"Are you really going to leave? You"ve been of excellent help lately" the news of Darren"s plans for departure from their small town saddened Maria and her children. They"d suddenly lost their appet.i.te, and the kids were fighting back their tears. No one told wonderful stories like Darren did. It wasn"t a surprise that he got along with kids. He felt somewhat more comfortable around them than he did when he was amidst those in his age group. The older kids mocked him because of his comfort zone, but he wasn"t ashamed of it. He was sure he"d be a better father than all of them that laughed at him.
"The few months I spent here were amazing. If I had money with me right now, I would have handed it to you all without thinking twice. There"s nothing I can do but write a money statement you should give to the exchange merchant whenever one comes around. I"ve packed up and I"ll be leaving before the sunrise. It is about time I ventured back home, " Artemis and Zircon were both gone. There was no need to search for the gems anymore. Besides, he had something he wanted to find out from his father.
"I thank you all once again for your hospitality. It"s been a while since I"ve enjoyed the comfort of people that weren"t my family. Thank you for the meal, and you all should eat to. I"ll come back some day to see the new cub, I prince Darren, promise you that."
After the blackness of night, the sun rose like a flower opening, gifting its petals unto the world, spreading its gold in every direction. Peach and magneta, amber and rose, radiated hope and an overwhelming feeling of luck. It was another chance to live and the start of a brand new day.
Sparrows chirped an explicit background melody on the trees that rustled gently in the morning breeze. In a moment, Darren was cast in the gold tingle of the sky, and was bathed in a rosy glow as his mind meandered to the family that stood by to send him off.
He got on the horse and smiled at them. He"d miss the time they shared, he"d miss the bar, he"d miss the little play time he had with the girls and he"d definitely miss his bond with Ludovic.
Speaking of Ludovic, the older wolfman approached him but before he could speak Darren blurted out his words first "You better get yourself a beastwoman and settle down."
A smirk appeared of Ludovic"s face after Darren uttered the same thing he was planning to say, "I could say the same to you. Get yourself a woman while you"re still young. Discover what s.e.x is like with someone you love, that is your last task from me."
"I"ll try my best. And I"ll try my best to train once I get back to my domain. THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN!" They waved, watching the horse gallop down the path leading away from the town, and with time the prince was out of their sight.
Wispy cotton clouds gradually acc.u.mulated high above, and an eagle beat its wing as it soured into the sky right above Darren. He had no clue where the road was leading to, but one thing was for sure. He had to discover the truth, if he"d been living a lie all along.
Once the horse had covered a distance, he stopped for a break and took it to a river to drink water before he gave it a few carrots to eat. He settled on a rock and pulled out some steamed buns from the basket full of food that could last for five days at least before he"d have to stick to wild fruits along the way.
"MOVE ALL YE STUPID SLAVES!" Darren swallowed the buns at one go once he heard the booming voice that startled him. He made his way through the bushes, following the direction the sound came from and the footsteps of the small squirrels that scurried away from the humans and few beastmen on the other side.
His eyes darted to each slave, and he gasped at his discovery, Artemis was part of them. After so long he"d finally seen her again, but he didn"t expect she"d be in a terrible state. She claimed to be smarter than him and all that sort, but she still ended up in the hands of a slave master. He scoffed as he turned away, "That"ll teach her a lesson." Before he could cross the river again, he sighed "I"ll help her. Just this last time."
He rode the horse through petal-freckled fields, following the caravans full of slaves to the unknown. He guessed an auction was going to start anytime soon. It was about time.
He waited while the slaves set up the tent, following the slave master"s direction, and Artemis happened to be part of those in charge of the tent. Once night had draped the world, different carriages stopped by the colossal tent, while Darren arrived on a horse. Those that saw him laughed at him because they thought of him as someone poor. He didn"t mind them. Nothing they"d say or do would make him take off his mask and reveal his true ident.i.ty.
Along with the other beastmen, he made his way into the dome, took a seat and waited for the auction to begin. A man dressed in a white jerkin with a trim-fit brown coat and a pair of brown pants moved to the stage. A long chain of slaves followed, and Artemis was the last of them.
"She"s certainly the one" He could tell from the distance. Her hair barely combed ponytail, and the dirt smeared across her cheek and forehead made her look different from who she used to be, but Darren was sure that was Artemis.
He waited for Artemis"s turn as the n.o.bles called prices out for every slave that was stripped and put on display for those interested in buying if they were satisfied with their looks. An hour had pa.s.sed, and it finally got to Artemis"s turn.
The slave master drew his gloves over his stubby-fingered hands and began to touch the last slave on display. She turned her face away the whole time, but the moment the slave master t.i.tled it to the crowd"s direction, Darren got a perfect view of her diamond-shaped face.
Murmurs filled the atmosphere after the Slave master gave a rundown of her features including her magical presence. "That"s Armin."
Since no one was willing to buy her Darren was going to seize the opportunity, and Ali, the slave master was going to slice her in half. The slave master"s twin eyes of dark caverns settled on the sword he carried around his waist, and he unsheathed it. Darren took note of it and quickly called out a price without thinking of it "A thousand gold!!!"
The voice caught the attention of all the beastmen, and they stared in wonderment. It was hard to believe that someone would be stupid enough to waste such an amount of money on a human girl that wasn"t worth a dime. They hissed, and some silently insulted his decision.
"Sold!!!"
Ali screamed out. He didn"t think she"d sell up to that amount. The profit he made from her flushed away his feelings of regret, and it overwhelmed him with joy right after. The slave master invited him to the back of the stage, where he would dispatch all the slaves and take money from them. Since he was the last, he"d be attended to right after he was done with the others that purchased before him.
"Greetings young sir" Ali walked up to Darren with a parchment in his hand "Are you familiar with the steps of buying a slave?"
He shook his head, "My first one."
"That"s all right. All you have to do is choose the slave mark you want and give us a few drops of your blood." The requirements sounded shady, but that was how most slave contracts were made. He nodded in agreement, grabbed a knife and slit his palm. He watched his blood slowly drop into a container, and a smile appeared on the slave master"s face, "Do you have a specific mark in mind?"
Darren thought for a minute. "Well, I"d like the sign of this necklace marked on her chest."
Ali scrutinized it, then turned for the small inn he"d set up with his magic "Give me a few minutes. I"ll call you when it"s time to see the mark."
Artemis"s sudden scream pounded his eardrums, and it faded after a minute. The slave master walked out with blood-stained gloves and pulled them off his hands then tossed them to the ground. Darren feared he"d done something to her womb without his instruction.
"Did you do anything to her womb?"
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