Title: Sold
Author: IzzY
Rating: R
Paramount owns it all



   captains log:

after 28 days of exhausting negotiations of a peace
treaty between two long time warring factions,
starfleet has granted us a much needed shoreleave at
nearby betazed. counselor troi has informed the crew
that they will be able to partake in the anuual
festival Huzzurah, which means a time for thanksgiving
and rememberance. Most of the crew has already
departed for the planet and I plan on taking a few
moments of peace and quiet before I join in the
festivities.



"Deanna, you have been sulking around this house since
you got here. Why don't you join me outside for some
tea?" Lwaxana studied the face of her daughter, trying
to focus on the source for the obvious depression.

"I am not sulking, Mother. Like I told you before, I
am just tired and I would like to rest for a while."
Deanna laid down across the nearest couch.

"But you're not too tired to block me out? Please,
little one, tell me whats wrong. Is it a man?"

Deanna shot up from her prone position, "No it is not
a man! Now please, can I just rest?"

"Its just that I remember how much you used to love
this festival time. Its not like you to sit in the
house during all the parties." She watched her
daughter curl up back on the couch. "Besides, as a
Daughter of the Fifth House, you will be required to
attend the ball this evening, or have you forgotten?"

Deanna let out a faint grumble.

"And...because you are my daughter and still
unmarried...you are required to take part in the
escort auction." She knew that would illicit a
response.

Deanna rolled over and faced her mother. "You really
don't expect me to participate in such a disgraceful
tradition, do you?"

"Disgraceful? Deanna, you know all proceeds go to the
Society of Peace. Its a very worthwhile cause. Not to
mention it gets you out of the house." The last
sentence was murmured under her breath.

"The motives for the auction may be good, but why do
women have to humiliate themselves by bidding on men.
It's... it's so demeaning."

"Demeaning for the women or the men?"

"Does it matter?" Deanna sat up and put her head in
her hands.

"Would you rather the women be the objects of tendor?"

"Absolutley not."

"Deanna, this tradition, as ancient in civilities as
it may be, is one of the most attended affairs in all
of Betazed. I do hope that you will not embarass me by
not participating."

After a few moments of deciding the lesser of two
evils, Deanna flopped back down once again. "Alright,
alright...I will attend."

<Thank you little one. I know you will not be
disappointed> Lwaxana sent to her daughter.

<Now may I rest?> Deanna closed her eyes.

<Yes my dear, rest. I will be outside if you need me>


Later...

Lwaxana and Deanna walked from their shuttle down the
carpeted entryway and into the ballroom.
<You are by far the most beautiful woman here, little
one>
<You don't have to patronize me mother>

Deanna did have to admit, at least to herself, that
she did indeed feel better. Aside from the occasional
party on board the Enterprise, she never had the
chance to dress up anymore, so she took advantage of
every opportunity to do so. Her mother helped her pick
out a black strapless, floor length dress that hung to
every curve her body had to offer. Her hair was pulled
up into a bun, leaving a few strands on either side of
her face. Long silver earrings matched the broach
centered between her breasts.

She and her mother were seated by the hostess at a
table between the runway and stage. Quickly noticing
that each table contained auction numbers that
coordinated with the number of women seated, she
couldn't help but wonder who the other two numbers at
their table were reserved for.
"Who is sitting with us?" No sooner than she got it
out of her mouth, two women that she unfortunately
recognized were standing next to her mother.

"Hello Lwaxana, Deanna. It has been a long time." The
older women extended her hand to Lwaxana but drew it
back quickly when she refused to acknowledge it. "I'm
sure you two remember my daughter Kelsey."

The younger woman stepped forward, nodding to Lwaxana.
"Hello Deanna."

Deanna feigned the biggest smile she could. "Hello
Kelsey, Roberta." She said gently nudging her mother.

Lwaxana looked up at the women then rolled her eyes.
"Hello Roberta. Yes it has been a long time."

Lwaxana Troi and Roberta Devane were both members of
the ruling party on Betazed. The constant irritation
and competition between the elder women went on for
years and was unavoidably handed down to their
daughters.

"So Deanna, it must feel good to get your feet on
solid ground after spending so much time cooped up
flying around space for so long?" Kelsey said as she
picked up her auction number.

Removing her glare from her mother, Deanna answered,
"actually, there isn't much diference. It becomes all
the same after a while."

"Well then it has to feel good to be among 'real'
people, rather than all those stuffy and boring
starfleet personnel?"

"No, actually there isn't much difference in that
respect either." Deanna tried to keep her top lip from
curling.

Kelsey let out a 'humpf'. "So then tell me, are you
ever going to plant your feet somewhere and settle
down to have a family?"

"So I could be just as happy as you and Jamison?" She
said knowing Kelsey only married because the money was
right.

"Precisely."

"No." She answered attempting to ignore the blazing
glare of her mother.

"Seems like such a waste." Kelsey adjusted in her
seat, straightening up as a smug grin emerged. "Then
again, maybe not."

Lwaxana grabbed hold of Deanna's forearm just before
she was about to get up. <Don't let her get to you,
little one>

Deanna sighed and relaxed back into her seat. "So if
you are here, where is Jamison?"

"He is off on a hunting expedition. And besides, I
never could resist the auction, married nor not. I
have donated the largest amount of money for the last
four years in a row. They need me here."

"Yes, I'm sure they do."
The women's attention was diverted to the stage where
the auctioneer welcomed everyone and explained the
rules. She then left the stage to her podium to begin
introducing the first male escort. The handsome but
small man began his walk down the runway when
Deanna saw Kelsey lean over to whisper something to
Roberta, who then let out an evil laugh.

Bidding began. The numbers that were thrown out by
perspective women were equal to latinum pieces; one
credit equalled one latinum. The inital escort brought
in only 350 credits but nonetheless, was awarded to a
very happy middle aged woman.

Deanna was well aware of the fact that she was to be a
part of the bidding on an escort, simply because it
was tradition. There was an unwritten rule that if a
member of the ruling party was bidding and it got to
five thousand credits, the competitor would back down
and let the royalty win. In other words, Deanna would
probably have to spend at least five thousand credits
this evening.

Deanna remained silent through the next ten escorts,
even though she had no particular reason to wait. It
just seemed that if she was to spend that kind of
money on a man, he had better be worth it. None of the
men had been familiar to her, especially since no
names were given. Only personal specifics such as
height, eye color, race, and hobbies were announced.
She watched as her mother bid on an old friend of her
father's. Lwaxana won the gentleman at four thousand
credits.
The next escort went to Roberta for three thousand
credits.

Deanna decided she would traumatize her mother by
waiting to the bitter end before bidding. She fidgited
with her wine glass as a few more men were auctioned
off. The next escort stepped up to the stage to a rush
of cat calls and wolf whistles. Deanna perked up as
she heard the announcer:

<STANDING AT AN IMPRESSIVE SIX-FOOT FOUR INCHES, THIS
BEARDED BEAUTY SPORTS THE BLUE-EST EYES BETAZED HAS
EVER SEEN. THIS OBVIOUS OFF-WORLDER HOBBIES INCLUDE
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING, CAMPING, AND LONG NIGHTS INFRONT OF
THE FIRE. LETS HAVE THE OPENING BID...>

The bidding was up past two-thousand credits before
Deanna could blink twice. Three thousand came and went
before she picked her jaw up from the floor. Four
thousand.
Deanna saw that Kelsey lead the way in the bidding,
agressively holding her number up with each increase.

Before she knew what she was doing, Deanna grabbed
hold of her number and entered into the bidding for
her imzadi.

Will Riker heard the whistles as he walked up to the
stage. Placing his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo
pants, he began the tortuous trip down the runway.
Luckily, everything beyond the stage was completely
black so all he had to focus on was walking down and
back without tripping. He still found it hard to
believe that he let Lwaxana talk him into this. If it
wasn't for her promise that Deanna would be the
'buyer' of his services, he would have never have
agreed to this.

Deanna could really be oblivious to the world, when
she so chose to. He had put forth his best flirtations
within the last month but to no avail. He knew she was
busy helping Picard with the negotiations, so he
backed off. Then Lwaxana came to him with this silly
request.
He finally made it to the end of the runway and turned
around, hoping she was out there, somewhere, bidding.

Lwaxana stood at the bar with her escort, Max, using
every ounce of strength she had to keep from running
and tackling the young Devane. She continued to watch
from afar, the bidding increase to ten thousand.

Riker stood on the stage not sure what to do next. All
the other escorts had been able to leave after they
returned to the stage, but since the bidding
continued, he was stuck. Silently cursing the overhead
lights for making it twenty times hotter than what it
should have been, he removed the handkerchief from his
pocket and dabbed the sweat from his forehead, wishing
desperately for this to end soon.


Every few seconds, Deanna and Kelsey would make eye
contact, trying to see if either were willing to back
away. They were the only two remaining in the bidding,
all the others had quit at the five thousand mark. The
women who were not gaping at the handsome man on
stage, were watching the the two remaining members of
royalty slug it out.

Deanna's astonishment at the fact that Riker was on
stage ended long ago when she realized that Kelsey was
bidding to be his date. Jealousy clouded any sense of
reality she retained, as her fiery personality and
determination took over. She would probably hate
herself at the end of the night for this, but she
would deal with it then. Right now all she wanted was
to beat her long time adversary... and win a night
with  someone she has desired for so long.

From where he stood, the auctioneer's voice did not
seem to be wavering, which meant the bidders were very
close in proximity to each other- and off to his left
somewhere. He tried to walk off the stage only to find
himself being pushed back by one of the workers.
Stepping back to the center of the platform, he
finally heard the word he had wanted to hear for the
last fifteen minutes:

<SOLD...FOR FORTY-TWO THOUSAND CREDITS....TO LUCKY
             NUMBER SEVENTEEN>

'SOLD' alternative ending #1 

Deanna Troi tried hard to fight back the tears that
were welling up in her eyes as she watched Kelsey
Devane walk proudly to her prize that was being led
down from the stage. Unable to think of the reason
that had popped into her head as to why she quit
bidding, she sank back into the chair.

"Deanna, what happened?" Lwaxana pulled a chair up
next to her daughter.

"I...I don't know. I just felt I had to stop." Deanna
put a hand over her mouth, hiding her quivering bottom
lip.

"If it was a money issue, I would have-"

"It wasn't the money, Mother."

<If I had known this to happen, I would never have
asked William to be a part> Deanna heard in her head.

Unwilling to use the Betazoid preferred method of
communication, she answered out loud, "You should have
told me he was to be auctioned. I would have been more
prepared."

"Oh Deanna... I thought it would be a nice surprise. A
romantic evening for the two of you. I didn't realize
you and Kelsey had the same preferences in men. I'm
sorry."

The two Troi women watched helplessly as Will was
handed off to his 'date' for the evening.

Will looked dumbfounded when it was another woman and
not Deanna who took his arm and led him to the bar.

"Drink?" she asked.

"Uh...what ever you are having, is fine." He watched
her walk to the waiter and order, and then took a
brief moment to glance around the ballroom to see if
he could spot Deanna.

Kelsey returned too quickly. He smiled timidly down at
the brunette who ran a finger across his chest and
pulled at his bowtie, loosening it. Leaning into him,
she whispered, "It cost me of money to get
you, I do hope you will not disappoint me."

Swallowing hard, he gently removed her hand that was
sliding up his thigh. "I...um...thought that this was
to be a 'frindly' date. We are suppose to dance and-"
He was muffled by the injection of her tongue into his
mouth.

Will pulled back, "Look...I don't even know your
name?"

"Kelsey."
"Look, Kelsey...when I was asked to participate in the
auction, I was kind of promised to be awarded to
someone special."

"Oh, I am special." She began run her hands across his
chest and down his sides.

Finding it harder and harder to resist her touches, he
thought of Deanna. When he spoke next, the pitch of
his voice was a bit higher. "Troi. Deanna Troi...do
you know her?" He blurted out.

Kelsey stepped back and regarded the man in front of
her. A subtle yet devilish grin appeared on her face.
"Oh this is going to be more fun than I thought." She
grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.

Enjoying the looks of admiration she was getting from
the other women, she pulled Will into her and began to
glide slowly against his front, encouraging him to
follow in her movements to the latin rhythm.
Thankfully, the music changed to a ballad and he was
able to hold her slightly away from his front
side...for a few seconds at least.
She placed her hands behind his neck and pressed into
him once again.
"Now I 'know' I won't be disappointed. You are every
bit of what I had hoped for. Size does mean
everything." She purred into his ear. "I'll guarantee
you will have more fun with me, than that pretentious
little snob Deanna Troi."

Will held her arms and held her back, "I think there
has been a mistake." He shook his head, "I am sorry,
but I have to find Deanna."

She grabbed hold of his hands and dug her nails into
his palms. "Listen, I don't know who you are but you
will not embarrass me by leaving with that bitch
tonight." She moved into him and spoke softer, "I
can...and will do 'anything' that you desire. Don't
you find me...seductive?" She licked and bit at his
earlobe before she found herself pushed back again.

"Let's just say, I like woman with class. And Deanna
Troi has more decorum in her little finger than you
will ever see in you life time."
He began to walk past her toward the auction area but
stopped a short distance from Kelsey. "Oh, by the
way...don't worry about my auction price tonight, I'll
pay for myself." He turned to search for Deanna.


Lwaxana felt gentle fingers touch her arm that was
wrapped around Deanna's shoulders. Looking up, she saw
the smiling face of Will Riker standing behind her
daughter.

"I have to go now Deanna." Lwaxana smiled brightly. "I
am sure your evening is about ready to take a turn for
the better."

Deanna gave her mother a look of confusion as she
heard in her head <And I hope to god, that I won't see
you in the morning my dear...Have Fun>

Will sat in the vacated seat next to Deanna.
"Interesting evening, eh?"

She smiled at her friend, "Very." Looking around, she
asked, "Where's your date?"

Will bit his botttom lip before he responded, "she
wasn't who I wanted to be with."

"Oh."

"I have decided that I am paying for myself to be my
own entertainment tonight. Care to join in?"
Deanna giggled, "I would hate to take you away from
yourself."

"It can get pretty frightening when I'm left to my own
devices, you know? I highly recommend you spending
some time with me."

"Are you afraid of losing yourself to you?"

"No. I am hoping to lose myself...to you."

Deanna looked into his heavenly blue eyes, "In that
case, I am all yours, imzadi."

"Lets dance." He offered his arm as she arose.

Will held Deanna close to him as the music began. The
smell of her hair was intoxicating and the feel of her
smooth skin of her back made him want to melt.
Looking down at his partner, he felt the need to kiss
her, to taste everything she had to offer. He bent
down and captured her lips, feeling her tongue meet
his halfway.
The kiss was long and passionate. Without speaking,
they broke apart and headed outside, knowing that what
was about to happen would change the course of their
relationship forever.
They acknowledged their silent agreement the remainder
of the night and into the morning. Will and Deanna had
become one once again...and this time...forever.


                      THE END