Laura Black, 26, VP of Sales

High up in the tower of a dark stone castle a woman sat behind a heavy black oak desk in a matching black oak chair upholstered with blood red cushions watching a very modern looking computer monitor. Playing on the screen was the rather boisterous scene of a recent wedding from a season of Harem Hotel. She was rather glad the wedding had gone well. Sylvia had even sent her a invitation, which was rather sweet of her even if she knew damn well she couldn't go. It was more contact than she got from most of the other hosts, not that she could really blame them for that.

reaching for the mug of steaming dark red liquid that hadn't been there a moment before she thought about how strange things had gotten on the more recent seasons. Duels between rival hosts, test seasons for market research, hell even Azure had been given a season to host. How long had she been tied here to this castle, her own set, waiting to host a show? Far far too long it seemed, but with time dilation it was hard to tell.

The raging storm outside her open office window matched her mood. Setting the now empty mug down she turned back to her computer and once again opened the files on her prospective candidates for her show. As soon as her attention was off of it the mug was gone of course.

Her introspection was interrupted by the banshee howl of her phone.

"Hello?" "Yes, this is Shar." "Yes I have a full set of contestants picked out. You have the season plan I submitted?" "Yes everything is in place, everything has been in place." "Really? And no interference?" "Right away. Yes sir. Thank you sir."

She hung up her phone and standing from her chair, pushed back the massive wooden furnishing with no visible effort, strode over to a full length mirror that now was on the far wall.

She looked herself over, psyching herself up. The woman who looked out of the mirror at her was always a bit strange to her, even after all this time. Long straight blood red hair, pale perfect skin, and completely black eyes. Blood red lips that she lifted in a sardonic smile at herself trying not to show teeth, wouldn't do to scare the contestants too much. She wore an elegant but simple sleeveless long black dress cut low in front to show off cleavage she'd have killed for as a teenager and long black heeled boots she really didn't need but what was a few more inches of height at this point and she'd be damned before she gave up her boots.

She laughed quietly to herself as she reached for a coatrack that was only now there putting on a long black hooded cloak, careful to not tear it with her long sharp black fingernails. She was damned, and by her own hand, but she still had her boots.

"Showtime." She told the empty room, and thunder roared outside.

.

Laura Black sat behind her sleek ultra-modern glass and black metal desk going over the files in her hand for the upteenth time. At 26 she was the youngest executive at the Wagner Group and one of the youngest vice president of sales in the nation. Her long wine red hair was up in a tight bun held in place by two lacquered black hairsticks, it perfectly matched the wine red of her blouse. This was on purpose of course, to stand out from the charcoal grey of her jacket and skirt and because it set off her vivid green eyes. All traits she supposedly got from her long dead father along with his height, unlike her sisters who had taken after their mother to their dismay. She shook her head at the thought of the genius and the slacker, twins who couldn't be more unlike each other.

She looked up again at the clock on the wall, one of the very few adornments in the austere space of her office. Where was that blasted woman? she thought. It's not like the Wagner Group even needed focus groups let alone a department lead for them. They bought, sold, and leased patents not products. Their customers were other businesses that wanted the right to produce the intellectual property the Wagner Group owned. But of course the CEO and largest shareholder of the company had to give his useless cow of a daughter a job here, like she had any potential to take his place.

Finally the woman in question barged into her office without so much as a knock. She was wearing a loose black band t-shirt, at least she had decent taste in music, and black sweatpants completely at odds with proper office attire. Then Laura's jaw went slack as she realized she wasn't even wearing a bra under her shirt as her ridiculously huge breasts bounced about freely taunting her.

"It's about time" she growled "I have more important work than to sit around waiting for you to bother showing up."

Susan Wagner moseyed over and took the reports from Laura's hand, that for some damned reason couldn't just be emailed to her, and laughed.

"You really ought to relax. If you were wound up any tighter that stick up your ass might snap." She then swept back out of the room in a gale of laughter as laura gritted her teeth then slammed the door on her way out.

Fucking bitch. Two years in a row now the company had record sales because of me and not my useless boss who spent all his time on the golf course schmoozing the old boy network like that still worked in this decade, and I have the awards in my desk to prove it, and still I have to put up with the CEO's fuck up daughter like I was some kind of peasant! Laura fumed.

She tried to relax, tried letting go of her anger and the memory of the infuriating woman's gigantic breasts mocking her as they swayed about loosely under her shirt. She leaned back into her ergonomic chair as she brought up the early reports on the next fiscal quarter. Profits looked to be at their highest yet. Then the room faded to black as she passed out slumped in her seat.

.

Laura sat up abruptly on the black leather couch that was definitely not her work chair and looked about the small dark stone room that was definitely not her office. A single lamp on the wall behind her illuminated the room, it had the look of an old iron candle holder but the steady bright light seemed electric. Before her was a low black wooden coffee table, the only other furnishing in the room besides the couch, with a scattering of eight wide silver bracelets and a single platinum one sitting nearest her on its surface. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all the same dark stone with no sign of doors or windows in sight. Then with a gasp she realized there was someone standing to her left. Laura couldn't imagine how she hadn't noticed her before with how the very tall woman loomed over her from even several feet away. Her black dress and cloak did blend in somewhat with the dim lighting but her milk white skin stood out starkly.

Before she could speak the woman began talking. "Now I'm sure you have lots of questions, who is this person, where am I, why am I here, what is the average flying speed of an unladen swallow. And answer them I shall! My name is Shar, I am the host of this seasons Harem Hotel and you dear girl are this seasons Harem Master! Welcome to Harem Hotel, Haunted Castle Edition!" Thunder boomed somewhere outside after this pronouncement while Shar looked smug waiting for Laura's reaction.

"What?! No, I have work to do, how did I get here? You can't just kidnap people!" Laura cried getting louder as she stood up trying to use her own six foot frame to try and intimidate the other woman until she was to keep looking up realizing even standing she was still a good foot and a half shorter than the other woman.

"Well of course I can" replied Shar "and I have, You and the eight others who will be competing for roles in your Harem." This close Laura realized the other woman's lips were not painted black as she had initially thought but a very very dark red and perhaps she should humor the muscular woman who had been the first to make her feel short in a very long while before things got out of hand.

"Look" Laura continued in a subdued voice "I don't want a harem, I'm not even looking for a relationship, I'm far too busy with work."

"Oh I know, new vice president of sales for Wagner Group Limited, Masters in business and economics all at only 26 years of age, yes yes very impressive. I know all manor of things about you, and one you should know as well, you will not be leaving this room until you have put that platinum bracelet on your arm." Shar finished gesturing at the table. "It's really quite important."

"Okay, right, fine" Laura stuttered picking up the platinum bracelet. It was oddly heavy for its size, with a finely detailed serpent eating it's own tail on the wide back, an Ouroboros she realized, the silver bracelets showed only a clear surface on theirs from what she could see. She closed the bracelet on her right wrist and gasped as the clasp seemed to melt away leaving an unbroken band "What the hell, how did that?" She held up her hand at Shar accusingly.

"Well magic of course" explained Shar "but I'll go more into the bracelets after the others have arrived, no point repeating myself again and again. No no, come." Shar propelled the still sputtering woman gently by her shoulder towards what seemed like a blank expanse of wall yet opened up at her approach into a wide doorway leading to a small garden. A dark stone path led to the center of the garden. Tall dark broad leafed shrubs lined either side with tall bare trees save for the occasional fir behind them framed a dark sky with more stars than Laura had ever seen. And looming up past the garden was a huge dark stone edifice.

Haunted castle indeed, thought Laura looking up at the great building with tall central tower and wide wings. behind her Shar just grinned shepherding her forward towards a clearing where the path widened into a circle of eight stone chairs with a much larger throne like seat at the point closest to the castle. Each had a black cushion on top Laura noted in relief.

"Sit here dear" Shar said gesturing to the large throne. "Now introduce yourself to the audience." She continued, gesturing out into the darkness as Laura tried to make herself comfortable, which wasn't easy on the cold hard stone even with the cushion.

"Audience!? What audience, I don't even see any cameras?" Laura looked around for who she was supposed to introduce herself to. "What should I say?"

"No cameras needed, the show is broadcast by magic of course. And don't worry I'll take care of the script."

Shar waved a hand vaguely in Laura's direction who's face went momentarily slack as she droned out "My name is Laura Black, I am 26 years old and vice president of sales for Wagner Group Limited, I consider myself bi tending towards men though I have only ever had relations with women." "What was that!" She continued after in a panicked voice glaring at the host.

"Magic." She explained again as if getting a bit tired of repeating herself. "Hmmm, two more things I think. height and cup size?"

"Six foot even and a C cup, not that it's any business of yours. And I am not bi, I'm straight, I like men."

"Never dated a man, never had sex with a man, but you tell yourself whatever you like. I don't buy it and neither will the audience. Now hush for a bit we need to start introducing you to your harem, and here comes our first candidate! Shar gestured dramatically back towards the path.