╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Little Black Sheep's world is set around the Iron Age period.
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I returned to the trade center to make sure that what the females had said was true. On the way, I plucked a few blades of grass just in case I got hungry later.
Stepping inside the stone building, the traders had lost the worry from their brows and were smiling at everyone who came to them.
I walked up to the front desk, "U-Um..." I started, unsure how to phrase my question, "Was...was I sold as well?"
"Yes. You are no longer part of our trade center. If you have any questions, you can ask the buyers directly," the female answered.
"Can I return?" I asked.
"..." Her eyes narrowed at me. I should have kept my mouth shut. "We take no returns. If they no longer want you, that's not our problem. You can find a place to sleep somewhere else," she dismissed me.
I nodded and walked away slowly.
"Wait!" the trader called after me. "The cloak... How much do you want for it?" she asked, her tone less hostile than before.
"Sorry," I apologized, "It's not mine to sell."
"A hundred coins for it," she offered, "And a stay at our trade center for two winters or until you find a new buyer. I'm giving you an opportunity here."
She was making it hard to refuse. A hundred coins... that was... a lot. Too much. Worth more than my entire life. Baths and toiletries weren't free. With that kind of money, I could stay clean for three winters, maybe more, if I spent it wisely. And the promise of a shelter...it was tempting.
"Can I sell this instead?" I asked, offering the crystal in my hand.
She looked at it. Her fox ears twitched and her eyes widened, "Yes. I can get you a place in the cells and give you ninety-nine coins for it."
"Ninety-eight coins," I asked instead, "The extra coin is for you."
She blinked in surprise, then her lips curled up in a pleased grin. "Deal." She took the gem from my hand and placed it in a pocket of her dress, giving me a pouch of coins in return. "Follow me, I'll show you to your new cell. Your neighbors are all gone. I'm afraid it will be lonely for you."
As expected of a fox, she knew how to keep a customer happy. I didn't know the gem's worth, but not knowing its value, nor how the market worked, was my advantage. When you had no clue about the value of an item, it was easier to part with it.
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I placed my pouch of coins on the straw bed in my new cell. Then I took off the cloak, folded it, and put it next to my coins. I sat in front of them, keeping them in view, protecting them from thieves. There was no safer place in this world to keep them than the trade center. Why? Because females in the trade centers had nothing of value.
The fox could steal the cloak by force and claim she bought it from me, but she didn't. She made an offer and let me think about it. When someone gave you a chance to refuse, that was a sign they wouldn't take from you by force.
I didn't know the cloak would gain so much attention. It's good nobody else had their eyes on it before arriving here. From what I heard, the madam and the owners haven't found a suitable surgi-something female yet. That meant that they would come to the trade center again. I would wait until they returned and offer some coins for the cloak as a thank you.
And then...?
I hugged my knees close to my body, nibbling on the grass blades one at a time, slowly savoring the taste as I waited.
Think black sheep, think...
They bought you.
That means you belong to them now.
And when you belong to someone, there are three outcomes: They keep you, they sell you, or they dispose of you.