Auction House (10)

The final price on Christina ended up being 230 Gold, which Renna happily paid via check to the Auction House Staff as she ordered me to get sightly for our soon to arrive 'guest', which only made me roll my eyes as I watched her don the demeanor expected of a Duchess despite the balcony having a rather obvious scent of sex lingering around it, but no one was going to question the Duchess, not even me~!

Besides, I wasn't going to bite the hand that was currently feeding me very good things, especially when that hand just signed another check of a lot of money that would bring me great pleasure, so I just sat off to the side with my crystal decanters of blood and played around with the Thunderbird vitae as I contemplated a few different things.

See, I needed Nightmare Cloth and Cursed Obsidian to finish upgrading my {Icon} to this next level, and while I had no real idea on what that meant exactly - or where to find those sorts of things - I did have a rather imaginative mind that was providing a few ideas that I could work on, and I began to take note of them as we waited for the Queen Bee to be brought to our balcony.

As that happened, another beautiful woman was being auctioned away, one that made more than a few swoon as she stood on the stage with a sneer on her lips, her hard eyes and muscular frame making most think she was a futanari, only for everyone to be shocked when the auctioneer revealed that this was actually just a woman; I don't think most people were being against the idea of women being strong, but honestly...

As I studied the woman's physique and demeanor, it only made me think 'futanari' with how violent and brutish she seemed, though that just made her all the more desirable since the craziness almost definitely meant an even better time in bed, especially if you were into crazy, so hearing the bids going up and up as the murderer was auctioned off didn't make me that stunned.

Even I was tempted to ask Renna if we could get another toy to play with, but after studying her feral expression and the way she almost bit the auctioneer despite being placed under a contract that was meant to prevent just that... well, I wasn't magnanimous enough to want to protect whomever was horny enough from this sort of woman, so... I didn't beg my rich lover for another girl toy.

Especially not with one coming to join us soon enough, and as another intriguing bundle of herbs was brought out to be auctioned on, we were eventually face to face with Christina the Shamanic Queen, our newest interesting gal staring at us with narrowed eyes as she quietly appraised us both.

For a few moments we just stared at one another; Renna studied Christina with a neutral expression, the Duchess not showing any hesitancy as she matched the Queen Bee's gaze, letting her know she wasn't going to be swayed by her demeanor, while I just ogled the Beekin from the side as I got back to snacking on the meal we had been given.

On her side, Christina's multifaceted orange eyes were extremely difficult to read, but her surprise at finding the Duchess in front of her had caused her expression to stiffen for a second or two before she tried to mask it with indifference, something that only made her seem all the more uncomfortable as her mask continued to slip.

"Christina~! That's a pretty name; it certainly fits someone like yourself, being a 'Queen' and all. Help me assuage my curiosity a little, if you would; what exactly made you decide that selling illegal drugs was a lifestyle that would last you?"

I kept my voice cheery even as I felt a little disinterested in this showdown of willpower between the two proud women in front of me, so I was a tad surprised when Christina even deigned to look at me when she heard what I asked her, the Queen Bee studying me now instead of Renna.

Meeting her gaze, I waved at her playfully before deciding to have some fun, uncorking one of the decanters and extracting the blood into the air, using my magic to shape it into a pretty flower that I drifted close to her; the Queen Bee blinked at that, shock etching her expression once more as she stared at the ruby flower in front of her, only to step back as I pulled it back and instead covered my cleavage - which she had taken a few glances at, I think - as well as my curves in general with darkness, finding it rather thrilling to show off like this.

"Astra... really..?"

Even as Renna let out a slightly exasperated sigh, I just giggled and approached the Queen Bee, getting closer to her and nodding as the sweet scent of honey around her filled my head with a bit of bliss.

"I know, I know~! But hey, she's not going to be able to tell anyone about this~! She is, after all, beholden to you now Renna. Her life is in your hands, literally and figuratively; that paper showing you own this criminal is enough, isn't it~?"

Stopping an inch away from Christina, I looked her up and down before meeting her gaze once more as I asked "Are you perhaps a quiet person by nature, Christina? The paper didn't say you were mute, so...", my smile widening slightly as she flinched when I reached for her collar.

It was a bit fun teasing this regal woman like this, and when she stiffened completely when I tugged at her rags gently I had to hold back a laugh, finding her fixed expression of pride rather funny with how she seemed to be calculating everything possible to figure out what she needed to do.

"Don't overthink now, Christina. I like being a rather straightforwards woman; I don't particularly like playing games with words, y'know? Might be that I am just not that good with them, but hey, to each our own right~? So..."

Patting her shoulder, I brushed off absolutely nothing before I reached for her cheek, giving it a pat as well and making the Queen clench her jaw for a moment as she stared at me directly, only to eventually part her plump lips and let me hear her flat voice as she said "I am rather straightforwards as well, Mistress, and I prefer to use my voice sparingly."