Merch

You were goods.

This was a reality which you’d struggled to come to grips with at first, and yet even among your ‘sisters’ you could concede that you were the one best equip to deal with the entire idea of it. You were goods, bought and paid for, handled and moved. Your body was not your own, and your mind only facilitated the usefulness of your body. You were no more intellectually important than a slab of meat.

But you know, as much as that bothered you… it wasn’t even that which really hit home between the legs.

No… you could accept that you were goods. As a merchant you bought and you sold goods, your innate instincts told you to judge, to gauge worth and understand their measure. All things in this world were of worth, and anything could have a price placed upon it. High or low there was nothing which could not be bought or sold for some currency or barter; even if that currency or barter was steep beyond all measure.

No that you were goods was never the issue, unlike your ‘sisters’ (for all that the word implied and you actually were not… it was still the closest thing you could think to call the women whom you’d been created beside to serve the purpose which you’d been set to serve), each one created with the awareness of being the potential hero of their own adventures… no you weren’t so concerned with that little tidbit at all.

What really got your goat was the fact that you were Undervalued goods. Cheap to the point of having been bargain bin basement fodder, your mind boggled at the very idea of being the ‘bottom of the barrel’ so to speak, of all your sisters you were the one who’s price was so dammed low that anyone could have wondered into the dammed store and just lead you away.

You weren’t the high class adventurer your implanted memories and capabilities told you that you should have been, no instead you were apparently less than a cheap whore on the side of the street.

... actual tears fell from your eyes as you remembered that feeling. The helpless worthlessness of knowing you were the bargain of the bunch.

“You’re an ass, Merchant.” Your sister states plainly, the bitter tinge of her voice already enough to sting without the tacked on insult. “And you’re probably going to be reduced to an Ass-Merchant either way…”

“Well at least I got bought and paid for… even if you were priced higher…” A bit of bitter crept into your own voice as you glanced over to your shoulder at your dejected sister. “Either way we’re out of that tropical hell hole and wearing clothes again. That much is worth something in my estimation.”

“Yeah something all right... you notice where she brought us to? This place isn’t just a farm Merch, it’s a bloody statement.” Sister Sage gestured about with a sweep of her free hand, a grimace upon her face as she did. “If we don’t do well on the field, then we’ll be in here serving a purpose either way… no matter how you slice it, we’re still going to be cattle. And even worse than that, the rest of our sisters? We’ll likely never see them again.”

Ugg… of all your sisters you could never deal with Sage very well.

While most were upbeat even in their captivity to that onerous man, the man whom they’d literally be created to serve, the man who without a second thought used them as a quick buck without the ability to say no to his demands... Sage had been the contemplative type, suitable to her magical predisposition, and while you’d only sparsely spoken to her in comparison to the rest of your sisters, you still had a good enough sense of her issues here.

... the only real problem being that you didn’t actually share them.

“Look I get that you aren’t happy about this, I’m not happy about this either sis.” You offer, not exactly a lie but you weren’t particularly broken up about it because of the same reasons she was. You could tell that she missed Mage and Cleric, the three of them could talk magic all night long and never get tired of it, they’d been closer than you and Warrior had been. Thief had been… separated... from the rest you early on, and she was the one who’d have best understood your materialistic outlook on everything.

“You say that cause you don’t actually care about anything but your precious price tag. You’d have been happy selling us all off if they’d made you more expensive.” Sage sniped back. You couldn’t help your grimace at the reminder of your ‘low’ status between them. Sure you weren’t an exciting powerhouse option, but for utility you were dammed valuable bar none.

Fuck it, if you managed to learn the Appraisal skill which was part of your lineage’s potential at some point then your value would rocket its way up into the flipping STRATOSPHERE directly.

“I hope this bitch that bought us makes you dammed 1 Tab whore. That’s what you’re really worth anyway.” Oh there was a shit ton of bitterness in your sister’s voice… but you couldn’t care less. Anger coursed through your veins at the very suggestion, you’d been practically dancing on tiptoes around your Bitch sister and as she worked though her issues, separation anxiety, and such… but this alone was fucking inexcusable.

“Well fuck you too Sage. You and your 90,000 tab mark up. Fuck you very much. You and your way too high price-tag. You’re nothing more than a cheap slut missing the other cheap sluts you were packaged with. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. I hope they string you up and milk you till they sell your cheap ass to the glue factory. That’s still be worth more than you got paid for…” Ok… so you let your anger get the best of you, not exactly your finest moment but dammit Sage was aggravating even on her own without pushing all your hot buttons for the day.

Anger sparked between you both clouding out your vision of all else between you.

“Now, now.” A voice interrupted, bringing you to a pause as your head turned towards its source. “Sisters shouldn’t be fighting each other over trivial things.”

Ugg… your ‘owner’ the bitch formally named Ruby Redd. Thus far you’d been taken in by her, paid even less for than your markup had been, and then shoved into the lair of a dangerous crime boss on her whim, all within an hour of meeting the woman. You’d gotten a good enough gauge on her though since everything had gone down, even down to the steamy kiss as she romanced her way into a discount deal.

Your respect for her had risen a bit due to that instance.

“We’re not exactly sisters… or really family per say…” Sage began, stopping at the frown on your face. Despite it all, you liked to think of the arrangement between you girls who’d been popped into existence together as something closer than just…

Ok maybe not actually sisters, but your brain couldn’t conjure a term which felt right beyond it…