Princess Prince by Elizabeth A. Freeman (a court of thorns and roses ebook free TXT) 📕

three days.

"Hmm... Oh that looks really good..." Ophelia wandered over to a vendor selling fresh fruit. The vendor's sharp eyes locked on Ophelia as the young man looked over his goods with a thoughtful expression, picking up a ripe star fruit and raising it to his lips. Without a thought Ophelia bit into the fruit, closing his eyes and relishing the fresh thirst quenching taste before turning as though to wander off.

"Oi! Just where do ye think yer goin' without payin' fer that?" the vendor yelled, stepping out from behind the stall and grabbing Ophelia by the shoulder. Ophelia startled at the sudden contact, turning on his heel to meet the ashen faced man who regarded him sternly.

"A-are you addressing me, sir?" Ophelia asked, raising one eyebrow and canting his head to one side in confusion.

"I ain't talkin' to meself, lad! Now, ye must pay for that." the vendor indicated the star fruit in Ophelia's hands, still keeping a firm hold on the slender male's shoulder in case he might decide to run.

"Pay? But I haven't any money. You see, I lost it on my way here. However, I will have my father pay you back handsomely for your trouble." Ophelia smiled pleasantly as he realized that for the first time in his life he would have to pay, and came up with what seemed a reasonable solution to his predicament.

"Is that so? Well I'm afraid unless ye have payment up front I can't accept that excuse." the vendor glared and his grip on Ophelia's shoulder tightened.

"Really, sir. Surely we can come to some reasonable sort of agreement here. There's no need for such violence." Ophelia groused, frowning at the dark eyed vendor and attempting to step free from his grip.

"If ye think yer goin' ta get away from me ye have another thing coming. If ye can't pay then I shall have to take the cost out of yer hide!" the vendor growled and then grabbed Ophelia, hoisting the much smaller man over his shoulder.

"Hey! Unhand me you savage thug! When my father hears about this he'll see you hanged!" Ophelia yelled and beat the man's back with his fists. The vendor chuckled and rolled his eyes, marching back toward his stall.

"Oi! Bradford, can ye keep an eye on me stall? I've got to take this little thief down to the port district and get me payment since he has none." the burly vendor yelled to another man who smirked and nodded.

"Aye. Though I reckon the lad is worth a bit more than a star fruit, Markus." the fish vendor called back. Ophelia's eyes widened as he realized what they were implying.

"You're going to sell me?! I simply will not allow it! Now put me down this instant, you brute!" Ophelia screamed louder and continued to pummel Markus' back.

"Pipe down, ye fruit snitch! Yer lucky that I'm not handin' ye over to the guards who'd see that yer hands were smartly cut off fer theivin'." Markus snapped and at his words Ophelia grew silent with the threat of having his hands cut off. As the large vendor carried him away toward the port district Ophelia silently cursed how wrong his flight from the palace had gone.

"First my money and now this.. This just isn't fair." Ophelia whined quietly to himself, having given up on fighting the muscular vendor. With nothing better to do than be carried along, Ophelia applied himself to studying the city as he was carried through it. A myriad of people milled the streets, a mix of social castes mingling for the purpose of obtaining the necessities of their daily lives. People stared at the young feminine male as he was carried toward the port, some greeting his captor as though they were neighbors while others looked on and whispered amongst themselves. When Markus reached the port he made a beeline for a building that was painted in gaudy bright colors and stood out from some of the other structures. One of the guards at the doors of the building raised a hand to stop Markus in his tracks.

"What do we have here? Are you buying or selling?" the bald headed guard asked sternly, his charcoal gray eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Selling today, my good man." Markus answered crisply and jostled Ophelia slightly to indicate just what his merchandise was. The guard nodded and opened one of the carved doors to allow the merchant to enter. The inside of the building was draped with brightly colored silks and lit by an overhead chandelier that cast a flickering hazy light over the main room. The guard spoke with an attendant who hurried off to a side room while Markus stood waiting. Ophelia studied his surroundings fearfully, wishing to protest but knowing that it would do him no good.

"My my.... Master Markus. What have you brought me this time? Hopefully not another scrawny little dirt wench." A female voice sounded from the side room that the attendant had entered and a woman stepped from the shadows. Her brown eyes shown brightly with curiosity as she approached the merchant and his captive. The woman's skin was an exotic bronze color and her lips were full and rouged.

"No, not this time, Lady Shalimar. I caught an interesting little thief this day. Normally I would've just turned 'im in to the guards but I thought ye might want to take a look at this one." Markus said and the woman named Shalimar raised an eyebrow at his words.

"You know I usually only deal in the sale of the fairer sex." Shalimar murmured, however her interest seemed to be piqued as she gazed upon the slender figure draped over the merchant's shoulder.

"True, true.. But again, I thought ye might want to have a look at this one." Markus grinned and then suddenly Ophelia found himself on his feet once more as he was righted and turned to face Lady Shalimar. The exotic mistress looked Ophelia over curiously, taking a step closer to get a better look at the effeminate young man.

"Perhaps you can be more reasonable than this thug here my dear Lady. You see I lost what money I had on my way here and I just needed something to eat. However this man won't be reasonable even though I told him that I would see to it that-" Ophelia's explanation was interrupted as Shalimar put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"I don't want to hear your excuses dear, no matter how reasonable they are." Shalimar warned and then pried Ophelia's mouth open to examine his teeth before beginning to pace about him. Ophelia stood stunned into shocked silence as Lady Shalimar examined him, in complete disbelief that this was happening to him.

"So it is an interesting catch this time.. Very well, Master Markus. Though I normally don't trade this type of merchandise this one could bring a sale." Lady Shalimar grinned and then raised two fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. In response two bodyguards came from one of the back rooms, each guard taking hold of one of Ophelia's arms and starting to drag him away.

"Wait! You can't do this! Please, just listen to me!" Ophelia yelled, flailing helplessly as he was dragged away into the back rooms of the slave trader's building. The delicate blond was locked into a solitary room with no windows and no escape other than the door through which he'd entered. Ophelia shakily pulled himself to his feet, beginning to pace the small room like a caged animal.

"Great! This is just great! I have to run away from everything I know, then I lose the money nanny gave me, get accused of theft and now this! Sold into human slavery! Don't these people have a single shred of decency in them?!" Ophelia ranted to himself, throwing up his hands and kicking one of the silk pillows scattered about the floor of the room as hard as he could. The kick turned into a flailing tantrum of thrown pillows and flailing fists as Ophelia lost his temper and screamed his frustration to the empty space. After several noisy minutes he collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath as he slumped on the fancy carpet.

"It's.... not....fair...." Ophelia wheezed and closed his eyes in exhaustion, drifting into unconsciousness.

That evening Ophelia was dragged out onto the pier along with a group of young women, all chained together by the ankles and supervised by several large bodyguards. Ophelia watched people pass by, some of whom passed the slaves with indifference while others came closer to get a better look at Lady Shalimar's selection. The eyes of the men who came closer for examination held the same beastly desire that Ophelia had seen in Vladimir's gaze, and he shuddered with revulsion at the thought that one such man might become his owner. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation if he did not play his cards right Ophelia began to examine all those who passed by, searching for someone who he could convince to buy him but who looked as though they'd be willing to listen to reason. Time passed by as the large silvered moon rose high above the horizon, but just when Ophelia was ready to give up hope a figure appeared in the midst of the crowd. A tall man with long pointed ears, his chocolate colored hair was a mane of dreadlocks interwoven with brightly colored beads. His bright crimson coat billowed behind him as he swaggered in thigh-high leather boots, and his linen shirt gaped open in the front to display a beautifully muscled and tattooed chest. The man's skin glowed an exotic caramel color and from his strong face gazed cerulean eyes which had a radiance like expensive sapphires.

"His eyes... His eyes look kind." Ophelia murmured to himself, and then decided to place his bet on this man with the warm azure eyes. Once the stranger was close enough that Ophelia was sure that he could get the man's attention he started to call out.

"Hey! Hey you! Look over here, sir! Sir!" Ophelia yelled and waved his hands above his head, earning a snort of laughter from the bodyguards.

"Look, the runt sees somethin' he likes. Ain't that cute?" one of the guards chuckled and nodded in Ophelia's direction, obviously amused by the young man's efforts to get the attention of the well dressed male passing by.

"Hey! You in the red coat with the pointy ears! Look over here! Come on!" Ophelia raised his voice and at the identifying remarks the caramel skinned man turned to face him, raising an eyebrow as Ophelia's eyes lit hopefully and the effeminate man