The auction is held.
If you’re just joining this story, you may want to start from the beginning. Read into the world of shadows and mirrors.
♫♪Suggested Music: from Uncertain Times on AudioNetwork
Mina was unaware of Edvard's vigil from the alley that night, nor of a second set of eyes that had watched at intervals over the slave camp. She awoke early the next morning as a guard kicked her foot. It was not her injured foot, and it was the guard that had given her the bandage for her foot the preceding night. She groggily collected herself, sitting up in the first rays of dawn that dropped between the tall brick buildings of the camp and spread over the girls roped in the rows.
She moved her burnt foot and grimaced at the pain that bloomed. She tried to stretch her legs that had been cramped all night on the damp ground. She watched four of the guards begin circulating through the rows, then looked back to the canopied table to see the rest of the bearded men. There were more Derans than she had thought, at least ten. One started down her row, checking ropes. He paused at her rope, pulling it taut, then continued on. Again, it was the same one who had given her the wrapping for her foot, and she figured he was assigned to the row. The guards went back to the canopy and started to bring buckets down the rows.
She sighed. Edvard promised to take her from the auction, but she had begun to wonder if he could. She had no notion as to how much slaves cost, and while she knew his family was wealthy, it didn't mean he was. She didn't know how much money he had taken for the trip to return Yuila, or how much he had spent on their travel, or how much he had left. They had traded labor for boarding and supplies at times, but she was still troubled over the issue of money.
And if he couldn't buy her? Mina looked to her wrists that were rubbed raw and crusted with dirt, wondering if he had found Yuila.
She watched as the guard to her row stopped at the first girl and set a bucket down, then kneeled beside her. His body blocked her view then, and Mina couldn't see what he did. After a moment he stood and took the bucket to the second girl, one away from Mina. She realized he was washing their faces and shaking the dust out of their hair.
Making a presentable slave, she thought, sagging to the post.
When her turn came, Mina tried not to look at him. She saw the wooden bucket set beside her post as he crouched to her.
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