Dragon's Lover {KiriBaku}

~: Chapter Two :~

-Kirishima's POV: Age 8-

I've been living on the road for a few years now, having shifted back to normal in my sleep. Shockingly my clothes weren't torn to shreds after what happened back at the village. I tried to put it behind me as I pushed farther and farther from the ruins of my life. I had looked through my bag after I woke up and found that the aid had put a small pouch of money in the bag. I managed to save most of it, taking the liberty to get a bigger bag and some tools to catch food.

I usually couldn't bring myself to kill any animal I caught, instead sticking to some berries and twigs to eat. I had water from a stream off the side of the road, as well as chewing on a twig as I walked down the road towards the next town. My mothers ring was still snuggly against my finger as I walked and played with it. There were a bunch of people that would pass by me as I walked, finally reaching the outskirts of town.

As I was walking towards one of the local hotels I bumped into someone, a boy about my age with spiky blonde hair. Before he could possibly yell at me a woman grabbed his arm and dragged him away from me. I don't blame her, I look like an absolute mess and no doubt looked terrible to leave kids around. I made it to the hotel, getting a cheap room for a few nights. I made it to my room and laid on the bed with the door locked.

Of course I eventually washed up and made my way down to the tavern, getting a small smile from one of the workers as well as a decent, small meal. I wasn't gonna complain though so I sat there quietly as I ate, enjoying every bite. One of the workers approached me after I finished eating, taking my plate and returning to sit with me.

"Hey there little one, where's your parents?" she asked, looking concerned.

"I'm on my own, but don't worry I'll be back on the road after tomorrow." I said, starting to get up.

"Why don't you stay here with all of us? It's up to you sweetie." she said, standing with me.

"I really shouldn't stay for too long." I stated, walking away before she could say something.

I made it back to my room feeling a little uneasy and I made sure my door was locked before going to sleep, tired from my travels. The sounds of people moving around the halls kept me up a bit longer, though I still fell asleep and wandered into stillness.

My leg bumped against something as I slowly opened my eyes. I could see the ground and someone's back and legs. My eyes shot open as I started to squirm to try to get loose from their grip. Their grip only tightened the more I squirmed around starting to hurt my waist. I eventually stopped squirming as they tossed me in a cage. I got hit by something, though it was too dark to see what it was.

"A halfling should fetch a fine price, wouldn't you say?" said the lady that had been at the tavern.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I yelled, pulling on the bars of my cage.

"Oh I don't think so, you'll bring us a lot of money." she stated, smiling wickedly before they both left.

I was in the dark room, stuck in a cage made to hold my kind. I had only my mothers ring that could calm me down. I toyed with it for hours until the guy came back with a tray of food. I tried to stay on the opposite side of the cage, though it was very small. He slid the tray through a small slit at the bottom of one side and left.

The tray had a wooden spoon and nothing else but food. I sniffed it a little, it smelled a little funny but I still ate it. I was very hungry in all honesty, and I didn't know when I'd get to eat again. It tasted funny as well as the weird smell, I started to feel kinda sleepy after eating it. Everything spun as I laid down, trying to make it stop. I stared at the door until everything went dark when it opened.

-Time Skip: Much Later-

I woke up in another cage, though my bag was missing and there was a sheet over the cage. I could hear a loud voice somewhere as the sheet was yanked off. I coward into the corner, trying to stay away from the man that gave me the weird food. He opened the door and grabbed my arm, yanking me out of the cage and put a blindfold and cuffs on me before he started dragging me down the hall. The voices were getting louder before we stopped outside a room and he held my arm so I couldn't run off.

"Finally, the last product of the evening." the lady was yelling over the crowd in the other room.

"Move halfling." the guy huffed, pushing me through the open door.

"A very rare and young halfing, we will be starting off at the price of 20 gold pieces." she stated.

"25 pieces!" a voice yelled, followed by others slowly raising the price.

"10 crowns!" a booming voice yelled, silencing everyone.

"Sold to the man with red hair!" the lady shouted before I was hauled out of the room and back to my cage.

-Time Skip: 10 minutes later-

I could hear people walking around outside my cage, collecting what I assume they bought at the auction.

"Here is your halfling, would you like him to stay in the cage for transport sir?" the man asked.

"No, he won't be any trouble. I would like him to be muzzled though, as they tend to bite." the man with the booming voice stated.

"Yes of course, we will have him out to you shortly." the man stated as the other guy walked away.

I was taken out of my cage and the blindfold taken off of me and put on a muzzle. He attached a collar to me with a leash and led me out of the building. I could see mothers ring still on my finger, but my bag was nowhere near by. I was tugged along by the collar, walking out to find a tall, muscular man standing by a carriage with a very angry look about him. I tried to back away and hide from him, only to get yanked forwards, with an annoyed grunt from the man with the leash.

"He seems to be a fighter, enjoy your product sir." the man said, bowing slightly and handing off my leash.

The other man took my leash and climbed into the carriage, practically dragging me up into the carriage with him. I was pushed to the far corner once I was in and the door was locked behind me. We lurched forwards as we headed to our new destination, the man not talking much until we were getting closer to the place.

"You will not speak to anyone. You will do as you are told. You will not strike another person. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

I only nodded my head in response, too scared to use my voice to answer him. He seemed annoyed by this but didn't say anything as we pulled up to a halt. We got out, me being dragged, and I got a good look of my new home. It was a kind of cave on a cliffside under a palace. We made our way inside, going through many different passageways before coming to a stop at a door with a number on it.

"This is your new home, remember this number. That's all you are now." he stated, opening the door and taking off the muzzle and cuffs before tossing me in.

The door was locked behind me and I looked around the tiny room. There was one window that a small bird could maybe fit through up near the ceiling. The bed was a cot on one wall, some red splotches on the blanket. There was a small medical box, a bucket to use for the bathroom, a little shelf, and an open pipe sticking out of the wall.

This was my new way of life, and it sucked.