The Alien King's Alluring Obsession

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"See? Introducing yourself wasn't so hard. You guys just like to make easy things hard. I'm thankful we are on the same page now." Maol said.

Nobody replied.

"Franklin!" Maol called out loudly.

Franklin walked into the room promptly.

"The auction is starting in a few minutes. Get the humans ready. I will send the necessary info to Jovelyn's terminal." Maol instructed, "Edna, come with me." Maol stood up and walked out of the hall. I copied his actions.

Maol weaved through hallways.

The numerous turns we took disorientated me. It would be hard to remember the exact routes Maol took.

I didn't let despair sink in though.

Maol brought me to a closed room.

The room had an open balcony. Black curtains veiled the view of the scenery outside the balcony.

A pair of comfy chairs and one table was all the furniture the room had.

An intricate light hung from the ceiling and curly smoke rose from the incense burner at the corner.

The smell was heady and fresh.

A large device was on the table. It looked like a tablet. A fruit bowl and a wine bottle was beside the tablet.

Maol sat down on one of the chairs.

"You can sit." He said.

He picked the tablet up and turned it on.

Standing in defiance wouldn't do anything to help my case so I took my seat.

The silence that ensued was horrendous.

There wasn't any topic to discuss. I stared at my nails as my mind wandered.

Time ebbed away.

A bell rang.

The sound travelled to every crook and corner.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Jovelyn Manalaysay and I am your host for today." A sweet voice said.

I don't know what happened but the curtain veiling the auction site from us parted.

The balcony was built in any innovative way.

I could see everything that was happening below the balcony. Nothing was hidden at all.

The auction site had a raised platform at the end.

Jovelyn was standing on the raised platform.

She was dressed in a provocative way. Her feminine assets could blind men.

Her red lips was curved in a cheeky smile. She was the perfect blend of maturity and sweetness.

Numerous seats surrounded the podium in a curved structure. The auction hall was filled to the brim. The fates of my companions was unknown.

"Jovelyn is still as lovely as she was last month." A male alien chuckled. His outfit was luxurious.

His voice didn't come from the normal seats near the raised platform.

It came from the balcony opposite us.

There was a limited number of balconies present.

The special rooms should be for the VIPs.

"Thank you, mister. I am glad you think so." Jovelyn replied.

She was holding a device in her hand.

It was similar to the smart device Tekita called Maol with.

She glanced at her screen.

"Welcome patrons to another blessed auction! We have special goods today, I can give you the guarantee that you would like them." Jovelyn said, "For new patrons, you can check the tablet to browse our item collection and the available information for this auction. The first item is the Jack-o'-fruit."

I glanced at Maol.

He was browsing the tablet.

If I didn't know that he was affiliated with this auction house, I would have mistaken him for an ordinary patron.

"Do you want to see the items we have in store? You have been staring at me for quite some time." Maol said without raising his head.

I looked away.

I settled my gaze on the hostess at the podium.

"No need." I replied.

Although Maol didn't treat me in a very rough way, he didn't set me free either. I was on my tippy toes when I am dealing with him. I didn't forget the electric punishment he gave me before we came to this room.

The silver collar on my neck reminded me to be cautious at every moment.

The reason he didn't lump me with the other humans was because of my value.

If I didn't merge with the mutated plant, I would be receiving the treatment Yulia and the other humans were subjected to.

I was still a commodity to him. His calm treatment didn't make me lose my mind and focus.

He didn't say anything else.

Jovelyn snapped her finger.

A few seconds later, two men wheeled a glass box in.

An orange fruit was in the glass box. The fruit was strange. Red veins filled every available surface on the fruit.

A strong yellow light was coming from the fruit's innards. It made the fruit glow eerily.

This should be the Jack-o'-fruit.

The two men didn't leave after bringing the fruit in. They stayed near the box like statues.

"The Jack-o'-fruit is the fruit of a mutated plant called the Jack-o'-lantern. It lives near the Micano Desert. Many people have fallen into its death trap. Our team took a lot of effort to bring it before you, our patrons." Jovelyn introduced, "The Jack-o'-lantern uses illusions to trap its prey. On the other hand, the fruit it makes does the opposite. Eating the Jack-o'-fruit clears hallucinations and delusions caused by medical reasons or other incidents. The base price is 50,000 pinkas. The price increments should not be lesser than 10,000 pinkas."

Silence reigned for a while before a wave of bidding ensued.

"60,000 pinkas!" A voice said from the audience seats.

"70,000 pinkas!" A woman's voice said.

"85,000 pinkas!" An easygoing male alien in the audience seats said. He was sitting at the front row and he was closer to Jovelyn.

Nobody made a bid again.

The blooming smile on Jovelyn's face assured me that the auction house made a killing with this item.

An auction provides ways to make a product more valuable than it would normally be priced at.

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"85,000 pinkas for the Jack-o'-fruit. Any other bids? Are our esteemed patrons going to let this valuable fruit go?" Jovelyn said as she scanned the hall, "The fruit is going once, twice and it's sold! Mr Elek, congratulations on winning your item!" The two men that wheeled the glass box in took it out.

"The next item on the list is our latest invention. This invention is called the Patty Robot." Jovelyn introduced.

I tuned her out.

Jovelyn continued introducing more items and the patrons kept bidding for the things they liked.

The atmosphere in the hall was harmonious.

"Finally! We have gotten to the last item on the list. This item is a batch. We have nine humans available." Jovelyn said.

Her words brought me back to the auction.

I perked up and watched Jovelyn like a hawk.

"You might want to ask, what is a human? I will gladly enlighten you, my dear patrons." Jovelyn chuckled, "Humans are similar to us. They are just weaker. Just think of them as a version of us that has been watered down. They don't have superpowers either. These humans are a great way to work around the King's fight against slave trades. He said we can't sell our fellow compatriots, he didn't say we can't sell humans."

To me, the joke at the end wasn't funny.

Still, waves of laughter rang out in the hall.

The King of this capital tried his best to eliminate slave-trading but his subjects participated in underground deals.

It was pitiful and infuriating.

I continued watching silently.

I don't even know why a sane person enslaves another. I am addressing both humans and aliens.

Humans aren't exempt from slave trading. I have read books that depicted humans enslaving their compatriots because of skin color, riches or a sick desire to be in charge. Giving a person money for the job they perform is a great alternative to getting slaves.

Everyone would have been happy then.

I think both humans and aliens alike just wanted the high that comes from controlling a sentient being.

"The first human is called Yulia. She has compact muscles. She must have been doing constant exercises." Jovelyn introduced before snapping her finger.

The two men that brought the Jack-o'-fruit appeared again.

This time, Yulia was the commodity they wheeled in.