Captivity among the elves was something that many horror stories were told of. Rumors of inhumane treatment of prisoners were abound. How they killed humans without a second thought for it, how they tortured them for sport, how they treated them like animals. Mira could confirm that last one at the very least. She hadn’t personally *seen* the other two but so far she didn’t have reason to doubt it. 

After the first evening, their cage had a few more additions given to it the next day before being loaded onto a wagon. The new faces were commoners from the city mostly. From what she understood, at the same time the battle had happened, Elsira had sent over agents skilled in magic to undermine the city’s defenses. It had evidently been a trivial affair to handle the guards and the gates. They had cut the head off of any leadership before storming in and taking the place. It had been decisive, efficient, and brutal. No amount of preparation could have readied them for that. 

Mira was leaning against the bars of the cage, groaning as she rubbed at her groaning stomach. They weren’t exactly well fed. Or taken care of much at all for that matter. Their erstwhile captor, the freckled redhead elf, occasionally lowered in a bowl of water that they basically had to kneel at and use like a trough. She also offered them bits of bread that served as their food. She gave them the bare basics to survive whenever she found it necessary. Which was usually once or twice a day. It was quite brutal.

“You know, rather wish I had taken that offer of more wine.” The noblewoman mused. 

Her maid, Diane, had rather faithfully remained at her side even through all this. Despite the desperate situation Mira was trying, trying very hard, to keep people as hopeful and coordinated as possible. Everyone was looking for some kind of guidance and Mira did her best. She was a noblewoman, no matter what these monsters couldn’t take that from her. The blonde haired maid let out a tired little laugh. 

“Most likely would have made the night more tolerable, my lady.” The maid allowed with some grim humor. 

“Quite, if I knew it would be my last drink of wine I’d have downed the whole bottle.” Indeed, it probably would be. A grim way to think about it truly. 

The road under them rumbled as the carriage rolled over stones along cobbled paths. There was no way to know where they were going, the wagon was covered after all. They were unwilling passengers on a road that surely led somewhere but there were only guesses as to where. They had been on the road for a few days at the very least. A few days of particularly awful treatment from their captor. 

Her eyes fell upon a few men that were trying to work at bending the bars in a section of the cage. For them the bars were thick, easily as thick as a person’s leg and quite close together. As such most knew there was no way they were going to bend or break those bars. Didn’t stop people from trying. Unfortunately Mira could tell this place was pretty much escape proof for them. The elves likely had dealt with humans escaping cages enough to have perfected cages for holding them. 

The day rolled on until the wagon stopped. Periodic stops were common when their captor wanted to take breaks. Such as right now when she stood from the driver seat beyond and stretched, stepping into the covered part of her wagon. The ground quivered ever so under her steps as she walked closer to their cage, humming as she did. People squeaked and jumped away from the cage bars as her steps swung into view, sandal clad feet stomping about beyond. She stepped past them and for another crate further above, opening it up to remove some rations for lunch. 

“So, what do you think is going to happen, hmm? Once we get where we are going I mean.” Mira asked her maid. Well, former maid now she supposed. She wasn’t much of a great lady at this scale. 

Diane paused as though considering a tactful way to answer the question. In the end she seemed to consider tact rather pointless. “This woman is clearly a merchant, my lady. I’d say it's highly likely we’ll be sold once we get wherever. We're a product essentially.” 

Mira… suspected the same honestly though she hadn’t wanted to vocalize it. The woman very clearly was a merchant transporting goods. They were included with those goods. She eyed up the towering elf beyond the cage as she sat down on a crate across from them, munching away at some manner of salted pork. She didn’t seem to have a care in the world and she certainly didn’t care if there were some squeaks of hate and anger from the cage. Which there always were from some people. 

“Hey! HEY! Look down here you damn knife eared bitch! You can’t do this to us!”

“Please, I’m begging you, I’m no one important please just let me go!”

“Why are you doing this!? What did we ever do to you!?” 

It was a repeated series of statements and questions. Mira had shouted them as well on the first day. She hadn’t bothered after seeing how indifferent the woman was to them. To her, it was like heeding the squeaks of mice in a cage perhaps. A chilling prospect if ever there was one. An utterly inhuman one as well. 

The redhead let out a slight yawn between bites and slid her feet from her sandals. The cage shook as her bare heels thunked down atop it on the solid metal door above, no bars making up the ceiling. She crossed her feet at the ankles and used their cage as her footstool, continuing her lunch without interruption. Some had fallen over from the impact, while others managed to maintain balance. Others, like Mira and Diane, had been seated so it was jarring but little else. 

Everyone in the cage watched her warily, carefully, as though fearful to tempt her mood and her wrath. She had rather demonstrated that a simple gesture from her, just setting her foot down, was enough to completely shake their world. It was the gulf that had become stark in what they were and what she was. Mira swallowed thickly as she regarded the woman on high. Compared to them she might as well have been a deity of old. She could kill the lot of them and it would have taken no effort at all. Yet instead of smug or laughter or anything, it was indifference. To her they were just something she was transporting. At least the assassin that had come for Mira and the castle had been willing to engage them. The redhead merchant wasn’t. 

After a few more minutes she finished chewing her salted pork and stood back up, sliding on her sandals and walking back to the front of the wagon to drive it onward again. No one quite made a noise until they were sure they were moving again. There was relief in the air, the tension from her slamming her foot down on their prison evaporating all at once. Mira felt it as well, felt the relief of feeling like they had avoided the edge of a blade somehow. Perhaps the motion had just been casual, perhaps it had been a warning. Only the redhead elf knew. 

“Perhaps getting where we are going might not be as dangerous as this after all.” She mused. 

“Perhaps. Perhaps not, my lady. We’ll only know when we get there.” Diane said gravely. 

A few more days came and went, attempts at escape were attempted and were ultimately unable to make any ground. They were still fed their slim diet and really, that alone took the fight out of so many. Mira included. She was just… so hungry. She could barely think straight at times from the sheer hunger of it. Fights had broken out at times, people pushing others out of the way so they could get more food. It was a brutal thing, resulting in a couple of people having broken arms or noses. 

The noblewoman was looking thinner than before, so were many others. That didn’t seem to bother their jailer as she fed them the same meager amount no matter how much they begged her otherwise. At least they did have plenty of water when she lowered the basin, a minor blessing even if bathing was out of the question. It was a miserable existence, utterly and completely dreadful. 

Yet it seemed to be coming to a close as there were sounds of commotion outside. More voices. Many voices. The roads the wagon rumbled down became less rough and vastly more smooth. Mira suspected they had reached some manner of elven settlement. Something confirmed when the redhead climbed for a bit and then returned and started offloading cargo. That injected some life into everyone at least as some pushed against the bars to try and catch glimpses. 

Soon enough the hands of the redhead came down on either side of the cage and hoisted it up through the air, Mira grunting as she was tossed from her position and landed atop Diane and another woman. There were others in their position, roughly lugged around like so much cargo. The woman was walking and taking them out of the wagon and… into some kind of building. The inside of the building had a number of goods arrayed around it, jewelry, clothing, produce, it was a rather large shop all told. A general store perhaps. 

They were transported over to a long shelf and upon that shelf were other cages. Cages with humans in them. The redhead handed them off to another elf, a blonde busty woman with an apron on and spoke some words to her rapidly before offering a wave. The blonde elf lifted the cage up to her eyes and looked inside, gazing over their forms at length. She clicked her tongue ever so. 

“Talsa really is lackluster about her feedings. Well, most of you seem intact at least.” She mused in common. 

She set the cage down on a table near the shelf and opened up the top of it, leaning in and raking her blue eyes across them. Mira didn’t feel any warmth from those sapphire orbs. It was rather the eye of a woman that was inspecting a product. She swallowed thickly, unsure what the judgment would be and what that meant for them. 

“Hmm… you.” She reached down and plucked up a rather buxom brunette woman, the woman screaming as she was lifted out by pale soft fingers. “And you.” She lifted a strong looking man up by the leg and deposited him on her palm with the woman. “Annnd… you.” 

Her fingers came down toward Mira and her heart started to race. Only they didn’t grab Mira. “My Lady, help me!” 

“Diane!” Mira stood and gripped the wrist of her maid, trying to hold onto her and prevent her from being lifted up into the air. The servant had a look of panic wrote across her face. 

The blonde elf rolled her eyes. “No, no, not you. Too old.” She sighed. She idly shook her hand and the sheer force of it was enough Mira lost her grip, rolling across the metal floor of the cage and groaning as she laid out. Diane was pulled the rest of the way, screaming as she was dropped down onto the elven woman’s palm. 

“Three suitable for pets at least. Think Lady Yvela mentioned looking for some the other day.” She mused aloud. 

She shoved the three of them into the pocket of her apron. They were the chosen ones it seemed. Mira coughed and sputtered, black spots dancing before her eyes from the pain of the impact. She looked out helplessly as Diane was dropped down into the elven woman’s apron. The last thing from her life as a noblewoman really that she recognized. Snatched away with the ease one would pluck a grape from the vine. 

The blonde shut the top of the cage and latched it before hoisting it up to the shelf above. On either side of them were cages of other humans, some more broken looking than others. Mira looked at their neighbors and then looked out as the blonde woman was walking away. She pushed against the bars, tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched her depart. What did that mean for the rest of them? What was this? 

Though she couldn’t read or see it, above the shelf was a sign written in elven. It read: Bulk Humans, Freshly Caught! 10 Gold Pieces per Cage!