Friends

It was late in the afternoon and Xia was looking to do some shopping. Xia was 26 and had long pink hair with a maid-like dress but with armor plates. She was rather tall for her ethnicity and gender. She also had phenomenal strength, agility, and stamina even though she was a witch. She still possessed a great magical aptitude and had an insanely large mana pool. She wielded a great sword which she would sling over her shoulder. She was wealthy and owned an estate out west in the hills far from civilization. After all, witches like to be isolated. She walked around the castle capital and had a large bag in her arm. She skipped around until she had found a line of slave traders. Xia was intrigued. With the influx of magic in her home area, more and more powerful creatures have emerged.

"Huh. One would be of great use to me...But wouldn't it be weird? More than 40% of the population owns slaves, but still. Well who cares if I own one, I'll just look like someone who needs more help." She debated to herself and finally went up to the line. She walked up to one of the traders and asked for directions for the auction house where they would be sold.

"Excuse me sir?" She intruded.

"Ah yes, what is it?" The man asked.

"May you guide me to the auction house?" Xia asked nervously.

"Oh sure. From here, you need to go forward for about 100 yards then take a left for a few meters and then you'll see the auction house. It's a massive building that has pillars with marble flooring and walls." The man told her.

"Thank you for the directions." Xia said while bowing.

"No problem." Xia then walked off to the auction house. After a few hours of waiting, she got seated and the first few items were put up. Of course, Xia had no use for them due to the fact she could just replicate them but she was here for the secret part. She was given word that slaves would be auctioned off after the main auctions happened and so she waited. After about 200 people had left, there were only a few dozen participants left. Then finally, they brought out the first slave.

"Her name is Veronica and she specializes in magic crafts, agriculture, and handcrafts. She is especially great if you are a crusader because of her aptitude of magic enhancement. So, from the traders, it says here the starting bid is 200 Kyats." The auctioneer announced.

Only a handful of people bid and eventually she was sold for 500 Kyats. The next few were uninteresting for Xia and she began to feel disappointed. Until the final one was brought out. He had long scruffy purple hair but his physique was hidden under his 'clothes', if you can call them that. They were mere leather scraps sewed together roughly. His eyes bagged as he squinted under the blinding lights. But soon as he adjusted to them, his eyes lit up and stared at Xia. Xia saw that he had piercing purple eyes which glimmered as he glanced over.

"This one's name is Hasir. He is a swordsman, potion brewer, and used to be owned by Mr. Gula, but I think we all know how he turned out."

Mr. Gula was a famous crime lord who reigned for years. He had more than a hundred thousand men working for him and thousands of more slaves. Mr. Gula was convicted of many accounts of manslaughter and premeditated murder. He was also in possession of an illegal drug trade which would sometimes intercept a medicinal herbs carrier. When these two ships were intercepted, the herbs would probably be at the bottom of the sea by the time authorities got there. For decades police and knights all over the world had been searching for him until his activity died down. He laid low and authorities stopped paying attention to him. That was until it was exposed that he was using his slaves to pleasure his own lustful needs. But that was fairly normal for most slave owners. They had some for work and some for indoors. But the bad thing was it wasn't just women, but young girls and boys too. So they raided his home and burned down all of his valuables.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Xia whispered to herself.

"The starting bid for Hasir is 50 Kyats! Anyone? Anyone wanna bid?"

"I do. I offer 100 Kyats for Hasir." Xia said.

"I offer 150 Kyats for Mr. Hasir!" Another woman shouted.

"275 Kyats for Hasir!" A man shouted from all the way at the back.

"Ha...300 Kyats!" Xia finally blurted.

"300. Anyone want to add on to that? No? Well, then Hasir will be sold to the witch knight Xia. Thank you for your purchase."

After the auction, Xia took Hasir back to her home and she sat him down. Hasir still stared at her with bright eyes. He had a rope around his neck and torn up leather garments that barely covered him.

"That outfit doesn't suit you." Xia told him.

"Xia..." Hasir whispered.

"Yes stupid, it's me. So, how've you been? Well obviously not great but still, I haven't seen you for 16 years bro. What happened after the village raid?" Xia asked curiously.

"Um well, the bandits took me in and taught me useful skills. They then took me to an auction and sold me to Mr. Gula who I worked for for about 9 years." Hasir told her.

"So, did he make you do those things too?" Xia asked.

"No...But he whipped and beat us if we didn't comply. I've grown pretty used to it. I don't usually feel comfortable anymore, so it's weird sitting on this carpet."

"Well get used to it because I own you now!" Xia stood up and drew a crest on Hasir's back. "There, you are now universally obligated to obey me. But if you don't, I'll have to punish you!"

"Xia, you have not grown at all." Hasir told her.

"Stay down." Xia's voice rang through Hasir's head and his body seemingly laid down on its own. He couldn't move or do anything. His neck was tied along with his hands and his legs were numb from the walking they had to do.

"Ha, you are so fucking weak now. You used to be the strongest kid in school, but now you're my slave. How life can change so drastically. Well, no matter, I guess I'll just have to push you further." Hasir looked at her with tears balling up and he started trying to crawl away.

"Oh wow, pushing through the seal huh? No matter, I'm strong enough to drag you." Xia grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him back.

"Hey, hey! Why are you strong? Aren't you a witch?" Hasir asked while kicking her away.

"Don't try and fight now, we already have a contract. You are soul bound to me, remember?" Hasir stared at her with his water filled eyes. His bottom lip quivered and a chill fell down his spine. The thoughts he had were despicable. What was she gonna do to him? Hasir closed his eyes and got ready for the worst.

"Ah! You're so stupid bruh! You think I'd do some fucked up shit to you?" Xia asked him while laughing.

"That's what all slave owners do. Plus, I haven't seen you in so long. You could've changed, but I don't know in what aspect." Xia looked down at him with a scornful expression.

"Please don't hurt me..." Hasir whispered whilst quivering.

"I'm not gonna do anything to you. Get up, I'll make you something to eat. Oh wait." Xia grabs the ropes tied to Hasir and burns them away with her touch. Hasir could now freely move around.

"Hey, how old are you now?" Xia asked him.

"Umm, I think I'm 24 now." Hasir tells her.

"Damn, 24 and not even a full beard yet. You remember how large your father's beard was? It was absurd!" Xia knew his father was a sensitive topic but she wanted to lighten up the mood a little.

"Yeah, my mom's side doesn't grow that much facial hair so I think it's because of that." Hasir guessed.

"Yeah, I thought so." Xia stood up from her squat and stretched her back out. "So, what do you wanna eat?"

"I don't know...Just do what you can." Hasir wasn't picky, he just wanted food again. Once he was deprived of the very things needed for life, his entire perspective changed. He realized that things such as water, food, and shelter are too the basic needs of animals and humans alike. Without those three things, life wouldn't exist. His past conditions wouldn't be classified as living though, more surviving.

"Aye, take your shirt and pants off." Xia told him.

"Uh, okay." Hasir began to awkwardly take his ragged clothes off except for his underwear. When he did, Xia was shocked. She knew that he would be malnourished, but not to this extent. The outline of his ribs were visible. He was dark but you could still see the individual veins in his body. He had an unhealthy amount of fat and barely any muscle. His skin looked dry and so did his lips.

"Fuck...We need to get you fixed up." Xia told him whilst examining his body. For the next couple of weeks, Xia would begin to slowly work Hasir back to a healthy body. By the end of the month, he had grown tons and was looking way more healthy. He cut his hair and had better hygiene. His hair was still long, just cut a bit and tied back in a bun. He now had muscles but not too much. He looked like any other skinny person now. His style also got better. Instead of the old rags he wore, he now suits a white dress shirt with a thick trench coat that had leather pads on the shoulders. He wore a black belted cargo pant and wore black combat boots. He had bandages around his right arm because Xia had engraved something onto him but he wasn't allowed to know what it was.

"Yeah...Now you look better. A month in and you don't look half bad. You have muscle and not too much fat. Now, we just need to bulk you up to 175, which is your goal right?" Xia asked.

"Yes ma'am." Hasir told her.

"Don't call me ma'am bro! I told you that already, it's weird when you do that."

For the next year, Xia would spend her time training Hasir. He learned how to fight, shoot, and do basic magic. He was now way more built and could finally perform harder tasks that Xia needed help with.

It is now December, and Xia was away in the city buying groceries. Hasir was stuck inside and because of the command Xia forced on him, he couldn't leave the house. It was just him and his thoughts. But then he heard a knock on the door. He went to open it and saw a tall man dressed in all black.

"Is this Xia Einstein's place of residency?" He asked in a low and rough voice.

"Um, yeah. May I ask what your business is?"

"Um yeah, come with me." He says as he pulls out a shotgun and points it to Hasir's chest.