"Look mommy, can I have that one?"
"No love, she's too expensive."
"But I want it-hit-hit!"
"I'm sorry, we can't afford it."
"Noooo! I want that one! Gimme!"

Erudessa watched the buff amazonian mother struggle to drag the child away from her display. She adjusted her aching wrists in the stocks and risked a glance at Frandur. Two women fawned over him, touching him in all the wrong places and giggling at the wrongness of it. The elf remain unflappable, not flinching even when groped. Erudessa couldn't help admiring his resolve, especially since she was much less reserved toward the man who felt her up a few minutes ago. She had nearly bit his head off - literally. The man let out hysterical shrieks when her teeth scraped his skull, and even the subsequent beating she received couldn't dim her satisfaction.

Now, though, watching the women assault her friend set her blood boiling more than the mild groping she'd endured. Thankfully for her sore back, the women moved on before she could fire off another string of curses. The only indication Frandur gave that he felt violated was the slight dimming of his eyes. Erudessa leaned forward to get a better view of his face. "You okay?" she asked in Elvish.

Frandur adjusted his neck. "No. But then again, neither are they." Erudessa had to think for a minute about what he meant. [i]Of course they're fine, they live in the most powerful- unless you meant more in the head. I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps you're right; these morons could be pitiable to some degree. I should be more sympathetic. But they don't deserve it. They don't deserve you.[/i]
"You're staring," he reminded.
Erudessa pushed her lips into a smirk. "Maybe if you were married, they might not find you so attractive."
He groaned and lolled his head back. "You sure picked a fine time to propose again. Besides, aren't I a little old for you?"
"I don't mind."
"Let me rephrase that: Aren't you a little young for me?"
The teasing twinkle in her eye grew brighter. "Look on the bright side. You get to have fun with a young wife before you die, and I'll get some experience in before I move on. It's a win-win."
This time, Frandur laughed aloud, drawing a few surprised eyes from the crowd. "Honestly, that made my day. Tell you what, free us, and I'll think about it."
Erudessa's smirk widened into a grin. "Deal."

They watched a gaggle of guards push their way to the auction stand. Frandur looked at Erudessa again, his smile dimmed into gravity. "I know you pretend it's a joke, Eru, but I've known your true feelings for a while. If I were a few centuries younger, I'd have married you in a heartbeat. You're kind, funny, and sexy as hell. And seriously, your joke is the best argument I've heard yet to accept your offer. I just thought you should know that your feelings were not wholly unreciprocated."

Erudessa's breath hitched. She looked away to hide her widening smile and replied, "Dangit, you've got me all motivated now to escape."
No response.
"Frandur?"
She turned her head to see a pair of guards hauling him away. "Frandur! No! Where are you taking him?" she cried out. Then another pair of guards took her out of the stocks to take her away too. As soon as she was free, she elbowed one in the head and threw him into his comrade. The two careened into a wall behind her. Erudessa charged after Frandur, only to run headlong into another group of guards. They wrestled her to the ground and held her down as both elves were injected with another round of sedatives.

Then Gurgle Moor dragged Frandur to the stand, the altar prepared behind it. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he crowed to the crowd. "The gods have rewarded us with a great victory over these cowardly elves! Thanks to the brilliance of our generals and unparalleled courage of our soldiers, we can sell you the finest slaves this side of the continent. Who wants to guess the value of the first prize?"
"Ten gold!" one person shouted.
"Twenty!"
"Fifteen!"
Gurgle patted his chest and roared with laughter. "Excellent guesses, folks! Our expert evaluators put him at twenty-five Solid. Gold. Crowns!"
Cheers went up from the crowd. Erudessa knitted her brows. [i]Why would anyone get so excited for a high price?[/i] The answer to her question came a moment later. Gurgle yanked Frandur over to the altar, where he strung up the elf to an X cross and pulled out a knife. Erudessa's eyes widened.

"NO!" she shrieked. The guards pressed her down harder. Gurgle chortled. "Seems we have another volunteer," he taunted. The onlookers started to chuckle and jeer at her and Frandur. Gurgle pierced the knife at the nape of Frandur's neck, eliciting a stifled grunt from the elf. The crowd broke into a wild chant. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Erudessa looked on in horror as Gurgle dragged the knife down Frandur's back and worked to peel away the skin. Foam poured from the elf's mouth. Erudessa felt her stomach lurch, and turned her head to spill her last meal on the straw floor. "Stop! You're hurting him!" she screamed when her mouth was empty again. "At least let me ease his pain! Please! I'll do anything!" She started struggling again, and the guards had to throw all their weight into her to keep her down.

Gurgle did not stop, forcing Erudessa to watch her friend, her crush, get peeled apart over the altar. The crowd's shouts of delight drowned out her screams, and by the time the knife reached his beautiful face, she vomited again and passed out.

Erudessa woke a few minutes later sputtering water from her mouth. A guard put down the pail and hefted her to her feet. "Your turn," he grunted. He handed her off to Gurgle, who marched on to the auction stand with his merchandise in tow. "Now for the next prize! This one's the Engineer who plagued our men up north." He sifted his hand through her silver tresses. "Get a load of her exclusive hair! I've never seen an elf's hair this color, and I've seen a lot of them. Starting bid is twenty gold!"

Nobody raised a hand.

An ugly grin formed on Gurgle's mouth. A few members of the crowd held back a few snorts of amusement. "So, you want her sacrificed too, eh?" he crooned. "Can't say I blame you. It would be terribly exciting to tear apart that gorgeous bod of hers. Shall I?"
Whoops and cheers flew up. Erudessa's blood ran cold. "W-Wait, p-please don't do that," she quietly pleaded with Gurgle. "I- I can cook, clean, build, and- I'll do anything, anything you want."
Gurgle leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Too late." With that, he dragged her by the hair to the altar and forced her head onto the rough stone surface.

Erudessa gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. [i]Calm down. Think this through.
Don't let Frandur's death be in vain.[/i] But she could not calm down this time. Her breaths grew more ragged as her rising panic peaked. [i]This is it. I'm going to die. There's no way out. We're all going to be skinned alive, and I'll die useless. I don't want to die! Help me...somebody help me...please God...[/i]

"Please..." she sobbed.

"Last chance to buy!" Gurgle cried, knife raised to her neck.