Chapter 6

The next morning, the sunrise broke and the three were woken by the sun streaming through the cracks in the wall. The two women, still weary from their nighttime endeavors, rolled groggily from their animal-skin blankets and wrapped promptly in the cold morning air. Last night, when everyone was fast asleep, the two went outside and took a bath in the not-so-far lake and cleaned themselves.

Climbing down the ladder from her chamber still, pissed off and a bit irritated to have gotten the duty to take care of the slaves, Kalah splashed cold water from the trough onto her face to wash away the traces of sleep. The headmistress of the auction, Venus, invited her into her kitchen and she was surprised to discover that she had made hot dry rye flatbread and herbal tea for her and the slaves. She girls ate hungrily and Venus uncharacteristically, smiled as she wolfed the food down. "When you're down, Kalah brings the food to the peasant and lets them out for a morning sun."