Chapter 1: The Auction
Rain tapped softly against the windows of an underground building hidden beneath the streets of London. The outside world had no idea this place existed. And no ordinary person could have found it. They wouldn't have wanted to either.
The auction house smelled of old wood, candle wax, damp stone, and something... else. It was magical, ancient, wrong.
The metal collar and cuffs of the chain clicked together as I was led down a hall. The voices of the bidders in the audience unsettled me.
I passed creatures in tanks and chained as I was, but there was only one other human in chains. She kept her head down. Her short hair was a stunning red, but her bright green eyes were lacking life. It was as though her eyes cried so much they just couldn't anymore.
They say the eyes are windows into the soul, you know. I've always found that to be right.
Compared to her, my long brown hair and lavender eyes were ordinary. We did have the sameish color skin, although, my Scottish origins have something to do with the paleness of my skin. The black gloves I wore to my elbows hid the scarred skin on my hands for people to see.
I turned to the girl who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. And figured why not. I sighed, facing her fully.
"Hey" my voice was flat, but broke the silence thrumming between us.
She flinched slightly, as though not expecting someone to be talking to her. She slowly looked up, her eyes screaming who tf are you why are you talking to me, but in like a scared way. She offered me a smile, however small it was, it made me feel a little better.
"Hello" she whispered. Her eyes are practically screaming anxiety at this point. I sighed, and broke the resulting awkwardness.
"Oh good, you can talk, I was getting worried there" her smile grew ever the bit wider. That made me happy for some reason. Why though? I didn't even know this girl.
"I'm Chise. Chise Hatori, what's your name?" She spoke like she had rehearsed the words in her head before speaking. She held out her hands, both chained together.
"Clove Flora, nice to meet you Chise" I shook her hands with my own chained. They are getting on my nerves at this point, pretty overkill I would say. She looked at my gloved hands for a moment longer than nessesary, and I chucked. She immediately took her hands away, looking down abashedly.
"You can ask, don't worry, I don't offend that easily" I smiled and looked at her, waiting patiently. She eventually lifted her head and asked me in a soft voice "Why are you wearing gloves?"
"They help block out my ability. I can read memories off of people and emotions, and sometimes I see stuff I don't mean to or want to. It's too much for me to handle without them, so I usually just keep them on to make sure I don't accidentally touch something and get assaulted with memories of like, a murder or something" as I spoke I studied her. She was as stiff as a board now. Wow, social anxiety really was a bitch.
"Thats a really interesting power" her eyes light up a bit as she speaks. I softly smile at her. She was like a child learning something new, so cute! I was about to say something, when someone came over and took my arm, ushering me to a door, leading to the stage, is the sign on it was anything to go by.
I waved bye the best I could with my restrained hands, and walked into a curined off area- the stage? The white hood I was given to wear was pulled up, and the curtains slowly drew apart.
Soft gasps came from the audience as the bright white stage lights blinded me to the faces of the people in the audience. It didn't matter anyways, since when I saw good enough, I realized everyone was wearing the same thing- white cloaks and masks gaurding their identity.
I heard the distant chatter of a bid going on. Getting fairly expensive, up to 1 million now. Wait- wasn't that supposed to be me? Oh shit it's ME. IM EXPENSIVE. Huh, who could've know?
I hear a man with an annoying voice shout "sold! For 1.3 million!"
I look up to see a man in the same uniform the rest of the bidders seem to be wearing walking towards me. He takes my arm and leads me to the front entrance.
"Come along, now" his voice was blank, as though this was just an errand to be run.
I walked besides him, keeping quiet. We eventually reached a dock with big and small ships lining it. He led me to a smaller ship, and walked onto the boat without looking back. I paused for a moment, then continued behind him.
He led me underneath to a room and left me there, closing the door. I didn't hear a lock, but I was tired, so I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. The rocking boat lulled me to sleep, and the waves lapping at the sides of the boat calming me, and eventually, I let the warm caress of sleep take me.
A sharp knock on the door woke me from a light sleep.
"Get up, we're here" said a low, bored voice.
I sit up on the bed, immediately noticing the chill in the air. I walked above deck. The sky was a dark blue, the sun's light peaking out in front of us. In front of us...
There was a beautiful island in front of us. The green tipped cliffs greeted us. The few clouds above rolling past us at a steady pace. The island seemed ancient, and alive somehow. Like it was untouched by time- by humans.
I saw sometime move in the sky above us and my jaw hit the floor. There was a huge bird. But the bird had horns and scales. The bird looked a lot like the dragons I've heard of in stories. Its huge wings stretched out from its body, beating with powerful flaps. It disappeared into the distance, and noticed only then that I was gaping. I picked my jaw up from the floor, and put it back in place.
"Where are we?" I asked the masked man standing to my right. I hated how awed I sounded. I wasn't a child anymore, I was 16 years old, at least old enough to keep my cool.
"This is the Dragon's Aerie, where you will be living for the foreseeable future" the man said in an even voice.
"What's the Dragon's Aerie?" I looked towards the man, who kept his eyes on the sky, like this was an everyday thing. He sighed before answering me in a tight tone.
"The Dragon's Aerie is where the last of the dragons live under the care of the Mage Echos"
I would have responded, but we docked the ship. I got off, and was told to follow the path to the opening.
I didn't look back as the ship and the man who brought me here left.
I followed along a dirt path surrounded by shrubbery, the clang of the chains on my wrists distant compared to the beauty surrounding me. The green of the trees was incredible here, I was amazed at how alive it felt.
And as I entered the clearing at the end of the trail, my jaw dropped to the ground yet again.
