Girl

First off, a huge thanks as always to my Patrons. Y'all are the best.

Secondly, I am bringing this one out from my Patreon chapter by chapter. The way I will be releasing this story will be roughly a chapter a day until it gets near the most recent chapters, which will remain exclusive. If you go to my twitter (in my profile) you'll likely be able to read one chapter beyond what is posted here. And if you become a Patron you can read it right up to the most recent chapter and even vote in the occasional poll. Fear not though, I will be releasing the whole story (or as far as I get) here eventually.

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“Please buy me.” The girl’s voice pleaded as yet another man passed by her without even giving her a glance. “Ma’am, please consider me.” She says to a woman not much older than her and is promptly ignored. She redirects her attention to a middle aged couple passing by the other direction. “Please choose me. I am a hard worker.” Like the last man the husband walks on as if he hadn’t heard her though the wife scowls at her in disgust. Eager for any attention at all the girl seizes onto the scowl. “I can sew. I can cook. I can clean. Please Ma’am, please choose…” The wife spits on the as the pair pass by. The girl closes her eyes and lets out a dispirited sigh. She looked so small and fragile knelt there at the edge of the platform, hands on knees and bowed forward, among the bustling crowd around her. She wipes the spit from her bare leg as she fights back tears. Time was running out for her, I could hear it in the desperation of her voice. Though a bit malnourished she was easily the youngest and healthiest looking among the four slaves remaining. The other three, who shunned her just as much as the gathered citizens, were either maimed or well past their prime yet even these attracted much more interest than the despondent girl.

I say girl due to her petite build and high, soft, innocent sounding voice but she was absolutely a woman. Small pouting breasts, a softly curving shape, pleasingly wide hips, smooth and surprisingly fair skin for being under the summer sun all these hours, she was a woman through and through. Certainly older than me by a few years. She looked to be in her mid twenties but the subtle point to her ears, the nubs of two tiny horns at the edge of her hairline, the vibrant magenta eyes, and the deep violet fading to purplish pink hair revealed a dash of demon in her heritage. She could be as old as fifty, it would be difficult to tell. While it didn’t help it wasn’t her distant demon blood that had left her here among the dregs of the market. It was a much closer member of her lineage, likely one of her parents, that was to blame.

There, between her smooth shapely legs, was the evidence of her half-Amazon parentage. Small as she was she is a far cry from those mighty warriors so many tales are told about, but her male genitals on her female form revealed her to be a progeny of one among that distant race of women. They were among the Empire’s most ancient and bitter enemies. In our mythology they are a cursed race and anything associated with them is considered profane and untouchable. Unlike the other slaves she isn’t even given the dignity of a loin cloth, the heavy iron collar around her neck was the only thing she wore. I overheard others saying that it was law that an Amazon must be sold naked so that sellers could not trick buyers into purchasing one unaware. If she were a pure human woman she would have easily been bid up into the thousands. Even with her demon blood she would have went early and for a high price. But that penis changed everything. Had she been any older or any uglier she would have surely been disposed of well before ever making it to market. But despite her taboo nature she was young, healthy, and attractive so that gave her at least some modicum of value…or so the auctioneer believed. It didn’t seem to be panning out that way.

The tall gaunt man in the yellow toga who ran this market comes back around to the girl and spreads his arms in a flourish. “Come now good citizens.” He says in a naturally booming voice. “This girl is young and strong. Industrious and servile. Two hundred dinarii is a steal. A lifetime of service for such a small investment. You would be a fool not to take her.”

“Feed her to the lions!” Someone calls out.

He looks around the crowd searching for any sign of a buyer, his eyes skipping right past me. I was not well to do and I was from the country, both facts quite evident in my rugged simple attire. He continues. “While clearly not suitable for a citizen she could be used as a pleasure for the rest of your stock. If you are worried about her around your daughters she can be fitted with a chastity cage at no extra cost.” He says. “Castration, of course, is not an option with her kind but I assure you the chastity cage is permanent and impregnable.”

The girl looks up, scanning the gathering for even a glimmer of interest. There was none. Only hard glares of hatred and suspicion. In her desperation she even begins searching the poor, the youth, and the other slaves in the crowd. With nobody willing to bid for her perhaps she was just looking for a little pity or empathy among this hostile crowd. For the first time her gaze meets mine. In her magenta gaze I see barely concealed terror. She was so scared and I then knew for certain that this was it for her. This auction was her one and only opportunity to find a master or mistress and the day was drawing near its end. I felt for her despite her unholy nature. Gods knew how she’d come to find herself in this situation but given the bleak future someone like her would face in this unfriendly city perhaps it was for the best that she be put out of her misery now.

“Please.” The girl whispers. It takes me a moment to realize she was speaking to me! I look to my left and right but nobody else was paying any attention. Her gaze was definitely locked on me. “Choose me. Please.”

The auctioneer notices the exchange. With nobody else biting he makes one last pitch. “You there, boy.” He points his cane my way.

“M-me?” I receive a few dirty looks from those around me who believed I was actually interested in purchasing her.

“You have an eye for a bargain young man. A shrewd dealer, I can see it in your eye.”

“No sir. I-I-I was just looking. I am not from Rome and I just wanted to…”

“Two hundred dinarii for decades of loyal service. You could travel to every corner of the Empire and never find a better deal than this.” He presses. “You look to be a farmer. A noble profession but so much work. This would earn her value back in a year with her labor alone.” He leans forward and narrows his eyes. “Are you married young man?” The insinuation in his voice is impossible to miss.

“No!” I exclaim. “I mean, no, not yet.”

“Well then, perhaps…” The corner of his wide mouth curls into a suggestive grin. There are gasps of disgust and scoffing derision from those listening. After allowing the lewd insinuation to hang in the air just long enough he continues on in a most innocent tone. “…this girl could be a nanny for when you do find a bride and you have children. Having that sort of help would be a boon for any hard working parent. Owning a shows wisdom, ambition, and high status. It would make your prospects that much better. This would be an investment in your future.”

“I…I’m sorry. I only have a hundred and sixty. I cannot afford her.” I thought that would end this awkward interaction but I realize it was exactly the wrong thing to say when I see his sharp eyes light up.

“You, my shrewd friend, drive a hard bargain!” He clicks his cane into the platform they were on. “But since I so value the work of those who till the soil so that the rest of us may eat…one sixty would be acceptable.”

The girl’s face brightens with hope. “Oh! Thank the gods!”

“No! No!” I wave my hands. “This money is for a cow…”

“A cow?” He says incredulously. “I like cream and cheese as much as anyone, but they cannot compare to the years of toil a good can provide.” He straightens up and says with a firm finality. “You are a tough one young man. Very smart. One fifty. That is as low as I can go.”

“But…But I…”

The ’s wide magenta eyes stare into mine. She saw me as a savior instead of the simple country tourist that I was. She didn’t seem to understand that I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I mean legally I could as a free man of the Empire, but I was no slaveholder. The money in my pouch was all that I had to start my new life. More money than I’d ever had before and I’d held it for less than an hour before passing by this market. I was only in Rome to settle my uncle’s affairs and receive my inheritance. Besides…she had Amazon blood! I couldn’t invite such folly into my life.

And yet…the way she looked at me. The way he looked at me. I knew this was it for her. Her last chance. Like the Emperor deciding whether to show mercy to a fallen gladiator her fate was entirely in my hands. I never wanted to be in this situation, I never should have been in this situation, yet here I was. Back home they all warned me to be careful in the big city but I never thought simply stopping and gawking could get me into trouble. This decision was just too big for a farmboy like me.

“I…can’t.” I say at last. “I can’t.”

My heart bleeds as I watch all hope drain from the girl’s beautiful face. Slowly her gaze drops to stare at the earth and her body slumps, all the vivacious vitality in her gone in the blink of those lovely eyes. The man in the yellow toga is disappointed but quickly moves on to another to make one last appeal to the crowd before closing up for the day. Those around me assure me that I had made the right decision and even curse the auctioneer for trying to take advantage of a naive country bumpkin like me.

My head down I walk from the market feeling absolutely wretched and regretting deeply the curiosity that made me stop and look. I never imagined that one hundred and sixty pieces of silver would weigh so much.