Chapter Text
She opens her eyes slowly.
She is in a dark place. Might be a basement.
There are noises but they all sound so distant. Maybe it is because she just woke up.
She can move but barely. Why?
When she is finally fully awake she looks around. She is tied up. And so are all the other girls sitting around her. There are at least 50 of them. All of them are sitting with their writs and ankles tied to the metals behind the benches. There are numbers sticked to all of their shirts. Some of them are awake,some are still sleeping. Or maybe passed out? She doesn't know.
"Hey." says the girl next to her. She looks up.
"Where are we? What is this place?" She asks panicking.
"Relax. My parents sent me here. I am sure it isn't a bad place. And the guy over there said he would explain everything once everybody is awake." She says trying to comfort her. She struggles a little trying to get out of her bindings but she can't. She sighs and tries to calm herself. "It is no use fighting it. I tried. Btw what is your name?" She asks.
"Elizabeth. But i go with Liza." she says still a little bit dizzy. She remembers that she was having breakfast with her mom and then... Nothing. She opens her eyes here. How did she even end up here?
"Cool. I am Lily. Nice to meet you." The girl says smiling. She tries to smile back. But god her mouth is dry. So dry that it feels like a desert.
She realizes that the other girls around her are also waking up. Some of them try to get out of their bindings like she did and some of them actually start to scream. But Liza knew better. If they were in a place like this then... Probably the people who had put them there would make sure nobody heard them. At their screaming other girls wake up and suddenly this dark place gets even more suffocating.
"Hey hey girls girls! Calm down alright? Everything is going to be ok. You are not kidnapped,your parents are very well aware that you are here and we aren't doing anything illegal. So calm down." Says the guy in a soothing tone. Some start crying after hearing his words. Liza feels like she could cry too. Because even though the guy said that everything was ok, it didn't feel ok. She was so scared that her bones were shaking. "Now...It is not my job to tell you what's gonna happen to you. But just a quick information,this is the waiting room and your trainers will pick you up from here to get you settled. What you have to do is to sit straight so the trainers can see your numbers easily. You guys can keep yelling but nobody will hear. So the best thing to do right now is to just follow the orders alright?" The guy says in a calming voice again. Liza wants to trust him but he is saying these things in a way that you would talk to a child. And the vulnerability of her position combined with being treated and hushed like a child makes her want to also cry like one.
After the screams and yells die down the girls start talking to each other. At some point, Liza starts hearing the world "milk" a lot and it terrifies her. Liza's eyes start to get watered as she starts to lose all of her control and starts crying silently while shaking with fear. And then a sudden noise coming from the door gets all of the girls' attention and they watch as a guy and a girl walks in.
"034" says the guy calmly. The girl with that number starts shaking her head and crying as the guy approaches her. The girl starts unbuckling her cuffs and 034 starts kicking her. The guy seems extremely impatient as he holds 034 tightly. "You do as i say! Not the other way around! Now stop this useless fights or i will make sure you regret it." This has Liza crying even more. Hot tears stream down her face as she sees how rough the guy is treating her. This is a bad place. There is no denying it now.
After 034 lots of girls get picked up by their "trainers". Some of them are patient and kind while others are harsh and demanding. Liza just wants to get out of there. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
"168" says the guy entering the room. Oh no no no...NO! this can't be happening. Liza starts crying again at the sound of her number.
"Good luck" says Lily gently but Liza doubts this would ever end well. The guy spots her and slowly comes closer. Liza is shaking her head now,only moments way from a panic attack.
"Shhh. It's alright." Says the guy as he kneels in front of her. Liza struggles even though she knows it is useless. The guy wraps his arms around her and puts his mouth near her ear. "I need you to breath for me. I promise i will explain everything to you in detail. But right now... You have to trust me. I mean you no harm. Can you do that for me?" the guy whispers in her ear calmingly. And in her child-like state,all she can manage to is to nod and hope for the best. The guy pulls away and smiles gently. Then stands up and adresses the girl "Untie her." The girl comes closer to Liza and she looks at her with her puffy eyes. The girl gently opens her wrists and ankles, freeing her from the bindings that has been keeping her in place for several hours now. The guy opens her hand for her,encouraging Liza to take it. His palm feels warm and comforting against her cold and shaky one. As soon as she locks her hand with his the girl handcuffs them to each other,that way securing that Liza wouldn't try anything stupid. The guy smiles as Liza sniffles trying to stop her pathetic crying. She just can't seem to stop herself.
The guy opens the door with his card and they leave the basement. She squints her eyes as the white light explodes out of nowhere. Who would've imagined that that basement would be in this very light building? The guy tugs her hand to keep her moving and Liza obeys,accepting that there is no escape. At least not yet.
The guy brings her to a room,opening the door and then closing it with his key once they are inside. This makes Liza nervous again and then the girl unties the handcuff.
"Sit down where ever you want. Get comfortable." Says the guy gently. Liza sits on the closest sofa and looks at them with scared eyes. The guy sits down behind the table in front of her and the girl just stands there with a notepad in her hand.
"My name is Declan. I will be taking care of you for the next five years but we will get into that, this is my assistant Marie." Declan points to the girl and she gives a tiny wave. Five years? What?! Why?!
"Why am i here? What is going on?" Asks Liza trying not to cry again. Gosh she can't stop crying today.
"I guess you must've heard some whispers going around in the waiting room. Well... Here is the situation. Mothers are not able to breast-feed their own children anymore. It is just impossible without extra hormone theraphy. And not many mothers are willing to do that plus the hormone theraphy works better on teenagers." So it was true... Nononononono... "Don't panic just yet. It is all gonna be alright. It is not as bad as you think." Says Declan soothingly. But it is too late for that. She is already panicking.
"Y-you can't do this! I will report you!" Sayd Liza shaking her head. Declan sighs.
"Sorry to dissapoint you but our work is 100% legal. Plus your mother has already signed a contract. Since you are 17 you don't really get to have a say in it." Her mother has betrayed her? How?
"S-she did this... Why?" Asks Liza shakily. Declan sends her a sympathic look.
"She will get 40k cash for each year you spend here. That makes 200k in total. Most parents send their daughters here for that nowadays. I am sorry if this is too much for you in one day. But this is just how this works." Says Declan and Liza just nods. She is so overwhelmed with everything that she can't think anymore. She doesn't want to.
"Now... Your first day can be a little tiring but i promise it will get easier. Come on now, we have lots to do." Says Declan getting up. Marie holds Liza's arm for safety as they follow Declan. He goes into another room from the room they were just in. It is a huge room with the same eye tiring white lighting.
"Take off your accessories please and put them all here." Declan hands her a perdonal items bag as Liza takes off her rings,earrings,watch and her belt and slowly puts them in the bag. She doezn't like where all of this is going.
"Now stand there while i take a picture." Says Declan and Liza goes to the place he had shown her. After the picture gets printed Declan pins it to her file. "Alright... Now you have to take off all of your clothes." Liza's eyes go wide as she shakes her head pleadingly.
"There is nothing to be embarressed about. Every girl is gonna go through the same routine. Now take off your clothes so we don't forcefully remove them." Says Declan firmly but still keeping his tone light. Liza reaches for her shirt and takes it off while crying. This is all too much...too embarresing. She slowly takes off all of her clothes until she is bare in front of them. Declan puts all of her clothes in similar bag and puts all of her stuff to a box. He remains respectful and professional but Liza still feels so humiliated. Marie hands Declan a gown that looks like one that would be used in a hospital. Except it gets knotted in the front, right on top of her chest instead of in the back. Liza swallows and Declan helps her put it on and ties it gently.
"There, all done now." Says Declan offering her an apologetic smile. After that they put Liza through lots of normal tests. Testing her height,weight,running a few blood tests and they go on. After a few hours or maybe like 10, Liza is exhausted.
"Alright we are done i promise. Come on." Declan holds out his hand for her again as Liza takes his without resisting. Liza can barely keep her eyes open from all the crying and from the events of that day. They enter another room, a huge one with cages all over it. Liza stops as she realizes how this was going to end. Declan tugs her forward but she just looks at him with pleading eyes. "Come on now... You have been such a good girl for me all day. We wouldn't want it to change now would we?" She would cry if she could but she is positive she doesn't have any tears left anymore. Declan pulls her to an empty cage again and Liza starts to move even though she doesn't want to.
"I am chalosthrophobic pleaseeee don't make me go in there" pleades Liza as Declan opens the door.
"Shhh calm down princess. We've thought about that. Get inside. It is comfy in there trust me." He is right. The cage might even be bigger than her old room. It looks like a sweet and comofortable nest. A place she would've enjoyed if the circumstances were different.Everything seems normal. Except the fact that she can't leave. She gets in and he encourages her to move towards the bed.
"Lay down honey. There just like that. Now give me your hands." He ties her hands on each side of her head. When he is done he gently combs through her hair. The action makes her relax and she feels that the bed is actually really comfortable.
"Do i have to sleep while i am tied up?" She asks in a cracked voice. He smiles as he keeps combing her hair.
"I know it isn't very comfortable but you will get used to sleeping like this quite fast." She nods understanding that it is no use arguing about it. "Is there anything you need?" He asks gently. She nods opening her eyes and looking at him pleadingly. "Some water? Please?" She asks. He nods and pours some water into a glass and comes closer to her. She expects him to untie her so she can drink but he simply adjusts the bed so she is slightly sitting up and he helps her drink very carefully. She is thankful for it really but she still wonders just how experienced he is in this whole thing. After that he adjusts the bed again and he sits next to her,stroking her hair gently until she falls asleep. It sure as hell was going to be interesting for the next 5 years. He was sure of it.