Yelling voices mixed with agonized crying were heard as I awoke. My eyes fluttered open, staring at the rusted cage bars before me. I move sheepishly to the row of bars. There was no bed, only a cold, musty blanket that could have possibly been here since the cell was built.
"Hello?" I barely managed to choke out due to the dryness of my throat. A swift wave of perplexity crept its way into my mind as I tried my best not to let my emotions rule at a time like this.
I look around the area. Cages were all I could see, filled with other women that were no doubt captured as I had just been. I clench my teeth as my weak fingers grip the bars.
I thought back to my life. I had always wished I could travel and see the world, see different towns and people. I knew marrying was the traditional route but I always believed there was more to life than that. It's not like I haven't thought of marriage but it seemed so far away.
How long had I been here? The question danced around my mind, a daunting feeling washing over me. My hand rested on the cold surface that was partially smooth, but the cracks along the floor were hard and uncomfortable. My back ached as I tried to recount the time that I've been here. It could have been just a day, I finally thought. I narrowed my eyes moving tiredly to a row of bars, pain shooting through my knees each time they were placed back on the cold, hard floor. I finally reached the cage bars, grabbing on to the shaky metal to help me stand.
There was no way I was going to be sold to some disgusting, high ranking imperial guards for their secret desires. My skin crawled and anxiety made my heart race at the very thought.
"You must be new here," a woman's voice spoke.
"Who's there?" I called, loosening my grip on the rusted bars as I turned my back to it, my eyes flashing around in the dark cell.
A woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties, smiled at me. Instinctively, my eyebrow raised in question as she eyed me with equal curiosity. With one leg crossed over the other, her hair was a mess and she had a thin robe on. My eyes drifted to her chest where her cleavage peeked out. I quickly flashed my eyes away and the woman chuckled knowingly.
She was attractive, with brown hair flowing over her shoulders in deep wavy cascades. Her eyes were brown just as her hair was, a few crinkles around her eyes. Laugh lines, I presumed.
"Why are we all caged up?" I questioned, scanning looking at her face then her clothing. My eyes drifted back to her face. A small smile played on her lips. Though I could not, for the life of me, figure out if it was genuine, or she was about to clown me into thinking this place was some bed of roses. Being sold to the highest bidder is the last thing I want happening to me.
"Obviously, if you are here you should know very well that we are being sold." My eyes widen, I knew that women were being sold in other places but, in the town I lived in it was illegal to traffic women. I backed away, shaking my head. My heartbeat accelerated and my breathing became labored as my back pressed against the bars, the coldness seeping through my thin, frail top.
"I've been here for ten years, if you want a nice life I would advise you to be obedient." Her voice goes from somber to snappy as she looks at me then at the wall. I sat there in shock. It felt like everything was crashing down around me. A wave of nausea washed over me, leaving me feeling faint and vulnerable, as if the walls threatened to close in on me.
Maybe it was my fault, I never tried to grow up and get a job. I haven't even had any thoughts about getting married, I always relied on Father and he never asked me to do anything. Tears welled up in my eyes, I had never cried before but this time it felt like my heart had a hole in it.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. No, this wasn't the end. My life would not end here.
Before I could ask her more questions the cell door opened and a man looked straight at me. "You there, you have been sold. Come with me."
I look up at him, frightened.
"N-no." I slowly back away from him as he throws the cell door open and stalks in dangerously. My heart pounded in my chest and he grabbed onto my right arm roughly.
"Listen, you little twat, they do not pay me enough to hear you bitches whine and cry, so you either make my job easier," he spat gruffly, roughly pulling me close to his face. A foul scent of vodka hit me, making me swoon as he finished his statement. "Or I make your life a whole lot harder." He glared at me alarmingly and I froze. His green eyes dug into me as he pulled me out of the cage.
I tried to break free but his grip was too strong. I shake wildly nonetheless. He grabs my waist and grips me harder.
"Didn't I just tell you about making my job harder?" He pulled me against him roughly. This time letting go of my hand. Before I could scream he grabbed onto my hair. I wanted to wail but the way he gazed at me darkly caused a feeling of trepidation to settle my trembling lips.
I stop moving, now afraid of being hit. I've never been hit before, not even by a man, as much as I loathed the situation. I did not want it to start now.
After being pulled through hallways and dark doorways, we finally stopped at a simple looking door. The fear rose and my heartbeat raced. Beating painfully against my chest. The man pushed the door open and shoved me in roughly, he let out a heavy grunt. Pulling the door shut with him on the other side.
My gaze shifted before me as a man stood there, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Hello," the man chirped, giving me a once over.
I gazed at the man who seemed to be in his fifties, but his physique was alarmingly impressive as he stood well above six feet. Though he was an old man, he was big and looked strong and his chest was covered in an armor of some kind, with intricate designs on the chest area. The armor covered his body, but to my surprise it wasn't bulky. His eyes were turquoise, like the ruins of an ancient civilization.They were captivating, but an equal amount of fear surmounted in my chest as he gazed at me.
I shake in fear as I back away to the door that I had been pushed roughly through.
"What do you want with me?" I questioned shakily. My lips trembling as fear of being assaulted made me weak.
"Come here," he says a little aggressively, motioning towards him. But I shook my head, no, this couldn't be happening.
"No," I say a little quietly, my legs buckled under me as my body shook wildly in fear.
"Fine then, " he announced uncoiling his hands from his chest. He moves towards me with long steps and soon enough he was upon me, grabbing both of my wrists, shaking me down to the ground. He had me pinned to the cold hardwood floor as his eyes dug into mine. As if probing for something. But what? I was nothing but an ordinary girl, why had he chosen me? To make fun of me then kill me? Fear sent a warmth in my chest and my eyes widened.
"No get off!" I howl, moving around wildly. I did not want this. Any of it. My skin crawled as thoughts ran through my head like a hurricane. I was weary and weak, and too dehydrated to even move as much as I wanted to
"Shut up," he barks, pressing his palm over my lips. Screaming out, I tried to break free of his grasp. Even so, my voice being muffled by his hand, he still managed to pin me down. He moves one of his hands to the side and pulls out a dark liquid. At the same time, I take the chance to kick him in his soft spot.
His eyes widened as he yelled out madly. His grip had loosened and I took the chance to dash off to the sliding doors to the front of the room. To my surprise it led out to a dark alley. Not giving him any time to catch up with me, I ran as fast as I could and soon enough I had exited the Alley, I looked behind me and to my relief he hadn't followed.
I sprinted off looking before me, hearing people yell behind me but I knew if I stopped they would catch me. I start to breathe heavily and began losing pace but I kept running, I was almost there for I spotted a group of people a few feet away from me.
I was almost free. Still running, I felt my feet becoming sore, but I ran for my life.
Before I could recuperate my wits, a hand wrapped around my waist, swiftly pulling me beside the building I ran beside. My mouth was covered with slightly damp palms as I was held tightly by my waist. "Shh!" A soft male voice whispered against my ear. His warm breath sent warmth to my ears that were suddenly uncomfortable as I did not know this person.
I tried to shake him off, but he grips me tighter and says something under his breath. "If you want to be touched and fondled by some old, perverted person, then you can scream and get caught, or you can keep your mouth shut." the moment he said those words I instantly felt my body become limp with fear, his words digging a new hole inside me.
After a few moments of awkward silence. We heard voices.
"Well, boss isn't gonna be happy about this," a voice muttered almost inaudibly.
"I tell you these girls don't know what they're missing out on," another voice mentioned in an accent I couldn't quite decipher. After a few short moments we hear them curse under their breath.
Their voices fade as they must have gone back in the direction they had chased me from.
The strange man said nothing as his musk of pinewood and aftershave bounced across my nostrils. He didn't utter a word. Most likely waiting until the men were out of earshot.
He finally loosened his grip on me, still holding my waist. "You are very fierce for such a small lady," he says as he pulls me with him but I reluctantly remain limp.
I was able to turn my head toward him to evaluate his face to see who had saved me. He had blond hair cut to the side and short bangs on to the side of his forehead. A strange haircut but it suited him.
The thing that stood out most, that had me staring at his face for longer than I had anticipated was his eyes.
He had one eye that was blue and the other one yellow and a strange tattoo that was drawn in a swirling motion covering half of his face.
His strange features shocked me. I was half tempted to touch his face, but half scared of what would happen if I did.
"Who are you?" I asked him, now curious as to who, or rather what he was.
"Call me Lae," he simply stated with a wide smile.
" Lae?" I had to ask, though it did quite suit him.
"Master just calls me that," he offered, giving me a wide grin.
"Master?" I questioned as my heart started pounding wildly in my chest. He didn't answer as he pulled me along. Reluctantly I followed because he had just saved me from those goons, and his chuckles were now beginning to feel contagious. Though he was odd, he did seem quite friendly. We got to a carriage that was on the other side of the building.
"Master will love to have you!" He exclaims, grinning as he puts me on the opposite side of the carriage. My eyes widened as I realized what I had walked right into.
He advances his hand over my face. His tattoo on his face begins to glow slightly. "Now sleep." I felt a rush of darkness covering my eyes as I drifted into a deep slumber dozed off.
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