Ethan Ashbridge and Felix Darkwood were renowned figures among the elites. They were often referred to as the "ruthless two," a moniker coined by the ladies of the elven realm.
At a young age Ethan was taken in by Felix's parents following the loss of his own. And having grown up together, despite their differing personalities, they both shared values and ideologies that built their unbreakable bond.
Felix exuded a cold, stoic demeanor. His thoughts were always straightforward, and his words always direct. He preferred immersing himself in books during leisure time, a contrast to the playful Ethan, who spent hours locked away in his laboratory, experimenting with potions and defense spells.
Ethan's public persona mirrored Felix's seriousness—composed and yet slightly mischievous. Yet, his private self was a different story.
Both men were striking, with Ethan at twenty-two and Felix at twenty-four. (Please remember that Elves physically age slower than humans so that isn't Felix exact age.) Despite their attractiveness and status, they had yet to engage in any significant romantic relationships, prompting elite mothers of both Specials and creatures to aim for their attention on their daughters.
"Prince Darkwood, Duke Ashbridge," the Commander greeted with an obvious forced smile. "What brings you here so early in the day?" He was accustomed to seeing prince Felix at auctions and occasionally during open sales. However, the presence of the duke was a rarity, limited to just two previous occasions.
Felix arched an eyebrow in response. "What other reason would I have for being here, Commander, except to purchase workers? Or do you have undisclosed business that the council knows nothing of?"
Katrin observed the Commander's trembling form, and became more invested in the conversation. The mere presence of these men commanded attention, as the staffs around and even some slaves stopped, stared, and whispered before quickly retreating.
"Of course not," the portly man hurriedly replied. "It's just that you usually frequent the auctioning hall, not directly here at the house. It's... surprising."
"There's a first time for everything," The duke remarked, amusement tingeing his tone.
While the men conversed, Katrin's gaze shifted to the brown-haired man—Duke Ethan—who stayed quietly and composed, he stood beside Prince Felix, his face indifferent and ever so often, he would grin at his brother's remarks.
Their eyes met once again and Katrin felt a jolt in her chest. She attempted to avert her gaze, but his enthralling blue eyes held her captive, as though she were caught in a trance. He eventually broke the connection, his eyes tracing her form before he scoffed and turned away, leaving her puzzled.
The duke had noticed Katrin from the moment they had entered. He found her intriguing—the way her emerald eyes darted around and assessed them, her suppressed laughter as she observed the Commander's reactions, and the peculiar aura that clung to her. It was faint but present, a curiosity given that she appeared no different from a typical human. So why the powerful aura?
His gaze swept over her and he noticed her trembling legs, the scuff marks on her shoes, and the tell-tale rumbling of her stomach. She was hungry. "You don't seem to treat your merchandise very well, Mr. Barth."
"Excuse me?" the Commander responded, his shield of calmness unravelling.
Ethan sighed softly. "I'm just trying to help you Grayson. Look at her." He gestured toward Katrin, making her the center of attention. "Dirty clothes, trembling legs, tattered shoes. The poor girl appears starved and frail."
Katrin's mouth fell open in astonishment. His observations were somewhat accurate, she hadn't gotten the chance to eat yesterday, because her sisters told her not too. But she wished he had been a bit more discreet.
The Commander's gaze finally turned to Katrin, noticing her for the first time since he'd approached Nigel. The duke was right—Katrin looked terrible. But the question that lingered within him was why did the duke, and not just any duke but Duke Ethan Ashbridge, show concern for an insignificant human slave girl?
But refrained from asking, wary of being blacklisted by the high-ranking individual.
"Nigel." he called his employee who was standing there still slightly dazed from the slap earlier, but he was quick to answer to his name in fear of receiving another one. "Get the girl to the bath house and have someone get her new shoes and serve her food".
"Yes sir." Nick nodded, bowed then proceeded to leave dragging the slave along by the rope when a slight scoff from The Duke stopped him in his tracks.
Ethan mentally laughed at how quick the Commander was to abide by his wishes. Felix was right these people here would do anything to get on the good side of the elites, even take care of the slaves they oh so despised. But he was curious to test more into that theory. He moved over to the Commander's side and gently rapped his arm over the frightened man shoulders. "Wait." He called to them calmly. Katrin turned around and was quick to notice the way the left corner of his lips had lifted up forming a small but noticeable smirk.
Felix on the other hand; could hear the rapidly increasing rate of the Commander's heart beat due to his skilled elf ears and was a little bit interested on what new mischief his brother had planned out.
"D-do you need anything else sir?" The Commander stuttered; he could feel the streams of cold sweat slowly rolling down his back. "Relax," Ethan reassured, patting down his meaty chest, "I just want to talk to you about your choice in..." His eyes moved and landed on Nick "...staff. I mean, I don't think hiring lean men, with little to no body muscles is good for your business. Don't you think brother?"
"Wh-what do you mean?" The Commander asked, in fear of what the conversation might lead to. Ethan sighed pitifully, "I'm just trying to help you, I mean what if one day a slave escapes and your staff can't catch them; that wouldn't be good for you, would it?"
The commander immediately understood, and without hesitation with fear for his life, he quickly broke the bad news to his employee, "Nick, I'm sorry to inform you but you've been relieved of your duties. Report to the weapons at once and turn in your things and entry pass."
"What?" Nick breathing paused, his face slowly turned as white as the clouds, "Commander, are you firing me? Y-you can't be serious." He looked the commander straight in the eyes and found no signs of it being a joke. The realization kicked in and he immediately fell to his knees, letting his head touch the floor. "Pl-please Commander, Please I'm begging you. A have a sick mother to take care of and I need this job. No other places are willing to hire someone that looks like me and is uneducated. Please, please reconsider."
As Katrin watched she felt her heart sting with pity. Yes, this man had treated her poorly. Yes, he'd hurt her, but before that all he was still human, and anybody would do anything out of desperation to keep a loved one alive, even she. The smile which had started to form on Ethan's face pulled back as he felt the aura around Katrin slightly pulse, it was like it was trying to do or say something. He scanned the girl's face and noticed that she seemed to look worried about the worker which slightly confused him.
This man had treated her badly; she should be wishing his death. As he believed, bad people should be punished for their bad deeds. He glanced at the prince and noticed that his brother was giving him the 'you're going too far, I'm warning you, this isn't your lab' look. He sighed and rolled his eyes, deciding to end the fun. "Fine," Katrin heard the duke mutter before he slipped his hand off and patted the Commander's back.
"Let's change our minds," he said moving back to his original spot by Prince Felix, "Maybe he might have a little potential and not be as useless as you thought, I mean he did get you such a beautiful item for display." He looked over at Katrin and sent her a subtle wink. Katrin felt her cheeks redden and she quickly looked away from the duke.
The prince cleared his throat before speaking to the shocked stricken Commander, "Shall we move our discussion to the meeting room Commander?".
"O-of course" The plump man stammered out of his daze, he moves aside and used his hand to gesture the way, "This way, please sirs".
The three men left leaving Katrin and Nick, who was still on the floor trying to put himself together, she had to wait till he was done before he led her to bath house.
The building was a very spacious room with hundreds of buckets stacked outside. Nick had told her to pick one before he led her to a large watering hole outback. She filled the bucket to what she could carry before they headed back to the building. he told to go in while he waited for her at a bench across the door.
Katrin stepped in and was relieved to find no one in the house; she stood at a corner and took off her cloth pieces, using a little water she cleaned off any dirt stains on them as well as possible. When she was done; she placed the cloths where she was sure they wouldn't get soaked and began to bathe. The water was cold and it sent shivers down her spine, plus she could feel a cold draft somewhere letting the wind in. She subconsciously reached for the bottle hanging round her neck and surprisingly gave her a little warmth.
Once she was done, she quickly got dressed, she couldn't afford to catch a cold now. Taking the bucket out with her she returned it to its original spot before going to meet Nick.
Nick was in awe struck when he saw the lady walking towards him, she looked beautiful. Last night was too dark so he'd had not gotten a clear look as her, and this morning she had been dirtied by the cart along with when he had thrown her to the ground that he'd barely wanted to look at her. But now that it was daylight and she'd clean up so well there was no denying that she was a beauty, maybe not the prettiest but her appearance would surely turn heads.
Regretfully, Nick had to maintain professionalism else he might have offered to help her. A pang of guilt pierced him—such a gem would be squandered in the clutches of greedy elites. They would likely flaunt her at parties, even share her with friends. Shaking his head, he steeled himself, focusing on escorting her to the kitchen. In a matter of hours, she would be sold off.