The night was still, a complete opposite to how it had been that day. The only sounds you could hear were the nightlife and yours and Sollux's footsteps. You decided that sticking together would be a better idea, since being separated was what caused the situation.

Luckily it was a full moon, so it was easier to see. Although there were dark alleys covered in shadows so you couldn't see anything there. You could hear sounds coming from a fairly large building, which sounded like a party of sorts.

"Why hello there."

You nearly jump out of your skin at the mysterious voice. You turn quickly to see a woman standing by a building, in her arms was a familiar pale fur ball.

"Rose, what're you doing out here?"

The cat looks up at you, 'sorry, I was following you, but pets.'

You roll your eyes at the comment.

"Oh, I do apologise," the woman speaks up, "is this your cat?"

"Yes, she's my familiar." You nod.

"Well, she's quite adorable." The woman smiles.

Rose looks up at you with a smug look.

"My name is Kanaya Maryam," she introduces herself, "I'm visiting from Arter City, not too far from here."

"Um, I'm (y/n)," you reply curtly, "my companions and I are just passing through."

You didn't really want to give her too much information. It was quite odd that Rose had warmed up to her in a matter in what seemed like seconds. She never does that, so you had no idea how to react.

"Well, sorry to cut this conversation short, but we're currently looking for someone." Sollux interrupts, clearly frustrated.

The woman's eyes widen slightly, "did they go missing?"

"Yes, now (y/n), let's get going."

"I think I may know where they are."

Both you and Sollux freeze, "where?"

She seems to frown, "she's probably being sold off."

"What?!"

Sollux begins to march towards her, but you loop your arms around his waist to stop him.

"Could you please tell us where she is?"

She nods sullenly, "I'll take you in."

You let out a sigh, "thank you."

"Of course," she smiles, "please come along."

You give Sollux the 'don't be a dick' look and follow along with Sollux at your side. You walk back around to the loud building. Kanaya opens the door and walks straight in. You nervously look at Sollux before walking in after her. You make sure not to lose her as you walk around. The place was crammed with rich looking people, all chatting as the musicians play in one of the corners. Everything looked to be expensive and like it would break at the slightest knock.

When Kanaya opens another door, a dimly lit downward staircase is shown. You descend the of stairs until you're in a large underground room. You had never been to anything bigger than a town, so this type of stuff was huge. You had no idea what connection Kanaya had, but it was worrying to say the least. And the fact the Rose was still in her arms bugged you. You finally reach the front of the crowd, where a man dressed all fancy like was standing on a stage.

"Hello ladies and gentleman," he begins, "I'm so glad you could all come to this auction."

Your stomach sunk at the word 'auction'. You had no way near enough gold to out-bet all of these high class people, and there were too many to fight. Either way you're going to lose Feferi here. You swallow thickly, watching as the first person is dragged out. It was a young man, he looked quite pale and thin, as if he hadn't eaten for quite some time.

"Alright, so this fine young male isn't in the best shape, as he has refused to eat," the man shrugs with a nod, "but with a little discipline and force feeding, he'll be a great little butler."

This causes the crowd to laugh. You want to make a disgusted look, but that may give you away. Although the clothing you were wearing wasn't exactly noble's clothes, they were pretty high quality for wizards.

"So, we'll begin with 500 gold."

A hand goes up to signal that they'd offer.

This continues on until he was bought for 1,500 gold.

"Now, onto our next bidding," the man continues, "this one's a rarity."

The next victim is pushed out; bound and blind folded. You could see that the cloth around her eyes was damp from tears. Her wings were also tied behind her to ensure that she won't escape.

"It took a bit of a struggle to catch this one." The man snickers.

And for the second time that night you had to hold Sollux back. You had to wait, if you were lucky, you could catch the bidder while they were leaving the city. You could only hope that this would end well.

"We'll start with 1000 gold for this one, yes you just there, how about 2000, yes-"