Not for sale

Could that be a butterfly? She wondered. She hadn't seen one ever since she had started working at the royal kitchen. No butterfly entered the castle grounds and she dared not go outside. I must be dreaming then, she thought but she couldn't have been because the textures and the colors on the butterfly's wings were too vivid to be a dream.

When she gained consciousness she realized she hadn't been dreaming but had mistaken her new dress for a butterfly. New dress? She didn't remember changing her clothes. The dress was grand and she had always wanted to dress up but couldn't afford, so had given up on that dream. Am I dreaming again? She wondered, but she realized it wasn't a dream when somebody announced that she was awake.

She didn’t understand why there were so many people gathered around her. Is it because of the dress? I did not steal it. I don't even remember changing my clothes. Please, believe me...she wanted to tell them but their curious stares shooed away her left over courage and sealed her mouth. All she could do was stare back, searching for a clue that would explain her situation. The crowds' mood perplexed her. There were no questions in their eyes but malice that sent creeps across her spine. She did not take long to recognize the situation she was in and when she did, she did not want to believe it was happening. It cannot be true, she muttered under her breath and rubbed her eyes hoping to brush off sleep from them but deep inside she knew that it wasn't a dream.

It couldn't be so bad, she hoped and wanted to forget everything she had once feared. Ganga was free and so would she be, after a while. She would have to serve her new master only until he lost interest in her. He would find another girl before long and then she might be sent back to work at the royal kitchen.

"Three thousand gold", a man called out.

She wondered whether she wanted a new master. No. I don't, she thought because she wanted to live in open like a butterfly does. She did not want to work at royal kitchen either but it was a better option considering the situation she was in at the moment. At the royal kitchen, she had friends who worked along with her. They laughed together and also poured their hearts out to each other when they were not cooking.

"She's untouched. Three thousand is definitely a no", said another man.

"Five thousand then", someone at the back cried.

"Eight thousand gold", cried another man. The crowd murmured among themselves for awhile and then the man who had declined three thousand announced that she was sold. As someone dragged her out of the hall, she noticed that no eyes followed her, instead they were susing their next victim.

She couldn't see her master's face because he left immediately after bidding, asking his men to take her home. On the way home, they did not even bother to consider that she might hear them while they discussed what their master would possibly do with her.

"I can say that he got no interest in her. I wonder why he paid eight thousand gold for her" said one man.

"He did not take another glance at her", pointed out another man.

The master's house fascinated her. It was as big as a castle. She wondered who her master could be but dared not to ask anyone. She was sure of one thing though and that was that whosoever he master was, he was very rich.

She was bathed in rose water and dressed in fine silk, and asked to wait in a room that was not only spacious but luxurious too. She had never seen anything like it. The bed was soft and the sheets were scented.

It isn't all that bad, she thought and that was when someone knocked the door. She did not know what to do and before she could decide, someone entered the room. Could that be the master? she wondered.

He was but instead of introducing himself to her, he asked, "Do you know why you are here?" She shook her head.

He asked, "Do you know who I am?" and she again shook her head.

"I want you to bear my child. I love my wife very much but she cannot conceive and I do not want another bride. I also cannot let our bloodline die...", he explained but never once did he ask her consent.

He came every night and made love to her. Though he was gentle, she knew that he did not really want her and though her body reciprocated, she had sealed away her heart. And every time she climaxed, she thought, No, I'm not for sale. You might own my body...you might also sow your seeds in me, but you shall never win my heart.