It`s a Long Way 5

Tabea thanked God for the fact that the narcotic the men had used on her hadn`t been chloroform, for her gag would have made throwing up quite dangerous. In fact, she felt quite well – except for the fact that she, Janika and Jelena were in the clutches of Bela, bound and gagged.

She had awoken some half an hour ago, but Bela, who was steering the boat and managing the only sail, hadn`t talked yet. It still was dark and only the moon lit the sea whenever it appeared between the clouds. But Tabea could feel her predicament on every part of her body.

Her hands had been tied behind her back with iron shackles. The position could have been okay, but a chain connected these bonds with an iron ring around her neck, just short enough to prevent her from bringing up her hands in front of her body. Her left leg was tied by cuffs to Jelena`s right ankle whilst her right foot was chained to an iron ball that seemed to be quite heavy. Jelena was the only one who was spared such a ball, since her other leg was tied to Janika whose other leg was secured by a ball, too. Like that, the three girls were sitting in the front of the boat, side by side and each with her hands tied and fixed to their neck rings.

Tabea still was tied with the wet rag stuffed into her mouth, the silky bandage and the rope securing the whole lot and she had seen that Janika, who had been gagged the same way, also still sported that gag. Jelena had a veil tied over her mouth and nose and from the faint sounds she made and the way her cheeks bulged Tabea guessed that there was more underneath that cloth. Except for these rags, all three girls still were stark naked.

»Mph!«

She raised her head and tried to communicate with Bela, but the man just smiled but still said nothing. Now, twisting her neck, she tried to look where they were, but she could only see waves glistering in the moonlight and some dark clouds. At the horizon, there was a black mass and she guessed it was the coast, most likely Italy, somewhere between Venice and Rimini.

»I wonder what this creep has in mind?«

She remembered that it had been two men who had narcotized Janika and her, but now, he was alone with them. Alone with three women of whom at least two knew how to fight. However, tied as they were, this would have been a bad idea; not so much because of Bela, but if they fell overboard, none of them would have been able to swim, not with the heavy balls tied to Tabea`s and Janika`s legs and tied together as they were.

»Help me find true love!«, something like that, Bela had said to them. But what exactly was his plan? Did he intend to make them cast a spell or brew some potion for him? Tabea knew that Bela believed in witchcraft – well, he had himself at least some supernatural powers. The fact that the three girls were here and not in the 21st century proved that. But obviously, he could not make his very own »magic wand« do what he want.

Had she been ungagged, Tabea could have explained Bela that his problems were psychosomatic, but even if he had understood that, it would not have gotten them any further. The only hope was that once they had reached land, they could run away. After all, Bela was alone. Sooner or later, he would have to sleep.

Indeed, as the sky was becoming brighter and dawn was approaching, Bela repeatedly yawned. Then, he took a sip from a bottle and grimaced.

»Phew, this coffee really helps to stay awake, but it tastes terrible when it is cold!«

Tabea grunted, just to remind him that perhaps he shouldn`t be the one complaining. This time, Bela reacted and said:

»The coast is near now. I don`t know exactly where we are, but I can`t see any cliffs and there are many small bays around.«

Again, Tabea looked over her shoulder and indeed, she now could see more details of the coast. They were some mile off the land and heading for some sandy bay, surrounded by a few hills. From all she could see, Bela wasn`t a skilled sailor, but the sea was quiet and so, he managed to land the boat. With a crunch, the hull grinded over the sand.

With his legs shaky from sitting so long, Bela rose, jumped into the water and, taking a rope tied to the boat with him, went for the shore. The girls looked around. The water was some yard deep; if they would jump, they wouldn`t have drowned, but the chains would have kept them from swimming or running. So, they waited until Bela had towed the boat to a big stone. Then, he yelled:

»I just take a look whether we are alone! Then, we will relax a bit!«

Having said so, he went for the next hill, holding a long knife in his right. Once he was out of sight, Janika rose. Moaning and with widened eyes, she tried to get the others close enough so they could at least work on each other`s gags. However, since the small boat was quite unstable and swayed on the waves and the three girls tied together had to squirm to get their fingers to their faces, this ended with the three of them slipping and landing on the planks.

The boat was shaking heavily from the effort, but after a few seconds, Tabea realized that except for a few bruises, they had only lost their dignity. She wanted to start another try when suddenly, Jelena stared at the coast and screamed through her gag.

The others looked, too, expecting to see Bela coming back or perhaps some strangers in arms. But there was nobody and Janika was about to angrily poke Jelena when they spotted what concerned the girl.

The rope that secured the boat had gone lost and they were now dancing on the waves. Waves that were not dangerous, but the tide was causing them to slowly get drawn back to the sea.

»Mmhrrmmmm! Uuuhhmmm! Mph!«

The three captives moaned and stamped their feet, trying to alert Bela, but when they could finally see him, the coast already was some 300 yards away. Bela shouted something and ran a few yards into the water, but it was too late. His yells became fainter and he grew smaller and smaller, as the waves were forcing the boat back to where it had just come.

Janika let out a desperate moan and instinctively jumped towards the railing. This only caused the boat to sway some more and in addition, it had no effect: now, Bela was so far away they could hardly see whether he was standing or walking.

»Mph!«

Now, Jelena made herself noticeable, pointing towards the sea with her chin. Some half a mile away, another boat was sailing and it seemed that it was approaching. For a frightful second, Tabea feared it were the pirates, but this boat was hardly bigger than their own and when it came closer, she could only see four men in it.

The three girls watched. They had stopped trying to work on their gags, for in a few minutes, it would be either rescue or another captivity. In the corner of her eye, Tabea could see that Jelena was blushing slightly and she suddenly remembered that all three of them were stark naked. Not the best start, even if these men were rescuers.

Now, they seemed to have recognized that something was wrong on the other boat, for they were yelling something in an Italian dialect Tabea could hardly understand. In addition, their gags prevented them from answering.

Soon, the other boat had reached them and now, Tabea could see that it most likely were some fishermen, dressed in rags and their faces tanned by the sun. They looked at the three captives with a mixture of curiosity, fear and craving. One, however, pointed directly at her, obviously seeing a black woman for the first time in his life.

The boat came alongside and two of the men came aboard, talking to them. Janika rose and mmphed indignantly. After a while, the leader, a man with a grey beard, seemed to understand and he began to work on Janika`s gag. When he started unwinding the silk bandage from her mouth, his comrade began to undo the cloths gagging Jelena. Tabea had to wait, since the two remaining fishermen just stared at them.

After a while, the mouths of the two girls were free. Jelena just panted and leaned against the man, but Janika croaked:

»Please – water!«

One of the others tossed the greybeard a water hose and the blonde and Jelena were allowed to quench their thirst. Tabea now moaned to remind the men of her presence. However, the greybeard stopped his comrade when he wanted to turn towards Tabea. He said something of which she could only understand two words: »Striga« and »maloggio«. »Witch« and »Evil Eye«.

Tabea shook her head and both Janika and Jelena tried to persuade the men that Tabea wasn`t a witch or in any way dangerous. Now, the men started a whispered discussion and then, the greybeard said in a slow voice:

»The priest may decide!«

To Tabea`s horror, until that decision, they decided to be over-careful. The younger man had found the key to their bonds and they released Janika and Jelena, escorting them to the other boat and even handing a blanket to each of the girls. Janika just shrugged and Jelena whispered:

»We will help you as soon as we can, Tabby!«

The two men shackled one of the weights to Tabea`s free leg. Again, she moaned and looked at the men pleadingly, trying to at least make them ungag her and give her some water, too. The younger man shuddered and the greybeard grabbed one of the cloths that had previously gagged Jelena. Tightly, he tied it over Tabea`s eyes. Then, the swaying of the boat told her that the two men had gone back for their own vessel.

For a moment, Tabea feared that they had left her abandoned, but the boat seemed to slowly move in one direction and in addition, she could hear some indistinct voices; so, they had towed the boat and were taking her to their village.

»What a career move! From Dr. Schneider, PhD Historian, to Tabea, the Black Sea Witch of the Adriatic!«

The sarcasm barely helped Tabea to hide her fears. Again, she was naked, bound, gagged and blindfolded, and again, someone who was more or less close to the Holy Inquisition was waiting for her!

***

After some time, Tabea could hear the typical sounds of a harbor: shouting men, the cries of seagulls and others. She sat up and thought of trying to peel off her blindfold, but decided against it. If the men came for her and thought that her »Evil Eye« would be a danger, they would perhaps think of harsher methods.

Tabea had wondered why this time Jelena had been spared to be treated as a witch, but the answer was quite simple: as a gypsy, she didn`t differ much from the Italian women and so, they hadn`t considered her a threat.

»No matter what century, I will always be seen different!«

There was, of course, some difference between someone in the 21st century questioning Tabea being a native German and someone from the 16th who doubted if she was a real human being. Her thoughts were, however, distracted, when she heard a faint crunching. Obviously, the other boat had reached the shore.

Soon, there was some shouting and arguing and Tabea could also hear Jelena and Janika trying to protest, but then, there were only strange voices. After some minutes, the shouting died down to a murmur and suddenly, a loud voice said:

»Make way for Pater Michele!«

Now, the crowd fell silent and Tabea gulped. Sure, this Pater Michele was the priest the fisherman had talked about; the man who would decide what to do with her.

After a few seconds of silence, Tabea could hear another voice. It sounded surprisingly young and since Pater Michele spoke slowly and did not use any dialect, she could understand him quite well.

»People of Pescara, don`t be afraid!«

Pescara! Tabea could remember it was a town at the Adriatic coast, about the same latitude as Rome.

»This woman might be a witch, but even if she is, these brave men took excellent care of her! She can`t look into your eyes and as long as she`s on the water, she can`t use her powers anyway!«

Tabea shuddered. This man sounded as if he was a scientist that explained some children why the sound of thunder wasn`t dangerous. It was even more irritating that, according to what the priest thought, he was reasonable. The belief in witches was as scientific as the laws of Pythagoras to him.

»However, it might also be that she`s just one of these poor creatures from the far South. Damned as she is now, but she might be saved!«

Even that, according to 16th century`s logic, was science: since the Tropics were too hot for Europeans to live there, they considered that they were too hot for any human being. Therefore, the Blacks living there were considered to be no real humans. From history books, Tabea knew that by this argumentation, it had been legalized to enslave Blacks and ship them to the Americas for centuries. Now, she got a first-hand experience of this kind of racism.

»Whether she is to be saved by baptism or by the fire, only one authority is able to find out! The Holy Inquisition!«

Though Tabea had known that this would come, she could not help moan with despair and trembled. She had once been in the clutches of the Inquisition and even though the Priest had been no overzealous witch-hunter, it had been a horrible experience.

Pater Michele now lowered his voice and obviously gave some orders to his men before he once again addressed the crowd:

»People of Pescara, this girl will now be brought to the Monastery of San Francesco!«

This was followed by some murmur and then, Tabea could hear and feel that some men entered the boat she was sitting in. Obviously as a further precaution against the »Evil Eye«, a sack was pulled over her head and tied off at her neck, though loose enough to still allow breathing. Then, Tabea felt something strange: she was seated upon a wooden chair.

»Mmhhmm?«

She flailed weakly as her arms were pulled over the backrest. Two men held her as a third removed her handcuffs and the neck ring, only to tie her wrists with some rough hemp rope. This rope was secured to a horizontal bar between the rear legs, forcing Tabea to sit straight. She squirmed, but this was rewarded by another rope that forced her elbows together. Her captors even tightened the rope holding her wrists to avoid any slack.

The weights on her ankles were only removed when her legs had been tied to the chair`s front legs at knees and feet, forcing Tabea to sit with her legs slightly spread. Then, she once again mewed with alarm as the chair began to shake. However, she did not land in the water; instead, some men lifted the chair on their shoulders and carried it through the crowd. The obvious reason was to prevent the »witch« from touching the ground, but of course, it also allowed everyone to have a look at the naked girl with her thrust out ample boobs. And indeed, some of the shouting was either lewd than fearful.

After what seemed ages, Tabea could only hear the sounds of boots on the pavement, accompanied by some occasional words of her captors. She felt the sun burn less and she guessed that they were now in some narrow street. Then, the men stopped, obviously waiting for a door to be opened, before Tabea was carried a few yards more and then, the chair was placed on some steady ground.

Tabea heard Pater Michele sending the men away; then, he seemed to take a seat close to her and then, there was silence. Well, not complete silence. From time to time, the priest cleared his throat or shifted his position and all the time, it seemed he was writing or sketching. Tabea also wasn`t completely silent. Her gag prevented her from screaming and talking and she could not do much to change her position either, but from time to time, she ached or let out a fluttering breath. The hood made breathing a bit difficult, her limbs ached and she was tired and thirsty. In addition, both embarrassing and natural, she felt a growing urge to pee.

However, if this was already part of her interrogation, then it was a version without questions. The priest just kept on writing, followed by pauses in which, even through her blindfold, Tabea could almost feel him watching her closely. Once or twice, he even rose and stepped closer. At one occasion, she even felt him touch her armpit with some kind of cloth. Tabea twitched and moaned, causing the man to murmur something and then write some more.

»Is he comparing me to the descriptions in his books about witchcraft?«, she thought. She had always studied reports about witch trials with a mixture of disgust and curiosity and she remembered some of the tests these women had to endure: to have their birthmarks pricked with needles, to be thrown into water – if she drowned, she was innocent, if not, she was a witch – or confessions forced by torture. Tabea shuddered and though she moaned from embarrassment, she felt that she had lost control over her bladder.

To her great surprise, this caused the priest to scribble some more, all the time murmuring »I knew it!«. Tabea panted and squirmed slightly, feeling her cheeks burn with shame. Then, she felt a hand on her left breast.

»Mhm? Uuuhhmmm!«

She weakly protested, but the man did not grope her. Instead, it seemed that he was feeling for her heartbeat. After a while, he withdrew his hand – only to twist her nipple a second later.

»Mhhrrrmmmm!«

The unexpected pain made Tabea rear up in her seat and scream into her gag. The priest then, however, talked to her the first time since she had been brought into the room:

»Can you understand me?«

He spoke very slowly, as if he was talking to an imbecile. Tabea slowly nodded.

»Good!«

He now untied the rope around her neck and removed the sack from her head. A second later, the blindfold was removed. Tabea blinked and looked around. She was not inside a dungeon, but instead, inside what seemed to be an office. Her chair was standing on a table and in front of her were an open book, a quill and some candles to light the room.

Beside her, a rather young looking man in the habit of the Dominican monks was standing. He did not smile, but he also didn`t look hatred. Now, Pater Michele spoke again:

»I never considered you a witch. Actually, I believe that there is a lot of superstition among the simple people. I mean, Evil exists, but I doubt that the Evil One would try to seduce men by strange looking women who fly around on broomsticks! Instead, I am sure that you are just one of these creatures from Africa.«

Tabea cringed at being called a creature, but she remained silent. At least, this man was not about to send her to the stake.

»I am sure you never heard of a man called Bartolome de Las Casas.«

In fact, Tabea knew this person, but it would have been stupid to reveal the fact that she did so from her historical studies. Las Casas, a Franciscan monk, had been in the Spanish colonies on the West Indies, shortly after Columbus had occupied them for Spain. Witnessing the cruelties against the natives, he had become their most influential advocate and was fighting for their rights. Tabea knew that Las Casas had been successful, but at a cost: the natives had been spared from being enslaved, but since the European settlers needed workers for their plantations, they had begun to enslave Blacks from Africa shortly after.

Pater Michele told this to Tabea (of course, he could not tell things that would happen in his future). Then, he looked directly at her and said:

»Brother Las Casas has shown that the people in West India are humans and therefore can be saved! I wish to do the same for you and your people! However, to do so, I needed proof!«

He pointed at his book and continued:

»For the last hours, I watched you and saw that you are breathing like a human being! You sweat, you have a heartbeat, you have to follow nature-«

Tabea lowered her head, remembering how she had peed in front of the priest. The smell still was there and she could see the puddle between her legs. At the same time, she felt sad. This man was trying to see her as an equal human being, but he did so in a quite dehumanizing way. In addition, Tabea knew that this Pater Michele would not prevent slavery of Blacks.

»Tomorrow, you will be publicly baptized in front of the people, just to show them that your soul can be saved!«

He spoke as if he was doing her a great favor. In his eyes, he of course did. Actually, Tabea already had been baptized by her birth, but she was a Protestant and if she had told that, the monk would have considered her worse than a witch.

»Then, I will give you into the custody of the nuns of Santa Eulalia. There, you will remain until I make my way to Rome, to present my researches to the Holy Father himself!«

Tabea blinked, not knowing how to cope with this turn of events. Pater Michele, however, opened the door and called for some servants. The men quickly cut her loose and removed her gag, but before Tabea could do or say something, she was escorted along a corridor and pushed inside a small room. It was a cell, but that of a monk. The room only offered a bunk bed and a stool, but it was clean and the men locked the door from outside, but hadn`t done her any harm.

Tabea jumped for the small window. It was far too narrow to even think of an escape and in addition, it was barred. Since she could see the church tower, Tabea guessed that it lead to the inner court. So, she was no longer bound and gagged, but still a prisoner.

Pater Michele, however, didn`t seem to be a brutal jailer. Little later, the door was opened and a man dumped a few things into the room before he left. Tabea looked and when she saw that among these things was a jug of water, she greedily drank.

There was also a bar of soap, a towel and a plain white linen dress. So, Tabea washed herself and then put on the dress. It covered her from her neck to her lower calves and obviously, she would have to wear it during her baptism.

Now, Tabea sat down on her bed. She had no problem with the ceremony, but with what would follow. If Pater Michele wanted her as some kind of evidence to prove that Blacks were even to White, how would he do that? Would she be forced to relieve herself in front of the Pope or would he also prove that she felt pain like any man did?

»Well, my dear Father, I am afraid that I won`t stay long with the nuns of Santa Eulalia!«

The man had also brought a bucket for her physical needs and some bread and cheese. Tabea forced herself to eat and then, she went to bed to collect as much strength as possible for things to come.

***

The next morning, Tabea was fetched early from her cell. She was given some water, but no food, and two monks escorted her from the monastery to a podium in front of the main church where Pater Michele was waiting beside an improvised altar and a bowl on a pillar. Obviously, there had been some advertising, since the place was crowded with people. Tabea looked for Janika and Jelena, but could not make them out.

During the night, she had already decided not to ask for them. Perhaps, everyone had been so distracted by her that the two had managed to hide and since they would sure get the information that she would be brought to the nuns` monastery, they would look for her, sooner or later.

Tabea rarely went to church, but she managed to do what the priest expected without hesitation. In fact, the ceremony only lasted some three minutes. Pater Michele just asked her in Latin if she wanted to renounce Satan and follow Christ and when she nodded, he sprinkled some holy water over her forehead, made the sign of the cross and baptized her as »Innocentia«! When he and the other monks then started reciting the confession of belief, Tabea bit down a chuckle: her new name surely did not match her adventures during the last months!

Immediately after her baptism, the two monks led Tabea through the streets, up to a wall with a narrow gate in it. An old nun opened and with a wink, made Tabea follow her. She had expected to be in some court or garden, but instead, she was lead through a cold and dark corridor that ended on another door. The nun opened it and stepped aside, obviously waiting for Tabea to pass. Reluctantly, the girl entered the room that was lit by a few candles.

It seemed to be a room where the nuns held their conversations or maybe, their prayers. In front of her, a table had been placed and behind it, three nuns were sitting side by side, looking at her. Tabea guessed that the one in the middle was the matron and addressed her directly:

»I am Tabea!«

The nun just looked at her with stern eyes and Tabea gulped. Then, she corrected herself:

»I mean, I am Innocentia!«

Still, none of the three said a word and Tabea grew nervous. She began to stammer:

»I mean, I am Ta-, Innocentia, Madam – Honorable Mother? Sorry, it`s my first day in a monastery, I don`t know what to say!«

The matron just raised one hand to silence Tabea. Still, she looked stern. Reluctantly, Tabea sank to her knees, but this obviously wasn`t what the nun wanted either.

Only when the three began to put their heads together and started to gesture with their fingers, Tabea began to understand. Obviously, these nuns belonged to an Order of Silence. They only spoke during the Holy Mass. Tabea decided to apologize:

»Sorry for talking, Honorable Mother. From now on-« When the matron looked at her, Tabea stopped talking, closed her lips and with her fingers, she made a gesture of locking them and then throwing the key away.

Now, the tallest of the nuns rose, in her hands, she held a stick with some knotted ropes tied to it. A whip.

Tabea would have agreed upon remaining silent for the time being, at least until she could escape from the monastery, but sure, she would not allow this woman to whip her! She rose and when the nun wanted to hit her, she blocked her arm and sent her to the ground with a kick. The nun grunted, but still respected her vow and said nothing.

»I will stop talking, but don`t you dare touching me!«

Now, the matron rose. She held her hands in front of her chest, palm to palm, and her lips formed a silent prayer. Slowly, she now approached Tabea.

»S-sorry for hitting the sister, but-«

The matron looked at Tabea and then, her eyes went to the ceiling, as if she was asking for forgiveness.

Then, with a swift move, she hit Tabea`s carotid arteries with the edges of her hands. Tabea let out a surprised croak. Then, she landed on the ground, unconscious.

***

When the girl regained consciousness, she found herself in a room that seemed to be deep below the surface and offered no windows. It was, however, lit by a single candle.

Tabea tried to move, but found out she hardly couldn`t. She was lying face down upon a large horizontal Andreas` Cross, or, to be precisely, she was stringently tied to it. Rough ropes not only tied her wrists to the bars, but also her elbows, above and below the joint, and also her upper arms. All she could do was flex her fingers.

Her legs were tied to the bars at her ankles, above and below her knees and at her thighs. Tabea tried to squirm, but found no give in the tight ropes.

»Uuuhhmmmm!«

She felt something large and hard inside her mouth. It was a leather plug, so big it made her cheeks bulge, pressed down her tongue and tickled the back of her throat, triggering her gag reflex. It was held inside her mouth by a leather mask that had been pulled so tight it had molded to the contours of her lower face.  The mask also went over her chin and a strap went over the bridge of her nose, forcing the girl to bite down hard on her gag and making it impossible for Tabea to move her jaw at all. Weakly, she shook her head, only to find out that it was secured by a padlock at her nape. This gag would not come off without help. Again, she groaned, but the thick walls only sent back the echoes of her muffled cries, making her feel even more helpless.

It was when she felt a cold breeze that she once again was stark naked. Not that it mattered in her current predicament. At least, the room seemed to have some supply of fresh air, but no matter how hard she concentrated, Tabea could not hear a sound, except those made by herself.

»So, they only gagged me to teach me a lesson! Well, as soon as anyone comes, I will try my best to feign complete obedience!«

With no distraction, it was hard to tell for the helpless girl how much time had passed. Sure, these nuns wanted to state an example and would let her suffer for some time. She looked at the candle and guessed that it would last for another hour. She wasn`t afraid of the dark – but the thought of having to suffer, trussed up and gagged as she was, in complete silence and darkness made her shiver.

»Sure, they will soon release me! After all, Pater Michele needs me well and alive for his campaign! They will come soon! They must!«

She tried to reach for her bonds, but all knots were well out of reach and picking on the fibers led to no success. The nuns had tied her in a way that her circulation was just not cut off completely, but her limbs already felt numb.

Then, suddenly, she heard a screeching sound and a gap opened in the wall. It was a door through which now several nuns came in, each holding a large candle. Tabea counted 13 altogether and they all gathered around the cross Tabea was tied to.

The last to enter was the matron who stepped opposite Tabea`s head and crouched so by arching her head back, the girl could look at her face.

The expression on it told Tabea that her punishment was far from being over.

***