Alex wakes up and finds himself lying naked on a cold floor again. He raises his head and looks around realizing that he is back in the same cell. He lifts his arm to rub his face and stops as he notices he has lost both weight and muscle tone. Alex scrambles to sit up, but pauses when he feels tightness in his chest. When he looks down, he sees a scar in the shape of an L at the bottom of his sternum. He raises his hand and gently touches it.

“It’s where they’ve implanted the core,” says a woman's voice.

He glances towards the door and sees that the black wall is now transparent. A bald woman kneels on the other side in an orange tunic. “You speak English! What’s happening? Where am I?”

“We don’t have time for that, so just listen. I’m here to interpret for the overseer, and he’ll be here soon. He’s in charge of the training of all merchandise, and yes, you and I are the merchandise. You’ll need to be polite and learn Elven manners quickly. He doesn’t tolerate rudeness or any lack of manners, and you must answer any question immediately, any lapse or pause is punished harshly. You must always kneel in the presence of the overseer or any guards.”

“Am I a captive? Wait a minute, did you say Elven?”

“Yes, Elven. You must’ve seen them. And no, you’re not a captive, you’re a slave. You’re also not on Earth anymore and you’re the property of House Quinala. Now, no more questions.”

“But-“

“No more.” She snaps.

Alex strokes his chin and finds no stubble. Then he remembers the injury to his head and he carefully reaches up to check, discovering a faintly tender welt. He murmurs, “Just how long was I unconscious?”

“Please be quiet,” the woman shushes.

“I don’t understand. I had a bad head injury and now it’s nearly healed.” Alex says concerned.

“It’s accelerated healing. Now shut up, or we’ll both be in trouble.” The woman hisses.

Alex waits, contemplating what he’s been told and the state of his injuries when he hears footsteps. Soon a distinguished male elf confidently walks into Alex’s view. He wears glossy black armor with blue and red highlights, and without a helmet. As soon as he appears the kneeling woman bows so low her head touches the ground. She remains in that position and waits, whilst the elf turns and stares down at Alex.

The overseer is tall and slim with long blond hair tied in a complex braid. His face is ivory white, with angular features, large light yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a strong square jaw. He moves with grace and fluidity but also with restrained power.

The elf speaks in a confident and civil voice, in a foreign language, whilst he looks at Alex. The woman interprets without changing her position. “The overseer expects you to listen to everything that he says, without interruption. You will answer promptly when asked a question. This merchandise will be translating what you say simultaneously, so please answer wisely. I suggest you answer truthfully because he is observant and very smart.”

Alex pulls himself onto his knees, and bows whilst he maintains eye contact and the overseer sneers. Alex sees he has large cuspid teeth, bigger at the top so they project beyond the other teeth. His teeth interlock when his mouth closes giving him a definite vampire look. This strongly conflicts with his appearance as a classic elf from myth.

The overseer continues to talk whilst the woman interprets. “You are to be trained as a personal retainer, who tends to his master's or mistresses every need. Be this cleaning a room, seeing to their clothes, serving at table, or ensuring that their entire day goes smoothly from the moment they rise to the time they retire.

“You will protect your master or mistress from physical harm. You will be well-trained in safety tactics, first aid, weapons handling, and self-defense to enable you to handle any situation that may arise. You will also be taught to watch for any suspicious activity or individuals and to always assess the best way to ensure your masters or mistresses' safety. And above all else to be discrete. If you fail any of these activities you will be used to grow core’s, which is most unpleasant. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. But where am I?”

The elf stares at Alex. “You may not ask me any questions. You will remain silent and limit your responses to what you are asked. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I apologize, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

The overseer speaks curtly, “House Quinala has heavily invested in you, with the installation of a prana core and medical nanobots, and we expect to see a healthy return on our investment. You will also be taught a civilized language and it will be this merchandises responsibility to ensure that this happens within a single quarter. Your value lies in both your obedience and ability to use prana. Do well in this and you will be rewarded as anything you want must be earned, including your name.”

The overseer then says something else to the woman, but she does not translate. She looks at Alex and he saw an immediate reaction on her face. “What did he say?”

The elf barks, “Molaeli” and glares at Alex before continuing in an angry tone, which the woman translates with a trembling voice. “What I said does not concern you. When I want you to know something I will tell you. If you speak again without permission, there won’t be a next time.” The elf says something else to the woman before turning and leaving.

Alex listens as the footsteps recede as the woman sits up and tries to get her breathing under control. “Were you trying to get us killed? Don’t you realize that his word is law here? He could’ve executed us or turned us into core farms?” The woman explodes.

“You said we were slaves, what do you mean?”

“We are owned by the Elves of House Quinala. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re on a different world! They can do whatever they want with us and no one cares.”

“How’re we on a different world? I’ve been kidnapped and this is just some lunatic’s extreme cosplay fantasy. He’s obviously deranged and so are you.”

The woman laughs hysterically. “You can deny it as much as you want. Haven’t you notices the gravity and how you feel heavier here?”

“That’s just because I’ve been injured and I’m weak.”

“I also denied everything at first. But, now I’ve learned just to accept and do anything I can to survive.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Over three years.”

“What’s your name?”

“Candy, because I’m ever so sweet.” She says sarcastically.

“Is that your real name?”

“Yes, in Elven it’s Talia.”

“Why do you have an Elven name? And what did the overseer say to you at the end?”

“He told me to make sure that I teach you Elven in one hundred days. Otherwise, I’ll lose my status and be entertaining the guards.” Candy says with a shudder. “And I have an Elven name because I’m considered valuable.”

“Status?”

“I teach Elven to all of the new girls who are deemed worthy. It’s allowed me to avoid a lot of unwanted attention and get better treatment.”

“There are others?”

“They bring in about a dozen girls every month or so, mostly from the US. Those that show prana aptitude or have specialist knowledge get taught Elven.” She pauses. “You seem weirdly calm, when I was first kidnapped I had a total meltdown.”

“Well, I was told that the best way to survive when kidnapped is to cooperate. Don’t show anger, defiance, or contempt. You act up and you stand a chance of getting yourself beaten up or even killed. You don’t fight back until you have an opportunity to do so. Start by giving them what they want. If it’s money, give it to them. As long as you’re alive you have hope, money means nothing to you if you’re dead.”

“Why’d you get told that?”

“I have a hate-hate relationship with a cult. So, where are you from and what's your story?”

“I’m a big city girl. I was in college when they abducted me. I lived with my parents and went clubbing with my friends. I remember looking for a cab, then next thing I know I wake up here and this is where I’ve been ever since.”

“Well, the last thing I remember is going out with colleagues to celebrate getting a bonus and then nothing until I woke here. You said something about prana aptitude and the Elven guy mentioned prana cores. What’s prana?”

“Prana is ‘primary energy’ or ‘vital force’ that resides in all living things. The core they have implants in you stores the prana your body generates. They test everyone for it, you must remember the test, it’s extremely painful.”

“Oh, I remember the test alright. What about the other girls who don’t get taught Elven?”

“They become core farms.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when they implant cores, which grow as you absorb prana. Once the core gets to a certain size they remove it and implant another. Typically it works about four or five times before your body breaks and you die. If the girls are lucky they get picked out for training rather than being sent to the fields to work.”

“Sounds harsh. You keep mentioning girls, am I the only man?”

“Yes, you’re the only man I’ve seen from Earth. Other men are being trained here but thankfully I don’t see them. Now we must start to teach you Elven. Can you tell me what languages you know?”

This surprises Alex. “I still have questions. Like what are medical nanobots and how do I get clothes?”

In the distance, they hear doors banging and voices shouting. Candy glances over her shoulder, looking scared and suddenly goes still listening.

She turns back to Alex. “Now’s not the time.”

“Well, if you answer my questions I’ll try harder to learn.”

Candy grimaces, then sighs, “Medical nanobots will build the connections to your new core, repair injuries, and regulate the health of your body. And you’ll have to do something worthwhile to earn some clothes. Any more questions will have to wait. If you don’t show some progress we’ll both be in trouble. Now, what languages?”

“Okay, so I speak English, Spanish, and some Navajo.”

“Navajo?”

“My grandmother discovered she is part Navajo after getting into the whole ancestry thing. We had a hired hand on the ranch that was from the Navajo nation. Can you please answer a few more questions before we start?”

They hear footsteps in the distance. “No, we need to do as we were told.” Candy responds annoyed.

“Okay, then we’ll talk after.” Alex responds with a small smile as the footsteps get nearer.

Candy frowns. “Not likely, they'll be watching us. They don't tolerate disobedience, and the punishments are harsh. Now, we will start by counting from one to ten. Do you understand?” Alex nods, then she continues, “Oli, sai, si, thys, tholi, mos, maelael, ael, boli, sael.” Alex repeats the phrases and the lesson begins.

After a few minutes, a guard enters and stands motionless next to Candy. He stays for ten minutes and then leaves. This repeats at random intervals throughout the lesson.

He spends hours with Candy as he learns Elven. It’s late when one of the guards enters and gives Alex a large orange bottle. Candy smiles and nods at the bottle. “It's a nutritional drink that has everything your body needs for a day. Everyone calls it ‘basic' and it’s a tasteless slime, but you must only ever drink the orange bottles. The green bottles are for goblins and the blue are for elves. If you drink them you'll be sick.”

“There's goblins here?”

“Yes and I’ve been told that there are lots of other races as well.”

The guard waves his baton at Alex and shouts, “Pol.”

“You’d better drink that now or we’ll be in trouble.” Candy declares.

Alex drinks from the bottle and nearly recoils in shock when the sludge oozes out thick with protein, laced with vitamins, and cloying with glucose. It’s not palatable and he struggles to not heave as it slides down his throat. He does notice it is quite bland and leaves a slimy aftertaste. Alex begins to drink as rapidly as he can, but after he gags a few times, has to slow down to give his stomach time to settle. Candy looks concerned and hisses, “If you can’t drink all the basic or fail to return the bottle, you will be punished.”

“No problem. I was also told to always eat the food you're given, no matter how unpleasant it is. You'll need the calories to survive.”

Alex eventually finishes and hands the bottle back to the guard, who then says something to Candy. She looks at Alex, “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She then stands and the guard escorts her away. Alex contemplates what Candy has told him in the quiet of the cell. He is left on his own with nothing to do until he eventually falls asleep.