The moment between the dust and the flower

The next day came and Lady Tess was woken up by her maids ringing the bell which was above her bed. She was washed, brushed, and dressed for breakfast with the family. Every morning her family would have breakfast on the balcony of the house which overlooks the marketplace and the port filled with ships made by her father's company.

Her father's company was a shipbuilding and trade company for the king of the Red Colony. Her mother helped with finance and provided ships with safe trade routes and slave trade, she has two brothers who would one day inherit everything here.

She was accompanied by her guard and maidservants to the balcony of the house where the finest food was put on the table. Finger sandwiches on a tall display like a tray, slices of bacon and eggs, fruits, etc. For drinks there was tea and whiskey, since she is still but a child she drinks only tea.

The plates, spoons, and cups looked fancy and expensive to everyone who saw them but to Tess, this spread was boring and lonely. She wished to eat with someone of a different taste, her family was always the same which was boring to her.

Tess sat down on her chair and waited for the others by closing her eyes for a second. After a while her mother came to view talking to the maid who had busted her going to the basement, her mother looked at her daughter and didn't greet her, just sat down on her spot.

Everyone had arrived when Tess heard her father talking with Mickey and her brothers. They are probably discussing the slaves in the basement and the ones in the marketplace. The marketplace was a quiet place filled with cages and guards protecting or guarding what might escape.

It always gave Tess nightmares whenever she looked at that place, but she kept quiet and just went on with her life. Knowing where her family gets their riches from the trade of slaves and illegal goods when money is involved, they just don't care for anyone as long as the status is kept.

 They sat down and greeted each other including Tess and her mother, They prayed and started to eat.

Tess's father asked as he looked at her little daughter "So Tess my angel how are you finding this place so far?"

Tess took a bite of the finger sandwich and answered "Great so far"

"Good good, we wouldn't be here for very long. We will soon return home after we are done here" said the father.

"The sooner the better I hope," said Tess melancholy.

Noticing this Tess's older brother Harry asked "Why the long face Tess?"

"It's nothing, just thinking about something" answered Tess.

"It's probably about the slave in the basement, she visited him yesterday," said her mother as she drank her cup of tea. Tess's father, the first heard about this, looked at his daughter with fear and anger written on his clear wrinkly face.

"Was her guard with her?" he asked his wife while looking at the guard.

"Nope, Rosa just told me after I took my bath. She said Tess had snuck away from the guard and maid to feed the slave down in the basement" said her mother.

"Wow brave little sister," said her brother Kelvin.

"We need guts like that in our family," said Harry as he praised his sister along with Kelvin.

Their father hit the table with a fist "Be quiet you too, Tess explains now"

Tess took a sip of her tea "They are human Father, what was wrong with me feeding a hungry soul?"

"That is the maid's job," said her father.

"You mean the same maid who would feed him table scraps like a dog? I at least feed him something edible" said Tess as she took a biscuit and dipped it into her tea.

Her mother and father looked at each other and nodded, which alerted the brothers to leave as they made excuses to the family and left with the bodyguards, seeing this Tess sighed knowing what was happening. 'Another one, this my third scolding of the month. If I get for I get bragging rights at school' she thought proudly.

"Sweetie, you know I love right?" said her father as she looked at her daughter with empathy in his eyes, while her mother's expression was calm and showed no emotions at all. 

Tess sighed "Yes I know papa"

"Good and you know I will always protect you with everything in power and grasp right?" said her father as she pushed a hand to the table as a gesture to the daughter to grab the hand.

Tess looked at him with indifference "Stop and just tell the obvious speech, so I can be on my way" 

"Don't speak to your father that way" shouted her mother who was the most composed here.

"Oh, the wall has spoken," Tess said mockingly to her as she blew a raspberry at her face.

SLAM! SLAM!

Silence filled the world in young Tess's ears as her cheeks became red from the double slap from both her mother and father, the father looked at his daughter with anger picked her up, and put her on the table.

"You are a child and an adult is a symbol of respect and you shouldn't have done that to your mother," said her father with a serious look on his face, Tess didn't look at her father and mother at all.

She was in pain but kept it in, her mother looked at her with anger and gently touched her hair. "As punishment for this, you will sleep in the basement until we leave this place. You wanted to be treated like a human being we treated you like one since you are our daughter, so if we slap you, you have the equivalent value of a slave and I shall treat you as one"

Her mother snapped her finger and gestured to the father to do what was needed for the company and family, the guards came when they heard the snap and stood there awaiting orders.

"Take her to the basement and tell one of the maids to bring my husband something strong fit for the morning and that will be all," said her mother as the guards bowed and gently grabbed the girl like a child instead of like a sack of rice.

"I am sorry my lady," said the guard carrying her, as he opened the basement door and put her next to Monare's cage. She didn't say anything as the doors to the basement closed.

Monare stood there quite and smiled "Thanks for the food yesterday"

Tess lifted her head a little and looked at the boy speaking to her "You're welcome I guess"

Monare made a grunting sound and reached out a hand "It's Monare by the way"

"What?" Tess asked her thoughts occupied about her situation to the point of forgetting her last query when she left the basement last time.

"You asked for my name and I just told it to you, also you are not shocked about me speaking your language," said Monare with a bit of bluffing and sarcastic tone.

"Oh I forgot, oh where are my manners i am Tess of the Abraham family," said Tess as she shook the hand the best she could.

Monare studied her face and saw that she was in deep thought, he sighed and asked "Your family threw you in here to teach you a lesson didn't they?"

"My mother put me in here not my family," said Tess as she corrected Monare, Monare looked at the girl with sad eyes sighed, and stretched his head trying to think.

"Is your mother, not family?" asked Monare with some sincerity in his hoarse drained voice.

"You mean stepmother, yes she is fine to the men's eye. A succumbs that manipulated my father after my mother was lost at sea, thought to be dead. So as a family tradition, my father remarried my aunt from my mother's side of the family" she said with a hint of torment and anger in her voice.

Monare stood in silence not knowing what to say, he knew that poking at the subject would make this girl's time here terrible and scary. She might develop a hatred for her family, so he thought that by changing the subject he would ease her mood for the remainder of her time here.

"So you cooked me that porridge?" asked Monare as he looked at the girl who suddenly looked towards him.

"How did it taste, your honest option please?" asked Tess as she closely leaned on the cage.

"The porridge tasted good, but the sugar made it too sweet which means you used honey instead of tea-type sugar. The texture was soft and tongue melting on the tongue, so what I am trying to say is that the porridge is delicious" said Monare as he gave his best analysis of the meal like the food reviews he would see in Madman Wilshire's many newspapers about the food of the Red empire when he was her shepherd for the farm animals she owned.

Tess stared at him and stood up to dust her dress off, she paced back and forth for about a minute. She stopped her thoughts breathed a sigh of relief and asked: 

"How old are you?" asked Tess.

"I have been 16 years old since last winter" answered Monare.

"I am 15 years old until summer end," said Tess as he looked at Monare with a glinting smile and sparkles dancing in her eyes.

"Great my lady, oh sorry should I address with something else" said Monare out of bounds, he had always been told to call a young woman of noble birth a lady by Mrs Wilshire and his mother. They always wanted me to treat females with respect he thought as he waited for Tess's answer.

Tess laughed a little and covered her mouth to avoid backlash as she gave a gentle smile to the slave who tried to lift her mood, she was very angry and sad about her situation which she knew would improve after her father finished arguing with her stepmother. 

The slave however will be sent to the new world, she could entertain the idea of learning something from him before he leaves for the new world. 

That night both Tess and Monare learnt a lot from each other through sharing experiences some disturbing and fun about Monare's country and culture, he told him some phrases in his native tongue and Tess told him about the myth that thrive at the seas and so he told her about the creature that live in this country.

At the afternoon during lunch, the bodyguard came down to retrieve the lady. They were sad that they had to say goodbye to each other, they enjoyed the company during their stay at the basement of the Abraham family home.

Tess shouted in the tongue he had told her about "See you tomorrow" she said and all Monare can do was wave and say something to her before the door closes:

"The ships wouldn't make it to the new world, not at all" said Monare as he repeated the words spoken by the tokoloshe.