The sounds of the men and women around me filled the inside of the bar and while I drank amongst them I wasn't with them as I didn't join any of their conversations.
Normally I would have tried to attract one of the waitresses and offered to buy her for the night or if possible for the rest of the day, but not this time.
I can't help but look at the contents of the cup that I am holding and then at the two empty spots in front of me.
The table that I'm sitting at isn't big enough for two people and if three people were to put their cups on it they would risk having their cups fall on the ground.
I can't help but smirk, that didn't ever stop us back then.
I can still see the bright smile on Aqua's face, and I have to force myself not to imagine that she is looking around with the same amount of curiosity as a child who was spending her first day away from home.
the woman's light skin always seemed to glow whenever the light of the dark sun touched it, her long blue hair and bright eyes along with her smile always brought joy to wherever we went.
I can almost hear Kazuma warning her in the same frustrated yet kind way that he always spoke to her.
H would tell her to not draw attention and Aqua would ignore his warnings as she began to perform for everyone in the bar.
Soon Kazuma would join her and then they would begin to charge everyone who had enjoyed their performance.
I can't help but smile at the memory.
Every time the pair would gain enough money for the night and sometimes the amount that they made was enough that we would be able to join merchants or whatever in their travels without having to worry about anyone asking questions.
Perhaps you're confused about all of this, after all, you don't know who I am, and as to who Aqua and Kazuma were you know even less.
the sounds of the bar begin to fade as the memory that should have been forgotten by time but has burned itself into my mind resurfaces and I find myself looking at the endless desert.
I was nothing more than another slave, someone used for work or to fight in a coliseum whenever my master needed some extra money.
My youth was similar to many others who were born into slavery, I had a cool patch of dirt to sleep in at night, while I worked under the sun's light.
While food and water weren't abundant they were enough for my mother and I to survive and dare I say thrive.
My master was also my father, he was the man whom my mother and several other women slept with whenever he wanted them, but to be honest I am not sure if he was.
In truth, the man that I come from might have been one among the many slaves that I lived with or someone that my master ordered my mother to sleep with.
But I like to think that my master was my father, as he raised me and the other boys as his own, and it was he who taught me to read and write.
As I said before I was looking at the vast wasteland beyond the city but I can't remember the reason why I was at the walls that day.
Maybe I was being punished for something or perhaps I was once again wondering what it would be like to journey beyond the walls and see the outside world.
I can still remember seeing the different merchants bringing their goods and the various insects that they rode on or used to pull their carriages.
I remember turning to look at the women who belonged to the different races and how they offered themselves to the men.
Seeing that the men ignored them they began to mention that they weren't the only things being sold for the day as men were also among their number.
Maybe this was what caught my attention, after all, it wasnt normal to hear an open secret being spoken loudly by someone.
Prostitution wasn't and still isn't something that anyone looks down on or even praises, after all, it's just another way of surviving in this world.
The reason that the woman's words caught my attention, was that it was known that the sons- daughters- wives- concubines, and sometimes even those who held positions of power would sell themselves amongst the common folk.
If they weren't in a bad financial situation then they didn't have a reason to do so.
No the reason why they put themselves into this position was that they wanted to enjoy themselves with something else, or better said someone else.
I remember feeling a strong wind blow sand on my face and I quickly used my hand to clean it my face, so that I didn't look dirty for anyone that would want to buy me.
It just so happened that today was the day that I was to be sold and join the other slaves in whatever new house bought me.
this is why it's a mystery to me why I was at the walls that surrounded the city, as I was supposed to go to the market so that I could be sold and yet I didn't go there.
I wasn't the first son or daughter that my mother had given birth to and she had told me how I needed to act when I was bought and how I should act when I first arrived at my new master's home.
She had told me that I needed to keep my head down and remain quiet until I learned to do things the way that my waster wanted me to do them.
I remember turning back to look at the wastlant and there they were a blue and green speck that was only growing and I immediately believed that the pair were nobles or at the very least were wealthy.
As I watched the pair coming closer, I checked myself to make sure that I didn't have any new scars that I hadn't noticed or that I wanted covered in dirt or sand.
And like all slaves that ere going to be sold, I stood up straight and waited for the pair to pass.
They ignored me and I felt defeated, there I was a perfectly good slave and I had been ignored.