Chapter 232 - The Madames Chains (1/2)

”Ebony,” Neva spoke, breaking the silence in the room as those inside worked on repairing old pieces of clothing and cleaning them.

Ebony looked up from where she sat, mending a pair of pants that no doubt belonged to one of the warriors. Neva's gaze was expectant and Ebony immediately placed her needle and thread aside along with the pants as she stood and weaved her way through the others. Neva closed the door behind them so that they stood in the hall.

”The Madame has requested that you serve her this evening,” Neva said.

Ebony's eyes widened, ”I...of course”.

Neva caught her arm. As the one that usually served the Madame, Neva was one of the more trusted slaves, and far higher ranking than Ebony. Ebony had no idea why she'd been requested, but she knew it must have had something to do with the encounter she'd had with Lord Revierre.

”Remember, no matter what is spoken, heard or seen, nothing leaves that room,” Neva's tone was low, almost imperceptible, but Ebony caught the warning for what it was. Ebony nodded her head in understanding, then moved down the hall away from Neva.

The Madame's house was without a doubt one of the nicer places on Herguard. It was technically a house, but considering the underground access it had to the main network, most just referred to it as her rooms.

Ebony bowed to the guards that stood outside the underground entrance, ”The Madame has requested me? I am Ebony”.

The guards waved her through and Ebony entered the house. She entered through the kitchens, and took the plate of tea and biscuits with her as she ascended the stairs to the second floor where the main sitting room was.

The room was darker than usual. The curtains were mostly drawn, and the small sunlight that had managed to break through the fog and mist surrounding the island barely made a dent in the darkness. A single candelabra was alight on the table in the centre, but the Madam was not on any of the seats.

The Madame instead stood to the side, perhaps as casual as Ebony had ever seen her. Her hair was down, pin-straight, long and black in colour. She had her back to the door as she stood beside a large bird cage, whispering to the animal within. A large blanket coloured like a sunset was thrown around her shoulders, her arms locking it close to her body as she fed small pieces of fruit to the exotic looking bird within the cage.

Ebony entered silently, placing the tea on the table with the candelabra and pouring a cup gently. The Madame's movements paused as she noticed Ebony's presence, then she placed the bowl of fruit down and instead put a hand on the cage. There was a long silence between them as Ebony finished pouring the tea, then stepped back from the table and kneeled down to await further orders.

”Why do you think I requested you, Ebony?” asked the Madame.

Ebony hesitated, not wanting to speak out of turn, but answered the question, ”The deal is off”.

The Madame gave a slow smile as she turned to Ebony, ”You can do better than that”.

Ebony hesitated again, daring to meet the Madame's eyes, ”Are you offering me a deal?”

The Madame gave a short laugh at that, ”Ha! No, you are one slave out of thousands that have ever set foot on this island. If I offered deals to all of them, I would never have gotten to where I am”.

Ebony raised an eyebrow, ”But you do offer deals”.

The Madame said nothing as she looked to the floor, then she tapped the cage behind her, her rings tinkling on the metal bars, ”This bird was quite the cruel gift, yet I can't seem to part with it. So pretty and loyal, even if I take the time to let it out and stretch its wings it will not fly away. Yet every moment I care for it I am reminded of the fact that I too am nothing but a bird in a cage. I have no freedom, no choices, no will...not even a name”.

The Madame stepped over and sunk into the seat just a few metres from Ebony, taking the cup of tea that Ebony had poured, ”I am nothing but a bird in a cage, all because the Master wished it so”.

Ebony dared not speak as the Madame appraised her. She took a sip of the tea, then placed the cup down, ”You do not seem convinced”.

Ebony risked speaking out of turn to reply, ”You seem to have done well for yourself, for a bird in a cage”.