Thread: Princess & Alchemist of the Bang (Fancy_Sakura)

Move along you. A gem like you will be worth quite a pretty penny once we're through training you. The gruff voice came from a burly young man, holding the rope which attached to a tight leather collar wrapped around the young woman's neck. Along with another strong rope around her arms, it was guaranteed that she wouldn't be able to get away anytime soon. She didn't bother to look up at the man, but she slowly moved to her feet, knowing already that they'd get really rough with their tugging if she stayed put. Looking around her, she could see a couple other woman being held, both humans. Probably they had been caught in a similar manner as she had, or they had simply waited for them to be alone before making their move. It was hard to tell with lowlifes like slavers. They targeted young women with the intent of capturing them, training them, and selling them off to anyone with enough cash. It was a sick business which had been on a steady rise as of late, though this was an issue that only a selected few knew about, particularly nobles. This was a growing issue with the disappearance of young women, and citizens usually turned to the kingdoms to do something of it, mainly because they might have been the only ones capable of the job. The problem with this was that some kingdoms were working with these slavers or were buyers. If that were the case, they could easily argue that taking them into the kingdom had these women leading better lives. It was a controversial topic that didn't seem like it would die off anytime soon either. This was a rather unfortunate situation for this particular woman. She had been described as a 'gem' mainly for her beauty as well as being a neko, which were very common in this particular area. The nearby kingdom under Marcus Elsimaral consisted of a neko royal family. And while these slavers didn't know it, this little gem of theirs was even more valuable then they would think. Why? They had unknowingly captured the young princess herself. Most of the girls captured had not given their names to the slavers, and she was no different. She was Princess Clarrise Vira Elsimaral, 19 years old. As to how she had even ended up in this situation, that was quite a story indeed. Back in her kingdom earlier that morning, Princess Clarisse or Claire as some servants would call her was set to be married. Lately, their palace had received numerous threats of an all-out invasion from the local orc clan. There had been numerous incidents between the kingdoms, involving attacks from both sides, intercepting traffic to and from the palace, and so on. With tensions high and both sides preparing for war, Clarisse's father and the orc's war-chief, Gal'thul, had met in order to try and come up with some sort of agreement. Both sides had agreed that they would prefer to avoid a fight, but with how things were, it was hard enough trying to hold back their forces. It took a while on her father's side to agree to Gal'thul's proposal to marry Clarisse as a motion to ease tensions between them. There was a great deal of negative reaction to this, but none had come more from Clarisse herself. She had not even been thinking of marriage as of late, especially since they were in no rush to have an heir to the throne. Her father was still perfectly healthy after all. That, and she could not get over how unpleasant her husband would be. She could not bear to imagine that she would marry such a vulgar creature that had given their people so much trouble, and she figured that he would try to do some unsightly things to her. Despite her protests, the marriage was set to take place the next day which was the current day early morning. Clarisse had been woken up early to prepare, dress and all. She could bear the thought of having to dress up with such a husband as Gal'thul. She knew her father was set on this, but she would not accept it. She could not accept it! Upon returning to the room she was preparing in, they would find only her dress and other royal wear, along with a few locks of her hair which had been quickly cut off while nobody was around. She had also made sure to search through some of her servant's clothing, finding some that fit her before she made her escape. Seeing as most of the guards were stationed around the main hall, she had made sure to stay clear of that area, taking the long trip around the castle to one of the side entrances. From there she had run off a few miles to the thick forest. It had dawned on her during her escape that she hadn't exactly thought about what she would do from there. She grumbled a bit in frustration, taking some time to think alone in the forest. She knew it wouldn't be long before both parties would come to pursue her, neither side providing a good outcome for her. If she were caught by her kingdom, they would make sure the ceremony went through. On the other hand, she assumed things would not go about as well with the orcs. Plus, her legs were rather exhausted from the run, and they would catch up to her easily upon discovering she wasn't there. She almost wished she had taken a risk in hiding in the villages. Surely with the majority against the marriage they would keep her safe, but it was only a matter of time before she was found there. She couldn't help but let out a little cry of frustration, but she was then hoping that she hadn't done that. Being that she was a neko, her senses were much more acute than say humans. She had picked up on footsteps, as well as some voices which were quickly heading for her. Knowing her error, she tried to avoid this group as best she could, but she was inevitably surrounded and restrained by these slavers, who just happened to be passing through that area. Of course she had resisted, but she wasn't going to be getting out of this anytime soon. With another firm tug of the rope, they started to make their move away from the kingdom. It was surprisingly peaceful despite how hectic things must have been. She would have preferred to enjoy this peace under different circumstances. She could see hear one of the other women sobbing softly, but she didn't really pay any mind. Her sobbing did accompany Clarisse for most of their walk, and it wasn't until they were getting closer to another village did she stop. Clarisse recognized this village, which was just outside their borders. Although it was unlikely, she was hoping for a chance to run off into the village. She knew that if she could at least make it there with a great deal of individuals about, she had a chance of them fighting off the slavers, along with the possibility of helping out the other girls. As patient more eager really as she was, the opportunity would not reveal itself. The only good thing she could see from this was that she was heading away from home, but she was still disgusted with the fact that she was captured. She assumed that they were headed off to a particular area which served as their hideout, where they were trained and prepared for selling. She'd rather not see the end of the journey there, but being bought was not going to be pleasant either. She felt a new sense of annoyance building up inside her at the thought of being purchased. To think that she, Princess Clarisse Vira Elsimaral would suddenly be demoted to a measly servant. Then again, there may have been some good things that came out of it. Back at the kingdom, she had quickly gotten annoyed with the fact that she could not do anything for herself. Her father had insisted that she allow the servants to tend to her needs, but there were times that it got out of hand. Especially on a day like today where it was a big deal and she had to dress up nicely! fitting into the dress did require help, but she could not even take a bath alone! Sometimes she wanted to step into the kitchen to prepare something herself, but that was not for her to decide. Then again, the likelihood that she would get a horrid 'Master' she would want to bite her tongue off if she had to address anyone like that was very high. She did not want to go through with this 'training' as she feared that she would not turn out the same after it. It may have been easier to escape from her Master if she was bought however. That may have been her only chance. For now, she'd try to wiggle her way out of this before they reached their destination. Escaping with her dignity would certainly be better than being purchased.