The Dragon's Moon

The cold floor met my feet as I drag the heavy metal chains that are tied around my ankles, the handcuffs continuously grazed my skin with its rusty edges and I can feel all the dirt that is smudged throughout my body. "Here's the new lineup. We have a bunch of beauties here!" An ear tearing yell echoed throughout this cramped tavern. The smell of tobacco and beer filled the air, and silent cries and sobs of ladies dressed in filthy clothing filled my ears as I pass by. Yet, despite this mess, I feel so detached from this reality. And I just nonchalantly stared at everything. A few moments later, a man wearing a fur coat came towards me, his dark brown eyes inspected me from head to toes. "Yer' not bad," he said, "Just a bit dirty." He turned his back and with a flick of his hand, another person came to drag me towards the stage, harshly. How did I end up in this situation anyway? I was just eating dinner with my family, then things happened in a blur. "We got a pretty one here!" The crowd cheered, snapping out of my thoughts. "Hold yer horses. So, this woman is a native of the west forest. Aside from that-" The old man removed the hood that is covering my entire face. My white hair that I despised so much covered my face, then a rough hand pulled a handful of my hair to force me to look up. "Can you see this hair and eyes? She is called a cursed witch in her hometown due to her rare features. But her beauty can't be questioned right? So, this girl is yers for 200 golds! Make her yer's, rascals!" Different voices offering golds and silvers overlapped each other, it's so loud that I can almost feel the floor and the wooden walls shaking. Before I am called a cursed witch now I am merchandise to be sold. What a petty life, for a person with the goddess's blessing. "500 golds!" A man full of scars slammed the table, shutting everyone up. "That woman is mine!" He claimed. "500? Anymore?" I was busy thinking of how I can escape from that man's grasp when I heard a voice that sounded like tiny bells ringing, in my ears. "Then, how about a thousand gold?" he said. A young man, with blonde hair and green eyes, stood by the door with his arms crossed, and for some reason, his presence felt like the warm rays of the morning sun. "What? Go back home, boy! This place is not a playground." The silence turned to laughter when the man filled with a scar made his remarks, but that blonde boy just shrugged him off. "Can't bid higher than that? Too bad." He gave off a cheeky smile when he passed by them. "That is a thousand gold coins, count them if you want to." He threw a bean bag towards the slave trader. He didn't answer any insult that was thrown at him, no he doesn't listen to them at all. "You know selling people is bad," he muttered out of the blue while staring at the line of slaves behind the stage. "Huh? Who cares about that?" The trader answered while taking a peek at the bean bag, and it looks like he is about to drool while looking at those golds coins. "No one. I guess." The mysterious man suddenly turned towards my direction, and reach out his hand to me."I bought you." He said with a gleaming smile. As I thought, his voice sounded like little bells to my ears. Is this the effect of being in prison for so long? I only stared at his hand that was reaching out to me, then my gaze turned to his emerald eyes. "Hey, that is rude milady." his smile dropped as he frowns. "Well, not introducing myself first is rude as well. My name is Crimson and yours?" "Rayvenne. Rayvenne Zoe." He smiles at me again and bowed his head "Nice to mee you, my lady." We headed out after that brief introduction, the afternoon sun burned my eyes that I needed to raise my tied hand to shield them. The shackles made a sound earning Crimson's attention. "We should remove those first. Your wrists are already bleeding," he said. "My horse is tied not far from here. Let's go." Before I could even answer he turned his back and continued walking towards the vast forest. Then a black horse was tied at a small coconut tree guarded by a man, the horse made a noise when she saw Crimson approaching it. Crimson gave it a few pats before his attention returned to me. He asked me to raise my hands, and when he touched the metal chains glowed red, until they melted like butter and fell on the ground. "Is that-" "Magic?Yeah." He said without letting me finish my sentence. "I am a wizard-well, yeah sort of like that." What's a wizard like him doing in a place like that? My thoughts ran inside my head as he scratches the back of his head shyly. "That aside, since I bought you. I need you to come with me." "Are you a traveler?" I asked. Crimson kneeled and held the chain wrapped around my ankles. The metal blazed like before and fell to the ground. "No." he said "I just went out to have fun. By the way, my home is in Lyvaria." The land of the dragon rulers, the Lyvarian Empire. No sane person would say they don't know where that is. They are the most powerful kingdom in the land of fire, a kingdom ruled by royalties who can shapeshift to powerful dragons. They are feared by many nations for being merciless and powerful. "That is a long way from here," I said. Crimson nodded. "Yes, it sure is. But we need to go back, I hope he is not yet home when we get there. We better, change our clothes first. Then we'll be on our way." He mounted his horse and paid the man who guarded it "Come here." I stared at his hand that is reaching out to me. "What? Don't tell me you prefer to walk to the next town?" he laughed, "Well, you will be with me from now on, Lady. Relax, I'm not a man-eating person." I trusted people before, and what did it cost me? Everything. But what more can I lose? I already have nothing to my expense. Besides, This man is not an ordinary person. I doubt a normal person will have 500 golds to throw for a person like me. Not just that, he is strong, I know I will not win even if I fight him now. "Well, then master. I'll be in your care." A frown formed on his face as he lifts me. "Don't call me that," he said. "Why? You bought me and Master-" I looked and saw his pouting expression when I emphasized the word master. "I am not saying I trust you. Trusting people didn't do me any good before. But I'll leave my life to you. Not that it matters whether I live or die." His expression became serious after hearing my words, "Well, it didn't do me good either. But don't let anyone control your life for you. That's worst than being betrayed." We didn't speak that much during our ride towards Liveta, a small town between the borders of the Land of Fire and Earth. After we brought new clothes and food for our travel, we didn't expect that we will encounter a person we wanted to see the least. "Hello, there boy. Time for you to give back what's mine."