The Story of Dhanvanthri

eight

The Capital's Morning Market

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Dhanvanthri looked around the market in the capital, a hood covering his pale blond hair and his jewelled eyes disguised in their usual dull grey shade. Noah kept up behind him in a similar guise, except without any alteration to his appearance. Both of them looked an odd sight in the market, especially since the sun was scorching hot while they were bundled up without allowing a single feature to be seen. But in Obelia, one didn't care unless it benefits themselves, so no one commented on them.

The Capital was like a layered cake, each layer would reveal a different flavour of the whole cake, while the entire thing is covered by frosting. How beautiful and extravagant the Capital was, how much deeper and uglier the inside was when he knew where to look. For Dhanvanthri who had to spend his early life living in a slum where the worst of the worst would reside, he knew which nick to check and which nut to crack. In this beautiful city in Obelia, without a doubt, was the primary spot for human trafficking.

Dhanvanthri, with Noah obediently following behind him, walked down the morning market in silence. Dhanvanthri paused, standing in front of a shop that sold masks and bracelets. The displayed items were of a variety, have cultural imprints of different worlds. Feeling a sense of nostalgia, Dhanvanthri pulled down a masquerade mask that was dangling down from the shop ceiling. The mask was coloured in simple white, with a few fake gems embedded at the side, and a purple ribbon flowing down from the left.

"What do you think of this, Noah?" Dhanvanthri asked offhandedly.

Noah leaned closer to have a better look at the mask before frowning, "It's a bit big for your highness, is it not?"

"It is," Dhanvanthri agreed. He tilted his head, "However, does it not look beautiful?"

Noah paused and smiled, "Everything could look beautiful on your highness."

Dhanvanthri gave him an annoyed look before setting the mask down. He was smart enough to see Noah's mocking look, a look that was intentionally displayed for Dhanvanthri to see. If he wasn't interested in Noah's lack of regard for authority, Dhanvanthri might have just kicked him right then and there. But he remembered, without Noah, who else would be willing to speak like this with him? Even his little sister looked terrified of him, don't mention that ice block of a father, or puppy boy Felix.

"I want something to eat," Dhanvanthri said, moving towards one of the food stalls. It was a stall that sold freshly, barbequed meat. It lined up neatly on the grill, some fixed with green peppers while others with onion, some even a mix of both. Dhanvanthri stared down at the meat before looking at the store owner.

"Hello! Welcome, have you made your decision on what to eat, sir?" The store owner, a young girl who looked around Noah's age, asked with a bright smile. Very business-like, and the food smells good.

Dhanvanthri curved his lips up slightly, "What's your most famous choice?"

"Hm, most famous would be the assorted mushroom vegetable mix or the pineapple prawns," The Store Owner pointed at the food as she spoke. Dhanvanthri gave the pineapple prawns a disgusted look, he hated pineapples of every kind. Doesn't matter if it was fresh fruit, on pizza, with fried rice, or whatsoever. The pineapple tasted disgusting.

"I'll have one of everything," Dhanvanthri ordered. He'll give the pineapple prawn to Noah.

"Coming right up!"

Dhanvanthri handed the stick of prawn grilled with pineapples to Noah, who had a twitch to his smile. Unfortunately for him, Dhanvanthri could outsmile him. He held it up to Noah's mouth, his lips still curved into a bright smile, and said, "Open up, Noah."

Noah twitched, "How could I take your highness' food?" Does it look like I want it, my prince?

Dhanvanthri held it closer, "It's fine, no one's watching." Does it look like I care if you do?

And so, Noah took a bite of the grilled prawn, with great difficulty. It seems that Dhanvanthri wasn't the only one who severely disliked pineapples, for Noah's complexion turned ugly the moment he had to bite onto the pineapple. Ignoring him, Dhanvanthri brought an assorted mushroom grill to his mouth and enjoyed the food, happily eating away without taking another look at Noah who had a disgusted face.

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Noah retched while Dhanvanthri watched in silence, still chewing on his delicious grilled pork. The pork was grilled with onion and red peppers, giving a slight spice to it while the pepper and salt sprinkled over simply enhanced the taste. He finished up another stick of barbeque before walking closer to Noah.

"Done?"

Noah gave him a dry look, "Is this because I mocked your highness?"

Dhanvanthri smiled, "Do I look that petty?"

"Yes."

"How insolent of you," Dhanvanthri frowned. He shoved a grilled vegetable barbeque stick into Noah's mouth after that. Noah nearly choked before he managed to hold onto the stick, munching on the vegetables with a much better complexion. Obviously, the taste was being washed away by the wonderful meal.

"Noah," Dhanvanthri called out all of a sudden. Noah gave a questioning nod immediately. Dhanvanthri leaned against the wall before asking, "How much do you know about the slave market in Obelia?"

Noah widened his eyes before narrowing, "Not much. But I do know one of the auction houses, the location and the requirements for entry, that is. May I ask why your highness is asking about this?"

"Hm," Dhanvanthri hummed, chewing on his meat. He was down to three sticks of barbeque left. He turned to Noah once he was finished chewing, "What if I told you... I want to abolish all the slave auction houses?"

"More than three-quarter of the customers are local nobles, your highness," Noah pointed out, a fact Dhanvanthri had long suspected. He motioned for Noah to continue speaking when he saw the man falling silent. Nodding, Noah spoke again, "And the other one quarter consists of foreign nobles and the rare rich merchants."

"However, slavery is illegal in Obelia," Dhanvanthri pointed out. "Volume 2, Article 6, Section 4; Under the Obelian Declaration of Human Rights. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. As a Prince, I will be able to implement it, don't you think? Nobles running rampant, it seems my father's reign has allowed these rats from my uncle's reign to continue running loose."

"And what do you plan to do, your highness?" Noah asked.

Dhanvanthri hummed, "What, indeed. I am too young to personally touch any of these houses, holding too little power. However, I may be able to instigate a rebellion. One that would force my father to move away from his high horse and come down to fix his kingdom."

"If the Emperor disregards this?"

"Well," Dhanvanthri smiled, "Then perhaps I shall lead a rebellion of my own."

Noah smiled, "As you wish, your highness."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Slavery is nasty, ew ew. I don't like how a lot of novels have slavery in them then have the MC buy a slave, raise him/her as someone loyal because the mc bought them but treated them nice. Like, uh no??? I hate slavery. Equal rights, guys. Doesn't matter how nice you treat a person; In the end, you still bought that one guy and ignored everyone else. So, how will Dhanvanthri abolish the slavery houses littered all over Obelia? Stay tuned.