//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: A Life of Work 
// by 15MadyCat 
//------------------------------//

	The roar of the crowd was unmistakable as numbers were called out. A teenage boy stood amongst a crowd of his own kin. He hated being sold like he was an object meant for meaningless work. He should be an equal to the stupid pony-blooded humans, yet here he was in this situation. He was not someones slave and yet he was being sold as one. 

The dragon-kin teen was still young and strong, he would go for a good price, but why did it matter? He stepped closer to his older brother who he will never see again; that he knew for a fact. With a last look of sorrow and encouragement to stay strong from his brother, the auction started. 

"50 bits!" A female called.
"150!" A male protested, pushing the price higher.
"200 bits!" Someone from the crowd yelled, the murmur from the crowd died down giving the Auctioneer ample time to close the deal.

"Sold!" The Auctioneer raised his hand and spoke loudly as he grabbed the chains around the teenagers wrists. He was yanked forward off the stage to the man who had won the auction over him. The teen looked back at his older brother who was looking down at him with tears in his eyes. The boy silently told his brother goodbye for the last time. The dragon didn't dare look up at the taller male that had paid for him, though he could see out from the corner of his eye that he wore a straw hat and had brown hair that trailed down his neck and onto his shoulders and stopped. The steel chain was passed to the male and the money was paid.  For the next hour or so the teenage dragon-blood was pulled towards a small farm in the middle of the country. As the fresh slave boy got his first fill of his new dwelling all he could see was cotton fields for acres. He also spied an old wood shed a few yards away from the house. The older man led the dragon slave into the house. 

As they entered the house there were three pony-blooded females of different ages standing in the sitting room. "What is this?" The oldest of the females asked. She was a unicorn with a pink horn atop her forehead framed with dual colored purple hair pulled up into a bun. She wore a red and white dress that wrapped around her shoulders and draped down her tall frame, the outfit finished off in fine jewels. 

"Our new worker, and your birthday present." The adult male smiled at the second tallest female. The dragon looked up at the girl wondering who his new mistress was. As he got his first glimpse of her he would be lying if he said he wasn't struck dumb by her beauty at first glance. She was tall and drop dead gorgeous. Her hair was purple and curled hanging over her shoulders. She was curvy and was wearing a light and dark blue with yellow dress. It was quite stunning on her the color making her sapphire blue eyes pop. She walked up to the dragon-blooded teen tilting his head up making him look into her eyes. His emerald green eyes stared back into hers as she messed with his spiky green hair. He felt his pointed ears twitch a bit as she poked at it. His scaly light purple tail swished back and forth as she circled around him. "He is a dragon." Explained what the male teen could only guess was this girl's father.

"I've never seen one in person before. He's so. . .different." The 18 year old girl stood back beside her mother looking the other teen up and down examining every detail and feature about him. Her hair bounced a bit as it shown in the sun light. She just stared at him curiously. The boy just stood there unsure of what to do as the girl looked over him. The dragon-blooded teen shifted from his left foot to his right. The chains on his wrists jangled some as he did.

"Time for work." The man declared as he grabbed the chains around the boys wrists and unlocked them. The teenager wanted to run the minute he felt the lock come open, but decided against it when he saw the shotgun on the wall. The door to the cottage was opened and he was taken outside. "Pick as much cotton as you can before night fall." The boys new master pointed to the field. "Here. Use this to carry it." The older male threw a potato sack at the slaves feet. The dragon-blooded teen looked down at it for a bit before picking it up. "When you are done picking you will remove the seeds. Now, get to work." The master nodded before leaving. The boy swallowed before trudging over to the cotton fields. 



The sun was setting as he picked a few last bundles of cotton off of the plant. The dragon boy picked up the full potato sack and walked up to the stairs on the porch. Sitting down he grabbed a hand full of the soft, fluffy, white pieces out of the bag. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there picking out the seeds, but when he was finished the moon was high in the sky.

After sweeping the seeds into a bucket that was under the porch, he put the clean cotton back into the bag and tied it so it wouldn't fall out as he laid it by the door. The teen walked into the shed he first saw when he came to the farm. He had been here for a few days now maybe a week, and he hasn't done anything to get in trouble yet. He was thankful for that; he knows what the punishment would be, and that whip doesn't look very welcoming. The dragon-blood laid down on the wooden shelf-like bed that was inside of the shed. He took in a deep breath knowing he had to go back to work tomorrow. His body was sweaty and exhausted. His whole body was sore and his muscles were tense. He was only a slave for a few days and he was completely exhausted already.  I hope tomorrow ain't as hot as it was today. The teenager thought to himself before drifting into a deep rest as a breeze drifted through the open window.