A cold wind whipped around my legs as I stood on the shoreline with my legs shaking.
Water lapped over my toes and the brand on my back t burned painfully as the salty winds whipped it.
I winced as I gazed out into the distance, toward the horizon trying to distract myself from the pain.
The waves crashed into the beach, creating a loud thundering noise as they hit the shore.
I squinted through the heavy gray clouds of mist, looking at the distant horizon as it slowly faded away.
For the thousandth time, I wished I was numb to the pain.
My thoughts went blank as I felt the waves crash upon my skin,
the sound of the ocean was soothing, and it seemed like I should be enjoying myself,
relaxing my aching muscles and relishing in its warm embrace,
but instead, all I could think was 'where have you taken me?'
I looked around me, trying to take in my surroundings.
I was standing on a deserted beach; the sand was wet and slippery beneath my bare feet.
The sun was setting and the sky was painted with vibrant shades of orange, pink, purple, and yellow.
The water was calm and clear I would have enjoyed my situation a little more if not for the dozen armored guards all around me.
Each one was carrying a long spear with a wicked-looking point, and each of them held a shield.
They stared at me with their intimidating glares, staring at my naked body filled with hunger and lust.
Their red eyes stared right into mine, burning into my soul like a knife, as their hands clenched tightly around the spearheads.
It took everything within me to suppress the urge to scream in fear or flee. Instead, I raised my head high and met their intense gazes and the anger and hatred they had for me.
I tried to push away the feelings that threatened to overtake me,
They still chained me up, the chains were binding me tightly around my wrist and ankle.
My fingers ached painfully every time I tried to stretch or move, so my hand rested on my shoulder where the chain connected.
My body trembled uncontrollably as the memories of my last encounter with them replayed themselves in my mind.
'What do you want?' I whispered.
I swallowed nervously, feeling very intimidated and humiliated, but most of all I was afraid.
'What was going to happen to me?'
I felt as though tears were forming in my eyes, threatening to fall and drown me,
It seemed as if everyone was looking at me and whispering, but I couldn't understand anything.
I didn't deserve this I never did anything to anybody.
All I did was work my ass off and make money.
Who would blame me for that?
I was environmentally conscious, I recycled, and for fuck's sake I had never even got a parking ticket.
I wanted to go home, I so wanted to go home.
I closed my eyes and let the salty sea breeze flow through my short locks, which felt damp and sticky, and I breathed deeply as I listened to the waves crashing onto the sandy bottom.
I tried to focus on the gentle rhythm of the water hitting the rocks, trying to get rid of the overwhelming emotions that engulfed my brain and body.
Everything just hurt too much.
I wanted to sleep.
And yet I was awake.
I wasn't allowed.
I was supposed to watch what was happening, or they would put me into a state of shock.
Or even worse I would die.
A sudden gust of wind blew across my cheek, blowing my hair and chilling my naked skin.
As soon as I felt it brush past my face, a shiver ran up and down my spine.
I kept quiet and continued watching the guards surrounding me.
Everything was blurry, nothing mattered anymore.
just like the Kid had learned, no he was no longer the kid I was the kid.
Job was me and I was Dan.
I was a Slave.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
My eyes shot open when I felt the same sensation as I had earlier today, and then a second time.
I was being dragged, again.
But this time I knew that this wasn't the same feeling, it felt different.
the guards had been quite quick and efficient in untying me from the tree log
how deep was I lost in my thoughts?
that I didn't even notice them until now.
the guards were somehow more harsher and gentler at the same time with me this time around.
Just a few hours ago I was manhandled, dragged beaten, and whipped out of the ship and onto this beach, but now they were treating me as if I was made of glass.
Not to mention a few moments ago they were continuously slapping me preventing me from sleeping.
This time the force was stronger and faster, and there was definitely more than one person dragging me around.
I could only imagine what would happen to me if I fell asleep again right now, as my eyelids grew heavier.
my journey was small soon I was thrown down onto the rough sand, hard.
"Stand up," the harsh and dark voice roared in my ear.
I slowly stood up as I stared at my surroundings, I hadn't realized that we had come to land.
Not sandy beachy land but actual normal grassland.
The ground was hard and dry, and there were tall pines surrounding me, which seemed so too tall to be normal.
My legs were weak and shaky.
The guard behind me shoved me forward roughly as another guard stepped up behind him, grabbed me roughly by my arm, and pulled me toward the direction of what seemed like a luscious dense small forest.
A cold chill swept over me as I stumbled forward.
As we walked deeper into the forest, it grew dark and I could barely see two inches in front of my face,
it was as if the sun had disappeared out of thin air But pretty soon I saw light, or rather lights,
just in front of me was a large tent made out of some sort scaly black fabric which was covering what appeared to be a fire pit.
Atleast that is what it seemed like judging from the light emanating from the centre of the tent.
As I drew close, the smell of burning flesh reached my nostrils.
The smell of meat cooking
sent shivers down my spine.
The tent flap opened suddenly revealing a well-lit and furnished room that appeared to be decorated and occupied with various types of weapons, armor, books, clothing, and more.
On the far side of the room, I could see what appeared to be two open chests with clothes inside of them.
There were two big beds side by side with a few other pillows scattered on the floor near them, a door was beside it, and to the left, there was a closet filled to the brim with shoes.
To the right, however, was a giant table that covered an entire wall and was littered with food and wine glasses.
On the left of the table sat a young girl with her back facing us, she seemed to be asleep or perhaps passed out.
She was pale with dark curly hair and her features were sharp and strong, she was tall and lean, slender but muscular and muscular on the other hand the dress she wore did not suit her at all,
she had on a bright red dress with a big white collar and a bow on her neck.
a man who was dressed in all black wearing a white cape with gold accents stood right next to her staring right at me with fiery red ruby eyes.
his facial features were sharp and angular as his eyes pierced mine and he smirked, which made me want to run away.
The man's dark brown hair was cut into a bob haircut, His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his facial features were stern and hard as he surveyed the whole scene before him,
but there was another thing that caught my attention,
next to the Stern man stood another man,
this particular young man who was dressed up like a flamboyant peacock
he had on a bright yellow tunic, red trousers, and golden shoes,
not to mention the purple cape with golden images and to top it all off he wore a bright green hat that had a single red feather protruding out of it.
His skin was fair, and he had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen on a person, and he had a kind and friendly look on his face, but somehow this made him seem more dangerous.
the gems that covered him from head to toe told a story of a vastly wealthy man.
"is he him?" the gruff voice demanded.
I was shocked for a brief second by his voice the man getup depicted a soft man with a high-pitched voice, but after I heard it again, it sounded a lot like the voice of an old hitman who had been through the vastitude of life rather than the thin flamboyant young man that stood in front of me.
"Yes, sir." the dark-haired man replied as he nodded his head towards me.
The Stern man turned towards me "you!" he hissed at me menacingly.
He took a step forward and his face came closer to my own face.
His nose was slightly crooked and slightly pointed, and his lips were curled down into a scowl that made me uneasy.
His teeth were straight and perfect, unlike mine, which jutted out like knives and were chipped and broken, making me look extremely ugly, I knew that, or at least I felt like that was the case when I saw my face in the water.
The Stern man raised his left hand to slap my cheeks, but I immediately jerked ramrod straight instead of jerking away from him, and jumped away to the other side, not wanting to be near him, as my instincts were screaming at me to do.
from experience, I knew if I had jerked away I would have faced a far harsher fate than the one presented to me now.
This was an old trick according to my inherited memories of the slavers to see I there was any fight left in the salve.
humiliate him, in a not-so-subtle way forcing him to react and if reacts poorly, then he can no longer react to any aggression, the salve was now a lamb ready to be taken to the slaughterhouse but if the salve reacts to it like a normal person, then he needs more conditioning training.
He frowned at me disapprovingly but his scowl disappeared the moment he heard footsteps approaching us and his red ruby eyes glanced at the newcomer, a pair of women dressed in a similar fashion to the flamboyant man,
they had both had a similar face a beautiful face, a perfect oval shape, and thick plump rosy cheeks, one of the woman wore a beautiful green and white silk dress, she was wearing a silver chain with matching necklace.
her face was flushed and her hair was tied back in a simple ponytail but nevertheless, she looked like a princess, with sparkling diamond earrings hanging elegantly down from both ears and a delicate golden flower clip attached to her hair.
the other one wore a dark purple dress with matching purple ribbons tied around her waist and tied at the back of her knees, She was relatively simple compared to her companion.
Both women had their hands linked, and they looked at me with curious expressions on their faces.
They stared at me with such an expression as they examined every inch of me, almost as if searching for something.
They must've finally found it as they approached me quickly, the taller girl was holding her breath and looking Excited.
The Stern man scoffed and rolled his eyes as I started trembling once more in fear, shaking violently from both fear and anger,
I was completely terrified.
'This man was going to torture me with these women',
'he was gonna kill me',
These were the kind of thoughts that kept running around in my mind.
I was scared shitless and I wished I could go home and sleep in a bed.
Then the Purple dress woman grabbed my face and began roughly examining me, her strength surprised me, she was strong, stronger than any petite 5 foot 7 young girl had any right to be.
"You say this one can read and write?" she asked the man who I had considered a knight after examining my teeth and prodding the muscles in my arms and thighs.
"I thought only Reimiun women learned to read, Didn't know they permitted the men to anything but fight."
Then, while massaging my private parts with her small warm hands, she leaned over to her companions and expressed a humorous opinion on the question of gelding Reimium slaves.
"Not hung like a horse but plenty respectable enough, won't you say Vele?"
"Yes, my lady, he is quite a fine specimen." the ornately dressed plump woman bowed and replied in a cold uncaring voice.
"Aye, my lord, the lad can both read and write, Your grace," said the fawning Knight, his bead-woven beard rattling as he babbled.
"This one has many refinements as would suit him for your service. Quite civilized and well-behaved for a barbarian. Can keep accounts or serve at the table or do hard labor as you prefer."
The flamboyant young man jumped and danced his way toward me smiled warmly as he inspected me, he then glanced at the girls and smiled brightly at me.
"I agree he is beautiful isn't he, my dear?" he said to the petite woman.
The woman nodded her head and smiled.
"Yes, brother I agree he is the one,"
"Do you have any names for him?"
I felt a cold pit descent in my stomach as I realized what was happening to me;
I was being sold like a dog to an auction house.
the man before me looked at me intently with his penetrating black eyes.
He looked like he wanted to make sure of the answer, like maybe if he gave me a wrong name I would lose my value, or he would try to take what was not his.
My heart raced as I gulped and looked down at my feet,
I didn't know what to do, my body trembled with fear,
my legs felt wobbly and numb, and tears welled up in my eyes as I could already feel myself crying.
'Good Gracious god, why is this happening to me?'