WIP5

I was born into slavery. All my life, I just...followed orders. I was never given a choice in anything. Until...until you and your warband showed up. I remember that moment...I was standing there, trembling, as my old Master fell to the ground, and you wiped his blood from your sword. It wasn't the first time I'd seen someone die. Sometimes, us slavegirls get punished, and...and besides that, it wasn't the first time that I'd changed Masters due to conquest. But still, you never get used to it, seeing someone die in front of you. Even if they were cruel to me, even if they used me as an object. And, getting a new Master is also terrifying. Perhaps you would be even crueler than the old one. Perhaps you'd want to enjoy the spoils of your victory right away, or...just kill me right there.

But no. You kneeled down to match my gaze, and you said,

(((In a gruff voice, trying to imitate a man:)))
"You want to come with us, Girl? You can if you want. You don't have to. It's your choice."

Master, that was the first time anybody had ever given me a choice. That was when I knew that you would be different.

I remember the first time that I tried to call you 'Master'. I just did it because...it was what I knew. All I knew was being a slavegirl. But you looked at me and said,

(((In a gruff voice, trying to imitate a man:)))
"Call me whatever you want. I don't care. If you want to call me Master, I won't stop you. But you aren't my slave."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't know what I should do. You gave me a choice again, and I still wasn't sure how to make decisions for myself yet. I had to think long and hard about it. Everyone else calls you 'Captain', and I thought that maybe I should go with that. But eventually I decided that I still wanted to call you Master. Every time that I was sold, or taken, every time I got a new Master, I always hoped that they would be kind. That they would be better than the others. That was the best I could ever hope for, a kind Master. I...I wanted to call you Master, because I wanted you to be the kind Master I always hoped for. And, even if you weren't really my Master, and I wasn't really your slavegirl, you were still that kind Master. The kindest I could have ever wanted.