Taken

Jade turned off the shower and reached for the towel she had left on the vanity.  Instead Jeanine, her slave, handed it to her.  She preferred to do it herself but Jeanine insisted on performing these trivial tasks.  As a principle, Jade was opposed to having slaves, but her father was adamantly in favor of them.  So much so that roughly half the workforce of Stone Energy had been purchased at slave auctions that were held on the 16th floor of the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.  Her slave,  Jeanine Frissell had immigrated from Western Europe, from the city of Yorkshire, in the British Province, and had been with Jade ever since she was a baby.  Jeanine had been sentenced to be a slave for illegally coming into the United States for a period of 20 years.  She had been in the U.S sixteen years so far.  Jeanine still had a little over three years left on her sentence and Jade couldn't wait for the day to give Jeanine her freedom.  
    "Let me do that for you Ms. Stone," she proffered in her British accent.  
    "Jeanine wont you let me do anything for myself?" Jade joked teasingly.
    "Not if I can help it, now dry off your bottom girl and be quick about it." Jeanine joked back, and they both started laughing.
     She quickly wrapped the Egyptian cotton towel around her body and then folded the ends under so it held in place.  The other towel she wrapped around her head and then stepped carefully onto the Persian rug directly in front of her bath.  Her bathroom was as large as a studio apartment and more elaborate than most palaces.  Decorated from floor to ceiling with the most luxurious pearl-colored Italian marble,  and solid gold faucets, it was fit for a queen.   
    As beautiful as it all was however, Jade was not the type to care about such opulence. Of course being wealthy was nice, but it made Jade feel guilty as well.  She felt burdened that so many people were destitute and she wanted for nothing.  Her father complained that she was too sensitive, but the disparity between the rich and poor broke Jade's heart.  She had seen so much suffering in the America. She could not understand why President Johnson had ignored the growing problem so indifferently.  His greed rivaled that of Old King Midas.  She loathed Johnson's contempt for the impoverished.  
    "Johnson really is a vile man, don't you agree Jeanine?" she asked as the other woman stood behind her brushing her still wet hair.
    " A short, stingy, weasel of a man, he is my lady" Jeanine agreed.  "That bloke wouldn't give his own mum a hot meal if she was starving in the street, and kicking-off her-knickers to eat.   Jade burst out laughing so hard her sides were hurting and she nearly fell out of her seat.
    "Are you trying to make me pee on myself?" Jeanine was always good at making her laugh. But for the most part Jade had to agree with what she said.  Johnson was only motivated by money.  Even worse her father was a staunch supporter of the greedy, slimy, politician.   
    If she won the nomination, she vowed that the Red Party would no longer continue redistributing the wealth amongst themselves. The constitution demanded a fight to the death, and she was determined to kill Johnson, even if she wasn't completely comfortable with it.  She understood it was a means to a greater end and she would do what she must.  But first she needed  to win the nomination.  And considering she was going up against Jeremiah Manning that was no easy task.  Jeremiah was constantly a step ahead of her it seemed. As she started dressing, her mind drifted to the man she knew would almost be impossible to beat.  Jeremiah Manning won almost every single competition they faced each other in since they were children.  Whats worse, he was charismatic, handsome, and supremely intelligent.  If she did manage to win she had plans to offer him the Vice-Presidency though she doubted he would accept the lesser role.  Jade forced herself to think positively and attempted to push Jeremiah out of her mind.  
    "Why does he have to be so gorgeous?" she asked herself and pulled on her riding pants.  It  was time to take Ginger for a run.  
    As usual Ginger was waiting for Jade.  The cinnamon colored gelding whinnied and danced her feet with excitement.  Ginger was her prized possession.  Jade's first love had been riding horses.  It was the only time she felt truly free and alive.  Ginger was a very spirited three year old, and was given to Jade as a gift from her grandparents for her fifteenth birthday.  Her grandparents had died in a freak accident shortly thereafter.  In honor of her grandparents Jade had tried to ride Ginger everyday.  The two were perfectly matched.  Every morning the two of them rode through the woods of her family's huge estate.  And, today Jade was really going to let Ginger run.  It was only two weeks until the election and if Jade won, she would no doubt be inundated with work.  The thought saddened her momentarily as she lovingly ran her hand along Gingers long nose.  
    Jade fitted the saddle along Gingers back and slowly guided her out of the stable.  The morning sun was partially hidden behind fluffy white clouds that looked too much like cotton balls. Jade then climbed onto the saddle and took the reins tightly in her hands she gave a quick tug and said 'giddy-up'; Ginger instinctively moved with her.  At first Jade kept their pace to a fast walk, then gradually started building up speed until the powerful animal exploded into a full gallop.  They rode south down the path that led to the stables, between the run-ins  and headed into the woods.   
    Ginger was  power and grace melded together, and the excitement made Jade gasp.  Jade instinctively bent her knees and leaned forward as the horse ran furiously.  After they had ridden a quarter mile or so, six men with hooded cloaks stepped into the trail blocking the horse from continuing.  Jade pulled tightly on the reins and Ginger stopped abruptly.  
    The hooded figures were only about twenty five feet in front of her.  Jade's hands were shaking.  She could see they all carried guns and wore the same long black robes with a strange symbol on the front she could not quite make out.  Frantic she quickly turned the horse around to go back the other direction.  To her dismay, eight more hooded figures had moved in behind her trapping her and Ginger.  
    " Get off the horse Ms. Stone," the largest one commanded.  Although he spoke in perfect English he had a middle eastern accent.  He was easily the largest, most intimidating man Jade had ever seen.  Even with Jade sitting on Gingers back he seemed to be looking down at her.  Jade was frozen with fright.  
    "Get off the horse Ms. Stone or we'll shoot it in the head," the large man exclaimed again.  The last threat had forced her to come back to reality.  Jade tried desperately to regain her composure before responding.
    "How do I know you wont do that anyway?"  In her mind these men were quite capable of forcing her to do their bidding and killing Ginger anyway.
    "If you get off the horse and come with us peacefully, you wont have anything to worry about," He replied matter-of-factly.
    Jade was trying her hardest not to panic.  She knew if she did Ginger would sense her distress and follow suit.  Reluctantly, she leaned forward and whispered "I am sorry girl"  and gently patted her strong neck before slowly climbing off the saddle and starting down the path towards the men.