Darkness.
A heavy suffocating darkness.
Moremi's eyes fluttered open in the darkness as she blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of her surroundings, but to her dismay, there was nothing but blackness.
Her body ached badly like someone who had run a marathon for the first time and whenever she tried to remember what had happened before now, there was no memory. Only more pain pounding in her head.
She groaned, attempting to sit up but the moment she raised her head, a weight suddenly tugged at her, pulling her neck back to the ground.
Her brows furrowed at this, and she subconsciously twisted her wrist, only to hear the faint clink of something.
Metal.
She froze, her eyes widening in shock.
Moving her wrist again, she heard the metal clink much heavily this time, making more rattling sounds.
Was she chained? Her heart skipped a beat as she turned, trying to look around to know where exactly she was.
She couldn't remember anything at the moment but she knew something was not right.
Suddenly, something moved beside her, followed by a shallow cough. She whipped her head in the direction, hoping to see what it was but there was still nothing. No face or shape outlined, just darkness.
"Hello?" her cracked voice finally rang out in the silence, but there was no reply. She tried again, louder this time, "Who's there?"
Still no answer, just another deep cough beside her, followed by more clinking of chains, letting her confirm someone was close.
"Please," she said, straining toward the sound. "Can you...hear me?" she asked, struggling against the restraints around her wrist.
Panic surged within her when the chains continued to clatter with no hope of releasing her. It was as if the reality of her situation was slowly beginning to hit, causing her to clench the cold floor beneath her.
"Where am I?!" She snapped in fear, her breath turning ragged.
More rattling noises echoed from her bound wrists when abruptly, a voice, out of irritation, growled at her in the darkness.
"Shhh!" A man yelled. "You want make dem come flog all of us?! (Quiet! Do you want them to have us flogged?!)" His voice roared in frustration.
Moremi flinched, hearing the harsh and unfiltered tone of the person, but that was not the main thing that caught her attention.
It was the language he had spoken in—pidgin English.
That language was a thick local, broken tongue that was only common among the villagers and commoners in her kingdom.
Moremi understood it but she rarely ever spoke it. It was not the tongue of courtmen or royal breeds like her. She only ever heard it from servants, traders and common folks.
But now...? Her heart skipped. What set of people in particular was she hearing it from?
"W-wait," she stammered, facing the unseen person despite her collar restraining her neck, "W-what is this place?" She asked with moist eyes, feeling dread wash over her.
"Where am I?"
Maybe if she figured out where she was, she could find a way to escape this mess.
The man hissed, finding her question silly, "Wetin you de talk? (What are you saying?)" He asked with irritation.
"We dey inside ship with the white devils. Abi, you think say na boat ride you book? (We are in a ship with the white men. Do you think you booked a boat ride?)" He replied with sarcasm, like it was the most obvious thing here, but Moremi was not one bit amused.
Her face paled, hearing those words.
White men.
A ship with the white men...
She froze, her brain screaming in absolute horror from within as her heart hammered so hard in her chest, she could swear it would burst out any moment.
Of course, she knew exactly what being in a ship with the white men meant for a black woman like her. It was no news what these foreigners did whenever they came to African kingdoms.
As a princess, she knew all too well how these white men went from kingdom to kingdom, visiting the Kings and local heads of each village and presenting their glory and inventions before them.
They would gift them silvers and golds, even offering them good trade for kingdom growth but not without a price.
It was no secret how even these kings would sell off their own people in exchange for power and many other good things promised by these white men.
She was also aware of the white slave traders who lurked around village corners, capturing commoners and taking them as slaves.
Though she was aware, Moremi already knew how the system worked. Her father, the king also engaged in this trade and though, she wasn't in a place to chip in her thoughts about it, if she was given the opportunity, she definitely didn't care much about it.
Now, however, she was not just in shock but also in confusion. How did she end up here? She was not a commoner but a princess.
There was no way her father would sell her off to these slave traders.
No.
She couldn't even think of it. Even though he lived for the wealth and glory, Moremi was aware her father loved her.
She was his only child and heiress to his throne. He wouldn't even think of letting a finger touch her so none of this made sense.
A weak cough echoed behind her, pulling her from her thoughts, and a woman's voice added softly, "Better save your strength o. This place no dey get light. We go dey for here till we reach. (You'd better reserve your energy, girl. This place is usually dark and we'll be here for a while)."
Right now, those words sounded like toxins in Moremi's ears.
Her fingers trembled. "I don't understand... how did I get here?" Her voice cracked in fear. "I had been in my chambers..." She tried to recall.
Someone stifled a dry laugh at her words, catching her attention. It was clear that she was a highborn from the way she spoke and her throat grew tight knowing they were likely mocking her bad luck.
The air around her was foul, filled with the stench of sweat, and Moremi soon realised she was in the belly of the ship, the lowest deck where light did not reach.
She could see tears welling in her eyes with disbelief as she frantically began to shake the chains binding her with violence, unable to come to terms with this sudden twist in her life.
She could not be a slave.
Never!
She was a princess.
The crowned princess of her kingdom, Mandinga.
She had to get out of this place as soon as possible.
She wanted to see her father, her maids, everyone even. They would be searching for her now.
They would be scared and worried. She had to get out of here.
"No!" She screamed suddenly, startling everyone. "Get me out of here! Now! I want to go back home. I need to go home!" She shouted in panic, fighting against the metals.
"Who be that??? (Who is that???)" One of the slaves yelled.
"You dey craze?! (Are you crazy?!)" Another asked in disarray.
Moremi's mind reeled, blocking away the warnings that came, thrusting her hands here and there as the reality of it all began to dawn on her.
These weren't nobles. These were lowborns—common people taken from their homes, markets and farms.
Their broken language, tone—everything about them screamed what they were and now she refused to accept she was here with them, chained in the dark like a dog.
The panic returned like a wave, harder than before. This couldn't be happening to her. None of it could be real!
"Hello!!! Can you hear me up there? Release me before my father finds you!" She roared, her cries and struggle echoing through the space in spite of her patched throat.
The people in the room panicked terribly, afraid she was going to attract the slave traders.
"Whoever you are...free me from these chains! I'm not a slave! I am a prin-"
Bang!
Suddenly, the once excruciatingly dark room shone with blinding light as everyone instinctively squinted their eyes, trying to adapt to the sudden brightness.
Moremi closed her eyes briefly before finally opening it to adjust to the bright light.
A burly white man appeared inside the room, holding a whip as he shouted in a clipped accent, "C'mon! Up! All of you, up!" He slashed the whip on the door, making a shrieking sound to alert them.
"Ship's about to dock!" He said as he began releasing their chains.