A week slipped since my first auction day. As I expected, the Master's anger was terrible. The day of my first sale, another caravan arrived in town, bringing several dozen prisoners, some settlers who strayed into the desert. Luckily for me, all the masters rushed to the new arrivals. In one evening, the entire load was sent to the mines, the fields, the galleys and the brothels. There was only me and three other captives left... And the wrath of our Master.
-- Useless whore! He shouted while whipping me.
Brought back to the gaols of the hall, we were tied to a beam in a cell, and we let ourselves be punished by the Master. The whip made us scream for many hours. But we had earned it. We were incompetent, no one wanted us. If it weren't for the caravan's sudden arrival, we would already be rowing in a galley... Or even worse. I remain silent while the whip hits my back, talking is useless. I accept the punishment with difficulty, sometimes letting out a cry when the lashes reach my kidneys or my breasts. And the Master, with his strong voice, puts us back in our place. What a shame not to have been bought! He frightens me, him and his whip which falls on us without stopping.
Naked, pitiful, docile, we remain hanging from the beam for the night. It is cold in the cell, my buttocks, my back, my crotch are burning. In the middle of the night, I am awakened by a chain sound. A guard wakes Esther with a slap in the face, unties her and pulls her by the hair... If she satisfies her liberator, she will be allowed to sleep on a good mattress. I close my eyes and try to fall back asleep, despite the pain in my torn wrists. I pray a guard will come for me too. I'll be his whore, his object, his outlet, at least I won't be hung like a piece of meat anymore.
But no one came. The next day, we learned that the Master went into the desert with his men to fill the cages. We were left to our own devices to await his return. For several days, we serve the masters of the hall. In the morning, we wake up with a lash and clean the alleys, we clean the floor. We are always naked and chained. At night, we sleep together in the same cell, while other caravans bring in new merchandise every day: girls from forest villages, from port cities, itinerant merchants... I see them arriving and disappearing every day in the crowd, led by a leash to their new and last life. And I, the rejected slut, sweep behind. At night, the guards of the hall take their commission on our bodies. Like my chain-mates, I must offer myself to them. According to their pleasure, I dance, I am exhibited, I put myself in spectacle with another girl, I open my mouth, my buttocks and my crotch to them... And I thank them every time they use me.
