Large, full-figured, shiny, and black; it stood on four wheels basking in the magnificence of the moon. Its lavish design screamed luxury, its dark tinted windows hiding the content of the insides.
'Is this a carriage?' Celeste wondered. She read in her books that royals traveled in carriages to their castles, but the machine before her was nothing like her fairytales described because firstly, where were the horses?
Arias looked at Celeste, a smile on his lips as he thought, 'She looks at everything with such wonder and curiosity. It's almost as if everything in this world is foreign to her.'
It made the prince wonder how her life was before and where she came from. How did she end up being an item at an auction?
An elf dressed sharply in a suit opened the car door before bowing to Arias and Celeste. The prince stooped and with a smile he held Celeste's hands as he spoke, "These elves will take you to your new home. There will be people there to take care of you until I return."
He caressed her hair, noticing the glint of fear in her eyes, "Don't worry, okay? You're safe. If anyone mistreats you while I'm away be sure to inform me the second I return." A reassuring smile graced his pretty face as he promised, "I'll be sure to have them punished."
Celeste thought this prince to be very violent and careless about the lives of others, but his promises sounded sincere. She wanted to trust him, but Kole's words continued to repeat in her head, convincing her not to.
She was to trust no one.
The young angel only nodded in response before climbing into what she still thought was a strange-looking carriage.
"She's not much of a talker is she?" Lily questioned.
"Her mind is plagued by trauma." Arias watched the car speed down the road, disappearing from his sight before he turned to his childhood friend. "I only saw fear each time I looked into her eyes."
"She's a creature with silver eyes," Lily started as she walked with the prince back toward the auction building. "I bet she's been running her entire life from all kinds of weirdoes wanting to experiment on her. If you think about it, she has every right to be afraid."
"I don't want her to be afraid anymore." Arias held Lily's arm to halt her steps. He looked into her pink eyes, "I need you to erase her memories."
A sigh left Lily's lips before she averted her gaze, "I can't do that."
Arias furrowed his brows, confusion etched into his handsome face as he questioned, "What do you mean? You're the most powerful witch on the continent."
Lilian Ferret was indeed the most powerful witch on the Western continent and the first witch to come from the fairy race. She possessed skills and abilities that made her rival priests, the epitomes of magic.
"I couldn't hear her thoughts no matter what I tried," Lily confessed with a frown. "There's some sort of barrier blocking me from her mind."
Her eyes narrowed at the elf prince who went silent. "What are you thinking, Arias?" She couldn't read his mind either since he was a high-ranking elf, but from his face, she could tell he was thinking of something stupid.
Lily pursed her lips, "If you're thinking about asking the priests to help you don't waste your time. The unholy blood of a vampire courses through your veins; they despise your kind."
"I wasn't thinking of asking them," Arias simply responded before opening the door of the auction building.
"Idril," Arias called, interrupting the conservation the old elf was having with a woman.
Idril excused himself from the woman before walking over to the prince. "Your Highness," he greeted with a bow. "What can I do for you?"
"Who was my daughter's seller?" Arias immediately questioned.
"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information, your highness," Idril responded, lowering his head in respect. He made sure not to think anything ill of the prince's request for Lily was already staring daggers at him. He was well aware of her telepathic abilities.
"I swear confidentiality to all my business partners." Idril dared to meet the prince's eyes as he continued, "I am an honest man; it's how I've survived this long in this business."
Idril cleared his throat, rubbing his neck when he suddenly felt a burning sensation. A cough left his pale lips, followed by another and another. His lungs felt like they were being stifled; it was suddenly so hard to breathe.
More horrid coughs left his lips as his breathing quickened, his chest heaving as he tried gasping for air between coughs. A drop of blood seeped from his left nostril, his eyes bulging from their sockets as his face swole and reddened. He fell to his knees.
"You don't look so good, Idril," Arias commented with a straight face, feigning concern for the old elf. "Maybe you should just drop dead."
Idril's bulging green eyes fell on the witch quietly muttering curses in the elven tongue. She was stifling his lungs and slowing his heart with her magic. He was a 5000-year-old elf, but he was never gifted with magic, he couldn't conjure anything to counter her incantations.
"S-Stop this," he pleaded in a strained voice as he returned his gaze to the sixth elf prince.
Arias' face darkened as he threatened the old elf with his murderous gaze. He leaned closer to Idril's swelling face, "Tell me who my daughter's seller was."