The men have twisted smiles with eyes that are filled with lust as they crowd me. I step back before hitting the wall as the men tease me.
“Oh, little girl, we’re going to play a fun little game together,” he says as his friends all laugh. I swallow the dread in my throat as I freeze. I can’t find words. I want to scream at them. To tell them to leave me alone, but I can’t even breathe.
“Oh, Cele, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” A raven-haired, busty woman says as she pushes the men aside and helps me up. She glares at the men. “Enthein, did you forget the last time you tried to hurt one of my girls?”
The eyes of the man who was terrorizing me go wide. “Sorry, Madame Faralene, I didn’t realize this one was yours. Forgive me.”
“I will this time, now off with you lot,” she says as she whisks me away into a nearby building. “What in the bloody hells are you doing out here all alone?”
“I… I was trying to find someplace to stay for the night.”
“Well, you almost found out what it’s like to be at the mercy of scoundrels. Thank goodness I was around. Now, come dear, let’s get you all cleaned up and a nice hot meal.” She doesn’t wait, pulling me in with her. My jaw drops as we enter a room full of people. Men sitting around tables drinking with scantily clad women dancing in their laps. Some are showing off their bosoms and others let men grope them. Disgusting.
I’m being dragged up the stairs into a side room with a wide round table and forced into a chair. They give me a bowl of delicious-smelling stew, and I don’t bother asking questions as I devour every last bite of it. The woman then drags me back to the bathroom, and I’m stripped naked and shoved in a tub of cold water. Another woman comes in and scrubs me. I cling to my delicate parts to keep them hidden from their eyes, but the woman scrubbing me doesn’t care. She just pushes my hands aside and washes my bare breasts. At least what I have for breasts. They look like molehills compared to… What did that man call her? Madame Faralene? She has a bosom that could knock a man out.
After I’m cleaned, I’m pulled out, and the woman dresses me as if I was a child. And not with decent clothes. The same kind as those women downstairs wear. Sheer stockings that only go up to my mid-thigh. Underwear, if you can call it that, that barely covers my bottom and a dress that does nothing to cover my legs. Soon, Madame Faralene comes back and inspects me. “Yes, you’ll do quite nicely.”
“Excuse me? What is going on?” I ask.
“How would you like to earn a lot of coin?” she asks.
“Coin? How much coin?” I say with my attention fully in her hands.
“Oh, more than you’d ever see in your entire lifetime, girl,” she says.
Suspicious, I narrow my eyes. “And what would I have to do to make this money?”
She smiles. “Oh, just wait on a few scoundrels. Let them have a feel or two. Give ‘em a dance. Make them feel desired. You could make a lot more coin if you take them to bed, but I won’t force anyone.”
I think it through and nod. “I’ll do it for now. But once I make enough, I’m done.”
“Fair enough,” she says with a smirk. “Now, let’s put you to work. See the table over there? Go bring em some drinks.”
I nod and head up to the bar, grab three mugs of ale, and head over to the men sitting at the far table in the corner. I place them down on the table and let out a gasp as a hand comes down hard on my bottom. My face turns to pure red as I look over at the elven man, who has a wide grin on his face as he keeps his hand on my arse. I try to brush him off, but he gives it a squeeze. I want to slap him, but I know that I shouldn’t. I pull away and thankfully he lets go as I rush back to the Madame.
“Girl, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to earn enough coin to get out of here,” she says in a flat tone as I hold myself, covering as much as I can of my exposed skin.
“You need to tempt them. Don’t give them what they want, but let them know you have it,” she says in a sultry manner. “There is far worse you could do than this line of work.” I sigh as I get back to work, serving drinks and enduring hands that are far too friendly.
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