Ralia sat at the table with her foot tapping against the floor furiously. Hope sat next to her pouting over the note sitting on the table. Ralia herself was not happy either.
“How could master do this!” Hope huffed and crossed her arms, “We should have gone with him and Bella.”
“We’re needed here,” Ralia said taking a deep sigh, “Remember the goblin you fought? Seneschal has increased the number of patrols to keep an eye out for more of them, but we’re needed to defend it.”
“But I wanted to go,”
“So did I, but the master has given us our orders,” Ralia tapped her fingers on the table, “So we need to follow them,” she rose from her seat, “Let’s get to the dungeon so Seneschal can increase your rank. Trust me, you’ll want that ten percent experience boost.”
Hope pushed herself away from the table, “Fine,”
Before they left the dining room, a knock sounded from the door. Ralia opened it and found the headsman standing there. A man in a brown brigandine coat stood next to him, he perked up when he saw them. Ralia glared at the man as he leered at them and stepped in front of Hope.
Barin coughed to get their attention, “Is Nathaniel here?”
“No,” Ralia said keeping her eyes on the stranger, “Who’s this?”
“I’m Tormen,” the man said, “I’m looking for my slave, a dark elf, and I heard that she may be here.”
“She’s not,” Ralia sneered at him, “Her collar ran out of magic and came off. After that, she ran away in the middle of the night.”
“Damn it,” Torman said, “Why did you let her escape?”
“She didn’t belong to my master, so why should we,” Ralia growled causing Torman to flinch, “Besides, you’re the one who lost her. Don’t blame us because you can’t keep track of your slaves.”
“Then maybe your master should compensate me,” he gave them a dark smile, “A dragon-heart and fey should easily cover the loss of my dark elf.”
Ralia couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re mad,” she said wiping away tears, “To compare my value to a dark elf is insulting. Besides,” she gave Torman a deadly glare, “I’d rather kill you than let you anywhere near my master.”
“I’m sorry, that was a bad joke,”
“Indeed,” Ralia began closing the door, “Goodbye headsman.” She sighed heavily when she heard them walk away.
“I don’t like him,” Hope growled, “I bet he’s the one who put that broken collar on Bella.”
“We can agree on that,” Ralia walked to the forge and grabbed a spear, “We’d best keep our eyes out for more than monsters now.”
“Please…don’t do this,” Bella said trying to ignore the pain coursing through her body. Sweat poured down her face, and she had to rest against Nathaniel to keep from falling over.
“We’re getting that collar off you,” Nathaniel said wrapping one arm around her, “After that, you’re free to do whatever you want.”
“I’ll just cause you trouble,”
“I don’t care,” Nathaniel snapped the reins which made the drebin move, “I can’t stand watching you suffer like this.”
Belladryn sighed. Normally she wouldn’t have accepted a human’s help so easily. She was aware of their cruelty, but her [Insight] talent told her Nathaniel was different, despite not wanting to believe it. In fact, it seemed like he wasn’t human at all, or at least not a human from this world.
In the past week she had seen how the other humans of Treante had treated Ralia and Hope. They weren’t outright hostile with them, but her talent showed that most of the villagers didn’t care for them. There was an underlying distrust in their interactions, but Nathaniel wasn’t like that. In their first interaction, there was no distrust, hostility, or haughtiness to his words, and that made her suspicious. Her [Insight] talent revealed that he was concerned for her wellbeing.
“Aren’t you a tad early,” the guard at the gate drew her attention. She pulled the hood of her cloak further to cover her face, “And who’s this with you?”
Nathaniel pulled her closer, “This is my wife,” Belladryn could feel her face getting hot, “She hasn’t been feeling well, so I’m hoping a healer in town could take a look at her.”
“Finally found yourself a proper woman,” the guard laughed waving them on, “Good for you.”
“Thanks,” Nathaniel waved as they rolled through the gates. “Sorry about that,” he said when they were out of the guards’ hearing.
“I understand,” Belladryn chuckled putting more of her weight on him, “You don’t mind if we continue this farce for a bit longer, do you?”
“By all means,” Nathaniel said, “You can rest on me for as long as you need.”
“Thank you,” Belladryn closed her eyes and allowed herself to find comfort in Nathaniel’s heartbeat.
“We’re here,”
Belladryn felt Nathaniel shift under her, and she opened her eyes. They stopped in front of a two-story building. Six wide panel windows sat on both sides of the double doors with humans standing behind them trying to usher customers inside. An attendant stepped out of the building and approached them.
“Master Light, it’s a pleasure to see you again. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Is Pomran here?” Nathaniel helped Belladryn down.
“He is,” the attendant said, “He’s in the back evaluating the new slaves that just arrived. Are you looking to purchase another slave?”
“No,” he looked to Belladryn. She nodded and pulled the cloak apart to reveal her slave collar. It glowed an angry red that pulsed every few seconds. “I was hoping he could provide some answers for me.”
The attendant’s eyes widened, “I see, very serious. This way.”
The attendant ordered another worker to keep an eye on the cart before leading them through the main hall into the back rooms. Belladryn swallowed as she saw the cages. Thankfully, most were empty, but they were led to a man standing in front of two cages that were occupied. One cage had a goblin sitting on a stool and rambling incoherently in its native tongue. In the other cage was a monster with the upper body that looked like a human man, but his lower half consisted of a snake’s tail. His skin glistened a golden bronze that matched the scales along his body. There was no prominent nose, just two nostrils on a slight bump where one should have been, and his scaly webbed ears were a strange sight.
“Greetings Nathaniel,” Belladryn’s gaze turned to the man, “What brings you here?”
“What happened to the orc and demon?” Nathaniel said gesturing to the new monsters.
“I couldn’t find a buyer for the orc here, so I shipped her to my father’s third wife in the capital,” Pomran shrugged, “Even if she doesn’t sell there, she can still make us money as a gladiator. As for the succubus, I had her shipped as far west as I could. She was starting to become…unnerving.”
“So, you replaced her with a naga?”
“Naga’s are quite useful,” Pomran said, “Their venom is used for many potions, and their scales make excellent jewelry. You should buy him, I’m certain he’d be of great use to you.”
“I’m actually here for another reason,” Nathaniel gently brought Belladryn forward. She unclasped her cloak and let it fall to the ground.
Pomran smiled at Belladryn which caused her to shiver, “A dark elf, and a lovely one at that,” He continued to eye her, “Where’d you find her?”
“In the forest east of Treante,” Nathaniel said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, “But it seems like someone tried enslaving her already. However, her collar is inflicting damage to her every few hours, and I was hoping you might be able to fix it.”
Pomran turned to the attendant, “Go fetch one of the slave crafters,” the attendant bowed and ran off. Pomran leaned in to get a closer look at the collar, “Definitely flawed. You have my apologies my dear. It must be terrible to be the victim of an arrogant upstart.”
“What do you mean?” Nathaniel said.
“Slave crafters are a secretive bunch,” Pomran chuckled with a shrug, “Most of the times, they run their apprentices ragged which causes a few to try and…usurp their master’s position. The result is this, a flawed collar.”
“Slave crafters, is that a class?” Nathaniel scratched his head.
“No, it’s a title,” a burly dwarf with a short curly ponytail and thick beard and eyebrows approached. Multiple scars ran down his arms and neck with a large scar in the center of his forehead. “Any artisan and crafter working in the slave trade are referred to as slave crafters.”
“This is Corbrand, he’s responsible for making all of my slave collars.”
Corbrand held out his thick hand, “A pleasure to finally meet you master Light,” he said giving Nathaniel a hardy handshake, “So, have you finally unlocked the secrets to crafting my collars?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I have, but I don’t plan on making them anytime soon.”
“That’s wonderful to hear,” Corbrand gave him a dark smile, “I’d hate to have to fight for my position here.”
“No need to feel threatened,” Pomran said, “Nathaniel here needs you to look at this flawed collar.”
Corbrand nodded, “I’m going to need you to come down to my level missy,” Belladryn kneeled and tried not to flinch when his hand grasped her collar. “You have my condolences,” he said, “This is the work of a third-rate amateur. The fool even inscribed their name on it,” he started laughing, “This Kiera definitely has some iron balls to put their name on this rubbish.”
“Is there anyway to take it off?”
“Not unless you’re the master,” Corbrand sighed, “Collars like these may be flawed, but their good at keeping slaves in line. And we can’t reassign a new master without the current one.”
Nathaniel gave Belladryn a worried look, “What do you mean?”
“The collar is fueled by the mana in the master’s blood,” Corbrand stroked his beard, “Properly made collars maintain the appropriate levels of mana to keep them from failing, and if it does, it’ll draw mana from the master to restore it,” he turned to Nathaniel, “I doubt you would have noticed it since you don’t use magic, right,” Nathaniel nodded, “These flawed collars don’t do that. When they leak mana, it causes the slave to feel pain, but if the master chooses to provide mana to the collar that won’t happen. As for taking it off, you just need to wait for the mana to run out.”
“How long will that take?” Nathaniel sighed.
Corbrand hummed in thought as he studied the collar, “I’d say…about a week.”
“Then we better go find an inn to stay at,”
“You’re free to stay with us again,” Pomran said, “And you won’t have to worry about mother. She’s gone to our summer home to rest. It’s not easy being pregnant at her age.”
“I’ll take you up on that offer then,” Nathaniel chuckled, “And give your mother my congratulations.”
“You shouldn’t have purchased that many healing potions,” Belladryn watched as Nathaniel stashed the vials in the common room cabinet, “My passive recovery should be able to keep up with the collar.”
“You can’t know that for certain,” Nathaniel said, “So, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Belladryn lowered her head, “Thank you,”
“Don’t mention it,” Nathaniel chuckled, “It’s getting late, why don’t we get ready for bed.”
Belladryn nodded and headed towards the servant room connected to the common room. It was a small room with a single bed, side table, and chest for her belongings. The room was humbler than what she was used to, but she wasn’t going to complain.
She pulled out her night gown from the chest. She unbuttoned the top of her dress and let it fall to the floor around her ankles. Before she could move, pain from the collar shot through her and forced her to her knees.
[Severe damage taken: Health 310/325]
Belladryn panted heavily. A soft blanket wrapped around her shoulders, covering her exposed body, and she felt Nathaniel pull her into his embrace.
“Are you all right,” Nathaniel gently held her.
The tension left Belladryn, “I will be in a few moments,” she said with a soft smile.
“Are you certain you’ll be fine on your own?”
“Yes,” she chuckled, “But I appreciate you looking out for me. I’m…sorry to be a burden.” A shiver ran down her spine when he started petting her.
“You’re not a burden,” he whispered, “Just let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” Belladryn enjoyed the comfort for a moment, “I’m feeling better now,” she said feeling the heat in her face, “I…still need to get dressed.”
“I’ll be outside if you need anything,”
Belladryn waited till she heard the door close before standing up. I never would have thought humans could be so kind. A tear ran down her cheek as she slipped into her night gown. Why did it have to be this way?
That night was brutal. Just as Belladryn was on the verge of sleep, her collar would activate. She spent the entire night hugging her pillow and biting into it just to keep herself from screaming. I don’t want to wake him. The birds singing told her that the sun was starting to rise. I better get up.
She released a large yawn as she dressed herself. When she stepped into the common room, she found Nathaniel sleeping on the sofa. Was he…out here all night? Belladryn gently touched his shoulder which caused him to jolt.
“Why didn’t you sleep in your bed?” Belladryn stared at the dark circles around his eyes and the drool staining his chin.
“I wanted to be close in case you needed me,” Nathaniel stretched his tired body, “Did you sleep well?”
“As well as I could,” Belladryn smiled, “Why don’t I go get us some breakfast.”
“I can go get it,”
Belladryn placed a hand on his shoulder, “Let me…please,” Nathaniel nodded, and she quickly left the room.
Belladryn was thankful that a maid was nearby to escort her to the kitchen. She filled up a tray with breakfast and made her way back to the common room. Nathaniel wasn’t there. Belladryn took a few steps to the center table before her collar flared. The pain caused her to drop the tray. Food and broken dishes littered the floor in front of her. She cried as she tightly closed her eyes.
Belladryn heard a door open, “I’m…sorry…I’ll clean…this up,” She opened her eyes and found Nathaniel kneeling in front of her already cleaning up the mess. “You don’t need to do that.”
“Why do you push yourself,” Nathaniel said gently picking up the broken porcelain, “You should take it easy until that collar comes off.”
“I can’t,” Belladryn sighed, “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I won’t understand until you tell me,”
Belladryn couldn’t stop the tears, “All my life, I’ve been raised to work for others,” she said wiping her tears away, “That’s how it is for us elves. We all work to support the grove and all those that live in it,” she finally looked at him. “We’re a family, even if we aren’t of the same blood. Now I’m…all alone.”
Nathaniel sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, “Haven’t you been listening,” he said in her ear, “I’m here for you.”
Belladryn buried her face into his shoulder and hugged him back. She held onto him tightly. She cried into his shoulder, letting the fear and loneliness stain his shirt. Nathaniel just held her until her tears finally stopped. When she pulled away, he wiped her tears away with his sleeve.
“From now on, you take it easy until that collar comes off,” Nathaniel smiled, “Once it’s off then we can decide what’s next,” Belladryn nodded, “I’ll take care of this while you go get some rest.”
Belladryn watched as Nathaniel cleaned up the mess and walked out of the room. A sweet smile came to her lips.
“Thank you.”
Nathaniel sat on the couch with his head resting on a plush pillow. The last five days were a struggle. He had to constantly remind Belladryn to relax. He would walk in on her doing chores which he would scold her for. This resulted in Nathaniel having to sit with her on the couch.
“I’m sorry,” Belladryn said leaning against him.
“It’s fine,” Nathaniel gently petted her, “Has there been any changes in the collar.”
“Not yet,” Belladryn tightened her hold on him, “But, I’m scared.”
Nathaniel nodded, “That’s why I got the potions. You’ll pull through this.”
“Thank you,” Belladryn smiled, but her collar sparked causing her to scream in pain.
The pulsing on the collar increased, and her screams sounded more painful than before. Belladryn’s nails dug into Nathaniel’s arms, and she buried her face into his chest. Finally, she pulled away, but she was sweating profusely.
“The collar…has reached the…next stage,” Belladryn whined, “Now it’s going to inflict forty-five points of damage every hour.”
“Let’s get you to the bed,” Nathaniel said picking her up.
Belladryn’s face flushed purple, “What are you doing!”
“I’m moving you somewhere where we can stabilize you,” Nathaniel pushed the door to his room open.
“But why your room?”
“Because my bed is larger,” he said, concern etching his face, “That way I can hold you down if need be. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
She hid her face in his shoulder, “Thank you,”
“I made you a promise remember,” Nathaniel said setting her down, “I’m going to go get the potions.”
Nathaniel quickly ran out to the cabinet in the common room and gathered as many potions as he could carry. When he got back, he set them on the side table next to the bed. Belladryn laid there with her back towards him and her hands over her face.
“What’s your health at?” Belladryn mumbled something but he couldn’t make it out. Nathaniel grabbed her and turned her towards him, pulling her hands away, “I need to know.”
“280,” she said not looking him in the eye.
“Okay,” Nathaniel sighed in relief, “These potions heal 100 points of damage. Let me know when you get close to two hundred points,” Belladryn nodded, her face still flushed. “I’m going to go get a chair.”
Nathaniel pulled in one of the chairs and sat it next to the bed. Awkwardness filled the room, but Nathaniel’s worry was stronger. He gently took Belladryn’s hand.
“I’m right here,” he smiled.
Belladryn smiled as she squeezed his hand, “Thank you. I’m…glad that you’re here.”
That day felt like it would never end. Every hour was painful to watch, but it was even worse for Belladryn. Sometimes she would crush his hand in her grip. Other times he had to hold her down to keep her from hurting herself, and by the third hour, they had to use a healing potion.
That night was even worse. Nathaniel wiped away the sweat pouring from Belladryn’s brow, then he stripped her down so he could clean off her body. Belladryn was too exhausted to do it herself. After feeding her another vial and a cup of water, Nathaniel lay down in bed next to her.
Tears poured down her cheeks as the new hour approached. Nathaniel couldn’t think of anything, so he embraced her. Belladryn reciprocated the embrace. Then, the collar activated again. Belladryn’s fingers tore through his clothes and into his flesh, and she buried her face in his chest.
“Don’t do that,” Nathaniel growled as he pulled the sheets over his shoulder, “Bite into this so you don’t bite your tongue off.”
Belladryn brought her face up and bit into the sheets, but the force of her bite pierced through and into Nathaniel’s shoulders. Finally, the pain stopped, and the two of them lay there panting heavily. This was the start of a long night.
Belladryn laid on the bed panting. Her eyes were heavy, and her throat sore, and she felt a desperate need to bathe. What’s worse was the guilt gnawing at her heart.
Her arms were wrapped around the man at her side. Blood stained her fingertips, and the taste of it lingered on her tongue. Nathaniel never left her side at all the last two days, and it ended with him being wounded. Yet, Belladryn tightened her hold on the human.
“Is it over?” Nathaniel groaned as he pulled the collar from her neck. Belladryn nodded which caused him to chuckle, “Good, now we can throw this fucking thing into the nearest furnace.” Slowly, he rose to his feet, “I’ll take care of the collar while you clean yourself up.”
Belladryn nodded as he left, and she slowly got out of bed. She wrapped herself in the sheets and headed into the common room. There was a tray of food on the sitting room table along with a large jug of water. Belladryn poured herself a glass of water and sighed as the cool water eased the pain in her throat.
“Finally got that collar off I see,” Belladryn glared as Pomran walked into the room, “It’ll be nice to end this little drama. I had to move to a guest room on the other side of the house because of your screaming.” She bowed which caused him to chuckle, “There’s something we need to discuss,” He set another slave collar on the table.
Belladryn glared at him and threw it across the room, “Never…again,” she croaked.
“Unfortunately for you, this is your only option,” Pomran said with a sly smile, “You’ll be enslaved again if another slaver finds you, and Nathaniel won’t be there to save you,” he picked up the collar from the floor, “So, why not become his slave,” Belladryn gave him a confused look, “Nathaniel can protect you, surely you realize that, and he can help with whatever situation you’re caught up in. You become his slave, he solves your problems, and then the two of you can live together happily.”
Belladryn blushed and hid her face in the blanket which caused Pomran to laugh, “Stop…that,”
Pomran held up the collar, “Well, what do you say?”
Belladryn stared at the collar. Fear, anger, and guilt tore at her, but after a calming breath, Belladryn nodded.
“Well then my dear, we need to get you cleaned up.”
Nathaniel rubbed at his eyes, trying to remove the crust around his eyes. The pain in his shoulders and back throbbed, but he couldn’t stop smiling now that Belladryn was free from the collar. He pushed into the common room and fell onto the couch. His hunger and tiredness fought for his attention. Hunger won. The food tasted so good, and the water was sweet to his parched throat. His eyes slowly closed now that his hunger was sated.
He woke to the door opening and found Belladryn and Pomran standing there. Belladryn stood tall, but her face flushed as she stood there in a revealing purple dress. However, Nathaniel could only see the collar around her neck.
Nathaniel stood up and glared at Pomran, “Explain, now.”
“She wants to be your slave,” Pomran said pushing Belladryn forward, “So she won’t have to worry about other slavers coming after her.”
“Why would they come after her?”
“Look at her,” Pomran scoffed, “She’s a dark elf, not to mention gorgeous, and since she isn’t a citizen of any kingdom, slavers will hunt her down once they find her,” Pomran slowly pushed her until she stood in front of Nathaniel, “Don’t tell me you’re going to abandon her now?”
Belladryn stared up at Nathaniel with glistening eyes, “No, I won’t.” She gave him a large smile.
“Then congratulations on your new slave, Inventor Hero.”