A Greater Lesson

Chapter 13: The Auction

I woke up to Garis’s kick to my side.  “Get up animal!” 

I turned over and grabbed the flesh where he had kicked.  I looked up at him with anger.  I wasn’t going to do anything to him, he could kill me with his eyes closed, I just didn’t like the guy.  He bared his teeth at me and turned around.  I looked around to find the others, but only found Jerghund.  Targon must’ve been sent on an errand.  They always gave him the simplest tasks because he wasn’t as smart as the others.

I stretched and sat up obediently. 

“Stand up!”  Jerghund walked towards me with a bowl he had been stirring something in.  I scrambled to my feet and he pushed me up against the wall.  He grabbed the stick that he was stirring the liquid with and I found it was a paintbrush.  He had created a bowl of white paint and began to apply it to my face.  I flinched when the cold liquid touched my forehead, but soon adjusted to the temperature.  “Close your eyes and keep ‘em shut until I tell you otherwise.”

I did as he said and felt the brush run along my eye lid.  He continued painting various parts of my face with white while Garis began to braid the ropes of my skirt together.  The painting stopped, but I kept my eyes closed.  He came back with a smaller brush and I assumed a different color.  Garis adjusted my skirt so the braided rope was behind me like a tail.  The color of the paint changed a few more times and he stopped altogether. 

“You can open your eyes when it dries.” 

I pushed out my lower lip to redirect the air to my face as I blew to dry it quicker.  I periodically touched my face to feel its dryness and when I was satisfied, I opened my eyes.

“I got them Jerg!” Targon cried as he burst into the room holding up some concoction made of brass. 

“Good,” Jerghund grabbed them from his hands and set them on the table.  A paint mixture containing gold dust and flecks was glazed on the long metal pieces to create the illusion they were golden.  Then he came towards me once again.  No matter how many times he had approached me since we’d met, every time I held my breath in fear of what was coming. He grabbed my hand and pushed my first four fingers through holes in the design.  I looked at my hand as he repeated the same thing on the other.  The metal came out from my knuckles in long sharp spikes like claws; golden claws.  I felt my stomach growl, but if they didn’t offer me food, I wasn’t going to ask.

Targon pushed me forward away from the wall and into a chair.  I caught my breath when he tilted my head back.  I felt him tug on my hair and realized he was dressing my hair somehow.  I fiddled with the brass resting on my knuckles and looked around.  The other guys were going about their business, gathering things for the auction, filling bags, and talking quietly to each other about things I couldn’t understand.  Targon pushed my head forwards making me look down while he continued with his work.  Whatever he was doing was intricate; he tugged my hair this way and that way and left my head throbbing when he finished a long while later.  I wondered what I looked like.  I had no way of telling what had been done to my face or my hair.  Had they made me look aggressive and scary?  Would Xik recognize me?  I could only hope for my safety during and after the auction.

 The men hustled about with their preparations and Jerghund disappeared outside. 

“Get up!”  Garis walked in front of me and grabbed my wrist.  He slapped and locked my hands in shackles.  “If you’re going to pass as a jaguar, we have to sell the idea.” 

I didn’t care for his explanation.  He made the latch tighter than he had to so that I cringed a little.  He just didn’t like me.  Frankly, he wasn’t my favorite either.  He scared me more than the others.