NEARLY SOLD

When Selene regained consciousness, she had a dirty sack over her head that prevented her from seeing anything. She could hear a few sobbing sounds that she assumed belonged to the maidens she had seen earlier. Where was Bartimus now that she needed him the most? Selene's mood dampened at the thought of never seeing Bartimus again after starting to like him. The memory of her kiss with Bartimus flooded her mind making her eyes start to water. She was about to give up on ever been free when she felt the carriage stop. Her senses were alerted and she listened earnestly for any strange sounds.

"....we got seven with us today....all beautiful ladies...." she heard a man say.

"...Get them cleaned up and lined up for the sale." another man said.

Sale? Selene broke into a cold sweat and thought of ways to escape before she was sold. She was probably going to be sold as a sex slave from how the man made emphasis on the maidens being beautiful. The carriage doors opened on either side and the maidens were forcefully pulled out one by one. Selene was hurled out by her hair through the sack and she screamed in pain. The sack was pulled off from her head and the bright sunlight made her squint her eyes. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly after some rain and the ground was muddy.

"Ahhh...Let go of me!" she screamed.

"Shut up if you want to keep your head intact." the big burly man from earlier said.

Selene saw another older looking short man inspecting the maidens that had been brought to be sold. They were in a shabby looking building that seemed like an arena. Selene and the other maidens were taken in through a small door at the back but when it was Selene's turn, the elderly man stopped her from entering.

"She's injured. No one will pay for such a thing." he said.

"She can still do everything a normal woman can do for a man." the burly man said.

"No can do. I won't let you bring down my business. If she doesn't look and walk properly after the clean up, we'll have to get rid of her."

Selene felt hopeful after hearing that she wouldn't be bought if she limped in front of this man. Maybe she would get to see Bartimus after all. She was dragged into the shabby building where the other maidens had been taken. A fat woman was standing beside a huge drum full of water nearly her own height and she was instructing some other women to undress the maidens who had been brought for sale. Selene gasped at the mere thought of been stripped and forcefully bathed.

"What's wrong with you, missy?" the fat woman asked,"Get in line or I'll kill you myself.'

Selene remained stagnant and stared back at the woman determined to not be stripped.

"I'd do as she says if I were you." another woman said as she undressed a red haired girl,"They'll kill you if you don't look presentable for the buyers. Make sure you walk properly as well, alright."

Selene walked to join the line knowing that she would be killed if she didn't. If Bartimus was going to find her then she should do her best to remain alive. When it was her turn, she inhaled deeply as the woman who had told her she would be killed slowly pulled down her dress. The cold evening air tickled her bare skin, giving her goosebumps. She moved forward to where the fat woman was waiting to splash cold water on her. There was another woman there who was sparcely scrubbing the maidens as well but to Selene the maidens looked as dirty as they did when they entered; just wetter.

"Ahhh! It's cold!" Selene yelped when the water was splashed on her.

The women laughed at her as if she had told a joke or something. The other maidens there seemed to have surrendered to their fates so they didn't argue at all. Selene was scrubbed a little bit and the women who were there could see just how good her skin was.

"She'll sell for a large sum of money, don't you think?" the woman who had scrubbed her said.

"Indeed. She is definitely a sex slave with that body." said the fat woman.

The woman who had scrubbed her slapped her buttocks and Selene jolted away. The slap left a sharp sting on her but the women laughed.

"How can you be so cruel to a fellow woman?" Selene asked upset.

"You're not a woman. You're a girl." said another woman who handed her a dirty white dress that barely reached her knees.

"Why is my dress shorter?" Selene asked feeling even more naked than she was.

"We need to make sure all those nice aristocrats out there get a befitting marketing glance. If you want them to overlook that nasty wound then it's more than a necessity." the fat woman said drying her hands with a cloth.

Selene frowned and looked around the room. The room was practically empty as it only had a wardrobe full of dirty white dresses and the drum. The floor was flooded with the dirty water used to bathe the maidens and if Selene had been in her princess mode, she would definitely be disgusted by the surroundings. There were a series of small windows close to the roof and Selene mentally measured herself to see if it was possible for her to go through. Before she could finish measuring, The fat woman grabbed her upper arm and cuffed her hands together. They were lined up and taken out one by one. Selene heard people screaming and fighting to buy slaves for themselves and it made her fear for herself. She was glad that she was not first or last but her position mad it clear that escape was not going to be possible as she was so close to the front.

Selene started hyperventilating when the girl in front of her was taken out. Her hearing narrowed down to the voices outside.

"Fifty silver!" a woman shouted.

"Eighty silver!" a man shouted immediately after the woman.

"One hundred silver!" another man shouted.

"One hundred! Going once...twice...sold!" a man shouted from the stage.

Selene's heart thumped loudly in her chest as screams filled the place.

"Your turn, missy." the fat woman said smiling.

Selene's legs became limp and lifeless as she was pushed out onto the stage. She heard people start whispering and giggling as she was pushed to the center of the stage. A large chandelier was hanging from the high ceiling because it was dark. Selene couldn't lift her head to look at the audience because of how terrified she was. She was a princess so why was she been sold?

"Ohhh...we have a beauty here, don't we?" the man conducting the auction said sliding his rough fingers down her arm.

Selene felt revolted and moved away from him instinctively.

"She's shy too. I wander how shy she would be... spread out like a bedsheet on someone's bed." he said in a gruff voice,"Or mopping a floor in this dress."

The men present hummed in response and waited for the bidding to start.

"The starting price is sixty silver coins!" the auctioner boomed setting the place into a madhouse.

"One hundred and fifty..."

"Three hundred...!"

"Thirty gold..!"

"Fifty gold...!"

Selene shivered at how high they were bidding on her. She didn't want to be sold! A tear rolled down her cheek as another man shouted 'ninety gold'. Was this how her life would end?

"Going once....twice...."

Before the auctioner finished his statement, the large chandelier made a dangerous swing towards the stage making him move back in fear. It swung back towards the audience making them gasp and some even got up from their seats. It kept swinging back and forth until it became sturdy again.

"There we are. It seems the chandelier thinks the beauty here is being sold too cheaply, don't you agree?" the auctioner said to get everyone's attention,"Anyhow... ninety gold... going once...twice..."

The chandelier made another un-natural swing as if it was pushed making everyone fear that perhaps Selene was a witch. One woman walked away from where the chandelier was directly above and went to stand in a corner where it's dangerous swinging would not threaten her. As soon as the auctioner started to speak again, the thick cord of wire and thread from which the chandelier hang snapped and the chandelier crushed those beneath it. There were screams again but this time not for fun but fear. There was a large pool of blood around the chandelier and the candles flew out from their sockets to set any flammable materials ablaze.

People started climbing up the stage as it was the only place that had been spared from the ongoing disaster. The sense of safety was short lived because the wooden stage also caught fire setting ablaze all those who had been enjoying the auction. The only ones who were safe were those who were being sold as slaves and the had little havens around them that kept the flames away.