Soiled

“On your knees, whore!”



What…? Had she heard right? But this, this was the John that existed between flowery lips and floated in and out of racy daydreams, the John who was always slightly mysterious with his lush foreign accent. John, whose stash of gold was seemingly-inexhaustible and whose dark eyes had specks of gray floating near the pupil. John…Her John.



“Mommy,” she had once whispered. Once, once, before the sky turned black and violent. “I want to marry Johnny…you know…umm…the banker’s boy…” (“Why is that, Lily?” Her mother’s voice, hiding a yawn, or perhaps a laugh, behind warm lips. She could still hear her own reply now, simple and innocent, “Because I love him. And…Margaret said he stares at me, sometimes, like…like he wants to kiss me!”) A distant memory on a summer night. Once, once, when there was Mommy and Daddy and Johnny.



“Show some respect, bitch! On your knees!”



She felt herself stumbling, tears threatening to spill out from the rims of her eyes like an overflowing well. Rough hands hoisted her up momentarily, then flung her to the ground. She lay on the floor, only half-conscious of what was happening, her arms and knees struggling to support the weight of her broken body. Stars exploded in a nether region of her mind. A hand—his hand—tugged on her hair hard, jerking her head back. She saw the ceiling, a high-backed chair, then the floor again. Why was he doing this?



“J-John…I—”



“Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to!” His voice thundering, so close to her ears that specks of spit smacked her face. He was angry. She had seen him angry before, but it had never been like this. The maid…those marks on her neck…and the way she turned rigid whenever her master entered the room… She knew what John was capable of, and she didn’t want to imagine what he would do to her.



This can’t really be him…



The room swam. A floor, a high-backed chair, a ceiling. A high-backed chair…She could see the outlines of a person. A curved outline. A woman? The maid…? But that made no sense at all. Why was the maid sitting in front of her imperially, as if she was the servant? She blinked and the room focused into sickening clarity.



“She seems a bit…disoriented,” Lady Carmen said coolly, as though the sight of a girl lying prostrate before her was as dull as sipping myrtle tea. “Carlos, get her a glass of water.”



The man behind the girl scowled before bowing low and retreating. Carlos. Not John. The girl sighed. Was it truly a relief to return to reality?



“The last client informed me that you were, unfortunately, an insubordinate little thing. You know I don’t like my girls causing trouble, Lily.”



Lily looked up at the woman who had dominated her life for the past year. She was the reason that Lily was still alive, yet also the chain that bound her to the memories of John. “H-He wanted anal sex, Mistress…”



“Is that supposed to be a problem?”



“I…I thought th-that was off-limits until the auction…”



Carmen laughed. “Do you know who he is? Of course you wouldn’t. Go on, ask me how much he paid me for your services.”



“H-How much…?”



“A thousand gold pieces.”



Mouth agape, Lily did not hear Carlos approaching from behind her. There was a clink of glass as he placed the water down on the stone floor next to her, some of it splashing out of its confinement and onto the hem of her blouse. His face clearly stated that he did not enjoy fetching water for the lowliest of Lady Carmen’s harlots. She gulped down the water hungrily, letting it dribble down her chin, but out of the corner of her eyes she could still see him watching her with a look just as hungry.



“It’s late. You may go rest in your room now.” Carmen waved casually to the corridor leading out of the room. Shakily, Lily brought herself onto her feet, still holding the emptied glass.



“Yes, Mistress…”



“Oh, in case you need a reminder,” said Carmen. Her lips, painted red as though with fresh blood, curled into a nasty sneer. “I guess there won’t be an auction for you, then, will there? As of tonight, you no longer have your anal virginity, so you are obliged to engage in anal activities if your client requests it.”



“Y-Yes Mistress…”



A lump was growing in her throat, and the last thing that Lily saw before she retreated down the corridor and into the sanctuary of her room was Carlos, one hand lovingly stroking the pistol at his side, the other wandering somewhere between his thighs, his eyes burning and ravenous.



Near the end of the hall was the door that marked the tiny shelter that kept her hidden from the coldness of the world that had ravished her and taken her as its own. It was square and stripped of all decorations, but to her it contained something precious—the only bed that she was allowed to sleep in, alone. A sad memory of a former life. How long has it been since she turned seventeen? Only a year ago, but it felt longer. A lifetime.



She crossed the room, taking care to lock the door behind her. A drunken guard had once found her door unlocked and dragged her outside, pushing himself on top of her and planting slobbery kisses down her neck. Luckily he keeled over and went to sleep a minute later. She did not want to take her chances with an unlocked door again. Further down the hall was a door that led outside, and she had contemplated using it many times. But where would she go? Her instincts warned her against the notion. Vaguely, her mind brought up images of girls she had seen running through those doors, only to be brought back a week, two days, several hours later. Some walked in willingly, eyes downcast, ashamed. Some were flanked by guards, their faces bruised and blurry. Their screams echoed from beneath the floorboards and on these nights Lily could never sleep. Even when their screams stopped—cut clean off or dissolving into wretched whimpers—Lily heard them in her head, heard her own voice, pleading,



Please, anything but this… (Oh John John John I don’t understand, you were never like this, please, please I…I can’t…) Anything. Just stop the pain, please. I’ll give you anything. I’ll sell myself to you, as long as the pain stops.



Of course it was the begging and the crying that drew those sick bastards to her. She had long since learned to control her emotions. She had learned to cushion the hardest of the thrusts by loosening her muscles. But the man tonight…he had brushed aside the layers of protection she barricaded herself with easily with his words, his eyes. His fingers were skilled. The thought of the orgasm he had given her brought a flush to her cheeks, and yet, he taunted and humiliated her. Effortlessly dominated her.



Like John. The thought blanketed her with foul familiarity. His thick brown hair, well-sculpted body…He even looked a thing like John.



And she had called him John.



She was drifting off to sleep. What had he said? She could only remember that after her mishap, the session had ended abruptly. He had said…



“Vitale,” she muttered. At last, sleep overcame her. The night gathered her into its arms, and in her dreams there was still Mommy, and Daddy, and Johnny.



---



Ahhhhh!!! This update took forever, because I was busy. I was even contemplating stopping this piece entirely, but I won't because the only way to improve writing is to write, and also because I owe my readers. I have the general idea all plotted in my mind, but I tend to write without a concrete outline, since I'm a flow-and-go person...



Anyways,



Thanks, again, for everyone who reviewed, and I'd appreciate it if you continue reviewing.



No, this will not turn into a medieval mistress-slave gig.

No, this will not turn into a yuri F/F gig. (Sorry, F/F fans.) Actually, I take that back. We'll see how it goes...*winkwink*

I have a feeling I might play around with Carmen for a bit (no pun intended) and get kinda kinky, since she is the "mistress" of the brothel and does own quite a handful of toys. Also, remember that she owns different "types" (I'm not going to refer to them as such) of prostitutes...you'll see other ones in the future.



I feel like I have trouble explaining myself...such an idiot...gahhh.



ashesxx2xxashes: And you shall read more. :)



xVampyrx: I'm rather honored to have you so positively reviewing my work, actually. I've read some of your stories and know that you write quite a lot, so you can consider me a fan. Hope I don't disappoint you.



Akenaten: I strive to keep you squirming. *bows* Oh, and no sex in this chapter, again. My, I'm breaking a record on AFF...



cade: I love cliffhangers. I was tempted to NEVER update again and leave everyone with a cliffhanger, but that would be mean, no?



born_to_do_it: That's a good question. :D Maybe I'll have some answers soon...



More of you reviewed, and I'm sorry I could not get everyone on here.

There is always next chapter, however, so please enjoy and look forwards to...



Some major playtime.