Lacie Ch. 13

Chapter 13: Lacie's Party

Lacie still blushed anytime someone looked at her. Probably because no one was just looking at her, they were outright staring. Her long, soft hair was done up in a wonderful style, seemingly tied in a gently flowing waterfall down her back, falling smoothly from a complex, artistic knot at the back of her head. She carried a small, silver and blue purse, matching the elegant hue of her shimmering dress. Lacie's long gown was simple in it's elegance. A single thin strip of fabric slithered up over her collarbones, joining behind her neck, beneath her hair, leaving almost the entirety of her smooth back exposed. The strip of fabric held her dress in place, while the rest of the shimmering satin slid over her curves, stopping just an inch off the floor.

Lacie's dress clung to her body, emphasizing her delicate frame and sleek, feminine curves. The dress shimmered in the lights, changing color as Lacie moved. The silver deepened in hue to a brilliant, dazzling blue and back again every time she breathed or took a step. The deep, plunging neckline dove between Lacie's breasts, almost down to her navel, tantalizing and teasing observers with hints at the treasures hidden by the thin fabric.

Past her hips, the tight dress had a thin slit on one side, near the knee, allowing Lacie to move and walk comfortably. The bottom of the dress hovered a mere inch off the ground, looking like her lower legs were cocooned in an inverted calla lily. Lacie's makeup was barely visible, a soft blush to her cheeks, and light hints of blue eye shadow accented her dress, making her eyes seem wide and happy with excitement beneath long, luxurious lashes. A soft, subtle red lipstick colored the soft bows, accenting the blush on her cheeks, making Lacie seem vibrant with joy.

Beside her, Claire held herself slightly stiffly, still a little uncomfortable. They had been at the party a few hours already, but Claire was having trouble loosening up, knowing her former owners were wandering around somewhere close. Despite her tension, Claire was breathtaking in her own ensemble. Claire's bird wing hairstyle was gelled to look carelessly windswept and wild, but it had taken nearly an hour of work to achieve the effect. The leading edge of the wing partially concealed her left eye, lending her a smoky, mysterious look. Her eyes were shadowed a deep black, and her lashes were long and thick.

Claire's lips were a deep purple, and her gold piercings had all been switched out for glimmering silver. The effect was mesmerizing. Claire's dress was a deep, dark purple, only a few shades darker than her lips. The dress she wore was similar in design to Lacie's, but instead of leaving her scarred, tattooed back exposed, Claire's dress had two straps that crisscrossed behind her shoulder blades, partially concealing her skin. A thin veil of translucent purple silk hung under the straps, further protecting Claire's scars from being seen. Her dress stopped mid calf, unlike Lacie's. Thick black lines obscured the seams of Claire's dress, almost seeming to blend in with the purple fabric. The stitching continued around the hem of the dress, just above Claire's feet.

Both girls wore elegant shoes, Tara having made the strappy, heeled sandals in record time. The sandals were similar, but subtly different. Lacie's shoes had thinner straps, and fewer pieces held them to the brunette girl's feet. Claire's shoes wrapped around her bare toes before curling around her arches and tying into a simple loop around her ankles.

When Lacie had seen Master in his black tuxedo, Lacie had been glad he wasn't facing her. The embarrassment she would have felt at him watching her collapse from weak knees would have killed her. Master's black tuxedo fit his large frame like a second skin, emphasizing his powerful physique and strong, tall stature. Under his dinner jacket, he had on a vibrant red silk shirt that clung to his chest. He wore a red tie the exact same shade as the button up shirt, allowing it to subtly blend into his outfit. His eyes were hidden behind a dark pair of designer sunglasses, making him seem dashing, mysterious and a little intimidating. Master's pressed black pants were spotless, and his polished Italian shoes glimmered in the light. Lacie was knocked breathless by the sight of him, and it took almost all of her willpower to hold herself back from simply running up to him and throwing herself at him. Lacie had once thought that Master could never be more attractive, more dashing, more imposing than in his normal business suits. Lacie had never been more wrong in her life.

It had taken almost all afternoon for the group to get ready, but the effect was astounding. Both girls were the objects of stares from males in every corner of the massive ballroom, and Master had the women present almost drooling over him. Apparently, Master's target had wanted the event to be huge, and had rented out a massive ballroom in one of the most expensive hotels in the city. When Lacie had entered, she had flushed when she saw the doorman's jaw drop as he caught a glimpse of her. Clinging tighter to Master's arm, she had almost missed one of the signs inside the door. Immediately, the sight sobered the young girl, reminding her why they were there.

The sign had simply read, "Girls for rent upstairs, new product device use free with purchase of time with a girl. Inquire at front desk for details."

Lacie had shuddered in horror at the thought of those poor girls. Clinging tighter to Master's arm, Lacie had looked up at him, fear making her belly tremble and knees shake. The confident smile on his face had washed away her fears, and the eye crinkling grin that lit up his face as he looked down at her made her heart soar. Smiling back, Lacie had winked at him, grinning as he winked back. Lacie hadn't yet put her choker back on, and she was waiting for the right time to ask Master to do it for her. He didn't seem put out by it's absence, but Lacie was a little concerned about being off the grounds without having it on. Still, she was keeping it close, the tiny felt box hidden inside her little handbag.

The party was huge, hundreds of well dressed people milling around, massive amounts of champagne and food on the buffet tables, waiters and waitresses walking around the room offering hors d'ouvres and drinks. People clustered in groups and cigar smoke wafted overhead as waves of noise hummed through the room. Once inside, Master was almost immediately pulled into a group of well dressed men, dozens of people coming up to him, shaking his hand, clamoring for his attention.

Lacie was surprised at how well Master seemed to do under the onslaught. Laughing good-naturedly with some people, Master seemed to slip effortlessly from one person to the next, giving each man an ear, a handshake and a few moments of time before moving on. Within the first forty minutes, Lacie had been introduced to over a hundred different people, almost all of them rich men in suits. More than a few frowned at her, whenever they thought Master wasn't looking, blatant hostility painted on their features. Lacie stood her ground, glaring back. They knew who she was.

Every time someone looked at Lacie or Claire like that, Master was very quick to wrap things up there and move on. More than a few lasting glances told Lacie that Master's plan to partially disrupt the party was working, as people not only started to watch her, but as more people started to notice who she was, observers started to watch the executives that were hostile towards her. It was a subtle thing, but slowly, people began to distance themselves, conversations started to lag, and uncomfortable silences filled the space around Master's targets.

For his part, Master seemed blissfully unaware of the effect he was having, but in a few rare moments alone with him and Claire, Lacie could see the gleeful grin on his face, before he schooled his features again to meet the next person who asked for some of Master's time. Lacie watched him with awe, amazed by his poise and courtesy as he effortlessly guided the conversations around him. He was constantly dropping subtle hints, but those around him latched onto his every word like sharks on the hunt. A few soft words from him and the tenor of entire conversations changed, and people who had been spouting their viewpoints quickly retreated when Master gently opposed them, or surged forward aggressively when he commended them for their wisdom.

Shaking her head at his deft maneuvering, Lacie stepped away. Realizing how hungry she was, she gently touched Claire's arm, tilting her head towards one of the massive buffet tables, a question in her eye. Claire nodded gratefully, glad to escape, even if only for a few minutes. Lacie caught Master's attention and silently motioned towards the table, his answering smile and nod acknowledging them, while his eyes warned them to be careful. Lacie smiled at him before twining her arm through Claire's, gently bumping her hip into the other girl before grinning at her friend and tugging her towards the food.

It took the girls longer than Lacie had expected to get to the table, but eventually they reached the food. The spread was enormous, and both Lacie and Claire grabbed plates, careful not to pile too much on in their haste and hunger. Sitting down at a nearby table, Lacie began to eat. Claire sat only a foot away, almost shoulder to shoulder with Lacie.

"You know what?" Claire said after taking a small bite of her sandwich, eyeing the tiny triangle critically.

"Hmm?" Lacie responded, softly blowing on a spoonful of hot soup.

"This is nowhere near as good as Ana's cooking." Claire said, grimacing as she took another bite.

Lacie smiled as she swallowed another spoonful of soup.

"Tell her that. I'm sure she'd love to hear it."

"I mean, it's not horrible, but it's not all that good either."

"Ana cares about what we eat. She wants us to enjoy her food. She makes it special for us, knowing what we like and what we don't. She puts love into it. This is all impersonal." Lacie replied, waving her spoon back at the laden buffet table. "I think that's part of it."

Claire considered that for a few moments.

"I think you may be right. Still, as much as all this must have cost, you'd think it'd taste a bit better."

Lacie almost snorted soup as she giggled, casting an admonishing look at Claire, who grinned at her, unashamed.

"Maybe it's one of those situations where the food is all stuff that rich people try to convince themselves they like." Lacie grinned back.

It was Claire's turn to laugh into her food, coughing a bit as she almost swallowed another bite of her sandwich whole.

"Oh, there's a lot of things here that rich people like." Another voice came from nearby, the soft, sultry tones betraying the speaker's gender. At the sound of the voice, Claire's sandwich fell from her nerveless hands, the tattooed girl suddenly trembling violently as her face drained of color in an instant.

"For instance, my pretty little pet," Lacie saw a beautiful woman, her softly bouncing, flame red hair artfully swept around her face as she leaned down over Claire's shoulder, whispering into the trembling, frozen girl's ear. "the sound of your screams."

Lacie's eyes widened as she realized who this woman was. Claire's former owner stood behind the stricken girl, her hands drifting down, settling, feather light, on Claire's shoulders. Claire's trembling was visible to Lacie, and the wide eyed look of absolute panic and terror in Claire's eyes forced Lacie to act. Turning as if to get a better look at the newcomer, Lacie intentionally elbowed her glass of sparkling champagne off the table, forcing the redhead to jump back to keep the crystal glass from landing on her foot. As it was, she was barely splashed with the fizzing liquid. Still, Lacie knew she had to keep her as far from Claire as possible.

Stammering false apologies, Lacie grabbed her folded napkin off the table and began patting at the woman's legs. The redhead protested, but Lacie simply ignored her, gushing about how sorry she was, how clumsy she could be and otherwise trying to make as big a scene as possible. She knew she had to create a diversion so Claire could escape. Lacie could feel the redhead trying to back away, but Lacie had her pinned between two occupied chairs at a nearby table. Lacie ducked her head and pushed closer, grabbing the hem of the woman's dress, jerking and tugging as she apologized and apologized. The woman grabbed at Lacie's hands, desperately trying to keep Lacie's violent tugs from pulling her strapless evening gown completely off of her body.. The moment she managed to get Lacie's hands free, she pushed the brunette girl away. Lacie spared a quick glance behind her, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. Claire had vanished, hopefully headed back to Master as swiftly as possible.

A pair of busboys swept in to clean up the shattered glass, momentarily separating Lacie from the redhead. Given a few free seconds, Lacie eyed her adversary up, watching as the redhead did the same. The woman was older than Lacie by a good amount. While nowhere near middle aged, Lace thought the other woman was probably in her early thirties at the youngest. There were already a few lines forming at the corners of her eyes and mouth.

The woman's hair came down below her shoulders, billowing around her head in soft waves of fiery red. Her face was angular, striking. Her dark brown eyes stared out at Lacie, her sharp chin and angled cheekbones making her look like a bird of prey. Her outfit was a simple black cocktail dress, but with red trim that matched her hair. It didn't hug her form as well as Lacie's dress, but it was still striking. The two women stared each other down, palpable tension in the air as they stepped forward at the same time, the shattered glass having finally been cleared away.

"So. You must be Lacie. His... newest little whore." The woman's voice sang like crystal bells, belying the venom in her words.

Despite herself, Lacie smiled.

"Oh, we don't get paid. He doesn't need to pay us. He's good enough that we let him take us to bed without it. In fact," Lacie said offhandedly, playing on a hunch. "if he asked, we'd probably pay him for the... pleasure."

Lacie had the satisfaction of watching the woman's face flush, the redhead's lips pulling back over her teeth in a snarl, proving Lacie's hunch correct. This woman wanted Master for herself. Lacie grinned at the other woman, knowing that there was no way she would ever get him. He belonged to Lacie.

'Well, me and over half a dozen other girls. But every one of us would fight tooth and nail to keep Master away from a woman like You.' Lacie thought, narrowing her eyes at the redhead standing opposite her.

"Don't be so arrogant, you little slut." the older woman said to Lacie, her face returning to a somewhat more normal color. "You never know when the tables will turn." she snarled, attempting to intimidate the younger woman.

Lacie had to bite her lip to stave off an attack of the giggles, covering her mouth as she shook with silent laughter. All Lacie could think of was the irony in the woman's warning. Lacie's mirth stole the heat and venom from the redhead's verbal barb, rendering it harmless. The redhead looked at Lacie as if she were mad.

"Sound advice, dear." Lacie said when she had recovered. "I'll take that under advisement." Lacie couldn't resist and tossed a wink at the other woman. "You might want to do the same." Lacie giggled at the woman's face as she glared at the brunette furiously. "Now, if you'll excuse me dearie, something around here is beginning to smell. I'll take my leave." Lacie said formally as she smiled. Turning, she saw the other woman's trembling hand curl into a tight fist, looking like she was barely restraining herself from attacking Lacie right then and there. Adding insult to injury, Lacie turned and sashayed away, taking the eyes of over a dozen men with her.

Once she was a safe distance away, unable to see the redhead anymore, Lacie slowed and headed for a nearby wall. Gently leaning her back against the solid barrier, Lacie took a deep, shuddering breath. Lacie grimaced as she saw her dress trembling in little waves as her knees shook violently. Adrenaline pumped in her veins as she rested against the wall, taking deep, calming breaths to steady herself. Slowly, her racing pulse slowed and Lacie weakly grinned at herself. It had taken everything she had inside her to stand there calmly and banter with Claire's former owner, but she had done it, and done it well. Not only had she done it well, Lacie had emerged the clear victor in their brief confrontation. She had been filled with terror the whole time, but she hadn't shown one iota of it. Lacie's grin grew on her face as she realized she had stood her ground, actually laughing at her enemy.

Lacie suddenly felt light as a feather, as warm as if she were bathed in sunlight. Closing her eyes, Lacie stepped away from the wall, taking in a slow, relaxing breath, releasing it in a sigh of happiness as she opened her eyes. Lacie stopped with a soft gasp as a young man materialized out of nowhere in front of her. She had seen him around the room once or twice, his eyes following her every move, but he'd never once approached her. That seemed to have changed. Lacie blinked with surprise as he held out a thin glass of champagne in one hand. Lacie could see him take a deep, calming breath, apparently gathering his courage.

"Hi... um... I'm Eric." he said bravely, his voice threatening to crack with every word. Despite herself, Lacie smiled back at him. Brushing a loose strand of hair over her ear, Lacie introduced herself to the young man. He didn't seem that much older than Lacie herself. He looked like he was nineteen at best, though from his awkward stance and his apparent shyness Lacie would have had to say he was probably just a little younger than that.

"Hello Eric. My name is Lacie."

"Oh, uh, hi Lacie. I like your name. It suits you."

"What can I do for you Eric?" Lacie asked, cautiously looking around the room for Master.

"I uh, saw what happened between you and Clarissa, and well, I, uh, thought you might like another glass of champagne."

Lacie's eyes drifted back to Eric as he spoke.

"Who?" Lacie asked.

"Uh, Clarissa? The redhead you were arguing with?"

Lacie smiled in sudden understanding. She realized then that she hadn't ever heard Claire's old owner's name.

"Well, thank you Eric." Lacie smiled at the young man. He held out one of the two drinks he was carrying, but Lacie, still feeling daring, took a step closer to him. Lacie sidled up close enough that she was able to lay her palm on his face and feel the rough shadow of his beard. Winking, Lacie slipped her hand down, gently tugging the glass out of his other hand, rather than taking the glass he had offered her. Lacie felt she was probably being overly cautious, but if Eric was offended, he didn't say anything. Clarissa's warning had her a little worried.

"Um, well, uh.. Lacie... I was wondering... um... if... you... uh..."

Lacie smiled demurely, reaching up to gently squeeze Eric's arm.

"Use your words Eric." Lacie teased, a smile on her face.

"Doyouwanttodancewithme?" He blurted out, his haste and nervousness blending the entire sentence into a single word.

"Oh." Lacie blinked, caught a little off guard. Lacie quickly glanced at the boy again, noticing the broad set of his shoulders, the square set of his jaw, the dark stubble of his five-o-clock shadow. Smiling to herself, Lacie realized that he was kind of cute. And he had brought her another drink. Smiling again, Lacie decided to tease him a little more. Reaching up, she gently twisted a few loose hairs around her finger as she looked up at Eric.