ODESSA
Twigs snapped under my feet.. dry leaves crunched as every step I took grew heavier than the last. The cold air around me felt so sharp, it cut through my bare skin and grazed my charred lips.
My throat dried out, and my eyes burned from excessive crying. The only thoughts that kept me going was my hope for a better life outside this shithole that I've been locked in all my life.
This same shithole that took my sister and only family away from me… right before my very eyes!
"Keep running Dessa… you can do this Dessa", I whispered to myself as I ran through the thicket, sliding between the trees and swinging my slender arms around to move any obstruction out of my way.
"Stop running or I'll shoot!" My captors yelled from behind me, and the sound of their boots stomping towards me made my heart sink into my stomach.
I caught sight of a ray of hope as I approached a crossroad and ran even faster. My path, dimly lit by the moon, so my only hope of avoiding a trap or a ditch was the help of any guardian angel the universe must have blessed me with.
"Halt in the name of the Mayor!" The hefty men ordered, but I knew better than to stop, not even to take a breath.
My head spun in circles, and I could feel my legs slowly giving up. I clenched my jaw and pursed my lips as if it would give me the strength I needed to run.
As I near the crossroads, I made a left turn, but instead of finding somewhere to hide, I found myself on the floor face down.
"This damn luck of mine!" I cursed under my breath as I helped myself up and brushed the sand off my face.
"Didn't you see me coming?" The coachman sneered, but I had no time to exchange words with him, and just as I turned to continue my journey, a tall figure alighted from inside the carriage.
His grey eyes pierced into my soul like a burning dagger, and I forgot how to move.
"You look familiar…" his hoarse voice echoed in my ears as I tried to recall where I might have seen such radiance before. "I think I saw you last year, during the big sale.. are you Melanie?"
I clenched my fists and took a step back. "Mel was my sister before one of you scrawny slave masters pushed her to her death!" I snarled, and he rubbed his chin.
"What a pity.. I'm guessing you're trying to escape being sold?" The stranger asked again, and I turned around. The ruffling of bushes behind us showed that my captors were around the corner.
"Please, I need your help… you have kept me here for a long time now, and if these men catch up with me, I'll be dead," I begged.
I had no idea what exactly I was about to get myself into, but anything to escape those bastards, I'd do it.
"What do you want me to do for –"
"Hold that slave!" One of the men commanded, and I ran behind this stranger for protection, for some reason I just had a feeling that he was capable of protecting me from the death awaiting me.
"What has she done?" He asked.
"My lord, this little nuisance refused to abide by the rules of the Mayor, and when he called her in for questioning, she attacked him with a bread knife and took to her heels." My pursuer replied, but that wasn't what happened at all.
This stranger glanced over his shoulder while I just stood behind him, hoping he'd see through the lies of these men and just do me this one favour of keeping me safe.
"She's not just any slave…" he started and turned his face away, "she's my slave…"
I lifted my head in utter disbelief… how dare he expect me to follow him home as a slave after I successfully escaped from being sold at the market today?
"But my lord, she's not –"
"I said she is mine," he cut him off sharply. Tell your mayor that Marcel Edgar has bought this particular slave, and his money will be delivered to him at the big sale," he ordered, and the men scurried away.
Who was this man?
And most importantly, how is he able to command even the mayor?
"Get in the carriage," Mr grey eyes growled, but I stood my ground and didn't move an inch.
The moon was slightly losing its light, so I barely saw his face. The most significant
part of him, I couldn't help but notice, was those grey crystals in his eyes.
"Who are you and where do you think you're taking me ?" I probed and kept my fists clenched, ready to swing.
"When you asked for my help, you didn't ask who I was, so why does that matter now?" His voice grew firmer as he spoke, but I wouldn't let him know how scared I was getting.
"I saved your little life, now get into that carriage, we're going to see the bloody mayor."
I looked behind me to analyze the possibility of escaping this man, but my chances were extremely low. If he wanted to, he'd catch me before I even attempt to run.
Reluctantly, I climbed up the carriage step and helped myself in. He didn't join me in the carriage, and I was sincerely grateful for that because this would have been the most awkward carriage ride of my entire life.
I leaned on the edge, wincing in pain as the injuries I sustained from running slowly began to burn. Blood trickled down my leg, and I immediately ripped the hem of my dress to try and clean it up before this man makes me bleed even through my nose.
While I tied up my injury, the carriage came to a halt and the stranger peeked inside. "Get down"
I immediately helped myself down, and the stranger grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the mayor's office.
"Marcel Edgar.." the mayor greeted and stood on his feet… this scheming mayor never gets on his feet for anybody. Not even the bloody gods!
"The big sale isn't until tomorrow morning.. Do you need somewhere to stay or someone to warm your bed?" The mayor asked, completely ignoring my presence like I barely existed to him.
"That's not why I'm here, Garrison," Marcel replied and glanced in my direction. "I'm here for the sake of…."
"Odessa," I completed, and he nodded.
The mayor lifted his brows and sized me up with his bloodthirsty eyes. "And what would you want with this spawn of the devil?" He growled and stuffed his cigar into his mouth.
"I want her as my slave. I don't want her to be sold at the market tomorrow." Marcel explained, and I didn't know if I wanted this, but I knew for sure that I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, and this was my only way out..
The mayor scratched his dirty beard and dropped his cigar into the ash collector.
"That can't be possible.." he growled, and my stomach knotted.