After a year, or maybe two? Silence couldn't remember, Sam started to get bored. He was moved to a new room, instead of Sam's room. He sat in silence, his heartbeat the only sound. Every once in a while he was fed and watered, but it was definitely less often than when he was chained to Sam's bedroom wall. He wondered if this was a new kind of torture Sam has thought up, but Silence never saw him once was was moved to that cold room.
Silence was in the room so long that his wounds healed, even with the lack of nutrition. He spent the days counting how many times the pipe in the ceiling dripped water into the floor. There was an average of once per minute.
After what seemed like forever, a tall male alien walked into the room, grabbing his upper arm and dragging him out of the room and onto a stage. It was dark, and he kneeled on the cold wooden floor.
Before the man left, he shoved something into Silence's inner elbow, something that made his vision go fuzzy.
- - -
Calum sat in the crowd, ever since his friend Sam had introduced him to this particular underground auction, he had attended the weekly auctions. This particular auction always had the best wares.
This week, just like every other week, he secretly hoped Silence would be on display. He was quite distressed when he found out that he was missing, having searched everywhere he could think of, and even calling in a few favors. No one could find him. It had been 2 ½ years, and at some point he would have to accept that Silence would never be found, but he kept telling himself one more week, that Silence will be auctioned off next time.
He never was.
The first item that was shown was some antique vase. Calum showed no interest in the item. There was a collar that had been made with illegal technology, it could control the thoughts of the wearer. There were only a dozen of those.
After a few more items came the pets. There were a pair of pets that came from a distant planet, they were some of the only left of their species. The auctioneers had them all dolled up in matching outfits, hoping they would sell for more. Next came a few very skilled pets, and finally, for the grand finale. Something Calum always listened to.
"And now, for the most expensive item of the day, an albino human."
This made Calum hope. Could it really be him?
Silence was led into the stage. His eyes were hooded, and he was a bit wobbly, but overall he looked okay, granted Calum was in the back of the room, unable to see any of the scars Sam left on him.
"As you can see, in the right light, this human has violet eyes, unde the right light. Less than 1% of the human population has such eyes. The bidding starts at 20 million."
Before Calum could do anything, there was already a bit of a bidding war going in, and the bids soon rose above 100 million. #32, an alien with a tight braid down his back, and gills on his neck, beat the other man at 120 million. That was when Callum started to bid.
The auctioneer was stunned when the bidding went higher than 250 million.
That was when Silence looked up from his lap, looking straight into Callum's eyes. His small smile grew into a real smile full of joy. He lifted his hands to sign one word. Master.
Not a minute later, #32 sat grumbling in his seat, as the auctioneer announced that Callum had won at 400 million. He could easily pay such an amount, he was the second richest creature in this dimension.
He sat impatiently while a few more pets were sold. Exotic and expensive, but he could not think of them, only focusing on when he could go retrieve Silence.
Finally, after what, to him, seemed like forever, he was able to get up and go to the back to see Silence. He was sitting in the center of the cage they had put him in, his eyes glued to the floor, only snapping up when they heard him approach.
He smiled, his skin was bruised, and up close you could see that his nose was at a slightly off angle, as if it was broken, but never properly treated. It made Silence look even more boyish and innocent, something Callum was glad he did not lose in all the time they were apart. Though he was skinnier, his bones were easily viable, and he had dark circles under his eyes.
He unlocked the cage, it had been programmed to respond to his fingerprint. He gently lifted Silence out of the cage, settling him on his chest, leaving a small kiss on his forehead, making Silence beam. He snuggled closer and once again signed "Master."
As Callum went back to his ship, he knew everything would be alright, now that his pet was returned to him.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed!
