Rachel curled up on her hard bed and stared at the red pealing welt on her arm. It still hurt, but she could tolerate it, she had to. She hadn't slept at all since Dwayne had left. Anna had left her shortly after, to sleep in Sargatanis' room. The quiet in the room was almost suffocating her.
It was morning now, and the grayness of the day filtered into the room making ugly shadows play on the wall. She got up to look out the window, and heard the heavy door being scrapped open. She stood against the wall as she watched Sargatanis and a guard enter.
Sargatanis looked at her with lust and anger in his eyes. "I'll give you one last chance." he said, knowing quite well she wouldn't give in.
The guard started ripping at her clothes, as he tied her wrists together.
Anna walked into the room and watched in silence, never meeting Rachels pleading eyes.
Sargatanis laughed darkly, and walked over to Rachel. He touched her lips with a riding crop, and then kissed her. She tried to pull away, but with the guard behind her she was trapped.
"Anna help me!" Rachel said shakily.
Sargatanis turned to face Anna. "She doesn't help slaves, do you Anna?" He said, as Anna turned and walked out of the room.
Rachel spat at him and kicked him in the back of the knee, making him loose balance.
"Why do you fight me?" He asked, laying looking at the ceiling. "I was going to give you one last chance..no you do as a worthless slave does, and what a worthless slave feels." He said, as the guard pulled her with the rope around her wrists. "Take her....outside." Sargatanis said as he followed them outside.
The guard pushed her outside, until they stood ankle deep in mud. The rain was falling in sheets, and Rachel could barely see the mansion from where she stood. The guard yanked at the ropes around her wrists, making her fall to her knees in the cold mud. She started to shiver from the cold ,as Sargatanis appeared before her. She felt that if she didn't die from the exposure, she would die by his hand. He hit her on the burned arm, and made her cry out in pain.
"Do you want more?" Sargatanis asked as he swung the whip around. "Maybe we should bring out the Cat of Nine Tails."
Rachel just stared at him, hoping to show she was not afraid of him.
His whip came down again, only harder. He wanted to hear her scream more. This time it fell on her back.
"I had the indian in a dream last night. I should have brought her here instead of you." He said as he brought the whip down again.
Rachel clinched her teeth, and punched a fist into the ground, thanking God that the ground was soft.
He broke the skin on her back on the next blow, blood ran down her sides. She fell forward into the mud, and was thankful he couldn't see her tears.
"You are worthless slave, the Indian will bare my son." Sargatanis said, with an evil laugh.
"Or die like the woman you had before." Rachel said, as she dared to look up at him with a smile on her face.
He took her face in his hands and stared at her eye to eye. "You remind me of someone." He said, and then let her fall back to the ground.
"Who?" She asked, as he left her on the grounds with the guard.
Blood continued to flow from her back, staining the slaves clothes that had been given to her earlier. Now she feared she would bleed to death if she didn't get help soon.
She could hear Sargatanis yelling for Anna. Anna appeared in the door way, and walked slowly over to Rachel with Sargatanis not far behind her. He took her by the arm and pulled her over to look at Rachel just as he had.
"Who is this woman??" Sargatanis asks Anna.
"Rachel." Anna said quietly, as she tried to pull away from Sargatanis and Rachel's stare.
"Why does she favor you??" He asked, as he pulled her face to look back at Rachel.
"I...I...don't know." Anna said, closing her eyes.
"LOOK AT HER!!!" Sargatanis screamed as he brought the whip down on Rachel's back again.
Anna opened her eyes, as the whip cracked even harder on her own back! She screamed and feel in front of Rachel.
"YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL!!" Sargatanis yelled at her, bringing up the whip again. This time he didn't know which one to whip.
Anna and Rachel stared at each other, and suddenly a realization came to Rachel.
" NO NO NO!!" Rachel screamed and tried to get away from Anna as far as she could.
"I'm so sorry." Anna said crying.
"Anna, you said she was dead." Sargatanis said, as he started to pet Rachels head.
"I am not your child. Get your hands off me!!" Rachel said as she jerked away from Sargatanis.
He snatched his hand away from her and untied the her hands. He led both women back to the chamber from which they had come from.
"I wanted a son, not a daughter." He said staring at Rachel. "You are not my daughter."
"You can't control those kinds of things." Rachel said shivering more from the pain, than from the cold. She looked at Anna, and could see herself in her.
"She must die by your hand Anna." Sargatanis says to Anna, as he walks to the door. "It doesn't matter how, just do it."
"Coward." Rachel says, as Anna starts to cry even harder than she had been. "Why don't you kill me?" Rachel asks, as she walks toward him.
He stops her at arms length. " I will not touch such filth as you. A slave woman...not worth my time." He said, as he pulled Anna to him and cupped her face in his hands. "Hear my words. She is dead by sunrise tomorrow. If this does not happen, you will be thrown to the snakes and eaten alive. " He pushed her back and into Rachels arms. He turned and walked out, locking the two women in the room again.
Rachel pushed her away. "You are not my mother. My mother would not be as weak as you. " Rachel said to Anna, as she took off her wet clothes. She would rather be naked than in heavy wet clothes. She put a blanket around her and pushed herself into a corner of the room.
"Nooo, I am not your mother."Anna said with a sigh. "I'm your great-grandmother."
"What? I am not hearing this." Rachel said and stood up again. "This can't be happening." She said, as she started to laugh hysterically. Why did you bring me here if you knew he would react this way. Kill me, kill you, kill us all." She started to rant.
"Perhaps to help free me?" Anna said, as she went to the window to watch the rain. "I am under his spell."
"You could have gotten to Chester when you found us. Why didn't you?" She asked as she winced at the pain from her back. Anna reached out with a handkerchief, but Rachel moved away from her. " Don't touch me! Anna, you got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out."
Anna just stared at her, and dropped her handkerchief onto the bed.
"Look, here I am without any weapons.. Kill me know why don't you. Don't waste his time with this." Rachel said, as she looked for something for Anna to kill her with.
"No." Anna said, moving into a corner of the room.
"YES." Rachel yelled, breaking the mirror that was in the room. "Slit my throat!! Slit my wrists!!"
"I can't!!" Anna said through her tears.
Rachel stood with a piece of the broken glass to her wrist. Realizing that she was about to kill herself, she dropped the glass and fell onto her hard bed. Sargatanis would not get the best of her, she thought. She had to fight.
"I loved your grandmother enought to set her free." Anna said as she pushed the glass under her bed.
"Please, spare me, don't tell me.. "Rachel said, as she put hands over her ears.
"Rachel, please. I need to tell you. If I wouldn't have set her free, you would have never have been born." Anna said, as she Rachel's attention.
"Is this why my grandmother was called Moses?" Rachel asked through laughter. "I didn't deserve this!!"
"Nor did I." Anna said, as she took her place back at the window as if keeping watch.
"I should be happy to meet my great-grandmother, but under these circumstances...no. You are nothing but a weak, pathetic fool. " As she watched Anna from where she was. " NO curse could make me as weak as you, no curse. I will not die easily!" Rachel vowed.
Anna stared out the window silently, tears streaming down her face.
"DID YOU HEAR ME?" Rachel yelled at her. She moved to stand next to Anna. "We have to work together."
Anna nodded, but only felt the strength of Sargatanis.