ONE
Alexa picked her way carefully down the crowded, dirty street, trying to be sure she didn’t step in any puddles of filth left by the stray shorgs—canine-like creatures with long, sharp orange teeth and burning red eyes—that inhabited this district. Packs of them roamed the streets here at night, devouring anything—or anyone—they could find. Thankfully, it was still midday so she didn’t have to fear them…yet.
Of course, she wouldn’t have had to fear anything at all if only she’d do as the rest of the Yonnite Mistresses did and take a bodyslave to protect her. But that wasn’t Lexi’s way and she didn’t consider herself a true Mistress. She was only here on Yonnie Six for a little while—a woman on a mission.
As she stepped aside to avoid a particularly large pile of shorg droppings, her shoulder bumped that of a male who was passing by her.
“Hey—watch it!” He looked up, his eyes burning with anger and frustration. He was dressed in filthy rags and his neck bore the marks of a pain collar though he didn’t wear one now. He must be an abandoned bodyslave, Lexi thought—one whose Mistress had grown tired of him and so she had cast him out on the street to fend for himself.
“Pardon me,” she said, trying to keep her voice level and pleasant. She felt sorry for such males—it was one reason she was here in the first place. Well, that and the title and wealth she’d inherited from her Great Aunt Granipants. Otherwise, she would never have left her home on Zetta Prime.
Her home world was almost entirely inhabited by females, who reproduced via artificial insemination. Though the Zettites didn’t believe in having relationships with males or allowing themselves to be sexually penetrated, they didn’t treat them like the Yonnite Mistresses did—using them as slaves and then casting them aside. Lexi’s people believed in a complete separation of the sexes—males were beneath them—but that was no reason they should be tortured or enslaved.
“Watch where you’re going, Mistress,” the ragged ex-slave spat, eyeing her balefully.
Lexi opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t a true Mistress but he had already moved on, stalking down the street with his head low, looking like the miserable creature he was.
Lexi shook her head and continued walking. The way the Yonnites treated males was beyond shameful. In fact, when she had been informed that her Great Aunt had died and left her both a title and considerable wealth on Yonnie Six, she had almost turned the entire inheritance down.
After all, she was happy in her life on Zetta Prime. She had a small business—a bakery where she made delectable pies, cakes, bread, and pastries by hand every day. She had no heir, but she didn’t really need one—she could leave the bakery to her young assistant, Grettah, when she was finally ready to retire.
Lexi had never felt the need to go be inseminated at the Impregnation Center and bear a daughter in her youth as some Yonnites did, and now she was getting a bit too old to go through the trauma of pregnancy and birth. She hadn’t reached the end of the road yet, but she was happy, even though she had no life partner. It got a bit lonely at night, after the bakery was locked up and she was in her snug little home all alone, but Lexi could deal with the loneliness far better than a crying baby. Especially since she would have no one to help her raise it.
Part of the reason she’d decided against having children was the fact that she had no one to co-parent with her. Most Zettites paired with other women and signed commitment contracts, but Lexi had never found herself attracted to her own sex. There was nothing wrong with that, of course—many Zettites were single and there was no stigma attached to being either single or childless in her society.
So she was mostly content and if her life was somewhat lonely at times, well, at least she was healthy and her bakery kept her busy. So she nearly turned down the inheritance out of hand. But, after consideration, she had decided to at least go to Yonnie Six and see what Great Aunt Granipants had left her. She had given Grettah the keys to the Bakery, reminded her to let the stroven dough rise at least three times before she made it into the sweet buns the shop was famous for, and took an Interstellar flight to Yonnie Six.
The inheritance from her little-known Great Aunt turned out to be much more than Lexi could ever have dreamed. She now owned a vast skyscraper in the middle of downtown Opulex, the capital city of Yonnie Six. In fact, it was the tallest building in town, as the Estate Agent told her when Lexi met her for the first time.
“This is all mine?” she’d asked, tipping her head to look up at the vaulted ceiling, as she stood in the penthouse suite of the enormous building.
“Yes indeed, Mistress Alexa. You are now the sole owner of Trindall Tower.” The Agent was a young woman with sharp green eyes and bright pink hair piled high in a series of elaborate loops atop her head. She wore an elegant black gown that showed both her breasts, which were barely covered by some filmy black netting. Her crotch was similarly on display and she wore sky-high, stilt-like shoes strapped to her narrow feet which made her almost a foot taller than Lexi.
Lexi thought the outfit looked both ridiculous and uncomfortable—not to mention immodest—but she reminded herself that this was how the Yonnites dressed. It was considered a symbol of power and wealth to be able to show off one’s body here.
She herself was wearing a plain green suit with comfortable trousers that had roomy pockets and a neat white shirt. The deep green looked nice against her creamy brown skin and highlighted her dark eyes, she thought.
As for her shoes, they were plain black flats which were comfortable to walk in or to work in. Standing on her feet all day in the bakery, Lexi didn’t own any impractical skyscraper heels like the Estate Agent had strapped to her feet. What use would she have for them? It wasn’t like she ever went out to fancy parties and she certainly couldn’t bake bread effectively if she was so much taller that she had to bend down to knead the dough.
Those shoes must be murder on her back, she thought, eyeing the Agent. But she’s young, so I guess she doesn’t feel it as much as I would.
Not that Lexi was old exactly—but she wasn’t as young as she used to be. And sometimes—especially after a long day of kneading dough and bending and stooping to get the bread pans in and out of the ovens—she really felt her age.
Her green pantsuit was a very respectable outfit—much different from the revealing, clingy dress the Agent wore. Yet she’d caught the other woman looking at her in dismay when they had first met outside the enormous skyscraper that Lexi apparently now owned.
That was just too bad, Lexi thought. She might be fabulously wealthy now, but that didn’t mean she was going to change the way she dressed or acted. Besides, she was curvy, unlike the stick-thin Agent—she wasn’t about to put on anything like the revealing black dress the other woman was wearing. It would show entirely too much and let everyone know that she enjoyed her own baking a bit more than was good for her.
“This entire building is yours, Mistress Alexa,” the Estate Agent told her. “As well as Mistress Granipants’ personal fortune, which she has left to you in its entirety.”
She mentioned a figure that made Lexi’s eyes bulge.
“That much?” she exclaimed.
The Agent nodded smoothly.