"Mother, I do not want to," I said as firmly as I could manage, jutting my hip out. I stood naked in our parlour, freshly 18 as my mother walked around me inspecting my appearance.
"I do not care, the marriage mart is a strong tradition, a good way to find a husband and will help us to pay for the expense of raising you," she chided as she fussed with my hair, taking scissors and trimming strands, "I did it with your father and you will do it for your daughter's, now stand with your legs apart." I huffed but moved so that my legs were hip-width. She bent and trimmed the hair between my legs, shaping the curls so that they lay neatly. She stood up to consider her work and gave a small nod, then handed me a simple white cotton gown. I pulled it over my head, the fabric cool on my body.
Girls from across the country who had turned 18 this month would be brought to the mart wearing the same gown, men seeking a breeding partner would attend and bid for the girls. Each girl would have a price set based on their looks and skills. The proceeds would go in part to the mart organisers for the travel, venue and upkeep, but a good amount would go back to the family of the girl, payment for raising her to adulthood and mating age.
"The carriage is here," my father called from the door as I finished adjusting the garment. I sighed but I kissed both of my parents on the cheek before walking out of the door, a strange mix of fear and anticipation zipping through me at what was to come. I clambered in and sat in silence between four other girls, the space was cramped and the air hot. I felt too nervous to talk and it seemed the others felt the same. I watched out of the window as my home slipped behind a bend in the road. We were not far from the mart and the journey would only take a few hours. Hours in which I imagined meeting my new partner and fantasised about what my life would be like, and other fantasies of jumping from the carriage and running until I was free from this stupid tradition.
The journey was bumpy though not unreasonably so and soon we were coming to the mart, I was ready to leave the carriage, heartily sick of the ride. Each of us stepped down to dusty earth, other carriages arriving at the same time as us. They were forming us into a line, waiting to enter a tall wooden building. Around 20 girls stood waiting to enter, all in various states of apprehension. The mistress of the mart approached, a scowl on her pinched face.
"Stand still!" she yelled, making us jump and gather into a line as best we could.
"You will enter, strip, be cleaned then proceed into the quarters where you will sleep. Tomorrow you will be presented to the buyers. The better you show yourself for them the more money you will fetch for your families. Now go." We walked into the building and were instructed to remove our garments. We placed them neatly on hooks in the wall before being directed to another room. This was large and echoey, with a grate set in the tiled floor. We were lined up again and a man entered unhooking a long hose from the wall. With a turn of the tap, water spewed out and he began to spray down each of the girls. Many squealed in shock and I understood why when the water reached me. It was icy cold and the pressure burned at my skin wherever it hit. It pummelled at my stomach, breasts and thighs leaving them pink and feeling as though they had been scoured. We were instructed to turn and the man sprayed the back half of ourselves leaving no inch unscrubbed.
"Bend forward," the mistress yelled and we obeyed, "spread your ass cheeks." We did as instructed and I braced myself, anticipating that the strength of the water was going to hurt. I was soon proved right as an icy blast of water scoured my ass and cunt, the pressure agony on sensitive flesh. Thankfully it did not last long and soon we stood dripping, lined up and waiting. We followed the mistress to the next, much smaller room which held a semi-reclined bed. I shivered violently, we had not been provided with towels to dry ourselves, nor had we been given back our garments and cold water dropped from my hair and ran down my back and breasts.
"Lay down on the bed, I shall inspect you to see if you are a virgin," horror caught me off guard. I had not expected to be examined so closely. I knew that I was a virgin but still, the shame of someone viewing that part of me, a stranger in front of a room full of strangers. Humiliation burned in my cheeks and my feet shifted restlessly. Many of the other girls seemed to feel the same and a nervous energy spun around the space.
I watched as the first girl climbed onto the bed, her legs put in stirrups and her cunt on view to the rest of us. I could see the curled hair between her legs, her lips covering the more delicate parts of her and just a hint of her clit poking out. The mistress inserted her fingers into the girl and spread the lips of her cunt apart. The girl whimpered. She pulled each lip unexpectedly far showing the deep pinky-red insides of the girl, her clit now fully exposed along with the entrance to her cunt. The mistress leant in closely, considering her.
"Virgin." She declared, and so it went for each of the girls until it was my turn. I walked forward, trembling and lifted myself onto the bed, the fabric of it sticking to my still-damp skin. I lowered myself till I was lying in front of her, desperate to cover myself but not daring to go against her wishes. Instead, I lifted my trembling legs and placed them in the stirrups attached to the bed. My legs spread for this woman, and everyone in the room to see. I felt as she slid her fingers into my cunt and pulled so that my entrance gaped open, on display. I tried to hold back tears but could feel them hot in my eyes. It felt like an eternity being inspected by her, my hole spread uncomfortably wide, until at long last she called out 'virgin' and I was able to scrabble from the bed and join the rest of the girls who had been confirmed. This carried on until the second to last girl was being inspected.
"Whore" cried the woman "take her away, use her as you like and then put her in with the second-hand breeders." The man who had showered us moved forward and grasped her arm, pulling her to a door on the other side of the room. We could not see what happened, but we could hear the creak of furniture, slap of skin and her cries mixed with his grunts not long after she had been led away. We could hear as he reached his crescendo, the growls of desperate pleasure mixed with her squeals and then sudden silence.
We were led through a different door. Into a small, windowless room. The air in here was stale and a couple of mattresses were on the floor. The mistress informed us that this was where we were to sleep before being presented. We slept huddled together, as they had not returned our garments, each of us was naked and they had not provided blankets. The chill meant that we huddled together, hard nipples grazing soft skin, legs intertwined, as close as we could get for the heat. All of us were hungry, having not been fed since leaving our parents' houses and this along with the anxious energy in the room made sleep difficult.
