Chapter 4 CRUEL OPPRESSORS

Jane was only a child. She was only 16 years old, three years younger than I am but she was not born into slavery.

Her mother was a mistress to her father before she died during her delivery. She was raised by her stepmother who mistreated her all her childhood. And when her father died after falling from a palm tree, the stepmother became more powerful.

When the woman's daughter became sick with a deadly disease, she went into debt and the child actually died and all her efforts went to waste. Out of spite, she sold Lola and used the money to pay her daughter's debt. It was while Lola was struggling with her master that she fell from a horse and hit her head.

She came into the compound through Mikael. As usual, the mighty drunkard and gambler has gone to gamble. And after waisting 500,000 pounds, he finally won Lola whose master was desperate to get rid of that he made a bet with her.

It was days after Mikael got home that he realised that the slave he bought was sick in the head. He was told by his mother to leave her in the streets but Mikael declined, saying he refuses to lose totally.

Seeing a knife cut into her chest is like a cut into my own heart itself. I could remember the first time she came into the compound. She was so shy and always smiling. Before she was exposed into this horrible life.

"Do you know that you're pretty?", she once said to me.

"What do you mean? I'm not in any way pretty or beautiful. I'm skinny and pale and ugly if you ask me" I retorted and she smiled.

" Have you looked into the mirror?", she asked. "There is this kind of beauty around you, this gentility and elegance. Even though you're in a slave's dress, you have the aura of a queen"

I laughed after she said that.

"A Queen? You should have categorised me with a lady"

Lola gasped with pain, shock all over her expression while she looked at Angus as her breadth slipped away.

All the same, Angus showed no remorse. He removed the knife and stepped away from her dead body as if nothing has just happened. He turned his head to look at Yun who smiled at him

He walked up to Yun and he raised the knife to his neck. Yun's smile fell off immediately but Angus only clean the bloody knife with his collar.

"Hey brother,", Mikael seemed to have recovered from his own shock and he wrapped his hand around his brother's neck.

"Don't tell me you killed her just to get back at me for losing your silvers to me",

"It's not like you will miss her. She has only been a troublesome bitch.", he said like an inhumane person he was. I looked at the hand which was cleaning the knife and at that moment, I hated myself for allowing myself to be touched by that hand. For a splitting second, he stared at me and I saw the hatred in his eyes. It was not exactly directly at me but it was there all the same.

After that, everyone worked at the farm as if nothing has happened. As if we've not just lost one of us. Someone we would never see again. My friend.

We did not even know when we finish the whole farm.

I thought time would stop after I lost someone so important to me but it did not. Night came and I found it hard to sleep. I was restless. The scene kept reminiscing in my head. I turned to my side but the woman sleeping beside me would not stop talking in her sleep. I decided to take some air.

Rising up, I tip_toed out of the chamber. I breath out when I came into the open air. But the relief was short_lived as a servant suddenly stopped beside me.

"What? What did I..", I paused. I could recognise the man so I changed my tone.

"What is it? Did I do something?" I asked fearfully. He shook his head.

He looked by his right and left before he whispered. "Master Angus wants you in his room now"

Immediately he mentioned the name, my demeanour changed and I became furious. I did not want to have anything to do with that devil. But damn it if I was not bounded by my status. Tears burned my leads as I trailed after the man.

"Thank you, Sullivan. You can go now", Angus released the man the moment I came into his room. The man left and it was now the two of us in the room. All the while, I kept my gaze fixed on the floor while he also remained silent. He rose from the bed where he was sitting and he started walking towards me. But I was wrong. He only brushed past me to take off his tunic.

He was spending a lot of time and so, out of curiosity, I turned to look at him.

I was shocked when I found him staring at me. He caught my gaze and he smiled. I glared back at him and he let out his annoying laughter.

"Now that's my girl! Where have you been?" He said admits laughter and then he sobered up. He moved closer to me.

"Show me some fire. I know you're not this silent"

Damn it if he was not just right.

"Go. to. hell", I gritted out and he glared back at me.

"Easy there. You don't want me to lose my temper, do you?"

I scoffed aloud. "Why? You're scared you would kill me too?", I challenged and stepped closer to him with a boldness that I did not feel. He chuckled.

"Why, darling?", he drawled, his brow raised. "Is that all you think I can do to you?", he was now standing right before me. He placed his hand on my waist but I pushed him away.

"Stay away from me. You this murderer!", I cried, tears falling down from my face.

I watch as his eyes became dark with anger and I silently pray for him to lose it and kill me too. But he only shook his head and disappeared into the inner room.

I was shocked when he came back holding the knife with which he killed Lola.

"That's it", he threw the knife at my feet and I remembered how he killed my friend with the knife. All of a sudden, I just wanted to kill him too.

I bent, picking up the knife and I stepped closer to him. I stood at the same distance which he stood before Lola. Holding his gaze with my own calm expression, I thrust the knife into his heart