The Slave Auction (1) - 9

A/N: The windows that I refer to in the castle are just places where the stone walls have an opening, there isn't actual glass or anything, they are just holes to the outside world.

"I'm going to the upcoming slave auction here in the city."

Hearing this, both women immediately put on worried faces.

"W-why would you need to do that, Ly?"

Hearing her call me by my actual name, I knew that she was about to scold me.

"No, it isn't for the reason that you are thinking of. You think that I would actually want those kinds of things? I'm a kid for god's sake!"

"Then why would you need a slave?"

"Do you think that just the two of you can do all the work in this castle by yourselves? Because no sane maid would ever take the job, I just thought that slaves would be the next best alternative."

"..."

"I guess that makes sense, but Young Master, are you sure?"

"Of course, I can't have you getting too old on me now, can I?"

Seeing my eyes filled with warmth staring at Char, they both knew that I wasn't doing this for vile reasons, and that I was actually doing this because I was worried about the their healths.

And with that, I was able to convince the both of them.

"The date of the event is tomorrow, I'll inform them that we're going."

"Oh yeah, one thing, make sure we're seated with the regular audience."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, after all, I'm no longer a noble."

Hearing the apparent sadness in my voice at the end of the sentence, they both knew that there was nothing more to talk about, bowed, and left the room.

Sitting up in my bed, I swung me legs over the side, slipped my feet into my cotton slippers, and then walked out of the room, not forgetting to put on a heavy cloak beforehand.

Running my hands against the cold, rough walls of the castle, I walked for a few minutes before ascending up a set of stairs, reaching the highest point in the castle, the mythical Tower Room, where many heriones had once been trapped.

Looking out the window, where the cold air was blowing through, I decided to do the first test of my powers.

Remebering that I had set my activation word to "Angel" I proceeded.

"Angel: The cold is lukewarm."

Immediately after I said this, I felt a power rushing out of me, and my senses were tricked into thinking that the air around me was room temperature.

"Angel: The place I point at will be what my body will define as "Down" for the next 5 minutes."

Then, I jumped out of the window.

Immediately after I felt myself falling, I pointed at the outside walls of the castle.

Right afterwards, I was pulled to the side, as my feet landed on the outside walls of the castle.

Honestly, it was extremely weird, as my whole world was suddenly shifted to the side.

I tested out a few steps, and after finding that I was safe, I started running around the tower in glee.

Once I was bored of that, I walked to the top of the tower like it was nothing and stood at the tip.

Standing there, with my hands behind my back, my cloak blowing through the cold blizzard snow, I just looked into the absolute grayness.

I mean, after a while, I had gotten used to these forever blizzard like conditions here in the north, and by now, the grayness was comforting.

Standing there for another minute, my internal clock then told me that it was about time, so I jumped off the tip, where, right afterwards, my body tilted towards the tower walls.

I aimed myself through the window, and just then, the timer hit the 5 minute mark, and my definition of "Down" redefined itself, and I was back to standing calmly on the floor.

Smiling at the perfection of my execution, I then proceeded to dust off all the snow on my cloak before descending back down the tower.

I was ready for tomorrow, for whatever it might bring.

...

Leaving in a modest carriage, I sat next to Char whilst Gwen sat on the other side.

Bored, I leaned my head against Char's side as she put her arm around my shoulder.

I closed my eyes, feeling safe in her embrace, like a child to their mother's, as I listened to the sounds of the carriage rolling on the stone, and the wind howling outside.

We spent the rest of the carriage ride in silence, Gwen just softly staring at me and studying me during the entire time.

...

Once we arrived, Char and Gwen got out first before helping me out.

Feeling the bite of the frosty wind and the snow, I quickly pulled my hood up, before I was ushered into the auction house with Gwen and Char at my sides.

Once I felt the warmth, I lifted my head and quickly pulled my hood off, finding myself in the reception area of the building.

Seeing this, Char immediately slapped a mask onto my face, as that was standard auction procedure.

Putting on some masks themselves, they each showed a card to a guard and I showed mine.

The guard then stepped aside, and we were allowed into the auction house.

Reading my ticket, I followed Char and Gwen to our seats, as I sat in the middle seat, with them on either side of me.

As I sat down, I saw that there was a paddle tied to a chain that was tied to my seat, the auction paddle.

My number was 339.

'I wonder if this is just a coincidence?'

Well, putting that out of my thoughts, I just blankly stared into space as we waited for the rest of the auction house to fill up, but, by the time the auction started, there were only 20 participants at the most, a very sorry number for the esteemed auction house.

But, who could blame them? After all, it was the Winter months and nobody dared travel in anything other than a carriage in this weather.

And, even finding a coachman that could successfully navigate through this weather was expensive enough.

Well, anyways, I finally was shaken out of my stupor by the voice of the Auction Host saying,

"Let the auction begin!"