I woke up as our cart hit a bump in the road. I brushed my long red hair from my face as I looked around me, wincing as I felt my bruises on my side from the beatings I had received over the course of our 2 month trip. I shouldn't be complaining. Some of the others had been beaten so badly they would probably wake up in a pool of their own blood. Well, if they woke up anyway. The slavers never hit the women's faces. Lucky for me, we had to look “presentable.”

I looked at the shackles on my arms, cursing my birth. I was born into slavery, taken from my parents and raised to be a Diamond as most of the children of slaves were. But that was 20 years ago. They have probably been worked to death by now.

The sad reality of the world is that not everyone is equal. Not everyone gets to be happy. In this world everyone bowed down to someone stronger than them. I just had it in the job description. I looked down at my right foot grimacing as I ran my hand along the tattoo of a red diamond.

I looked out the barred windows of our cart to see the cliffside city of Astrakhan, founded over 500 years ago by the dragonslayer Victor Imgal, who was the sole survivor after killing a fire dragon. The city was dug out of the side of the cliff, long bridges of stone and the large staircases connected the walled base to the balconies above. Most travelers would be in awe of such a spectacle. Unfortunately, this would be the place I was sold. Where all of us would be sold.

Slaves came in all ages, races, and backgrounds. As I looked around me, I saw the faces of dwarven men who could not pay their drinking bills, feline women who were tricked into going into the wrong alley, the children of negligent parents who were kidnapped. And more. Some of them were even ex-slavers that couldn't make their dues to their bosses. Slavers didn't really care who you were. They only saw you as as a means to make money.

In the cart there was only one other Diamond, a young Lycan like me named Slate who was 9 years old. He was very cautious and did not stir up a lot of trouble. Maybe he was just smart and knew how to avoid becoming a practice dummy for the guards. Most Diamonds like us would be house servants as we were taught to read and write and could help our masters with their work. I often had to protect the boy as the other Suits didn't like us. I suppose we deserve their hate considering we had it better than most. The Clubs would be sold as gladiators to fight in the arenas. Well, that was assuming they could survive their almost daily beatings till that point. Conditioning the slavers called it. I don’t know if it actually helped them in the ring but if they got lucky, they may eventually fight there way to freedom. Highly unlikely though. Spades would almost always be sent to work in the mines, who had high turnover rates. Just like my parents. If they were lucky, they would be bought by a farm and work to produce food but slaves on farms rarely needed to be replaced. All I can say is I’m glad I wasn't a Heart. In my book, they had it the worst. With good luck they would become the wife of a rich and lonely man forever catering to their sick desires. Or dead in the gutter behind a brothel if they were not so lucky.

I called Slate to me with a harsh whisper, and he crawled over slowly, trying not to make too much noise.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“I won't be able to protect you much longer.” I whispered to him, his young face showing confusion.

“What do you mean Rina?” He asked his dirty, white ears drooping, tears welling up in his eyes.

“This is the last stop of the slave caravan. Here we will either be sold or dumped into the slave pens till someone decides to buy us. I will try to convince whoever buys me to buy you as well.” He hugged me crying into my rags. All I could do was pull him close to me and gently stroke his ears in an attempt to calm him.

“Please don't leave me Rina.” He mumbled into me. I wish I had that choice.

We had slowed down and finally stopped. I looked at the towering walls protecting the city, mounted with cannons and ballistas. The walls had enough firepower to kill a dragon if necessary. In the past large groups were needed to fight dragons. However, nowadays they were not as big of a threat.

My ears twitched as I heard the city's gates creak open as our cart pulled forward. As we pulled into the city I looked out the window to see a man race through the busy streets stealing bread from a nearby stall and darting up a staircase that led to a dark alley. The sound of vendors trying to sell cheap products at high prices filled the air as we were carted through the city. I looked out at the vendors selling their wares the sounds of arguing and cheering coming from the many alcoves surrounding us. As we passed through I felt the stares of the populace.

There were usually three types of people that looked at us anywhere we went. The first consisted of people who thought slavery was wrong, and hurled insults at our captors as we passed by. To afraid to actually do anything though. The second group of people included those that looked away from us,trying to ignore the reality of our situation. Finally, there were the people shamelessly looking at us, trying to decide which one of us they wanted to buy. At least they were honest.

By the time our cart reached the market where we would be sold at it had grown dark. I heard footsteps approaching as the lock on our cart opened.

“Ay, you lot better be prepared to bought in the morning.” The guard said as he tossed in a sack of bread and 2 flasks of water. As an emaciated elven man reached out to grab the food, the guard brought down the end of his polearm, crushing the frail hand.

“You stupid needle ear. You need to learn patience”.

The man wailed in pain and the guard proceeded to kick him across the face, his blood and teeth hitting the floor.

“You need to learn to shut up as well” said the guard with a sneer. He looked over us and pointed at two of the Hearts.

“You two are coming with us, you seem under trained.” He said with a sleazy look on his face as he grabbed their chains and dragged them forward. I could see the tears in their eyes as they were taken away from the rest of us. I didn't have time to worry about them. It's almost time.

“Don’t get yourselves killed” the guard joked as he left with the two women.

The second the door closed behind the guard, a brawl ensued in our tiny cart. I was close to the front of the cart and rushed in and got a loaf of bread which Hid in my rags. I dove for one of the flasks, managing to take a few sips before tossing it to Slate who did the same. Water was a scarce resource for us and people would kill to get it. A wall of people crawling over each other rapidly approached Slate as he proceeded to throw the flask to the back of the cart. The crowd turned back and ran to retrieve it. I scrambled next to Slate and huddled together with him scarfing the hard bread down quickly. Once we had eaten we found a corner to rest in away from the fighting.

We had come up with that plan and had been using it for the last few weeks. Overall it was working out well. It was nice to have someone help execute your plans...liar. I tried to be cold and distant to the boy as we would be separated shortly. But as I looked at Slate resting his head in my lap, sleeping, I only had one thought drifting in my mind. I'm gonna miss him.