You know, the funny thing is, I wasn't even tired. I was just bored and uncomfortable. I was naked and my wrists were tied behind my back. I had leather straps around me that were attached to a small cart, and I had a gag tied around my mouth. It was a strange thing; it sort of clipped over my mouth completely, like a muzzle, and it had a ball in it that kept my mouth slightly open. It also felt like a constant intrusion into my body.
I was standing by as a labourer chopped a big pile of wood. He would stack it onto a tree trunk and then bring his axe down on it, splitting it in half, then split that half into quarters, then put the pieces in my cart. The sun was beating down on my naked body; we were right at the start of summer. I felt the grass under my feet, which were still a bit sore from stepping on spiky plants.
It was mind-numbing, being a slave. I'd been standing out here in the sun for what felt like hours, watching this guy chop wood while I did nothing. I was being driven mad, being stuck in my own head, not even able to say anything. He was infuriatingly silent, just going about his work. Somehow, this is what made me feel like some kind of farm animal; a silent bag of meat that had to stay still and quiet for long periods until needed.
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I was pulling the cart full of wood, fuelled by rage for the labour I was made to do. I could feel the humiliation deep within my muscles; they strained against the weight of the cart, screaming at me that what I was doing was wrong. I felt the air on my naked body, revealing all of me to the world, knowing I was supposed to be clothed! I looked at the man walking in front of me, holding a leash that was around my neck. I looked at the whip on his belt and down at the chains around my ankles - long enough to let me walk, not long enough to let me run, and painful around my ankles regardless. I told my body: not yet.
"Whoa, girl!" said the man. I stopped. Another man, dressed similarly, was coming the other way.
"Hey, Ted!" he said. "Oh wow, you got a slave doing your work for you?"