tora.
Shaking her head and wagging her finger at Tora, Umm Madaura said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Yes, that was the original price, but since Tettia interfered with the match, she is not exempt from the same punishment as Sinbad. It is not like it would be a bad thing to add another Fanalis to my collection of slaves."
Now it was Tettia's turn to reprimand her best friend. "Tor… stop… I knew that I was… throwing away my freedom… when I decided to jump into the arena…"
Hearing those words, Tora's heart stopped beating for a second. "B-but… Tet… I can't let you be this cunt's slave!"
The sadness in Tettia's eyes was almost tangible, almost suffocating her purplenette best friend. Hanging her head low, Tettia's crimson locks cast a shadow over her eyes. She spoke in an almost inaudible whisper, "It's not your decision, Tora. It's mine, and I made my choice. This is the ramification for my actions."
That nearly crushed Tora. Yes, of course she had heard what Tettia had said. She looked at Tettia, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. "You FUCKING idiot!"
"Take a look. Even the two who have become my slaves have accepted the reality of the situation themselves," gnashing her teeth, Umm continued, "So, if you two understand now… hurry along and go home."
Ja'far seemed just as crushed as Tora did as he weakly said, "This can't be… Sin…" Ja'far and Tora looked into their friends eyes again — the dullness had vanished and it was replaced with confidence.
Turning away from the duo, Umm started walking away with her new slaves, "…Well then, farewell."
Tora looked over at Ja'far and said, "We're definitely coming back here to free those dumbasses, Killjoy."
"Most definitely," he answered, then the two of them walked off.
"Please! Let me out of here! I'm not lying! I'm your slave, Lady Maader! I respect you and intend to serve you for the rest of my life!" screamed Sinbad, banging on the door of the cell he was in. When he got no answer, he mumbled to himself, "Damn it… what the hell made her so upset? I can't think of anything in particular."
Tettia sat silently beside her new master. She wished Sinbad was there with her, because she felt so isolated. Isolation frightened the half-Fanalis ever since her parents had been murdered by the same woman who was now her master. Discontent coursed through Tettia's body as she remembered what she had said to Alibaba shortly after they first met: Boy, I am a half-Fanalis who will never be anybody's servant… got it! She laughed, which was more like scoffing, to herself as she thought, Look at me now, Alibaba… I'm now somebody's slave. I'm so ashamed of myself… would you be ashamed of me, too? Could you still call me your lover, if you were here? Closing her crimson eyes, she envisioned her former blond lover and her blue-haired best friend. A small smile graced her lips.
Sinbad was brought out of his cell, shivering like a leave. Maader brought him into a room with a warming fire and ordered Tettia to hand him a blanket. Without a word, Tettia handed Sinbad a blanket and then stood beside Maader. Turning her attention to Sinbad, she said, "Oh… you poor thing. You're shivering so much… you must have felt helpless in there, didn't you…? But it's fine now. You're safe here. Here…" she took him into her arms, "sleep in mother's arms. You don't have to feel scared anymore…"
"Thank you…" mumbled Sinbad, sinking into her warmth (though he would prefer to be sinking into Tettia's warm embrace), "I appreciate it, Lady Maader…"
Umm Madaura screamed and knocked some stuff over. "APPRECIATE…? Is that what a child should say while being held by their beloved mother?" she huffed, "That's no good… Sinbad… you're still not… one of my children. More punishment. Take him away, Tettia," ordered the woman.
The purple-haired man grabbed onto the slave-owner's clothing as he exclaimed, pleading, "Punishment?! I'm going to be locked up in that room again?! Please! I'll do whatever you say. I'll change my bad habits and the way I speak. So please, don't punish me anymore! I can't anymore of that freezing, death-like cold…!"
Glaring down at him, Umm said, "You still don't understand, do you? I don't want to hear your excuses. Until you accept me from the bottom of your heart… until you really become my child… your punishment… will never end." She had an evil smile on her face as she said that.
Tettia grabbed Sinbad's arms and started to pull him towards the room again. "I'm sorry… Sin…" she muttered.
"NO! I don't want to go back in there… no, no, no… NOOOOOO!" he shouted. It pained Tettia to throw him back into that cold room, but there was nothing she could do. She had to keep up the rouse that she loved Umm Madaura. Before she shut him in, Tettia gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. So quick that nobody saw.
Several weeks has passed since Sinbad and Tettia became Madaura's newest slaves. While the half-Fanalis had almost immediately become one of Madaura's children, Sinbad had not. His punishment continued and soon were on the point of actual torture. Both of the once overconfident merchant's mind and body were worn down. Sinbad had, on numerous occasions, tried to Madaura to lessen his punishments — but each attempt backfired horrendously. Soon, Sinbad decided to stop talking, to stop basically having a will left to break.
One day, as he sat ostracized from the rest of the children, Tettia decided to sit beside him. Madaura allowed it, for some unknown reason. "Hey," she began, "saw that you tripped and lost some of your food. Want some of mine, Sin?"
Sinbad looked over at her with such dull, hopeless eyes that they almost looked dead — not even answering the half-Fanalis. As Tettia offered him some of her food, he took it, still not uttering a single sound. The half-Fanalis watched, her heart aching at his current state, as Sinbad silently ate his food.
Later, Tettia escorted Sinbad to his room, where the young Masrur and two other children lived. "Well, here is your room, Sin," she said.
"Tettia… is he really going to be sharing our room from now on?" asked the little girl.
Smiling down at the young girl, Tettia answered, "Yes. After all, Lady Maader did ask you three to look after him. And we can't say no to Lady Maader, now can we?"
"No, we can't," answered the two young roommates of Sinbad and Masrur.
The boy looked at Masrur, saying, "Masrur, it's the guy that's here because you defeated him, and Tettia, so you gotta look after him!"
Masrur nodded and the young children backed away from Sinbad. "Wah! I'm scared. Don't act up and cause us any trouble," said the girl. "It's okay! Lady Maader said so. We can use our strength to reform him," exclaimed the boy.
"You're funny, kiddo," laughed Tettia, "Masrur and I will reform him, not you two, got it? Wouldn't want ya gettin hurt!"
Sinbad broke his silence, "… the children here really like Lady Maader, huh…"
Gasping, Tettia said, "I'm so relieved to hear you talking again!" The two young roommates of Masrur and Sinbad explained to Sinbad why they loved Madaura. After that, Masrur took ahold of Sinbad's hand and led him underground, Tettia following behind them.
"… that person," said Masrur, pointing to a man, "he's the leader of all the slaves here… You should… introduce yourself."
Tettia groaned, "Oh great, I'm back here again? He creeps me out."
The trio walk up to the head slave of Madaura's company. Taking one look at Sinbad, the man said, "So you're the new slave. The one who came in with Tettia. I heard about you from Lady Maader. I'm Fatima, the head slave here. Just look at you… I guess it's true that you got a lot of punishment."
"You doubted me, Fatima?" asked Tettia.
Fatima looked at her. It was not like he could have been too rude to Tettia, after all, she had quickly become a slave that Umm Madaura had favored. "It's not that I doubted you, Tettia…"
"It's just you fucking doubted me?" she said.
Stepping over to her, Fatima grabbed her with one hand, by her cheeks. "Are you mouthing off to me? I can always find something better for you to do with that mouth of yours. Remember that," he sneered.
Tettia sneered back at him, "I'm not going to suck your dick, Fatima. Only in your dreams would I put your dick in my mouth."
"Seeing as I am in charge of you when Lady Maader is not around, you will do whatever I want, Tettia. If I want you to do it, you will do it!"
The half-Fanalis scoffed, "Then try me, Fatima. See what happens."
Raising an eyebrow, Fatima mused, "Maybe I will, Tettia. Just to show you who's boss."
"Certainly not you," she said.
Fatima growled, "Okay, that's it, Tettia. Soon, I will ask Lady Maader if I can punish you myself."
Rolling her eyes, she snapped back, "And what are you gonna say when she asks for what purpose are you punishing me for? You're just going to tell Lady Maader it's because I said I refuse to suck your dick? So you're going to force me to, anyways? I doubt she would let you if she knew that's what my punishment is. Because, honestly, Fatima, that's not a punishment. That's just a fun time for me."
"No, I won't tell her that, Tettia. I will tell her that you refused one of my direct orders and therefore must be punished," answered the head slave.
"Ooooh, riveting," Tettia sarcastically said, "Now, can you please let my cheeks go? My face is hurting." Fatima growled as he released her face, knowing he would be dead meat if he shipped her out like he wanted to do. Rubbing her cheeks, she said, "Thanks, Fatima."
Sinbad felt the slight sting of irritation and jealousy in the back of his mind. He did not know if those two were flirting or if Fatima was going to force Tettia to go down on him later on (A/N: do not judge me, guys! It is awkward to say bj because I cannot use abbreviations when I write — it is not my style— and I cannot type out that word). Regardless on what the two slaves were doing, whether it be flirting or the other, it irked Sinbad that Tettia was talking like that to another man — head slave or not.
"Anyways," he said, looking back at Sinbad, "you don't respect Lady Maader. You don't obey Lady Maader. You still can't become one of Lady Maader's children… why in the world is she keeping a guy like you around?" Then taking another minute to look over Sinbad, he continued, "Taking a good look at you… well, you're not bad, but…"
"Mr. Fatima…" called a slave boy, walking up with a line of other slaves, "I've brought you the new ones for today. I'll leave them to you."
The eighteen-year-old head slave sighed, "One thing right after another… there's just no end." The slaves stood in front of them and Fatima started to pick some out. "This one. This one. This one," he said, "All the rest can be shipped out to the slave auction. Also," he pointed to a certain one, "this one is a bit jaundiced. Get rid of it."
The slave boy who had brought the others spoke, "But that's something that happens to children a lot. If you just used a little makeup…"
"You… did you just try to tell me what to do?" came Fatima's sharp, cutting voice.
"…huh?" asked the slave.
Glowering down at the young boy, Fatima said darkly, "How dare you, a mere slave, disobey me, the head of slaves? The only one in this world that can order me around is Lady Maader. You're not needed here. Ship him out."
"P-please! Don't ship me out… I still want to be here… Mr. Fatima!" shouted the slave. However, it wasn't too late, the boy was already on being loaded up on the ship.
The Mariadel Company managed the special administrative district of Ria Venus Island. However, that was only one side of their business. Underneath, it hid a darker side. Slave trading. The dark business of treating humans as mere things that could be bought and sold in the market. In other words, human trafficking. The Mariadel Company supported the slave market and became the world's most prominent company that dealt with the slave trade. They were able to gain such a position because of the way the head of the company divided slaves into groups. In that way, Umm Madaura was able to decide what qualified slaves as different classes. Slaves that had few abilities, or were unattractive, or had little worth were given a low class rating. This slaves were shipped out to the marketplace immediately and put up for auction.
However, it was different for slaves given high class rating. They were kept in Umm Madaura's home in order to receive various training and they became high class slaves whose services were offered only to the elite. The class selection determined the course of a slave's life, and the one the dark-haired slave-owner put in charge of making that decision was her head slave: Fatima. "I earned Lady Maader's complete trust," began the head slave.
Tettia coughed, "Sexual favors!"
Fatima's gaze snapped torwards the fiery crimson-haired new slave, his eyes narrowing. "I'll show you sexual favors in a bit, Tettia," he spat. "Anyways, as proof of that, my lady has allowed me to act as her right hand, as her head slave. My current position and way of life are both thanks to her… Lady Maader means everything to me." The head slave started gushing, "Ahh… Lady Maader… my everything… our goddess-like mother. It's such a shame that you don't yet realize her magnificence, boy… but don't worry. You'll understand someday. Someday, you'll be filled with adoration…"
"And yet you're still a slave, Fatima. She means everything to you, yet you're nothing but a slave to Lady Maader," Tettia spoke, crossing her arms over her chest.
Grabbing Tettia's face once again, Fatima said in a low, threatening tone, "I'm definitely going to make good use of that filthy mouth of yours, Tettia."
Tettia rolled her eyes, "I'm absolutely not looking forward to it, Fatima. You'll be oh-so disappointed. My mouth isn't as filthy as you might think."
Once again, the slight sting of jealousy and irritation scratched at the back of Sinbad's still frazzled mind. Just like before, his dazed, almost broken mind could not determine whether Tettia was flirting with the head slave or not. Either way, it continued to irritate the nearly broken man. Sinbad had no idea how Tettia had not broken being Umm Madaura's slave; after all, Tettia seemed like such a free-spirited woman. Surely being held as a slave was having some kind of affect on her. Clearly it was, as she was possibly flirting with Fatima. When we get out of here, Tet, you're going to get it for flirting with his man, thought Sinbad to himself as he looked at the redhead.
"Regardless, Tettia. I'm sure I'll find some way to be satisfied," came his answer.
"Oh, of course. Right! You'll just force me into doing other things, won't you, Fatima? And when our mother asks where I went, what will you say? Hmm? 'Oh, sorry Lady Maader, I suppose I pushed her a little too far. She cannot really walk right now, I apologize'?"
"I might tell her that! Should she ask where you are, Tettia."
"Oh, too bad for you, Fatima. My stamina is almost unparalleled. I can go for a while. Sure you're up for that?" snickered the half-Fanalis. How am I not dead yet? she thought to herself. Surely, Fatima would have tortured her by now, had she been an ordinary slave… maybe? Tettia did have an almost instant stamp of approval by Umm Madaura — the slave-owner saying that the half-Fanalis was not to be hurt under any circumstances. Unless being punished for a transgression, then it was perfectly fine.
Fatima smiled darkly as he answered, "I'm sure I can keep up with you, Tettia."
She shrugged, as she replied, "Guess we'll see if you can later, huh?" Fatima laughed darkly, releasing her face again. "You really hurt my cheeks doing that, Fatima," she said, rubbing her cheeks again.
The head slave shrugged, "That's the least of my worries, dear, sweet Tettia."
Sinbad's eye twitched subtly in annoyance. How dare they be doing whatever it was that they were doing. If Fatima touched Tettia, Sinbad would get highly pissed off and might do something to get himself punished again. Tettia was his woman, nobody else's, and anyone who touched her would either die or be severely punished. Or at least, that's what Sinbad would have loved to have done, but he was not in any position to be making threats like that.
A/N: I HAD WAY TO MUCH FUN WITH FATIMA AND TETTIA! I don't know why, but I just made them have such a fucking sexual interaction. (Probably because I am trying to have Tet get back as Sin for what he said to Serendine last chapter) I just feel like that's the type of person 18-year-old Fatima is. Especially since he is technically in charge of Tet. And it's not like he can torture her very much in the way poor Sinbad was, since I think Umm Madaura would keep Tettia in good shape, since she's a highly trained half-Fanalis. And Tet could be utilized in as a gladiator, if Madaura really wanted to do so.