The slave stand was cold and shoddy, it was nearing four and if they closed and she wasn't sold…she looked down at the crowd then the brown sack dress she wore. Nobody was paying attention to her, demons were far more trouble then they were worth and there was no doubt about what she was, her gray skin, the gem growing out of her skull, purple hair and matching eyes were a give away. The owner of this particular company turned away from the crowd and scowled "Remember, if you don't get sold you're going to be our personal slave" turning back around he put on a smiling façade "Any last offers for the demon?" he yelled.

"Private offer" came a deep voice from the back.

The owner nodded "Back of the stage in ten minutes" the man outside of Raven's vision went quiet, she couldn't tell if he moved or what. She was trained to keep her face down. Private offers were taken when somebody didn't want to be known as a slave buyer/seller or when they wanted to haggle personally with the company.

When her buyer walked behind the stage even the normally fearless bastard of a seller started to sweat. The man in front of her wasn't extremely tall nor rough but there was a feral air around him that contrasted with his silver suit, one that showed off his green skin nicely. And that was the other thing, green skin. Few people had green skin at all, most who had green skin were from the far west where the desert sun and cactuses that they lived on would turn anybody green if it didn't outright kill them, there were some people to the south who had that skin as well though they were industrialists who worked with chemicals. Legend says there was another group with green skin that died out a long time ago. But no matter where they came from green skin was a sign of the toughest people the world had to offer. And in most cases the most violent.

The company owner stared at him "F-forty silver for the demon…"

The man tilted his head and pierced the owner with his jade eyes "Is that all the life of a person is worth?"

"A demon, yes. I can't sell her anywhere-" he was cut off by the buyer counting out four gold pieces that magically appeared in his hand. With a gold being worth ten silver the owner pulled out several crumpled papers before handing them over to the man as well as a key for her manacles and the collar around her neck.

He didn't ask her to carry the bags he already had, he simply set them down, smoothed the papers before putting them in his jacket, picked up his bags and offered her his free hand. She looked at the slaver who was walking the other way and with trembling hands slowly took his.

As the afternoon started to turn to dusk he led her out of town and across the smooth cobble stones that led to his home, a large house that marked him as somebody of means. He took her to the kitchen before setting his bags on the counter and pulling out the papers "Raven is it?" the first words he had spoken to her.

She nodded "Y-Yes master"

He motioned her to sit down and pulled out the key and let all her restraints fall off "Nobody is your master. I hereby free you from all legal servitude" he gave her a smile that displayed no teeth.

She, however, stared in shock before she started to tremble "NO!" she screamed "I-If those men found out I've been freed-" her rushed words became a garbled mess as she sank to her knees and started to jabber on. She stopped and went dead silent as her master knelt before her and wrapped his arms around her.

It was a hug. The simplest thing in the world. But for a full minute she couldn't comprehend the kindness he was showing her. Her arms wrapped around him and she buried her face in his neck and cried. And cried. And cried. And cried.

When she pulled away her tears had run out and he smiled before gently setting her back in the chair and flipping on the lights, the hum of electricity seemed to shock her for a moment before he turned on the stove "I think a nice calming cup of tea is in order" he smiled and set his kettle over the gas fire and pulled out two ceramic cups and set them on the table beside Raven. She was fascinated by the smoothness of the cup, she had been a slave as far as she could remember so she only knew the lowest of the low things, wooden utensils, a shoddy tent and a mat made of straw.

Raven swallowed hesitantly "Master…what need did you buy me for?"

He opened the cabinets to get the tea leaves "I don't need you for anything, I hated seeing you so scared. I'm just doing what I can."

She stared at him. She couldn't understand what he said even though she knew what the words meant. "I-I'm sorry but I don't understand" she said hesitantly.

He gave her a small smile that displayed one prominent fang "Don't be sorry, it's okay not to understand." he carried over the kettle and poured the brew into the ceramic "If somebody didn't pay me the same kindness many years ago I'd be either a slave or dead" her eyes stayed on him and he continued "I am the last of my kind, found in a forest a long time ago."

Raven took a sip of tea and looked out the window to her side, the time spent walking, crying or waiting for the tea allowed the sun to fall and night to come into full swing "M-Master…where am I to sleep?" it suddenly dawned on her what other use she could have been bought for and she tried her hardest to keep from shuddering.

"Hmm? Oh, there's a guest room upstairs, we can get you some new clothes and such tomorrow" he stood and she scrambled up after him and he walked to one side of the house and up a set of stairs to the second story of the home "This is my room, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask" then he brought her to another door and opened it.

Inside she realized it was not a servant's quarter. It was simple, yes, a bed, a vanity, a dresser and a night stand but each was of high quality and the room itself was a shade of purple she instantly favored broken by a wide set of glass double doors that led to a balcony and a white door that opened to a tiled bathroom with a marble tub built into the ground. He stopped "You know what" her heart stopped as she thought of him changing his mind "I'll bet you'll want a bath before going to bed" that was the last thing she expected.

She stared at the tub and tried to calculate how many buckets it would take to fill it "But it's so late…and I don't know if my arms could carry that many gallons…"

He gave her the small smile that he had been giving her all day, the one that said it's all right, don't worry "You don't need to. Here take off your dress"

She flushed and he caught it as he rolled up his sleeves "M-Master…I-if that is what you wish…"

He turned to her and shook his head "I'm not going to do anything other than help you bathe, I doubt those idiot slave merchants taught you how to really take care of yourself." conscious of how scrawny she was she slid the dress off and stood beside him. He turned a small faucet and water that was the absolute perfect temperature fell out and he motioned her to go in. she winced when she saw the color of the water that floated off her.

He didn't notice as he cleaned her part by part, he wasn't lecherous or detached but he seemed to enjoy taking care of her. After she was the cleanest she had ever been he gave her a white dress that was one of his friend's and frequent visitor's before sitting her on the vanity stool and combing out her hair. After that was all done he even tucked her in before walking to the door "Do you need anything?" she shook her head "If you do you know where I'll be. Good night Raven, sleep well" and he flicked off the light and closed the door.

Hours later she couldn't sleep. It wasn't anything disturbing nor anything that wasn't good, the bed was the softest she'd ever seen and it was perfect. She rolled over and the sudden sound of the sheets falling off the bed startled her. She came to the realization that she was missing sound. She hadn't ever slept in a place where she couldn't hear the sound of others.

There was one gamble she could take to gain her sleep.

She knocked on the master's door and got a very sleepy "Come in" the door swung open and he was sitting up, the only lamp near his bed didn't illuminate much, just the shape of his body and the immediate surroundings, all of what she could really tell was that he didn't sleep with a shirt and it displayed a body she was quick to look away from "What's the matter Raven?"

She held the pillow and blanket from the room close to her chest "I-I didn't hear anything and I'm u-used to being near other people…I-I'll j-just sleep on the fl-"

"Like hell you are" she felt the small hope in her chest die and turned to stagger out of the room "Where are you going?"

"B-Back t-to the room" she mumbled.

There was a ruffling behind here "I meant 'like hell' you're sleeping on the floor" she turned and shuffled to the other side of the bed "But" she flinched.

There was always a condition. She looked at her scrawny body and hoped he didn't want what she thought he did.

"There's one condition and one warning"

Her thoughts filled in it "You'll be my toy and I won't be kind"

But what he said next was something she could never have predicted "Don't call me master, Gar is fine and I snuggle though I try not to." he saw her blank look and held up the sheet. She quickly settled in and faced the other direction.

Her face blazed red at how sincere he was and her own thoughts, never before did she think that she was so broken down that she couldn't take the sincerity of a normal person. She fell asleep quickly and deeply.

Unlike humans demons retain perfect memories so there was no confusion as she awoke with Gar's arms across her waist and her body pressed against his. But there was a moment of confusion. Words of a language she didn't know were whispered in her ear and she turned as subtly as she could. He was whispering in his sleep. Her eyes widened as he nuzzled into her neck, though still asleep.

Looking at the room she could see a small multitude of plants that granted the room an interior closer to green house rather than a bedroom. They matched his skin perfectly. As soon as she thought this her face blossomed in red. He shifted around and she want as still as she could hoping that he would got back to sleep, at least until her face went back to normal. When The Great Whatever heeded her pleas she looked around some more and felt the bright sun crawl across her face in the most pleasant way.

Well, things are going to be different here…