The Capture Target Only Loves Magic

34. The Auction

_____Amanda Kayrin______

Amanda handed over two tickets.

The underground was true to its name- it was underground. Amanda tilted her head to see swathes of clothing on the shelves, mostly black or in some other dark color, and many brown bags. Her first time at the black market, she had expected it to be darker, she thought. More creepy, and more concealed. Now she knew better. Though the place was indeed in a corner of the street, the whole place was brightly lit, looking like a bar of some sorts. Nico paid. Amanda went into the changing room.

"Go quickly. The auction starts at five." The man at the stand told her. His voice was monotone.

Startled, Amanda quickly stuffed the robe over her entire body. She buttoned it up to the top, put on the cover, and tied her unruly red hair to the back. Though it wasn't unmanageable, it had a lot of waves and curls that were a pain to get organized. It took her a couple of seconds to tidy herself down. Phew. Now nobody could recognize her, she thought.

"Are you done, Miss?" She heard Nico ask from the outside.

Amanda walked out of the room. She lifted her arms, showing off her new look.

Nico made an audible sigh.

"Miss." he said gently. "Your shoes."

She looked down. Oh.

"Shoes..." Amanda said, her voice hesitant. She looked at the man at the stand, whose eyes brushed over the two. He then shook his head.

"I'll get some for you in the back."

Nico tossed a coin to the man and thanked him. The man sighed. He disappeared, Amanda assumed he went to get the shoes, then returned with a pair of big, black, riding boots.

She put them on. They were a little big, but not too bad. Amanda wiggled her toes. The boots reached up to her calves, also hiding her stockings. Amanda hadn't thought of her stockings possibly showing.

It took a short while until they were assisted by another person into the actual black market. They were led over to their seats by a servant in all black. Amanda sat down. Nico followed her, but he didn't sit down. He had a frown on his face. He didn't look that good, Amanda thought. Nervous, probably. When it had been her first time at the black market, she had been nervous too.

She had been nervous. Scared.

Everything was so scary. It was all illegal. One wrong move, and she could get herself in a tough spot, with nobody to help her. One small accident, and she could find herself in prison. But it couldn't be helped. She could only be careful. She needed something from the auction, after all.

She patted Nico on the back to cheer him up, but it didn't seem to help. She sat down on her seat.

It was a very pretty place, a bit dramatic, with dark red curtains hanging in from each end of the stage. It wasn't too big, but wasn't too small either. It was the size of the auditorium of the college Amanda went to- no, it was a bit bigger than that, she thought.

The seats had cushions and were comfy. Amanda spotted some wooden boards and a chalk pen in front of her. They were on a table

Nico, in the end, stood behind her, not sitting down. It made Amanda wonder if she should ask him to sit. He looked the part of a loyal retainer with his face guarded behind his robe. Amanda opened her mouth- he shook his head.

The seats were comfortable, Amanda thought. She didn't get why Nico wanted to stand, but she guessed there must be some kind of reason. She shrugged.