Isela's Love by Sasha Cain

that body.”
    Isela rolled her eyes, chuckling. The new inmate must’ve been assigned to the cleaning crew.
    “You all do that every time we get someone new,” Isela pointed out.
    “It’s different this time,” one of the women argued. “He’s really, really cute.”
    “I’m sure he is,” Isela answered, setting a stack of plates into the sink.
    “Don’t you want a look, Isela? Aren’t you even curious?”
    “Not in the slightest. I have work to do.”
    She began pumping water into the sink. The young women ogled for a few more minutes until the supervisor shooed them away from the door.
    “Get to your duties,” she ordered. “Or you’ll be doing double time like Isela here.”
    They obeyed, their eyes cast downward. The supervisor went back to the dining area, the door swinging shut behind her. Isela heard her scolding the new inmate about the way he was scrubbing the floor. She glanced up toward the door, feeling sorry for him.
    After loading another stack of plates in her arms, Isela made her way to the sink. The supervisor swung the door wide open to check on them, giving Isela a clear view into the dining room. She gasped, dropping the entire stack of plates.
    All she could hear was her own heart pounding in her chest as the plates crashed to the floor, shattering to pieces. He looked up, meeting her gaze. It was him. Oh God, it was him.
    She wanted to run, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She stood rooted in the remains of the dishes she’d been about to wash, staring at the most handsome face she’d ever seen, the face from her visions.
    The supervisor yanked Isela forward, snapping her out of her trance. Reflexively, she tried to jerk her arm free, but the large woman held on.
    “Now you’ve done it,” she snapped, dragging Isela through the dining area. “We’ll just see what the warden has to say about this. He’ll punish you good, I’ll bet, you clumsy little twit.”
    The new inmate stood up and said, “Let her go.”
    The entire room stilled. The supervisor smiled smugly, never loosening her grip on Isela. She motioned to a couple of the guards. “Bring him. He obviously needs to see how things are done around here.”
    The guards grabbed the man. He didn’t fight. They each had one of his arms, leading him to the warden’s office. Isela’s heart raced, not in fear of Guarros, but of this man. What did his presence mean? She wanted to turn around, to get a better look at him, but she didn’t dare.
    The supervisor knocked on Guarros’ door. They heard some shuffling then a female servant, a couple of years older than Isela, opened the door. She kept her eyes on the floor, her face flushed. Isela clenched her teeth, knowing what Guarros had been coercing her to do. At least his victims were old enough to give consent, not that it mattered. He was still a degenerate. Waves of loathing and disgust rolled off her.
    “What is it?” Guarros barked without even looking up.
    The supervisor cleared her throat. “Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we had a problem with these two.”
    Guarros finished tucking in his shirt, shaking his head. “It is your job to handle the prisoners, Harriet. If you can’t manage—”
    “One of them is your servant, sir.”
    Isela cast her a hateful stare at her use of the words your servant .
    Guarros glanced up, smiling broadly. He sauntered over, shamelessly looking Isela up and down, his hands behind his back.
    “Well, well, Isela, what have you done this time? Terrorizing the newest member of our little family?” he asked, tilting his head toward the new inmate.
    “No sir,” the supervisor said, “First of all, she was late.” She gave Isela a smug look, “Yeah, I knew. She carelessly did her work, making a mess out of the kitchen. I assigned her extra duties at that point. Then she dropped an entire stack of dishes. I think she did it deliberately.”
    Guarros nodded at the supervisor to release Isela. As soon as she let go, Guarros