Three men walked up to the line in front of a well-sized house. The line was already very long and anguished screams could be heard from inside the house. Men and women alike were lined up for a piece of the new dish what do you mean by this?.

A man was whispering up front. "Did you hear about the new robberies? Someone just made off with some of the most valuable paintings in the kingdom, and they were supposed to be under the best security the museum could provide."

Another woman interrupted him. "Who cares? Did you see Lord Aman's new slaves? They are the most beautiful slaves I have ever seen. Their eyes, their mouths, their bodies; it makes me sick to see how beautiful they are."

The man spoke again. "You're just jeal-"

A horse came charging into the clearing, scaring and scattering the people in the line. The man on the horse looked with contempt at the people in line, then got off the horse with a flourish of his robes. As he walked past everyone that had crammed back into the line, he got looks of want from the women and some men that could give birth. Only a year before, this young bachelor, after receiving many offers from various men and women to be his vessel for a child, had announced that he would use a slave to be his vessel The "vessel" analogy is great, but don't repeat it twice in the same sentence. Try "for the same purpose," or something similar. They wouldn't be married, of course; they would just be mates.

But who wouldn't love to be this man's mate? He was everyone's walking wet dream. His perfectly placed brunette hair, icy cerulean eyes, full lips, and perfectly sculpted body made him the most desired man in the kingdom. And his wealth was just an added bonus, because everyone knows knew don't switch from past to present tense mid-sentence how much money one gets from the shipping and fishing business. And he was known to be wonderful, absolutely erotic in bed, even if he preferred men to women.

He walked right into the small building where the dish was being held and, moments later, a man was thrown out. He hastily picked up his robes and went to satisfy himself someone somewhere else.

The dish's parents were pulled inside, where the Lord instantly got to his business.

"Can he have children?" He demanded, pointing at the child that was huddled in the corner of the rickety bed with a puddle of blood dripping from pooling in between his legs.

His parents looked uncomfortable. Finally his father spoke up. "Um, yes, he can, but he's only 16."

The Lord spoke. "I want him. I'm willing to pay anything."

The boy's mother spoke; she was a cunning woman, willing to do anything for money. "But he is our only source of income." Her voice grew soft and added some pain into her voice. "And he's my son. He has come from my womb. I love him more than anything."

The Lord's lip curled in disgusted contempt. "So that's why you sell him everyday. How do you do know he's not pregnant?" He demanded.

The parents once more looked uncomfortable. Then the father said, "Um, we make them wear condoms."

The Lord sneered. "So that's what that is?" he asked, pointed at a white piece of plastic lying on the bed, near the boy's feet. "I'll pay you ten million."

The parents practically fell over each other while accepting his offer. "Whatever," he sneered. "Get him ready by morning. I'll bring the money then." And with yet another flourish of his robes, he left, to return in the morning.

The boy was washed and dressed in the best clothes he had. The sunlight reflected off his golden hair and , into his dull amber eyes. I The specks of gold in his eyes shined shone brightly. His clothes helped to conceal a ragged, bruised, skinny body. He had been lectured about how to keep the deal on and threatened with a beating if this deal it failed; they assumed he was listening and left him alone after delivering their lecture.

The Lord got there at precisely 8:00 am. He waved to one of the servants that had come with him, and she moved to the side to reveal another servant holding a chest with the promised money. The boy's father was drooling.

"Here is your money, paid in full. I will take the boy now," He gestured to the boy and another servant came to help the boy into the litter. It was plain, but overlaid with gold leaf and had curtains flowing around it. The boy walked stiffly, awkwardly, painfully until he was inside the litter. The Lord gave the boy's parents one more look of contempt, then turned around to get back to his mansion.

After about an hour, they were suddenly in a forest. and All the slaves and servants disappeared. The boy had been looking around; and saw all the servants disappear he'd seen this happen. The strange thing was, The Lord was looking at him at the same time, as if to gage his reaction. The boy met his eyes once, and then lowered the curtain.

It was strange, The Lord thought. It was as though they had already developed an understanding with each other. It was strange how the boy had known that he didn't want him to know the way to his mansion.

The boy started staring into the Lord's cerulean eyes. The Lord finally said, "Come with me."

The boy stiffly got out of the litter and followed him to the mansion; the door shut automatically behind him. The Lord's mansion was exceptionally small compared to how other mansions looked like, but he kept his mouth shut. He entered the house after the Lord, silently gasping at the beautiful house before him.

The velvet sofas were blue, in fact cerulean. They were matched by curtains and the candles were cerulean as well. The Lord led the way upstairs. His bedroom was a large king sized bed, covered with sheets and curtains, both in the same color. A large oak desk sat in the corner of the room, along with a wardrobe there, a dresser here, all in oak made from the same wood. And, tucked away in the corner of the room, there was a cerulean blue couch.

Suddenly, The Lord's voice came to him. "What is your name?" The question came unexpectedly. The boy swallowed and answered, "I am Katsuya."

"Is that who you are or your name?" The Lord asked. Again, the question came unexpectedly. Katsuya answered, "It is my name."

The Lord sat down in the chair by the desk, back towards him. "Then who are you?"

A sigh, barely audible. "I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The Lord shifted in his chair, now facing him. "You are to call me Master."

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" The Lord was disgusted with himself as soon as those words came out of his mouth. "Yes, what?" Just like an illiterate.

Katsuya finally answered. "Yes, Master."

There was a long silence. The Lord began to speak again. "You are to wake up every morning at 6:00, unless I tell you you are to rest. You will bathe and put on clean clothes." His eyes swept over Katsuya's clothes again. "There will be sufficient clothes for you to wear everyday of the week. I will be up at 6:30, so get out of the bath by then. You are to make breakfast by 7:00, so I can get to the office at 8:00.Then you are to do the cleaning around the mansion and have supper done by 7:00 pm. I will be back by then. If I 'm not, then I will notify you an hour beforehand. If you have free time, you can got out to the garden or there is a library where you can satisfy yourself, if you can read. Can you read?"

Katsuya nodded.

"Katsuya, I have asked you a question. I want a verbal answer, not a shake of your head like a mutt."

Katsuya raised his eyes from the floor and glared at Master. "Yes, Master. Yes, I can read, Master."

There was an uncomfortable silence, then Katsuya started to study his feet again. Master spoke again. "You will do the laundry on Sundays. We will go to the temple after."

"Yes, Master."

"Do you have periods?"

Katsuya was shocked at this question. Was he supposed to answer? A blush darkened his cheeks as he said, "Yes, Master."

"When do you start-"

There was a knock on the door downstairs. Master nodded to him, and Katsuya hurried down the stairs to answer the door. As he opened it, he saw that there were there men outside, all with either a boy slung over a shoulder or by their side.

He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see the Master. Katsuya stepped aside to let the people come inside and they did so.

Once they were all seated, the Master spoke softly. "Say hello, Katsuya."

Katsuya mumbled a hello; the Master then spoke again. "I couldn't hear you, Katsuya. Please say hello again."

Katsuya looked up and glared at the men and boys before him. He said with as much steel he could muster, "Hello."

One of the men, who had white hair and ebony skin, laughed and said, "You've got a strong one, there."

Another spoke. "Do you have an empty bedroom? This one put up quite a fight and I had to drug him to sleep."

"You would, " Yet another spoke. His hair was crazy, he noticed, with blond, and purple, and black, in all sorts of weird angles.He also carried a small boy in his arms.

"Oh, so why is yours asleep, too?" The blond haired one that had originally asked for an empty bedroom asked.

"Both of you, stop. I have one extra room, and you can put both of them there." The Master said softly.

As the two men got up and kissed the Master, Katsuya saw out of the window a fleeting shadow.