CHAPTER 18.

Raphtalia POV:

Raphtalia let out a ragged cough and winced as the shaking of her body opened her wounds slightly. She took a deep breath in, trying to stop the coughing. She knew that if she made too much noise then she would be punished just like how she had heard the trader punish the slave in the cage that was next to her.

Her coughs continued despite her best efforts and her fear grew in response but luck was on her side. The pain didn't start.

Raphtalia didn't know how long she had spent in the cage. Her throat was dry and her stomach empty, so she was sure that it had been at least a day since she had been thrown in here but she didn't know much else. She wondered if this was the day that she would die on.

Her hunger and fatigue slowly swept away from her thoughts and she spent some time in a daze, she had no idea how long it had been when the sound of footsteps shattered her reverie. Raphtalia paid it no mind. This was not the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last that she heard a customer come in. Some had seen her before but none of them gave her a second glance. Raphtalia knew that she would die here.

The sounds grew louder and clearer.

"...many options yes sir!" said the cheerful voice of the Slaver.

"Irrelevant. You have been informed of my specifications. Your only concern should be if you can meet them." said a cold voice in response.

"Of course sir! We are here in fact." said the slave trader, and Raphtalia was forced out of her ennui as the fabric around her cage was ripped away.

The light blinded her for a long time, so she couldn't see the men who were in front of her cage and her distraction prevented her from listening to most of what had been said, but the last statement was something she heard loud and clear.

"She will suffice."

Raphtalia felt her heart began to beat faster in response as her fear came back to life.

"Excellent sir!" said the trader while opening the cage. He scarcely looked at her before signaling that she should leave with his cane, a wide smile on his face.

Raphtalia obeyed quickly. She didn't want to be hurt again.

Once outside she got her first look at her new master. He was tall and she could tell that he was a man but a heavy hooded cloak and mask prevented her from being able to understand anything else. He had a bag at his side held in one hand while his other was hidden.

Raphtalia involuntarily took a step backward, but the slave trader's voice stopped her from doing anything more.

"Now then sir, the matter of payment-"

"You shall have two gold coins for all the purchases put together." said the hooded man," And there shall be no need for you to brand the girl. Just remove your crest from her and our business shall be complete."

"I see! A new method of branding!" said the man, sounding even more excited than before," Would you be interested in perhaps sharing-"

"Do we have a deal merchant?" interrupted the voice coldly.

The plump man caught himself and said," Of course, sir! Please head right this way and I shall remove the slave's crest. I would be very grateful if you would show me the application process you use! Indeed I would-"

"That will not be possible." stated her master in a flat voice.

"Now sir, surely-"

The conversation continued in this vein as Raphtalia was taken away from the cages and into a small well-furnished room. The trader poured a cold fluid on her chest and for a moment it really hurt but then the pain was gone. For just a moment Raphtalia felt nice, despite her back and legs hurting but then she saw the hooded man and her fear returned.

"We are finished here trader." he said and grabbed her hand," Let's go child."

He moved out of the tent quickly, not responding to the slavers goodbye. Raphtalia looked up at him again and wondered how long she would survive.

The master led her into a really big city. There were a lot of buildings close by and even though she could see that the sky was dark , the streets were bright with colour and had lots of people. It was really strange to see so many people out at night.

For a moment she wondered if there was a festival, but the lack of music and loud sounds made it clear that this was nothing like that. Raphtalia wondered just how it could be so bright.

The master was still holding onto her hand but unlike when they had just left the trader he was walking slowly, so it didn't hurt as much when she walked. The itchy cloth that she was wearing made her wounds feel worse but she didn't say anything. She had heard what the slave trader had said, her new master would be putting a crest on her later, she didn't want him to punish her.

They stopped near a big fountain where she could see a big shiny crystal that was giving out a lot of light. Her master led her to the raised lip of the fountain and then had her sit down. He kept standing.

"What is your name child?" he asked, and Raphtalia was a little stunned to realize just how...different he sounded from before.

"Raphtalia," she said, and then remembered to say," Master."

"I see," he replied," Raphtalia, I am not your master. I will not be applying the crest on you, nor am I going to enslave you in any other way."

"Yes master" she replied quickly. Not sure of what he wanted from her, she felt confused and scared. The other masters had never done something like this but she knew that he was playing a game with her as they had been.

He sighed and Raphtalia winced, half expecting the pain in her chest to start. But all that happened was him suddenly showing her a small glass bottle, which he was holding in a hand that had not had anything just a second ago!

"I see that this will take some time." he said," Child this contains some medicine. It should help you with your wounds both internal and external and is perfectly safe. Please drink it."

Then he kept the bottle right next to her and took a step back.

She looked at the bottle and then back at him, she reached for the bottle then hesitated. For a long instant, she waited for the pain to start, for it to punish her slow response but then remembered that she didn't have a crest.

Then realization struck her. This was a test. Her new master wanted to see how far she would go without a crest. Raphtalia didn't know why he was doing this but he wanted to see if she would obey without the pain.

She swallowed her fear and took a look back at the hooded man, he was still impossible to read and said nothing when she looked at him. Raphtalia quickly looked away and turned back to the bottle. She could feel her breathing getting shorter as fear began to rise again.

Then," Child," she heard," I promise you that it is just medicine. Try a small amount of it and I promise that if you do not like it then I shall not force you to drink it."

Raphtalia's head snapped towards her master and then back to the small bottle. She didn't believe him but she slowly reached for the bottle, it opened easily enough and a minty smell filled her senses.

It was nice.

Raphtalia lifted it to her mouth slowly, allowing only a few drops in. For a moment she tasted nothing, then she found her body glowing slightly, the pain throughout her body just vanishing as if it had never been there.

She just stared at the still mostly full bottle and then looked back at her master.

It really was medicine. Tasty medicine at that.

She drank the rest of it down in a single swallow.

The lingering pains and aches simply disappeared. Pain that she had simply forgotten about or ignored for so long that it had become the norm vanished and her body felt lighter than it had in weeks.

"Feeling better Raphtalia?" asked her Master.

She nodded quickly while trying not to smile, masters didn't like that.

"Good," he said," We shall have a meal a little bit later okay? First, we need to leave the city."

She nodded and got up off the fountain. The lack of pain in her feet surprised her.

He held his hand out and she took it and followed.

Raphtalia was struggling to understand the hooded man. He had given her really good medicine. No one had never had ever given her such good medicine that made all the pain go away instantly.

She didn't understand why he would give that to his slave.

It took them a little time until they reached the walls of the city. It looked much bigger from up close and the walls were the biggest thing around except for the fancy looking tower that she could see on the opposite end of the city. That was even bigger.

Her master wandered around for a little bit, going closer and closer to the walls until they were directly underneath it. Then he turned to her and said," child I am going to pick you up. When I tell you to close your eyes, you must keep it closed until I tell you to open them. Is that clear?" his voice had taken a sharp tone towards the end.

"Yes, sir," she said, nodding quickly.

He nodded as well, the motion almost swallowed up by his clothing. Then he closed his eyes and quickly picked her up.

He had moved so fast that she hadn't even gotten a chance to react but once she was held in his arms firmly she stiffened. He ignored it and said, " Eyes closed child."

She obeyed and then a single instant later she felt an odd sense of movement. It was like someone had thrown her up in the air and then she was just floating there. For a moment she wondered what was happening but the man's warning to keep her eyes closed killed any desire she had of opening her eyes. He had been very scary when he said that.

She didn't know how long it had been before she heard him say," You can open your eyes child," and let her down but when she looked around the city and its' walls were gone!

Raphtalia turned around on the spot, trying to spot the walls and the city but all she saw around her were trees-No wait, he could see the walls from here but they were so far away! It would take her a long time to get back there.

She turned her eyes to the man and was then met with another surprise. The man had taken off his mask and his hood and was looking at her with a small smile. He looked much younger than she had expected, definitely younger than her father. He had black hair and eyes that were the same colour as coal.

To her surprise, he didn't look very scary. Why was he wearing the mask then?

"Are you okay Raphtalia?" he asked," Dash can be a little disorienting."

She nodded and he continued," Good. Now there is a small clearing about a kilometre or so in that direction." he said pointing away from the city," Let's have a short meal there."