@justxaxstory posted this OPEN STARTER ||
The negotiations had lasted for nearly four days. Four days of debates, back and forth, and sometimes getting up and walking away from the negotiating table all together. It had been hard going at many points. Many times during those long days, he had almost given up and let one of the other Clans take the day. Still something always drew him back.
Finally, after four grueling days of negotiation, they were agreed. The neighboring Clans would co-exist in peace. From the Ragnarssons’ Valley, there would be fuel (as they had a significant refinery) and a significant portion of the fall harvest. A portion that would be tabulated by a representative of the Montgomery Clan. From that Clan, they would trade permanently two of their females, young and healthy enough to breed. It was a precious commodity. Even more so as one was already carrying. Proven fertility was a rare thing and children precious enough that it mattered little who actually bred her. The claim would be in the rearing of the child. The other female, by some miracle, remained pure. A precious child apparently, she had been well hidden by her parents until the Head of the Clan had discovered her existence. It was the pairing that made this bidding so high.
The Ragnarsson’s medic had confirmed the general health of the two females. Ubbe wanted both females for his people, one for himself, one to be shared by the others. Walking into the back chamber, the Montgomery Clan leader tugged off the thick cloth from a large cage. Inside, one female sat up, blinking blearily in the sudden light.
Being outside had always been a dream of hers, for as long as she could remember. Now, in this unfamiliar world, confused, angry, lost -- she wished nothing more than to be back in her bunker.
Her parents had known -- her mother used to tell her stories of an older sister, one who’d been taken by the Clan and sold for food. Her father had told her that women, in this world, were a commodity. And one that was not treated with respect. She had thought both of them liars, keeping her trapped underground, far from the world above.
And now they were gone. Punished; banished, perhaps, or dead. No one could or would tell her. Punished for keeping her a secret for so long. But of course they did -- the minute the Montgomery Clan had found out about her existence, the moment they’d thrown her in a cage. They’d left her untouched, in the dark, before they’d moved her.
Another woman -- Eve, she was called -- had joined her that morning, and for a while, she had talked a lot-- she was happy enough to be going to this new home, this new clan. A new place, where her children would be fed. She had even let Lily touch her stomach, let her feel the kicking feet that, if everything went well, Lily herself would be accustomed to.
But now, Eve was asleep, torn blanket used as a pillow against the hard flooring, snoring softly. Lily was the opposite, back pressed as far away from the door as possible, as if she could squeeze through the bars by sheer will power.
She looked up quickly as the tarp across the cage was torn down, shielding her eyes from the bright light that flooded. Sunlight, natural light, was something she was still getting used to. She assumed she’d be greeted by another medic, or a guard -- but it was neither. Instead, a different man, tall and imposing, with light hair and eyes. Eve had told her of the things this man, his clan, wanted to do with her. Her mother had told her horror stories of how most men treated women. It was enough to set her on edge, make her wary. Still, she was a curious one; this world already was so much bigger than the one in her bunker. She moved slightly towards the front of the cage, hands grasping bars as she watched him, head tilted.
“You’re the one we go to.” It was a statement, not a question. “They say I am to bare your children.”