Disclaimer: This was written over 10 years ago, and the author no longer agrees with many of the concepts found in this story. Some of the content will be cringey and/or problematic. Please remember this is entirely fictional and does not represent the author's beliefs.
Twitter: dazzleizzy
Copyright © 2012-2023
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Niall's POV
"Sir." I announce myself, letting him know that I was here along with the rest of his upper slaves. We'd met him in the conference room behind the ballroom, just like he'd asked.
"Shut the door behind you." His head flicks up, and his eyes narrow when the fall on us. "I need to run you all through a few things."
Liam nods, and Louis shuffles on his feet. I speak. "Alright."
The door bursts open, Harry rushing in. "Sorry I'm late, I was getting Perrie."
Zayn ignores his entrance, and then begins to speak. "Alright, so you all know that we'll be hosting for some very important...guests of mine. It is extremely crucial that they are happy at all times. They are all well-known and respected slave Owners like myself. I expect you all to treat them like so."
We all nod, and he continues. "One thing - they will be around the lower slaves - all my girls. And they'll be touchy, and try..." I can see his fists are clenched, and he trails off.
"However, I can't do anything to stop that. All I can do is ask you all to keep your eyes open and peeled and watch out for anyone...harassing the girls."
I narrow my eyes; I can tell that he doesn't like that these men will be touching the lower slaves at all, but he's trying hard to mask it.
"Basically, if you see anyone trying to pull them off and into the hallway to take them to a random room, I need you to stop them. Other than that...let them do what they want. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir." We chorus.
"Good." He nods. "You all are dismissed - Harry, Niall, stay behind. I need to talk to you two separately."
Liam and Louis file out of the room quietly, and I look over to Harry, who crosses his arms and shuffles on his feet. I shove my hands in my pockets, and keep my eyes on my feet.
"Harry."
"Sir." He responds calmly.
"You need to remember that all the guests won't know that you're a slave. And you need to maintain that. You must act like a slave Owner, and keep your distance from the rest so that nobody notices anything off about you." Zayn orders, his voice sharp.
"Yes, Sir."
"And stay with Perrie...I don't want you leaving her side unless it's absolutely necessary. Is that clear?"
"Clear, Sir.'
"Good. You are dismissed." Zayn flicks his head, motioning for him to leave the room.
I glance over at Harry, noticing that he's hesitating, as if he wants to say something. Then he just nods his head slowly, and walks out of the small conference room.
Zayn pulls out a chair from the conference table, and then motions for me to sit down. I take a seat quickly and quietly, interlacing my fingers together and setting my hands down on the table.
He then crosses his arms, and exhales. "Niall..."
"Are you alright, Sir?"
He nods curtly, and then looks at me. "I need to ask you a few things."
"Go ahead, I'm all ears."
"Okay, so you'll be doing most of the announcing. The sing-off, and everything else. Also, I need you to keep an eye out for someone - a special guest. His name is...his name is Caleb." He says hesitantly.
"Caleb?" I ask, the name unfamiliar on my tongue.
"Yes, Caleb. I need you to find him, single him out for me, and lead him to me. I need it to be very inconspicuous - no one can know about this."
I twiddle my thumbs, my mind in a hundred different places. "Okay, Sir. But can you give me a description of what he looks like? I really don't know who I'm looking for."
Zayn smirks, setting his hands down on the table and leaning onto them. "You'll know who he is when he walks in. He's...different."
I raise an eyebrow, and frown at his lack of description. "Alright. Is that all?"
He wants to tell me something else - I am sure of it - but he just shakes his head and gives me a half-hearted smile. "That's all. You're free to go."
I stand up, and as I'm about to leave the room, Zayn speaks up.
"Niall?"
I turn my head. "Yes, Sir?"
"Tell your Amber to stay out of the spotlights tonight. Those...guests won't hesitate to get all over her if she catches their eye." He warns me, and then a completely warm feeling washes over me, and I can't help but smile.
"Alright, Sir. Thank you."
He nods, and turns away.
When I exit the room, I'm still smiling. Because no matter how much of a dick Zayn acts like, and tries to deny it, he really does care about us, and it bothers him to see us upset or messed with.
--
Abby's POV
"Can I have everybody's attention?" Niall calls into the microphone as he walks across the stage to the middle.
I whip around, careful enough to not spill the drink in my hand. So I'd picked up a drink...not that it mattered. Zayn wasn't likely to tell me off or anything tonight, he'd was to busy doing other things elsewhere.
"What time is it?" I hear him mumble, pulling his arm out to check his watch. "Alright...it's currently five PM. That means everyone has about one hour to kill and enjoy before we start off any of the fun stuff. If anyone needs anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. By six, all of the guests should have arrived, and we'll be free t-" He pauses suddenly, his eyes narrowing on someone who had just entered at the back of the ballroom.
He tries to play it off, pretending like he didn't just stop delivering his message. "And we'll be free to continue . . . with the competition."
He shuffles uncomfortably on the stage, and I turn around to see what had caused him to stop.
"I hope everyone has a good night." He finishes.
My eyes don't spot anything out of order - the guards are escorting the guests inside, and everyone seemed relatively calm. I turn back to the stage, where I see Niall quickly putting the microphone back onto its stand and then making his way off the stage. Soft music plays in the background, filling in any silences.
I feel slightly awkward with no one with me, so I quickly search for any of the girls I normally interacted with. I see Elle, standing all the way on the other side of the ballroom, and take a step in her direction. That's when I realize that she's not alone - she standing across from Louis, who was laughing at whatever conversation they were having.
I didn't want to interupt them, so I searched a bit more. It seemed like everyone I knew was with someone else, busy and talking. Amber, who would've been my first choice, had Niall's arm slung around her waist protectively, laughing as she talked with Eleanor. Danielle, who I hadn't spoken to very much, but still was very sweet, was engrossed in a conversation with none other than Liam.
I frowned. Perhaps I could find Kitty?
And that's when I see a head of platinum blonde hair, occupying herself with the refreshments at the long tables, and before I could even think about it twice, my feet carry me in her direction.
She turns around, and her eyes narrow when she sees me. She grimaces, but then forces a smile on her lips. "What, Abigail?"
I frown, shrugging. "I felt awkward standing alone."
She purses her lips, turning her back on me as she scoops a bit of salsa onto her chips. She doesn't say anything, and I know it's because although I'm not her favorite company, she didn't want to be standing by herself either.
When she picks up her plate, her free hand grabs the fabric of her strapless, flowy, teal dress and holds it so that she doesn't trip over it. Perrie hesitates a bit, but then speaks up. "Have you...have you seen Harry anywhere?" She asks.
"Um, no." I answer truthfully, curious as to why she was looking for him. "I can help you find him, though?" I offer.
"No, I'm fine." She answers sharply, and I flinch at her venemous words. Then her eyes meet mine, and they soften a bit. "Sorry," she apologizes quickly, much too quickly, "I just..."
I shake my head, brushing off her apology. "It's okay. No big deal."
"Let's go get drinks." She says, and motions with her head for me to follow. I nod even though I already have a drink, and quickly follow after her footsteps to where the servants were serving the beverages.
In the middle of her step, Perrie freezes, letting out a starled gasp, effectively dropping the plate. I scrunch up my eyebrows in confusion, and thats when I see her fists are clenched, and she's shaking. Not just shaking, but shaking violently.
"Perrie?" I ask worriedly.
She lets out a strangled gasp, and if it wasn't for my hands closing quickly around her arms, she would've fallen or collapsed for sure.
"Perrie? Perrie! Perrie, are you okay?" My hands are around her arms, shaking her. Her eyes are locked on something, and I whip my head back to see what it was.
Or should I say, who it was.
It was a man in a suit, with a bored expression on his face as he played with his fingernails as he waited for his beverage. He wasn't very tall, and his eyes were a somewhat hazel color.
I turn my head back to Perrie, and I could see that her face was already wet with tears. She murmured something, something I couldn't hear. "What?"
"Get me...get me away from here!" She chokes, and her expression is frantic.
Although she wants me to pull her away, she's frozen, frozen in place, and it takes quite a bit of muscle to yank her out of her position. "Perrie, come on!"
My hands are around her arm, and I'm dragging her away as quickly as I can. When she finally realizes what I'm doing, her stiff position relaxes, and she moves with me as I pull her out of the ballroom and into the hallway.
"C'mon, Perrie, just a little more."
She nods, and I quickly take her to the hallway. "Do you need to sit down?" I ask, worried.
Perrie shakes her head. "No, I need...I need..."
"Let's go back to my room? You can relax there." I offer.
"No," she shakes her head violently. "My room. Let's go to my room."
I nod quickly, clasping my hand around her upper arm once again, and pulling her alongside me.
--
When we get to her room, she sits down on her bed, bringing a hand to her chest as she tried to control her breathing.
I set down the glass of wine on the bedside table, and walk up to her.
"Are you okay?" I whisper softly, putting a hand on her knee.
She doesn't answer my question. "Get Harry. Please."
I find myself nodding. "I'll be right back."
--
I spot Harry in the crowd, and he's searching for someone, frantic.
"Harry!" I call, and his head snaps in my direction. "Harry!"
As he makes his way towards me through the crowd, a hand falls on my exposed waist.
It's soft, but it's cold - much too cold. Not like Harry's or Zayn warm, callused ones.
"And who might you be?" Asked the stranger, turning me around. I froze in my place when I recognized him as the man that Perrie was staring at, my brain incoherent.
When I didn't respond, his hold on me harshened, and I flinched. "What is your name, bitch?" He spit.
Treat them with respect. Master's voice rang though my head, and I struggled to stay calm. "My name is Abigail, Sir."
"Abigail." He says, and his arm snakes around my waist, and I try not to pull away in disgust. I flick my head back, desperate to escape his uncomfortable embrace.
"Excuse me." Harry's stern voice comes from behind, and the man turns us around to face him.
"Yes?" The stranger's bored expression returns.
"If you'll excuse me, I've already claimed this slave for the night. I don't appreciate you fucking with my shit." Harry's eyes flash with anger, and he grabs onto my arm, pulling me away harshly. My jaw drops at his words.
What in the world was he doing? He's a slave himself! He can't talk to someone in power like that!
The confusion is apparent on my face, and the stranger's face zeros in on it. He knows something is wrong.
"Relax." The stranger finally shrugs, stepping back from Harry.
Harry pulls me tighter against his side, and glares at the man. "Don't fuck with what I own, Sykes."
Sykes.
Suddenly, everything fell into place. Every puzzle piece came together perfectly, and now everything made sense. Of course this was Sykes. It explained Perrie's distress immediately. And now, the longer I stood under his piercing gaze, I grew more and more uncomfortable.
"How do you know who I am?" Sykes questions.
Harry guides me away, and as we're stalking off in the opposite direction, he turn his head back to Sykes. "Word of your infamy gets around quick."
--
"What the heck was that?" I ask in a hushed voice once Harry leads me away from the fucking creeper. "Won't you get in trouble?"
Harry checks his surroundings before leaning closer to me and whispering in my ear. "No, it's a long story...."
"But we're slaves! You're not supposed to be talking to Owners like that..." I scold, but trail off when I see him pulling the sleeve of his blazer up. "What are you doing-"
"Look." He extends his arm to me, confusing me even further.
I look at him like he's crazy - he's surely lost his mind.
"No, Abby, look. I don't wear the tracking cuff anymore."
"What?" He's right, the tracking cuff is no longer clasped around his wrist.
"Yeah," he nods, taking his lower lip in between his teeth. "Master had it replaced with a GPS device underneath my skin." He explains, pointing to where his arm had been wrapped in white bandages.
"Why?" I'm thoroughly confused by Sir's actions.
Harry just shakes his head, and then rolls his sleeve back down. "It doesn't matter why. All that matters is that none of his guests think I'm a slave, so I could do that and get away with it. Anyways, what were you calling me for?"
"Oh!" I gasp, suddenly remembering Perrie back in her bedroom. "It's Perrie..."
Harry's eyes flash, and his stance tenses. "Perrie? Where is she? I've been looking all over for her. Is she okay?"
"Come." I pull him to follow me.
And as he starts to follow me, the corner of his lip pulls upward. "Did I tell you how much I adore that dress on you?"
I flush.
--
When we're back at Perrie's room, I excuse myself to her bathroom to allow her some privacy with Harry since she didn't seem to be at ease with me around.
"Shit." I curse under my breath. Of course mother nature decides to visit me when I'm wear a pure white dress. Of fucking course.
"Perrie?" I call, hoping she had tampons or whatever in the bathroom so I wouldn't have to embarrass myself in front of Harry.
Harry's deep voice comes from behind the bathroom door. "You okay?"
I flush, covering my face with my hands, even though he couldn't see me. How embarrasing. "Can you...can you get Perrie for me real quick? I need to ask her something."
"Uh, sure." He's confused, and for that I'm grateful.
"Abby?" Perrie's voice comes through the door, and I bite my lip.
"Yeah, uh, do you happen to have...you know...any tampons?' I squeak, my voice low. I could feel my cheeks burning.
She lets out a laugh, and then answers. "Yeah, bottom drawer of the sink. Kinda sucks that you're wearing white."
I can't help but laugh too. "Yeah, the luck I have. Thank you."
And then I can hear her laughing wholeheartedly, and although it wasn't my first choice of ways to distract her from what had just happened, I'm glad that I had managed to get her mind off of Sykes.
"What?" I hear Harry's voice from the room. "What's going on?"
The sound of footsteps tell me Perrie's walking away from the door, and then she answers him, still laughing unbearably hard. "Nothing. Dear lord, have mercy on Abigail tonight."
--
I escaped Perrie's room as fast as I could when I left the bathroom so that Harry wouldn't be able to question me. The whole situation was pretty humorous, really, but apparently Perrie found it funnier than I because I caught a glimpse of her laughing with tears in her eyes as I rushed out of the large room.
Zayn's POV
I'm near the entrance of the ballroom, welcoming in all of those damn guests I despised so much.
"It's been quite a while." I say, forcing a smile on my face as I shake Jared's hand. He was an old, big, burly man from up north that I'd had the displeasure of meeting several years ago.
"Sure has been, Zayn."
"Thank you for coming." I give him one last forced smile, and turn to my next guest.
My eye catches a glimpse of white rushing by, and I quickly snap my head to see who it was.
Holy fucking hell.
It's Abigail.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck...what the fuck is she wearing?
Her whole back, her whole fucking back is bared along with her waist, showing off her slim figure. The only thing covering her skin was a few silver straps, and instead of making the dress a bit more modest - it made it....fuck, I can't even think.
I wanted to peel that dress off her, to see everything underneath that fucking dress, but so did every other man in this room. And that pissed me off.
I growl, leaving the doorway and immediately running after her. Fuck if she thinks she's wearing that for the rest of the night.
My hand clasps around Abby's arm, pulling her back. "Woaaah, hold up."
When I whip her around, she looks startled, fear in her eyes. Then she realizes it's me, and her expression changes to one of warmth.
"Sir? You scared me." She lets out a sigh, and she relaxes.
My jaw clenches. "What the fuck do you think you're wearing?"
She looks down at herself. "Is there something wrong? You don't...like it?" Her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion - and she masks the hurt in her voice pretty well.
I let out a frustrated groan, running a hand through my hair. "No, Abigail. It's quite the opposite, actually." I'm practically seething.
"Then...what-"
I interrupt her by grabbing her arm and pulling her to my side. "You're going to change, now." I demand, pulling her back towards the exit. When we were out in the hallway, she yanks her arm from my hand and pulls away from me.
"Why?" She's getting fed up.
"Because, every fucking male in the room is staring at you like a piece of meat. Now come." I grab her arm again, this time more forcefully.
"No." She yanks her arm out of my hand again, and takes a step back.
"Abigail," I say sternly, "don't argue with me. I am not in the mood."
She doesn't say anything, and I grab her arm once more. "Let's go."
When she tries to pull away, I tighten my grip on her, and drag her next to me. If she's not going to move, I'll fucking drag her all the way back to her room.
"Let go!" She yells, her fingers prying at my hand to let go of her arm as I continued to drag her. She's struggling to keep up with my quick pace, but I don't make any effort to slow down.
I finally pull her down the hallway of where her room was and then open the door. She's still fighting me as I push her into the room and close the door behind us.
I loosen my grip, and when she yanks her arm from me again, her momentum makes her stumble backwards, and I grab her hand to keep her from falling. She pulls away when she regains her balance, panting and glaring at me. "Look what you did!" She holds out her arm, and I can see red marks where I'd grasped it.
In a sick, twisted way, I kind of liked seeing the marks I've made on her body. I must be crazy.
"Change. Now." I order.
"No. Why should I?" She says stubbornly.
"I already told you why." I say through my teeth angrily.
She rolls her eyes in annoyance. "I was doing fine. No one even came up to m-well, someone did but that..." Abby rambles.
"Someone what?!" I boom, my holding her by her upper arms so that I she would look at me. "Who?"
"Nothing - it's no one-" She's tripping over her words, and she's nervous. Definitely not a good sign.
I inhale deeply, attempting to control myself before I continued speaking. "Abigail. I'm not going to say this again. Get out of that dress, and into something else. I don't care if you have to wear jeans and a t-shirt."
She studies my face for a bit, gaging how serious I was being. But then she lets out an angry sigh, and turns away. "Fine."
The corners of my lips pull up in a triumphant smile, and I cross my arms and lean back against the wall. "Thank you."
As she turns to her bed, she raises an eyebrow and looks up at me in surprise. Then she nods, and picks up a sequined dress that lay on her duvet. "I was going to end up changing into this anyways, you know, for the Sing-Off and all." She says.
I just nod, my eyes on the skin exposed by the dress. "Right. Come here for a second?"
With the dress hung around one arm, she pads over to me carefully, her eyes wary, as if she was prey approaching its predator.
When Abby stands directly in front of me, I slowly bring up my hands and rest them at her waist - one hand on silky white fabric, the other on bare skin. I lightly trace a finger up her side, and she shudders when goosebumps raise on her skin.
"I really like this dress, you know." I admit, my voice octaves softer than it was just moments ago.
The corner of her mouth twitches, and I can tell she's supressing a smile. "But you don't want me to wear it."
"No." I reply sharply. "Not now. Not with all these other men here. Your body...is for my eyes only."
I wrap my arms around her, bringing her closer against me. She rests her head against my chest, and I press a soft kiss to her forehead.
"You confuse me." She says honestly.
"I confuse you?"
"Yeah." She nods.
"Care to explain?" I ask, confused.
Abby pecks my cheek quickly, and then disentangles herself from my embrace. "I'm going to go get changed."
"Make it quick. I'll be waiting."
She rolls her eyes, and leaves to her bathroom without saying another word, leaving me curious as to why I confuse her.
--
I had frowed at Abby's new choice of clothing...the dress was short, but I couldn't do anything about it - it was the only other dress she had - and no matter how short it was, it was still better than that other dress with the entire back exposed.
"Stay by my side when we go in." I order, grabbing hold of her arm again, but this time, more gently.
It relieves me when she doesn't argue back as we enter the ballroom.
When we're past the guards I'd hired, I loosen my grip on her arm and she retracts it from my hand.
"This is just a reminder that there are ten minutes left until the beginning of the sing-off! If you plan to compete, please make your way over to the backstage so that we can pair you with someone for the first round duet." Niall annoumces through the microphone, and then pulls away and walks off stage.
Abigail turns to me, and gives me a small smile. "Well, I guess that's me."
I frown. "You're competing in the Sing-off?"
"Sir, I told you that when w-"
I nod, cutting her off. "It's fine. I probably didn't process it because - well, nevermind. It doesn't matter."
She raises an eyebrow, turning away from me.
"Wait!" I call to her, and she turns around again to look at me.
"Yes?"
"What are you asking for if you win?" I ask, curious.
"Well, that's for me to know, and hopefully for you to find out, shortly." She winks, laughing, and then she's strutting away from me towards the back of the stage.
~~