Chapter 15 – The Niger Heart-Pot

After a very stressful day at school, Jenny went looking for Eveline. Unfortunately for the team captain, it was Wednesday and Eveline had to leave right after class to go to work.

Nancy Lombardi arrived in a limo and escorted Eveline to Tri-State University, which was about an hour’s drive away. Nancy spent most of the trip on the phone, trying to find out what exactly was being auctioned. She knew that night she’d have to perform the role of auctioneer because the university was too cheap to hire a professional. Nancy was not pleased about that, nor about how haphazardly the entire event seemed to have been thrown together. But those were all Nancy’s problems. Eveline would be doing her normal job as a presenter. The business end of the auction and “lack of professionalism” were not her concerns. She blissfully stared at the passing countryside while Nancy argued over her cellphone with various contacts.

They arrived immediately before the bidding was about to begin and did not have the normal time to settle in. Eveline followed her boss through the Admin building and into the university’s main ball-room. She took her position on a small, elevated stage and glanced around at the items for sale. Nothing too impressive, really. Eveline noticed a large bronze kettle, something that looked like an huge ancient cooking pot, hidden in a corner behind other auction items. A cooking pot? Seriously? They were auctioning an old cooking pot?

Nancy introduced herself and her assistant, then laid out a few rules, such as all sales being final and that her company expected all buyers to have insurance for their purchases before attempting to move them out of the room. Eveline tried to maintain her poise and ignore the fact that a whole room of rich guys (and a few women as well) were staring at her while Nancy spoke.

At first the auction seemed to be no big deal. Several departments were auctioning off over-priced items, mostly crappy modern art. There were a few more interesting things, including some fossils and 17th-Century weapons.

The mood of the auction changed when that weird-looking bronze kettle went on sale. Nancy described it as an artifact recovered from the tomb of one of the kings of ancient Niger. She seemed surprised when she saw and described the night’s final bid item.

The buyers knew full-well what it was and no, it was not just an old cooking kettle. It was the infamous Niger Heart-Pot, rumored to be a magical relic that channeled to its owner unlimited charisma to rule his kingdom. Superstition? Maybe, but there was no question that owning that particular artifact would be extremely prestigious for any African ruler. The competition went wild as several foreign-looking bidders raised their offers in rapid succession, moving the price of the kettle from $ 150,000 to over $ 9 million within minutes.

Nancy took a deep breath. At first it appeared that including the Niger Heart-Pot with a batch of mediocre modern art was a huge screw-up on the part of the university. The Niger artifact was worth way more than $ 9 million. It really belonged in the Smithsonian.

But it was going… going… gone. Sold for $ 9.2 million dollars. Then she saw who placed the winning bid. A middle-aged African, wearing a military beret over his shaved head and an immaculate suit covering his muscular body, stood up in the company of two armed guards. That man was the Comandante Foxtrot, Supreme President of the West African Confederation and the ruler of just about everything between the cities of Dakar, N’djamena, and Libreville. Yes, Comandante Foxtrot was actually in that ballroom, in person.

Nancy realized immediately what had just happened. Comandante Foxtrot must have bribed someone in the university to slip the Niger Heart-Pot into the lot of art just before the auction was scheduled to begin. A couple of his rivals got word of the maneuver and quickly sent representatives, but it was too late. The Comandante was ready with his bank accounts and briefcases full of cash and of course, to him, price was no object.

After Comandante Foxtrot placed the winning bid, there was the normal clapping, but Eveline could tell that the mood in the room was bewilderment more than anything else. She did not yet know the significance of the Niger Heart-Pot, nor did she know anything about African politics. She had no clue that the winning bidder was the 4th richest man in the world and the most powerful ruler in Africa, but right away she could feel a sinister charisma radiating from him. Whoever he was, that well-dressed African was the most intimidating person she had ever seen.

Comandante Foxtrot lost no time consolidating his victory. He walked up on the stage, positioned himself next to his prize, and ordered Eveline to stand next to him. He turned to Nancy and pointed behind the artifact:

“You. Over there. Now.”

Nancy, knowing full-well who she was dealing with, immediately complied.

As soon as Comandante Foxtrot had positioned himself with the two women, he raised his hand and, with a slight movement of his fingers, signaled a group of photographers to come forward. He put his arm around Eveline’s bare shoulder.

“Smile, little girl. This is your fifteen minutes of fame.”

Sure enough, the camera flashes went off and photographers jostled for the best positions for what seemed to be an eternity. As for the other buyers wanting to claim their purchases, they’d just have to wait until the show was over.

While the pictures were being taken, Comandante Foxtrot’s lawyers were handing over a 9.2 million dollar cashier’s check to the university’s representative and making sure all signatures on the sales contract were in place. His delegation even included a notary with a license to practice in the state. The legal crew made sure there was absolutely nothing Tri-State University could do to stop the artifact from leaving its campus.

On their way back from Tri-State University, Nancy explained to Eveline the significance of what had happened with the auctioning of the Niger Heart-Pot.

“I’ll tell you this. Comandante Foxtrot is not a nice fellow at all when it comes to dealing with his enemies. And the Heart-Pot has its name for a good reason, and that reason has nothing to do with romance. I really hate to think what he’s gonna do with it. Maybe he’ll put it in his national museum and just leave it there. I kinda doubt it.”

———-

Eveline had to go back to school the next day as though nothing had happened. The news story about the sale of the Niger Heart-Pot would not come out until later in the day, so she still was unaware of the brewing scandal and that her body was about to be part of a national headline. Meanwhile, she had to deal with Jenny.

There was no question Eveline would have to fulfill her promise to teammate. She explained the situation to Coach Strickland, knowing that trying to hide something like her agreement would be asking for punishment. The coach was not angry at all.

“When Jenny came to me a couple of nights ago, I figured as much. I’m going to hold her to her side of the agreement. So far, she’s done her part. Now I am going to hold you to your side. When she comes over, I expect you to do everything you can to give her a nice time and help her fulfill her fantasies. I’d expect nothing less from you.”

“I… yes, ma’am.”

After team practice, Eveline noted Jenny giving her the same longing look as always while in shower. It didn’t help that a couple of other teammates had started to soap each other’s bodies and shampoo each other’s hair after exercising. Obviously Jenny expected to do the same thing with Eveline. This time there was no way Eveline could justify saying “no”.

The other team members left the shower to get dressed and go home for the day. Eveline decided to stay in behind and see how Jenny wanted to proceed. There was no point in keeping the desperate girl waiting any longer.

Eveline knew that her teammate was obsessed with her bottom, so she placed her hands on the shower wall, spread her legs, and invited Jenny to “clean off her back”.

Yeah. Jenny’s hands spent a total of five seconds on Eveline’s back. With one hand she fondled Eveline’s breasts, and with the other she fondled Eveline’s bottom. She pushed her soapy fingertips between Eveline’s bottom cheeks and explored the area around her sphincter.

Eveline was extremely nervous. She felt that she owed it to Jenny to let her do whatever she wanted. But if Jenny was so shameless with touching and fondling her in the shower, what would she be like when she was alone in a house with Eveline for an entire day?

And yet, at the same time, Eveline was enjoying herself. She liked the feeling of total submission, the thought that her body was Jenny’s to do with as she pleased. A part of her wanted to surrender completely. And… surrendering completely wouldn’t be hard at all. Jenny was skinny, but her body was pure sinewy muscle and she was much stronger than Eveline.

Finally Eveline and Jenny left the shower. Eveline was somewhat aroused and Jenny was definitely aroused. Jenny couldn’t keep her hands off Eveline’s bottom. The team captain firmly embraced her and immediately moved her hands to Eveline’s vulnerable backside. Yes indeed, Jenny was much stronger than Eveline and could have her way with her. Eveline knew better than to try to disengage herself before Jenny was ready to let her go.

As she felt her teammate take control of her body, Eveline wondered what on earth she had gotten herself into. She also wondered what she was going to say to Lance.

———-

Just minutes after Eveline’s very stressful encounter with Jenny in the locker-room, Lance passed by to pick her up and take her to Coach Strickland’s place. Eveline’s stressful day got even more stressful when he showed her the following article about the auction from Mega-News:

Section E – Arts & Culture

TSU Out-Foxed!

– The Niger Heart-Pot sold to African leader at auction
– Tri-State Admin claims antiquity was not on auction list
– Sale for a fraction of real value, but completely legal

Today Comandante Foxtrot, Supreme President of the West African Confederation, issued a press release announcing he had purchased the priceless Niger Heart-Pot from Tri-State University for $ 9.2 million dollars at auction.

“This is a great day for both the Confederation and for Tri-State University,” according to the Supreme President. “An important part of our heritage is returning home, to where it belongs, and the university is receiving a generous endowment of 9.2 million dollars. It’s a win-win for everyone, and I am so proud to have made it happen. It shows what a man-of-action like myself can do for the people he serves.”

Comandante Foxtrot added that representatives from his nation’s Ministry of Culture had already prepared the Niger Heart-Pot for shipment, and that it was en route on a special flight to the Confederation’s National Museum, where it will be placed on permanent display.

Archeologists around America expressed dismay that the priceless antiquity was sold at auction.

“It was supposed to go into the Smithsonian,” according to Dr. Freddy Gauss, a noted expert in the archeology of the Niger River Valley. “Who let that crazy dictator walk off with it?”

The Niger Heart-Pot dates back more than 3,500 years and has been mentioned in many historical texts. Its origin is a mystery, but it was a prized possession of Egyptian and later Babylonian kings over hundreds of years. The legend surrounding the Heart-Pot is that, with the appropriate sacrifices, it has the magical ability to grant unlimited charisma to the ruler who owns it. The Heart-Pot became known as the Niger Heart-Pot in 1153 AD when it mysteriously showed up in the local king’s palace. The Niger Heart-Pot was hidden in a tomb in 1883, to prevent French soldiers from capturing it. It was unearthed in 1936 by archeologists from Tri-State University and smuggled out of French West Africa. The Niger Heart-Pot has been kept at Tri-State University since early 1937.

Prior to yesterday’s sale, Tri-State University had been under pressure to send the Niger Heart-Pot to the Smithsonian for safe-keeping. As Dr. Gauss noted: “a university museum is no place to keep something like that. It’s a wonder it wasn’t stolen years ago.”

Next page – Scandal! TSU museum curator and Art Department Chairman missing

And, accompanying the text was the soon-to-be infamous trophy-shot with the caption:

Comandante Foxtrot posing with his prize and the lovely auction hostess Eveline Rogers

Great. It wasn’t enough that she was known as the naked girl around the school, or around the city, or even the Tri-State region. No… now she had to be naked in front of the entire world.

Oh, boy… A quick check of the headlines made it clear the Niger Heart-Pot sale had become the art scandal of the decade. Across the US, arts and antiquities fans were closely following the story of how Tri-State University lost possession of one of the world’s most valuable artifacts.

No one could blame either Nancy or Eveline for what had happened. Their job was to auction whatever was on the list and try to get the highest bid for the seller. It was not their place to question the legality or morality of any particular sale. Still, Eveline would become the face of the scandal. Her picture showed up in every single story covering the sale of the Niger Heart-Pot. Many of the pictures were censored or cropped from her shoulders up, but in a lot of publications they weren’t. So, that was how the US and the international art community got introduced to the auction presenter Eveline Rogers.

Lance, as always, was fascinated by the new strange twist in his girlfriend’s life and pressed her for details. As irritating as answering all those questions was for Eveline, it did take her mind off Jenny. The conversation concluded with Lance giving Eveline a quick history lesson about Comandante Foxtrot and making her realize how powerful and important he really was.

When the couple got back to Coach Strickland’s place, Eveline could tell that Lance was hoping for a round of sex. At first she was not really in the mood, nor did she want Lance in her bedroom messing up sheets she had just washed the previous day. Still, she knew that sex with her boyfriend was the one thing in her life that could relax her.

Not wanting him in her room, and not wanting to risk messing up Coach Strickland’s furniture, she managed to get Lance to lie on his back on the floor. It turned out he was so fascinated by her and so desperate for sex that he went along with what she wanted. She straddled him and forced him to make love to her in a position that was much more comfortable for her than it was for him.

It was at that moment Eveline realized something extremely important. Because of her weird situation of always being forced to be naked, people were fascinated by her. Her boyfriend, her coach, her team captain, her classmates, the auction customers… all of them.

With her clothes, she was nobody, just an ordinary, shy, nondescript, somewhat attractive blond girl. Without her clothes, she was an object of desire and fascination.

As she straddled her boyfriend and they both climaxed, she realized that if she managed things right, she could use her nakedness to get people to do what she wanted. Not just Jenny, but everyone.