Breaking the Shackles Chapter 2

  Act 2

  Jiva watched as the young woman’s eyes opened.

  “Where am I?” She asked, sitting up.

  “You are in my little tea shop, my name is Jiva.” The woman said as she checked her for injuries.
“You made quite the entrance my Dear.”

  “What do you mean?” The stranger asked as she brushed back her bangs.

  “You fell straight through the ceiling and landed on a table, I shall have some men come and fix the hole that you made. More important is the fact that you were not injured,” Jiva said with a small smile.
The woman was quite confused by that statement.

  “I am at a tea shop? I am supposed to be at my apartment. Where the hell am I?” Her voice grew in panic with each word she spoke.

  “Let me fix you a cup of tea to calm you down. Then we shall try to sort this out.” Jiva said as she finished her inspection for injuries.

  The woman nodded in agreement as Jiva led her to a chair and fixed her a cup of tea.
She slowly began to relax as she sipped the tea.

  “Now, could you please tell me how you ended up here?” Jiva asked the stranger as she drained the cup.
Jiva listened to the story with interest. As her story continued, Jiva looked at the woman.
She had short dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Her skin was fare, and she had high cheek bones like an elf would have.
Her clothing was nothing that Jiva had ever seen before.
She was wearing a shirt with short sleeves, along with rather short blue leggings made out of a strange material.
Her voice was quite different as well. It was quiet with an accent she had never heard before.
It was better than the loud shrilly ladies she was used to hearing.

  Could you tell me what your name is and where you live?” Jiva asked next. The strange woman had a slightly nervous look on her face.
“Do not worry darling, I only wish to help you.” The woman seemed reassured by her voice.

  “My name is Aimee Jonson; I live in Tulsa Oklahoma in the southern part of the United States of America.”

  “I have never heard of those places.” Jiva said.

  “Really?” The woman asked slowly.
“Well, have you ever heard of England, France, Ireland, Canada, and Japan?” With each strange name that the woman listed, Jiva grew more and more certain that Aimee was not from here at all.

  “I am afraid that I have never heard of those places,” Jiva said as her alarm grew when Aimee slapped herself in the face.

  “Why did you do that?” She asked her, wondering if her mental health was affected by the fall.

  “To check if I am dreaming or not, it was only hard enough to sting a little.” The woman nodded to herself, looking satisfied but alarmed at her conclusion.
“All right then, I am not dreaming.” The woman said to herself.
“Now, could you tell me where I am?”

  “You are in a city called Servatis; it is a hidden city in the wilds of Middle Earth.””

  Aimee would have panicked, but the calming tea helped her with that.

  “Wow, I did not expect to end up in a different world when I woke up this morning,” Aimee said.

  “Well then, you are welcome to stay at my house until we can find you a place. We will need to find you some work. Is there any skill that you may have?”

  “Well, I can sing, and I had a little coffee shop.” Jiva nodded at this.

  “Very well, I can help find you some bard work at some eating establishments. We can look for houses once you have some bard work going. I will show you around the city tomorrow.”

  “Thank you for helping me,” Aimee said as they set out for Jiva’s home.

  “You are welcome darling,” Jiva replied.
“I know that it is not an easy thing to find out that you are in a whole other world than your own. There must be a reason why you were sent here. I shall help you adapt as best as I can.”

  “NO it is not easy, it is rather scary.” Aimee said as Jiva opened the door.

  “Would you like something to eat?” Jiva asked as she headed into her kitchen.

  “Yes please, something without meat, I am a vegetarian.”

  “I can fix you a lovely mushroom pie. How does that sound?” Jiva asked as she put wood into her stove.

“I love mushrooms,” Aimee said with a smile.

  After she ate her fill, Jiva showed her to the guest room.

  “This shall be your chamber while you are staying here, have a good sleep and I will have a nice hot breakfast for you in the morning.” Jiva said as she fluffed up the pillow.
After leaving the room, she decided to make a cup of tea.
She selected a vanilla blend and put the kettle on to boil.
It was going to be interesting to have a woman from another world in her house; there would be lots to learn.
She was startled out of her thoughts a few minutes later by the whistling of the kettle, she hurried over and took it off the stove.
She smiled as the aroma of the tea began to fill the room as it brewed. Her little tea shop was her pride and joy, she loved watching the customers as they sampled and bought her teas.
She sampled the teas she sold herself before deciding which ones she would sale. If she was not certain, her darling little Goldlocks would sample them and give her own opinion.
Jiva refused to call the little dear her slave, she was quite firm in her belief that slavery was a barbaric system that needed to be stopped in its tracks.
One of the worst things was the auctions; she could not understand how humans could treat other living beings with such calaceness and cruelty. The most heartbreaking scenes were the ones where mothers were taken away from their children.
Jiva always wanted to settle down with a family of her own, but it never worked out that way.
She did court some men but the relationships never seemed to work.
She sometimes wished she had a big house and a lot of money so she could buy all the slave children and mother them properly.
Jiva drank her tea and put the cup in the wash basin she then blew out the candles and went to bed.

  Aimee awoke the next morning to the smell of porridge and coffee brewing on the stove; she was greeted by Jiva’s friendly hello as she was ushered to a chair.

  “Would you care for some coffee with your breakfast?” The woman asked as she sat down.

  “I would love some; I take two sugars and a lot of cream.” Jiva poured her some coffee and set it in front of her.

  “I have scrambled eggs with mushrooms and a bowl of porridge for you,” Jiva said as Aimee stirred the coffee.

  “That sounds nice.” Aimee replied as she sipped the drink.
After breakfast, Jiva showed Aimee around the city.
She was amazed how much quieter it could be without the loud and annoying sound of cars rushing buy with their loud stereos and horns. It was definitely less dangerous as well; she did not have to worry about a car running her over as she crossed the street.
After exploring the city, Jiva helped her buy a wardrobe.
Aimee gritted her teeth as Jiva decided which color would suit her most. It took a long time because she kept changing her mind.

  As a blind woman, fashion did not matter to her. She did not care as long as it was a comfortable outfit that fit properly. She felt like an idiot just standing there as Jiva went through the racks.
Then came the next part that she did not like, trying the clothing on. She came out of the screened aria, wearing the pink dress.

  “Now slowly spin around so I can have a good look,” Jiva said.

  “I hate being on display,” Aimee grumbled as she did what she was told.
“I do not like it,” Aimee said to Jiva as she faced her.

  “Why not? The color looks lovely on you darling.”

  “It is too heavy, I like lighter dresses.” Aimee replied.

  “Very well then,” Jiva said.
“I think that there are some silk dresses in the next isle.”
After finding some dresses that Aimee liked, the two women finally left the clothing shop with her wardrobe.

  “I was thinking,” Jiva said as they walked back to the house.
“If you wish, you can work at my Tea shop until we find some bard work for you; I wish to add some baked goods to the shop.” Aimee smiled at this.

  “I would love to bake some pastries for your shop.”

  Over the next few months, Aimee got used to her life in Servatis. She loved working in the little tea shop each morning. Jiva also began to find bard work for her in various eating establishments and inns.
It took a bit longer to find a house, but they finally found one in early January.
It was a one story house painted blue; she wanted a Japanese style house, so the two women along with Goldlocks brought in the furniture and little dishes.
Goldlocks put blue curtains on the windows, while Jiva and Aimee put the folding mattresses that served as beds in the two rooms.

  “I like your style in decorations,” Jiva said as she looked around her at the layout of the house.
“What country did you say this style came from?”

  “It comes from Japan, they are happy with living with few possessions.” Aimee said as they put her groceries away.

  “I wish I could go to your world and visit this country, it sounds like a wonderful way to live.” Jiva replied.

  “Yes it is,” Aimee said as she sat down on one of the sitting pillows.
“I would like to thank you for helping me with everything.”

  “There is no thank you needed little darling,” Jiva said as she smoothed out her hair.
“Come Goldlocks darling, we need to get dinner on the stove.”

  “I am here Miss, I just needed to put her clothes in the wardrobe.” Aimee bent down and gave the hobbit woman a hug.

  “I wish to thank you as well,” Goldlocks blushed as they broke from the embrace.

  “Pray do not mention it Miss.” Goldlocks said as she and Jiva left the house.

  Aimee needed to get some coffee and tea the next morning, so after a nice bowl of porridge, she headed to the market.
Her first stop was the pet shop to buy a cat. Opening the door, she could smell a strong animal odor and hear various Barks, Meows, and squawks.
Above all that racket, she could hear a shrill voiced woman.

  “Balin! You old dwarf,  where are you?” Aimee winced as the shrill voice assaulted her ear drums. She then heard quick footsteps as the dwarf came from another room.

  “Here Miss,” The dwarf said in a bored tone. Aimee did not blame him, she too would be bored if she had to listen to that shrill voice all day long.

  “Where are the display cages for the kittens?” The woman asked Balin.

  “I am not certain, I was looking after the birds.” Aimee gave a small smile as she recognized the dwarf’s Scottish brogue.

  “The birds are well,” The woman said to Balin with a scoff.
“Go find the display case for the kittens.”
Aimee heard Balin scuttle off to another room. He soon returned, wheeling a large display case made of glass. She winced along with the dwarf as the wheels squeaked across the floor.

  “That will do, put it over there. The kittens are in the left room, still in their carriers. Get them and put them in the case!” Balin went to do so.

  “Oh hello there, I did not notice you enter, my name is Enith, welcome to The Little pet Shop. Are you looking for a particular pet?” Enith asked her.

  “Yes, I am looking for a cat.” Aimee said as Balin walked in and started putting the kittens in the case, along with some of their little toys..

  “Oh yes, we have some over here.” Enith said as she led Aimee to the display case.
“I have five kittens that are just a couple weeks, I also have two that are a month old.”

  “Just let me take a look at them, I do not care about age.”

  “Very well, do keep them in the case though, they are a curious bunch that will run off and get hurt.”

  “I will,” Aimee said as she began to pet the kittens.

  “Do take your time, just let me or the dwarf know when you have found a particular pet and we will help you pay for it.” Enith bustled off to help other customers.

  “GO check on the puppies dwarf!” Enith barked at Balin as she passed him.

  “Yes Miss,” Balin said in a monotone as he went across the room from the lady petting the kittens.
Balin could hear the lady’s laugh as a ginger kitten nibbled on her finger.

  “Balin, can I ask you a question?” The dwarf got up from where he was checking the water level of a puppies’ bowl
  “Yes Miss.” He said in a dry tone as he walked up to her, letting out a couple of sneezes.

  “Are you all right?” The woman asked him in a concerned tone.
He was confused by this. Why would a human be concerned for a lowly slave such as himself?

  “I am well, it is just a bit of allergies, nothing to worry about. Did you find a cat that you are interested in buying?”

  “Yes I did,” The woman said, showing him the ginger cat.
“How much is it?”

  “She is one silver,” Balin replied.

  “We have kitten products as well, including food, scratching posts, beds, toys, and brushes for their fur.”

  “Will that cost me extra?” The woman asked him.

  “Yes, depending on what size bag of food you wish to purchase will vary, also the size of scratching post and other accessories you wish to have for your pet,” Balin said in a monotone and uninterested voice.

"Oh my,” Aimee said to him.
"Can I ask you something? Does the woman you work for know you are allergic to some of these animals? If she does not, you have the right as a worker to ask to be moved to another part of the shop. I do not mean to be nosy or pry, it is just that I am a passionate workers rights supporter and I want you to be happy with your job."
Balin raised an eyebrow at her, he was not sure what to make of that statement.

  “It does not happen often, we are...shorthanded at the moment. My allergies are not so bad unless I have been around the dogs for long periods of time." He glanced over his shoulder listening to Enith.
“Are you ready yet?” He asked the woman.

  “Yes I am,” Aimee said as she and Balin heard Enith walk towards them.

  “Still here are you?” Enith asked in a disapproving tone.
“Did you find something you wish to buy or not?”

  "Excuse me, but I am a paying customer, I will walk out of this store and find another shop if you speak to me like that again. Furthermore, I do not like how you are treating this nice man here, he works for you and deserves to be treated with respect.” Aimee said in an angry tone.

  “First of all,” Enith said in a tone mocking Aimee’s tone.

“I have the right to give my business to whom I so choose. Secondly, this 'nice man is a slave, he does what I say, when I say it. Now I know his allergies and work around it, but a slave is a slave. Or have you been paying no attention to where you are? Perhaps you need to get out more.”

  Aimee was shocked at this information, the name of the city made awful  sense now. She made a quick and instinctive decision, a cold smirk appearing  on her face.

  "Well then, how about I buy him off of you? I need a dwarf of this very type myself.” Aimee said in a cold voice.
Balin's eyes flickered to Enith, he looked away and busied himself with wiping down a table.

  “How much do you offer? Why not go to the square and get your own?”

"I will not leave this shop unless you let me buy him. I can pay five gold for him.” Aimee said.

“Ten,” Enith said with a snarl.
Aimee checked her money bag to find that she indeed had ten gold coins.

  “All right, here you go. Ten gold and one silver for the kitten.” Aimee said as she held the money.

  “Deal, unless you wish to purchase food and proper accessories for the kitten.” Enith gave a cold smirk of her own.
“As well as slave accessories?”

  “I can do that,” Aimee said to Enith.

  “Very well, along with chains and whips, I have several collars with dog tags that can have your name, along with the slave’s name and your address. They come in green and blue. I also have his leash that you can lead him around with; it ties on the neck and has another so you can tie him to a gate post for any misbehavior.” Aimee hid her rage and horror with great difficulty.

  “Very well, I shall have all that you listed. The collar and tag shall be the blue one.”

  Enith ushered Balin from the room, so she could fit him with his leash and collar. She quickly engraved Aimee and Balin’s names along with her address on the dog tag, and fastened it to the dog collar around his neck. She then attached the dog leash to the collar, and pulled it tight to make certain it did not come lose.

  “You need to sign the deed before I can give him to you,” Enith said as she and Balin entered the main part of the shop.

  “You will have to read it to me, I am blind.” Aimee said as she handed Enith the money.

  “I can see that,” Enith said as she began to read the deed.
Aimee signed her name at the bottom.

  “Here is the leash, just give him a good sharp tug if he is not doing as you command.” Enith said as she handed it to Aimee.

  “Nice doing business with you,” Aimee said as she turned to the door.

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Enith said in a snooty voice as she jingled the coin purse.

  “Screw you bitch,” Aimee said as she closed the door to the shop.

  Aimee walked down the block, her slave following behind her. She never thought in a million years that she would own one. It went against her very nature as a human being. It sickened her that she had to drag a dwarf on a leash like a dog, especially one from the Durin  line no less.
Aimee was glad when she finally reached her house, she was ready to get the leash and collar off the dwarf. She had a hard time trying to untie him, Enith had tied it rather tighter than necessary.
The collar was melded against the dwarf’s flesh, she could hear his short breaths as he struggled to breathe.
After a few minutes of struggle, she finally got the damn thing off. She threw the horrid items like a baseball player throwing a curve ball.
It made a satisfying noise as it hit the wall on the other side of the house.

  “I need to get a few things from the market,” Aimee said to Balin as he massaged his neck where the collar had cut into it.

  “What would you have me do?” Aimee winced at the lifeless tone in the dwarf’s voice, she did not blame him for sounding that way. Slavery was a disgusting system that needed to be stopped.

  “I need you to carry my things and act as my body guard.”

  “Yes Master,” the dwarf replied.
. Aimee wanted to cry when he called her that, she desperately wanted to prove that she was not like the other humans in this foul city. She would have to be patient though, it would take time for Balin to trust her and come out of his shell. Aimee reflected more on these thoughts as they made their way to the herb shop.

  “I will be with you in just a moment!” The owner yelled from the back room, Aimee could hear him cleaning up a pretty big mess.
The owner came out to greet them a few minutes later.

  “How may I assist you today?” The man asked her.
She began to name the various herbs that she needed to buy.
With a whistle, the owner grabbed the first item and through it at Balin who barely managed to catch it in time. This was the reason why Aimee did not care for the owner, he liked to throw the merchandise at the customer.
Balin let out a gulp as the man produced a jar, but he only scooped the herb into a little bag. The dwarf caught it as it was thrown in his direction.

  “Can you warn a person before throwing things?” Aimee snapped as she lost her patience with the man.

  “I thought he was ready,” The owner replied as he through the last package
.
Balin dumped the load onto the counter as Aimee paid for the herbs.
The owner bagged up the items and threw it at the dwarf who caught it.

  Balin remained quiet as they left, and went to the alcohol shop to buy some wine.
Lexend was singing a tune as they walked through the door, He leapt over the counter to greet them.

  “How shall I assist thee this afternoon fare maiden and fine gentlemen?” The man asked with a flourishing bow.

  “Would you like some ale?” Aimee asked Balin.

  “Yes I would Miss,” Balin said to her. Aimee turned back to Lexend.

  “I would like to buy some grape wine and my helper wants to sample some of your ale.” Lexend smiled at this and left to grab some samples.

  He came back a minute later and thrust two cups into Balin’s hand.

  “Here you are sir, my finest brew.” Balin drunk from both glasses.

  “I like this one,” the dwarf said, pointing to the one in his right hand.

  “Ah, the apple, ” Lexend said with a toothy grin.
“You have excellent taste my good man.” Aimee smiled as the man put the beverages in a bag and accepted her money.

  “Have a fine day, Sir and Madam.” He said as he walked them outside.
They next went to buy some coffee, leaving the shop with a dark roast blend.

  “I am ready to go home now,” Aimee said as they left the shop.

  “As you wish Master,” Balin said in the same emotionless tone.
When they got home, Aimee made some veggie pot pies and a meat one for Balin.

  “Could you set the table pleas?” Aimee asked as the pies were about done.

  Balin did as he was told without a word, he was confused and suspicious at her polite manner. His former Mistress acted the same way, giving off a false sense of security before her true colors were shown. He would not let that happen with this current woman.

  “If you do not like this, I can make you something else.” His Mistress said as she served him the meat pies.

  “I am sure it will be fine,” Balin said in a polite tone. The dwarf was surprised to find that it tasted quite wonderful.
“Tis good Miss,” Balin said to her as he ate the pie. It was the best meal he had in a long time.

  “Thank you,” Aimee said to him as she ate her own pie.

  “Shall I help with the dishes?” Balin asked as they finished the meal.

  “That would be wonderful, thank you.” Aimee said as she put her plate in the sink. They worked on the pile of dishes in silence. It took a while; there were a lot of dirty dishes.

  After they were clean, Aimee showed Balin to the guest bedroom. The dwarf was relieved to find that there was a bed. He always slept on the hard floor at his former Mistress’s place.
She believed that a bed was not for lowly slaves such as filthy dwarves. Aimee gently closed the door behind him and went to her own room.
Balin sighed as he found the kitten that she had bought on his pillow, he gently picked it up and set it outside the door and closed it again.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Balin heard his Mistress say as she picked up the kitten.
“You leave the nice dwarf alone you hear?” Balin heard the cat give a grumpy meow as she took it to her room.
The dwarf was again surprised, his former Mistress never called him nice. She always treated him like the dirt under her shoe.

  “I have had enough of running fur balls to last the rest of my days,” The dwarf grumbled to himself as he fell asleep.

  The next morning, Balin awoke to a knock on his door. The woman probably wanted him to cook breakfast.
With a sigh, he reluctantly opened his eyes and got up.

  “I have breakfast for you,” Aimee said. Her voice was muffled through the wooden door.

  “I am coming Master,” He called back as he quickly got dressed.” The dwarf made his way to the kitchen.

  “When you are done, could you do the dishes for me? I have a quick errand to run, I shall not be long.”

  “Yes Master,” Balin said as he began to eat.

  Aimee made her way to Jiva’s tea shop, the woman greeted her as she closed the door.

  “Why Aimee darling, what is the matter?” The startled woman asked as she burst into tears. Jiva ushered her to her study at the back of the shop, while Goldlocks looked after the customers.

  “Tell me all about it darling,” Jiva said in a soothing tone as she shut the door and locked it.

  Aimee told of her visit to the pet shop and her quick decision to buy Balin.

  “I had to walk him home like an animal. She had a dog collar with a dog tag, it has our names and my address engraved on it so the fucking bastards of this hell hole would know he was my property.”” Aimee took a shuddering breath and continued ranting on, shaking with rage and revulsion.
“It is as if he is a robot, you know those machines I told you about?”

  “Yes darling, I remember.” Jiva said in her gentle voice as she rubbed circles on her back.

  “I hate this whole thing, it is not fare,” Aimee said.

  “No, it is not fare.” Jiva agreed as Aimee’s sobs began to die down.
“I have a hunch that this is precisely why you were sent here.”

  “What can I do? I am just one woman.” Aimee said as despair gripped her.

  “Yet it takes one little pebble to cause an avalanche,” Jiva said to her.
“Now listen carefully, there is a dwarf that is going to be executed tomorrow for causing too much trouble for his owner. I am going to give you some money so you can buy him, thus saving his life,” Jiva said to her. Aimee nodded in agreement at this.

  “I want to get some nicer clothing for Balin and the other dwarf,” Aimee said as she calmed down.

  “I have some clothing in my wardrobe that you can give them,” Jiva said with a smile.
Aimee heard her rummaging through the wardrobe.

  “Here is the clothing and some money to buy the dwarf,” said Jiva as she handed Aimee a bag and some gold coins.
“One more piece of advice before you leave, it is very important that you keep your emotions in check tomorrow. It is dangerous to show signs of weakness in front of the crowd.”

  “I understand,” Aimee said as she tucked the money in her pocket.
“What is the dwarf’s name?”

  “His name is Thorin Oakenshield,” Jiva answered as she led Aimee from the room.