Chapter Seven
Krael, the potbellied man, turned to face the soldiers, a sly smile spreading across his face. He tossed a pouch of gold coins in their direction, the metallic clink echoing through the air. "We'll meet at the Veiled Vine Tavern tomorrow for a night of merriment, and you'll collect your rewards," he announced, his voice dripping with amusement.
The soldiers erupted into cheers, their faces flushed with excitement. Krael's gaze shifted to the captives, his expression transforming into a cold, calculating mask. "Escort the merchandise from here to the bidding block. They'll be sold to the highest bidder," he instructed, his voice devoid of emotion.
One of the captives, a young woman with a look of desperation in her eyes, fell to her knees before Krael. "Please, sir, we're not merchandise! We're human beings! Have mercy on us and send us back to our homes," she begged, her voice trembling.
Her words sparked a wave of courage among the other captives. They began to protest, their voices rising in unison. "We want to go home! We want to see our families!" But their cries for freedom were short-lived.
The soldiers, seemingly losing patience, raised their whips and began to flog the captives. The sound of cracking leather and the cries of pain filled the air. Fear gripped the captives, and they fell silent, some crying quietly as they cowered in terror.
A sudden, oppressive silence fell over the gathering. Krael's glare swept over the captives, his eyes narrowing into slits. His face twisted into a scowl, and he spat out a threat. "If anyone dares to complain or protest again, they'll be killed on the spot and thrown into the forest for the wild animals to feast on. Do you understand?"
The captives cowered, their eyes fixed on Krael's menacing form. The soldiers, emboldened by their master's words, stood taller, their whips at the ready. The captives' hopes of freedom dwindling with each passing moment.
As the soldiers began to herd the captives toward the bidding block, Selena, Isolde, and Adrielle exchanged fearful glances. They knew they had to be brave, but the reality of their situation was daunting. They were nothing more than commodities, destined for a life of slavery and hardship. The thought sent a chill down their spines.
Reaching at the bidding block. The captives were bound tightly to the wooden poles, stood like cattle awaiting their fate, their backs sore from the rough ties and their bodies aching from the harsh treatment they had endured. The cries of those already purchased echoed in the distance, but all they could do was wait. Each one of them was bound separately, their arms behind them, unable to even comfort one another in their shared misery.
The merchants arrived soon after, their well-dressed figures gleaming with wealth and superiority as they strode into the block. Their guards, stern and armed, stood by, watching closely as they assessed the captives with calculating eyes. Each merchant carefully chose their prize, inspecting the captives like rare commodities, making bargains with Krael. Some of the captives were taken quickly, while others were left behind, ignored or deemed not valuable enough. It was a cold, soulless transaction.
When it was Selena and her sisters' turn, their hearts sank. As they were untied, the sisters instinctively came together, each one holding onto the others as if the bond between them could protect them from the horrors of what was about to happen. They huddled closely, their hands tightly gripping each other, not willing to let go.
But their desperate closeness only seemed to annoy the merchant who had chosen one of them. He scowled, his face twisted in irritation as he raised his hand, signaling to the guards. "Separate them!" he snapped, his voice sharp and commanding.
The guards stepped forward, their hands rough and unrelenting. They grabbed the sisters and tried to pull them apart, but Selena, Isolde, and Adrielle clung to each other with all their might, their bodies trembling from fear and exhaustion. They could feel the cold, calculating eyes of the merchants on them, watching with impatience. The sisters could already sense the impending separation, the fate that awaited them individually.
"No!" Selena cried, her voice breaking with desperation. "Please—don't take us apart!" Her eyes locked with Isolde's, and for a moment, it felt like the world had stopped—just the two of them, standing together against everything that had been thrown at them. But it was fleeting. The guards yanked on their arms, pulling them away from one another.
"You, the tall one— pointing at Selena," one of the guards barked. "Stay by the pole."
The other guard, pointing at Isolde, said, "The other one—there."
Finally, the smallest of the sisters, Adrielle, was roughly shoved toward a different merchant's carriage, as the guard pointed in that direction. "And you," he said coldly.
The sisters' hearts shattered. Their hands reached out, desperate to hold onto one another, but the guards were too strong, their grips ironclad as they pulled each of them in different directions. Selena's heart broke as she watched Isolde and Adrielle being forced into separate carriages, their arms stretched toward her in a final, silent plea for unity. But the guards pushed them in, slamming the carriage doors with finality.
The tears that had been building up in the sisters' eyes finally fell, but there was no comfort in the weeping. There was no reprieve. Just the bitter sting of separation. Selena stood frozen, staring at the carriages, her chest tight with dread. She could hear the others—captive souls like herself—wailing and crying out, but her voice was lost in the whirlwind of chaos. She could feel her bond with her sisters fraying with every passing second, and the cold reality of her new life began to sink in. The world had taken them apart, and there was no going back.
The merchants, satisfied with their picks, began to move on to the next round of purchases. The captives were nothing more than merchandise now. Their humanity stripped away in exchange for coin.
And as the last of the carriages disappeared into the horizon, Selena was left behind, her heart heavy with fear for her sisters. The world had changed. They were no longer free. And she would have to find a way, somehow, to survive and reunite with them.