It wasn't often that Beth got the chance to go to the city, but each time she always made it a point to explore as much as her duties allowed her to. Her wide eyes switched directions rapidly as she tried to take in all the sights and sounds at once. Mothers tugging their children's hands to move a little faster, vendors in stalls calling out to passing tourists, the bubbles that rose from the ground high into the sky, the strange vehicles that many people seemed to drive around, the many different-
"Slave girl!" Saint Charloss' shout brought her out of her wandering thoughts.
"Yes, my Lord?" She peered through the small window into the carriage. The Noble had his arms crossed in a pout, a booger once again hanging out of his nose. She knew better than to mention it.
"How much longer until we get to the auction house? I want to buy a slave!" She'd never been on a slave trip before so she wasn't entirely sure.
"One moment, my Lord." She turned to the driver next to her. "How much longer until we get to the auction house?" He glanced her way before steering the horses out of the way of a group of women.
"Maybe fifteen minutes. We're in Grove 31, and the auction house is in Grove 1." She turned back to the carriage.
"About fifteen more minutes, my Lord." His pouty face looked even more disappointed at the news.
"I want to get there now!" Shalulia glanced over at her brother.
"Your complaining is what's making it so long, brother. Just wait until we get there. Besides, anything is better than walking among those commoners."
"Hmph…" Charloss gazed out the window once more, too angry to reply.
They drove for another five minutes or so, with Beth resuming her sightseeing. Suddenly, on the left, a massive amusement park appeared behind the trees and she gasped in surprise. The driver glanced over at the sound. Upon seeing her face, he smirked.
"You've never seen that before?" She shook her head in awe, watching as the giant roller coaster began it's loop, sending the car full of screaming riders through a series of winding track. Just looking at it made her dizzy. "I took my daughter there once. She had a blast."
Beth's enthusiasm soon wore off as she remembered that she was a slave. Slaves weren't allowed far from their masters and there was no way that Saint Charloss would permit her to go anyways. She sighed quietly before turning away.
'If only I were free...'
"Stop the carriage!" Saint Shalulia called from inside. The driver instantly slowed the horses to a halt and turned to the small window.
"Is there a problem, my Lady?" He asked politely. Pinched face scrunched in concentration, Shalulia's gazed was fixed on something on the side of the street. Following her line of sight, Beth saw an antique shop, decorated with old dolls and ancient sets of desks and mirrors.
"I must look inside!" The driver got down and opened the door for her, offering a hand to help her down. Taking it, she stepped on his foot in the process but he didn't show anything of it on his face. "You! Come with me!" She yelled, pointing at the male slave. With a low head he reluctantly got off the carriage.
"What about the auction house?" Saint Charloss called.
"I'll meet you there!" Shalulia called as she entered the shop, followed by her male slave. The driver returned to his seat and started the horses up once more.
"Driver, go faster!" The rest of the trip was filled with Saint Charloss' demands that the carriage was too hot and the horses weren't walking fast enough to get them there on time. It was giving Beth a headache but she knew better than to admit such a thing.
There were people everywhere, blocking the movement of the horses and causing a commotion. The crowd thinned out the farther away from the amusement park they got, but there were still lots of people.
On one occasion, someone wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough and the horses trampled over their body. The whole carriage rocked upwards, then slammed back to the ground. It jolted Charloss enough to look out the window.
"AAHH! My leg! It's broken!" The man cried, clutching his injured limb as he writhed on the ground.
The driver stopped the carriage and jumped down to inspect the man. "Are you alright sir?"
"M-my leg…" He muttered, baring his teeth in pain. Beth only watched from the front seat, afraid to move and anger the World Noble. Saint Charloss exited the carriage and waddled over to the man.
He grabbed for something on his belt, and Beth's eyes widened once she realized it was the pistol all World Nobles kept on them at all times. He raised it up to the man.
"Wha-NO, PLEASE NO!" A single shot rang out, silencing the crowd, and the man's body slumped to the ground. Several women screamed but nobody moved otherwise.
The smoke was still exiting the gun as Charloss returned it to his side. "Now I'm gonna be late for the auction."
Beth couldn't breathe, stuck watching the Noble walk back to the carriage and climb inside. The driver swallowed thickly, taking one last look at the dead man before returning to the driver's seat. He only cleared his throat and prodded the horses forwards when he noticed Beth staring at him.
The auction house itself was different from what Beth expected. The outside had grass growing all over the roof and the word HUMAN was emblazoned on the front. Apart from that, there was nothing distinguishing it from the other buildings. No one was outside, indicating that the auction had already begun.
"Finally!" Charloss cried, loudly sniffing the hanging booger back into his nose. Beth turned away in disgust. No matter how many times he did that, it still left her cringing.
Pulling the carriage to a stop, the driver got down and opened the door for the World Noble, stepping aside as the larger man waddled past.
"Slave! Get my lunch!" He called, leaving Beth to scramble to catch up.
"Yes, my Lord!" Grabbing the large basket from the back, she hurried to come along behind the World Noble.
Inside was very dark, save for the stage lights that lit up the large front platform. The room was packed full, leaving many people to stand against the back wall. One group in particular caught Beth's eyes.
They looked to be pirates, with the obvious leader sporting spiky red hair. A pair of goggles rested across his head and his long flowing coat was a deep purple and black. His companions were just as strange, with one wearing a blue and white striped mask. Another looked an awful lot like a scarecrow.
She must have been staring because the red-haired man turned towards her curiously. Seeing her gaze on him, he smirked evilly. Then, his eyes looked her over up and down, checking her out completely. With a tiny gasp and a blush, she snapped her head forward and hurried after her master. His low chuckle marked her hasty retreat.
"Now, item number 15! She's a twenty year old exotic dancer, of excellent proportions, and voted the world's most beautiful slave girl, I present...Pascia!"
A lavender-haired girl walked onto the stage, accompanied by two men holding her chains. She was dressed ornately in a dancing dress. Her eyes looked sad, but she kept her head up regardless.
"Let's start the bidding at 800,000! 800,000 beli!"
"800,000!" Someone on the left shouted, holding up their card.
"1,200,000!" A woman in the back called, waving her card back and forth.
Beth lost interest in the sale going on, focusing on getting to their seats. Saint Charloss took up the seat beside Shalulia, who questioned harshly why her brother was so late. Beth placed the basket behind the seats and was about to sit down when Saint Charloss stopped her.
"No! You can't sit here." She was about to question why but thought better of it. She noticed that the male slave of Shalulia's was sitting behind her, but she didn't comment.
"Where will my Lord have me sit?" She said humbly with her head low. He pointed back up the rows towards the back of the room.
"Go up there by the doors. I can't have you next to me when I buy a pretty slave." Nodding her head, she trudged back upwards, trying not to think about the sick gaze of that pirate.
Passing by the pirates again, she took a right and walked a little farther down away from the aisle. Leaning against the wall, she sighed and crossed her arms.
'At least I'm not by him...' She thought, thankful to be away from Saint Charloss' putrid scent for the time being.
Her neck itched and she tried to scratch around the bomb collar but the metal was too thick to do much about it. Giving up, she tried to ignore the annoying sensation.
Her eyes swept the crowd, looking for anyone who stuck out. Farther down in front of her was...a bear? In an orange jumpsuit? His height gave him away, but those men around him were just as intriguing. They all wore white jumpsuits. Either they were some kind of trade company or they were pirates.
Something spotted...a hat, she realized, was placed on the head of a man sitting down. She couldn't see his face but his arms were tattooed with black ink.
'Definitely pirates.' She thought.
"Sold! For 7,200,000 beli!" The host called, grabbing her attention once more. The dancer girl was escorted off the stage behind the curtain. Beth felt bad for the girl. Suddenly, the lights around the hall dimmed. People began to mutter but the host didn't look worried.
Suddenly, a large commotion to her right got her attention. Several people were talking noisily, looking very confused and worried. Maybe they got freaked out by the lights? Beth wasn't sure...
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, World Nobles and princes of foreign nations! The moment you've all been waiting for!" A large object was then rolled into the center of the stage. It was tall and circular but covered in canvas. "I proudly present...item number 16! Keimi, the mermaid!
With a dramatic wave of his hand, the host ordered the canvas to be removed. When it slipped away, a large tank of water holding a female mermaid was revealed. She looked to be in a horrible state of panic, banging on the glass with as much strength as she could muster. This seemed to bring the people close by into a more nervous state.
The host gave a brief description of the abilities that this mermaid girl could do and what she would be good for. "Let's start the bidding off at-"
"500,000,000!" A familiar voice called.
The audience gasped at such a large number for a starting bid, and Beth looked down to see her master standing with his plate waving in the air. The host looked shocked at such a number but expertly recovered.
"500,000,000 beli! What an amount! Do I hear any other bids?" The room only muttered, no one offering up any higher amounts. That was to be expected for no one had more money than the World Nobles. The fact that her master would spend such a sum on a mermaid was troubling. Something told her it wasn't for any conventional reason he wanted her.
The people close by looked to be frantic, pulling at their hair and dramatically calling 'Nooo…' She frowned. Who the heck were these people?
"No other bidders?" The host called, walking up to the auctioning podium. He raised the hammer to bring it down upon the wood.
"KEIMI!"
A very loud voice came from somewhere...Beth wasn't able to pinpoint exactly where. Suddenly a fishman ran down the aisle towards the stage. He looked similar to an octopus. The crowd began to mutter about the strange occurrence.
"Why is a fishman here?" "Go back to where you belong, creature!" "Ugh, it touched me. Now I have to wash this dress again."
The vile things the people spat at the man left Beth disgusted. These people were racist bigots, rolling in their money without consideration of others. The fact that they sold their own kind for slavery as well as others was proof of that.
Below, Saint Charloss stood and walked to the aisle. He raised his gun and shot the man in the chest. The crowd gasped, watching in silence as his body fell to the floor.
"Father! Look, I shot it myself! I got one!" He jumped up and down in glee. A wave of nausea washed through Beth, seeing the broken body of the fishman just lying there. The group of people at the back cried out in terror.
"Hatchan!"
"Oi!" A single voice called out. A man, no, a young boy, was stalking his way to Saint Charloss. His hair covered his eyes, but the menacing way he walked up to the World Noble was terrifying. Charloss raised the gun and shot a few rounds at the boy but he dodged every one.
When the boy reached Charloss, he roared angrily and punched him directly in the face!
'Oh, God...Please, no…' Laying a hand on a World Noble was a crime punished by death. What was this boy thinking?
The World Nobles became frantic, shouting obscenities at the boy who shook out his knuckles. He didn't seem to realize what exactly he had done, but at the same time looked confident and unperturbed by the screaming Nobles.
Suddenly, Shalulia jumped up onto the stage and raised a gun to the now free mermaid's head. "Stop or I'll shoot!" She screamed.
Everyone looked towards the stage where the female World Noble breathed heavily, nervously gripping the young girl in a death grip.
"That's right! All of you are-AH." Shalulia dropped to the ground out of nowhere, clutching her head in pain before passing out completely. Then suddenly the whole hall seemed to drop to the ground.
A force of invisible energy hit Beth like a giant wave, but it only served to make her extremely dizzy. Her vision swam a little but the nausea went away after a moment. Looking up, she noticed the red-haired pirates was still standing by the door with his companions. None of them looked affected by the strange sensation.
'What was that?'
Looking back towards the stage, a lone figure stood on the platform.
It was...an old man?
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