The Catalyst

Azari Steel - Sold for Gold

The rustling of movement and wood creaking open pulled the girl from her slumber, her mother standing at the source of the noise. The lean woman's face was harder than normal as she opened the shutters, letting in the dim light of sunrise. The chill reached through her thin blanket, prompting the teen to shiver. Her eyes opened, a liquid silver without the light to shine in them. "Up girl, and clean yourself. Get yer best dress on," the older woman said harshly, casting the beautiful teen for a moment before leaving her, retreating to the larder. The girl watched the woman she called 'mother' until the larder door closed behind her. Her makeshift bed before the fire had died down over the past hours, the warmth absent as the girl stretched, wrapping the thin blanket around her shoulders.
Retrieving a bucket, she went outside, starting the cold muddy trek across the yard to the well to retrieve some icy water to wash with. She wonder what the occasion was to have to wash and dress up...even if 'dressing up' meant that she just dusted off her dress, and tried to scrub out the blood and mud from it. Her feet sank into the mud with each step, the thick sludge cold in the early morning. The thin blanket did little to ward off the cold as her breath billowed around her with each exhale. By the time she returned inside, her fair skin was paler than normal, the bucket of water in her hands as she settled by the door to clean herself. The water bit into her skin, numbing her as she cleaned herself, and her clothes. By the time she was done, her mother had prepared breakfast, a wooden bowl on the table beside where her parents sat. Her clothes still half wet, she joined them, careful to not make much of a mess.
Her fingers were still half numb as she reached for the bowl, fumbling for a minute as she let the warm bowl bring feeling back to her hands. The slip of porridge and strip of meat in the bowl was normal for her meals, the meat being a recent addition to her diet. The plates of her parents contained a little more meat, cheese and some bread, but she didn't mind. It was how things worked here. Once her fingers stopped tingling, she lifted the bowl to her lips, eating the porridge. It was bland as always, the meat being one of the first flavors she'd had since she snuck cheese as a child. She missed the taste... It had been creamy and sharp... And cost her a week of half food. As usual, she finished her food first. "I'll start my chores for the day, mother, father," she said, rising from the table. "Don't bother, girl." Her father said, glancing towards the door. "We're expecting company. Town over," he jerked his head as he spoke, voice low and gruff. Obediently, she sat back down, glad to not be moving in her wet clothes. She had been raised as an obedient child, though they said it was for how she acted as an infant, too full of life, so they prepared her for the real world. That spark of curiosity had remained in her, though quieted. Her parents liked that she was quiet, thinking she was obedient and probably dim. But she saw everything; the way her father stayed out late and stank of beer, how he'd come home later the night before, the way her mother glared at her as if she were a pest. Above all, she noticed that they had never called her anything but 'girl'. They never even gave her a name.
A short while later, there was a knock at the door, prompting her mother to rush and answer it. A tall, slim man stood in the door, dressed in a long black tunic that hugged his form and fell to his knees. He stood with his hands behind him, a charming smile coming to his lips as the door opened. "Ah! Good morning! I assume you must be Liza, Phillip's lovely wife!" The man said, forming a smile as he bowed to her. The girl watched keenly as her mother smiled, fluttering happily for a moment before opening the door for him to come inside. The man gave Phillip a polite nod before resting on her. His eyes lit up, instantly expressing interest. "Is this her?" He asked, the remark more a formality, it seemed."T'is" Phillip replied, gesturing his hand for the girl to rise. Obediently, she did as she was bid, fumbling her way around a curtsey as the man watched her, eyes alight with a fire of some sort. "Good, good. You were right: she's lovely. A little on the slim side, but that can be fixed with a few good meals," lifting a hand, he beckoned her forward "Do come here, my dear. I don't bite." The mystery man said, tone charming. She wasn't sure she believed him, but she did as she was told, stopping just before him.
Slowly, he started to walk around her, appraising her small body, thin from lack of food, but blossoming to womanhood nonetheless. She could feel his eyes look her form up and down intently as he circled her a few more times. Finally, he stopped before her, one hand reaching under her chin to tilt her head up to him. As her eyes met his, she saw him gasp in surprise. "My word! You didn't mention her eyes, good man! They'll like diamonds! She'll be a hit for sure. And you say she's quiet? I've already seen how obedient she is," he said. The girl barely heard as the man continued. She had hoped he was someone she might marry, but she was slowly starting to understand what was happening...sort of. "One last thing," the man said, turning back toward her. "What's your name?" Her eyes met his once more before replying "I don't have one..." "Well, we can't have that now, can we?" He asked brightly, "How about...Azari? You like that? Of course you do! Now come along dear, the boys at home can't wait to meet the newest member." He said, grabbing her hand as he started to pull her towards the door. The girl, now known as Azari, pulled back against the hand holding her, panic starting to set in as she realized that she had been sold to the man. "No...No!" She turned frantically, not sure she wanted to go with this man. The pieces of conversation she'd heard painted him as the owner of a house of ill repute...not that she fully knew what that meant, but it was a place she'd rather avoid. To no one's surprise, her parents simply looked away, letting the taller, stronger man pull her away.
Two days later, she had been taken to the next town over, cleaned, clothed, fed and initiated into her line of 'work'. Trusted with a chore of going shopping with one of the other girls, she followed along quietly, looking at the bustling market, learning what she could. A flash of vibrant gold caught her eye as she moved, her eyes turning on reflex to follow the color. It was hair, beautiful and gold as the coin her 'clients' paid with. Upon a slightly closer inspection, the hair belonged to a girl, maybe around her age moving around the marketplace. The girl was beautiful, more so than the girls she was now surrounded by at the brothel. Glancing ahead, the girl Azari had come with was busy haggling prices, so the youth moved closer to the blonde female, surprise in her eyes when she caught a glimpse of the molten gold eyes of the other girl, eyes that matched her hair.
Slowly, a little shy, she stepped forward. She wanted to introduce herself to this new person, but held back out of shyness. She'd not been around many people so far, but this girl drew her closer, made her want to know who she was. Finally, her curiosity and the draw pulled her forward. Just as she was about to speak, a dog ran past her feet, tripping her and sending her forward into the girl. "Oh! I'm so...so sorry!" She breathed, silver eyes wide as she quickly backed up to arms length, trying to straighten her clothes so that she looked nearly as presentable as the taller girl before her, not knowing that her life was about to get better.