Breakfast is a subdued affair, but Emerald doesn't offer any resistance when a member of staff comes and tells her that he's to escort her to the manager's office. You trust that she'll do what she has to do, and it looks like she's resigned to it. Not happy, but not rebellious either. You're the one who made her that way, and as much as she might not like it, it's kept her off the streets. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.
Though, ideally, not by you.
It's a sacrifice in a sense to lose Emerald for the day, but yours is far smaller than the one she has to make. She's going to be stuck servicing that fat man all day, and you imagine it'll be several experiences for her over the course of it, and she has to sleep in his bed tonight as well. On the bright side, it keeps you from having to feed her.
You're not sure it counts as much of a bright side from her point of view.
Either way, last night's video taught you a valuable lesson – that you can earn more from higher-quality actresses even if you have to pay them. Even after her cut, Velvet earned you more than you've made in any one video with Emerald. A lot of that is because she's new on the scene and exciting as a result, but that doesn't change the fact. The fans like seeing things kept fresh.
You've decided that today, as a result, will be spent progressing things with some of the people you've met, so you can hopefully convince them to star in a few videos. You've run into a lot of different people, but some of them feel like they might be a little too hard to get on board. Others, however, feel a lot closer, or at least a little easier to convince.
That's what takes you back to Vale's slave markets. Not the Grand Market, but the daily ones that are quite a bit smaller. The crowds are less than half what they were before, but it does make sense since a lot of people are at work. It really must be only cheaper girls being sold on the weekdays, which might be worth keeping in mind for your earliest acquisitions, but you're not here for girls today.
You're here for a man.
Specifically, the good-looking blonde guy you met before, who seemed both affable and friendly and who, by his own words, is trying to earn extra money so he can start his career as a slave trainer. Sure enough, you spot Jaune Arc at his stand, talking to a rather small girl.
She's short and young with pale skin and black hair tipped with red. Her eyes are large, silver, and expressive, and she bounces on her heels as she says something to Jaune that has him scratching his head and laughing. They clearly know one another.
You decide to approach anyway, before the auctions start and you end up being too tempted by what's on sale. "Jaune." You raise your hand in greeting and smile affably. "Hey. How's it going?"
The girl spins to look your way, darting back and bumping into Jaune's stall. She gasps out an apology that the man waves off with a smile. "It's fine, Ruby. You're not going to damage anything designed for unruly slaves. And hey yourself. Joker, wasn't it? Let me guess – you saw one auction and it caught your imagination, and now you want to be a slave trainer like yours truly." He grins, holding a thumb to his own chest. "That's what it was like for me as well."
"Almost," you say, laughing. "I actually wanted to have a chat with you, but it can wait." You gesture to the cute girl, who has calmed down now a little. Despite being short, she has quite the nice figure on her, and an expression of purest innocence. "I don't want to interrupt you and your friend. Is she going to be a future slave trainer as well?"
"Nuh-uh." The girl shakes her head quickly, but she's smiling and her eyes are sparkling. She bounces on the spot and holds her hands excitedly in front of her chest. "I'm Ruby – Ruby Rose, and I'm going to be a slave!"
"…"
You are… not sure what to make of that.
Everyone agreeing to become a slave does so consensually, but that doesn't mean they necessarily like the idea. It's usually a matter of desperation and, when it’s not, it's something a person does because they know they can make more through it than any other way. Neither option usually leads to the kind of excitement Ruby is showing.
Jaune doesn't look surprised by the outburst, though. He looks embarrassed, running a hand through his hair and looking away, but he isn't surprised.
It feels like you're the only one who is.
"Is that so…?" you ask, more to buy time for your brain to catch up with things than because you doubt what she just said.
"Yep. I'm going to be the best slave in all of Vale. And I'm going to be bought by a super-handsome man who will fall madly in love with me." Ruby rocks back on her heels, hands linked behind her back, and blushed prettily. "At least that's the plan. Mom says I need a lot of training if I'm going to be worth that much." She rounds on Jaune and says, "And that's why you need to buy me first and help me get better! You're going to be the greatest slave trainer, and I'm going to be the greatest slave. It's a perfect fit!"
"Perfect except that I can't afford you most likely," says Jaune. "I've told you that."
"And I'm not signed up to be sold yet," points out Ruby. "You have time. Do better!"
"Do better, she says." Jaune lets out a good-natured laugh and looks to you for help. "So easy, eh? Just make more money. Just do better. Like Vale isn't a pit constantly trying to drain that away from you, and everyone wants to take advantage."
You think of Emerald, down on her knees, struggling between flabby thighs.
"I know what you mean…"
"Ruby! Where have you— Oh, there you are. I should have known."
A woman approaches, looking so much like the girl you've just been talking to that it doesn't cross your mind for a nanosecond that she might be anything other than her mother. It's like Ruby was aged up twenty years and filled out, as much upward as outward. She has a womanly body, the same silver eyes, and hair almost the same as well.
"Are you bothering young Jaune again?"
"Hello Mrs. Rose." Jaune waves. "And Ruby wasn't bothering me. You know she's welcome here."
"I know that, dear." The woman, Mrs. Rose, slides up behind Ruby and places a soft hand on her shoulder. Ruby smiles happily. Aside from her similarities, you can't help but notice that Ruby's mother has a collar around her neck. "You know I worry when you run off like this, Ruby. Just because you know your way around the auctions doesn't mean it's safe for you. What if someone thought you were a slave and started touching you?"
"I'd punch them in the balls – just like Yang says!"
"I really wish you wouldn't take everything your sister says so literally," sighs the woman. "Thank you for keeping an eye on her, Jaune." The woman begins to steer Ruby away. "Come, dear. You wanted to watch the girls be sold. Don't you want to get the front row seats before they're taken?"
"Mm. Yep." Ruby waves. "Bye Jaune. Bye… um… you."
"Joker," you say.
"Bye Mr. Joker."
The two wander off, and your eyes track both of them as they go. They're both attractive, be it in different ways. Jaune clears his throat and you look back. He doesn't appear unhappy with your wandering eyes, however. "So…" he says. "You were wanting to chat?"
"I did but… what was all that about?"
"That was Ruby Rose." Jaune says with an exasperated grin. "She's awesome, don't get me wrong, but she can be a bit shocking to people who don't know her. Mostly because she likes to wear shirts saying Future Slave on them or tell people at school that's what she wants to be when she grows up."
"Why does she?"
"Her mom, mostly. Summer Rose." He nods the way she went. "Summer put herself up as a slave sixteen years ago, I believe she said. Thirty year contract. I've heard the story a hundred times from Ruby, but, basically, she was bought by this guy called Taiyang, who wanted a slave to look after the house and also his other daughter. His first wife ran out on them after the baby, and he wanted her to grow up with at least some resemblance to a mother figure."
Hiring a slave is an interesting way to do that, but you suppose a man who's just lost a wife and become a single father might be a little desperate. And not at all thinking straight. Still, if you trust a slave to look after you and your home, then asking them to take your child to and from school and care for them isn't too extreme. "I assume it went well?"
"Very well, apparently. Summer became an almost immediate surrogate mom to the other girl, and she also got on really well with the father. So well, in fact, that they ended up falling in love and having a child of their own together. That's Ruby. And she's grown up her whole life with this fairytale image of the industry which doesn't always match reality. I've tried to tell her. Summer has, too, but Ruby idolises her mother. Wants to be just like her in every way. Calls her a super slave-mom and talks about how she’s going to be one too."
"Does the reality ever match that?"
"It does sometimes," Jaune says. "It's not uncommon for someone to buy a slave because they're lonely or too busy for romance, and then they end up spending years with that slave and… well… things happen." He shrugs. "Honestly, it’s not that rare. Spend enough time with anyone and you’ll get to know them just by osmosis. Happens mostly among the working-class, though. People who only have one slave and spend a lot of intimate time with them. I guess the elite have too many slaves to ever really get attached to one, and they don't want the stigma of falling in love with a slave on their reputations."
"It almost sounds like she'd be more likely to find love if she didn't become the best slave ever."
"Pretty much. Though, I mean, she'd also be more likely to find love if she gave up the slave nonsense and just talked to people." The way he sighs suggests he's told her this many times over. "But she's self-conscious around people. Didn't look it there because she's always excited around the auction, but she can be really shy with people otherwise."
That might be part of why she gravitated to the slave angle as well. Talking with people is hard, and putting yourself out can be scary, which is why a lot of people turn to online dating where you at least know the other person has swiped on you. Ruby might be looking to find love through slavery because she thinks it's easier in some way.
Strange, but what do you know? You picked up Kali at a bar, and only because she was quite obviously lonely and out looking for attention and affection. You're no expert on matters of the heart when you've sent the one girl most devoted to you to serve as a man's fleshlight for the day.
"You didn't come to talk about Ruby, though," he says, "And you don't own a slave so you're not looking to buy from me." He laughs, nervously, and scratches at his cheek. "I've got a feeling I know why but I think I'd rather let you say it."
So he isn't embarrassed if he's wrong.
"I want you to star in some videos."
"Ahah. Yeah, I figured that was it. Wow. Yikes." He laughs again, just as nervous as the last. "That's… uh… flattering, it is."
"I'd pay," you say. "I know you're looking to earn enough money to move out and buy a slave. Get yourself started. I'm not asking you to do this for free."
"Good. Because I wouldn't. I've got to keep my eye on the prize as well." He takes a deep breath to calm himself. "And, I'll admit, the thought of having another revenue stream isn’t a bad one. Slave training is good money, but it all comes in as a lump sum at the end. There are costs to keep an eye on while you're training them. But I wouldn't have much time to seek work."
You smile. "Making a part-time job where it's an hour at best is quite lucrative."
"Hmm. Though lucrative depends on you, doesn't it?" he asks. "I'd want 250 lien per video."
"That's a bit high," you say, instantly.
"I need to earn money, Joker. Not pocket change." He says it casually, but you wouldn't call 250 spare change. "I'm open to taking a cut instead," he says, "But I'd want a flat fee as well, just in case. How about…" He hums for a second. "How about 150 lien per video and a 15% cut." He makes a motion with his hand. "That's my offer. One or the other."
"A 15% cut of revenue or profits?"
"I'll accept profits," he says, compromising the point. "I'll take 15% of whatever is left after everyone involved is paid, including myself." He crosses his arms. "You can't get fairer than that."
You probably can’t.
Velvet needs money, so 120 lien is enough for her, and Emerald needs food and agreed for free. Jaune is in a better position than both, and quite good looking. You don't know if he'll be reliable, but he has a lot of potential in him, and most actresses are probably going to want more than Velvet's pay. Either way, Jaune is confident enough in himself that you can tell he isn't going to budge. Any other offer on your part would just be an insult.
>Accept 250 lien per video
>Accept 150 lien + 15% cut of profits
>Refuse for now
“I’ll accept the profit cut.”
“Glad to hear it.” Jaune offers his hand and you both shake on it. “I’ll do my best. Here’s to a good partnership. Will you need me to be in a film tonight?"
"Ah. No. Emerald is… busy today, and our new actress only had her debut yesterday and I haven’t talked to her about starring with other people. I'll have to broach the idea first."
"Oh, sure. I don't want to be forcing anyone."
"I'm sure she'll agree with a little convincing. Though maybe it'd help if I had a picture of you to show her?"
Jaune laughs. "We should probably trade numbers anyway at this point, shouldn't we?"
You hand your scrolls to one another and insert names into them, then hand them back. Jaune sends you a text with a picture of himself as well. He's holding his shirt up, showing his abs, and despite how annoyingly good he looks, he blushes and scratches his head.
"I took that a while back. I know, I know, I look like a real doofus. It's nothing special, I know, but it's better to be honest about these things. Honestly, I look like such a dweeb there."
You think you might just hate him a little for that comment.
Nothing special, he says…
"I'll show her. I'd give you a picture of her but you can find a whole video online."
"Ha. True. I’d best check your channel out to see what I’m working with. You know," says Jaune, tapping his arm. "I reckon there's another way we could help one another out if you're interested. It's a bit of a long-term project, but I feel like we're both in the same spot here."
You're interested. "Oh?"
"I need to get enough money to move out and buy a slave. You're looking to establish yourself here in Vale. Are you living in a hotel?" He waits for your nod. "I assumed so. Well, I don't know if you've seen but there are some regular apartments available that have two bedrooms. It's 4,000 deposit + 4,000 per week, which is a lot, but you know how expensive property is here. Well, a lot of people bunk together, and I know it might seem a bit forward but if we're going to be working together anyway, then I figure we can see if we get along…"
"You're suggesting we go half?"
"Yeah." His grin shows itself again. "If we split the deposit and rent 50-50 then we can both have a place for only 2,000 lien per week, and we can expand from there. That'll save me a whole 4k as well, which might be enough for me to buy my first slave. I'd keep them in my room," he adds, "They wouldn't bother you. Hell, I'd even be prepared to let them star in some videos. Call it a freebie, but no more than twice a week. I need to train them, too."
It's an interesting offer. Property is expensive, and your hotel situation isn't ideal right now. You’d need to add food onto those weekly costs, but food would only be 50 lien per person per week, so it'd add 100 lien per week to feed both you and Emerald. That'd make your costs 2,100 a week, but you'd have your own property – a place you could bring people back to, rest at, and maybe even date people at. You'd also be able to take your videos out of that ratty hotel room.
"Don't agree now," says Jaune. "I figure we both want to think on it and earn some cash first. Just keep in mind I'm down for it if you are."
You agree to keep it in mind, and stay and talk a while, but when the auction begins you excuse yourself to get some lunch.
Author's Note:
Original Quest: https://fiction.live/stories/Running-the-Red-Light/z3DQkYE5X8YBXovZ8/home
Visual Novel: https://andoravn.itch.io/running-the-red-light