The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the bustling streets of the capital city. The air was thick with the smell of coal dust as the girl navigated her way through the labyrinth of narrow alleys and wide roads. Her eyes slowly shifted from side to side as she took in the layout. The massive walls of the capital loomed over her.
Mothers took their children back home to put them to bed.
Workers headed to the bar to get drunk.
Brothels opened up to receive the customers during the most bountiful time.
Cats curled on the steps to nap under the dimming light.
Crows circled the sky like a dark omen, though they were likely just living their lives like any other animal.
The ripples of the canals started to fade into stillness as the traffic died down.
She'd been wandering around for hours and had barely made it through a section of the outskirts. With each step, the soles of her feet became more numb and dirtied.
Every wound on her body stung like the venom of a wasp. Moving around only made it hurt even more.
But there wasn't anything else to do.
Nothing at all.
Wendy could feel the prying stares stalking her at every street, with no shortage of strange looks and suspicious glares. She could hear the nearby whispers of gossip, asking where she had come from and what she was doing around here, why she looked like that, what the city guards were doing, a scathing scandal or a rakish rumor. She did her best to ignore the muted voices. She came from an infamous group after all.
But it was still uncomfortable. She didn't like it.
The girl did her best to focus on her predicament despite the feeling of blood rushing to her head.
This was really bad.
It was bleak at best and wretched at worst.
Lost and penniless, with enough injuries to put a soldier on his deathbed. Was that not the definition of helpless? Her belly was utterly empty to the point that it felt like her stomach was trying to eat itself, and a splitting headache ran through her skull. Her dark blue hair tangled and swayed with the breeze. She had to keep brushing it out of her eyes with her fingers in order to see.
The spare sheet of old wool she had taken to cover herself with was dragging across the floor regardless of how she tried to pick it up.
Walking alone in an unfamiliar place dredged up memories she could never be fond of. Memories that woke her up from bed with wet eyes and burning cold sweats.
She shook her head roughly and breathed out sharply.
Then she breathed in again until something stopped in her throat and she started coughing. She bent over as the harsh coughs forced themselves out of her lungs while she couldn't rest. Saliva dripped past her tongue, teeth, and lips and spilled on the floor. When the coughing stopped, she buckled against the wall, breathing heavily.
Wendy wiped her eyes with the heel of her palms. The salt stung the scrapes on her hands.
Up until now, her life was hardly easy through it all. There were many things she had lost, but things always worked out in the end. It got better. She didn't consider herself to be an especially brave person, but she had made it through nightmares that would tear others apart. She could make it through this one too.
She tried to stay hopeful now.
Getting home across the boundless reaches of time and space was not implicitly impossible, only immensely improbable.
At least this world had people. What if she had landed in a world filled with nothing but giant, maneating spiders? Or in the cold, inky black void of space? She remembered learning years ago that most of the world was nothing after all. Or perhaps a world that was nothing but barren land devoid of life.
It would be nice if she could find a direction to go before it got dark.
Then she could worry about everything.
"What would Natsu do?..."
For some reason, when she tried to imagine his course of action, a picture of the kingdom being ripped apart and set on fire as if a volcano roared out its molten spit popped into her mind. That, and the picture of a very angry mob.
"Um... what would Erza do?"
Her bare feet thumped against the cobbled ground. It really was a beautiful kingdom, from the architecture to the lands. She would have loved to explore the sites with her friends if they were here. They probably would've gotten into trouble out of habit or fate, but it would've been fun.
A part of her just wanted to leave this place and go up the mountains. That tended to be a comfortable place to rest. Nothing but the near silent sky and land. She could have a full meal. Should she find nothing here, then she would have to do just that.
Wendy rubbed a spot on her head where it was beginning to feel warm and felt something sticky. She looked at her fingers and saw they were covered in dark red.
She let out a groan.
The bleeding hadn't stopped. It was no wonder she was still feeling dizzy. If her teacher found out, she'd be getting lectured for hours and hours.
Before anything else, she should've patched up her wounds first. She panicked and forgot to do so.
Swallowing down the bile building up in her throat, Wendy assessed her injuries while the sun was still out.
Inner right elbow, left knee, throat, left oblique, and most of her fingers. Those were the areas without injury. She would need to make a fire to boil water and properly clean her wounds before bandaging them all up.
Her wounds' refusal to heal by now was strange. It might have had something to do with the air in this world. It felt sparse, like she had spent her entire life drinking water only to now make do with steam. Perhaps it was similar to humans having to adjust to extremely high altitudes.
Her lungs felt unnaturally hollow.
Worse than that, there was a strange ringing in her ears, a scent in the air, something she couldn't make sense of. It was ringing like a broken echo in a cavern, sickeningly sweet like fermented honey. A trace of instinctive warning. A trail towards nothing good.
It reminded her of the demon that dragged her here.
Her nose twitched with the scent of blood.
Somewhere, for some reason, someone was crying in despair. The longer she stood there, the clearer it became.
Wendy stifled the feeling of fear and worry deep deep down. She asked herself what someone else would do.
And then she followed that trail.
As a visitor from another world woke up in the forest, a traveling wagon used to carry travelers across the spread apart towns of the empire rode down a bumpy, dirt road from their rural village to the empire's heart. Each jolt made it feel as if the wheels were at risk of falling off.
The air out here was cold enough that one could see their own breath.
The very act of breathing felt like swallowing ice.
"We're almost at the capital..." A voice filled with restless worry broke the silence in the mobile steel cage. Even bundled up in a pink raincoat, Air couldn't help but shiver. She was a young girl with long pink hair and pink eyes, and this was her first time so far from home. Her body naturally closed inwards.
"...What do you think our master will be like, Luna?"
She had just been sold into slavery to pay off her village's crippling debt along with her two friends. To stave off poverty from crippling taxes, many villages often sell their children. They could always make more after all...
"I'm guessing an old geezer," Luna replied matter of factly without any noticeable change in expression. She wore a raincoat similar to Air, save for that it was blue to match her eyes and shorter hair that reminded of the gentle rivers in such ways. "He's probably after our bodies like some wild animal."
Air felt her mouth dry up. Luna was never one to mix words. If she said something, then it was probably true.
"Ha!"
A boisterous laugh rattled the seats, a voice filled with restless confidence.
"In that case, I just crush his balls and run away before he even knows what hit him!"
Even as dreary as their futures were looking now, her friend Fal was looking ahead brightly, refusing to let misfortune dictate the rest of her life. She was the loudest and strongest out of the three of them, perhaps that was why her hair and eyes were the brightest as well, like gold and amber. Or maybe it's because she had bright features that she ended up being this way.
It was tough to make these guesses when it came to those she grew up with.
Air was feeling a little lost for words, "Really? You mean it?"
"Listen, Air. We're not just some poor village girls getting sold in the capital. We got chosen by some big shot in a high office. We might even be staying in a hotel! All of us are young and pretty, so we just gotta do our best to work hard and earn ourselves back."
Fal snapped her fingers. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find a hottie and live the dream life in the capital."
"I think you're being overly positive about this, Fal," Luna spoke. "Wait until we get there fir."
"Hey guys! Guys! I think we've arrived!" Air said looking out the window and seeing a massive city past the mountains. The wagon eventually came to a stop, and the driver told them to get out. The three proceeded to get off the carriage.
They had reached the capital.
It was bigger than Air had ever imagined. Not even a thousand villages would be able to compete in size nor grandeur. She wasn't exactly here as a guest or a visitor, but she couldn't help but admire it all.
"Hello there."
A well dressed young man with light brown hair was there waiting for them. He gave them a gentle wave.
"I'm your new master. My name is Bach."
He looked harmless enough. Air was surprised he was so young, in his twenties at the most.
Fal still stood in front the two of them and gave the man a cautious glance.
They were led into the marketplace.
"Wooahh... This is the capital." Air admired the sight of the place and drank in its overwhelming beauty. It was twice, no, a dozen times more beautiful up close. The capital was large, people walked left to right, right to left, and shops were at every corner pretty much selling every item one would need to find in a market, "It's a Metropolis..."
"The most our village had was a cheap inn and a shitty secondhand shop after all." Fal said as they walked, "We'd get traumatized when asked 'Don't you even have an armory?' by the passing adventurers. Never felt more like a country bumpkin than that."
"Hahaha," Bach laughed casually as he listened to them, "It kind of feels like there's a ton of unusual thing here, doesn't it? Want to look around a bit while we're here? I'll buy some clothes for you all. Don't worry and relax!"
Air wasn't sure if she heard that right, "Is-is it really fine?!"
"I'm a kind master after all!" Bach said with a smile.
Air's eyes turned to Luna as she leaned in and whispered, "He... he's easy to talk to and he seems like a good person."
"You can't let your guard down." Luna whispered pointing her index finger up who was still a bit skeptical of the man, "Have you forgotten that all men are wolves?"
"You... you're right, wolves are dangerous, right?" Air asked just to confirm.
"Either way, remember, if things turn bad, let's run." Fal said before kicking her leg high into the air despite wearing a skirt, "When it comes down to it, rely on me! With these martial arts that defeated a mountain boar, I'll...!"
"Fal, you're being immodest!" Air said waving her hands to Fal and hiding her from view.
"Um, it seems you're on guard around me." Bach scratched his cheek, though he honestly didn't have other expectations since they were forcefully sold by their village to be slaves after all. "The reason I'm buying you all clothes is because if my employees are too simple looking, it'll reflect badly on me." Bach admitted. "And so I'll give you girls some spending money, so try buying clothing efficiently." The man finished with a bright smile, "It's also training for your work."
Air couldn't help but smile back in gratitude, "Y-Yes!"
That afternoon, Bach and the girls spent the day going from shop to shop. Bach happily supplied the money to buy new clothes and even bras and underwear for them while he politely stayed outside when they tried those on.
"Oh, Luna! How about this one!" Air suggested pointing at a pretty blue skirt.
"Isn't that a bit too short?" Luna asked looking at the size, "There's no way I'm going to try that."
"Hey, guys!" Fal called while pointing at a large, distinguished suit and tie. "Don't you think that'll look cool on me."
"Fal..." Luna muttered, looking at the jacket, "Isn't that for men?"
"Ehh?!" Fal exclaimed looking back at the jacket, "How can you tell?"
Air giggled at Fal's expression and looked around. While Fal and Luna were arguing about the suit and whether it was for men or women, Air admired the scenery. Compared to her village, the capital really was enormous. They were only shopping for clothing now but she was excited at the idea that they might get a chance to buy other things.
Air scanned the capital: There were shops that sold cakes and icecream, places just to buy furniture, stores for nothing but toys. She saw bodyguards holding piles of presents and cases that an immensely rich person was going to buy, well-dressed young ladies asking for expensive items, imperial guards casually talking with each other, a woman glaring at her husband, men in suits laughing about everyday topics, and... wait...
Air took a closer look. On the other side of the street, shuffling along a dark alleyway, was a little girl of around her age.
Despite the hundreds of people walking past, they all seemed to pay her no mind. Underneath an old drape of cloth, it was clear she had nothing on but rags. Her skin was covered with coal dust and dirt.
That girl suddenly turned around and looked in her direction, as if she could tell she was being stared at by someone.
Not knowing how to react, Air didn't move and froze as she unknowingly ignored the calls of her friends. She kept her eyes down, hoping she would be ignored. It shouldn't have surprised her. Of course there would be unfortunate people in the capital too.
"Air?" Luna called walking next to Air, "What's wrong?"
"Maybe she finally passed out from the scenery while still standing," Fal suggested.
Air didn't say anything and glanced back towards the alley. The girl was gone, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"What's wrong girls?" Bach asked. noticing the sudden change in attitude.
"There was a girl over there." Air pointed. "She wasn't looking too well."
Bach looked up and thought he could make out the figure of something walking far away.
"Hey! You need anything!?" Fal practically yelled as she walked towards the dark alleyway.
"Fal! What are you doing?!" Bach pulled Fal away before she could finish.
"Hey, let go!-"
"No... it's too dangerous." Bach answered, looking at Fal, he looked really concerned and worried, "You shouldn't go near strangers like that."
"But why not?" Fal asked.
Bach looked left and then looked right as though to check to see if no one was eavesdropping. He then leaned in closer towards the three girls, "Best case, she's a pickpocket, but the truth is... the capital isn't as safe as you might think."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Air asked nervously.
"There are people... evil people who will hurt pretty girls like you... for fun, pleasure even. And they'll even hire someone innocent looking to trick you."
Air felt a shiver run down her back as Luna grabbed her and Fal's hands for safety.
"Bad people are everywhere," Bach told them before smiling, "But don't worry, you're safe as long as you're with me. I have lots of friends here. Friends in high places."
Air couldn't help but find relief in that statement.
"In fact, I think it's time we head to my place now where no one will be able to hurt you. I'll even get something for you to eat. Come on, you girls must be hungry after all that shopping and traveling," Bach guessed.
Right after that, Fal's stomach growled loudly emphasizing their hunger.
"Fal, that's rude." Luna pointed out.
"Don't blame me!" Fal defended herself, "It's my stomach that complaining. Tell it to my stomach!" She pointed at her belly as if it would suddenly spout out a confession.
"Well I guess we better get going before your stomach complains more," Bach joked as he led the girls in a direction, "Come on, Air, let's go."
"Yes!" Air nodded as she followed Bach and the other girls, but not without looking back to see if the girl would suddenly be there again. She was gone. The girl in the gloomy alleyway was gone and completely out of sight. Air calmed down and shook her head as she told herself it wasn't her job to worry about it. Everyone had to look after themself first. She wasn't in any position to play helper.
Bach's place was much larger than the girls thought it was going to be, nearly a mansion, although they should've expected considering how rich he was. By the time their eyes laid on the building, their worries from before were long forgotten. The floor they were in was almost like a fancy restaurant, or a bar as they call it in the city. As soon as they took seats at one of the tables with Bach sitting on one side and the three girls on the other, Bach ordered enough food from the servants for each one of them.
"Now eat up." Bach said as the food was now all set out for them. "It'll be busy days ahead of you."
"Y-yes." Air said politely unlike Fal who went straight into the food.
"Oh! This is good!"
"Fal, that's bad manners..." Luna chided as she forced a fork into her hand.
It was the best meal any of them had ever eaten, creamy risotto cooked in flavorful broth and topped with flaky cheese, fresh baked bread that released steam when torn open, glazed vegetables with black pepper, succulent quail roasted over the fire, and honey cakes flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. They were even offered fruity smelling wine served in goblets.
"Hahaha," Bach laughed gently with a smile of relief. His eyes closed as he leaned back. "I'm very glad you all look like you're having fun."
Not knowing how to possibly express her gratitude, Air could only just smile happily and say, "Thank you very much!"
When she spoke those words, she felt a sharp pain in her arms as if needles were being torn into them. Her feet left the ground. Because she was being held off the ground, her arms wretched and pinned behind her.
Just like her friends.
The room was filled with towering men in black suits and dark glasses that hid their eyes.
With his eyes still closed, Bach crossed one leg over the other and poured himself a glass of wine, "I think now would be a good time for desserts."
Air still had yet to process what just happened, "Hu-huh...?! Hey! This isn't funny!"
"What the hell is..." Fal looked and saw that the man who bought them was completely calm and untouched. His cold smile told Fal everything she needed to know. She cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. Everything about him had been so fake! Her face reddened with anger. "You pile of filth!"
Since her arms were still being restricted and she wasn't strong enough to force them free, Fal twisted her body to lift her leg and kicked the man holding her right in the face, a direct hit to his nose with the strongest legs in her body.
Out of the three of them, she was the only one who could fight, so she always protected her friends from bullies growing up.
Once, they were attacked by a wild animal in the forest. She had killed that beast with this kick. Once the man let go, she would need to grab her friends and run. Run far enough that nobody could catch them.
But the man who was holding her didn't even flinch. All he did was smile, "What's this useless act," The man threw Fal to the ground and grabbed her hair, "The fighting styles of a country dweller are pathetic!"
"Ghhagkh!
The fist that drove into her gut caused her to puke out and gasp. Her body instinctively curled into itself on the floor. The shock to her organs was so severe that she couldn't breathe. Tears began to drip out of her eyes.
"Fal!" Air screamed out her friend's name.
"Aw," Bach commented as he noticed something, "Was it Suka who made the bid on the tomboy?"
The said person, an old balding man in white robes, who standing next to Bach affirmed this, "Yes, it's fun to cut down girls like these, bit by bit. Until they can only beg."
Bach smiled and cheerfully ordered, "Roger that. Now then, break both of her legs."
"On it."
Fal's crying eyes widened as the man who hit her grabbed her legs and began to apply pressure between her knees and the ground.
The sudden snapping of bones sounded loudly through the air. A snap followed by a scream.
Gh...GYAA! AAAHH!" Her screams echoed in her friends' ears.
The bidder known as Suka listened to her screams like they were music, "Oooh, what wonderful screaming. Now she can't run away. I wonder how I'll break her."
The attention was now brought to Luna and Air. "Now that you can't run anymore. How shall I break you?"
"These people here are enthusiasts of a particular sort." Bach explained casually to the horrified girls as though he was selling wares. The same calm smile that was still on his face was no longer comforting to Air. "They told me that ordinary girls can't satisfy them anymore. All of them say they enjoy destroying young girls after seeing them smile in absolute happiness. They really are perverted."
A fat and drooling man heard Bach and smirked, "But it's thanks to our tastes that you're making a living." The man suddenly pointed at Luna, "Hey, I want that girl! That girl!"
"Alright, what is your order?"
"I like her eyes. Licking girls like that is my fetish." The man blithered as he licked his lips.
Like an attentive waiter, Bach happily obliged, ""The eyes", he says."
"Yes sir." Another man like the one before approached Luna holding an ice pick. "You... you're kidding..." Luna knew what was coming and she begged, "Please...Please stop!" The man got closer and Luna's hope grew smaller, "St... no, stop... pl... please stop..."
Her voice became like a whisper.
Not just the buyers, the hired help were enjoying all this just as much. They all had wide open grins. They shivered in delight.
Her eyes were gouged out.
All air could hear were the screams and cries of her friends. She didn't realize that those screams and cries were coming from herself as well.
"That last girl is present to my precious child." A man in hideous makeup ordered.
"Yes, yes." Bach sighed as he knew what the man was suggesting. He seemed concerned... "What a waste of merchandise," he groaned as he snapped his fingers.
Her jacket was ripped away, leaving only bare, exposed flesh. Tears trailed down her face as she looked upon herself.
The man leered as he pulled a leash, "Allow me to introduce him. I spoil him too much as if he were my flesh and blood."
Slobbering, warm drool fell over the floor. A massive, red furred hound that frothed at the mouth with blood red eyes came to stand next to the man with its mouth open and hungry. Air's image reflected in its eyes.
"It's my little doggy. He's in heat right now..." The makeup man clapped his hands as something beneath his robes stiffened. "Oh, I know! Let's all stick around to watch him bed you so we can wish you joy!"
Bach smiled as he finished his drink, his posture was relaxed, his clothes in pristine condition. "How nice, you won't have anything broken. Well, other than your dignity as a human."
Air hopelessly looked at the ground through a watery lens, her soft fringe covering her eyes, "Wh... why are you doing such terrible things..."
Bach had a simple answer for that, "Well that's because it makes me money. And the riffraff can always make more."
With her head held down low, she could only despair. 'Manipulating people just to make them suffer, all to become richer when they already have everything... They're scum. They're all the worst scum to ever exist! Why are they even alive!? Why! Why! Why is this happening to us!? We did nothing!'
She heard her friend's sobs and choked on her tears.
"Please..."
"Hmm?" Bach leaned against the arm of his couch as he poured himself another drink. He didn't care, but at least the girl was still putting on a show for his audience.
"Please, God... Vesta... Anyone... Please help! Don't let me and my friends suffer for these people! I'll give you everything I have... Even my life!" Her voice cracked. It was the first genuine prayer of her entire life. The first time she had truly asked for something. "Help..."
Her voice died down as a hand reached for her face. She couldn't even see through her tears anymore.
"It's pointle-"
The roof came crashing down, a chaotic mess of shattered wood panels and crumpled iron beams. When the dust settled, the moon shined its light into the horrid place for the first time. The mighty wind followed behind.
There was a small girl was standing there with her fist braced against the ground, her stance crouched and ready like an apex predator.
Hair long and dark like the vast summer sea.
Eyes with the warmth of an everlasting hearth.
Teeth sharp like the devil's fangs.
A face that could earn the praise of Venus.
The night had become silent.
Held prisoner, humiliated, dehumanized, and surrounded by cruelty, Air felt sure of only one thing in the entire world.
God had sent an angel.