Chapter 4

In the Cottage

After being up for such a long time, Aylin finally drifted off to sleep for a while, but she was startled awake when she heard the door of the cottage open with a thud.

The men entered, saying good morning and laughing jeeringly. Aylin and the other girls rose up from lying down since they were all terrified.

The three men slowly walked up to them and grinned evilly at them. "Hey, you two! tie their hands up, and don't forget to cover their mouths so they can't even utter a whisper of sound" one of them who was quite big said to the other two who were a shorter and skinnier than him.

The other two approached the girls to tie them up while grinning widely, and one of the men said, "Yes!, we will sell them all today and gonna be rich hahaha."

Aylin cried out in desperation, "Please, don't do this to us, let us go," after being terrified by their statements. "We do not desire to be slaves. You can't sell us like this because we are free." Aylin tried to explain while crying.

After hearing her pleas, the man who was preparing to tie her up became enraged and slapped her across the face hard, cutting the corner of her lips and causing it to bleed.

He also yelled at her, causing spit to fly out of his mouth at her face "Hey Bitch, listen up!" No matter who you are, all we care about is getting paid by selling you at the slave market. Therefore, cease that ugly mouth before I decide to wreck it, ya hear me?!"He began to tie her hands and cover her mouth as Aylin shook and remained silent.

They did the same to all the other girls present before ordering them to sit in the cart that was located directly outside the cottage.

Aylin was helpless to object and so she joined the other girls in the cart since there was only a small window inside the cart, when the men closed the door, the interior of the cart appeared to be almost completely dark.

Aylin realized they were transporting them to a slave market, which made her afraid. All she could do was pray to God to make everything okay. After what seemed like an eternity, the cart came to a stop.

When the door of the cart opened, it revealed a busy market. One of the men grabbed the girl's hair who was sitting close to the door and dragged her down so she moaned in main and couldn't scream since her mouth was covered. He then yelled for all the girls to get off the cart quickly.

Aylin and the girls slowly exited the cart in fear and stood outside. She searched for ways to get away, but none presented itself because the men were watching over them. Then the men instructed them to line up in a row for display so that they could grab people's attention.

Aylin frantically searched her surroundings for a way out as her heart raced. She felt entrapped and suffocated by the men's attentive glances.

Her mind raced as she listened to the men calling loudly for onlookers to buy the women as slaves as each second passed "Come and buy from us; we have young, beautiful women for sale."

She clung hard to the hope that someone would save her since the idea of being sold as a slave gave her chills. "What sort of woman are you searching for to buy, sir?" one of the men who kidnapped the girls kindly inquired as other men came and glanced at the girls. "like the ones here?" He asked.

"We are from the palace, and we were told to purchase slaves for our sultan" one of the buyers claimed. The girls' emotions were filled with fear and desperation as they listened to the talk.

One of them will be sold as slaves to the sultan, Aylin realized. They looked at one other anxiously as they silently prayed for a miracle to deliver them from their terrible fate.

The dealers enthusiastically described each of the girls. When they learned about Aylin and Leanora's specifics, one of the buyers pointed toward them to buy. When she noticed that the men were also pointing towards Aylin, her mouth got dry, but she was unable to speak.

Then, palace officials paid the sum due for the two of them and instructed them to board the carriage. Leanora was terrified when Aylin reluctantly entered the carriage and took a seat besides Leanora.

The carriage move to head to the palace and they sat in silence.

But Aylin considered getting in touch with Leanora. "I'm terrified and unsure of what may transpire for us. I desperately miss my grandparents and pray they are doing well." "The only thing left for us to do is to continue down this path," Leanora groaned and mutely retorted, "I know, but our fate has been sealed".

Aylin couldn't help but feel uneasy as they continued their journey. Her thoughts were plagued by the unpredictability of their future.

If they will ever see their loved ones again, she pondered. Aylin felt they had to be strong and endure despite the fear and longing in her heart.

Aylin was aware that they needed to endure and remain resilient. Her thoughts were repeatedly brought back to Leanora's advice that they had to continue on their current course.

The royal gate opened for them after a little while, and the carriage entered after that. The men instructed them to exit the carriage and follow them after stopping it in front of the palace.

They exited the carriage as they did so. The palace's opulence, with its tall columns and elaborate design, was astounding. She followed the men, wondering what lay within while her heart raced in anticipation.

Aylin felt confined by the lavish tapestries that lined the hallways. Aylin couldn't help but speculate about the impact these walls would have on their life.

The men halted, and others did as well. One of the guys then called out to a woman in her middle age, saying, "Miss Farha, these are the girls for the harem, train them well to please our sultan."

Farha, the woman, grinned broadly and said, "Leave that to me." She then pointed to them and told them to follow her.

The girls complied as Miss Farha led them. As they set off on their journey to join the sultan's harem, they were aware that their lives were about to endure an enormous shift.

They pondered what awaited them within the opulent palace walls and how they would adjust to their new positions with each step they made.