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.

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