Enchantress Read Free

was in darkness. She felt around until she discovered the small bunk. Uncaring that it was filthy, she pulled herself up and fell forward, burying her head on the stiff mattress, where she lost herself in the misery of tears.
    Through the endless night, she shed tears of grief. There was no hope for her—no one to come to her rescue and no one to care about what had happened to her.
    At last her tears were spent, and she pondered this bizarre turn her life had taken. She had never had a happy life, but now she dared not even think about what awaited her and her unborn baby once they reached Constantinople!

Chapter Two
    Constantinople
    The queen of cities stood in multicolored splendor among her seven lofty hills, with a skyline dominated by spirals and domes of ancient mosques and palaces. Constantinople was the place where Europe met Asia, and it was considered by many to be the shining jewel of this ancient land. The city itself was sprawling, and flanked on one side by the Sea of Marmara, which was accessible only through The Golden Horn, an inlet some four miles long.
    Mysterious women, with their features hidden behind thin veils, tread the twisting clay streets. Donkey carts stirred up dust which went unnoticed by the press of humanity that meandered through crowded shops and bazaars.
    A donkey-drawn cart, transporting Jillianna and three other women, wound its way through the narrow streets. Two guards marched along beside the cart, while it rolled almost unnoticed through the crowded streets.
    Jillianna took little interest in her surroundings because she was frightened, as well as humiliated by the sheerness of the costume she wore. She had been oiled, perfumed, and dressed in layers of lavender gauze, which did little to hide her nakedness. She was thankful for the veil that covered her face and hid her shame.
    She stared at the city that was sprawled over the hills and spread down to the water’s edge, trying not to dwell on what awaited her on the slave block. Her gaze shifted to the imposing Blue Mosque, which rose upward as if reaching for a piece of the blue sky. She caught a glimpse of a Gypsy incolorful dress, who prodded his dancing bear into action for the crowd’s amusement. A dwarf was doing handsprings to draw attention to himself, while a blind beggar moved with amazing agility through the throng of humanity. A rug peddler displayed his handwoven rugs, while carts and peddlers moved slowly through the dusty streets.
    Miraculously, Jillianna had not been ill-treated, either on the pirate ship or after the ship had docked. She had been taken by a stern-faced woman to a house near the Grand Bazaar, where she had been held captive for two weeks, seeing no one but the woman who brought her meals.
    Then this morning two dark-skinned women had bathed and dressed her, taking great pains with her appearance. Jillianna had been frustrated because no one seemed to speak English, or else they had been instructed not to answer her questions. She had not known what was happening to her until she had been chained to the three other women in the donkey cart.
    She glanced up at the burning sun overhead, gauging it to be near the noon hour. How strange it was that time had ceased to have any meaning for her. She had lived with fear for so long that she doubted anything would frighten her now—or so she thought.
    The cart halted before enormous wooden gates, and one of the guards called out for admittance. As the gates swung open, Jillianna saw the colonnaded courtyard, which was flanked by several long chambers filled with women in chains. She did not have to be told that this was the slave market.
    In shock, she watched the tall platform, where several black-skinned women were being led forward in chains. As they were poked and prodded and intimately examined, Jillianna felt their shame in the very depths of her heart, for she guessed it would soon be her turn to suffer the same indignities on the slave