Traveller Probo

He woke with a kick to his ribs. Maksym Vasylenko grunted and instinctively covered his face. His hands were manacled but otherwise he could move. He opened his good eye, for the other was swollen shut, and shuffled to sit up. His feet were also manacled and linked to a chain that ran the length of the hut. Only one other was so shackled.

Two metres away, Kateryna also struggled to sit. She looked furious and defiant, though she sat gingerly. Their captors had been careful not to hurt her face, though the same couldn’t be said for below her waist. Dressed in a rough, woollen shift, the blood from her rape spotted the material and explained why sitting was painful. She cast a glance at Maksym and then stared defiantly at the opposite wall.

He watched carefully as their captors shuffled around the dirt-floored cabin. The two men, who modern historians would label as Rus, the Viking ancestors of Russians and Ukrainians, were almost nonchalant as they gathered the boots and packs looted from the slain Travellers. They chuckled as they played with the fittings on the packs and admired the quality of their seax blades. Having paid the price for underestimating these men, Maksym knew to be careful. After all, his comrades had been killed, his squad-mate raped for her resistance, and he had lost his freedom and a few teeth. He knew he had to wait. His time would come.

There was a faint grunt as Kateryna moved and sat awkwardly, thus attracting the attention of one of the men. He was blond with laughing blue eyes as if he took life as one joke after another. He wasn’t one to be trifled with.

“So, my princess is awake,” he called out quietly. “I hope you’ll be a good girl today. Borislav will be here soon and I want you to be able to walk. However, if you keep on fighting, we can make it so your friend will have to carry you.” For once, Kateryna had the sense to remain silent. She cast a glance at Maksym, who shook his head to keep her quiet. At this, the smiling man chuckled. “Yes, do as your friend says. If you’re good, we’ll treat you well. If not, you’ll be beaten and raped some more. The men won’t mind but I will, because it’ll reduce your value.” The other man snorted in humour. To Maksym, they seemed to be in a good mood.

Why shouldn’t they be? They had their fun. Maksym would never know what gave them away but they had walked into a hornet’s nest. Their silenced shots were fired and two Rus had died but the locals had taken their toll. The zodiac had fled after they bolted from the church. He knew Nastya and Gleb had escaped with a few sacks of loot, while Anatoliy had gone down to a spear thrust to the kidney.

His had been a noisy death.

Oleg, poor bastard, had held one of the young men and threatened to kill him. Surrounded as they were by hostiles, any fool knew it was best to surrender. But not Oleg. Maksym shook his head as he remembered Oleg screaming. They had peeled the skin off his back and then burned him alive. Kateryna had tried to fight free, or save Oleg, who could tell but even Maksym knew they were done. Kateryna had knocked out one of the men, which had been the cause of great hilarity. They had shown their respect by keeping her alive, that much was explained by the smiling man. But she had to be taught a lesson.

She had fought. Oh how she had fought but there were too many. Maksym had made the obligatory attempt to save her, which was stupid. Even Kateryna would have thought as much. They had only beaten him. It look a long time before she relented, before she gave what they wanted and cried out her pain and humiliation. Quite a few of the Rus men took their turn by then and none were gentle. Rape was, after all, a weapon.

While their Rus captors watched, the prisoners used a hole in the corner of the hut to relieve themselves. Kateryna shivered like a beaten dog as she passed water and the men chuckled. “Perhaps now you’ll have better manners, my wild woman. You fought well but you have to learn or you’ll end up dead. We could have kept going. After all, a lot of our men missed out. But then, you would be good for nothing, or even dead. What good would that do for us? Hm? A pretty warrior woman could be of some use and if you are of use, then it will make us some silver. We aren’t stupid. Even your friend here has learned,” he said as he gestured to Maksym.

Maksym willed her to be silent.

So, they were to be slaves. Borislav was undoubtedly the slave merchant and a man who would be well versed in handling human cargo. Maksym frowned and concentrated on what was good about their position. Those who had fled might come back and rescue them but after today they would be in another place. Because their packs and weapons had been taken there was no way for anyone to track them, so they had to assume they would be alone and destined to remain in this time.

Maksym caught Kateryna’s eye. She must understand. He willed her to be compliant, be the best slave you can. Try to remain together. Remember to think, adapt, and adjust.

Their time to escape would come.