Aarav scratched at his face in a very human-like gesture. The two men staring at him was incredibly embarrassing, and there was nothing he could do about it. He just sat there mentally recovering from the 20% Health loss. It was essential to making sure that he didn’t do anything that idiotic again. But who could blame him after having spent the last six months walking around on all fours like an animal? It had been fun, but walking like a human again was too much of a temptation. He needed to try it out there and then. The next time he would do this would be once he had both legs under him, though.

As he improved his limbs, they would get stronger and handle more. At the moment, they were bone arms and legs, but the bone was coated in a layer of his brown skin-like Slime to keep it all together. That didn’t make them stronger. It just stopped them from separating, which falling had undone.

At the moment, he was skin and bones. Not to mention he was exhausted. “Master, the King said something about a room?”

The fat man nodded, “Yes, they have prepared a room for you to stay in and sleep. Why?”

“Exhausted, need sleep.” Aarav could feel his eyes drooping as he said this and stared a little blankly in the direction of the door. Could I just sleep here?

A few seconds after pulling his Slime parts together again, the exhaustion hit him like a tonne of bricks. All of a sudden, he couldn’t move an inch, let alone to wherever his room was.

Seeing his newest and now youngest pupil lying on the ground, clearly exhausted, brought out a measure of compassion in Haemish. Since the skin covering his body held everything together, Haemish was able to gently pick him up and carry him out of the lab and to his room in the palace. Stranger things had happened in this building, and all of them had to do with this strange and wonderful new creature. Haemish was excited and terrified to see what was next for this little guy.

Far down the hall, Haemish saw a small figure sprinting toward him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was the youngest Prince. The figure was coming toward them much faster than Haemish had seen before. “Woah there, young one! Slow down! Don’t know that it is bad form to run inside the palace walls?”

The shout brought the young child up short, and he slowed, eventually stopping in front of Haemish, panting and out of breath. “Yes…I…know…but…I wouldn’t…be able to…get anywhere…otherwise!”

Haemish chuckled, “Yes, the hallways of the palace are very long! But you might slip, trip and fall. That would be a poor way to end the day, would it not?”

“Of…course…but I intend to…use every spare moment to train…as hard as I can!” the boy was quickly catching his breath. That surprised Haemish as well. Just a few short weeks ago, when he had seen the boy lying in bed last, it looked like he would waste away. No, the big man could see that he had a little more meat on his frame. Stood slightly less slouched or hunched over like his stomach was trying to eat through his back.

“What is that, Sir. Haemish?” Boren pointed at the new thing he had spotted in Haemish’s hand, Aarav ay there in his fully compacted form just a little larger than the palm of his hand.

Haemish’s fond smile spread across his face once more at the boy’s curiosity. “That is a sentient being, believe it or not! He is called Resh, and I would like you to meet him soon if I have my way. I think the two of you could be very helpful to each other. At least, I hope that will be the case.”

“Oh, wow, yes! That would be a lot of fun, I think! I haven’t been able to make any friends at the academy, unfortunately.” Haemish couldn’t help but see the disheartened look on Boren’s face as he uttered those words.

“Oh, why not? Are they, you know, because of your parents?” Haemish asked

“No, no, nothing like that. It's just; you know how bad luck follows me around. The others never know what will happen around me, so they keep their distance. Some try to be nice about it, but you know how misfortune can be?” Boren inflected at the end, beseeching. Haemish’s heart broke a little more for the boy.

“I know, child. I know it is hard, but it will get better. I know it will. Sometimes these things take time to get used to or iron out.” Haemish murmured.

It was something that they could not normalise, and it certainly would never get better. At least not for Boren, who had to suffer through the effects every second of every day.

“Y-yes, of course. Well, I will see you, Sir. Haemish!” A false cheer was the mask that Boren chose to don at that moment and strode past Haemish before breaking into a run again. Within a few seconds, he was out of sight and turning a corner onto another corridor. Haemish’s sharp eyesight and perception saw drops of water on the floor where he had passed.

“That boy is either working very hard or….” Haemish intoned, leaving the thought unfinished and cradling Aarav in his large hands. The sound of Haemish and Boren talking had the Slime in and out of sleep. Now he was sleeping once more. The man carrying him patted his head and then walked towards the upper floor. “Now, where was that room again?”

Tucked away in the corner of the western wing’s third floor was a cosy little room that might be perfect for a small flying creature that needed a place to nest. As Haemish opened the door, a gust of wind blew through the room’s singular window across from the entrance. The glass had copper filigree instead of gold; less precious but no less ornate. The bed up against one wall made of wood was carved exquisitely by skilled craftsmen, showing forest scenes depicting various flora and fauna that Aarav had encountered. A washstand with a bowl full of water stood in a corner with a hint of steam coming off it, it had to be a recent addition, or it would have cooled already.

Haemish entered the room, moved to place Aarav gently on the bed and then closed the window and latched it so that only a sliver of wind came in. The windows were sturdy to withstand Aera’s winds, and they could blow a window clean off its hinges, so one had to be careful. Then he covered the washbasin with a hand cloth set aside and closed the door behind him. He was careful not to make any noise to wake his slumbering student, a small, satisfied smile on his face.

**************************************

The Slime rolled over in his sleep, oblivious to what was going on around him. A lot had happened in the last few days, and finally, there was a chance for him to rest. His life had taken a significant and unexpected turn when he chose to visit the village close to him. It was unclear what had compelled him to seek out others of his kind, humankind. But he had done so by some machination other than free will. A subtle hand guided him that even he did not know fully, and only time would tell if it was for good or ill.

Aarav’s soul twitched slightly deep in the creature, and something stirred. A golden light ignited and swirled, a tick, and then the light slowly faded and died down to a simmer. He might never learn what caused it or what entities watched over him. But he would know their effect.

Brow furrowed and drawn tight. The Slime continued his sleep, plagued by dreams and nightmares of the past.

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Content Warning: The flashback may get a little dark for those uncomfortable with this. There is a summary at the end.

Fifteen Years Ago

“Get up!” a boot found Aarav’s small ribs, and he felt something creak. “I said get up! Don’t make me repeat it! Vapus Nai!”

Those two words filled Aarav with more dread than he could imagine, and his heart thundered in his chest just as the boot shocked him awake. Where am I! What is going on? Then he remembered, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins demanded that he do something. Fight or flee. But Ami, I can’t leave her. Any beating she received would take a far greater toll on her more petite body than his.

Battered, bruised and underfed, they were beyond weak. Emaciated and on the verge of starvation, Aarav and Ami’s captors cared little for their plight. They were the cause of it, and they wanted the children vulnerable.

They said that humans are some of the most resilient creatures and could become used to any situation. It was difficult to believe in the dank of the basement. Meals were irregular, so Aarav couldn’t even use them to tell how long they had been in here. By his estimate, they had likely spent an entire week in the darkness, at least, nothing but bleak emptiness, their accompaniment to hunger and pain.

With Ami by his side, things were not as bad as they could have been, and thankfully, that creature that held them had not separated them. They clung to that hope like the last raft of residues in a sea of chaos. And he thanked God that they had not had worse done to them, and he knew it could very well happen at any time to him or Ami. Please, god, if you have any mercy, let us get out of this with our sanity intact. The Indian faith had many gods. At least one of them had to hear his plea and save them, right? Otherwise, why did people pray to them? There had to be some justice they could mete out.

Alas, he was beginning to think that no one was listening to his prayer. Ami had become sick in the cloying filth their captors forced them to endure. No bathroom breaks had made the space even more unliveable. We have to keep fighting to live. Ami…I will take care of you. I will do everything I can! An empty promise, he knew he had no power here. If Ami was going to die, he could do nothing to prevent it.

“Hey! Get up!” Another vicious kick followed the first, and this time its force lifted Aarav off the ground and slammed him into the wall behind. He couldn’t move, and the pain and weakness were overwhelming. He tried to raise a hand towards the foot, a feeble attempt to ward it off. There was no god.

“Please.” He hissed through gritted teeth. “Please…Ami.” Seething air through clenched teeth, he whispered her name in a hoarse voice. “Help…her.” His Hindi was not excellent, but he could utter those few words. The person-not this was not a person-the beast that used his body as a football turned away from him to inspect the other in the room and grunted, annoyed.

“Get some medicine for this filth! I will not lose my investment!” the individual with them spoke the words just slow enough for Aarav to understand, and he gasped in relief. They will take care of Ami, even for their selfish reasons. For now, that was enough. His eyes began to close as his exhaustion caught up to him, and he slumped.

“I said get up!” Another kick, and this time with the support of the wall, the foot had something to brace against. There was no space for Aarav to dissipate the energy, and he puked up what he had been given for his last meal, slop and what looked like mucus. Specks of red interspersed the contents of his stomach. He was bleeding internally again. So exhausted. He could not even muster up the fear and shock that such a revelation should have conjured.

Some of the vomit landed on his attacker's foot, and they turned in disgust, wiping the boot and stepping away from the wretched boy. I hope he says away. It was a faint and desperate hope, he knew, but he clung to it anyway. A dying boy would hold onto any hope.

Trying to take in any amount of air into his lungs was excruciating, forcing his injured ribs and abdomen to expand and compress in waves of agony.

“Disgusting child!” the man in front of him screamed, and here Aarav realised that it was the man that had brought him here in the first place.

Next, the man hauled Aarav to his feet but one arm pulling on all his injuries and bruising, and he hissed in pain but otherwise hung limply in the man’s hand. His clothes were tattered and dirty and covered in his mess for the last days, and he could do nothing else. Just barely able to see Ami from the corner of his eye thanks to the light from the opened door, he could see that she lay prone on the floor as well, unable to move; she could have been dead. A frustrated tear trailed from the corner of his eye. It was all he could muster, dehydrated as they both were.

He had tried to give and then force Ami to take her portion of the food. She had refused, adamantly insisting that they both eat their portions according to size, sixty-forty she had said. He had flatly refused, and they finally agreed on half each. Still, she would not take more even though her body needed it to recover. Stupid Ami, stupid, stupid. Why won’t you let me take care of you? Don’t you know you’re the only thing in here that make life worth living! She was stubborn beyond belief, even on the brink of death, but there was nothing more he could do, and it killed him.

That glance was all Aarav could afford of his friend before they took him outside the roof for the first time. He couldn’t believe it and twisted to call out to Ami. He needed her. Why were they leaving her behind? He…Ami! But the words died in his parched throat. He couldn’t, only emitting a rasping croak. Someone hosed him down with cold water in a bathroom like a cow. No, in India, cows were treated more humanely than he had ever been. Some of the water entered his mouth, and he coughed as it hit his bone dry throat, then he opened his mouth again, trying to catch more.

The clothes were ripped from him and tossed aside, the rotting cloth quickly coming apart from the rough treatment. He stood naked and afraid in front of three men, the cold water having shocked his tired eyes open.

“Haha, look at him, Ek!” the large one with short curly hair said, pointing at Aarav. “Disgusting body, isn’t it? I wouldn’t be surprised if he had worms! And he stinks like human waste!”

“Shut up, Dho! Get the work done. We don’t need to waste any time, and we have to get the other one done as well!” the second man, this one larger and with long black hair, said.

They only called themselves Ek and Dho, One and Two in Hindi. The one who had kidnapped Aarav in the first place was called Shoony, Zero. Aarav had not seen the woman again after that first night.

Then Aarav was roughly cleaned with what felt like sandpaper on his sensitive skin and bundled into clean clothes. That at least felt good, but he had a bad feeling about what was to come next.

Hosed down and semi-presentable in new clothes, Aarav was dragged to a hall and handcuffed to a pipe along the wall but his wrist. Jiggling his hand a little caused the metal of the rail to grate against the metal of the handcuff and earned him a backhand that would have had him sprawled across the floor if the handcuff had not stopped him short. He screamed at the pain in his wrist as it jerked him to a stop. The pain in his wrist was nothing compared to the rest of his body, but he thought he felt something give as he fell. The shock of it was what elicited the cry.

After that, he just sat down on the floor with his arm above his head, tied to the railing. He had learned that trying to reason with their captors was a waste of time, so their agreement to help Ami had come as a surprise. But he was too exhausted to stand, in too much pain to move, and too weak to speak.

Ten minutes later, he looked up at some commotion and found Ami being dragged into the room as well. “Wha...?” his throat was so dry.

“Please, let me go.” Ami weakly protested at the rough treatment, but she was clean as well and already looking much better than when Aarav had seen her in their room.

Our prison.

“Shut up and stay quiet!” Shoony came in and hissed at Ami. Then, Ek and Dho handcuffed her next to Aarav. Ami whimpered at the restriction and pain, holding her stomach as if feeling it cramping. When was the last time they had eaten anything? Aarav couldn’t remember.

Cleaned and presentable- relatively at least- they were made to wait there with arms stretched above them and sitting on the floor. Ami had also immediately sunk to her knees upon being handcuffed and left unsupported.

Aarav adjusted his position to cradle Ami in his free arm, rocking her slightly to try to bring her back from her daze. She was a little delirious from their treatment and the washing. But as he rocked her, she started to come back around.

A full hour passed with their wrists chafing on the handcuffs before anything further happened. Aarav was almost glad for the reprieve. Being out in the day was a pleasant change. He heard some noise from around the corner; men were speaking too softly to hear clearly, and was that, a woman as well? Yes, that’s a female voice.

Seconds later, a couple walked in with Shoony. The woman was statuesque and poised, large and round and sweating. They had been walking fast. The woman appeared to be in charge, the man subservient to her. They are not a couple. I just assumed. The woman bent and examined Aarav closely without preamble, quickly checking his teeth, fingernails, eyes, and feet. Aarav didn’t have the strength to protest, and what would he have done in the situation? Handcuffed as he was, it would all be useless. Then she produced a stethoscope and checked his heart and lungs during his laboured breathing. She clicked her tongue but said nothing.

From there, she moved to Ami. No one uttered a word. She completed the same checks on Ami then straightened. Her face was a cool mask. “They are damaged. You have not been taking proper care. I know you like to have your... fun, but this is unacceptable. I will give you half!” Aarav thought he saw rage contort her features for a moment, but then it was gone. Maybe he had imagined it in his delirium. It also sounded like he was going to be purchased. Surely this woman would take them out of here to somewhere better.

It was too much to hope, and he slumped a little. He could not allow himself to gain false hope. He had to be strong. For Ami! Ami slipped, arm outstretched above her, cuffed to the rail still. It almost looked like she was passed out or sleeping. Aarav knew better; she was still ill.

“The girl is sick and weak, and they both stink like they have been wallowing in their filth! I will give you half or speak to interested parties about your operation here. Don’t think I won’t! I tolerate your tastes because you bring in the goods but mark my words, you are just as replaceable as the rest of them!” the woman taps he heeled shoes on the tiled floor. Aarav noticed the black hair pulled back severely into a bun and wearing a suit of some kind, but he couldn’t make himself care. He just wanted to rest, to sleep.

Shoony grumbled under his breath, clearly displeased and glaring at Aarav in anger. Aarav winced in response, and he would feel that anger on his body soon enough. Please buy us; anything is better than another beating in the darkness.

It was a measure of his desperation that he wished Shoony would sell them like cattle.

“No deal! I will not sell to you at a loss. Someone else is coming by later, and they will give me full price!” Aarav heart sank. The beating was inevitable, it seemed. He would take the one that Shoony wanted to give him and also the one that he would dish out to Ami. She would not survive another. Double the beating would be worth protecting his precious Ami.

The woman cruelly smiled as though she had been expecting this response. Then she laughed, a high pitched cackle, before turning to the fat man with her. “Show him.” She said in what was probably the calmest tone she had used so far.

The fat man wiped some more sweat from his brow with a greasy handkerchief and presented a document. Through the thin paper, Aarav could see that it was an image. Shoony’s face visibly paled when he saw it, and his defiant tone changed to obsequies. “Take them, take them both. I will not stand in your way.”

Aarav could not help it. At those words, the boy let out a sigh of relief, Ami would be cared for, and he could stay with her. He had been praying that they not be separated, but this was better than he had expected. The woman turned at his sigh and smirked, then turned back to Shoony. “Good choice. Oh, and if you try anything, just know I have set this image to be sent to the appropriate people on a schedule unless I stop it personally!”

Shoony, who had been covertly motioning to Ek and Dho, visibly wilted at this; he was not one to think ahead, leading instead with his impulses. Aarav’s eyes tried to form tears of joy, but he was still dehydrated.

We might make it out of here.

The happiness in Aarav heart died when he saw the next look the woman gave him and Ami. He had thought Shoony had an evil stare, but the physical beatings were upfront, and he knew where he stood. Now looking into this woman’s dark eyes, he was unsure. He shivered and clutched at Ami, holding her close to him, protecting her from this woman’s dark gaze.

“Bachu, remove the handcuffs. Let’s go!” She spoke to the fat man who promptly leapt to obey. He snatched the keys from Shoony’s numb fingers, almost taking one off when the keychain loop caught on his finger. Shoony gasped, but the other two paid him no mind. Ek and Dho were both standing stock, still unsure what to do next.

The fat man unhooked them from the rail and handcuffed them to each other and him. Aarav helped Ami up while Bachu roughly got Aarav to his feet; the small boy winced at the pain. Then they were both escorted out. “Gently, Bachu,” the woman muttered. “I don’t want my merchandise damaged, as it is. We are going to have to work hard to get them in good condition thanks to...” she left the sentence unspoken and sneered at Shoony. Then she produced a bundle of notes and handed him a few. Aarav caught the barest glimpse of two thousand rupee notes in her hand.

“For expenses, and be lucky I am giving this much!” then she turned on her heels and followed Bachu guiding the children out of the mansion. Then she spoke to the children in front of her, “I have a lot of plans for you both. You may call me Mrs Carva!”

Summary: Aarav and Ami, having spent a week in the mansion's basement, are taken out, washed, and dressed for a prospective buyer. The buyer comes in and, using a combination of blackmail and persuasion, purchases the two children with an evil glint in her eye. She had plans for the two.

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Aarav jerked in bed and mumbled, “No, no. Please just...” and devolved into sobbing, rolling over; he started rumbling unnecessary breaths again, deep in sleep.