Freedom is slavery

Pier opened his eyes with a cold splash of water to his tiresome face. He had a big black beard which covered the most of his face. His red dotted bandana was soaking wet as he pulled it off from his head.

“Sinan!” he called his fellow pirate. Everybody feared Pier Reis. He was tall, a well muscular build. His pockets stuffed with pistols and daggers. His beard flapping in the winds. He was so cruel that he wouldn’t mind burning a ship full of people if it had enough treasure in it. He was such a person whose mere presence will give one the chills.

“Aye Captain,” said Sinan as he came running to his Captain’s call.

“Enough taking rest, get our things ready, set up the sail, we need to reach Algiers port by sunrise,” said Pier pointing towards the ship. It was a huge two-mast Brigantine which was highly maneuverable and fast.

“Yes Captain. Should I give them something to eat before we leave?” asked Sinan pointing the slaves who were sleeping.

“A little concerned, are we? The Sultan does not wait Sinan, it’s time,” said Pier.

“Okay, I’ll get them ready,” said Sinan as he ran towards the camps.

“Get up, you bastards,” shouted Sinan kicking and waking up the slaves who were having a sound sleep not minding the winter’s cold.

“Water, I need water,” whispered a man who was lying on the ground with half opened eyes and an exhausted body that he didn’t have the strength to move.

“Someone get him some water, please,” screamed Julia holding the man’s head. “Why can’t you get him some water, he is too weak,” she asked to Captain Pier who was now standing beside her.

Pier saw her, crouched and held Julia’s jaws with his hand as he spoke, “You are slaves, my slaves, you play by my rules.”

“But what good to you is a slave if he is dead?” said Julia. “This man is the Admiral William Massey of the British Navy, give him that respect at the least.” Her tears rolled down her cheek which turned black with the dirt on her face.

“Alright. Sinan, get some water for this man here,” said Pier. “And who might you be pretty lady?”

“I’m Julia, William’s wife,” she said with all the confidence that she could muster.

Pier was smitten by the beauty of Julia. He started wanting her the moment his eyes met hers. He felt that desire that he never felt before. He had thousands of slaves and whores under his command but he wanted none of them as much as her.

“Get up, milady,” said Pier as he lifted Julia by both her hands. “Sinan will take you to a bath and some hot dinner,” said Pier as he called out for Sinan.

“No, I don’t want to leave my husband,” said Julia.

“He’ll be taken care of. Don’t you worry,” he said as Sinan forcefully took her away into the Ship’s cabin.

“Oran!” He called up to another mate of his. “Take this man, get him ready, we are moving.”

Oran was a fat and strong man. He pulled William on his feet dragged him to his cabin as he couldn’t stand on his own.

The slaves, every one of them were Christians who were either passengers or of the Navy of different ships sailing across the Mediterranean Sea hailing from different parts such as Great Britain to the East Sea. The Ottoman Empire was interested in having slaves do their work and were ready to pay handsome prices for Christian slaves. The Pirates saw no harm in trading slaves as trading wines and goods saw a little decline in their profits. The Sultan Mohammed the Fifth was a whoremonger. He spent more time in his harem than at his court. His harem was filled with women of all races, ethnicity and culture.

Pier took two glasses of wine in his hand as he walked up to the man who was sitting on the floor of the upper deck wrapped around in a fur blanket. He pulled up a wooden chair and asked him to take a seat.

“William, is it? I heard you were an Admiral of the British Navy,” said Pier with a motion of his hand towards the glass of wine which was on a table.

“Yes, yes I was,” said William as he reached out for the glass which he hoped would reduce his shivering in the bleak cold night.

“Well, now you are a nobody,” said Pier with a shrug. “I also noticed that you have a wife as beautiful as the moon shining above us.”

“Yes, Julia, where is she?” asked William with a surprise on his face.

“Well, given your reaction, she doesn’t mean much to you, does she?” asked Pier calmly. “Anyway, she’s safe and sound in my cabin.” He gulped the whole glass of wine at once down his throat. He laughed as he stared at William.

“I’d like to take her, make her mine,” he said.

“But you can’t do that, she’s my wife. Moreover we are all slaves of the Sultan, you hold no rights to take her as yours,” said William.

“I’m not asking your permission, admiral,” said Pier as he laughed. “I’ve been trading with the Sultan for years now, I bet he can make an exception for me,” said Pier.

“But then, what happens to me?” asked William, worried.

“What happens to you? You are a slave, and you will be one till you die,” said Pier and let out a huge laugh.

“But that’s my wife you are talking about, don’t I get any credit for that?” asked William.

“Credit? You are sitting here with me, all warm and wrapped up, having a nice glass of wine under the moonlight, you can’t get a credit more than this, admiral,” said Pier as he left for his cabin.

The sun rose and with it, woke up William with the sound of Sinan shouting, “wake up you scum,” to his face. He was lined up along with the other slaves and as he was about to be chained, he spoke.

“No, this is a misunderstanding. I’m with Captain Pier now, I demand to see him.” He was silenced by a loud punch to his mouth which almost broke his jaw by Oran.

“Hey, take it easy,” said Sinan.

“They just need him alive, and there are many forms of alive,” said Oran.

“That man is a Navy admiral, he could go for a hefty price,” said Sinan as he tied up the pelts and the barrels. “Line them up, quick.”

William watched the port of Algiers with all its glory in the morning sun. Algiers was a city in the northern Algeria. It was beautiful and the streets were bustling and crowded compared to the streets of 17^th century London.

“A new batch,” said Pier to the guard at the gate of the palace. The guard opened the gate and let the slaves enter with the crew of the ship. Pier was excited to collect a huge sum selling the Christian slaves. The Sultan met the Captain near the grounds of his harem.

“Captain Pier,” he called out as he walked towards them. He was a tall, well-built man. He wore a white potur (a long robe), a yellow mintan (a vest) and a white sarik on his head. He had a trimmed beard unlike the big unruly beard of Pier. “What have we here?”

“Sultan Mohammed,” he saluted with a slight bow. “These are Christian slaves who were captured in the sea over the past few months. We have a few valuable ones, and most of them are British.”

“Excellent,” exclaimed the Sultan clapping his hands. “The minister will settle your money,”

He took a good look at the white slaves, “take the men away,” he commanded. The Sultan’s soldiers took the men to the settlement huts as they left only the women with him.

The Sultan took a good look at each women who were chained but one. He looked up to see her face and was absolutely stunned by her beauty. She was not like the others.

Her ruby-red hair tumbling over her shoulders, her lips, as soft and sweet as a cherry fruit. She was wearing a vibrant red gown which was mostly covered with mud. Her eyes were as dark as the night sky, her glossy-white skin shone bright in the daylight. Her curvaceous legs that went for miles. Her whole body was so perfect that even the best sculptor couldn’t have done better. The Sultan fell for her as he saw her. He wanted to take her right there at that very moment.

“Well, what do we have here?” he asked as he inched closer towards Julia who was standing next to Pier, the last in the line.

“Uh, she’s not for sale, your majesty,” said Pier as he stepped forward stopping the Sultan.

“Why not?” asked the Sultan without taking his eyes off her.

“She’s mine now, I made her my wife, your majesty,” said Pier.

“This is a joke, isn’t it? She’s a Christian slave and I’ve paid you for every one of them, including her,” said the Sultan.

“No your majesty, I’ve already returned your price for her to the minister and I’m taking her with me now,” said Pier as he took a hold of Julia’s hand.

“Who do you think you are? I’m the King, and when I say I want her, I get her,” said the Sultan.

“Your majesty, I’m willing to pitch in two more slave girls for her, if you are good with it,” said Pier.

“There is no deal unless I say there is one. Hand her over to me and you shall live,” said the Sultan as he drew his sword from its sheath. It was a shiny Kilij, a curved Ottoman forged sword used by the Turks.

“Well, if you want her, take her by beating me in a battle,” said Pier confidently.

“As you wish. It’s settled then, tonight, your life ends by my sword,” said the Sultan with a pride in his voice.

“Tonight,” said Pier as he walked away holding Julia to his camp.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Rabiye, the head of the Sultan’s harem and its supervisor. The Sultan pushed away another girl who tried to please him in his bath.

“I don’t know. After seeing that woman today, all these girls seem worthless to me, I must have her,” said the Sultan.

Rabiye clapped her hands and there came a man who poured a glass of wine from the pitcher and stood behind calmly. Rabiye handed it over to the Sultan. “Stay calm, he’s a mere pirate, you’re a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, you can beat him,” said Rabiye.

“That’s not my concern, I can beat him even with my eyes closed but I’m afraid of my dignity and the respect my people have on me will go tumbling down if I’m going to fight battles over slave women,” said the Sultan.

“I can help you with that,” said the slave who poured the wine.

“How dare you speak in front of the Sultan, you slave?” shouted Rabiye at the man.

The Sultan motioned his hand to shut her up and spoke, “And who might you be?”

“I’m William, admiral of British royal navy, your majesty,” said William with the little pride that he had.

“I see and how can you help me?” asked the Sultan.

“How can you entertain this, your majesty?” asked Rabiye looking at the Sultan.

“Well, let’s hear what he has to say,” said the Sultan and asked him to speak up.

“I’ve been wanting to kill that man too. The woman you are in love with, her name is Julia and she is my wife. You can have her if you promise me my freedom,” said William.

“And how are you planning on doing that?” asked the Sultan.

“I can fight for you, you can tell the people that I’m fighting for my wife. I get my freedom, you get Julia,” said William convincingly.

“But this is a sword battle, do you know how to use one?” asked Sultan as William let out a smile.

“Let me worry about that. Just make sure that your guards don’t chase me too far when I make my run,” said William.

The night of the battle had arrived. There were a huge crowd that gathered to watch the battle. One end of the ground saw William holding an Ottoman sword and the other side was the mighty Pier.

“This is a battle for love, this is a battle for a woman. Let the deserving win,” said the Sultan as the trumpets were blown to signal the start of the battle.

William took a few steps backwards as Pier inched forward swiftly. Pier swung his sword harder as William inched further back. He was very close to the boundary now. As Pier swung again, he continued to retreat sideways. Pier judged the move as he slashed his sword to his right swiftly in one motion as it grazed the skin of William who was bleeding now as the sword cut the flesh of his stomach.

William moved backwards as he took a look at the cut, it wasn’t bad enough for him to die. He sensed a hard blow from Pier as he blocked his with his sword. He suddenly reached his pocket by his left hand as he pulled out a Flintlock Pistol and shot Pier right on his chest. Pier’s sword fell to the ground as his grip loosened. His eyes were wide opened as he looked intensely at William. He pushed Pier to the ground.

“Guards, catch him!” commanded the Sultan as William ran, ran to his life, ran to his freedom.