Samantha could finally heave a breath of relief with her right hand placed to her unsettled chest. For proper confirmation, she constantly stole glances from the window grill to make sure the royal carriage wasn't coming after them, and her turbulent heart eased when there was no sign of the carriage.
That is good, it means he didn't see her, Samantha inwardly thought to herself.
The last thing she wanted is to find herself trapped under life-threatening circumstances with the vampire Lord. She knew for sure that her life would end right at the spot if he managed to catch a glimpse of her, and since her family were being accused of committing a treason, not only her life, but her brother's life was currently hanging on a loose thread.
Samantha could feel her palms sweat, and it peppered the open skin in her fingers and nails.
It didn't take less than Thirty minutes before they made it to their destination, and the carriage screeched to a halt. With the six girls peeking out through the window in pure curiosity, a middle-sized building made of rough-hewn logs with a thatched roof came into view.
It stood at the outskirts of EmptyHollow village, hundred kilometers away from Samantha's home, and it had a cozy, rustic charm to it. The wooden sign hanging above the entrance read "The Hearth and Hound"
Their eyes were filled with pure amazement, intrigued to know what exactly happens here, and all of a sudden, the door to the carriage opened, sending the girls bristling back in fear. When the carriage door opened, it revealed a youthful looking man with an apathetic demeanor plastering his face.
The light that invaded the carriage sent the girls flinching their sensitive eyes at the sight, unable to recall the last time they had to encounter the light of day. It stirred up uneven emotions between them, but no one dared to say anything.
"Let us do this amicably, shall we?" The young man's refined tone left the six girls blinking absent-mindedly, including Samantha, and he offered an arrogant smile before adjusting his gloves.
"Don't fret, but I need you girls to step down from the Carriage and follow me in an orderly manner, that doesn't sound too difficult now, does it?"
Perplexed by the man's strange accentual tone, the girls exchanged glances before shaking their heads in response, and he gracefully moved to the side, clapping his hands to snap them out of their dazed trance.
"Then don't keep me waiting, out." He ordered in a cool manner, and the six girls stepped down from the carriage. It took a long while before their gazes could adjust to the daily light, and the young man scrunched up his nose at the sight of how dirty and disheveled they looked.
"Come with me." Rather than leading them towards the main door of the building, he took them to the back of the building while they obediently followed.
Their hands and legs were still chained, and Samantha's attempt to free herself from the chains ended in vain, because she couldn't do it despite how hard she tried. The strange man led them into the building through the back door, and the girl's all opened their eyes wide at the inner beauty of this strange place.
Meanwhile, Samantha was more bothered about Madame Cerise, wondering where the woman had gone to, and why she left them in the hands of this peculiar stranger.
As they moved towards the narrowed passageway in a straight line, four ladies who looked much older and more mature than them stood at the side of a brown wooden door up front, with six bathing towels in their grasp.
The strange man who was leading them towards the young ladies, offered them a smile, and then turned to look at the six dirty girls who were bruised in some parts of their body, and some had bloodstains mixed with dirt on their torn clothes.
With a snap of his fingers, one of the young ladies moved towards the girls to free their hands and legs from the chains.
"You girls shall go in there and have your bath, wash and scrub yourself clean, when I say clean, I mean 'Very' clean." He emphasized the word, unable to hide how the sight of them irritated him, but the girls cared less about it after hearing that they could take their bath after many days.
One of the girls who looked fourteen, hesitantly raised her hand up to ask a question, and the man who took notice, gave her permission to speak.
"Are we allowed to use soaps?" Her trembling voice squeaked at the end, as though she was afraid she would get punished, but the man, although didn't hide his disgust, nodded.
"Yes, everything you girls need to have a proper bath is in there. Any more questions?"
"Where are we?" Samantha dared to ask, and the man's eyes narrowed at the green-eyed girl whose voice was more audible than the rest.
His whimsical gaze lingered on her for five seconds before he stood straight. "You'll know in a few hours. Come on now, have your baths, when you're done, these ladies will escort you to a room where you six will share when you're done, go on now."
Without delay, the girls hurried to receive the towels from the ladies, and Samantha, who wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to have a proper bath, also took one of the towels and stepped inside.
The girls spent hours cleaning and washing away all the blood and dirt from their bodies. They helped one another rinse their hairs, and they weren't allowed to leave the bathroom until they had scrubbed every part of their body clean.
Stepping out of the bathing room with the thick towels tied around their lean bodies, the ladies led them to one of the rooms located on the East side of the building, and when the girls stepped in, the door was closed shut behind them, and they could hear someone lock it from outside.
The windows were made with thick iron bars, making it impossible for the young girls to escape from here, but to Samantha's notice, the girls were more fascinated by the beautiful clothes that had been kept on each of the six beds for them.
"Look, my dress is purple!"
"Mine has pearls on them!"
"Mine too!"
Samantha may be young and possess the body appearance of a fifteen-year-old, but she wasn't an ignorant fool who wouldn't take notice of how this sudden privilege refused to add up. They get such special treatment without asking for it, yet they are still locked in like prisoners. Something about this place didn't feel quite right to her, and she didn't have the strength to start investigating why her mind didn't quite settle with this place.
For now, she has no other choice but to play dumb and act like the rest of them
Getting dressed in the simple green gown that was kept on one of the beds to her right, Samantha had difficulty putting them on since she hadn't recovered from the beating she received.
It didn't take too long before the door was opened, and the same young ladies stepped in, offering them good food that they had brought on a tray.
"You girls must be hungry." One of the ladies said in a sweet, soothing tone, and they all nodded their heads in response, finding the lady harmless. Most of all, the aroma of the delicious food was one none of them could resist.
"These are for you girls, eat up and gain your strength." She whispered with a smile after dropping the food, and then turned to leave with the doors locking after they had left.
When everyone ate to their fill, the door opened again, and this time, it was Madame Cerise who walked in.
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All the girls were seated on their respective bed when Madame Cerise approached them with the same curt smile on her red lips. With all the dirt and blood washed away from their bodies, they looked more appealing to the eyes, neatly dressed with their hairs packed in lovely ponytails, some in a bun.
The only errors left to take care of was to treat their wounds and make sure they weren't infected by any bacterias. Getting rid of the scars on them was also another thing since their skin care is the most crucial for their job.
"Have you girls been treated well?" She asked in a sultry voice, and there was a little moment of silence shared between the six girls before they nodded their heads truthfully in response.
"Do you enjoy being treated like this? And do you like how pleasant you smell?"
They nodded again to her question, and this time, her smile faded a little, her tone sounding firm. "In order to continue enjoying this heavenly privilege, you girls will have to behave and stick obediently to my orders. So you know, this is a brothel, a business establishment where you girls will be trained to become the best courtesans in the history of EmptyHollow."
"Courtesan?"
"What's a courtesan?" The girls whispered amongst themselves, barely finding the name familiar, and a coaxing smile reached Madame Cerise's lips.
"How many of you here know how to read and write? If you aren't familiar with this type of educational service, please make it known to me today." She stated as a reminder to the six girls who immediately returned their perplexed attention back to her. "As you know, being brought up in a Village like yours and in this harsh predicament of EmptyHollow, affording a child's education has become... tight."
Her mockery was hidden by the flattering tone of her voice. "This is important to know, because you will receive free education while staying here."
"Free?!"
"Free education?" Once again, the girls exchanged whispers with undenying amazement, and that made Madame Cerise's smile broaden slightly, knowing her plan to lure these innocent girls in was working.
"You." She pointed to Samantha who sat at the end of her bed, staring and barely contributing to the excitement.
"Come here." She beckoned the girl forward with her index finger.
Samantha's weary gaze shifted to the girls who were staring at her, then back at Madame Cerise. Her trembling fingers grabbed onto the hem of her dress to stop her palms from sweating again, but regardless of her hesitation, she rose to her feet and walked towards Madame Cerise until she was standing in front of her.
"What was your name again?" With squinted eyes, Madame Cerise demanded from the girl who lowered her head.
"S... Samantha." She responded meekly, her tone soft but noticeably dry at its pitch.
"Are you familiar with reading and writing?"
With her hold tightening against the hem of her dress, Samantha shook her head slightly, and Madame Cerise acknowledged it with a plaintive smile.
"Don't you have any wish to improve your educational etiquette?"
"I want to go home." Samantha said instead, except the volume of her voice was so low, Madame Cerise had to take her time into putting the words in her head together, and for a moment, she wanted to glare at the young girl for even bringing that suggestion up, but at the same time, she wouldn't want to frighten the girl just yet.
"Listen, Samantha dear." Bending a little, she tilted Samantha's chin up so she could look into her unique emerald green eyes, and it shimmered almost unrealistically, enough to leave one in a trance.
"Do you know how special you are?" She asked Samantha, releasing her chin. "You're a very unique girl, and believe me when I say you can earn lots from working for me. If you don't believe me, you can ask the older courtesans who work here and know the merits. They'll be the ones to tutor you and train you so you can grow up to be just like them."
"But… my brother…."
"I said no!" Madame Cerise didn't let her complete her statement before objecting to her proposal, and the harshness in her tone forced Samantha to flinch back in bewilderment.
Standing straight with her shoulders squared, Madame Cerise looked at the young girls with her gaze stern, a contrast to her calm tone.
"From now on, you girls are going to be the new ladies of the Brothel. You will receive daily training and be taught accordingly. This is your new home until I say otherwise, and once you've come of age and received all the rightful training, then I shall earn my profits."
She let out a breath and then half-smiled at the girls. "Behave well, and you shall be gifted with more than what your wretched parents who abandoned you can afford. Disobey or go against my orders, there will be punishment!"
At her last statement, her gaze was fixed on Samantha, as though the punishment part served as a warning specifically to her.
When she was done speaking to the young girls, Madame Cerise exited the room, and the rest of the girls who had been silent all the while started whispering even louder.
"What are courtesans?"
"I don't know, she didn't give us enough details, but I'm sure we'll figure it out when our trainings start."
"Courtesans are prostitute." Samantha's voice silenced the rest of the girls who were about to whisper, and she turned to look at them.
"Prostitute?" One of the girls eyes widened in exclamation, shock written all over face.
"My Father always came home with a prostitute each time he went out drinking." One of the girls immediately cringed, "I don't want to be like that."
"Me neither." Another girl added, feeling a bit frightened.
"Well it's either this, or we go back being slaves." One of the girls who eyed Samantha stood up from her bed to address the rest of the girls who were in denial, and she looked seventeen.
"We get a bed to sleep on, we get nice clothes to wear, good foods to eat, and many others."
"Why stay here when we can escape?" Samantha stepped forward, unable to believe the girl. "How are you okay with this?"
"I'm not." The girl corrected, looking at Samantha with half disdain. "Unlike you who has a family to go to, we don't. Even if we escape, what's the possibility that we won't get kidnapped again? I don't want to go back to being a dirty slave in that tower."
Hearing this, the rest of the girls exchanged sad glances, finding valid points in her words. "As long as she treats us the way she promised, then I don't mind staying here and being a courtesan. Besides, they're different from ordinary prostitutes."
She folded her arms and looked at the rest of the girls. "If you want to leave then leave, but don't regret your decision when you get abducted again. We don't always get what we want in life, it took me a long time to realize that, and if we want something, we have to pay the price for it, so I'm giving up my body for this."
When the girl was done speaking, she returned to her bed to lay down, leaving the rest in a dilemma. Her words regarding price struck Samantha deeply to her heart, and her shoulders dropped.
This can't be the only price, right?
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