Morning came quicker than I expected. As I slowly opened my weary eyes, the sun's descent below the horizon mocked me, its warm orange glow a cruel reminder of another day's toil and suffering. My bed was placed beside the window, so I could see the sky clearly from there - the sky that was painted with hues of gold and crimson, a beautiful sight that only served to deepen my despair. The sun's soft rays, which were still gentle and soothing, seemed to whisper, 'Another day, another night' - a relentless cycle of being kept in bondage and sorrow.
I lay there, my body feeling refreshed a little from the night's sleep, and my spirit still weary, feeling the sun's fading light dance across my face like a cold, unforgiving smile. It seemed my moment of peace wouldn't be for long, as our captors burst into the room like a tidal wave, their faces hardened and unyielding. Their eyes, cold and calculating, swept over us like a ravenous gaze. Their presence was a suffocating shadow, crushing any semblance of resistance. They moved with precision that was almost mechanical. Their footsteps echoed through the room like a death knell as they dragged us out of the room.
We passed through a different route from where we came in, which didn't quite sit well with me, as to why we were being dragged out of the brothel instead of us being sold to them. That was when it hit me like a ton of bricks - that the only possible fate that awaited us now, is that we are being taken to the emperor. The road we took was totally different from the one I had seen when we entered Rome. The familiar landmarks and streets were gone, replaced by a labyrinth of unknown alleys and dark corners. I felt a wave of panic wash over me as I struggled to keep up with their rapid pace. My mind racing with terrifying thoughts of what lay ahead.
We later stopped at a large building - the structure loomed before me, its stone wall weathered to a dismal gray that seemed to absorb the faint light of the setting sun. The windows, narrow slits of glass and stone, stared back like empty eyes, their darkness seeming to whisper tales of despair. The door, a study oak behemoth reinforced with iron hinges and studs, looked capable of withstanding a siege. The building's exterior exuded an aura of foreboding, its very presence seeming to crush my spirits. I felt like a tiny, insignificant creature about to be swallowed by a monstrous entity.
Rough hands grasped my arms, their grip like iron cuffs. We were shoved forward, my feet stumbling on the uneven ground. The door creaked open, its darkness yawning like a chasm. We were propelled inside, my body tumbling through the air, my mind reeling with terror. I landed hard on the cold floor, the wind knocked from my winds. Dazed and disoriented, I was dragged to my feet, my wrists bound by cruel hands. I was shoved down a narrow corridor, the walls blurring into a dark, formless mass. Another door creaked open, revealing a stairway that plunged into darkness. We went all the way down, the air growing colder, the shadows deepening, so much I could only see the glimpses of people and hear their ragged breaths. The stairs finally ended at a damp, stone floor. I was flung against a wall, my head hitting against the stone which sent a sharp pain across my body. The door slammed shut behind us, the sound echoing through the place like a death knell. The echoes were the last thing I heard before I became unconscious.
I didn't know for how long I was unconscious, but when I finally woke up, I realized we were in a damp, dark cellar - the air thick with the stench of mold and despair. The only light came from a faint sliver of sunlight that seeped through the cracks in the walls, casting eerie shadows on the cold, stone floor. The cellar was a damp, musty crypt, its walls weeping with moisture, its floor littered with decay of forgotten dreams. Cobwebs clung to the ceiling like tapestries, their delicate threads glistening with malevolent intent. The air was heavy with the scent of rot and decay, a sickening odor that clung to my skin like a bad omen. I realized we were not the only people in this cellar - there were others too, a quick glance at them, and they looked so malnourished that it looked like I was staring at dead bodies, their faces cold and their spirit looked dampened. 'Is this to be our fate here too?' I thought in my heart. I was suddenly torn between thinking if our lives at the brothel would have been better. "I wondered why you kept staring at me so hard," said a girl I had been shamelessly looking at. "I'm sorry," I said, as I diverted my look elsewhere.
"It's okay, what's your name?" she asked.
"Sandra," I answered.
"We've been here for the past month," she said. "It was I and my brothers that were brought here together, but now they are gone."
"Gone how?" I asked.
"They were fed to the lions,'' she answered, " as will be our fate here."
It was a very terrifying sight that still haunts me to this day," she continued. The festival is fast approaching; it's just a matter of days and I will be gone too."
" I'm Pearl, by the way," she said, as she went back to her seat in a corner.
I had lost track of time in this dark, subterranean prison. Everyone around me had gone to sleep, and I was kept occupied by the faint scurrying of rodents and the distant snores coming from all angles. I lay down to sleep, but it eluded me. I was thrown into my thoughts. My thoughts drifted back to Max - I hadn't seen him since we got to Rome. It was as if he disappeared; I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him, just like I wasn't given a chance to say goodbye to any of my loved ones before they were taken away.