Xena's Recapture

His eyes wandered slowly over her form. She could feel his stare, burning upon her skin, right through what little clothes she had on. Her smile, timid, afraid, unsure of why she, of all the girls there, had caught his eyes. True the simple bit of cloth they had given her to wear barely covered much of her, it was obviously for a girl much shorter, and less endowed then she. Slowly he moved onwards, looking at the others, but she could feel his eyes glancing back at her again and again. She sighed in relief as she saw him slip around the corner.
  Suddenly she was jerked back, the collar upon her neck biting into her flesh. The sound of the chain rattling loudly as she was yanked to the back of the cage, rang in her ears. She did not know what was going on, her fingers clutched at the collar, in a futile attempt to pull it from her neck. She was quickly bound, hands and feet, and pulled from the cage. His eyes fell upon her once again, a cold smile upon his lips, the chain, her chain, was handed to him, she was his now...

...Silently she followed him, the heavy chain connecting them, bonding her to him weighed heavily on her. Her eyes cast to the ground, her only sight, her own feet and the cobblestone street beneath them. She knew not his plans for her, or what was in store.
  His pale skin glowed in the sunlight, even as covered up as he was. His hat had a wide brim that covered most of his cloaked shoulders, the only skin naked of clothing, was his face and the back of his neck, both of which were covered in the hats shadow. It was a sharp contrast against hers, her ebony skin dark as the night itself...

...She had been taken from her home on the arid plains of her homeland, collared and stripped of her life, the only one she had ever known. Thrown into the hull of a ship, chained to the floor, stacked like cards of wood, only a mouthful of water ladled every third day by a collared slave woman in a white shirt and tattered long skirt. There they laid, day after day, barely able to move, scared...

...Through the winding streets she was lead, the sights and sounds new to her, making her jump and tremble in fear. Her eyes darted from strange thing to strange thing, her mind racing, overwhelmed by it all. The only comfort to her, the heavy chain linking her to her new Master. She hurried quickly behind him, not wanting to be to far away in case one of the strange things was to come after her. She was scared of him, but even more so of all the strange things around her. Her pace quickened, keeping close, yet far enough away to not trip on him.
  Her eyes kept going back to his pale skin, she had never seen such a color on a person before. It was as if it glowed even in the shadow of the hat, it fascinated her immensely. Down more streets they went, growing further and further from the docks. Farther away from her only way back to her home on the plains. She was lost for good now...

...In front of her stood a large house, one big enough to house her entire tribe.  His voice boomed like thunder as he spoke, telling her this was now her home. Her body shivered in fright as he yanked the chain between them, almost dragging her off balance completely. She could see the other slaves going about their work in the vast yard just beyond the heavy gates. She saw no one like her there tho. Most were light skinned, or slightly tanned. The feel of their eyes felt heavy upon her. It was as if they had never seen the likes of her before, it made her feel small, insecure. Her steps hastened, she wanted away from the prying eyes as soon as possible.
  He led her onwards, towards the huge house, parading her in front of them all.