Chapter 17: The free bird

 Allan: Former prostitute, on his way to a new life. Healer hopeful. 

I get my clothes from the chair I laid them on, and begin to dress. I still can't believe that I am free — now. Not only that, but I mean, I dreamt of it, but never dared to hope for it. Dean is not the first client that asks me about my name, but he is the first to...

He now wants to have real lovers. 

I was just food for him.

The thought makes my stomach twist. It didn't hurt, to be fed on by Dean. Not like... I shake my head. Taking a deep breath, I take the two pouches, and make sure I know which one is with the 100 coins, and which one was the bigger one. It simply won't do, for me to mix them up. The Madam won't give me the extra money. 

Despite the fact that I have been left on the side of the road, a smile makes its way to my face.

 I am free.

The thought comes to me, and it makes me giggle. For three years, I have been working for this brothel. I didn't have a choice. My mother needed the money for the medicine, that still let her die. I shake my head, to clear my thoughts. There are so many things I can do, from now on. 

I can get an honest job. Granted, my education is limited, but I have plenty of mana. More than usual. That is probably why, the Madam pawned me off to Dean. So, he can get more food for his money. 

With a bounce to my step, I go down the stairs. There are other prostitutes down in the hall. Amusing this client or that one. The place is full of cigarette smoke, and lute music plays in the background.   

"Hey, Allen. Are you done? This handsome man wants a threesome," Aurora, one of the older prostitutes stops me, just as I am about to turn the corner. She sees the two pouches in my hands, and her eyes widen. 

"Is that? You talked someone into giving you enough to pay off your debt?" She asks. I smile and nod. She stands up from the lap of the man she was sitting on, and hugs me tightly. 

"I am so happy for you! Where is your new lover?" She asks. 

I don't blame her for the question. Normally, when clients give such big amounts of money for one of us, it is so they can keep us for themselves. 

Then there are those, who fall in love. 

Not Dean, though. He simply wanted to make things right...

"I am 100% free, no strings attached," I tell her. She gives out a loud squeal, and kisses me on both cheeks. 

"I am so happy for you. What are you going to do?" She asks me. 

"I will become a healer," I tell her. This has been my dream, for as long as I can remember. My mother did her best, to make sure I knew how to read and write, and for me to have time off work, in order to visit the library. 

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Then she died, and I ended up here. 

But now, I can become a healer for real. Like Leander Firebolt-Serty!

"Well, once you become a hero, I'll get to say that I am friends with the best healer in Northumbria," Aurora says. Her client coughs, and she gives me one last kiss on the cheek, before she lets go of me, and sits on his lap again. 

He gives me a cold look, and I know just what he is thinking. 

Most of the people who come to amuse themselves in this building, don't think about us as humans. We are their dirty secrets. They can do to us, what they can't do to their wives, or husbands. I give Aurora one last smile, and head straight for the Madam's office. We call it office, but it is actually her room. 

Messina's office is one big red smudge. Red carpets, with exotic birds on them. Red wood furniture. Red drapes. Red bed covers. She used to be a prostitute, long ago.

 Then, one day, her Madam named her the heir to this very brothel, and her life changed. Not that she stopped working. Nowadays, though, she works only for the fun of it. 

I knock on the door, and she opens it, half-dressed. 

"Yes, Allan?" She asks. Messina is blocking the bed from my sight. I don't think she is a cruel person. She likes to call us her children. It doesn't stop her from holding our debts over our heads, but she still could have treated us worse. I suppose. I hold up the coin pouch with the freedom money. 

"Dean paid my debt," I tell her. Her eyes go wide. 

"Oh, Allan," she says, as she takes a hold of the pouch. She rushes into her room, and I wait for her in the doorway. Looking down at my feet, I do my best to ignore the rumbled sheets on the bed. It seems, that she had someone in here, until recently. She comes back into the room, and hands me my work contract. 

"Tear it up, and try not to end up back in here," she tells me. I nod, and bite my lower lip. "Oh, come over here." 

I am in her arms in a second. She smells of sweat, cheap perfume, and semen. Still, I don't mind. If Dean hadn't decided to skip his dinner tonight, I would have probably smelt just the same. 

"Where are you going to spend the night?" She asks. I shrug. 

"On a bench in the park? I will look for a room tomorrow," I tell her. 

 "If you'd like, you can spend the night here. In your room," she tells me. I gulp. "Or not. I suppose that you would want to get out of here as soon as possible?" 

"That would be for the best," I tell her. She kisses me on the cheek, and I leave. 

The night air is still pleasantly warm. I wander around, until I find a bench, and lay down on it. If I lie to myself, I can tell myself that this is just a camping excursion.