Ch. 11 The Eel and The Cave

Chapter 11

If it were possible to stay asleep forever, then Birdie surely would have.

Her mind danced between the thin line of sleep and consciousness as she felt her body be lifted from the hard floor of the stage and then be laid on something soft and warm. The lights dimmed and then there were soft voices. Someone undid the braids in her hair and wiped her lip with a wet cloth. Her mouth was opened and a warm sweet liquid was slowly poured in. it soothed her throat and made the pain in her stomach lessen.

Birdie could hear the people move around her. She felt the air shift whenever they moved. Her eyelids fought to wake up, but she couldn't remember how to. A few times, she thought she was awake, looking at her father and mother, but then the image would blur and the voices would return once more.

Baba, Birdie called out through her mind-link.

Who are you?

Birdie's heart leaped up as her mind-link opened and a woman answered. She grew still in her sleep, not sure if she had just imagined the voice. Her muscles locked and her knees were pulled up to her chest. She tucked her face into the warm material she laid upon and counted to a hundred in her mind.

Hello...

Who is this? The woman demanded to know.

Birdie's heart started to race. She felt her mind steadily begin to stir awake as the presence of the voice in her head solidified.

I'm...Birdie.

Birdie? The woman asked. Birdie, who?

Birdie...Birdie Heyd-

"I think she's awake now, Mina."

Like a mirror shattering to a million pieces, Birdie felt her grip on her mind-link slip. The presence of someone near her began to make the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she screwed her eyes shut and bit down on her bottom lip, flinching at the pain.

"Oh come on now," a different voice sighed as Birdie felt a pair of hands pull her shoulder and turn her around. "We know you're awake."

Gradually, Birdie began to open her eyes. Her long lashes batted once and then twice as she looked up and broke through the net of sleep that had been over her.

"Rise and shine," a large woman with chubby cheeks that were glowing like tomatoes smiled and waved. "Wake up. Lot's to do!"

Before Birdie could process what was happening, the woman pulled her arm and helped her sit up. A second figure in the room caught Birdie's eyes as she began to look around. It was a tall slender girl with thick black hair and almond shaped eyes that were the color of the ocean after a storm. She watched Birdie from where she perched by the open window with her feet resting on a wooden stool.

"I still don't get why she looks like that," the girl said.

"Jasmeen," the older woman clicked her tongue. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't speak at all."

The girl by the window, Jasmeen, rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh and turned to look out the window.

"Where..." Birdie could barely make a sound without her voice cracking. "Where am I?"

"Oh no," the woman's eyes widened. "I'll get you some tea for your throat. Don't worry dear, you're safe."

"As safe as she can be," Jasmeen muttered.

"Don't pay any attention to her," the large woman began to rummage through a tin box.

Birdie raised her hand and pushed her hair out of her face before looking around the room she was in. It was modest, with a small bed, a partition down the middle, two dressers and a mini balcony with rose bushes in terracotta pots.

"Here," the woman handed Birdie a piece of hard candy that looked like a shiny pebble. "It's lemon and honey. For your throat."

Birdie stared at the candy for a while before lifting her lashes at the smiling woman.

"I'm Mina," the woman said. "I take care of Jasmeen. And now that you're here, I'll be looking after you too."

"You...." Birdie's eyes fell on the woman's brass cuffs. "You're a jinn."

"Mhm," Mina nodded. "And so is Jasmeen."

"But what are you?" Jasmeen turned. "I heard people saying you're a jinn."

"I am," Birdie said.

"Then why do you look like that?"

The energy to explain her appearance just did not exist in Birdie. She shrugged her shoulders and quietly placed the honey lemon candy in her mouth.

"Where am I?" She asked once more, looking at Mina.

"How much do you remember?" Mina frowned. "Do you remember the auction?"

Birdie's skin crawled and her tummy tightened. She nodded her head and swallowed the honey that had started to melt in her mouth.

"King Darrian bought you from the collector," Jasmeen said. "For Tamzin."

"Who's Tamzin?" Birdie asked, moving the sweet honey drop around in her mouth.

"Darrian's nephew and step son," Jasmeen sighed, lifting off the edge of the balcony she had been sitting on.

"You are his birthday present," Mina announced. "He asked for you himself."

"What?" Birdie choked as the honey drop tried to slide down her throat. "I'm not an object he can ask for as a birthday present."

Jasmeen snorted as she plopped down on the narrow bed and leaned back on her elbows.

"Behind Xaiba's walls, you're whatever they want you to be," she said.

Mina nodded, "Be grateful he didn't pick you to be his target practice."

"Very true," Jasmeen nodded along. "Your head would be hanging in the yard by noon."

Flinching, Birdie moved her eyes between the women. She gripped the sheets until her knuckles turned red and her insides felt queasy.

"What...what did he pick me to be?" Birdie dared to ask.

Mina looked at Jasmeen as the girl burst into laughter. The old woman's face pinched with annoyance as she tugged on Jasmeen's long hair and scolded her.

"Let her talk, Mina," Jasmeen said. "I want to know what she thinks she's here for."

Mina bit back the protest as Jasmeen turned to Birdie and placed her wrists under her chin.

"Go on," the girl said. "Why do you think you're here, bird head?"

Birdie's eyes snapped up at the mention of the name. Her heart contracted as she thought about the way Hayden used to tease her around the house calling her bird head. But god forbid anyone at school ever dared to call her that. Hayden's fists would be meeting their face in the very next second.

A dark heavy weight fell over Birdie's heart as her eyes began to water from the hollowness in her chest. She ached for her family and regretted every moment she had spent away from them when she was with them.

"See," Jasmeen teased, seeing the tears in Birdie's eyes. "You know why you're here."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Mina snapped, swatting at the girl.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go," Jasmeen rolled her eyes.

"Leave the girl alone," Mina shook her head. "Go down to the kitchen and see if there's any food for her."

"You work for me, Mina," Jasmeen narrowed her eyes.

"I raised you," Mina pushed the girl off the bed. "Now, get out of here."

Birdie bit down on the remaining honey drop in her mouth, crushing it until her molars grind against each other. She watched Jasmeen roll off the bed and saunter out of the room, letting the door bang shut behind her.

"Don't pay much attention to her," Mina began to fuss with the sheets around Birdie. "She's just not happy with the situation."

"What situation?" Birdie asked.

"She used to belong to Tamzin," Mina began to explain. "King Darrian bought her when the prince had....matured....and started to develop...needs."

Birdie shivered. A chill ran down her back as she took just a second to step back and look at the bizarre world she had just landed in.

Is this real? She asked herself.

"But you know what they say about feys and money," Mina muttered under her breath.

"What do they say?" Birdie asked.

Mina looked up and laughed to herself. She neatly folded a dress out of a laundry basket before sighing and looking up.

"Prince Tamzin grew bored with Jasmeen. He stated to be more interested in the other fey princesses and ladies. So when King Darrian, his uncle, showed interest in Jasmeen, he was happy to turn her over to him."

"We're not objects!" Birdie couldn't help the rage that sparked like gunpowder inside of her. "He can't just.... That's inhumane!"

Mina paused and stared at the girl as if she had lost her mind, "Baby....what are you going on about?"

"About this whole thing!" Birdie's breathing labored. "He can't just buy me. I'm a person. A living breathing being. I have a family. I want to go home! I have to go home!"

"Where is your family?"

Birdie opened her mouth but stopped.

Don't go around telling everyone your father is a Sultan, Lady Ebony's voice popped into her head. They will have your meat waiting for your father."

Mina watched the look on the girl's face for a minute before she reached out and patted her hand.

"It's okay," she said gently. "I'm sure they had their reasons."

With tears filled to the brim of her eyes, Birdie looked at the woman, "What do you mean?"

"Jasmeen's folks couldn't afford to feed the other kids," Mina said. "When King Darrian bought her he pa-"

"No," Birdie shook her head. "No, it's not like that. My parents would never d-"

"Baby, it's okay," Mina insisted. "I don't judge. We gotta make do with what we got."

Birdie saw no point in explaining to the woman the type of family she hailed from. She was living in a nightmare. They would never understand where she came from. Birdie shut her mouth and let her shoulders drop.

"Now," Mina cleared her throat. "First order of business. Did your mother tell you about the eel and the cave before sending you off?"

"The what?" Birdie looked up.

"Oh boy," Mina sighed. She cleared her throat once more and sat up. "Tonight...or sometime soon, Tamzin will send for you."

"What?" Birdie's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

"When you're with him....things will happen."

"Oh my god," Birdie paled. "Please stop."

"You see the woman has a cave and the man has an eel," Mina continued.

"Please," Birdie's stomach churned and she broke out in a cold sweat. "Please stop."

"When you are with Tamzin, he'll want to put his eel in your c-"

Birdie's body hunched forward as the acid in her empty stomach made it's way up her throat and into her mouth. She covered her mouth with her hand as Mina jumped back and grabbed the trash bin from the side of the bed.

"I spent all night feeding you," the jinn complained as Birdie hurled into the bin. "When was the last time you had a meal?"

Birdie couldn't answer as her head began to spin once more and spots started to swim in her vision. Mina's voice began to fade as Birdie shivered and burned up all at the same time. She could barely hold onto the edge of the bed as her body began to lower itself from exhaustion.

________________________

"Thirty minute," General Parry said as he tightly drew the strings on the cloak around Lady Ebony's shoulders.

"I know," Ebony nodded.

"Must you always do this?" The old man said with distaste.

"Parry," Ebony sighed. "You promised."

"You had manipulated me."

"I did no such thing," Ebony frowned.

She would have argued more with the man if she wasn't scared he might change his mind and drag her back to his stone prison.

"Remember, you will not speak to anyone other than your family when you are there," the general said.

"Yes, my lord," Ebony batted lashes and leaned forward.

"The ship will only dock for thirty minute," Parry moved his hand down her curves and squeezed her ass. "You pay your visit and then make your way back. Or else...."

"Or else what?" Ebony giggled, knowing the old man couldn't resist when she played dirty. "Will you chase me around the house and punish me?"

Grinning, the general grabbed a fist full of Ebony's hair and tugged her head back, exposing her long elegant neck.

"I will snuff the life out of you with my bare hands," Parry said.

"Promise?" Ebony asked.

Thinking she was joking, the fey laughed and released his hold on her hair. He turned her towards the small cabin door and guided her outside to where she would be taking the stairs off the boat to get onto the docks at Deserati.

"Ebony," Parry called to the girl as she hurried down the dimly lit boardwalk.

Ebony stopped and looked over her shoulder at the large white boat.

"I'll be waiting," Parry said.

With a wave and a kiss, Ebony turned away and ran off towards the market. She had only thirty minutes. It would take her at least fifteen minutes to make it home. There was never any time.

Running down the crowded streets, Ebony paid extra close attention to make sure the brass cuffs around her ankle were hidden. The jinns in Deserati were not too kind or welcoming to anyone from the other side of the river.

Huffing and puffing, Ebony reached the tiny shack her parents shared with her three younger siblings. She saw the lamp by the window and rushed in, knowing someone was home.

"Ma," Ebony called out as she entered through the door.

The family sat around the low dinner table all looked up at the girl standing at their door. The mother paled before her eyes shifted from motherly love to annoyance and then to fear.

"Oh look," the boy, who was no more than nine or ten, looked up. "It's the whore."

Ebony's eyes narrowed at her brother as she stood gripping the door frame.

"What are you doing here?" Her mother hissed as she rushed over and dragged her inside.

"I...I came to see you," Ebony said.

"Why?" Her mother demanded. "Why must you come so often?"

"You don't want to see me?" Ebony refused to let the tears rise to her eyes.

"Sundra," Ebony's father spoke up with his low deep voice. "Let the girl come in."

"Thank you, father," Ebony said bitterly. "How kind of you?"

No one uttered a word as Ebony walked in and sat down in the empty seat at the table. The two young girls, Aliana and Annie, watched her with sparkling eyes as Ebony's jewelry shimmer under their oil lamp light.

"Hello, girl," Ebony smiled at them. "My my, you two are even bigger than the last time I saw you."

The girls giggled as Ebony reached out and pinched their cheeks. She could feel her parents' eyes on her and her mother's impatience.

"Where is your general?" Flint, Ebony's brother, asked, his tone mocking.

Ebony turned to the little boy and narrowed her eyes, "I may not live in this house but I still pay for the food on your plate. Until you start earning your own money and stop living off of my whore money, you better show me some respect."

"Or what?" Flint snorted.

"Or my hand print will be all over your face," Ebony said.

"That's enough," Ebony's mother cut in. "We're just having dinner. I'll make you a plate."

"I'm not hungry," Ebony said, glaring at Flint as she pulled out the small pouch from inside her cloak and sat it down on the table. She turned to her father who was already staring at the small sack.

"There's enough here for two months," she said. "I'll try and send more for the holidays."

"You don't have to," Ebony's mother said.

"If I don't then what will you buy Aliana and Annie for the holiday?" Ebony looked at the woman. "Everyone will be wearing new clothes and what will they wear?"

"We will figure something out."

"Yes," Ebony nodded. "Just like you figured something out with me."

"You know we had no choice-"

"I don't care anymore," Ebony looked away.

She focused her attention on her little sisters and beaconed for them to come closer. The girls giggled once more, filling Ebony's empty heart with joy as they ran around the table and hurried into her arms.

"Have you girls been good?" Ebony whispered, pulling them closer into her arms.

"Yes," Aliana said. "I learned a new song. And Annie finished reading the book you got her."

"Good," Ebony said. "Very good."

"Will you come home for the holiday?" Annie asked.

"I'll try," Ebony knew she would never be able to. "Girls, I have a very important job for you."

"What is it?" Aliana asked, her eyes widening.

"Do you know the meanest lady in town?" Ebony asked, smiling.

"Yes," the girls nodded.

"Is she the scariest lady in town?" They had played this game a million times. Ebony knew her sisters would be more than capable of delivering her message.

"She's the baddest, the meanest, the cruelest," the girls whispered back.

"You must stay away from her," Ebony gasped.

"We will try," the girls giggled.

"If she catches you, she will ask about me."

"And what will we tell her?"

"You must never tell her that I meant a strange young woman with silver hair."

"With silver hair?" The girls asked.

"With silver hair," Ebony nodded. "And silver eyes."

"We will try our best not to tell her," Aliana laughed.

"Good," Ebony smiled. "You must also never tell her that this strange girl with silver hair says that she is from a place called Earth."

"We will try," Annie laughed.

"Very good, Annie," Ebony pinched the girl's cheeks.

"Where is this strange silver haired girl from Earth?" Aliana asked.

"You must never know that she was sold to the collector," Ebony placed her finger over her lip.

"We get it," the girls jumped up and grabbed each other's hands.

"No! Wait!" Ebony's mother tried to stop them as the pair ran out of the house and down the dark alley. "I don't like you doing this to them every time."

"It's important," Ebony said, putting her hood back on and heading for the door. "Good bye, mother."

Without looking at her father or her brother, Ebony walked out of the house and turned for the narrow street that would lead her back to the white boat at the dock. She could hear Aliana and Annie's voices giggling down the alley as they rushed towards the brightly lit house at the edge of the town.

Ebony drew her hood closer and looked over her shoulder. She knew it wasn't possible for the meanest lady in town to see her all the way from where she was. But Ebony knew her message was on it's way.

What do you think so far? Who is Ebony sending a message to? Who is Tamzin?