Chapter 4: Voices

 "Come with us." One of the two men ordered her with a voice that tried its best to sound commanding, yet she only responded with a stare coming from her round black eyes.It must've been the way one of the men had (reluctantly) neared her and was taking her away to meet Barak, or maybe it was the fact that she was going to leave - either way, Oak was upset at the thought of her leaving. His face may have been frozen into an unmoving black expression, but his eyes do not lie. He didn't like it.Shard stood up from the grass and walked after the grown men. It only took a few steps before Oak stood up himself to follow and hold on to Shard's dress, and she turned to reassure him, but she knew that her smile wouldn't be able to go that far.They stared at each other eye-to-eye, both of them unyielding and silently fighting for the other to understand what they wanted to happen.One of the men clicked their tongue with impatience, "Hey, keep moving!" He walked towards the children and held onto Shard's shoulder, attempting to pull her away. But before he could even use an ounce of his strength, his eyes met with Oak's golden glare and flinches. His hands immediately let go of Shard before coughing to hide his fear.Oak took one last look at Shard who still had a small smile on her face, before letting her go to follow the men inside of the building.He had to trust her. The metal door to the building opened to the sight of a lavish man standing in the middle of the room with Barak standing behind him. The light was dim yet she could see the wide, sharp smile the man had on his face, it unnerved her how his smile touched his eyes.As Shard scanned the room she realized that this man wasn't at all on his own. Physically, yes, but people should learn to sense things beyond what they can't see. Surrounded by rough guards of the black market but none of his own, he stood tall and confident, he felt bigger than Barak who eyed him from behind.'come' a new voice whispered in an echo. It was deep and rough, the words would repeat through a growl like an animal - a monster. It sounded like death.She felt heavy and her feet felt as if they were glued to the cold stone floor. Her eyes were still wide and unnerving, a small and unnoticeable teal hue forming from her pupils.'Go go' Her own voices urged and they didn't rest, they only grew louder - desperate even. They were begging her, and even the new addition played along, they all sounded like an echoing choir. "Shard." She quickly returned her attention to the men in front of her, looking past the tall man to see Barak with his right hand reaching out to her, "Why don't you come over." Taking a few moments to respond, she took slow steps toward the bear-like man before taking his hand and he led her in front of the customer.The senile-looking man leaned forward to meet Shard's eyes, smile still intact but now his eyes were wide open as if he was surprised. "Ho ho hooo! What a sweet child~" he hummed in satisfaction "You have quite the lovely eyes." His eyes then narrowed and his smile shrunk into something more gentle.Despite Shard's insistent personal thoughts to not fall for what she is sure to be a manipulative trick, her body relaxed and the tiny thought of him being good grew from the tiny crevices of her mind.A satisfied, giggling hum came from the man and patted her hair "You'll get to know my name soon, for now, I'll give you a wish before I take you away is that alright?" He sang, there was no other answer for Shard, she could only say yes but she hesitated and the man quickly took action. "I promise that whatever you wish for will come true, there is nothing in this world I can't not get. My words are like law, you see." His eyes widened and Barak's face crumpled into a scowl.[Nobles.] He thought.Shard's eyes looked past the man and eyed the men who surrounded them, and the man sighed with a smile. "Leave." He ordered. "That order would be impossible to follow, dearest customer," Barak responded firmly. "How come? You have working feet don't you?" "I'm afraid noble orders have no effect here, and due to certain undisclosed circumstances we can't leave you with the product," Barak said through clenched teeth.The man clicked his tongue and brushed back his fluffy, brown hair with his fingers. He lost this time.Shard looked back at the man in front of her and watched as he rolled his eyes, she then stepped forward which had Barak flinch, his big hands clenching into a fist.Everyone else was unsure if she did whisper something to him, they couldn't hear a single breath from her even if they could see her mouth move.The moment Shard stopped whispering, everyone else in the room had cold sweat forming on their forehead and they felt frozen from where they stood. The senile, psychotic smile returned on the man's face, and it didn't help in improving the mood of the slave traders. "Well then, I understand." The man said in a low, gentle, and affectionate voice. An act that unnerved most. "Your conditions will be met well, child." The man whispered backShard stayed indifferent towards the man, she relayed what she wanted from him and in turn, she'll do what he wants. If the voices in her head trusted the man who stood in front of her, then she'd have to trust them."Well then, my adorable doll, let us walk out of this dingy, dusty, and stinky stone room!" The man had cheered, standing very exaggeratedly as he tried to lead Shard to the door to her freedom. However, even the black market has its rules.Barak stood in front of the nobleman and Shard, his eyes glancing over the child and onto the adult man who seemed too eager to have her "I'm afraid it is custom to leave the . . ." He took in a sharp breath "product . . . until all contracts have been signed."The man clicked his tongue so fast in response that it caught Barak off-guard, his eyes widened and his jaw clenched. However, he caught himself in the act just as quickly as the customer clicked his tongue. "It's quite surprising to see rules on an illegal site, don't you think so too, my clear-eyed friend?" The man turned to face Shard who could care less and was ready to go back to her family. "It's mind-boggling and infuriating." He smiled, clearly spitting venom at the bear-like man despite not looking at him. A sigh then escaped his mouth "Well then, I expect the darling next to me after our meeting, Barak." He shrugged his shoulders as he walked past him.Barak was holding on to the last thread of patience he had left and a big sigh had escaped his mouth while he pinched the bridge of his nose. He then looked back at Shard who had no thoughts behind her eyes, before following his customer. Shard watched as both the strange man and Barak moved out of the stone room and the others followed, closing the door behind them and letting the brighter light that peeked into the room disappear.The whole time the adults had been talking none of the words had gone through her head. The insistent echoing and babbling of the voices in her head repeating the same cheers again and again had buzzed the the thoughts off her head. Saying the word yes again and again.That was until the adults had gone out of the room that the yes's turned to no's, toned with anger and frustration.The voice's vocabulary seemed limited to her, only saying a few at a time. One a voice of a woman, another a voice of a big man, only forming a sentence when one speaks after the other. Not that she had acknowledged much of their presence, but she was glad she had decided to listen to them this time. If the man was true to his words, he could help them get out.