It ends up that the man was right about us being headed for Mefit City, and walking through the dark, wet streets of the criminal hub feels like we're goods being shown off on a cart on the way to the market.

A bit like pigs heading to the butcher. It was a monthly sight from home, on early mornings when the farmers would take the beasts for some money and to feed the village. I remember how I used to feel bad for the poor animals, for they hadn't chosen their fate.

How ironic that it is now my turn. Sure, I'd never imagined a grand future for myself. I probably would have married a wearied man, and I would have given him a few kids. Maybe I would have died while giving birth, or I would have died from a sickness, but it would have been a normal life nonetheless.

I look around me, taking in the wet stench of death that fills my nose as people wearing all sorts of garments look at us with interest.

So many people in our line did not survive the trip. We had to carry their weight for endless miles, and that I didn't care more hurt me more than I cared to admit. If anything, I envied them, because at the very least, they were now avoiding a fate worse than death itself.

The slave merchant makes us stop at a shady building, and the man behind me nearly bumps into me before catching his balance. I look over my shoulder to look at him, our eyes meeting with unspeakable concern as the limp bodies are taken away, ties cut and tied again before we continue to walk in the grime all the way to a fancy brothel-like building.

There, we're all separated and led into individual rooms where await stern women, and just as quickly, my clothes are forcefully ripped from my body, not a care for the shame that floods my being as they eye me down like a piece of clay they need to shape into a desirable form.

Harsh hands scrub at my dirty, bleeding skin, eliciting painful screams from my lungs. My soul feels like crawling out of my convulsing body as they pour alcoholic substances onto the open wounds, only to stitch them the very next second.

The worst, though, comes when they poke open infections to empty the pus before spreading a cold cream over the split skin. I throw my head back in agony, the burning unlike anything I've ever felt before. It's worse than anything I had to go through on the way here, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, the tears flow without end as I sob in a sea of heartless strangers.

I couldn't even say when the torture finally ended. All I know is that now, I feel like I was ripped from everything that made me who I am. My heart, my very soul was stolen from me, and with it were taken all of my dreams and hopes.

By the time they doll me up in nice clothes and braid my hair, I am unresponsive to most attentions I am given, unaware of the beauty they've made of me despite the way I was treated to reach that state.

A pretty doll sells better than an ugly one, that's all I've registered from this.

When they drag me along others onto a wide stage connected to the outside, an alleyway filled with more strangers, it does briefly cross my mind that the torture they make us go through is on purpose, to keep us from fighting back when it's time for the auction.

They break us down so that we can be better controlled. The worst about being aware of that trick, is being aware that it worked.

The same man that was behind me for the entirety of the trip stands next to me, his face haggard and whitened by the extreme pain that we both went through. He's now dressed in a clean outfit that exposes the hard lines of his body, a clear telltale of what will be his selling point.

His eyes light up slightly when he sees me, the dull brown gaining a vibrancy that takes me aback momentarily, but they're also filled with helplessness, for there's nothing we can do anymore. We're about to be sold to the highest bidder.

One of the guards standing at the back of the stage pushes us until we all stand over dots that were painted into the hardwood, and lights flash onto our forms overhead, blinding me until I get used to the brightness.

The crowd gathers closer upon understanding that the auction is about to start, and I can't resist the next move that feels out of character for me, but also deeply needed. I reach out to the man's hand, fingers clenching around his large palm as my knees shake beneath me.

He doesn't look at me, but his grip tightens around my hand, firm and stable despite the situation we find ourselves into.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to our highly acclaimed auction here in Mefit City! You have before you a fine selection of slaves that were taken from the border of our country. They have survived a long walk with minimum care, so you can be assured that they will last you for a long time. We shall start with this little girl, here. She is of noble blood, so she can read and write with ease. She also knows three languages! The bid begins at two hundred gold. Any takers?"

It barely takes five seconds before a group of men start to fight with their overflowing wallets, so much money on them that they don't know what to do with it anymore. I can't help but wonder what someone like me will be worth. What am I worth in their eyes? It's a thought that makes me feel sick.

"Two hundred and twenty-five gold! Come on, everyone, she's worth the gold and more! Look at the stubborn glow in her eyes, she's a feisty girl! Wouldn't you like to break her yourself? Oh, over there, good choice! Three hundred! Three hundred and fifty!"

I close my eyes, unable to look at the crowd any longer. Seeing some of them swear in anger when they can no longer bid means that they're more likely to get a cheaper girl like me. What use would they get out of me, though? I'm going to be food for their dogs.

One after the next, they're sold for a disgusting price, and it's so easy to see that they're in for a life alike hell in every aspects. Some of them must have thought the world was going to bend the knee at their feet, and yet, look at them, now.

The merchant steps closer, then motions a theatrical hand towards the man next to me, whose hand clasps tighter around mine, so much so that it hurts, but still not trembling.

"This one, tall and handsome, was taken from a city of wisdom, Bellborn! His mind is sharp, and he was one of the best students in his local school, meaning he can do calculations, knows geography and history, among other things. Hell, I think he's smarter than me! Isn't he a delicacy? Any ladies here in need of a new toy? He is sure to please you well! Starting the bid at three hundred gold!"

The women, who had kept quiet until now, all furiously begin to fight for him, making it all the more easy to guess the use they would have for him, which would ultimately have nothing to do with his brain, and everything to do with his body.

I squeeze his hand back, unable to do anything else to support him. It's so little compared to the support he has given me from the moment he was tied behind me. How many times did he catch me when I fell? How many times did he help me when my legs couldn't make one step in front of the other anymore?

It hurts me deeply that there's nothing else I can do for him, and that I have to watch as he ends up in heartless hands.

"I'll pay one thousand gold for him," a gentle voice speaks up all of a sudden, efficiently shutting up all the feminine voices that were previously screaming. We both look up to see who just spoke amidst the crowd, and there comes forward a tall and handsome man, his eyes kind as he looks at him. "I recognize potential when I see it, and I could use a brain like his at the bank."

The slave merchant stutters out a few times before screaming victory to the one who's dressed in a clean suit, an expensive pocket watch in his front pocket. Of course, appearances aren't everything, but his eyes tell me that he's a good person, and that he's not here to offer hell, but grace.

He glances at me for a short moment, regret all over his face as he mouths an apology. He must have used up all his gold for the high in demand man, seeing as he barely made it by a hundred.

A guard moves over to drag the man next to me off the stage, but his fingers fiercely hold onto mine as he turns to me in a last bit of desperation. "What's your name?" he asks urgently, a question that stuns me for a moment. Why would he want to know when we'll never see each other ever again?

"Y/N," I answer weakly, eyes staring at his own and not understanding the panic I find there. His fingers lose their grip on mine before I can hear his name, and he's pulled by the hair out of the stage to be prepared for his new life.

Just like that, I'm officially the last slave left on the stage.

The crowd begins to thin out as many make their exit, obviously lacking the interest for someone like me. It stings badly, and I hate that it's hurting me. Why should I care that no one wants to buy me? Or that the only ones that do are sleazy, greasy men? It's all the same either way.

"This one here is from a farming village, and she's got the muscles to show off her strength! Also in her prime years, she'll be able to give you robust descendants to carry your line! Bastards are good for manual labor after all, you need some of that commoner blood to remain stronger than your enemies!"

Ah... yes, of course that would be my selling point. I hang my head low, now aware of my purpose with whoever's to become my owner. I'm to be bred like a dog, only to watch as my children are used like slaves. I'm going to start a family line of slaves.

"Starting at one hundred. Any takers? One hundred and ten? Yes, you! One hundred and twenty! One hundred and forty! She's a good purchase, you won't regret it! One hundred and sixty!"

Hearing my price increase so slowly is not something I thought I would get to experience one day. They buy me from my parents for a few coppers, then sell me for a pouch full of gold. That amount of money would have allowed my family to leave the village and live a good life without needing to work for a lifetime, yet none of that gold is going to them.

What does that say of my worth? My own parents give me up for nothing, and strangers pay an obscene amount to own me. How does that even make sense?

I furrow my eyebrows, hands clenched into fists at my sides. When his hand was holding mine, I'd felt a little safer, as ridiculous as it sounds now. I knew he couldn't change my fate, we were both fated to be sold, but his strong fingers had steadied me a little.

Now... there's nothing good that will ever come my way again.

A sudden, powerful gust of wind falls upon us from the sky right as the merchant is about to name someone as my owner for two hundred and twenty-five gold, and terrified gasps echo in the dark alley as people begin to run out of a demon's landing area, which is right in front of me.

My legs, which are shaking wildly by now, give in beneath me, and I end up face to face with the tall new arrival as I slump down on the stage, eyes wide and tears flowing down my cheeks.

His black horns stretch towards the sky, a few ornaments of gold clasped onto various curves, and his wide black wings spread out behind him, blocking everyone's sight of me, which brings me a relief that I didn't know I craved until now.

His eyes, red and shining in the low-light environment, stare at me with an intensity that makes my spine tingle. He has a beautiful face, a strange gentleness that is enhanced by his dark hair being pushed back around the base of his horns.

Black lines are engraved into his skin, starting below his chin and hiding beneath the tight leather that fits snuggly over his chest before spreading down his arms with an elegance unachievable by mere humans.

Staring at him in the new silence that feels eerily ominous somehow doesn't scare me, rather on the contrary. Something in me knows in this moment that this is no regular demon, because the power that emanates from him is so strong that I can feel it caressing my very soul.

"Am I too late? Is this the last human you have?" he asks with an authoritative voice, so daunting that it takes the slave merchant everything in him just to squeak out an answer. Meanwhile, the demon's eyes never leave my form, and before long, he hums before searching into the heavy looking pouch at his belt to grab something.

"Is this enough for her? There must be about two hundred solstones in there. I learned recently that it's loved by humans, so I wanted to acquire it. Trading all my gold took longer than I thought it would so I was worried that I would miss the auction, but I couldn't possibly carry all that I had all over the place. Solstone is lighter, anyway. Two hundred is enough, isn't it?"

My eyes widen in utter disbelief. One solstone is worth about a hundred pieces of gold, but he's giving two hundred of those? Not even the noble lady was sold for such a high amount earlier! He clearly doesn't know that I'm not worth much since he missed the speech given about me, so what if he ends up regretting it? What is an angry demon like?

"Yes! Of course-"

"I'm not smart," I blurt out anxiously, voice quivering and rough because of all the screaming in pain I did prior to being on the stage. "I can't read or write, and I don't know anything about mathematics or... or history. All I know is how to tend a garden. I'm not worth your money. It's way too much."

His face doesn't change, but the slave merchant does grit his teeth, feet itching to kick me in the ribs for trying to ruin the best sale of his entire life. The demon standing so near keeps him from such, though. He's not stupid enough to risk losing his life over a mere slave like me.

The demon offers me one hand, patiently waiting for me to accept it, which I only do because something in my heart tells me that it's the right thing to do. If I don't leave with this demon, the hell will be that much worse afterward.

He gently guides me down the stage and into a cocoon of spiced woods and musk scent, steadying me with an arm around my hips while his other throws the pouch at the merchant's feet. His decision has been made.

"What's your name, young one?"

"Y/N... sir."

"Then listen to me, Y/N. What you can or can't do doesn't matter. I didn't come here to buy a slave, I came here to find a companion. The castle is empty and silent, and I am growing weary of the silence. I will take care of you and make sure you are happy, so all I need of you is to keep me company. Can you do that?"

I nod my head, stunned by what I'm hearing. That's all he needs from me? Truly?

He smiles, and it's like being greeted by the beautiful moon in person. "Then you are worth those coins and so much more."

All of a sudden and without warning, he lifts me up into his arms and cradles me against his strong chest, a small grin pulling the edge of his lips upwards at my gasp. "Have you ever touched the sky, Y/N?" he asks, knowing full well the answer, but for some reason still wanting to hear it from me.

"N-no, sir, I have not," I mutter nervously, fingers gripping on the thin leather strap resting over his muscled shoulders in prevision of what's to come. "Humans can't fly."

"Hm, right. A pity, if you ask me. Well, lucky for you, I can fly, and it's much faster than taking any other transportation that you humans use. Hold on tight. I won't let go of you, but I would rather you not slip between my arms."

He looks up into the night sky at those words, and my heart skips a beat, eyes quivering in their sockets as my guts churn uncomfortably, my mind unable to believe what's going to happen. A demon just bought me. He's holding me in his arms, and we're about to fly. What the heck?

"Let's go home, shall we? This place stinks. If one of those humans look at me like this for one more second, I won't hesitate to destroy the very air they breathe."

A few squeaks resound around us as the bravest onlookers run away, the slave merchant still in the same spot and clutching the bag of solstones to his chest like his life depends on it. The demon shakes his head with a sigh, then looks back at me. He makes me jump a bit in his arms as he gets a proper grip, then looks back up, his wings stretching wide.

I gulp, then cry out as he propels us both into the sky in one smooth jump, my eyes shut tightly as I hold onto him for dear life.

The city disappears behind us, leaving before me a new future as the sun begins to peek into the horizon.

A new day has begun, and I am now a demon's property.