A weak Lumen woke in the suffocating darkness, the sting of the cold air biting at him. Something hung around his neck; he couldn't discern what it was, but it felt sharp, like thin metal wire biting into him. He tried resisting, but his hands were tied behind his back. An unseen presence loomed behind him.

  What the hell, what is this?!

  He would have thought it was a horrible dream, if not for the fact that he couldn't see anything. His mouth was gagged, and his feet were tied as well, bindings around his ankles. He felt helpless as muffled voices started swirling around him.

  He tried moving his mouth, screaming anything, but he could only make whimpered noises.

  Two men were carrying him—one by his legs, the other dragging him by his torso. One briefly slapped him on the butt, excessively spanking him. "Quiet down, twink, we're trying to be discreet here."

  He recognized the voice. It was one of the guards. They had him blindfolded, gagged, and tied him up. To take him where? His mind shuddered at the thought, and he started struggling, wiggling his body in rapid shakes.

  They slapped him again. This time, a knife was placed next to his ear. "One more misstep, and we'll cut your little ear."

  Lumen stopped moving. He tried focusing on his core. His mana wasn't working properly; he felt weak. He couldn't fight back. His fate would once again be left in the hands of others. Why did this happen? Was it because of those strange women? The women who had taken Evander away from him. Who left him in this bleak place?

  They stopped near a pair of stairs and slowly moved down. They were taking him out of the dormitory, but to where and to whom? Lumen started shaking. He was afraid, very afraid, fearful for his life.

  He heard two more voices. They were arguing, a woman and a man. The voices were familiar indeed. It was none other than Gaius and Lady Ysella. He grimaced. After what he learned yesterday, he still couldn't believe it. Was this Gaius' doing or his loving mistresses work?

  "I told you, Ysella, if the lord of the coliseum finds out about this, he'll have me stripped of my position and thrown out of the city."

  He heard Ysella stomp on the ground. "I already told you, you fat fuck, I will handle the arrangements. You make sure those weird women don't follow me."

  "This is ridiculous. You need only wait a month; they can't legally buy him anyway."

  Lumen hated it. He hated being treated like a human commodity, a slave. He yearned for the open field, the tall trees, the blue sea, the open sky. These humans, they lacked basic decency. The humans of Rhoamia, at least.

  "There are procedures and protocols to follow, Lady Ysella. Things that ensure the system remains stable. The elf has to appear for the next few weeks. There is a retinue of onlookers and visitors that pay extra to see him fight. You're ruining our original arrangement."

  Ysella started laughing hysterically.

  "Lumen is mine. I only agreed to poison him these past months in exchange for eventual ownership. You got what you wanted, Gaius, a good show and a great sacrificial puppet, but that time has ended. I want what is mine, and I'm not keen to share. No weird witch whore will take him from me."

  Lumen felt chills go down his spine. Of course, now that made sense. Evander had made it a constant reminder months ago. He was a menace on the field. But everything started to become vague and drowsy. Why? He couldn't understand. The poison she had given him, likely in the guise of food and wine, had torn at his core. That was why he had become so weak and dull. He had let a woman get into his head.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  It was his own fault. But Ysella... Ysella would pay for this.

  Suddenly, Lumen was being heaved around. He felt his body swaying from left to right. With a whoosh, he started flying through the air, landing against something heavy. It bounced slightly. It had to have been a vehicle, judging by its buoyancy.

  A caravan!

  "Hey! Don't hurt him, I'm not paying for damaged goods."

  "You get what you ask for, lady, leave it at that," one of the guards beckoned.

  Ysella was taking him somewhere. He heard her climb into the back, then she shouted to Gaius. "I'll give you what I owe you in a week or so. For now, I do not want to hear or see you. Goodbye Gaius."

  "You are a fool ysella." Gauis said.

  She walked over to the other end of the caravan. "Drive!" she shouted, probably to a servant of hers.

  "Yes, Lady Ysella."

  He heard the galloping of hooves and the neighing of two horses. Setting them off, the caravan, or carriage, whichever it was, starting to taking off. His head rocked and bumped against the floorboard of the vehicle. He felt soft hands touching his head, but he moved away.

  Ysella removed his blindfold. She stared at him, her expression soft, and to Lumen, honestly psychotic. He scowled. He had been heartbroken earlier, but now he feared for his life. She was not who he thought she was. Was that why Evander had made it a point to give her weird stares, subtly nodding to him? Was he trying to warn him?

  Ysella lifted him and pushed him against silky cushions and a warm blanket, tugging herself in with him. There was a faint smell of incense and some kind of jasmine plant. His arms and legs were kept bound.

  She whispered in his ear, making him tingle. Her breath was warm.

  "I'm sorry, my love. I had to do this. The law prevents a patrician like me from owning an elf, and I needed to do what I could to keep our love between us. When I heard that those witches wanted to take you away, I had to save you."

  Saving? That had to be some kind of delusional affection. And how did she hear, was Gauis under her paycheck the whole time.

  "You don't understand yet, but you will. You belong to me, Lumen. I saved you."

  She started stroking his cheek, like she did whenever they were together, but it was much less gentle than before. Possessive, almost, and dominant. She squeezed his cheek tighter and giggled.

  Slowly, she removed the mouth gag from his mouth. Lumen was furious. He spat at her. "Poison! Poison! You poisoned me! I haven't had a single clear thought in a month. I have been suffering in agony because of your whims."

  "Oh, Lumen, I had to. It was the only way to obtain Gaius's trust. He needed you weak, but alive, and I needed you with me. It was only for a little while. Don't worry, you always told me that you wanted to be away from the smog of the city. We're going to one of my villas. You'll have everything you want, with me, of course. I'm going to spoil you rotten."

  She stuck her finger in his mouth, and Lumen bit her.

  "Ow!" she hissed. "Lumen, you're developing bad manners. This isn't how I taught you."

  "I'm not a pet. I— I barely remember who I was. What did you even give me?"

  She sighed. "It doesn't matter. But looks like the effects are wearing off a little too soon. You must be hungry. Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday. I had to deal with some rebellious fools. Put their heads on a guillotine, the idiots, who do they think they are."

  She reached into a bag and started pulling out pieces of food, pastries and the like. Lumen fought against his body. His stomach started rumbling, but he bore the pain. "Here, little pieces of chocolate tart. I've added some medicine to keep you happy."

  She took a spoon and scooped a large piece, then brought it to his mouth. "Open up~say aaah."

  Lumen butted his head against her, slamming his forehead into hers, sending her reeling backward. The carriage came to a stop. The driver, presumably one of her servants, came running around.

  "My lady!"

  Blood flowed from her nose. She appeared to be dazed, then started scowling, glaring at the driver.

  The man nodded and ran back to his seat. Lumen used the opportunity to gauge his surroundings. They were leaving the city, by the looks of it. If only his mana could function, he could free himself.

  Ysella stood up and produced a whip. "Naughty, naughty boy."

  "Stay away from me!"

  "No, you're my property, and you need to be punished."

  She brought her whip around and lashed at him.

  THWIP!

  Lumen, tied up like a lifeless doll, bore the pain. He couldn't move. His own heartbeat pounded in his ears as the whip grazed him.

  THWIP!

  She started humming a sweet, eerie lullaby as she lashed out at him. "Why do you have to make this so hard?" she shouted.

  The caravan rocked forward as it moved, gods-know-where she was taking him.