“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves” 

- Abraham Lincoln, Complete Works - Volume XII

"This one is pretty," the women said, grinning through her light purple veil as she stared at the brown-haired girl, "For an Other, that is." The man hummed as he turned to look at the girl she was pointing to, his lips curving to a smile. "Ah, that one. Yes, she is quite the desert rose, isn't she? Some of my men fell under her spell as they were capturing her. Too bad she had a rebellious spirit. One day into the journey and they were already feeding her some stems," he explained.

The girl sat on the floor at the corner of the cell, her clothes stained with dirt and a little blood as she rocked herself back and forth, murmuring incoherent words under her breath. Her eyes were bloodshot, red from crying. Every night she would have these graphic nightmares that caused her to wake up screaming till one of the men would barge in and slap her silent. The women peered closer through the bars of the chamber, watching the girl with curious eyes. "How long has she been on the stems?" the women questioned. "Several days," the man answered, pointing at the girl with his thick, greasy fingers, "She was passed out for a whole day before she gained consciousness again. Her companions woke up a few hours before she did. We gave them some stem as well."

"And her companions? Where are they?" the woman asked as she looked around at the other cells. "Those two sitting in the cell beside her's," the man answered as he led the women to the neighboring holding chamber, "That first one with the white hair gave us some trouble so we had to beat him a few times on our way back. The brown-haired one was knocked out pretty quick when we caught them, so he wasn't an issue. Even if he did put up a fight, his body is so lanky and thin he wouldn't be able to do much."

The white-haired boy stared at the women, his head tilting as he watched her movements carefully. His violet eyes curved up at the ends, contrasting enchantingly against his pale skin and locks. Even with dirt crusting on his face, he still looked stunning. He then leaned over and whispered to the brown-haired boy, who was also eying the women with caution. While the pale, cat-like boy stared at her with inquisitiveness, the other had a very blank, stoic expression on his face. He whispered back to the white-haired boy, whose eyes widened before he shakily gripped the other boy's thin arm. The women leaned in close to the bars, gasping when she saw how blue the brown-haired boy's right eye was. "All of them are so beautiful," she whispered to the man who began laughing in delight at her reaction. "They're very exotic. Take a look at the arms of these two. They have some kind of branding on them already. I've been informed that the White one is most likely from a cave dwelling tribe, while the other is from a forest tribe." 

"And the girl?" the women inquired. "From a desert tribe, same as usual. But as you've seen, she is enchantingly attractive." The women pulled her veil away from her face slightly to peek at all three of them, a smile forming on her lips. "They all are. I'll take them," she said. The grubby man chuckled loudly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Are you sure? The total cost of all three of them would come to a total of seventy thousand-" "I said, I'll take them. Money is no object for a person of my status," the woman hissed, shooting the man a deadly glare before placing her veil back in front of her face. "O-Of course, my lady. Forgive me. I shall get them ready and send them to your household shortly."

The stout man bowed his head lowly before dashing off to fetch the keys to the cells. Once he was gone, the women strolled back to the girl's cell, her eyes narrowing as she watched the girl lift her head and look at her. "Hello there," the woman's velvety voice called, "My name is Adena. What is your name?" The brown-haired girl pulled her legs in closer to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as she stared at the women silently. "Do you not remember your name?" Adena asked, brow raised as she waited for an answer. After a few seconds, the girl looked down at her feet and shook her head slowly. The woman's head perked up in interest at her response. "Really? What do you remember then?"

The girl shifted uncomfortably, looking over to her right as she pointed to the cell beside hers towards the two boys. "Ah," Adena hummed, "You remember them. Who are they to you?" "Friends..." the girl mumbled almost inaudibly to the women, nudging a spot of dirt off her face with her shoulder. "You're friends?" Adena echoed, "Well, you and your friends are going to be coming with me soon. I'm going to take you to where I live, and you will be working there. Understood?" The girl nodded her head quietly, eyes drooping back to the dirty ground. "I'm going to have to name the three of you as well," the women sighed, "Let me see... Your name is Abda." The girl's eyes rose to meet Adena's. "Abda...?" she whispered, testing the way the name slipped off her tongue. Adena nodded with a grin. "That's right, Abda. Now, you with the white hair, you shall be called Fahd. And you with the brown hair shall be called Jal. Okay?"

The white-haired boy, Fahd, tugged on the arm of the brown-haired one, Jal, who glanced over at the women, stone cold face as he nodded once, earning a squeal from Adena. "The three of you are adorable!" she gushed, "I can't wait to take you home with me! Oh my goodness, and just think about how you could be bred! You're all so beautiful; your kids would sell for so much! What an investment." Jal's eyes looked over at Abda, who looked back at him with nervous eyes as she gripped her crossed arms. Fahd peeked over the other boy's shoulder and pursed his lips. Her breathing became calmer as she stared at Jal and Fahd. There was something about the two of them that settled her nerves. She couldn't really explain it. Adena observed the dynamic between the three of them and smiled to herself. "I can already tell that you three are going to be very special Others."

"My lady," the greasy man called as he stomped his way back down into the holding area, "We shall transfer them to your household shortly. Do you have collars for them already?" He pulled out a large black key chain from his pocket and searched through the jingling metal till he found the correct key. Adena nodded and hummed, "Yes I do. I had a bulk of collars made yesterday. You know how fast the tanners work these days." The metal door creaked open as the man flung the barred door open, walking into the cell and unlocking the metal chain which was attached to the neck of Abda. He held it steadily as he pulled the girl through the doorway, handing the chain over to Adena. "They probably didn't want to disappoint you. Being the Chief's wife must have perks," he snickered as he began unlocking Fahd and Jal from their cell. Adena shrugged her shoulders as she ran her fingers through Abda's brown hair. "I guess being able to have these Others could be considered a perk. But this one is not for me, it's a gift for my son," she hummed.

"Really?" the man asked in surprise, pulling the two boys out of their cells before transferring the chains to Adena's hands, "What a spectacular gift! I assume it has to do with the festival and his coming of age?" The woman smiled brightly through her veil as she began playing with the tuffs of Fahd's white hair, which was much softer than she imagined. "You are correct in your assumption. It is a paramount moment in his life. I remember mine as if it was yesterday," she hummed, gazing off into the distance as she relived a brief moment of her childhood.  

"Pardon me for asking, my lady, but what if... what if your son doesn't have a manifestation?" Adena's eyes shot a dark, piercing glare at the man, a look that sent shivers down Abda's spine as she watched the conversation unfold. "Of course he will have a manifestation! My husband and I are from the most powerful families in the most powerful clan in Rayhem! There is no way he does not have a manifestation! We've been training him for years and all of our hard work will be evident when he stands before the entire tribe and the Fathers trigger his core energy. Don't you dare speak with such ignorance about my bloodline!" The man's lips shut tightly as he bowed his head to the floor, quaking as he did so. "F-Forgive me for speaking out of turn!" Adena rolled her eyes and tugged on the chains of the three Others, pulling them along with her out the door towards the stairs. "I shall send you the money once I return home. Don't bother transferring them. I'll just take them right now."

"This is the section of the city where the Clan of Holy Sun lives. There are about a hundred division in the Tribe of Rayhem, so the city is organized by clan to keep boundaries and property simple," Chanyeol explained as the group wa