Sabine's fingers toyed with the diamond pendant that sat idly around her neck as she made her way through the marketplace, sidestepping past the busy vendors and laughing customers with ease. As usual, she seemed to move as if there weren't a mess of people around her, forever concerned with matters that swam endlessly in her head. Despite the weather, her usual midnight blue surcoat was wrapped snugly around her neck, its hood topping off that enigmatic feel the de Bellemare girl gave off, without her fully knowing it. She seemed to move through the city streets as if she had forgotten about the mess of people around her, somehow managing to avoid people while she was surrounded by them. Lost in thought, she assumed going for a walk would clear her mind, as it normally did...
The dreams were more frequent than ever – those cryptic dreams that seemed to mean everything and nothing – they haunted her while she slept, and she couldn't escape them during the day. She had hoped, maybe, to sit in the library and think silently for a moment or two, to pour over spellbooks and scrolls, as she did when she felt her visions overwhelm her, but there was quite a hubbub in the marketplace today, and people were becoming harder and harder to sidestep today. The de Bellemare girl furrowed her brows, slipping through the crowd and pushing past people swiftly, muttering proper apologies in her wake as she did so. What, pray tell, was everyone's issue today?
That was when she saw it – a man with tanned skin being tugged along through the marketplace by a large, burly man. Now, Sabine was not a woman who intervened in the affairs of others, no – despite her good nature (which was sometimes cloaked by her need for orders and manners...) she was a woman who picked her battles, and the affairs of slaves and people who traded them were not her specialty. Hell, she had never even had slaves before – just servants, which she assumed was a vastly different affair.
A lot of people were turning their heads at the sight – the man being dragged along had quite the impressive display of jewelry after all, and maybe they were saving his face in the back of their mind, looking to buy him later. Sabine bit her lip – the whole affair was too showy for her tastes. How dare this slave trader go lugging this man through the streets in such an unmannerly fashion...!
Sabine, with light steps, made her way toward the slave trader, not too intimidated by his height or girth. She merely just walked by his side for a moment, inconspicuously, listening to the slave's monologue. Really, from the man's words, he seemed to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And surely, someone with that much jewelry couldn't be slave material, right? (Unless, he was one of those slaves that she heard people bred for looks...) With an innocent smile (with mischief hidden underneath), Sabine tilted her head towards the trader.
"We don't see slave traders in this marketplace often, sir," she commented lightly. "I might know someone interested in buying your ward, but no one will put money towards a slave who doesn't have proper documentation."
The trader grunted, looking down at Sabine, groaning. "Documentation? For what?"
Sabine narrowed her eyes. "To prove his origins. If this bejeweled one here is Serenian, well, the guards might have more than a few words with you, if you know what I mean?" Sabine took a step back from the trader, her eyes still mischievious. "... And I think you know what I mean." Her eyes darted towards the corners of the streets – a guard posted on every corner. They all seemed to be giving the trader weird looks – it was a suspicious sight indeed.
"Now, this one here..." Sabine began, moving over towards the roped stranger, looking at him queerly. "...He definitely looks Serenian to me, sir." As if such a gesture could test this to be trust.
Of course, the trader was not amused. "Look at him. Does he look the part?"
"Now now, let's not be so quick to judge," Sabine urged. "He was probably born near Atlas Verde – there are some darker skinned Serenians up there, so I've heard. They mingle with the Adelans up there – but you'd know that if you were a learned man, wouldn't you?"
Sabine turned toward the stranger, clasping her hands together. "Tell me – you were born up near Atlas Verde, weren't you?" There was that grin again. "Be sure to say it loudly, so that the guards may hear."
Of course, it wasn't like Sabine to meddle in the affairs of others – but, she was only doing this because she was curious as to just who this person was. There were many bright jewels on his person, and yet, how had he ended up in such a situation? Anyone could see that he wasn't Serenian and therefore it was probably fine under the law to enslave him, but the trader probably had no brains under that thick skull of his, so a good enough scare should probably be enough for him to give up on this one. One could say that curiosity was going to kill the cat here, but Sabine could be nice, and maybe even heroic sometimes, if the cards were played in her favor – like today.
