I stepped into the cart as it pulled up beside me. The shackles on my feet were killing me and left purple swells on my ankles. I had had these shackles for as long as I could remember. Through all eight times I had been resold these shackles followed. There was one on my neck that had no chain, one on my hand connected by a chain, and one of the same kind on my feet as well. I had scars from their beatings and tortures, and my body ached from constantly working. I am used to it now though. The only thing I have that's my own, that brings me joy through my suffering is my Mother's golden, heart lock necklace. I've only known my mother for a short period of time. Shortly after I turned three the official came and took me and my Mother and sold us to pay the debt my father left when he died. I've been a slave ever since. Constantly working and constantly being sold. This is the eight time in my twenty years that I've been sold. I don't know who I'm going to work for, but if he's anything like my previous owner I fear I might actually kill myself to be free of this misery. In the cart I was often tossed to one side of the cart to another it was a harsh travel and I feel I have more bruises than before. For the busier I have already obtained, I fear the swelling is only getting worse. Soon it will be hard to walk or move at all. Unfortunately for me the trip took a whole day. I was in there constantly being tossed. When the cart finally stopped I felt relieved. I hated carts or anything that moved basically. Usually it wasn't that bad because there would be other slaves in the cart and you would just bumped into them, which to me was much better to me, but I was alone in the cart. Nobody was there to catch me when I got thrown, and the sun was constantly in my eyes since there was no clothing covering the back. In winter during these times it was awfully cold. You would be provided the thinnest blanket in the world. It did absolutely nothing for you, and it didn't help that the clothes I usually wore were ripped and old, and the pants were so short you couldn't see them over these impaired shirt. Some wouldn't even make the trip, yet I was considered a survivor. I had survived snow storms, desert heats, and brutal torture. I should be able to survive an unpleasant cart ride. One fortunate thing was I had better clothing this time. I didn't understand why they asked me to put on this very, simple looking dress, but they did. When the cart stopped. I tried to see where I was through the front of the cart. Wherever I was, the place was huge. It was bigger than a house and way fancier. 

I was distracted by the few I didn't realize when the coachmen came to the back. "Here your stop.”

I looked back instantly, and got out of the wagon. 

He handed me a letter. “I will be walking you to the gates. From there you will be exported to the castle where you will meet your buyer.”

My eyes widened. “Wait! Castle? I'm at the Eastern Castle.

The coachmen nodded. “Yes, this is where your buyer lives.” 

I now understood what the plain dress was for.“Who is my buyer?”

He shrugged. “I don't know that much.”

I took a deep breath. "That's fine. I guess I will meet them when I get inside.”

I looked at the monumental castle. The coachmen lead me into the city. People started at me oddly. I could tell somewhere was mocking me on the inside. Others looked sorry for me. I just avoid their expressions all together. I could hear some kids asking their parents questions about me, or women in the back disgusted and gossiping about my clothes wear. I ignored them. I was already used to this as well. Before their words would echo in my head, and I would feel dismayed and embarrassed while passing through a town. Not anymore though. I wouldn’t let a few words get to me. I continued to walk with the coachmen until we reached a large, silver gate with two guards on the inside and outside of the gate. He handed me over to one of them and spoke a few words with the other one before departing. The guards then opened the gate. The guard I was currently with handed me over to another guard who had been standing on the inside of the gate, before leaving to talk to the guard the coachmen had talked to. They talked for a solid seven minutes before one of them left towards the palace. Ten minutes later he came back with a handsome, slender man with dark brown hair. I was captivated by his looks, and for a few seconds I was pretty sure I wouldn’t mind having him as my owner. 

He came closer to me until our faces were inches apart. “Hello I am Daniel. Adviser to the Eastern emperor, Royle.”

I almost snickered. What kind of name was Royle. I stopped thinking of it immediately and gave a bow. “Pleasure to be here.”

He nodded before gesturing towards the letter in my hand. "May, I have that?”

I nodded and handed him the letter.

He took a few minutes to read it before speaking again. “So you're the new one.” 

I didn’t really understand what he meant, but I nodded anyway.

He regressed the letter and handed it back to me. “You will be taken to the waiting chambers and there you will meet your new master.”

“Wait, you're not my owner?”

He gave a small laugh. “Sorry, what's your name?.”

I was surprised he asked for my name. None of my previous owners ever cared to ask my name. “Uh… Eva.”

“Sorry, I'm not your owner, Eva,” he said in a soft tone. 

I was a bit depressed by the fact that I wasn't going to this somewhat nice guy as my owner, but deep down I was really happy he used my first name. “That's fine.”

He led me into the palace and, of course, I got some rude remarks and stuff, but I ignored it. Also Daniel would sometimes turn back and tell me something about the kingdom or the person I was working for. I suggested he did it to keep my mind of the critics. He seemed like such a nice person. I hope I will get to see more of him, and that's he not like those people who seem kind but are actually really mean. I continued to follow him till we reached this really big and fancy room. He told me I could sit in any chair I wanted while waiting. After that he left me in the room by myself. I’d never been in such a fancy room before, nor seen such an elegant bed, or chair or window curtains. I looked over at the bed. I really wanted to know what the pillow felt like. I quickly put the letter on the table and went over to the bed. I stared at the fluffy things for minutes. I was compelled deeply to touch it. I reached out to grab it but hesitated at first. I didn’t know when this new owner would be coming, I wasn’t sure if he’d be happy with me touching the pillows. I looked at the entrance and back at the pillow. I tried to assure myself he wouldn't come for a while and grabbed the pillow. It was so soft, fluffy, and irresistible. 

I don't know how long I had been sitting there, but it certainly must have been a while because I heard a deep voice behind me saying, "What are you doing?”

I quickly jumped back holding the pillow. "Who are you?”

He folded his arms. "I asked you a question first.”

I looked down at the pillow. "I've just never felt a pillow this soft before.”

“Then keep it,” he said, “I've got plenty more.”

“Um… okay. If you say so.”

He walked over to the table where the letter was and read it. 

“You still haven't answered my question," I said, "Who are you?”

He closed the letter. "Apparently your new owner.”

I was dazed. My new owner. I finally took the time to admire his sharp figure. He had medium blond hair. That was in a medium side part flip style. He was dressed elegantly. 

He was as attractive as Daniel. "You're the person I'm working for?”

“I do believe I already mentioned that.”

I still was a bit bewildered and in disbelief. I had a few questions about what I would be doing.

 I felt he wouldn't give me an answer, yet I still asked anyway. "What exactly will I be doing?”

He folded his arms and with his dark expression said, "Whatever I want you to do.”

I wasn't dismayed. I knew it would be something along those lines. I was about to get up when suddenly he walked over and yanked the chain around my neck pulling me off the ground. I winced.  

He unlocked all my shackles with a key he had in his pockets. “You won't be needing these anymore.”

Once the shackles came off my legs I could feel the skin under it breath. These shackles hadn't come off in fifteen years. The purple swells from where they had been were clearly seen now. Even my new owner seemed to notice them. He immediately ignored them though. They felt really sore when I walked. My hands weren't as bad though. The swells there were fresh since the chains had recently been put on. Walking was bound to be really hard. I hoped whatever labor I would be doing wouldn't involve a lot of running or walking. I looked up at the young man.

 He stared at me for a while before walking away. 

“Hey," I called out to him, "Where are you going?”

“I'm a busy man.”

I walked after him with the pillow in my arms. "What do I do?” 

“Don't care.”

“But-”

He groaned before turning around. "Find Daniel and he'll show you around.”

“I wouldn't know where to find him.”

“You'll find him eventually if you ask around.”

“But wouldn't that be a little weird,”I said, remembering before in the halls with Daniel.

He groaned again. "Fine, come.”

I immediately felt content and ran after him. We walked through the halls, yet this time people wouldn't say anything about me. They were all silent and instead stared at the person in front of me. Some of them still had the look of disapproval in their eyes, but it was really paying attention to them. I was more concerned with the person in front of me. Who was he and why did everyone seem to be so intrigued by him? People would bow or curtsy as he walked by, yet he paid no attention to them. He was walking very fast, so my leg felt very sore, especially because of the sores on my legs. I even started limping with each step. He didn't bother to stop though. I was very agitated, but I knew when to hold my tongue. Instead I rolled with the pain like always and continued walking. We kept walking until we found Daniel talking to a few people in the halls. The man walked up to him and started talking to him. I didn't hear everything they were saying, but I definitely heard something about new clothing.

 Daniel nodded after their conversation and walked up to me. "Let's go see your new room.”

I nodded and followed after him. I constantly seemed to be walking through halls, and it was impossible to tell them apart from one another. Daniel initiated a conversation with me. He explained some of the cultures to me as well as some of the people here. He said after we were done with a few things we were going to visit some of the people I might want to get familiar with. I listened very attentively to what he said as it would help me in the future. We kept up our small talk until we reached the third floor. He walked me towards a room at the end of the empty hall. He opened the door and gestured for me to go first. I walked inside the room. It was dark so Daniel opened the windows. The walls of the room were nicely decorated in bright, royal blue with flower patterns. The window covering was pure white and there was a resting place right in front of it that had a light blue pillow. The bed was just as beautiful as the previous one. There were more soft pillows and the covers matched the decorations of the room. 

I loved the mere sight of the room. "Is this really my room?”

Daniel nodded. "It's all yours.”

I wowed once again. After living in a barn with the thinnest sheet on earth as a blanket and a really hard pillow, a room like this seemed like a dream. I walked around looking at everything and asking about things I wanted to know. Daniel, unlike my rude owner, was amused with my questions and was happy to answer them. I never got tired of seeing things in the room. Daniel continued to answer my questions until he was diverted by some unfinished work. He advised me to take a bath, and assured me he would be back to show me around the palace. I agreed and went to take a bath. When I came to the bathroom there was already water prepared for me, and it was still hot. I took off the simple grey dress I was wearing, as well as my under attire. I stepped into the water and let my body feel the warmth of the water. Never in all my life had I had treatment like this. The last shower I had taken was this morning and the water was freezing. I had never imagined I would end up working for someone in the castle. This meant I would eventually meet King Anthony Royle, and perhaps even the whole royal family. I smiled and sunk a little deeper in the tub. I wasn't gonna let some arrogant new owner ruin everything else good happening right now. I could just imagine what it would be like to meet the king. I exhaled slowly and soaked a bit longer. When I was done I grabbed the white towel on the rack and put it around me. Then I grabbed one to wrap around my soaked hair. I walked outside and sat down on some very embellished chairs. I wanted to embrace this moment for as long as I could. I practically had gone from having nothing to having a room to myself and living in the Eastern Palace. I couldn’t mess up this moment. I could be sold again at any time. I took a deep breath to take my mind off my worries, and instead went to check what new dresses I had. When I opened the closet I saw lots of beautiful dresses. Some were plain and short, others were long and really stylish. I really like the short blue on in the back, so I changed into that one and wore some black leggings underneath it. When I was finished I hopped onto the bed and rested there. It was plushy and soft. I felt I could sleep here for decades. The feeling brought warmth to my cheeks. I know I was a bit doubtful about this new job before, but now I couldn't have hoped for anything better.