Beardless

Part 4

"Giddy up!" I heard the coachman saying loudly, while hitting the poor horse with his lash.

The carriage started to glide smoothly on the ground and in a few moments it began to pick up speed.

We passed from people staring at us. I remembered the time I felt sorry for slaves. Now, I'd become one of them... That was unbelievable for a ten year old child. None of the readers of my memories cannot understand my emotions, while being sent away from my home where was the only place I thought was safe for me to live in.

"What will they do to us?" I asked nervously from one of the men sitting next to me.

"Don't speak! Don't make us any troubles, boy! They'll sell us to patricians (rich people in ancient Rome) or middle-class families. You'll find out everything soon." He murmured carefully.

I didn't know why he told me not to speak. I didn't think speaking would bother anyone, but I remained silent. I was extremely scared...

I could hear the horse's hooves hitting the road with a monotonous rythme. No one at the cage appeared to have the willing to talk. I was concerned about my fate. I didn't want to be a slave.

"What have I done? Have I done anything wrong to deserve such a horrible life?" I asked myself, while weeping quietly.

After half an hour, the carriage stopped in front of a few stairs.

I saw the slave trader coming and opening the cage. He gripped my tunic and pulled me harshly through himself. He did almost the same thing to the other slaves. He grasped the hair of the ones who were undressed.

Then, he asked us each our full names and our ages. He started engraving some words with a thick nail on a circle-shaped wood. After he was done, he hanged it over a woman's neck.

"If you lose it, don't expect to stay alive!" The slave trader exclaimed.

I had now one of those necklaces, but I wasn't able to read or write, so I couldn't understand the necessity of always having it with me. I could only understand that all slaves had to obey their masters.

That man commanded us to follow him upstairs to a stage-like place.

Hundreds of people were watching us, as they each gave us a wolfish grin. I was stressed out to see this scene.

"Look at this boy, people! He's small. I know! But he's very obedient! He'll do whatever you order him! He'll lick your feet, if you want him to do so!" The slave trader said loudly, as he had my shoulders in his huge hands.

"Look at this beautiful, young woman! She's a slave, you can satisfy your desires with! Just look at her soft skin! It's just like silk!" He said, while gradually letting me get out of his hands.

The people were quarrelling over the price of us! Lust was one of the obvious feelings which could be seen in their disgusting expressions. They were nudging each other like hungry people in famine!

"Strip the youngster you showed first! I want to see his body!" A man yelled among the crowd.

I was unclothed as he said... I was even forced to put off my loincloth to exhibit my genitals in front of the customers!

The slave trader made me spin on my place so that all the parts of my body would be seen.

I was terribly embarrassed in that situation. I was pressing my teeth on each other. My face was blushed. My lean legs were trembling in shame and helplessness.

I can't recall how much my value was, but I saw the man in the crowd throwing a bag of coins under the slave trader's feet.

Then, I was allowed to wear my clothes again. I was happy to return the right to cover my body, but I couldn't forget how much I'd been humiliated.