I Fell in Love with a King of Narnia (book 3)

chapter 6. the escape

♟Charlotte

"Come on wake up! Wake up rise and shine!"

I feel my head snap up and feel my raw wrists reminding me that the events of last night were very real and not a nightmare. I feel myself flinch and see the dried blood and the large purple ring bruises around them.

"Oh Charlotte," Lucy says frowning and nearly in tears when she sees me frowning at my wrists and when I try to move my arm it screams at me to stop moving.

"It's...I'm fi-I'm alive Lucy," I say forcing a smile but I can tell even she sees right through it. I frown and look back down the memories and nightmares from last night haunting me. Just remembering it all makes me...I lean as far forward as I can and throw up. Several people around us complain but Eustace and Lucy look sympathetic. For Eustace to have any sympathy right now must mean I look really bad.

"Charlotte I'm so sorry about last night," Lucy says moving to touch me but I immediately flinch away from her. She stops her hand and looks guilty.

"It's..I'm sorry it's just..." I trail off unsure on how to even finish that sentence, "I just didn't want to see you or even Eustace like this," I finally come up with tugging my knees close to my chest.

"What happens now?" Eustace asks looking at Lucy and me.

"Now, we go to the auction," I answer as the warden of our group orders for us to stand up with everyone else. As we step out of the building or cellar or whatever you wan to call it, the new morning sun shines down harshly upon us and are all pushed outside and chained to a wall. As we sit in the heat for longer than I want, we see a large wooden carriage carrying a group of people and there is one woman who sticks out from them all. She is trying to reach out to her husband as she is being carted away. The husband and small girl, I'm assuming is the woman's daughter, chases after the wailing woman.

They all call for one another to come back and cry for each other but the cart never stops and one of the guards stops the father dead in his tracks while the little girl is held back by another woman.

When I see her husband chase after her, not wanting to see her leave, breaks my heart but I refuse to look weak anymore in front of these people and keep my tears hidden. Soon enough the cart disappears from our sight and all of us are left watching the little girl weep for her mother.

Just as quickly as the mother was taken, we are  called to the the stage to begin the auction. Lucy is first.

I stand by and I can see her fear making her shake and stand in a stance that is small and somewhat weak looking. She is not weak but I can see she's trying not to appear like the strong High Queen she is. I cannot blame her and I see her squinting to try and block the sun out of her eyes. It doesn't take long for the people to start betting on her right away.

"I bid 60!"

"I bid 80!"

"100 for the little lady!"

"120!"

"150!"

And that last bid was the final one and she has a sign put around her neck that says sold. I could not feel more livid at the thought of being 'sold' to another human being when I am one.

"Our next one is quite the eye catcher!" The auctioneer says and he pulls me forward and all the men begin to cheer and whistle. "Lets start the bid at 100?"

I get a lot of bids and once it gets to the 400s I start to look out and see that same man from last night standing in the middle of the crowd smiling at me. I cringe back and he raises his hand.