Glancing around, A’nallia was awed by the number of people and things packed into such a narrow space. With the massive stone wall looming high above, they were surrounded by marketplace, so dense and hectic it was difficult to tell they had left the city at all. Rows and rows of colorful stalls, some covered and some open, lined the street. Merchants sold everything from food to clothing to trinkets to weapons, and shoppers haggled and bartered. A’nallia had never seen anything like it before. She'd heard the Imperium marketplace was the largest in Taryn’nati but didn’t have any context for what that meant. Now she was sure it was true and wanted nothing more than to roam down each crowded pathway.

That wasn’t her purpose there, however, and she was quickly reminded with a rough shove from an Imperium soldier. She and the others were led up onto a small platform in an open square, and the space filled with onlookers as the soldiers arranged them by age and status. Each girl was barefoot, wearing the same gauzy, white dress, its long, flowing sleeves and light fabric hem blowing with every gentle gust of wind. Their shoulders and collarbones were uncovered, their hair pulled back into messy buns, so the control brandings burnt across the face and neck could be easily seen. As the line of girls formed, each in their proper place based on the circles and swirls marking their skin, multiple men began stepping forward out of the growing mass to look them over, checking the quality of the day’s stock.

More were trembling now, feeling so many eyes on them, but the crying had stopped. None of them dared shed a tear. A’nallia clenched her fists under her sleeves to stop from shaking and looked out past the crowd in the square to the market stalls, where brightly colored blankets and lanterns swayed in the breeze. She barely heard the woman dressed in red ring a bell and announce the auction open. She hardly noticed as each girl was introduced to their potential masters, their age and talents detailed, and buyer questions answered. She tried with all her might not to flinch when one customer moved a hand down her neck to her shoulder, then to her waist. She desperately attempted to ignore him as he gently stroked her dusty brown hair, then ran a long, middle finger across her face, slowly tracing past her dark brown eyes, her petite nose, her full lips, and down to her strong jawline.

“This one is quite beautiful. Look how pure and soft her skin is. Like water on clay. How old did you say she was?”

“Only recently turned seventeen, sir,” replied the woman in red.

“That is a good age. Old enough to be useful, but not too old to feel used.”

Something flickered in the man’s almost black eyes. Something raw that made A’nallia clench her jaw and hold her breath. He was well dressed, snuggly fit into a colorful suit that had obviously been tailor made, with a tall hat and long fur coat. Even though the ground was mostly mud and weeds, his shoes shined. Smirking, his fangs showed, and A’nallia felt a shiver race up her spine. A bear demon. She had never met any demons but heard that bears were the most vicious. Her lungs burned, air and fear trapped as he leered. She wasn't a Believer and had no use for cult teachings, but if there was any good time to pray, it was now.

“Yes, very beautiful," continued the demon, his tone far too eager. "But what can she do?”

“She has some healing magic, sir. Weak, of course, but stronger than any of her sisters here.”

“That’s it? She has no elemental magic at all?” 

“Correct, sir.” The woman in red could tell where this was headed, her answer thick with disappointment, and she glared at A'nallia.

Eagerness turned to indifference. “Ah, well, never mind then. Beautiful, but not worth my coin I think.”

A’nallia let out an obvious sigh of relief as he walked down the line to another girl, but immediately sucked her breath in again when she heard another man call out.

“I’ll take that one. The healer.”

Her gaze slowly shifted toward the low, bassy voice and she saw a modestly dressed man staring at her, a stoic expression on his face. He was older than the bear, his appearance resembling a man in his late thirties, and he stood among the crowd instead of close to the platform like the other buyers. Though he seemed disinterested in the auction, as if only passing by on a whim, there was something different in his sharp, dark grey eyes. Not kindness. No demon is kind, are they? But A’nallia felt perhaps this demon wasn’t as evil as the others - as evil as the stories promised them to be. Perhaps the Mother Goddess had heard her silent prayers. Perhaps she should start praying to the Mother more often.

The woman in red smiled, clearly pleased to make a sale, and grabbed A’nallia by the arm, hastily leading her down to her new master. They exchanged coin and receipt, but the woman could get no other pleasantries from the demon, whose attention had turned toward his new purchase. He scanned her body, then looked directly into her eyes with an almost emotionless stare. After a small, satisfied nod, he turned to walk away. In panicked confusion, A’nallia reached out to him, grasping at his wrist with both hands. He stopped for a moment, frozen in place, and she quickly let him go. She didn’t know what she should do in this situation, but she was sure that wasn’t it. The grip holding him now gone, her new master continued walking, never glancing back as she took hurried steps to keep up.