Half an hour and about twelve slaves later, Onew still had not found a contender. He had seen slaves of all kinds. Tall, short, thin, muscular, tanned, pale, rabbit, cat, male, female. None, however, had caught his attention to the point that he felt he could have them. He just couldn’t bring himself to point to a poor slave who was all alone on a foreign planet and decide to own them.

His father, however, did not seem too understanding.

“Now, what’s wrong with this one, Jinki-yah? Look at her!” the Duke exclaimed.

The rabbit slave before Onew was quite lovely. She had white blonde hair, her floppy ears and small cotton tail poking out from under the back of her shirt the same color. Her skin was lightly tanned and she had striking blue eyes on a pleasantly round face with full lips. She was quite short but looked to have respectable curves. She was certainly his father’s type.

“She has a wonderful face, and I’m sure a great body if you peaked under those clothes.”

“Would you like me to undress her, my lord?” Daeyoon almost instantly asked, reaching for the flimsy cotton top and pants that covered the girl.

“No! No,” Onew interjected almost urgently, just barely reigning himself in. He couldn’t ignore the terrified look that had taken over the girl’s face. “That’s quite alright.”

“Oh?” Daeyoon questioned. Onew could see the impatience he was trying to hide.

“Yes, I think that perhaps the rabbit Halflings aren’t for me. I fear they may be too energetic…” he trailed off. Any excuse would do, really. “I spend a lot of time studying, you see…”

“Oh yes, of course, my lord,” the man smiled at him again. “We have one more Halfling waiting in the hall and it is a feline one. It seems that breed may suit you better.”

Onew nodded in acknowledgement, sighing in relief as Daeyoon turned away from them.

“Really, Jinki-yah, you need to pick one. It’s not so hard,” his father hissed as the girl was put back into her shackles and Onew could hear the next Halfling being relieved of theirs. “I’ve seen at least five that I would not mind owning.”

“I know, Father. I apologize. It’s just that it is my first and I want it to be perfect,” Onew lied smoothly. It was getting pathetic, how easy it was to trick his father into thinking he was just as corrupt as he. It seemed to do the trick though, as the Duke only nodded in understanding.

“Here is the last Halfling we have out here before I must return to the warehouse to get more. He is a Feline Halfling, as you can see, in good physical condition. He is currently twenty-one years of age and is very intelligent, my lords. He was one of the quickest at learning our language. He is proficient at reading and artwork such as drawing. He trains extraordinarily well in dance with our trainers. His tests on our etiquette have been outstanding and he is very beautiful. He is truly one of the best we have to offer,” Daeyoon informed them rather robotically, reading from a list on his tablet, but much of what he said had been lost on Onew.

The second he had stepped through the door, Onew had frozen. He wasn’t sure if the word beautiful could truly describe the creature standing before him. He also wasn’t sure he hadn’t passed out and was simply immersed in a dream. The being before him was enchanting. He had blonde hair with brown underneath, his ears were the same blonde with the ends tipped the same brown as was his tail which, long and fluffy, moved constantly behind him as if to show his discomfort. The face was unmistakably feline; sharp cheekbones, slanted eyes and a perfectly sculpted nose settled over a pink heart shaped mouth. His skin was porcelain and absolutely flawless. His body was long, slender and toned, his skin pulled tight across his bare chest and ribs and dipping in at the waist before flaring out toward his hips, disappearing under his thin cotton pants. His dark eyes – so dark Onew could swear they were pure black – flicked around the room just as uncomfortably as his tail moved, never truly looking at Onew or his father, ears twitching at every sound.

Onew wondered if it was healthy to desire something so fully.

“You like this one,” the Duke commented, breaking his son from his stupor. Onew did not know how to respond. He’d never wanted anything more in his life yet feared having to face every day knowing he was keeping him in captivity. But perhaps it was better than knowing someone else was. In the end, Onew simply nodded.

Turning his attention to Daeyoon, Onew concentrated on forming coherent words. “Kim-ssi. May I approach him?”

“Of course, my lord! Many of our clients wish to examine our goods before they purchase them.”

Onew set his jaw at the term “goods” just as he noticed the feline boy’s ears twitch toward the employee, lips pursing and eyes narrowing just slightly as they glared at the floor. As Onew stood from his seat and began to slowly approach the boy, his ears twitched forward at the same time his eyes snapped to stare at him. Onew almost froze in his tracks under the other’s gaze, so dark and guarded and untrusting. It broke his heart a little.

“Has he a name?” Onew inquired.

“Oh, no, my lord. Halflings are not given names. It is up to their owners to give them a name if they so wish.”

“Kim-ssi,” the Duke spoke up from behind Onew. “If this is one of your best Halflings, why was he not one of the first you showed us?”

“Well, my lord, this is truly one of our most beautiful and intelligent, yes, but he displayed a bit of an attitude problem. I wanted to bring the young lord the most trained and low maintenance of our Halflings first,” Daeyoon replied. Onew held back an eye twitch just barely. He couldn’t believe the way they spoke about the boy before him. Like cattle.

“I see, I see,” the Duke replied. Onew stepped on the small stage and stood directly before the Halfling. He watched as the other’s eyes bore into his, then searched his face and scanned his body, the Halfling’s tendons tensing in his neck and the muscles in his face setting as if afraid of some threat. “What sort of attitude problems?” the Duke continued. Onew began circling the Halfling; anything to feast his eyes on more of the perfection before him.

“He often spoke back to the keepers and trainers. For a time he refused to eat, bathe or follow any instructions. He would hiss at anyone who got near him,” Daeyoon replied as Onew took in the boy’s smooth back. The indent of his spine, the curve of his lower back and the barest glimpse of two dimples just peaking out from the waistband of the cheap cotton pants. Onew watched his tail flick harder in agitation, poking out through a crudely slit tail hole. “Do not worry, my lord, we found a very effective way to make him more cooperative.”

Just as Onew rounded back to the front of the Halfling he heard something light drop to the floor. Before he could look over to see what it was his eyes were drawn to the beauty before him. Every muscle in his feline body tensed abruptly. His nostrils flared and his ears flattened themselves to his blonde head at the same time that the end of his tail curled and began flicking more violently. Now instead of looking uncomfortable the Halfling looked downright angry and maybe a little scared. Onew saw how his black eyes had widened and followed the boy’s line of vision straight to a whip in Daeyoon’s hand. Onew hadn’t even realized the man had been holding it twined in his palm before.

“Thanks to the medical innovations in the past years, scars are no longer an issue. I’m sure you can recall before,” Daeyoon was saying.

“Ah, yes, I remember. It was such a bother,” the Duke replied with a laugh. Onew felt his stomach turn.

“Just a few good strikes of this,” he employee held up the whip and the slave visibly flinched away, “and he falls directly into submission. We’ve noticed that any pain to the ears and tail are particularly effective.”

“Good information, Kim-ssi, thank you. Jinki-yah,” the Duke said and his son turned to face his father. “What do you think?”

“Well, Father, I am rather fond of this one…”

“I can see that,” the older man responded. “This is your first Halfling, Jinki-yah. This one has attitude problems as Kim-ssi said. Perhaps a more docile slave would be better? That last rabbit was absolutely lovely.”

“I…” Onew trailed off here. He desired the feline boy greatly but more importantly, he worried what would happen if he fell into less gentle hands. Hands more like his father. The thought was terrifying. “I can handle it. I can discipline him, Father.”

The Duke paused for a moment before a somewhat sickening smile spread over his face. “Of course you can! You’re my son, after all. So, as long as you are sure…”

Onew turned his head to regard the Halfling once more. This perfect Halfling; of course no creature so faultless could ever be human. Onew knew that he could never be happy with himself for owning such a creature, but Jonghyun was right; Onew could treat a Halfling well.

“Yes, Father,” Onew answered. “I quite like him.”

“Very well, then! We’ll have him,” Onew’s father turned to Daeyoon.

“Excellent choice, my lord! One of our best to be sure,” Daeyoon boomed and pressed the screen of his tablet a few times before the printer in the corner began printing.

“Make sure all the correct papers are signed, Kim-ssi, and that Jinki is set up with whatever he needs. We will need the Halfling’s measurements sent to our family tailor immediately. I expect my son to receive his purchase in no more than five days. Your business is well aware of my expectations,” the Duke said as he stood and began smoothing out his clothing. “Right, son, I must be going. The king requires my assistance. If there are any issues let me know immediately.”

“Of course, Father. Thank you,” Onew bowed. Daeyoon gave a deeper bow from the corner of his eye and the Duke only nodded before taking his leave.

“Here is everything you must fill out,” Daeyoon suddenly appeared beside the young noble, holding out his tablet. “Address for the delivery and time of day you find most preferable, any specifications you would like us to do to your Halfling before his delivery to you.”

“Oh, no,” the young man shook his head even as he typed. “He’s quite perfect just the way he is.”

Onew tried his hardest not to glance at the boy still standing on the stage but could not block out the way he saw blonde ears perk in recognition from the corner of his eye. When the paperwork was done he handed the tablet back over. The man pressed a couple of times on his gadget and papers began printing from the printer in the corner.

“Excellent, my lord. Here are two copies of your receipt,” he said handing over the newly printed sheets. “Please take them to the front desk where you will make your payment. One receipt is for you to keep, the other will be taken for our records. And since he is your first Halfling, we would like to give you a whip for free. As a sort of gift, you see,” Daeyoon gave Onew a large grin, obviously expecting the news to be received well. Onew swallowed hard.

“That’s very…kind of you, Kim-ssi. Thank you.”

“Of course, sir. All we can do to help,” he presented the younger with a new whip, coiled tight and tied together with a thick string. Onew took it gingerly, allowed his gaze to stray to the slave and the black eyes that were watching him carefully. “Everything is done here, my lord. You may go if you wish,” Daeyoon informed him, bowing deeply.

“Yes, thank you very much,” Onew bowed and started toward the door.

Pausing halfway, he turned back to glance at the Halfling. He stood still on the stage; hands clasped in front of him and simply watched Onew with a curious gaze. Seeing that Daeyoon’s back was turned, Onew quickly placed the coiled whip on the ground and kicked it. He watched as it disappeared under the couch, hidden by the ruffling at the bottom. He glanced at the boy once more who looked even more curious now than before. As Onew left, he hoped his gesture was understood.

I could never hurt you.

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New part!! Oh man I've been updating so frequently... please don't get used to this. School is starting again soon and I'm worried about how often I'll be able to write. =[ 

Key has finally made an appearance! Please let me know what you think. Hope you enoyed it. =]