Xanthe never dreamed when she was put under the hunter’s spells. Whenever she would wake up, which was whenever the hunters wanted her to, she always felt a sense of longing. It would have been nice if she could have dreamed while being asleep. Suntory Market couldn’t even let the captured fae have that one small reprieve.
The brightly colored tents of blue and orange and yellow were already up. Flag poles were already implanted deep into the ground, flags being raised high above the tents. Within the iron cage, Xanthe could look around and see the outside world for a few minutes. More often than not, her and other fae would be chained inside a tent, unable to see the grass or sky unless a customer or worker opened the heavy burlap tent flap.
The field was flat with short grass, not too many trees or mountains on the horizon. When she looked to the left, she could see the silhouette of a town, a dull gray against the bright blue of the sky. There were few clouds and the sun was bright. Having been a part of Suntory Market for as long as she could remember, she knew that they were still in Espressa, not let crossing over into Liadin. It was summer, by fall they would be by the Falwood, by winter they would have traveled towards Elbion, and then by spring they would be crossing over to Amol-Kalit. It was a odd year, and next year they would visit places like Maraan, Oban and Dornoch.
A soft breeze blew through the camp and Xanthe was quiet as she saw one of the hunters, Reika, come over to her cage. This woman was one of the worst, but not because she was overtly cruel. It was because she was silent the entire time and it was silence that unnerved Xanthe the most. Whatever it was that Reika was thinking, Xanthe couldn’t guess. She was docile as she saw the cuffs in her hands.
Suntory Market was smart. They knew iron affected fae but also understood it burned them. If one behaved then their cuffs would mostly be made out of twine, yet within the twine would be thin tendrils of iron embedded throughout. Nothing that would be punishing for the fae, but strong enough to keep them from using their magic and escaping. Not that Xanthe had any sort of magic to help her escape. She was the piggy bank, the owner’s golden prize.
The cage opened and Reika placed the cuffs over Xanthe’s small, frail wrists and lifted her up just enough so that her feet wouldn’t hit the iron bars. Outside from the cage, Xanthe felt immensely better, as if the cage was somehow suffocating her without even having to touch her skin. She followed after Reika and was led into a tent, a different tent than last time. It had red and yellow and orange stripes, a bright green flag on top that was weakly waving in the wind.
Reika pushed Xanthe inside the tent and the deathly pale fae stumbled inside. She caught herself just in time and looking behind herself at Reika, saw the flap close and put the fae into darkness.
“Hello?” Xanthe ventured, using common tongue first. She had picked up a bit of Iza from those that used it, but using iza was grounds for punishment in Suntory Market. And while there was no hunter in the tent with them currently, she knew they were swarming all around them outside. All it took was one whisper of Iza around someone with good hearing and a knack for violence and… well, Xanthe didn’t like thinking about that.
The brightly colored tents of blue and orange and yellow were already up. Flag poles were already implanted deep into the ground, flags being raised high above the tents. Within the iron cage, Xanthe could look around and see the outside world for a few minutes. More often than not, her and other fae would be chained inside a tent, unable to see the grass or sky unless a customer or worker opened the heavy burlap tent flap.
The field was flat with short grass, not too many trees or mountains on the horizon. When she looked to the left, she could see the silhouette of a town, a dull gray against the bright blue of the sky. There were few clouds and the sun was bright. Having been a part of Suntory Market for as long as she could remember, she knew that they were still in Espressa, not let crossing over into Liadin. It was summer, by fall they would be by the Falwood, by winter they would have traveled towards Elbion, and then by spring they would be crossing over to Amol-Kalit. It was a odd year, and next year they would visit places like Maraan, Oban and Dornoch.
A soft breeze blew through the camp and Xanthe was quiet as she saw one of the hunters, Reika, come over to her cage. This woman was one of the worst, but not because she was overtly cruel. It was because she was silent the entire time and it was silence that unnerved Xanthe the most. Whatever it was that Reika was thinking, Xanthe couldn’t guess. She was docile as she saw the cuffs in her hands.
Suntory Market was smart. They knew iron affected fae but also understood it burned them. If one behaved then their cuffs would mostly be made out of twine, yet within the twine would be thin tendrils of iron embedded throughout. Nothing that would be punishing for the fae, but strong enough to keep them from using their magic and escaping. Not that Xanthe had any sort of magic to help her escape. She was the piggy bank, the owner’s golden prize.
The cage opened and Reika placed the cuffs over Xanthe’s small, frail wrists and lifted her up just enough so that her feet wouldn’t hit the iron bars. Outside from the cage, Xanthe felt immensely better, as if the cage was somehow suffocating her without even having to touch her skin. She followed after Reika and was led into a tent, a different tent than last time. It had red and yellow and orange stripes, a bright green flag on top that was weakly waving in the wind.
Reika pushed Xanthe inside the tent and the deathly pale fae stumbled inside. She caught herself just in time and looking behind herself at Reika, saw the flap close and put the fae into darkness.
“Hello?” Xanthe ventured, using common tongue first. She had picked up a bit of Iza from those that used it, but using iza was grounds for punishment in Suntory Market. And while there was no hunter in the tent with them currently, she knew they were swarming all around them outside. All it took was one whisper of Iza around someone with good hearing and a knack for violence and… well, Xanthe didn’t like thinking about that.