Gaiana stepped next to the auctioneer to show herself to the crowd. She removed her cowl, revealing her emerald bright eyes and fair auburn colored hair at the audience, drawing a breath of fascination from the crowd. Gaiana sighed. She knew she had that effect on people, which was why she covered her head whenever she went outside.
There was something about her own exoticism that made her seem untouchable. The freckles on her cheeks highlighted how rare of a person she was. While they could typically be seen as a bad omen to Greeks, it made most men and woman more drawn to her. Like a creature to be tamed, the looks hardened her. Which was exactly why she was always hard on Sophus and Archos, and why they both constantly tried protecting her from the world.
"Two Drachma!" A man in the crowd said. The auctioneer didn't even have to say anything this time, men in the crowd had already competing for her possession as they called out higher numbers. Her beauty was about to serve the family very well, but Gaiana really wished that wasn't the case.
"Hold your heals," the auctioneer said smiling. The fat man looked onto the crowd like he was hungry for food. "This girl isn't just for pleasure. She might be as ripe as a blossom, but she's also a philosopher thinker. She reads and writes in Greek, knows mathematics and poetry. Plays string and wind instruments. Delivers babies and reads stories to children, she's good in the art of merchandise sales, knows how to weave a fine blanket, and all while still being completely docile for whatever a man desires!"
The crowd nodded their head in approval, to which Gaiana only rolled her eyes. The auctioneer would get a portion amount of however much she was sold for, so it was in his best interest to make her as desirable as possible. It was quite a pitch. He did a well job to set Gaiana up for a higher price, using her lifelong skills to the his own advantage. Too bad it disgusted her.
The crowd regained the energy that they had before. "Seven Drachma," someone else called out.
"Eight Drachma," another man said.
It went up for a bit, after a long pause, another man said "eleven Drachma!"
Kyros whispered from next to her, "not as good as my price, am I right?"
Gaiana elbowed the boy, "shut the fuck up."
Kyro's head cocked back, shocked that a girl could even speak in such language.
The crowd fell quieter, with some contemplating whether they should match that price. In a single instant, Nereus called out, "thirty Drachma."
Kyros frowned as Gaiana's eyes widened. "Shit," they both said.
Gaiana's hand clutched at the shiv beneath her tunic. Swallowing, she said to herself, 'this is it.' She wouldn't let that man touch her. If he was her master, she'd run away the moment the chance came.
"So this is how I die," Gaiana whispered.
Another voice rose from the crowd. "Forty Drachma."
All heads turned. It was Zora. She was quiet for most of the drama, but she didn't hesitate to outbid the Spartan captain.
Even Nereus stared at the doctor in complete shock. Since when could a Macedonian hermit even afford such coinage? The mysterious man suddenly became even more mysterious.
Gaiana swallowed, 'wait, am I going to be Zora's pet? Would he kill me?'
Gaiana rolled the shiv into her tunic, making it poke herself as she did. She didn't truly know what Zora wanted from her. All she could do was assume the worst.
A third voice rose from the crowd. "Fifty Drachma."
Heads turned again to the sound of it. At the very edge of the crowd, a charcoal skinned man had been playing a flute through most of the auction. The flute had come to an abrupt stop just so he could call out his price for Gaiana.
He was tall and bold. Masculine with a toned warrior's body, he wore no shirt which was typical for Egyptian travelers. Although he was darker-skinned than most merchants south of the Mediterranean, the man was undoubtedly Egyptian in his style of tunic and jewelry. Often times called Nubian or Aethiopian, it was rare to see that race of people in the markets of Greece.
Bald headed, the most distinguishable features to him was the muscular anatomy and golden jewels on his ears and lips. The Nubian had been quiet all day. He played his instrument for himself and others all day long, but Gaiana's presence broke that silence. The powerful man stared directly at Gaiana. His eyes were hard, like he was intensely determined to own her.
She swallowed. She wasn't sure who she wanted to go with anymore. Nereus, Zora, or the mysterious stranger from Egypt?
The crowd nearly gasped at the amount he called out. Fifty Drachma was worth five male slaves, not one young girl. This event suddenly became an auction only worthy for aristocrats.
Nereus stared at the Nubian with his mouth agape. The witch doctor, and a foreign man had just outbid him. Nereus clenched his fists in fury, and shouted out, "sixty Drachma!"
Zora and the Nubian both yelled, "seventy Drachma!"
Nereus looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Nereus called out, "ninety Drachma."
"One hundred Drachma," the Nubian yelled alone. He pulled out his satchel and dumped his golden objects to the ground. "As well as all of my life's possessions."
Inside the satchel were golden statues. Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian gems and figurines. Seemingly collected from around the world, each treasure had a level of mystique to them that no Greek had ever seen. The foreign man had clearly collected them from his distant travels, and he was going to trade it all for a single girl.
As a final note he said, "it's precisely one thousand grams in gold. I'll give you all of this, as well as the one hundred Drachma, for the girl's freedom."
Freedom, Gaiana could barely believe it. He was going to free her.
Nereus only stared at the man in shock. The amount he had displayed could've been worth a fleet of ships. It was at that moment Nereus knew he was beat. He lowered his head, ashamed to witness his own defeat.
The auctioneer's face was now flustered. He'd never seen so much gold before in his life.
Gaiana's mind was suddenly racing. 'What did this man want with me? Sexual slavery? An apprentice? A traveler?' He'd no doubt take her out of Athens, but for what purpose could he have for a little girl? There were plenty of other slaves, prettier and more skilled than her, why spend so much on just her?
Zora called out in a raspier tone, "I'll match that. And offer all of my property for the girl."
The crowd stared at Zora in shock. There were murmurs in the crowd, 'since when did a non-Greek own Greek soil?' Zora stepped forward and displayed a scroll kept in his own satchel. The auctioneer looked at the letters. His eyes widened. "This is... The rights to the silver mines from the east."
"I'm a bit of an profiteer," Zora scoffed. "How else could I afford this much? I'll give her master all of these mining rights, in exchange for her ownership."
Zora glanced over at the other man, "unless, you can beat that by having a kingdom to trade for her."
The towering man nearly growled at her, but he stayed quiet as he heard the auctioneer's final say. The auctioneer said to Zora, "these documents... They're legitimate. Stamped by the Archon himself. And you're going to trade them, for her?"
He said it with such harsh disbelief, as though going through with this trade would've been a massive mistake on Zora's part. Zora only nodded, "some things are worth more than treasure."
The Nubian replied, "like power."
Zora laughed in his raspy tone, "precisely."
The two of them stared at the auctioneer and waited for the final call. The whole crowd had their breathes held as he was about to make the final decision. "Well, Zora," the auctioneer said, extremely pleased after scanning the documents. "It looks like Gaiana is yours."
The foreign men punched a fist into a stool, and marched away. He took his belongings and satchel, without even looking back at Gaiana as he left.
Gaiana was almost out of breathe. Despite having no say in it, the competition was an adrenaline rush for her. 'What does he want from me?' She suddenly felt a crippling fear as her heart became sporadic. Zora wanted something from her, and all she knew was that Zora couldn't be trusted.
'I'd rather die then be yours.' Gaiana stepped back from the rest of them. Her feet wanted to move, but she didn't trust that she could run fast enough. With the shiv squeezed within her tunic, she said, "I... Don't want to be yours."
The others stared at her. Zora spoke in a harsher tone, "you don't have say on the matter."
Gaiana held the shiv tightly. "I might have some say."
At that instant, a yell from the market crowd came out, "wait! You can't sell her!"
Heads turned in its direction. It was Sophus, he was out of breathe, panting as he approached all three of them. He looked at Zora, and gave a long stare at Gaiana. With a nod, Sophus pulled out a newly fashioned scroll and showed it to the auctioneer.
"This, is a document proving that Gaiana is an Athenian citizen. It goes back five generations, long enough to prove that she isn't of barbarian blood. And under Greek and Athenian law, Greeks cannot be sold into slavery."
The three of them fell silent. The auctioneer looked at his document to confirm the stamps. "Well," he said with a twitch in his mouth, "no offense boy, but these could easily be forged."
The auctioneer wanted a share Zora's wealth, as promised by Archos. Sophus said, "which is why I've also brought the Magistrate here."
Sophus raised his arm still panting. He presented one of the city magistrates walking through the crowd behind him. The elected official nodded at the auctioneer, "she cannot be sold, All the proof is there. It is both illegal and immoral to enslave a Greek citizen."
Gaiana's eyes widened larger than they'd ever been. She instantly realized what had happened. Sophus couldn't afford to buy Gaiana's freedom, so he faked her freedom. He at least had enough to bribe the city official into forging documents that skewed in her favor. By his own desperation and scoundrel-like thinking, Sophus had given Gaiana her freedom.
The auctioneer looked at the magistrate, shaking his head at his with a steep disappointment. "Very well, the law states Greeks cannot be sold to non-Greeks. Therefore, neither Zora nor the Egyptian can buy Gaiana."
Zora growled aloud. Without saying a word, he turned around and left the crowd in silence. Gaiana dropped to her knees and began crying. Sophus held her as she cried, "please don't cry, you're not pretty when you're crying."
"These are tears of joy," Gaiana gasped deeply as her hands trembled. She felt fulfilled for the first time in her life. "I can't believe it... I'm finally free."