Disclaimer/Trigger Warning: This story involves scenes in a fantasy universe, including themes of non-consent, violence, enslavement and other potential triggers. If easily offended, please choose another story to read. If the above interests you, please read on.
Ancient Earth was a different era. Elves were slowly disappearing at the end of their reign of the world, while Man was just becoming a force to be reckoned with, even as the different factions kept squabbling among themselves. If you knew where to look in the bigger Human towns, you could find black markets of elven slaves for all kinds of purposes, but the most in-demand were younger female slaves destined for a life of sexual slavery.
Hunters had been searching the woods for decades, attempting to find Elven villages and bring back their trophies to be sold at market in the towns. Each had their own style, but much like bounty hunters they only rarely worked together, leaving most hunters on their own as they prowled through the forests, hoping to find their prize.
The elves, for their part, recognized their time was ending. Their powers had faded over the millennia, and they had foreseen the rise of Man, ensuring their villages and towns were reasonably well protected as Man had started encroaching on their areas. But wards break down over time, and the rate at which the Elven population was diminishing would soon lead them to their extinction.
As true elven slaves became more and more rare, hunters began voyaging further out into areas that, up until now, had largely been left alone by the human hunters. But today, one small village was set to lose another of their tribe, a young elf named Nalia who had been sent on a mission of mercy into the forest, gathering ingredients for foods and medicines.
Nalia browsed among the trees, her small sack hanging from her waist, trying to find the herbs she needed to make more medicine for the village. They could be devilishly tricky to find sometimes, and it's been taking her on longer trips into the forest to find it. Her parents had taught her to be wary of the woods, ever since her Aunt had been taken so many years ago. They'd had other travelling elves tell of the Human Hunters, but the village hadn't seen much loss to these hunters, up until Nalia's Aunt Daeondra and another woman had vanished without a trace.
Nalia's trips into the forest so far had been lucky, she'd seen a few humans in the woods but had thus far successfully managed to evade them. But as she looked around her, she realized she had never been this far out from camp, looking down around the base of the trees trying to find the herbs she was looking for, not paying much attention to much else around her as she tries to find her prize.
Not far away, a Human Hunter prowled through the woods, wearing leathers and carrying a pack with ropes and harnesses. Wild elves are harder and harder to find, but they go for more at auction due to their rarity. Hearing brushes move around him, he can hardly believe his luck when he sees a youg elven girl, radiant blond hair going down her back, wrapped a tight blue tunic that only seemed to cover her chest, leaving her stomach bare. It looked like she had fashioned herself some shorts, but otherwise left her legs bare as well, soaking in what sun came filtering through the tree tops.
The hunter realizes what he has just came across, realizing the funds from the sale of this single elf could pay the bills for months, if only he could manage to capture her. He carefully moved closer through the dense undergrowth, soft boots and experience helping him avoid detection as he maneuvered around the elven girl, catching her in a spot with severe brush growth, limiting her options of retreat. Finally, he steps into her path as he watches her come closer, slipping out around from behind a tree as she gather mushrooms from it. "Hello, elf" he says, with a false, friendly grin on his face.
Nalia nearly jumps several feet from where she started when the hunter jumps out, dropping her mushrooms back over the forest floor. Her mind immediately identified him as human, and hearing her mother's voice telling her horror stories about the slavers who used to raid Elven towns. Her eyes focus on him warily, as she bends down to grasp for the mushrooms and herbs she had dropped.
"Hello, human," she says in a wary voice, cinching her bag shut and standing up a few feet from him. "Go away, your kind aren't welcome here," she spits, trying to inject some venom into her voice and defend her ground, not wanting to lead him back to her village. The more she looked at him, the more she felt he was indeed one of the hunters she had been warned about. The hunter could see her eyes, darting around the small clearing, eyeing the tall brush blocking access to the treeline, seeing no easy escape route.
The hunter frowns slightly, shaking his finger at the elven girl. "Aww, don't be like that," he says, taking a step towards her. "I was hoping we could be friendly," he adds, eyeing Nalia up and down, getting a better look at her exposed body, making Nalia self-conscious as she feels his eyes travelling over her exposed skin. "I am confident you will sell well. You've got spirit, I think, something that makes you not want to just scream and run away. Aren't you curious what the big scary humans are really like?" He purrs, reaching into his pack and pulling out a drugged piece of chocolate. "Have you ever tasted cacao? It's from the tropics," he asks innocently, trying to offer her a piece.
Nalia eyes the chocolate warily, shaking her head. "No, and it would not be my choice to try it tonight," she says, stepping back a little bit, feeling the human's eyes roam over her body, feeling suddenly exposed but not looking away, trying not to provoke him by showing as much fear as she felt. "I've lost family to humans, I think I have seen enough about humans to last the rest of my days," she says quietly, not looking away from the hunter across from her, but still trying to find an exit with her eyes, scanning the treeline for a weakness in the brush she can slip through.
"oh? Who have you lost?" The hunter asks, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth as he tries to remember if he had been through this area before, if it might be possible he had been the one to capture this young girl's family. Shrugging, he focuses again on the elf girl in front of him. "I might have seen them" the mask slipping a little as he begins to loose the sweet-talking act, staring at her hard as he speaks again. "I'm the best, you know, I take pride in my work" He starts working his way closer to Nalia, positioning himself to grab her. "I'm kind of a teacher, I teach elves how to live among humans. Was it your mom? Your little sister?"
"I knew it!" Nalia shrieked, taking another step back, feeling the hunter's advance threatening her. She began looking around wildly trying to find an exit again. "It doesn't matter who! What you do is wrong and you shouldn't do it!" The young elf yells at him, her only thought right now of not wanting to lead him back to her village. "Go away!"
