The Accidental Slave (Aya's story Part 1) (11 page)

As Kato was leaving he looked back. “What if I
bought her from you?”

Jonul lifted his head and looked at him. “I
thought you said you would never take a slave?”

“I know… but would you sell her to me?”

Jonul arched a brow. “That depends… would you
share her with me?”

“No!” Kato said firmly, knowing in his heart
that the only reason he would buy Aya would be to protect her from
Jonul.

“Well, she is older than I like them to be; I
prefer mine to be teens. Let me think about it.”

Kato closed the door and made a deep sigh. There
was no way he could stand by and watch Jonul rape Aya. He had
numbed himself to look the other way about most things concerning
the Masi way of life, but Aya was special and brought out feelings
in him that he hadn’t felt for a long time.

He tried to open the door to his bedroom but it
was locked.

Aya

Aya had heard every bit of the conversation in
the living room, but only muffled voices from the bedroom.

She heard Kato try to open the door.

“Aya, it’s me, you can open the door now,” he
called out.

With the knife still in her hand Aya moved to
the door and removed the chair and unlocked the door.

Kato walked in and closed the door behind him.
Aya immediately locked the door again and turned to face Kato. He
was looking at her in awe.

“What?” Aya asked

“You amaze me.”

Aya wrinkled her forehead and moved back to the
bed.

“Would you mind putting the knife down?” Kato
said calmly, waiting by the door.

Aya put the knife on the nightstand and pressed
back against the wall.

“I find it oddly flattering that you lock out
one warrior and lock in another.” His tone was flirtatious, and Aya
narrowed her eyes.

“I’m not scared of you, that’s the difference.
And you can wipe that smug grin off your face now.”

“Okay, so the locked door is
not
a signal
to me that you want alone time with me?”

Aya shook her head. “Of course not. All I want
is to get as far away from here as possible and until then keep as
far away from that creep as possible.”

“Fair enough!” Kato said and sat down on the
bed. “Are you hungry?”

Aya tensed her jaw. “Is this a joke to you,
Kato? Kidnapping someone, holding them captured? I’m terrified and
you act as if this is all normal to you.”

Kato pulled back.

Aya’s voice was emotional. “How many slaves have
you and Jonul had? And where are they now?”

He didn’t answer but looked gloomy and
withdrawn. The flirtatious Kato was gone, and the fact that her
words had such a clear impact on him only encouraged her to go on:
“I’ve spend my day hiding from Jonul in here. Do you have any idea
how many crazy questions and thoughts I have gone over? I’m going
to die in this filthy little apartment raped and murdered by the
most repulsive man on the planet, and you are going to stand by and
watch it happen.” She was speaking fast and releasing her fears on
him. “Why did you even bother comforting me when I had nightmares
yesterday, when you won’t lift a finger to protect me in real
life?

“What is that man to you? Did you not see what
he did to me? How can you sympathize with someone so monstrous? And
why are you fighting for the Masi warriors in the first place? What
makes you so into slavery and human sacrifices?”

The speed of her questions and the anger in her
voice made him blink and widen his eyes. He didn’t try to interrupt
her but allowed her to vomit all her harsh questions onto him. Her
angry words were followed by angry tears.

Kato waited for a second before he spoke. “Aya…
It’s no joke to me,” he muttered and reached out to touch her. She
moved back, looking repulsed, and he pulled back his hand as if she
had burned him.

“None of this is normal. I’m sorry if I offended
you by trying to lighten up the situation; I think it’s a survival
technique I’ve acquired since I got here.” He rose to his feet and
headed for the door.

“Wait!” she called after him, and he froze with
his hand on the door handle.

“You owe me answers, Kato.”

He didn’t turn around to face her, but looking
at his shoulders she could tell he was taking a deep breath.

“Let me just get something we can eat and then
I’ll answer your nine questions.”

Aya waited, pleased to see that Kato wasn’t as
shallow as he had pretended.

Kato returned shortly after with some bread,
olives, grapes, and cheese.

“Here you go.” He handed her a plate. When she
didn’t immediately start to eat he growled low. “Don’t test me
again, Aya, just eat.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I’ll eat
when and what I want to. It’s my body!”

Kato closed his eyes and took a deep breath,
calming himself.

“A question for a bite,” he offered.

“Don’t be an idiot. I’ve already paid for my
nine questions, and you have nothing to negotiate with.”

“Maybe nine questions won’t be enough.”

“We’ll see. First question. Who are you?”

“That’s too wide a question. You have to be more
specific.”

“Answer my question, God dammit! Who are you?”
Aya hissed at him.

“You know who I am. I’m Kato.”

The tension between them was electrifying.

“Don’t play games with me, Kato. Tell me how old
you are, where you’re from, how long you’ve been a Masi fighter,
why you are defending slavery and human sacrifices. Tell me if you
have siblings, dreams, a girlfriend, children… tell me who you
are.”

“Are you sure you want to use all your nine
questions on me? I’m really not that interesting.”

“I asked you only one question. Who are
you?”

“And I answered, I’m Kato. If you want the whole
story, you will have to eat. One bite per question.”

“Argghh,” Aya cried out, frustrated with
him.

He patiently waited until she calmed down and
took a bite of her bread.

“My name is Kato Mantonis. I grew up in England,
where I led a normal life with my family.” Kato held up one finger
to signal that he had answered her first question and he was
keeping count.

“I came here a year ago.” Another finger went
up.

“I don’t believe in slavery and human
sacrifices.” A third finger went up.

“I have a mom and dad and two brothers.” A
fourth finger went up.

“My reason for being here is complicated, but I
suppose my father has a lot to do with it.” He raised a whole hand,
signaling that she had used five questions.

“No way!” Aya shook her head and pulled his
thumb back down. “I want the whole story about your father and what
he did to make you come here.”

Kato crossed his arms and pulled back with a
tilted head. “Why do you want to know so much about me?”

Aya pursed her lips. “Let’s just say I find you
fascinating,” she said sarcastically.

“Right!” Kato raised a brow and gave her a tight
smile before he looked away as if to make up his mind about how
much he wanted to tell her.

“My father was born and raised here but went to
England to study at Oxford when he was nineteen.”

“Oxford… that sounds fancy…” Aya
interjected.

Kato brows shot up. “Are you going to interrupt
me all the time?”

“Sorry… Continue.”

“My father’s family were wealthy and he was
apparently very academically gifted, so he was accepted to Oxford
and meant to return to Spirima with his degree, except he met my
mother, who refused to move here. I grew up taking pride in the
stories of Spirima that our father told us. My dad has done well
for himself in England. He’s a talented businessman but he always
dreamt of going back to Spirima for nostalgic reasons. It made
sense to me, because I remember visiting our family here as a child
and feeling very loved and welcomed.

“Anyway, five years ago, when King Kopilus gave
in to the pressure from abroad and banned the old Masi ways, he
took everything from our family, who lost their factories since it
was no longer legal to have slaves and they couldn’t afford to pay
them. My uncle became the leader of the revolution and most slave
owners joined him to fight against the injustice, but it only
resulted in the King’s confiscating all assets they still had left.
In less than three months my family went from being among the most
privileged and powerful to being stripped of everything.”

Kato took a sip of water. “My father couldn’t
talk of anything else. He cursed the international newspapers every
time they celebrated the changes in Spirima. Our family was losing
everything and he was angry. He supported his family with money and
would have gone to fight the injustice himself, but he just turned
fifty-three and wasn’t in any physical shape to go to war...” Kato
raised his thumb, signaling that he had now answered five
questions. Aya took another nibble on the bread, realizing that her
nine questions were soon running out.

“So you went instead?”

“Not at first,” Kato said hesitantly. “For four
years my family here in Spirima fought while I stayed passively
back in England. Even when my cousin’s eight-year-old son was
brutally murdered by the King’s soldiers, I did nothing. The poor
kid was playing outside his house when a group of armed soldiers
came to arrest my cousin. They ended up shooting not only my
cousin, but his wife and young son too. We were all heartbroken and
grieving but that wasn’t the end. Several more of our family
members have lost their lives in the fight to regain what
rightfully belonged to them.”

Aya stopped eating and expressed her sympathy.
“I’m sorry for your loss. It’s a shame that money has so much
power.”

“It’s not just about money. It’s about the
religious persecution against all Masi believers. Did you know that
my uncle used to be one of the King’s closest advisors?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“My uncle was the biggest factory owner in the
country, and he was there when the king decided to ban Masi even
though he knew it would start a civil war. You have to understand
that to many it’s all they’ve ever known. And they believe that
Masi has always secured their happiness and wealth.”

“Is that why you joined them… religious
freedom?”

“I’m not sure anymore. It was an impulsive
decision.” He sighed and changed position on the bed. Aya sensed
that she had hit a nerve and gave him time to answer.

“It was an escape in a way.”

“Escape from what?” Aya asked, intrigued.

“From my fiancée.”

Aya’s throat tightened and her pulse started
racing. “You’re getting married?” The irrational feeling of dislike
for Kato’s getting married confused her and she pressed on for more
information.

“I thought I was,” he said

“What happened?” Aya was feeling frustrated with
his slow pace of giving information. She sensed he didn’t feel
comfortable talking about it, but she didn’t care. They were far
beyond comfort.

Kato inhaled deeply and scratched his upper arm.
She noticed his arm hair was raised; he had chills speaking about
this.
Shit, I’m on to something here!

“I walked in on her and my best friend.”

“Ohh.” Aya bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

Kato focused on the food and continued talking.
“It’s okay, it’s been a year… I’ve moved on.” His tension and
drifting eyes told a different story.

“Then you won’t mind sharing what happened.”

Kato looked down and took time before he spoke.
“I came home on a Wednesday night, thinking Diana would be happy to
see me home early. She was always complaining that I worked too
much. But she wasn’t alone. She was with my childhood friend
Oliver. She was in the shower, he was in our bed, naked.” Kato
stopped talking. His eyes were glazed with memories.

“How long had you and Diana lived together?” Aya
asked.

“Four years, but we had been going out since we
were both eighteen. I proposed to her only five months before it
happened.”

“So what did you do?”

“I asked them how long it had been going on…
Diana tried to pretend that I misunderstood the situation and that
it was nothing. She told me I was overreacting. But at least Oliver
was honest enough to admit they had been seeing each other for
three months.” Kato paused and threw his hands in the air. “It just
happened… That was Oliver’s excuse.”

Aya listened while enjoying the grapes and
cheese; she was secretly happy that her hunger could generate
information from Kato. Kato hadn’t eaten much. He was deep in his
memories, and she wondered if this was maybe the first time he had
talked about it with someone else.

“My life just stopped that evening. I felt
betrayed and so full of rage. I still can’t believe Diana would do
this to me. I really thought she loved me… you know?” His question
was rhetorical and Aya didn’t answer. “I couldn’t think clearly
after seeing them together. I was so hurt; I wanted to escape and
never see them again. I wanted revenge and the only thing that came
to mind was becoming a Masi fighter.”

“Why?”

“Because Oliver was always trying to make me see
that Masi was wrong. We would debate into the late hours. I mean,
he had some good points about freedom and equality, but to me it
wasn’t about reasoning; it was about family and feelings. Until
that night, we had managed to stay friends despite our different
opinions, but after the betrayal I decided to go all in. I would
not only defend Masi with words, but join my family and help take
back the power of Spirima.”

“Wow! So you just picked up and left?”

“More or less.”

“And did it do the trick? Did you find what you
were looking for?” Aya hoped that he would say no, and rejoiced in
the fact that Kato had stopped counting his answers.