(Nicholas continues speaking)
After several hours of walking, they suddenly stopped in front of a giant wall made of cracked stones all over. In its center stood a massive wooden door. A man from the Katoran approached the door and knocked on it hard. A voice came from behind the door asking for a password. The man began muttering strange words the mother couldn't understand.
The door opened slowly, and the Katorans began pulling her and her people into the village. They looked around and saw stone houses scattered everywhere, with people wearing clothes made from strange skins she couldn't identify. Some wore necklaces and bracelets made of bones, while others wore bracelets made of small human eyes. The mother looked at one of the women and noticed she was carrying a strangely shaped bag. She focused on it, and her expression turned into one of shock and horror—it was a bag made from human faces, faces with pained and suffering expressions.
Her heart began to race, fear and tension overwhelming her, with only one question spinning in her mind: "What are they going to do to me?"The Katorans kept dragging her and her people forward into the village.
She glanced sideways at the villagers, only to find them looking back with scorn and mockery. Suddenly, they stopped in front of a door. One of the Katorans opened it, and his companions threw the people of Nirosha inside one by one, then locked the door behind them.
The mother remained collapsed on the ground, unable to move from exhaustion. Her legs were trembling. She lay there, tears pouring down her expressionless face. She didn't know what to do; the shock was too much. Images of her sister's severed head kept flashing through her mind, while grief slowly consumed her heart. Suddenly, she burst into tears and cries, curling up on herself.
Her people looked at her with sadness and sympathy, powerless, waiting for their unknown fate. After several minutes, the mother cried herself to sleep. One of the women from her people approached, lifted her gently onto her shoulders, and laid her on one of the poor-quality mattresses nearby. She stared at the sleeping girl, sorrow filling her heart, thinking, "How can this little girl endure all this suffering?"
Minutes and hours passed as they waited inside that room. Some of them fell asleep while others stayed awake with frowning, joyless faces. Then, the door slowly creaked open, and the same man who had killed the mother's sister stepped in and said loudly, "Wake up, slaves."
Everyone who was asleep woke up in fear and looked at him with eyes full of terror. He continued, "All women, step outside."
The mother and the other women stared at him in panic, all thinking the same thing: "What will they do to us?"Anger appeared on the man's face as he pulled out a black whip and shouted, "Didn't you hear me? I said get out!"
Fear gripped their hearts even more as they remembered what had happened to the woman who collapsed on the road earlier. They began moving slowly toward the door, heads bowed down, terror overwhelming them. They all exited the room, including the mother.
They were shocked to find a group of women waiting outside, chatting and laughing loudly. The Katoran women turned their gazes toward the mother and the women of her people with looks of contempt and disdain.
The man stepped forward toward the women with a slight smile and said, "Alright, we've brought them. You may now choose the slave you want. Since Lady Regina paid the most, she gets to pick first."
Regina began examining the women one by one with a puzzled face, until she pointed to the girl who had collapsed earlier and said to the man, "I want that one."
The man looked at one of the Katorans and pointed at the woman. He went over to her and began dragging her roughly by her chains. Regina turned toward the village and began walking, the Katoran following her, dragging the woman behind. The woman looked back at the mother with eyes full of pain and sorrow.
The Katoran women continued choosing one by one until only the mother and another woman remained. The man looked at the last woman and said, "This is the last one, Lady Narcissa. You can take her."
Narcissa looked at the mother with hatred and disgust, turned toward the village, and began walking away angrily. A Katoran came over and began leading the mother toward her.
Nicholas stopped speaking, his face filled with sorrow. He took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I've talked enough… I'm tired of this."
Grief took over Jesse and Ethan's faces, while the vendor looked at him with sympathy and said in a sad tone, "There's no need to continue. I've heard enough."
Silence filled the air, and everyone's faces were heavy with sadness. Suddenly, Joseph appeared behind Jesse, breaking the silence with a wide smile, "Hey guys! I told you I'd pay for the soup. Why did you pay for it?"
Joseph looked at them and noticed their gloomy expressions. A look of confusion appeared on his face. "What happened? Why the long faces?"
Jesse tried to hide his sadness with a small smile and said, "Nothing, man. Just sad because we don't have any money left for more soup."
Joseph sat on a chair with a big smile, placed some coins on the table, and said, "Four bowls of soup, please."
The vendor went to the pot, filled four bowls with soup, and served them. Joseph said with excitement, "If this isn't enough, don't be shy—ask me and I'll get more."
Faint smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and their sadness slowly began to fade thanks to Joseph's presence. Jesse replied with a light smile, "Don't blame me if I make you go broke."
Joseph laughed loudly and replied, "You can try."
Then everyone began eating, and over time, their sorrow turned into laughter that filled the place.
(The End)