Hello everyone!
Thank you for your interest in this story and all your reviews!
Without any more boring 'author's note' stuff, here's how it goes on.
Chapter 2
When Judy finally went through the door to her family's cottage, her mother leapt at her and hugged tightly.
"Oh thank the Lord, where have you been all this time?! I was so worried that something has happened to you!" She cried out.
Judy's ears drooped, seeing her mother's anguish. "I am sorry mother. I never intended to make you worry." She hugged her back with guilty conscience. The younger bunny knew how much her mother was scared of losing anymore of her children since the incident ten years ago. Still, she had a mission now and even if it meant her mother's tears, she was determined to go along with it.
Later that evening, once she was lying on the straw that made her sleeping place, as with such a large family and very little money they had, beds were an unnecessary luxury. Judy returned with her thoughts to the events of this day. The word 'friend' coming from a girl, undoubtedly from a very rich and noble lineage, felt like a dream and now she wasn't even sure if she actually heard it. Judy shook her head, not wanting any trivial thoughts to divert her attention from her main task. And tomorrow would be a perfect time for a hunt, as the family was going out to church and she already planned faking sickness to be able to go to the forest without any puzzled looks directed at her.
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The early morning greeted Judy with chilling air and mist still hanging around the fields. She walked out of the cottage after most of her family left for the morning mass. Her ambush spot was so well known to her by now, that she could find it blindfolded. She sat behind a bush that gave her a good view over the road but made it impossible for any travelers to spot the bunny. And one such traveler appeared on the road. An elegant cloak with a hood covered his features. He was a bit bulkier than the ones she attacked before but Judy didn't consider that a problem, if she can cut the throat, even an elephant would fall. Gripping her knife in one paw and the pistol in the other, Judy stepped out on the road. The horse stopped, pulled by the reins.
"Who are you?" Asked a husky voice from under the hood.
She didn't reply, only raised the pistol to aim at him. The bunny waited for a chance to strike at the throat, hoping that she won't have to use the gun.
But the traveler didn't react like all the ones before him. He swiftly jumped off the horse and unsheathed a sword he had strapped to his side. "A bandit?" He inquired with a tone that Judy considered far too calm for such a situation. He stepped forward and the bunny backed away, not sure what to do now. And she wasn't given the time to think about it. The traveler dashed forward, shortening the distance between them. Driven by an impulse of panic, she pulled the trigger. But her would be victim lowered his head and covered it with a free arm. The bullet dug into the sleeve and forward into the flesh but it didn't even slow the bulky figure. She stepped back again as the traveler raised his sword to strike. It was now or never, her paw threw the knife at the hood, Judy hoping that it will reach the target.
But it missed.
In contradiction to his large frame, the traveler instantly ducked to the side, sidestepping swiftly and launched forward again. He dropped down his head and hit her with it in the chest with full force. The impact forced all the air from her lungs and she flew backwards with a painful grunt, landing on the dirty road. The strength of the hit made her body roll several times before it stopped. Judy's fading vision noticed the stranger taking off his hood, revealing a cape buffalo with a huge scar across his face. After that, she fainted.
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No images or dreams haunted her during the time she was incapacitated. And a sound of a splash with a cold feeling forced her awake again. Gasping for air she noticed her facial fur dripping wet and a uniformed ram standing in front of her with a wooden bucket in his hooves. Droplets of water were dripping from it.
The ram stepped aside giving her a view of a dark room, with dirty cobblestones on the floor and a lone, flickering torch hanged on the wall, more casting shadows than giving light. There were metal bars on one side of this room. She was in a prison cell. The bunny wanted to move but something restricted her arms. She was cuffed to the cell's wall by her wrists, arms lifted above her head. She wriggled furiously.
"Do not even try." Warned a familiar voice.
She noticed a figure detach itself from the shadow. It was the same cape buffalo she attacked earlier, now with the wounded arm wrapped with a bandage. He was without his cloak and Judy could see a military uniform with various medals pinned to the broad chest.
The mighty mammal approached her and produced the pistol she took from the dead wolf aristocrat.
"Where did you get this, peasant?" He demanded.
Judy bit her lip and stared back at him defiantly.
The back of buffalo's hoof struck her face, causing an explosion of pain in one of the bunny's cheeks. She felt a metallic taste in her mouth in the area where the buffalo hit her. She spat on the ground, saliva mixing with a warm, crimson liquid.
"Where?" The bulky soldier snarled at her.
But even with the agonizing feeling in the side of her face, Judy would never allow herself to heed demands of the upper classes. Her only answer was a rebellious glare. The hoof struck again, eliciting a yelp of pain from the tiny mammal. She held back her tears, even with a small trail of blood running from the corner of her mouth.
Before the buffalo could say anything else a bear in a uniform walked into the cell and saluted sharply. "General Bogo, we have found the deceased."
"Where?"
"They were well hidden in the deeper part of the forest. Our best scouts nearly missed the place." Reported the soldier.
"I understand, now leave." The buffalo turned back to his prisoner, while the bear saluted again and left as per his superiors' order.
A general. It was no wonder that she had lost. Her simple ambushes were good enough for overconfident aristocrats, but this time she encountered a trained soldier. And now it was certain that no friendly girl will come to her rescue.
The cape buffalo folded his massive arms and glared down at Judy.
"Under different circumstances I would commend your determination and courage." He leaned down. "But we are here and now. So I will ask only once: hanging or slavery?" His voice was low and serious, leaving no doubt that he can easily arrange both options.
The bunny shivered involuntarily at the suddenness of her upcoming fate. But she composed herself right away and returned the stare.
"I'd rather die." She growled.
The general glared at her expression for another few moments and eventually straightened up. "So I see." And that was the last thing she heard from him, as he turned around and walked out of her cell. Not sure exactly why, but she felt offended by his reaction. The bunny opened her mouth to call after him but instead there was a thud somewhere near her head and the world disappeared in darkness again.
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When her consciousness returned, Judy felt rumbling and bumping of the surface she was lying on. One, cautiously opened eye revealed that she was on a hard, wooden floor, that was… moving. Because it wasn't a floor. It was the bottom of a cart. She raised her head to see surrounding metal bars. Her eyes widened and she tried to get up to have a better view of what was happening, but heavy weight around her ankles and wrists made her loose balance and she fell painfully on the wooden surface. She grunted and realized that she was cuffed in iron shackles. That's right, the general said about hanging. That meant she was on her way to the execution site. To her own surprise she was calm in the face of death. At least she would die knowing that she did the right thing. Only when the vision of her mother's horrified expression came to her mind, Judy felt a pang of guilt and overbearing sadness enveloped her.
The bunny was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice that the cart has stopped in something similar to a stable. Several other prison carts were standing there, empty. Judy raised her head only when she heard metallic clangs of the chains being removed from the cage's door. Right after that a strong pair of paws yanked her own chain, that was connected to the iron collar around her neck and dragged her outside. She fell out of the cage and hit the ground with a small squeal. The bunny wasn't given a chance to do anything else, as the jaguar that pulled her chain headed down a dimly lit corridor, dragging the helpless bunny on the cobblestones.
When their way was finally over, the bruised and dirty bunny was placed on a wooden platform, surrounded by a heavy, black curtain, her chain wrapped around a metal ring embedded to the floor. Judy's body felt too sore to resist or even move from the spot they brought her too. Besides, why struggle, when she was going to die soon.
But then she heard faint tingling of other chains. The bunny turned her head to the side, only to see a line of other mammals in a similar state to her own. Badgers, lambs, zebras, all kinds of them. Is this going to be a mass execution? Then the curtain began rising, revealing, much to her shock, that what awaited them was a fate much worse than death.
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Sir Nicholas Wilde was surveying the woods through the carriage's window.
He was on his way to an auction with a couple of other predators of high birth. The carriage they were using for this trip was fairly large so space was not a problem. However the fox kept his distance from others. Of course, manners required of him to take part in the light conversation between the mammals and he did so at the beginning, but eventually faded away into staring outside, to observe the blurred trees and bushes. He wore a black jacket with a vest and complimented it with a white shirt. His father insisted that he leave his sword in the mansion, which made him a bit uncomfortable. He has grown to treat the blade like an extension of his own arm and going somewhere without it felt simply wrong.
Soon they reached their destination and everyone exited the carriage. The shape of the building loomed over the guests.
The weekly slave auction was treated, in the aristocratic society, more as an opportunity to meet and exchange greetings, discuss political and economic issues than as an auction. Of course, it was also the perfect occasion for showing off one's wealth by overbidding the competition. Animosities between clans and distinctive families had a long and turbulent history in the kingdom of Zootopia. They wouldn't let any chance to insult or score a point against their adversaries slip between their fingers. Naturally, the Wilde family also took part in it, but sir Nicholas Wilde, the first son of the Duke of Vulpinea, the lands mostly inhabited by foxes, held no interest in such trivial and useless games. His presence here was only to appease his father, who in contrast to his son, was greatly involved in the inter familial quarrels. But Nicholas set a condition: no swarms of attendants. He only took Benjamin, his trusted steward, with him. And now, the somewhat plump cheetah managed to squeeze himself through the servant's carriage door and walk up to his master's side.
"I say, sir, these carriages must have gotten smaller since the last time I used them." He gasped. It was no secret that the, by no means small, predator rarely left the Wilde Manor.
Young sir Wilde smiled at the feline's complain. "Hardly so, Benjamin. I am more compelled to believe that it would be due to the extra pastries you receive from the main kitchen. Since I have returned, I suppose we will have to discuss the matter of your diet."
The cheetah's eyes widened at this suggestion. "With all due respect, sir, that is a very cruel thing you said to me."
The aristocratic fox kept smiling and headed towards the entrance of the auction hall. Benjamin scurried after him.
The main hall from the buyer's point of view could be mistaken for a theatre. Luxurious chairs lined in rows in front of a large stage, now hidden behind a dark curtain. Sir Nicholas seated himself in the front row, his lineage allowing him to choose practically any chair in the room. His steward took a spot right behind him and stood to attention. Slowly the entire hall began filling up and when all seats were finally occupied the curtain has been pulled upwards. Several aristocrats pulled out their binoculars to see the stage better. A hyena in a merchants attire walked up on the stage, signaling the beginning of the auction.
"Ladies and gentlemammals! I humbly welcome you to the weekly Hais' slave auction!" He took a deep bow.
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Seeing the entire assembly of mammals she considered the worst scum in the world, Judy found new supplies of energy inside her body. She rose to her feet, pulling at the chain holding her collar. The bunny struggled with the shackles, willing to find out if there was even a tiniest chance she could shake them off. But her actions were noticed by the guards stationed behind the stage and a wolf approached her and hit the bunny's head with the butt of his rifle, causing her to collapse on the floor. However, she didn't lose consciousness and tried to stand again, ignoring the pain, but the canine's foot stomped on her back, pinning her down. Judy wriggled furiously, trying to free herself.
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In the audience, the fat cheetah leaned to his master's ear. "Sir…" He whispered.
"I see it, Benjamin." Nicholas replied, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding behind the hyena's back. It was a pathetic sight, a small bunny in shackles trying to fight with the inevitable, as no matter how much she struggled, there was no chance for her to escape. Still, she refused to stop. The fox leaned slightly forward, now completely focused on the girl. It was sad to see a young mammal degraded to such a state, but her fervor and determination have picked his interest.
Then she turned her head in his direction and by some accident their gazes met. The fox never saw such a strong flame burning behind one's eyes, not to mention eyes with such an intriguing amethyst color.
The steward behind him saw a smile forming on his master's muzzle, already knowing the meaning behind it.
He had found someone interesting.
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Judy tried to shift to the left but the heavy foot followed her and added extra pressure, almost squashing the bunny. She gasped and twisted her head, so now it was facing the gathered nobles. And then she caught the gaze of a fox sitting in the front row. He was staring directly at her, straight into her eyes. It was a new experience for her. The rest of the aristocrats never considered farmers important enough to talk to them, let alone look at them. But here was a noble and a fox at that, and he was looking at her with a pair of shining emeralds. His gaze was almost hypnotizing and surprisingly… neutral. There was no disgust or feeling of superiority in it. But then he smiled and the spell was broken. Figures. Just like the rest of them. She struggled again, making a point to kick the smiling fox if she had the chance.
At that moment the auction host decided that it would be best to not allow any further escalation of the troublesome slave's behavior and snapped his fingers at the wolf that was holding Judy down. The predator nodded and yanked the bunny upwards by her collar, eliciting a cough from her. He dragged her to the middle of the stage and held down. Or at least tried to because Judy spun around and bit the guard on the arm. The wolf screamed and swung his other arm, punching the bunny with great force. She yelped and fell on the ground where the predator pinned her down again, this time with his full body weight and pressed a forearm at her neck.
"Dear guests!" The hyena called out over the whispers spreading among the potential buyers. "Our first item is the infamous aristocrat killer! We start our bid with 50 silver coins!" As soon as he revealed her identity, rumors gained in intensity. A hail of paws followed swiftly.
"50 silver coins!" Called a tiger from the back rows.
"60 silver!" A jaguar in the middle topped his offer.
"70 silver!" Another noble yelled.
The bid was climbing very quickly now, up to the point when the price reached 10 gold coins, where one gold coin was worth a 100 silver ones.
"40 gold coins!" A roar pierced through the commotion. All eyes turned to a timber wolf, standing in front of his chair in the first row. The noblemammal had his arms folded and a hateful gaze directed at the bunny. A new wave of whispers started. Everyone knew that one of the victims of the bunny was the nephew of the Fangsmoore's Earl, who now didn't mind spending a fortune to get his paws on his killer. The amount left the rest of the bidders stunned and no one else dared to top his offer, partly because hardly anyone possessed that kind of money.
The hyena counted "40 gold coins once!" He could hardly believe his luck. "40 gold coins twice!" This represented almost double the amount of his profit from an entire auction. "40 gold coi-"
"100 gold coins." Said a calm voice.
The room went silent. Some mammals craned their necks to see who could actually offer such a sum. The gazes finally fell on a fox sitting in the front row. Sir Nicholas Wilde was sitting leisurely in his chair, elbows resting on the chair's supports, one leg drawn over his knee and fingers of his paws put together in front of his muzzle. A mischievous smile decorated his face.
"M-m-my lord?" The hyena stuttered, trying to comprehend what he just heard.
"One. Hundred. Gold. Coins." Nicholas repeated, emphasizing each word separately. The steward behind him stifled a chuckle.
The silence filled the auction house again.
The smiling fox broke it first. "Are you going to count or not?" He inquired of the auction host. The hyena blinked and swallowed quickly. "Y-yes."
"100 gold coins once!"
No one called out.
"100 gold coins twice!"
Still no response.
"Sold! To the heir of Duke of Vulpinea, Sir Nicholas Wilde!" The host yelled.
And the room exploded in gossip again.
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It was outside where Sir Nicholas was awaiting his 'item'. It was almost amusing to see how much fight was compressed into that small body. He suspected that even if the guards would break her limbs and teeth, she would still try to head butt them. The bunny appeared with two guards this time followed by the hyena that ran the auction, two strong pairs of paws having trouble holding the fighting prey. They eventually dropped her on the grass, her plain, brown farmer's dress torn in several places.
The aristocratic fox approached her casually and stopped right in front of the dirty, grey bunny in shackles, wearing a slight smile on his muzzle.
"Rejoice, because as of today you are my property, rabbit."
Judy Hopps clenched her paws and, not paying attention to the surrounding guards, servants and the slave trader, spat right into his face.
"I do not belong to anyone, you bastard." She snarled defiantly.
The hyena gasped, going pale under his fur and nervously snapped his fingers at the guards, pointing to the bunny. They rushed to her, no doubt to beat a heavy punishment into her.
Sir Nicholas Wilde raised his paw without a word to stop them and they did so. He fished out a small, decorated handkerchief from his jacket and wiped off the saliva from his face.
"I bought you, slave. That means you are mine." He stated in an amused tone.