Completed Exchanged Roles

[Ayviss]

76th of Winter, 514 AV
Ayviss smiled to herself, adjusting her coat as she tried to shield her body from the cold and piercing wind. Things were going smoothly. Slowly, surely, she was walking towards her goal. But now, it wasn't time to think about it. Now, she needed to do the work Hollard had allowed her to. Normally, this would mean he still thought of her as a slave, but as she walked through the almost desert streets, in the direction of the Slave Market, she knew that it meant that, now, Hollard considered her an equal. After all, she was just doing, alone, the job he usually did himself.

The Slave Market wasn't as full as it normally was, since it was still very early, and Winter, after all. Most people preferred to stay at home as much as they could, but a new slave had arrived, and it was a very fit man, perfect for labor, that Hollard knew would be very lucrative if he could sell. Which only made Ayviss more sure of how much her owner trusted her. Otherwise, he wouldn't even think about letting her deal with a business this lucrative.

Making her way to the stall of a slaver she had already visited with Hollard, she ignored some nasty comments slavers with nothing better to do threw her way. Her eyes were focused on her destination, her face stern and concentrated, but, inside, she was beaming with happiness. Things were going so well, for the first time in such long years. With each step she took, she felt like she approached her own freedom.

When she approached the stall, she eyed the greasy brown hair that she still remembered from her last visit to the Market, when Hollard had taken her there to watch him work. Maybe she should have paid more attention on how Hollard had dealt with this slaver, to know what she should or shouldn't say. But she could manage. Straightening her back, Ayviss looked at him, her chin held high. She might be a slave, but she wasn't like those being sold in the stinking market. No, she felt powerful, she was powerful. She had power no one them had. She could talk with shadows, she could see them, she could hear their secrets whispers, and she would soon be free to do as she pleased. Soon enough, she would be more than anyone in the Market, not only the slaves. And then, she would hold power over them, even if they didn't know that yet.

Weird how powerful and free she felt, knowing that she was about to take in her hands the freedom of another.

x

[Ayviss]

"What a pretty girl like you is doing in a place like this?" the slaver slurred, and Ayviss fought the urge to make a disgusted face. She was there for business. Even she knew that it wasn't good if you made disgusted faces to someone whom you needed to do business with. "Aren't you afraid I'll just chain you and sell you by a lovely price?"

"No, in fact, I'm not." Ayviss said, trying to maintain her voice leveled, her chin held high. She was better than he was. She wouldn't simply bow her head for a filthy slaver. "If you do, you will need to explain to Hollard why you have slaved his partner when all she did was come here to complete a transaction."

The slaver seemed confused at first, then his face lightened as if he had remembered her, and then it paled. Ayviss smiled, sweetly, satisfied with his reaction.

"Oh, of course. Hollard didn't say anything to me, so..." the slaver grunted, disturbed. "I'll show you the merchandise. It's a true finding, if you allow me to say so."

Ayviss nodded, and waited as the slaver contoured the stall and took one of the chained slaves, bringing him to the front. Ayviss took a while to admire him. It was a man, not exactly someone she would call handsome, but his muscles were certainly something that would make him very easy to sell. The half blood nodded again, approvingly, and extended her hand to take the chain. The slaver smiled, shaking his head.

"Oh, no, young girl. Payment first." he said, his greedy smile making Ayviss shift uncomfortable. "450 golden mizas."

"The combined price was 400, if I'm not mistaken." she answered, lips pressed together.

"You are mistaken, then."

"I'm not. 400 golden mizas were the deal. Don't try to scam me. It's Hollard you will be dealing with, later."

The man laughed, loudly, making a passerby turn his head to look at them. "I'm not afraid of your partner, little girl."

"And what about the man to whom he works for?" it wasn't just a bluff. Ayviss had seen the place in the Slaver's Row in the last business trip she had gone with Hollard. The behavior of the shadows in that place had shown her that it certainly wasn't a gentleman who lived there. And it worked. The slaver paled once again, before grumbling something and extending his hand to her. Ayviss put the 400 golden mizas in his hand, fighting the temptation to ask for a discount due to his misbehavior, and took the slave's chain.

"He is tied in his foot, so he can't run away. I would recommend being careful, nonetheless." the man grumbled, turning his back to her.

Ayviss looked once again to the slave in her hands, and pulled the chain, walking in the direction of the house she had to deliver him to.

x

[Ayviss]

The walk was slow, the shackles around the slave's foot making it impossible for her to hurry up without making him fall. So Ayviss walked slowly enough that the slave could easily keep up with her. While she didn't really cared if he fell or not, it would be easier to keep him from wanting to escape before they reached their destination. Or so she thought.

It didn't took long before the slave sent her a glance, pulled the chain hard enough that Ayviss couldn't hold it, and ran. His running was slow, weird, his foot not able to move correctly, and Ayviss had no trouble catching up to him. She threw her whole weight on his back, making him stumble forward and fall, face into the ground, falling on top of him. Her hand quickly made its way to the dagger she carried around, always, and the half blood pressed it against the man's neck, pulling his hair back. She still wasn't sure how to use a dagger right, her skill with it improving very slowly, but she was still able to make a cut in a vulnerable target.

"Don't even think of running again." she breathed against his ear. "You can't outrun me. And if you try again... It would be a pity to hurt a fine slave like you." she said, pressing harder against his neck, until a thin trail of blood tainted the blade of her dagger. "But if you try, I can always cut your feet off. And then, you will be unable to work. But certainly some creative owner will have a use to you." she paused, and then smiled, although the slave wouldn't be able to see it. "You are just a slave. Your life has no value. You can be easily replaced. What makes you think I won't punish your misbehavior?"

The slave only gulped, and when Ayviss stood up, she could see the pain in his face, and the superficial cut she had made on his skin. As the slave stumbled and fought to get up, the chains and shackles getting in the way, she smiled. All the words that had come out of her mouth were true. He was useless to her. His life had no value except for himself, and he was weak and stupid enough to escape. It didn't matter what would be done with him. It didn't matter simply because he was weak enough to survive in any other way.

When the slave finally got up, she pushed him in the direction she wanted him to go, and he obliged, easily enough.

x

[Ayviss]

It didn't take much longer before they finally reached the house in the Slaver's Row. Ayviss remembered the battered door and the old wood, so old it looked like it would fall any moment. Ayviss twisted her nose, somewhat disgusted by the dirty place. When she had her own business (because she certainly would. Business meant a way to expand power and influence, and she definitely needed it), she would have a beautiful and clean place, one that showed people what she could do, if they displeased her. One probably very far away from Sunberth.

Ayviss noticed she was daydreaming, and blinked a few times before raising her hand and knocking, hard, on the door. She could hear whispers inside, probably the shadows wondering what the next plaything would be. Despite caring very little for the fate of the man, she still didn't feel comfortable with those shadows. They seemed to be exactly like Akrar, one of the shadows that lived in Hollard's house, maybe even more cruel. It made her feel uncomfortable, if only because she knew what getting their help would entail.

Not that she needed their help, specifically.

The door finally opened, and a huge man, with an eyepatch covering his right eye and scars running around his muscles and face, opened the door. It wasn't the same as the one who had answered the door the last time she had been there, but he seemed to know what she had come to do. He simply sent a glance at the slave she was holding, and took a step back to allow her inside.

Ayviss pushed the slave inside, ignoring the way he was trembling now. She knew that, if it was her, she would probably be afraid of the man too. She was afraid of him even then, when she was the one holding the chain, not the chained one. However, she simply followed him, her chin high, not betraying the small fear she felt.

The man guided them to a small room, with shelves covered with books, and a wooden table near the back. He sat down in the chair behind the table, joined the tip of his fingers, and looked straight at her for a while. Ayviss entered the room, but didn't sit in the remaining chair, simply stood there, holding the chain, stronger than she needed to, waiting, holding the man's gaze. She wouldn't let him know she was afraid.

x

[Ayviss]

"Sit." the man said, after a while. His voice was hoarse, deep, and it suited his appearance very well. Ayviss stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, if it was safe to sit. Finally, she walked to the chair, slowly, sitting with her back straight.

"This is Jack's job." the man said, surprising Ayviss with the implied question. She certainly wasn't expecting it.

"Can't he have other partners?"

The man smiled, slowly, however it didn't reach his eyes. Ayviss held her position, fighting against the instinct of just running as fast as she could.

"You are his slave. Jack rarely keeps slaves. When I gave him a pregnant one, I thought he would kill her and the baby in the first training section. He must have seen something in you, and your mother before you, to keep you. I always suspected his decision would be the end of him." the man laid back on his chair, still looking at her. "Now, I'm sure."

Her heart jumped, and she closed her hand even harder around the chain. How did this man knew about her? How could he know what she was planning? She had never seen him, never even talked to him before. True, he had apparently been the one who sold her mother to Hollard, the source of all her misery, but still, he shouldn't know anything about her plans. But he knew too much. However, Ayviss simply kept holding his gaze, refusing to give any hint that he was right.

After a few second, the man chuckled.

"And now, I'm even more sure." he took a small stone from the table, and started to play with it, his eyes still on Ayviss' face. "I have never witnessed a slaver allow a slave to raise as much as to become partners. And I certainly never thought Hollard would do something like that. I'm curious" he placed the stone in the table and leaned forward. "to see what Hollard saw."

Ayviss kept quiet, not knowing what to say that wouldn't incriminate her even further. She just held the man's gaze, before finally offering him a smile of her own.

"I have brought you the slave you wanted. If I may leave, now, I have other things to do."

"I'm sure you have. Just leave it here." the man said, making a small movement with his hand. Ayviss nodded, just let go of the chain, and walked towards the door. "When you are tired of him, please come to see me. I find you a very valuable addiction to my team. Besides, you could learn a lot under my supervision."

Ayviss pretended to ignore him, and simply left, closing the door behind her and walking out of the house, her steps slow enough that the man wouldn't think she was eager to leave the house, but fast enough that he wouldn't think it was just an act.

x

[Ayviss]

It seemed like a heavy weight had been lift from her chest when she finally step out of the house. Her breath returned to normal, and her heart slowly returned to its usual pace. Sending a single glance to the house, she began to walk back.

Ayviss didn't know what to think. The man hadn't known what the was planning, not exactly, but he knew that she wanted to leave Hollard, and he knew that she could do so whenever she pleased. But he also seemed like he wouldn't tell Hollard. Why, she really didn't know.

The woman walked slowly, thinking about the offer the man had made. She didn't know if becoming a slaver was probably the path for her. She didn't want to feel powerless, weak, submissive ever again. She wanted power, she wanted control, she wanted to be able to get anything. Each time she had held a chain of a slave, she had felt the urge of power wash over her, intoxicate her. The offer was a good one. The man could teach her everything she needed to know to become a slaver, and a good one. But were being a slaver really the job for her? She enjoyed the power, but she would have just gotten out of slavery herself.

But even if she decided to be a slaver. Wasn't it dangerous? To be free from a slaver and fall into the cluches of other. And yet, if he truly wanted her as a slave, why not simply buy her from Hollard, or take her for himself when she finally freed herself? The man didn't need to wait, and Ayviss knew that, right then, he was the one who held her chains.

Ayviss took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. It was a difficult decision. There was no need to decide right then, but there would be a time when she needed it. And then... What would she do?

The halfblood opened her eyes again, sighing. Choose the power and satisfaction of holding a slave's chain or the opportunity to leave everything behind her, the memories of slavery, forever?

Grunting to herself, Ayviss simply kept walking. She would decide later. For now, she would keep going forward, until she achieved her freedom.

x

[Matthew]

Ayviss

Experience Points:

• 3 Acting
• 1 Brawling
• 1 Diplomacy
• 2 Intimidation
• 1 Negotiation
• 1 Planning
• 2 Socialization

Lores:

• Acting: Controlling Facial Expression
• Negotiation: Simple Haggling

Additional Notes :

Very nice thread! This was an excellent read.

If you have any questions or concerns relevant to your grade, don't be afraid to send me a private message so that we can work it all out! Please remember to mark your Grading Request as Graded.

A shout-out to Ollic Rimesage, who was kind enough to make this template for me.