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Kelski’s first experience with the slave trade had been among the Svefra. Her life there had been restricted but not terrible. Even K’irr had treated her well. Her second experience being a slave had been with Jaren, her current owner, and her life with him had been incredibly comfortable. He did things she didn’t like, and her movements and life choices were completely restricted… but life with him wasn’t this.
This.
She’d balked as Jaren had ordered her dressed and decorated for a trip to town. He did that occasionally, parading her around with him like an exotic toy. Someone had come in and dressed her hair in piles and artful curls up on her head and then she’d been given the barest of ornate of clothing - a black bralet and a pair of thin equally ornate black briefs that were made of thin silk and decorated with gems. Then her lips had been painted to cover their blackness and her eyes had been heavily kohled and powdered so they looked smoked out. A rouge had been added to her cheeks that made her look like she’d been running and was flushed. Then a warm cloak had been tossed over her in deep black velvet so that when she walked, one got a glimpse of her porcelain white skin and the barest of clothing she wore, but nothing else. Kidskin slippers were placed on her feet though their soles were made with a thicker stuff that would hold up in the mud that sometimes lined the streets.
Jaren had looked her over and nodded when she’d been presented as ‘finished’ to him. He was equally dressed up, in velvet and brocade with a mixture of armor and weapons that made him look dangerously rich. A silver leash was attached to her collar and handed to him. He flicked the chain which bounced off Kelski’s chin uncomfortably and he told her to kneel. She did so, dropping her gaze, not the least bit submissive but playing the role for the sake of things. Kelski wasn’t sure what was going on, and was even half afraid Jaren was going to sell her or gift her to someone, so she kept quiet.
He walked over to her and reached down to finger her forehead and trace her jawline. “I want you to be the envy of all the other men at this gathering, Kelski. There is a high-end auction at the slave market and a lot of my peers will be there. We will all be overlooking the merchandise and some will even be bidding. There’s nothing there I want, according to the catalog, but it never pays to avoid these scenes because sometimes the auctioneer is fickle and won’t invite you back if you snub their gatherings. There will be food and drink and a great deal of conversation, which means opportunities for me. I want you to be seen. I want you to be envied. I want men to covet you. And if someone tries to touch you, I want you to look directly at me. I will nod or shake my head if It is allowed or not. If someone touches you without my permission, you will be punished. If you embarrass me, you will be punished. I want you seen but not heard. If I allow someone to touch you, I want you cooperative. These things can get very decadent and sensual.” He said firmly.
“You might even see things that shock you. Do not react.” He instructed. Favors are bought and sold at these things, and you might very well buy me a favor or two with your pretty face and body. Do it if I ask you to. If you refuse, I will be embarrassed, and your life will be forfeit. Please me and I’ll reward you.” He said simply enough.
Kelski understood what he was saying. With Jaren, it was all about appearances, not reality. He set up his world in regards to how people perceived him, and that worked for him because it meant he could do as little as possible in regards to effort while reaping rewards he rarely deserved. And while it wasn’t Kelski’s ethics, it was her current situation and she had to navigate within its unspoken rules.
The Kelvic nodded. She did understand clearly.
Jaren nodded, and with his retainers and hand-picked Dragoons, they left. A few chimes later and a brief ride in a coach, brought them to the outskirts of the slave market. Kelski looked neither right nor left, avoiding making eye contact with the men, women, and children the cages held. Jaren proudly toured the market, even nodding to a plain looking woman with a whip. Kelski tried to remain unphased, but the abject misery in the slave market didn’t leave her unaffected. It instead reinforced how well she had it among the Sun’s Birth and namely in Jaren’s care. This could have easily been her, though she doubted K’irr would have sent her to a place such as this when he got top dollar in a far more lucrative way instead. Her footsteps slowed, and Jaren had to tug on her leash more than once until she snapped out of it and fell in behind him as was proper. But he was patient because he felt it was good for his slave to see this festering side of the city.
They halted at last in front of a non-descript building where others of Jaren’s level of wealth were mingling and speaking, not yet going in. Some where commenting on the events to come, but others were simply and obviously there to be seen and to see who was also there to be seen. Kelski didn’t find herself alone. There were other ornate slaves on leashes and there were even a couple that were more outrageously outfitted. Jaren engaged in animated conversation with several, obviously knowing them well, before the screams started.
Kelski froze when the first sound of terrified human filled the air. If not for the leash she would have lost Jaren in the ensuing chaos as their Dragoons closed around them and chaos broke out. She caught glimpses of a beast, but more than that she saw the remains of where the beast had been. Bodies littered the area almost immediately, and Kelski found her fine kidskin slippers found no purchase on the bloodstained brick in front of the building. She slid around, watching Jaren and his Dragoons draw weapons as the crowd panicked and some of the cages shattered that contained slaves from the main market.
“Go go go… we need to get out of here.” Jaren said almost calmly as he turned, yanking on Kelski’s leash, and picked a direction. The coaches were gone, so too were most of the affluent that had gathered for the auction which Kelski seriously doubted would be held now. Slaves and citizens ran everywhere, and she even jerked her leash a bit as Jaren changed his mind several times on which way to run.
There were multiple beasts. Kelski hadn’t gotten a good enough look at them to see what they were. But they were loose in the city and it was obvious that they were killing anything that moved. Kelski tugged at her leash, stopping in front of Jaren and grabbing his arm to get his attention. She could see the whites of his eyes and knew instantly he was as scared as the Dragoons that surrounded them. They were armed to the teeth, but there was no way to tell what these things were and whatever they were they killed quickly and effectively.
“Release my collar, Master. Let me fly up… I can scout the way and lead us clear.” She said urgently. The Kelvic meant what she said. She was just as scared as everyone else. Whatever these things were, she was no match for them and she had a vested interest in Jaren staying alive because this… this fate and these miserable humans in their misery could be her fate.
He stared at her intently, freezing in the chaos around them. Several of the Dragoons had already fled, loyal, but not THAT loyal to the lazy Warmaster’s only son. Jaren wasn’t stupid. He was already calculating odds and knew that if Kelski did what she said she wanted too, his odds of survival would increase dramatically. So he nodded, stroked her chin affectionately for a brief moment, then grabbed her shoulders violently, twisted her around, and pulled the key to her collar from a necklace around his neck hidden under his shirt. He inserted it into the lock and released the clasp, pulling it off her throat.
He’d never seen his little jeweler in her animal form, and had even forgotten what kind of animal it was though the Svefra who sold her to him had told him. At the time it had been unimportant. Now though, it was critical. Kelski whirled back around, free of the collar, and met his gaze for a brief moment before she dissolved in a swirl of colored lights. Her clothing and all the metal that had graced her skin fell to the brick, bouncing everywhere. Jaren clutched the collar and leash in one hand, his sword in the other, and watched in startled fascination as Kelski reformed. A seven foot wingspan stretched before him as a black and white eagle beat the air to climb to the sky. As a Sea Eagle, Kelski had a white head, rump and underparts, with a black back and wings. While soaring, her black flight feathers on the wings were easily seen and identified from below. Her large, hooked bill was a leaden blue-grey with a darker tip, and her eyes were a bright grey. Her cere was also lead grey almost black. Her legs and feet were grey with wicked long black talons.
She shot to the sky, circled once getting her bearings then screamed to those below. She turned in the direction that lead away from the screaming and running people, and flew that way, but not leaving the area immediately. Instead, she circled, obviously trying to lead the Warmaster’s Son and his Dragoons out of the chaos.
