The Kingdom Ch. 09

"This way, ma'am," the usher said to me, snapping me out of my gaze. I followed her up the stairs to an empty seat on the mezzanine level. I could feel people staring as I passed by. Clearly, people were recognizing me as the champion who'd just appeared on stage. Taking my seat, I proceeded to inspect my armrest.

Just as the usher had explained, the armrest of every chair now sported a card-slot and touchpad. How they'd installed new armrests in every seat since Nott's Fair closed, I had no earthly idea. But upon closer inspection, I saw long grooves in the side where a cap must have once rested.

"No way," I muttered in amazement, realizing that these contraptions must have been enclosed in a plastic casing the entire time. Ever since the new stadium had been built 5 years ago! How could I have been operations manager while so much was happening right under my nose?!

After I was finished marveling at my own stupidity, I inserted my keycard as the usher had explained. The touchpad screen beneath suddenly lit up with the words "Welcome to the Kingdom". From there, the screen changed to my (Jodie's) picture, along with her name.

"IS THIS YOU?" The screen read.

I pressed the "YES" button beneath.

From there, the screen changed to an image of the brunette on the stage. Beneath her picture was her name and statistics. I scrolled down on the touchpad, reading all about Erica Arbor. She was 27, 123 lbs, C-cup, brunette, hazel eyes, yada yada. Above her picture was a button that read "PLACE BID". I straightened my finger, all-the-sudden paranoid that I'd accidentally press it.

But moments later, the button suddenly greyed out. I glanced up at the stage to see the word "SOLD" appear across both screens in big red letters.

"And soooold!" The auctioneer announced in his nasal monotone voice, pounding his gavel on the podium in front of him. "Sold to Larry Boyd for seventy-one thousand dollars. Congratulations, Larry." There were some applause in the audience, but most just remained still, staring ahead at the stage.

Just then, I watched in confusion as the brunette began gliding across of the stage. She literally glided. Her legs weren't moving, but she was moving toward the stage wing... I leaned forward in my seat, squinting to make sense of what I was looking at. A moment later, I understood. The woman name Erica was standing atop a circular metal platform no wider than three feet in diameter. Through the gap between her ankles, I could see a single metal pole protruding from the center of the platform.

My mouth dropped as I suddenly understood why the woman appeared to have such good balance as the platform glided quickly across the stage floor. The pipe extended upward from the platform all the way into her pussy. She was impaled! As I continued to stare, I could see that her silver high heels weren't high heels at all. But they were, rather, steel boots attached to the platform that kept her on her tiptoes and unable to lift herself free. She was essentially locked in a standing position by a stationary dildo pole!

I was so busy ogling at Erica's dildo contraption that I completely missed the next woman gliding to center stage. My touchpad suddenly changed from Erica's information to stats for a blonde named Brooke Ganes'. Brooke was positioned on a dildo platform just as Erica had been.

"Aaand next, we've got Brooke Ganes. We'll start the bidding at ten thousand. Ten thousand. Do I hear ten thousand. Do I hear fifteen thousand? Fifteen? Fifteen, fifteen thousand? Twenty thousand, twenty-five thousand-"

Names appeared on the mega-screens one below the other as the price-tag climbed. I couldn't help but stare at the gagged and restrained girl standing tiptoed atop her dildo prison.

Less than a minute later, Brooke had sold for $34,000. As twisted and fucked up as this all was, I couldn't help but be impressed by the organization and execution of it all. Everything seemed so legit and sophisticated. Whoever was the brainchild behind this whole operation really had thought of everything.

I sat patiently as woman after woman was sold. Some went for as little as $17,000 while others sold for over 500,000. As the night went on, the crowd began to thin and more and more people began to leave the arena. This was good, I thought. By the time Katie came on the auction block, maybe there'd only be a handful of people left.

After all of those glasses of Champagne earlier, I suddenly realized how badly I had to take a piss. I crossed my legs and shifted in my seat, trying to relieve the pressure on my bladder. I could have gone to the restroom at any point during the last two and a half hours, but no. That would've made too much fucking sense. Now, I had to be miserable holding it until Katie came up.

Suddenly, the auctioneer broke from his routine to clear his throat and address the audience. "Gentlemen, please be advised that we have now reached our final 10 contestants. I repeat, there will only be 10 more contestants auctioned off this evening."

I leaned forward, preparing myself for Katie's entrance. I was suddenly extremely nervous. This was it. Looking around the arena, I could see that only about a third of the audience was still present.

As the bidding began for the first of the remaining 10 women, my heart suddenly dropped in my chest. The bids were high. Abnormally high, it seemed. The first woman was sold for $540,000. The second woman sold for $470,000. I was now all but certain that Annabelle had screwed me over. The higher spenders hadn't favored the beginning of the evening as she claimed they would. Once the next woman sold for $615,000, it was now abundantly clear that the wealthiest bidders had waited until the very end to make their purchases. My face flushed with rage as I processed Annabelle's con.

Of the last 9 contestants, the lowest bid had been $410,000. Some of these women weren't even all that pretty! I was angry enough to spit nails. How could I have been foolish enough to take Annabelle at her word?!

But in a split second, my outrage ceased to be a priority. Because, suddenly gliding across the stage on a dildo-platform was the naked form of Katie. Her curly brown hair had been pulled back into a bun and she was no longer wearing her glasses. The poor girl looked genuinely terrified. My heart rate quickened as her smiling mug shot and name appeared on my touch screen.

"And for our final auction item of the evening, we have Katie Huff," the auctioneer said. "We'll begin the bidding at fifty thousand. Do I have fifty? Fifty? Sixty? Seventy? I see seventy, do I have eighty?" My heart was now racing. Less than 10 seconds in, and the bid was already to $100,000! Annabelle was such a BITCH for putting Katie last!

My hand trembled as I steadied my finger over the PLACE BID button. Suddenly terrified that my touchpad might not work, I tested out the button. The name JODIE O'CONNELL suddenly appeared on the board next to the numbers 110,000.

"One hundred ten!" the auctioneer said. "Do I have one-twenty? One-twenty? One-thirty! One-forty!"

Katie had her face craned up toward the screen on her right and was squinting to see the results. Half a minute later, the price had risen to $240,000. Another half minute later, it was at $320,000. Every so often, I placed another bid to remind Katie that I was still here. Although, given her squinting expression, I had no clue if she could even see my name up there.

As the number climbed higher, more and more people stood to their feet and made their way towards the exits of the arena. Eventually, the bidding slowed at around $670,000. I placed my bid at $680,000. I couldn't believe the price had gotten so high! That's not to say that Katie wasn't attractive. To the contrary, I personally thought Katie was one of the prettier women I'd seen tonight. But she was also very petite and was considerably less curvy than some of the women with supermodel physiques that had sold earlier for half that amount.

"Six-ninety, six-ninety. Do I have six-ninety?" the auctioneer prodded. "Six-ninety going once... going twice..."

Suddenly, the numbers 690,000 appeared across the screen. The name next to it suddenly made me feel sick to my stomach. The name read Tom Murphy. Tom Murphy was the fucking machine guy who I'd publicly humiliated in Cedar Square only a few days earlier.

"Six-eighty to new bidder! Do I hear six-ninety?" I hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Should I wait a few seconds? Did he know he was bidding against me? After about 5 seconds, I held my breath and pressed the button again.

"Six-ninety!" the auctioneer said. "Do I hear seven hundred?" Almost instantly, Tom Murphy's name appeared on the screen again next to the number 710,000. "Seven hundred, do I have seven-ten?" I pressed the button again.

This back and forth continued for the next minute. Eventually, the auctioneer didn't even have enough time to speak my bid out loud before Murphy had placed his counter-offer. I couldn't believe what was happening. The bid was now up to $900,000! Murphy was clearly exacting his revenge on me. I was now sure of it. I was angry enough to scream. What made the whole situation unbearable was the fact that I'd indirectly brought this on myself. Had I just walked away from Murphy's demonstration without incident, none of this might be happening. I silently cursed myself. I'd clearly pissed off the wrong wealthy businessman...

I pressed the button again, raising my bid to $910,000. I contemplated what would happen if I reached a million. A million dollars was all I had! Less than that actually, after my clothing purchases. Was Murphy really vindictive enough to pay $1,000,000 for Katie in order to piss me off? Or was he just running up the price I'd pay out of spite?

I pressed the button again, raising my bid to $930,000. Murphy instantly countered to $940,000. The audience members that remained in the arena were now cheering. The loudest cheers seemed to be coming from the front left of the field level, seemingly where Murphy was seated. Looking closer, I could make out the back of Murphy's bald head on the front row. Bastard!

My heart raced as I raised the bid to $950,000. Then $970,000. Then $990,000. I had bid nearly a million dollars! A million dollars! The thought of me spending that much money on anything was unthinkable, let alone on a slave...

Suddenly, my worst fears became realized as I watched Tom Murphy's name appear next to the numbers 1,000,000. The remaining audience went crazy.

"ONE MILLION DOLLARS!" the auctioneer yelled. "The first time in Kingdom history, a slave has broken the one million dollar barrier!"

Katie looked terrified as she squinted up at the screen on her right. I took a deep breath as my mind raced. Now what?!

"Do I have a million-ten?!" the auctioneer asked excitedly. "A million-ten?"

I felt like I was gonna throw up. I had to keep going. I had no idea how I'd ever pay back the money, but I couldn't allow Katie to leave with this monster! I had no choice but to keep bidding. I held my breath and pressed the button.

Nothing happened. I pressed it again. Nothing... Glancing down at the touchpad, my heart suddenly sank as I saw that the PLACE BID button had greyed out. Beneath the button was now a pop-up notice that read "INSUFFICIENT FUNDS". The audience was now chanting "Million-ten! Million-ten!" egging me on to raise the bid. I glanced back up at the stage in fear.

"Do I have a million-ten?" the auctioneer repeated.

"Wait-" I yelled, standing to my feet. I had to raise the bid somehow.

"Going once..." he said, either ignoring or not hearing my outburst.

"Wait! I'm out of funds!" I pleaded.

"Going twice," the auctioneer continued.

"Hold-up!! How do I add more funds?!!" I screamed.

"Aaaand SOLD!!!" the auctioneer yelled, landing his gavel on the podium in front of him. "Sold to Tom Murphy for the low price of one Million dollars!! Congratulations, Tom!"

Katie's expression, as she glided across the stage, was one of horror. She glanced frantically between the mega-screen and the auctioneer, pleading desperately into her ball-gag. But nobody seemed to notice or care.

"I'd like to thank everyone for joining us tonight," the auctioneer said. "Congratulations to all item winners! Once again, purchased slaves will be delivered between the hours of 11pm and midnight tonight. So please be present at your residence during that time."

The auctioneer continued talking, but I'd tuned him out. Unable to divert my attention elsewhere, I watched a smiling Murphy stand to his feet. Several men around him shook his hand in congratulations.

Without thinking, I suddenly found myself storming down the staircase and onto the field level. I couldn't let Murphy get away with this. I ran toward the front section where Murphy was, fists clenched.

"Hey!" I screamed from about 50 yards away. Several people, including Murphy turned to look at me. "What the hell is wrong with you?!!" I shouted at him. Despite the fact that my attitude and temper had landed me in all sorts of trouble up to this point, I wasn't able to contain myself this time. I also felt that he needed to know just how livid I was.

"Miss O'Connell!" Murphy said to me, as I stormed over to him. A wide grin had spread across his face. "How unexpected of you to come over here." This was met with chuckles from those around him.

It wasn't until that moment that I noticed Tasha kneeling on the ground next to him. She was leashed and wore a skin-tight outfit that resembled the red female body armor from the movie, Black Panther. Murphy was still clearly pushing the race card and using it against her. Tasha was ring-gagged and her arms were secured over her head with her tied wrists attached to the back of her collar. As her eyes met mine, I saw a flash of resentment streak across her face. Yep, she definitely recognized me from the hunt...

"I said-" I repeated, directing my focus back to Murphy, "-What the hell is wrong-"

"With me," Murphy finished. "Yeah, I heard the question. Well, you're gonna have to be more specific," he continued. "I'm afraid my answer would take all night to explain to you. That's actually an invitation, by the way," he added. "Come spend the night and I'll tell you everything." Some of the men remaining in the area laughed supportively at his crass attempt at humor.

"You're really willing to blow a million bucks on a girl just to piss me off?!" I challenged.

"To piss you off?" he asked pretentiously. "What do you mean piss you- oh wait... Were you the one who I was bidding against just now?"

"Cut the shit," I spat at him, inching closer. "You bid on Katie to spite me. I screwed up your little demonstration the other day and now you're getting payback. Leave Katie out of it. She's done nothing to you."

"Katie, huh?" Murphy deflected. "So you two are on a first name basis? What's so special about this Katie, might I ask? You sweet on her or something?"

"Give her to me," I said, ignoring his provocations. "I'll give you your million dollars. Don't punish her just because you have a grudge with me."

"That's an interesting proposition," Murphy said, rubbing his chin. "But I'm afraid I just can't spare her. Sanura here has been flagged a bit too many times on account of her vitals. I can't rely on her as my sole assistant anymore." He turned to leave, pulling Tasha up to her feet by her leash. "Your friend Katie will be sharing her work-load from now on. I'll let her know that you said hi-"

"No," I countered, stepping in front of him. He looked surprised by my persistence. "I won't let you take her. I owe her," I added. He stared at me silently, appearing to weigh his options. I could tell that he was studying me. "So, what's it gonna take?" I pressed. "What do you want for her?"

Murphy crossed his arms and paused for a few seconds. He, Tasha, and I were now the only people left on the field level of the arena. I silently hoped that the lack of an audience would make him more reasonable. With nobody to impress, Murphy had less pressure to look like the alpha. "Alright," he said after a long pause. "I want the castle suite." I stared at him without saying anything. "Sign over the suite and I'll let you have the girl."

I paused for several seconds, attempting to play my cards close to my chest. As willing as I may have been to make that trade, I couldn't allow myself to seem too eager. This was most-likely his strategy all along. To extort me for the castle suite... I had to appear as if I was prepared to walk away from the deal.

"The suite went for 2 point something million last year," I challenged. "I'm gonna need more. What else are you gonna throw in?"

"Nothing," Murphy said, matter-of-factly. "Since I'm in a forgiving mood tonight, I'm willing to wipe our slate clean and keep things simple. The suite for the girl. No negotiating, no haggling. One for the other." Murphy's smug expression made my skin crawl. Murphy was clearly relishing his position in the driver's seat. A few seconds passed where neither of us said anything. "And I'm gonna need a yes or no right now." he added. "So, what's it gonna be?" He had me by the short hairs and he fucking knew it...

"Fine," I conceded, trying to keep my face stoic.

"Great," Murphy said, clapping his hands together. "Then it's a deal." He began to walk passed me, Tasha in tow. "Since the trading post is closed until morning, I'll be taking the girl home with me tonight."

"Bullshit you are," I replied, stopping him with my hand. "Katie's coming with me."

"The girl legally belongs to me," Murphy explained coldly. "And there's no way to transfer her into your custody until the trading post reopens in the morning."

"I don't think you understand me," I said, leaning in closer to him. "I'm not letting her go home with you so you can rape her and do whatever other shit you people do. She either comes with me or the deal's off."

"You're naive," Murphy replied, chuckling. "I've already told you- I need another assistant. Not a companion." I remained glaring at him with my hand still pressed against his chest. "So, as long as you're cleared out of the suite and ready to sign it over tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp when the Trading Post opens, your Katie friend won't be touched."

My eyes narrowed to slits. "Not a finger gets laid on her," I said in a low voice. "Understand?"

Murphy pushed past me, ignoring my question. "Enjoy your last night in the castle," he said arrogantly. "8 o'clock tomorrow. Don't be late." And with that, he walked away, pulling Tasha by the leash behind him.

I stared after him, processing the deal that I'd just agreed to. I hated the thought of Katie staying at Murphy's tonight. The image of her terrified face was still etched in my memory. I wanted so badly to speak with her and assure her that everything was going to be alright. That I hadn't abandoned her to this monster. But explanations would regrettably have to wait until morning. That decision had regrettably been made for me.

And while it was certainly a relief to know that Katie would be safe, it was thoroughly heartbreaking to be forfeiting the castle suite to an asshole like Tom Murphy. The thought of downgrading from the suite to a motel room for the next three months was devastating to say the least.

Bending over to remove my heels, I began making my way slowly back to my suite for the last time. Once again, I was finishing the day both physically and mentally exhausted. A lot had transpired over the last 24 hours. From waking up in a probation collar, to ridding myself of Brandy, to being manipulated into to speaking at the annual slave auction, and finally- trading away my living accommodations, it had certainly been one of the shittier days in recent memory.