"Let's go, you're next." One of the guards said as he grabbed Shizuka's arm, leading her towards the door.
As the door opened it revealed a large stage, there was a rather heavyset bald man in a suit standing on a podium, he had his arms in the air as he shouted out, "Sold! 500 silvers to the gentleman in the back!"
Shizuka could see the Lycan being prodded off to another door on the opposite side of the stage. To her left there was a large auditorium filled with people talking amongst themselves. There was a second floor for the more privileged people, they wore smug expressions as they looked down waiting for the next one to be brought on stage.
A guard went ahead and handed the heavyset man a slip of paper. After reading what it said he grinned, looking back up to the assembled people.
"We have a very special treat for you all tonight! Far to the north, deep in the mountains, our hunters captured something very rare." He said as he waved his hands around enthusiastically. "They managed to find and capture a Snow Girl for you lovely people! And not only that she in also a Named Snow Girl!"
The audience was filled with shocked murmurs as they looked on in interest.
"As you all know, Named Monsters have higher intelligence than normal monsters, making them a bigger threat. Or under the right circumstances, a much better guard for your young masters and young missus. Unlike normal monsters they will listen and obey to more complicated orders, and unlike human or demi-human slaves they have MUCH more power. It's the best of both worlds!" He went on as he captivated the audience.
Looking over at Shizuka and the guard next to her the heavyset man motioned his hand as the guard pulled her onstage. Everyone's gaze in the auditorium shifted towards her as she got a cold sweat.
"Also! This Snow Girl has an extra bonus! Although she is only level 4 she was smart enough to completely wiped out an entire group of our hunters! That's 10 experienced hunters ladies and gentleman! For comparisons sake, the Lycan you just saw only took out half of a group the same size! This feisty one will require a strong hand to tame, but I know, everyone here is up to the task.
"Due to the rarity and power of this specimen, we will start the bidding at 350 Silvers!" He bellowed out.
"400!"
"450!"
"550!"
Shizuka looked at the ground in frustration, she didn't like the way these people were looking at her. However there was no way to escape this predicament at the current point in time. She would have to wait until she had a window where she could escape.
As the bidding continued to go up it eventually came down to a young man and a young lady on the second floor.
"800 silvers!" The young man said sneering at the lady .
"830 silvers!" The young lady scoffed back.
"Don't look down on our family! We could crush yours whenever we felt like it! 870 silvers!" the man said glaring at the lady.
"Hah! You're just a bunch of muscle brained idiots with a bit of money! 900 silvers!" she yelled back.
"What would you even use it for?! All your family does is sit in your towers practicing magic, where my family protects this city by raiding the dungeons in the area! 950 silvers!"
"You idiots would just get it killed doing something stupid whereas our family could experiment on it to increase our collective power! 980 silvers!" the lady replied glaring back.
"10 gold." someone stated.
The auditorium quieted as everyone looked towards the man who said that.
"The prime minister.."
"That's the prime minister isn't it?"
The room was filled with hushed whispers as they looked at the elderly man standing up on the second floor.
"I assume that is a sufficient amount for the product, yes?" the elderly man said looking down at the auctioneer.
"Yes! Yes sir, prime minister sir! Sold for 10 gold!" The auctioneer replied with glee, bowing towards him.
Shizuka glanced up at the man who had purchased her. He was a tall man wearing a black suit, although he was old he exuded a powerful presence that demanded respect. His hair was grey with white streaks, as he looked down at her their eyes met. He looked at her like she was insignificant and a waste of his time.
The guard that was next to her grabbed her arm and pulled her off the stage through the door on the opposite side.
Looking around once she got through she could see she was in a hallway, at the end of the hallway she could see a glass door, there was light shining through it.
'There's my exit... now if this guy would let go of my arm I could make a run for it.' she thought to herself. Glancing around there was only the guard and her in the hallway.
He led her to a door on the other side, reaching down to grab his keys he let go of her arm. She waited for a moment till he unlocked and opened the door then took off in a sprint. By the time the guard noticed she was already halfway down the hall.
"We got a runner!" the guard shouted.
Just as she was about to reach the door the purple gems on her cuffs glowed brightly and sent an electric shock through her body, stunning her as she fell to the ground. She was quickly surrounded by several guards as they grabbed her and lifted her back up.
One of the doors opened and the elderly man stepped through. He looked at her as his eyes narrowed. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"She made a run for it, but we have it under control sir. However I suggest we hurry with the slave crest before she tries again." One of the guards stated bowing slightly.
"Still has some fight left in it? That's good. Perhaps this wasn't a waste of my time." The prime minister said looking down at her. "However it is not me that it will be placed under. His royal highness the prince will be the one to take that role. The royal guards and I will take it from here."
Several guards in fancy gold and silver armor came through the door the prime minister entered from.
"Put it in the carriage, make sure it is secure." He ordered.
"Yes sir." they replied as the took her from the other guards.
One of the royal guards waved his hand as a purple magic circle showed up in front of her. Suddenly a wave a sleepiness crashed down on her as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her eyes slowly closed as she fell asleep.
***********************
"She's coming to."
"Good, once it is awake we can proceed with the binding process."
"Yes prime minister."
Shizuka slowly opened her eyes as she woke up, blinking to clear her vision she focused in as two figures were in front of her. One of them was the prime minister, the other was a robed man with a long grey beard. She tried to look around but realized she couldn't turn her head because she was strapped to a chair. Her eyes darted back and forth as she started to panic due to her inability to move.
"Don't worry, this is so that you don't hurt yourself during the procedure." the robed man said to Shizuka with a smile.
"Your highness we are ready." The prime minister said opening the door to the room.
A young man who looked about 12 years old walked into the room. He had dazzling bright blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wore a white uniform with gold and red trimming.
"Is this the monster that will guard us on our excursions? She looks like a little girl to me though." the prince said looking puzzled.
"All snow girls look young until they evolve your highness." The robed man said bowing. "Don't let that dissuade you, she is very powerful and will serve you well."
"She looks scared. Why does she look scared? I don't think we should do this." The prince said looking towards the prime minister with concern.
"Haaah..." The prime minister sighed looking at the prince. "Your warm heartedness is a symbol to us all your highness, but you must remember. This is a monster. If the positions were swapped, it would kill you without hesitation. Monsters along with demi-humans are mindless beasts that only follow their instincts. They might show some semblance of intelligence but they are lower lifeforms that were put on this earth to serve us. Don't forget that."
The prince nodded as the prime minister put his hand on his shoulder. "Yes teacher, I will make sure to remember that." His face was full of conflict as he looked down at the ground.
"Good, then let us begin head magician." The prime minister said nodding towards the robed man.
"Yes." The robed man said as he walked over to a table. He picked up a bowl and a brush and walked behind Shizuka. She could feel him pull down her dress and start drawing something on her left shoulder blade.
"This crest will make it so she is forced to obey your every command your highness. She will not be able to attack anyone without your permission and she is forced to defend you should any danger befall you. Now come over here your highness, we need a bit of your blood to complete the contract." The head magician instructed.
Nodding his head he walked behind Shizuka. She felt like the circle on her shoulder that the head magician had drawn was burning into her causing her breathing to pick up in pace.
"Great your highness, that is all I need. Monster, you might want to brace yourself, this will hurt." The magician said drawing a line through the circle.
Suddenly a huge amount of pain shot through Shizuka's body as her shoulder felt like it was dipped in magma. She gripped at the chair to try to quell the pain, but it only increased. She held on for as long as she could but eventually she ended up passing out.
***********************
When Shizuka woke up she winced as she felt a dull throbbing coming from her shoulder. She was laying in a run down bed in a small room. Sitting up she noticed that she no longer had the cuffs on her wrists. Even with the pain from her shoulder she felt better than when she had the cuffs on as they seemed to sap her strength and energy away from her.
Looking around she saw that she was in a small room by herself. It had the bed she was sitting on, a small desk with a chair, a small dresser and a standing mirror sitting against the other wall. there was a door to her left and a small window with iron bars above the desk. The night sky shone through and she could see a few stars.
Glancing at the mirror she finally got a full view of herself. She was short, just over 4 feet tall, had long silky black hair that reached the middle of her back. Her face had delicate features, she had blue eyes that seemed to make one feel cold just looking at them. Looking down she saw that she still had the single white one piece dress on. The hem of the dress was tattered and she was still barefoot but even with that she still had to admit she was beautiful.
Looking over at the desk she noticed that there was a plate with a bit of bread and cheese on it. Reaching over she picked it up and quickly ate it as she was starving. After she finished she sighed and laid down on the bed.
'What the hell is this?' She thought, trying to process all that had happened after she woke up in that cell. 'So I am a slave now, is that it? That magician said there were basically three rules I have to follow. I have to listen to whatever that prince says, I can't attack anyone unless told to and I have to defend him..'
Thinking back to the memory she saw before, she tried to replicate what she did in her memory.
"System" she mouthed, but no sound came out. 'I guess I still can't talk. I wonder what they did to take my ability to talk away, those cuffs are gone and the only thing that is on me is this crest..' Luckily it still worked as the system popped up in front of her.
[You have been enslaved by Prince Albert Reinhart. 20% of all EXP received will go to your owner until crest is deactivated or removed.]
'So it can be removed or deactivated, I will have to look into that.'
"Status" she mouthed.
[ Name: Shizuka
Race: Snow Girl
Titles: Beginner Monster (3/10 Humans killed, +10% all Stats)
Level: 4
Class: Snow Girl, Enslaved
HP: 400/400
MP: 825/825
VIT: 15 (16)
STR: 10 (11)
INT: 30 (33)
DEX: 15 (16)
AGI: 20 (22)
MDEF: 200
PDEF: 100
Unassigned Points: 30
(): Finalized stats after factoring in equipment, titles and buffs (Rounded down).
Skills:
Ice Creation Magic: As a Snow Girl you can freely use and create ice to create anything you can imagine. Increased scale of creation increases mana cost.
Cost: Depends on Creation
Cooldown: N/A
Frosty Aura (Passive) - As a Snow girl your skin is always cold, depending on your anger the aura can expand, covering your surroundings in a layer of ice and snow.
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A ]
'It's exactly the same as in my memory, besides the enslaved class. I have 30 unused points, I'll wait to use them until I do some research.' Shizuka thought to herself, dismissing the screen.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
The door to her room opened as Shizuka looked over. A figure sneaked in and quickly closed the door, she instantly recognized it as the Prince from before.
"I'm sorry to bother you so late, I just wanted to see if you were ok..." the prince said looking at her hesitantly.
Shizuka opened her mouth to say something but remembering she couldn't talk she closed it and just nodded her head slowly.
The princes eyes brightened a bit as he smiled. "I know your younger than me so I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to be scared! I'm a prince so I can protect you!" He said proudly as he glanced at her and blushed.
"A-anyways, I might be weak right now but I will be going to the academy next week. When I get back I will be strong enough to protect you and everyone else!" The prince said fidgeting. "T-That's all I wanted to say... I'll see you later!"
The prince hurriedly opened the door then stopped before glancing back. "I hope you feel better soon." He said then walked out closing the door behind him, leaving Shizuka alone once again.