How can you breathe when life itself is the reason you’re drowning?

That was the question that Victorian asked herself every day. While others questioned if she saved a country in her past life to gain such a wonderful current life, she hated it.

“Victorian sit up straight,” her mother scolded. “Thou must carry thyself with poise and smile? What is the point of thou beauty if thou are angry all the time?”

“Yes mother, my apologies. I am finished with my meal so I will be taking my leave my leave now. May thou enjoy the rest of the day,” she said, not forgetting to add a smile at the end. With a bow and a straight back, Victorian left the suffocating dining hall.

“Let us marry her off soon. The Duke of Burgundy is of my liking,” the Countess of Azure said. Her daughter’s attitude had ruined her appetite so she wiped her mouth and got a servant to take her plate away.

“Patience dear, with our daughter’s beauty, I am sure we can marry her off to a prince,” the Earl of Azure told his wife as he continued to eat.

“Darling, thou has said that countless of times and yet her best suitor after all these years is still the duke. I believe we should accept his offer before he finds someone else. And quite frankly I am tired of all the other countesses asking if we are going to choose their son.”

“She has just passed her nineteenth year. I shall marry her off before her twentieth. Another batch of suitors will be arriving in the afternoon and your favourite duke will be here for dinner. If you want our daughter to marry him, let us have them meet today.”

Victorian, who was hiding on the other side of the door, let out a sigh. For the past three years, all the talk around the estate had been about marrying her off. Her opinion was useless when held against the dowry her family would receive.

“Lady Victorian, shall we get you ready for the day ahead?” One of the maids asked. Without a word, Victorian followed the maid to the ready room.

“That is enough. I would like to be alone now. Actually I would like to be alone all day, no one is to disturb me, I do not need my meals either.”

The maids left with a bow and Victorian stared at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t see anything exceptionally beautiful about herself. In her opinion, her rare red hair deemed to be worth more than rubies was as valuable as copper and her grey eyes supposedly the shade of a million pieces of knowledge was as dull as slate.

All she yearned for was a life of freedom, one where she can sail the blue seas instead of feeling like a prize to be won. Her only taste of freedom occurred once a month when the servants were allowed to return home in shifts. Her parents already had plans for the day and dismissing all the staff in her care, Victorian was able to sneak out pretending to be a commoner.

When she made sure the coast was clear, Victorian changed out of her gown and into a commoner’s outfit. With a scarf covering most of her head, Victorian sneaked climbed out of her window and escaping the hell she was born into. When she made it out the gates, the air automatically smelt better.

The merchants were back and the marketplace was bustling. Tents were popped up all through the street leading to the docks. Baskets of seeds and other exotic foods were stacked higher than the tent. There were tables covered in jewels in all the colours of the rainbow, and there was a whole section dedicated for the educated.

“A beautiful scarf for a beautiful lady? Best silk from the other side of the ocean blue. I traded a cattle for this but for you mistress how about three fiore?” The merchant wrapped the scarf around her neck as she passed by.

“No thank you.” She moved out of its grasp and headed to the next stall.

“Would you like purchase some berries, fresh from Hibhiscus, hand plucked them meself.” Another merchant brought a handful towards her nose.

“Don’t mind him miss, how about some books, you look like you can read. Words by the philosopher Disoricius himself.”

Victorian left the busy market area and headed towards the church. As she was admiring the flowers grown on the trees, her scarf got caught on a nearby branch revealing her rare red hair. She covered her hair with one hand while the other untangled her hood before quickly fleeing the scene.

As the merchants unloaded their latest shipments, there was a different kind of seller arriving in Alphenrose. It was a group of muscular men led by a raccoon like man. Despite their giant boat, they only unloaded one box and whose contents weren’t set up in a stall but pushed into a building.

Two of the men walked out shortly after and they began to scour around. They found what they were looking for when Victorian’s scarf got caught in the branches. They both agreed on her and quietly shadowed her through the day. As the sun was starting to set, they made their move.

Victorian figured the last round of servants would be returning for the dinner service soon and thus her appearance would be needed. She headed towards an alleyway which would allow her to sneak into the group without behind noticed. However, the trip home hit a detour when something hard struck the back of Victorian’s head and something went to cover her head.

The throbbing and squeezing sensation in the back of her head was what woke Victorian up. She opened her eyes to darkness and something ticklish against her nose. She tried to remove the sack on her head but stopped when she felt the chains around her wrist.

“There’s no point girly,” a male with fish breath said. “Just wait your turn.”

He walked away with the sounds of chains in his possession. The door opened for her to hear the event introduction.

“Welcome to the auction. Today we have a wonderful selection of young woman of working and child bearing age from all over Hibhiscus and Alphenrose. Now let’s start with this lovely lady.”

She slowly began to panic as, one by one, the sound of chains grew quieter as they approached the door and the shouting outside grew louder. From what she could hear, girls were being sold for hundreds of fiore and soon it would be her turn.

“Three hundred fiore.”

“Three hundred fiore going once. Twice. Sold to the madame with the fan.”

The door closed again and the room where Victorian was held in was quiet expect for footsteps approaching her. There were no sounds of crying or panicked breathing, meaning all the girls, expect for her, had been sold.

“Get up,” the fish breath man said, tugging her off of the floor.

With the sack still covering her face, she was tugged onstage. The sack was finally removed and the light in the tavern temporarily blinded her.

“And our final item for the nice,” the auctioneer paused, checking Victorian’s features again, “my, this is impressive. This lovely lady has red hair and grey eyes. Not every day we see this combination or any of the traits in general. Let’s start at five hundred. Do I hear five hundred fiore?”

“Five hundred,” an old greasy man shouted.

“Five twenty five,” a middle aged lady whose face was covered partially with a fan shouted.

“Six.”

“Eight.”

“A thousand fiore pieces.”

“Fifteen hundred.”

“Two thousand,” the greasy man was determined to win her.

“Two thousand going once. Twice.”

“Five thousand!” a young man shouted as he slammed his beer down.

“Five thousand fiore going once. Twice. Sold to the man with the red sash.” The auctioneer knocked his gravel twice to officialise the deal.

Victorian was pulled by the chains around her wrist off stage and to her owner. He handed her handler a pouch of fiore in exchange for the keys to her chains. He led her outside to the alleyway where he unlocked her chains.

As he reached out, she jerked back and shouted, “Do not touch me!”

“Relax,” he said. He took her hand and placed a smaller pouch into it. “It’s not much but it should be enough for you to return to where you’re from. Don’t get caught.”

Victorian simply stared at her now former owner. She was about to leave but then he opened his mouth again.

“And do you know of a place I can hide? I don’t think I can return to my ship for a while. Lane might kill me,” he said with a nervous laughter.

Victorian’s eyes widen and she grabbed him by the collar, almost falling. Her voice was frantic as she asked, “Does thou own a ship? Are thou a captain? Can thou take me away? I need to get away. Please. Can thou take me away?”

“Er okay?”