Abductions and Introductions

Chloe was surprised to find herself in complete darkness.

She had stepped through her apartment doorway, but instead of ending up in the entryway beyond, her foot unexpectedly came down on nothing. It was like she had accidentally skipped a step coming down a staircase. There was a brief flash of black nothing and she could almost swear she could hear some strange distorted, music. Just as suddenly her vision returned, well nearly returned. Wherever she was now was bright. Much brighter then the apartment she should be standing in. She also wasn’t standing. She glanced down and found herself sitting on a green plush bucket chair with shiny brass arms and legs. She tried to get her bearing, but the brightness was still nearly blinding. Looking to her left, she gasped as she made eye contact with a woman in a black t-shirt who looked nearly as confused as she did. On her right, another woman, who looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. She was wearing an overly large t-shirt that hung low enough to conceal whatever she was wearing below the waist, and a pair of bedroom slippers. Despite her bedraggled appearance, she was sitting bolt upright in a chair just like Chloe’s, her eyes wide with what looked like fear. Past her neighbor, Chloe could see that there were three more woman all sitting in identical chairs arranged in a gentle arc. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the brightness somewhat, she tried to get her bearings. Are those stage lights…?

Robin could immediately tell where she was. It was a talk show set. Had she somehow blacked out and ended up onstage on The Clara Hour? God, she hoped filming for today had wrapped, or the production manager would, at best, have her hide. However as she gradually surveyed the room she realized this definitely wasn’t the set of any talk show she recognized. In stark contrast to the soft pink and green pastels that made up the set of The Clara Hour, this set backdrop was dominated by sparkly black terrazzo floors, that was broken up by golden rays reminiscent of spotlight beams. The walls appeared to be emerald green marble, with inlaid geometric patterns traced in gold.. She was seated at the far left end of a line of five other women, all in identical chairs. Across the stage from them, there was a much nicer looking plush easy chair, upholstered in black, with dark green trimming. Right next to it was a matching loveseat. The five other women next to her looked just as shocked and confused as she was, so she scanned the set looking for any other cast or crew. She couldn't see anyone else on set, and the stage lights were too bright for her to see past them. What show is this?

Like Robin, Sarah had quickly recognized the familiar layout of a TV show set. She wasn't on one daily, but she'd seen enough of them to realize what this was. The real question was how on earth did she get here? The woman in her pajamas on her left looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack and wouldn't prove much help. Turning to her right, she found a well-dressed black woman who was looking around wildly. Her brown eyes caught Sarah's.

“What the hell is going on?!” Sarah appreciated that even in her apparent shock, the woman managed to keep her voice down to a stage whisper.

“Beats me,” Sarah shrugged. “I was hoping you knew.”

The other woman shook her head quickly, sending her tight black curls flying.

“I was just at the park. How did I get here?”

Sarah was about to ask the woman what the last thing she remembered was, but she jumped in her seat, as an upbeat, brassy tune suddenly began to play. As she searched for the source of the music, another woman suddenly appeared on stage.

She hadn't so much walked on stage as suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the set from the line of women. She wore a stunning gold sequined dress that went up over one shoulder, but left the other one bare. The dress dipped down, displaying a generous amount of cleavage, and had a risqué slit all the way up to the women's mid thigh. Her face was oval-shaped, with high arched eyebrows over blue eyes, and a distinctive dimpled chin. Her auburn hair fell in wavy curls around her face, stopping just short of her shoulders. As she strode across the stage towards the women, she kept her face turned towards the blinding stage lights, flashing a flirtatious smile. Reaching center stage, she stopped and turned towards the six women. She acknowledged them with a smile and slight head nod, before turning full on to the lights. The music stopped.

“Welcome one and all, to the newest season of the multiverse's most popular harem show! Harem Hotel, Hollywood Edition!” Her voice was deep and sultry. Her voice was raised, but not quite to the level of shouting. More like she was trying to get the attention of a boisterous dinner party.

“What the fuck?!” Bailey whispered. “We're on TV?”

“I'm Ava, your gracious Host for this season, and these!” She indicated the row of seated women with a graceful wave of her arm, “Are your six lovely contestants this season!”

She paused, as though for applause, but the room was silent. Sarah couldn't help but cringe on the Host's behalf. Surely her production team was out there flashing giant “applause” signs at the studio audience, but it wasn't getting the desired effect.

Ava, to her credit, seemed completely unfazed. Her smile never faltered as she continued her spiel.

“For our long-time viewers, welcome back! To everyone joining us for the first time, we're happy to have you! Over the course of the next ten weeks, our contestants will attempt to woo their way into our Master's harem, and hopefully his heart. But before we get any further into the rules, let's meet the six lucky girls that will be competing this season for their spot in the Master's harem!”

Ava turned towards the women, and began to close the distance between them. As she strutted across the stage, a small commotion broke out. Chloe, seemingly talking to herself, was beginning to rise out of her chair.

“I told him I wouldn't do it! How did they get me here? They can't just **** me!”

Robin, seated next to Chloe, gently tugged on the blonde's arm, trying to get her to retake her seat. It finally drew Ava's attention.

“Dearest, if you could just stay seated a while longer, and all will be explained,” Ava's smile held steady as she made a gentle “sit down” motion with her hand. The blonde immediately plopped back in her chair, hard, looking a little shocked.

“Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering where you are, how you got here, and and what’s going on,” Ava explained, like she was talking to a group of schoolchildren. Her eyes moved appreciatively from one woman to the next. She was still all smiles, but there was something almost predatory about her glance that almost made Sarah shiver.

“You six ladies are now contestants on a brand new season of Harem Hotel, where each of you will be competing to secure your place in the harem of your new master!

“Our new master?” Bailey sputtered.

“Yes!” Ava continued. “Your new Master! An individual to whom your lives will, from this point forward, be irreversibly bound.”

The outburst was instantaneous. Ava had barely finished her sentence before the verbal onslaught of denials and objections hit her. She endured if for a couple seconds, smile beaming the whole while, until she held her hand up for for silence.

“Sorry girls, unfortunately due to time constraints on our program, we don’t have time to address all of your questions and concerns. Just know this; your fates were sealed the moment you were pulled out of your dimension to mine. As soon as you appeared on this show, the magical contract binding your life to the Master’s was sealed.”

“Your dimension? Magic?!” Samantha almost sounded excited.

Ava nearly managed to hide her eye roll. “Yes magic, at least it might as well be to you. Just know that powers beyond your ability to comprehend allow me to bring you hear without notice, maintain my little pocket dimension, bind your lives to the Master's, and just in general, power the show.”

Samantha’s brow was furrowed in thought. “But how does-”

“But that’s enough about me for now!” Ava cheerily interrupted, whirling back to face the stage lights. “It’s time to reveal this season’s lucky Master and learn a little more about each of our lovely ladies!”

“This season’s master is a man you all know well! It's no other then…” A deep drum roll started as spotlights began to sweep the stage. “Thomas Valenti!”

The spotlights converged as an impossibly lifelike marble statue of a shirtless, muscular, Thomas Valenti rose dramatically from the stage floor.

“NO.” Ava slowly turned to face an outraged Bailey shooting out of her seat.

“There’s no way I’m going to share my fiance with five other women!”

Ava’s smile turned slightly savage. “You don’t have much of a choice anymore dearest.” She gave Bailey the same “sit-down” gesture she had Chloe, and Bailey slammed back down into her seat, continuing to struggle against the invisible ****. “I love the emotion though. Hold on to that, it’ll serve you well going forward! Besides, you have an advantage of being one of the few contestants to know Thomas intimately.”

Bailey was too busy glaring daggers at Ava to see Samantha shift uncomfortably in her seat. The charm returned to Ava’s smile as she gracefully turned back to stage front.

“We’ll meet the master later! For now, let’s get to know the members of his new harem a little better! We’ll start down on this end, and work our way down the line.”

Ava took a few steps towards a frowning Robin, indicating her with her whole hand, palm facing up.

“Dearest, if you could just tell the audience your name, age, cup size, your favorite movie genre and how you know Thomas.”

Robin’s maintained her dour look, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair. “How about no?” she replied flatly.

Ava's smile never faltered. “Oh, it really wasn't a request.”

Robin suddenly shot up to her feet with a fake looking grin. “Hi! My name is Robin Levy! I'm twenty-nine years old and a B cup! My favorite movies are horror movies, and Thomas is my agent.”

Her voice sounded artificially cheery. As soon as she finished speaking, her smile disappeared, and she stared at Ava in disgust.

“What...what did you...?”

“Got to keep the show moving dear,” Ava said, as she motioned Robin to retake her seat. Her gaze slid over to Chloe, who was staring open-mouthed at Robin in shock. After failing to get her attention, Ava sighed, and then Chloe's head snapped forward and her face broke into its own strained grin as she stood.

“Hello! My name is Chloe Taylor! I'm twenty-three years old and a B cup! My favorite genre of movies are thrillers and Thomas is also my agent!”

As Chloe came out of her trance, she frantically scanned the set, as if to confirm where she still was. Ava didn't have to tell her to retake her seat. The host moved on down the line to Cassandra who was sitting stock-still with her arms wrapped around her shoulders, looking out past Ava with a thousand yard stare.

“You know, I don't really enjoy this anymore then you do,” Ava's smile was beginning to fade, as Cassandra adopted her own phony grin and started her spiel:

“Hi! I'm Cassandra Layton! I'm twenty-six years old and a C cup! My favorite kind of movies are detective and film noir movies! Thomas is my agent too!”

Cassandra dropped back into her seat as soon as she regained control of her body. She resumed staring off into space, trying to block out the set she was now trapped on.

Tut-tutting, Ava turned to Sarah next. Her smile was now completely gone “You know, showing a little initiative goes a long way...”

Sarah slowly rose to her feet on her own accord. She locked eyes with the Host as she introduced herself.

“My name is Sarah Bridges. I'm thirty-four years old and wear an A cup bra. I know Thomas through work. We're both employed by the same agency. My favorite movies are Westerns.”

Sarah slowly retook her seat, never breaking eye contact with Ava. Ava waited for the tall thin woman to fully sit down, before she moved on down the line, a small smile returning to her face.

“There! That wasn't so bad now, was it? You're next dearest.”

Bailey confidently rose to her feet with a dismissive look on her face.

“My name is Bailey Winters. I'm twenty-seven years old and a D-cup,” Bailey glared at the Host as she continued, “I enjoy action movies, and Thomas is my fiance!” She sat back down hard, and crossed her legs defiantly.

“Excellent Miss Winters! I'm glad someone here is willing to show some passion,” Ava looked back down the line towards the other women disapprovingly, “Now, last but certainly not-”

“My name is Samantha Martinez, I'm twenty-six years old and a DD!” Samantha hurriedly interrupted, her face blushing. She rushed on in a near panic, “Thomas is my agent! That's how I know him!” She plopped back down in her seat, but then her eyes went wide, and with a loud “Oh” she shot back up again.

“And my favorite movies are sci-fi and fantasy!” she squeaked, before falling back into her chair, cheeks burning.

Ava's eyes twinkled with amusement, but her smug grin made it look anything but comforting.

“Thank you Miss Martinez for your...enthusiasm.” She paused, letting her words hang in the air while staring the poor girl down for a second...

“Now!” Ava suddenly proclaimed, clapping her hands and wheeling back towards the blinding stage lights.

“You've met all of our contestants, so it's time for our first “Best Girl Poll!” You, the audience, get to vote on which contestant is your favorite! The winner gets a reward and the placements will determine Master and contestant date order for the upcoming week.”

“While those votes are coming in, it's finally time to meet the big man himself! Everyone put your hands together and give a big Harem Hotel: Hollywood Edition welcome to Thomas Valenti!”

There was an overly-theatrical poof of smoke, and a confused looking man suddenly appeared seated on the loveseat set-up opposite the line of woman.

Sarah couldn't help but laugh as the smoke cleared and she could see the man clearly. It was a bitter, thin laugh.

Bailey cried out in frustration.

******
Week 1 Best Girl Poll: https://strawpoll.com/NPgxePV8rZ2