Summary: Three young girls are spirited away from their home world into the land of Cephiro. Canon tells us that they're summoned as saviors of that world. But what if they'd been brought for a different reason? What if Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu had been brought, not as Magic Knights and saviors of Cephiro, but as slaves? Cephiro is a land of nobility with a dark side; a pleasure slave system. Read and enjoy this short AU fic! Rated Mature for a reason… steamy sex scenes to come.
CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED
Chapter One
The Tokyo Tower school field trip had turned out to be just as boring as everyone had anticipated. The young people milling about with their respective classes moaned and whined about being bused there, feeling as if they were being treated like little children for being brought to such a place.
Three girls standing with their classmates had little idea of what awaited them in that high tower. It wouldn't be a normal day; that was for sure; it would be a drastic, life-changing field trip. Shidou Hikaru, in her red and black uniform, gazed out of the windows in awe while her friends looked on with sour faces. Ryuuzaki Umi strolled around boredly, looking every bit as haughty and beautiful as she was. In the corner standing at a concession stand was Hououji Fuu. She observed the pre-packaged rice cakes on display and remained calm and quiet, as was her custom, while her classmates gossiped and snickered around her.
The flash of light caused a raucous of screaming. All were blinded and threw their arms over their eyes. "What is it?" they cried. "What's happening!"
The three aforementioned girls, however, did not feel blinded by the overpowering light. They gazed directly into it, rooted to the spot with terror.
"Girls from another world," a sweet, melodious voice sung over the din of shrieking. "Come with us to Cephiro. It is your destiny."
Umi's hands flew to her face as she screamed. Hikaru cowered in fear, and Fuu clasped her hand over her heart. Before they knew it, everything around them vanished and all sounds of the tower were suddenly muted. There was no more floor. They were falling!
They shrieked as they rocketed towards the earth below at an alarming rate. They were so high in the sky; miles high! They would die, surely! And how did they get so high anyway? What had happened to the city? What where these rolling green hills and frosted mountains far, far below?
Suddenly, they were plucked from the air by strong arms, shrieking and crying as they were tossed over the shoulders of large, armored men on flying beasts. Umi pounded on the back of the soldier who held her. "Let me go this instant!" she snarled. "Get your hands off of me!"
"Are you so sure you want me to let you go?" the soldier gibed, pointing to the ground miles below them. Umi began to whimper and clung miserably to his cold, metal armor.
"Hey!" Hikaru was shouting over the roar of the wind around them. "Hey, who are you? What is this place? And watch where you put your hands!" She swatted at the soldier who had her curled into the crook of his arm.
"Please don't let me fall, oh please don't let me fall," Fuu chanted miserably. She'd been slung over the saddle of the horse-like flying beast of her captor. He forced her down against the leather without a word.
"Where are you taking us?" Umi demanded. She jerked her head back and attempted to bite her assailant. "Who are you, anyway? I swear, when we get down there, I'll kick your ass!"
"Shut up, girl!" the soldier shouted. "You'll get more than what's coming to you when we get down there! Trust me; this little adventure up in the clouds will seem like a dream to what awaits you at the castle!"
"Castle!" she snapped. "Are you crazy? What are you even talking about! And don't tell me to shut up, you jerk!"
With a growl of irritation, the soldier gave Umi a swift knock to the back of the head. She gasped in pain and fell limp against his shoulder. Her protests quieted, they flew on through the morning mists of whatever strange land they were in.
As Fuu's eyes were sealed shut with tears, Hikaru was the only one who could really see what was going on around them. Clouds zipped by, but down below, far on the horizon, she could see a tall glittering something. A building, perhaps? It was the only structure she could see at the moment. Maybe those were farmer's fields littering the landscape below. And was that a... floating mountain?
She squirmed in her captive's embrace. "Who are you guys? Come on, what's going on here?"
"Silence," said the soldier, "Or you, too, will suffer the same fate as your friend." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the unconscious Umi.
"She's not my friend; I've never even met her! What happened? Weren't we just in Tokyo Tower? Oh geez, this has got to be some horrible dream, some awful nightmare..."
"Since you won't be allowed speech when we arrive at the castle," the solider said in a lazy drawl, "I suppose I'll let you ask your questions. But be respectful, or I'll slap that round little bottom of yours." Hikaru gasped in outrage, and the soldier continued. "This is the great land of Cephiro. That, below us, is the Castle Cephiro, home of the King, Queen, Prince, and respective court. The Queen summoned you here with her magic, and now you're our prisoner."
"Prisoner!" she cried. "What!"
With the reins of his flying beast in his hand, the soldier took a moment to give her body a thoroughly distasteful scan with his dark eyes. "A fine catch such as yourself will more than likely be a servant to the royalty themselves. Yes, I think so... pretty face like yours..."
Hikaru was growing frantic. "H-hey pal, I'm nobody's servant. Come on, this is a joke, right? No, no, it's just a dream, just some crazy dream." She pressed her hands to her cheeks and repeated that frantic mantra to herself in a shrill whisper.
All of a sudden, the ground seemed to come at them all too quickly, and Hikaru shrieked, thinking that they would crash and be liquefied against the green earth. When no impact came, she opened her eyes and felt the flying beasts' hooves touch the ground. The other two soldiers with their captive girls touched down behind them, and the horse-beasts tossed their shining black manes and whinnied softly.
Before them loomed the enormous, glittering spires of the castle Cephiro. It was radiant in the morning sun, with light glinting off of its smooth, polished surface. It seemed to be made of glass, or perhaps crystal.
"No," Fuu moaned. "Don't take us there..."
Hikaru craned he neck to see the blonde-haired girl over her captor's shoulder. "It's okay!" she said. "Just be brave! We can figure a way out of this!" But the blonde girl only hid her red face in her flying beasts' saddle and trembled. Hikaru looked at the third solider who brought up the rear. The tall, thin girl was hanging over his shoulder like a limp doll. Her eyes were closed; she was still unconscious.
"Captain!" called the guards. They steered their beasts over the crest of the hill towards the castle gates. A small group of soldiers stood there, all fully dressed in dark, metal armor and holding lengths of rope. The man at the head of the group frightened Hikaru. He was tall and broad, with golden hair tied in a ponytail over his shoulder. His expression was hard as stone.
The soldiers dismounted, slinging their prizes over their backs. "Captain," said Umi's captor, "Fine catches from the other world. Very lucky of us to have been able to catch three today," he said conversationally.
The blond man nodded slowly and moved close to examine the three young girls. Fuu held fast to the soldier's shoulder plates and peered around at him. The Captain grabbed her chin. He turned her head this way and that, ran a gloved hand through her fine, blonde locks and felt along her waist and hips. He squeezed her buttocks, slid a casual hand beneath her skirt and smiled. "Yes, they're lovely," he said.
Fuu shook her head violently. "Keep away from me! What is this place?"
Hikaru flamed quick anger. "Don't touch her!" she cried. Before she had time to protest further, the Captain began his observation of her, forcing her head up and studying her eyes. She jerked her chin away and said, "Stay away!"
"What's wrong with that one?" he asked about the blue-haired girl, ignoring Hikaru's impudence.
The solider holding Umi seemed to color a bit. "Well, Captain, she thrashed about wildly and tried to escape, so I had to sedate her..."
The Captain laid his hand on Umi's head, feeling the length of her fine hair. "You've struck her," he said coldly. "That will leave a bruise. If the Prince discovers this, he'll be very displeased." He gave his soldier a very harsh look and the poor boy paled.
"F-forgive me, Captain Lafarga..."
As if she had felt the touch of his hand in her slumber, Umi's eyes cracked open. She moaned. "Hey, what—"
"Be silent!" her captor shouted at her again.
She began to stir in his arms, blinking blearily at the surrounding landscape. "What's going on… hey, let go of me…"
"Be quiet, or he'll hit you again!" Hikaru called.
"You will all be silent," Captain Lafarga said, "Or we shall be forced to silence you."
Umi was coming to her senses. She began to kick feebly at the man who held her. "Let me go! What is this? Let me go this instant! Put me down, you letch! Ah! Don't touch me!"
"Gag that one," the Captain ordered. Umi screamed and thrashed about when two more soldiers grabbed hold of her. They forcibly tied her hands behind her back, bound her legs and shoved a leather bit in her mouth, anchoring it behind her head. Now enraged, Umi squirmed and tossed her head, shrieking from behind the coarse bit.
The Captain turned on the two other captive girls with a stern look. "I'll do the same to the two of you if you don't hold your tongues."
Fuu merely trembled against her soldier's chest, never taking her eyes off Umi's form. Hikaru swallowed the lump of rage and despair that had formed in her throat and did her best to remain calm. She definitely didn't want to be bound and gagged like some animal.
"Take them to the Slave Hall," ordered Lafarga. "Prepare them to be brought before the King and Queen. They're waiting."
The troops nodded and the three girls found themselves being ushered over the threshold of the gleaming castle. The large, ornate doors were dark and forbidding. Slave Hall? they all thought. What in Heaven's name are they going to do to us?
The halls of the Castle Cephiro were expansive. They were brightly lit with ornate candelabras and decorative mirrors. The carpet beneath their feet was thick and lush. Or, they looked that way, anyway; none of the girls were permitted to walk. They passed doorway after doorway, leading to rooms occupied by finely dressed people all milling about and talking in low tones. Hikaru glanced into one room and, to her horror, she saw a small group of women and even a few young men, all naked and cast in chains.
Umi continued to kick and thrash, though when one of the soldiers produced a leather whip and cracked it threateningly at her, she quieted and shivered over her captor's shoulder. It was a humiliating position for her; thrown over that armored soldier like some prize game, with her buttocks in the air and her short school skirt showing an impressive view of her undergarments. The soldiers walking behind her were laughing and winking at her, and she gave them the filthiest of glares. She gave the soldier who held her one last sharp kick and was silent.
Fuu, on the other hand, continued to hide her face against the soldier's chest. She was terrified and bewildered, thinking that they had to be in some sort of dream, that there were no castles or armored soldiers anymore and that it was impossible to be spirited away to alternate universes. That kind of thing didn't happen, not in the real world. Behind her eyelids, she saw visions of the Tower; saw the bright flash of light and the teenagers screaming around her. It isn't real, she thought miserably. It can't be real. There's no such thing as other worlds. This is fantasy… not real…
But the thick, heavy arm of her captor squeezing her body against his felt very real. The smells of perfumed incense lingering in the castle's halls was also quite real. The voices she heard, their footsteps echoing off the walls, the pounding of her heart… all were real and wouldn't go away no matter how tightly she shut her eyes and told herself that it wasn't.
Hikaru was beyond such delusion. Though she was shocked and dismayed at their situation, she'd made peace with the fact that obviously this was real and that she wasn't sick or crazy or on drugs and therefore not imagining the things that were happening around her. Now, all she thought of was blind terror, of heavily armed men and women in chains and the words Slave Hall.
We'll be prepared for the King and Queen, she wondered. Prepared for what?
Their troop passed a small group in the halls. There was a man and a woman, both dressed in lavish finery, holding a length of silk rope that was attached around the neck of a pretty young girl in a sheer white gown. Hikaru gasped aloud, causing her captor to slap her bottom.
"Keep your eyes down," he commanded. "You don't dare look into the eyes of any of the lords or ladies." He turned around to look at the other two captives. "The same goes for both of you! Keep your bloody eyes down! You are slaves now! You will show proper respect to all who pass you!"
Fuu didn't need to be told twice. Her eyes were shut, anyway. Umi tossed her head, her long blue hair flying, and continued to give the people around her icy glares. The soldiers behind her didn't seem to mind; indeed, they looked rather amused.
"She'll be perfect for the Prince," said one such soldier. He nudged his companion and grinned. "He likes them to have a little fire to them."
"Prince," Umi struggled to say behind her leather gag. "Prince my ass!" Someone behind her gave her a sharp lick with a thin rod and she cried out.
"There's plenty more where that came from if you don't shut your infernal trap!" said her captor.
Soon, the troop entered an enormous room with sloped ceilings. All around were young men and women. Not one of the slaves in this room was clothed; the sight made all three girls gasp in fright. There was a long line of wash basins on one side of the room, and each tub had a naked slave standing upright in it being bathed by a Page. Some were being whipped, others were being fed and still others were slumbering on soft mats.
Suddenly, a young man dressed in the robes of a Page appeared next to them. He looked at Hikaru and said, "I think it would please the King and Queen to unbind her lovely red hair. Take it down, and I shall comb it later."
Her band was torn from her braid and her thick hair tumbled over her shoulders in waves. She trembled with fury but forced herself to remain silent. Anything but a gag, anything but a whip…
Captain Lafarga appeared at the entrance of the room. He looked on the trio of newly captured girls and said, "Strip them down and wash them. If they struggle, bind them up."
Umi screamed. Hikaru and Fuu both went limp in the arms of their captors. They, too, began to cry in despair as their clothes were torn roughly off of them and they were hauled into vats of warm, soapy water.
Fuu screamed and cried and tried desperately to hide her nakedness with her hands. The Page who washed her forced her hands to her sides and ordered her to be still, or she'd be whipped like the other impudent slaves. She hung her head, letting her hair shield her burning cheeks, and the Page commenced to bath her with a coarse sponge.
Umi continued her vicious struggling, kicking and squirming in the hands of the Pages so that they couldn't quite get a good grip on her. Eventually, they tore off her clothes and tossed her bodily into the water.
Hikaru was suddenly glad that they'd unbound her hair; it hid her naked breasts from view. The Page who washed her observed her slender form and seemed to nod approvingly. "You're small and thin," he said, "But you have a good enough shape to you. And such lovely red hair and ruby eyes… yes, you're a prize, indeed."
"I'm nobody's prize!" she said nastily.
"Hold your tongue," he said, "Or I shall be forced to order you bound and gagged, like your friend."
"She's not my friend," Hikaru corrected for the second time. "I've never met either of those girls. But I'll surely do whatever I can to help them out of this awful place, you can bet on that!"
The Page gave her a stern look and, when she glanced over her shoulder at Umi's bound and writhing form, she was quiet. The Page scrubbed her, though he wasn't as rough as she expected him to be. He ordered her to stand with her legs apart and her arms out so that he could wash her more thoroughly. When his hands passed beneath the small nest of red hair between her legs, she shuddered in disgust.
Once they were washed, the three girls were hauled out of the tubs and dried. Their hair was combed and they were dressed in thin, white gowns that were all too revealing of their hips and young bosoms. To their dismay, their wrists were bound in a length of fine cord and they were forced to march out of the room and through the large, ornate halls of the palace.
Hikaru looked around and exchanged a worried glance with Umi. She realized it was the first time that they had actually locked eyes. Umi still looked livid, with her cheeks flushed an angry red and her breath coming in short gasps. She gave Hikaru a curt nod; it said, Get ready.
Fuu was carefully observing her surroundings. Though she seemed uncomfortable in her form-fitting gown, she was making sure to fully catalogue everything she saw so as to better understand it later when she would have a moment to think. She raked the walls with her eyes, the carpets, the people passing by, the back of the Page's head… When other's walked past them, she cast her eyes down, but as soon as they lost interest in her, she studied them closely. Her lips were pursed thoughtfully and her eyes were narrowed.
The throne room was by far the largest room they'd ever seen. It seemed to stretch forwards and upwards into infinity, with enormous, sparkling chandeliers and dancing points of light flitting about on the ceiling. Umi realized with shock that these points were fairies. A few people milled about lazily. Around the corners of the rooms, on their hands and knees, were even more slaves. Fuu grimaced as she saw one of them being fondled and caressed casually by passersby.
Hikaru opened her mouth to speak. "Why are—?" Before she could finish, she was thrown forward on her hands and knees and a thin lash was taken to her calves. She shrieked and squirmed away from the switch, but a soldier appeared and held her down.
"If you utter a single word before the King and Queen, I'll have you stripped and chained to the wall as punishment!"
Hikaru gasped in outrage.
"That won't be necessary," said a cool voice from behind them. All three girls turned to look but their heads were forced down to the carpet. Umi growled behind her leather bit and elbowed the Page who forced her down onto her knees. He ignored her.
Two shoed feet were circling around the group. They watched them move in front of them but could do nothing else with those strong hands holding them down by their necks. The feet were clad in impeccable white boots inlaid with gold and small jewels. Obviously, this person was of some importance.
"My Prince," said one of the Pages, "Captives from the other world. We've brought them for your approval."
"Mine and that of my sister," the Prince replied lazily. "King Zagato will have little interest in them. He has eyes only for his Queen."
Fuu picked up the hint of malevolence in the Prince's voice and frowned. Dissension within the very castle?
The Page bowed respectfully. "Of course, Prince Ferio. You shall do with these girls as you wish. If you don't mind my saying it, the soldiers were all of the opinion that the blue-haired one would be most to your liking. She's quite fiery."
Prince Ferio strolled around and tucked the toe of his boot beneath Umi's chin, forcing her to look up. She'd begun to cry while she'd been there, and she glared poisonously up at him through slitted, watery eyes.
"Well, would you look at that? She's very nearly snarling behind that bit of hers. She's been giving you some trouble, then?"
"Yes, Highness. They had her bound and gagged for the duration of the trip."
"How amusing. You may ungag her. I'd like to hear her speak."
The Page seemed to hesitate. "Highness, she was quite forceful…"
The Prince chuckled and kept Umi's chin lifted with his boot. "I'll ungag you, but if you start to annoy me with your shouting, I'll have you thrashed and hung by your ankles in the Slave Hall for a day and a night. Do you understand?"
Umi paled. When the Page unwound the leather bit from behind her head she began to shake. As much as she wanted to rage at this man, she couldn't bear the thought of being so humiliated… She spit out the bit and repressed an angry retort.
"What is your name, girl?" asked the Prince.
"Umi."
"Hm. An odd name." She gave him a nasty look and he laughed. "Well, you are quite lovely. What say you to being my pet, Ryuuzaki Umi?"
"I'd tell you to shove it," she spat.
"Would you?" The Prince laughed loudly.
The Page, however, was infuriated. "You will show proper respect to the Prince of Cephiro, slave! Bite that impudent tongue of yours!"
She tossed her hair haughtily. "I don't care what you do to me. You can all just drop dead as far as I'm concerned, and I'll surely never be slave to this brat Prince!"
She was yanked to her feet by the wrist and given over to another Page. "Whip her soundly for the enjoyment of the King and Queen!" She began to struggle and shout.
Ferio shook his head. "Brat, she says." He seemed to not care much that his toy had been taken away. Instead, he inspected the two other girls. He took Hikaru's chin in his hand and said, "How about you, small one? What's your name?"
"Hikaru."
"You have a lovely little heart-shaped face, Hikaru. And such lustrous hair. You're quite lovely, do you know that?" Hikaru only blushed and said nothing. "Well, I think you'd be a good prize for one of our lords. Or maybe even my brother. When he arrives, I'll let him have a look at you."
Hikaru averted her eyes. She wouldn't be anyone's prize for long; she'd make sure of it!
"Well hello," Prince Ferio was saying to her right. She twisted her head around and saw him touching the face of the blonde girl next to her. "A pretty little blonde. What's your name, my lovely little blonde?"
"F-fuu…"
"Fuu." He savored the name, smiling into her blushing face. "I may keep you for myself, Fuu. What say you to being the love slave of the Prince of Cephiro?" Fuu squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered in reply.
Ferio cracked a sly smile. "You'll learn to enjoy it." He pulled away from the group and yawned into a gloved hand. "What do you think, Sister?"
Hikaru and Fuu both jumped. They realized that, in the shadows of the dais, sat a dark figure. They could make out an ornate crown sitting atop her head and a very long mane of hair. The figure stood after a time. The 'Sister' walked slowly into the light of the candelabras and all three girls froze. Was this 'Sister' the Queen? Surely she must be. She was very beautiful, with eyes like deep water. She smiled serenely at them all and stood behind her brother.
"They're lovely, Ferio," she said in a soft, melodious voice. "These are the three summoned just this morning?"
"Yes, my Queen," answered one of the Pages.
She bent down low before the three girls. Her soft face was almost soothing to their fraying nerves, and when she each of their faces in her hands one by one to examine them, they almost smiled back at her. Gently, she smoothed their shoulders and backs, feeling them and sizing them up. She took an especially long time with Hikaru, who she seemed to like the best. "Oh, lovely one," she cooed, "Such a beautiful form for one so young." Hikaru only nodded slightly and began to color when the Queen smiled at her. "You may address me, if you wish."
But what could she say? Hikaru swallowed the lump in her throat. She would be beaten. Surely she would be bound and gagged just like Umi… "Yes, my Queen," she managed to stammer. The woman's kind face was so warm and soothing to her. Hikaru almost found herself falling at the woman's feet. Kindness in the midst of harsh scolding… the Queen was her savior.
"Queen Emeraude," said the Page, "This small one is an ideal choice for a slave. She has a small bit of spunk to her but is pliant. I think she'd suit you well."
Emeraude shook her head and stood. "I have no need for more slaves. Though, I may call on each of these girls as times for my amusement." She looked around and noticed the reddened legs of the blue-haired girl. "Ah, have you been an impudent little thing?"
All the bitter gall Umi had spat into the faces of those who'd approached her was oddly absent. She couldn't imagine being rude to so kind and beautiful a woman. "Queen Emeraude, why have we been brought here-?"
The Prince nodded to the nearby soldiers who yanked Umi upwards by the ankle and allowed her to dangle like that before the Queen and her brother. She began to shriek. "Let me down!"
"You'll answer when the Queen tells you to answer," Prince Ferio sighed. "It was a rhetorical question." A thin rod was taken to her backside again, leaving red welts and long stripes across her ivory skin. Umi cried loudly and the Queen only smiled.
"Such spirit they have in the other world," she said.
"Agreed, Sister."
"And your step-brother? Where is he?" she asked.
"Oh, Lantis should be here shortly. You know he's not really one for fuss and pomp such as this."
Emeraude crossed her shapely arms over her chest. "It is true. But he is a very devoted Prince to his country and is deserving of finery such as this." She cast an approving eye on Hikaru again. "I shall give one of them to him. Not that loud one; she'll not be to his taste. One of these two will be perfect."
"I myself am having trouble deciding between two of them," replied Ferio. He studied Fuu and Umi closely. "The impudent one is quite beautiful. I'm sure I could have plenty of fun with her if she were gagged. But this one is so lovely, too. I do love yellow hair…"
"Ah, my King," the Queen purred. A formidable man stepped onto the dais, dressed heavily in dark, flowing robes and crowned with an ornate, black headdress. He glowered at all of them, making the three young girls tremble in fear.
"Zagato," Ferio nodded. "The captives from the other world. Lovely, aren't they?"
The King only nodded vaguely and turned to his Queen. "See that they're made ready for their lords and have them sent away. There's much to do in this castle without all this idleness."
"Of course, Zagato," Emeraude smiled. "Ferio. Choose your girl. And where is Lantis?"
"He's there," Zagato pointed to the far corner of the room. "Deep in conversation with Balu Ascot." He glanced at Umi's dangling form. "Is it customary now to present slaves in a hanging fashion?"
Emeraude giggled and leaned against her husband's arm. "No, darling. She was crude and loud, and is being punished for it. Ah, her poor legs; look how her pretty flesh is marred with welts."
"Keep to the traditions," Zagato warned the Pages, "And see that blood is never drawn."
"Of course, Highness!" they chorused.
Lantis, the man Emeraude had mentioned, was brought forward into the group by Ferio. Fuu and Hikaru could only see his feet, but Umi was able to size him up thoroughly, if from an upside-down position. He was very tall, with dark hair and eyes. His face was as solemn and rigid as Zagato's. Umi realized that he was the other Prince they'd spoken of; Zagato's brother.
"Lantis!" Ferio clapped his step-brother on the back jovially. "A present for you. Lovely young women from the other world. Have your pick, my brother!" He leaned closer to him. "Though, do stray from the blonde one… I've taken a great liking to her."
Lantis scowled. Umi noted that he looked very annoyed.
"I have no interest in pleasure slaves," he said.
"I can't see why. Women in this kingdom fall over themselves to be with you, so tall and strapping you are! But these young girls are all exceptional. That one hanging over there is a bit loud, but I'm sure, with a few lessons in courtesy, she'll be nice and pliable for you."
Lantis shook Ferio's hand from his shoulder. "Do not bother me with such idiotic trifle."
"Oh, come, brother-in-law," Emeraude frowned. "If anything, take one as a companion of sorts. You need not trouble yourself much with her, but I'd hate to give over such beauties to some common lord."
Zagato stood next to his brother. "Ferio has decided on the young blonde. Choose between the bluette and the redhead now, please." The comment made Fuu shrink against the carpet. She'd been chosen as the pleasure slave of a Prince… Pleasure slave… pleasure…
Lantis glowered. He didn't look happy at all about having to pick a girl for himself. But he looked as if he didn't want to go against his brother. Reluctantly, he eyed the two remaining girls. He looked at Umi for a while, but her nasty looks and fidgeting seemed to put him off. Instead, he bowed down and took Hikaru's chin roughly into his head. She looked up at him with wide, watery ruby eyes. If she could see herself, she definitely would have seen that she looked quite pretty. Her hair was unbound and wild around her heart-shaped face, her cheeks were flushed and her young breasts were heaving with anxiety. Lantis looked into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he stood with a weary sigh. "I shall take this one. But not now; return her to the slave quarters and let her rest. Wait until I send for her."
Hikaru gasped as she was hauled from her knees and forced out of the throne room. She cried out along the way. "No! Please, stop! Don't do this to me!" Her despairing cries echoed throughout the room. It made Fuu begin to weep.
Umi watched the girl go sadly. She looked at Fuu, quaking on the ground below her, and then took to observing the room. There were a few people scattered about. Most were leaning against the walls in idle conversation with one another. A few watched disinterestedly. Her eyes paused at the figure of a young boy leaning against a table to her right. She'd noticed him earlier; he'd been watching her for some time.
"Tsk, tsk," Ferio said, bringing Umi's attention back to the situation at hand. "What to do with you, oh fiery one?" he joked.
The King and Queen both studied Umi. "Not enough Princes to go around, it seems," Emeraude sighed. She approached Umi and ran soft hands over her flaming legs. Umi winced at the touch, her skins smarting and stinging. "Such a lovely frame you have, my dear," Emeraude purred. "Beautiful hair, and eyes the color of the sky. Your temper, however, does not become you."
Umi shivered against her touch. How could she stand against such intimidating beauty?
"Clef!" Ferio called. Umi looked round and saw the young boy leaning on the table raise an eyebrow. "Come here and observe this girl. She's a beauty, isn't she? Certainly worthy of the Master Mage."
Umi's jaw dropped. That kid? Like hell!
The boy sighed and pushed himself off the table. He reached for a staff taller than him and walked over, looking supremely bored. He was raking pale eyes over her body.
"A fine idea, brother!" Emeraude clapped. "Give her to the Madoshi! Oh, Clef, will you take her?"
"But he's just a kid!" Umi erupted. "Like I'm going to be a slave to some little b—" Her head was grabbed from behind and the leather bit was once again shoved roughly back into her mouth. She squealed against it and squirmed around in her captor's grip. His hands encircling her ankles were beginning to grow very painful. But she was soon dropped to the floor before the boy's feet.
"I am no child," said the young boy. Umi was startled to hear the deep, rich tone of his voice, a voice that certainly did not belong to a child. He turned to the Queen. "She is loud and abrasive. I could not tolerate her for long."
"On the contrary, Madoshi, I think she suits you well. You have a fiery temperament, yourself," Emeraude winked. "I think you'll be able to rise to her ire."
Umi chanced a quick look at the "man" before her head was forced back down. He was very small, smaller than any man she'd ever seen. She would easily have five inches on him! His face was small and round, with lavender hair hanging in his blue eyes. She started when he poked her with the tip of his staff. "She is quite lovely, though."
"Madoshi-san, I insist you adopt this girl," Emeraude pleaded. "If not you, then who else? Balu Ascot, perhaps, or Captain Lafarga, but they have slaves enough. You haven't taken a slave in many years!"
"It's true," he agreed.
"Well then, it's settled," Ferio said. "This… Umi shall be given over to Madoshi Clef."
Umi began to snarl behind her bit. She struggled against the hand that held her against the ground. Not to some midget man! Her mind raged. No way! No way in hell! God, get me out of here! She wept bitterly.
Clef knelt to look into her eyes and frowned. He took her cheeks in his small hands and began to wipe them with his robes. "No, no tears, beauty. I'll not hurt you."
The Page holding Umi picked her up and carried her out of the room. He didn't exactly trust her to walk calmly and quietly alongside him. She cried and struggled the entire way and when the doors closed behind her, the hall was nearly silent.
Slow dread crept upon Fuu's mind. She was the last one; she was alone here, now, will all those insane slave people… and she would be the slave to the Prince, same as Hikaru…
"A festive day," Emeraude said. "Such excitement we haven't seen in some time."
"Go and enjoy your woman," Zagato said coldly to his brother-in-law. "This is indeed the festival season, as my Queen suggested. There are events to plan and ceremonies to perform. See you don't waste too much time with her."
"Oh, none of my time with her shall be wasted," Ferio laughed. He motioned for the remaining Pages to follow him with Fuu out of the throne room. The blonde shook in fright, trying to quiet shrill little animal cries that rose in her throat.
It was over. There was no escape. She was a slave now, selected by the Prince himself.
There would be no returning home.