When Celeste opened her eyes, she was met by darkness. The last thing she remembered was the old witch's wicked grin that spread from ear to ear as she forced a brown sac over her head.
"W-Where am I?" Celeste muttered as she got up from her laying position. Her arms and feet were bound with chains; she could hardly sit properly.
Celeste stared wide-eyed at the darkness but her eyes never adjusted. She could, however, feel the cold metal below her against her skin. She tried moving but the space was too small. A metal wall surrounded her; she was trapped in a metal box.
Strange noises and vibrations reached Celeste's ears and she furrowed her brows as she pressed her ear against the metal wall. She could hear the honking of horns, yells, and plenty of chatter.
"Do I hear a second bid?" Celeste heard a man yell. "Going once, going twice, sold!"
Celeste's breath hitched when the metal box suddenly moved. Her heart hammered violently against her chest as she stared at nothing in particular. She didn't know where she was and what was happening; she was afraid.
Suddenly, however, the metal box opened and she was forced to close her eyes when a bright light hit her face. Celeste tucked her body in a small ball in one corner of the box, praying that she'd somehow disappear from this place and this scary world.
"She's scrawny, ain't she?" the old man that was shining his flashlight in Celeste's face questioned the old witch. "I reckon you won't get plenty for her, Cara."
Those were the last words Cara wanted to hear. She even killed her husband to get the little girl, how could this man tell her it was all for naught?
Cara pulled Celeste from the safety of her corner by her hair causing the little girl to cry out in pain. She violently pulled her from the metal box to the ground before forcing her to her feet by tugging harder.
"Have you ever seen silver eyes?" Cara whispered to the man, but Celeste had her eyes clenched shut as she cried.
Cara hissed before slapping her across the face, "Open your eyes, you little bitch." Tears streamed violently from Celeste's eyes as she opened her eyes as the old witch wished.
The old man removed his glasses from his face as he stared deeply into Celeste's glossy eyes, moving closer and closer to her face. He was a 5000 years old elf who has been running auctions in the black market for centuries and never had he seen something so rare and magnificent.
He put his glasses back on his face as he looked at the smug-faced witch. "What is she?" he questioned.
Cara shrugged, "I have no idea." She quickly changed the topic in the direction she wanted it to go. "So, how much do you think she'll be worth."
"Billions," the man responded still staring at the crying little girl. "Kings, scientists, priests, witches, the list is endless. They'll all be bidding their lives and fortunes for her."
In a world where all species were grouped and could be identified by their eye colors, Celeste was certainly a phenomenon. Many if not all would sacrifice their families and riches for the glory that comes with identifying a new species.
The king of kings would certainly reward them handsomely with luck, fortune, honor, prestige, and glory.
"She'll be the main item in tomorrow night's auction!" the old elf declared.
Cara grinned from ear to ear; it seemed the little girl was worth a lot more than she initially thought.
Celeste spent the night in a metal cage she shared with five other girls who seemed to be in a predicament similar to hers. Their cries kept her up the entire night, not that she would be able to sleep anyway. She didn't know what the morning would bring and that alone was beyond terrifying.
In the morning, men with pointy ears she found to be elves gave them food and water before taking them from the cage. One of the girls went ballistic and dared to fight, but they knocked her out with some sort of magic.
There was no more drama after that. Everyone behaved and quietly did as they were told.
In the afternoon, the girls were brought to a bathhouse. Female elves attended to each of them, scrubbing them clean and washing their hair.
Celeste sat in the warm, rose-scented water in silence as the woman gently scrubbed her naked body with a sponge. The elf tried striking up a conversation with her, but she wasn't interested.
"Your eyes are beautiful," the elf complimented. "You're going to be quite a beauty when you're older."
She combed through Celeste's dark brown hair with a seashell comb, "I reckon you'll start a lot of wars between kingdoms in the future." She giggled, "Tonight might just be the first one."
Celeste was then brought into a small room filled with clothes, make-up, and jewelry. "The main item at tonight's auction must look the most stunning," the old elf from earlier announced.
Celeste stood obediently as three female elves giggled excitedly while trying various beautiful dresses on her before pushing her into a chair. Celeste wasn't sure what they were doing, but one of them had their hands in her hair and the other was putting colored powder on her face.
After a long time, they finally finished.
The other girls were still dressed in rags, but Celeste was stunningly dressed in a rose-red flared dress that reached her ankles and a pair of silver heels that felt strange and painful on her feet. Her shiny, dark brown hair was wrapped in a rope-twisted bun at the back of her head and was ornamented with fresh daisies.
Celeste's feet were free but her wrists were still bound by silver chains that extended to the floor. She shifted in discomfort where she stood under the gaze of two male elves.
Subtly, she forced her feet free of the painful heels just as a voice boomed throughout the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight's auction officially begins!"