One moment she was begging for her life, trembling against the wall as they drugged her again and the next moment everything turned to white and she felt at peace for a change. Had she died? Was it all over? Was she in heaven? Was-
"Huh? This brat is quite the looker," a gruff voice spoke up and her eyes flew open, dazedly registering her surroundings.
She was in an alleyway. Her hands looked small, way too small for someone her age. This didn't look like heaven at all. Instead it reminded her of her childhood. The man, who had been standing behind her, apparently didn't like to be ignored. She flinched when he slapped her and picked her up by her collar.
"Are ya dumb or what?!" he yelled with his spit flying everywhere.
She continued to look at him dumbly. Her stinging cheek assured her that she wasn't dreaming. Her eyes trailed downwards and landed on her hands again. She could also see her reflection in the man's eyes. She wasn't the Saintess of Gaia's church anymore, she was just a nameless brat on the street with nothing to her name.
And now she was being sold in an auction. Joy.
She closed her eyes and settled comfortably against the hulking figure. They wouldn't want to damage the goods before the auction hopefully. How had she escaped from becoming a slave last time? Her brows furrowed when she came up with a blank. Had all that torture ruined her mind and destroyed all her memories?
Her entire childhood felt like a blank canvas. The only memories she seemed to have were of the Saintess that was loved by all, the real Saintess- the masses called her, the Saintess who tortured her everyday in the name of entertainment and stole her holy power all because she was a mere commoner while the Saintess was a noble.
Aster wondered if she had been a noble herself she wouldn't have been reviled so deeply. At least people wouldn't have rejoiced at her death.
—-----
She didn’t get a chance to escape.
Aster clenched the bars of the cage she had been unceremoniously stuffed into and looked around. There were a lot of people, or goods, as the men in charge of the auction liked to call them. There was even an elf there too….even if he was half naked.
For a second she doubted her eyes but the ethereal beauty was unmatched, just like the books said. The blonde hair cascaded down his slim back, still lustrous despite the deplorable conditions they had been through. She couldn’t see his face but it would undoubtedly be handsome.
Glancing away from the elf, she spied the other prisoners. Some were crying, some screaming and there were also some who hadn’t regained their consciousness since they had been kidnapped.
‘Everyone but the elf,’ Aster thought, her eyes once again going back to the glossy hair. She wondered if her hair would’ve been as glamorous as his’ if she hadn’t been rotting away for the last eight years , deep down in the bowels of the church, brought out only when they had to participate in war.
Unbeknownst to her, the ‘elf’ in question was also observing her.
‘What a strange child,’ Leo thought amusedly. He pretended not to notice the stares digging into his back and continued zoning out. The kid was a really weird one. Even the adults were crying, shivering or hunched over themselves in their cages but not once did she show any signs of fear.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Leo watched her eyes roving over his hair and at his fake elf ears. It was also the reason why he was here in the first place. The auctioneers wanted to see something ‘exotic’ but sadly for them, he was just a normal human (normal my ass)
When zoning out didn't work as intended, he turned to the strange child.
“Good evening”
Aster stared blankly at the man, wondering if she misheard. Perhaps the whole traveling back in time thing was messing up her brain. When she didn’t respond for another two minutes, he repeated, ”Good evening.”
“G-good evening..?” Aster mumbled, half stunned from the gorgeous face -it was even prettier than she had imagined- and half from the sudden turn of conversation.
“How did you get caught up in,” Leo gestures in the workers’ direction vaguely,“-all this.”
“I was sold.”
“Ah”
And that was the end of the conversation. Aster wondered if she should have asked something back, of how he ended up here, or why he wasn’t afraid.
A horn blew up at that moment, signifying the beginning of the auction. The dread she hadn’t been feeling, or partially ignoring, came back in full force. She had no idea what was going to happen to her. If it had been her older self, she had some inkling what they would do to her but right now she was only 5 years old. A somewhat pretty 5 year old for a street urchin. She couldn’t be too sure of the intentions of the one who will buy her. Will it be an investment for the future, when she finally grows up into a beautiful woman or… well she doesn’t want to think about it anymore.
It wasn’t like she was the limelight of today’s auction anyway.
Aster’s eyes once again found their way to the elf’s hair. She withdrew her gaze when their eyes met. His blue eyes had an air of mischief around them. Her face flushed at being caught red handed with her staring. Salvaging the situation seemed troublesome. She intended to turn around and pretend that it wasn’t her who had been burning holes in his back with her eyes but realized this might be the last time she would see him again.
“Your hair,” words tumbled out before she could stop herself. “They’re really shiny…and pretty.”
“Oh?” Leo’s mouth turned up slightly and his eyes crinkled with amusement. “Why, thank you.”
Aster fumbled a little, unsure of how to proceed. One of the workers started heading in her direction. It was her turn to get sold to the highest bidder apparently.
“My hair!” the pitch of her voice turned up a notch, now underlying with urgency. “Will it be as beautiful as yours?!”
In contrast to her rising hysteria, Leo was as calm as a lake at the top of a mountain.
“Hm, now that is a difficult question you ask, young lady.”
Blue eyes met baby blue ones and he stared at the mess she called her hair, in consideration.
“If you follow these men and walk past the curtain, then I am certain it won’t ever be as lustrous as mine.”
Well, Aster knew that. There was no need to be so direct about it though.
“You will either be recycled back into the slave trade after being bought, most probably sold at a higher price somewhere else,” Aster cringed, knowing that was the most likely option,” Or you might get bought by a rich noble, raised like a canary locked away in a gilded cage and abandoned at the drop of the hat whenever they see fit, when you are no longer useful for them.”
Now, wasn’t that hitting too close to home? Her eyes glazed over as the memories of her days at the church flooded over. How they dressed her up when she had to pretend to be the real saintess (no one cared if she was indeed the real one. To them she would always be a fake) because said saintess didn’t want to step foot in the slum area and get contaminated by all the filth (humans) there. Aster knew that very well, having been called hundreds of times before, ‘In case you forgot about your origins’ the real saintess had said.
The worker drew closer and she really needed to stop muddling in those memories. The elf really didn’t sugar coat things at all. At least it was better than empty promises.
“Or I could also teach you how to care for your hair until they become as lustrous and radiant as mine.”
“Ye- huh?”
“Do you want to learn-”
“-I can come with you?!!” Aster burst out, unable to contain her astonishment. Even if it was just for a moment, as long as she could get out.
“Well of course. Unless you have a place to stay, which I find highly unlikely.”
Aster didn’t have anything to her name except, well, her name. Staying with this elf for a few days did not sound bad either. She would probably be able to find her own way after having a good night’s sleep. Having been thrust face first into an auction was not a pleasant way to start a new life after all.
Leo, seemingly having read the thoughts churning wildly in her mind, continued.
“And this technique isn't something one masters in a day. It would take years, even ten or twenty for you to have hair as glossy as this.”
“.....!!!!”
Aster’s mouth flew open in stupefaction. The offer was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. Besides, wasn’t this elf too suspicious? How did the auctioneers even get their hands on a reclusive being such as elves in the middle of their kingdom? Didn’t the elves live on the other side of the continent? And who said this man wouldn’t sell her at the drop of the hat? Why did she think he was a viable option?
Watching her expression change as a myriad of emotions whirl inside her was amusing. Leo stopped himself from smiling as the desperate, sad and lonely look changed to bewildered joy at his offer and then to suspicion when said offer turned out to be too good to be true.
‘This kid wasn’t stupid after all’
Aster was in a strange conundrum. She had two paths now. Getting sold to the old geezers outside or getting kidnapped (was it kidnapping if she consented to getting kidnapped first?) by this strange man. Who was also half naked. Why had she forgotten this little fact again? Did they take his clothes away or had he arrived here like that? The workers seemed to avoid approaching him for some reason so the chances of the former being true were minimal. In that case, wasn’t she essentially consenting to run away with a more dangerous individual?
Leo waited for her to come to a decision and glared at the worker who had been scurrying towards their cages. The man flinched and stumbled back. Satisfied by the response, Leo turned his attention back to the child.
“So?”
Well the gods be damned. It was better to be kidnapped by this elf rather than being bought by nobility. She had enough of those in her last life. New life, new people. Might as well get kidnapped by another species. Perhaps her life would be more interesting this time around. And she might end up learning the secret to his glossy hair even if that had been a farce to kidnap her.
“I…I will go with you!” Aster yelled, breathing heavily as a strange sense of relief washed over her.
Was it because of the way his eyes turned soft, as if he was extremely proud of her? Or when he reached out his hand to pat her head? Aster didn’t know and she didn’t care.
In all the chaos she had forgotten about a very important thing.
Both of them were locked up. How was he going to take her away?!
Panic consumed her all over again when she spotted the worker moving towards her cage (where had he disappeared off to all this time?)
“H-how will we escape? It’s too late. I..”
“Hush now. You did well,” he patted her head again. “Leave the rest to me.”
Just as he finished saying so, his eyes glowed a bright blue and all the cages opened. Before the workers or the captives could realize what happened, an explosion rocked the whole building.
KA-BOOM!
And just like that, Aster’s world was thrown into chaos a second time since she regressed. Something told her it wouldn’t be the last. She was plucked off the ground and settled against his chest just as the pandemonium broke. There wasn’t any time to freak out over the explosion as he took her away, into the interior of the building instead of going farther away as she had thought.
“Why?!” Aster’s voice was lost over the din of screaming and weapons being drawn. She was too busy clutching the hair she had been admiring, to marvel at the way Leo easily weaved through the crowd and how no one tried to stop him either. A wave of sleepiness washed over her and she fought to keep her eyes open.
-
The way to the treasury wasn't a long one. That is, if you have magic and a wife you shared a telepathic connection with. It barely took a few minutes for him to reach his destination. It would’ve been better if they hadn’t arrived to the sight of his wife strangling the auction master though. He had no idea how their new daughter would react to it. Or Agnes, as a matter of fact. He had conveniently forgotten to mention about this little detour he had taken. Or the harvests procured from said detour.
“What had I told-”,Agnes paused when she spotted Aster, huddled in Leo’s arms and watching her with curious eyes.
“...”
She gazed at the child dumbly, her grip slacking over and inadvertently saving the auction master from being choked to death.
Aster stared back timidly, unsure of how to react. This woman looked very stern. And very strong if strangling that rotund man single handedly was anything to go by. She was also this elf’s partner in crime if not something more. That meant Aster would have to see more of her later and it would be wise to not offend her right off the bat.
Just as she had been contemplating on how to greet the fearsome woman, the elf spoke up.
“I gave birth to our child while you were gallivanting and strangling people. Say hello”
“???????????” Aster whipped her head in his direction, a thousand questions at the tip of her tongue.
What birth?! What daughter?! Wasn’t she getting kidnapped?!!! And wasn’t he a man?! Could male elves give birth?!!!
In the bafflement caused by his words, Aster didn't notice Agnes approaching until she was standing right behind her
“Hello”
“Hiek-!!”
Agnes ignored the shriek and ruffled Aster’s matted hair. “Call me father”
Dazzled by the smile thrown her way, Aster parroted back unconsciously. “Father?”
“What a good child. Come on, let's take the money first and then go home.”
“Money..?” After being dumped with all the life altering information, Aster didn’t know where to start. The money seemed like a good point to start with.
“Of course money. We have a new child to raise now,” Leo answered and blew open the locked door. Agnes kicked the auction master when he let out one last, mournful scream at his money being stolen before fainting.
Faced by the sight of piles and piles worth of gold coins and innumerable jewels, Aster decided to look at the bright side of things (quite literally) and ignore everything happening in the background (Her new father(?) beating up the guards)
“Heh, I wouldn’t have to work for another year with all this money,” Leo mumbled, the slightest of insanity dipping into his voice as he shoved everything into his spatial pouch.
And Aster could respect that. Probably. Not having to work after being forced to work like a dog in her last life sounded very satisfying. She was sure there were some rules against the saintess being greedy but did she care anymore? No.
New life, new people, new rules. Even if said people were extremely eccentric and borderline insane as she would learn in the near future. And yet despite it all, Aster wouldn’t have it any other way.
