Flora was practically trembling with excitement as she waited backstage for the fashion show to begin. The young woman reached down and carefully smoothed out a few wrinkles in her dress. For the umpteenth time, she glanced in a nearby mirror, making sure her hair was perfect, her makeup was alright. She wanted everything to go perfectly. She knew this was going to be her big break, the show that started her career in the fashion world…
The 21-year old woman had been so excited when she’d heard, four weeks ago, that Katarin Desmarais, the Katarin Desmarais, world renowned fashion designer, would be holding a fashion show to publicize her new fashion line. And the show would feature all amateur models, girls who had never had a chance like this before.
Along with, no doubt, thousands of other hopefuls, Flora had sent in a video entry, hoping she would be picked. And two weeks later, She’d been amazed when the reply came back: she had been selected for the fashion show! Flora had arrived in the city three days ago by bus. The workshop, in which she and the other lucky girls had been trained by Ms. Desmarais and her assistants, had been a whirlwind of excitement for Flora and the others. And now, the moment had come for them to step out onto the runway and wow the world…
“Alright ladies, this is it…” One of Ms. Desmarais’ assistants, a tall, slender blonde woman named Anya, said, standing beside the curtain. Along with the other girls, Flora lined up, like they had rehearsed, trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She was so excited!
“Annnnd…go.” Anya said, pulling the curtain aside to let the first girl step out onto the runway. She waited a few seconds before nodding to the next girl and opening the curtains again. “Go…” Flora was third in line. A strange calmness came over her as she stepped through the curtains, blinking in the sudden brightness of the spotlights. She forced herself to keep moving down the runway.
The audience wasn’t much to look at, as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. There were probably less than two dozen men and women, sitting in comfortable chairs, on either side of the runway, looking up at the girls. “The audience won’t be very large,” Ms. Desmarais had told the girls, before she show. “But trust me, these are some important people in the fashion world. You want to be noticed by these people.”
Flora flashed a genuine smile of joy at the audience as she strode down the runway, the hem of her dress swishing gracefully around her long athletic legs. She made sure to put everything she had into this walk. She wanted to get noticed.
At the end of the runway, Flora turned on a heel and started back. As she headed up the runway, she passed some of the other girls, starting their walks. They exchanged excited smiles. Ms. Desmarais was waiting, on the other side of the curtain, as Flora stepped off the runway. “Good job!” She told her. “You looked great out there.” Flora felt as if she was walking two feet off the ground as she stepped backstage…
Ten minutes later, after all the girls had walked down the runway, Ms. Desmarais gathered all of them together, backstage. “Ladies, you all looked amazing out there! I’m so pleased with how you did.” Along with all the other girls, Flora beamed. “Now, we have a little party prepared, a chance for the audience to meet you. They were very impressed with all of you. If you’re lucky, some of you might even be starting new careers after this…”
“You really mean it?” One of the girls asked, excitedly.
Ms. Desmarais smiled. “Of course. In fact, I guarantee it!” There was a swell of excited chatter from the girls. Ms. Desmarais waved them into silence. “But before we go over there, I think a little toast is not out of order, in recognition of how well you all did.” She gestured to her assistants who hurried over, carrying trays on which were a number of glasses filled with bubbling champagne.
Ms. Desmarais grabbed a glass. The older woman held it as the other girls were served, then she held hers up. “Ladies! To all that you’ve done and to new beginnings…” Along with the other girls, Flora raised the glass to her lips and downed the mouthful of bubbling, golden liquid. The champagne tickled her throat on the way down.
The assistants went around, collecting the empty glasses. Flora turned to follow Ms. Desmarais, but for some reason all of a sudden she felt numb all over. “What’s going on?” She thought to herself, nervously. Nearby, one of the girls suddenly sank, slowly to the floor. “Oh my god!” Flora thought, suddenly very scared. She struggled to move, but her body felt weak… Around her, the other girls were starting to drop as she sank to the floor and fell unconscious…

“ugh…” Flora moaned softly, as she came to. She still felt very weak, as the last of the knockout drugs wore off. With mounting terror, the young woman suddenly realized she’d been moved while she was unconscious. Flora was standing on a stage, behind a black curtain. She could hear people, somewhere nearby, talking, their words muffled.  
Her hands had been bound behind her back with what felt like a plastic zip-tie. She was standing against a wooden pole, set on a small platform on the stage. Cloth straps circled her body, at her ankles, knees, and chest, above and below her breasts, keeping her pressed up against the pole.
“mmmppphhh…” A strip of clear tape had been pressed smoothly over Flora’s lips. Her frightened cries came out as little more than scared whimpers. The young woman struggled to raise her head, her body was still very weak. To her horror, she saw the other girls were lined up along the stage, on either side of her. They were secured the same was she was. Flora moaned in terror. What was going on?
At that moment, the curtain began to rise. Flora and the other girls moaned in fright, as they saw the crowd sitting in front of the stage, the same crowd that had just watched them at the fashion-show not long ago.
“Gentleman…” Flora looked over, confused, as Ms. Desmarais suddenly walked out onto the stage, flanked by two of her assistants. “You’ve all had a chance to see the merchandise in action, now we can begin the auction…” She nodded to her assistants, who walked over to the girl on the far right of the stage.
The two women quickly undid the straps holding the frightened girl to the pole. She squirmed, helpless, whimpering in fright, as she was dragged to the front of the stage. Ms. Desmarais grinned, evilly. “Let’s start the bidding at $25,000…”