Some parts of this story will lean more on the 'real world' cusp of things and may not be real in the Star Wars universe (like fridges or bags of cheese). Just a warning if you're picky about these sorts of things. However canon will be followed as closely as possible
Both Poe and Zarabelle had very different reactions as they walked into the Whitefield Town Hall arm-in-arm. It was nothing to Zarabelle, who had seen many fancy parties in her relatively short lifetime on this planet. Poe on the other hand was in a state of amazement as he looked around. There was never anything like this on Yavin 4.
The lights had been dimmed as the large ballroom was fairly dark, but enough lights shone in different areas to bounce off the occupants to illuminate them enough to be seen. There was also lots of gold and diamonds scattered around - gold platters and plateware, diamond jewellery on the women, gold pillars holding up the strong ceiling and great big diamond chandeliers hanging from those ceilings.
Poe was in awe at how fancy the room had been dressed up. He thought it was very extravagant, but a little wasteful as well. The occupants in the room were dressed up just as decorative as the furnishings around them.
"There's enough wealth in this room to settle all slavery debts in this part of the galaxy. But no, showing off is a more worthy cause of this affluence." Zarabelle spat as she confidently strut through the party, with Poe in tow.
"Tonight you've shown you have traits such as my heckler, sassy, sarcastic and if we're being honest a bit of a spoilt brat. Didn't expect to add humanitarian to that list." Poe admitted to Zarabelle.
"Bite me, errr what's your surname again?" Zarabelle stated as she thought real hard about Poe's last name "Dameron. Yeah. Bite me, Dameron."
Upon hearing those words Poe quickly jumped in front of Zarabelle to stop her in her tracks. He felt a little bad about his prior statement and wanted to clear the air with Zarabelle to stop any possible resentment from bubbling up to ruin their night.
"It's a good thing! Outside of those who serve under the New Republic it's actually quite rare to find people who give a damn about others. It's refreshing. I was just remarking that you're full of surprises. You're a very interesting person, Belle." Poe explained.
"I know. Life is too short to be boring," Zarabelle beamed as she wasn't upset with Poe one bit "Now go to the main stage. I'm going to go find my mum. I'll see you soon."
Poe wasn't sure what to do as he departed from Belle. He had only met her tonight, they definitely weren't close enough for a kiss on the cheek or a hug goodbye. Luckily for him she sensed his awkward demeanour and instead she presented her fist for a fist bump. Poe bumped her fist with his own wearing a large grin before he scampered off.
Zarabelle went to look for her mother but she didn't have to search far. In no time at all Mink Penthurst had gracefully strutted over to her daughter in all of her glory. Her heavily made-up eyes closely took in Zarabelle's form as she scrutinised her daughter's attire.
"I should be quite mad at you for not making any effort in your appearance, Zarabelle. However I'm glad you've come to your senses to participate. I assume the of absence of prettying yourself up is due to a lack of time." Mink rigidly greeted her daughter.
Zarabelle took a few seconds to think of her response. Normally she'd love to bite back to her mother's insults and start a verbal war. But not tonight - she was on a mission. However at the same time she knew it would be too suspicious and too out of character to take the rude words lying down. She needed to be strategic in her reply.
"Yeah, something like that." Zarabelle grumbled.
"Well come on then. The previous auction has finished and they're signing the contracts now. You're due on stage any moment." Mink gruffly stated as she put hands on either side of Zarabelle's shoulders and frog marched her away.
Poe anxiously took many sips of the drink he had purchased as he kept flickering his eyes to the stage. He was darting his eyes towards many things in the glamorous town hall but there was one common theme he had noticed. There were many very attractive and well made-up women flirting one-on-one with smartly dressed men.
At first Poe thought it was typical of high society - good-looking women on the arms of affluent men. But then he realised these women were 'purchased' by these men tonight, no matter how much this 'Auction Ball' was downplayed as being only good fun. It made him shiver when he realised how creepy the entire concept was. Seeing it all first hand made him glad he was scheming with Belle in order to spice things up tonight.
"Who's the lucky last? The bids have gone too high tonight. This batch of girls are far too easy. Not marriage material so I haven't wasted my money." Poe heard another male scoff to his left whilst talking to one of his friends.
Poe took a good look at the two. They were dressed in extravagant yet intimidating robes that draped powerfully to create an illusion that the men were fierce and well-built. Poe had never seen such fashion before and guessed it was a fashion unique to Thebargo. The men also appeared very arrogant, based on the overly confident smirks on their faces
"I heard that apparently Zarabelle Penthurst was a late contender." The second male lowly gossiped.
"Zarabelle Penthurst! Gee, I'm glad I didn't waste my money on any of these other desperate girls. I'd bid high for her." The first unknown male grinned, piquing Poe's interest greatly upon hearing those words.
"She's certainly not the ugliest girl in the city. But I always thought she looked a little plain. She never dresses up. She'd make a terrible wife." The second man scoffed loudly.
"See, that's what I like about her. I like the whole bare-faced look she has going on. You know she doesn't need layers of makeup or ruffles to look good. A lot of women around probably look woeful should you wipe their faces off," The man replied before going quieter "Imagine how good she would look if she did put the effort in. Once you get to these strong women they're pretty easy to manipulate."
Poe was unable to contain himself as he let out a large snort at these men and their words. He had been trying to focus on the plan he and Belle had decided upon a little earlier to try and ease his mind, but he could no longer hold it in. He had to be his usual smart yet slightly irrational self towards these men.
The two men immediately turned to face Poe and sent him glowering looks as they did so.
"She's a strong one, that Zarabelle Penthurst. She may not have the same smoldering good looks as other women in this city but she seems to have double the amount of men after her. What makes her think she'll choose you?" Poe cockily grinned.
"Bud, this is an Auction Ball. The women don't choose, the men do. You do know what an Auction Ball is, right?" The first male (the one interested in Zarabelle) snarled towards Poe.
"I don't think he does. Look at the state of his attire. He looks like a runaway from Eryup. Probably thinks good women can be won over with charm and treating them well, instead of the truth which is charm and money." His friend laughed cruelly.
Poe took a step towards the two audacious men out of anger. In any other circumstance he would have no qualms to deliver a swift punch to the face to anybody who would dare to insult him so brutally.
But he stopped himself. This time he wouldn't need violence to beat them. He had a very carefully executed plan that would be going in his favour any moment now. If he harmed these two men that would just be ruining the events to come.
"Let's see how this plays out." The man interested in Zarabelle laughed before the lights dimmed.
A cheesy-looking older man clad in purple robes and fake dazzling white teeth to match strode out onto the magnificent stage that had been set-up.
"Welcome back ladies, gents, things and all others. I thank you for your patience. We only have one last auction for tonight, then all those who have bid for women tonight can go and enjoy their company." The balding presenter smiled towards the crowd.
Zarabelle shivered as she peaked from behind the curtain. She had always hated the Auction Ball and every single thing to do with it, but being caught up in the action made her hate it even more. The organisers always tried to publicly denounce any hints of slavery or prostitution involved but it was clear the issue was still very rife. Even the language used showed the men believed they had an ownership over the women participating.
"May I present to you Miss Zarabelle Penthurst!" The announcer enthusiastically presented and Zarabelle strut out from behind the red curtains on the stage.
There was a rowdy round of applause from the crowd and a few wolf whistles heard bounced around the town hall.
The bright lights in her face blinded her for a few seconds and she blinked to adjust her sensitive eyes to the illuminations hitting her face.
"Tell us a little bit about yourself, Zarabelle. Maybe give the very lucky man who wins your bid an idea of where to take you." The presenter said to Zarabelle as he handed her his microphone.
Zarabelle let a wicked grin upon this action. She completely forgot about this part of the Auction Ball. The women were supposed to tell the men about themselves in order to sell themselves for bids. Normally the speeches were prepared weeks if not months in advance and were full of grace and wit.
Not this one. Zarabelle was glad she hadn't prepared for this. It made it all the more satisfying.
"Hello to all. As you know, I'm Zarabelle Penthurst. I'm an air traffic controller at the spaceport and I plan to make more money in my career than any of you schmucks. I enjoy long walks to the fridge where I will stuff my face with cheese out of the bag." Zarabelle proudly stated.
A few murmurs broke out throughout the crowd. Zarabelle's vision was still slightly impaired from the bright lights but she was slowly adjusting. The first thing she could make out was her mother's disapproving glare to the side of the stage. Therefore she knew she had to continue.
"Any expectations on this date of yours?" The presenter asked, after being caught a little off guard by Zarabelle's strange response.
"Nope. But they better not have any expectations of me either. I don't put out on the first date." Zarabelle stated proudly.
"W-well there you have it. We've got ourselves a classy and traditional girl here." The presenter stuttered. He was attempting to move the conversation along but Zarabelle had one last quip to make.
"I sure am. I'm a traditional third date minimum kinda gal." Zarabelle said with an exaggerated seductive wink and lick of her lips.
A few different noises were made from the crowd gathered - some were approving such as cheers and wolf whistles however most were disapproving gasps or sniggers. It's the negative reactions she was digging for and the loudest scoff to be heard came straight from Mink Penthurst to the side.
"Yes well, we're running out of time so let the bidding again. Should we start at fifty credi-" The presenter began to say.
Zarabelle sent a hardened look towards Poe. It was time for their scheme to come into action and she required for him to jump in quickly to ensure it went to plan.
"Fifty. Psh, selling me a bit too high there." Zarabelle scoffed loudly. She didn't even need to look to the right of the stage. She could feel her mother's piercing glare, burning as if it were a physical form.
"The lowest bid we've received tonight is a thousand credits and let me tell you, that girl certainly didn't generate anywhere near the same interest as you." The presenter quietly said to Zarabelle as he covered his microphone to tell her this information.
"I'll put the first bid in! Half a credit." Poe shouted loudly as he cupped his hands around his mouth to become louder.
Poe's less than generous bid seemed to grab the attention of the entire town hall as the room grew silent - so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"What did I tell you," one of the cocky men standing next to Poe whispered to his friend "This one clearly doesn't understand the Auction Ball. He's clearly from Eryup."
The only thing that could shock the room than Poe's minuscule bid would be Zarabelle's reaction.
"Sold! To the handsome pilot in the front row!" Zarabelle exclaimed with a large grin on her face.
The entire room were stunned upon Zarabelle's acceptance of the bid but the silence was broken by whispers and murmurs of the crowd around them.
"I refuse to allow her to be won by such a small bid. I'll raise his half a credit bid and put down five thousand." The confident male next to Poe spoke up suddenly.
"Too bad I've already accepted his bid. No thanks." Zarabelle scoffed in response.
Poe stayed out of the exchange but he watched on intently. Zarabelle Penthurst was perhaps the most unpredictable and interesting girl he had ever met in his life. Not many people would turn down an easy five thousand credits for the sake of a subversive protest.
"But I've outbid him!" The man shot back quickly.
"Well too bad. I've accepted his bid. You have no say." Zarabelle shot back as she put her hands on her hips in disapproval of this man.
"He is technically bidding higher." The presenter quipped through his microphone in defence of the stranger.
"Oh, I thought the Whitefield Chamber of Commerce proudly advertised the Auction Ball is to honour our society to bring together boys and girls. I thought you loudly disassociated with the slavery and prostitution ties upon it was built three hundred years ago. My bad!" Zarabelle mocked loudly.
The presenter backed down and looked uneasy. On one hand he risked getting into the bad graces of one of the city's elite and powerful who was trying very hard to buy a date with Zarabelle. On the other he risked bad publicity should other planets in the galaxy get hold of Zarabelle's words. He felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Sugartits, no one is forcing slavery or prostitution. I'm just buying a date with you so I can tell you how this all works in reality." The cocky man explained to Zarabelle, talking a bit slower to try and force her to understand.
This wasn't lost on Zarabelle. He was talking to her like she was an idiot. She didn't appreciate the sentiment.
"Well then if nothing is getting forced I decline your offer and accept the half a credit bid. Thanks for the offer though." Zarabelle flashed the stranger a cheeky smile as she turned her back on him. She walked to the front of the stage to offer a hand to Poe. He accepted and hoisted himself up onto the stage.
"Well there you have it folks! Zarabelle Penthurst has just accepted the lowest bid in Whitefield City history! Three hundred years strong and we've never had a bid that low!" The presenter announced in amazement as he put an arm around Poe "You seem to have picked up a bargain!"
Zarabelle could have gotten annoyed at being referred to as a good and not a person. Instead she was too busy watching her mother's glowering look from the side of the stage.
Mink Penthurst looked furious. Her face was scrunched up in anger - so much so that her crows feet to the side of her eyes were even more prominent than normal.
Zarabelle knew this was the ultimate way to annoy her mother - to have the lowest bid in the Auction Ball history. This is what she had planned with Poe. They had schemed to shake up this ball and that's exactly what they had done.
"Err...I'm not usually cheap!" Poe defended cockily as the presenter's words hit him.
"Just shut up and enjoy the moment, Dameron. We've annoyed an entire city of elite douchebags and most importantly, my mother. Let's bask." Zarabelle said through gritted teeth as she attempted to keep smiling and waving at the confused crowd.
Poe studied her as she did this. He still couldn't make up his mind on how attractive he found her. He found that she was a lot of fun and he enjoyed her sassy and vibrant personality. She was definitely something to look at too - her wide bright blue eyes were adorable and suited her soft-featured face. But he still had his favourite type of 'exotic beauties' and Belle definitely did not fit this label - in fact she was the opposite. She was fair featured.
He shook his head and realised he was being ridiculous. She was a seventeen year old girl he would never see again after tonight. In fact he would be departing from her very soon. It didn't matter whether he found her attractive or not.
The two ended up signing the contracts which made Poe's bid legally binding - for half a credit he had purchased a date with Zarabelle Penthurst. As the contracts were being prepared the presenter did quickly research and it was indeed the lowest bid in Whitefield's three hundred year history. Mission accomplished.
"C'mon. You can walk me back to my hotel. That's our date." Poe said to Zarabelle once everything had been finalised.
"Pfft, before you said you're not cheap. That's the cheapest date I've ever heard." Zarabelle teased but began to walk out of the hall to lead Poe outside.
The town hall was quickly emptying now the Auction Ball was over. Most of the younger crowd had long left the hall and only older occupants remained - some were reminiscing about their own Auction Balls in their youth whilst others were still gossiping about Poe and Zarabelle, hushing quickly when the 'couple' passed by them.
Eventually they wound up outside on the bland looking street. Zarabelle stopped in her tracks and remained silent as she eyed Poe. She wanted to see if he knew his way back to his hotel.
"So uh… do you know where Domain Street is? That's where my hotel is." Poe admitted after quickly looking around furiously and not finding anything that looked familiar.
"Yeah. Let's go on our romantic date of walking down these city streets to your hotel." Zarabelle smirked towards Poe as she began to lead him in the direction of Domain Street
"To be fair a good majority of these Auction Ball dates are probably going through something similar right now. The girls following the men back to their quarters…" Poe trailed off. He meant it as a joke to begin with but then quickly realised his 'joke' was probably true. Therefore it made his statement a lot more inappropriate.
"Yuck! Sounds like an even worse date than leading some foreign flyboy back to his accommodation. Come on stud, you have approximately fifteen minutes to turn this date from icy cold to red hot." Zarabelle joked back, not phased one bit about Poe's statement.
The two began to walk through the bland streets of Whitefield with Poe blindly following Zarabelle. They made the same small talk they had made all night - talking about mostly superficial topics but divulging into a serious conversation every now and again.
"Okay, here is Domain Street. Do you need me to walk you to your hotel, or are you fine from here?" Zarabelle asked Poe once they reached the street.
Zarabelle didn't want to depart from him so quickly, but she knew their night was coming to an end. She figured he wanted to call it a night and go back to his room. Earlier in the night he had told her he was only here was a quick stopover with his newly formed crew he had command over. Tomorrow he would be returning to the neighbouring Mirrin System where his crew would begin a new mission. They had only touched upon the topic as Zarabelle had teased him a little before the subject was changed. Therefore she didn't know the full extent of his plans and how early he needed to depart the next day.
"C'mon Belle. I need one last insult hurled my way in order to polish off the night. The last time you sent one my way was before we entered that Auction Ball," Poe sniggered as he lightly elbowed her in the ribs "You have until we hit my hotel."
"Eh, I'm all tuckered out. Look to be honest I'm not as shallow or ditzy as I've portrayed myself tonight-" Zarabelle began quickly but she was cut off by Poe.
"-I didn't think you were." Poe defended.
Zarabelle curled her lips into a smile as she bore her shocking blue eyes into his dark ones.
"I know. But all night I've only been prodding and teasing you. I swear there's more to me than just that a sarcastic personality. I do have depth to me." Zarabelle explained as the two continued down the immaculately paved street.
"I've seen glimpses of it. Don't worry, I don't think you're an empty girl. When you only have one night with someone there's not a lot of room for stimulating conversations about, I don't know, theories of the universe or other intelligent stuff." Poe responded as he struggled towards the end of his statement to think of a relevant example.
Zarabelle giggled at his words but a strange feeling rose inside of her. One night only. She was getting along really well with Poe but it had only really just sunk in that she soon would be departing from him and she would never see him again. She felt small disappointment wash over her.
"I graduated school a year early. I'm a quick thinker with good attention to detail. That's why I went into air traffic control. Someone needs to protect you arrogant flyboys from yourself." Zarabelle quickly piped up to try and impress Poe.
"There we go. We got that last quip in there. Perfect timing - here's my hotel." Poe nodded to the moderate sized building they were in front of. It didn't really stick out amongst the other buildings as it was the same generic-looking architecture that was dotted around the city.
Zarabelle only sent Poe a nervous smile as a response. She felt uneasy that he hadn't reacted positively to her bragging. Her words were an attempt to try and open up a bit more to him, but her remarks had fallen flat. She felt a little dejected to Poe's oblivious manner.
Poe was completely unaware of the turmoils going on in Zarabelle's mind as he studied her form whilst waiting for the right time to call it a night and say goodbye. He watched her doe-sized eyes go round and she nibbled her lip nervously. He thought she was in the same boat as him - that she didn't know how to say bye. He didn't think there was anything else to it.
Before either of them could begin to depart Poe watched a familiar form approach him. He groaned as he watched one of his team members grin mischievously towards Belle once he was in front of them, before thudding Poe on the shoulder. Poe knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Hi, I'm Iolo. If you were coming upstairs to our room I can conveniently extend my walk for another, hour or so?" The man said as he introduced himself with a large grin.
"Hey. Zarabelle," Zarabelle apathetically introduced before continuing "But I won't be coming upstairs."
"Zarabelle here has been my friend for the evening. I struck out with this really hot Pantoran woman and found myself alone. Zarabelle here was kind enough to let me follow her around for the rest of the evening." Poe explained to his crew member.
Zarabelle smirked. She remembered earlier in the night she had figured she was Poe's second choice, and the same annoyance washed over her. She decided to drop the same bombshell to Poe's crew member that she dropped on Poe earlier in an attempt to get a rise out of the two men.
"Poe here actually purchased me at some slavery thing tonight. Half a credit for an evening with me. He got me from the bargain bin because I'm only seventeen." Zarabelle teased in order to try and make Poe look unsavoury.
Unfortunately for her, neither of the two men were intimidated. Unlike Zarabelle, Poe was familiar with Iolo. He knew his crew member and friend wouldn't be judgmental. It wasn't in character for Poe to partake in something as sleazy as exchanging money for an underage girl's company.
"This one couldn't get any bids so I felt sorry for and laid down the bare minimum." Poe exaggerated with a shrug.
Iolo only gave a nod as he was unsure how to respond. This caused silent tension to grow between the three.
"Well um… now you're in safe company I guess I'll be off." Zarabelle awkwardly stated as she jabbed her thumb in the opposite direction.
"O-okay. Thanks for the fun night. I think it was the perfect first, and last night on this planet I'll ever have." Poe responded quickly.
"Yeah well, it was nice meeting you. You too, Iolo." Zarabelle said as she took a few step backwards to begin to depart from the two.
"You've said a few words to me. How do you know it was nice to meet me? For all you know I'm a really boring person, or a total sicko." Iolo snorted loudly.
"Well now I know it was nice to meet you, you're funny. Maybe I spent the night with the wrong friend." Zarabelle giggled in response.
Iolo decided to remain quiet as he eyed his commander. He believed the next line spoken should come from Poe.
"I guess you'll never know," Poe said with a small smile as he shook his head "Anyway I won't keep you any longer. Stay safe on the walk back to your place."
"Yeah good luck on your upcoming missions. Don't die or anything. Catchya round." Zarabelle said with a swift nod and a small wave. She took one look at Poe and his team member who had joined him before she turned around and began to walk away.
Poe and Iolo watched her back for a few moments as she from them. Poe was the one who made the first move and walked through the doorway leading to the hotel lobby.
"Gee she was nice looking. I hope you got her contact details to stay in touch." Iolo mentioned to Poe.
Poe only sent his team member a feeble shrug.
"Really? You wouldn't want to see those big beautiful blue eyes again? She's not going to be seventeen forever, you know." Iolo gasped in surprise at Poe's revelation.
"You only like her eyes because yours are yellow and freakish looking," Poe teased his friend before continuing on "She's cute, but not my type. I didn't really see a point in continuing contact. She wasn't interested in me anyway. She only wanted an adventure tonight."
Iolo eyed his commander skeptically but said nothing as they retreated back through the hotel to their rented room.
