ELORA
As the king’s large hand enveloped my head, I realized that I wasn’t fully prepared to play the role required of me. It wasn’t a surprise to me that we slave were to please our masters sexually but I hadn’t thought about being in this situation with the king.
His grip on my head was gentle as he bobbed my head, up and down, over his crotch. If I wasn’t so worked out about our disguise blowing up, I may have enjoyed having his hands on me. He sped up the movement and my face burned. I was never going to get used to this; the auction house and the inhumane way they treated slaves.
This went on for a while before Farrel interrupted with a cackle. “I can see you lot are having a great time, right!” He laughed some more.
The king released me and I crawled back to kneel on the cushions provided.
I felt the King’s eyes on me sending a fresh wave of embarrassment through me. I wondered if he also felt awkward about the whole thing. He would never want me that way even in a real situation.
“Now, it’s time for the real business. The exclusive auction! We have saved the best of our merchandise just for your pleasure. I assure you, gentlemen, you have never seen anything like this.”
His long beautiful coat did nothing to hide his evil heart. In his hand was a gold-plated wine cup which he swirled before taking a gulp. Farrel was very much Lycan, he carried himself like one.
“Slaves, we’ve had a nice time with you. You have to excuse us now!” He directed with a sardonic laugh. The other guests joined him.
Bastards. I thought.
As we stood to leave, he directed the other guests to follow him. They rose to their feet, laughing and patting each other on the back.
I glanced at the king walking at the back of the group. His hands were in tight fists as he moved. His anger was almost palpable even from so far away. How the men around him didn’t notice, I wondered! Fear rose in my blood as he finally disappeared from my line of sight. I didn’t want to be in this awful place without his solid presence beside me. At least with him, I wouldn’t worry about my safety.
What if I was carted away by Rasmus and his men?
Or was, what if Lord Kain saw me here?
The evil Lycan noble had to be around here somewhere.
I stepped outside the tent, nearly fainting as the smell of unwashed bodies and blood hit me. We’d been herded into a small room with some guards positioned by the door in case one of us was stupid enough to try to escape.
Nobody said a word. The only sound that could be heard was the distant cacophony of the masters hollering and music from the party beyond. I looked down at my feet as I walked into the room, not daring to meet anyone’s eye for fear of blowing my cover. Nobody even glanced at me as I entered and I heaved a sigh of relief, walking further into the small room.
I took another step and suddenly a large body slammed into mine. I was dazed as I found myself on the floor.
“Look where yerr going, bitch!” Somebody spat.
I didn’t dare look up to see his face but his blue robe was a telltale sign that he was a slaver. So much for trying to blend in. I didn’t utter a word as typical slaves wouldn’t and waited till he marched away before moving.
A hand clasped on my shoulder, steadying me. “Follow us.”
I turned back to see two well-dressed women looking down at me. They were not slaves.
Their hairs were in elaborate updos decorated with wildflowers. One of them was five times my size with a disgusting mole on her nose. They also wore the same blue robes I had seen on the man earlier.
Female slavers.
It was rumored that they were even worse than the males when it came to torturing slaves.
My heart beat faster.
Had our cover blown?
Why did they need me to follow them?
I couldn’t move.
“Are you deaf? Let’s go, slave!” The slim one shouted. Her deep voice was a surprise.
I jumped as she dragged me away from the small room. I turned back, hoping I’d spot the king but was only met with the pitying glances of the other slaves in the room.
I was going to mess this up for him, he was going to hate me more than before. I tried to struggle but the women were stronger. I felt the blow before I even heard the sound. The side of my face stung from a slap one of them had given me and I could feel warm liquid stream down my cheek.
I didn’t need to touch it to know it was blood.
I stopped resisting and was dragged a considerable distance from the tent where I’d left the King. There were fewer people around us and the area was darker.
“We brought her.” One of them announced.
“Good.”
I looked up to see a seething man. He was burly and had his beady eyes trained on me. He was dressed in the same blue robe as the slavers and his man bun was packed up with a blue ribbon.
“Why does a slave have so much hair?!” He exclaimed pointing at me. “That’s why she slammed into me. Her hair is blinding her. Long hair is a sure recipe for rebellion!”
“Indeed…” One of the women muttered.
“Cut it off!” He commanded.
What?
My hand instinctively went to my hair.
“But she has a master. We can’t do that to a slave that’s not one of ours.” The other one argued.
“Her master will thank us.” The male slaver sneered, “We’re doing him a grand favor by taming her.”
“Scissors!” The fat woman roared.
They held my arms and dragged me farther into the darkness. I didn’t dare struggle because I didn’t want to die now. It could always grow, I thought to console myself. My hair was a huge part of me, I could picture my mother humming Beethoven’s tune while she ran a comb through the strands every day and even when I was old enough to do it myself.
“If anything happens to even a strand of her hair, I’ll have your heads!” A masculine voice I recognized very well boomed from the entrance of the path I’d been dragged through.
The woman dropped my hands in shock and we all turned to face him. I was so grateful at that moment that I almost forgot my place and run into his arms.
The king didn’t hide the authority in his voice even though he was in disguise and I feared that we would be sniffed out. In two long strides, he walked up to us and grabbed my wrist in a gentle hold, and dragged me to the side as they watched. His other hand went to my waist.
“Someone summoned me here.” He stated, pushing me behind him.
The female slavers were still dumbfounded so they said nothing. The male slaver shook his head slowly and swallowed.
“Uh…” Someone cleared their throat behind us. “Kaligan?”
We turned around to see Farrel, the disgusting slaver. His robe was gone and all that was left was his leather jacket and breeches. “Today is your lucky day Kaligan!”
He walked towards us and gave the king a friendly punch on the shoulder.
At least it seemed friendly.
Farrel was already visibly drunk.
“Is it?” The king laughed, giving him a playful punch of his own, getting into character.
“Yes.” Farrel’s smile was wider than I had ever seen. “You’re about to get richer.”
He licked his lips and I almost snorted. As if there was anyone as wealthy as him in the whole of Bale.
“Okay. I’m all ears.”
“Someone offered to buy your slave for ten times the amount you bought her.” He said and paused waiting for a reaction.
My palms became sweaty and I instinctively hid behind the king.
Who wanted to buy me?
“You don’t seem excited yet. Wait until you hear this! You get two untouched female slaves as a bonus.” His smile got wider. “Imagine all the wonderful ways you could deflower the…”
I felt sick to my stomach.
The King cleared his throat.
“You also get five submissives. As many as you want!” If Farrel could jump out of his skin, I was sure he would. He was buzzing with excitement.
The king still hadn’t said a word.
Was he going to sell me off to stay in character?
“I’m sorry, friend. But that’s not possible.” He finally said with a sigh that she almost believed.
“What?” Farrel’s smile slipped a bit, “What do you mean it’s not possible?”
“I mean I’m not interested in any deal you have to offer.” His reply was curt, “She’s not for sale. Yet.”
“You must be joking, Kaligan! This is not just any deal. This is the best deal you can get here or anywhere else. Sell the girl for ten times you bought her and get two untouched female slaves and as many submissives as you want!” Farrel was alarmed.
“I heard you the first time. I’m not interested.” He answered more firmly.
Farrel’s smile turned into a villainous smirk. His lips were turned down and his eyes went darker like being drunk had been nothing more than an act on his part.
“Oh. I wanted us to do this the easy way. You didn’t leave me with many options, Lycan.”
Who was that desperate to buy me?
Ten times the price I was bought for and other female slaves too?
This was very suspicious.
Was it Kain Kurt?
Had he seen me?