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If there ever was one moment when Amelia felt like a monster, this must be it. She moved casually down the street, watching the desperate as they sold themselves to whoever wanted them, watching them not unlike someone gauging the best chicken or the tastiest slab of meat at the butcher's. Who would be most likely to believe her story and follow her? Who would be easiest to subdue?
One thing she had never considered so far was that, like anyone plying a legal trade in Nexus, they belonged to a Guild. This added a layer of organization to their trade, complicating things for Amelia. It meant they were registered with their Guild, they paid their fees and they were monitored for performance just like any other worker. Their absence would be missed more than she had thought at first.
'Get yourself a slave,' a part of her stabbed her from the inside. It sounded like the easiest way... easiest and safest. Yet there was something abominable in purchasing a slave for some reason, and that would be the last resort. It would be a lot simpler for Amelia to justify killing a prostitute. Gods, but she had always found them disgusting. She remembered a couple of them from where she had grown up, taunting her like the helpless half-breed that she was, saying she would make a good one too. They were so dirty - like her mother who had yielded to the advances of her father's killer. The terror of being compared to one of them had helped make her so rigid and awkward around men.
In a flash of determination, she picked the most naive-looking girl, a pretty little thing. Thinking about her mother had made her settle for a girl after all, and what appeared to be the easiest target to subdue. Still, Amelia was aware that her tactic was unlikely to work if she gave the impression of a walking broomstick. No, she needed to be much more comfortable, more open, yes, even more sensual. She did not approach the girl the first time, instead retreating casually as if watching the vendors and their wares.
The second time, however, she did approach. Her hair allowed to fall a bit more irregularly on her shoulders, giving her less of a top grade student appearance; her walk featuring a little more hip swaying than she would ordinarily display; a more extroverted, confident look in her eyes. "Serale, hun," she half-whispered conspiratorially to the girl, "you're pretty new, aren't you? You totally remind me of myself a couple patterns back." She smiled, being able to relate was fundamental and what better way than making her believe she had been through it too? As nauseous as that made her feel.
"I was new, inexperienced, and every man looked like he was going to chew me up and spit me out. I was lucky though... lucky enough to be introduced to the Bower of Bliss." The smile she allowed herself was more vulgar than anything she usually did. It was all part of the facade; her professor had told her that arguments by authority were incredibly effective. It all boiled down to making this girl believe she was an authority to be believed. "Tell me hun, how much do you make a darkening?" she almost purred, though to her credit, Amelia could very well be a sensual creature, she simply did not usually want to be one. "I bet it's more than I ever made... you're so pretty. You would be just perfect." Saying-and-not-saying, letting the girl inquire rather than forcing lies on her... that was the way to go.
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