A/N: Hey guys! For you who wanted Fiore Online updated, I'm sorry- but I promise to update soon! I got this idea from watching Magi. Morgiana's character certainly captivated me, and it was amazing to see how alike Asuna and Morgiana were. I soon began to think of an AU where Aincrad was truly the real world and how the slave system would fit within it. Then...wa- lah! this thing appeared. I hope you enjoy.
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Asuna sighed and looked at her hands. They were callused, rough and bruised. Nothing that would fit a girl the likes of her, she mused.
"Ah!" She squeaked as the wagon hit a bump, then quickly covering her mouth. The brunette then turned her trembling body outwards, her eyes staring at the bars that prevented her from freedom.
The scenery outside indicated that they were at the outskirts of some city. Her already miserable frown twitched deeper, her face contorting into disgust.
Asuna realized she would soon be led out to be sold to some asshole and live her days under his/her command. She cursed under her breath as she felt the wagon turn right, where most probably the slave auction was.
Some ways down the road, a lavish metal-plated sign next to the dirt road had something etched on to it. Asuna squinted her eyes, trying to focus on the sign, so she'll have an idea of where she's headed. At least they couldn't take her literacy away from her.
100th annual Magnolia Festival
She rolled her eyes. So she was going to be auctioned at a fair. How popular was slave culture exactly in Aincrad, anyways? Muttering incoherent words, Asuna glanced at the "cart", or cage behind her.
It was jammed with many people, all of different floors and races. But of course, they were all girls. The brunette stared at it for a while, then looked at the interior of her own cage.
Asuna stared at her cage's floor, and she chuckled. They thought she was dangerous enough to be handled with care, so they put her in a reinforced high-quality titanium cage all by herself.
Asuna supposes she should be flattered, but now's not the time and place. The cage shudders as the wagon stops and parks at a clearing. She makes out the wagon driver saying something to the slave trader- something about reinforced measures to take on their "special" prisoner. The gorgeous brunette smirks.
Sure enough, a gangly young man with keys in hand came up to the prison bar. Instead of opening the cage, he calls over a burly woman.
Before she knew it, that woman had Asuna in a choke hold position and super-enforced chains now bore on her feet and hands. The brunette inwardly sighed, knowing there was no escape now.
Instead, she deduced that her chances of escape were very high when she was in her master's possession. Asuna thoroughly relaxed her body, closing her eyes. She'll just have to accept things for now.
She soon was led out, very forcefully if she may add, to the wide world. Asuna's knees almost buckled, but she stood up. Her legs stretched, they've been cooped inside for weeks.
Asuna sighed as she saw other slaves being led out, sad that she couldn't do anything for them. The slaves soon had their feet chained to one another(except for Asuna of course, she had to be guarded by 10 or 12 security reinforcers) and trudged along.
The sweltering heat didn't exactly help keeping them going. Many dropped of exhaustion; those who did were abandoned and killed promptly by a swing of a sword. Asuna panted and looked up, the afternoon sun was beating down on her.
She was pushed by a reinforcer to keep moving forward. Her mouth was parched, when was the last time she drank water? Pushing those thoughts away, the brunette chose to focus on the scenery around her.
The streets were barren, only a few beggars here and there. There were banners hung everywhere, advertising the Festival which she was about to go to. Asuna assumed most of the town was currently at the festival itself, which explains the empty city.
As she was looking around, she made the mistake to look into a beggar's eyes. Pity. Asuna clenched her teeth and held her head high. If there was one thing she were to hate, it would be pity.
More and more people started to appear as they got closer to the festival grounds. Soon enough, a huge banner with stylized letters showcased the words "Magnolia Festival". Rather than go through the front entrance, they were led around the festival grounds through a much smaller entrance.
Probably the back entrance, Asuna thought. "Move the slaves into here!" A command was told by the slave trader. The brunette and other slaves were shoved into the back of...a stage?
Asuna felt repulsed, they were at a stage to be shown off! How horrible can this auction be? The reinforcers then came and gave them numbers, and gruffly told them to go on stage when their number was called.
Asuna looked at her number, 60. They were not even being treated like living things, with actual names! She scoffed and shook her head, they were slaves after all. After an hour of doing absolutely nothing, which was quite a relief, she heard somebody talking on stage.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to our Magnolia Fair Slave Auction!" The host said merrily. Asuna curled her lip in disgust at the cheerfulness of it all. "Today, we have a great range of slaves, from floor 1 to 70!" The crowd, much to Asuna's dismay, cheered and whooped.
"M-mama, I'm scared..." Asuna glanced at a young girl, no more than 5, pleading to her mother. Asuna bitterly smiled at the scene, knowing there was no way to escape now.
"Now who's ready to see our batch!?" The slave trader yelled disgustingly in a happy note. The crowd roared in reply. Asuna sighed, knowing she'll be called sooner or later. "1...please come on stage!" The slave trader said.
...
After an hour of auctioning, Asuna realized that she had the last number. "No..." She muttered under her breath. "Now, for our most special offer you could ever get...number 60, please come up!"
Asuna trudged to the front of the stage, looking at a huge amphitheatre. A huge crowd had accumulated, all roaring. "This beauty is definitely worth something...don't you agree?" The audience cheered in reply.
"Going at 60,000,000 col!" The slave trader yelled. Asuna widened her eyes, that much could buy a few houses! I focused at the now sparse crowd, many had left hearing the price.
"I'll take her for 70,000,000!" An old man yelled.
"I'll take her for 85,000,000." A mid-aged man with glasses calmly said.
"Take her for 90,000,000!" A woman with a sinister look on her face exclaimed.
Asuna hitched her breath. She seemed like one of those stereotypical villains you would find in a kid's show, though she certainly hopes she isn't like that.
"Going at 95,000,000!" The slave trader yelled again. "OK, going to the lady in th-"
"I'll take her for 100,000,000 col." A woman with a kind gaze exclaimed. The slave trader widened his eyes then smiled greedily.
"Going to the lady in the blue equipment!" The slave trader's catchers shoved me up the stairs of the amphitheatre towards my highest bidder. "Hello, dear." Her onyx eyes looked up at Asuna's caramel brown ones .
"..." The brunette's mind was in shock after hearing such kind words from her now "mistress". Unable to take anymore stress, Asuna's already fatigued body gave out on her and her vision blacked out.
"Mmm..." Asuna groaned, blinking open her eyes. Her head swiveled around, realizing she was in a bed. She got up, looking at her foreign surroundings. How did she get here? Asuna wondered.
Oh, right. Flashbacks of that day went through her memory, and she relaxed. Asuna hasn't slept on a bed since...well, forever. And with that, the brunette slowly closed her eyes, sinking back into the bed.
"Yo."
Staring right back at her, was a calm onyx-eyed boy sitting on the bed.
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A/N: Well, how did it go? Hopefully good. I've been meaning to write an SAO fanfic for a LONG time, but never found the time to do it until now. Leave a review below!