Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, its fandom, its characters or anything connected to them. I do not make money or profit in any way from this story.

Warnings: forced marriage, enslavement, prostitution, cross-dressing, mention of female-on-male non-con, eventual accidental wincest - but none of it OTT.

A/N: RL aggravations have meant it's ages since I posted anything. But I've been poking and prodding this thing on my laptop for quite a while now. I finally decided I should go ahead and start posting or I'd never finish it. So here goes...

Bought And Sold (Chapter 1: Not a Man's World) by frostygossamer

The United States of Columbia, or USC as it was often known, had abolished male-slavery decades ago. Although men in the USC were now nominally free, sexism was rife everywhere and federal laws still prohibited men from owning property or voting in state elections. This was never likely to change, because men were considered inferior to females in all ways, physically, emotionally and intellectually. For their own safety, it was deemed necessary that they continue to submit to matriarchal control throughout the federation.

Kansas, one of the constituents of the USC, had only been a moderately prosperous province since the abolition of male-slavery ruined its agricultural economy. Although a relatively liberal state, they were obliged to honour federal law so, even there, a man could still be flung in jail for an 'antifeminist' crime such as impersonating a female or even smart-talking an important woman. In some states things were even worse.

In the dirt-poor rural town of Lawren, in the underdeveloped northern region of Kansas, lived impecunious widower John with his two young sons. John had struggled to raise his boys alone since his missus, the children's mother Mary, had sadly lost her life in a house fire. That was back when her youngest boy was still no more than a baby.

In dying, the young matriarch had left her little family without a breadwinner. John survived by taking in mending and doing odd jobs, but it was tough bringing up two useless non-girls on a widower's mite. He worked damn hard, but the work available to a mere man was menial and poorly paid at best.

John's eldest, the bonny but often smart-mouthed Dean, tried to be a good worker and uncomplaining helper to his father. His little brother Sam, however, had turned out to be a bookworm who constantly begged to go to school. Their dad sometimes regretted letting Dean teach Sam to read and write, but he couldn't blame the boy for wanting to learn.

In Kansas, as in the rest of the USC, boys didn't generally receive formal schooling at all. There were, however, one or two private elementary schools that would take them, but only if they could pay for their tuition up front, in cash. Widower Campbell had little to spare.

Everything was to change the day after young Dean turned fifteen, when a recruiter named Bela arrived at the Campbells' humble door...

~o~

The elegantly besuited and official-looking woman standing on the Campbell's doorstep introduced herself politely.

"Widower Campbell? My name is Missus Bela. I represent the 'GoodBoy Domestic Services Agency'," she explained, with a disarming smile. "And I'm in the area looking for capable, obedient, presentable boys to train for domestic service."

The woman had a classy British accent, was smartly turned out and very ladylike. She seemed legit.

Bela told John she had heard from neighbours that he had such a teen boy in his household, rather putting him on the spot. His immediate reaction was negative. He wasn't comfortable with the thought of separating his two sons, but he didn't want to offend the lady with an outright refusal. He asked if he could think about it.

The recruiter turned to leave then, as if as an afterthought, she offered him a lump sum as a one-off payment for the boy. John was impressed. It was a sum ample enough to pay for his youngest to go to elementary school, but he mumbled something noncommittal and shut the door behind the retreating woman.

He leaned against the closed door and sighed.

~o~

That evening, young Sam found his father still mulling over the offer, as he sat in the parlour in front of a meagre fire.

"You can't do it, Dad," he complained. "You can't send Dean away."

John patted his youngest on the head. The youngster didn't yet understand the way of the world.

"Sure, Sammy," he agreed. "We need him at home. But that bit of money woulda been nice, huh? Woulda paid for you to get some schooling, like you wanted."

Sam frowned. "Dad, I wanna go to school SO bad," he said. "But you CAN'T make Dean go away just for me."

John nodded and sent Sam off to bed. Dean, who had been listening to this conversation from the hall, chose this moment to appear.

"I'll do it, Dad," he said trying to sound fine about it. "I'm pretty awesome at the cooking and cleaning around here. Guess working as a domestic'd be a piece of cake."

His dad was still unconvinced, but Dean had made up his mind. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his little brother, and a bit of hard work wouldn't kill him.

"Lemme do it, Dad," he begged. "For the squirt. So he can go the school. He deserves a chance."

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. At least one of them would get an education. Dean loved his kid brother and he was glad to shoulder some of his loving dad's burden.

He reckoned they both deserved it.

~o~

Bela came back the next morning to collect Dean, handing over the agreed wad of cash to his father. Something had told her the poverty-stricken guy wouldn't be able to refuse. Sam was out delivering his dad's mending, and Dean hoped he and Bela would be gone before he got back. Dean didn't want to see the betrayal in his kid brother's eyes when he found out his big brother was deserting him.

But, Dean's luck always being bad, Sam came back a little early. Dean was already sitting in Bela's big black sedan with his little cardboard case, so Sam ran to his father, distressed and confused.

"Sorry, Sammy," his dad told him. "But Dean has a chance to get work in, uh, the UQ. We couldn't turn that down, now could we?"

Bela's British accent had inspired that hasty lie. His dad couldn't admit to his naive young boy that he had practically SOLD his brother into domestic drudgery for him. He needed to make it sound like his brother was embarking on an adventure of his own choosing.

Sobbing, the boy ran to his brother, pulling something from his pocket as he ran.

"Got you this," he gabbled, handing it through the car window to his brother, who took it from him.

It was a charm strung on a length of cord, an amulet. Dean slipped the pendant around his neck. He patted it, as it lay on his chest.

"I'll keep it always," he promised, manfully holding back a threatening tear. "And I'll write you, soon as I can."

"Pray for you every night," swore his little brother.

Dean smiled sadly but, as the car pulled away, he didn't dare look back. He hoped this wouldn't be the last time he saw his family.

He could only pray they would be fine without him.

~o~

Missus Bela drove her black sedan through the dusty fields of Kansas towards the crumbling state capital at Topeka. They arrived in the early evening. Dean had never been to the city before. The relatively high-rise buildings of downtown amazed him.

"We going to a hotel?" he asked, hopefully.

Bela chuckled. "No, no," she replied. "The agency owns a hostel. You'll be staying there until a place is found for you."

"Oh," responded Dean, slightly disappointed.

They drove through the centre of town into the business district, and then on to a warehouse district, where foot traffic was thinner on the ground. Eventually they stopped outside a sad-looking building, it's grimy white-painted exterior peeling.

Over the door a battered sign read "GoodBoy Matrimonial Agency" in faded red letters.

"This the right place?" Dean asked, frowning.

"Yes, Dean, it certainly is," Bela responded, cheerfully.

Stepping down from the sedan, she motioned to him to follow. Bela led him through the building, which consisted of a reception area and couple of small offices, out the back and across a yard to a single story building which contained several tiny, sparsely furnished bedrooms. Selecting an unoccupied one, she waved Dean inside.

"This one will do," she said. "This will be your new home until we get something organized for you. Tomorrow you'll have some photos taken. Once they've been sent out, offers will come flooding in. Somehow I don't think YOU will be staying here for long, Dean my boy. You have a very photogenic face."

Dean was confused. "What about the training?" he asked.

He had expected to be given some training in the kinds of chores he would be expected to do as a domestic.

Bela laughed out loud. "Training?" she chuckled. "What you don't know you'll find out soon enough. Some lucky miss will be glad to have that opportunity, I'm sure."

Then she left, leaving Dean sitting alone on a flimsy bed clutching his cheap suitcase. He pulled the amulet out of his shirt and squeezed it in his fist.

"Baby bro," he murmured. "Sure hope this is gonna be OK."

He was very far from sure.

TBC

A/N: Oh dear. It looks like this agency may not be quite what John and Dean expected. More soon.