J
listened carefully and counted off as the gavel signaled the acceptance of high
bids on three consecutive lots. The
bidding for the first girl had been passionate and there had been applause and
well wishes to the winning bidder when it was complete. The bidding for the subsequent two girls had
been fairly quiet by comparison and J had to listen carefully to hear anything
other than the auctioneer. The fourth
girl sold quickly and with a snap of the gavel the room had gone quiet for the
pause between auctionees as it had before.
J
tried to imagine the sort of person who would come to the Detention Center and
bid for girls. She worried what they
would want her to do. ‘I’ had made it clear
that only nobles could be breeders and J thought she was glad for that. She was deep in thought when a bright light above
her head flooded the tiny room; bathing her in light. She squinted against the glare that stung her
eyes. She heard the next auction start
while she was still fighting to open her eyes.
J was ultimately able to pry her eyes open by the time the voices
quieted again.
She
was in an enclosure that was only slightly wider than her shoulders, but not so
small that she felt confined. All of the
walls were painted a simple blue in the same hue as all of the green, grey, and
blue walls that had imprisoned her for the past week. There was nothing particularly distinctive
about the room, other than there was no bed or even a place to sit down
comfortably.
Finally
able to see clearly J examined her new surroundings. She faced the door and hoped someone would come
and retrieve her soon. Behind her the
wall suddenly lifted into the ceiling. She had heard the sound of the gears and
the swoosh of the metal curtain as it was raised but it still startled J. The missing wall revealed a single pane of
glass between her and the room where the auction was being held.
There
were several people in the large circular room.
Some were seated on fine plush benches while behind them others stood in
small groups or alone. Despite its size
the room was very crowded. The walls were
lined with several glass panes that had not yet been opened to reveal their
contents. Four of the small rooms to her
right and one to her left had been opened and the girls had already been
removed. The flat glass panes functioned
as a doorway between the small chamber room and the larger circular room.
One
of the men, that had been sipping wine, stood from his luxurious seat, that
seemed out of place in the Detention Center, and moved closer to J; peering at
her through the glass. He scrutinized
her carefully and then stared her directly in the eye. Their eyes met momentarily, but she cringed
and faltered. She let her gaze flicker
to the floor. He smiled and returned to
his seat. The people on the fine benches
chatted amongst themselves and J tried to steal a peek at them through her
lowered lashes.
A
man in fine clothing sat at the center of the room. He motioned to one of the several attendants
that surrounded him and gave his instructions in a whisper. The attendant nodded and quickly beckoned for
a sentry’s assistance. The Sentry and
the attendant moved to the glass door that divided J from the room and as they
approached the door automatically swung open.
The
sentry led J to a raised platform near where a man stood behind a lectern. She easily stepped up onto the podium. She looked out at all of the faces watching
her move and for the first time in a week she was acutely aware of her lack of
clothing. The sentry tapped her on the
back of the legs and she obediently raised her arms and stood stock still. The sentry tapped her legs again and J felt
panic rising in her chest. The leather
stick slid between her legs and gently tapped back and forth and she obliged by
spreading her feet.
The
man on the bench tapped one of the two women kneeling at his feet on the
shoulder and motioned to her with a flick of his finger. She nodded and moved towards J without making
a sound.
She
leaned in close to J and greeted her with a gentle kiss on the cheek. While the woman’s beauty had not faded J
could see the few thin gray hairs that were only visible up close. She placed one hand on J’s shoulder and she
spoke softly into J’s ear, “Be very still child and this will only hurt a
little bit.” J drew in a deep breath and
with the woman’s breast nearly pressed against hers J looked out, over the
woman’s shoulder.
The
crowd that had gathered in the room watched intently as the woman slid her
other hand slowly between J’s parted thighs.
She slipped her finger between the folds of J’s monds and it slid in easily
through the oil that coated her body.
The woman announced peacefully over her shoulder, “She is moist. I would not call her wet, however there is a
welcoming feel about her.”
J
listened to the disapproving hum that spread across the room and she
blushed. Instinctively, she did not want
their disapproval and she let the muscles of her thighs relax. The woman smiled at her and almost under her
breath she mouthed, “Better dear, now this will hurt a bit but you must remain
silent if you want to go to a good home.” J was still wondering what she would
do that could hurt when the woman’s long thin finger plunged deep inside of J. It penetrated deep into her belly and J felt
the woman move it around inside of her.
The crowd sat quietly watching.
Some visited with each other in hushed tones.
The
woman withdrew her hand and asked with concern in her voice, “You have already
been claimed?” The ring in her mouth
prevented J from doing anything other than nod.
The
woman turned away from J and solemnly informed those gathered, “She has already
been claimed, but clearly has a few good years remaining,” before she glided
back to her seat and knelt back down at the feet of man on the plush
bench. He leaned in and whispered in her
ear and kissed her on the cheek. She
smiled up at him and offered him her hand.
He leaned towards her and she slipped her fingers past his lips and into
his waiting mouth.
Licking
his lips he rose from his seat and stepped up to where J stood. His skin was a deep olive tone with only a
hint of a tan. He had on a well fitted suit
made of high quality materials. A red
checked cloth covered his dark hair and two black bands held it in place. The man stood and walked around her nodding
and sighing. He grabbed her arm and
examined it. He ran his fingernail down
her forearm then lifted it to his mouth where he sucked the oils from his
fingers as if he were finishing off the last of a fried chicken dinner.
“She
is tasty, but she is not a foster?” he asked with an air of authority.
The
sentry responded calmly, “No sire, she was abandoned a week ago at the Squeeze
Inn.”
“There
has been no claim made on her?”
“No,
sire. The waiting period has expired and
her sale has been approved.”
“Why
is an abandoned vessel being offered today?”
The
attendant cleared his throat, but before he could answer the auctioneer spoke
up, “She is a fine vessel as you can see.
She has earned her place her today by the care she has given the very foster
you acquired this morning. Once you make
your foster a breeder she will need a fine girl such as this to care for her.”
The
noble stroked his chin, “Perhaps,” he said pondering the words.
Another
man, who was seated on a plush bench further down the row, stood abruptly, “We
have been asked to endure this filthy prison.
I accepted that we had to hold this auction here for security reasons,
but I was led to believe that it would be every bit as dignified as a proper
breeders’ ball.”
On
his way towards the door he stopped to shake the hand of the man standing in
front of J, “We will be honored to see you this evening at the dinner. You have acquired a fine breeder who will
surely provide you with many obedient daughters and dutiful sons.” With his momentary pleasantries out of the
way he turned with an indignant huff and stormed out of the room, grumbling
about, “common vessels,” on his way. He was
quickly followed by several attendants who lead beautiful girls on leashes.
The
men on the benches nodded as he left.
They murmured amongst themselves and several quietly followed him out
the door with their ensemble of attendants and beautiful woman.
The
man standing before J called, “Bring the girl forward please.” The circle of women behind his attendants
parted and J watched as ‘I’ stepped forward with a smile on her face. She was adorned in gold chains that connected
her nipples, her belly, and then it disappeared between her legs. An older woman, that looked remarkable like
‘I’, let her protective hand fall away from its perch on I’s shoulder and
encouraged her forward.
Fine
gems dangled from the chains and sparkled as ‘I’ moved. She moved gracefully and every eye in the
room was on her. She floated to his side
where she dipped into a deep curtsey that ended with her kneeling with a
flourish at his feet. She lowered her head
and whispered, “I am your humble servant, Sire.”
“Would
it please you to have this common vessel attend your needs?” he asked her
stroking the top of her head.
I’s
face broke into an unabated grin and she nearly giggled, “Sire if it would
please you it would please me greatly.”
With her head still lowered she peeked up at J with one eye and when she
saw J looking back she winked.
“Very
well, I will pay two full markers for this girl,” he said and returned to his
seat as if the deal was complete. ‘I’
followed quickly behind him. With his
comment several more groups gathered and left the room.
A
voice at the back of the room broke through the commotion and announced, “I
would like to bid three,” he paused momentarily and added politely, “That is if
we are going to have an auction.” J
looked up and tried to see past the swirling mass heading for the door to
determine who was speaking.
The
crowds heading for the door stopped to stare.
The open mouthed auctioneer looked stunned as he stood staring at the
man seated in front of J. The nobleman
nodded to the auctioneer who immediately turned to the lectern, raised his
gavel, and said, “We have a final bid of four. Going… going.”
Before
the gavel could be lowered announcing the end of the sale a man stepped through
the crowd and loudly proclaimed, “Five.”
J looked up at him and immediately recognized him. It is the man, from the Inn, who turned her
over to Tracker Jenkins. He promised to
check on her and make sure she was okay, but J did not know why he was bidding
on her.
The
man on the bench glanced down at ‘I” who looked up at him pleading with her
eyes and he finally gave in to her with a sigh, “As a gift for my new girl on
her Acquisition Day I will bid ten markers but not one more.” He stood and turned to face the man from the
Inn in a silent challenge. His
intentions were clear and the man from the inn bowed to the man and stepped
back.
There
was applause and the auctioneer raised the gavel to end the bidding. Over the roar of the assembly there came one
more, loud bid, “One Hundred markers for a vessel of ineffable value.” With that pronouncement everyone in the room
fell into a stunned silence as they searched for the source of the foolish bid.
“Sir,
this is a serious auction and I thank you to take your jokes elsewhere,” the noble
man seated in front of J proclaimed without turning around. He motioned for one of his attendants to take
possession of J and began directing the others in preparation to leave.
The
humble voice from the back of the room calmly stated, “Sire, I mean no
disrespect. I have placed a serious bid
of one hundred markers for this vessel and as a gentleman I expect my offer to
be honored.”
The
nobleman stood up straight, faced the back of the room as the crowd began to
part before him, “Do you mean to tell me you would bid one hundred markers for
a plain vessel? Why I only paid
twenty-five for my breeder.”
The
man with the humble voice came into view.
It was the man who had haunted her dreams; the man who had rescued her
at the tree in front of the Inn. It was
the man with the beautiful deep blue eyes and he was here in this room speaking
about her and his eyes fixed on hers, “Twenty-five is indeed an honorable bid
for such a fine breeder. She may well be
the finest breeder I have ever seen, but my bid of one hundred for this vessel
stands, with all due respect, Sire.”
J
felt her breath catch in her throat. The
room began to spin. She did not hear the
gavel come down or see ‘I’ leave the room with her new noble and his family. The only person J could see was the man with
the deep blue eyes; the man who fought and won her as his own.
He
stepped forward and took her by the arm.
He led her behind the crowd towards the door, but J merely floated
behind him. She could not take her eyes
off the curve of his cheeks. She wanted to
reach out and touch them to be sure he was real.
They
were stopped at the door by a sentry who removed the ring from J’s stiffened
jaw. He took the man’s money, but he
surrendered to his own curiosity and asked, “Why so much for this girl?”
The
blue eyed man smiled at the sentry and then at J and said, “Because she is
worth it,” and then he led her from the room.
