Sold to the King

Chapter 1.

The gates of the great walled city of Enkeli Tikkaat opened for the first time that morning.

That great city, the capital of the kingdom, was known for its beauty and diversity. Being close to the coast, its great harbors received merchants from all over the world, regardless of their race or what they sold. So by opening the large wooden gates facing the coast that bordered the city, every day at set times, the king's soldiers allowed the merchants to enter and sell their products.

The walled city of Enkeli Tikkaat was known for its large buildings made of stone and traditional architecture, beautiful houses and buildings stood throughout the large area within the walls that surrounded it. Being part of a nation and an eminently warlike continent, the city had large watchtowers that colorfully adorned the wall every few meters, where soldiers and exterminators stood guard and defended their home.

The interior of the city stood out for not having many green spaces, being a city that was built inside a wall, green spaces such as squares and parks were practically absent throughout its structure. While on the other hand, what abounded were churches and institutes of education to exterminators. Big and showy places that in their majority rendered cult to the red goddess.

And among all these immense structures, the king's palace stood out. A large building in the center of the city, right in front of the largest square. With windows full of stained glass in honor of the red goddess, and an entire facade painted with white gold, the palace of the Shah of Enkeli Tikkaat was the center of the whole city and where everything important happened.

That Friday morning, as usual, the main doors of the palace opened. To the curious and respectful gaze of all the villagers passing by, out from inside came a retinue from the royal palace, accompanied by exterminators of the highest class to escort them.

A man of average height and blond long hair was the most conspicuous of them all, the king's illegitimate brother, who acted as his right-hand man and chief servant. The young prince Jessy Magnusson looked at the entire population in the square with a certain indifference, before walking in the direction of the carriages that were waiting to take them to their destination.

Fridays were the busiest days in the city, since more by tradition than by order of the rulers, that was the day chosen by almost all the merchants to sell their most select products. From the most exotic fabrics to the most beautiful jewely, that was what everyone could see in the great market of the city, which was a few meters from the port and the entrance to the city by the coast.

And it was on Fridays when the servants of the crown would wander around these parts, visiting the great market and its surroundings, looking for good pieces of trade for the Shah, and making sure that none of the visitors broke the king's laws.

In charge of this task, as well as most of the important affairs of the kingdom, was Jessy. Stepping down from his carriage with the help of other servants, accompanied by the large retinue, this young man's skillful eyes took in all around him in no time at all.

It was mid-morning, so many merchants were still arriving from the high seas, unloading their goods and getting them into the market, and as they saw Jessy pass by them, they bowed before the king's first aide.

Jessy had been described as cold and pedantic on more than one occasion, punishing anyone who did not follow the laws of the realm without hesitation, and being very picky about purchases for the Shah, he was a malicious young man with a lot of power in the sight of all the villagers.

But in truth Jessy was neither one nor the other. The young man had been blessed to obtain his current position in the crown despite being a bastard son of the king, being adopted by his biological father, the former Shah, after the death of his first wife and after the birth of the current king; so Jessy had nothing but gratitude and devotion to the crown.

From a very young age, he began to take care of his little brother, a mischievous and playful prince, who preferred to be running around with pheasants in the royal gardens rather than practicing the sword and studying for the kingdom. Since then Jessy learned everything his brother refused to study, trained to become a great exterminator, and promised himself to take care of his brother and his father's kingdom with his life if necessary.

Jessy was quite thin and of a somewhat short stature, hiding his muscles with his royal robes. With a cold face masked by gold-rimmed glasses, and his blonde hair combed in a somewhat disheveled way and gathered in a ponytail behind his head. He was accompanied on all sides by a book of laws that he carried on his right arm and a sword with the symbol of the blood goddess on his waist. The young assistant of the king, who was stern to take care of his kingdom and meticulous to ensure perfection in his work, did not look at anyone as a superior, he looked at them as equals, whom he had to discipline to take care of his little brother, the Shah.

So continuing with his work, being helped by his servants who had been instructed with the same willpower as Jessy himself, they began to hand out punishments to the merchants who did not comply with the Shah's rules, sending his guard of exterminators to put them on the right track; congratulating, in the same way, those merchants who complied with all the rules.

—Good morning, your sublime highness —greeted an elderly woman, adorned with various jewels and brightly colored embroidered clothes— Don't you want some vibrant colored fabrics from the Brua River for the Shah?

Stopping his advance through the market, Jessy turned to see those beautiful fabrics that the old woman was offering him, bowing. Soft, silky fabrics, white throughout, with golden gold adorning small laces. Seeing the fabric Jessy thought it would be a good gift for one of the concubines of the Shah's harem, her brother's favorite to be more specific, to whom they could design a beautiful dress with which to dazzle her brother that night.

—It would be a pleasure, my lady —Jessy replied with a bow—. What is the cost in jade?

—It is a gift from the nomads of the Habim desert to his majesty the great Shah of the city of Enkeli Tikkaat, the great and benevolent King Jimmien —replied the old woman with the same benevolence.

Hearing the name of the tribe to which the woman belonged, Jessy could not help but wrinkle her nose and look at the woman with displeasure. That nomadic tribe belonging to the desert on the other side of the peninsula, on a journey of 50 days and 50 nights, was a warrior tribe of the lowest order, someone Jessy would rather not have in his city.

But remembering the laws of his brother and his late father, who wanted to see the city of Enkeli Tikkaat as a center of multiculturalism amid a place so ravaged by war, welcoming all those who wanted to give and receive for the Shah; Jessy could only smile and bow in thanks, letting his servants receive that beautiful cloth from the woman's hands and carry it with the rest of the purchases in the carriage.

—My lady is benevolent, the Shah thanks you for your kindness. If there is anything the crown can do for you, do not hesitate to seek me out at Enkeli's palace and I will attend to you at once —Jessy promised.

—My sublime one, there is no request I have for the Shah or you. But if in any way I would like to repay this poor old woman who has traveled for weeks adrift on a wooden beast, please look for my tribe at the slave sale pavilion in the marketplace —the woman requested, without raising her head in the form of his bow.

Smiling with the same charm, Jessy gave another bow and nodded his head, before finally going on his way and further into the marketplace.

His brother already had enough concubines in his harem, and for his part he had too many slaves in his possession. Thinking that perhaps he could buy some servants for the kitchens or to train in the royal guard as exterminators, Jessy began to walk in the direction of the slave pavilion as the old woman had asked.

The crown was known for its benevolence and affection towards the people, if the Shah promised something or his servants promised it on his behalf, it had to be fulfilled. The Magnusson family, with the blood of god in their veins and the fire of the blood goddess in their spirit, strove and did the impossible to fulfill all their promises. So fulfilling that precept that his father had tried so hard to instill in his two sons, Jessy decided to fulfill the wish of that old woman from such a despicable tribe.

Walking amid several stalls full of different products for trade, Jessy finally arrived at one of the largest pavilions of the entire market, where in front of him were stalls full of people chained and on pallets, slaves being sold.

Looking sideways at the vendors, many of whom were calling him to honor the Shah with the gift of a slave, Jessy finally located the tribe of the old woman who had given him that fine cloth in a slightly distant part of the market.

The members of the nomadic Habim tribe, with brown skin and almost translucent white hair, were easily recognizable by their loose and beautifully embroidered brightly colored clothes that women prepared for them. This tribe, feared in certain kingdoms, was known to be looters and violent exterminators, who moved from place to place in large wooden boats, taking whatever they wanted from the places they devastated without caring if they hurt women or children in their path.

Those savage men, who laughed and shouted in their language, kept silent and immediately bowed, watching as Jessy and his court approached them.

With his usual grace and politeness, the king's first aide imitated those men by bowing to them in greeting, waiting for one of them to make a pronouncement to see the slaves they had brought on that occasion.

—My sublime —greeted an older man, probably the husband of the old woman with the cloths—, you are welcome to our humble slave-selling store, we Shekes of the Habim tribe are grateful and honored by your illustrious visit.

"Shekes", the word by which the people of the south called the exterminators, made Jessy smile, who, leaving his usual book of laws in the hands of one of his servants, looked up and advanced towards the platform where the slaves were tied up.

On that occasion the tribe of Habim men had no interesting things, observing several women and children of different skin colors tied and gagged on the platform, nothing caught Jessy's attention at all. And seeing his judgmental and disinterested expression, which was very noticeable on the king's pedantic aide, one of the Habim men hurried over to Jessy to try to convince him to buy some of the women in his wares.

—Oh sublime, please look at those women, they have voluptuous bodies and are virgins, perfect for the Shah's harem —said the man, looking at Jessy expectantly.

—The king has enough concubines in his harem —Jessy replied dryly, turning his face to look at the vulgar man.

Meeting the man's black, deeply anxious eyes, Jessy wanted to cut off his head for his audacity. No one was allowed to see hid face, let alone the eyes of those who belonged to royalty, how could you look at those who have the blood of god running through their veins?

But calming herself and understanding that the man was just an uneducated savage, Jessy forced a new gentle smile on his face, taking the liberty to continue walking along with the tent's platform, observing the children that were being shown there.

—The children have a low price Sublime Prince, perfect for training in the Madrasah and becoming Shekes of the king's guard —the wild man insisted.

—These children are very weak —Jessy replied indifferently, looking at the bone-thin bodies of those little ones who wept silently—, they would die in the first week of training at the Madrasah, a bland jade expense.

Deciding to look at the women so as not to look rude, even though none of those slaves caught his attention, Jessy thought of leaving so as not to waste any more or his time. However, the Habim men, knowing that they would not look good in front of their possible next clients if they did not manage to sell something to the king, decided to play their last card.

—My Sublime Prince —said the elderly man who spoke for the first time— please allow my boldness.

Catching his attention, Jessy turned his face to look at the old man, who, understanding more about the royalty of that country, kept his head down without disrespecting the king's first aide.

—There is a gift that we Habim want to give to the Shah, a one-of-a-kind gift that the king will adore more than any other concubine in his harem.

—Do I speak another language? —Jessy asked, losing patience with those men, realizing that he was wasting his time miserably— The Shah does not need more women in his harem.

—Please my sublime one, just see her for a second.

Snorting with some annoyance, cursing himself for having accepted such vulgar clothes from that ridiculous old woman, Jessy thought about how to refuse, not intending to see any more slaves for that day.

—The Shah does not accept just any woman in his harem, even if she is very beautiful, the Shah demands spectacle —Jessy explained, trying to dissuade the man from continuing to beg—. If the woman I take to my brother does not know how to give him a good act before taking her to bed, the Shah will cut off the heads of everyone in your tribe.

Looking at each other nervously, the Habim men in whispers spoke words of fear to the older man who kept pleading before Jessy, begging him to stop for fear of dying at the arrogant prince's overbearing words. However, the old man, quite confident in what he had, did not back down.

—My Sublime One, I assure you that woman would be worth every penny —the old man assured him.

Looking at him amused, preferring not to comment further, Jessy was esceptical abour the old man words.

—She can put on an unforgettable show for the Shah —the old man promised.

Deciding to be benevolent for one last time that day, curious about the "show" the Habim men promised, Jessy simply nodded.

—You have captivated me with your words, old man —Jessy said with a smug tone in his voice—. You can bring that special woman you speak about. But if you fail to captivate me with your slave, then I will cut off your head right now in front of everyone else.