Chapter 2 Mysterious Woman

Valerie

Auction?

My brain went blank for a second. Then I realized what that meant.

I was the one who’s going to be auctioned tonight. As a sex slave.

How’s that possible?

Slaves had been discussing it the whole day yesterday. They said it was going to be a special one. But I had never paid attention to that.

The first time Ava talked about auctions, she told me they were looking for girls with flawless beauty, which obviously excluded me for my peculiar birth mark on lower belly.

So how is it possible that they chose me?

The auctions were usually held at the end of each month, where they would pick a virgin female slave for the rich to bid on with other gems or jewelries.

Slaves had debates on that. Some believed it was an evil ritual of monsters. But most thought it’s a chance to seek new lives.

 “You don’t have to stay at those filthy slave stalls for weeks until someone picked you up! And the guests were always rich so at least you’ll be given warm clothes and enough food.” Ava had always dreamt of being selected. And whenever she fantasized about it, she’d lower her voice and put on a wanting smile.

But no one knew how it was like, the auction, where the girls actually went to and what their fate would be like being a sex slave for the rich.

Uncertainties had never stubbed out humans’ enthusiasm for hopes.

“I would be picked for the next auction!” Ava whispered to me last night, trying to hold back the excitements in her voice, “And the aristocracy will attend this time! I’ve already had a plan for new life Val!”

“How do you know that?” I said in worry, “they never announced it beforehand.”

“The guards were discussing. Dawson told me.” Ava blinked her eyes.

“Ava…”

“Please, Val.” Ava changed her face and cut in with a bitter smile, “don’t…”

The only thing Ava kept away from me was the relationship between Dawson and her. Some slaves rumored that Ava had already been Dawson’s sex slave and that’s why she was always free from physical punishment. When I heard this, it was the first time I started a fight with other slaves and of course I was whipped for that.

After a long silence, Ava cheered up and continued with a happy tone, “I was the only girl who had already been 18 in this cell, Val. So I have be selected! Dawson cannot cage me here forever and I suppose he has some mercies for me after all.”

It was way too naïve to consider that jerk as a merciful man but Ava wouldn’t listen.

“That’s the best life I can expect, Val. Trust me and please meet me in Lost Land!” Ava smiled widely as if she had already been at that dream place.

“I’ll miss you, Val.” That was the last sentence Ava said to me before I was taken out of the ward for this journey.

So everything just went beyond anticipation, completely. If I became the one who got selected, what about Ava? Had she known what happened? Was it a mistake or was is that Dawson, the asshole, deceived her?

I rushed to the door and punched it in panic, shouting anxiously, “Hello?! Is someone there? That must be a mistake! I couldn’t be the one!”

“Hello?!”

But no one answered me.

Whether it was a mistake or a planned trick, for me, it seemed to be another sulky mockery from fate god after the raid five years ago.

At the night five years ago, when I was about to blow out the flaming candle, they broke in with no precautions. Their horrible faces were illuminated by the dim candle light. The faces of monsters, I would never forget, were stained with my family’s blood.

That night, I was celebrating my 13th birthday with my beloved parents and sister. And tomorrow, I would become 18.

I slowly went back to the place where I had been brought, dropped down onto the chair and looked at the mirror on dressing-table. It was after quite a few seconds that I realized the image in the mirror was actually a reflection of my face. It looked so different from that in my memory. I used to have a baby fat face with a small dimple on my right cheek. I didn’t like it but my parents always thought it was cute. But now, I was just too skinny and the dimple was hardly recognizable.

There were a few makeup products on the table but I had no intention to use. I just sat there, staring at my reflection and letting the old memories to overwhelm my thoughts.

And that’s why I failed to notice it when someone else got into the room.

******

Mom and dad had once been very busy when I was around 7. They were looking for a babysitter to take care of my elder sister Mathilda and me at that time. Mom thought her friend Mrs. Johnson would be a nice pick while dad strongly objected. They had a heated quarrel on this. It happened when I was playing baseball in the yard with Mathilda.

As their voices grew louder near the roar door, Mathilda and I stopped playing and started eavesdropping their conversation. It was the only time that we heard Dad shouted at Mom, “Have you lost your mind Anne?! She’s not human!”

“So what? She’s our friend and do you remember the summer we spent together? Val liked her!”

“That’s different!”

“What’s the difference, Winston? You’ve always been stubbornly conservative. The peace treaty is still effective and there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s the point Anne! Remember who we used to be? The things we had done would be dug out if we get too close with the wolves. Who’d fucking care about the treaty if they found the truth.”

“It’s not what we want Winston. You can’t—”

But dad seemed to lose his patience, he suddenly cut the sentence off, “I would never give my child to a wolf!”

Then I saw dad strode out of the door with a pissed face. It was only when he saw me that his smile finally returned.

They eventually found us a human babysitter whom we disliked a lot. We were never allowed to call her first name instead of Miss Stone. She’s an old woman with severe face where the nasolabial folds above her lips curved deeply into skin. She had always seemed to be sulky and grouchy, endlessly yelling with her raspy voices.

****

Now, when I finally saw the ‘intruder’, I saw Miss Stone. I was startled as she suddenly appeared, making an announcement hoarsely, “the auction shall begin in 20 minutes.”

When I turned around to look at her, she frowned and pursed her lips.

“You should have been ready.” She was impatient.

I hesitated before said timidly, “I’m afraid it’s a mistake. Another girl called Ava should be the one selected.”

She glanced at me in distain and scoffed, “Mistakes are the stupid things humans make. Werewolves won’t.”

Then she stumbled towards me. At first, I thought she was too old to walk steadily but when I watched her closely enough, I realized she was much younger than I thought she would be. And the stumble was because of her disability.

She snorted as she found my gaze dropped at her crippled leg.

“There’s a bathroom at the left side. Get yourself washed in five minutes.” She pointed at a door in the corner which I failed to notice.

Decorations of the bathroom seemed less luxurious than it was of the outside. I adjusted the knob to get more hot water flow down, letting it flushed over my body. A long-lost feeling of warmth wrapped me. I wished I could stop time to keep this moment forever.

We were not allowed to wash ourselves in the cell, unless the guards wanted to get rid of our smells. And we never had hot water.

As I finished the shower and came out with a bathrobe, she was waiting for me at the dressing-table. She seemed to be stunned when she saw my clean face, but she quickly looked always.

“Come here. Get your bruise covered.” She ordered.

I complied with her order to walk there but then I was in a lost. I don’t know what to do.

She raised her brows and stared at me for a few seconds before picking up a small bottle.

“How long have you been here?” She asked.

I was surprised for getting such a question.

“…five years.”

“That’s quite a long time.” She murmured, “No wonder you acted like a nut.”

Her voice seemed to be softened though the commentary still sounded harsh.

She instructed me to reach out my arms and applied some light power on them, which I later knew was foundation, on my wrists. With her movement, I could see the deep scars on her both arms. And I was startled to find her index finger on the left hand was missing.

Even slaves wouldn’t be wounded severely like this.

“Are you wondering where I got this?” She asked and glanced at me.

I nodded with a little embarrassment.

“It was not something you girls would like.” She said before our talk fell into complete silence.

Once the foundation had fully covered my bruise, she checked her watch and commanded me to follow her.

A thick blinder was again put on my eyes.

“What’s your name?” She asked plainly before opening the door.

I wondered why she was curious of that.

“Valerie Davis.” I said.

Then, after a minute of silence, she suddenly burst into a great laughter. And it didn’t sound pleasant at all. She laughed in a horrible and cruel way, like a ruthless emperor would do when he decide to sentence someone he hated to death.

“These scars should be credit to your family.” She stopped laughing and said with a flat tone, “and it’s now your turn to suffer.”

I hadn’t been able to digest the information before the prickle on my neck. Then my body unconsciously fell down and my mind lost in darkness again.