Chapter 27 #2
This wasn’t going to be easy. But impossible situations had become something of a common occurrence in her life as of late. She’d never been challenged so.
“The auction is tonight,” Aelrie spoke, somewhat to herself to mull things over.
“That is what Madam Zaya said.” She looked at the bath empty of water, but sensed warmth from it.
Also, her skin was clean, softened with oils, and scented with perfume.
She had already been bathed and dressed, so they wouldn’t come up for that again.
How about the meal? She was put to sleep by a spell, so she wouldn’t have been able to have a meal. Her stomach caved in. She was used to getting three meals a day back at the temple.
She’d grown too soft.
“Have they come up for a meal?” she asked the Dark Elf beauty, a seed of hope growing inside her.
“Yes.” The Dark Elf dropped her head, realizing where she was going with this thought. “This morning.”
“Would they come up for another meal?”
“I don’t think so. It’s been only one meal a day since I came here a few days ago. They don’t want the girls looking bloated before their performance.”
“Performance?” She gave the Dark Elf a confused look. Realization then dawned on her. The dancing girl costumes. They were going to be charmed to dance before their prospective buyers. Like lambs brought before wolves, they were gleefully unaware of the slaughter that awaited them.
“Yes.” The girl looked down. Although it was subtle, Aelrie caught shame on her face. “A dance. ”
“When is tonight?” She had no idea how much time she had left. It was hard to tell time in a world that had no day or night.
“When does this ‘auction’ take place?” she rephrased, uncertainty gnawing at her. She did not know how long she had been under the sleep spell.
“Soon,” was all the girl answered.
Then, this was not good. The only other reason for them to come up again was to charm her. That would probably be right before her performance. And the madam would undoubtedly bring her armed guards with her.
But the charmer. That small, timid mage.
Her magic was weak compared to Darkor’s, and she wasn’t strong enough to charm her as a Light Elf.
A plan started to form in her mind, and what followed it was a smile.
Thinking about things rationally and having the time to plan ahead comforted her and put her worries to rest.
“I’ve got it! We know when they will come up again. It will be before we are to perform. That mage must put me under a charm spell. You heard it too. The madam will have her head if she doesn’t.”
“Yes,” the Dark Elf agreed with her. “They have a lot invested in your sale, especially since the other girls escaped.”
“I will let her cast her charm spell on me.”
The Dark Elf gasped. “You can’t!”
“Don’t worry. Her magic won’t work on me. She’s too weak. I will only pretend to be charmed.”
How was her acting, though? Could she act charmed enough to convince everyone?
She experienced the feeling before. Darkor charmed her by playing upon her desires, making him appear as Shikra, giving her all that she wanted from him while he invaded her thoughts, forcing her to surrender her body and mind to him, and … love him.
The charm spell was subtle but cunning and preyed upon the mind and desires of its victim. Truly, the most insidious of spells.
“And then during the performance, I will dance as they want.”
Dancing in front of others … she loved dancing and danced every Midsummer’s Eve during the Festival of the Starsun.
But the dances during Midsummer’s Eve were done as a group in the jubilant spirit of the festival and in celebration of the Starsun, something all Light Elves held dear.
The only other dancing she’d done was the dances young girls did for each other for practice or fun.
And dancing with Briza and the mercenaries after much wine had been shared.
No matter. It had to be done.
“About the winning bid for the auction, what happens after that?” she asked, mainly to focus on the task ahead and not get paralyzed by her nerves.
“They are sent to private rooms with … the buyer.”
Of course. What did she think would happen otherwise? Darkor’s words rang in her head. “They will force you to do horrible things. You must run.”
Force these fears from her mind. She had to. If she harped on them, she would never find the courage to go through with this.
“Then, I’ll be alone with this buyer. I can …
incapacitate him.” Tempt him. Disarm him with her feigned subservience.
For all he knew, she would be ha rmless, charmed.
He wouldn’t suspect a thing. Then, tie him up, perhaps gag him in a ruse of rough play?
She had heard males liked that from listening to gossiping cadets who were more experienced than she was. And then, she could make her escape.
“What about me? What will happen to me?” the Dark Elf pleaded.
She looked over at the na?ve girl who was now reaping what she sowed.
She could’ve left when she had the chance.
She knew what would happen to her, but stayed.
Aelrie understood this was the path the girl made for herself, and she had no one else to blame for its outcome.
But she couldn’t just leave her here to the wolves.
Of course, it would be easier for her to do that and escape on her own.
But that wasn’t who Aelrie was, and she wasn’t planning on changing that anytime soon.
“Would you be able to escape the room on your own?” she asked hopefully, though a sinking feeling started in her gut. Why couldn’t doing the right thing be easy just once, for a change?
The girl frowned and then shook her head.
“Then,” she said, and the sinking feeling intensified. “I will come get you, and we will escape together.
The Dark Elf nodded her head, but she still didn’t look too convinced. And rightly so. Aelrie wasn’t too convinced of her plan now either. Initially, she didn’t consider the high probability of other guards, and a guard posted outside the room.
How would she get past them and then save this Dark Elf? How would they escape unnoticed? She would have to improvise as they went .
The sinking feeling grew from just her stomach to a weightless feeling in her head, and her breath quickened. Carefully laid out plans made her feel safe, not uncertainty.
Don’t panic in front of this girl who depends on you.
She had to maintain strength, appear confident, and show that she was in control.
Think about all that you’ve learned so far in this Evergloom, how instinct and survival have saved you.
Familiar red eyes on a handsome, confident face then came to mind.
Shikra.
How would he handle this situation?
Her shoulders eased. Her breathing steadied. The wild thudding in her heart faded. His face, his presence in her mind, was a panacea for her worries.
Shikra would face whatever challenge he came across with unshakeable courage. He would react quickly to threats with trained grace and infallible determination.
Where was Shikra now? Was he worried about her? Did he search for her, or was he halfway to Myrkheim? In a hurry to report to his master …
“We don’t know each other’s names.” The girl’s voice broke her thoughts. Aelrie turned to see the Dark Elf leaning over to get a good look at her face as she had pondered Shikra’s whereabouts.
She let the thoughts of Shikra slip away as she focused on the here and now. “I am Aelrie.”
“Aelrie.” The girl smiled. “Pretty name.”
“Thank you.”
“I am Darranyae. ”
Her brows knitted. “Darranyae? From House Darkmoon?”
“You know of me?” Darranyae seemed pleasantly surprised that a Light Elf knew her name.
“Your family searches for you. They want to see you come home.”
Darranyae Darkmoon looked down; the shame was now plain and evident on her face. “I didn’t mean to worry them. But…”
She looked back up at Aelrie, determination taking over the guilt. “I came here to find someone very important to me.” Her voice then turned grave, and she looked away. “Perhaps you should leave me be and escape on your own. It would be easier for you to do without me.”
“I’m not leaving you behind, no matter what you say.” She’d never be able to live with that decision, even if Darranyae insisted.
“Then, she will be forever lost to me.”
“Are you,” Aelrie asked, connecting the pieces in her mind, “talking about Briza?”
Darranyae’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. A smile then brightened her face, making her ruby eyes sparkle. “You know her? Tell me, please.” Her soft, dark gray hands covered in silver rings and chains linked to a dainty silver bracelet gripped Aelrie’s hand, and her voice turned ecstatic.
“Where is she? Is she well? I heard her parents died. I went to her family’s home, and they told me she had moved into a slum.
I went there next and saw how filthy it was, but then learned that she and her brother were kicked out on the streets for not paying their rent.
They couldn’t even afford that disgusting place.
I worried so. I kept searching and searching and found out that she’d come here for money and participated in … ”
She gulped to catch her breath from talking so fast. “The auction, and after that, she went to another brothel, taking her brother with her. She’d be hard to find because brothels are secretive.
The girls change their names, and outsiders aren’t let in.
Madam Zaya told me she’d tell me which one Briza was at and would give me an invite if I only did the auction.
So, I agreed. I stayed because I need to find her.
I need to know she is safe and … not suffering. ”
“Don’t worry. Breathe.” Aelrie grasped Darranyae’s trembling hands in her own. “She is doing well. She and her brother are mercenaries now.”
“Mercenaries?” Darranyae questioned, her eyes blinked, and she grew a bemused look on her face. She then laughed. “I never knew her to pick up a weapon, let alone use one.”
Aelrie stifled a laugh. “Well, they’re not very good mercenaries, but they are safe and doing well just the same. So, there is no need for you to do this auction. We will escape together or not at all.”
Darranyae’s entire countenance changed. She seemed more hopeful and less unsure of herself.
Aelrie felt better, too, no matter the difficulties that lay ahead of them. Leaning in closer to Darranyae, she whispered, “Think of her when you get scared. She will give you strength.”
And she needn’t delude herself over whom she chose to draw strength from when darkness surrounded her, and the walls of her cage drew near. She knew too well. It had been Shikra, not Lindana.