His eyes remained fixed on the floor.
"My lord..."
"...what is the last thing you remember before we reached the coast?"
Eldrin frowned.
"The estate."
"After that."
"The fire."
"After that."
Eldrin searched his memory.
It felt strangely... blurred.
"We were running."
"Yes."
"We reached the eastern road."
"Yes."
"And then..."
His voice slowed.
"...Father..."
The image surfaced.
His father stood in the middle of the road.
His armour was cracked.
Blood covered one sleeve.
Yet his voice...
His voice had been steady.
"Run."
"Leave the kingdom."
"Become slaves."
"Live."
Eldrin blinked.
The memory felt perfectly ordinary.
Too ordinary.
He frowned.
"...Why would he say that?"
Zarian looked up.
"My lord."
"When you spoke to the trader..."
"...did he think you were controlling him?"
Eldrin slowly shook his head.
"No."
"He believed the bread was already mine."
"He thought it was his own decision."
Zarian nodded once.
"And you believed becoming a slave was yours."
Silence.
Eldrin’s breathing stopped.
"...No."
His voice was barely audible.
"No..."
He replayed the memory.
His father hadn’t argued.
Hadn’t begged.
Hadn’t explained.
He had simply spoken.
And every person present...
Had moved.
Without question.
Without discussion.
As though there had never been another choice.
Eldrin’s eyes widened.
"...Silver Tongue."
The words escaped him before he realized he had spoken.
Zarian didn’t interrupt.
"If I’m right..."
The older man chose each word carefully.
"...your father didn’t convince us."
"He convinced us that we had already decided."
Eldrin stared into nothing.
Every step after leaving the estate returned to him.
Not as memories.
As questions.
Why hadn’t he tried to hide in the mountains?
Why hadn’t he ridden north?
Why hadn’t anyone suggested another plan?
There had been dozens of possibilities.
Yet none of them had even crossed his mind.
Because...
He had never looked for them.
His chest tightened.
"I..."
His hands began to shake.
"I thought..."
"I thought it was my idea."
"So did I," Zarian admitted quietly.
Neither of them spoke for a long while.
The realization settled between them like a weight neither wanted to touch.
Finally, Eldrin whispered,
"...Father used the Silver Tongue on us."
Zarian nodded.
"I believe he did."
"But..."
Eldrin looked up, confusion replacing disbelief.
"Why?"
"Why us?"
"He hated slavery."
"He abolished it."
"He told me..."
His voice cracked.
"...he told me death was better."
Zarian closed his eyes.
"I know."
"I heard him say those words more than once."
"Then why?"
The older man drew a slow breath.
"I don’t think..."
"...he chose slavery."
Eldrin looked at him.
"I think he chose survival."
The words hung in the air.
"If the roads were blocked..."
"If every border was watched..."
"If every noble knew your face..."
"What would no one search for?"
Eldrin frowned.
Zarian answered his own question.
"A slave."
"They search for princes."
"They search for heirs."
"They search for soldiers."
His gaze settled on the iron collar around Eldrin’s neck.
"They don’t search for property."
Eldrin slowly lowered his eyes.
The collar suddenly felt different.
Still heavy.
Still humiliating.
But now...
It looked less like a punishment.
And more like a disguise.
A disguise his own father had forced upon him.
"...He sacrificed our freedom..."
"...to give us a chance to keep living."
Zarian nodded.
"I believe so."
Silence returned.
Then another thought struck Eldrin.
"If that’s true..."
He looked at the barred window high above the cell.
"...escaping now..."
Zarian finished the sentence.
"...changes nothing."
Eldrin frowned.
"We’re in the Kingdom of Maria."
"We don’t know their customs."
"We barely speak their language."
"We have no money."
"No papers."
"No allies."
He looked down at the collar around his neck.
"If we flee today..."
"...we’ll only become runaway slaves."
"And every town will hunt us."
The anger drained from Eldrin’s face.
Not because he accepted it.
Because he understood it.
For the first time since the estate fell...
He realized escaping the chains...
...was not the same as escaping slavery.
....
"Damn it..."
Eldrin stared at his reflection in the polished bronze mirror.
The woman standing behind him tilted his chin upward.
"Don’t move."
"I’m not."
"You’ve moved three times."
A soft brush swept across his face.
She dusted away the grime that had collected during the days at sea before adjusting a loose strand of his silver hair. Her movements were quick and practiced, as though preparing children for auction was simply another day’s work.
"There."
She stepped back, studying him from head to toe.
"...Gods."
Another woman glanced over from the next table.
"What?"
"Come here."
She did.
The moment she saw Eldrin, she let out a quiet whistle.
"Poor kid..."
"He’ll fetch a fortune."
The first woman sighed.
"Honestly..."
She brushed a wrinkle from his borrowed shirt.
"...he’s going to break hearts when he’s older."
The second laughed.
"Forget older. Look at him now."
Eldrin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Apparently slavery comes with complimentary grooming.
He looked down at the clean clothes they had dressed him in.
So that was it.
Presentation.
Livestock sold better when it looked healthy.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Done."
The woman gave his shoulder a light pat.
"Try not to scowl out there."
Eldrin climbed down from the stool without replying.
Behind the auction stage, dozens of slaves waited in silence.
Some stared blankly at the floor.
Others whispered prayers beneath their breath.
Children clung to parents they already knew they were about to lose.
The air smelled of polished wood, perfume.
Eldrin’s eyes searched the room.
They found Zarian almost immediately.
The older man leaned against a wooden pillar, hands bound before him.
The moment he saw Eldrin, relief crossed his face.
"There you are."
Eldrin walked over.
Before he could speak, Zarian wrapped him in a firm embrace.
It wasn’t long.
It didn’t need to be.
"My lord..."
His voice was quieter than usual.
"No matter where they send us today..."
"...remember one thing."
"I’ll find you."
Eldrin gave a small snort.
"You?"
He stepped back, folding his arms.
"Old man, don’t get ahead of yourself."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"I’ll be the one finding you."
Zarian chuckled.
"There he is."
"My stubborn young master."
He reached out and straightened Eldrin’s collar.
The smile slowly faded.
"One more thing."
He lowered his voice.
"From the moment we step onto that stage..."
"...you are no longer Eldrin."
Eldrin nodded.
"Caiden."
"Good."
"No hesitation."
"If anyone asks about your past..."
"I don’t remember."
"And?"
"I was born a slave."
Zarian held his gaze for several seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Good."
"I don’t like hearing those words..."
"...but I like the alternative even less."
A bell rang somewhere beyond the curtain.
The conversations around them stopped.
A man’s voice echoed through the hall.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
"The afternoon auction will now begin."
The heavy curtain at the front of the stage began to rise.
Zarian placed a hand on Eldrin’s shoulder.
"Remember who you are."
Eldrin looked toward the stage.
"...I will."
The auction had begun.
....
General Uthren knelt,
Nothing again.
He rose slowly.
Five days of searching abandoned villages, frozen forests, merchant roads, and river crossings.
Five days...
And the boy had vanished.
A horse galloped toward him.
Its rider barely had time to dismount before speaking.
"Gold Commander! Reporting Sir"
Uthren turned.
The messenger dropped to one knee.
"Any news?" Uthren asked.
The soldier lowered his head.
"...No, sir."
Uthren stared at him.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then his hand shot forward.
He seized the man by the collar and lifted him from the ground with frightening ease.
"No?"
His voice remained calm.
"So you rode half a day..."
"...to tell me no?"
The soldier’s face turned pale.
"We searched every checkpoint, General."
"Nothing."
"We questioned every—"
Uthren slammed him against the nearest tree.
Snow burst from the branches above.
"I don’t have time for ’nothing.’"
His grip tightened.
"The king gave me one week."
"One."
"Week."
"If I fail..."
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"...my head decorates the palace gates."
He leaned closer.
"And if that happens..."
His eyes hardened.
"...I’ll make sure a few of yours hang beside mine."
The soldier swallowed hard.
"U-Understood, Commander."
Uthren released him.
The man collapsed into the snow, coughing violently.
Uthren turned toward the endless white horizon.
The wind howled through the pines.
"A child doesn’t simply vanish..."
He looked toward the road leading south.
"...unless someone wants him hidden."
"Expand the search."
"Every village."
"Every merchant."
He turned toward the vast sea stretching beyond the cliffs.
"Every port."
His voice hardened.
"Every harbor. Every road leading out of the kingdom. Every bridge, every ferry crossing."
He swept his gaze across the officers gathered before him.
"Search every inn, every merchant convoy, every fishing vessel preparing to sail."
He paused.
"A fourteen-year-old boy cannot vanish without someone seeing him."
"Find the person who saw him."
"I don’t care how much it costs."
He mounted his horse in one smooth motion.
"Find him."
"Before someone else does."