*** Madeline are you coming? , hurry up or we would be late for the event, I heard my mother say from the outside, I stared back at my self at the giant mirror in my room, as piercing blue eyes stared back at me, today was the day of my coming of age , and I was officially allowed to choose a magical pet, that would serve me for life, I was praying to make the right choice today, running my hands down my long blue gown, I picked up my purse and left .
*** What took you so long Madeline, your father would be angry if we don't come on time, your sister is already inside the carriage , comeon it's time to go.
*** The Azure empire stretched across horizons, as it was the centre power lording over all kingdoms, housing different races beasts, wolves , elfs, hybrids and warlocks,today the the azure empire holds a coming of age banquets for every maiden when she turns 18, it was my birthday six months ago,and I was more than happy for that, my father served as one of the kings men, and my mother a housewife , my sister Susan was my my step sister, who was birthed by my father's second wife, who had the spitting image of my father , while I was a blend of both.
*** We rode for more than an hour to to get to the empire's ball room, where major events like that of the one today would take place, what pet slave would you like to choose? Susan asked me while entering the ball room, I want a beautiful pet I said giggling as my gown swayed out of excitement, the Azure empire was rich in Gold and silver, which showed clearly as the ballroom was adorned with both, both men and women were dressed to their finest , and many ministers had graced the event.
*** My father whom I had saw , was busy talking to one of the Court's magistrate incharge of today's event, I walked to seat in one of the seats provided for all attendees, tables were placed right to each seats, which contained fruits and snacks as appetizers as the event was usually a long one.
*** Susan was sitting with her friend Gina as they gossiped about whatever caught their interests, soon the magistrate incharge graced the podium and gave an introduction speech which commenced the banquet.
*** I was nervous which was showing more than I intended, the girls sitting right next to me were all gossiping at the amount of slave beasts present today and as I stared to where they were held , my eyes skimmed right through all of them till it stopped at one of them , it was a hybrid half wolf, half fox , he looked more human than I had imagined, I was an elf , a pureblooded at that but my race wasn't at the top of the pyramid.
*** I starred too much at him , that it caught it's attention as his dark blue shade of eyes with a mix of brown stared back at me , and I felt my heart race, his dark brown hair looked like it had been ruffled countless times, with his fox ears which I imagined how it would feel under my hands, and his broad shoulders which was mainly a feature acquired mostly by wolves, I retracted my stare at him, as I felt my cheeks turn pink, I was blushing at a man I just met, if I took him as my pet , perhaps I would teach him how to love and inreturn he might like me , even if it be a little.
*** Hybrid foxes and wolves weren't mostly welcomed in the azure empire as they had once rebelled against the warlocks which held the highest authority throughout the empire, and as punishments they were turned to mostly slaves or married off to us elfs , as we mostly offsprings from us were all elfs and neither any mix of their kind , I was four months older than Susan which meant I would be picking a pet before her, I prayed no one noticed the hybrid as I had already decided to take him home, my father soon came to my side reminding me to mind my manners as we were outside, he was a man too cautious of his image.
*** Madeline moon , my name was called and I walked up to the podium, bowed before the audience and soon walked to where the slaves were displayed, I pretended to walk round them as if trying to get a better look at each of them.
*** I stopped before him, pointing at him and soon a piece of paper was presented to me, miss Madeline you are to choose a name for him , the guard presenting the paper said to me, I looked at him thinking what name would suit him the most , and I decided on george, it was the name of my favourite character from a book I recently read, which I had come to love.
*** Here are the documents of ownership, you may choose to draw a blood pact or not, he said before dragging George to me, and when he handed over the reins to me , I felt a kind of jouly I had never felt before, George I called him to have him look up to me and his eyes stared back at me, I couldn't pinpoint his emotion, as his face were deviod of any emotion, once one had picked a pet they could either choose to stay or leave, when I dragged him away with me, my eyes fell on a creature , a serpent in form of a man , he had a twisted look and an eerie feature gracing his looks, his eyes so red it looked like burning flames, whom everyone had spat on before passing to pick their pets.
*** I moved on not wanting him to know I was staring at him, as even the thought of his gaze starring at me sent down shivers down my spine.
*** Susan had choose a beast whose nature I wasn't so familiar with as a lot of races existed, even ones beyound our knowledge, I took George home, promising my self to give him a good life and a better family.
*** Welcome home George , I said to him the minute I steeped out of the carriage to receive him from the guard he has brought him along, I took his hands as we walked in , already with the thoughts of so many fun things I could do with him and my eyes brightened with images of me and him and maybe behind my mind a thought of a beautiful family.
*** Tonight was my worst night , and the most painful day of my life, I had been looking for George whom I had come to love with the months he had stayed with me and also had received my father's blessing to marry him after convincing him to let me marry him , irrespective of his race , I was running to go and find him to deliver the good news of how we could start a loving family, to swing open the door of his room, only to find him making out with susuan and my world halted , Susan looked at me smirking bearing a sickly smile that clearly showed happiness, George I called out to him as his eyes filled with guilt looked back at me why? Why? George I asked as tears poured down my face , my heart clenching at the piercing betrayal from my kin and lover.