Note: All characters mentioned are 18+. This has non-consent to the max! This is not dubcon, only pure non-consent and unwillingness! Don't read this if non-consent is not your thing!
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"Line up, all of you!" a greasy, heavyset man with beady eyes shouted as he eagerly examined his wares. A wide smile was plastered on his face.
Over a hundred slaves filed into the large stone room, moderately lit by large lanterns that hung from the walls. They stood entirely naked, as they had done a hundred times before in the previous months.
Silvia stood amongst them, trying her best not to stand out as usual. She could only thank her lucky stars that she hadn't been picked until now. It wasn't because she was ugly. In fact, she was really quite pretty once she was cleaned up. It was just that there were truly too many other slaves to choose from. But just in case, she had purposely dirtied her face and ruffled her hair to make her appear less attractive. After all, the kind of master she was looking for wouldn't care about her appearance.
Unfortunately, most of those who were sold, were sold as sex slaves to the rich and bored. It was only the lucky ones that got picked to be maid servants or personal attendants to rich young ladies, often even having their own rooms. To Silvia, that was much more preferable than being some toy for a man she didn't know.
Slump slightly, bring your shoulders in, bend your knees a bit, and don't make eye contact, she reminded herself. That was her routine.
Five months ago her family had been captured by this kingdom's invading army, and she had been sold to a slaver and trudged across the border to where she was now. She'd gone from being the heiress of a small merchant company to a slave in less than half a year, without even knowing what had become of her family.
"Is this all?" a woman with a golden collar around her neck said, frowning. "My master isn't interested in subpar goods. They're all thinning and filthy."
"D-Don't let that fool you," the man stammered, trying to appease the woman, "We have a variety of slaves here, and they're all pure!"
"They're all women..." she replied pointedly. "My master needs someone with an education. I don't want to make the trip to Fosrora, but I will if I have to."
"I... We specialize in selling women, but I assure you that some have more than a modicum of skill in a variety of trades," the man said, his impossible smile growing even wider, "...business, reading, writing... please let me know what your master is looking for and I will quickly procure --"
"-- I don't have the time," she interrupted before directly addressing the slaves. "Those of you who can write, step forward."
This could be it! Silvia thought, even as she and nearly fifty others stepped forward. She'd had enough of eating stale bread and bean paste. Of sleeping on straw mats that left one aching long before they even got up each morning. And judging from everyone else's expressions, it was obvious that all of the slaves were thinking the same thing - that they'd do anything to be sold to a master who was uninterested in their bodies.
The woman's eyebrows rose in surprise before she spoke again, "And those of you who know your numbers?"
This time though, there was less of a response. Only eighteen people stepped forward, Silvia included. She'd even been a half-step faster than the others, disregarding her usual rule of avoiding attention when possible. She couldn't help it. She'd always had an uncanny talent for numbers and figuring.
This is perfect! Silvia couldn't help but think, getting her hopes up in the process. A master who wanted a slave practiced with numbers might be looking for an extra capable mind to help with their business!
Even so, it wouldn't be easy to land such a position; not with the tension that currently lingered in the air. She could tell that everyone was on edge trying to recall their lessons from whatever backgrounds they each had. Unfortunately, five months in holding rooms hadn't given them much reason to stay brushed up on their arithmetic.
The woman seemed to think for a bit, as though she could size them up for their intelligence from the look of their faces. A moment later though, she singled someone out.
"You," the woman said, pointing to a random girl. "If I gave you three gold royals, how many loaves of bread could you buy if each loaf is four copper pieces?"
The girl paused and shuffled her feet nervously for a moment before she replied, "I... I don't know."
Silvia shuffled on her feet. 750 - too easy! she thought in frustration. Why hadn't she been picked?
The woman pointed again, randomly picking another of the girls lined up.
"If you receive 9 silver pieces per month, how much will you have after 20 years?"
21 gold and 60 silver pieces! Silvia shouted in her mind. This question was slightly harder compared to the last one, but it was still no trouble for her. At the same time though, she had underestimated her opponent.
"21 gold and 60 silver," the girl answered after some time, simultaneously sending Silvia into a panic.
This is no good! Silvia thought. That other girl got the answer right. If I don't do something soon, I won't have a chance! She couldn't help but think that perhaps she'd gone too far with muddying her own appearance! Bad Silvia! You've really screwed yourself over this time!
"You there," the woman pointed again, this time to the girl just next to Silvia, "If you have 13 gold in wares before paying a five percent tariff, how much will you have afterwards?"
However, unlike the previous answerer, the recipient of this question only needed to think for a moment before answering, "12 gold and 35 silver pieces."
"Correct," the woman said, looking pleased.
At last, Silvia couldn't help herself. This was perfect! By the sound of it, the woman's master was likely looking for someone to help with bookkeeping for a mid-sized merchanting family. She wasn't going to let this other slave steal her chance! She was eager to be taken under the wing of a master who would make use of her intellect, so how could she allow others to outshine her? She would revise the other girl's answer and steal the limelight!
Silvia almost shouted in enthusiasm as she amended her opponent's answer, "But if you account for the fact that most tariffs are actually 8% and that you'll be required to pay the Kingdom's sales tax of 3% on what remains, you'll be left with 11 gold, 60 silver, and 12 copper pieces!"
She had always had a keen intellect for numbers. Now it was finally earning her a way out of this hellhole!
Just as Silvia expected, the woman gave her an astonished second and third glance. Silvia couldn't help but allow one corner of her mouth to curve upward in glee.
"I'm impressed. Your wares really are of excellent quality," the gold collared woman said to the slaver before tossing him a small coin purse. "Have this one cleaned up and sent to the Burchard estate. A bronze collar will do."
With that, Silvia went with two other slaves, both bronze-collared, who stripped and scrubbed her with soapy sponges before rinsing her off with buckets of water. Then, they dressed her in a clean linen skirt and affixed a padded bronze collar around her neck.