In fact, sometimes I’d even sing along, under my voice, just softly enough so the words I murmured were for me and me alone. They were the only things that felt private to me.
Now, in some twisted way, that dream has come true.
I am on the stage here, and I am the main attraction.
Only, not in any manner in which I’d ever want to be.
Danielle stiffens next to me, and I turn my head in alarm, just in time to see her eyes roll back as she faints.
Danielle tumbles like a sack of potatoes. I grab her, and barely manage to stay on my own feet as her limp bulk pulls me down with her. Gerard rushes forward, scooping Danielle up as if she’s weightless, and blows roughly in her face to rouse her.
Danielle slowly comes around, groggy and trembling. As she regains consciousness, her brown eyes widen. Poor thing. She’s realizing that she’s still here – still on stage, and still waiting to be sold.
As her feet find footing, Gerard turns to me. Despite being such a hateful man, he gives me a considering look and a respectful nod.
“Good job. If she cracked her head on the ground, it would have been my ass in trouble for it.”
I didn’t think I’d ever regret helping a friend – but suddenly I do.
Fuck! If I’d have just let her fall, Danielle might not have been able to be sold. I just robbed her of her chance to get out of this!
But had I?
What if they’d sold her anyway – as cheaper, broken merchandise?
Speaking of broken – what if she’d just, plain broken her neck?
I shudder. Every action has consequences. Every decision could mean the difference between escape, or slavery.
An opportunity might arise that could spare me from this fate…
…or I could end up spending the rest of my life as a slave to a disgusting, slimy Bullfrog.
We’re finally in the center of the stage, and I stand looking at the back of the velvet curtain hanging in front of us.
Beyond it will sit the enormous audience who has eagerly gathered to bid for us.
Nothing I can do now will stop those curtains from opening.
I feel the seconds ticking in my head – each one a step closer to the certainty ahead. There’s nothing I can do to change this… To stop this…
I’m powerless.
Suddenly, the sound of a voice on the other side of the curtain makes my ears prick up.
Fuck! It’s the announcer!
“Welcome, welcome, to our esteemed guests!” His voice is amplified over the speakers. “We have four highly-respected members of high Toad society with us here today.”
There’s a muted ripple of applause.
“To our friends from the Cree’dak syndicate,” the announcer acts as if it was a thunderous ovation, “we bid an especially warm welcome. It is for your pleasure that this auction was arranged. We have specimens not dredged from the vast universe, but personally picked from Peter Paradooli’s private stable.”
There are ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ from the audience. Peter is renowned on Reena for buying the most beautiful slaves, and treating them like works of art. That’s why we’ll command such high prices.
“Never touched before,” the announcer confirms, “these women are nevertheless well-trained in service… and you lucky buyers will enjoy training them in the art of servicing you.”
Wet chuckles filter through the curtain. I shudder. There’s nothing more disgusting than a Bullfrog – and there’s no mistaking that raucous, gurgling laughter.
I hate their species with a passion. Toads are bad enough. Those swindlers pollute the galaxy, but are necessary evils in many industries. Bullfrogs, on the other hand, are on a whole different level of disgustingness.
Almost twice as big as a lumbering, swollen Toad, they’re the warrior caste of their species – usually hired to protect prominent Toads. Their size and power, though, has seen their subspecies become ever more dominant in Toad society.
The four Bullfrogs rumored to be sitting on the other side of that curtain? They must possess the combination of both brains and brawn – a combination which has lifted them to fortune and influence, and will also make escaping their clutches that much more difficult.
It’s not just their disgusting, slimy bodies or their leering lecherousness that makes Toads and Bullfrogs so revolting.
They’re also renowned for their sick sense of humor.
If you can even call it that. Other people – people who’ve been victims of it – just call it cruelty.
The announcer continues:
“We also want to give a special welcome to three more prominent guests – noble Aurelians who have thrown off their oppressive Empire and come to Renna to taste every pleasure that our capital city of Lipa has to offer!”
There’s another spattering of applause – even more muted than that which welcomed the Bullfrogs. That I can understand, too. Aurelians were sent packing from this world a decade ago, when Reena declared independence. Even though they claim to be Rogue, the reappearance of the haughty Aurelian species is clearly met with suspicion.
The presence of the three Aurelians means something else, though. It means that this auction must no longer be a private event. Peter Paradooli has turned the sale of his ‘private stock’ from a closed auction – organized merely to gain clout with his new Bullfrog business associates – into a fully-fledged slave auction.
With his typical cold-blooded focus on profit, Peter has decided to make as much money as he can; and demonstrate his power and influence to his new business associates while doing so.
“Now,” the announcer calls out from beyond the curtain, “who wants to see the wares?”
Finally, a resounding cheer cuts through the curtains. This is the first genuine enthusiasm the audience seems to have displayed.
I shudder as I stand there, dripping in anticipation. This damned pleasure dress hugs every one of my curves, exposing my body more so than if I’d been standing
