Rise Up - Mage & Demon Queen

Chapter 1 - Market

   "Hey! Look at this kid!" A man in a dark purple cloak said, grabbing my hair roughly and pushing my head back to get a better look at my neck. "Whats on her neck? Some sort of magic crest?"

   I weakly looked over at the man, too tired to care about the tight grip he had on me. I saw a blond man with a middle part come up behind him and place a hand on his own chin and bend down to get a better look at me.

   "Yes! Ive heard of cases like this! People who are born with crests have exceptional abilities!" He spoke, smiling greedily and staring like a hungry dog. I took a moment to look at him, he appeared fairly wealthy, with a well kept vest and carefully hemmed sleeves.

   "Lets not jump to conclusions, it could just be a dumb tattoo or a strange looking birth mark." The cloaked man responded before turning to me and continuing, "So kid... d'you have any special powers?"

    "If she does, then she'd make an excellent buy!" The other man added on. I looked up the cloaked man with confusion. I didn't know about any mark, especially on my neck. I stayed silent and could see the cloaked mans anger build.

   "What? Cant you speak?" He spat at me, a low rage settling in his voice. "Dammit.. wheres your handler?! Hey! Who's the person in charge here?!", He continued, roughly letting go of my hair and sending my head to the side. I regained my balance and looked at the dirt beneath my feet as I heard footsteps approaching.

   "Gentlemen please. We havent even put that product on display yet!" A middle age man said, coming up from the same side the other men were standing. He had a smug look on his face when he spoke, as if he was above everyone else because of his precious slaves.

   "So whats the deal with this kid?" The cloaked man asked as my 'handler' approached. I started to zone out as they continued their conversation. I caught a few words here and there, but all I could focus on was the one word he used.

   Product.

   Thats all I am now, huh? A pitiful slave who will spend the rest of my life in a miserable cycle of begging for whatever scraps I can get. I want out, I want my parents to show up and buy me back I just want someone, anyone please.

   "Lets take a look" I realized I hadn't been paying attention to my captors when I heard a new voice beside me. I turned my head slightly to see a thin women with a witch like hat and curly red hair walking up with a small book in her hand. My handler yanked my head back and I let out a small yelp of pain as the older man chuckled.

   The witch lady leaned in and closely looked at the mysterious mark on my neck before quickly flipping through the pages of the book in her hand. She suddenly froze at one page and let out a small gasp. She looked at my mark again, as if it was going to change, before looking back at the book.

   I looked at her face to see a devilish grin appearing across it. "This child is much more valuable than thirty thousand gold" she said as she motioned a few of the others over to her side. They each took their time studying the crest on my neck and comparing it to whatever was in that book.

   My handler waved his hand in the air, signaling to one of the guards, before yelling across the courtyard, "MOVE HER TO A SEPARATE CART". I was helpless as I was taken away from the other slaves my age, still in chains as one of the guards grabbed my cuffs and led me back to where the unloaded carts were.

   I glanced to the side, the area was mostly empty, there was still a full cart of demons that had yet to be unloaded. I let out a small scream as I was shoved into an empty cart and the gate slammed shut behind me. "Damn brat..." I heard the guard mumble as he walked away.