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This Is A Beginning
Amaranth hissed quietly in frustration, folding her arms over her chest as the bidding continued going up. The slim, chestnut-haired woman looked wistfully at the current auction item: a pretty young man, with clear dark skin and darker hair, much too skinny but otherwise healthy. He would have been a perfect addition; she had so few boys. But, well, she couldn't be too surprised. Someone as pretty and docile as him was sure to be in high demand at this sort of thing, and her House wasn't exactly the wealthiest.
But this was the third time her limit had been outbid. Allowing herself another sigh, she looked past him at the last few people on the line-up. A man and two women. The man was out; he looked like an angry lumberjack, with the beard and muscles. Good for heavy manual labor. One of the women was also out; pretty and blonde with a figure that would be attractively curvy once she wasn't underfed, and trying very hard not to look terrified. Amaranth already had Delorah, who filled a similar niche - and what with the bidding wars today, she likely couldn't afford her.
Which left the other woman, if she was going to buy anyone today. Amaranth looked at her critically. Short black hair, warm brown skin, and from what she could tell through the piles of chains and ropes, a lithe, muscular build. It was difficult to tell through all the bindings, but Amaranth was a professional; the woman was very attractive, in a catlike warrior-woman sort of way. But she was also very obviously a fighter. (Departed gods only know how she wound up in a slave auction.) Amaranth looked over the bidders again. No one seemed much interested in the little Amazonian (not that little, though it was hard to tell with her hunched over like that), which meant she probably wouldn't be outbid. Again.
It also meant she had some time to kill, so she settled back down to wait. The pretty boy finally went for thirty pounds of sugar; the lumberjack quickly sold for a bolt of proper factory-made fabric and a couple pairs of scissors, and the blonde, after a slow but heated bidding war which Amaranth was glad to not be a part of, went for a female buffalo. Which left the Amazon. Most of the remaining potential bidders were already starting to leave as the handlers dragged her, kicking and struggling, onto the center of the stage.
Well, if it really didn't work out, Amaranth thought as the auctioneer started calling for bids, she could release the girl with a few safety promises and chalk up the fee as an unfortunate loss. She kept waiting until the auctioneer started sounding desperate, but just before she began to move, another woman raised a hand and bid... a quart of beer? Amaranth raised her eyebrows. Clearly the woman was hoping to get a bargain since no one else wanted her.
She waited just long enough for the auctioneer to start assuming there were no more bidders, then casually raised it to four raccoon pelts. The first bidder shook her head with a good-natured smile and walked out, leaving Amaranth with the auctioneer and her latest acquisition.
But this was the third time her limit had been outbid. Allowing herself another sigh, she looked past him at the last few people on the line-up. A man and two women. The man was out; he looked like an angry lumberjack, with the beard and muscles. Good for heavy manual labor. One of the women was also out; pretty and blonde with a figure that would be attractively curvy once she wasn't underfed, and trying very hard not to look terrified. Amaranth already had Delorah, who filled a similar niche - and what with the bidding wars today, she likely couldn't afford her.
Which left the other woman, if she was going to buy anyone today. Amaranth looked at her critically. Short black hair, warm brown skin, and from what she could tell through the piles of chains and ropes, a lithe, muscular build. It was difficult to tell through all the bindings, but Amaranth was a professional; the woman was very attractive, in a catlike warrior-woman sort of way. But she was also very obviously a fighter. (Departed gods only know how she wound up in a slave auction.) Amaranth looked over the bidders again. No one seemed much interested in the little Amazonian (not that little, though it was hard to tell with her hunched over like that), which meant she probably wouldn't be outbid. Again.
It also meant she had some time to kill, so she settled back down to wait. The pretty boy finally went for thirty pounds of sugar; the lumberjack quickly sold for a bolt of proper factory-made fabric and a couple pairs of scissors, and the blonde, after a slow but heated bidding war which Amaranth was glad to not be a part of, went for a female buffalo. Which left the Amazon. Most of the remaining potential bidders were already starting to leave as the handlers dragged her, kicking and struggling, onto the center of the stage.
Well, if it really didn't work out, Amaranth thought as the auctioneer started calling for bids, she could release the girl with a few safety promises and chalk up the fee as an unfortunate loss. She kept waiting until the auctioneer started sounding desperate, but just before she began to move, another woman raised a hand and bid... a quart of beer? Amaranth raised her eyebrows. Clearly the woman was hoping to get a bargain since no one else wanted her.
She waited just long enough for the auctioneer to start assuming there were no more bidders, then casually raised it to four raccoon pelts. The first bidder shook her head with a good-natured smile and walked out, leaving Amaranth with the auctioneer and her latest acquisition.
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