Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Ten

With it being as crowded as it was, between the slaves and their so-called owners, it was incredibly difficult for me not to bump into anyone. And when I was unlucky enough to bump shoulders with someone, I was met with glares and nasty snarls. One individual hissed at me, while another purposely stuck out his leg and tripped me; earning a few chuckles from those who stood by.

My face was red with embarrassment as I pulled myself from the dirt, my robes dirtied even further as I ignored the laughing purebreds and rushed after Cayden and Maryanna. I truly did not want to lose them in such a large crowd, not when I would be beaten or whipped for losing sight of them.

It was after I had caught back up with my companions that I noticed a curious pain in my leg, and the further we walked, the more that pain began to intensify until I was grimacing with each step that I took.

After about ten minutes of Cayden and Maryanna passing by multiple vendors, they finally stopped at a stand featuring hand-painted trinkets and bobbles. Taking that time to finally see what was wrong with my leg, I meandered to the side, making sure the others were still well within my line of sight before I bent and lifted the hem of my robes, grimacing when I caught sight of the blood dripping from my knee.

What in the gods' names...?

It was then that it hit me. I was tripped not too long ago by some jerk who thought it was funny to hurt innocent people. I must have fallen onto a rock or something, and just didn't realize it until I began to strain it.

I mentally sighed, hoping that Cayden and Maryanna wouldn't spend too much longer here than necessary. After all, if it was already hurting this much, I surely did not want to do anymore damage to it. With a sigh, I dropped my robes to recover my legs, before I made a move to close the distance between my companions and I. Only...when I took a step, I nearly tripped over someone.

Face reddening, I pulled back, hating the pain that shot up my injured leg. "I-I apologize sir," I said, watching as a pot-bellied, old man let his gaze trail up my body, before stopping at the metal collar around my throat.

His eyes then widened comically, before he hastily took a step back and pointed a chubby finger towards me. "Y-You! Why are you not on a leash?!" I gasped when he grabbed my forearm and dragged me into the crowd, his grip painful as he brought us attention. "What, you thought you could escape your master and steal from these hard-working people?!"

"S-Sir, I can assure you, I-I am no thief-ach!" My face shot to the side when he slapped me, the force of it early knocking me to the ground had he not been clutching my arm.

"Don't you lie to me, you disgusting vermin!" As he went to slap me again, his wrist was suddenly grabbed before it could make contact with my face, and when I followed the new arm up, I was greeted by the familiar face of Cayden. His eyes were filled with rage as the stubby man yanked his arm back, not yet realizing he was in the presence of his prince.

"How dare you touch me in such a manner! I am Lord..." his voice trailed off when he finally turned around and recognized the royalty staring back at him, the man's face blanching. "Y-Y-Your Highness! W-What a privilege to s-see you! I-I..."

"Unhand my slave," Cayden practically growled, ignoring the other man's stumbled words as the shorter man immediately dropped my arm and took another step back.

Just seeing how scared the other man was, made me feel a sick sense of happiness as I wrapped my arms around myself and moved behind Cayden, practically using the other man as a shield from this creep.

"F-Forgive me, Your Highness. I-I did not realize that slave b-belonged to an esteemed man such as yourself! I j-just noticed that he wasn't wearing a-a leash, and I didn't want him to s-steal anything from these hard-working people!"