The whole room became eerily silent and just like magnet, everyone's head turned to the direction where the voice came from.
The first thing Freya noticed about the figure that was approaching from her angle, was his legs. Her eyes trailed up right from the hem of his well pressed black pant trouser to his knee. His legs seemed endless and she could imagine how slender and fit they were under the materials.
Her eyes continued their shameless journey, trailing up the upper part of his body. The white undershirt and black tailcoat that adorned his body did nothing to hide the rripped muscle underneath.
His ' Adam apple ' bobbed up and down, distracting her a bit before she finally let her eyes lead her to his face.
His exceedingly beautiful face.
He had sharp jaw that was cleanly shaved as if it had never bore a hair. His pointed nose matches perfect with his chiseled face and it was obvious that whoever this man was, God took his time in sculpting him to perfection.
Her eyes finally meet his and she was thrown off guard by how golden they looked and how he was directly staring at her as if waiting for her to finish her shameless inspection.
She was quick to divert her eyes and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Which was a really foreign feeling for her, judging from how detached and shameless she could be.
" I'll take her". His rich velvety voice said again, reminding her the exact reason why she was on this platform, in front of these beasts.
Her heart immediately turned cold and she internally berates herself for getting so carried away. She couldn't believe that she momentarily forgot where she was, or the fact that she was about to be sold to a monster she'll have to live with for the rest of her life....or at least till when he decides to discard her.
These beasts were all the same... murderers, scavengers, abusers and terrorists...she could go on and on.
Murmurs rippled through the audience, disbelief and curiosity mixing into a heavy hum that filled the hall. The host's confident grin faltered, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to confirm what he'd just heard.
The man, however, looked unaffected by the sudden chaos his voice had caused. He moved with an effortless grace that somehow held more power than anyone in the room could. The aura that surroundes his being suggested that he was someone not to be trifled with and judging from the slight shiver of the host hand as he hands him the gold card, he knew that very much.
" Your highness, this—" One look from the stoic man had the very mouthfull host swallow back the rest of his words.
Your highness?'. Freya wondered. ' Was that his name?'. It sounded wierd but her knowledge about people and names wasn't really varse pass her small village.
She watched him scribble something on the back of the card, just like how the people below the stage had done before handling it over to the host.
The host gasped when his eyes swept across the ink on the thick paper. He glanced up at the cold face of the infamous dragon king before looking back to the card again as if he wanted to confirm what he was really seeing.
The figure scrawled on the paper was the very limit of the gold card and no one in history had ever paid such huge amount for a mere human slave no matter how beautiful or ethereal they look.
" That's the highest bid". He said as a matter of fact, earning a monotone nod from the still shocked host. He glanced at the girl before turning back to the host " Have her delivered to my carriage. I shall leave before dark". With that, he turned on his heel, towards the direction he had come from.
The whole room was still deadly silent as if everyone was still trying to decipher what just happened but it didn't last long. Murmurs burst out across the hall.
" That was the dragon king, right?" " Did he just take a pet?". " A gold card? That is so insane". " How much do you think he wrote on the card?" " A human shouldn't worth that much. He must have a reason". " I heard he's very cruel. Most shape shifters would rather die than go to his palace". " Such a pity that a beauty like her will be wasted on him. I'll use her better if it were me". " You mean use and discard when she no longer fascinate you?". " Haha, you got me there ".
The words pricked Freya's skin like needles and she closed her eyes, feeling the walls close up on her. Her breathing became tighter , her chest constricted. Her life had spiraled so bad, out of her control. Just yesterday, she was wondering how the outside world would be, if the beats existed. But now, all she could wish for was to wake up from this horrible nightmare and have Mara beside her again.
But then again, wishes in a world like this was useless.
The guards standing by the side of the stage hurried up as soon as the host gave the final nod. They grabbed her by the arms, dragging her away from the spotlight. She didn't struggle this time, she let them take her.
As she was pulled through the back door, Freya's eyes darted around. She caught sight of the girls huddled in a corner, watching her with a mix of pity and sorrow. None of them knew the fate that awaits them but yet, they all knew how it was going to end.
The door slammed shut behind her, cutting off the noise from the hall. Only then did she realize how cold her hands had become and how trembling her whole body was. Her fate has been sealed in just one day and with a single card. Her whole world have been torn apart — but she'll be damned if she don't try to fight her way back.