Chapter 04: Sold Again

Two men, different from before, dragged her out of the cold dungeon. Amethyst was too weak to stand on her feet and thus, had to rely on the men's strength to lift her.

They went out through the same back door and reached a waiting carriage. There, a tall man wearing a black mask that covered his entire face was waiting.

"The elf is here!" Lord Leteas said as he beamed at the mysterious masked man.

"What happened to her?" asked the man when Amethyst's dirty, weak and battered body came into his view. Plus, her tattered and soiled nightdress was disturbing to see. Also, she reeked of blood!

Lord Leteas smiled and replied, "Well, she misbehaved and thus was sentenced to confinement to correct her manners. But, I assure you that she has broken nothing on her body. It's our creed to make sure anything we sell still retains its highest quality."

It was a happy day for Lord Leteas when he heard about a mysterious wealthy man looking for golden-eyed elves. The greedy lord reached out to him and agreed to sell her but for a million Numand. Surprisingly, the masked man agreed instantly and thus it explained why Amethyst was dragged out of the dungeon.

Amethyst lifted her face and glared at Lord Leteas. 'Nothing was broken, my foot!' she cursed inwardly.

Her soul was broken and who would compensate her for it?

"Hmm," the masked man responded Lord Leteas. He observed the battered-looking elf from the two holes of his mask, where his eyes were. "Come here," he said to her.

The two men let go of Amethyst's arms but since her body was too weak, she fell to her knees on the ground. The elf grimaced when her fall only exaggerate her wounds and they bled.

"Hey, get up!" Lord Leteas yanked her hair, showing off his authority.

"Stop!" the masked man said. His voice tensed.

Lord Leteas glanced at him. "Why, good sir?"

"You're hurting her."

Lord Leteas glanced at the battered-looking elf before he glanced back at the man. Then, he chuckled and replied, "Well, I'm not sure if you're aware but slaves a meant to be treated like one. Don't be too soft on them or they'll trample on you." Then, he yanked the elf's hair again, urging her to stand up.

"Let go of my possession, Lord Leteas Greath," the masked man instructed and his tone turned colder. "I didn't expect to see this is how you handle something that you sold to me for a million Numand."

Lord Leteas broke into a sheepish smile when he noticed his fault. He let go of Amethyst's hair and stammered, "M-my apologies, good sir."

The masked man looked at Amethyst. "Can you stand up?" His voice suddenly turned tender.

Lord Leteas widened his eyes in disbelief. He had never heard any of his customers treat their slaves so gently as the mysterious masked man did. Perhaps, it could be love at first sight or it could be that this man knew nothing about handling slaves.

Amethyst felt her eyes water. She had not heard such a tender voice from any of the humans and she was immediately reminded of her fellow elves when she heard his voice.

"I can't move..." she answered. Her voice was too faint.

The masked man glanced at Lord Leteas. "It seemed to me that you've poorly handled my valuable asset. I expect to see it in great shape but you're giving me something as shabby as this!"

Lord Leteas turned speechless but then he said, "Good sir, it wasn't my fault. She misbehaved because she is too rebellious, and this is the only way I can handle her so she can follow commands."

"I don't fancy beating my prized possession," the masked man stated coldly. His tone was still calm although one could already guess that he was displeased. "Lord Leteas Greath, how are you going to make up for this? You've promised it to be of the highest quality but this one didn't look like what I anticipated or did you fool me into buying a phoney?"

"Good sir, I assure you that I-"

"Please, take me..."

The masked man and Lord Leteas glanced down when they heard the faint plea.

"Please, take me..." Amethyst repeated. Her sole hope rested on the mysterious masked man and she remembered her conversation with the annoying voice from three days ago. Could this man be the good news?

Lord Leteas beamed brightly. "Did you hear that, good sir? She is pleading with you to take her!"

His greed was clearly shown on his face. One million Numand was an amount that he couldn't get anywhere else, and surprisingly the elf was helping him to get it.

Then, he said harshly to the elf, "Hey, remember, this man is your new master and you must serve him throughout your life!" Then, he found himself smirking when he thought of the days when he would be counting gold coins amounting to a million Numand!

Amethyst lowered her face and continued to plead with the masked man, "I'll do anything for you. So, please take me..."

To get away from the wretched place would become a priority. So, she would do anything to achieve that goal.

The masked man inhaled deeply. "Very well, I'll take you with me since that's what you wanted."

He got down on one knee and draped his jacket over her exposed body and then, he carried her in his arms. They entered the carriage and after that, the carriage moved, leaving the dreadful place.

Inside the carriage, Amethyst was too weary and she rested her head against his firm chest and fell asleep.

Just this once, she thought she would drop all of her guards for the sake of getting some sleep.

...

Amethyst woke up when the carriage was not moving. She saw the masked man sitting near the door, guarding her.

"Are you awake?" she heard him ask as he turned in her direction but she could only see the black mask in the place of his face.

"I am," she responded and rearranged the jacket that was still wrapping her body. "Where are we right now?"

The place outside was different from the place she was at before. The place was much smaller in space and less populated.

"We're in Lind Town, one of the towns that were a little bit far from Hevean City the place where I got you."

Amethyst looked at the masked man. "Are you going to make me pleasure men here?"

The masked man chuckled. "Do you want to?"

"I don't want to," Amethyst answered faintly but her answer was straightforward and the message was clear.

The first ever man that was sent to her was now bedridden and she never regretted attacking him although the method she used was...too horrendous for a human and even for herself who had to perform the attack.

"Then, you have nothing to worry about for I won't allow anyone to touch you," the man said.

Amethyst rearranged her position, braving the pain that tormented her entire body. After she was comfortable enough about her sitting position, she began, "By the way, my name is Amethyst Elan. May I know yours or how should I address you?"

The man moved closer to her. "You can call me, Luveas." Excitement danced in his voice.

Amethyst looked deep into the two holes in the black mask hoping to see his eyes, but she saw nothing.

"Nice to meet you, Luveas," she said politely. Although she should be wary about him, manners should come first and then she would deal with the rest later.

"Nice to meet you too, Amethyst Elan," Luveas responded.

Suddenly, he leaned closer and his mask was too close to her face as if they were about to kiss. "You smell so sweet..." he stated softly.

Amethyst turned mum at the unexpected statement.

For dear sacred animals in Ancea, she smelt nothing as sweet as he said. How could she smelt sweet when she was covered in filth and also blood?