NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: A New Life
"Listen lady I told you to leave. I could get in trouble for even talking to you. So just.."
"Please let me in you have no idea..." I started to plea.
"Get out of here!" The city guard yelled and pushed me backwards using a sheathed sword, as to avoid touching me. I stood still not leaving as he wished me to. If he wouldn't let me in I would just wait until he left or got annoyed and gave in. He started to unsheathed his sword. I decided to run after seeing that.
I ran to the outskirts of the woods that were somewhat close to the city, silently cursing with every step. I sat down pulled my stupid shiny white hair in my fists and just screamed in frustration. "Ahhhhh!"
"How and why does this crap keep happening to me?"
3 Months Earlier....
"Uhh my head." I groaned as I got up out of bed and trudged towards my bathroom, eyes still half shut. One step, two step, three step. Thud! My eyes shot open as I ran into a wall. This isn't my room. I put my palm on the light tan wall, that I had just walked into. It was a clay wall cool to the touch. I spun around to see that I had not risen from my fouton bed, but from what looked to be a small wooden cot. I looked to my feet, instead of the cheap carpet that was in my apartment I saw old recycled wood functioning as floorboards. I looked up to see not a flat ceiling but the underside of a cheaply made wooden roof. The rafters seemed to be made from the same old wood as the floor. The room was bright enough, though that was only because there was sunlight shining between slats on the cheaply constructed roof. Next to the small wooden cot was a small wooden table with a small drawer. Everything here was small. It was hardly more than a shed. Not only the room was small, I felt small too. I am 5'7" so that is unusual for me, must be the high rafters making me feel this way.
Wait... how did I get here?
I looked down and saw I was only wearing what appeared to be an extra large mens shirt that sagged down past my knees and underwear.
What happened to my clothes?
"What happened? Was I kidnapped?" I whispered to myself in a panic. "Am I being kept in some kind of prison in who-knows-where. I saw a documentary on human trafficking is this what that is? Crap half of them end up dead because they are just viewed as objects. I mean they even took my clothes." Then a terrifying thought hit me. Did they... no I would be able to feel that... right? I shook my head.
"Stop thinking like that." I told myself. "When could we even have been kidnapped last thing I remember was having a beer with some people from work. One beer wouldn't have made me blackout drunk. Was it laced with something, wouldn't my coworkers have noticed if I was drugged, its not like it was a huge party. There is no doubt I had been kidnapped though, what else could this be?" I continued muttering such things to myself, but my theories and questioned were interupted.
"Asha!" a man's voice yelled. "Get out of there now! The chickens won't feed themselves!"
"Oh no, someone is coming." I looked for a place to hide, but there was nowhere in this small room. Maybe I will be lucky and they will only be looking for whoever Asha is and will pay me no mind.
The door to the room flew open and a tall man walked in and grabbed my arm. I tried to pull back, but to no avail.
"I did not buy you so you could sit around Asha. Go do your chores!" The man yelled. His voice matched the one I had heard earlier. He stood at at least six feet with a bald head and black peppered mustache. His face was bright red from yelling; it was obvious he was angry.
"Wh-who are you? I I I..." I tried to ask questions and tell him I wasn't Asha but with my scared stuttering I couldn't get anything out before he started yelling again.
"You don't get to feign memory loss you wench. Just because my kind wife let you off early last night because of a headache doesn't mean I will baby you!". He gripped my arm harder before tossing me out the door. I nearly fell to the ground. Outside was almost picturesque, we were on a farm, I could see a barn in the distance and rolling fields in every direction. On the edge of the fields I could see the outlines of a forest.
The man pointed towards the barn.
"It is already daylight go now Asha!" He yelled.
I didn' know what was going on, but I didn't want to test out this man's patience. I ran to the barn, still barefoot and only wearing the large shirt. I stopped once I got inside.
It must have been human trafficing. He said I was bought... does that mean that he just decided my new name was Asha? I didn't think people were renamed in this type of situation. The thought made me a little sad, as I had always liked my name, Piper. Not too many girls had that name, but I don't think I have ever met an Asha either. But he said his wife let me off early yesterday, he must have me mistaken for someone else.
My mind flashed back to the man's angry face and booming voice; I decided I needed to do Asha's chores, whoever she may be. I wandered around the barn before finding a large room filled with chickens. One wall was entirely little nesting boxes, most of the chickens were in there, maybe twenty of them. The other wall had a wooden door. I noticed how pretty their bright orange and pink colored feathers were, I had never seen birds with such beautiful plumage, but the smell of their manure hit me like a brick wall, with that they quickly lost their appeal.
"Okay I am supposed to feed these smelly mother cluckers... where is their food." I searched high and low in shelves, finding many buckets shovels and baskets, but no food. I walked into the room towards a strange, seemingly pointless, wooden post in the center of the room. "1" was carved into the top. My hand seemed to have a mind of its own and quickly traced the number. Suddenly grain was pouring from two sides of the post. There was no piping or doors on the post it was almost if it was just sweating grain. The chickens did a mad dash to the flowing grains, quickly the shelf of nesting boxes was empty. I jumped back avoiding the flurry of loose feathers and sharp beaks. I backed up without looking and fell into a tub of dirty smelly water. It was obviously there for the chickens to drink from, but it certainly needed to be refilled. The water in it now had bits of seed shells as well as a few loose down feathers and possibly poop.
"Okay if feeding the chickens is Asha's job I imagine giving them fresh water is too." I told myself as I began to drag the water tub to the door. As soon as it was outside I poured the tub into the grass. The area outside the door had a wire fence, and I imagined this was to let the chickens roam safely, so I left the door open as I drug the metal tub back inside. The tub was heavy, but for some reason I didn't feel too strained dragging it. I put it back where it had been. Then a new problem arose. Where do I get fresh water to fill this thing up with. I once again began searching, this time not for feed, but perhaps a hose or spicket of some kind. I walked back to the empty tub without finding any water sources, now regretting pouring it all out. Dirty water was better than no water at all. As I looked around I noticed "2" carved on the bottom of the tub. Curiousity got the best of me and once again I found myself tracing the outside of the carving with my fingers. No sooner had I lifted my hand, than water began bubbling up from the bottom of it. Only stopping once the tub was full.
"Wow this is amazing it's like magi..." suddenly the tight bun I had pulled up fell lose and my hair cascaded down my shoulders. The hair was white, not just white, but it had some sort of shiny glow to it.
"But I am a brunette" I said not even realizing the absurdity of this statement until I had already said it. Then everything fell into place: I woke up in a strange place, I felt shorter, I was wearing strange clothes, a man yelled at me with someone else's name, but fully recognized me, pink chickens, wooden posts that poured grain, I had easily dragged a heavy self filling metal tub, and now I had white hair. I wasn't kidnapped this was magic: I wasn't given someone else's name; I became someone else all together. I looked down into the tub of now clean clear water to see my reflexion, I was scared to look, but I needed to. The face looking back at me had blue eyes so light they almost seemed silver as well as silver freckles against unblemished fair white skin. I think my age had regressed I looked to be about sixteen. Straight, dirty, silvery white hair ran all the way to my waist. Everything about my appearance was different. My memories and sense of self were the only things left of Piper, nothing about this body was similar to my previous self. No longer was I tall with slightly blemished warm skin and thick wavy brunette hair. My hazel eyes were gone, even my facial structure was different. I was now way more slender, though it looked like I was just malnourished.
"Asha." I muttered quietly.
Suddenly a chicken jumped to the ledge of the tub pulling me out of my shocked transe. I looked closer to see the bird had four legs. I wasn't even on earth anymore. I fumbled about in a daze only focusing when I saw "3" carved onto the wall with the nesting boxes. I traced the carving this time the base of every nesting box that had eggs jutted out. Obviously to make gathering eggs easier. I ran back to where I had found baskets earlier and gathered all of the eggs. After each base was emptied it immediately sucked back into the wall. I had to finish the chores I don't know what the man would do to the girl he had purchased if she proved to be incompetent. I shoveled out old bedding and manure before finding a "4" carved into the wall which opened a firey hole in the ground where I dumped all of the waste that I had already made into a pile. I hope that is what that was for. I found a "5" which when traced a large amount of loose straw bedding poured from the wall, I quickly spread it across the floor of the room, then left with the eggs. I left the barn carrying the eggs, but I didn't know quite where to bring them. I looked around and decided the building that looked to be an actual house would most likely be where they were supposed to go. As I got closer a boy perhaps thirteen and a little girl maybe eight came into view. I didn't really try to approach them, but they were in front of the house.
"Asha where do you think you're going?" The boy taunted.
I held the egg filled basket forward "umm... eggs" is all I could manage to say.
"Really you didn't just want to come and see me?" the boy said mockingly.
"No...umm.. I" I didn't know how to respond what was the relationship between this boy and Asha? How do I respond.
"Thank's for bringing them all the way here for me Asha!" The little girl said smiling brightly, "You could've just left them on the barn door like usual though."
I nodded "umm yes your welcome. I will put them on the door next time." I said trying to only address the little girl who had saved me from talking to the boy.
"Rosalie don't flatter the slave. Look she didn't even put the cows out yet she is lazy. The only reason she would come here would be to see a face that is even more attractive than hers" The boy said with a pompous smirk on his face.
"Jeremy don't be mean!" Rosalie yelled at him.
"What? You already know that I am better looking than even her, even if she is good looking. That's why we make sure to keep that face pretty. You know the whole reason dad got her is because I thought she was pretty. She is basically mine." Jeremy said, again obviously believing he was superior.
I have never wanted to hit a child as much as I have at this point in time. He was repulsive, I realize that Asha looks to be in her teens, but Piper was twenty-six. The fact that this kid thought I was attractive disgusted me, I felt guilty for some reason, maybe because he was a minor. He was right though Asha was very pretty, at least I thought so.
"Dad bought her cuz he knew that she could use the carvings, not just because YOU think she is pretty." The girl said. She then: thrust the basket of eggs to Jeremy, grabbed my hand, and dragged me back towards the barn.
"Sorry about my gross brother. Can I still play with your hair and watch you do the carvings Asha?" Rosalie begged.
"Oh umm, sure. I just need to finish my chores. I have only done the chickens." I responded.
"So you still have to deal with the cows and the horses?" Rosalie asked looking bored at the prospect of waiting.
I had no idea where anything was, the only reason I managed with the chickens was because the carvings were numbered like a check list.
"Then can we play boss again." She asked.
"Oh uh sure sure, can you remind me of the rules again?" I asked hoping this would help me.
"I pretend to be daddy, sept' nicer. You be you, but not nervous." She told me.
"O-ok Boss then lead the way to the cows." I said hoping dearly that she would show me everything.
She spoke in a fake gruff voice. "Okay slave Asha I am gonna make you do the cows come here. Stay close, dont want you messing anything up." Rosalie smiled as she tried to walk and sound like an adult man.
I followed her back to the barn and to the far side that had cows that were still inside.
"Let these lovely money makers outside so they can eat grass and make money slave Asha." The little girl said, still trying to sound like her grumpy old dad. I opened the gate to let the cows out, found the new carvings, and did them in the oposite order of the chickens. "4" opened up another firey hole that I swept old bedding and manure into. "3" let out fresh straw bedding that I raked around until the ground was covered. After dragging out and emptying six water troughs, I filled them with water by tracing six different "2"s. Finally several mangers were filled when I traced a "1".
"Good job Asha slave. Now we do the Duke and Duchess."
She led me to the side of the barn where two individual stalls held...unicorns!
My eyes grew wide at seeing my childhood dream. Both had dark greyish horns, but their silvery grey colored hides and manes gave them a mystical look. I had to pretend I saw these creatures everyday. The first step was letting the 'horses' out to pasture with the cows. Once the work started however, I found that unicorn manure smells a lot like every other kind of manure. After the 'horses' stalls were clean; we had to go to several areas in the field where outdoor troughs needed to be filled with water. There were several giant "1"s carved in three areas in the field in which massive piles of hay sprung up for the horses and cows.
"That is all for today slave Asha." Rosalie said in her gruff voice with a scowl. Then instantly she had the happy face of a small child once again.
"Okay okay come on lets go to the pond now I can make your hair super pretty." She ran forward towards they very end of the fenced field where there was a little gate, a bit past was a small pond. There I saw stacked on a table, made of a stump and an old board was: a large clay bowl, a wooden comb, an old rag, and a towel filled with holes.
Ahh I see this is the slave's bathroom. I thought catching on quickly.
"Hurry go wash your hair!" The little girl all but pleaded. I quickly stripped and got into the cold pond. I got my hair wet and rinced it in the water as much as I could, but without any kind of soap or shampoo, best I could do wash off sweat and any stray remnants of mucking out the barn. I got out and quickly clothed myself. The little girl got to work.
"I wish I had pretty hair like you. My hair is always so frizzy all the time and yours is such a pretty color." she said sadly still very focused on the braiding she was doing.
"What are tou talking about your hair is way prettier. Beautiful red hair for a beautiful little Rosalie. Don't forget how cute all those little freckles are too." I told her honestly.
"My hair isnt pretty, I can't even make it all cute like I can make yours." She pouted a bit saying this. She stepped back "Now done. Look how pretty." she said.
"or shampoo, best I could do wash off sweat and any stray remnants of mucking out the barn. I got out and quickly clothed myself. The little girl got to work.
"I wish I had pretty hair like you. My hair is always so frizzy all the time and yours is such a pretty color." she said sadly still very focused on the braiding she was doing.
"What are tou talking about your hair is way prettier. Beautiful red hair for a beautiful little Rosalie. Don't forget how cute all those little freckles are too." I told her honestly.
"My hair isnt pretty, I can't even make it all cute like I can make yours." She pouted a bit saying this. She stepped back "Now done look how pretty." she said, and pointed back to the pond she had done my hair into a crown braid.
"You are very skilled indeed. Now can I prove to you that you can make your hair pretty too?" I asked.
Rosalie looked shocked, but nodded. Quickly and easily I put her hair into two little space buns at the top of her head. She looked into the pond and put on a big smile.
"You really made my hair pretty. Even mommy said it was too frizzy." she said obviously excited.
"Your hair was always pretty." I told her with a soft smile. She gave me a quick hug then ran back to the house, leaving me alone.
I leaned against a tree and sighed letting out anxiety that I had been holding back all day.
"I am Asha now." I muttered under my breath. I chuckled a little, "At least I got to see unicorns, even if they aren't as magical as I thought they would be." My body finally reminded me that I needed to pee still, it had been hours and I suddenly felt that I might burst. I decided to do my business in the small patch of trees near the pond. I missed toilets and toilet paper. After I was done I walked back to the pond. I took off my clothes once more, this time to wash them rather than my body. I began to scrub at the edge of the pond, but noticed that the mud from the bottom of the pond just kept mixing with the water. I put some of the slightly murky water into the clay bowl and tried washing them there. An idea occurred to me. I picked up a rock and carved "2" into the bottom of the bowl, then traced it with my fingers. It filled with cool clean water. I began washing my clothes, along with the towel and rag. The process required emptying and refilling the bowl over and over again, as my filthy clothes kept turning the water brown. After about twenty minutes of scrubbing my clothes I started a fire to dry the fabric. The fired doubled as a heater to keep my naked body warm. I filled the basin again, put it above the fire and and warmed it. I undid all of Rosalie's hard work on my hair, and this time rinsed my hair with hot clean water. I didn't feel fresh out of the shower clean, but I felt as clean as boiled hard water can make you feel. Once again I sat near the fire, this time to dry myself. Once my clothes were mostly dry I put them back on. I sat at that fire for a good long while before I put it out and decided to put the animals back into the barn. That is when I discovered "5". I traced the "5" that was on the outside of the barn. As if they were in a trance the animals filed back inside in single file, into their respective pens and stables. I followed behind and closed the doors behind their stalls and pens. The instant their doors were closed, the transe was broken, and they went about doing whatever farm animals do at bedtime. I myself headed back to the shed that I had woken up in hours ago.
Now I finally had time to reflect on all that was going on. I sat on the small bed and began thinking. Was I put into the world of some book that I had read? I don't think I had ever read about four legged chickens or magical numbers that help with farmwork, maybe it was a book I hadn't read. Maybe I was the protagonist of someone else's book. Waking up in a book in someone else's body sounds crazy, but nothing about this seems realistic. There is no way this was a dream, the smell of manure was too real. Well book or not, I am in a new (well technically used) body.
I think the farm work was probably for the best, if my mind wasn't kept busy I probably would have had a nervous breakdown. Now I am just too physically and mentally exhausted for that. I need to remember that things aren't the same as they were before, and probably never would be again. I needed to survive here. What have I learned today? I began muttering to myself and counting with my fingers.
1. My name is Asha.
2. I am a slave that was purchased
3. My owner is an angry impatient man, with a dark mustache and a bald head.
4. My owner has at least two kids: a boy and a girl.
5. The girl is Rosalie: she is kind, young, ginger, who likes Asha
6. The boy is Jeremy: he is arrogant, mean, narcissistic, and condescending
7. When cleaning the stalls don't follow the carvings in order. Mucking out the stalls first makes everything else easier. Remember to trace "5" first.
8. Put the hay and water in the field before letting the animals out.
9. You can clean yourself in the pond behind the pasture.
10. I need to build an outhouse.
I was holding my ten fingers up in front of my face and sighed. Knowing there was so much more to this new life that I didnt know about. Way more than the ten things that I counted on my fingers. I looked to the side table near the bed and saw a small loaf of barley bread, just sitting there. I picked it up and quickly scarfed down the rock hard pastry. No wonder Asha... I looked so malnourished, this is the only food I had gotten all day after doing so much work. Even just getting to a place I could wash myself was a long walk. Yet another thing I had to figure out, how not to starve to death. I could think of more tomorrow, for now I need sleep. I was asleep before I knew it.