《Ivory Crystal》


 Chapter One: Elody Bequette

    Bright sun. Empty courtyard. Clay table with fresh white linen. Custom silk dresses. The title of ¡®my lady¡¯ by most individuals.


    All these things and more made up my life. They made Elody Bequette the household name of Shivani¡¯s Vineyard that I was.


    I sat outside in the empty courtyard, the walls of the Artieran palace around me, the sun beaming down at an angle that didn¡¯t affect my eyes too much. Pristine linen separated the cream-colored table from the assortment of finger foods and glassware. The bottom of my pear colored dress billowed when the wind blew through.


    And across from me sat Errol Artieran¡ªmy prince, my friend, my fianc¨¦.


    His amber eyes searched me, enveloped me, only ever leaving me for seconds at a time. His thin pink lips were always set in a soft smile. He was absolutely content with the thought of marrying me.


    For that I hated him. Not hate so strong as to loathe, but it unnerved me that he was so ready to thrust himself into married life. If ever he was nervous, he never showed it, not a line on his face ever wavered out of place. I knew he wasn¡¯t nervous, what reason did he even have to be? His mother, Queen Merissa, had been grooming him for this for years. Sometimes I wondered if his feelings for me were truly his own. He was a prince, this is what princes did. They married so that when they became king, they had a woman to rule by their side and bear children.


    I picked up my goblet, the crystals glinting in the sun, and sipped the wine. It took longer than normal to go down, having to pass through all the lumps in my throat. I cleared my throat and spoke. ¡°So you¡¯re okay with an afternoon ceremony?¡±


    Errol nodded. ¡°Of course. Whatever time you like best. Looking back, I don¡¯t really want to wake up early for a morning ceremony. I guess I just wanted to have the whole day being married to you.¡±


    I forced my lips into a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll have the rest of your life to be married to me.¡±


    ¡°That I will,¡± Errol said. He raised his glass for a toast.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Reluctantly, I raised mine too.


    ¡°To our marriage,¡± he toasted, clinking glasses with me.


    I mumbled the words, and this time swallowed a large gulp. Maybe if I drank enough, I¡¯d pass out in the sun. No, I wasn¡¯t dehydrated enough for that. But still, it was worth a shot.


    Errol set his glass back down on the table. ¡°Have you given any thought to what you''d like your current room to be turned into when you move in with me?¡± he asked.


    The blood in my hands retracted, draining to my feet. Honestly, I tried to give as little amount of thought to that as possible. About four months ago, the Queen had recommended I move out of my house and into the palace so I''d get a feel for living in the palace. I had my own room now. But in a little less than a month, I¡¯d move out of that room and into Errol¡¯s. A chill went through me every time someone brought it up. I hadn''t been ready to move into the palace four months ago, but I¡¯d gotten used to it since I spent so much time here anyway. But moving into the same room as Errol, I didn''t think I¡¯d ever be ready for it.


    The blood flowed back into my hands when I spotted Nurse Freda walking over.


    ¡°I''m sorry to bother you both, Prince Errol,¡± she said when she reached us. I''m sure my face read not to be sorry at all. ¡°I need Lady Elody.¡±


    I looked over at Errol.


    If he was disappointed about ending the conversation, which he most definitely was, he didn''t let it show. ¡°Of course, Nurse Freda.¡±


    I stood up, probably faster than I should have, and without even saying goodbye to Errol, started walking away with Freda. When we were out of earshot I said, ¡°That was painful.¡±


    ¡°It was painful watching, Lady Elody,¡± Freda said. ¡°You could show a little more excitement when he talks about the marriage, dear.¡±


    ¡°Then I would have to actually be excited.¡±


    Freda sighed. ¡°Remind me why you''re not excited,¡± but I knew she knew the reason.


    ¡°Life ends after marriage. I mean look at my mother. She used to have so many adventures. Then she married Father and all she does is sit around and wait for me to get married.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure your mother would be thrilled to know that''s all you think she does.¡±


    ¡°You know it''s true,¡± I murmured, trailing my fingers along the wall as we walked.


    Nurse Freda looked at me out the side of her eyes. ¡°What kind of adventure are you hoping to find, dear?¡±


    I fiddled with my necklace. ¡°I don''t know. One far away where I get to see all these places I''ve never seen before. New sights, new people. Just¡­ Something not boring like it is here.¡±


    Freda smiled at me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell the prince that you¡¯re bored? He¡¯ll liven things up for you.¡±


    I crinkled my nose. ¡°Freda.¡±


    She laughed, and the way the lines on her face branched made me more relaxed. ¡°I''m only joking dear.¡±


    I leaned my head on my hand and looked out one of the windows. ¡°Twenty-two years as a bored virgin. What an accomplishment.¡±

 Chapter Two: Milena Proper

    I dropped my dirty rag back into the bucket filled with soapy water. These shutters were as clean they were going to get without a good scraping. And I was no scraper. I picked up the bucket by the handle and trudged back into the brothel, careful not to slosh water onto the floor, though I¡¯m sure it could use a good scrubbing. I took the bucket to the back-store room and set it in the corner, still filled with water in case someone else needed it. Never know when a man would have one too many drinks and start blowing chunks everywhere.


    I checked myself in the mirror before heading back into the main room. Dark brown hair that fell down just past the tops of my shoulders, a slightly dirty face covered with makeup, and two hickory brown eyes that¡¯d seen way more than a girl my age should have. Entering the main room, I took a seat at the bar, watching the patrons¡ªmostly men¡ªdrink and chat.


    Out of every person here, not a single face stood out to me.  I¡¯d seen some of them a couple hundred times, and yet their presence moved me the same amount a toddler could move a brick wall. Milena Proper, the heartless whore. That''s what some of the hundred-time patrons called me, but always with a drunken smile and a clumsy eyebrow twitch, because they thought their pet name was so seductive.


    The other prostitutes told me I needed to make a new name for myself, that there was nothing beseeching about my current one. At least I had a nickname. In this business, being a no name whore was more detrimental. Nicknames served one purpose¡ªthey could be remembered even in blackout drunk states. If they remembered the name, they could ask for you, and there came your money.


    I watched Shenna going around refilling the drinks. In my opinion, she had the best nickname. Drinks Girl. Or as the drunks said, Driiin-guurl. She was the main bartender, and obviously could make the best drinks. If I had more patience, I would learn her job, and get out the bedroom so much.


    Chasey Babbitt, my least favorite whore¡ªbecause she was a whore by character, not by occupation¡ªand boss walked up to me, her lips pursed in their usual uptight manner. ¡°You¡¯re just sitting here?¡±


    I nodded, her tone not even fazing me. ¡°I just came in from cleaning all the shutters.¡±


    Chasey gestured at the four men sitting at the tables. ¡°Are these not potential clients?¡±


    ¡°It''s three in the afternoon,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to assume that every man who walks in here is looking for a good time.¡±


    Chasey raised her eyebrow.


    ¡°Well not during the day at least,¡± I said. I turned in my seat so I wasn¡¯t facing the room¡ªor her¡ªanymore. ¡°This is a bar and brothel. Mainly a brothel, but the bar attracts just as many patrons. Some of these guys just want a drink.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°You haven''t had a client in weeks, Milena.¡±


    I tried not to smile. ¡°Has it been that long?¡±


    ¡°It''s probably because of your bitter attitude.¡±


    I still didn''t look at her. ¡°Yeah, that''s it.¡±


    In my peripheral, I could see Chasey shaking her head. ¡°You''re impossible.¡±


    ¡°What can I say?¡± I said, shrugging.


    Chasey walked away, but I knew that wouldn''t be the last I¡¯d be hearing from her today, maybe even within the hour.


    I sat at the bar watching Shenna take inventory of the bottles. If she bent over any lower, her breasts were sure to fall out of her dress. But I knew she didn¡¯t love to wear that dress; she just knew it attracted more men to the bar and kept them drinking longer. She was a good saleswoman, and that was all anyone could really ask from her.


    My only friend Leesa Short walked and sat next to me at the counter.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Cleaning up in the back,¡± she replied. Her eyes noticed Sheena¡¯s teetering breasts, but she ignored it. ¡°What was Chasey saying to you?¡±


    ¡°The usual,¡± I replied.


    Leesa frowned in the way that she did where she was genuinely concerned, but she looked like she was enticingly pouting for a client. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pass up so many clients for me. I know Chasey is probably mad that you look like you¡¯re not doing your share.¡±


    For the past two months, I¡¯d been brushing off clients and pushing them more in the direction of Leesa. She¡¯d only been working here about five months, and even though she was pretty, she was shy so her approach to the clients wasn¡¯t convincing enough yet. Of course, it looked like my number had clients had decreased, but I just wanted to get Leesa on her feet. She was new and needed the confidence, especially if she wanted to stay around here.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said. ¡°Chasey may be mad now, but she knows I¡¯m one of the girls who make the most money. If she really wants that money so bad, why doesn¡¯t she strip down and get on the floor?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I just vomited in my mouth thinking about that,¡± Leesa said, laughing. ¡°She¡¯s how old? Sixty?¡±


    ¡°Oh man, Leesa. Give her a break. She¡¯s not that old,¡± I said. ¡°Forties probably.¡±


    ¡°Whatever age, it''s obviously too old to be getting anything good,¡± Leesa said. ¡°That''s why she¡¯s so cranky.¡±


    ¡°That and the fact that she¡¯s married to deadbeat trash.¡±


    ¡°I just wish she wouldn''t bother you so much,¡± Leesa said.


    ¡°Nothing she could say to me would ever bother me,¡± I assured her. The amount of truth in that statement was more than Leesa could even imagine.


    Before I came to work for Chasey and Farris, I worked at another brothel in Burila Mare, The Kitten Spot. A weak name in my opinion, but that didn¡¯t stop the hordes of men from coming every night. That part was like any other brothel. The big difference was the owners. Another couple, Trevor and Josie Otarro, but they treated us like shit. In fact, they treated us worse than shit. They would have been happy if shit worked as their whores and not us. At the end of every night they yelled at us about how poorly we¡¯d done, even when business was booming. They starved those who were ¡®fat.¡¯ I hated them, and I didn¡¯t know how to keep my mouth shut, so I suffered through their ¡®crafty¡¯ punishments often. These included: washing every dish and cup with a toothbrush; standing out in the seating area just shy of stark naked; sitting in a room while another patron was being served with a bucket over your head so you could only listen, and more. When the brothel closed down, I smiled for a week.


    Leesa knew bits and pieces about my old brothel, and frankly, I didn¡¯t want her to know yet how bad other brothels could be. She was still young and had real potential for the game. I just knew that from my previous experience, there was nothing Chasey or Farris could do that outmatched that.

 Chapter Three: Elody

    My entire body, chin down, sat immersed in scalding hot water. My head rested on my arms at the side of the bath. My hair, mainly wet, slicked down my back, the tips floating in the water. Steam hazed around me.


    The room was completely empty except for me. The cream-colored clay walls ran with water droplets from the temperature of the room.


    This was my favorite time. After several trial and error attempts, I¡¯d finally figured out the time when the no one came down to the community bath. Everyone preferred that I use my private bath, but I just liked the large open pool better.


    Transferring my weight to my arms, I kicked my feet in the water, my toes brushing against the bottom of the pool. Setting my feet back at the bottom, I rotated so now I leaned back on my arms. Taking a deep breath of the heated air, I closed my eyes.


    Not a full minute after I closed my eyes, I heard the door to the bath open. My eyes flew open, knowing I was full frontal to whoever had just walked in. I yelped at who I saw, scrambling to hide myself with my arms. ¡°Errol!¡±


    His eyes widened as soon as they laid sight on me. ¡°Oh! I''m sorry!¡± He quickly turned around.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Really, I''m sorry. I just wanted to know what flowers you wanted at the ceremonies. I know lilies are your favorite.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes, lilies are my favorite. They would be fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay, great,¡± Errol said. ¡°Enjoy your bath.¡± He quickly left the room, not once daring to look back at me.


    Rattled from the prince bursting in on my bath, I could only get myself to stay in the pool for about three more minutes before I hopped out, quickly wrapping myself in my towel before anyone else could come through the doors. My feet left wet prints as I went to one of the dressing rooms to change into fresh clothes. I changed into a silk blue dress and fixed my hair into a tight bun that would give my hair a chance to dry. I dropped my wet towel into the basket and left the bath.


    Since I''d finished my bath earlier than I''d expected, I figured I''d go see my mother who was visiting the palace. She wasn''t visiting to see me however, she was checking on the preparations for the wedding.


    I found her in one of the smaller dining halls, sitting at the table reading a few letters. I had to tap her on the shoulder for her to notice me.


    She turned in her seat in surprise, then smiled upon seeing me.


    ¡°Hi Mother,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hello.¡± She gently pulled my head down so she could kiss my forehead. Looking at me, she then added, ¡°Elody dear, you look flustered.¡±


    ¡°I''m not,¡± I said, trying to hold in my sharp tone. ¡°I''m just a little hot. I came straight from a bath.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± but her eyes still moved across my face. ¡°Well we¡¯ll just remember that you need to take a bath the night before your wedding, not the same day.¡±


    I resisted an eye roll as I sat down at the table next to her. ¡°What are you doing? What are all these?¡±


    ¡°Things for the wedding, dear,¡± Mother replied. ¡°You don''t need to worry about them. I''m separating them into what I need to handle, and what Errol needs to handle.¡±


    ¡°What do I get to handle?¡± I asked.


    Mother smiled at me, a smile that actually made my stomach flop. ¡°You''re the bride, dear. You don''t need to handle anything.¡±


    Now I rolled my eyes, but Mother didn''t see.


    ¡°How is everything?¡± she asked. ¡°How''s Errol?¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine,¡± I replied. ¡°He''s fine.¡±


    Mother frowned.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Just ¡®fine?¡¯¡±


    ¡°What did you want me to say?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know, everything is magical. You''re marrying a prince who also happens to be your best friend.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were my best friend.¡±


    A smile tried to replace the frown. ¡°I¡¯ll always be your mother, dear. But Errol, he''s your future.¡±


    I couldn''t help the cringe at hearing that one man was my entire future. ¡°You don''t think we¡¯re rushing into this?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Rushing? Elody, I would have killed to have gotten married at twenty-two.¡±


    ¡°It''s not about my age, Mother.¡± Although I did feel a little young. What was wrong with thirty? ¡°I feel like I''m lacking experience.¡±


    The blank look on my mother¡¯s face told me she wasn''t comprehending like I wanted her to. ¡°What experience could you possibly have to prepare you for marriage? Unless you''ve been married?¡±


    ¡°I mean experiences. Like adventures,¡± I replied. ¡°You''ve traveled. I haven''t. You know lots of people on different places. I know the people in the noble circle. Don''t you think I need more of that first?¡±


    ¡°I think that I love you, your father loves you, and Errol loves you. You''re just nervous. Once you''re married, all those nerves will go away. There''ll be plenty of time to meet people and travel, especially when you''re the princess. You''ll be meeting people almost everyday.¡±


    But the same type of people. I sighed internally. Talking to my mother was pointless. She was as caught up in this royal wedding as everyone else.


    ¡°Now,¡± Mother said, her attention back to the letters. She picked up one, scanned it, then asked me, ¡°Would you prefer rice or doves at the end?¡±


    I stood up and headed for the door. ¡°You''re handling it, so whatever you like.¡±


    ¡°I like the doves.¡±


    I hated doves. ¡°That''s fine. I''ll see you later, Mother.¡±


    I paused just outside the door to see if she looked up to acknowledge me. She didn''t. Her head stayed low as she scribbled something on the letter, but she called, ¡°Love you, dear.¡±


    ¡°Love you,¡± I muttered as I walked down the hall.


    #


    Although I lived in the palace, I wasn''t obligated to do anything. Attending certain lessons, such as cotillion and dancing, were expected of me, but not required. Most days I didn''t mind attending. They at least gave me something to do during the day. The king told me I needed to appreciate my free days¡ªthere was always something to do once you came to power.


    That particular day, I spent most of my day working with Heraldo to learn a dance for my wedding.


    When I arrived back in my room, my legs were sore, and blisters were starting to bubble on my feet from the heels he had me wear.


    Nurse Freda was putting away laundry for me.


    I groaned loudly as I sprawled on my bed.


    ¡°How were your dancing lessons?¡± Freda asked me, immune to my groan.


    ¡°Fine. Boring,¡± I replied. ¡°But I''ll look well-bred on my wedding day.¡±


    ¡°You are well-bred, dear,¡± Freda said. ¡°And that had nothing to do with your dancing ability.¡±


    ¡°Please. If I showed up without knowledge of a dance that didn''t include some intricate footwork, the queen would probably mark me as an inbred.¡±


    ¡°You''re so dramatic.¡±


    I sat up, those words reminding me of the first thing I had wanted to tell her. ¡°Do you know what happened today?¡±


    ¡°What dear?¡±


    ¡°Errol walked in with me while I was in the bath.¡±


    Nurse Freda smiled at me. ¡°Maybe you should use your private bath instead of the communal one.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I like having the big pool. And I''ve got it down where I know the times when I can be completely alone in it.¡± Or so I thought. ¡°But anyway, he just walked right in! Just to ask me about the type of flowers I wanted.¡±


    ¡°He''s got his father¡¯s spirit.¡±


    ¡°Impulsive?¡±


    ¡°He''s not impulsive, dear. If you think he''s impulsive, trust me, you haven''t met an impulsive man.¡±


    ¡°Then what part of his father¡¯s spirit makes him walk in on me?¡±


    ¡°Growing up,¡± Freda replied. ¡°Curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Curious as to what I look like naked?¡±


    Freda flashed me a smile.


    ¡°Errol has more tact than that, Freda.¡±


    ¡°He''s a man, Elody,¡± Freda said. ¡°This isn''t hopscotch down in the courtyard when you were kids. This isn''t even one of those petty balls you attended as teens.¡± She touched the front of my shoulder, straightening my posture. ¡°This is marriage. And one day, you''re going to bare his children.¡± She smiled. ¡°He just wants to know what he''s getting himself into, that''s all.¡±


    ¡°He can wait.¡± And I wished he could wait even longer.


    Two hours out from midnight, I couldn''t be in my room anymore. I couldn''t be in the palace anymore. It was too easy for people to find me to ask about the wedding, which only increased my anxiety level. It was impossible to sneak out the palace completely unnoticed¡ª I''d learned that a long time ago, although Errol kept trying long into his teen years. The best thing was to just act as natural as possible. Two servants stopped me along the way, one to ask me another question about the wedding, and one to ask me if I was warm enough in what I was wearing.


    I slipped out the palace with relatively no problem, going through the back garden. Moving aside some overgrown brush, I found the trail only taken by Errol and I, and followed it down to the bank of a small pond. A single tree with a wide trunk sat on the bank, supported by a knot of thick roots curling above and below the ground. I sat on the ground, leaning my back against the trunk of the tree.


    Before I moved into the palace, this served as one of the spots Errol and I used to meet to talk. As far as we knew, no one else came out here.


    Which is why it startled me that after about an hour of sitting there with only crickets and the rippling of the water, I heard male voices a few feet away. I had to walk along the bank of the pond and then tread through some high grass before I came across the source of the voices.


    Two men, and from their clothes, they looked like simple merchants. One man, wearing a faded gray flat cap, held the reins of a chestnut horse.


    ¡°You''re going all the way to Amerenth? That''s pretty far,¡± the man with the cap said to the other man wearing a shirt with a bright red stripe where a belt could have been.


    The other man chuckled. ¡°Someone has to do it, right?¡±


    Cap man patted him on the back. ¡°Good luck to you.¡± He untied the reins of his horse and walked away, his horse trailing behind him.


    Before the other man could do the same, I hurried over to him, tapping him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Excuse me. I heard you''re going to Amerenth.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s right.¡±


    ¡°Do you by any chance have room for a passenger?¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Aren''t you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, my question was if you have room for a passenger,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, sure, I''m sure one passenger could fit in my wagon.¡±


    ¡°Good. I''d like to go with you then to Amerenth. I''ll pay you if I need to.¡±


    The man still looked surprised, though I guess he had every right to be. The future wife of Prince Errol was standing here asking to hitch a ride to a town miles away.


    ¡°Please,¡± I said. ¡°I''d really like to go.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the man said. ¡°I''m assuming you don''t want anyone to know you''re leaving.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°If you meet me here in two evenings, we can leave.¡±


    I resisted the urge to throw my arms around him. ¡°Okay, I will be here. Thank you.¡±

 Chapter Four: Milena

    I thrust the mop into Sharan¡¯s hands. ¡°There you go. Happy mopping.¡±


    Her face immediately changed into a mixture of disgusted scrunch and immature pout. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You''re on mop duty,¡± I said. ¡°Yay.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you do it?¡± Sharan asked. ¡°I heard you''re not even taking clients.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess I could, but then I couldn''t sit and drink at the bar.¡± I flashed a kitten smile. ¡°If you need some water, just let me know.¡± I trotted off before she could get out another comment, but could practically hear the steam coming out of her ears. Coming through the swing doors I slowed down seeing Chasey sitting at the bar holding a large mug.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little early to drink yourself to sleep?¡± I asked, walking up to her.


    She looked at me, or tried to anyway. Her eyes were swimming. ¡°You don¡¯t drink, do you? That''s why your skin is so nice.¡±


    ¡°Occasionally I enjoy some wine,¡± I lied just to irk her. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that¡¯s good for your skin.¡±


    Chasey attempted to roll her eyes, but they stopped mid-roll so she was staring up at the ceiling for a few seconds. Then she looked back at me. ¡°You know everything.¡±


    ¡°I know things,¡± I said.


    ¡°Tell me. Is anyone pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Is anyone dating a client?¡±


    I pursed my lips and looked around.


    ¡°Who?¡± Chasey pushed.


    I looked back at her, her eyes still swimming, struggling to concentrate on me. ¡°Do I get a raise?¡±


    ¡°One extra day vacation,¡± Chasey replied.


    I tapped my finger on the counter considering her offer. ¡°Two?¡±


    ¡°One.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°It''s Heidi.¡±


    Should I have told on Hiedi? Probably not, but on one hand it was for her own good. If she kept up, in a few months I¡¯d be telling Chasey she was pregnant. And no way was Maxius going to stick around for a baby.


    ¡°And you?¡±


    My eyebrows rose. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had a client in weeks.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re so drunk. We already had this conversation, Chasey.¡± I stood up. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t I go get you a chicken breast from the back-¡±


    ¡°Sit,¡± she instructed.


    Hearing the new assertive tone in her voice, I quickly sat back down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much you do for me, or how nice your skin is, you work here just like all the other girls. So you need to earn your stay.¡±


    My lips tightened, waiting for her to continue.


    Chasey looked behind her to her right. ¡°See that man over there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied without looking.


    ¡°You go over there and pleasure him or you''re out of here by morning.¡±


    My eyes widened, and if my eyebrows rose anymore, they¡¯d be in my hairline. ¡°You¡¯d fire me?¡±


    ¡°And kick you out on the streets where you belong,¡± Chasey said. ¡°Let¡¯s see you keep your skin so nice and your hair so full when you¡¯re whoring for some other business.¡± She stood up, wobbling as she shifted her weight to her legs, and stalked away toward the back.


    I sat there stunned. Never in a hundred years had I ever expected she¡¯d threaten to fire me. Sure, I hadn''t had a client in weeks, but I undeniably brought in some of the most money in this group of girls. The only two that made more than me were Heidi and Celestine, and both had bigger breasts than I did. I wasn''t against doing my job¡ªalthough I would admit a few weeks without having someone ask me to spank them had been nice. But a threat to be fired if I didn''t get this one specific customer? I realized suddenly I had no idea who this guy even was. Luckily, I reverted my eyes just in time to see the man whose direction Chasey had been looking in.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He had dark brown hair that stopped above his ears in the front, but went to his neck in the back. Tanned skin, obviously someone who worked outside. He wore an oversized chestnut colored coat and standing, he looked to be almost six feet tall.


    Standing? Why was he standing? My heart sagged watching him take one final swig from his cup, then head toward the side exit.


    I groaned and laid my forehead on the table. The only thing keeping my job for me had just walked out the door. Where was I going to go next? Sure, I could probably find another brothel around here. But one that would let me choose my clients? Where for the most part, I was treated like a human being and not just a money maker? Where I could haggle and harass the owners? My mind spun, and a pit opened up in my stomach.


    I was just about to order myself a pitcher of Elgin Rum when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed mullet man walk back into the room. The explanation hit me like the rum would have. The bathrooms were located by that exit. He¡¯d went to the bathroom, not left.


    Determined to keep my below-satisfactory job, I put a hand on each breast and lifted them up so that they almost spilled over the top of my dress. I sucked in my stomach for good measure, and pranced over to the man with a pitcher of beer from the bar.


    ¡°Good evening,¡± I said, giving my voice that almost baby like sound that Heidi mastered. ¡°Having a nice night?¡±


    The man nodded.


    ¡°Can I offer you some beer?¡± I asked, raising the pitcher a little higher so it sat right next to my right breast.


    ¡°That would be great,¡± the man replied. His voice lacked any interest.


    I leaned all the way over to pour the beer¡ªnothing any normal person would ever have to do to pour anything out of a pitcher. I knew the man was staring straight into my basket. Filling the cup, I straightened myself and flashed him a warm smile. ¡°Can I do anything else for you?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. Thanks.¡± The man began to drink from his cup and looked down to read the piece of paper in front of him.


    I stood there a little dumbfounded. Usually all I had to do was walk by a gentleman in here and they asked me for service. With this guy I¡¯d actually put my breasts inches from his face to entice him, and he was more interested in a piece of paper? I wanted to scream at him ¡°do you realize you¡¯re costing me my job?¡¯ but I figured that was less seductive than it seemed. I reined in my irritation and tried again. ¡°A handsome guy like yourself is here by yourself?¡±


    The man barely looked up at me, giving me a look like ¡®you¡¯re still here?¡¯ ¡°Yes.¡±


    I lowered myself an unnoticeable amount, but enough for my breasts to be lower to him. ¡°So, you¡¯re spending the night by yourself? That doesn¡¯t seem like a lot of fun.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be fine,¡± the man said. He looked back down at his paper.


    My shoulders dropped in bewilderment. Was this man just extremely dense? I swallowed every ounce of pride I had left¡ªwhich at this point was not much¡ªand bent down so my mouth was seductively next to his ear. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re a little annoyed that I keep trying to talk to you.¡± I had to disassociate myself from the words that flowed out of my mouth. ¡°But this mouth is good for other things besides just talking.¡± I held myself back from vomiting in his ear.


    The man turned his face so it was inches from mine, and for a second I thought I¡¯d snagged him. His face didn¡¯t change however, and he spoke with so much rebuff in his voice I almost slapped him. ¡°No thank you.¡±


    I stood up straight, pursing my lips with anger in a last resort that pouting turned him on. When his eyes dropped back to the paper in front of him, I stalked back to the counter, a few decibels from slamming the pitcher onto the counter of the bar.


    Who the hell did that guy think he was? And what was so damn interesting about that piece of paper?


    Shenna wasn¡¯t standing at the bar anymore so I went behind the bar and poured myself two mugs full of Elgin Rum. I took a seat back on the patron side of the counter and gulped down the first mug. The warm liquid calmed by anger, which allowed room for worriment.


    Had I lost my touch?


    I nervously reached up to fiddle with my necklace, but my fingers grazed my bare neck. A split-second panic, then I remembered I¡¯d put it in my pocket earlier when I was cleaning some of the dishes. I took it out and held it by the crystal pendant, turning it over in my hands.


    No matter how inconsistent or how drunk Chasey was, she was true to her word. If I didn¡¯t seduce this guy, I¡¯d be out by morning. And then where would I go? I¡¯d proven myself years ago and been given room and board here. I didn¡¯t have anywhere else to live, nor did I really have any other skills to fall back on. I wasn¡¯t inept, I could find something, but what?


    I sighed and clasped the necklace around my neck. Maybe if I made twice the amount of money on some other clients, Chasey would let me stay. But that would mean getting into some pretty risky territory. I¡¯d either have to target really rich men¡ªwhich usually wanted Denese or Heidi because of their blond hair¡ªor I¡¯d have to pull a Sharan and open myself up to any kind of sexual act. I nearly spit out the rum sitting in my mouth at the thought of some of the things Sharan got herself into.


    But what other choice did I have?


    As I was nearing the bottom of my second mug, and considering pouring myself a third, I felt the wind of someone walking close behind me.


    His lips were at my ear before I could turn my head. ¡°Meet me here tomorrow night after two.¡±


    I knew his voice even in his whisper, and it sent angry shivers through me. ¡°I don¡¯t work that time.¡±


    ¡°That''s when I¡¯m free.¡±


    I clenched my fist against the counter. Chasey had specifically told me to get this man¡¯s business. If I didn¡¯t, I was out of here. ¡°Fine.¡±


    The man moved away and I turned my head slightly so I could watch his back as he walked out the brothel.


    What the hell had changed in the time I was laying my breasts out for him and me sitting here finishing two mugs full of rum? Maybe he¡¯d just finally finished reading his paper. I didn¡¯t bother to try and sit there and figure it out. I¡¯d gotten my client. I would keep my job.

 Chapter Five: Elody

    I¡¯d thought about my deal with the man at the pond all night, so long and hard that it lulled me to sleep. I dreamt about freely walking the streets of Amerenth where not a single soul knew I was Elody Bequette, fianc¨¦ of Prince Errol Artieran. I woke up thinking about my deal, but also something else.


    Errol. In fact not just him, the entire family, the entire castle. My parents. They all expected me to get married. Could I really be so selfish to run away just to travel the world? My mom was right, I could travel as the princess.


    As Errol¡¯s wife.


    What I really needed was someone to talk to; to bounce my ideas off of, and hopefully someone who would encourage me to follow my dreams. I wished I had someone I could talk to. Errol would be the best person, if this didn¡¯t actually affect him too. If I was marrying someone else, I knew wholeheartedly Errol would be at my side encouraging me to follow my dreams, to travel. Heck, he¡¯d even offer to go with me.


    I felt so consumed by my thoughts, the better part of the morning was a blur. I might have eaten my breakfast staring at my plate the entire time, though I must not have because surely one of the maids would have noticed and said something. I may have walked through every hall of the palace, I didn¡¯t know, my feet simply guided the rest of me since my head was too busy deciding between myself and everyone else.


    At one point I finally stopped walking, settling at a window to look out at the garden.


    Maybe I could just tell Errol what I planned to do. He was my fianc¨¦, but he was still my friend. Surely he¡¯d understand. But then still, bringing this to him essentially meant me saying I valued traveling the world more than I valued us being together. Which was true on some level. I¡¯d rather travel than be married and play princess, but I¡¯d rather stay close to Errol than travel.


    My thoughts were interrupted by rhythmic footsteps coming toward me in the hallway. I felt his presence before I looked at him.


    King Imran strode down the hallway toward me, his attention focused on some letters in his hands. Of all the four kings, King Imran was undoubtedly the best. His appearance first off was the most inviting. Brown hazel hair stained like a piece of wood, kind pistachio eyes, a firm mouth that only produced respectful words. He stood over six feet tall, always dressed modestly in the middle of complete royalty and the average layperson. Today he wore brown trouser pants and a pewter colored tunic top. The only kingly jewelry he wore was his wedding ring and a copper colored necklace with the Artieran emblem on it.


    He was so focused on reading the letters, his brow furrowed deeply, he almost passed without noticing me.


    ¡°Your majesty,¡± I spoke up when he was just a few feet past me, ¡°could I ask you a question?¡±


    The King looked up, startled, and looking almost surprised at where he was. When he realized who had spoken to him, the furrow of his brow relaxed. ¡°Elody my dear, please call me Imran.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°You''ve traveled a lot. Do you think the world is worth seeing?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± The King put all the letters in one hand, then tucked them into the pocket of his shirt. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some absolutely lovely places, my dear. Dare I say, nicer than the Vineyard. And the people, they¡¯re just different from city to city. The mountains¡­ Those people are absolutely lovely. Of course, with Daphne as their queen, how could they not be?¡± He chuckled to himself. ¡°I really like Ketron island. Also ruled by the Charys.¡± He looked at me with elvish eyes. ¡°They really cheated the rest of us out of some beautiful places.¡±


    I laughed quietly at his comment. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    King Imran nodded and smiled. I liked the way King Imran smiled, He didn¡¯t smile the same way my parents, or Errol, or anyone else in my life did. He didn¡¯t smile like he expected something out of me.


    I turned on my heel and walked down the hall, determination welling up inside of me. I¡¯d just made my decision. If Errol really loved me, he would understand that I couldn''t marry him, at least not right now.


    I went straight to my room and pulled my brown duffle bag out from under my bed. Tossed as many shirts and pants inside as I could find, then dresses. On top I put two pairs of shoes, then zipped the bag shut. I looked over at the clock in my room. A half past twelve.


    The noon hour was a very quiet time around the castle. The perfect time for me to steal through the hallways with my duffle. As swift as a mouse, I navigated the hallways and exited the castle. Making sure no one was behind me, I made my way to the pond. The way the tree¡¯s roots grew, they buckled outward at the bottom, creating a space right underneath the tree. I shoved my duffle bag underneath, checked my surroundings one more time, then headed back for the palace. Now I only had to count down the hours until tonight when I¡¯d leave for Amerenth.


    #


    For most of the day, I¡¯d sat around the palace staring at any clock I could find as the minutes ticked closer to when I would slip away. I admit, it was probably the most boring and unproductive day of my life. But I didn¡¯t care. My travels began after today.


    Coming back to my room to change for dinner, I found a handwritten letter sitting on my nightstand. It was from the queen inviting me to dinner with the family. ¡°Inviting,¡± like I could say no.


    Looking at the clock I realized I was already running a little late. I quickly found an off-yellow dress, then redid the bun my hair sat in. Doing my best not to run down the hall to make it to the dining hall on time, I managed to not be the last person in the room.


    I took my seat next across the table from Errol. Sometimes I wished he had siblings so it wouldn''t be just the four of us at the table. Glancing around the table, I noticed an oddness in the seating. Usually King Imran sat at the head of the table, Errol and I across from each other, and Queen Merissa at the foot. Tonight the queen sat next to her son, and an empty chair was at the foot of the table.


    I didn''t have to wait long to know who the guest was.


    Nobleman Claud Bishard walked in, his face set in a prideful scowl, which he quickly shaped up when the king and queen¡¯s attention was on him. He bowed before sitting down. ¡°Your majesties.¡± He sat and glanced at me. ¡°Lady Bequette.¡±


    I felt my lips twitching to form a scowl. I was just as much a majesty as the others, I was Errol¡¯s fianc¨¦.


    ¡°Glad you could join us, Claud,¡± King Imran said, his usual smile draped on his face.


    At least one person here was. I knew for a fact that three out of the four people at this table disliked Claud Bishard with a passion. He was a pretentious pretender, getting in good with anyone he could. From the day Errol and I announced our engagement, he¡¯d been snaking around the palace getting his foot in wherever possible. He was already the main wine provider for the wedding and somehow his daughter would be the flower girl.


    The servants brought in our individual plates. Roasted duck sprinkled with rosemary with sides of potatoes drenched in white wine, and asparagus.


    I looked to the King and Queen to begin eating.


    The King clinked wine glasses with his wife before cutting into his duck. I was more than happy to cut into my own. A good dinner before I was off for the night. And no one at this table knew I¡¯d be leaving.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°The two adolescents look just radiant,¡± Claud said. ¡°It''s the wedding effect.¡±


    I wanted to roll my eyes, but Errol beat me to the exasperated feeling. His way of dealing with it was a bit more creative than mine.


    ¡°The wedding effect,¡± he repeated to Claud. ¡°From what philosophical book did you get that from?¡±


    ¡°Not a book, your majesty. Just a thing people say.¡±


    ¡°I''ve never heard it,¡± Errol said. ¡°Could you explain?¡±


    Claud¡¯s face reddened from being put on the spot. It wasn''t often someone asked him to expound upon one of his capricious compliments. ¡°Well, I just mean, you''re glowing because you''re so happy to be married. You''re really ready.¡± He tried to shift his attention to the king and queen. ¡°Aren''t we all ready for them to be married?¡± he asked with a nervous laugh.


    Errol didn''t even smirk. ¡°Does the length of time Elody and I have been engaged bother you?¡± he asked, adding a wonderful eyebrow raise to complete his unamused expression. ¡°Do you have better things to do with your wine? Does your daughter have a previous engagement? I find that surprising with her lack of eligible siblings.¡±


    Point for Errol for the double use of the word engagement.


    ¡°No, of course not my prince,¡± Claud said, now scrambling for words. ¡°I just meant¡­ Well I just meant¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why don''t we jump into why we¡¯re here,¡± Queen Merissa spoke up. She flashed a warning look at her son.


    Errol ignored her and met eyes with me, his smile in his eyes.


    I looked down at the food in front of me to keep my twitching lips from breaking into a smile. I liked Errol, there was a reason why we¡¯d been friends for so long. I might have loved him, but the unfulfilled feeling gnawing away at me stood in the way of that emotion.


    ¡°Claud, I hear you¡¯re planning on moving out of the Vineyard,¡± the queen said.


    Claud nodded.


    The queen displayed one of her most poisonously sweet faces I¡¯d ever seen. ¡°Why in the heavens would you want to do that?¡±


    ¡°The Vineyard is lovely, your majesties. There¡¯s not a city I¡¯d rather live in,¡± Claud replied.


    ¡°But you want to move to another city,¡± King Imran said.


    ¡°Not to another city,¡± Claud said. ¡°I want to live right outside a quiet town, with neighbors farther than the eye can see.¡± He turned his full attention to the King. ¡°Surely, you understand. You''ve said it yourself, if you weren''t king you''d live someplace like that too.¡±


    I saw the Queen¡¯s eyed flicker at her husband.


    The King wasn¡¯t bothered by his wife¡¯s disapproving gaze. In fact he smiled at Claud. ¡°I''m not going to say the idea doesn''t sound appealing. I''m just saying we¡¯ll miss you in the Vineyard, Claud.¡±


    I also saw Errol roll his eyes.


    For a man who was so interested in Errol and my wedding, he talked an awful lot about himself. Halfway through dinner, I noticed Errol start a game with himself. He¡¯d move a pea to the left of his plate every time Claud said the words wine or wedding until all the peas were on one side, then he¡¯d start over on the right side. From what I could see, he had more than ten peas on his plate, and I counted him switching sides five times.


    When it was obvious that dinner had ended, I excused myself, and stood up from the table, politely bowing my head to Claud.


    Errol stood up too. ¡°Elody, I¡¯ll walk you to your room.¡±


    ¡°Actually son,¡± King Imran said, ¡°Claud wanted to speak to you. To give you a few tips on your role as a man in a marriage.¡±


    I had to keep myself from snickering. Claud was going to give Errol advice? Clearly he did not realize how much Errol disliked him.


    Errol flashed me a desperate look as he sat back down.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Sir Bishard has a lot to teach you, Errol,¡± I said with the sweetest of smiles. I turned and left the dining room. Normally I probably would have thought up a lie to get Errol out of that¡ªhe surely would have done the same for me. But knowing Errol would be preoccupied with Claud for the majority of the night meant he wouldn''t stumble upon my departure. I still felt a little guilty leaving him without a word, but I figured it was best for both of us.


    I retired to my room to wait out the rest of the night until it was time to go. I sat on my bed reading through the journal I¡¯d stopped keeping a year ago. A knock at my door made me look up.


    Nurse Freda walked into the room, bringing fresh towels. ¡°How was dinner?¡±


    ¡°Claud Bishard was there,¡± I replied.


    Freda clicked her tongue. ¡°What else does he want to provide for the wedding? The groom?¡±


    I smirked, happy she disliked him as much as I did. ¡°He said Errol and I are radiant because of the wedding effect.¡±


    Freda rolled her eyes as she set the towels on top of my dresser. ¡°You two have always been radiant.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I muttered, turning my eyes back to my journal. As Freda pattered around the room, I couldn¡¯t help but peek over the top of the journal at her. In my twelve years spent in and around the palace, besides the prince, she was my closest friend. I didn¡¯t think that in twelve years, I¡¯d ever really stopped to appreciate her. And now I would possibly never see her again. Sadness andguilt surged inside of me, settling right at base of my throat, but clawing to be let out. I set my journal down and slid off the bed.


    Freda noticed without stopping what she was doing. ¡°Going somewhere, Elody?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer her, and instead walked straight over to her with open arms.


    She turned to face me a split second before I embraced her.


    ¡°You¡¯re so wonderful,¡± I said.


    She was surprised at first by my impromptu hug, then wrapped her arms around me. ¡°You¡¯re wonderful too, my dear.¡±


    I ached to tell her of my departure, but I knew that even as close as we were, she would never keep something like that to herself. Clamping my mouth shut, I hugged her tighter.


    After a few minutes, Freda gently pried me off of her, the warm smile still on her face. ¡°You really are wonderful, dear. You¡¯re a bright young woman. Errol is lucky to have found you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply. I didn¡¯t have a reply. For someone so lucky to find me, he was unlucky that unbeknownst to him, I was about to walk out of his life.


    Freda headed for the door. ¡°Now try to get to bed early tonight. You have a fitting early in the morning for your wedding dress.¡± Freda blew me a kiss and left my room.


    The emotions still swirled inside, and I had to strain my muscles to keep from sprinting after her. I got back into bed, glancing at the clock on the wall. I could get in a light nap before it was time to leave. My head sank into the pillow, and I laid there thinking about what Amerenth would be like. Soon my thoughts turned to dreams.


    #


    I woke with a start, worried I¡¯d missed it. Looking at the clock, it read a quarter past ten. I was right on time. I jumped out of bed and quickly slid out of my dress. At first thought I considered leaving it in on the floor, then figured I could do one last thing for Freda. I smoothed it out and lay it at the edge of the bed. Next, I hopped into some light trousers and a breezy shirt. I figured they¡¯d be better to travel in than a dress.


    I had to do one last thing before I left. I went over to the mirror, peering at myself. As usual, my walnut colored hair was spun up and clipped behind my head. I took a deep breath, and pulled the clip out, releasing my hair. It fell past my shoulders and stopped a little past my armpits. I wouldn¡¯t be a noble, and I wouldn¡¯t be in the Vineyard, so no longer did I need to keep my hair in a fancy bun of some sort. I vowed from now on to always wear it down.


    I¡¯d made the trip from my room to the small pond many times before, and people hardly ever thought anything of it. Still, as I walked through the halls, every person I passed sent a wash of nerves through me. I felt like I had runaway written across my forehead, and I scolded myself for not waiting to take my hair down. Despite my worrying, no one batted an eye at me, and I made it to the pond. I found the man waiting beside a medium sized covered wagon just as he¡¯d said he would be.


    ¡°I just have to get my bag,¡± I said to him.


    He nodded, and I hurried over to the spot between the tree roots where I¡¯d shoved my duffle.


    When I came back over to him, I flashed him a smile. ¡°Once again, thank you so much. You don¡¯t know how much this means to me.¡±


    ¡°It''s not a problem, really,¡± he said.


    ¡°I never asked for your name.¡±


    ¡°Dominick.¡±


    I nodded and climbed into the back of the wagon.


    He smiled at me before closing the wagon doors, and I heard the quiet thud of the outside lock dropping into place.


    There weren¡¯t any seats in his wagon, so I just propped myself against the side. Dominick wasted no time hitting the road, and soon the wagon was bouncing across the land. I soon began to realize that my nap had not sufficed, and how soothing traveling was. I dozed off a few times.


    After about the fourth time waking up, I realized something was different. The wagon was slowing down, until it came to a complete stop. The wagon shifted as Dominick got off the front. I heard his boots crunch as he came around to the back. He unlocked the doors and opened them, peering in at me.


    I began scooting toward the edge so I could get out. ¡°Are we stopping already?¡±


    Before I had a chance to take in the outside, Dominick jumped into the wagon, tackling me to the ground. I opened my mouth to scream in shock, but felt a cloth shoved inside instead. I struggled against his weight, but he held me down, then twisted me around to tie a thick rope around my wrists. He tied the other end of it to a circular hook inside the wagon. I did my best to kick my feet out toward his head but missed. He wrestled with my feet until my ankles were tied too. In the struggle, I¡¯d managed to push cloth around in my mouth to a spot where I could spit it out.


    ¡°What is this? What are you doing?¡± I demanded.


    Dominick sneered as he picked up the cloth. Grabbing the back of my head by my hair, he shoved the cloth back inside my mouth, then tied another cloth across my mouth. ¡°I would think being a noble, you¡¯d know better than to trust strangers. But that¡¯s quite alright, it works out for me. I know a man who will pay a pretty penny for a noble to work in his brothel.¡±


    My eyes widened, so big tears came to them and simply dropped out.


    A brothel? He was going to sell me into slavery, and worse, prostitution!


    Dominick shot me one final sneer before slamming the doors to the wagons shut and locking them.

 Chapter Six: Milena

    I managed to go the entire day without running into Chasey. I didn¡¯t know where she was, and I didn¡¯t care. However, I knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into her. Like a rat, Chasey liked to come out at night.


    I normally only stayed until three one night out of the week, and I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself with the extra two hours I had before Whatever-His-Name showed up. I set up shop in one of the back rooms, hoping to avoid everyone as best I could.


    A half past twelve¡ªwhen I¡¯d normally be gone¡ªChasey walked by the room. The door was only open a crack, but somehow, she still saw me as she walked by. More than likely she thought it was some other girl trying to hide out in the back. Her eyes widened for just a second when she saw the girl hiding was me.


    ¡°What are you doing here still?¡± she snapped.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a client,¡± I replied shortly.


    My words went in one ear and out the other. ¡°Did you get that man I asked you to?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t want anything last night,¡± I replied. ¡°He¡¯ll be back tonight. He¡¯s my client.¡±


    ¡°He better come back tonight,¡± Chasey said. ¡°Or else.¡± She gave me a warning look and walked away.


    I rolled my eyes. I¡¯d done exactly what she¡¯d wanted, and she still couldn''t acknowledge it.


    Thirty minutes of just me and the ticking wall clock passed, and then it seemed that everyone from the late shift decided to come into the room at once.


    Leesa and Heidi came in first.


    ¡°Milena,¡± Leesa said, ¡°what are you still doing here?¡±


    ¡°I have a client.¡±


    ¡°A client?¡± Heidi asked. ¡°But you never take clients if you don''t have to be here. Did Chasey schedule you for tonight? Why aren¡¯t you up front then?¡±


    I wished I had genitalia to shove into her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s someone specific. Special request.¡±


    ¡°A special request?¡± Sharan¡¯s voice was in the room before she was. ¡°Since when do you take special requests?¡±


    Heidi¡¯s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. ¡°Is it a special someone? A lover? Milena, are you in love?¡±


    I rolled my eyes, standing up from my chair because frankly, the room was getting too crowded. ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. Chasey told me a specific person to get business from. He could only make tonight after two. That¡¯s why I¡¯m still here. If it wasn¡¯t for Chasey being the bitch that she is, I wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    A chorus of oh¡¯s escaped their lips, and I sat back down, thinking the conversation was over.


    ¡°Is he a hot one?¡± Heidi asked.


    I shrugged. ¡°Barely looked at him. Besides, what does it matter? The hot ones aren¡¯t the ones who stick around.¡±


    ¡°The hot ones are usually married,¡± Sharan pointed out. ¡°They¡¯re not coming here anyway, unless they¡¯re unhappy at home.¡±


    ¡°There have been some hot ones,¡± Heidi said with a pout.


    Leesa and I exchanged glances.


    Sharan rolled her eyes and scoffed. ¡°I wouldn''t say our standards of hot are quite the same, Heidi.¡±


    Heidi flipped her hair back, but the pout hadn¡¯t left her face. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    Sharan mirrored her hair flip. ¡°We just don¡¯t entertain the same crowd, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, because one of us has standards,¡± Heidi said.


    ¡°Standards?¡± Sharan demanded her voice raising an octave. ¡°At least I don¡¯t believe I¡¯m dating the town drunk.¡±


    Heidi gasped like it was the most surprising thing she¡¯d heard in a year. ¡°He is not the town drunk!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Maxius was the town drunk, and so was his father, and his father before him.


    ¡°He is, and he also isn¡¯t as hooked on you as you think he is.¡±


    I leaned back in my chair, shutting my eyes. I knew exactly what Sharan was about to say, and I wished I could be anywhere else but here. I even wished mister holier-than-thou-mullet-man was here early.


    ¡°He fucked Denese last night,¡± Sharan blabbered. ¡°Came in here drunker than usual, coins pouring out his pocket for her. Denese didn¡¯t turn him down.¡±


    I could feel Leesa looking at me. Either she didn¡¯t know that, or she did and expected me to diffuse the situation now that the cat was out of the bag.


    ¡°You whore!¡± Heidi screamed.


    ¡°Me? Denese is your whore,¡± Sharan said.


    From there, the two instantly started screaming incoherent profanities at each other. I removed myself from the room, leaving Leesa to sort things out herself. She was too young and too naive to understand it.


    This was why prostitutes didn¡¯t love. Love who? The men they were sleeping with? The ones that fucked one if not more of the other prostitutes in the same brothel, maybe even the same night? We gave up love for money. Trying to have both only resulted in petty squabbles like that.


    I managed to find another room and lock myself inside this time. Fatigue caught me by surprise, and I didn¡¯t wake up until a few minutes before two. I used some makeup lying around to spruce up my face, then went out into the front room.


    The crew was down to Celestine, Shenna, and Denese. And me.


    I took a seat at the bar and ordered an Elgin rum from Shenna. She didn¡¯t bother to question why I was still here.


    Someone tapped on my shoulder and I turned to see Celestine.


    ¡°There¡¯s a man here for you,¡± she said. ¡°Well I think he¡¯s here for you. He said he didn¡¯t know your name, just that you had shoulder length hair and a scowl. Figured that was you.¡±


    I nodded, glad mullet man had read me right. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s for me. Thanks.¡± As Celestine walked away, I downed the rest of my rum. I probably needed another one to get through this with a pleasant attitude, but I didn¡¯t want to waste time, risking his departure. I left the cup at the counter and found him just inside the doorway.


    He leaned against the inside wall, his lips set in a tight frown, and his head turned in the direction of the rooms.


    ¡°You actually came back.¡± I could have said anything else, but I wasn¡¯t one to just let pass what I was thinking.


    The man looked at me, and the tightness of his lips slacked the tiniest bit. He better have liked what he was seeing. I was wearing a shirt where the buttons didn¡¯t start until right under my breasts and a short flowy skirt. He looked back toward the rooms. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, for a second considering just kicking him out. But I knew if I did, Chasey would hear about it. I could always pass him off to one of the other girls, but one glance around I could tell they were all busy. I led the man out of the foyer and to the hallway of rooms. Each of the six rooms was different than the next, but all ultimately disgusting.


    I chose the room with a large black fabric spider-looking decoration above the bed. I kicked a pair of shoes somehow left behind under the bed.


    Mullet man sat on the bed, kicking off his own shoes.


    I figured if at some point I decided to call out his name, mullet man probably wouldn¡¯t fit the mood. ¡°You got a name?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Don''t worry about it.¡±


    I exhaled out some of the irritation. Chasey sure picked a good one. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? You seem like you don¡¯t want to.¡± Seem was an understatement.


    The man looked up at me, in the middle of taking off his shirt. ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you want to.¡±


    ¡°This is how I seem always,¡± I retorted. ¡°Have you forgotten? I do this for a living.¡±


    The man didn''t seem convinced, or any more inclined to finish taking off his shirt.


    I sighed and unbuttoned my shirt, tossing it on the floor behind me. ¡°Look, my bite isn¡¯t as bad as my bark. It''s a nice experience. You get sex, I get money. We¡¯ll do this and we¡¯ll never see each other again, okay?¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes had zeroed in on my exposed breasts now, barely managing a nod as a response.


    If I¡¯d drank another Elgin rum¡ªor maybe three more¡ªI could have done the whole foreplay act. But at that moment, with him drooling over my breasts, I realized I wanted this to be over quicker than he did. I slid my skirt off, then set to taking his clothes off. Quick and seductive was the goal. The more undressed we got, the more eager he became about the impending sex. When I¡¯d slid his pants off, he actually leaned back and pulled me down onto him. I set to my usual routine, kisses and stroking, working my way up to the big moment.


    Suddenly he stopped, leaning as far back from me as he could into the pillow. ¡°Wait, your necklace.¡±


    Instinctively, my hand went to my necklace. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to leave it on?¡±


    ¡°I always do,¡± I said. That actually wasn¡¯t true. Usually I took it off before being with any client, I¡¯d just forgotten since this wasn¡¯t part of my normal routine.


    The man grimaced.


    I sighed and moved to undo the clasp. ¡°If it''s going to bother you that much.¡± I laid the necklace on the bedside table and we continued.


    Skipping the foreplay, the rendezvous took hardly any time. He was sober so we didn¡¯t have to worry about stopping every few minutes for him to catch his breath or figure out if he had to vomit. He was also extremely eager, so I barely had to do any work.


    When he finished, I rolled off of him onto the left side of the bed, exhaling through my nose. Admittedly, this was one of my best affairs, quick and easy. I was so content, I actually felt comfortable in the bed, and closed my eyes just for a few seconds. Those few seconds became close to an hour, I realized when I opened my eyes and saw the time on the clock. I was also now the only one in the bed. On the pillow beside me was the money. I counted the money while still lying on my back. He¡¯d been kind enough not to stiff me. My hand went to my neck to fiddle with my necklace, and I remembered I¡¯d taken it off.


    The words were out of my mouth the same time my eyes landed on the bedside table. ¡°Oh fuck.¡±

 Chapter Seven: Elody

    I¡¯d managed to prop myself up against the side of the wagon. The circulation in my hands and feet was waning from the tight rope.


    We stopped once or twice along the way, but Dominick never opened the doors. That gave me a lot of time to mentally beat myself up for one, ever trusting a stranger, and two, being so eager to get out of the palace. I should have just told Errol or Freda. One of them could have arranged a trip for me to Amerenth. I¡¯m sure the trip would have been more pleasant.


    We stopped a third time since I¡¯d been tied up, and I heard Dominick walking to the back of the wagon. His boots didn¡¯t crunch like before, but clopped as if walking on cobblestone.


    The doors swung open and in the middle of blinking, Dominick yanked me out of the wagon. I barely caught my footing as my feet landed on the dirty cobblestone street. His grubby hands worked to untie the cloth from around my mouth, and I spat out the one that had been inside my mouth.


    ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± I demanded as Dominick untied my wrists and ankles.


    ¡°Welcome to Scultera, princess. The grimiest, best city to be a prostitute.¡±


    Before I could utter a response, Dominick grabbed me by my hair and angled my face up, so I was looking directly into his leering eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to try and run away, okay? Or I¡¯ll rip each strand of your hair out one at a time. And when we go in to meet Jamel, you¡¯re not going to say anything about sitting in the back of a wagon tied to the side. He thinks I treat my ladies kindly, and I don¡¯t want him thinking otherwise.¡±


    ¡°How-How else is he going to think a noble like me came here?¡± I managed to get out through my dry mouth. ¡°Surely I¡¯d never come here by choice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, change of plans,¡± Dominick replied. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell him you¡¯re a noble, and you¡¯re not either. Not if you value your life. Got it?¡±


    I managed to move my head enough to mimic a nod. He let me go and I nearly fell forward. Rubbing the back of my head where the hair follicles were now sore, I said, ¡°What if he recognizes me?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll punch your face in and sell you to him again,¡± Dominick replied with a sneer. He opened the door with a creak, and then motioned for me to go inside ahead of him. ¡°Ladies first.¡±


    I wished I¡¯d had the courage to turn around and bolt around the wagon and down the street. But I knew of Scultera; every bad thing imaginable happened in this city, and I did not want to be wandering around it with nothing. I held my head high as I walked inside, into a narrow hallway so dimly lit my eyes strained to readjust.


    Dominick prodded me forward. The hallway grew slightly wider, then ended at another hallway. He directed me to the left and then into the first room on the right.


    A burly, tan skinned man sat behind a large desk¡ªone that didn¡¯t seem as large next to him¡ªrunning his finger down the page of a large green book.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Dominick cleared his throat, and the man looked up. ¡°Jamel.¡±


    ¡°Dominick, I thought you brought me all your girls.¡±


    ¡°I got lucky with this one,¡± Dominick said.


    I glared at him.


    Jamel tapped his cheek as he looked at me. ¡°She''s got a familiar face. I don''t know why¡­ Oh well, the guys will like that. Put her on the floor, introduce her to Bonnie.¡± He returned his attention to his book.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Dominick asked.


    Jamel looked back up at him. ¡°Is there more?¡±


    ¡°I brought you an extra girl than I usually do, and a pretty one at that. Look, her hair is like wine.¡±


    Jamel took another look at me, then looked back at Dominick. ¡°Thank you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about payment, Jamel.¡±


    I did my best to keep off my face the satisfaction of Dominick not getting what he¡¯d hoped for me.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll pay you, Dom,¡± Jamel said, leaning back in his chair. ¡°Let''s see, our deal is two Telvs for every girl. I can get that for you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Two?¡± Dominick cut in. ¡°Jamel, look at her. Really look at her. What are the chances of anyone ever bringing you a girl who looks like this? She¡¯s flawless, it¡¯s as if the royal family raised her themselves.¡±


    That¡¯s because the royal family did nearly raise me.


    I shifted my gaze behind Dominick to the open door. I could probably bolt out right now. But I¡¯d still be in the same spot: alone with nothing in Scultera. However, the alternative was staying here, so right now, the streets were looking kind of good.


    ¡°We¡¯ll work something out, Dom,¡± Jamel said impatiently. ¡°Just take her to Bonnie. The girl is probably famished.¡±


    Dominick¡¯s face set in a scowl, but he put his hand on my shoulder with more pressure than I liked. ¡°Fine. Let''s go.¡± He directed me out the room and back into the hallway. We took a right, walking past the first hallway we¡¯d come in through. At the end of this hallway, were two wooden swing doors, and I could hear a few drinks clinking beyond them. We turned left into a room.


    Two women, both seemingly sort of close to my age, were in the middle of dressing. Their surprise to see us walk in only lasted a second.


    ¡°So glad you¡¯re here, Dominick,¡± the one with bright red lips and voluminous blond hair said dryly. She looked at me. ¡°You brought another girl? Thought Jamel would treat you to some extra money, did ya?¡±


    ¡°He will,¡± Dominick muttered. He shoved me forward toward her. ¡°Give her something to eat and get her working for you.¡± He flashed me a glare, then left the room. Leaving me with my first two prostitutes.


    The other girl had straight hair so dark it had to have been black, which would mean she was from up north in the mountains. Maybe she was even from Amerenth.


    I suppressed that thought. Amerenth was a broken dream now, and prostitution was my reality.


    The woman with blond hair swished her teeth as she looked at me. ¡°You got a name sweetheart?¡±


    She must not have recognized me then. I took a chance using my real name. ¡°My name is Elody.¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t stop inspecting me, her eyes seemed to run over every curve and crevice of my body. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty one. You¡¯ve got nothing to worry about. Some man will eat you right up. Literally.¡± She flashed me a smile revealing big white teeth. ¡°My name¡¯s Bonnie and that¡¯s Aliza.¡±


    The black-haired woman nodded. She¡¯d finished dressing¡ªwell I guess she had, she only wore the bottom half of a dress and her bra, or some contraption like it¡ªand squeezed past us to leave the room.


    Bonnie on the other hand stood in front of me with only her underwear on. ¡°I think there¡¯s a dress around here that will fit you. But you¡¯re a little smaller than most of the girls. Actually, Samantha might be your same size. Anyway, we¡¯ll have to get some clothes made for you.¡± She walked over to the chair in the room and wiped off the seat with her hand. ¡°Sit on down right here. I¡¯ll get you some food.¡±


    I did as I was told, huddling myself to sit on as little of the chair as possible.


    Bonnie didn¡¯t seem to notice. She shrugged on a tight dress and walked out of the room.


    I looked around the room where worn scuzzy clothing had been thrown around, lying across the floor and on chairs. This was where wanting to see the world had taken me. I was seeing the world alright, a side of it I¡¯d never experienced.

 Chapter Eight: Milena

    That was absolutely the last time I did anything for Chasey.


    And what kind of fucker was this guy? He took the crystal out my necklace? Why? I knew why, to sell it obviously. But why pay me and take the crystal? He could have just kept the money and left my necklace untouched! I swore if I ever saw him again, I¡¯d choke him to death.


    I was still seething when I walked into the brothel the next morning. I didn¡¯t even acknowledge Leesa when she said hello. I reached into my pocket and fingered the necklace inside. When I¡¯d gotten back to my flat, I¡¯d replaced the stolen crystal with another one. I had two crystals; one I¡¯d found when I was about ten in Oderra, and the other one had been left behind by a client about six months ago. The crystal I found in Oderra was more special to me, so I¡¯d never put it on a necklace. Since the other one was now gone, I¡¯d used that one to replace it; however, I¡¯d decided not to wear the necklace around my neck anymore.


    I had to walk around the entire god-damn brothel before I found Chasey who was of course, sitting at the bar. I went behind the bar so I was looking right at her. ¡°I hope you¡¯re happy. That guy was an asshole. He stole the pendant from my necklace.¡±


    ¡°Did he pay you?¡± she asked sipping from her cup.


    ¡°Yeah he paid me.¡±


    ¡°Buy yourself a new pendant.¡±


    My hand itched to reach across the counter and slap her, but I kept both my hands shoved deep in my pockets. ¡°Why did you ask me here today?¡±


    ¡°I need you to go to Scultera for me.¡±


    ¡°It''s my day off.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. If it wasn¡¯t, you couldn''t go because you¡¯d need to be here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±


    Chasey rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you for the time you¡¯re not here.¡±


    It was a two-day trip to Scultera from here and a two-day trip back, plus however many days it took me to accomplish whatever Chasey wanted. I hated running errands for her, but it was worth getting paid for that amount of time. I¡¯d possibly make more than I would here at the brothel.


    ¡°And what exactly is it you want me to do in Scultera?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s a brothel there¡ª¡±


    ¡°Scultera is known for its brothels,¡± I interjected.


    ¡°¡ªA new one, and its racking up a lot of business. I¡¯d like to know about it. What¡¯s got people so drawn to it, you know?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because it''s in the capital city for sex,¡± I suggested dryly.


    Chasey glared at me, but I knew she wasn¡¯t going to dare say anything to me in fear that I wouldn''t run her little errand for her. Really, she could do something like this herself, it''s not like she had that much to do here.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave in an hour or so,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Chasey said, possibly in one of the most ingenuine voices I¡¯d ever heard her use. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long.¡± She flashed me a black look. ¡°And if you even think of taking a job in Scultera, Farris and I will have your neck.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even entertain that with a response. I had to get out of her sight to calm down before I left for Scultera. No point pissing someone else off just because I was mad about some shit here in Indeedra. Taking a seat at one of the tables, Leesa came and sat down across from me.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°You seem frustrated,¡± she said, resting her chin on her hand.


    ¡°Frustrated is an understatement,¡± I said. My eyes flickered up to her face where I noticed a glittery sheen over her eyelids. ¡°What¡¯s up with your face?¡±


    ¡°Heidi lent me some stuff,¡± Leesa said, looking away. ¡°I thought I¡¯d try some of it.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°Do you want to be like Heidi? Hopefully in love with a moron?¡±


    ¡°I need more money, Milena,¡± Leesa said. ¡°You¡¯ve been giving me your clients, but I have to get them on my own, and everyone still looks at me like a child.¡±


    ¡°You are a child,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡±


    Leesa changed the subject. ¡°What were you talking to Chasey about?¡±


    ¡°She wants me to run a little errand for her.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Some reconnaissance in Scultera.¡±


    Leesa¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s not a little favor. Scultera? That place is¡ª¡±


    ¡°All kinds of revolting,¡± I sighed. ¡°Yes, I know. I¡¯m thrilled to go.¡±


    ¡°Need someone to go with you?¡± Leesa asked.


    Shaking my head, I stood up. ¡°Even if I did, it wouldn¡¯t be you kid. Scultera is no place for sweet girls like you.¡±


    Leesa scrunched her face into a pout, but I ignored it and simply waved to her as I walked out of the brothel.


    It took me a little under an hour to get a knapsack packed with the essentials for my journey. I¡¯d been to Scultera a few times before, so I knew the route. The wagon left midday from the edge of Indeedra, and that particular day it wasn¡¯t crowded. Thankfully, because I was still seething over both Chasey¡¯s request and the pilferer from the previous night. When the wagon stopped at Lester¡¯s Point, I got off and walked for a few more miles until the light was completely gone, and at that point I set up camp for the night. If it was one thing I appreciated about the errand, it was the time alone. A few hours after the first signs of light, I packed up my campsite and headed on foot to the bustling sex keep of Scultera.


    Arriving in Scultera, I knew it wouldn¡¯t be hard to get information on the new brothel. Scultera wasn¡¯t a reputable city; it teemed with sexual activity, and not all of it consensual. If you actually lived in Scultera and didn¡¯t just visit frequently, you either owned a brothel, worked in one, or there was something seriously wrong with you. All I had to do was walk up to a group of men, probably in their late thirties, gathered around a leaning wood post and ask, ¡°I heard there¡¯s a new brothel in town.¡±


    The man with a dark mustache that surprisingly didn¡¯t match the rest of his hair was the first to jump to conversating. ¡°You say it so casually, like it isn¡¯t the talk of the town.¡±


    I kept myself from rolling my eyes. The fact that something like that was the ¡®talk of the town¡¯ just proved how filthy this town was really was. I could feel the other two men¡¯s eyes tracing the lines of my body. ¡°Do you know where it is?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to get a job there?¡± one of the staring men, the one with slicked back hair and noticeably greasy palms, asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯d take you.¡±


    ¡°Now why would you get her hopes up like that?¡± the third man asked him.


    I crossed my arms, raising my eyebrows at him. ¡°Are you saying I couldn¡¯t get a job there?¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± the man replied quickly, his eyes doing another scan of my body. ¡°I just mean they¡¯re very picky there. Well, kind of. I know a lot of girls around here who have been turned down to work there, but they always have a lot of girls working there. I don¡¯t know where they¡¯re coming from if it''s none of the girls here. Maybe they only farm out their women.¡±


    ¡°You should still try and get a job there,¡± slicked-back hair said to me, trying to make direct eye contact with me.


    I ignored him and turned my attention my back to the man with the mismatched facial hair. ¡°What¡¯s the name of it?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t have a name, at least not one publicly. But it''s located on the other side of town. There¡¯s a small door between a blacksmith¡¯s shop and one of those spirit reading places¡ªif you¡¯re not careful you¡¯ll miss it¡ªand that¡¯s where it is. You shouldn¡¯t miss it though, there¡¯s always someone coming in or going out that door.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, beginning to walk away.


    ¡°Come find us if you get the job!¡± I didn¡¯t have to look back to know which one yelled that. I rolled my eyes now. I didn¡¯t know who I hated more in Scultera, the men or the women. The men were just absolute sleaze balls, wasting both their time and money on a good time. The women were no better, mostly just a bunch of bored, insecure women or women who wanted to make some easy money without any regard for their self-respect. Of course, it seemed hypocritical for me to think that being a prostitute myself, but at least many of the girls under Farris and Chasey had at least a shred of self-worth, and most of the men who came in just needed to relax for the night before they returned to their work.


    It didn¡¯t take long to find the brothel door located between the blacksmith¡¯s shop and a spirit reader. There was practically a line of men making their way to it, and even more hanging around outside. Without a doubt I¡¯d have to see the inside, but for a few minutes I hung around the exterior listening to conversations and random outbursts.


    From the conversations, it was clear the brothel was ¡°outsourcing¡± their girls. And I had a very good suspicion their outsourcing was less than ethical. If I could find proof to bring that information back to Chasey, she¡¯d love me.

 Chapter Nine: Elody

    Two days here was two days too long. In fact, one minute in this gritty, filth-ridden city was too long. I didn¡¯t care if it meant someone recognized me and returned me to Shivani¡¯s Vineyard; better there than anywhere near here. If the Artierans weren¡¯t too mad about me running away, I could have them send a whole army to burn this place to ground. Thankfully, I¡¯d managed to make myself as undesirable as possible to the patrons and no one had asked me to sleep with them. In my spare time, I¡¯d watched the way the brothel ran. Jamel hardly batted an eye at the girls while they were out on the floor, but Dominick had stuck around to make sure I didn¡¯t try to escape. Unfortunate for him, while he¡¯d been so focused watching me, I¡¯d been observing him. The only time he took his eyes off me for long periods of time was when a particular prostitute, Teally, came out. His eyes would follow her from the second she came out, all the way around the brothel, until she disappeared into a room with another man. So, this morning I¡¯d persuaded her to show some affection to the ¡°trader gentleman who admirably watched her.¡± I made sure to give her enough detail about who Dominick was so she wouldn¡¯t go off with the wrong person and ruin my plan. Now all I had to do was wait for her to come out.


    As I stood at the bar, forcibly dressed in shameful garments, my eyes stayed on Dominick. As usual, he was watching me from across the room near the main entrance. I had to keep myself from flashing a smug smile. There he was guarding that door like it was the only exit in the place. No, it was just the exit he thought a naive girl like me would ever think to use. I smelt Teally¡¯s perfume as she came through the wooden swing doors. She walked past me, her head swiveling looking for the man I¡¯d described to her. Her eyes finally landed on Dominick and she strutted up to him. Instantly Dominick¡¯s focus was off of me and onto her exposed breasts. I didn¡¯t want to, but I had to watch the two so I wouldn¡¯t miss the exact right moment of opportunity. Teally stretched herself across him, dangled herself around him, and rubbed herself on him. If that man¡¯s knees weren¡¯t weak yet, he had a stronger will than I thought. Within a few minutes, Teally was leading him to one of the rooms.


    Without even a second to doubt my plan, I left the room and headed for a bathroom I¡¯d come across in the very back of the tavern. It was so far in the back, I doubted anybody used it except for maybe an emergency, or very impromptu relations. I closed the door behind me and stood on the toilet so I could reach the grimy window. It was already slightly ajar, so all I had to do was push it out further, then hoist myself up, and then jump down onto the ground. Barely landing on my feet, I realized I was behind the tavern in an alleyway. I quickly scurried down the alleyway and out into the streets, feeling like a rat the entire time.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I had a little bit of time before someone noticed I was gone, so I needed a plan quick. I knew I couldn''t check into an inn or anything; that would be one of the first places Dominick and Jamal looked for me after combing the streets. Maybe I could leave the city and head for one of the neighboring ones. Who was I kidding? I didn''t have any bearings, I had no clue what direction the nearest city was in, and choosing the wrong direction would either get me re-kidnapped, or dead because I had no idea how to survive on my own.


    Whether I''d find some place to hide in the city, or if I''d try to travel to another, I needed to change into some new clothes and get something to eat.


    I came across an open bazaar a few streets over. The first stand I found selling clothes, I used what little money I''d shoved into the pocket of my dress to buy a cheap, ugly brown tunic and pant, as well as some gray ratty boots. I''d have to find some place I could go and change. Having just enough left to buy some food, I settled on a large loaf of bread.


    As I tried to balance the boots on my arm and tilt the bread toward my face to take a bite, my pants slipped off my arm and onto the ground.


    A boy¡ªwho I hadn''t even noticed near me¡ªbent down and picked it up. He had sandy blond hair, with loose strands that poked down into his eyesight, tiny freckles across the bridge of his nose, and a gentle smile. He wrapped the pants around my arm.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said.


    ¡°No problem. Are you okay? You seem a little frazzled.¡±


    ¡°Frazzled? No, I¡¯m not frazzled,¡± I replied. Anxious would have been the right word. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to find some place to stay tonight. But I don¡¯t have any money, so there¡¯s that.¡±


    ¡°I have a place you could stay,¡± the boy said.


    I glanced at him, dubiously.


    He smiled softly. ¡°I realize how that must sound. I just mean, if you really need a place to stay for the night, and you don¡¯t have any money, I do have an extra bedroom.¡±


    I bit my lip, considering his offer. I didn¡¯t know him at all, but I couldn¡¯t afford to be out in the open on these streets any longer. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve already gotten myself into a pretty bad predicament from trusting a stranger.¡±


    The boy nodded. ¡°I understand. Well if it gets late, and you still find yourself needing a place, I live just a little up town. You start to get out of the main city, and my house is right across from an incense shop, with a yellow door. Oh, and my name is Will Yarberry.¡±


    I force my lips into a tense smile. ¡°Thank you, Will.¡± I took a moment to memorize his face, then scurried off out of the bizarre.

 Chapter Ten: Milena

    I¡¯d spent so long waiting in this man¡¯s office I¡¯d lost track of time. Not that I had anything else to do, but how long did it take to find the owner? They¡¯d probably forgot about me but going out to look for someone seemed like more work than staying put right here.


    Finally, a burly, tan skinned man lumbered into the room.


    I considered straightening my posture in the chair from my slouch, but then decided against it.


    The man sat at the edge of his desk, giving my legs even less room. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. We had a bit of a situation.¡±


    ¡°What? Unhappy customer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± the man replied. ¡°Okay, your name is?¡±


    ¡°Milena,¡± I replied. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Jamel.¡± His eyes moved up and down my body.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I''m not here to be one of your little whores.¡±


    Jamel looked me in the eyes now. ¡°You''re already a whore, aren''t you?¡±


    Now I straightened up in my chair. ¡°That''s not very polite.¡±


    Jamel¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Who are you here for?¡±


    ¡°Farris and Chasey,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I don''t know them.¡± Just from the flicker of his eyes, I knew he was lying.


    ¡°You do,¡± I said.


    Jamel looked at me, then said, ¡°They run that uppity brothel in Indeedra.¡±


    ¡°Uppity brothels are in capital cities,¡± I said. ¡°Their brothel just gives women a choice.¡±


    ¡°You think these girls here don''t have a choice?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°If one of them wanted to walk out the door right now, they could?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I said standing up out of the chair. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just go inform them and ask around who¡¯s ready to leave.¡±


    ¡°Well look here,¡± Jamel said quickly, standing to his full height. ¡°You can''t do that. If you just went around here asking girls if they wanted to leave, there''d be no one left.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°But not because they''re here against their will?¡±


    ¡°No, no, of course not.¡± Jamel did his best not to let his eye contact waver.


    A smug grin pushed at my lips, but I fought to keep it tame. Sitting back down, I nodded. ¡°I understand. Yes, of course.¡±


    Jamel clearly believed I wasn''t about to run around emancipating his workers, and he slouched back on the side of the desk. Rubbing his jaw, he asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    I grinned. ¡°Would you believe, absolutely nothing. Word travels and over in Indeedra, we''ve heard of your business.¡±


    ¡°And you''re okay with our success?¡±


    ¡°You''re a city away,¡± I replied. ¡°We''re dealing with a whole other clientele.¡± I stood up, dusting off my clothes. ¡°But hey, if you ever want to step up your business, send Farris a letter.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll look into that,¡± Jamel muttered.


    I laughed to myself. I hated Farris and Chasey with a fury, but even I had to applaud their competitiveness. The minute I told them how this brothel was run, Farris would come marching over here to have it shut down. Don¡¯t get me wrong, he couldn¡¯t care less about the rights of these poor girls. But by using the social injustice of the situation, he could eliminate his competitor. And the only person the brothel could blame would be Jamel. He owed his success to cheap labor and scared girls.


    As I walked out of the brothel, taking another full glance around the establishment, I hadn¡¯t decided if I would actually tell Farris and Chasey. In my opinion, like I¡¯d said, the brothel was a city away. The real competition for Farris and Chasey were other brothels in Indeedra. They couldn¡¯t imagine getting on the same level as the iniquitous city of Scultera. Any brothel that opened here was in its own league.


    Either way, I was done doing inspections on the brothel for today. The rest of the day was mine¡ªand there was absolutely nothing I wanted to do or touch in this godawful city. Still, I had to make the most of my day.


    The best I could do for entertainment was to look around inside all the little shops and eateries. After about five, they were basically all the same. Scultera was known for its brothels and sex trade¡ªnot it''s woodwork and woven baskets. And the further into the city I went, the grosser it became. For my sake, I had to stay closer to the outer limits, although really there was nowhere within the city limits to escape the grime.


    I wasted the whole day wandering aimlessly in and out of shops. Maybe I should have stayed in Indeedra and just worked. Soon I would have to start the tedious task of looking for a place to stay for the night.


    It would have to be somewhere outside of town. There wasn¡¯t a chance I would risk being assaulted by one of the lowlifes here. Surely I¡¯d contract something and die in a week. That being said, any inn was probably just as filthy.


    I stood inside a candle shop as I contemplated over a few places I¡¯d noticed along the way.


    A tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my trance, and I realized I¡¯d been staring at the candle display in front of me. I looked over my shoulder to see what kind of wretched creature had dared to touch me and how hard I¡¯d have to scrub my shoulder tonight.


    A boy my age stood behind me. He had a hopelessly childlike face topped with loose strands of sandy hair¡ªplain and simple, he didn¡¯t belong in this town. ¡°Excuse me,¡± he spoke with intelligible words, not slurred like the other drunks that inhabited the place. ¡°Were you going to get that candle?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± I said, stepping aside.


    He reached across and picked up one of the taller candles, turning it around in his hands as he inspected it. ¡°Yeah, I think this will fit in my lantern.¡±


    ¡°Probably should,¡± I said absentmindedly.


    The boy looked at me¡ªsurprisingly, just at my face, not my entire figure¡ªand tapped his chin. ¡°Do I know you? You seem familiar.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m not,¡± I said.


    ¡°Huh,¡± the boy said. ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s my bad. My apologies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I did my best not to let any other comments fly. This boy looked like I could break him with a few simple words. I did my best to deliver the most disinterested face I could¡ªall I had to do was picture a few patrons.


    Still, he was unphased by my expression. ¡°My name is Will Yarberry.¡±


    This kid was too persistent for his own good. I couldn''t look at his face and honestly think he was trying to come onto me, which meant he was just that simple-minded. I turned to walk away, saying as I took a few steps away, ¡°Well Will Yarberry, unless you¡¯ve got a warm bed for me to sleep in tonight¡ªwithout you¡ªthen you don¡¯t really interest me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got that.¡±


    I turned to face him. ¡°Oh?¡±


    Will nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got an extra bed. You seemed like you were from out of town.¡±


    My hand found its way to my hip in a disbelieving stance. ¡°You''d let a stranger stay at your house?¡±


    ¡°Do you need a place to stay?¡± Will asked.


    I didn''t per se need it, but not having to spend the money on an actual inn only benefited me. I found my manners. ¡°Yes please.¡±


    ¡°Great! I live a little up town, where you start to get out of the main city. My house is right across from an incense shop, with a yellow door.¡±


    For the smallest of seconds, I¡¯d thought he was trying to get me in his bed for the night. But his genuine enthusiasm in the end made me think he was actually just that dumb to loan his house out.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll see you tonight then?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± I replied, doing my absolute best to keep my manners up. ¡°As kind as your offer is, I also have other offers.¡±


    ¡°I understand. As long as you end up with a nice place to stay.¡± The bright-eyed na?ve boy tucked the candle under his arm and headed toward the shopkeeper to buy his item.


    I was still trying to figure out our interaction. Had he been coming on to me? Or at least looking for a girl to warm his bed for the night? I wouldn¡¯t say I looked like a prostitute¡ªbut then again, this was Scultera. If you were a female and not a prostitute, you weren¡¯t from there. He just didn¡¯t seem like the type to entertain prostitutes¡ªhe didn¡¯t even look like the type to simply sleep with women.


    I figured I¡¯d consider his offer but see what other opportunities found me during the rest of the day.

 Chapter Eleven: Elody

    I felt like I¡¯d been running in circles, without a moment to rest. Even though looking behind me, I never saw anyone chasing after me, the prickling at the back of my spine didn¡¯t leave me. Maybe it was just grime from the brothel. Having this monkey on my back for the entire day made me very sure I wouldn¡¯t last two minutes on the street once night fell. I had no money, and I was miles away from the Vineyard. I doubted a single person in this city would help me if I told them who I was. A majority if these trifling men in this city would probably love to have intercourse with a princess-to-be.


    That left me with the invitation from Will Yarberry.


    I shouldn¡¯t accept a random guy¡¯s invitation to stay at his house for the night¡ªon that same note, I shouldn¡¯t have trusted a random merchant. What was the worst that could happen? I shuddered at the thought of the worst that could happen. But I had no other plan. If I stayed out on the streets, surely some unkind man would find me¡ªif not Jamel or Dominque.


    It took a few minutes for me to get my bearings to figure out what direction ¡®uptown¡¯ was, but after that I easily came across the incense shop outside of the main city, and across the street was the yellow door.


    I paused as I lifted my hand to knock. What was I about to do? Surely not something as stupid as trusting a random merchant to take me across the world, but somehow more nerve wracking. Taking a deep breath, I lightly knocked twice.


    I was just about to walk away when the yellow door opened, and Will Yarberry stood in the doorframe. He wore the same clothes as earlier, still maintaining his altruistic boyish face as opposed to the maleficent animalistic face most of the men here wore. ¡°Hi,¡± I said, my voice breaking around the edges. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know if you were serious about your offer earlier but if you were, I could really use a place to stay for the night. Just the night, I can be out by morning.¡±


    Will nodded, stepping aside and motioning for me to enter. ¡°Of course! Come in.¡±


    I shuffled past him into the small house. Only two rooms, the first room inside was a mid-sized square consisting of the kitchen, a dining area, and two armchairs around a rug. A closed door revealed another room off the main room.


    As Will closed the door, I took a seat at the table, clasping my hands in front of me. If he was going to take advantage of me, he would surely have to fight me for it.


    ¡°Do you like roasted chicken and potatoes?¡± he asked as he walked over to the oven. ¡°That¡¯s what I was making for dinner for me, but if you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯m sure I can whip up something else.¡±


    ¡°Roasted chicken and potatoes are fine,¡± I said. And sounded delicious. The last time I¡¯d had decent food like that, I¡¯d been in the palace. I laughed at myself, at the absurdness of it all. When I¡¯d had every thing I could ever dream of, that¡¯s when I¡¯d wanted more. Now all I wanted for a good meal.


    ¡°Great! Because I¡¯m not that good of a cook. Roasted chicken is what I¡¯m good at,¡± Will said. ¡°Did you tell me your name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Elody,¡± I replied. Even though I was sure, I asked, ¡°Will, correct?¡±


    He nodded, a lopsided smile across his face. ¡°Yes. William if you¡¯re my mother, but that¡¯s neither here nor there. Did you enjoy the rest of your day?¡±


    Enjoy was not the word I¡¯d use. Survived more so.


    ¡°It was interesting,¡± I said. ¡°I won''t say I''m not ready for a good sleep though.¡±


    Will came over and sat across from me. ¡°What did you do today? I mean like, what is it that you do?¡±


    ¡°Me? Oh, I do¡­ Several things,¡± I said.


    Will nodded slowly, and I noticed his eyes scanning my body. I was just about to snip at him for being that kind of boy, but he beat me to it. ¡°I don''t mean to go by your appearance, but you know, if you''re homeless or something, there''s nothing to be ashamed of. Especially here. In fact, I applaud you for being a woman here and not succumbing to the disgusting culture¡ª¡±


    ¡°I''m not homeless,¡± I interrupted, harsher than I should have. Sliding into a gentler tone, I added, ¡°I''m a traveler. I travel for many days at a time and I don''t always feel like spending money on such elaborate items.¡±


    Will grinned. ¡°Like clothes?¡±


    My mouth twitched into a smile. He had jokes, and at the moment, a little humor was appreciated.


    There was a knock on the door, and I felt my heartbeat immediately speed up, thinking they¡¯d found me. Nervously I asked, ¡°Expecting company?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Will said as he walked over to the door. He looked through the peephole, then opened the door.


    A girl with straight, thick black hair that fell just below her shoulders walked in. As she entered, her eyes were immediately scanning the room, landing on me. She looked over at Will. ¡°Your girlfriend?¡±


    I opened my mouth to speak¡ªbecause I was just about to ask the same question¡ªbut no words came out.


    ¡°No, this is Elody,¡± Will replied. ¡°She needed a place to stay tonight as well.¡±


    ¡°You offered someone else to stay here?¡± I asked. I don¡¯t know why I felt so betrayed, it was his house, he could invite whoever he liked.


    Obviously, the girl felt the same way. She asked dryly, ¡°You just let girls sleep at your place?¡±


    Will shrugged. ¡°Should I not?¡±


    The girl looked at me again, a cursory glance. ¡°Do you at least screen then first?¡±


    I bit my lip, holding back a comment. Who did this girl think she was? Did she really think she was something better? If she looked at the situation, we were both in the same boat, we both needed a place to stay the night. The real question was why did she?


    Will had went back over to the oven to check on the chicken, either ignoring or completely unaware of the girl¡¯s question. I tried to keep my eyes on anything in the room besides the girl, but I found it increasingly difficult. There was something off about that girl, something my brain wanted me to figure out from looking at her.


    She sat down at the table across from me, boldly looking me over. ¡°Name?¡±


    ¡°Elody,¡± I replied. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Milena.¡± The expression on her face¡ªstill looking me over with taut lips¡ªdidn¡¯t make it seem like she wanted to say anything more.


    Will took the chicken out of the oven and brought it over on a wooden paddle to the table. He set a plate in front of each of us as well as in front of the open chair for himself.


    Milena looked up at him. ¡°Thank you Will, but I''m not hungry.¡±


    ¡°I''m not either,¡± I said quickly.


    ¡°I thought you were,¡± Will said to me.


    ¡°I¡­¡± My words trailed off, buried underneath the growl roaring from my stomach.


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re hungry,¡± Milena said. I could have sworn I saw the twinkle of a smile in her eyes.


    I kept the scowl off my face as Will cut me a piece of chicken and placed it on the plate in front of me. He cut a piece for himself, then looked at Milena. ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t hungry?¡±


    Milena looked up at him, and I thought I saw a spot of guilt flash across her face. ¡°Maybe just a little.¡±


    Will smiled and cut a smaller piece for her.


    Even though Milena hadn¡¯t won over me, dinner was still one of the most awkward experiences I¡¯d ever had. None of us spoke. Every time I looked up, Milena seemed to be staring right at me. I couldn''t figure out why. I wasn¡¯t that dirty. Did she recognize me? I certainly didn¡¯t recognize her. And not to judge, she didn¡¯t seem like a noble associated with any of the royal families. So how could she know me? Being that she kept looking at me, I did my best to keep my eyes anywhere else, doing a full sweep of Will¡¯s home.


    Did Will sense the awkward air? It couldn¡¯t be just me. But he continued to eat his chicken and potatoes, a content look on his face.


    I could have jumped for joy when all three of us finished eating.


    ¡°What¡¯s the sleeping arrangements?¡± Milena asked, beating me to the question, less eloquently.


    ¡°Oh, of course!¡± Will led us over to the closed door, pushing it open so we could see inside the room. A square box with a full sized bed, its head pushed up against the center of one wall, a wooden medium sized dresser against another, and a ship¡¯s wheel as decoration on another wall. Bland overall, but livable.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°This is my room,¡± Will said. ¡°There¡¯s only one bed, but I put fresh sheets on it.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going to sleep?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°On the floor in the main room,¡± Will replied. It seemed nothing could take the cherub smile off his face. ¡°It''s not a problem.¡±


    Milena yawned. ¡°Well if you don''t mind, I''m going to go ahead and get ready for bed.¡±


    I felt the creeping exhaustion, but didn''t want to play copycat with this girl. I went back over to the table and started clearing away the dishes.


    ¡°Oh, you don''t have to do that,¡± Will said, coming over to help me.


    ¡°I have to do something to thank you,¡± I insisted, already carrying the dishes over to the sink. In truth, I cared more about wasting as much time as possible before I had to be trapped alone in a room with that girl than showing any form of gratitude. To pass the time, I also assisted Will in cleaning all the dishes he¡¯d used to cook the meal. By the time we finished, I¡¯d only managed to increase my apprehension towards the situation.


    We hadn¡¯t heard a peep from Milena since she¡¯d disappeared into the bedroom. Maybe, I thought as I walked toward the closed door, she¡¯d fallen asleep already. Praying she was asleep, I pushed the door open as quietly as possible for old pine wood. To my dismay, Milena lay across the right side of the bed awake.


    ¡°Does Will need any more help?¡± she asked as I walked in.


    ¡°No, we did everything,¡± I replied. I did my best to inconspicuously sneak a peek at what Milena had chosen to wear to bed, but unfortunately, she was already under the blankets. My safest bet seemed like just sleeping without pants, that shouldn¡¯t cross any lines. I don¡¯t know if Milena turned her head away¡ªnot that she had ever looked at me as I stood in the room¡ªbut I faced the far wall as I slid off my pants. I pulled my shirt a little lower down my legs and then walked over to the bed. ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I just fall asleep, right? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just really exhausted.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± Milena said. ¡°It''s not like I had some big plans for the evening.¡±


    I¡¯d have to learn to deal with her sarcasm. Afterall, it was only one night. Sliding under the covers, I made sure to leave enough space so she didn¡¯t feel like I was encroaching on hers. I laid with my back to her, and closed my eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep right away. When ten minutes had gone by and I wasn¡¯t asleep yet, I knew it would be a very long night.


    Milena must have sensed I was still awake, because she broke the silence by asking, ¡°Elody, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So, what is it you do?¡±


    ¡°I''m a¡­¡± I decided against telling her who I really was. ¡°... A wandering painter.¡±


    ¡°That''s nice.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''m a prostitute.¡±


    A violent shiver raked my body and I jumped out of the bed. ¡°What!¡±


    Milena sat up, her face confused at my reaction. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a prostitute?¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± she replied, still staring at me.


    ¡°So, you¡­¡±


    ¡°...Sleep with men for money, yep,¡± Milena finished my sentence.


    ¡°What¡­ How is that?¡±


    Milena shrugged, lying down on her back. ¡°Work. Exhausting really. People can be so stupid.¡±


    I was doing my absolute best to keep an indifferent look on my face, but on the inside I was panicking. How could she even talk about it so casually? I¡¯d been in her shoes for about a day and I wanted to burn my skin off.


    Milena tilted her head in my direction. ¡°Are you sleeping standing up or are you getting back in the bed?¡±


    I felt terrible asking the question, but it was the only words my mouth could get out. ¡°Don''t you have¡­ Diseases?¡±


    Milena sighed. ¡°I''m not that kind of prostitute. I frequently go to the doctor. And you''d be surprised at how many men pay me but then get too tired to actually get what they paid for.¡±


    Still, I couldn''t get myself to get back in the bed with her.


    Milena rolled over so her back was to me. ¡°Whatever,¡± she muttered.


    I watched her back for a few minutes, as long as I possibly could before my eyelids started to droop. My mind did not want to get back in bed with a prostitute, but my body was very quickly slumping further and further. Eventually my exhaustion won, and I crawled back into bed. I pushed myself as far against the edge as I could without falling out the bed.


    #


    When I woke up, my eyes were eyes met the ceiling, sunlight dancing across the ceiling from the curtain. I exhaled through my nose and stretched. Slowly, dread filled every crevice in my body as I remembered where I was and how I''d gotten there. I looked to my right to see the girl from last night, but all that was there was about four inches of mattress before the wall. I gasped, realizing I had rolled onto her side of the bed at some point, and rolled over toward the edge of my side of the bed. A sickening feeling settled in my mouth as I wondered what diseases had crept into my orifices while I''d been on her side. Then I sat up because it was odd that she wasn''t there. Had she left already? Listening now, I heard the clink of plates and pots in the kitchen.


    I still wasn''t hungry, so I laid back and closed my eyes.


    I needed to make a plan. I was thankful to Will Yarberry for letting me stay the night, but he hadn''t fixed my current predicament. I couldn''t stay in Scultera, I had no intention of being found by that awful slave trader. I didn''t want to go back to the Vineyard because even though I''d failed, I still wasn''t ready to get married. Maybe I could make it to Athennia on my own. I had two feet, I could walk.


    The door slowly swung open and Milena peeked her head in.


    I sat up so she''d know I was awake.


    She entered the room carrying a tray of hot oatmeal and sausage. ¡°We fixed breakfast, I figured you''d want some, and while it''s hot.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, accepting the tray onto my lap. I looked down at the food, my mind already processing what had to be directly touched to be made.


    Milena must have seen the look on my face. ¡°Don''t worry, I scrubbed my hands before touching the bowl.¡±


    I looked up at her. ¡°I didn''t mean to offend you.¡±


    ¡°Assuming I''m a walking plague? Oh no, I wasn''t offended.¡± Her tone only held a smidgen of bitterness.


    I didn''t know what to say next to her, so I put a spoonful of oatmeal in my mouth. ¡°It''s really good.¡±


    Milena shrugged and left the room.


    I ate half of the oatmeal and almost all the sausage before deciding I didn''t want to eat alone anymore. I peeled myself out of bed and carried my tray into the main area.


    Will was sitting at the table finishing his own breakfast and Milena was at the sink washing dishes. I sat down with Will.


    ¡°Thank you again for breakfast,¡± I said to them. To Will I said, ¡°And thanks for letting us stay here for the night.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± he said, flashing a baby smile. ¡°I always like to help.¡±


    He was probably the only man in this whole city who said that to women and actually meant it.


    ¡°Do you have plans for today?¡± Will asked me.


    ¡°Not really,¡± I replied, putting a spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth. I¡¯d been so disturbed by Milena and exhausted at the same time I hadn¡¯t put a single thought into the next day. I couldn¡¯t live with Will for the rest of my life. What even were my options? Return to the Vineyard with more shame than a man who¡¯d cheated on his wife? Or try and carry out my plans of traveling by myself¡ªbecause that panned out so well the first time.


    I noticed Milena wasn¡¯t in the room anymore and craned my neck to see into the bedroom. From what I could see, she looked like she was packing up all her things. Switching my attention back to Will, I said, ¡°Maybe walk around a little.¡±


    Will nodded. ¡°Get some inspiration for a painting?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I quickly remembered my lie. ¡°Oh, yes.¡± My attention shifted again when Milena reentered the room. Thankfully, Will¡¯s did too. Even though I was pretty sure Milena had been packing, she came out of the room empty handed.


    ¡°Milena, will you be needing the room tonight as well?¡± Will asked her.


    Milena shook her head. ¡°Nope. I''m going out to buy some things and then I''ll be on my way.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Indeedra,¡± Milena replied.


    ¡°You''re not from here?¡± I asked.


    Milena shook her head as she crossed the room towards the exit.


    ¡°Then what were you doing here?¡± I was too genuinely interested to feel nosy.


    ¡°Business!¡±  She waved as she headed out the door, not bothering to explain what she meant by that.


    I looked at Will, and my first thought was to ask him if he knew she was a prostitute. Looking at his baby face, I decided against that. ¡°So, what are you doing today? Do you have a job?¡±


    Will shook his head.


    ¡°Then how can you afford this place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My father bought it for me,¡± Will replied. ¡°My parents live in Churrel. I used to have a job, but I wasn''t any good at it. Now I just do a few things here and there to put food on the table.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re okay with that?¡±


    Will shrugged as he got up to put his dishes in the sink. ¡°I know it¡¯s not the most exciting, but I can¡¯t say that I want exciting, at least not in this city.¡±


    ¡°How long have you lived here?¡±


    ¡°Since I was sixteen,¡± Will replied. ¡°It¡¯s not the best but the rent is cheap. And I guess I don¡¯t want to be too far from home.¡±


    ¡°It just seems so odd that you would choose to live here,¡± I said. ¡°Everyone here is a drunkard or a pervert. You don¡¯t strike me as either.¡±


    ¡°I think the outskirts of town are better,¡± Will said. ¡°But I see your point. I don¡¯t really know why I¡¯m still here either. I¡¯ve thought about leaving. Just don¡¯t know where.¡±


    My eyes moved over his body structure. A thin frame with barely defined shoulders and legs almost like birds. He was a frail being, basically a stretched-out boy. But he¡¯d survived here.


    ¡°Amerenth.¡±


    Will looked over his shoulder at me. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You could go to Amerenth,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard it''s beautiful there.¡±


    Will nodded, returning to the dishes, but I continued. ¡°Or Aust. Or Tatari. Or Milford Haven, it¡¯s beautiful in the spring.¡±


    ¡°You know a lot of places,¡± Will said. ¡°Milena mentioned that you said you¡¯re a wandering painter. Guess you¡¯ve been a lot of places.¡±


    ¡°Not as many as I¡¯d like.¡± The words tumbled out, seamlessly piecing me into my lie. It was sort of the truth, I had not gone as many places as I¡¯d like. ¡°Will, we¡¯re the same age, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-one,¡± Will said as he took a seat at the table again.


    I nodded. ¡°We¡¯re both young. We¡¯ve got years in front of us. You¡¯re really okay with just living here? In Scultera? Don¡¯t you want to travel, see the world?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ It would be nice,¡± Will said, leaning on his elbow.


    ¡°Where¡¯s some place you¡¯ve always wanted to go?¡±


    Will met my eyes as he thought. ¡°Three Rocks. I¡¯ve heard the rocks it named after are kept so clean if you stand at the right point between them at the right part of day, you¡¯ll feel the full heat of the sun from the way it bounces off the rocks.¡±


    ¡°And you could go there,¡± I said, the rims of my eyes widening as I felt myself becoming more alive at the idea of traveling. ¡°What¡¯s the point of working little jobs here and there making just enough to eat? You could travel and still find odd jobs around to eat. But you¡¯d get to see the world.¡±


    Will¡¯s eyes skimmed the tabletop and he rubbed his finger along the edge. ¡°It all sounds nice.¡±


    ¡°It would be nice,¡± I prodded. I had him, all I had to do was tighten the snare. ¡°And we could do it, Will. You and I.¡± Now I heard the desperation in my voice. It wasn¡¯t so much that I wanted Will to go. I wanted to go, and having someone else would make it less intimidating.


    Will must have heard the desperation too because he looked at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elody. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to just give up everything to travel. It sounds ne but¡­ I¡¯ve got things here.¡±


    A pit started to open up in my heart.


    ¡°But maybe we could do a small trip,¡± Will continued. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen much of the world. You said you haven¡¯t seen much but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve still seen way more than me. Maybe there¡¯s someplace nearby that we could go visit.¡±


    I bobbed my head up and down. I¡¯d take it. ¡°We can go with Milena. I¡¯ve never been to Indeedra.¡±


    Will¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Me either. How convenient.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll have a small adventure. We¡¯ll travel back to Indeedra with Milena.¡±


    ¡°Maybe someplace else too,¡± Will mumbled and I could see the wandering look gleaming in his eyes.


    By the time we arrived in Indeedra, he¡¯d probably be ready to trek the earth. I¡¯d seen the look in his eyes though when he¡¯d talked about staying here. He belonged here, or at least thrived in simple settings. I¡¯d make sure he came back to his little house.


    ¡°Do you think Milena will mind?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter Twelve: Milena

    I wasn''t going to leave Jamel without a parting gift.


    I¡¯d thought of the idea just before falling asleep. A harmless prank Denise had pulled on Sharan for sleeping with one of her regulars. Salt and pepper sprinkled on top of the bed sheets. As bodies moved around and flopped around on the bed, it caused the salt and pepper to disperse into the air¡ªand without fail, get into the eyes. It was one thing for Denise to put salt and pepper in the bed she knew Sharan would be in; it would be a whole different story putting it in every bed in the brothel and having patron after patron complain about burning eyes. It wouldn¡¯t put Jamel out of business, but it would slow their roll for at least a day, a week if dissatisfaction spread quickly throughout the city.


    The scheme was almost too easy to carry out. With such a constant flow of patrons entering and leaving the building, I slipped in unnoticed and blended in with the rest of the girls walking around. In less than five minutes, all the beds had salt and pepper laying on top the sheets. As I was leaving the brothel, I got the pleasure of hearing the first patron yelling.


    A smile etched itself onto my lips as I strolled through the streets back to Will¡¯s house. I felt so giddy I imagined hearing more patrons yelling, and the disgruntled complaints to Jamel. Chasey hadn¡¯t directly asked me to mess with their business, but she knew me, and surely expected such behavior. This would put a smile on her face, at least until I annoyed her again.


    When I arrived back at the house, neither Will nor Elody were in the main room.


    ¡°Alright kiddies, I¡¯m leaving.¡± my voice echoed in the empty room. I looked around, waiting for Elody or Will to come out of one of the other rooms, but neither did. Them seeing me off didn¡¯t matter, so I picked up by knapsack off the floor, slung it over my shoulders, and trotted out the doors.


    For a few seconds I considered going back to at least wait for Will to come home. He¡¯d been nice enough¡ªor naive enough¡ªto lend me a bedroom for the night. The least I could do was thank him again and inform him of my leave. That feeling quickly passed and I set my focus on getting back to Indeedra. I made it about a block up the street when I heard someone calling my name. Turning around, I saw Will and Elody jogging to catch up to me.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked when they reached me.


    Elody bent over slightly to catch her breath, the adorned a wide smile. ¡°Will and I would like to come with you back to Indeedra.¡±


    I looked at the two of them, both standing there with goofy grins and leather knapsacks strung over their shoulders. ¡°No.¡± I turned and proceeded in my stride.


    ¡°What, why not?¡± Elody asked.


    I sighed exasperatedly under my breath. She needed an explanation? How about I just didn¡¯t want two extra persons slowing me down? I turned back to face them. ¡°Why do you want to come with me?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Elody glanced at Will before answering, ¡°to see Indeedra. Neither Will nor I have ever been there.¡±


    ¡°It''s not much,¡± I tried to discourage.


    ¡°We¡¯d like to go with you, Milena,¡± Elody said, the resistance in her voice strengthening. ¡°We won¡¯t stay very long. We don¡¯t even have to stay with you, we¡¯ll find our own place to stay.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want their company, I really didn¡¯t. But I could tell even if I said no, these two were just going to tail me all the way back to Indeedra. ¡°What are you going to do when you¡¯re finished ¡®seeing¡¯ Indeedra?¡±


    Elody looked at Will. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll come back here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Will interjected, ¡°if we don¡¯t decide to just trek from city to city sightseeing.¡±


    Elody looked at me. ¡°We¡¯ll come back here.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a riveting excursion,¡± I said, my voice raw with sarcasm. ¡°Completely worth it.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, we won¡¯t come back here,¡± Elody said. ¡°We¡¯ll continue on from Indeedra and go somewhere else. Like¡­ Like Amerenth. I¡¯ve never been there, and Will hasn¡¯t either. Look, it¡¯s not about you or Indeedra. We could go without you. But you¡¯re going that way and we¡¯ve never been so we might as well just travel with you.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you couldn¡¯t come,¡± I said, already walking again. ¡°I was just making sure it was worth it for you two. Wouldn¡¯t want you to get to Indeedra and be disappointed it¡¯s not, I don¡¯t know, heaven.¡±


    ¡°Indeedra is a quiet place,¡± Will said. ¡°I¡¯ve never really heard much about it. But then again, I wouldn¡¯t say a lot of the Istrondonstrus cities are very gaudy, besides Scultera.¡±


    I drowned out their featherbrained conversation as best I could. Two flighty people talking about cities they¡¯d never been to, yet had such high hopes about. It might have been worse than the conversations with drunk patrons back at Farris and Chasey¡¯s. After maybe an hour of tuning them out, I barely remembered they were there until the sky darkened and we had to make camp.


    I had to make camp. These two simpletons had no idea what all had to be done to stay outside for the night. At least they¡¯d quieted, sitting around the makeshift fire nibbling on crackers. They fell asleep before me too, and I finally had some time alone.


    In a hundred years, I would never have imagined myself being a guide for two dolts like them¡ªfor anyone. I traveled alone. I lived alone. I thrived alone.

 Chapter Thirteen: Milena

    The second day caused Elody and Will to feel more comfortable around me, so much so they carried on a conversation the entire walk. I mumbled a few responses to their questions, but nothing too revealing. Once they left for their travels, I didn''t want them to ever have the knowledge of where they could come back and find me.


    I stopped walking when we reached a tall wooden stake drove into the ground. Lester¡¯s Post was painted on the side.


    ¡°What''s this place?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°Lester¡¯s Post,¡± I replied. Couldn''t they read? ¡°A wagon comes here from Indeedra.¡±


    ¡°That''s handy,¡± Elody said, still wearing the same stupid fascinated-with-everything grin she had been for the entire trek.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± I muttered, leaning against the wood post. In truth, they weren''t so bad to travel with. They hadn''t slowed me down¡ªin fact at times Elody walked faster than I did, like she knew where she was going. And hearing about Will¡¯s pathetic life in Scultera made good entertainment. The boy found himself in more unfortunate situations than the average hapless chap. ¡°You guys have money, right?¡±


    Elody and Will nodded.


    ¡°How much is it?¡± Elody asked, looking in her coin purse.


    ¡°Just five Coppers, but they make it a much smoother ride for a Silver,¡± I replied. ¡°Might even let you drive it for a Gold.¡±


    ¡°Lucky them,¡± Elody said, pulling out one Gold coin.


    ¡°How long until the wagon comes?¡± Will asked.


    I shrugged, looking in the direction it would normally come from. ¡°Maybe an hour? Maybe less. Depends.¡±


    Will sat down and drank from his canteen.


    Elody and I did the same.


    Lowering my canteen from my lips, I glanced at Elody. ¡°So, you really want to see Indeedra?¡±


    Elody nodded. ¡°Yes. I''ve never been there before, or much of anywhere. Even the dirtiest of places I want to see. But I think I could do without visiting Scultera again.¡±


    ¡°It''s not for newcomers,¡± I said, but my eyebrow raised. ¡°You don''t travel much? Kinda strange for a painter.¡± Why had I even said that? I didn''t want to start anything, nor did I care one bit about their lives. Still, something wasn''t adding up with Elody the Painter.


    ¡°Local painter,¡± Elody replied without even batting an eye. ¡°I do most of my work in the same area, so not much travel.¡±


    I chewed on my lip as I considered her story. ¡°So where is it you want to see most?¡±


    ¡°A lot of different places,¡± Elody replied. ¡°But mostly Amerenth.¡±


    ¡°Can''t say I''ve been there before,¡± I said.


    ¡°I''ve heard it''s beautiful there,¡± Will said. ¡°Greenery everywhere and from any point in the city you can hear the trickle of water, either from a stream or just water that runs through the shops. And it¡¯s never too hot there.¡±


    Elody nodded. ¡°I''d love to visit there.¡±


    ¡°Then we will,¡± Will said, standing up. He flashed one of his puppy smiles at her. ¡°After we see Indeedra, we¡¯ll go to Amerenth.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°You two are going to travel all the way to Amerenth? Did you even bring enough?¡±


    ¡°We can buy more,¡± Elody said, her bottom lip curved into a hard frown, like I''d degraded her down to her core.


    I rolled my eyes. If these two thought they could tramp about the earth as unprepared as they were, I wasn''t going to stand in their way. I was almost home, and that''s all that mattered to me. Well that and the fact that I could possibly get Elody to testify to Chasey about how the new brothel kidnapped girls to use.


    I lost track of time leaning against the post waiting, so much so that I almost jumped for joy when Will pointed out the wagon¡¯s covered roof popping up over the hill. While I''d silently brooded over how long the wagon was taking, Elody and Will excitedly chatted about all the cities they planned to visit.


    When the wagon reached us, we stood back to let some of the passengers off. The coachman came over to the back of the wagon and we each put our coins in his hand as we boarded the wagon.


    The wagon was a lot more crowded than when I¡¯d first come, with eleven people already squeezed inside, leaving the three of us to sit with some children on the floor.


    The wagon jerked a little as it circled the post to head back to Indeedra.


    I glanced over at Will and noticed some of the color had drained from his face. ¡°Never been on a wagon before, Will?¡± I asked him.


    Will shook his head, and his hands were clenched into fists against the floor.


    ¡°It''s nothing to be scared of,¡± Elody assured him.


    I resisted a snippy comment. It was just a wagon, what did he think was going to happen? The floorboards would suddenly snap and we¡¯d all fall through to be trampled by the wagon? The closer we got to Indeedra, the more I was considering not bringing Elody to see Chasey. Hopefully my word would be enough to describe Jamel¡¯s scummy hole.


    The wagon rocked, bumping only when one wheel rolled over a loose rock, and soon I felt my eyelids drooping. Of course, Elody and Will¡¯s travel plans still prattled in my ear. I dozed off eventually, only to be woken what felt like seconds later by the wagon abruptly coming to a halt, so suddenly I banged the back of my head against one of the other passenger''s trunks.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Why are we stopping?¡± Elody asked me.


    Rubbing the back of my head, I replied, ¡°Maybe someone just needs to get out. Not everyone is going to Indeedra.¡± But looking around, all the other passengers seemed just as confused as to why we''d stopped.


    The back curtain of the wagon flapped open, and a burly man with a curled mustache and moppy black hair snarled in at us.


    ¡°Alright, everyone out,¡± he said. ¡°Leave your stuff.¡±


    Elody and Will flashed worried looks at me, but I didn''t meet either of their eyes. I didn''t know what was happening just as much as everyone else.


    We were the last to exit the wagon. Everyone else seemed to make a mad dash to get out, like it was going to explode into a thousand pieces.


    Outside of the wagon I could see there were two other men besides Mop Hair. One had a jagged anchor tattoo on his left shoulder and the other had a face that looked like it had been smashed into a hot furnace.


    Anchor Tattoo had made everyone form a line, while Mop Hair eyed every single passenger to make sure they personally knew not to try anything.


    After that, Mop Hair shuffled past us and got inside the wagon. He began opening trunks and tearing through bags.


    Burn Face went down the line checking men¡¯s pockets and women¡¯s handbags.


    We stayed near the backside of the wagon, so we had some time before Burn Face reached us.


    ¡°What are they searching for?¡± Elody asked me.


    I shook my head. I''d never seen a search on this road. To my right I felt a vibration in the ground and glanced over at Will to see him shaking his left foot.


    ¡°Don''t look nervous,¡± I hissed to him.


    ¡°But I am nervous,¡± Will protested quietly.


    ¡°It makes you seem like you have something,¡± I said.


    ¡°They''re not taking any money,¡± Elody observed to my left. ¡°Or any of the women¡¯s jewelry.¡±


    I looked back to where Burn Face was going through the line.


    Indeed, two women¡ªa mother and daughter¡ªwearing pearl necklaces still had them around their necks.


    If they didn''t want money or jewelry, what were they looking for?


    Mop Hair hopped out the wagon, and from the unsatisfied look on his face I figured he hadn''t found what he was searching for. Seeing Burn Face¡¯s progress, he started at our end.


    Will¡¯s face turned so white he could have made chalk look stained when Mop Hair stood in front of him.


    ¡°Let me see what''s in your pockets,¡± Mop Hair snarled at him.


    Will pulled his pockets completely inside out, spilling his coins onto the ground.


    I rolled my eyes at his uneasiness. If this trio wasn''t looking for money, obviously we didn''t have what they were looking for. So why be nervous?


    Mop Hair moved to me.


    I delivered him an unwavering glare and turned my pockets inside out as well.


    Mop Hair looked over at Elody, and she did the same. There was nothing in Elody¡¯s pockets, just as there''d been in mine, but Mop Hair¡¯s face changed. Before I could interpret his new less sour facial expression, he said to the others, ¡°This one.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Before she could even protest, Anchor Tattoo grabbed her and tried to hoist her into the other wagon. She thrashed her arms and legs around, making it as difficult for him as possible.


    ¡°Elody!¡± Will exclaimed, running over to her.


    I didn''t know what to do, but I ran over with him and tugged hard on Elody¡¯s leg.


    Anchor Tattoo finally lost his grip on her and Elody tumbled to the ground.


    The other passengers watched, but none tried to help.


    ¡°Get her!¡± Mop Hair yelled, pointing at Elody.


    She scrambled to get to her feet, but she looked like from there, she didn''t know what to do.


    ¡°Get the bags, Will!¡± I clamped my hand around Elody¡¯s arm and pulled her away from the wagons. I heard Will thunder behind us. Hopefully he''d grabbed the right bags.


    The men took off after us, yelling for us to stop. We ran for what felt like twenty minutes before we didn''t hear the men shouting behind us.


    I was the first one to stop running, pausing at a tree so I could lean against it and catch my breath.


    Elody and Will stopped too.


    Will collapsed to the ground, hugging his knees. Through shallow breathes, he said. ¡°What did they want? What did you have?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! He just saw my necklace then tried to take me!¡±


    Finally, my breathing returned to normal. ¡°Well, they''re not chasing us anymore,¡± I said. ¡°But clearly you have something they want.¡±


    Elody nodded.


    ¡°That road is the main way into Indeedra. They''ll probably look for us around there, expecting us to return to our route.¡±


    ¡°So, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°We can head for Rhyl in the meantime. By the time we get there, hopefully those guys will have moved on and we can start again for Indeedra.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea,¡± Will said. ¡°I don''t want to run into those men again.¡±


    I looked up at the sun, positioned directly above us now. ¡°We won''t make it before sundown, so we''ll have to do another night of camping out here.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, as long as we don''t run into those men again,¡± Will said.


    ¡°Are you guys ready to get moving then?¡± I asked.


    Elody and Will nodded.


    The land between Indeedra and Rhyl was very barren, mainly clay with dry patches of brown grass. Every few yards there was maybe a rawboned tree or two. The sun would have beat down on us if it weren''t for the protection of the many clouds in the sky.


    We traveled in silence. I figured the two of them were still shaken up by what had happened. It hadn''t rattled me, but more so piqued my curiosity. I''d made the trip to Scultera and back several times, and that had never happened.


    I found myself sneaking glances at Elody, trying to figure out what she had that interested those men. Maybe it had something to do with who she actually was, because I really didn''t believe her story about being a painter. When I¡¯d first met her, she seemed a little banged up. But now her skin was cleaner, and her hair fixed better, and she seemed to carry an almost regal quality about her.


    I also spent most of the trek cursing myself for accepting help from a stranger, because look what it got me. Chasey would be seething that I wasn''t back. Not that I particularly cared what Chasey felt, but I did care about keeping my job.


    For two traveling newbies, at least they could keep up. We only stopped two other times before we stopped for the night, when the sun was a few feet from dipping below the horizon line. We picked a spot near two trees and laid out our knapsacks along the ground.


    I went to work snapping the dry branches off the tree and breaking them into smaller pieces to build a fire.


    ¡°Can we help?¡± Elody asked me.


    ¡°If you want to get wood too,¡± I mumbled. It wasn''t a three-person job, but they probably didn''t know anything else to do.


    Elody took the larger branches from me and began breaking them into the smaller pieces we needed. Will on the other hand tried to break branches off the tree with me, staring on one whose circumference was larger than his arm.


    He braced himself against the trunk of the tree, trying to bend the branch to his will.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Will, that one''s too big. Try the smaller ones, or the pieces sticking out of the bigger branches. I can finish this tree, why don''t you go on the other?¡±


    Will looked at the branch he''d been trying to break versus the ones I was talking about, and I could see the relief on his face at an easier task. He trotted over to the other tree and began breaking branches off.


    When I¡¯d broken off all the possible branches, I began piling them in a way fit for a fire to keep us warm. It shouldn''t get too cold out here, but I didn''t want Elody and Will to be uncomfortable.


    Thankfully, matches were one of the items I''d bought this morning. The first match didn''t catch, but the second did and soon we had a medium sized fire.


    We didn''t have a tent, so we just sat on the ground around the fire.


    Will fell asleep quickly, curled into a ball with his head on his knapsack.


    Staring at the flame, I sighed, a little louder than I''d meant to. These two weren''t that bad. And at least they didn''t try to talk my ears off like I thought they would have. I could get us to Rhyl, then we''d head back for Indeedra, then we''d part ways. It wouldn''t be too long now.

 Chapter Fourteen: Elody

    I glanced over at Milena. She hadn''t tried to hide the fact that we were extra weight on her trip, so trying to show our appreciation I said, ¡°You''re really good at this traveling stuff.¡±


    Her eyes shifted over to me. ¡°Thanks.¡± She paused, then added, ¡°I would think you would be too if you had to travel for painting.¡±


    My cheeks warmed. This girl had brought me out of an awful city and was letting me tag along on her travels. The least I owed her was the truth. ¡°I''m not actually a painter.¡±


    Milena laughed. ¡°Yeah, I figured.¡± She fiddled with some of the wood. ¡°So, who are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Elody Bequette, and I''m just a regular girl who happens to be betrothed to Prince Errol in Shivani¡¯s Vineyard.¡±


    Milena huffed, staring into the fire. ¡°And you consider yourself a regular girl.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I added quickly, sitting down next to her. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to lie to you. It''s just¡­ I ran away and I¡¯ve never really been outside the Vineyard, especially not on my own. I didn¡¯t know who I could trust.¡±


    Milena didn¡¯t take her eyes off the flames as they licked the wood. ¡°Yeah, trust is few and far between out here.¡±


    I didn''t know what she meant by that, but I wanted to trust her, so I pushed past her comment. ¡°What about you? Are you from Indeedra?¡±


    ¡°No, I was born in Oderra.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s pretty far from Indeedra isn''t it? I slightly remember from looking at a map.¡±


    Milena nodded. ¡°Yep, one day I decided I didn¡¯t want to be in Oderra anymore. So, I packed up my things and left.¡±


    ¡°That sounds nice,¡± I said. ¡°Just being able to pack up and adventure someplace else.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was an adventure alright.¡± Milena looked over at me. ¡°What about you? How did a princess bride like you end up in a dirty place like Scultera?¡±


    By now I¡¯d come to feel a little ashamed of the story. ¡°This man said he was going to Amerenth, and that he would take me there.¡±


    ¡°You were going to run away.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°But he lied and kidnapped me. He brought me to Scultera to make me a¡­¡± I paused at the word.


    ¡°A prostitute?¡± Milena said the word for me. ¡°It''s not for everyone.¡±


    I released a small laugh. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how you do it. I was really terrified.¡±


    ¡°Well for one, I chose to be a prostitute. I wasn''t sold into it like livestock,¡± Milena said. ¡°And even I would never work in Scultera. It''s disgusting and all kinds of wrong.¡±


    Just the image of Dominick¡¯s face sent shivers down my spine.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°So, this Prince Errol. What was so terrible about him that you had to run away?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing,¡± I replied. ¡°Errol is nothing short of a gentleman. Any girl would be lucky to marry him.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you run away?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to marry him. At least not now. I wanted to see the world, adventure.¡±


    Milena nodded. ¡°So, you thought the best way of doing that was trusting a random guy off the street who said he¡¯d take you to some distant land?¡± She laughed. ¡°Wow, how nice it must be to live life so simply.¡±


    My cheeks burned now, but this time not with embarrassment. I was already ashamed of my decisions, I didn''t need some girl I just met rubbing it in. ¡°I didn''t have a choice. I couldn''t just plan it out with some reputable person. Word would have somehow gotten back to the palace, or worse my mother.¡± I moved a dirty strand of hair out my face. ¡°Nice to live such a simple life? No, it''s nice to be able to choose your life.¡±


    I¡¯d done my best not to think about the people I''d left behind. By now my mother was probably in hysterics, threatening to trounce about the land just to find me. Even I showed up, she''d probably just dry her tears and put back on her mother-of-the bride face.


    Milena exhaled loud enough to pull me out of my own thoughts. ¡°We¡¯re kinda the same if you think about it, right? Being a prostitute, being a princess. We¡¯re both doing things we don''t want to do and getting paid for it.¡±


    ¡°I do not get paid to be a princess!¡± I snapped. ¡°And I''m not a princess.¡±


    ¡°Yet,¡± Milena said. ¡°The second you return to the Vineyard, you''re a princess, am I right?¡±


    I fiddled with my necklace. ¡°I don''t intend to return.¡±


    ¡°And where do you intend to go then?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere,¡± I replied. ¡°I haven''t worked it all out yet. But anywhere that''s not the Vineyard.¡± Anywhere that people didn''t recognize me, and I could live my own life, choosing what and how I wanted to do things.


    Milena adjusted herself so she was lying out on the ground. I admired that she could sprawl out on the ground like it was comfortable. I already assumed I¡¯d need to curl up like Will to be comfortable enough to even fall asleep.


    I woke to a continuous scratching sound near me. Opening one eye, I saw that Milena was scattering some of the wood with her foot. When she glanced in my direction, I quickly shut my eyes, hoping she hadn''t seen me.


    Unfortunately, she had, and said loudly, ¡°Wake up sleeping beauties. It''s time to get moving. Unless you want to spend another night out here.¡±


    Sleeping beauties didn¡¯t describe me. My hair stuck out in random places and I felt dirt and eye gunk flake around my eyes. I picked up my canteen to use the water inside to wash my face, then figured I''d probably need that water later. I wiped my face and smoothed my hair back to as manageable as I could make it.


    Milena had her hair braided back. This was a good idea to keep it from getting knotty, but I wasn''t ready to stop wearing my hair down just yet.


    We started off in silence. Milena kept a few steps ahead of us. The sun hung low in the sky, warming the air just slightly for now.


    I couldn''t do this whole trip in silence. I looked at Will and asked, ¡°How did you sleep?¡±


    Will scratched his head and a few particles of dirt fell out. ¡°Did I sleep? Didn''t feel like it.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°You were the first one out.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± he said, returning a gentler form of my smile. ¡°Guess that trek made more tired than I thought. I don''t know if I''m cut out for this.¡±


    I wasn''t ready to call it quits after just two uncomfortable nights, and I wasn''t going to let Will drop out either. ¡°You''ll get used to it,¡± I assured him.


    Watching the sun climb into the sky and mercilessly gleam down on us was one thing. But watching it drop toward the horizon filled me with apprehension. I¡¯d encouraged Will that we could do this, but truthfully, I didn''t know if I could sleep on this cracked ground one more night. I sighed with relief when we came to the top of an incline and could see the city a few yards away from the base of the hill.


    ¡°What''s Rhyl like?¡± I asked Milena as we began our descent down the hill. ¡°Compared to Scultera.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think any city is comparable to Scultera,¡± she replied. ¡°But Rhyl is nice. Kind of a quiet town.¡±


    A quiet town without ruthless slave traders sounded wonderful. And at least I could check that off my list of cities visited. We''d only be here a day or two, then restart our trip to Indeedra, and then Will and I would officially start our travels.

 Chapter Fifteen: Milena

    A weight lifted off my shoulders the second we stepped into Rhyl. Now that we were back in a city, I didn''t feel like I had to babysit Will and Elody as much.


    ¡°It''s already late, we should go ahead and find a place to stay,¡± Elody said.


    I nodded, but my mind was elsewhere. ¡°It doesn''t take three of us to find an inn. I think I''ll buy some supplies and meet up with you guys.¡±


    ¡°Should we split up?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°Those men won''t be here,¡± I assured him. ¡°You guys go ahead, I¡¯ll catch up to you.¡±


    Elody looked at Will and gave him a reassuring look. She called to me as they walked away, ¡°Don¡¯t be long.¡±


    I squeezed my lips together as I walked away to keep from snapping back a comment. Me not be long? I was the only resourceful one out of all of us, the only one who had any sense of how to travel. If I was somewhere longer than expected, it was probably because I needed to be.


    I kept my eyes peeled as I walked through the streets. Rhyl was one of the smaller cities, maybe a mile or two wide, a street cut through the entire city. I''d only been there once; but if getting information for nosy Chasey had taught me anything, it was where and how to look for the right places to get information. And right now, I wanted information on the group stopping caravans. After passing a bunch of refined trinket shops, I finally found a grimy smoke and drink shop.


    When I walked through the door, a bell attached to the top tried to chime, but it sounded like after one note it broke. No one batted an eye in my direction, so I perused down the elbow¡ªhigh isles of smokable herbs.


    I stayed in the shop for about twenty minutes, and only one questionable character walked into the shop.


    He wore oversized shirt and pants, and a large hat that flopped down over his eyes. His tattered shoes used to be close toed, but now his toes stuck out the front. Questionable, but not either of the guys I was looking for.


    With only one suspicious-looking person walking in, I figured this wasn''t the place to look for information. So, to not seem too suspicious, I purchased a small bag of basil and left the shop. Just as I set one foot out the shop, black moppy hair caught my eye. I doubled back, pressing myself into the doorway. I didn''t have to peek around to make sure I was right about what I''d seen. I remembered his voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they came here. Logically this is the place they¡¯d come to.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure that girl¡¯s necklace was a crystal?¡± I recognized that as Burn Face¡¯s voice. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste my time.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely sure,¡± Mop Hair replied.


    My muscles hurt from how much I clenched them to keep myself hidden in the doorway.


    A crystal? I tried to remember her necklace, but with as many times as I''d looked at Elody in the past few days, I couldn''t conjure an image of her necklace.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°We find them, and we get that necklace,¡± Mop Hair said. ¡°We kill them if we have to.¡± He continued talking, but his voice grew softer and I realized he was walking away.


    I peeked around the doorway to make sure, and I saw their three backs walking away from the shop. I waited a few minutes before dashing out from the shop¡¯s doorway. I had to find Elody and Will before they did. As I scampered through the streets, keeping an eye out for the three muggers, I suddenly remembered I was supposed to be buying supplies. I stopped at a few places, making my purchases as quick as possible.


    When I ran into the last shop, I ran smack dab into Elody and Will who were exiting.


    ¡°Hey Milena,¡± Elody said, smiling. ¡°We were just about to come looking for you.¡±


    ¡°No need, I¡¯m right here,¡± I said. I looked around, uncomfortable with us standing so open outside the doorway. ¡°Did you guys find a place to stay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it''s a street over,¡± Elody replied.


    ¡°We should go there.¡± I was doing my best to keep the urgency out of my voice. ¡°I''m kind of tired. Having a place to rest would be nice.¡±


    Elody glanced at Will. ¡°Sure, let''s go then.¡± She led the way. ¡°We only got one room with one bed, so they brought in a cot for Will to sleep on. You''re okay with sharing a bed again, right Milena?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''s fine,¡± I replied. Elody tried to ask me more questions about various things, but I only mumbled responses, mainly because I was barely listening to her as I shifted my eyes as we walked. If those goons had somehow found us, there was no way I was letting them surprise attack us. By the time we reached the inn, Elody wasn''t trying to make conversation with me¡ªthat or I''d completely made her voice background noise. I followed her and Will past the man sitting at a small table just inside the door and down a hallway. I expected us to get to stairs, but before we came to any, Elody stopped at a room and took a key from her pocket.


    ¡°It''s on the ground floor?¡± I asked.


    Elody nodded as she worked to unlock the door.


    Easy access for those thugs. I just hoped there wasn''t a window then.


    Sure enough of course, on the wall opposite the door, a window. Or in our case, a door for those thugs to come in during the night.


    In one motion, without stopping in between, I put my knapsack on the bed, then walked over to the window, peeking around the curtain to see outside.


    ¡°Milena, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± My hair slapped me in the face as I turned to face her.


    ¡°You seem a little on edge,¡± Elody said slowly. ¡°Did something happen while you were looking around?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Alright fine. I didn''t want to alarm you, but while I was out, I saw the three men from the wagon.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Will exclaimed.


    ¡°Should we get out of town?¡± Elody asked.


    ¡°No, those men would definitely recognize us,¡± I replied. ¡°We should just stay put for now.¡±


    ¡°Stay put? In the same city they''re in?¡± Will asked. ¡°What if they saw you? They could be on their way here to kill us right now!¡±


    ¡°They didn''t see me,¡± I said. ¡°We are fine if we just stay here. But we need to figure out exactly what¡¯s going on.¡± I looked at Elody. ¡°You, start talking. What''s so special about your necklace? Is it expensive? Trillian¡¯s Gold?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± she replied, fiddling with it now that I¡¯d mentioned it. ¡°My mother gave it to me. I doubt she''d have something so expensive as Trillian¡¯s Gold. Or even anything so expensive it''s worth stealing.¡±


    I looked at Will. ¡°Any idea?¡±


    Will shook his head, and really, I hadn''t expected anything from him.


    ¡°But,¡± Elody added. I turned to her and she cleared her throat. ¡°When we were looking for a place to stay, I came across this woman who noticed my necklace. She asked me how I could be so bold to wear it. I didn¡¯t know what she was talking about, and she believed me that I had no idea. She told me if I wanted answers, I could come see her.¡± She looked at Will and me. ¡°Maybe we should go talk to her?¡±


    ¡°Can we trust her?¡± I asked.


    Elody crossed her arms. ¡°An old woman? She¡¯s probably a sage or something.¡±


    That sounded ridiculous, but the truth was she was our only speck of light into this situation. I sighed, giving in to the idea of trusting someone outside of our group. I just hoped we weren''t wrong.

 Chapter Sixteen: Elody

    I had no trouble finding the place I¡¯d seen the old woman. She¡¯d been standing in a door frame under a sign that read Flower¡¯s Tea, even though the tea shop was one door over. I lightly rapped on the door.


    After a few minutes the door creaked open, and the woman stood in the door frame. For an older woman, she seemed bigger now, taking up the entire door frame and standing a foot over me. The wrinkles in her face etched deeper than I¡¯d noticed, but her eyes flickered as if illuminated by candlelight.


    ¡°Uh, excuse me. Do you remember me? We talked briefly earlier.¡± I lifted my necklace so she could see. ¡°You said if I wanted answers to come see you.¡±


    Her lips spread into a smile so small I almost missed it. ¡°Yes, of course dear. Come in.¡± She didn¡¯t step aside for us to come in but led the way. The door opened directly into a stairway. We followed her up the stairs to a small dimly lit room above the tea shop. For such a small room, the woman had managed to fit a lot into it, having over a hundred different knickknacks¡ªincluding things from skin journals to bird skulls¡ªstacked atop twisting black metal shelves. Black chandeliers draped with purple fabric hung from the ceiling.


    I glanced at Milena and Will. Will had his arms wrapped around him, looking around apprehensively. Milena¡¯s facial expression wavered between bored and agitated.


    The woman took a seat in a once bright green wicker rocking chair, keeping all three of us in her view. ¡°What would you like to know?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I looked at Milena and Will for assistance, but they just looked back at me. I turned my eyes back to the woman. ¡°My necklace. What do you know about it? Why is it so special?¡±


    The same smile as before slithered back onto the woman¡¯s lips. ¡°Your pendant is one of the Ilvistine Crystals.¡±


    ¡°What are those?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The Ilvistine Crystals are nine gemstones from the earth. They¡¯ve been around for centuries, passing between the hands of laymen and the royal families,¡± the woman explained. ¡°It''s said that the person who has all the Ilvistine Crystals will have full control over the land.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Milena spoke up. ¡°Everyone is supposed to just obey some guy because he has a bunch of crystals?¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°No, my dear. When the crystals are all together, they''ll release a special power to their keeper.¡±


    Milena scoffed. ¡°Okay, a special power. What kind of power?¡±


    ¡°It''s never happened,¡± the woman replied. ¡°So, I can¡¯t say that I know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s any person¡¯s goal to have all nine crystals,¡± Will spoke up now. He looked at me. ¡°Those men were probably searching for them and recognized it on you.¡±


    I nervously fiddled with my necklace. ¡°But this is just one. Where are the other eight?¡±


    ¡°The Vepors have two crystals; the Istrondruses have two crystals; the Charys have one. Three crystals are unaccounted for, so no one knows where they are, and the last one is rumored to still be hidden in Ketron Island. The Charys have banned anyone from looking for it.¡±


    ¡°Wow, the Romances and Artierans must be pretty bitter being the only ones without crystals,¡± Milena commented.


    I shot her a glare, reminding her I was an Artieran. Well almost.


    ¡°Are the royal families trying to collect all nine?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°In theory,¡± the woman replied. ¡°The royal family supposedly have an accord when it comes to the crystals. Each one is fair game. Whoever finds it keeps it, and the other royal families cannot try to steal it. I believe Daphne Chary banned anyone from looking for the last crystal to keep all nine crystals from ever being put together.¡±


    ¡°So, the men who raided our wagon,¡± I said, ¡°do you think they were working for a royal family?¡±


    The woman shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not. As the young man said, it¡¯s anyone¡¯s goal to have all nine crystals. To have some kind of omnipotent power.¡±


    Milena cracked her knuckles. ¡°Well they¡¯re not getting ours that easy.¡±


    The woman raised an eyebrow. ¡°¡®Ours?¡¯¡±


    Milena nodded, and removed her own necklace from her pocket. ¡°I¡¯ve got a crystal too. I actually had two, but the other was stolen from me.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes stayed on Milena and her crystal a minute longer than they maybe should have. She stood up out her chair. ¡°Well, being that you children are carrying such precious commodity, you should probably turn in for the night. The rascals really come out after dark.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± I said to Will and Milena.


    The two of them headed down the stairs. The woman followed us out.


    I stopped just outside the doorway and turned back to her. ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°It''s not a problem dear,¡± the woman said. ¡°Will you be safe at¡­?¡± She inclined her head, waiting for me to finish her question.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re staying at a little inn uptown. I think the name was Harold¡¯s? I don¡¯t know, but I think it''s a quiet enough spot where no one will bother us tonight. We¡¯ll be gone by morning.¡±


    The woman nodded. ¡°I wish you the best.¡±


    I nodded and jogged to catch up with Milena and Will.


    None of us spoke until we got back to the inn.


    I almost thought we¡¯d dropped the matter completely until Milena brought it up again.


    She plopped down on the bed, spreading herself on top of the blankets. ¡°Well now we know why those men freaked out on the wagon.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve never heard about the Ilvistine Crystals.¡±


    I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I moved around the room.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Elody?¡± Will asked.


    I continued to move around the room, tapping my lip, for a few more minutes before answering. ¡°If five crystals are in someone''s hands, and the last one is still hidden, then my crystal is one of the unaccounted ones.¡± I stopped in the center of the room.  ¡°But why? I wear the necklace all the time, it''s impossible that the queen or the king haven''t seen it.¡±


    ¡°How would the king and queen have seen your necklace?¡± Will asked. ¡°Which king and queen?¡±


    I flashed a glance at Milena. I¡¯d pretty much already let it slip, and we needed to tell Will because things were clearly just going to get more difficult.


    Milena shrugged.


    I looked Will in the eyes and took a breath. ¡°Okay Will, there¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± His eyes bounced back and forth between Milena and me.


    ¡°My name is Elody Bequette. And I¡¯m engaged to Prince Errol Artieran.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The color drained from Will¡¯s face, as if he was staring at a ghost. ¡°You''re a princess?¡±


    ¡°To be,¡± I replied.


    Will turned to Milena with the same wide-eyed expression. ¡°Are you a princess as well?¡±


    ¡°Kind of,¡± Milena replied.


    Will looked back at me.


    ¡°She''s a prostitute,¡± I said.


    Will looked back at Milena.


    She ignored him and continued with the previous conversation. ¡°So as Elody was saying, it''s odd that her crystal is considered unaccounted for. The Artierans clearly know she has it. Who gave it to you?¡±


    ¡°My mother,¡± I replied. ¡°And her mother gave it to her, and her father gave it to her.¡±


    Milena sat up quickly, laughing to herself. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The crystal is unaccounted for because the Artierans didn''t find it, nor do they technically have possession of it,¡± Milena explained. ¡°But a certain marriage would have changed that.¡±


    Will looked at me. ¡°So once Elody married the prince¡­¡±


    ¡°... The Artierans would then have a crystal,¡± Milena finished. ¡°It was so simple, yet I bet no one noticed.¡±


    I slumped down into the only chair in the room. ¡°Do you think¡­ That''s the only reason why he wanted to marry me¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, this Prince Errol sounds like he had genuine feelings for you. If he didn''t really like you, he could have probably just have ordered someone to take it from you.¡±


    Or he did know, and all these years he''d just been playing along. Our marriage was nothing but a way to boost the Artieran throne. Well I was happy I wasn''t a part of it. But still, a piece of sadness lingered.


    I looked at Milena and Will. ¡°Do you guys mind if we turn in? I know it''s not per se late but¡ª¡±


    ¡°I''ve been ready to sleep since we got here,¡± Milena said, already getting under the sheets.


    Will cautiously sat on the cot. It creaked under his weight as he shifted into a reclined position but looked like it would hold at least for tonight.


    My head laid on the pillow, and within seconds sleep overcame me. For the first time, my dreams were black; just a dense, vast darkness. I felt I would lose myself in it, never escape it, until a loud crash made me open my eyes. The sound of breaking glass continued through my ears, and sleepily I sat up. I blinked once, then saw the broken window and the person trying to make their way through it.


    The sage woman!


    To my left, Milena was already hopping out of bed. ¡°What the hell?¡± She went straight over the woman and tried to shove her back through the hole in the window.


    The woman fought back, clawing at Milena¡¯s throat and arms.


    I looked at Will, who sat frozen on his cot. He clearly wasn''t going to be of any help. I grabbed the lantern sitting on the table next to me and ran over to the struggling women. With one heavy thrust, I clunked it against the sage¡¯s head. Or tried to. She ducked at just the right moment so it grazed the top of her head and proceeded to make an even larger hole in the glass. I


    The woman grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me toward her. ¡°Give me the crystals!¡± she hissed.


    Milena drew her fist back and sunk her fist into the sage¡¯s cheek, making her instantly let go of my hair. The abrupt action caused me to stumble forward but I quickly regained my footing.


    ¡°We¡¯re out of here,¡± Milena said to me, tossing me my back knapsack so quickly I almost didn¡¯t catch it.


    Will, who was now finally off his cot, had his clutched in his hands.


    Milena threw open the door and we followed her out the inn, up a few streets, through a few alleyways, until we reached the opposite edge of town.


    While we were running, I¡¯d checked behind us several times, and not once had I seen the woman following us. We finally stopped at a small wooden bench facing the street we¡¯d just come down.


    Sitting down, I took in big gulps of air. We probably hadn¡¯t needed to run that fast, but we had, and now I was feeling the effects. Will looked like he would pass out, and Milena just fumed.


    ¡°What a bitch,¡± she said.


    I looked at her and forced a smile. ¡°Trust is few and far between out here.¡±


    Milena returned my smile, then wiped her brow.


    Having finally caught his breath, Will asked us, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Milena sighed, rubbing her cheeks. ¡°We need to just get out of here. We went to her for help and she tried to rob us. And who knows who else she¡¯s going to tell? We need to just go.¡± She stood up, her knapsack hanging loosely on her one shoulder, and began walking away from the city.


    Will and I exchanged glances. I don''t think either of us were ready to get moving again, but we knew we couldn''t make it without her. We prattled on behind her, our own knapsacks in tow.


    ¡°Where are we going next, Milena?¡± Will asked. ¡°Are we just going to become nomads, constantly moving around?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to Pendine,¡± Milena replied.


    ¡°Pendine?¡± Will asked. ¡°Why there?¡±


    Milena stopped walking and turned to us. ¡°Because this is ridiculous. Elody and I can¡¯t walk the streets safely apparently thanks to these crystals. We hardly even know anything about them.¡±


    ¡°So why don¡¯t you just get rid of them?¡±


    ¡°You heard what that old lady said,¡± Milena said. ¡°Now I don¡¯t know if it''s true or if it''s just another poverty created legend, but I know who would know. A royal family.¡±


    ¡°You expect a royal family to just give us information about something they want?¡±


    ¡°No, of course they¡¯re not going to just give us the information,¡± Milena replied. ¡°So, we have to offer them something they want.¡±


    ¡°The crystals,¡± I said.


    ¡°Not our crystals. The ninth one.¡±


    Will put his hands to his face, clearly trying to follow along with Milena¡¯s crazy scheme. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, is this another secret you two have? You actually have the ninth crystal?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s somewhere on Ketron. But I bet we can find it,¡± Milena replied.


    ¡°Milena, what is your plan in its entirety because right now it''s sounding a little crazy,¡± I said.


    Milena exhaled before explaining. ¡°It¡¯s simple really. We want to know about these crystals that we have. The royal families want the last crystal. Nobody in or from the royal families can set foot in Ketron, but we can. So, we offer one of the royal families our services in exchange for the information we want. They get the last crystal, and we keep ours.¡±


    ¡°And which family would so willingly accept our offer?¡±


    ¡°The Vepors are our best bet,¡± Milena replied. ¡°They¡¯re greedy, so an offer like ours is too tempting to pass up. If we get this crystal for them, they¡¯ll be the royal family with the most crystals.¡±


    Will hugged himself tightly. ¡°The Vepors? You know what people say about them. They¡¯re vipers with crowns.¡±


    ¡°We have to hope that their crookedness only makes them more inclined to accept our offer.¡±


    ¡°And how do you expect to get an audience with the Vepors?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been around nobles and even the Artieran King and Queen themselves can hardly ever get an audience with them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to Pendine. Prince Asa is always in Pendine. If we¡¯re lucky, he¡¯ll be in town.¡±


    I stopped walking, my arms instinctively crossing.


    Prince Asa Vepor. The oldest son of the Vepors, the one who hardly stayed at the palace because he spent his time in brothels drinking and sleeping with random women.


    ¡°Him?¡± I asked.


    Milena, now noticing I wasn''t following her anymore, stopped walking and turned to face me. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ Not sure about all this,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m with Elody,¡± Will said.


    Milena crossed her arms. ¡°Alright, then what do you two suppose we do? It sounds like neither of you just want to wander around forever. And Elody, from what I¡¯ve been hearing, you don¡¯t want to go back to the Vineyard. What else are we going to do?¡±


    I sighed, rubbing my temples as I thought. The past few days had been filled with situations I¡¯d never imagined being in, this being one of them. I absolutely did not want to return to the Vineyard. I wanted to travel, not wander around constantly watching my back. I opened my eyes and looked at Milena. ¡°Yeah, let''s go to Pendine.¡±


    Will sighed, seeing he was now outnumbered. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Thankfully we came across a wagon heading to Pendine. Milena bargained with the driver to take us. I was still a little skeptical of men with wagons who promised to take us places, but I felt safer being with Will and Milena. We reached Pendine in two days, arriving just before the sun was setting.


    ¡°So how are we going to find out if the prince is in town?¡± That was the first question Will asked when we entered the city.


    Milena rolled her eyes, like the answer to that question was simple. She looked around, then strolled over to a woman selling tiny wooden statues. She picked up one of the statues and started conversing with the vendor.


    ¡°Do you think this is going to work?¡± Will asked me.


    ¡°I don''t even know what she''s doing,¡± I replied.


    ¡°No, I mean getting the prince to make a deal with us,¡± Will said.


    I hugged myself tightly. ¡°I don''t really know honestly. But we might as well try. What else have we got?¡±


    Will didn''t reply.


    After a few minutes, Milena came back over to us, empty handed.


    ¡°You didn''t buy one of her statues? After all that time you spent talking to her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I wouldn''t buy one if I had all the money in the world. They creep me out,¡± Milena replied. ¡°But I got our answer. The prince is in town. In fact, he''s staying a street over at the Golden Rod Inn.¡±


    ¡°You got that information from a woman who sells creepy statues?¡± Will asked.


    Milena crossed her arms. ¡°It''s not the best job, but it works in our favor. She''s out here most of the time, so she watches people all day. She probably saw the prince walk past. A patron told her where he was staying. So that''s where we¡¯re going.¡± Without waiting for our concurrence, she turned on her heel and started down the street.


    Will and I had to keep up with her quick stride.


    ¡°Won¡¯t the prince recognize you, Elody?¡± Will asked.


    ¡°Looking like this?¡± I asked. ¡°I doubt it. Besides, I¡¯ve never officially met him. Our families don¡¯t exactly get along.¡± That was an understatement. I looked at Milena. ¡°At the same time however, how are we going to actually get an audience with the prince? It''s not like we can just walk up to him. And even if we did manage to, what¡¯s going to make him want to talk to us?¡±


    The sly grin on Milena¡¯s face meant she¡¯d already thought this part through. ¡°Are you guys familiar what the prince spends his time doing here?¡±


    Will and I shook our heads.


    ¡°He surrounds himself with prostitutes,¡± Milena replied. ¡°And hello? Top notch prostitute right here.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± I asked. ¡°Not to offend you, but I¡¯m sure Prince Asa doesn¡¯t see just any prostitute.¡±


    Milena tossed me her grin. ¡°Trust me, if anyone can contend against some other prostitutes to seduce a prince, it''s me.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen: Milena

    We were lucky enough to snag one of the last two rooms in the inn the prince was staying at.


    It took me a little under an hour to travel around Pendine to find pieces for my outfit. A gold corset, and jewels that I could stick on with body butter up my legs, down my arms, and on the side of my face. Admittedly, I went all out on this outfit, making it extra scandalous, something Heidi or Celestine would have worn.


    When Elody and Will knocked on the door to come back in, I was already dressed.


    At the sight of me, Will¡¯s jaw slacked, and his face turned four shades of red. ¡°You''re going to wear that?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°But you can almost see your¡ª¡±


    Elody cut him off. ¡°She has to dress the part, Will.¡± She looked at me and gave me an encouraging smile. ¡°Alright, you''ve got this.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I''ll be out as soon as I can.¡±


    Elody nodded.


    I peeked around the corner and spotted two other women decked out in scantily-clad outfits heading toward the prince¡¯s open bedroom door. I hurried down the hall to catch up with them so I could walk in at the same time with them. When I walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed at the state of the bedroom. About eleven other women pranced around the room¡ª some of them so brazen to not even wear tops. And the Prince sat soaking it all in from his bed. I didn''t want to get too swept up in the lewd activities, so I stayed closer to the door. About five other girls walked in before Prince Asa stood up. He crossed the room, glancing at the gaggle of girls, stopping at the door. I strained my ears so I could hear what he was muttering.


    ¡°... Fifteen¡­ Sixteen¡­ Seventeen¡­¡±


    I kept my jaw from dropping. He was counting the women in the room¡ª and what''s more, he was fine having almost twenty women!


    Prince Asa closed the door, obviously satisfied with the number. As the door clicked shut, every girl turned to face him.


    Reluctantly, I was one of the girls who watched him intently, waiting to see what he would do. This was the first time I was seeing him in person and up close. Admittedly I could see what all the hype was about. His skin held a sun kissed glow, and his brown eyes danced with the lights of the room. His dark hair fell like silk and curled near his ears. His nose and jaw angled in a way that could cut silver. He deserved the title as the most attractive prince¡ª just a shame he belonged to a family of snakes.


    Without speaking, the Prince parted the throng of women as he sauntered back to his bed. Every eye and every bosom followed him. He laid out on the bed, and all the women instantly swarmed. A few of them were lucky enough to get a spot on the bed; the others stood off to the side, trying to get Prince Asa to look their way.


    I stayed near the door, picking through the platters of fruits and cheeses set up on the table. It was sickening watching those women flock him. Yes, I was a prostitute and yes, I did some indecent things. But in Farris and Chasey¡¯s brothel, it was only pairs for the night, no more than three at the most.


    If I really wanted to, I could probably give some of these women a run for their money on the Prince. But this was all part of my plan. If it was one thing that bothered an egotistical, horny man the most, it was purposeful disregard.


    I stood by myself for only about forty minutes¡ª although in that short time period I¡¯d already resorted to organizing grapes by size before his patience finally ran out.


    ¡°You there.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have to look to know he was talking to me, but I turned my face slightly to face him. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why do you stand all the way over there when I am over here?¡±


    I shrugged, looking back down at the plate of grapes. ¡°Just not really interested in being over there.¡±


    Just as I figured he would, Prince Asa sat up. He sat up so quickly, one of the girls hanging on his side nearly fell off the bed. ¡°Not interested?¡±


    I shrugged again, still not looking at him. I heard him part his swarm of women and stand up off the bed. My breath tried to catch in my throat as he came up behind me and the smell of his body filled my nose, but I pushed it down.


    ¡°Would you look at me please?¡± he asked.


    I did as he asked, looking directly up into his russet eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t interest you?¡±


    I shrugged, not breaking eye contact. ¡°Not really.¡±


    His eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Who are your owners?¡±


    ¡°Farris and Chasey Babbitt.¡±


    ¡°I''ve never heard of them.¡±


    ¡°They''re not local.¡±


    Prince Asa searched my eyes for something. Not breaking eye contact, he snapped his fingers. ¡°Leave us,¡± he instructed the other girls.


    The girls grumbled angrily as they quickly cleared out, almost all of them shooting me a death glare.


    As the last girl exited and the door closed, Prince Asa took my chin between his fingers and lifted it, almost as if for me to look deeper into his soul. His eyes didn¡¯t waver. He held my gaze even as he leaned his face close, pressing his soft lips against the underside of my jaw and then moving achingly slow down my neck, ending his trail of kisses at my collar bone. He pulled back, examining my eyes again. ¡°You¡¯re not interested?¡±


    I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To make you an offer.¡±


    Now the prince stepped back, a cunning smile on his face and his arms crossed against his chest. He looked even more princely in this pose. ¡°An offer? Well this is a new one. From your lack of interest, I''m assuming your offer isn''t a marriage proposal.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Money?¡±


    Once again, I shook my head.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Land for your dying mother?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t contain my snicker. ¡°People actually ask for that?¡±


    ¡°More often than you¡¯d think,¡± Prince Asa replied. HIs facial expression had relaxed a little. ¡°So, you don¡¯t want me, money, or land. What is it that you want?¡±


    I crossed the room and sat down on his bed. ¡°There are these wonderful marvels of the earth known as the Ilvistine Crystals, and apparently there¡¯s only nine in existence. I¡¯ve heard that the Vepors are searching for the ninth one, and they suspect it''s on Ketron Island.¡±


    Prince Asa¡¯s eyebrow rose, and immediately he put his guard back up. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°I would like to make an offer with you, Prince Asa,¡± I said. ¡°The Vepors haven¡¯t made their move into Ketron because the island is owned by the Chary¡¯s, and they wouldn¡¯t be too happy about Vepors or Vepor men snooping around on their island. If you support my friends and I, we will go to Ketron and find that crystal for you, in return for information.¡±


    ¡°What kind of information?¡± But it was obvious he was interested.


    I shook my head. ¡°We are not ready to reveal that.¡±


    The prince took his eyes off me as he paced back and forth mulling over my offer. ¡°Let me get this straight, because this night is still quite strange to me. A woman pretending to be a prostitute comes in here, refuses to indulge me, then offers to go to an island and find a crystal that no man has found yet. And all in exchange for information.¡±


    ¡°That is correct,¡± I said.


    ¡°And what if I decline your offer?¡±


    ¡°Then we will make the same offer to one of the other royal families, and they will get the last crystal, not the Vepors.¡±


    Prince Asa watched me as he carefully considered my words.


    I crossed my arms. ¡°Or do you even care? Prince Asa, the middle child who stays as far away from the royal palace as possible.¡±


    Prince Asa frowned. ¡°Yes, I care.¡±


    ¡°Then accept. What do you have to lose? We get onto the island, we find the crystal, the Vepors now have three crystals. Or we get on the island, we don''t find it, the Vepors are exactly where they are now.¡±


    The prince stared at me, mulling over what to say next.


    The tension in the room was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Prince Asa called.


    ¡°Uh, just bringing food for you Prince Asa. The inn figured you''d need more by now.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. I recognized that petty excuse for a disguised voice, though I guess she didn''t really need to disguise her voice. He didn''t know who she was.


    Prince Asa looked at me. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°I could eat,¡± I replied.


    Prince Asa went and opened the door.


    Just as I''d expected, Elody clumsily entered the room trying to balance two silver dishes.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Prince Asa asked her.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± She¡¯d probably just swiped the plates from outside some other rooms. She set the platters down on the table and standing in front of them, she peeked underneath both lids. ¡°Chicken and¡­ Roast beef.¡±


    Prince Asa looked to me for a decision.


    ¡°Chicken,¡± I replied, then I noticed Elody shake her head behind Prince Asa, so I quickly added, ¡°is what I don''t like. Roast beef definitely.¡±


    Elody uncovered the platter to reveal a steaming roast beef¡ª which could only mean she¡¯d swiped it from another tenant. I tried to hide the disgust from my face. Just the sight of roast beef made me sick.


    ¡°Alright, thank you,¡± Prince Asa said, walking to the door. ¡°You can go.¡±


    Elody desperately looked at me.


    I rolled my eyes again. Really, I was doing just fine without her but clearly, she was having a conniption about my safety. I stood up off the bed. ¡°Prince Asa, this is one of my companions. She would also be going to Ketron.¡±


    Elody flashed a nervous smile at him.


    ¡°You didn''t have to come check on me,¡± I said to Elody. ¡°I was perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°Well you''d been in here a long time,¡± Elody said back to me. She looked at Prince Asa. ¡°So, do you accept our offer?¡±


    Prince Asa looked between the two of us, then, surprisingly, shook his head. ¡°Let me sleep on it. This has been a weird night.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Elody looked at me. ¡°I thought you said you could convince him.¡±


    I hurriedly pushed her out the room. ¡°He said he needs to sleep on it so let''s let him do that.¡± Without another word to the Prince, I closed the door behind us and continued to push Elody down the hall.


    I''d gotten her about halfway down the hall when she freed herself from my grasp and turned to face me. ¡°What are we doing, Milena? We need him to accept that offer. You said it yourself, the Vepors are our best bet because they''re practically desperate.¡±


    ¡°Could you keep your voice down?¡± I hissed. I didn''t think Prince Asa hearing we thought his family was desperate would help our case.


    ¡°I will not keep my voice down! You were supposed to convince him with your body and your face and whatever else prostitutes do. Clearly you didn''t do enough of it, so you need to get back in there and give him the best night of his life.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you need to calm down,¡± I snapped. ¡°First of all, I am a person not an object. I never had any intention of ¡®servicing¡¯ the Prince. It''s all a mind game, Elody, trust me. We are fine, this is exactly according to my plan.¡± Which was only slightly a lie. I''d truly thought the Prince would have said yes tonight. ¡°We¡¯ll wait until morning for his answer. If he says no¡ª which he won''t¡ª then we¡¯ll come up with a new plan.¡±


    Elody huffed frustratedly. ¡°Fine.¡±


    I hoped the prince said yes because frankly, there was no other plan.


    #


    I woke up before Elody, quietly dressed and left the room. I went directly to the small corner tavern inside the inn, carrying the assumption the prince would find himself down here for breakfast. While I waited, I ordered two of the sea salt biscuits. Supposedly they were the tavern special. The brick colored biscuits tasted like stale tree bark. I doubted they used actual sea salt, especially this far from the sea. Still, I was hungry and nervous so despite the taste, I nibbled on it.


    If anyone was desperate it was me in my hope that Prince Asa said yes. If he didn''t say yes, what did that leave us? We could try to get back to our everyday lives. Well I could anyway. Elody clearly had no intention of returning to the Vineyard so she''d become a nomad. Or worse, ask to stay with me. Luckily there wasn''t much room for extra girls in the brothel. But it wasn''t like I wanted to go back there, not empty handed at least. I''d been gone for days now, Chasey would bite my head off if I came back without a good excuse.


    I saw him before he saw me. He looked different dressed in his actual princely clothes instead of half-naked across some sheets.


    When he did notice me, he came straight for me and sat at the table across from me.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said politely.


    Surprised by my courtesy, he said back, ¡°Good morning.¡± He paused, then added, ¡°You look nice in regular clothes.¡±


    ¡°You as well,¡± I said. ¡°Have you made a decision?¡± I''d promised myself I wasn''t going to rush him, but it just slipped out.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°But first I''m curious if there''s any way I can get my money back from you. I paid for women and sex, instead I got two women, roast beef, and an unexpected offer.¡±


    ¡°Then I think you got what you paid for,¡± I said.


    Thankfully, Prince Asa smiled. ¡°The sarcasm doesn''t stop with you does it? Anyway, I''ve decided to accept your offer, but I have some requirements.¡±


    ¡°And they are?¡±


    ¡°I will accompany you to Hastwel where you''ll get on a boat and sail to Ketron. While you''re in Ketron you won''t speak to anyone for any reason. Just find the crystal and get out. Whether you find the crystal or not, you will return to Hastwel to personally tell me your news. If you''ve found it, you will then accompany me back to Kalbar where you''ll present the crystal to the king and queen. Only then will I give you whatever information you''re looking for.¡±


    I nodded, not taking my eyes off him. ¡°That''s quite the requirement.¡±


    Asa flashed a smoldering grin. ¡°Call it a precaution.¡±


    Something about his smile sent a quick shiver through my body. I ignored it and stuck out my hand. ¡°Deal.¡±


    He reached across the table and shook my hand.


    #


    ¡°You accepted his terms without consulting us?¡±


    I groaned. I¡¯d completely sealed the deal, which was what Elody had been so worried about the night before, and now she was upset. ¡°Yes, I did, Elody. What''s the big deal?¡±


    ¡°What''s the big deal?¡± Elody asked. ¡°Did you think for a second that going back to Kalbar with him might be a trap? Heck, just going to Hastwel with him might be a trap. And I can''t go to Hastwel. That''s Artieran land, what if someone recognizes me?¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll be there for a hot minute, no one is going to recognize you. And even if someone does, so what? Just do what you did before. Run away.¡±


    Elody didn¡¯t smile.


    ¡°Come on, Elody. More than likely we¡¯d have to go through Artieran land anyway to get to Ketron,¡± I said. ¡°And as far as going back to Kalbar with him, I¡¯m sure it will be fine.¡± I looked at Will for backup. ¡°You¡¯re on board, right Will? It''s not a big deal.¡±


    Elody looked at Will, waiting for his answer.


    Will nervously looked between us. ¡°I mean¡­ I guess there¡¯s really no way around it is there? Either way we¡¯d have to go through Artieran land, and we¡¯d probably have to go back to a cardinal city. Might as well be with the person who we¡¯ve already made a deal with.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°So Elody, are you in?¡±


    Elody looked between Will and me, her face expressing more reluctance than eagerness. ¡°Fine,¡± she said finally. ¡°But let the record show, I was the skeptical one.¡±


    ¡°The record is all yours,¡± I said, the smile on my face so wide it almost hurt. ¡°Well, we''ve got ourselves a real adventure now.¡±

 Chapter Eighteen: Elody

    Milena was the main coordinator between the prince and us. By early that afternoon, Prince Asa had gotten together all the supplies, including a wagon, for us to leave.


    ¡°Is he nice?¡± Will asked Milena as we carried our bags down the hall to leave the inn.


    Milena shrugged. She''d had the same silly grin across her face for the past hour. I didn''t know if it was because she was excited for our ¡°adventure¡± or just something about the prince.


    We met him a little way up the street from the inn, in an area where most of the shops were vacant. I guess he didn''t want people to see him leaving with three peasants.


    I''d seen the Vepor prince before, and I''d seen him just last night when I''d come to help Milena, although I¡¯d been a little too nervous to survey him.


    He stood a little over six feet, with brown hair that curled just below his ears. For a prince, he obviously spent a fair amount of his time outside¡ªthat and the fact that the Vepors had a natural tanner complexion than most. Looking at his eyes, I could tell from the way they shifted periodically that he was a strategist, always analyzing his surroundings. From my experience, all strategists acted the same. They were constantly contemplating their next move.


    The prince shifted as we stopped walking a few steps from him, looking us over. ¡°So, what are your actual names?¡± he asked. ¡°Because honestly right now I¡¯ve just been labeling you as girls who swindled me into making a deal with them.¡±


    Milena introduced us each individually. ¡°I¡¯m Milena, that¡¯s Elody, and that¡¯s Will.¡±


    I noticed that Will was standing off the side, avoiding eye contact with the prince.


    ¡°Are we good to go?¡± Milena asked. She spoke to him like someone who traveled with him all the time.


    Prince Asa nodded.


    Milena looked at the wagon, a dubious look on her face. ¡°We¡¯re riding in one wagon?¡± she asked.


    Prince Asa looked at her, a challenging look on his face. ¡°Is that a problem?¡±


    Before Milena could utter a sarcastic comment, I quickly replied, ¡°No, not at all.¡± I shot her a quick glance then added, ¡°We¡¯re very grateful.¡±


    Prince Asa laughed. ¡°It doesn''t bother me. I just thought one wagon would be enough. I can get another.¡±


    Out of the prince¡¯s view, I glared at Milena.


    ¡°No, one will be just fine,¡± she said as politely as she could. ¡°Thank you.¡± Obviously that moment of courtesy was too much for her because she quickly climbed into the wagon, without waiting for the rest of us.


    Will climbed in next, still keeping as much space as possible between him and the prince.


    Surprisingly, Prince Asa held his hand out to me as I stepped up to the wagon. I accepted his hand.


    As the Prince was helping me into the wagon, he said to me, ¡°So you''re her handler.¡±


    I couldn''t help but smile. ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Prince Asa went around to the front of the wagon to speak to the driver.


    ¡°He seems nice enough,¡± I said to Will, who was sitting next to me.


    ¡°I guess,¡± he murmured.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, so you can stop acting like a scared fawn,¡± Milena said. She¡¯d made herself comfortable in her little corner of the wagon, stretching out her legs on the seat next to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty informal with him,¡± I said to her. ¡°You remember that he¡¯s a prince.¡±


    ¡°I remember that he¡¯s in our debt right now,¡± Milena replied.


    ¡°In our debt? We haven¡¯t even made it to the island yet,¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to,¡± Milena said. ¡°And we¡¯re going to find that crystal, and then he¡¯s going to give us what we want. I could care less if he was my king. We have the upper hand.¡±


    I didn¡¯t push the subject as the Prince came back around to the back of the wagon. He smacked the side of the wagon before climbing in. He sat on the same side as Milena, but since she didn¡¯t offer to move her feet, he sat close to the wagon¡¯s opening.


    My stomach flopped as a realization dawned. We were going to spend the next few days face-to-face with the Vepor prince. What could we even talk about? I surely couldn¡¯t say much, I didn¡¯t want to risk him realizing who I was. We¡¯d never met, but he still might have known about the Artieran prince¡¯s fianc¨¦.


    Milena asked the question I was thinking. ¡°How long will it take us to get to Hastwel?¡±


    ¡°I think we can arrive in Hastwel in about three days,¡± Prince Asa replied. He looked at her, and I couldn¡¯t decipher the look on his face. ¡°Plenty of time to get to know each other.¡±


    Milena rolled her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s to know about you? You¡¯re a prince with a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re a woman with a lot of time,¡± Prince Asa retorted. He turned his vision to our side of the wagon. ¡°Will.¡± Will looked up at Prince Asa at the sound of his name. ¡°You must be very brave traveling with and protecting these two women.¡±


    Milena laughed. ¡°Will protecting us? That I¡¯d like to see.¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ Enjoy traveling with them,¡± Will said softly.


    ¡°Where all have you been?¡±


    ¡°Look Vepor,¡± Milena spoke up. ¡°We may have a lot of time with each other the next few days, but that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to lay out our life stories for you. We¡¯re traveling on business, nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    I wanted to say something about Milena¡¯ tone with Prince Asa, but I had to agree with her. It was probably for the best that we didn¡¯t get to know each other too well. Maybe a second wagon would have been a good idea.


    At least the prince didn¡¯t get too uptight about Milena¡¯s attitude. He leaned back against the wagon, closing his eyes, and his lips twisted into a smug grin. ¡°Alright. But a girl like you, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get bored of the silence soon.¡±


    Milena scoffed.


    I got bored of the silence within about five minutes. Thankfully I¡¯d swiped two books from a shelf at the inn. I pulled one out of my bag to read, its title Hultain¡¯s Despair. I managed to get through the first few pages before looking up¡ªand seeing the Prince watching me. My eyes quickly dropped back down to the book, but I could still feel his eyes.  I knew those eyes. He had no interest in me specifically, he was just analyzing me, trying to figure me out without talking. I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly worried any little thing¡ªmy hair, the book I read, my posture¡ªwould tip him off to my nobility. Could I really handle three more days of this?A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I soon forgot about the prince as I got deeper into the book. I was a third of the way through when the Prince cut the silence.


    ¡°What is that look on your face, Will?¡±


    I glanced over at Will.


    ¡°Oh, nothing,¡± Will replied quickly. His eyes looked down. ¡°I was just noticing that as a prince, you don''t carry a sword.¡±


    ¡°I do carry a sword,¡± Prince Asa corrected. ¡°I just don''t keep it on me. I don''t expect to find much danger in brothels, nothing I can''t handle with my own two hands.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that''s wise?¡± I asked. ¡°You are a prince. And no offense, not a well-liked one.¡±


    Prince Asa smiled. ¡°It''s worked so far. But if you think I should keep my sword on me, then I can.¡±


    ¡°I would,¡± Milena said.


    I shot her a glare. Was she trying to make him think we might attempt to kill him?


    Prince Asa smiled at her, a challenging glimmer in his eye. ¡°I''ll take that into consideration.¡±


    For most of the trip, the Prince seemed to take more of an interest to Will than Milena and me, probably because Milena was harder to open up than a clam and I tried to keep myself invisible by reading. Will was too nervous to not answer the Prince¡¯s questions. They shared stories about their childhood, which were vastly different. Still, I was surprised at how genuinely interested Prince Asa conversated with Will. I noticed Milena watching the two interact as well.


    I had just finished my book when we began to cross the bridge over the Tours River. My hands instantly started to sweat. The land to the west and south west of the Tours River all belonged to the Artierans. I was miles away from the Vineyard, but just being in Artieran land made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.


    We stopped for the first time a short while after crossing the bridge.


    The Prince got out first and helped Milena and I out the wagon, noticeably lingering when he held Milena¡¯s hand.


    She barely seemed to notice, quickly putting distance between them to start stretching. ¡°I feel like we¡¯ve been traveling forever.¡±


    ¡°Talk to me when you have to go across the land in a wagon,¡± Prince Asa said, stretching his arms above his head.


    ¡°When I become a princess and get to do that, I''ll let you know,¡± Milena said back.


    Prince Asa shook his head at her scorn, then went to chat with the driver.


    ¡°Milena,¡± I snapped when he was out of earshot. ¡°Do you have to be so catty with him?¡±


    Milena ignored me, heading over to the footstool that doubled as the trunk. Opening it, she began shifting the bags to get to hers.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Will asked her.


    ¡°I packed some dried fruit in here,¡± she said.


    Will looked at me. ¡°I''m going to go use the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°We won''t leave without you,¡± I assured him. I watched him as he walked off toward some stray trees, then turned my attention back to Milena, who had just found her fruit.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I pointed to a wooden handle with strings pointing out of the mess of bags.


    Milena moved aside some of the bags and pulled out a fidar. She plucked a few of the strings. ¡°Well it''s in tune. And definitely used.¡±


    ¡°Do you usually snoop through other people¡¯s things?¡±


    We turned to see Prince Asa standing behind us.


    Milena of course had no shame in being caught snooping through his things. ¡°Is this your fidar?¡±


    Prince Asa nodded.


    ¡°Do you play?¡± Milena asked.


    ¡°Well do you think he just has it?¡± I asked her.


    She handed the fidar to the prince, waiting for him to impress her.


    ¡°Maybe later,¡± the prince said, putting the instrument back with the bags. ¡°We should get moving again.¡±


    ¡°In a few minutes,¡± Milena said, heading off toward the trees.


    ¡°You had time to go,¡± Prince Asa called after her, for the first time sounding exasperated with her.


    ¡°I didn''t have to go until now!¡± Milena called back before disappearing among the trees.


    ¡°She''s¡­. Difficult,¡± the prince muttered, and I didn''t quite know if he was talking to me.


    Realizing I needed to go too, I said to him, ¡°I''ll go make sure she doesn''t take too long.¡± Before he could say something to me, I took to a swift run to the trees.


    The second part of the trip, Milena and I engaged in conversation more. Milena¡¯s stories were much more exciting than mine since I could barely share anything without giving away who I was. Even if I could, her stories still would have been more exciting. I''d never witnessed an all-out bar fight or two men dueling over five Telvs with kitchen knives on horseback.


    As it got darker, the Prince attempted to teach us how to read the stars, though there weren''t a lot out yet.


    ¡°So, you really know how to get around,¡± Milena said to him at one point. ¡°You don''t need some fancy driver or royal party.¡±


    ¡°It''s been awhile since I''ve traveled with a royal party,¡± the Vepor Prince replied. ¡°As for a driver, I prefer to travel on my own. Plus, I have to pay a driver.¡±


    ¡°Such a hassle,¡± Milena said, rolling her eyes away from him.


    ¡°Do we need to pay the driver?¡± I asked. ¡°Or pay you for anything?¡±


    Prince Asa shook his head. ¡°Not at all. Your payment is the crystal.¡±


    ¡°No, your payment for the crystal is the information we want,¡± Milena so kindly reminded him.


    ¡°Then that would make the driver unpaid for,¡± the Prince said to her.


    ¡°You''re a prince, his cost should be nothing compared to your money.¡±


    ¡°You just assume that I have so much money.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to remind you you''re a prince?¡±


    ¡°You shouldn''t judge a book by its cover.¡±


    ¡°When is the last time you read a book?¡± Milena asked. ¡°I don''t think they have many of those in brothels.¡±


    ¡°I was reading the history of Broken Arrow the morning before you so graciously hustled me into your scheme.¡± He turned his attention to Will and me. ¡°Did you know the majority of the city is built on top of a bunch of cave networks from when before the city was an actual city and just a hideout for insurgents?¡±


    ¡°Really? That''s very interesting,¡± I said.


    Asa nodded. ¡°Essentially their town¡¯s weak spot is right underneath them. A few planned explosives and the whole city would come toppling down.¡±


    Just what I''d expect from the mind of a strategist.


    ¡°Are you planning a few explosives?¡± Milena asked. ¡°That seems like the only reason that information would be relevant.¡±


    ¡°It''s just knowledge,¡± Asa said. ¡°What¡¯s the last piece of knowledge you found out?¡±


    Milena chewed on her lip as she thought. ¡°Tiron and Chiphon in the south used to be one city until a huge fire burned through the middle and so it became two different cities.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Asa said, rubbing his jaw and genuinely thinking about what she¡¯d said. ¡°That¡¯s very interesting. I did not know that.¡±


    When we stopped for the night, I was more than happy to not be in a small space with Milena and Prince Asa. Who knew how much more of her he could take? We stopped in an open field a few feet off the main road.


    ¡°There''s three tents,¡± Asa informed us.


    ¡°Great, one for each of us,¡± Milena said.


    I rolled my eyes at her flawed logic. ¡°There''s five of us, including the driver. Milena and I can share a tent, the driver can have his own, and then Prince Asa and Will.¡± The words bit me as I realized I¡¯d so openly assumed a prince like Asa would be so willing to share his quarters.


    Thankfully, he just nodded. ¡°Sounds good. Are you alright with that, Will?¡±


    I glanced at him too. He was the one I should have been more worried about pairing the two together.


    Some of the color had left his face, but he nodded. ¡°Yes, that''s fine.¡±


    We had the tents set up, the horses taken care of, and a fire going by nightfall. A few miles back we¡¯d stopped so Asa could purchase a few meat chops which we cooked over the fire, along with some crackers.


    The driver, whose name was Clarence, had retired to his tent. Milena, Will, and I sat around the fire. The Prince sat a few yards away atop a boulder sticking out of the grassy earth. He¡¯d taken his fidar out and was strumming a gentle tune, one that carried on the wind across the field.


    Will stood up. ¡°I''ll be right back.¡± He quickly made his way into a thicket of trees a few yards in the opposite direction.


    My ear picked up a new quieter sound, and I realized Milena was humming along to what the prince was playing. ¡°He¡¯s really good,¡± I commented.


    Milena didn''t look away from the fire. ¡°Yeah I guess.¡±


    ¡°I wish Errol could have played that well.¡±


    Milena looked at me. ¡°Would that have made you like him more?¡±


    ¡°It''s not that I don¡¯t like him,¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°You just don''t want to marry him,¡± Milena said.


    ¡°Now,¡± I added.


    Milena glanced over at me, a wryly smile on her lips. ¡°Maybe he''s lucky you ran away. Seems like you would have been a very picky wife.¡±


    ¡°How am I being picky?¡±


    ¡°You like him, but you don''t like him enough to marry him. Although you want to marry him, just not now.¡± Milena shook her head. ¡°Sounds picky. Did you ever ask him what he wanted?¡±


    ¡°He wanted to marry me,¡± I said.


    ¡°But did you ask him?¡± Milena asked. ¡°He sounds like as much a person as you are. I can''t really see you liking the selfish type of man, so giving him the benefit of the doubt I would think he''s a nice guy. So, did you ever ask him what he wanted?  Or at least tell him what you wanted? If he''s so head over heels for you, wouldn''t he have listened?¡±


    ¡°You don''t understand,¡± I said. ¡°It''s not that easy.¡±


    Milena exhaled through her nose as she stood up. ¡°Alright. Guess I don''t understand all that fancy noble stuff.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°To sleep,¡± she replied.


    Will came back just as she was walking away, just catching a wave from her.


    I might have imagined it, but I could have sworn I saw the prince watching Milena until she disappeared into our tent.

 Chapter Nineteen: Elody

    Ever since I thought I witnessed Asa watching Milena that night, I noticed the amount of attention he gave her. I noticed it most often during conversations. The Prince focused on all of us whenever we talked, but particularly so with Milena.  The way his entire body down to his toes pointed in her direction whenever she just made a comment, and he¡¯d continuously pry at her for more information.


    That was another thing he did that I noticed; he picked at her a lot. Milena could be saying something to Will or me, or maybe not even talking at all, just picking at her nails, and Prince Asa would try and get under her skin in some way. Maybe I was focusing on the pair too much, but it seemed that also the Prince continuously managed to find small reasons to touch her, with either a hand on her shoulder or her back. Whenever I thought he was being overtly flirtatious I would look over at Will to see if he noticed anything, but of course, he never did. And Milena, well I rarely could decipher exactly what she was feeling, but she never let on that she noticed it¡ªor if she did notice, that she actually cared. This behavior continued throughout the two days it took us to reach Hastwell.


    The bustling port city of Hastwell changed all our temperaments. I¡¯d never been there, and I¡¯d bet that neither Milena nor Will had either, but I¡¯d heard about it. It was as lively, colorful, and crowded as people described it. Only about ten miles wide, the city was home to a plethora of different vendor carts and shops. Foods, clothing, jewelry, and anything else from both the inner and the outer cities were sold there. With so many merchants, there was only room for about ten houses, and a few shopkeepers lived in their stores.


    The three of us became swept up in the hubbub of the city right away. The Prince tried to rein us in to give us a list of items we needed to pick up before our departure in the morning, but between Will¡¯s wide eyes trying to take in everything and Milena commenting on everything that came into her line of sight, he quickly gave up.


    We dispersed around the main square. I was happy that Milena chose to hang around me as opposed to the Prince. We went into a few shops where she talked me out of buying almost everything I picked up. She finally found a real interest outside of a store selling jewelry made from animal bones.


    My interest in animal bones was little to none so I picked through a basket of miniature glass bottles, each with something different inside.


    I looked over to show Milena a bottle with a single bone inside, only to see Asa showing her something else across the square. His had his hand placed at the small of her back as he pointed out things with his other hand.


    ¡°Enjoying the city, Elody?¡± Prince Asa asked me.


    I nodded. ¡°It''s not something I¡¯ve ever experienced before.¡±


    ¡°Hastwell has its own culture, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not very marveled by it,¡± I said. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve been here before.¡±


    ¡°A few times. As interesting as it always is, the truth is it¡¯s a novelty city.¡±


    ¡°A novelty city? I¡¯ve heard Hastwell is incredibly important to trading between cities. And almost anything or any piece of information can be found here.¡±


    The Prince chuckled. ¡°Then you¡¯ve been talking to someone loyal to the Artieran crown. Naturally the Artierans believe Hastwell is a pride and joy after the Vineyard, a real pinnacle to the trade system.¡±


    I bit my tongue to keep myself from coming on too defensive of the Artierans. Naturally I would be. After taking a half second, I asked, ¡°And you disagree?¡±


    ¡°Of course. There are plenty other cities with higher revenue or more important trade resources. Hastwell is just something to come and see,¡± the Prince replied. ¡°Makes for a nice family outing.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know if I believed him. I¡¯d always been raised on the idea that Hastwell was a staple in the trade system, but as he¡¯d mentioned, I¡¯d been taught that by the Artierans themselves. But his judgement could be just as skewed as mine. After All, the Vepors and the Artierans were not two families to speak highly of the other.


    The Prince moved over to another vendor to make a purchase, leaving Milena and I again.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked her, though I doubted she¡¯d really been listening.


    ¡°Artierans are wrong,¡± she replied without even a pause.


    I was taken aback by her response. ¡°Excuse me? Why do you think that? Just because he¡¯s a prince?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Milena laughed. ¡°Of course not. But what he said is right. This place is a trip destination, a novelty. Even as a port, they¡¯re not crucial to the trade system. Maybe Ketron¡¯s, but not the main land. Take the city Elgin for example. Their rum is exported to almost every other city across the land. Now they¡¯re a staple in the trade system.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of Elgin¡¯s rum.¡±


    Milena looked at me with a bewildered expression, but in the same moment it was gone. ¡°Figures. You don¡¯t strike me as much of a drinker.¡±


    ¡°Neither do you,¡± I said.


    I¡¯d expected Milena to deliver a snide remark, but her eyes drifted past me. I looked over my shoulder to see what she was looking at¡ªhalf expecting it to be the Prince¡ªand my eyes landed on a man leading two brown mares through the square. He¡¯d either used them to transport his goods here or planned to sell them, but either way, I didn¡¯t outright see what caught Milena¡¯s interest so much she hadn¡¯t responded to me. Before I had a chance to ask her, she was already walking past me, not in the direction of the horses, however. In Prince Asa¡¯s direction.


    I followed her only because I was curious about her mental connection between horses and the Vepor Prince.


    Milena walked right up to the Prince, so that as he turned around from finishing his transaction, he almost collided with her.


    ¡°I have a request for our return from Ketron Island,¡± she said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°While I appreciate you providing a wagon for us to ride in on our trek here, I''d prefer if when we came back, you had horses waiting for us ride to Kalbar.¡±


    ¡°Horses?¡± Prince Ass repeated.


    Milena nodded and looked at me. ¡°You know how to ride a horse right, Elody?¡±


    I nodded. Horseback riding was very common in the Vineyard, in fact more than in any other place in the other kingdoms. In other kingdoms it was more common to see the royal families or some nobles riding, but the Artierans promoted horseback riding for all citizens, openly funding any sort of horse acreages.


    It looked like a smile tried to work its way onto Asa¡¯s lips, but he kept it at bay. ¡°We''ll see.¡± He shielded his eyes as he looked around the square. ¡°I need to get a few more things.¡±


    ¡°No one is stopping you,¡± Milena said, earning her an eye roll from the prince before he strolled into the thicket of vendors.


    I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Milena. ¡°He''s not going to have horses.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see, won''t we?¡±


    Milena and I continued to walk around the marketplace, coming across Will a little later in the afternoon. As soon as Milena saw him, she clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Will had been hoodwinked into buying a golden lizard, but even myself looking at it, I could tell it was a fake. Personally, I wouldn¡¯t have said anything, but Milena was quick to berate him on his ¡®idiocy¡¯.


    Not that we had tried to help, Prince Asa took care of all the preparations for us for tomorrow and even for the night. When we found him a few hours later, he¡¯d already found a quaint inn near the water¡¯s edge for us to stay in. For someone supposedly so conniving, the Vepor Prince knew how to care for his company. But then again, he was a prince.


    In the hours the three of us had spent perusing the market, I¡¯d honestly started to forget about the interactions between Milena and the Prince. He reminded very quickly after walking into the inn.


    As the Prince was showing us our rooms¡ªone for Milena and me, one for Will, one for Clarence, and one for himself, all spread out along the same hall¡ªhe demonstrated another odd behavior. Milena and my room were the last in the hallway, which meant by the time we got to it, it was just the two of us and the Vepor Prince. As I was pushing the door open to go inside, I suddenly felt Milena not right behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see if she was following.


    The Vepor Prince had pulled her aside to other side of the hall and was speaking in a hushed tone to her, his lips inches from her ear. I shouldn''t have tried to eavesdrop, but I couldn¡¯t help it. Not that I could hear anything. I only managed to see the Prince slightly motion down the hall toward where his own room might be, and then Milena nod. As their private conversation ended, I quickly turned away, acting like I was still enthralled in the new room.


    Milena walked past me into the room, now looking around at our stay for the night.


    My mind raced a mile a minute. What had he said to her? Whatever it had been hadn¡¯t been enough to throw her off. But then again, this was Milena. Someone could probably tell her they¡¯d killed her parents and she wouldn''t react. From the way Prince Asa had been acting the entire trip, plus the circumstance under which he¡¯d met Milena, I had a pretty good idea what he¡¯d asked her. I¡¯d have bet money on that theory. The real question was would Milena go for it.


    She was a prostitute. I shook that thought out of my head as my eyesight became less blurry and I focused more on her. She may have been a prostitute, but she was also one of the most stubborn, hard-hearted individuals I¡¯d ever met. Surely, she wouldn''t even consider a crude request like that.


    As we got acquainted with the room, I did my best to wait patiently, but Milena didn''t say a word about her conversation with the Prince. When dinner time rolled around, I considered asking Will if he knew anything or if he thought he could pull some information out of her, but I knew that would more than likely be a pointless effort.


    The Prince didn¡¯t join us for dinner, and naturally, Milena couldn¡¯t have cared less about trying to invite him.


    When Milena and I turned to our room and got ready for bed, I still hadn¡¯t forgotten what I¡¯d seen between her and the Vepor Prince. She hadn¡¯t said a word about it during dinner or even when it was just the two of us walking back to the room.


    I was driving myself crazy waiting for Milena to bring it up. She never did, however. We even turned the lights off to go to bed, and she still hadn¡¯t even mentioned the Prince in the slightest.


    I waited almost an hour and half, frozen stiff with controlled breathing, before I heard Milena finally slide out from under her covers. I heard her tip toe across the room, and just as she was turning the doorknob, I sat up. ¡°Milena, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I''m just going to check on some things.¡±


    I crossed my arms. ¡°Do these things have to do with Prince Asa?¡±


    Even in the darkness I knew she was smiling. ¡°I''m just going to check on some things, I''ll be back.¡± She slipped out the door.