The Slave

description: slavery has been outlawed in Araluen; however, there are still those few that own them, and of course there are illegal slave traders. what happens when King Duncan and his group come upon a young slave that has them all falling in love with him, even the emotionless Halt? a young slave has somehow found himself to be the company of the king and some of his men, what will happen to him? and just exactly who it this slave?

warning: punishment of slave, mentions of inappropriate touching, blood, memories, beatings, and so on.

disclaimer: all known characters belong to author, John Flanagan! not me!

I tried to hide my fear as I was forced to my knees on the stage, knowing that after today my life would never be the same. I take a deep breath and try to focus on my breathing, not on the many eyes focused on me, which is easier said than done considering my current state. I am on my knees on a stage with about eight other boys, all of us in the same position. We all have our hands bound behind our backs with scratchy rope that digs into our wrists every time we move, and we're all gagged, and it doesn't help that we are all freezing since none of us have shirts on and it's snowing. there is one thing different with me though, unlike the other boys, I'm blindfolded, although I have no idea why, just that none of the other boys were. I shake my head and try to focus once more on my breathing, needing to find some way to take my mind off the cold, and distract myself from the fact that I'm about to be sold like a piece of meat. of course, that's all I am to these people. You see, I'm a slave, I have been for just a little over a year.

a year ago my village was visited by this group of slave traders who were looking for new inventory, and so were going around kidnapping young men and women. I had been living with my father on the edge of the village at the time. my father used to be a soldier, until the day my mother died giving birth to me, after that he became an abusive monster, who blamed me for the death of his wife. I always knew that my father hated me, why else would he beat me on a daily bases? but I never thought that he hated me enough to sell me to slave traders, except that's exactly what he did. he had thrown me in the well behind our house for a couple days, until I was too weak to defend myself, and then he pulled me up and sold to the the men for twenty pounds. I've been a slave for the traders ever since, as they had to try and train me, something they still haven't done as I will never stop fighting.

I come out of my thoughts as Tom, our 'master', steps onto the stage and begins the auction. I'm on the end, and he starts at the opposite end, meaning I would be the last to be sold, and I would have to watch as the other eight boys were sold first. I shook myself once more, and listened to the auction with my eyes firmly fixed on the stage floor, knowing the punishment for looking up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome! I know you are all here for a reason, but before we begin you must know a few things. my boys have all gone through at least a year of training, and all most all of them are very well behaved. I find very few that are virgins, for those of you that are wondering; however, it does happen at times. any questions you have will be answered when you pick up your slave. that is all, so let the auction begin" I heard Tom say as the boy at the other end of the line was forced to the middle of the stage, where all could see him. "this first young man is ten years of age, and the perfect slave. he can cook, clean, wash, and he has a beautiful singing voice. he is also young enough that punishment is easy, and he is not very independent. he will do anything you ask of him and more, you can't go wrong with this slave. so let's start the bidding at twenty-five pounds"

"twenty-five.." was instantly heard, easily a woman's voice.

"thirty...thirty-five...forty...forty-five...fifty..." and so it went, the price getting higher and higher until he was finally sold for seventy pounds. I felt him moving behind me as he was lead off the stage, and I could tell from his labored breathing that he was terrified, not that I could blame him.

"this next young man is also ten years of age and is..." and so it went. Tom would bring a boy to the middle of the stage, and then say his age and what he is good at, as well as why someone would want him for a slave. and then, it was my turn.

I couldn't resist as I was forced to my feet and to the middle of the stage, once to be relieved when I was forced to kneel once more. Tom knew that I would fight, so he had drugged me before the auction had began, nothing serious, just something that would make me too weak to fight back. the really bad things was, that I haven't been fed in two days, and that, combined with the drug, made it so I could barely hold my head up, let alone struggle. I feel Tom walk around me, stopping then he was behind me and grabbing a handful of my hair, forcing my head up so everyone could see me face. I can feel their eyes on me as people look me over, and I know what they'll see. they will see a young man bound, gagged, and blindfolded on a stage; they will see that he is freezing because he doesn't have a shirt on; they will see his brown hair falling into his face; and they will see his muscles and know that he is used to hard work, and that there is no fat on him. but they will also see that he is quite small, and think that he is weak, and useless; and they will see a terrified young man that would rather be dead than here on this stage about to be sold like livestock.

once more I am dragged from my thoughts by Toms voice.

"this young man is fifteen, and as you can see, he is used to hard work. before any of you ask, he is not blind, he is blindfolded because he has the most beautiful eyes and they should been seen only by his master or mistress. this young man is actually one of the few that we have been unable to break; however because of this, with his purchase you will also get a whip, chains, and a drug that will make him weak if he fights. also, we've decided to sell him now because he is once of the only young men we've gotten, that is a virgin" there was a huge cry when this was announced, "we must also tell you that he gets little food, as it keeps him really week if he only gets one meal every other day. now then, let's start the bidding at fifty pounds!"

"fifty...sixty...sixty-five...seventy..." and so it went, for what felt like hours. after what felt like ages, the voices all stopped and Tom spoke once more. "sold, for two hundred and fifty pounds. you may pick up your new slave in the back."

I was forced to my feet once more, and made to stumble from the stage and behind it. I still couldn't see anything, but I could hear as the money was passed over to Tom.

"leave him bound, just put him in the wagon" I nearly jumped when I heard the voice of my new 'master' so close to my ear, but I was too weak. I felt rough hands wrap around my upper arms as I was lead to my right. I was forced to climb into the wagon, a difficult task when you can't see, and then forced to kneel once more in the wagon. I felt something a rope going around my neck, and knew that I wouldn't be able to move unless I wanted to choke myself, I couldn't even sit properly, I was forced to stay on my knees.

I swayed as the wagon began to move, but managed to stay put and even managed to doze a little as we moved. I don't know how long, or far, we traveled before the wagon stopped. but I could feel the wagon move as my new 'master' climbed into the back of the wagon, and I soon felt rough hands removing my blindfold and gag.

"what's your name slave?" 'master' demanded.

I looked directly into his eyes. my own beautiful warm brown eyes stared into his mud brown ones. I must have taken to long to answer, so all of a sudden my head snapped towards the right as he backhanded me, splitting my lip and leaving a bruise on my left cheek. so I looked at him once more and answered his question. "my name is Will"

IMPORTANT!

hey guys, I will finish this story; however, my sis is going to college soon, my mom might have to have a major surgery, my parents are talking about divorce, and I'm so stressed out that my grades are getting affected by it. I will write whenever I can, but I can't promise anything.

please! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.