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Now is not the time to raise my hand. I need to let Tommus work his magic. So I wait as her price climbs higher but yet I smile as those bids are fewer.
Do your work, Tommus.
It is down to the last two when Tommus slips back into the room. His presence reassures me that I am good to go.
I raise my hand, and the room gasps. It is a high price, but ultimately, my father will pay. The room is silent; we wait, but I know no more bids will come.
“Going, going… gone!” Fedorous proclaimed. Then all eyes in the room turn to me, but I move back from their view, fetch a drink from the tall human, let it flow down my throat in one, and fall back onto the sofa.
“Fetch her, Tommus,” I command.
4
JASMINE
“Sold! To the elf in the balcony!”
And with that, I am sold.
The crowd erupts into murmurs and discontent, but I can barely hear them. My fate is sealed, and now I must play my part perfectly, lest I never find the chance to escape.
As I stare out at the countless faces, my body is a shaky mess of nerves that threaten to undo my composure. I stand there, wondering what will happen to me now. The thought could be overwhelming if I let it.
But I won’t. My head is held high, and outwardly, I’m a vision of confidence, but inside I’m falling to pieces.
My nerves are shot, not knowing that soon I will meet the elf that bought me.
I look up at the VIP boxes, trying to catch a glimpse of the elf that placed the highest bid. But he is nowhere to be found.
It’s funny being put up for purchase as a slave because part of the worry is not being good enough or worth the money.
I try to squelch the thought away and stick to the plan I made myself. I will bide my time, accept my fate, and, at a later time, find a way to escape. Surely, it will be easier to escape one man than it would to escape the entirety of the auction house.
I take a steadying breath and look out at the leering dark elves gazing upon my barely clothed form. Anyone of them could have bought me today. My life from here was decided by a roll of a dice.
The air is thick with the musk of ancient wood, and the incense that curls lazily from braziers set around the room.
My heart hammers behind my ribs, the only sound loud enough to challenge the murmur of the crowd. It has been mere minutes since I was sold, yet it feels like a million years.
"You. Come," says a servant, ushering me off the stage. I follow obediently, head bowed, but inside, I'm awake, alert, and already plotting my next move.
The scent of rich mahogany and the soft glow of enchanted lanterns envelop me as I'm led upstairs into the VIP lounge, a stark contrast to the chaos of the stalls below.
“I am Tommus, and you, girl, will listen to me,” The servant, Tommus, says.
He leads into one of the booths. I notice a figure lounging on a blood-red sofa.
"Kneel," Tommus hisses at me, and I obey, the plush carpet pressing against my knees. My gaze fixes on the intricate patterns below me, tracing them as if they might reveal an escape route, a hidden passage to freedom.
"Look at me," a deep voice commands, slicing through the thick silence.
I lift my gaze to meet smoldering eyes set in a noble visage. Power and mystery radiate from this dark elf, my master.
“I am Karul, and now I own you,” Karul says.
Karul's uncaring eyes meet mine, and there's something there, a depth that his carefree facade doesn't fully conceal. Maybe, just maybe, I can use that to my advantage.
He lounges with deceptive ease. His platinum hair is unusually short for a dark elf of nobility, leaving the vicious scar that crosses his neck exposed.
