The Accidental Slave (Aya's story Part 1) (3 page)

“Do you think you can find your way back alone?”
Tara asked. “I think I’m gonna hang out with the boys a little
more.”

“Ehhh, sure,” Aya said and left the room.
Gosh, couldn’t Tara see that Aston wanted her gone?
Aya
shook her head, and went back to her tent and started unpacking.
She didn’t have duty until tomorrow and it was only five in the
afternoon local time. The unpacking went very quickly, as uniforms
would be provided at the camp and she’d only brought the essentials
– a few sets of casual clothes, her toiletries, and a few good
books. The last thing in her bag was the information folder from
the introduction course she had attended the past week. It had been
a crazy week with fourteen other young health professionals from
around the world, all leaving to different camps in Spirima like
herself. They had been drilled by instructors for five days and
learned about Spirima’s history, culture, political situation,
language, and the most common dos and don’ts; and on the last
evening the fifteen had gone clubbing, knowing it was their last
chance in a year. Aya was tired from yesterday’s party and today’s
traveling; but she opened the folder and looked through the
checklists provided, and then her eyes fell on the pamphlet written
in Spiri and the paper inside translating the text into English.
She immediately felt sick knowing she was going to have to read it.
The pamphlet offered directions to slave owners on how to treat
their slaves. The instructor had insisted they read it through as
they would be meeting many former slaves in the camps and needed to
understand what that meant exactly, but Aya had procrastinated
because the whole concept of slavery was so repulsive to her. With
a sigh she opened the pamphlet and started reading.

Your rights and obligations as a slave
owner.

Only the following three categories of
slavery

are allowed.

1: The infidels who do not believe in Masi
as the true God.

2: Born slaves. It is every slave owner’s
right to breed slaves with his current slaves.

3: Children sold by their parents.

A slave owner can at any time:

1: Sell a slave

2: Trade a slave.

3: Lend out a slave

4: Use the slave for sexual needs

5: Use the slave for domestic needs

Punishment and discipline.

Every slave owner determines the level
of

discipline he wants to enforce.

Punishments are encouraged if the slave is
not

obedient and submissive.

Property.

Slaves are equal to property and therefore
should be treated as such. Should a slave owner die, his property
including slaves will pass on to his next of kin.

Escape.

Should a slave try to escape, the slave
owner is free to decide how to punish the slave.

Should the owner decide to kill the slave,
then that is his right.

If a slave is captured on the run, the slave
is to be returned to the rightful owner immediately.

It is forbidden, and punishable by death, to
help another man’s slave escape.

Sex slaves.

Every Masi warrior is entitled to a minimum
of one sex slave to satisfy his physical needs.

When a slave has been claimed by a warrior,
his ownership must be sealed instantly through a sexual act.

It is forbidden to touch another man’s slave
- unless granted permission.

If the girl is a virgin the warrior needs
only to make sure she is ready in his opinion.

It is not recommended to have sex with
children under the age of six and if a slave owner does it anyway
he should treat the child gently during sex.

The following things are NOT permitted.

To have more than five sex slaves at a
time.

To have sexual relationship with boys above
the age of sixteen.

To separate children from their mothers
before they reach puberty.

Basic rights of your slave
.

As a slave owner you are obliged to feed the
slave at least once a day and make sure they get at least four
hours of sleep every night.

Aya turned the pamphlet around and looked at the
picture on the front. It showed the symbol of the Masi religion – a
symbol that the rest of the world knew as the one for the star
Mercury but with a ring around it. It was simple and looked like a
stick man with devil horns.
How fitting
, Aya thought and put
the pamphlet down. She was disgusted by the content and would never
understand what possessed someone to think they could own another
human being. Her mission to make life better for the victims burned
more passionately than ever.

The two first months at the refugee camp flew
by.

Aya involved herself in healing the sick and
pouring out empathy to the many wounded souls she met every day.
The pamphlet had given her an idea about what her patients had gone
through, but nothing had prepared her for the dead eyes she met in
their faces. She wanted to shake them and shout
you are free
now
and have them laugh and dance, but most of them seemed
apathetic and lost. It filled her heart with pity when one of the
older doctors commented on it one day: “Freedom is a state of mind,
not a purely physical thing.”

If that were true then maybe these former slaves
would never experience freedom in their lifetime.

Her Spiri was improving day by day. The
intensive language course she had taken while still back in Norway,
combined with two months of long work hours in the refugee camp,
made Aya able to communicate in Spiri. As long as her patients
spoke clearly and slowly she understood the basics.

Aya had gotten to know most of the staff at camp
and found them to be a diverse group of people with very different
backgrounds. She hadn’t bonded closely with anyone but friendships
were starting to sprout, and oddly enough Aston had become one of
her preferred people in the camp. She had gotten to know him better
when he escorted her to the local marketplace once a week.
Typically they went in groups of four or five to get away from
camp, but they always brought a security guard for protection and
most of the times Aston volunteered.

Aya had quickly admitted to herself that she’d
misjudged Aston at the airport. In fact he was actually not only
charming but had a wicked sense of humor when he wasn’t upset and
angry from fighting with Tara.

Aston and Tara were still together, although in
the two months Aya had known them they had broken up several times.
The level of drama was unmatched by anything Aya had ever witnessed
before. She was beginning to think of them as the daily
entertainment, since Tara told her everything uninvited. More than
once Aya had tried to tell Tara that Aston probably wouldn’t be
happy about Aya’s knowing such intimate things about him, but that
didn’t stop Tara. She was a talker and gladly gave away the most
delicate details to her roommate, who had no choice but to learn
about Aston’s sexual preferences, his sweet spots, his level of
expertise, and how addictive his hard body was to Tara.

“Don’t you miss sex, Aya?” Tara asked one
night.

“I try not to think of it.”

“How can you not think of it?” Tara pondered out
loud. “Sex is such a fundamental need. Oooh, what about Jimmy?”

“Who?” Aya asked distractedly, feeling a lack of
interest.

“Oh, you know… The blond guy with the big abs
who works for Aston. He’s been sending long glances your way. Want
me to set you up?”

Aya raised her brows. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. He’s a yummy treat, isn’t he?”

“I think he’s gay, Tara, and even if he isn’t,
I’m not interested.” In an attempt to close the subject Aya tried a
strategy that had worked before. “You really have the only man
worth snatching. I’m happy for you.”

Tara was silent for a while, and Aya closed her
eyes with a smug smile.
Finally I can get some sleep.

And then Tara’s voice flowed towards her in a
low husky tone. “You know, I’m sure Aston wouldn’t mind a threesome
if I asked him.”

Aya lifted her head to look at Tara, hoping she
was joking. But even in the dark tent Aya could tell that Tara’s
expression was adventurous and serious.
Like you guys don’t have
enough drama between the two of you.

“Uhm, that’s… nice of you, but I’m sure Aston
has more than enough in you. You’re quite the woman, Tara.”

Tara sat up. “You sure? I really wouldn’t mind
asking him.”

“Absolutely. Aston and I don’t see each other
like that. I mean I like him and all. He’s funny. But not in a
sexual way.”

“Funny?” Tara narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t
call Aston funny, and I thought you said he was the only catch in
this camp… so now you’re saying he’s not sexy enough for you?”

Aya rubbed her forehead. This was so typical of
Tara, to always dramatize and misunderstand. “Listen, Tara, Aston
is your boyfriend, so I don’t look at him as anything else. I don’t
see him as a potential lover, I never have. And I don’t want to.
He’s yours.”

“Fine!” Tara said with a pout, but only minutes
later she launched into a report on how wonderful a lover Aston
was. Aya considered covering her ears and humming but that would be
too childish. She had no need to learn about Aston’s tongue, penis
size, or what words he whispered to Tara when he took her, but Tara
was happily sharing anyway.

The next day Aya flushed when she saw Aston.
If he knew what I know of him, he would be furious with
Tara
, Aya thought and gave him a friendly smile.

Aston picked up on her embarrassment, and had an
amused expression on his face when he took Aya to the marketplace.
It was the first time they were all alone since the time he’d
picked her up from the airport, and she was trying to make the
conversation light. When they got to the marketplace Aston asked
her to stay close to him at all times. It was easy to forget the
danger when looking at the lively stalls where locals sold
vegetables, fruit, candles, honey, clothes, and much more.

“Something is up with you this morning, Aya;
what is it?” Aston asked, curious.

“Nothing.” Aya tried to dismiss him.

“Don’t even try to fool me. I’m trained to read
your body and I know you are lying to me. Something is embarrassing
you,” Aston pointed out with a grin.

Aya turned to face him, surrounded by locals
going in both directions.

“If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh or
be angry?”

Aston shook his head. “Just spill the beans
already.”

“But you can’t tell Tara that I told you…
Promise?”

Aston nodded, smiling. “I promise.”

“Well, I’m just embarrassed because Tara took
pity on my celibacy and offered to ask you for a threesome.”

Aston’s eyes widened in surprise and then his
face split in a grin. “Did she now? How generous of her to share
me.”

Aya grinned from ear to ear, relieved that Aston
was taking it so well.

“Yes, very generous of her.”

“So what did you tell her?” He looked down,
kicking some stones on the ground and still smiling.

Aya looked up and took in the marketplace. It
was such a wonderful change from the refugee camp. It was still
dusty and the poverty was evident, but these people were Aya’s
image of Spirima with their earth-colored clothes, their olive
skin, and their small houses painted in brown and red colors.

“I told her that I’m sure she is more than
enough woman for you.”

Aston broke into a roaring laugh. “You told her
that?”

“Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“She certainly is over the top sometimes.”

Aston and Aya were attracting much more
attention than they’d realized. They were in their own bubble
laughing and smiling, and so out of place with their foreign
appearance.

“Oh, I think Tara would love one of those,” Aya
said and pointed to some braided wristbands in beautiful colors.
She picked up a few and handed them to Aston. “Which one do you
like the most?”

He decided on a blue one and paid the woman
while Aya continued to look at the other stalls around them. Her
eyes fixed on some small art pieces of glass and she headed
straight for them, not looking up to see the man walking fast
through the crowd of people. In a collision they smashed against
each other, and she would have fallen if he hadn’t grabbed her in a
quick reflex. Instead of falling she was pulled close to him.
Without thinking Aya grabbed his upper arms to stabilize herself
and felt his hard muscles through his dark T-shirt. She looked up
and met a pair of amber brown eyes gazing down at her with
annoyance that quickly changed into curiosity.

“I’m sorry,” she said in Spiri and took him in.
He was paler than most locals with unruly brown hair, stubble that
was at least a week old, and dark circles under his eyes making him
look tired, but even that couldn’t disguise that he was
attractive.