The morning of the auction went by unnoticed as many of the children slept until late into the evening. No light was present in the cellar and the only indication of night and day was from when they got fed their meals. One meal was brought in the morning, this would let the children know it was day time. Once they felt their bodies slowing down and the adults yelled at them to sleep, they knew it was nighttime. Lizzie and Beth had only gotten glimpses of rest in between their frantic thoughts, the shadows on the walls only playing into these sleep deprived fantasies.
When the food arrived to be passed out among the children by the older kids, Lizzie and Beth joined the small lines formed to get their portion. It was all muscle memory at this point. Lizzie was not sure how long her body had been there, but it had been around a week since she took it over. The boy from last night who whispered in her ear was the one handing out the food, once it reached Lizzie at the end of the line he raised his hands and shrugged.
"Sorry, that's all I have." He said as he put his hands on his hips, "Maybe if you took my advice and slept well you could have gotten up sooner to get in line."
Lizzie was infuriated, only shooting him another glare before turning to sit with Beth who had received food right before her.
"Where's yours?" Beth asked, feeling better after having some food to clear her mind. Lizzie only shook her head and leaned back, watching the boy eat double his portion.
"A rat stole it." Lizzie said angrily, though a bit of sympathy bled through her tone. The boy was so much younger than her and despite him towering over her, she could tell he was all skin and bones. Beth looked worried and broke off a piece of her bread and handed it to Lizzie.
Lizzie's anger vanished instantly as she took the bread and smiled at Beth, "Thanks."
She really is such a good kid.
Lizzie thought as she bit into the sliver of bread that was her breakfast, lunch and dinner. Beth's thoughts were different however. Beth watched Lizzie eat the bread and fought the urge to hold onto her tightly again. She had been alone for weeks in this place, finally met Lizzie and felt like she had something to cling to. Now this auction business was about to fork them apart indefinitely, it simply was not fair. How come everything had to disappear from her sight? What did she ever do?
This might be the last time I see Lizzie smile…
Beth thought sadly, feeling powerless to do anything to change their fate. She had gone through so many scenarios in her mind instead of sleeping. Running away together was a bust as they would not have any money or any place to go even if they made it out. It's not like either of them would be hired for a job at their young age. Perhaps somehow getting bought by the same person, but that would be hard to pull off. One of them would have to convince whoever bought them to buy the other. Maybe hiding from the auction, but the adults would know they were missing children and where would they even hide?
"Lizzie, I don't want to be separated." Beth said quietly, reaching over to hold Lizzie's hand. It was the only thing she had at this point that was hers.
"...me neither," Lizzie replied, sad on the outside but internally smiling ear to ear.
She doesn't want to be separated!? That's perfect! Brilliant! I've certainly made an impact on Beth! There's no doubt she'll at least beg the duke to buy me as well! Maybe I've hit the jackpot afterall? My chances look bright!
As Lizzie was riding that high after a sleepless night of worry, the adults came in and started ushering the kids out in lines. Many rushed to shove their food into their mouths, knowing they would most likely not have a chance to eat it later.
"Come on!" One fairly large and burly man said as he pushed kids back to back out the cellar. He led them up some stairs and down a hallway. That was all Lizzie could see as the trail of kids turned the corner and disappeared from sight. It was a terrifying experience as the man came closer to Lizzie and Beth's area.
It was a step-by-step operation here. The man would come in and pull the kids out, pushing them to another man waiting by the cellar entrance to tie the children's hands together. Once their hands were tied, the children would be dragged down the hallway by a few different people that keep the children herded together like sheep. Soon enough they'd be brought behind the auction stage as it was cleaned and prepped for the first item to be sold. Soft murmurs alongside a heavy air filled with smoke of some kind as a horde of finely dressed people waited to be escorted into the seating area. Many were looking for a new servant, possible guard dog, or for any other heinous reason that varied greatly depending on the person's tastes. Among these was Duke Earnest hidden behind a mask and blending into the crowd. He was not here for any of the reasons the others were here for, Duke Earnest was looking for a child with powerful dormant magic.
He had overheard from a friend that recently a family of lower standing nobility had taken in a girl only to lose her due to "unfortunate circumstances". Rumors ranged from murder to abandonment but Duke Earnest was interested enough in this situation to look into it. After some research and because the plot demands he must be the one to rescue the helpless female lead from her fate, the duke had discovered that Beth's parents both had strong magical power and he had found out her current whereabouts. Curiosity led him to the auction to see if Beth could possibly also have this strong magical power, if so she would be a great investment for the future.
If you knew where she would be, why didn't you just bust into the place and take her for free!? While you're at it I'm sure I could tag along as well, right? Shitty dad! Letting your future daughter suffer through all this just because you don't want to cause any trouble! Don't you cause scenes at events already? What's the point of trying to be 'rational' now!?
Lizzie's internal cries only were amplified as she thought about this situation. Duke Earnest had really not given a damn until meeting Beth, Lizze was sure he felt awful later on in the novel for not coming to get his precious investment sooner. Still, he had better thank her on his hands and knees that she took care of Beth in his absence. Without Lizzie, Beth would have certainly starved and been kissed by that freakshow of a boy!
The man who was pulling the children out finally reached Lizzie and Beth. Lizzie was more than willing to go and give that duke a piece of her mind but Beth was unmoving. Beth had firmly held onto Lizzie's arm while refusing to stand up. Standing up and going with this man meant that she would never see Lizzie again in her mind. However Beth was so small and fragile that it barely took a flick of the man's wrist to lift her up forcefully. Beth started to scream and fight with the man, Lizzie was shocked and rushed to calm her down
"Woah, Beth, it's alright." Lizzie turned and attempted to stop Beth's screaming but she bit the man who was holding her on her feet. The man quickly dropped Beth in surprise, causing her to be slammed back onto the ground. He was beyond furious and went to attack Beth when Lizzie swiftly lifted her up and pulled them both outside the cellar towards the man tying hands.
"Beth, you almost got yourself killed!" Lizzie said angrily as the man stood a couple of feet back, contemplating whether or not to follow and get revenge. Beth had barely broken the man's skin, a slight bit of blood in the corner of her mouth. Lizzie wiped it with her tattered sleeve and continued to pull them both along behind the other kids. Beth did not say another word and only held onto Lizzie, the man tying the children's hands having to pry her off to do his job. After both of them were sufficiently bound, Beth still stuck close to Lizzie the whole walk up to the backstage. Lizzie found it hard to walk with Beth so closely behind her but could not find the words to reprimand her further. It was only when they reached backstage and when the adrenaline of pulling Beth out of that situation with the man that Lizzie realized her fatal error.
I'm in front of Beth.
Lizzie thought, her face paling. If she was in front of Beth, that meant she was to go on stage first and that meant there was no saving her. What good is her plan of Beth convincing the duke to buy her if she's already sold!? Lizzie glanced behind at Beth.
"Hey, Beth…" Lizzie paused and wondered how to phrase her question.
Do you want to switch spots? Hey, how about I throw you to the wolves first? But it's ok because you'll be saved by a duke! There's no way she would go for that, and if I pushed her in front of me she would be less likely to attempt to convince the duke to buy me as well!
Beth peered up at Lizzie, slight fear and worry in her eyes as she laid her head on Lizzie's shoulder. Her expression of defeat and pain shut Lizzie up immediately, she couldn't possibly tell this poor child to go first before her! Beth looked so incredibly innocent and scared, Lizzie started saying soft words of comfort instead of her question. It did indeed seem like all was lost. Lizzie felt herself building up the courage to ask as she heard people file into their seats. The whispers all mixed together to make quite the racket, it scared Beth even more and she hid her face in Lizzie once again.
"Beth…I-I know this is going to sound bad but-"
"Ladies and Gentleman!" A loud voice on the stage boomed and overshadowed Lizzie's further words, "Thank you all for coming tonight! We have many special items on this auction today so please stick around until the end! Please welcome our first special item of the night…"
As the man trailed off and glanced backstage, the child in the very front of the line was about to be brought out when the man Beth bit earlier stopped them with his hand. He walked by and grabbed Beth roughly by the arm and pulled her away from Lizzie, causing her to flail her arms out in despair.
"This one first," The burly man said as he pushed Beth towards the stage hands. They complied and each took a hold of Beth's shoulders.
Hallelujah! No way, did the gods smile down upon me to give me a second chance? I know I should not be cheering for a child getting sold, but I know only good things await her! Now to settle in and pray that Beth will be able to convince the duke to buy me as well. Please Beth! I beg of you!
Lizzie put her hands together and shook them a bit before peering to look at the stage where Beth was brought out.
"Ladies and Gentleman, take a look at this beauty," The announcer leaned down, "What's your name, lovely lady?"
"B…Beth," Beth said, shaking like a leaf as she glanced behind her to look at Lizzie.
"Beth! Now take a look at this shining pink hair, and for those in the back, she has gorgeous green eyes!" The announcer leads Beth to the front of the stage, parading her around as he lifts up locks of her hair to show to the crowd. Beth could barely even glance at the crowd before gluing her eyes to the floor. It did not take long for the bets to start rolling in.
"One thousand."
"Two thousand!"
It's begun…the auction scene!
Lizzie watched with bated breath, quotes from the novel popping up in her mind. She had enjoyed this scene in the original novel despite how cliche it was. The female lead, terrified, about to be sold to a terrible fate as the numbers only increase. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, it is not looking good for her when…
"100 million."
Yes! A truly outrageous amount of money that no one else can match! Honestly I never understood why the duke's in these stories yell out such a large sum of money, surely no one would have fought with ten million, why one hundred? Do you really need to flaunt your wealth in this den of child traffickers? It's not like you're ever coming back here!
Lizzie nods as none other than Duke Earnest calls out the number, leaving everyone besides her in complete shock.
"One…One hundred million!!" The announcer yells with gusto, no one else dares to bet higher for fear of their wallet's health. Beth looks towards the voice that bought her but is unable to make out who it was in the crowd. Before being ushered off the stage towards the duke, Beth turns one more time to Lizzie. She mouths the word 'goodbye'.
No! Not "goodbye"!! Go convince your dad to buy me too! Please Beth!
Soon enough Beth was gone off the stage and the auction continued. Lizzie's previous excitement towards seeing one of her favorite scenes unfold before her eyes drained away, was this really going to be goodbye? There's no way…right?