I woke up abruptly, confused and disoriented. I found myself trapped inside a cage, and as I explored my surroundings, my eyes met the figure of a peculiar man. His fair complexion contrasted with his brown eyes, and a mustache adorned his face. He was wearing a white hat, pants, and shirt, along with a vest with golden edges. A golden tie accentuated his attire, while his jacket rested on his shoulders. As I observed him, he approached me with slow but firm steps.
"It seems you have awakened," the stranger said, locking his eyes onto mine, and I noticed he was wearing a golden monocle.
"Where am I? Why am I here? And who are you?" I asked, my desperation growing with each word.
"Who am I?" he repeated my question. "Let's just say I am your temporary owner until someone buys you. You are in the black market. And the last question is simple: you are here because some bandits sold you. I don't usually answer questions, but I must say you are a gem amidst all this filth," he replied, his smile gradually widening as he answered each of my questions.
"What will happen to me?" I asked fearfully, finding his smile terrifying.
"Don't worry too much. Just know that in three days, you will be auctioned off to a rather... special group of people," he declared with a voice that conveyed his greed.
"And... my injuries?" I inquired, bewildered. The last thing I remembered was a sharp pain in my right arm and left leg.
"They were healed through magic," he responded with surprising simplicity.
"Sir!" shouted a muscular man, panic coloring his voice. "A beast has gone out of control!"
The imposing beast rose a few meters away from me, its robust body protected by a natural armor of black plates, making it resemble an indestructible cuirass. Its rough and wrinkled skin merged with that armor, giving it an unyielding appearance. Forty men fought desperately to maintain control over its limbs, wrapping chains around its enormous legs, ten men for each leg, while another twenty held chains that ran across its body. However, the most intimidating aspect of all was its sharp and threatening horn on its nose, along with its small and piercing eyes that gleamed with an inquisitive and fierce light.
"It's an expensive animal but difficult to control. What a pity," sighed the man, diverting his gaze from the beast and approaching me.
"Enjoy your stay, kid," he added with an amused smile, letting out a chuckle.
"Give me my rapier!" he exclaimed loudly, and a man handed him a sword. As he unsheathed it, its slimness became apparent, tapering towards the tip while its hilt was protected by a metal ring.
"Release the beast!" he shouted again, and all the men holding the chains let go instantly.
When the "beast" was set free, it charged toward the man dressed in white, who struck the ground with his sword, creating a resounding sound. Every step of the monster shook the ground. The man, in an attacking position, extended one leg and flexed the other, his arm stretched forward, firmly holding the hilt of that strange sword. His body was slightly leaned forward, ready to confront the creature. Did the tip of his sword... glow?
When the beast was a few meters away, the man extended his arm, and a beam of light emerged from the sword, piercing one of the monster's legs, causing it to fall. However, within moments, the beast rose again and charged at the man, surrounded by a red aura.
"Damn animal, just die already. You are so annoying," the man said disdainfully.
The man crouched, placing his sword in front of him. It began to glow intensely, and then the man in white lunged forward at such speed that I could barely follow with my eyes. He left only a trail of light in his wake, but everything seemed to slow down, and I witnessed how the man dressed in white decapitated the monster with his shining sword. The monster was killed.
"What an annoying animal. It was stronger than usual. It sacrificed years of its life to gain more power. Even if that thing died, it wanted to take me with it. Ha, ha, ha!" he began speaking with evident annoyance, but quickly his tone changed to a maniacal laughter.
"Take everything valuable from this iron kingdom and get rid of the rest," he calmly ordered his men before leaving.
Terrified, I arranged some hay in the cage and lay down to sleep. When I woke up, I saw a plate of food in front of me. Although it looked disgusting, hunger consumed me, and I devoured it without a trace. That's when I perceived a putrid smell in the air. I looked around and discovered bodies that appeared sick, malnourished, and even dismembered. My stomach churned, and I vomited what I had eaten.
"Disgusting!" I exclaimed with disgust as I contemplated my surroundings and felt the need to vomit the food.
Time passed, and I didn't know if it was day or night, but during this time, I grew accustomed to the smell, but not to the horrendous sight surrounding me. Overwhelming sadness and despair. After eating again, he appeared. This had to mean that three days had passed.
"Hello," he greeted me with a friendly smile, but I couldn't respond. I'm scared of him.
"What? Have you died already?" I continued without answering.
"Doesn't matter. We're going to a special place. First, they will prepare you, and then they will present you to equally special people for purchase," he simply said and left, never abandoning his friendly smile. Now I don't know how to feel, whether I should be happy because I'm leaving or worried about the place I'm heading to.
They took me out of the cage and placed shackles on my wrists. They led me to a carriage, and after some time, we arrived at a large and dark alley. We ventured into it until we reached a door that the man in white opened, and we entered. The place was dark but elegant at the same time.
We were taken to a room where they removed the shackles and my clothes. Then they began washing my body with magically manipulated water. They dried me and gave me a suit that they helped me put on. Then, they took me to a place where there were different boys and girls of various species. We formed a line, and I was the first. They pushed me forward, and as I looked up, I saw men and women seated in elegant chairs, dressed in suits and adorned with jewelry, but without exception, they all wore masks of different colors and shapes.
"The auction is about to begin with this product delivered by none other than Moonlight himself. It is a rare specimen among humanity, with blue eyes, silver hair, and unscarred white skin. The first bid starts at 1000 gold coins!" shouted a man who seemed to be the presenter.
"I offer 1100 gold coins," said a gray-haired man wearing a purple cape and a gold necklace with an emerald pendant, raising a sign.
"I offer 1200 gold coins," said a woman with golden hair that reached her shoulders. Her blue eyes seemed to shine under the mask. She waswearing an elaborate white silk dress adorned with silver embroidery, and she also raised a sign.
"I offer 1230 gold coins," another woman raised her sign. She was wearing a red dress, and her black hair was styled in an elaborate fashion. Her gaze could see into my soul.
"I offer 1250 gold coins," said a man with short, dark hair slicked back. He had a mustache that seemed to pride itself, as his mask only covered his eyes and not his entire face.
Suddenly, a shout echoed through the crowd, "I offer 3000 gold coins!" Everyone fell silent at the offer of a fat man, who wore heavy armor and carried a large black sword. What stood out the most was that he didn't wear a mask, and he wasn't seated with the rest of the people but on a balcony.
-3000 at one, 3000 at two... Sold! -the presenter shouted.
-When the auction is over, come from behind to collect your purchase -the man said respectfully.
Then, I was taken to another place where they put the shackles back on me. I don't know how much time passed, but the same man with black hair and heavy armor appeared.
"Take the 3000 gold coins," he handed the bag to the presenter.
"Enjoy your purchase, sir," he said respectfully.
They tied my hands, blindfolded me, and led me to what felt like a carriage. I don't know how long I was there, but when we got off, I was led down a path. I heard a door being opened, and I descended a staircase slowly. I turned left, then right, and left again through the long corridors of this place. I had to remember this. Another door was opened, the ropes on my hands were untied, and I was pushed before the door closed.
"Now you can remove the blindfold," they told me, and I took it off to discover that I was in a cell.
"I am your master. You were a very expensive and rare purchase. There aren't many humans with silver hair," the man said seriously.
"You will take care of this slave. Don't make me waste my money," he ordered the guard before leaving.
Once again, unable to do anything, I fell asleep, as I did in the cage, until I heard a sound colliding with the bars.
"Get up now," said a boy in a suit, his voice resonating with pride.
They opened the cell, and the guard forced me to leave. I was taken forcefully to a chair, and my hands and feet were tied. I focused on the boy with white skin, gray eyes, and black hair, while I was illuminated by a small light.
"Where should I start?" the boy said, directing his gaze toward a small table where I could barely make out knives and tweezers of different sizes, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to be covered in something.
"Mmm, let's start with the nails," he said as he grabbed a blood-covered pair of tweezers.
"What are you going to do with those tweezers? Wait, you said nails!" My thoughts were racing, I couldn't think clearly due to panic.
He brought the tweezers close to one of my nails and slowly began pulling it off, while I screamed so much that my throat felt like it was burning. When he finished with all my nails, I could only swallow saliva and it felt like swallowing fire.
"Take him away and bring the next one" the boy ordered the guard.
And so, the same guard led me back to the cell and threw me some bandages. As I tried to wrap my hands, I heard screams that lasted for a long time. When they ceased, minutes later, the cell opened, and I saw a boy slightly taller than me, with red hair and a medium tan complexion.
They pushed him, and he fell unconscious. They threw the bandages again, closed the cell, and the guards stood on either side of the cell. As I approached, I noticed that his arms were covered in cuts. When I finished bandaging his arms, he woke up.
"Who are you?" the boy asked me, looking around, seeming disoriented.
"I don't know," I replied, finally feeling a little relief in my throat as time passed.
"What do you mean you don't know?" he seemed puzzled.
"I don't remember anything," I answered simply.
"At least, do you remember your name?" he asked curiously.
"No," I replied again. I tried to remember when I was in the cage, but it only gave me a headache.
"Well, then I'll give you one... From now on, your name will be Nathaniel," he said with notable joy. He seemed to enjoy giving names.
"Mmm, I'll use it," I said with a sigh.
"Why do you look disappointed?" he asked with noticeable anger.
"I'm not disappointed," I said calmly, avoiding his clear expression of anger. I had found his weak point.
"What's your name?" I asked, now looking him in the eyes.
"Nolan," he replied.
"What a strange name," that name isn't heard every day.
"I chose it!" he exclaimed with a hint of anger.
"What bad taste," I said, provoking him. Unintentionally, a small laugh escaped me, and I finally found some peace and amusement in this hell, which was to annoy him.
"I don't care, but in return, you're very carefree," he said, less angry. I think he noticed my little laugh.
"I'm not carefree, I just don't want to. It's just that there's nothing we can do at the moment," I said. I don't want to get upset right now, when tranquility is lost, it doesn't let you think clearly.
"Silence!" one of the guards shouted at us. How annoying!
"Are you okay? You passed out when you entered the cell," I whispered to him.
"Yes, it's not the first time it's happened," he whispered back with noticeable anger.
"And you, how did you end up here?" I asked with great curiosity.
"You don't need to know," he replied coldly and abruptly.
"Do you know who that boy is?" I asked him.
"The prince of the kingdom," he said with hatred.
"Why, if all the cells are empty, are we the only ones together?" I asked, puzzled.
"I think it's to save guards or to keep an eye on us more effectively," he responded thoughtfully.
The cell opened, and a man in armor entered, holding two plates of food that he left on the floor before leaving. I approached the plates, and they seemed normal. After three days of eating whatever they gave me, I could finally enjoy regular food.
Our routine consisted of eating and sleeping, but the worst part was that they tortured us all day. When they finished with one, they moved on to the other the next day. We only saw each other at night when we could rest and eat. They ripped off all our nails, cut us, and handcuffed us to the ceiling, using us as training dummies.
After three weeks, I noticed that two guards were watching us, but one of them always left to accompany the prince. When they finished torturing us, he would return and keep watch. He only switched shifts with another guard when they brought us food. Today was my shift, and I had to come up with a plan to escape. We pretended to be asleep, and then we would execute the plan. Some time passed, but the guards fell asleep as well, just slumping in their chairs. How little security!
"Our plan is that when the guard takes me, I'll try to simulate a fight with him and steal the keys. I'll throw them to you, and you can get out of the cell. Hide among the pillars in the hallway and try to render the guard and the prince unconscious. I've memorized the escape route," I told him seriously and in clear whispers.
"I'll use the leftover bandage from the nights to make a rope. My guard always falls asleep. While he's asleep, I'll strangle him. I'm sure I can fit under the helmet. But..." he looked at me with concern.
"Do you know that if you try to fight, you'll be punished?" he whispered worriedly.
"I know the consequences, but it's not too high a price if we can escape," I said seriously and in clear whispers.
"When they take me, we'll start the plan. Good night," I said as I prepared to sleep.
"Good night," he said, still worried.
Upon waking up, the guard entered the cell and forced me to get up. Once they closed the cell, I began to attack the guard. Taking advantage of his distraction, I threw the keys to Nolan, although the guard didn't hear them due to the noise of my blows. While he tried to catch me, he hit me in the face, and I gave up. Nolan already had the keys, so it didn't matter. One of the guards accompanied the prince, leaving the other one sitting in a chair. Now everything depended on Nolan, while I was taken to the prince.
"He started to fight, seems like he wanted to escape," the guard told the prince.
"Mmm, I wanted to test my spells on something," the prince said with a malicious smile.
With some ropes, he tied my wrists and hung me from the ceiling several meters away. He stepped back, and golden birds materialized.
"First falcon!" the prince exclaimed, and the bird flew towards me at great speed. It hit me with force.
"Hahaha! How amusing! Second falcon!" he laughed, enjoying my pain.
"Third falcon!" he materialized another falcon, but this time, I could see Nolan's silhouette. I was surprised when he jumped and snapped the guard's neck, leaving his body on the ground without making a sound. He approached the prince slowly and struck him on the head, knocking him out.
"I told you to render them both unconscious!" I shouted in pain.
"Be grateful that I didn't kill the prince!" Nolan exclaimed, breaking the rope that kept me prisoner. Apparently, sharing half of my food for seven days according to the changing of the guard that happens every night, wasn't a bad decision.
"We have to get out quickly. The guards might come since they didn't hear screams of pain. But first, we need to find something to treat your wounds," Nolan said, visibly exhausted.
"My condition doesn't matter now," I said in pain, starting to run.
"By the way, I don't think it's the right time, but I also killed the guard who was guarding me," he whispered to me as we hid behind a column.
"Really? What's gotten into you?" I tried not to shout.
"It was either that or risk him waking up and ruining our entire plan," he told me. Although I didn't want to admit it, he was right. We started running.
"Do you still remember the way?" he asked me, running behind me.
"Yes, we're very close. Our cell is near the door, and I see the corpse you left behind," I said with a touch of mockery. I didn't leave a single moment free to annoy him, although at least I tried to hide it to appear as if I were asleep. We kept running a little further. "Now we just have to turn left, and we'll see the exit."
"I found Jonathan with a broken neck and the prince unconscious!" a guard shouted.
With that, we increased our speed and turned a corner, but we were spotted by a guard who managed to catch and grab my arm. I refuse, I refuse to continue with this kind of life! Suddenly, the guard was impaled by a solid mass of blood coming out of my arm wounds, but then it turned back into liquid and returned to my body. Just as I saw that Nolan was about to be killed by a spear, it disintegrated upon touching his body. I noticed that his arms and back were made of stone, and he struck the spearman, denting his metal helmet.
"We have to run; the noise could have attracted attention," I quickly told him.
"Did you see what I did?" he asked, looking at his hand, which had turned into stone.
"We'll think about that later; more guards could come at any moment," I scolded him, snapping him out of his shock.
"Nathaniel, your wounds have disappeared," he said, and as he mentioned it, I looked at my chest, which was intact, along with my arms, and my nails had grown back.
"Quick, don't stay lost in thought now," I urged him, and we started running again. We were so close, about to make it out. The best part was that they left the door open. But when I saw it, a blinding light enveloped me, and suddenly I wasn't in that basement anymore. Now I was in a luxurious room, facing a woman with white hair and blue eyes. She looked at me kindly and smiled.
"Son, come here," she said kindly. But why did she call me that? Is she my mother? Now that I think about it, the man who announces the numbers at the masked people's meetings mentioned that he had the same numbers as this woman. But what surprised me the most was that I went to her side without hesitation; my body moved on its own.
"What a beautiful smile you have." What? Am I smiling? She hugged me and began to stroke my head. "Will you keep that lovely smile forever? Promise me." What is this feeling? It's warm, is this what they call a mother's love?
"Yes, mother, I promise," I instinctively responded.
"Always remember to keep smiling. It means remembering that happiness and joy are with you and can reach you," she said, and everything around me disappeared. I looked around again, and we were finally outside, but...
"Now we know why there aren't so many guards down there," he told me as we observed all the guards. Some archers were aiming at us while guards with unsheathed swords approached slowly.
"They're not just guards, they're knights," he told me.
"They're not just guards, they're better-equipped knights, and some of them can use magic," he corrected me.
"Is there a difference?" I asked as I watched the guards getting closer and closer.
"They're better equipped, and some have the ability to use magic," he explained.
"Not everyone can use magic?" I asked with curiosity.
"Only some have that ability," he replied. It was good to know more, so I grabbed Nolan's shoulders and turned him around to protect him from the arrows that bounced off his body.
"Can you tell me why you used me as a human shield?" he asked me angrily.
"Shhh, focus," I said seriously.
This is just the beginning.